#was meaning to do it earlier but forgot XD

[pixlokita]

Painful wing fanart incoming but you already knew about it and colored it so like -w- hiding it for the gore and blood tho >>

I feel like it was less gory in black and white but honestly 👀✨ aight don’t mind me I’m going to the tag now

BEHOLD!!! AN ART TRADE!!! @pixlokita it is time!

Caution, do not click read more if you do not intend to read. This is 12,192 words. And no, I'm not kidding. This is so much longer than most of the stuff I write. That being said, enjoy!!!

Evan said Michael was sick, which worried Jeremy. Being sick should not mean Michael would try so hard to avoid Jeremy, especially since he knew it would make Jeremy worry about him more.

But the main part Jeremy was worried about was the way Evan’s new wings kept fluffing up. Was Michael mad at him?

Don’t worry about it, Jeremy, he told himself. If Michael’s mad, he’ll tell you eventually.

It just stung. Evan and Gregory were wandering around the house, trying to see if their wings would allow them to do various things. Evan’s were too small to do much, and Gregory still hadn’t gotten used to them yet, but at least they had something to do while Mr. Emily tried to figure out what could possibly cause this.

“Ugh!” Gregory exclaimed, plopping down on the sofa next to Jeremy. He took the soda from Jeremy’s hand and took a giant sip. “These things suck.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked, unsuccessfully trying to retrieve his Coke.

“I mean,” Gregory scowled, taking another sip, “that wings are stupid. They don’t even bend the way I want them to.”

“Well…” Jeremy said thoughtfully. “They are just extra limbs, right? With bones and joints and stuff?”

“I guess so.” Gregory finally gave Jeremy his soda back. “But they don’t move how I want-“

“You couldn’t do much when you were a baby right? Learning to crawl?” Jeremy chugged the rest of his Coke before putting the empty can down. “It’s an accomplishment when babies get their heads off the floor on their own, you know. And rolling and stuff.”

“Oh.” Gregory clearly hadn’t thought about it that way. “But Evan’s got excellent control already.”

“He’s had them longer.” Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe he’s just a quick learner. Or maybe, there’s less wing to work with. Could be a bunch of things.”

“But…” Gregory sighed. He inched closer to Jeremy on the couch, his wings refusing to bend in a natural way.

Jeremy awkwardly looped a comforting arm around Gregory. “You’ll get there eventually.”

“They just hurt. All the time.”

“I can’t help with that,” Jeremy chuckled.

“Sure you can! Mike did this thing once, where he…” Gregory chewed his lip. “Well, I’m not exactly sure what he did.”

“You want me to pet you?” Jeremy said in disbelief. “Nuh uh. Go ask Evan. That’s not… No.”

“Why’d you make it weird?” Gregory shook his head. “It was like…”

“Like a shoulder massage,” Evan interjected helpfully. His wings flexed, expanding fully as he explained. They barely went past his shoulders, but the point got across.

Jeremy admired the confidence with which he showed them. He’d personally be too worried about people calling him a freak. Which, thinking about it, was not likely to happen in this house. Everyone was too nice here.

“Mikey went like this,” Evan said, pulling Jeremy’s arm back to get to Gregory’s wings.

Gently, Evan messaged the inner edge of Gregory’s wings, right where they extended from his back. Gregory’s wings convulsed, the claw on one nearly hitting Jeremy in the face. “I think they get itchy,” Evan mused. “We might have to just do this more often.”

“No kidding,” Gregory said with a sigh, his eyes closing and his shoulders relaxing. “But Mike’s still better at it.”

“Wonder where he got his practice,” Jeremy replied. He didn’t mean to sound bitter, but it still came across that way.

Evan winched, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he kept focused on his task. Gregory sighed absently. “Wings are a lot of work.”

“Seems that way,” Jeremy replied.

Gregory folded and unfolded his hands while Evan worked. “I just…”

Jeremy spared him a glance as he went to get another can of Coke. “Something on your mind?”

“His girlfriend,” Evan said absently.

“Cassie’s not my girlfriend!” Gregory said, straightening. His wings fluffed up as he said it.

“Oh.” Jeremy had no idea what to make of that. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know!” Gregory replied. He ran a hand through his hair to try to make it lay flat. “She was at Evan’s party, and she looked really bad. I think Mike took care of it, but he didn’t really say anything about it afterwards.”

“She’s probably at the hospital, Gregory,” Evan replied, trying to be soothing. “We can visit her once we figure out what to do about this first.”

“Stupid wings,” Gregory grumbled. “Making everything harder.”

Jeremy didn’t know how to reply to that. He cracked the can open and took a sip. “Have you asked Mike?”

“He’s sick,” Evan answered for Gregory. His wings fluffed up again.

“Maybe we should check on him then. He’s been resting all week right?” Jeremy asked, trying to be casual about it. Evan had been very guarded about his older brother this whole time.

Jeremy came over every day, and every day, Evan said the same thing. “Mike’s sick. He can’t see anyone right now.”

It had been happening since the day Gregory’s wings had burst through his skin. Jeremy was more than a little concerned. Sure, he hadn’t reacted well to the wings at first, but none of them had. He’d been more supportive when Evan’s had burst through later that same day.

But Michael’s expression became very guarded for the rest of the day, and the next day, he was “sick” and couldn’t see Jeremy. And Evan was very good at shooing Jeremy away when he tried too hard to see him.

“Shouldn’t he eat something?” Jeremy asked.

Evan frowned. “Mikey told me that there’s not much he can stomach right now.”

“Crackers always work,” Jeremy mumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he tried again. “What about water? Maybe he’ll start feeling better with some fluids.”

“I… guess…” Evan seemed less sure. Conflicted, he looked at Gregory and then glanced at the closed door to his cousin’s room.

“I can get it. You keep helping Gregory,” Jeremy said quickly. He didn’t want Evan to change his mind.

Evan relented, nodding slightly. “Okay. Make sure to get him a big glass. And don’t be loud. And-“

“I know how it works when someone’s sick, thank you.” Jeremy set his Coke down and rushed back to the kitchen to grab a glass.

Evan had not been exaggerating. When Jeremy crept into the room with the glass of water, Michael was curled into a tight ball on the bed.

“Mike?” Jeremy whispered into the quiet room.

Michael groaned in response. He rolled over to face Jeremy, exposing the hair plastered to his face with sweat.

“I um.” Jeremy swallowed. He felt a little foolish now. Michael was just literally sick. He wasn’t mad at Jeremy or anything like that. “I brought you some water.”

Michael opened his eyes, feebly reaching for the glass.

“Are you strong enough to hold it on your own?” Jeremy asked.

Michael had to consider that for a moment. Then he shook his head.

“Here-“ Jeremy sat next to Michael on the bed, helping pull him into an upright position so he could drink the water.

Michael leaned heavily against Jeremy, eagerly drinking the water. Jeremy had to brace himself against the wall to support the extra weight. Then abruptly, Michael pulled away.

“J… Jeremy,” Michael whispered weakly. He gripped at Jeremy’s jacket, burying his face in Jeremy’s shirt. “I…”

“It’s okay, Mike-“

Michael seized in Jeremy’s arms, sobbing heavily. His hold got tighter and tighter as his body shuddered with pain. Jeremy tried to set the glass on the bedside table, but he barely had it on the edge and water soaked into the carpet as he pulled Michael the rest of the way into his lap. “I got you,” Jeremy said into Michael’s hair.

“It hurts,” Michael cried, still shaking.

“You’ll get through this,” Jeremy mumbled.

A tearing noise broke through the sound of Michael’s sobs, even as they intensified. “JEREMY!!!” Michael wailed.

“I have you, Mike. It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

Dimly, Jeremy registered the large wings erupting from Michael’s back. Oh. Oh. This was happening now. Bloody feathers spread out, wrapping around Jeremy to return his comforting gesture.

Gradually, Michael’s crying ceased, and Jeremy was left holding an exhausted teenager with bloody wings. “I am sorry,” Michael whispered, pulling his hands back, the wings retracting slightly. “I did not mean to, uh…”

“It’s okay, Michael.” Jeremy tried to smile at him. He was determined not to squirm in discomfort from all the blood currently soaking into his jacket.

“I… should go shower,” Michael said awkwardly.

“Yeah…” Jeremy wriggled uncomfortably in his jacket.

“Sorry,” Michael said. “I can wash that if you want.”

“It’s not the biggest deal,” Jeremy said.

“It is if you go home wearing a jacket covered in blood,” Michael replied. “It’s only fair that I clean it, since that’s my blood.”

That wasn’t how Jeremy saw it, but he figured he wasn’t getting out of this. “Okay.”

Michael shifted carefully, putting his feet on the carpet. Almost instantly after taking his weight off the bed, he completely lost his balance. His wings flew out, trying to redistribute the weight, but Jeremy didn’t realize that as he caught Michael by the waist. Both of them tumbled off the bed, Jeremy hitting the carpet with a soft ‘oomph.’

“I am sorry. This was not my intent,” Michael said from above Jeremy.

“They take some getting used to, huh?” Jeremy replied, trying to ignore the heat rising to his face.

It hadn’t been much on the bed with Michael clinging to him like a lifeline. But on the floor with Michael on top of him, pinning him to the ground, Jeremy was suddenly aware of how close Michael was to him.

Michael smiled ruefully. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to walk on my own right now. I don’t know how I’m going to wash all this blood off by myself.”

“Maybe your uncle could help?”

“He’s probably back at the library again,” Michael mused as he crawled off Jeremy.

Evan wouldn’t be able to handle it, Jeremy knew that much. And he couldn’t ask for Gregory’s help without alerting Evan to the amount of blood that coated them both.

“Do you want me to help?” Jeremy asked, feeling the heat more intensely in his face. Please say no. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it.

“Really?” Michael chewed his lip, considering it. “I would not want to be a bother… But if you are offering…”

Jeremy’s heart quickened at the prospect. “R-right.”

“Help me up?” Michael asked.

Jeremy pulled Michael to his feet, unprepared for the wings to wrap around him again. “Um.”

“Sorry. I don’t have much control over them yet,” Michael replied sheepishly.

“Do they want me to carry you?” Jeremy gauged the idea of carrying Michael to the bathroom. It wasn’t the worst idea he’d ever come up with.

“It’d probably be less awkward than walking there like this,” Michael agreed.

“So I’m just going to…” Jeremy twisted around in the space the wings allowed him. Michael hissed out a pained breath, but soon he was behind Jeremy. “How well can you jump?”

Pretty well, apparently. Jeremy barely needed to adjust for the weight of Michael on his own back, hands linked beneath Michael’s knees. “Okay. Let’s get you taken care of.”

“I am not a child, Jer,” Michael said wearily. Still, he pressed the side of his face into Jeremy’s hair. “I am sorry to be such a burden.”

“You’re not a burden, Mike. You’re my friend. I’m absolutely willing to help you out when you’re in need.”

“Mmmmm,” Michael sounded almost mournful. But he didn’t argue.

“Okay,” Jeremy said. “So, I’m thinking they might need a decent soaking, right? Birds like to be fully submerged when they clean their wings right?”

Michael blinked at him from where he sat on the toilet lid. “What are you even saying?”

“The blood.”

“It is not dried yet. Not completely anyway.”

“So what? You were planning to just wing this whole thing, weren’t you?” Jeremy shrugged off his jacket.

Michael snorted. “I was planning to shower, Jeremy. But I guess I was planning to wing it, considering how I have wings now.” His wings stretched as he spoke, emphasizing his point. “I just don’t have the strength to stand there long enough to wash them off.”

“I-“ Jeremy sputtered. Clearing his throat, he tried to skip over the accidental pun he’d made. “Just going to let the water do the work?”

“That’s the goal.” Michael frowned. “There’s just a few problems.”

“Such as?”

“My shirt isn’t going to come off the same way it went on this morning.”

“Are you particularly attached to that shirt?” Jeremy asked.

“Not really. Could try to just-“ Michael pulled at the collar of his shirt.

“I’ll go grab a pair of scissors,” Jeremy said as Michael pulled experimentally at his shirt again.

He had to be careful walking by the couch, noticing Evan curled up for a nap. Gregory was nowhere in sight.

Returning with the scissors, Jeremy nearly dropped them upon seeing Michael. “What happened? I was gone for two minutes!”

Michael’s shirt was hanging off his body in shreds. When Jeremy looked closer, he could see sharp claws on Michael’s hands. “I…” Michael shrugged sheepishly. “I thought I could tear the fabric and take it off myself.”

Jeremy’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t let himself laugh. “Okay. I don’t think you did a very good job of it though.”

“It seems as though I failed…”

“Here, let me just…” Jeremy carefully reached around Michael’s head, one knee resting between his legs. It felt strange to be cutting through Michael’s shirt, but as the fabric gave way, Michael seemed to relax a little more.

Jeremy recalled Gregory and Evan both sitting on the couch as Michael measured the shape they needed cut from their shirts for the wings. Perhaps Michael needed a few of those done as well. Something to keep in mind for later.

“Hey, why is there blood all over-“ Gregory’s eyes widened as he peered into the bathroom.

Michael straightened quickly. Jeremy pulled back, hiding the scissors. “Hello.” Michael waved awkwardly, his wings stiff and very clearly exposed.

“You… you have them too?” Gregory’s voice seemed so small.

“Yes, it appears as though we will match.”

Gregory swallowed harshly. “I can help. I know how to get blood stains out of fabric.”

“I would really appreciate it. Thank you, Superstar.” Michael beamed at Gregory, who flushed a deep red.

“It’s no big deal…”

“Not to you,” Jeremy said softly. “But it helps more than you realize. Thank you.”

Gregory opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He scratched his neck as his wings fluffed up, finally saying, “I’ll be quick. It probably won’t be good if Evan finds out.”

“It would be best if he did not know how messy the process is,” Michael agreed.

Gregory nodded, smoothing his hair down before hurrying out of the room.

Michael wadded the scraps of his shirt into a ball and tossed it to the floor. “Now that that’s sorted…”

Jeremy determinedly kept his eyes from wandering as he helped Michael stand. His friend leaned heavily against him for support as he attempted to undo his pants.

