#whatever you were baking turned out blue i fear

[outofthebluess]

𝜗𝜚 we can run away to the walls inside your house .ᐟ

currently playing ❛ sailor song ❜ in which: ❛ without much of a family of your own, you take to spending time with percy's family; sally finding a bit of her younger self in you. ❜

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pairing: ❛ percy jackson x fem!reader ❜ warnings: ❛ use of y/n, not super well written, very short, old people being nostalgic ❜

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"how do you already have flour on your face? we haven't even done anything yet." you smile to yourself as you tug on your sleeve, bringing the fabric to percy's cheek.

"when i pulled it down from the shelf it spilled a bit..." he leaned into your touch, his cheeks warm despite the cool weather.

as time passed and sally watched her son annoy the living hell out of you by messing up the recipe, she laughed to herself. paul turned his head to the woman sitting next to him. you and percy's laughs heard in the almost quiet distance. he'd give her a knowing look, prompting the 'what is it?' that left his mouth.

"she just reminds me so much of myself... that poor girl has no idea what shes getting herself into."

"are you making fun of your own son?"

sally tilted her head, her eyes meeting paul's, "no, i'm simply saying that if his father was such a handful imagine what she puts up with."

paul nodded, glancing back and forth between her and the pair throwing flour around the kitchen. "i doubt she minds, i mean look at her."

before you could get the chance to toss another fist of flour at him percy places one hand around your wrist, his eyes narrowing before letting your hand go. you regretfully place the powder back into the bag.

he places a finger through the belt loop of your jeans turning you slightly so you face him. percy wipes all the flour away from your face, trying to avoid the boring eyes of his parents. you tried hard to keep down the smile that tried to slip it's way onto your lips. you failed miserably.

"there she is..." his voice is soft, like every word he spoke was a secret just between the two of you. he presses a soft kiss to your forehead before beginning to actually clean up.

paul looked back to his wife with a smile. "i think she'll be alright."

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. . .

A LETTER FROM LAY! guess who hit 111 followers! i've never done a follower event before but i do want to do one, so give me some time and i'll think of something!

this is super short but i fear it's been sitting unfinished in my drafts forever and i wanted it posted :)

[sunnixsunshine]

Gonna just post this all together lol uh big post, lots of words, whatever, enjoy

Anyway, meet Roronoa Hikoboshi and Orihime! Hikoboshi resembles Zoro’s dad, he takes over the restaurant eventually while Sora is off sailing, Shinjiro is off sailing, and Takehiko is just causing massive amounts of problems to every type of authority out there lol. Orihime is actually Pudding’s daughter, her only child in fact. Idk, Pudding just eventually gets over Sanji(good, hes way too old for you sweetie tbh; narratively I enjoy their story but ooooooof couldnt she have been at least 18?), meets a new gentleman whos just as kind to her. He, too, has an interest in baking and they open a bakery together, which eventually moves to the exact oart of the All Blue where Sanji resides. Hikoboshi and Orihime meet when theyre 15/16 years old and immediately theyre pretty infatuated. With Orihime being a fairytale and love at first sight kind of gal and Hikoboshi being just as much as a hopeless romantic as his father. When the two want ther parents to meet—its pretty awkward at first lol

Hikoboshi and Orihime is directly inspired by the myth and Tanabata festival itself. As I said, Hikoboshi more so resembles his grandfather Arashi. Orihime is supposed to look like her father the most, however I wanted to play with the idea of her resembling Big Mom a bit? Mostly just the hair honestly, which starts off as brown but as he gets older it gradually changes to pink. Which makes me think about the possibility of Pudding maybe holding some kind of issues against her early on???? Idk but I would like to explore the idea! Btw, their moles are supposed to reflect their respective stars’ positions, Vega and Altair!

But anyway heres my designs for Zoro’s parents. Arashi was s two swords style user trying to work his way up to three swords style before he died. He grew up an orphan on the very outskirts of the village after both of his parents passed away when he was roughly 10. Tera grew up on the same island but she wasnt born there, her father bringing her there when she was eeeeeh like 4-6. She didnt grow up in the village though, in fact she didnt up grow up having a home town to name, she doesnt know where in the east blue her family is specifically from, they camped out in a tiny cabin in the wood with a few other bandits. She gets lost a lot, which is where Zoro gets it! She actually ended up having to choose between “carrying on the family business” (being a thief) or Arashi, and she chose Arashi because she’s actually really bad ar being a bandit. They met when they were 18, married a year later, but it took four years to finally have a family of their own. And turns out Zoro is the only kid they ever would have. Quick little details; when Arashi was fatally wounded by the pirates attacking the village, his swords were both essentially destroyed and later buried with him. And so was his earring. Same with Tera, who had genetic illness, Huntington’s disease, however she actually died of pneumonia in the winter time, but her Huntington’s symptoms were prevalent and Zoro was aware of what was going on. She, too, was buried with her earring, two of Zoro’s earrings specifically just being replicas in memory of his parents. And gonna state it outright here: no Zoro doesn’t have Huntington’s disease, but it is a fear of his that he pushes off to the back of his mind constantly. Tbh I just think it makes him more human as a character to have such a natural fear, idk.

Something I kinda REALLY wanna expand on is my idea of Arashi and Koushiro having a relationship somewhat similar to Zoro and Kuina; Arashi being a few years younger than Koushiro who has actual training to begin with, Arashi having no formal training, just his parents’ swords that they left behind. Now neither of them even knew they were like distant cousins, to Koushiro Arashi is just this younger kid with an obnoxiously loud desire to go above and beyond to learn two swords style when he doesnt have any formal training nor does he even know one swords style! Koushiro finds Arashi annoying and even talentless—and yet for several years they met in a field so Koushiro could pass his formal lessons onto Arashi. Arashi couldnt learn at the dojo because he couldnt afford it. The lessons would stop once Koushiro is being prepared to take over the dojo one day and also when he meets his future wife—so hes about 21 give or take, Arashi is around 17 at the least. Their relationship was mostly bickering because Koushiro doesnt like Arashi’s rash attitude and tendency to goof off. And Arashi found Koushiro to be uptight and too grown up. Arashi never could surpass Koushiro in a dual, both one sword style and two sword style. Hes just always been several steps behimd Koushiro and that’s what pushed him to train more. Fast forward to present day, and honest to god Koushiro NEVER connected Zoro to being Arashi’s child. For one thing, he didnt know Arashi had a kid, thats how strained they became, and another, Koushiro, to be fair, doesnt even see an ounce of Arashi in this kid whatsoever. The ego and eagerness to go above and beyond, sure, but what little kid ISNT like that?? Anyway, it comes as a shock and a part of him feels more obligated to take care of Zoro after having witnessed Arashi’s death himself years prior when Zoro wouldve only been a toddler.

[androgynousblackbox]

How I Met Your Father. 11 [Appleradio, Radioapple]

AO3 link

How We Got Separated

"Where are you going?" Emily asked, floating behind him.

Alastor did not answer. He kept making his way to the main doors that thankfully were easy to find. The door that he came out from was one of many in an ample circle full of other ones, but he could not care less to find out what was behind them. There were no other angels or winged creatures present. Only Emily that seemed to be more curious to know what he was planning than to stop him.

When Alastor opened up the crystal doors, he had to squint his eyes again. Why did everything in this place had to be so bright? How did anyone could see anything like that? As soon his vision adjusted, his stomach dropped through the floor back to home.

The sky was a clear perfect blue, decorated with fluffy white clouds. All the street were spotless shinny gold reflecting that could reflect anything like a mirror. Not a single trace of vomit, trash or blood as far the eyes could see. Nobody was fighting or yelling. Every creature that was passing by had their own set of wings and halo.

The air he was breathing in was too pure. It smelled vaguely pleasant, like someone was baking cookies everywhere at the same time. So perfectly organized, so immaculate that surely not even a pin would be out of place without getting fixed.

Alastor felt his own soul snearing. How could anything be so vile? How did anyone could live like this and not want to blow their head off to scape it? Where was the chaos? Where was the violence and grossness of the human condition? Where was the power struggle and the heart wrenching failure? Where was the fear that pumped the heart? Why nobody was screaming!?

What kind of monster could set up such a setting for eternity?

Controlling his own nausea, Alastor forced himself to move. He had already seen where he wanted to go. Emily noticed the direction of his eyes and perked up.

"Oh, do you want to see Saint Peter?" asked.

"Yes" said without looking at her.

The creatures that were on his way all moved to let him pass. They weren't doing it out of fear for knowing his reputation. They were just being polite. Some even said "excuse me" as if somehow it was their mistake that Alastor wasn't paying any attention to them.

Hell.

This place had to be the real hell after all. It made sense. He had too much fun back at home and now finally was receiving the punishment he deserved. His own personal hell. And he was called cruel? Oh, whatever he ever did, alive or dead, was child's play compared with the sadistic mind that would make such a horror as this one.

Alastor speed up.

"I can take you with him directly if you want" offered Emily, keeping up easily with him.

"No, thank you" said Alastor, clenching his jaw. "I missed the part where you explain why you are following me."

"Well, you seem… a little upset. And it's my job to spread joy to everyone so, I should probably do something with that. If there is any way in which I help you out to adapt better to Heaven, please let me know."

"Joy?" Alastor laughed, like that was a foreign idea. In this place at least it was and certainly more with this creature that was annoyingly remind him to Charlie. Good grief, that would be just the best way to torture him. To twist the knife on his gut real good. "Are you part of my punishment too?"

"What?" When Alastor didn't clarified any further, she continued, concern layering her voice. "I am… Are you okay? Maybe the travel was too abrupt and left you confused? I assure you, nobody is here to punish you. The punishment is over actually! You don't have to worry about anything anymore."

Alastor stopped on his tracks and turned to her.

"I assure you, my dear. I am very well aware and conscious of my surroundings" said, his smile feeling tense as his eye twitched. "That is not the issue I am facing. If you care about my wellbeing, you can rest easy now and come back to your heavinly duties. I don't need a babysitter."

Emily pouted at that. Clearly, she wasn't used to people rejecting her help. He started walking again and she didn't stay behind.

"I am not trying to babysit you!" she protested, floating at his side. "You are obviously going through something right now and a friendly hand goes a long way! If you let me help you, I am sure you will feel better."

Alastor looked around them, almost expecting mocking faces or people to look weirded out at anyone trying to be caring out of in the open. But everyone just kept walking, trusting that whatever was happening this Emily would know how to handle it already. That also meant that nobody was going to do anything to take this angel off his back if she decided to stick around.

He mentally groaned. Maybe if he played along for a bit she would be convinced to leave him alone.

"I changed my mind. Take me to Saint Peter" said and after a beat, added. "Please."

Emily arched an eyebrow, but she still smiled with a nod.

"Of course. I understand that for new souls it's always difficult to adapt to their wings. Later I can teach you how to handle yours! Lift your arms."

"My what" Alastor lifted his arms, trying to look at his back when suddenly Emily took him by the hands, elevating him on the air.

The travel up to the gold gates he had seen at a distance lasted only a few minutes. Emily let him land softly on the ground and floated to knock on the gate.

"Peter, can you come in for a moment? A new soul that just arrived wants to speak to you."

"Sure!" A perky voice answered on the other side and the gates opened. Alastor saw another road of gold up ahead that got lost in more clouds, no clear beggining or end. If he managed to jump from it, would he be able to get home or would just be a splatter on Earth, only to be brought back again? "What I can help you with?"

Alastor looked up to the saint and something inside recoiled at his too big openly friendly smile, full of good disposition to spare laid out in the open. Was this man ever really a human? Where was his nose? What did Heaven had against noses?

"I wanted to ask if you can see my name" said Alastor, after swallowing. "I believe there must have been a mistake. I shouldn't be here."

"Well, my friend, if you are here it must be because you are supposed to be here! Although it is weird that you didn't appear here directly. I am supposed to be the one to greet the new ones, not you, Emily" commented Saint Peter with a slight frown.

"That is because he is a reformed soul!" intervened Emily enthusiastically. "He appeared right in front of me and Sera at the very center of everything! That must be why he had a different way of entrance."

"Oh, seriously? Reformed from where?" Saint Peter looked at him with a new look of curiosity and Alastor showed his teeth on a too wide smile too, more than willing to bite if he put his hand on him. Saint Peter made a oh sound when understading reached him. "From downstairs. Right. Yeah, I can see that now. He is still a bit… rough around the edges, huh?"

"I am sure a period of adjustment is to be expected" said Emily, conciliatory.

"I will say. But anyway!" Saint Peter shrugged, elevating himself on the air to reach his book. With a flick of his wrist the thick volume floated in front of him, the pages moving from front to back. "I can take a look if that makes you feel any better. Your name, please?"

"Alastor… " Alastor looked down at his hand to see that his wedding ring was gone.

He was expecting something like that, it was only logical, but actually seeing it was still a new kick to the face. To make it even worse, his hands were so different now. The skin of his hands was desaturated brown instead of pure black and the tips of his fingers had lost their intense red color, turning into a muted pink. If Charlie was there, people wouldn't connect them directly as father and daughter even if they did paid attention.

"Alastor… what?" asked Saint Peter.

Alastor frowned. Did that last name even applied to him anymore? They had taken his colors, his family, why not his last name too?

"Try Morningstar" suggested anyway, without noticing the way that Emily's eyes light up. "If that doesn't appear, Abaddon."

"Morningstar?!" repeated Emily, looking him down and up. She gasped, holding her own cheeks. "Are you the father of Charlie Morningstar by any chance? I did heard that one of her parents was a sinner! I knooow…" The eyes of Emily darted for a second to Saint Peter, concentrated on looking in his book. "I mean, I didn't know that you were him! What a coincidence that you would be the first success of her hotel!"

The way she laughed, keeping tabs on Saint Peter, concentrated on his book, made Alastor suddenly a bit more interested on her. He decided to save that as a mental note for later.

"I am" said, relaxing a bit more around her.

Charlie did mentioned a seraphim that was willing to listen and believed on her ideals just as much as she did. This one had to be it. Emily smiled again, taking his hand to pat it gently. Alastor allowed her to.

"She would be so proud of seeing you right now."

He just let the silence fill the space until Saint Peter spoke up again.

"You are here" said, floating close to Alastor. He turned the book around so Alastor could see his name, at the very bottom, written with the same golden ink as any other. "Right there, see? Alastor Morningstar."

A small comfort, but a comfort all the same. Alastor clinged to that feeling as strong as he could. That is right, that was him. He was part of the Morningstar family, ring or not.

"I suppose you don't actually know why, though" said, knowing already that it was useless and useless it was when Saint Peter shrugged.

"Sorry, not my job" said, returning the book to its place. "Is there anything else I can do?"

Alastor looked at the saint and then at the gates.

"Oh no! What is that horrible thing over there?" Alastor pointed at something on the side.

When both angel and saint turned their heads, he made his way to the open gates. The stupidest and oldest tricks on the book sometimes could still work. But even though he was sure that his feet landed on the other side, he felt a pressure around him as if moving through a wave and suddenly found himself in the exact same place where he started.

"What are you doing?" asked Saint Peter, honestly confused.

Alastor grunted and ran again. For a second he thought this was working, only to be pushed back.

"Is… is he trying to leave?" Saint Peter looked to Emily to confirm that his eyes weren't deceiving him. Nobody had ever tried to leave.

"Mmm" Emily frowned with concern when Alastor raced a long way back and then throw himself to the open gates, with the expected result of landing on the floor over his side. He couldn't get hurt, but still it wasn't something she liked to see. "Alastor, I don't think that is going to work."

