#wow remember when i was an animator yeah me neither

[still-snowing]

smooch!

[numberoneredriotfan]

It makes me really upset that Kirishima and Bakugou's friendship wasn't highlighted too much after season 4 or the shie hassakai arc. And I don't even mean this in a shipping sense. Kirishima was a HUGE part of Bakugou's character development even if it wasn't shown that way.

At first, Kirishima is introduced as one of the only people who can handle Bakugou and all his intensity- as well as his explosive (haha get it) personality. This is showcased more clearly in the sports festival arc.

Kirishima offers to be Bakugou's horse, because he's the only one that can handle his explosions with his hardening (which is probably the only quirk in 1-A that really effectively deflect Bakugou's explosions, so nobody else could really be in that position other than Kirishima.) Also, he without hesitation called Bakugou a dumbass and told him to remember his fucking name, even after seeing how angry he can get when provoked. And this isn't even the last time Kirishima does this. So Kirishima becomes someone who can handle Bakugou, but their friendship doesn't end there.

Most this development probably happened off-screen, but overtime Bakugou started to see Kirishima as an equal. Not just someone who could handle Bakugou and put up with him, but as someone who is able to stand by his side unwavering while also understanding his perspective to some extent (which I assume is rare for Bakugou, considering most other's view of him is either "what a jackass" or "wow he's so cool").

Which is why I really love this scene they added in the anime, which shows that Kirishima understands Bakugou, even if he seems like just an arrogant asshole. I think the only other character who understands Bakugou on that level is Deku (and of course his classmates learn to understand later on, but I'm talking about early on).

Kirishima was arguably the first person who Bakugou saw as an equal. Something I noticed about early Bakugou is that he either had a superiority complex or a inferiority complex with someone, and there was really no in between lol. That was, until Kirishima. Who came in as someone who neither above or below him. While Kirishima doesn't take any of Bakugou's shit, he also doesn't treat Bakugou like just a jerk.

This is of course, showcased best in the iconic Bakugou rescue scene.

This scene was honestly just such a good show of their bond, and how Bakugou sees Kirishima. Because as Deku pointed out, Bakugou wouldn't have taken anyone else's hand. We know this for a fact, as this was the same man who would've rather been kidnapped by villains then accept Deku's help-

So yeah. I fully believe if it was anyone other than Kirishima to reach out a hand to him, he would've straight up ignored them and would've tried to fight the villains himself. (Death is one thing but his ego is another apparently-).

It would be ignorant of me to say that Kirishima was the only one who understood Bakugou, because that's just not the case. Because as we saw multiple times throughout the series, Deku (as previously stated) understands Bakugou very well from the very beginning. However, while this opens up the gateway for a reconciliation with Bakugou in the future, Bakugou's complex feelings about Deku make it impossible for them to form a relationship based on that. Kirishima came in as a breath of fresh air, in which there was no lingering resentment or complexity involved. And of course, later in the series, we see the other members of class A understand Bakugou on that level as well. But in the beginning at least, Kirishima was the only person he could sort build that bridge of understanding with.

And even if it's never stated explicitly, I truly believe Bakugou wouldn't have opened up to relationships with his other classmates if it weren't for Kirishima befriending him. Or at the very least, it would've taken him a lot longer.

And the we have to take into accountability of how much their friendship has helped KIRISHIMA develop as a a character. As we can see, from the very beginning, Kirishima has a bad habit of comparing his quirk to the others of their class.

This isn't his fault necessarily, as in their society it's probably drilled into your head from a young age that you can only be a good hero if you have a flashy quirk.

And because of this, rather than looking at his own strength, he pays a lot of attention to how he compares to others.

So clearly, he's hard on himself and has a lot of self-esteem issues. (I am him. He is me-)

And it's clear he looks up to Bakugou a lot from just...Bakugou being Bakugou. Bakugou's a very forward person who jumps in without thinking (for better or worse), which is almost everything Kirishima wants to be. I honestly think that might've been- at least partially- what drew Kirishima to Bakugou. He wanted to be more like him, even if he wouldn't admit to himself. He, in a way, was putting Bakugou on a pedestal, even if he didn't realize that Bakugou sees him as an equal.

But then, Bakugou tells him this:

Which in the end, pushes Kirishima to reach his full potential, which came in form of unbreakable. Bakugou, who was originally someone he looked up to and admired, eventually became his motivation. His drive, even. And it wasn't just Bakugou, obviously, but Bakugou still contributed a lot.

And after all this, their friendship gets pushed to the side so we can focus on Bakugou and Deku's reconciliation. Which isn't bad! I love Bakugou and Deku's friendship as well! And I will say it holds a lot more importance to the plot of the story, and it wasn't necessarily a requirement to have Bakugou and Kirishima's relationship showcased more.

But still, I feel as though one could assume that once Bakugou got his character development from Kirishima, he didn't need anymore. Like he was just a stepping stone in order to reach his redemption with Deku. Which is just a sad way to look at their relationship :( and I truthfully believe that that just isn't the case. We did get a few crumbs, but even then we never got to see them talk one-one as friends after a while.