Jeremy belatedly realized that the only way this whole thing would work was if the shower ran over both of them. I’m going to be drenched, he thought sorrowfully as Michael muttered to himself in frustration.

“You could probably just sit while I wash the blood off,” Jeremy said when Michael finally stood there in his boxers. “Since it would be less exhausting for you.”

Michael blinked. “I suppose you are correct. I should have thought this through more.”

“It’s no big deal, man. You’re probably dealing with blood loss or whatever.”

“Still…”

“Hey, it’s fine. You spend all this time taking care of everybody. Maybe it’s time someone took care of you, right?”

Michael chewed his lip. “I suppose.”

“Okay. We’ll get you cleaned up in no time, Mike.” Jeremy said, smiling supportively. Michael tentatively smiled back.

As it turned out, it was a lot harder to clean up Michael than Jeremy initially thought. He kept twitching away, hissing out noises of pain at Jeremy’s touch.

Michael clenched his fists in his lap. “Okay. Clearly this is not the proper solution.”

“I can’t do this when it’s clearly hurting you, Mike. I just…” Jeremy leaned forward to rest his head against the back of Michael’s.

“This is nothing. I have endured much worse before.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

“Jeremy.” Michael said calmly, wringing water out of the washcloth. “I am sure it has become clear to you that things are not how they should be. The wings are only one part of it.”

“Yeah? What I’m hearing is that your father is abusive.” Jeremy wearily took the washcloth back, dabbing it gently against the space between Michael’s wings. At least like that it didn’t seem to hurt him.

“Well, not in the way you would think. Actually, I was thinking more of the comparison between growing limbs and losing organs. I think losing organs is still a more painful experience than this.”

“So you want me to just ignore your pain?” Jeremy asked, trying to decipher Michael’s meaning.

“I am saying I can handle it. I can be a man about this.”

No one is doubting that, Jeremy thought grimly to himself. “Maybe I can’t.” He tentatively rubbed at a clump of blood in the inner edge of Michael’s wing.

Immediately, it swung at him, throwing him against the sink. Pain flared throughout Jeremy’s entire body as he hit the floor. Faintly he registered that his face was bleeding.

“Jeremy?” Michael asked, twisting around. “Are you alright?”

“Nnnnngh,” Jeremy groaned. “I don’t think I broke anything.”

“I am so sorry. It appears that the wings are more sensitive than I thought.”

“No kidding.” Jeremy pressed his fingers to his cheek. He was lucky. The clawed joint of Michael’s wing had hit him just below the eye. Any higher, and he might’ve lost it completely. “Now what?”

“I suppose I should just sit under the water and hope for the best.”

“I think Gregory and Evan mentioned messages working out the soreness. Maybe I could at the very least-“

“I think we should avoid that for now,” Michael replied, his voice sounding stiff. “You have already been hurt once today.”

“Michael.” Jeremy tried to make his voice sound stern. “I knew the risks when I offered to help. So let me help.”

“Fine. Just do not do anything that will put you in danger again.”

“Don’t lie about how much it hurts next time,” Jeremy shot back. “Still gotta get all that blood out of your wings, you know.”

Michael clenched his jaw, but he only stared down into his hands. He couldn’t face Jeremy with the nasty cut on his face any longer.

Jeremy was lighter after that. He knew that even pressing a little too hard would make the wings spaz, and over the course of the next few hours, he succeeded with minimal interruptions.

Gregory popped in near the end to check on the progress. “Henry’s back. Do you want me to tell him about this?” He gestured at the entirety of the bathroom.

“I believe he should be informed. Please ensure that my brother does not come to investigate before we are done here.”

“And maybe grab him a dry set of clothes while you’re at it,” Jeremy said. As an afterthought, he looked at himself. “Maybe grab me something too, if you would.”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. How much does it hurt?”

“I suspect that I should be in more pain than I am,” Michael said, considering the question. “But Jeremy has done an excellent job of making sure the process is less than agonizing.”

“Uh, okay?” Gregory shot Jeremy a look.

“I can’t hardly touch him without the wings reacting,” Jeremy explained. “Nearly lost an eye the first time I did that.”

“So it’s bad.”

“It’s bad,” Jeremy agreed.

Gregory shot Michael a look loaded with concern, but he gave Jeremy a thumbs up. “I’ll ask Henry if he can get you guys some dry clothes. Maybe I’ll just imply that something else is going on in here if Evan asks.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a way that made Jeremy’s face burn.

“Gregory-“

But Gregory had already ducked out of the room, laughing quietly to himself. Jeremy sighed, preparing himself for the inevitable glares he’d get from Evan.

Michael sighed softly once Jeremy finally went to smooth out the wings. “That feels really nice.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jeremy said softly. “I think we got all the blood out.”

“Is it time to turn the water off then?” Michael asked, his eyes closing.

“I’d say so.” Thank goodness, Jeremy thought as he turned the dials back and pressed the tab down. “Now you need to dry off a bit.”

“Mmmmm….” Michael hummed to himself as Jeremy stepped into the tub with a towel and started rubbing Michael’s head with it.

Michael’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled at Jeremy. “You really do like taking care of me, don’t you?”

Jeremy huffed out a sigh. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t, would I?”

“I thought you just stuck around to steal our Coca Cola.”

“That too. But I do enjoy your company, Mike.”

The smile broke into a full grin as Michael tugged the towel out of Jeremy’s hands. “That is wonderful news, Jeremy.”

Did he really not know? Jeremy wondered.

Before he had a chance to answer, Henry peered into the bathroom, assessing the pool of water on the floor. He raised a tired eyebrow as he observed the two boys in the bathtub. “I wasn’t inclined to believe Gregory before, but seeing it for myself…”

Jeremy’s face ignited with heat. “I was just helping clean blood from his wings. Nothing else happened, I swear.”

“I was referring to the fact that Michael grew wings. What did you think I meant?” Henry’s eyebrows scrunched, and Michael gave Jeremy a funny look.

“I thought Gregory might’ve said something else,” Jeremy replied, shaking his head. “Forget it.”

“Are you alright, Jeremy? You look a bit feverish…” A frown tugged at the corner of Michael’s mouth.

“I’m going to go grab some more towels. And you two will be wanting a dry set of clothes, won’t you?”

“Yeah.” Jeremy nodded quickly.

Henry hummed at them before walking back out of the room.

“I am grateful for both you and Gregory,” Michael said, using the towel to dry the rest of his body. He slowly rose to his feet, finally able to stand on his own.

Jeremy determinedly did not stare. Instead, he wrung water from his hair.

“I would offer you the towel, but I believe it is too wet to be any real help. Seeing as your clothes are also drenched, the best course of action is to wait for Henry to return.”

Jeremy smiled weakly. “Yeah, that’s true.”

Michael stepped out of the tub, hanging the towel back on the rack after he went. Jeremy could admit that the wings looked pretty good on Mike. He’d been weary of it when he’d first seen the wings on Gregory, and he knew that Gregory was defensive about it now. But maybe seeing him help Michael would help.

“Do you need a bandage for your face?” Michael asked, making eye contact with Jeremy through the mirror above the sink.

“Oh, I uh.” Jeremy blinked at him. “It doesn’t… It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Michael’s mouth twitched. “I understand that me being like this must be unpleasant for you, but that does not mean you do not need assistance with that cut.”

Being like this? Was Michael phrasing things like that on purpose? Was he talking about the fact that he was in his boxers or the fact that he had wings? Jeremy crossed his arms before remembering that his shirt was soaked. He uncrossed them and simply said, “There is no problem. I just don’t need a Band-Aid.”

Michael walked back over, and Jeremy tried to take a step back before remembering he was standing in a bathtub. Trapped, Jeremy stood stiffly as Michael ran a thumb over his scratch. Don’t flinch, he told himself, but it still stung. The cut was pretty deep.

“You likely do need a bandage, despite your claim otherwise,” Michael replied. “I can help, if you need assistance.”

Michael gently wiped blood from Jeremy’s face and went in search of medical supplies. It stung when he cleaned the wound, but Jeremy found himself too fascinated by Michael’s cautious care to really notice. The tiniest furrow in Michael’s eyebrows appeared when he put the bandage on Jeremy’s face, and his hands lingered on Jeremy’s jaw for just a moment too long.

He almost seemed sad when he stepped back from Jeremy. “All better. See?” Michael smiled so quickly Jeremy wondered if he’d imagined the pain in Michael’s eyes.

“Y… yeah. Um. Thanks.” Jeremy touched the bandage, surprised by how big it was. “I didn’t realize the scratch was that big.”

“I still feel terrible for doing that to you. Is there any way I can make it up to you?” Michael asked.

Unable to come up with anything to say other than a request for Michael to kiss him, Jeremy shook his head and turned his attention to Michael’s wings. “Do they still hurt?”

“Not as much as they did,” Michael flexed them experimentally. Jeremy smiled faintly, recalling that Gregory was having immense difficulty controlling his own wings. Perhaps the size made it easier.

Michael made a face. “It appears that moving them still hurts, however.”

“Evan mentioned something about messaging the muscles earlier. He was doing it for Gregory.”

Michael brightened. “I suppose I shall have to ask for Evan’s help with that endeavor then. Thank you for the reminder.”

I could do it for you, Jeremy thought desperately. He didn’t want to just have to leave after everything. This was the most time he’d spent with Michael before, and the guy was just so chill about everything. But being in the same space as him, watching him interact with his brother and Gregory made him want to stay so much longer. Michael Afton was the most compassionate person Jeremy had ever met, and he wanted to be able to help the man who tried so hard to help everyone else.

It didn’t help that Jeremy was also hopelessly in love with him.

As Jeremy opened his mouth to speak, Henry returned with the changes of clothes. Michael turned his attention away from Jeremy to thank Henry and apologize for the water all over the floor, and Jeremy was left to awkwardly collect the pile of bloody clothes on the floor to offer them to Henry.

Henry stared at the rags for a moment, his face paling significantly. “These were Michael’s clothes?”

“Yes.” Michael was separating the clothes to split between himself and Jeremy, and he was hardly focused on Henry. “I could not find a way to safely remove my shirt without causing more pain, so Jeremy helped me cut it off. I am afraid blood does not come out of denim very easily, so my jeans are also a lost cause.”

Brightening, Michael put a bundle of clothing into Jeremy’s arms. “You can change in Charlie’s old room.”

“Why can’t you both change in here?” Henry asked, sounding confused.

Pressure built in Jeremy’s throat as he tried to answer that question. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of himself. Not by any measure at all. He just knew it was dangerous, what he was. People didn’t exactly approve of people like him, after all. Especially not here.

Michael gave Henry a scathing look as tears built up behind Jeremy’s eyes. “Maybe we don’t want to change in the same room.”

Henry blinked in surprise, but he glanced between the two boys for a moment before making his exit. Michael patted Jeremy’s shoulder. “I can go to Charlie’s room instead, if you would prefer to change in here.”

Jeremy still couldn’t speak, so he just nodded. The gentle way Michael nodded back at him filled his body with a strange warmth. A few moments later, Michael was gone, and Jeremy could finally change out of the sopping wet layers he’d been in this whole time.

Half-way through changing, Jeremy noticed that most of the clothes were baggy and easy to layer over each other. There were almost too many options. A jolt ran through him when he considered that Michael had sorted through the clothes. Either Michael was very particular, or he knew.

Hurriedly, Jeremy finished changing and practically ran to the bedroom where Michael said he’d be changing. He basically flung the door open to a startled Mike, who had jeans on but no shirt. “Is something wrong?” Michael asked.

His wings and hair fluffed up, like he’d been expecting a threat, but his expression was one of concern. Jeremy knew he was shaking, knew he wouldn’t be able to speak for a moment, but he stood there and just stared. Why did Michael have to be adorable in everything he did? The way his mouth curled into a frown made half of his mouth seem to vanish, like he was biting on it constantly distracted Jeremy from what he wanted to say.

He let his eyes wander over Michael’s bare torso as he tried to find the words to speak. The worst of his secrets was surely out already, and if Michael figured out his feelings, it would be less painful than him knowing the other secret.

Fascination over the jagged scar across Michael’s chest sprouted in his heart. Jeremy had seen it before, of course. He’d seen it in the bathroom, but he’d been trying not to stare before.

“Jeremy?” Michael looked worried now. “Are you alright?”

Maybe Michael didn’t know. Maybe he just hadn’t grabbed a shirt at all, since they had to be cut specifically for the wings anyway. Jeremy was probably just overreacting. And even if he wasn’t, it seemed that Michael wasn’t going to bring it up. “Uhmm. I just… wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Michael relaxed. “I’m quite alright, Jeremy. I’m not as weak as I was before. The shower certainly helped.”

“You’re um. You’re very fluffy right now.”

“Am I?” Michael ran a hand through his hair, feeling where it stuck up all over the place. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly. “Thanks for talking to Henry back there.”

“It was nothing.” Michael blinked at him, wings twitching. “Gregory did a good job cleaning up.” He gestured at the carpet and the bed.

The bed was made very neatly, corners tucked so much better than Jeremy could do on a good day. There were only faint hints that someone had been bleeding there, and they were only visible because Jeremy was looking for them. “Yeah. He certainly did.”

A fond smile crossed Michael’s face at that. “He’s so sweet.”

Jeremy didn’t really believe that, but he nodded anyway. He didn’t want Michael to stop smiling for anything. It was so much better than his frown in every possible way.

“We should… I um. I think we should probably head back to the living room,” Jeremy said awkwardly.

“Right, yes. I suppose it is almost time for you to head home too.” Michael blinked, like he was shaking himself out of a daydream. “Or maybe you could stay for supper?”

Jeremy smiled. “I would love that.”

Evan was awestruck when he saw his brother’s wings. “They’re so big!”

“Soft too,” Jeremy said, trying to encourage Evan’s excitement.

Gregory made a noise in the back of his throat before saying, “You would know, wouldn’t you?”

Jeremy stared at him, mouth opening and closing without words coming out.