Alastor glared at her. The sudden rage behind his eyes took her aback, but did not scared her and that was even worse for his mood. She had no reason to fear him. Here they were on her home. She had the power and ranking over him, which meant he was at her mercy.

Emily offered him her hand to help stand up and Alastor took it. But instead of lifting himself up, he pulled the angel closer and spoke to her on a low, controlled, voice, just for her ears.

"Get me out of here or I will tell everyone you helped out the king of hell to have an unofficial meeting with a winner. Let's see what the rest of heaven thinks of a seraphim that is supposed to spread joy breaking the rules."

"Everything okay?" asked Saint Peter.

"Yes!" said Emily, quickly, turning around to him. Alastor was relieved to see that he had hit the nail on the head. He wasn't entirely sure she was the same seraphim when he said that. "Everything is perfect! Alastor was just… playing a little prank, right? Right, Alastor? A little joke for Peter?"

That was more like it.

"Yes, a prank" said, returning to his normal charming smile. "A winner trying to escape heaven after finally managing to get out of hell! Tell me if that is not the hilarious thing you have ever heard."

"Ooh, I get it now!" Saint Peter laughed, so hard that his eyes started to tear up. "That is hilarious! You would have to be an idiot to do a thing like that!" He calmed down finally, smiling to Emily. "Heaven could always do with another kidder, right? Makes things more interesting."

"Absolutely, yes" Emily bite her lip. "But, uh, I have to give Alastor the tour now. You know the drill! I will let you get back to work."

"Don't worry, it was a slow day anyway so I needed the distraction" Saint Peter chuckled as he patted the back of Alastor, completely missing the look full of murderous intent that he got as a response as he flew to the other side of the entrance no issue. "Welcome to heaven, Alastor. Feel free to come by anytime!"

"Thanks for your help!" said Emily, waving at the man until the gates were closed. Once she was sure they weren't moving anymore and therefore Saint Peter couldn't hear them, she turned to Alastor with tense fists at her side. "You know, when someone does a favor for you, most people would be grateful instead of holding it over their heads by blackmailing them!"

"I was grateful" said Alastor calmly", right until I got stuck here against my will. I was perfectly content back in hell."

Emily's eyes widened at that.

"Wait, really? I thought the hotel was for redemption. Isn't end up here supposed to be the goal?"

"Mine wasn't. I was only there to support Charlie" Alastor sighed, rubbing his temple. This is what it got him try to be a good father. "I had a daughter, a husband and a life I had built for myself after years of hardwork. Why, and pardon my french, the hell would I want to give up any of that to be here?"

"Oh" Emily looked down, twisting her hands together. "I-I am sorry, I didn't know. I thought this was what you were looking for. If you didn't, then of course you would be upset to being send to an entirely different realm."

Alastor let his shoulder fall. Truly, she wasn't more to blame for his situation than anything else was. At least she was able to actually listen instead of insisting how lucky he should feel for being there.

"I have to get back. My family needs me" Emily nodded, but her eyes still had doubt on them. Alastor crossed his arms. "Surely there must be a precedent to a soul being send back to hell. If my husband managed to get kicked out from here, there is no reason why I shouldn't."

"Your… Oh, right, Lucifer. I don't know, Alastor. Angels and human souls are not really treated the same. I think maybe the rules are a bit more strict for us. Heaven is supposed to be for humans after all."

Alastor thought of Adam. That crude, violent man who took genuine joy of slaughtering people. Besides that last detail, with no redeeming qualities that he could imagine. A human soul given too much power that reveled on it. Maybe that was the real reason why he still was up in Heaven while others had been casted out for doing a lot less. He had been deemed "worthy" already, the decision was final.

"I have no use for a place like this" said, disgusted at the thought. "Find a way to get me back or I will do it after telling everyone what you did. If I have to burn every house I come across and slash every neck that I can get my hands on, then I will. I will show to you and the rest of heaven how right they were sending me to hell."

Alastor wanted to call his magic to give his words more emphasis. But his shadows didn't respond and no tentacles were coming out of him. Did he even had any power left on this new realm? It made him sick just to think of how weak he had to be now. He didn't let any of that show on his face, smiling as usual.

Emily stared at him, not sure of how to respond.

"Okay, so, just so we are clear, we don't want to come to that, right? We both can agree there" asked after a while.

"I don't know, I feel with a particularly arsonist mood every minute I am away home" He sighed. "I am missing the battle too by being here. That doesn't help."

"You mean the… Oh" Emily floated closer and Alastor remembered that the rest of Heaven wasn't supposed to know about the extermination. He could probably use that as more leverage. "Is that how you ended up here?"

"Are you asking me how I died for the second time?" Alastor arched an eyebrow, amused. "Isn't that a morbid topic for an angel to feel curious about? Do you want me to describe how I felt myself drowning on my own blood, my dear? Or how I touched the injury of my neck open? Oh, wait, I could give you a demostration myself! Since Heaven won't let me have pain, I could just…"

"Do you do that a lot?" asked Emily suddenly. "I already accepted to help you out, Alastor. You don't have to try to intimidate me."

Alastor cleared his throat. Old habits died hard. She was more perceptive he gave her credit for.

"You do realize that try to send a winner to hell falls under the breaking rules category, right?" changed the topic easily.

"But if I don't do it, you will tell I already broke the rules before so what is the difference?" Emily frowned. "And just so you know, I would have help you even if you weren't backmailing me. If you genuinely are miserable in Heaven and want to return to your family, that would be the least thing I could do. I don't want anyone to be sad for all eternity."

"My mood is irrelevant. Like I said, they need me down there" clarified Alastor, holding his hands behind his back. "That is a nice sentiment, but I need to be sure we are going to be on the same boat, dear" Alastor smiled wide, petting her head like a little kid that was finally learning to multiply. "That is how we do things back in hell. I can't count on your word alone. If I don't fall, you fall. Or whatever else they decide to do with you, I don't know or care. Understood?"

"You are really mean" Emily pouted slightly, looking to a side.

Alastor did too when he thought of Lucifer calling him out.

"I know" said, before taking a breath. "How are we going to go about this? I already know what method I prefer to go with. The infinitely funnier one. Let's hear yours."

"Maybe the library?" suggested Emily. "It has a record for the most notorious souls that reached Heaven. If there is a soul that was vanished to hell after coming here, their name should come up. Then we can find out how they did it."

With no other alternative, that is where they went. The whole library seemed to be a cathedral by itself, way too big for anyone without wings or that couldn't fly, which was not an issue for Emily. As she was elevating herself to reach at the highest registers of books, Alastor had no other choice but to wait for her on the ground. That obnoxiously clean reflective ground that was returning to him the image of his new body there.

It was awful. Besides the change on his own skin, his hair had become duller like his finger tips. His whole suit had been changed into a soft yellow with some details in pure white, like the cross on top of his chest, the sleeves and the lapel jacket. He hated it, almost as much as the white his antlers had turn into, but none of that was as offensive and disgusting to his mind as the pair of white wings at his back and the halo above his head. Those two things in particular made him want to slam his head against the reflection until somehow he could destroy it or cause enough brain damage that he would die again.

On the time that Emily took to come back, he had at least the chance to learn to conjure his staff. White and gold, again, with a red heart on the center rather than an eye. The same connection was there, but it felt different, warmer than before. He wasn't sure that he liked that.

The only thing he could very well tolerate was his new brown eyes. He knew those were the closest to his when he was alive and that made it all the more alien after years getting used to the red ones.

Alastor gripped his hands together behind his back, elevating his gaze so he could ignore that. He didn't want to get used to any of this.

He was hoping she could have a faster solution at hand. A potion, a crystal, a portal. Anything that he could just eat, grab or jump into directly into the fiery pits that he called home, only to forget he ever saw any of this.

Purely because of habit, his hand reached out for his pocket and, surprisingly, something was actually there. He pulled his pocket watch and stared at it. Why was that still with him, but not his magic or ring?

"What is that?" asked Emily, floating nearby with a book on her hand.

The book in question was thicker than her entire torso. Despite that, she seemed to have no issue at all handling it.

"A present from Lucifer" said Alastor, frowing. "I don't know why it followed me to here."

Emily flied over him, throwing a quick glance to the object. Just that seemed to tell her everything she needed to know.

"It's made of angelic steel, isn't it? Then technically it already belonged to Heaven, so I guess it just came to its origin. With all the more reason if you are the owner" she explained, taking the book to a nearby table to open it up. One of the heavy half of the book slammed against the table, but no dust came because of course it wouldn't. Emily wasted no time going over the written lines, her eyes quickly jumping from one point to another. "It's a beautiful work, by the way! I haven't seen steel used like that in a long while. I guess people consider it old fashion now."

Alastor smirked at that. It was old fashioned in hell too. That is why Lucifer knew it wouldn't be out of place for him to have it. He opened up the cover and the clock was still ticking like normal. If what Vaggie said was true, then his time was still the same as it was on hell. Meaning that there had been already four hours since the battle started and two since he died again.

"Right now the first man must be dead" assumed, shrugging as he put the watch back where it belonged.

Emily shook her head at the casual comment.

"What-what? Why do you say that?"

"He killed the spouse of the devil. In hell" Alastor explained it like it should be obvious enough, relying his weight on the marble table. "A dumb move if I ever saw one. Lucifer doesn't know that I am here either. I will be very surprised if he left any of your little exorcist alive after that. Ah, what I would give to have seen it with my own eyes. It must have been truly glorious. To not witness my husband going all out on some puny angels and stain the ground gold with their blood in a mockery of Heaven might be the biggest tragedy of it all."

Emily stared at his wistful expression. She did not understand hellish beings at all.

"I don't know if to be creeped out or endeared by that" said after a while. Her finger was still moving over the page, following each line. "Your face and the words you say are confusing me."

Alastor chuckled. He took notice that she wasn't saddened by the lost of Adam or the other exorcists, which did earn her a few more points.

"Feel whatever you want, dear, but do keep searching. The sooner I can come back, the sooner I can ask Lucifer all the details."

Emily sighed.

"I don't know how long this could take" recognized, throwing a glance at him. "You know, while I am doing this, you could…"

"No" Alastor alredy knew what she wanted to say.

"You didn't even let me finish."

"I won't go visit my mother."

"Ah." Emily played with the corner of a page for a second, almost shy. She knew she was threading on personal territory and didn't want to overstep his boundaries. Alastor could appreciate that. "Mmm, want to tell me why is that?"

"What is the point? Just so I have to say goodbye again? To tell her sorry, mom, I actually prefer to live in hell for the rest of eternity than live in heaven with you? By the way, we might never see each other again, so let these be my last words to you." He exhaled through his lips, practically a snort but not quite. Luckily for him the entire library was empty with the sole exception of a library angel that was floating on the furthest shelfs, no interested in telling them to shut up. "What mother wants to hear something like that from their only son? What person even?"

Emily pressed her lips together, thoughful.

"She does know Lucifer though. And Charlie" said, as gently as she could. "I am certain that she would understand that you want to be with them. And don't say again that your mood is irrelevant. You are allowed to miss your family."

Alastor's lip twitched as he straighten up again, leaving the table. Emily followed up his movements, not sure if she had screwed up or how badly.

"Keep looking, dear. I need some… disgustingly fresh air. I might see where I can get gasoline."

"You are not going to burn houses, right?" asked Emily. The snickering she could hear from Alastor did nothing to calm her down. "Hey, no cut anything either, okay? If there is anything here that can help I will find it! Just have some patience, alright?"

Alastor dedicated her a high thumbs up, not promising anything. When he heard a little groan from Emily, he draw a bigger smile. She was too easy to pick on.

He thought that a walk would help distract his mind and it did, replacing the thoughts of his mother with more disgust directed at this entire realm that he thought was capable of. Up head he saw someone dropping their purse while talking through the phone, only for a stranger to pick it up and give it back without even trying to see what was inside. The owner of the purse thank them, they shook hands and each of them were their separate ways.

Neither of them tried to knock the other. There was no demand for a reward. There was no second inspection of the purse to see that something gross hasn't been put inside. There was no bomb in the purse to surprise any of them. A perfectly civilized and calm interaction that nobody around them cared about.

How utterly disgusting. How could they live like this? Every day for eternity?

Alastor shook off the shiver that ran through him and continue walking. If Lucifer could find him no matter where he was with his own angelic powers, then no doubt Emily could do the same when she found his way back home.

He didn't had any concrete objective in mind, so his steps somehow end up in what looked to be a commercial area. Except that everything was for free all the time and yet, nobody was trying to take out the products off the shelfs or exhibitors. It was all registered calmly by a cashier and it was done, wishing everyone to have a good day with a genuine smile. Absolute madness.

He was looking for a butcher shop or appliance for the kitchen where he could see the knives, when a reflection in the vitrines made him stop. He turned around and wasn't wrong. An exorcist was just coming out from a ortophedic shop, testing out still the shiny metal arm coming up above where her elbow used to be.

Alastor felt his heart skip a beat. Did Lucifer do that? Did his love ripped an arm clean on his rampage? Oh, he could only imagine the scream of pain that exorcist would make. He hoped it had been a espectacularly high pitched one. The voice of a soprano perhaps whose painful notes could break glass. The only question was why was she alive. The thought of her somehow managing to escape was unlikely, but not entirely impossible, he imagined.

Before he could realize what he was doing, he was already following after her, instinctively knowing to keep a healthy distance to not alert her at first. Did any of them survive too? Was Adam somewhere? But no, that would be actually impossible. Once Lucifer had a reason to want someone dead, they had to be a goner. Of that he had no single doubt.

When the exorcist turned in a corner, Alastor went there too and immediately was knocked against the wall. Her metal arm was pressing against his chest.

"Why the fuck are you following me?" asked the exorcist. Alastor noticed that her eyes looked so very tired and slightly red, like she had been crying not that long ago. That brought him even more joy to think were tears of grief. "If you like me so much, you could be less of a creep about it. But beyond that, I am not interested so you can forget it."

"Goodness gracious, no!" Alastor laughed at the misunderstanding. If he did ever had such intentions, she would have never seen him coming. He had been so curious that he didn't bothered to be as stealth as he could be. "I am a married man, my dear. Trust me, I have zero interest on you in that way."

The exorcist arched an eyebrow, looking down for a second before looking up again.

"I don't see any ring."

Alastor's eyes crinkled.

"My point still stands."

"Why were you following me then?"

"Well, you see, dear" started Alastor, grabbing her arm and twisting it to press it against the exorcist's back, putting her now against the same wall. Even without his powers, he still remembered a thing or two of how to use his body. "I just have a couple of questions and I will let you go. Simple as that. First one, you just came back from the extermination, didn't you?"

The exorcist froze in place, stopping her attempts to get ride of him and looked at him over her shoulder. It took her a couple of seconds, but soon her eyes widened with recognition.

"The red demon on the roof."

Alastor gave her a toothy smile. He had no idea of who she was without her mask. To him she was just any other of the exorcist that used the same dark uniform. It still made him happy that apparently she had been paying attention during the fight with Adam.

"The radio demon to be more exact."

"W-why… what are you…"

"To tell you the truth, I am just as confused as you are, dear. I am trying to rectify this mistake right now. If we are both lucky, I won't be on the same realm as you for long. But that doesn't answer my question, doesn't it?" Alastor let her go when he realized she wasn't going to fight anymore. She turned around, her hand holding onto the start of her mechanical arm as if it was suddenly hurting. Alastor sighed, lifting a finger to press against the metal plaque. "Did my husband do that?"

The exorcist looked creeped out by the tone of his voice. Alastor did not bother to hide the yearning on his voice. Here he didn't had to keep the secret from anyone.