This isn't supposed to be Kiribaku propaganda or anything like that, and some of this will probably fall into headcanon territory and is just my interpretation of their characters. This also isn't me saying that their relationship is more important than Bakugou and Deku's, or Kirishima and Mina's, this is just more of a vent on how I would've liked to see more of their friendship.

Edit: just wanted to put this here as well

(From mha ultra analysis)

[canirove]

Broken Hearts Football Club | Chapter 19

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"I think I should get changed."

"June, for the millionth time…" John sighed.

"I know he said I should wear something comfy, that we aren't going anywhere special. But isn't wearing leggings and a hoodie too… You know?"

"You look perfect, June. And those leggings make your butt look amazing."

"You think?" she said, checking herself in the mirror. She knew Ben liked her butt. And quite a lot judging by all the times she had caught him checking it out. 

"Yes, I do."

"Then I shouldn't get changed?"

"No, June. You shouldn't. So stop checking yourself in the mirror."

"Ok" she said, sitting down on her bed.

"I had never seen you this nervous about a first date" John chuckled, elbowing her slightly.

"Shut up" she replied, her good leg shaking like crazy. But John was right. She was nervous. She was extremely nervous. 

After making up with Ben and fixing things between them, they had started to meet as they used to and she didn't want to ruin things again.

It had been during one of those visits when she had joked about it looking like a date. Ben had told her that if she was so eager about going on one, then they should do it, and a few days later he had texted her telling her that he had found the perfect plan. She only needed to wear something comfy and warm and wait for him to pick her up.  

And now there she was, waiting for him to arrive, racking her brain while thinking where he could take her looking like that. Her recovery process was going better than anyone had imagined, many telling her that she would definitely make it to the World Cup. But she couldn't do much yet, which meant that they would probably not do any physical activity. So where the hell was he taking her?

"Fuck! Shit!" June said when she heard the doorbell.

"That must be him" John smirked. 

"Yes, ok" she said, taking a deep breath and leaving her room.

"Hello, Maxwell" Ben smiled when she opened the door.

"Chilwell" she replied.

"Are you ready?"

"Yep."

"Have fun, guys" John said behind them, a big grin on his face.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"You haven't said a word yet" Ben chuckled.

"Uh?"

"We've been in the car for a while, and you haven't said anything. Are you regretting saying yes to this date?"

"What? No, no."

"Then?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm… I…"

"You?"

"I'm nervous, ok?" she confessed.

"June Maxwell is nervous about going on a date with me?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh wow" Ben laughed.

"Yeah, yeah" she replied, rolling her eyes. "When are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"Not yet."

"Oh, c'mon, Chilwell."

"Nope."

"I hate you" June said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"I hate you too" he replied, still thinking about June confessing that she was nervous about going on a date with him, which only made him more excited about seeing her reaction when he showed her what he had planned for the day.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Are you going to tell me now where we are going? We literally are in the middle of nowhere."

"This is the countryside, June, not the middle of nowhere" Ben said.

"Whatever. Are you telling me where we are going or not?"

"There" he said, nodding towards a building to their right.

"Is that a farm?"

"An animal shelter."

"What?" June said, turning to look at him.

"An animal shelter. You know what that is, don't you?" he smirked.

"I'm not an idiot, Chilwell. Of course I do. But why are you taking me there?"

"Remember when I told you that after they confirmed I had to retire, I was in a dark place?" 

"I do, yes." He had told her about it after they had made up, when she had also opened up about her last real relationship, the one that had broken her heart. Being that vulnerable with each other had made them connect in a way neither of them had felt before. 

"Well, this place saved me. A friend of mine works here and he told me I should come over and give them a hand even if it was just walking the dogs, that the fresh air and being surrounded by nature would help me. And it did. It definitely did. Since then I've been coming as often as I can, especially when I need to disconnect."

"And now you are bringing me here? For our first date?"

"I am. I know it isn't the usual, but I wanted to share this place with you" he smiled. "You are the first person I'm taking here, you know? Not even my family knows about it."

"Really?" June asked, feeling something fuzzy and warm on her chest.

"Really" he repeated, parking the car. "Shall we?"

"Yes" she smiled. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"You know, I've been trying to figure out where you could be taking me since the day you texted me, and never in a million years I could have guessed it would be to somewhere like this" June said as they made it back to the shelter after walking some of the dogs.

"Have you liked it?" Ben asked, his arm around her waist.

"Very much. The staff is wonderful, and so is the work they do. And your friend was right. Just going for a walk around here makes you disconnect and forget about everything. Though maybe that's because these dogs are fucking crazy and you can't think about anything else" she chuckled.

"What? They are lovely!"

"The grass stain on my leggings says otherwise."

"That was so funny, tho" Ben laughed. "Scary because I feared for your knee, but funny. Pepi is a cheeky one."

"He definitely is" June said, looking at the big dog walking in front of her.

"Are you sure you are ok, that you didn't hurt yourself?"