“No softer than yours, I’m sure,” Michael said, trying to keep the peace. There wasn’t even a hint of a blush on his face at Gregory’s words. Were the jokes just going over his head? Maybe Jeremy was reading too much into it.

Shaking his head, Jeremy plopped down on the couch beside Gregory. “What happened to your face?” Gregory asked quietly.

“I wasn’t careful enough,” Jeremy answered, glancing at the two brothers as they talked about Michael’s new wings. “And Mike’s wings pack quite the punch.”

“Oh.” Gregory’s eyes widened with understanding. “That could’ve been bad.”

“You’re telling me, kid.” Jeremy shook his head, taking a sip from his can of Coke. “What were you and Evan up to today?”

“Videogames mostly,” Gregory replied. “Although everything here is so old.”

“Old?” Jeremy wrinkled his nose. “Nah, my parents are worse. You’re probably just picky. A bunch of this stuff is newer than anything my family could afford.”

“Your motorcycle is cool though.”

Jeremy smiled. “It is pretty cool.”

“Can you take me on it sometime?”

The smile faltered slightly. “Uh, I don’t know.”

“C’mon, please? All the stuff here is pretty boring, and I know Evan tries to be fun, but you can only play the same game for so long before it’s lame. And I don’t want to have to tell him it’s lame. It’s awful when he cries.”

Jeremy didn’t know what to make of that. “Maybe we could play a board game or something.”

“I wanna go on your bike sometime.” Gregory stuck out his chin stubbornly. “Or I’m going to tell Mike you have the biggest crush on him and-“

“Okay, okay! I get it. But you’ll have to wear a helmet,” Jeremy said, looking away and tugging at his shirt. “And long pants. Just in case.”

“Okay, Dad.” Gregory rolled his eyes.

“Well, you’re the one who said it’s awful when Evan cries,” Jeremy shot back. “And I’ve already seen how Mike cries, and I don’t want to see that again. No thanks.”

Gregory flinched at that. “I…”

“Not to frighten you, but it can be dangerous.” Jeremy sighed. “There’s only so much you can be safe. Not to quote my mom, but ‘I’d rather you be late than dead.’ It’s just that kind of thing.”

Seeing Gregory’s expression, he softened. “I’m a firm believer in the fact that both of us are going to get lectured by Michael when he finds out. So, when he tries, we’re going to tell him that I already told you all the risks and you still wanted to do it. Unless I’ve changed your mind.”

“No, haven’t changed my mind.” Gregory scooted closer to Jeremy. “I bet I’d survive a crash better than you.”

“No way,” Jeremy laughed. “With the way you’re built? No offense, but you’d be a splatter on the cement.”

“Rude.” Gregory scoffed. Not subtly at all, he tried to steal Jeremy’s Coke from his hand.

Amused, Jeremy let him. Gregory immediately started downing what was left in the can. At that moment, Michael glanced over and gasped. “Gregory! Is that Coke? Are you encouraging this, Jeremy?”

“He took the can out of my hand. I didn’t do anything,” Jeremy smiled cheekily. “Not my fault he’s so fast.”

“Mmmmm,” Gregory squinted skeptically at the can. “This is Coke?”

“Yeah?” Jeremy looked confused. “Why? Does it taste weird to you or something?”

“It’s better than I remember.”

Michael sighed, removing the can from Gregory’s hands. “That is because Coca-Cola has different flavoring in it than you remember.”

“Are you talking about the whole cocaine in Coke thing? Because I thought that was a myth.”

Michael shot Jeremy an exasperated look. “That is not what I am talking about. Anyway, Gregory does not need caffeine in his system at this time of day. He won’t get any sleep at this rate.”

“Whoops?” Jeremy held his hands up in surrender. “Look I-“

“It does not matter.” Michael shot Gregory a meaningful look. “So long as he doesn’t keep Evan up with his extra energy, it should be fine.”

Evan peered at them all from behind the sofa. “How did he even take it from you? I thought you kept a tight grip on those at all times.”

“Caught me by surprise?” Jeremy shifted his weight as Michael gave him a skeptical look. “He’s faster than he looks, I swear.”

Evan snorted, climbing over the back of the sofa, much to Michael’s despair as he said, “Well, that gives him a one-up in physical games I guess.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I totally crush at Fazblock!” Gregory crossed his arms. “I had more blocks than you did.”

“Gregory, you’re supposed to get rid of the blocks, not keep them on the screen.” Evan shook his head despairingly. “I would’ve explained the rules if you’d asked-“

“It was different than what I’m used to, okay?” Gregory rolled his eyes. “I could totally beat you at Fazzy Kart.”

“I don’t even know what that is,” Evan replied. “I still think you made it up.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too!”

“Okay, that is enough.” Michael shook his head, smiling faintly. “Gregory did not make it up. Fazzy Kart just has not come out yet.” He ruffled Evan’s hair before walking away with the empty Coke can. “And I have something for you two to do when I get back!”

“A task?” Gregory asked.

“A task.” Evan snorted. “Ah yes, my brother typically assigns me tasks. No, Gregory. He’s sending us to do chores or something. Usually he’s more mean about it though.”

“No one understands my jokes.” Gregory’s wing twitched irritably.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jeremy replied. “He still laughed, even if he didn’t get it. Be nonsensical! Nobody cares as long as you’re funny.”

“That’s a terrible line of logic. I refuse to believe that people willingly follow your example,” Michael said, returning with a sheet of paper. “Evan, Gregory, I am trusting you two to find everything on this list and bring it back here.”

“We don’t have money,” Gregory said, but he still took the list from Michael’s hands. “And aren’t we supposed to stay inside until we figure out what to do about our wings? And wait, is it safe to-“

“You worry too much, Gregory. We can just ask Uncle Henry for help.” Evan peered at the grocery list. “What are you making, Mikey? This looks like spaghetti sauce, but you don’t use half this stuff normally.”

“Wait and see,” Michael said cryptically. His own wings twitched as he spoke, even seeming a tiny bit ruffled.

“With the overabundance of clothes Henry seems to have, maybe he has jackets you can just throw on over the wings or something,” Jeremy said, slowly rising from the couch as Gregory and Evan stood to examine the list closer.

“We can handle this,” Evan said with full confidence. “And we’ll try to be fast so you can get started sooner.”

“Thank you, Evan.” There was a deeper tone of relief in Michael’s voice at that. “My heroes.”

Jeremy smiled wearily at them all. “I should probably get going.” It felt like intruding to stay this long. Sure, they all tried to include him, but Michael probably had other things he planned to do while Evan and Gregory were gone. Perhaps he needed to talk to his uncle more or something. Regardless, Jeremy had overstayed his welcome.

“I thought you said you could stay for supper.” Michael sounded wounded. “Are you feeling alright? Do you need to lie down?”

He pressed his hand against Jeremy’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever.”

“I’m fine, Michael. I just don’t want to overstay my welcome, you know?” Jeremy ducked away from Michael’s hand and kept his gaze on the carpet. “Especially if you’re all going to be busy.”

“I won’t be busy until they get back,” Michael replied as Gregory tugged on Evan’s shirt to lead him away. “And even then, I won’t be too busy to talk. You can sit with me in the kitchen while I cook.”

“Yeah but…” Jeremy hesitated, combing a hand through his hair. “Look, I just don’t want to be in the way.”

“You won’t be,” Michael insisted. He sat down on the sofa where Gregory had been sitting before. Patting the cushion next to him, he waited for Jeremy to sit back down.

When Jeremy sat down, Michael gestured for him to scoot closer. “What are you doing?” Jeremy asked nervously.

“Your hair is a mess,” Michael replied. “I’m going to fix it for you.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy frowned, patting his hair self-consciously.

“It’s all tangled. That’s going to be a nightmare to brush out tomorrow if you don’t take care of it tonight.”

“Oh.” Jeremy looked away. “It shouldn’t be your responsibility-“

“My wings shouldn’t have been yours,” Michael countered. “Let me do a nice thing for you. Please.”

“I helped with your wings because I wanted to spend time with you. Not because it was a burden, Mike.”

“This isn’t a burden to me either. Let me help. Maybe I want to spend more time with you too.”

Jeremy didn’t have a counter to that, so he reluctantly sighed. “Just… be gentle on it, okay?”

“Of course.” He blinked, seemingly surprised that Jeremy gave in so easily. “I do need to go grab a brush and a comb.”

“Naturally.” Jeremy shifted uncomfortably on the sofa as Michael got up.

What was he even supposed to say to Michael? He hadn’t expected to get this far, and now faced with the opportunity to have a casual conversation with him, Jeremy panicked.

When Michael got back, the hair brush he carried had long strands of dark brown hair in it, and both the brush and the comb were shining with water. “I hope you don’t mind,” Michael said awkwardly. “But I know that hair gets really, really tangled, so I just wanted to make sure I could get the tangles out without hurting you.”

Oh. That was… surprisingly considerate. “And the water is supposed to fix tangles?”

“Better than a dry brush.”

Jeremy just stared. The most he’d been able to do with his hair was to throw it into the world’s worst ponytail when he needed it out of his face. All this talk of the more effective way to brush through his hair without making it hurt stirred something in his chest. There was nothing Michael would do that could possibly hurt more than the way he was currently doing his hair.

Michael sat back down and got to work. It was strange. Jeremy hadn’t had anyone brush his hair in a long time. His mother had been too busy with work to even notice that he needed help with his hair. Or anything really.

“You have really thick hair,” Michael mused softly.

“Yeah. Makes it a real pain sometimes,” Jeremy replied.

Michael was so gentle with it, apologizing softly when the brush scraped his ear or a snag was too rough. Eventually, though, he set the brush aside and started dividing his hair.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you with your hair,” Michael replied as he started braiding it. “I assume you don’t have a hair brush for yourself, or maybe you just don’t have much time to do your hair every day. But at the very least, braiding it back at night prevents most tangles from getting worse.”

“How do you know so much about this stuff, dude?” Jeremy wondered. “Like, you know more about this than I do.”

“I…” Michael hesitated. “Evan’s not my only sibling. I had a sister. Elizabeth. Her hair was more of a nightmare than this.”

“Oh.” Jeremy fidgeted. He didn’t know what to do with that information.

“And, there!” Michael twisted a ponytail into the end of Jeremy���s hair. “Less problems for later, see?”

“Yeah.” Jeremy touched a hand to the braid, smiling softly. “Thanks, man.”

“It’s nothing.”

“But I say it is something. Come here, Mike.”

Michael’s wings fluffed up ever so slightly, but he did as Jeremy asked, unprepared for the tackle-hug Jeremy gave him. He gasped in alarm as they ended up on the floor, but when he looked up at Jeremy, it was with what Jeremy could only describe as adoration. Then he was suddenly pressed completely up against Michael as his wings wrapped around them both.

Of course, that was also the moment Evan and Gregory came back from their shopping trip with the supplies Michael had asked for. Letting Jeremy up, Michael immediately accepted the groceries from Evan and went straight to the kitchen. Gregory and Evan were left staring at Jeremy, who was sitting with a ridiculous grin on his face.

“Might need some help preparing this!” Michael called.

Before any of them could move toward the door, however, Henry walked by to go help Michael. Which left Jeremy to get teased by the two younger boys.

“What was that about?” Evan asked, picking a long blue feather out of Jeremy’s hair.

“What were you doing on the floor?” Gregory asked.

“Mike did my hair,” Jeremy replied, gesturing at the hairbrush that now had long strands of gold intertwined with the brown.

Evan looked thoughtful as he fiddled with the feather. “I didn’t know Mikey knew how to do hair.”

“Didn’t you tell me you had a sister?” Gregory asked, picking a smaller, brown feather from Jeremy’s shirt. “He could’ve done her hair once or twice.”

“Maybe…” Evan didn’t sound very sure. “Mikey wasn’t… I don’t know. Maybe he did. I never knew, though.”

“He did mention it when I asked…” Jeremy said, suddenly embarrassed to know more than Evan.

Evan fiddled with the feather more. “He seems to like you a lot.”

“Mike?” Jeremy asked, even more embarrassed now.

“Yeah. He smiles when he talks to you.”

“Except that one day,” Gregory interrupted. “He came inside and cried.”

“That was something else, I think,” Evan responded. “I think the Nightmares finally got to him.”

“So I take it Mike doesn’t usually talk about his issues then?”

“Not usually.” Evan squirmed, his wings puffing up. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah sure,” Jeremy shook his head and finally got off the floor. “Do you want to try playing Kings in the Corner again?”

“Ugh, that’s so boring,” Gregory replied, but Evan was already rushing off to get the cards.

“I need a second. I’ll be right back,” Jeremy said, slipping into the kitchen to grab another can of Coke.

Michael glanced over from where he was cutting an onion and just sighed. “Jeremy-“

“I know, I know. It’s bad for me or whatever. But I need it, okay?” Jeremy took a long swig from the can. “Better than some habits.”

“Still…”

“It’s fine dude. Cut your onion or whatever.”

Henry said something that Jeremy didn’t catch as he rushed back to the living room. “Okay, are we ready to start?”

“This game is stupid,” Gregory grumbled. He was holding his seven cards, and Evan had already laid out the board.

“I dealt, so Gregory goes first,” Evan replied, ignoring Gregory’s comment.

“Lucky,” Jeremy said, eyeing the board.

“I don’t even know how to play,” Gregory complained. “This game is for old people.”

“I guess we’re old then.” Jeremy’s eyes twinkled. “You have to play a card from your hand onto one of those four cards.” He pointed at the two of diamonds, the king of spades, the four of diamonds, and the seven of diamonds respectively. “You want it to be a lower rank, or less points than the card on the stack. And it’s gotta be the opposite color.”

“Oh.” Gregory stared at his hand for a moment.

“You gotta tell him about the kings, Jeremy.” Evan shook his head. “If there’s a king, you can move it into the spaces between the four other cards, and put a new foundation card down.”

“Huh.” Gregory frowned. “This is too confusing.”

“It really isn’t,” Jeremy laughed, taking another sip from his Coke. “If you really want, you can add your cards back to the foundation pile and watch me and Evan play a game.”

“I’m just going to do that.” Gregory stuck his cards back in the bigger stack.