"N-no…" Her eyes darted around, no doubt evaluating the prospect of risking causing a scene. If she did, Alastor would loudly talk about the extermination for anyone to hear. They both knew it. "No, I did it."

"Well, that was stupid and dissapointing. What happened after I was out of commission?"

"Adam…" The exorcist closed her eyes, as if saying that name was already costing her too much. Alastor smiled bigger. Oh, a true loss. How fun. "Adam went for the princess and Lucifer appeared."

"Then what?"

She sighed, her brow wrinkling at the effort of controlling herself. Alastor waited. He could have patience for this.

"I don't really know how, but he took us all out. It all happened so fast. First Adam, then everyone else."

"You are the only survivor?" asked Alastor, imagining alredy the terrifying vision that it must have been to witness.

The sounds of the scream and slaughter as they all succumbed to the king without quartel, learning way too late that they couldn't do anything against his king. More than ever since waking up in Heaven, Alastor so wished to hold Lucifer.

"That is so awful" said Alastor with obvious mirth. "He left you to be his messanger. What message did you had to deliver that it was worth your life, dear?"

The exorcist nodded.

"He said…" She swallowed, looking to a side. "He said I should get to live, knowing I couldn't do anything to save him. He also said that… all of that was the price for his sinner."

Alastor put his forehead against the wall above the head of the exorcist, closing his eyes as he breathed in. His whole body shivered as he bite down on his own fingers. The exorcist's eyes darted around as she took a silent step to the left, away from him. She didn't want to ask or know what was that about.

Alastor wouldn't have tell her even if she did, even if they were close friends instead of strangers meeting in the weirdest cicumstances. He wouldn't be able to describe the pure violent longing that made its home on the pit of his stomach, making him wish he could burn all of Heaven already. Burn them for ever making Lucifer to hurt himself and burn them again for having the audacity of keeping them apart. He wanted to do it now, until there was nothing more than ashes and the gold finally lost its shine, the sky turned grey and their gates was pulverized. The image was so clear on his head that it was already a beautiful painting. It would be his offering, his gift to Lucifer, given in a golden platter before he let the familiar flames consume him.

After a definitely uncomfortably long amount of time, Alastor woke up from his trance. He cleared his throat, regaining his composure as if nothing had happened.

"I am okay" said Alastor, fixing his suit. "Thank you for being so cooperative, dear. I have no use for you anymore so you can continue your merry way. I will keep my mouth shut too" added when she glared at him.

She had no reason to trust him, but for now the need of putting distance between the two of them was bigger than her reason. Right before she ran, her eyes fixated above Alastor and straighten up with a salute.

"Maam!"

Alastor had heard the delicate flapping of the wings already. When he turned around, though, it wasn't Emily that was standing behind him. That other, what was her name? The older one smiled pleasantly.

"You can go, Lute. I was intending to talk to our new resident. You earned yourself a rest."

Lute nodded emphatically, throwing a glance to Alastor before she put her legs to good use. Alastor likewise, hiting the floor with his staff.

"I don't believe we have been properly introduced, my dear! I am…"

"Alastor Morningstar" said Sera, tilting her head lightly. "Of course, Saint Peter told me already."

Was Saint Peter the gossiper of this place? Had he made a mistake already? No, they were going to find out his name sooner or later.

"Well, that is no fun!" declared Alistor with a lightheated chuckle. "I wanted to keep some sense of mystery for a while longer, but alas! Let me return the favor then. You are Sera, isn't it? I think Emily might have mentioned it when we first met."

The seraphim nodded. She was beautiful, he had to give her that, but she lacked the open arms aura of his husband. This angel kept her arms in front, where she could maintain at a distance what she didn't need.

"I am sorry I wasn't able to welcome you before. I had to have a talk with the elders about your… situation. You probably understand already how peculiar it is."

"No doubt about it!" laughed Alastor, wondering where the hell was Emily. "Emily has been a delight showing me around already! I don't think I will need any further assistance navigating this place. I appreciate the concern anyway."

"Oh, no, I wasn't trying to offer you another tour" Sera put a graceful hand on his shoulder. "Would you mind coming with me so we can have a talk?"

This seraphim was older than Emily. Bigger and probably a lot stronger. Worse than that, he had nothing to hold against her. He had no choice but to follow, for now.

"Lead the way, dear."

[queenmagnusao3]

a kiss with death is better than none

An Agathario fic that starts at the beginning. I'll be trying to stay within the bit of canon the show gave us for Agatha's history but may bend a few things to better fit my narrative

Link to full fic

Evanora Harkness pulled the freshly baked pie from the oven, the warmth of the hot metal oven causing her face to flush and her eyes to sting. She quickly placed it on the table and wiped her brow. The sun had set not 30 minutes prior and she knew he would be there at any moment.

She had felt him growing more distant from her for nearly a full moon cycle now. He seemed to genuinely love her, or at least he seemed to enjoy bedding her any chance he got but his pesky wife and their two brats were getting in the way. He seemed unwilling to leave them, no matter how much of herself she gave over to him.

Evanora wasn’t completely above killing his wife and the children, she just wasn't that desperate yet. She could still make it work. She could still convince him he wanted to stay of his own free will. He was a man of status in the small village and if she could keep him on her side, she wouldn’t have to worry about ending up on the gallows or worse. She would be safe.

The fear towards witch kind had grown to such extreme heights fewer and fewer witches were willing to practice their craft anymore. The humans were quick to pass judgement and even the slightest hint of an unnatural ability was met with swift action. These punishments and executions had begun to get more brutal and extreme. Some deaths were easily avoidable for the average witch but not all were skilled or prepared enough for the trials that awaited them. To make matters worse, many of those accused weren’t even magical, just poor women caught up in the high of the witch hunt. 

Evanora herself once nearly met her end, finding herself standing before a judge and jury determined to find her guilty of the crime that was being a witch. Lucky for her, she was rather proficient in the art of manipulating the mind. It was a fine tuned magic that would damage and warp the weak mind of most humans if not done precisely. 

She used her manipulations to bring forth the truth: the true witch was her accusor, determined to frame Evanora for her own cimes. The witch did not feel guilty over that women’s death. She had already sent half a dozen others to Death’s waiting arms. She deserved whatever pain awaited her.

No, in order to truly be safe she needed him to truly love her. Being a man it wasn’t hard to catch his eye. A slip of her skirts or the gently flip of her hair had him under her spell as soon as he laid his eyes on her. But that rush of something new and forbidden had started to wear off. She needed to up the stakes.

There was the sound of horseshoes on dirt and she quickly pinched her cheeks, giving them an even more rosey look, putting on her sweetest smile turning just as the door opened. 

Thomas was not a particularly handsome man but his dark hair and blue eyes gave him a charming look that Evanora genuinely found enduring. He smiled at her but the smile did not reach his eyes and she knew something was wrong.

“I baked you a pie, my darling. It’s elderberry.”

He took off his hat, holding it in his hands. Another warning. He always hung his hat on the hook by the door.

“My favorite.”

She scanned his face, wishing, not for the first time in her life, she could see into his mind. 

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t move from the front door. He always pulled her into his arms when he got home. Instead he ran a hand through his thick hair and let out a long sigh.

No no no no no no no

Bells were ringing in her head. She could save this. She could get him to stay.

“Thomas, dear. Come sit and have some pie. It’s been days and I’ve missed you so.”

She moved to him and started to pull off his coat but he flinched away from her. She froze, her heart starting to race as she started working through ideas. She was not going to run again. With his protection she could live her life in peace. She could gather a coven again and together they’d be strong enough to handle anything the foolish humans might try to do to them. She just needed more time.

“Evanora?”

She blinked rapidly, looking up into his piercing blue eyes.

“Evanora, I am sorry. But whatever this is between us cannot continue. I have a wife and two babes not yet 6. I cannot leave them.”

Evanora’s eyes darkened. It wasn’t her fault he was married. He was the one who fell for her advances. He was the one who broke his vow, his devotion. She would not suffer rejection from someone so weak.

She took a step back and turned her back on him. She had one card left to play. Hunching over, she began to quietly sob, pinching the inside of her arm to help the tears well. She heard him take a step and the moment he touched her back she pulled away from his touch, whirling around with angry tears spilling down her cheeks.

“You cannot do this to me! I am an unmarried women with no one else to look after me. To look after us .” She sucked in a dramatic sob of a sigh and fell to her knees, wrapping an arm around her midsection for good effect. She wasn’t actually with child. But that was easy enough to remedy. Or she could always fake a miscarriage in a few weeks. She just needed him to stay for now. 

It took so long for him to react that she almost looked at him to be sure the idiotic man understood what she was telling him. She waited though, letting her gently sobs continue until he was on the floor before her, gently taking her hands in his.

“My darling, are you telling me you are with child?”

She slowly moved her eyes up to meet his, pausing just a moment before nodding slightly. He let out a soft breath and kissed her hands before pulling her into a tight embrace. Evanora melted against him, a wave of relief washing over her as she knew she had won.

“We shall  find someone to help get rid of it. I know they are medicines one can take to-”

She pulled away from him in an instant.

“What did you say?”

He had the gull to look at her confused as if what he said was perfectly normal.

“Evanora, this changes nothing. I am already married. I already have children. I cannot just leave them. I would be an outcast, a disgrace. And your child, the child would be a bastard with no place in society or hope for a future.”

Her anger bubbled over and she lashed out with her magic. She pierced his mind, causing as much pain as she could with no care for precision or care. He writhed and screamed, clutching his head as his eyes glowed. 

You’ll go to your wife tonight and tell her you’re leaving. Tell her you don’t love her. Do whatever you have to do to make them understand you’re not coming back. Make your children forget they ever had a father. Get rid of them in a way that ensures we’ll never have to see them again. Then come back to me and devote yourself to me fully.

She wasn’t even fully aware of the commands she was giving him, she just wanted him gone. She didn't even care if he came back at this point. She just wanted to cause him as much pain as she could. She let out a scream of anger before cutting him free of her spell, rushing to the back door and vomiting into the grass as the cool air stung against her tearstained face.

She knew he would be gone when she went back inside. 

2 days later he returned. His eyes staring at her without truly seeing as he stood in the doorway, his clothing soaked in crimson blood.

“What di-”

“It’s done. They’re gone. And you, my beloved, are mine .”

He walked to her, pulling her close as his lips met hers in a crushing kiss. There was a passion behind it she had not felt from him before. He pushed her back towards the kitchen table, taking her by the hips and lifting her up so she was sitting on the edge. His kisses were frenzied and he quickly started undoing his breeches as she greedily lifted her skirts. She liked this new Thomas and she wanted him just as much as he seemingly wanted her.

He was rough and finished quickly, leaving her wanting more. But she saw it happen in an instant, his eyes changed from hard and hungry to confused, followed by horrified. He pulled away from her, taking in the blood that had transferred to her clothing. His gaze moving towards his own hands and the blood that covered him. He stumbled backwards, towards the door.

“Wh-what have I done?”

Evanora pushed her skirts back down, catching her breath as she walked to him. She touched him gently, slipping back into the role of the meak, nurturing woman he was attracted to for some reason.

“Shh, it’s okay. It will all be okay. Let me get you cleaned up and we can talk about it.”

But there was a madness in his eyes now. 

“No. Y-you stay away from me. I-I heard you in my head. What did you do to me? What have I done? My children! My wife!”

He tripped as he moved farther away from her, stumbling down the stairs as he ran away. 

Evanora watched him stagger down the road towards the village. Letting out a sigh she started making a mental list of the belongings she would be able to carry with her to her next destination. She was never really meant for the life of doting housewife anyway. It was worth the try but it was no great loss on her part.

Her house was empty by the time the townsfolk came for her. She stuck around long enough to hear of his trial. He had slit his wife’s throat and left his children to drown in a well. He confessed to everything claiming his only defense being he had been put under some spell by a witch he had been having relations with.

Committing crimes under a spell sometimes worked as a defense but with such a heinous crime he did not stand a chance. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. 

He was hanged not 3 days later.

It was not for nearly a full moon cycle later that Evanora Harkness realized Thomas had left her with a parting gift. She supposed it was some divine retribution that her last encounter with him had resulted in new life. Maybe this child would be the way forward. Maybe it would be the soltution to all her problems.

She wandered for a few days before she was drawn to a young witch living quietly at the edge of a forest. The woman was happy to provide her with a safe place to take shelter.

“You are with child.”

It was not a question. Evanora looked around the camp and noticed cards on a table, a few of them still set in a familiar spread. A divination witch.

“Yes.”

“The child was made with magic.”

Evanora nodded.

“There is a darkness hanging over her conception.”

Her. So it was a girl. Evanora already felt this though. She had not dwelled much on the fact the child was conceived under magical coercion. Plenty of witches got men with love spells or potions. Surely this was no different. But the other witch’s eyes suddenly grew wide and Evanora swore the skiy darkened.

“There is a great evil within you, Evanora Harkness.”

Evanora’s skin prickled as the witch continued.

“Her power will be like nothing this world has seen. Death will follow your child wherever she goes.”

[nemorialex]

The 25th June 13th

Today should have been horrible. It always was. Even if it was a “good” day, Alex’s fear, anxiety, and trauma came to tear at them, like wolves and flame to flesh… 10 years ago that was a literal statement.

That being said… Today was…

Today was good. 

Naturally, Frenchie spent the day with them. Alex probably wouldn’t survive the ordeal without him. He brought along Casey, who showed off new skirts and pelted her papa with beanbags. If there was ever a time where he earned that beautiful blue diamond badge and the title of “Moirail” it was now. A solid rock, a warm presence, and he did a damn good job of keeping them from spiraling.

Another reason for their good mood was declaring today a “baking” day. Eight pies (later totaling out to eleven) were made and sent out to friends and family. Shopping at the local consort market, out in the fresh air and bustling crowd of bubbles and chirps, provided clarity. Folding dough and measuring fillings and pipping out whipped cream took concentration that kept even their attention deficit mind occupied. They had even tried their hand at a couple of new creations! 

Dinner was also a success (when it had no right to be.) Frenchie looked amazing in his sky blue and cloudy suit, of course, and Dirk looked pretty ridiculous in a sleeveless tux. The bastard even used his new “accessory” of their sharp tooth as a tie pin, front and center. Taunting. But they weren’t going to get into that sort of fight tonight, Alex was going to keep their own dark blue suit and green tie clean of a scuffle. The restaurant that Frenchie worked at was a nicer place, but nothing RIDICULOUS like $500 garnishes or whatever; it was a good middle ground between dressing up and stressing out, and having been there a few times it familiar territory. 

Dirk gave them a gift. A piece of metal on a necklace in the shape of a tooth (bastard…) and decorated with moving, clicking, shifting parts… Something to play with? Something to solve? He also paid the check. 

After dinner, Alex went back to the boy’s home to spend the rest of the night there. Preferably cuddled up in an obscene number of pillows/blankets/plush while watching comfort movies until they fell asleep. Casey and Deb were dropped off earlier and by now they were tucked in. Or at least, they were off in a room with the door closed and pretending to be asleep. 

Before Alex could reach the cuddle pile, Zack caught them. With a jerk of the head, he lead his sibling outside to the balcony. 

“So… good day?”

“Actually…” Alex ducked their head and lowered their voice, as if some cosmic being would hear them. “Yeah… It was.”

“Cool. Good…” He nodded and looked out at the colorful dusk sky, studying those suddenly fascinating milky clouds. The silence stretched for a moment, just long enough to get a taste of the Awkward it would turn into when Zack spoke up again. 

“Obviously, I know you’re not into today.” He shrugged his shoulders in defense. “And I’m cool with that. Obviously.” 