“Suits don’t matter,” Evan said helpfully. “Only color does.”

Jeremy set off to move the king, and the game begun. Evan went out on his first turn.

“Okay, that was a bad example,” Evan said with a grin.

“You didn’t shuffle very well,” Jeremy said accusingly.  “That was- arghhh. We’re playing another game so Gregory can actually see how the game works.”

“Are we doing points?” Evan said innocently.

“We will once Gregory joins in,” Jeremy replied, collecting the cards from the board. “These are warm-up rounds.”

“Riiiiight,” Gregory replied with an amused snort. “You just got destroyed.”

“Thank you for the obvious and accurate commentary, Gregory.” Jeremy rolled his eyes.

When he flipped the four cards over, three of them were kings. Jeremy let out an indignant noise as Gregory burst out laughing and Evan grinned at the board. Just like that, he was down to one card. Jeremy scowled at his own cards as it became his turn.

“All four kings on the board in the first turn,” he grumbled.

“Now who’s bad at shuffling?” Evan replied, watching Jeremy’s hand drop to three cards.

“Oh, shut up.”

Evan snickered as it became his turn. “I almost wonder if you were trying to let me win.” He took the ace of diamonds and placed it on the two of clubs that Jeremy had missed during his turn. “Do you have the hang of it yet, Gregory? We may need a third player or this are going to be some very quick games.”

“Ha ha.” Jeremy said as Evan gathered up the cards again. “I’m just used to people who aren’t paying attention nearly as much as you do.”

“I’m just playing the game,” Evan said with a cheeky grin. “You had a six of spades in your hand? You could’ve played that on the seven-“

“I don’t want to hear it!” Jeremy sighed, exaggerating his grief as he drank from his can. “You have eyes like a hawk.”

Evan just hummed at that, his eyes twinkling as he shuffled the cards again. “What do you say, Gregory? Want to try and give it another shot?”

“Sure. Can’t be any worse than Jeremy, right?”

“Alright, I get it.” Jeremy shook his head. “I guess this game isn’t as awful as you want to claim it is, huh?”

“We’ll see.”

Evan pulled out a baggy filled with little red chips and shook it for a moment. “I didn’t have a chance to grab paper, so we can just play with chips, right?”

“Let’s give Gregory one trial run first,” Jeremy said as Gregory stared blankly at the chip bag. “Let him get a feel for the game.”

Gregory’s first round went okay. He managed to play half his cards in the first go, but he failed to notice that he could’ve moved the king to the corner right away, and Jeremy took advantage of that. Humming to himself, Jeremy quickly went through his turn and waited for Evan.

“That is absurd,” Gregory said, watching Evan put down cards and move piles around rapidly. “There’s no way you’re not cheating.”

“It’s all natural, Gregory,” Evan said cheerfully. “You’re just mad because I’m better at games than you are.”

“Grrrrrr….” Gregory scowled as Evan tapped his own card against the table. He put down his one card and waited for Jeremy to go.

Adding another person really did slow down the game a lot, Jeremy thought to himself. This was the first round someone had actually had to draw a card. Evan hummed, but he also needed to draw a card. Unlike Jeremy, however, Evan couldn’t play his. Finally, the game was even again.

Gregory scowled at his cards. “What do I do if I can’t play?”

“Draw,” Jeremy said. “We’ve both done it.”

Grumbling, Gregory drew a card. He brightened as he realized he could play it, and then it was Jeremy’s turn. Jeremy sighed in relief as he was able to play a card on Gregory’s queen, and then move a ten on top of that. Moment of truth, he thought to himself as Evan studied his hand. Michael’s brother shook his head and drew another card. And promptly played it.

Gregory and Jeremy both groaned at that. “See, but now things get interesting,” Evan said cheerfully. “We’ve all been drawing cards and actually have to pay attention to the board.”

“Don’t you always have to pay attention to the board?” Gregory asked as he drew another card. “Ugh.”

“Depends on how close,” Jeremy said smugly, laying down his one card. “I win this round.”

Evan sighed wearily, but he said nothing as Jeremy collected the cards to shove them at Gregory. “Your turn to shuffle.”

Gregory pushed the cards back at Jeremy. “I don’t know how.”

“I guess I can do it for you. But you’re still dealing, alright? Seven cards to each of us.”

Gregory nodded as Jeremy shuffled, and Evan quickly explained how chips worked. Everyone put one chip in at the beginning. Then, when you drew a card, you’d put another chip in. Each card at the end of the game still in your hand was another chip, except for kings. Kings were ten chips.

They all put one chip in the middle as Gregory passed out cards.

“Ready for your first real round, Gregory?” Jeremy asked, looking over his cards.

Gregory huffed, but he nodded anyway. “This is still dumb.”

“What if we made it a bit more fun?” Evan asked. “I’ll put in this feather.” He held up the blue feather he’d picked out of Jeremy’s hair.

“We’re playing for feathers?” Gregory asked. “But we both have feathers.”

“Not just any feathers. Michael’s feathers. I know him better than you do, trust me. He wouldn’t just give those away.”

Gregory considered it for a moment as Jeremy bit his lip. It seemed plenty easy to get feathers in his opinion. Michael shed two of them while Jeremy hugged him before. “Deal. I’ll put in this one.”

Gregory set the brown feather on top of the three chips. Evan did the same with the blue feather. Both of them glanced at Jeremy expectantly.

“I don’t have any. You both took those from me in the first place.” Jeremy rolled his eyes. The feathers were cool, though.

He kind of wished he had some of his own, maybe to braid through his hair or something. But that required winning this game. And since Evan was really good at Kings in the Corner, and also used all the chips in the box, it was really unlikely that he’d win them at the end.

“How about…” Jeremy put twenty more chips in the pot. “I know it doesn’t balance out at all, but you two seem to really want those feathers.”

Evan grinned, and so, the game began.

Gregory surprised them all by nearly going out in his first turn, but Evan still won the first game. They played in relative silence, too busy concentrating to hold a proper conversation. Evan crushed them in the first few rounds, but Gregory eventually got a win when Evan had 6 cards in his hand, resulting in a somewhat decent counter-balance.

It did nothing for Jeremy though. He looked nervously at his dwindling pile of chips every time the game ended and knew it was very unlikely that he’d win. It wasn’t impossible, sure, but it was incredibly unlikely.

“This is eight, Gregory,” Evan said absently, after Jeremy had already played his first turn. “We can play it, but you should pay better attention.”

Jeremy bit his lip at that. He was losing really bad. He really needed a win, and he needed one where the other two were struggling. Accidentally starting a round on eight cards was not a great way to start that.

“How did you even notice that?” Gregory asked.

“Eight feels thicker than seven.”

“How much do you play cards? Jeez,” Jeremy asked as it became Gregory’s turn.

“Enough,” Evan said with an amused smile. “I usually play alone.”

“This doesn’t feel like a game you can play alone,” Gregory muttered.

“You can. It’s just not as fun. But I don’t play this,” Evan said as Jeremy had to draw yet again. “I play Solitare.”

“Right, silly me.” Gregory shook his head. “Dude, how are you losing the game you suggested?”

“It takes a lot of luck, Gregory.” Jeremy sighed, having emptied his can of Coke long ago. “I’ve already accepted my fate. Now it’s just a matter of wondering who wins overall.”

They all fell quiet again as they settled back into their concentration. A few tense rounds went by as they all drew cards. When Evan finally played a card, Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he’d last another round.

Or… maybe not. It was a close thing, that balance between drawing and playing. “Are we going to go through the whole deck?” Gregory eventually wondered.

“Maybe,” Jeremy replied wearily.

The pot was massive at this point. Evan’s brow was continuously furrowed, and even his wings were stiff with concentration. There’s no strategy that trumps the good cards being at the bottom of the deck, Jeremy thought to himself with grim amusement.

“Ha!” Gregory shouted his delight as he finally laid his last card.

Jeremy sighed sorrowfully as he glanced at his four chips. He would only have two left for another game after this. If only it had been Jeremy who’d drawn the card to end the game.

“I don’t even remember who shuffled that one,” Jeremy said as Gregory gathered the pot.

“It was Gregory. He started us with eight cards,” Evan replied. “You shuffle next.”

“I’m not going to make it through this game,” Jeremy muttered.

“Then we’ll just play it out, and you can be done after,” Evan shrugged. “Who knows, maybe you’ll win?”

“For every draw you have that you can’t play, I’ll put in a chip,” Gregory offered as Jeremy put his last chip in the pot. “It’ll keep things fair.”

“I’m sure,” Jeremy muttered.

“Awww, you are a grumpy old man. Evan look! He’s so grumpy.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

Evan put his last card down, and Jeremy shook his head. “I’m out. Good luck, Gregory.”

He wondered what Michael and Henry were up to in the kitchen. It had been two hours of this, after all. Surely preparing a meal wouldn’t take that long, especially since Evan implied Michael was making spaghetti.

“Okay, I gotta know. What spaghetti takes three hours to make?” Jeremy said, sitting down at the kitchen table with Henry.

“It’s not the spaghetti that takes so long,” Michael replied from the stove. “It’s the sauce.”

“But why?”

“The flavor has to soak in from the leaves.” Michael shrugged, moving to sit down with them. “What were you playing in there?”

“Cards.” Jeremy shrugged. “Gregory said it was for old people.”

“Then he must have never played cards before,” Henry commented.

“Maybe it’s his age,” Michael suggested.

“Nah. Your brother got really into it. He’s been beating both of us.”

“THAT’S SO STUPID!!!” Gregory shouted from the other room.

Evan laughed and said something in response, as they all glanced toward the hallway.

“No way,” Gregory said, his voice still projecting from the other room. “That’s so stupid!”

“I think the sauce is about done,” Michael said, rising from his seat again. “I should probably begin on the actual spaghetti.”

“I appreciate you deciding to cook for us, Michael,” Henry said. “And not that I’m complaining about your food, but this seems more complicated than some of the other stuff you’ve made.”

Michael just blinked at him, filling a pot with water. “It’s just spaghetti.”

Gregory and Evan walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “It smells great in here,” Evan said.

Michael glanced at his brother and at Gregory for a moment. “Who won?”

“Evan,” Gregory grumbled crossing his arms. “But he cheats.”

“I do not! Withholding cards on my turn is within the rules of the game. Just because it means you have to draw more doesn’t mean it’s cheating!” Evan argued.

“He’s right, Gregory. If he’s withholding cards, it’s still a risk to him since you can easily draw a card at any moment and win the game yourself. There’s a reason it’s ten chips if you’re holding a king at the end of the game.”

“Hmph,” Gregory scowled.

“Jeremy, do you need a new bandage for your face?” Henry asked as Gregory and Evan glared at each other from across the table.

“What? Oh, I’m sure it’s fine.” Jeremy hadn’t realized that the edge of his bandage was peeling off.

“We’ll get that taken care of later,” Henry said. “Were you planning on staying over tonight?”

“I…” Jeremy glanced around the room. “I don’t know.”

“If you decide to stay, let me know so I can tell your parents,” Henry replied, seemingly satisfied. “And would you like another can of Coca-Cola?”

“Yes please.”

“Don’t encourage his addiction, Henry.” Michael crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter.

Jeremy responded by sticking his tongue out at Michael. Michael shook his head and rolled his eyes, but Jeremy saw a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Can I have one too?” Gregory asked.

“Absolutely not,” Michael replied. His wings twitched slightly. “You’re done with caffeine for the rest of the night. If you’re this loud after half a can, I shudder to think of what would happen if you got a full can of Coke.”

“You’re not my mom,” Gregory grumbled.

Jeremy’s mouth twitched. “He tries to act like it though, doesn’t he?”

Michael made an indignant noise as Gregory burst out laughing. Evan giggled too, adding, “Mama bird Mike.”

All three of them broke into bad laughing fits at that one. Henry and Michael just exchanged an exasperated look as Michael stirred the spaghetti. “I can act like it if you really want me to,” Michael eventually said. “But I don’t think you’d like the response, seeing as you two are baby birds in this analogy.”

“What do you mean?” Gregory asked, bewildered.

“I think what he’s getting at,” Jeremy said, amusement glinting in his eye, “is that mother birds regurgitate food into their chicks mouths.”

“Ewwwww,” Gregory gagged.

Evan snorted. “Mikey wouldn’t do that.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Michael raised an eyebrow. “I’ve certainly done worse.”

Evan froze at that. He seemed to be considering Michael’s point. “He totally would…” Evan sounded horrified.

“And with that terrible mental image, it seems that the spaghetti is done!” Henry said, putting a can of Coke in front of Jeremy before going to fetch everyone plates.

“I just need to strain the noodles, and we’re all set,” Michael said. “Could you grab the strainer please?”

Henry nodded and retrieved the strainer. Evan hummed to himself as he fiddled with the two feathers he’d won in the card game. Gregory said nothing, but Jeremy could tell it he was still bitter from his loss. Surely Michael wouldn’t be unwilling to give up feathers if they asked, Jeremy thought to himself. Maybe he’d be uncomfortable with the idea, but if Gregory said how much he really wanted them, Jeremy was sure Michael would give in eventually.

“It’s going to be hot.” Michael warned, carrying the pot of spaghetti to the table.

Henry quickly placed a potholder beneath it, and Michael went back to retrieve the sauce for the spaghetti. “Do you want to get cups out, Evan?”

Evan nodded and got up from his spot. “Gregory, you can get the plates.”

The whole group cycled around the kitchen like a little family, and Jeremy felt a little self-conscious about his place in everything, so he went and grabbed forks for everyone. It was the least he could do.

Michael dished out the food, putting just enough sauce on their spaghetti that they could avoid it if they wanted to. All of them were a little skeptical of the meal, but they all trusted that Michael knew what he was doing. Gregory and Evan both seemed startled by the taste, but Henry simply raised an eyebrow as he took a bite. Michael didn’t seem particularly concerned about their reaction, though.

He was too busy observing Jeremy when he tried it.

It was… spicier than he expected. Jeremy glanced at Michael, suddenly suspicious of him. Michael blinked at him, casually taking a bite of his own spaghetti. Jeremy glanced at him again before moving his plate to the saucepan full of spaghetti sauce and adding more to his plate.