“Obviously.” They echoed with a nod, a teasing smile playing at their lips.

“Shut up. Point is… Feels wrong to just. Let this one slide completely, y’know? It’s a milestone after all...”

“Milestone.” This echo was less teasing. It lingered as Alex collected the pieces implied. “Wait, is it?” 

“Yeah.” He looked back at them now, a teasing smile on his lips now. “You’re twenty five today, dude.” 

Alex sucked a tight breath through their teeth. Now it was their turn to see what was so fascinating about those clouds. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know their own age (and temporarily getting the dates mixed up did NOT count!) but the connections in meaning- the significance- was still there. He might as well strap a party hat to their skull and start blowing a noise maker.

Zack sighed. 

“Listen. It’s not even about today, okay? Forget about that. This is about you. You’re still my sibling. My little sister. You deserve… I dunno, something, right? Sum’in special. Lets just say it’s for the hell of it, even though making it to twenty five goddamned years with how batshit insane you are is a miracle in and of itself.” 

There was a nudge on their arm and Alex looked down at the small black box in his hand, then up at his face. He was pudgy. Not fat, per say, but his cheeks and chin were more rounded out and peachy and stubbled and healthy than- What mental picture were they trying to compare him to, here? When he was a rounder kid? When he was a re-discovered gaunt teen? When he was a muscular-by-survival young adult? Zack had called Alex his little sister. It wasn’t a forgotten slip-up, and it wasn’t out of malice. He was invoking a time long ago, built on a singularity between two, full of trust and love and defense. It felt… Okay, in this context and this instance. They understood the many, many words buried beneath the one.

Alex stared at him a moment longer as their hand slowly reached out and took the gift. A jewelry box, with a stiff and creaky hinge at the back. Inside was a clear crystal, only a couple of centimeters in diameter and completely spherical aside from the teardrop tail that connected it to a silver chain. While the outside was smooth, the inside was marred with cracks and beautiful imperfections. When Alex lifted it out of the box, those cracks within caught the last rays of sunlight and split it into a rainbow of refracted light.

“So get this, the store names each piece of jewelry, right? ‘Parently, this one’s called “Haven’s Tear.” It’s like, basically a solid fucking diamond, but. You know. Not from Earth. Think it’s got a different chemical makeup or something? Super rare, and I’m not telling you the price because you’ll shit your pants and then kill me.” 

His chuckles died at the lack of a response. Zack stayed quiet, even though they could tell he had a lot more to say. Alex looked up at him and- Wow, when did the world suddenly become wobbly and waterlogged? All at once, a hiccuping sob bubbled up out of them, those built-up tears spilling over. It was stupid! And spontaneous and weak and pointless and-!!! 

And it was a really sweet gift. With sentiment put behind it. With a little speech and a history (Zack had more to say, and Alex could see the little slip of informational paper just inside the cushioning of the box) Also it was at the end of a really, really stressful day that somehow turned out to be wonderful and–

“Thanks…” Their voice was wobbly. 

“No problem. May I?” Thankfully, Zack knew when to tone down the dramatics, but he was still being cheeky. He practically bowed and held out a hand to take their gift back. He carefully draped the chain around the front of his sibling’s heck and redid the clasp behind them, away from any loose hairs. After spinning them around by the shoulders to get a good look (the perfect fit, if he did say so himself) he closed the rest of the gap in a tight hug. Alex clung to his shirt, sniffling. 

“... You know I want to say it, right?”

Alex sniffled extra hard and gave him a wet laugh.

“Fine… Go ahead…”

He squeezed them tighter, and spoke quietly. 

“Happy birthday, Alex.”

[sleepy-seal]

{hi gale!! this'll be coming in waves so I don't flood your inbox too hard lmao. anyways part 1}

LORE Gale

What was the inspiration for his blue arc?

How was it putting ocean through every trial imaginable lmao

Not exactly LOREgale but why was Swap!Gale's hell Walmart. secondary why was shell in hell in the first place

At what point did the car dealership/rental service/whatever in Nebraska realize that something was Certainly And Extremely Wrong with Gale

Is he ever able to get therapy

Do you think when it was all calm he got some shitty storemade cake to celebrate

Did you ever want them to Go Insane?

Gale and Acher. can I ask about ocean's thoughts on the strange tiny murderous robot turned silly not-so-murderous robot throughout the arcs

Did anyone from Gale's old town wonder where they went?

Does he ever casually turn into a cat and then both people for a day

Has Gale ever gone to the ocean. because I think shell might like that. what was it like for them during Ocean Trip TM

OH BOY!!!!! MY FAVORITE

- the inspiration was partly inspired by, well, the pawn promotion. by becoming a queen lore gale became much more powerful than acher, and therefore much more dangerous. blue was kind of an improvised decision, as one of the main articles of clothing gale was wearing was . well, blue. so i kind of leaned into that a bit. the other part was well. the magnus archives. i made lore gale's character way more jarchivist coded than i intended so i leaned into it a bit, especially with gale progressively Losing their sense of humanity and their struggle trying to accept it.

- it was very fun lmao. they are my webkinz doll i am soaking with milk and throwing against the wall.

more answers under the cut because this is Long and i have a lot of things to say

- swap!gale's hell is walmart because 1) my partner moth goes there frequently and laments about how much of a labyrinth it is and 2) have you Seen walmart?? also the reason why sale is in hell is. um. fraud?? and also being a willing accomplice in and also enabling some of moth's war crimes.

- probably the moment gale walked into the dealership. they were glowing and sweaty and looked like they just got out of a fight (which they did) and immediately asked for a rental which. uh. definitely set people off. also their fingers were blue.

- maybe! once they are financially capable of it at least.

- probably! it would probably be a time when gale isn't in Stress Baking Mode but also too fatigued to make anything so they just buy a single cake slice and eat that. it tastes terrible but it's probably the most comforting thing they've had in a while

- yes. absolutely. 100%

- okay so i will try to simplify it enough in a way that Makes sense but also gives some insight to their thought process.

> gale under the belief that acher Really Is Moth or close to it and treats them as such, upset that "moth" is not really moth. they are also afraid of her

> they abandon "moth" and cut them off for a brief while, sabotaging its plan

> pure fear. they don't want to die to "moth". they briefly consider murder but quickly write it off

> truce. a calm period where gale thinks there may be a chance of redemption and rekindling

> moth comes back. he takes his eyes off acher and focuses more on shell's friend

> neutral, almost unfamiliar. acher asserts that they don't Actually care about anyone and gale believes them. since the real moth came back they can focus on them instead of the doppelgänger of the friend.

> rocky. they are on uneven ground and since the truce is technically off, it doesn't take much for acher to get on their bad side. this is probably the stage where gale is at their most unstable and willing to hurt back.

> truce, but better. gale hasn't quite forgiven acher yet. they can't. but at the very least they trust him enough to try again.

> trust. acher is a friend. they put their full faith in acher on improving and growing, even if forgiveness is not in sight yet.

- sorta? there were people gale knew before they ran away that considered gale a friend, but not the other way around. some of them think that they probably died, and some of them think they ran away because life was just too hard. their family misses them technically, but they also blame ocean for being so selfish.

- YES. 100%. turns out there are multiple benefits to being a cat. 1. is nobody will question you when you are annoying, because that's Just Cat Things.

- THEY HAVE! gale visited gem's cousin jeremy once or twice. he lives in california with his boyfriend, and they occasionally come by for family reuinions. mostly to see gale. but gale LOVES the ocean. they didn't get to see it much but it's always so big and they don't stop talking about the phenomenon that occurs in the sea.

[the-sidekick-club]

Happy Birthday Sadie!

Today, March 5th, is President Sadie's birthday! And ladies, gentlemen, and esteemed individuals we have a treat for you. It's time for a drum roll please… character interview!

Tws: None

Word Count: 2k... most of this length comes from overly-detailed baking descriptions.

"Good whatever time it is where you are ladies, gentlemen, and esteemed individuals. I'm your host, @tratieisdabest, welcome to Aiga Author News." I say excitedly. This is a special episode, and we have a very special set of guests. 

"Today we have a very special interview because it's President Sadie's birthday! Hi there, President Sadie, how are you today?" I say as she makes her way into frame, the fourth wall once again having crumbled. 

Thankfully, we have a device that quickly rebuilds it, known as the "Pretend this never happened and don't write anyone remembering it" button, a design born of my fellow writers and my genius. 

The President gracefully waves before taking her special seat, which is in her very special shade of blue and incredibly comfortable. 

"Thank you for asking, Trax, I've been great! A bit tired from baking my own cake, but I did get some help from Alexa, which was nice." Sadie replies. But suddenly the studio starts to wibble-wobble… back in time! That's right, folks, its time for a flashback!

—

Earlier today (March 5th), Sadie's parents' house. 

In the Delmira household, things were busy. Sadie's mom and dad don't have names because it hasn't been important to the story… yet! So they will be referred to as MenderMom and MenderDad. Anyway, MenderMom and MenderDad were hanging up decorations for a party in the backyard. It wasn't a big one or anything, but would host some of Sadie's college and hero friends. It also wasn't a particularly "exciting" one; instead of typical adult party games there was chess and trivia, and instead of alcohol there was sparkling apple cider and chocolate milk. In other words, it was exactly what Sadie wanted. 

But she wasn't around to help because she was busy baking her own birthday cake instead! While this may sound like a terrible time, she greatly enjoyed baking, and also the control it gave her over the outcome. And, if it turned out bad, no one could be upset because it was her birthday; who was going to get mad at her? But if someone else messed up the cake, they might feel bad (not that Sadie would be upset. And sometimes she made overly complex cakes, and didn't really feel comfortable asking a friend to do that for her, though none of them would've minded. But never fear, dear readers, she did have a helper. In a turn of the tables, Alexa (also known as Lady Alexandria) was the one assisting her… though it is worth noting that even in hero-work the two were closer to partners than a hero and sidekick. 

But anyway, the cake. 

Sadie had gone with a blackberry lime cake, with lime curd in the middle. 

Alexa was currently doing grunt work, stirring the egg yolks, sugar, butter, and lime juice and zest together over a double broiler. It was long and tedious and annoying and Sadie did not want to do it… so it was the perfect job for her assistant! Well, maybe it wasn't long, but you try standing over a double boiler constantly stirring with one hand and a thermometer in the other, waiting for your curd to reach the safe temperature! It may not actually take long, but it sure does feel like it, especially when you don't have super strength. Which luckily Alexa does, so, while it was still annoying, it wasn't terrible or anything. 

Sadie was whipping up some buttercream in her stand mixer, which was probably her favorite baking tool. She had accumulated many attachments for it over the years, and would hopefully get even more as presents this year! 

The cake was already baked and cooling on wire racks before it could be transferred to the fridge and later leveled, but that was the easy part anyhow. This was especially true since she had "bake even cake strips" (which are basically pieces of oven-safe fabric you soak in water to put around the outside of a cake pan), which helped ensure the outer part of the cake wouldn't cook before the middle, resulting in a partially dry cake. Dry cake made Sadie sad, so she was particularly happy when she received these strips one year on her birthday, especially since she hadn't even known they existed. If only more people knew about them…

Finally, the curd reached the proper temperature and thickness, so Sadie grabbed a glass bowl and poured it in before covering it with cling film, careful to press in down so it wouldn't form a film on top. She would use a metal bowl, but she knew from past recipe instructions that the metal taste would transfer to the curd if she did that (not even the whisk used to mix it could be metal), and she didn't really feel like having her cake taste like blood. 

And the blackberry lime buttercream was done too! 

"Hey Alexa, come taste this." Sadie said after Alexa placed the whisk she'd used in the dishwasher and turned off the stove. Alexa grabbed a spoon and took a small bite off the whisk attachment. 

"Wow Sadie, that's really good!" She praised her baking mentor. Sadie blushed, not dark enough that her skin could cover it up beyond a slight fluster. 

"Thanks, Alexa, but I really just followed the recipe." Alexa hummed lightly, clearly not agreeing that's all it was. "Actually I do think it needs a dash of vanilla extract." Sadie said, frowning as she took another taste. She always added vanilla to recipes, even if they didn't say to, because it tended to improve basically every flavor. 

Alexa's eyes widened, reaching for the bottle, but Sadie was too quick, already adding in two capfuls and starting the mixer back up before Alexa even fully processed her words. "Sadie." She scolded lightly. Sadie did this all the time, and Alexa had been baking cakes with her since their first year working together. "Do I need to put your vanilla under lock and key?" 

Sadie looked at her with absolute betrayal. "I bought this with my own money! And this is the really good stuff, dissolved in water instead of alcohol. It's expensive and if you steal it, I will report you to the agency." At this point Sadie was tightly clasping the bottle close to her chest, which wouldn't have stopped Alexa if she really wanted to take it, but did show how precious it was to Sadie. Alexa looked at her with amusement and slowly raised her hands in surrender. 

"Alright, I'll leave your vanilla be." 

Sadie eyed her suspiciously, choosing to tuck the glass bottle into her pocket for safekeeping. "I think the cakes are ready to be taken out of the pan." She said, checking the time. They'd been out for around an hour, so Sadie asked Alexa to carefully remove them from the pan. 

Many people thought that because she was so strong she didn't know how to control her strength and be gentle, but that really wasn't true. The hero had spent years learning how to control her power; it was ridiculous to think she couldn't be careful. 

So Alexa gently slammed them upside-down against the counter, the cakes sliding out easily since Sadie had used parchment paper and oil. The motion gave Alexa a weird sense of deja-vu, since she'd done something similar earlier today to get the air bubbles out of the cake batter… though that was done right side up. 

Alexa then placed the first cake onto a cling wrapped plate (so it wouldn't stick), put a layer of cling wrap, and then put the 2nd layer on. This step was repeated with a 3rd cake (as it was 3 layers) and the whole stack was wrapped up and stuck in the fridge. 

"Hey, can you grab the piping bags from the drawer?” Sadie asked as she scraped the sides of the icing bowl down with a spatula. “I think I want to pre-fill them."  

“Yeah sure.” Alexa grabbed some couplers (which held icing tips onto icing bags) as well. Sadie set to work assembling some icing bags for later, and Alexa began to clean up, putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher and cleaning up little messes. The two worked well together, having done this and other kinds of work for years now, so it was easy to find a rhythm. 

The recipe normally would've taken Sadie 4 hours on her own, but with Alexa's help it only took two, plus a bit of extra time to decorate the cake. This part went by fast, as Sadie just did a simple "palette knife" design, where you make the icing look like paint that was spread with a palette knife. This type of decorating had quickly become a favorite of Sadie's; it was easy but still looked artistic, which was a huge win in her book.

While the two had been waiting for the cake and curd to cool, they'd played some chess outside in the garden. Alexa was pretty neutral toward the game, but Sadie loved it (probably because she usually won), so she played it with her for her birthday. Alexa was also competitive, so losing so often was a bit annoying to her, but she loved Sadie and knew it was all in good fun, so she went through it a few times a year just to be nice. The bright smile Sadie made every time she tricked Alexa or checkmated her king was worth the small blows to her ego. This little break on their feet was nice, and probably had helped the previously mentioned decorating and assembly go by so quick. 

—

The party was plenty fun, everyone playing card games that Sadie well… sometimes won. Which did annoy her, but she was so was very mature about it and definitely didn't have to stop herself from screaming when she lost at Uno for the 4th time in a row. Thankfully, her suffering was interrupted when the cake was finally brought out! 

The group had slowly eaten dinner throughout the games, which was just typical barbecue food (hamburgers & hot dogs along with their vegan alternatives), so they weren't violating the household rule of "No dessert before dinner!", not that the Delmiras always complied with that. 