Michael’s slow smile made Jeremy feel even more confident about his decision. Somehow, Michael had figured him out yet again, almost without effort. Jeremy stuck another forkful in his mouth and smiled back at him.

“Gregory, slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick,” Evan said.

“It’f, fine.” Gregory swallowed hard.

“Careful you don’t choke,” Henry said warningly.

Gregory set his fork down quietly, his eyes watering. He coughed a little bit, causing Michael to turn to him with concern. “Gregory? Are you alright?”

Gregory fanned himself, and Jeremy immediately figured out what was going on. “Too spicy for you? You barely had any!” He shook his head and poured Gregory a glass of milk. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

Gregory eagerly took the glass, draining it in less than a minute. “Mmmmm.”

The rest of the meal went in relative silence, with Evan and Henry occasionally teasing Gregory for eating too fast and being unable to handle spicy food. Michael seemed oblivious to the main conversation, smiling softly to himself.

Jeremy knew he was staring, but he figured it wouldn’t be the biggest deal. Plenty of people stared at their friends, right? At the way they twisted spaghetti noodles onto their forks and brought their forks to their mouths. At the way their eyes glowed with joy at making something new successfully.

Michael caught his eye, and the smile widened. Jeremy felt himself smiling back easily. He’d already finished his food, and Evan and Gregory had finished half the spaghetti by themselves. There wouldn’t be many leftovers anyway.

Henry was the first to move from the table. He collected plates from everyone to take to the sink. When Michael moved to help, Henry waved him off, insisting that since Michael made the meal, he shouldn’t have to clean it up, with a meaningful look toward Evan and Gregory. He stopped Jeremy when he tried to get up too, insisting that guests shouldn’t need to help.

“But I thought we were guests,” Gregory grumbled when Evan tapped his arm to help him get up.

“Jeremy, that bandage really does need to be changed before you go,” Henry said quietly, gathering the leftovers into different containers.

“I can help him with it,” Michael said.

“Michael, you’ve done enough today. Especially with how you were feeling this morning-“

“I can help,” Michael interjected stubbornly.

Jeremy raised a confused eyebrow at the way Michael’s wings and hair ruffled.

“You need rest,” Henry said in a tone that brokered no argument.

Still, Michael persisted, the feathers now completely refusing to lay flat. Jeremy wondered how this could possibly be something he’d need to be so defensive about. “Hey, maybe Henry’s right. You have done a lot today.”

Michael scowled at that, and he grabbed Jeremy’s arm and practically dragged him out of his chair.

“What- Hey!” Jeremy stumbled into Micheal, expecting him to apologize or something.

“There’s the old Mike,” Evan mumbled quietly.

Michael’s face was right in front of Jeremy’s as he spoke. “I know my limits.”

“Do you?” Gregory challenged. He didn’t seem frightened in the slightest, which was very different from the atmosphere surrounding Michael at that moment. “To me it seems like you keep going until you drop. Maybe you should just get rid of that chip on your shoulder and let someone else handle it for once!”

“Like you did?” Michael snapped, and at that, Gregory actually flinched. “Sometimes, you can’t trust that help will come, Gregory. You should know that better than anyone.”

Gregory’s grip on the plate in his hands tightened. “Yeah, well, I didn’t have a family who took care of me like you do! So just suck it up.” Jeremy heard tears behind those words, and Evan mumbled something gently to him and tried to get him to turn his back on Michael.

That seemed to break something in Michael’s resilience. His wings twitched, and he let go of Jeremy’s shirt. “Right. Sorry.” He sounded just as torn as Gregory. “I…”

Jeremy figured nothing would be helped by Michael sticking around in the kitchen, so he tentatively put a hand to Michael’s shoulder. “Hey, you can help with my bandage. Maybe just tell me how to put it on so I do it right tomorrow morning, yeah?”

“So you aren’t staying then?” Henry asked, looking worriedly between the four boys.

Michael’s ashen expression was not particularly reassuring. “No, I mean. If it’s okay for me to stay, I plan to. I just… Maybe it should be my responsibility to fix that?” Jeremy gestured at the scratch on his face. “Seems like all I’m doing here is making more messes anyway. Might as well try to clean one up myself, right?”

Henry frowned but he said nothing.

Jeremy leaned close to Michael’s ear. “Come on then.”

“I didn’t mean to… I hurt his feelings,” Michael mumbled as he mechanically peeled the rest of the bandage away from Jeremy’s face to wipe at the scratch with a wet cloth.

“Energy was running high. Maybe you are a bit more overwhelmed then you thought? Frayed nerves break way for anger sometimes. Or so I’ve heard.”

“I still shouldn’t have done that.” Michael couldn’t even look Jeremy in the eye. He was too distraught.

“Why did you get so defensive, if you don’t mind me asking? And I’m not just talking about Gregory. You were adamant about helping me with my bandage.”

“I just…” Michael hesitated. “I haven’t had a chance to see you in days, and I wanted to get every moment I could?”

“An afternoon together wasn’t enough?” Jeremy teased, even though he knew exactly how Michael was feeling. “Look, that’s okay, Mike. But you gotta take care of yourself too.”

“Yeah, but-“

“What do you want? I know you think you have to help everybody all the time, but you’ve gotta have desires too, right?”

“Maybe I don’t deserve to have my desires realized,” Michael replied. He still wasn’t looking at Jeremy. “Maybe I’m just a rotten person who doesn’t deserve joy or anything that doesn’t directly benefit anybody else.”

“Michael Afton.” Jeremy said, trying to sound stern. “You are a human being just like everyone else. We all make mistakes. And you sound like you’re trying to atone for yours. I don’t know about you, but someone who tries to learn from their mistakes sounds like someone who deserves to have what they want every now and again.”

Michael completely froze at that. When he met Jeremy’s eyes, he looked utterly shattered. “I…” He swallowed. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“That’s okay, Mike. No one is asking you to do everything-“

“No, you don’t understand.” His voice was hardly a whisper. “I’ve… That scolding… You’ve said that to me before.”

“I have?”

Michael nodded mutely. “It was right before…” His wings stretched their full length as Michael squeezed his eyes shut. “I can’t.”

“What can’t you do, Michael?” Jeremy asked softly.

A pained noise rumbled in Michael’s throat, and he dropped the cloth, yanking Jeremy forward by his shirt. Their mouths crashed together, and all Jeremy could think was finally. His own hands went behind Michael’s shoulders, and he gently guided the wings back into a folded position before stroking them gently.

He didn’t want to stop kissing Michael. It was freeing and exhilarating at the same time. Michael tasted like bubble gum and smelled like clean laundry. He was the weirdest man Jeremy had ever met, but maybe that was what made him so alluring. Or maybe it was something else. Something about all this just seemed so… right.

When Michael broke away, Jeremy tried to follow. Michael looked at him fondly and laughed. “I thought you said I needed to take care of myself.”

“I can’t be that addicting,” Jeremy said impulsively.

Michael snorted. “I need air, Jeremy. We were both going to pass out if we kept that up.”

“Can we do it again?” Jeremy didn’t care about air. He just wanted to be close to Michael, wanted to make him smile, wanted to make him laugh.

Michael laughed again, a brilliant sound, before Jeremy pressed their lips back together. It was completely perfect.

[ddvauconspiracies]

Part 3 of Martyn conspiracies! :D (it’s honestly pretty funny who the only I have been really talking about is the guy who hasn’t even been introduced into the Au yet *not until the next update*)

So, why do I think Martyn is or was in the vigilance? I have a few pretty solid reasons.

I have mentioned in earlier posts how I believe Martyn is connected to the Mimic. I’m not going to go into too much detail on this reason. If you want more detail go to my lastest post.

Purple. I believe that the color purple is associated with the vigilance. (I know CG is in pink but I feel as though that it is that way because IN REAL HERMITCRAFT he was pink. Would have Doody and Maruu made him purple otherwise? No idea, but me further explain about the purple) When we do see other people from the vigilance such as, obviously, the mimic and CeeCee. Don’t remember the name CeeCee, don’t worry I forgot too, and I had to do some serious digging around for it.

(Ceecee is the one with the fungus powers that ‘corrupted’ Grian in the most recent updates) In my opinion Doody did say that:

I THINK IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO READ DOODY’S FULL POST IT GIVES A LOT OF DETAIL ON HOW DOODY AND MARUU FEEL ABOUT THEIR CHARACTERS!!!

*I really don’t think of The Nexus group as “villains” sure they may have controlled Grian against his will. But they are (I’m assuming so far but it’s a bit early to tell) fighting for a good cause and going against a flawed government.*

SO BACK TO PURPLE XD! We know that the Mimic and Ceecee are purple, representing Nexus as such. What does this have to do with Martyn? He wears green. WELL! In one of Doody’s post they show and talk about everyone’s phone and their backgrounds. On Grian’s background we see Grian in pink (what a queen), and 4 others

see who Martyn (and bigB but we will talk about him in a later time) is wearing purple. Which I believe represents the Nexus. So this could mean he is (or was) a part of Nexus. He is wearing green now, so idk, my bets are on that he left but we have no way of knowing this early.

I will be continuing talking about this in a future post. Thank you guys for all the likes and follows! :) It makes the time I spend making these worth it. PLUS I get to talk about a thing a love! <3 -Shroom~the conspiracy theorist <3 (Just a reminder this au and all the art is made by @kitsuneisi and @xmaruu11)

Ps sorry if this post is a mess, I have been pretty sick and have to catch up on work so I was really rushing LOTS OF LOVE ❤️

[purple-striped-shirt]

and here I am again, hello hello!

I already talked about Jon’s sister (I mean Leela) and now about Jon’s parents! :3 (I just wanted to do this earlier but forgot about it lol)

(Anto Sergeevich) - father of Jon and Leela. he is Russian, but speaks English and German, loves motorcycles and rides them himself, hates ordinary cars because he thinks they are inconvenient to drive, impudent and rude to others, but he treats his wife and children well.

(Barbara Miller) - Jon and Leela's mother. half American and French, works in a flower shop, loves to play musical instruments, especially the guitar and ukulele, and for this she taught Jon and Leela to play the guitar and ukulele, kind and naive.

(and that's all I wanted to say about them lol, sorry for writing too much. I'd love to see Jon introduce Tom to his parents XD)

Barbara would warm up to Tom right away but I get the feeling it’d be a bit difficult for Tom to worm his way into Anto’s good graces.

[mewtwoandme]

OH! Forgot to mention earlier! Even though I'm taking a break this weekend by all means keep sending asks! XD it'll give me something to do for when I come back. (I need to draw more Newtwo content, so asks that focus on her would be appreciated lol) ^^

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@allvalley100

Prompt: Snake Oil

Pairing: Hawkmetri

Inspired by this shitpost I made forever ago XD You really can have SO much fun with the mlm abbreviation.

This is a 5-parter--500 words total!

***

“Uh…Demetri?”

Demetri pauses frantic texting. His coworker’s leaning on his cubicle wall, frowning.

“I’m on lunch, Gary.”

“I know.” Gary chuckles. “And you’ve spent it glued to your phone instead of devouring your shawarma.”

“Right, uh. Trying to get an old friend out of this MLM…situation.”

“Oh?” Gary’s frown returns.

“We haven’t talked in forever, but…I worry about him. Don’t want him mixed up in that sort of…depraved lifestyle.”

“I see.”

Gary now seems more concerned. Demetri laughs awkwardly, trying to ease the tension. “Pyramid schemes, am I right?”

“Oh, multi-level marketing!” Finally, Gary relaxes. “Thought you were being homophobic.”

*

“He’s always been impressionable. Got brainwashed by this karate cult when we were teenagers, cut me off because I said they were sketchy.”

“He what now?” Gary’s eyes widen.

“Don’t worry about it. Point is, he gets really into questionable stuff, and…he hasn’t listened to me in years.”

A pause.

“Some mean girl from junior high messaged my wife, selling Speed-Gro hair enhancer shampoo,” Gary muses. “Lady sounded pitiful. My wife vowed to free her…even if she did steal her boyfriend in 8th grade.”

Demetri brightens. “Did it work?”

“Probably not a catch-all, but…show me the conversation. We can try.”

*

5:20 p.m. Hawk: Don’t ever speak to me again, or I’ll END you. Go rot in your basement playing nerd bullshit, bitch.

7:47 p.m. Demetri: Fine. Goodbye, Eli. ✔✔ Seen 9:53 p.m., September 24, 2018 ✔✔

-----------------------------------------------

March 17, 2030

7:26 a.m. Hawk: Hey man!! Selling Kickass Karate™️ equipment—gloves, pads, nunchucks…anything!!! INCREDIBLE prices. New discounts, too!

9:41 a.m. Demetri: Hawk! It’s been too long! Why not discuss these awesome deals further over coffee? I’ll pay. You’re giving me your time AND a great opportunity!

9:50 a.m. Hawk: …like a date?

10:02 a.m. Demetri: No, no, strictly business :) Pick you up tomorrow?

*

Eli’s surprisingly pleasant on their da—er, business outing. 0 mentions of Cobra Kai.