Everyone sang happy birthday, which was a bit awkward, Sadie made her wish (which she can't tell you but we can) for Alexa and Shadows to get together already, and everyone ate cake and had a good time. 

In short, Sadie had a perfect birthday, and lovely presents (though a few had to be given outside the party since they were slightly hero related and her civilian friends didn't know about that), and it was very nice. No stupid villains, no annoying Hirra, no oblivious Shadows and Alexandria, just Sadie and her friends and family. 

—

"Well, that's not totally true," Sadie said, staring at the last words on the screen. I turn away from the in-studio movie screen, a look of confusion on my face.

"What do you mean? These are real clips of your life. Were they doctored? Sam, did you –"

Sadie cuts me off "No, no, no. That was all real which is… kind of creepy. But the concluding ‘no stupid Hirra' wasn't exactly true." 

"Wait, what? She interrupted your special day?! And here I was starting to like her…" I say, shaking my head. 

"Well, she wasn't bad or anything. She gave me a little gift the next time I saw her." Sadie said with a slight smile. 

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we were battling and Mr. Shadows and Alexa were focused on each other per usual, so Hirra gave me an embarrassing photo of Kim and told me happy birthday. I asked her why and she said it was as much a present to me as it was her." Sadie said with a light laugh. 

I blinked in surprise. Sam hadn't informed me of this. Huh, we must've come up with that some other time and I forgot about it. Good thing there's 3 of us! "Well, that's a very sweet story. Thank you for taking the time to be with us, Sadie. Have a nice rest of your sleep." I gesture to the crew, who cut the cameras and zap Sadie's memories away, and herself back to Aiga to dream. 

And that's a wrap on our President Sadie Birthday Special. Have a nice rest of your whatever time it is, folks! 

[urbuddynova]

Hi!! I found your art of Red/Dunce and I absolutely love the style, but you mentioned that you made up a whole backstory for the game, and I'm interested!! Is there any chance u can elaborate on the origin story you thought of for Rainbow Friends?/genq

Yeah sure!

i guess here goes my rant XD

Pretty much in my little version that Oswald and Trenton made a successful kids tv show. The characters were vibrant and had good morals at the end of each episode. The personality of the characters are kinda like this:

Blue: the leader (obviously-) , he is seen as that king like character who’s loyal, brave and always thinks things through before jumping to action. He’s pretty energetic and enthusiastic but has a running gag where at the start of the episodes he’s sleeping on his thrown and the kids have to wake him up by shouting his name.

green: green is the party goer, the one that plans and puts others before himself. He has impeccable eyesight and is able to see every detail imaginable to make sure a party goes PERFECTLY. Green is also blues best friend, always helping when the igns go wrong

orange: Orange is a pretty smart guy and is a train conductor on the railways. He’s quite the goofball and likes to talk a lot. He LOVES cake, a running gag for him is him chasing a piece of cake as the end credit of the episode, when the rainbow friends need i ride they can count on the fastest train conductor in the show!

purple: purple is a small little guy that has a fear of water and tight spaces. They’re quite the pipsqeauk but just like orange is a huge chatterbox and loves to help green witch parties. Whatever it is that’s exciting they’re down to help! As long as it doesn’t end up with them stuck in a high area or on a boat in the river.

yellow: yellows is an eccentric bird that is known to be the best flyer in all the show! No matter the height he can reach for the sky! Quite a social one like the others but also loves the spot light! Tight spaces? He can fly through! Closed areas? He’s great at gliding! The wind is his direction and the sky is the limit!

cyan: a sweet bubbly Dino! With an obsession with fun facts about bugs! If there’s a problem with any small critter she will know what to do! But she gets distracted easily and is abit of an air head so watch out! She will fight with you if you say spiders are a bug, (they are arachnids!!!). Overall is kind and curious.

Dunce: oh sweet dunce. An dumb little lookie that grew legs, doesn’t even know what to do with them! If you need help with math homework he’s the last person you wanna ask. Doesn’t speak but is expressive through chirps and hand gestures. Is a pro at baking sweets and will make you a cake on your birthday. Don’t worry the kitchen is the only thing he can’t mess up! He did blow it up once though-

all these characters with these personalities. Yet once they were recreate in real life their personalities and even physical traits were distorted. That’s what happens when you try to make life out of nothing…you get flaws. There are only snippets of their original personality.

Blue cannot think straight and has the brain power of a toddler. He will put anything in his mouth especially if he’s hungry. Don’t have food near him he will steal it. The only thing that was correct was his love to sleep. Especially in a sitting position.

Green came out completely blind. Couldn’t make a single sound except squeaks and party noises.Still surprisingly good friends with blue and silently follows him around when he hears his footsteps.

Orange…he’s just a rabid dog…he can’t drive he can’t speak the only thing he does is eat, run and sleep….he’s a strange thing. His live for cake is still there however.

purple. Wow…not only did they turn out HUGE. But they seemed to love dark murky areas where as their tv show counterpart despised it. They hate to socialise and stay in the vents. Do not put your feet near. No matter what you are they will grab you.

Yellow. Had it bad. They were created flightless. He needs a propeller on his back to help him fly. He’s not one to like the spotlight either and has become quite shy and secluded. He still has a live for flying…he just can’t do it indoors or as high as his tv show counterpart could.

Cyan. Aggressive, always alert. Still likes bugs but once only gazes at it. she hears something she will lock onto it. A true predator. Yet she’s still curious.

The scientist (or red). The one thing he keep was his love for baking. Despite not doing as often when he does he goes all out. He usually just makes the cake for the party room where the players go on the final night.

And if you wanted to know “dunce” was the one that tried to create blue and Oswald and Trenton mysteriously disappeared one day. It’s not known why they left but Mabye it was red to blame. They were at first happy to see him be so Intelligent and help them try and bring the friends to life. But as more of the rainbow friends were created and incidents happened….like blues….first and LAST friend incident…..They started to get upset and more agitated as to why he couldn’t have just been a dumb lookie. Red wanted to do something amazing and didn’t want them to slow him down from wanting be something more that just the “dunce”. He hates the name and when someone calls him that he seems upset. At least he still has his lookie family.

anyways here’s my little beliefs on how the characters were like. It’s abit silly since it’s late and I am not the best at putting words together to make a coherent sentence XD

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

✨ EXCERPT REVEAL ✨

Here's a first look at BARRETT by Laramie Briscoe

Barrett is the 4th book in the Broken Falls series by Laramie Briscoe

Available everywhere on July 26th!

Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/4bwh21v

Laramie’s Website ➜ https://bit.ly/4bBeCOr

Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/3yh5pMV

BN ➜ https://bit.ly/4bgSIjW

Apple ➜ https://apple.co/4dDg4lm

Google ➜ https://bit.ly/3yljsBi

First look at Barrett!

It's been a long day, and Gabby still hasn't texted me back. My common sense tells me I should take that for what it's worth, but the part that really cares about Gabby wants to make sure she's okay? It's worried as f*ck, and I need to know. I debate on whether I want to stop when I drive by and see her car still parked in the back of Get Baked. There's a real chance that she doesn't want to see me, there's an even bigger chance that I just need to make sure she's okay. I want to set eyes on her.

Parking next to her, I get out and walk to the back door. I knock twice, waiting for her.

"Who is it?"

"It's Barrett. I just wanna make sure you're alright. I'll leave if you want me to after I see how you're doing." I hurry those words in a rush.

The sound of her unlocking the door makes me smile. With a sigh, she opens it, staring at me. "As you can see I'm okay. It's going to take more than what happened to bring me down. I might be a little bruised and broken, but I'll make it through."

"I have no doubt that you will, Gabs. I just want to make sure you're good. You never texted me back."

She sticks out a hip, throwing me a little bit of attitude, which I love. "I didn't know I was required to text you back, Barrett. We broke up, remember? I wasn't sure that after the way we left each other, either of us would want to hear from the other."

That's a fair assumption. "I care about you, I always have. I can't turn that off because we've had some sh*t happen between us. I lost years off of my life when I saw that someone had broken into your shop, Gabby."

"I know..."

"No you don't. You'll never know the fear." I interrupt her. "I know I don't have the right to be here, because I f*cked up what we were building."

She interrupts me. "No, we both f*cked that up, Barrett. It wasn't just you. That was a team effort." She exhales loudly. "Let's start over."

I inhale, close my eyes, and then let the breath out slowly. "Hey girl, hey."

She laughs, which is what I hoped she would. It lights up those eyes of hers and my stomach does a flip. "Hey."

"So, I texted you earlier, you might not have gotten it, or you were busy. But I wanted to make sure you're okay. There's been some crazy sh*t happening in the neighborhood lately." I grip the door facing to keep from reaching out and cupping her hip in my hand.

Her head dips down, before coming back up. "I did get your text, but I was busy, and then when I thought about responding, I was tired. I'm fine. The window will be replaced next week, and until then I've posted on social media, and Kara mentioned it in her live stream today.  I'm not hurting for customers, people have been extremely supportive, and I'm sorry I didn't respond to you."

"It's okay. I'll leave now that I know you're not hurt. I gotta take a shower anyway." I'm dirty, and dusty, and just want to get all of that off. I love my job, but I'll never be the type of guy who can get off work and then head out immediately afterward. All part of living that blue collar life.

"Barrett, do you wanna come in and eat something? You came all the way over here, when I know more than anything after work, you want to go home." She pushes a piece of dark hair behind her ear. "You were worried about me, and I appreciate it. Let me at least feed you."

Little does she know I want way more than for her to feed me, but right now I'll take whatever she's offering. Whatever it takes to get me the second chance I've wanted for months, I'm going to do. "I'd appreciate it, you don't have to."

"I know, and the one thing you should know about me is I don't do things I don't want to do."

I grin, tilting my head back. "That's the damn truth. What are you feeding me?"

She rolls her eyes. "I have leftover pot roast that I'm making quesadilla's out of."

It's one of my f*cking favorite meals. I groan, rocking back on my heels. "It's like you knew I'd be here."

"Oh God c'mon in you little sh*t."

And with those whispered words, I know that for tonight we'll be okay.

Tropes Included

·  small town

·  blue collar

·  second chance

·  reverse age gap

·  golden retriever hero

Barrett is book three in The Broken Falls Series: a series of interconnected standalones following a group of friends who have become family in small-town West Virginia, and the women who bring them to their knees. You do not have to read them in order, but each book builds upon the relationships of the last.

[brainyxbat]

Chapter 5: Venus and Usopp Meet! A Beautiful Connection Begins

(chapter 50)

"The execution platform! The execution platform!" Luffy rambled through his sprint. "I wanna see the view the King of the Pirates saw before he died! I wanna see it now!" But he then skidded to a stop, and scaled the area. "But... which way is the execution platform?"

'The execution platform! The execution platform!' Venus rambled as well, only in her mind, and with frantic worry. 'Gotta find him first! Which way is it again?!'

Elsewhere, Zoro sat on a concrete staircase, admiring his new weapon from the local sword shop. "A cursed sword, huh..." He remarked, "Interesting."

Suddenly, Luffy popped up behind the sword, nearly stopping his heart. "Oh! That's a cool sword you have!"

"Damn! Don't scare me like that!" Zoro scolded.

"What're you doing here, Zoro?"

"No, what're you doing here?"

"Me?" Luffy scratched under his nose. "I'm lost," He grinned.

"Why're you acting cocky about that?!"

"Luffy!" They both turned to see Venus frantically running up the stairs.

"Hey, Venus!" He beamed, as she stopped to catch her breath.

"I... I've been looking all over for- Oh," She stopped when she saw he wasn't alone. A toned man in a white t-shirt, green belt, and black pants and shoes, with hair the same shade of green as hers, sat silently before her. "Who's your friend?"

"Roronoa Zoro," The swordsman introduced himself, looking her over. She seemed barely taller than five feet, and with her pigtails and short bangs, she seemed a little child-like.

"Tempeste G. Venus," She followed suit, "Nice hair. You the first mate or something?"

"He is!" Luffy replied. "And an awesome swordsman!"

"With three swords, that's well-expected," She smirked.

"And Zoro, she's a witch!"

"She's a what?"

"A witch! She does super cool magic!"

"Luffy, I doubt she really can-" Zoro's skepticism was cut off when the Wado Ichimonji started slowly inching out of the carrier on its own. He turned to the girl, and she was smirking in his direction, moving her hand to guide the sword.

She snickered as he urgently thrusted it back in, ending the spell. "That convince you? I ate the Witch-Witch Fruit."

"Look shortie, do whatever voodoo you want, but leave me out of it."

She giggled in her hand. "Deal."

"Hey, tell me. How do I get to the execution platform?" Luffy asked Zoro.

"How should I know?"

"Hey! There he is!"

"It's him! That bastard!" The three looked down at the commotion below.

A tall, looming man with a mustache, and long sideburns in a cloak and wide-brim hat stopped his trek down the street when he was surrounded by five street thugs, four pointing guns, and one gripping a large, thick chain. "Yeah, this isn't going to end well for those guys," Venus commented.

"What's that?" Luffy wondered aloud.

"Daddy the Parent," She replied simply.

"You bastard! How dare you sell our buddies to the Marines?!" The man in a green shirt glared. "You're gonna pay big-time!"

All the men prepared their weapons. "Die!"

They watched as four gunshots went off. Luffy and Zoro expected the man in the middle to collapse, but to their shock, all but one of his ambushers were the ones to fall, while he was still standing, completely unharmed. The last one was now shaking with fear, landing on his backside when his feet gave out on him. Daddy calmly walked over, pulled the cigarette out of the petrified man's vest, and bent it with his thumb like a drinking straw. "Run on home, and have your mama bake you a cake, kiddo." He tossed the cigarette back at him, and the man finally ran off with a yelp of terror.

Luffy was now pumping his fists with ecstasy. "That old guy's cool!" He gushed.

"I've heard of him before," Zoro remarked.

"He's the best sharpshooter in the East Blue," Venus said, "Also got a daughter, who's kind of a brat," She rolled her eye.

"Hey, didn't you need to grab more magic stuff?" Luffy reminded her.

After a beat, her eye widened; he was right, she did mention that before they left. "Oh yeah! I'd better do that! Mr. Rauru must be worried by now! See you later, Luffy! Nice meeting you, Zoro!"

"You too, short stack," Zoro called out back to her, then leaned against the stairs. "Strange girl."

"She's awesome! I want her to join our crew!"

"Have you asked her?"

"Yeah, but she said no."

"Well, we can't force her to join if she doesn't want to. It's her decision."

~

"You're lucky this is the only store that sells this stuff, you bastard, or you'd be out of business by now!"

"What was that?! Say that to my face, you little bitch!"

Exiting the store, she frantically ran with the full bag to get back home before lunch. In her haste, as she passed the Junk Shop, she wasn't watching where she was going.

That haste, little did she know, was going to change her life forever.

"I bought a lot! A real lot!" Usopp rambled with excitement to himself. Citizens stared in shock, as he carried a giant, full, green backpack like it was carrying feathers. Though due to his eyes being locked on the sidewalk, he didn't see what, or who, was coming up. "Now my preparations to be a brave warrior of the sea are complete! All I'm forgetting now is... oh, yeah! I forgot the most important thing!"

He finally looked up, and for a split second, saw a blur of light green and dark purple, before the figure crashed right into him, knocking them both down on the concrete. Both of their bags' contents spilled out, quickly getting mixed together, as they laid on the sidewalk.