Instead, he waxes poetic about working for Kickass Karate™️, and how they’re “totally hiring right now!” He barely notices them parking at Demetri’s apartment because Demetri “forgot his gift card.”

~~~

“The fuck? I’m not getting free coffee?!”

Traces of “Hawk” emerge when Eli finds himself locked in. Demetri accounted for this.

He thrusts a macchiato at Eli as the lights dim. “Ordered them earlier. Hope that’s still your favorite.”

A PowerPoint opener illuminates the TV.

“Demetri’s incredibly badass guide: Besting the dumb pussies scamming you.”

*

“You’ve looked better.” On Wednesday morning, Gary does a double take. “What were you doing with that PTO?!”

Demetri grins meekly, dabbing antiseptic across assorted cuts and bruises. “Eli finally listened about the pyramid scheme thing. He wanted to deal with it immediately.”

“You two…” Gary’s eyes widen. “You fought the guys scamming him? Is that even legal?!”

“Probably not.” Demetri shrugs. “But neither’s most MLM stuff, so…”

“Not true.” Gary smirks. “Not since Obergefell v. Hodges.”

“…fair point.”

“Is that why you have this Eli character openly saved in your phone as ‘Babygirl?’”

Demetri’s cheeks burn. “That’s not important!”

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Abbott Elementary Episode 4: Smoking!! I lowkey forgot Abbott aired last night till I saw a clip of it on YouTube earlier, I believe lol. I watched it earlier today and did not liveblog it, but I'm here to talk about it a bit now!

Not much though, because it's late and I had a show tonight, and more tomorrow and Saturday lol.

The fact that they were discouraging substances while all actively using substances is hilarious xDDD It's not where I was expecting that to go lol! Idk what I was expecting, but not that xD

I'm glad it really talked about how broken the system is. I hope that kid doesn't get suspended <3.

Also the jokes the kids made about their vices were wild 💀. That dust bowl was out of control XDD Iconic all around though lol

I'm glad Jacob decided to give up vaping lol, good for him :') <3. Out of all of them his was honestly the most actually harmful lol.

Even though I don't love the detail that he vapes (mostly because you'd think being against it would be one of his many liberal policies lol), I really love that it brought back that smoking comment from the pilot!! Also I can totally spin this into a vices from deep anxiety thing which is lovely lol. Also the air bit was hilarious xD

Anyway they're all idiots but I do love them all lol <33

Also Janine was wild with that teacher lol 💀. I do think there were some things she was right about (like. the literal education parts lol) but dang girl xD love that the sub did not care at all lol

Unrelated but I love Jacob immediately blaming Morton for the smoking lol xD

Anyway seeing them all being chill at the end was great xD. Like Barbara trying the oil, Jacob quitting, etc lol. Good for them :).

This episode caught me off guard a bit, especially since I don't use substances, but I kinda like that, once again! This season is really throwing me off my game in the best way possible - we all need to be made uncomfortable sometimes to learn stuff :). This episode it wasn't too much, because I don't disrespect anyone who uses drugs (of the safe kind), but since I don't it's still a view into the other side.

Also Gregory's was so him xD. Honestly all of them lol - Janine's makes so much sense in hindsight (also Gregory's comment to her about like "Did you smoke last night" 💀 XDD iconic lol), Melissa's (and her smoking background - which by the way, the comments about that were funny too lol) made sense, Barbara's was- yeah xD, her lol, we basically already knew about Ava xD. And of course Jacob's is a callback lol! And it does kinda make sense for him, even if I thought he would know. I mean hey, we do things we know are bad all the time lol, and nobody can resist everything. Also I think I'm in partial denial because I don't want him to have gone through what it puts you through lol xD. Anyway, they were all super accurate :D.

I loved this episode!! I thought it was really great and I'm so excited for the next one :D. I am also utterly terrified :). Help me please :'). The title and description are scaring me and I swear to goodness they better be a mislead. I think they probably are but still xD.

Don't break them up please I need them lol

Also I'll just pretend it never happened anyway xD

Oh dang I probably won't be able to see that episode live either- eh we'll deal with that later.

So yeah! I loved the episode :D. I thought it was really great and super interesting :). I'm excited for the next one!

This has been my review for. . .

Abbott Elementary, Season 3, Episode 4: Smoking

It was really good :)). I'm really excited to see the next one but y'all I am so scared lol.

I'll be back next week for my review of. . .

Abbott Elementary, Season 3, Episode 5: Breakup

See you guys then!!!

[purple-nightfall-writes]

EHEHEHEHE HIHIHIHI!!

Just finished the last chapter and I might screammmmm they're so stupiddddd and in loveeeeee and I hate them (i would die for them)

Anyway, before I actually ask any questions I just want to say how much I LOVE your writing, you put your all into this fic and it really shows, each chapter was AMAZING and I loved every single one. The way everything had the perfect mix of fluff, comfort, angst, suspense, hope, and dread was just. *MUAH* chef kiss. I hope to be here for any future fics you share because I am HOOKED.

now for the questions, I guess my main ones are:

How are you? How are you feeling about the fic? Because personally, it might be one of my favorites!

Your writing style is so fun, I think it perfectly fit the vibes of ruffled feathers! (i have no idea if that makes sense, but it does to me) Was there any part that was particularly hard or easy to write? Like any of the panic attacks or maybe flashbacks? Or any tips for beginner writers?

And lastly, if you are willing to share, what are some of your plans for the rest of this series? Any spoilers or fic concepts you want to share?

Feel free to answer as many or as little of these as you want, I'm not great at asking questions so... I tried my best lol!

(Also i do want to say i feel bad, because at one point i was going to scream about your fic to you/pos but i noticed you didnt have the ask option avaliable and i was going to tell you but i forgot and i feel baddd)

HIIII thank you so much!!!! that's genuinely so encouraging to hear agdljlfglksldf

i'm so glad it hit the right balance for you - the balance of fluff and angst, hope/trust and tension/anxiety, was one of the things i kept retooling throughout the writing process, so i'm SO GLAD to hear it worked out! :D

as far as how I'm feeling about the fic, I'm honestly really happy with it! Currently I'm really proud of the earlier chapters and I'll need a little more distance from the later chapters before I can have a solid idea of whether i like them a little or a lot hehe. I'd written up through chapter 10 or so (maybe chapter 11) when I started posting, so all of those chapters I had a good bit of time to keep polishing to my heart's content. i think i'm gonna really enjoy rereading it lol, my main goal with writing is to write the kind of fics that i would enjoy reading, because that way i can guarantee that at least one person (me) is going to like the finished product. it also helps me feel like i have a creative center and not get pulled all over the place by people-pleasing. this means i end up rereading my stuff like "damn this author knows exactly what i like" XD The number of times i would sit down to work on chapter 10 or 11 or something and get caught up rereading the earlier chapters is a little embarrassing lol, it's just exactly the kind of story that i would enjoy reading 😅

as far as parts that were harder or easier to write! the flashback scenes were, oddly enough, some of the most fun to write actually. there's just this energy and dynamicness to the conflict in them, and the contrast between those days and the trust they have in the current timeline was really fun to work with. I also really liked going back and figuring out what their dynamic would've been in the early days. which is how I ended up with Scar's past crush on CuteGuy - that wasn't in the original plan but just felt extremely correct when I was working out the early days. the fluff scenes were like. too easy to the point that it looped back around to being a challenge lol. like it's just so easy to write them being disgustingly in love and it was difficult to try to not overdo it. which i'm not entirely sure i succeeded at lol but i enjoy reading those chapters so at least my target audience is happy 😆

and parts that were harder to write - definitely chapter 11 (the cuteguy reveal chapter) was the hardest. weirdly, the panic attack(s) in chapter 4 weren't that hard for me, maybe because it was a very in-the-moment kind of panic (if that makes sense), whereas grian's angst in late chapter 10 and into chapter 11 are more of a sense of protracted dread about needing to start a pivotal conversation which was Not Fun to write from lol. it's a good thing that chapter 11 works best from scar's pov because i don't think i ever could have written it from grian's pov, and it would've been really hard to reread.

as far as plans for the rest of the series are concerned! i'm probably going to do a separate post about my planned upcoming fics (in this and other aus), but i'll tease a little here. the next fic in the canon timeline will be one where grian sets out to find a way to protect scar from the ongoing threat to his life. it will be relatively low-stakes (...if my current plan holds). it'll involve a trip to the under-city (which means i have SO MUCH worldbuilding to do askfdlkjldfj), and will introduce at least one minecraft mechanic and a life series mechanic. ideally somewhere down the road i would love to write a fic about the downfall of the Institute, but that is way outside my normal wheelhouse and i don't have any solid ideas yet, so it might be a while and no promises lol. i've also mentioned a few diverging paths fics for this au, sort of alternate versions of what could have been. i've got two in mind that are different sorts of role reversals, one of which i may or may not have already started writing aslkdfjlsjfkd. i just can't leave them alone 😂 there's another diverging paths one that i'm not... entirely sure whether i'll actually end up posting? i've kind of teased it at least once but i want to be noncommittal about actually putting it out there. it's an angstier version, diverges near the end of chapter 4 (bonus points to anyone who can guess exactly what point it splits off at), and would be pretty difficult for me to write due to heavier angst. it would still end on a good note but it would be really rough in places. i do want to write it, to explore that version of events myself because i find it compelling and i want to stretch my writing muscles. but i'm not gonna fully commit to posting it because i don't want to add performance anxiety to the existing writing hurdles for that one lol. so basically: that one might exist or it might not idk, apologies for teasing something that might not end up ever getting published 😅

that basically sums up my current plans for this au! i'm also leaving the door open to the possibility of exploring other characters in this au, though i don't have solid ideas as of yet.

thank you for the ask!! i had so much fun reading your questions and thinking through answers to them hehe. also no worries about the askbox thing 😅 i really should've checked a lot earlier sdfljsljgfklk

[lisadoduwuwow]

and here I am again, hello hello!💥

I already talked about John’s sister (I mean Leela) and now about John’s parents! :3 (I just wanted to do this earlier but forgot about it lol)

(Anto Sergeevich) - father of Jon and Leela. he is Russian, but speaks English and German, loves motorcycles and rides them himself, hates ordinary cars because he thinks they are inconvenient to drive, impudent and rude to others, but he treats his wife and children well.

(Barbara Miller) - Jon and Leela's mother. half American and French, works in a flower shop, loves to play musical instruments, especially the guitar and ukulele, and for this she taught Jon and Leela to play the guitar and ukulele, kind and naive.

Here are the drawings, of course it turned out a little crooked but everything is ok lol🏃‍♀️💨

(and that's all I wanted to say about them lol, sorry for writing too much. I'd love to see Jon introduce Tom to his parents XD) @purple-striped-shirt @margarita-the-pizzeria-worker @cola-stripe @amphisbean44

[2a8n]

New add. info 3

Most of this post will be devoted to my comments on the new information that has appeared, and not mediocre my assumptions on them, since the amount of this very information from the streams from DSP has increased so much lately (she streams almost every day). So expect a lot of text from me here and a small amount of any pictures. And yes, these drawings were also made on the stream, if I'm not mistaken.

I wonder what Rock did that makes Shirogane not even want to call him by his first name? Okay, he still doesn’t call Idate by name, but is this hot-tempered penguin really even worse than Rocma and Suno-san in the eye(s) of our depressive wolf? And yes, when did all the characters from Ice Scream manage to find out the name of the Orca? He had never introduced himself to anyone before. I understand that his niece Nagi and his "best friend" Rock may have learned his name as well as he learned their names due to long acquaintance, but what about the rest of the characters?

And the second warmest DSP character will be his brother Yukiyoshi? =)

--Especially in a place where there is a orca-rapist-abuser-bully-sociopath, a polar bear that can shred you to pieces at any time if she doesn’t like you or she is in a bad mood, a swearing penguin, which can also because of a bad mood or if you are not a child, say more nasty things and shoot you, and, finally, a living piece of pissed snow, mocking you at every opportunity. Indeed, Shirogane is really hard to get to think positively. I believe in it. Sounds like true.

I see that Takama has become more talked about on streams. Well, not as often as about his younger brother, but still… =\

Sorry dude, I forgot to mention you earlier. This character during the whole time that was his shown in Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea, wasn't presented as very intelligent. I mean, all his conversations were about his hunger and even his longest monologue in essence consisted of the fact that "an empty stomach is the world's greatest pain". Even if he knew how to transform into a humanoid form, he wouldn't do it, simply because he couldn't even think about it: it would be easier to get food in his animal form, and he wouldn't even think about it, only because he is tormented by hunger more often than thoughts about his possibilities.

Most likely, those who don't find this guy scary will themselves be no less scary persons… And it seems that everyone that Idate considers weak (they either cannot fight back, or don't want to for some reason, or all at once), he classifies as "toys". Now I remember that he calls violence a "play", and in my head it just goes "play with toys" -> use violence on someone. I want to hit him.

Gosh, this friendship between Shirogane and Yukisada is clearly starting to go in some strange direction, don't you think? xD "Childhood friends" -> "close friends" -> "housemates" -> "great friends" -> "share a bed"…

They look youngful and at the same time younger than Orca. The Orca looks older, and at the same time he is older than these two. It remains to find out who else looks older/younger than whom, in order to collect at least an approximate picture in myself head regarding their age composition.

At least, before the meeting with Orca, he was definitely good health… ( - _ - )

DSP clearly keeps all information regarding the Shirogane family a secret. This wasn't the case with the family of Idate, Rock, Peraco, and, possibly, Yukisada (no one has yet asked anything about Yukisada's and his brother's parents). Does it mean that they can play some role in the Ice Scream itself…?

We recall that DSP divide into virginity into "rear virginity" and "genital virginity", and, based on this, we are already building our conclusions about what has been said.

I remembered that there was an official art showing Yukisada with a suitcase. Is it possible then that not only Yukiyoshi, probably, not living on Iceberg Isle, is visiting his older brother, but Yukisada is also visiting his younger brother as well?