Venus sat up, her hood falling over her head, and panted to catch her breath from the sudden collision. She really should've watched where she was going. She turned over, and noticed the other victim of the incident still on the ground; she quickly crawled over, and helped him sit up. "Sorry about that. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm..." Usopp replied sheepishly, but was silenced when he saw who was helping him, briefly locking eyes with her; she looked intimidating with the cloak she wore. But when she pulled the hood down, he had a better look at her face, before she started gathering her stuff. She was... kinda cute. Wait, what? "Uh, m-my fault," He stammered, following her lead.

"No, no, it was mine; I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Me neither."

"Well um, y-yeah," She giggled sheepishly, "I guess we both take responsibility."

"Fair." He helped her with the stuff she dropped alongside picking his own up. He became curious about a burlap drawstring bag filled with what felt like soft balls. "What's in here?"

"Eyes of toads," She replied casually, as if they were grapes.

"EEE!" He yelped, dropping the bag in shock.

She couldn't help but laugh, as she put it in with her stuff. "Worry about your own stuff; I got mine," She assured, "Thanks, though."

He observed her stuff not picked up yet, shaking his head. "Toad eyes, rat tails; what are you, a witch?"

"I am," She nodded, to his surprise, "I found and ate the Witch-Witch Fruit a few years ago. Tempeste G. Venus."

He grinned with confidence, puffing his chest under his brown overalls. "Captain Usopp of the Straw Hat crew."

"I thought Luffy was the captain," Venus smirked.

"Well- wait, you've met him?"

"Just earlier today, actually. Plus the swordsman Zoro." They both gathered the rest of their items, and stood on their feet.

"Got everything?" He asked her.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yep. Though there was something I was looking for, before we..."

"Met?" She finished.

"Yeah," He chuckled, "Before we met. I can't remember what it- oh, goggles!" He exclaimed. "That was it!"

"Goggles?"

"Yeah! A top-class sniper needs to have top-class goggles! Investing every last bit of money to get the best goggles around is the spirit of a top-class sniper!"

"Hmm... I might've seen some at the Junk Shop last time I was there," Venus recalled, "Let's have a look, shall we?"

"Yes, thank you!" Usopp straightened up, hauled the large bag on his back, and followed her down the walkway.

"So you're the sniper, huh?"

"Sure am! The best of the East Blue!"

"Ah," She nodded to humor him. 'Interesting crew,' she thought.

-

"How about those?" In the Junk Shop, where he left his bag outside, he tried out a pair of overhead goggles with blue flip-up sun shades. "Those top-class enough for ya, Mr. Top-Class Sniper?" Venus smirked jokingly, ignoring the sneer from the shop owner burning holes in her skull.

Overjoyed, Usopp played with the shades, then posed with his green slingshot. He grinned with excitement. "These ones! These goggles!" He decided. "It's gotta be these! I like 'em! Lady!"

"You got a good eye!" The shop owner praised. "Them's the latest North Blue model there!"

"I helped him pick those out, y'know," Venus pointed out when she was paid no mind to.

"Quiet, Missy! I got 'em from an import ship that leaves the Marines only once a year!" They both noticed Usopp feeling his pockets in a panic, Venus more concerned than the owner. "What's wrong? You got no money?" She glared. "I don't do business with people who don't got money! What's it gonna be?!"

"N-no, it's... oh! Right! Backpack..." Usopp was about to run inside when the young witch stopped him.

"Don't worry, I'll pick up-" Her kind offer was interrupted by a certain little blonde girl in a mint and white ruffled dress with ringlet curls.

"I'll take these goggles, please!" Usopp fell to the floor in despair.

"...the... tab," Venus finished uselessly.

"My! What a cute little girl!" The shop owner gushed. "Yes, yes! You're in luck! This is the only pair of these goggles in town!"

Venus facepalmed. "Are you kidding me?"

Now angry, Usopp pushed himself up from the floor. "Hold it right there! I was the first to-!"

He stopped when the little girl trotted up to him with a big, innocent grin. "Butt out... old man!"

Usopp collapsed back down in shock, as she left the store. "O... old man?"

Venus growled in anger, hands balled into fists. "That little brat! Those goggles are rightfully yours! Let's get 'em back!"

As the girl skipped happily along the streets, Usopp and Venus ran out of the store. "Stop!" Usopp shouted.

"Stop right there!" Venus shouted.

The girl stopped as told, so the two stood in front of her. "Listen! Let's set the record straight! I'm not an old man!" Venus facepalmed again. "Call me "mister"! Got it?"

"Huh?! What for?! You're an old man!"

"Dammit, you said it again!" Usopp ranted. "I'm 17 years old! Now gimme those goggles back! I found 'em first!"

"He has more use for them than you, brat," Venus sneered.

"Huh?!" Now angry, the girl stomped her foot, and prepared to fight them both. Usopp was now nervous, but Venus was unfazed. "You got a problem?! Huh?! Keep up yer damn complainin', and I'll call the Marines!"

"You need to watch your mouth," Venus glared back.

"M-Marines?" Usopp stammered.

"Yep!" The girl was suddenly back to being cheerful. "I'm friends with a Marine captain in this town! The old smoky man!"

"Liar."

'W-who is this girl?' Usopp wondered, then put on a tough facade. "So you don't know who I am, huh?! I'm Great Captain Usopp! I destroyed Arlong's fishman pirate group!"

"Arlong?" Venus' eye widened. She had seen his wanted poster in the bar, and he looked pretty tough.

"It was truly a battle to the death! Me, surrounded by 200, no, 300 fishmen! All alone, I punched, threw, stomped, kicked, and tore them all up!" The girl smiled evilly through his story, as Venus listened intently. "Thanks to that, I now have a 30 million Berry bounty on my head!"

"I see," The girl gained their attention, "30 million..."

"Yep! That's right!"

"Papa!"

"Papa?! Why am I your papa?!"

"Call me mama, and I'll punt you into the ocean," Venus threatened.

But the girl ran behind them to a cloaked figure, goggles in tow. Venus' eye widened when she recognized him; Daddy the Parent. Crap. "Here's a present for you, Papa!" The girl handed the goggles to him. "Happy birthday!"

"Oh, Carol..." He was stunned, as he failed to keep his emotions in check, "What a nice, angelic girl you are! I love you, Carol-chan!"

"Papa! I love you, papa!"

Venus and Usopp watched in shock. 'W-what's with this family?' Usopp thought.

'If she's angelic, then I'm queen of the damn town,' Venus snarked in her mind.

They were both tense when Carol glared at them. "But guess what? That old man and old woman there are trying to swipe your present!"

"Old woman?!" Venus shouted with pointy-teethed rage. "I'm 21!"

"I, I thought you were a teenager," Usopp stammered.

"I get that a lot. But do not mess with him!" She urged.

"Now, now! You mustn't say "swipe"!" Daddy scolded her, still keeping the sweet tone of voice. "It's not good manners, you know." In a split second, his demeanor immediately turned intimidating towards them. "Are you the ones who're bullying my adorable little Carol?"

"B-b-bullying...?" Usopp stuttered.

"She's lying!" Venus glared.

"That's not all!"

"Huh?" She whispered in his ear, too quiet for Usopp and Venus to know. They assumed it was bad. Daddy looked over with shock; most likely bad. "You have a bounty of 30 million Berries, I hear?" Usopp screamed in terror, as Venus stayed quiet. "Let's see here..." He took some papers out of his cloak.

"Are those new wanted posters?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, I got 'em from the outpost just now. 600,000... 1,300,000... 700,000," He counted off, then stopped on one, "30 million... Straw Hat Luffy? A starting bounty at this amount..." Usopp started to back away, as Venus watched. "Hold it, boy."

He stopped dead in his tracks, almost falling over. "Y-y-yes?! No, you see, sir! I'm obviously not the person on that poster! I was just lying!" He rambled. "My funny plan to trick people was a great success! Ha ha! Well, bye!" He tried to walk away, briefly grabbing Venus' wrist so she would follow.

Daddy pointed to behind Luffy in the picture. Sure enough, the back of Usopp's head was right there. "That's you, isn't it?"

"T-t-that's right! It sure is! That's me, all right!"

"I thought I'd seen you somewhere," Venus remarked.

"But I'll tell you this! Just you try and lay a hand on me! My captain Luffy won't sit by quietly! He's an evil, cold-blooded, devilish man!"

'Not from what I've seen,' Venus thought, but kept it to herself.

"No one's ever defied him, and lived to tell about it!" He sneered at Daddy testily. "You got a kid, right? You should really value your life," He whispered.

"I see. That sounds bad. Yes, given that this Luffy fellow is worth 30 million Berries, he's clearly no ordinary man."

"Got that right," Venus muttered.

"Papa!" Carol protested. "You're obviously way stronger, Papa! You're the strongest guy in the world!"

"Carol, it's all right. All that matters is that I make enough money to live happily with you. You're far more important to me than being the world's greatest!"

"Papa..."

Usopp watched the exchange in awe. 'The guy's wimping out after I said all that!' He grinned deviously. 'Alright! In that case...!' "Well?! Now do you see how terrifying I am?! Take my advice! Just hand those goggles over to me!"

Venus looked up at him with skepticism. "Let's just quit while we're ahead, shall we? You don't want to mess with this guy."

"No, I saw them first! They're rightfully mine! You said so yourself!"

"Huh?!" Carol glared.

"Don't worry! I'll pay for 'em!" He assured. "So just give 'em here!"

"Alright, you've made your point, let's go," Venus urged through clenched teeth.

"Why're you saying that right after he's just about to let you go-?!" Carol demanded, but Daddy stopped her. "Papa?"

"Then let's do this," His eyes narrowed, "I assume you have no problem with us settling this in a fair fight?"

"Fight?"

"Depends on the fight," Venus raised an eyebrow under her bangs.

"Here!"

Usopp was startled when Daddy tossed him a pistol, and Venus briefly ducked down to avoid any accidental shots. "Fight?" He nervously held it up. "Y-you're not talking about a duel, right?"

"If you win, the goggles are yours."

The pair was shocked when he whipped away his cloak, revealing lots of pistols. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... 30 pistols?!" He exclaimed. "D-don't tell me you're... Daddy the Parent?!"

"The very same."

"Tried to warn you," She mumbled.

[centuricnis]

okay so maybe he had a problem of just speaking whatever random thoughts popped into his mind. he was doing a lot better of not doing that when they were with the rest of their peers. but this was armin and he'd never had to pull back or be anything other than himself with the blond. his mind had been wandering all day, wondering what else could be living in the sea. how much of the outside world had explored those beautiful blue depths. what lived there and who lived on the other side? so many questions and so little answers.

the question had just spilled out before he could have reined it in, a grimace quickly following the spoken intrusive thought. but he was quick to remember that it was just them, nobody to tell him how stupid he was being or to slap him upside the head and call him an idiot. teal hues flickered over to where armin was getting up and he relaxes immediately when he hears the familiar laugh. it pulls a smile across his own lips and he settles back down where he's laying, body language softening as watches the blond come closer.

"i think it would be pretty cool to live in the water," he adds, his tone playful as arms and legs open wide to receive the shorter male. limbs easily wraps around armin's waist, dragging him closer so that he's practically laying on top of his chest. he's weight that is comforting to eren and he tilts his head so he can press his nose to the top of soft golden locks. eren isn't at all subtle when he inhales the familiar scent of someone he deems home and his chest does a weird rumble of contentment.

fingers curl around armin's hip and he lets out a quiet noise at the thought of that. exploring the sea together? he doesn't know how, but with their combined titan powers, maybe it could be possible. "yeah," he lets out with a quiet laugh, "i don't want to see the world with anyone else. no matter who or what it is that lives outside of paradis. we promised." there was the nagging and foreboding feeling that always lingered these days, but eren pushed those thoughts aside for him to contemplate later. for now, happy content seeped into his every pore and he tucks his nose against armin's temple.

"how far down do you think the sea is?" he asks after a few moments of silence. half lidded eyes lazily scanning over the page armin's reading. he's not really taking in any information but eren has always been unable to resist the curiosity that persists. "if you turned colossal in the middle of the sea, would you sink to the bottom and still be above water?" now he's just throwing out half baked, playful questions, wanting to hear armin's laugh again. how could they have known the titans they had once feared would be something to joke about in the future?

the room is dimly-lit, almost cozy, as rain patters outside. mirthful voices faintly echo in the hallway as the rest of the scouts return from dinner in the mess hall. armin is splayed on his stomach on the floor, swinging his feet absentmindedly behind him, a book propped up by its spine in front of him.

even absorbed in reading, he is half-aware — as he always is — of eren seated adjacent on his bed, as if he is tethered to him, pulled taut when they are apart and entwined when they are together. it's these moments, seemingly small and insignificant, where he is happiest, nothing but comfortable silence between them. bittersweet now that they seem to be more infrequent, farther and farther apart, as they've grown busier with all there is to do now, when paradis is no longer severed from the rest of the world.

@centuricnis ( eren ) says: what do you think... lives in the sea? i mean, other than whatever it is niccolo has been cooking us. do you think there are people that live there, too?

he looks up at the sound of his voice, a small laugh slipping in response to the question. " they would have to have some way to breathe, wouldn't they? maybe they could have some kind of technology we don't have, " he answers, humming thoughtfully. he closes the book rather quickly, stands up and tucks it beneath one arm as he pads the few feet across the floor to climb onto the bed beside him, limbs tangling with eren's as he does. it isn't half as easy as it used to be when they were smaller — or when eren was, at least. all their friends seem to be sprouting in adolescence, leaving armin behind.

he wedges his way in beside him, anyway, opening the book on his lap now, smiling. " i think there must be all kinds of animals there, don't you? maybe even ones we don't know about. maybe some even the rest of the world doesn't know about — " he's talking too quickly now, words almost bleeding into each other. if it weren't his best friend, he might be sheepish, but eren has always been the one person who never made him feel like he needed to stop talking, never made him feel like he was being silly or childish. instead, he has always been the one person who has understood, shared this with him, even. " i don't know what lives in the sea, but i do know — whether it's all sorts of creatures or even people — that whatever lives down there, i'd want to see with you. "

[imaginedreamwrite]

One of the guards flirting with Lloyd’s new girl because Lloyd is in a meeting and she wandered to the kitchen too shy to tell her husband she wants his attention… let your brain create magic 💕

Despite his assurance that you, and only you, could interrupt his meetings, you stayed away. Maybe it was your anxiousness at being at the centre of attention as you entered the room, maybe it was fear that he would make you sit on his lap after stripping you of your panties. Whatever it was, bashfulness at starting to grow innately fond of your older and inarguably powerful husband, you stayed away.

Instead, you found yourself in the kitchen rifling around through the pantry and the storage as you worked to compile a list of ingredients to bake. It was a way for you to waste time, a kind of stress reliever that had also made you reminiscent of your dad. You were happy to distract yourself while Lloyd was busy, happy to have your hands doing something.

“Lloyd really made you a domesticated woman, didn’t he?” You raised your head and eyed the newbie that entered the kitchen, his hands shoved into his pockets as he slowly stalked toward you.

“Excuse me?” You were taken back by his bold and accusatory statement. You’d gotten used to the other men who were milling around and their prickly personalities, some of them had even been considered friends, but this man was new.

“I mean I get it, a fuckable woman like you-���

“Fuckable?” You grit your teeth and looked past the henchman Lloyd had working for him, to the slow trickle of men coming out of the meeting room.

“I mean do you let all the new men have a taste?” He was grinning, moving toward you while you were becoming trapped against the cupboards. “You look like you got a real sweet cream-“

“You need to leave.” You side-eyed the kitchen cupboards, listened for the sounds of footsteps coming toward the kitchen though it was little hope to you as you were being blocked in.

“You look like every inch of you is sweet. Are you going to let me find out?” His hand reached out toward you, fingers grazing the front of your dress.

“Pumpkin.” You jumped when Lloyd spoke, your elbow slamming against the marble counter and a hiss falling from your lips as he rounded the counter. “You were looking for me?”

“Lloyd…I didn’t do anything…I didn’t-“ he silenced you with his finger pressed against your lips, his other hand slipping to the small of your back.

“I know darling, I know.” He looked down at you and replaced his finger with his mouth, kissing you silent again. “We have a dinner to go to.”

“Lloyd I swear-“

“I know, pumpkin.” He had pulled away from you and turned toward the man who had been bugging you. “You didn’t do anything wrong, but he did.”

“Lloyd please-“

“Quiet, baby.” He hushed you, looking over his shoulder and smiling briefly. “We’re gonna go after I deal with this. Go change, wear the blue dress that I love. I have a gift for you.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Not at you. Now go.” He let you slip past him, smacking your ass playfully as you moved, and only when you were gone did he finally grab the prick.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

the thing about life was that a flame could be so easily blown out, so people fought like hell to keep it alive. the tip of the candle could easily be cupped for protection, gentle breath given to let the flame flutter back to life. (is that what she did? when she pounded his chest again and again, her magic stronger than any human could be? when she pressed her lips to his and breathed the very essence of life back into his body?) what people often forgot was that you could simply relight the candle.

bernard hadn't thought about darla in years. people on online forums, ones he'll never tell tim how often he visited, spoke of their experiences with metas and myths and anyone in between. he knew what happened to people accosted by magic, knew of chains trapping them with their own terror, their minds turning against themselves as their nightmares came to life.

bernard, on the other hand, could say that he wasn't all that haunted by darla. she'd lifted his car off the ground in a display of power, told bernard she was laura fell now, no matter the fact that she looked and walked and talked like darla aquista, then threatened his life on behalf of her seemingly never-ending obsession with tim motherfucking drake. seemingly, because when bernard had brought up old times they used to spend with darla over lunch, casual as you please, tim had grinned a little before dismissing his fears. darla was training with some sort of enchantress to try and be good, growing more powerful by the day.

bernard wondered, for a moment, if all of his friends could make the earth quake with a press of their fingertips. if all of his friends could bend those figures of myth and meta and magic with only their will. if he'd spent his life in the company of gods in everything but name, right down to the perfect muscles pulling under skin and battle-worn glimmer in eyes too old to be on a faces so young. (bernard wondered, for a moment, if there was any way he could join them. if the madness in darla's eyes as she demanded tim's whereabouts and the screams of terror on his boyfriend's lips as he woke up with a knife in his hand were worth it.)

bernard knew there was nothing he could have done for darla. probably not now but definitely not back then. he had no power over life and death, he couldn't have saved darla from the bullet wound that cost her nearly everything had he even attempted to try. sometimes, darla shifted in his memories, morphed into someone with the same dark hair and same blue eyes, but with broader shoulders and a kinder smile.

there was the fear that one day, something would take tim down, a dark shadow grappling with his boyfriend's shining, golden soul before snuffing it out as surely as a candle. then there was the fear that one day, something would bring tim back, clawed fingers opening his boyfriend's eyes and twisting that golden soul into something dripping and jagged, as poisonously yellow as laura fell.

(bernard learned of what happened to jason todd on accident, a couple years after the cult of dionysus. there were some horrors he could force himself to speak aloud, some fates that he couldn't stomach.)

(if tim was surprised at the way bernard's fingernails dug into his back as he held the vigilante close, at the way bernard took advantage of the inches he'd lost to tim's late growth spurt to curl himself completely into his boyfriend's arms, then tim never showed a whisper of it.)

the quickest way to avoid all of that, bernard thought, was to just make sure tim didn't die in the first place.

"hey," tim said, bringing his hand up to flick bernard on the forehead. "only shit nurses get distracted when they're treating their patient."

"only shit patients have such abysmal bedside manner."

"oooh, abysmal," tim waggled his eyebrows. "that word-of-the-day calendar is really coming in handy, huh?"

bernard sniffed. "i'll have you know that i am a well-read intellectual. fuckin' sherlock at this point."

in the movies, people with wounds like the glaring one on tim's shoulder sagged into the wall, made tearful confessions through a mouth full of blood, shuddered in pain at the slightest touch. tim's fingers hurt where he hit bernard's forehead, he didn't lose his smart mouth for anything, and was tapping his foot in impatience before bernard propped it up on the sofa.

"you're fucking sherlock? that's such a sweet pet name, you should use it more often," tim teased.

"don't get a big head, you're not that good."

bernard opened the first aid kit, unusually large and unusually used. his fingers found the small pipe bottle of water and the gauze. he tore a small piece off before wiping off the rest of the dried blood as gently has he could.

"you know," tim sounded almost contemplative, musing. completely disregarding what should have been a throbbing pain. completely trusting bernard to take care of him. "ra's al ghul called me detective once."

bernard's fingers closed around the saline solution with more ease than what was comfortable, but he had plenty of practice pushing those thoughts aside.

"i have no clue who that is," he said, feeling tim tense only the barest bit when he poured the solution over the wound. it had to have stung something fierce. bernard had seen grown men whimper at the sensation. tim sighed and tipped his head back instead.

"no one important," tim chuckled. "but i do kinda wish damian was here to hear that."

antibiotics next, and if tim felt the urge to shy away from bernard's fingers as he brushed the wound with ointment, bernard couldn't tell; he suppressed it as impressively as always.

"come on, no sibling talk when you're shirtless and i'm on top of you." bernard joked. neither of them mentioned the blood staining tim's undershirt-slash-makeshift-bandage, the dried blood flakes all over tim's lap, the way bernard's thighs were clenching tim to the point of pain.

between one blink and the next, tim was all wrapped up, gauze in place and bandage taped on top. his boyfriend's lovestruck little smile gleamed up at him, one bernard recognized. a pinch of awe and a dash of trust and a sprinkle of comfort. mix them together and bake at 350, bernard thought a bit hysterically, and you get love for a man who's terrified at how fast he can use bandages.

still, tim took precedent. every night bernard spent washing his hands too roughly at the sink was another night his boyfriend was breathing on the bed in the other room. every night bernard opened that unusually large and unusually used first aid kit was another night tim's soul stayed whole and shining and untarnished by whatever creatures took people beyond the veil only to drag them back. every night bernard spend trying to rub the scent of copper and the spill of liquid poppy off his fingers was another night bernard used his bloodstained hands to keep tim's flame alive.

i mayyyyyyyy have gotten a little too excited every time i used the word "boyfriend."

tag list: @woahjaybird @anothertimdrakestan @birdy-bat-writes @screennamealreadyused @subtleappreciation @bikoncon @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @bonkybearjpeg @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridge @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy @red-hood-redemption @capricorn-stark @batshit-birds @buticaaba @comics-observer @newsical

[mindninjax]

Awake

Bakugo x Reader (duh)

wc: 1.7k

A/n: Had a full on mental breakdown yesterday. Tried to sleep tonight. Couldn’t. Wrote this instead. I listened to Rain Clouds by The Arcadian Wolf while writing it and it’s the song that’s referenced in this. I could link it but I’m lazy and depressed so I’m not gonna *dabs sadly*. Anyway here’s a comfort Fic I guess.?

Bakugo: Hey

(2:38AM): uh…hey?

Bakugo: You up?

(2:39 AM): clearly… clearly I’m up Bakugo. Why are you?

Bakugo: Can't sleep.

(2:39 AM): oh. I’m sorry.

Bakugo: Come outside?

(2:40 AM): like outside outside?

Bakugo: What other outside would there fucking be?

(2:41 AM): don’t curse at me stupid. I meant the balcony? Or are we going for a walk or something?

Bakugo: Fine. Nevermind. Forget I asked.

…

…

…

Bakugo: Balcony.

(2:52 AM): gimme five to put on pants.

Bakugo: Ok

(2:52 AM): folk or classical?

Bakugo: Ugh neither.

(2:53 AM): neither wasn’t an option shit head. Pick one.

Bakugo: Whatever you played last time. It helped me feel far away.

(2:54AM): Folk it is.

You put your phone down, the light dying and drawing you back into the darkness of your room. It’s quiet, you can hear him rustling on the other side of the wall, hear the balcony door slide open in his apartment next door and then shut.

You sit in bed for a moment, your heart the only thing thrumming in your ears as you take a deep breath. The city is quiet for the first time in a long time. There are no cars on the street, no sirens, just the sleepy lazy sound of the wind blowing and alley cats slinking through the garbage filled alleyways.

Then you get up, grab a pair of sweatpants and exchange the large holey t-shirt you’re wearing for a comfy but secure cami top. You search around your room for the little Bluetooth speaker and pause when your eyes fall on your acoustic guitar. You smile to yourself, it's perfect. You’ve been thinking about the song, the chords should be easy enough to grasp, and the words have been drifting around your head for days now.

You grab your phone to send him another quick text.

(2:58AM): Change of plans. The roof.

He doesn’t hesitate.

Bakugo: Ok.

He’s up on the roof of your city apartment building before you are, gazing out at the city lights , the moon in the sky blazing white shimmering light through his ash blond locks. He doesn’t turn around or acknowledge your presence when you land delicately on your toes and deactivate your air quirk. He’s wearing a red tank top, must’ve had to change out of the usual black one he wears to bed from all the sweat. His shoulders look broad and you can see the scars rippling down the muscles of his arms.

“Took you long enough, even with your floaty little air quirk,” he taunts, back still to you.

“And yet you’re still here,” you quip back, rolling your eyes and grabbing a crate to sit on. You pull another over and plop it down across from you the same time he turns to join you on the other crate. He has dark circles under his eyes, there’s still a gleam of sweat shimmering on his jaw and neck. He watches in anticipation as you ready the guitar on your leg and hook your arm over it, expert fingers finding the correct chords to strum a lovely tune.

“What’s the occasion?” he asks, gesturing to the guitar. You smile down at the guitar, concentrating on the correct note in your mind to start the song.

“It’s a nice night,” you murmur, eyes still focused on the instrument on your lap.

The muttered “It is now,” is swallowed by the sound of you strumming the strings softly diving into the tune as you rock back and forth. You close your eyes and hear Bakugo take a deep calming breath in and out before you start singing the lyrics.

I'm being frightened by the people

They look at me like I'm a scar upon their perfect skin

Perfect to only them

I'm being shadowed by my past

Reminding me of what I was and what I could become

My sins should stay where they belong

The wind is blowing gently and you can smell Bakugo’s sweet scent on the breeze. His crisp pine scented body wash mixes with his smoky sweet scent and it almost feels like the two of you are sitting around a campfire. Your voice drifts dreamily over the lyrics, enunciating the words and basking in the ease of the notes while putting your own lovely spin on it.

Listen to my voice

Close your frightened eyes

Hide behind my love for you

Fear's only a choice

One that we all must make some day

So know you're not alone in this

It’s clear and strong like a bell, punctuating every phrase with meaning that sits in Bakugo’s core and makes his heart do that weird thing where it’s fluttering but also extremely tranquil at the same time. When you end the song and finally open your eyes, he’s looking at you incredulously.

“How do you do that?”

“Hmm?” you say, placing the guitar against a huge wooden pallet gently.

“How do you fucking do that? Every time. It’s fucking creepy.”

“You mind elaborating, dummy? I’m not a mind reader.”

“Coulda fooled me,” he grunts, rolls his eyes and folds his arms, pouting.

You roll your eyes before chuckling and answer the question you already know he’s asking. “Somewhere out there. Someone has made a song for every feeling you’ve ever felt. So I won’t take credit for that.”

“But you show them to me.”

“Yes,” you say this as if it’s an obvious statement.

“And play them for me.”

“Yes.” Again, another obvious statement. Why wouldn’t you play them for him. It’s why the two of you are here. Right?

“And make them….ya know… sound good and shit,” he says, stuttering over the words as his cheeks and ears start to turn pink.

You smirk, “You can say I sound pretty. I won’t tell anyone you said it,” you tease.

“Tch. Idiot.”

There’s a beat of silence, you’re lost in your thoughts staring up at the starry sky before you look at him again.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You’re going to even if I say no.”

“Correct. Why do you text me when it happens? Why me?”

He shrugs his shoulders, looks away sheepishly and doesn’t meet your questioning gaze. "Don't know.”

You raise a suspicious eyebrow, “Yes you do”

He sighs, holds out a hand to gesture as if it’s obvious. Why would you be asking this? Especially after the many nights the two of you have done this. “Just feels right I guess. And after we talk I can go back to sleep just fine.”

“You realize what that is right?” You lean in closer to him, elbows on your thighs, chin in your hands. “That’s called trusting someone.”

“Sure I guess.”

Another beat of silence and then a long winded sigh from you, one that definitely says “I’m tired of this” and it makes a shiver of fear run up his spine.

“Look Bakugo. I’m not usually one that skates around feelings. And as much as I enjoy late night jam sessions or sneaking out and gazing at the moon with you until you feel ok enough to sleep, I…”

He holds his breath, “What?”

“Hmm…” you have a finger up to your chin in the universal thinking pose.

His heartbeat picks up and his fingers start to fiddle in the pocket of his sweatpants. “Fucking what? You just said you don’t skate around feelings so what?”

You frown at him, “Hold your flippin’ horses I’m thinkin’ first.”

“‘Flippin’ horses?’ You’re such a weirdo.”

And now you’re glaring. "Speaking of thinking before speaking. You should try it.”

“Fuck you.” There’s no hostility to it and he knows you know it.

“Very original. ANYWAY, I was going to say despite your constant attitude and constant shouting, I still really like hanging out with you. So I’d like to not only hang out at…”you pull your phone from your pocket and gaze at the tiny blue screen, “4 AM”

Another pause as he processes his elation. He’s happy you’re not telling him this is the last time. But this isn’t the hard part. “Ok.”

You squint suspiciously. “I mean it.”

“So do I.”

“Then say it aloud to me,” you challenge.

This is the hard part.

He takes a few deep breaths and then… “I don’t wanna be just friends with you. I don’t know what any of that shit even means. All the stupid lovey dovey shit Raccoon Ey-”

“Ashido.”

It’s his turn to glare. “Fine, Ashido talks about all the time. All I know is no one talks to me the way you do. And I always feel calm around you. Calmer than usual. I always wanna hang out more with the idiots when you’re around to hang out with them too.”

You smile but hide it behind your fingertips. He doesn’t look finished so you nod to encourage him to finish.

“And I don't know what it is. But whenever I wake up from the fucking …” He doesn’t say the word “nightmare”. He struggles with it like if he says it he’s surrendering to weakness or something. “Whenever I wake up the only thing I think of is you. Wishing you were there, like a fucking idiot. But it never goes away, not until I text you and I see you and I hear your voice.” His head is in his hands, like he’s ashamed to admit this to you.

It’s quiet again, some cars from below have started bustling on the street. The morning wind carries his scent and the city's waking smells of coffee and fresh baked bread. You stand quietly and walk over to him, head still hanging in his hands as he crouches over on the crate.

You hug him, force yourself between his legs and wrap your arms around his head. And at first he stiffens but he doesn’t pull away from you or move out of your grasp. He just sits there with his arms hanging limply at his sides,eyes wide, and your arms wrapped around his head. His ear is pressed against your chest, listening to the city waking around you. You're warm and you smell impossibly good and he knows this is what he craves when he wakes up from those terrifying nightmares. Your embrace is the cure.

“I like being here. I like being there for you.”

Then his arms move up to wrap around your waist and he hugs you back and sighs into your chest. He stays there for at least 10 minutes listening to the steady beating of your heart.