But he only and does what he thinks about his childhood friend Shirogane and takes care of him all the time, so Yukisada indeed doesn't have time to think about love, ALTHOUGHWAITASECOND--! ( 0 _ 0 )

BONUS.

[sugarpuptard]

waaaaaahhhhhh im gonna go insane i miss my boyfriend too much i need it to be october already so i can have him all to myself again ITS NOT FAIR I NEED HIM!!!!!!!! i keep thinking about earlier this year when i went to his state to visit in person for the first time i wish it was longer 3: i want more pics with him too i don't have enough, one of my favs tho i'll share hehe, i don't think he wants his face here but the pic below is still perfect and cozy >w< leg reveal i guess? xD

i love this pic so much i stare at it every time i miss his touch (pros of too vivid imagination + too much vr training phantom senses = i get to feel it almost enough again yippie! but its not the same) thought i should edit it to look extra cute here <3

i was only there for like 5 days but he's staying longer when he comes for my birthday and im too excited omfg. traveling is much more new to him than me since i've been to plenty of states but he hasn't left his state really so i get to show him new stuff hehehe i like that, imma show him the city!!

i also wish i wasn't a little nervous but i think its just some past trauma with relationships in this situation ( ; w ; ) but i dont actually have anything to worry about since its not like that anymore (reminder to myself: its not like that anymore) and i think its more excited nerves than anything, things will be good!

another thing i am also nervous-excited about is that he's gonna be proposing to me!!! (๑ˊ͈ ॢꇴ ˋ͈)〜♡॰ॱ like HUH??? ME????!!??? u choose my weirdo NEET mentally ill and crippled ass to be yours forever?? ;w; i don't know how i found someone like him he makes me feel so safe and happy and genuinely cared about, he's everything i wanted and everything i didn't realize i needed, and to think we met as middle-schoolers on ROBLOX?? specifically in the robloxian highschool rp game (∘︎＞▽＜。) we had quite a long and intense roleplay over multiple days and weeks possibly we were hella invested, i forgot most of the plot tho my memory of back then is so blurry

we didn't talk for quite a few years because of my mental issues getting me put into places that kept me away from online too much sadly, but he never left my mind so in june of last year i finally messaged him again with the help of some alcohol and my friend saying DO IT DO IT DO IT and thank God i did. he replied pretty quick too because luckily he was still signed into his old account on his phone and he woke up to my texts at like 3am xD oopsies

im just so lucky to have him, i feel so unsafe so much for so fucking long and finally i have someone that gives me that sense of safety and security, i dont have to be scared or stressed i can just love and i love him too much and i'll do anything to have him forever. my journal rambling for today is fitting the theme of my yandere blog posts ngl (￣▽￣;) but i didn't know i was gonna ramble like this and i dont feel like logging out sooooooo this go here instead teehee

i genuinely didn't mean to ramble so much but my new med is a stimulant so i've been a bit wired all day lmao, i gotta get the ramble vibes out somehow, if u read all this damn :o

[cloud-somersault]

Hello, (pls ignore the ping on discord) I'm stupid. I had no idea you were making a podcast or that you had a youtube channel 😭 I should have checked here first, but wow 🫡 <--- does not know what a podcast is but a salute for all the dedication you've put into this series! 👀 I listened long enough to tell if it was like, a video talking about the fic or a reading of it before needing to rush back and I caught the word "lore" and 👀 absolutely seated for lore because I remember reading your fic before I found your tumblr and I'd love to read it proper because it was just SO GOOD and I got so curious to see what else happened in the story that I went and read pieces of all of it so I didn't have to wait in agony with the little available time, and my brain is telling me that you have some gorgeous star descriptions in one of the chapters and some really complex dialogue that was simply stellar psychologically, so a podcast cutting into the behind the scenes fic process lore sounds really fun to hear :D I'm sorry I keep blabbing to you like this, it's just taking me FOREVER to get to it with all my obligations but you have worked far too hard to deliver such a wonderful fic for free and are far too kind for me to just read this fic and not drop a 10k review eventually 💖 I just don't want you think I'm nabbing french fries from your restaurant and dipping when there's a whole plate of roasted chicken and a fancy dinner talk to be had XD

Oh! No worries. And I get the confusion. A podfic is the word used for when someone's reading a fic aloud. You'll sometimes see an author say their fics are "podfic friendly" which means people are free to record themselves reading the fic! (All of my fics are podfic friendly as well!)

But a podcast is just me rambling about gay monkeys for hours 😂

And that is okay. I know Constellations and the podcasts are a huge time investment. I get that, believe me. Please take your time reading and enjoying! They aren't going anywhere. It's just content for people who are caught up and want MORE (I get it) and podcasts take less time than writing a chapter so! I do not mind.

Aw, no pressure about leaving a long review. As long as you enjoyed something about it and took some word or phrase with you...that's all I care about. There are phrases from fics and stuff I remember to this day from decades ago. I want my writing to do that to people!

But yeah! There's a lot about constellations that I forgot about, so I was thinking of doing a reread and recording my thoughts or whatever, because I never got to talk about the earlier chapters.

Or I could do that for the epilogue 🤔🤔 OOOO THAT WOULD BE FUN

[tuulikannel]

I almost forgot that @lazytoufu (she's got her old username back, yay!) asked about all my wips, not just AC ones. So here's two Hikaru no go ones.

Heian_ghosts is a continuation to my long fics about Sai's life & death. I had all but forgotten about it... and here's the question: what should I do with this fic? It's actually finished. There's 50k words of it. Just, I always felt that it's way too slow and I planned to edit it some day... but given that I had forgotten it's existence for past five years or whatever, I wonder if that'll ever happen.

So now I'm thinking that maybe I should just publish it. It's called either just Ghosts or then Ghosts - living and dead, I'm not quite sure yet. It's basically about Hikaru and Akira (and a young Abe no Seimei who's also a part of the story) dealing with the consequences of all that happened in the earlier fics.

chicagoseq is pretty much exactly what the name suggest, an untitled sequel to my Hikaru no go & Dresden Files crossover, Chica-go. I doubt it'll be ever written, though... In it, Hikaru returns to Chicago years later together with Akira. He's hoping that introducing Akira to a real wizard would make it easier to tell him about Sai.

Akira is going along, a little confused, a lot jet lagged. They came to Harry's home - or at least where it used to be. Those who know, this takes place some time after Cold Days... so yeah, things have kinda changed. A lot. XD

Here's a little snippet. ^^ Akira's pov.

“Well.” The headache was intensifying. “If you’re done staring at this building, maybe you could tell me what you were expecting to find here?” “My friend’s home,” Hikaru said quietly. Akira twitched. This building wasn’t old – but it hadn’t been built yesterday, either. “You mean you didn’t know your friend has moved? When were you last in contact with him? Or is it her?” he asked with growing annoyance. Damn it, he had traveled to the other side of the world, he had the right to know at least something, didn’t he? “Both, really,” Hikaru said. “That is… I was exchanging letters with her, and she told me how he was doing, but… I’ve not heard of her for a while.” “How long a while?” Akira asked with forced patience. “Well, I… did get a card from her… uh, about a year ago? She said she was really busy with some new job she had…” “A year ago?!” Akira exclaimed. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, so. If your friends aren’t here, how do we find them?” “Umm, I think we should…” Hikaru blinked at the street, as if only now realizing the taxi was gone. “Get a taxi…?” “You will pay for it this time,” Akira muttered as he dug out his phone to call for one.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 158 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: baking something in the kitchen, most likely with apples...

This is one of my favorite episodes ever! There is just so much going on and every single bit is so exciting, it has me sitting at the edge of my seat. Plus big reveals of course. The panopticon, Elias etc. (And a bit of comedy.) Generally, I think the S4 finale, so MAG 158 to 160, might be the best fiction experience I've ever encountered.

MARTIN: "It’s fine. Don’t particularly like it down here." I mean, not to say that Jon wouldn't have every right to feel uncomfortable in the tunnels as well (e.g. his experiences in them in S2), but Martin also didn't have a good time down here. Wandering for hours and finding Gertrude's body + guilt of having left Jon and Tim behind, accidentally entering the Distortion's corridors only to be spat out in the Archives again (after spending 100 times more hours in there as in their real world) to the bloody mashed potato that is Leitner's head and on top of it we know that Martin is claustrophobic.

Peter just blatantly making uncomfortable small talk. Martin is already on his way to the panopticon with you, why torture him even more??

MARTIN: "Are you sure about that map? I’m pretty certain the tunnels change." PETER: "Oh, don’t worry about that. Ink’s practically still wet. Not to mention, if they do change, well… I happen to have something that will change them back." Hmmm, do the tunnel really change on their own? There is some kind of weirdness to them because of which you usually can't find the panopticon. But otherwise I thought this was just Leitner moving them around... also maps are a funny thing in TMA. There also was the map for Sannikov Land. We never learn where they're from and who made them. Would Elias really have drawn the map for Peter? If yes, he must have been pretty sure that he can prevent Martin from killing his body.

MARTIN: "That’s a Leitner." PETER: "It is!" MARTIN: "And the, um… the blood on it?" PETER: (cheerfully) "That’s Leitner too!" MARTIN: (apprehensively) "…Riiight." Peak comedy!

MARTIN: (wryly sarcastic) "Very impressive." PETER: "I’m reading. Shush." Jon was also like "I didn't hear you reading!" in MAG 80. All of the Archive crew are so used to read something out loud, they don't think it’s even possible to read quietly XD

NOT-SASHA: "So you finally decided to let me out, Jon? (calling) Jooooon?" Not gonna lie, I totally forgot about Not!Sasha on my first listen. So this did actually shock me.

BASIRA: "A couple of guards on duty vanished too." JON: (agitated) "Vanished. How?!" BASIRA: "Just left. Best we can tell, he had some dirt on them." Hmmm, if it wasn't for the "just left" and Peter later being a bit taken aback of Elias being also at the panopticon, the wording "vanish" does remind me an awful lot about Peter! And Peter just got a map to the panopticon... So did Peter get the map from Elias? His astonishment does contradict this... But also I guess Peter could have easily sneaked into prison (like, he can turn invisible, duh) and got that map from Elias! According to Jon, Basira and Daisy earlier it does seem like Elias got out because of his little deal.

Also, last episode Daisy and Basira weren't in the Institute. Maybe they were already out because that old friend from the prison called them. This could have given Elias time to get to the Institute and leave Dekkar's statement for Jon. I totally hadn't considered, that it could have been him as well, not just Annabelle.

MARTIN: "So that’s it. Both Lonely and Watching." PETER: "You must admit you’re the perfect candidate." And the panopticon is actually the perfect location for this.

MARTIN: (shaky breath) "Where are his eyes?" ELIAS: "Exactly where they’ve always been, Martin. Watching over my Institute." OMG, I was soooo blown away! This sentence of course made it very clear, what was going on. Buuuut we get a more direct reveal on that in just a minute, just for anyone still doubting this.

BASIRA: "It’s just that there’s a lot of tapes around." JON: "And I don’t keep any of them with the key to the tunnels. It’s been left for me." DAISY: "And it says ‘play me’. Kind of suspicious." This definitely was Elias.

GERTRUDE: "I’d rather hoped you’d still be hampered with all the Dark’s business. It’s their ‘Grand Eclipse’ at the moment, isn’t it?" So this means it's March!!!

GERTRUDE: "I’m not really in the mood for nostalgia, Elias. You might have noticed I’m rather busy so either shoot me or –" [A GUNSHOT RINGS OUT. GERTRUDE GASPS AND COLLAPSES.] GERTRUDE: (gasping) "Well… there it is. Thought it would hurt more." ELIAS: (sighs) "Pity." 1.) Elias never lets people finish their sentence when killing them. So rude... 2.) MAG 52 - Jon: "I know the secret to her death is on one of them. It must be. I just… I hope I don’t have to hear it firsthand." :/ 3.) I immediately noticed that this was only ONE gunshot, when Martin had explicitly stated that there were (as far as he could tell) THREE gunshots to the chest!!!

This tape was so cool!

JON: "Yes. And I’d wager that Elias’ body –" BASIRA: "Gotta be Jonah Magnus, right?" I mean... who else would it be, but at no point whatsoever does that name come up in the tape. We as audience know it's Jonah's body because we just heard Peter say it.

Ah man, these gunshots and screams are really unsettling...

MARTIN: "If I do kill you, will the others survive?" PETER: "Elias?" ELIAS (JONAH): "Come now, Peter, it’s a valid question. And you should have addressed it yourself, really. The short answer is, I don’t know, Martin. I guarantee it won’t be pleasant for them, but I honestly don’t know if their ties to the Institute are quite as strong as I may have implied. " So he did bluff!!! He genuinely didn't know (because no one knows how the Fears actually work...). If the Archivist dies, the others go free. Maybe it would have worked just like that with Jonah? Who knows!

ELIAS (JONAH): " Melanie’s well out of it, so that just leaves Basira and Daisy. And the rest of the Institute, of course, and you can’t tell me you care about them." But... but... the others can quit? This seems like they are not affected by these "ties" at all. Buuut, this is Elias saying it and he loves to manipulate...

Seriously, Ben's voice acting is phenomenal... He is so smug!

PETER: "Then do it. Kill him and help me save the world." If Martin still wasn't sure until now, this did the trick. Peter acting like Martin's the hero. Martin never believed that and this just was the final straw, if he hasn't made his choice already.

I said in MAG 154 that I think there are two points in the story of TMA, when a time travel fix-it reaaaally could work. This is the second one. I think killing Jonah could have pushed back a possible Fearpocalype for a looooooooong time. I don't know if Peter knows about Elias plan, like in detail (he knows, the wager was to get Jon marked by the Lonely and that he is relevant for the ritual), but perhaps he doesn't know the last step, how to... open the door^^ 

JON: "Do I, uh… do I get a gun?" BASIRA: "You’ve fired one?" JON: (indignant) "You never taught me!" Love comedy like this!

BASIRA: "You never asked. Besides, we’ve got problems enough without –" [A LOUD CRASH.] NOT-SASHA: "Hello, Jon." BASIRA: "Oh, shit." JON: "You’ve got to be fucking kidding –" Even more comedy!!!

DAISY: "Basira, promise me something." BASIRA: "What – no. Daisy, no." DAISY: "Basira, when this is over, you need to find me. And kill me. Promise me." BASIRA: "No. No, Daisy, we’ll figure something out." DAISY: "These last few months… it was always borrowed time, wasn’t it? Can’t outrun it forever." BASIRA: (desperately) "Daisy…" DAISY: "Promise me." BASIRA: "I promise." DAISY: "Thanks. Now run." BASIRA: "Daisy –" DAISY: (voice growling, distorted by the Hunt) "Run…" I FUCKING love Daisy! I love Fay's voice and zir accent! Also Daisy's character, like she won't submit to the Hunt until Basira promises her! T_T Also Monster Hunt Daisy is really cool!