And then he quietly mutters, “Thanks.”

--

[dialovers-lover-xoxo]

The diaboys reacting to a boy forcefully kissing their s/o female x reader

❌Trigger Warning!❌ There is non-consensual kissing and aggressive flirting. The kisses are very short and it doesn’t go further than a kiss but if non-consensual kisses and aggressive flirting make you uncomfortable or trigger you or bother you in any way, you may not want to read after the cut :)

Shu

——-

The hallway was deserted, he had you cornered against a wall. “I really like you.” The boy said, his arms caging you in. You laughed nervously. “Thank you, but I actually have a boyfriend.” “He doesn’t need to know.” The boy said, moving his head closer to you, putting you nose to nose. “No, thank you!” You pulled back and tried to duck under one of his arms but he quickly grabbed your waist and pressed his lips to yours. You shoved at his chest but less than a second later the boy was pulled away from you and you heard him yelp in pain. Looking up you saw Shu had him pressed against the wall, his wrist in a bone-crushing grip. Shu’s voice was quiet and calm, but the look in his eyes would have made even the bravest of men cry for their mother. “You don’t kiss what doesn’t belong to you. Now scram.” The boy didn’t need to be told twice, the second Shu released him the boy dashed off. Shu turned to you, his eyebrows furrowed and you looked up at him sheepishly but he then hugged you. “Ha..you troublesome woman...making me use my legs.”

Reiji

——-

Reiji was walking through the school, mentally going over his notes for the next test. He passed you-seemingly alone in an empty classroom. Curious and worried, he walked in and saw a boy looming over you. The boy then pressed his mouth to yours, firmly holding you in place. Reiji stalked forward and grabbed his forearm, wrenching him off of you. “Kissing a woman forcefully, your lack of manners are completely deplorable. If Karlheinz Sakamaki found out scum like you went to this school...” Reiji let his voice trail off. The boy’s eyes widened. “K-Karlheinz Sakamaki?” “Yes, as I’m sure you know, he’s a very influential man.” Reiji let go of the boy and stepped closer to him. “He also happens to be my father. If you don’t wish to get expelled, leave this room.” After another fearful look, the boy ran out. Reiji looked down at you and you hung your head. “I’m sorry-“ “I know it’s not your fault. I’m going to teach you self-defense. He will not be the last man to approach you like that.”

Ayato

———

Ayato just wanted some damn takoyaki. Why did you even insist on going to class? Why would you prefer that over making the great Ayato food? He paced outside the classroom door, waiting for you. The door flung open and it was only Ayato’s incredibly vampire reflexes that prevented him from being hit with it. You walked out. “Finally! Your Truly was-“ You hurried past him. “Huh?” Ayato followed after you angrily. Why the hell were you ignoring him? A boy bumped into him. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Then Ayato saw the boy run after you and grab your waist, then turned you around and kissed you. Ayato saw red. He ran forward and yanked the guy backwards by his sweatshirt, then threw him to the ground. “Don’t touch what belongs to Yours Truly!” Ayato kissed you deeply and grinned down at him. “I’m the only one who can kiss her, you got that?”

Kanato

————

“Uh, well, um...” You stammered, backing away from the boy approaching you. “You can’t seriously be loyal to that Kanato guy, right?” He asked. “He’s so weird, carrying that bear everywhere. You’d do so much better with me.” “No I-“ The boy grabbed your arm and pulled you forward, then kissed you. You squealed against his mouth and thrashed. Suddenly the boy pulled back, screaming in pain and fear, his clothes on fire. You turned in panic and saw Kanato, who looked terrifying. “No, Kanato, please don’t kill him!” You begged. Kanato’s eyes narrowed at you. “You want to save him? Are you cheating on me?!” “No! I tried to stop him from kissing me, but I don’t want him to die!” The fire stopped, the boy unscorched. Kanato turned to him. “I’ll spare you now, but if you come near my doll again, Teddy and I will cut you into little pieces.” The boy whimpered, nodding, then ran away. Kanato looked at you angrily. “Since I spared him, you owe me. Give me your blood now. After school we’ll go to the sweet shop and then you’ll bake me a pie.” You nodded weakly and allowed Kanato to sink his fangs into your flesh.

Laito

———

The boy leaned forward and kissed you. You shoved him away. “S-sorry, but I have a boyfriend!” The boy chuckled. “Yeah, that Laito guy? He’s a perv, I’m a gentleman.” He tried to kiss you again but Laito stepped in between the two of you. When did he get there? “A gentleman who tries to kiss a girl after she says no? Fufu, how pathetic. This is my Little Bitch. Get your own and leave.” The boy narrowed his eyes but left, muttering curses under his breath. “Thanks, Laito.” You tell your boyfriend quietly. He turned to you, smiling. “I need to get every trace of him off you. When we get home we’ll shower together and your body will drown in my touch.”

Subaru

————

“Look, I’m flattered, but I’m not interested.” You said, which was basically just a rewording of the previous three sentences that had left your mouth. The boy stalked closer. Was he always that tall and scary looking? He grinned down at you, then yanked you for a kiss. You squirmed but he was too strong, almost as strong as-“GET THE FUCK OFF HER!” Subaru. Subaru threw the guy against the wall and punched him in the face. “Don’t ever kiss her again, ya hear?” The boy desperately tried to stop his bleeding nose. “Okay, okay.” “Now fuck off.” Holding his nose, the boy ran off, leaving droplets of the blood. Subaru turned to you with a growl. “This is why I don’t want ya leaving my side! From now on, you’re stickin’ with me at all times.” Without waiting for an answer, Subaru grabbed your hand and started walking to his next class.

Ruki

———

“Your master isn’t here.” The boy next to you said thoughtfully. “Huh?” You blushed. Had he heard Ruki call himself your master? You were sure you never called Ruki master in public. The boy walked over to you. “I’ve got ya to myself, Livestock.” Your eyes widened and you nearly toppled over a desk. He grabbed your face so hard it hurt and kissed you. Ruki rushed into the room and pushed him off you and onto the ground. Ruki towered over the boy on the floor, his cold blue eyes like steel. “Nobody calls her Livestock but me. Her master is always with her and if you don’t want to be at the other end of my whip, you won’t approach her again.” The boy scrambled back. Ruki wrapped his arm around your shoulders and steered out of the room, leaving the boy petrified on the floor.

Kou

——

Kou had just finished giving autographs and finally had some time to himself. He passed the library and something caught his eye. You were sitting on a table, which was normal, but you weren’t reading or studying. In fact, you looked like you were inching away from something out of Kou’s view. Kou walked inside and growled. It was the same asshole that had been flirting with you for a week now. Kou walked forward but broke into a sprint when he saw the boy’s lips touch yours. Kou hugged you from behind and pulled you back. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Her boyfriend isn’t keen on others kissing her.” Kou lead you away and made a mental note to tell his fangirls to make his life a living hell.

Yuma

———

Yuma hated being stuck inside a classroom, he wanted to be outside working in his garden, preferably with you. He asked the teacher if he could go to the bathroom and left with his hands in his pockets. He heard a scared voice and turned the corner. He saw you were backed up against the wall by three large guys. Not larger than him, of course, but way too big for you to take on. The boy in the middle, right in front of you, who seemed to be the leader, yanked you against him and kissed you. Yuma pulled him back by his hair and punched him. The other boys tried to come to his defense but Yuma easily defeated them. He picked you up and threw you over his shoulders. “Don’t touch her again. There’s more where that came from.” He warned the boys with a fanged grin.

Azusa

———

You backed away from the boy. “Azusa’s so creepy, why do you like him?” “You’re acting creepy too now!” You said angrily. For a second the boy’s eyes widened but he then laughed. “Whatever. He’s a weakling, I’m not. So come here.” He managed to grab your arm and he pulled you close to him. He ducked his head and kissed you. A force shoved him away from you. “Eve...is mine...don’t touch her...” Azusa said. “Yeah, what are you gonna do?” Azusa pulled out a knife. “Your arm...would look so pretty...with a new friend...” the boy squeaked and ran away. Azusa chuckled but then looked at you seriously. “That was...an accident...right, Eve? You didn’t...want to...Kiss him, right?” You nodded. “I didn’t.” “Good...I’m glad...” Azusa kissed you sweetly. “Only I...can kiss Eve...”

Carla

———

If Carla wasn’t so angry, he would’ve laughed. A human like that guy kissing you? His lips weren’t even worthy of kissing the dirt under your shoes. Using his magic, Carla made him soar across the hallway and hit the wall. “You scum. Your mouth doesn’t deserve to breathe in the same oxygen as her. Now go away, or you’ll be very sorry.”

Shin

——-

Shin saw you struggling to escape the grasp of a boy kissing you. He ran forward and punched him, grinning when he saw the broken nose he had caused. “Don’t come back! Or I’ll send my wolves after you!” You doubted the guy understood the whole claim of wolves, but when a guy punches you in the face and breaks your nose, you do the sensible thing and run away. Luckily, this guy was at least somewhat sensible and did just that.

Kino

——-

“Um, noooo, I’d rather not.” “So you want to skip the movie and just do this?” The boy kissed you. You pulled back. “Hey! Don’t kiss a girl like that!” You yelled. Kino and Yuri walked forward, seemingly out of nowhere. Kino held your waist. Yuri looked at the boy. “You shouldn’t touch what belongs to another, nor should you kiss what belongs to my master. He’ll get very angry.” Kino kissed you deeply and shot the boy an arrogant grin. “She didn’t pull away from me.” His face then got angry. “Now screw off.”

[hiccanna-tidbits]

@jackunzel-time

Jackunzel Month Bonus Week Day 3 - Sugar Cookies

***

“Jack!”

Rapunzel frowns at the plastic container as she takes it out of the refrigerator, noting it’s about half as full as the last time she saw it.

“What’s up, Zellie?” Her boyfriend’s voice from the other room is muffled.

“Have you been snacking on the cookie dough again?”

Footfalls on linoleum, and she looks up to see an adorable mop of white hair and a pair of innocent blue eyes right above a tongue absolutely going to town on a spoon full of cookie dough. Jack’s lips and chin are already coated in the stuff, red and green sprinkles scattered across his pale skin like freckles.

“No,” he says defiantly, giving the spoon another lick.

“Jack.” She gives him her saddest pout. “That was supposed to be for our friends!”

“That’s what you said about the batch we baked yesterday, Punz. How many Christmas cookies do our friends need?”

“Oh. Right.” She blushes, suddenly embarrassed. “The ones from yesterday were for the party.”

He fixes her with a smug look, taking another long lick from the dough-covered spoon.

“Well, the cookies from today were supposed to be for us, then!” She crosses her arms and glares, not about to give in just yet. “I’ll have you know I got the decorations out and everything.”

“And we are making good use of them,” Jack says, downing another glob of dough. “Am I not included in ‘us?’”

Rapunzel glares harder--or tries to. It doesn’t seem to be very intimidating, if Jack starting to snicker is anything to go by.

“Don’t tell me you’re worried about salmonella.” His voice is muffled by the unbaked confectionery treat he continues to consume with reckless abandon.

“No,” she huffs. “I know the chances of that are next to nothing. It’s--it’s the principle of the thing?”

Even as she says it, she knows it’s a weak argument. If she saved the last of the cookie dough for them, then there’s no real logical reason they shouldn’t eat it as is.

Jacks leans on the counter. “Well, I live life by the principle of ‘the world could explode at any moment, so why waste time following arbitrary rules?’ Might as well do whatever’s the most fun. Which is definitely eating this cookie dough straight out of the container and not going to all the trouble to bake it.”

She shakes her head, knowing this is a losing game.

“You are a pain, Jack Overland-Frost,” she says, although with no real conviction.

“Oh nooooo.” Jack’s eyes widen in mock horror. “Is North going to put me on the naughty list again? Is he gonna have to transfer me to The Naughty List: Extended Edition with Bonus Features?”

Despite her best efforts, Rapunzel laughs.

“Maybe he’ll give you twice as much coal,” she jokes. “And then it’ll get all over the carpet and make a huge mess. We can’t have that.”

“Can’t we?” He raises his eyebrows. “We could spread it everywhere and pretend our house is a haunted coal mine. Turn it into a big Halloween attraction next year and charge admissions. We’d make bank.”

She snickers. “All hail the Soot House! It’ll be the spookiest destination in town, I’m sure.”

He laughs along with her. “Honestly, at this point, I kind of want to get more coal.”

Jack grabs the top of the wooden mixing spoon, tilting it back slightly. Rapunzel’s eyes widen as she realizes how exactly the boy is planning on upping his naughtiness.

He lets go, and the spoon springs forward. The last glob of cookie dough flies across the room, set on an unbreakable trajectory toward Rapunzel.

No reason this has to be a setback.

Rapunzel leaps into the dough’s path and opens her mouth wide. The dough ball sails in, quickly disappearing down her throat.

“Impressive.” Jack gives her an approving nod, like he wasn’t expecting her to so easily foil his schemes of dastardly evil.

Without warning, she reaches into the cookie dough container and scoops out a dollop, hurling it right at the cocky boy still feasting on his stolen spoon. His eyes widen in fear right before the glob smacks him in the nose, slowly oozing off like a melting snowball.

Rapunzel breaks into giggles. “Two can play at this game, you know.”

He glances down at his now-mostly-empty spoon, and seems to compare it to her full container of dough. Rapunzel can tell he doesn’t like his chances.

“All right.” He lifts his hands up. “I surrender.”

She grins wickedly, licking a chunk of cookie dough off her finger.

“See?” Jack points at her, still looking smug despite his loss. “You know I’m right! You know it tastes better before you bake it!”

“Hmmm. Maybe.”

Rapunzel glances around bashfully, not meeting his eyes as she sneaks another dollop of cookie dough.

“So now that we’re in agreement...” Jack’s eyes flick toward the living room. “What do you say we turn on the fire, make some hot cocoa, and put on the absolute worst Christmas rom-com known to man while we finish that off?”

She beams. “You’ve got a deal.”

OOP I just mean to write a little drabble thing and it kinda. Got away from me ^^; Still not as novel-length and out-of-control as it COULD have gotten, so. Bravo to me for some restraint??? Not anything truly of note, but restraint nonetheless XD

ANYWAYS this prompt was very fun to make and made me highkey hungry for sugar cookies ^^; I really gotta start baking Christmas cookies with my family again. All I ever do is write about my blorbos doing Fun Seasonal Activities instead of doing any of them myself XD

Also Jack is absolutely correct, if you haven’t eaten a vast bucket of straight unbaked cookie dough then are you really living life??? Are you just existing without passion? Without zest? I think you are. Salmonella be damned, I survived food poisoning once and I can do it again!

Used Brunette Punzel for the moodboard once again because she really does deserve more love!!! And like. Come on now. When I see a pic of an adorable brown-haired aesthetic girl with hair that I think is the absolute perfect length for brunette!Rapunzel, what am I supposed to do??? Not snap it up and use it for a Jackunzel moodboard??? An absolute crime. This particular pic didn’t make it onto the Sweater Weather moodboard, so I’m happy I was able to work it into the Cozy Cookie-Making Day moodboard <3 <3 <3 Also got to work in a couple cookie aesthetic pics I’ve had saved for like 2 years, so a very satisfying accumulation of leftovers overall :D

Jack also very definitely has SOME naughty list-related merchandise and I will swear to that. North pretends not to approve, but he actually finds it pretty amusing how self-aware Jack is of his Little Shit tendencies.

Anyways, Jack and Rapunzel WOULD eat raw cookie dough, drink hot chocolate, and do mocking full-length commentaries of bad Christmas movies and you cannot change my mind.

Pic credits available upon request!