ELIAS (JONAH): "It won’t be that bad, Peter. You’ll see. Now, he’ll be here soon, so you can leave or –" PETER: "Oh, no. No. I’m not gonna make it easy on him. You haven’t won yet." ELIAS (JONAH): "Your choice. Just make sure to leave the door open." This is so not good... (Also door motif!)

ELIAS (JONAH): "Ah, Jon. I was almost worried. You found your way all right?" JON: (out of breath) "Yes. Yes, I did. …how?" ELIAS (JONAH): "Suffice it to say I called you." I FUCKING hate Elias! (I mean, I love him as a character xD) But this grooming of Jon, argh!!

ELIAS (JONAH): "Not anymore. But not really," Aaaaahh, the "but" costs me an entry for the not really-counter!

JON: "You want me to follow him?" ELIAS (JONAH): "No, Jon. You want you to follow him." He's actually right this time...

ELIAS (JONAH): "Are you scared, Jon?" JON: (quietly) "Yes." ELIAS (JONAH): "Perfect." God, this is again such a good prelude to the next episode in the Lonely!!!

@a-mag-a-day

[coralsgrimes]

Remember when I said that our boy's career is oh so very close to stinky corpse like no one gonna invest in that except the funeral home lobbyists maybe???

Do ye also remember when Benny was doing the podcast recordings earlier this year alongside someone who said that was their first job?

So put them two together and what comes out is Benny as a ghost of Christmas in Christmas carol podcast from a Christian spreading love for Jesus Hope Media Group.... The funeral home lobbyists are laughing as they dodged thy bullet

Here a lil list of Benny's recent-ish (about 3/4years) career milestones:

1. Cringe ya book adaptation that should be on CW, currently in cancellation limbo probably will be announced as axed after strikes are resolved so netflix can say that they don't have shadow daddy's blood on their hands, it was them selfish peeps fighting for fair work compensation

2. One episode of anthology series last halloween, that was so bad everyone forgot about it by now

3. Self funded vanity music project that he released through vanity label (he paid for it to be released like is what I mean, no one invested in that steamin pile) and that no one even bothered to review except that one guy who called it turtleneck music? beige Michael Bublé rip off??

4. Low low tier partnership with Boss Fur Deutschland. still not sure if boss knows they are in partnership. Might be Benny is paying them too for that... privilege of badly fitted Zalando sale selection

5. Black mirror two seconds cameo that I would dispute it's legitimacy as an actual acting credit

6. Series of awful T-Mobile's ads

7. Couple of self funded live gigs so he could attempt to sing his four original song REALLY badly, and then went on to assassinate popular songs cuz it's too much to call them pained sounds singing. But boy he probably still getting stiff thinking of these 315 sweaty girls following him through the country of Europe

8. A film that is bad, critics agree, and is called The Critic which is very funny. No idea when this masterpiece will be released. About boys performance, critics either skipped mentioning him or he was called the weak link.... In other words I desperately need to see this one xd research purposes

9. Christian radio podcast version of Dickens Christmas carol

10. Apparently he finished that full album of his finally, if someone wanna buy the limited edition hand signed EP tho, it's still available in his child labour merch shop! And it's been two years xd

11. Oh!! And I almost forgot to add his lil tiktok dip cuz he an influencer now me thinks xd funny story here too. So he actually multitasking. So Benny does a remember me imma Sirius Black!!! Lemme go viral!!! Fans pleazzzz love me back and HBO please hire me I talked about it during a con recently too please it's them strikes so I gotta be sneaky and I wanna be super popular too

[lemmilemura]

So, I just watched One Of Us Is Lying (season one) and I have SO MANY FEELINGS and I did write down my thoughts while watching which I will post soon, but I've also gotten an idea for more of an imagine/one-shot, of course again with the lovely lovely Simon. Please enjoy

All kept gender-neutral Based on the show

It was weird seeing Simon and Jake interact more the past few months. They talked a lot more, hung out more. It was weird. They hadn't talked in ages. I wasn't going to pry, it wasn't really any of my business anyway. If anything I was happy Simon and Jake were being 'friends' again. I used airquotes because I'm not exactly sure they are, maybe they are, maybe not.

School was over. First day of school offically finished. But me and Simon weren't going to leave immediately. Turns out he somehow got detention, and I decided to just wait for him until it was done. Weird thing was, I saw him and Jake go into a locker room or something. They seemed really secretive about it.

They were in there for a while, but eventually Simon walked out and almost immediately ran into me since he wasn't really paying attention. "Simon! You okay?" I asked, getting his attention. "Huh? Oh, sorry sweetheart. I'm fine, just thinking. I just gotta go to the bathroom real quick before detention." Luckily the bathrooms were in the direction of the exit, so I walked with him. "Well, while you're in there I can do your daily bag check!"

"Oh yeah, forgot this was airport security." He rolled his eyes at me.

INSERT PRETTY FLASHBACK LIGHTING

"Lemme check your bag." I said to him one day. "Why? You some sort of cop now?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, no, but I do know you sometimes forget things, and I know you have Ms.Avery next period and if you forget anything in her class it's detention, and I don't think you want that, do you?" I rested my chin on my hand propped up on the table. Simon exhaled in an 'I guess you're right' fashion and handed over his bag. Ever since then it became an every day occurrance.

FLASHBACK OVER BACK TO NORMAL LIGHTING xD

"So are you gonna hand me your bag or not? You don't really need it to pee, atleast I hope so." Right before he was going to enter the bathroom he reluctantly handed over his bag. "You'd be an excellent TSA worker, you know that?" And with that he went inside.

I got to my checking, he had everything. Except for an epi-pen. Strange, he usually always has one. I reach into my own bag and pull one out, putting it in his bag. After a minute or two, he's back out. "Here you go sir, your bag passed security. Have a pleasent flight to detention!" I handed him his bag. "Only thing was that you didn't have an epi-pen, so I put in one of mine for you." He looked confused. "You carry epi-pens around?" He asked as he put his bag over his shoulder. "Mhm, I do indeed" "I didn't know you had allergies." "I don't. I keep them in my bag for you, for moments like this." I smile at him. He smiles back. "That is extremely generous. Thank you, darling."

TIME SKIP ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO

Detention had to be over soon. Those damn streakers that randomly appeared were really gross. Wonder how that happened. I was waiting outside for Simon, but even after 15 minutes or so, he just didn't come out. So, I went inside in search of him. When I got cloaer to that strange locker room him and Jake were in earlier, I could hear them inside.

"I don't fucking know what happened, but it wasn't in my bag anymore!" Simon said, or well, argued. "What the fuck do you mean it was gone? The fuck did you do? We had a deal, Simon!" Jake? And Simon? A deal? Now that was something I really wasn't expecting. I decided to, before I heard or saw anything I wasn't supposed to, go back outside. It only took another 5 minutes for Simon to finally come out.

"Sorry, sweetheart, took a little longer than expected, thanks to those streakers." He put an arm around my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my temple. "Yeah, those were freaky." I laughed. "Your place or mine?" We always hung out after school, hell we were barely ever apart for more than 24 hours. "I know for a fact you really like my room so I'm assuming mine?" He said. "True, true. Don't know why I even bother asking at this point. You know what my favorite part of your room is, though?" I asked. He thought for a second. "I assume my bed, since I can never get you out of it?" "Dind ding ding, correct! 100 points to Simon Kelleher!" I joke.

We were at his place in no time, and as always, I flopped down face first onto his bed. It was so much more comfortable than mine, much bigger too. Plus, the fact it smelled like Simon added bonus points. Made me feel really comfortable. "Sometimes I think you love that bed more than you love me." I whip my head to him, offended look on my face. "That is not true and you know it!" I turn around and properly sit on his bed. "You know I could never love anything more than you. Right? Or do you need a reminder again?"

Simon made a thinking face, while putting his bag down. "Might need one, if I think about it. Been a while." He gave that signature smirk of his I always loved. I stood up and walked closer to him, putting my hands on his chest as his went around my waist. "I really really really love you, Simon. I promise." "Might take a little more than that, sweetheart. You know I'm hard to convince" He smirked again. I roll my eyes. "Well, how can I convince you I really do love you, then?" I asked him, eyes flicking down to his lips for a second.

"I think we both know, don't we?" We both leaned into a kiss. It was sweet. It always was. At school he was always so cocky and harsh, but when it was just us two? He was the sweetest guy you could ever imagine. He moved a hand to my cheek, just keeping it there. We moved against eachother so naturally. You could almost think we were made for eachother. Eventually, though, due to the stupid need to breathe, we pulled away. Both of our faces were obviously red.

"Was that convincing enough?" I asked. "Yeah, I guess it'll do for now. Might need another one in like, half an hour or so?" I rolled my eyes. "I heard you talking to Jake. Didn't understand anything because you were behind a door, but still. You guys friends again?" I asked. He seemed to sort of tense up at the mention of Jake. "I guess? Well, I wouldn't say friends, but we're also not mortal enemies, ya know? Somewhere in between"

"Is Jake the reason you had a peanut oil capsule in your bag?" His eyes widened and he looked down at me. "What?" "When I checked your bag. There was no epi-pen and a peanut oil capsule. I know what those look like, my mom told me a while ago. I took it out. What were you planning on doing with it?"

Simon looked off to the side. "Simon, what were you going to do with it?" I put a hand on his cheek to make him face me. We stayed silent for a minute or two. "It's stupid, really." He chuckled, then ran a hand through his hair. "Jake dared me. Something we used to do all the time as kids. Basically I was supposed to have an allergic reaction to scare everyone." He said it as if it was nothing.

"Simon, are you crazy? You didn't have an epi-pen, you could have died!" I stepped back from him and clutched my chest where my heart is. "I gave it to Jake. And I would have been fine, I brought about 7 of them into the nurse's office!" "God fucking damnit Simon, are you stupid? There is no way Jake just did that for fun! It would have taken too long to realize you didn't have an epi-pen in your bag, run to the nurses office, run back, and save you!"

Tears were starting to form in my eyes. "God, Simon, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I'd have no idea what to do with my life." I cry more and more. He rushed over and hugged me. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have... I'm sorry." He apologized. "But hey, you saved me, didn't you?" I looked up at him with blurry vision. He wiped my tears away with his sleeve. "If it weren't for your TSA bag checks, I'd have done it. Never thought that little joke would actually do any good one day. But look at you!"

He guided us to his bed and we sat down on the edge. "I'm really, really sorry. I was just, I felt like a kid again. Playing dare with Jake. I guess I got lost in it." He started playing and fiddling with his rings. He always did when he got nervous or anxious. "Truth is, I was terrified. What if it would have killed me? What if nobody knew to get an epi-pen? What then?"

We just sat there for a moment. Not talking. Both trying to calm down. He put one of his hands on mine. "Thank you for saving me, darling. I owe you one." He smiled at me. I pulled him into a hug. "You can make up for it by never ever even thinking of doing something that stupid again." "I promise."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Simon."

AAAAAH I'm so proud of this qwq I love how it turned out qwq

[eddsworld-the-masquerade]

a comeback, perhaps?

Yes, really. I’m not joking and I have three points:  1. I’m one inconsistent bitch with a brainrot;  2. I need my delusions and escapism cuz man do four blood-sucking dudes sound more in-reality than whatever the fuck is going on in the actual real world around me rn;  3. I forgot what was the third point. It’s all the more absurd given just in the summer of this year I was certain I wouldn’t come back to it any time soon. What can I say...life do be like that. A fun little story of its own, but I’ll leave it out of this post. For now, let me share with you what I’ve been planning, what’s staying and what’s changing and how I’ll be approaching this AU/blog this time around. 

So, to start off...

The 🅱️ has to go: 

While still set in Vampire the Masquerade (World of Darkness) universe, the renewed version of this crossover AU won’t have anything to do with Bloodlines video game. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bloodlines still very much, it’s the game with most of my replays and what got me into VtM in the first place. But also, it is restricting, trying to align everything with its small setting/scope and, let’s be honest, doesn’t make much of a sense. Eddsworld’s British, the hell are they all doing in America? XP 

The tag is now eddsworld vtm au, without the letter b. 

What else gets thrown out? 

Plot: Pretty much all of it. I came up with the biggest plot points and am currently rewriting the entire script. At its core it’s still “four dudes tolerate each other’s shenanigans to survive and later learn they kinda don’t feel like chopping each other’s heads off (friendship goals)” but the rest...out the window it goes. 

Setting: As I said earlier, it’s weird. So with the help of Fall of London V5 book and some other sources of info on London in VtM, I moved the cast back to where they belong. 

Characters and character writing: This one might surprise you, but I really, REALLY don’t like the way I did them back then. I can’t revisit old comics/the demo without cringing so hard my face breaks XD Fishmalk Edd gives me most pain if I’m being honest...

While I’m keeping the basest, the basiesest core (Edd being chaotic bastard Malkavian, Tom being mean and cynical Nosf, Matt being old-fashioned but also a rebel at heart Torrie, and Tord being far less infected with rabies compared to other modern Brujah) I’m changing lots of their characterization, backstories and relationships with each other as well. So don’t expect something you expected from their older versions.

The same goes for every other character, and I’m getting rid of some that don’t serve much purpose anymore.  

What’s in store? 

New script is in the process. And while it is slowly processing, I will be updating most pages on this blog: specifically “About” and “Characters”, with new relevant information and art. I have archived everything these pages contained, and I’ll put the link to the Google Drive folder up in the “About” page for anyone who wishes to look at the old stuff. I won’t be deleting any of the older posts on the blog though.

Update schedule?

Can’t promise one. Life’s hectic now as hectic can possibly get. I will update once there is an update, but please try to be considerate and don’t ask me “when”. I will most likely go on hiatuses from time to time but I will try to warn in advance if it’s going to take long. Overall, this passion project is just that, a passion project. Not my job. Not something that gives me anything but mental satisfaction. Not even a tip jar. I’m working alone, with occasional help from friends who are kind enough to proof read and brainstorm with me (Nina, Jazz, Engi, Hawa, long live you beautiful human beings). So all I’m asking is some compassion and understanding from all of you u_u If you can do it for me I’m sure it’ll take me longer to lose interest this time XD  Ask box stays closed for now, I’ll reopen it once I’ll update all the pages. 

That’s it for the moment! Stay tuned, if you’d like!