"Only my ego is hurt. And my ass."

"It looks amazing on those leggings, by the way. Very peachy" he smirked, his hand moving down and giving it a little squeeze.

"Chilwell!" June complained.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself" he shrugged, still smiling.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Chilly, should we… you know" his friend said after having a coffee at the shelter to warm up. 

"Should you what?" June asked.

"I have a surprise for you. Something like a very early Christmas present" Ben smiled. 

"Here?" 

"Yep. So far you've only met the dogs, but they have other animals here. Like chickens, goats, serpents…"

"No. No, no, no. You aren't taking me to see the serpents, I hate them."

"What about something with a bit more of fur?" Ben's friend said.

"A bit more of fur?" June asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Come" Ben smiled, offering her his hand.

"I swear, Chilwell. If you are gifting me a serpent, I'm murdering you."

"I'm not, I promise."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"They are so cute!" June said while playing with all the kittens. "Look at them, Chilwell! They are the cutest thing ever!"

"I disagree."

"What?"

"You are the cutest thing ever."

"Shut up" she said, feeling her cheeks on fire.

"Do you want to take one of them home with you?" 

"If I want what?" 

"Take one of them home. They are up for adoption."

"Are they?" June said, looking at Ben's friend.

"Yep. You can take with you as many as you want."

"All of them!" she laughed.

"John has allowed you to take just one" Ben said.

"Wait, John knows?"

"You share your apartment, I had to ask him first" he shrugged.

"Oh, wow."

"Why are you crying?" Ben said, bending down next to June and wiping away a tear.

"Honestly… I don't know. But they aren't sad tears. They are happy. This has been the best first date ever."

"Ever?" he asked, caressing her cheek.

"Ever. Thank you, Ben."

"You're welcome, June" he said, leaning forward to kiss her but being interrupted by a loud meow. "You aren't taking home that ginger one. I don't want to hear them meowing every time we kiss."

"Ok" June laughed, not being able to stop smiling. 

[11queensupreme11]

(I used some incorrect quotes.)

Hime: Sorry I’m late, I was doing things.

Sukuna: Hi, I’m ‘things’.

—

Sukuna: Hey, I’m getting in the shower. Wanna help me out?

Hime: ...Have you never taken a shower before?

—

Shisui: Wow, Sukuna, you want to hold my hand before marriage? How awfully lewd of you.

Sukuna: We literally slept together yesterday.

Shisui: That's NOTHING compared to the lewdness of holding hands.

Ryujin: .....You two did what...?

—

Hime: You look good in that hoodie! You know where else you'd look good?

Sukuna, zero hesitation: Your bed.

Hime, at the same time: By my side- wait, what?

—

Gojo: Are we fighting or flirting?

Hime, furious: I'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck-

Gojo: Your point?

—

Hime: What are you in the mood for?

Sukuna: World domination.

Hime: That's a bit ambitious.

Sukuna: You are my world.

Hime: Aww...

Sukuna:

Hime:

Sukuna:

Hime: OH.

—

Hime: Come to dinner tonight. I can’t cook, but I’ll bring plenty of free wine.

Sukuna: Marry me.

—

Hime: Okay, I’m going to get the wedding cake.

Megumi: I'll contact the musicians.

Yuji: Perfect, while you guys do that I’ll check on the ring bear.

Hime: ...

Megumi: ...

Hime: You mean ring bearER, right?

Yuji: ...

Megumi: Look me in the eyes and tell me you are not going to bring a dangerous wild animal to our wedding.

—

Hime: Sukuna, you do remember when we agreed we were better off as friends, right?

Sukuna, naked in Hime's bed: No, I absolutely do not.

Hime, already taking off her clothes: Fuck... Me neither.

—

Sukuna: I want to kiss you.

Shisui, not paying attention: What?

Sukuna: I said if you die, I wont miss you.

—

Hime: Look, last night was a mistake.

Sukuna: A sexy mistake.

Hime: No, just a regular mistake.

—

Shisui: Sukuna and I are no longer friends.

Sukuna: SHISUI THAT IS THE WORST WAY TO TELL PEOPLE THAT WE’RE DATING!

—

Hime when she was stuck in the hot springs: Go fuck yourself!

Sukuna, smugly: Sure, but only if you watch.

—

Sukuna: Remember, melons, don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Hime: I think I crossed that line when I got a date.

—

Sukuna: I want to be with you for the rest of my life.

Shisui: Damn, that sounds like a marriage proposal.

Sukuna: ...

—

Hime: I still have no idea how I’m attracted to you...

Sukuna: Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, and no take backs, melons.

—

Sukuna: Okay, but what if we went out to eat not as friends this time?

Shisui: AS ENEMIES?!

Sukuna:

—

Hime: We have a problem.

Sukuna: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.

—

Hime in Bloodflood chapter 6: What the fuck is wrong with you?!

Sukuna: Wow, you could start with a 'good morning'.

Hime: Good morning. What the fuck is wrong with you?!

—

Hime: Bad things keep happening to me, like I have bad luck or something.

Sukuna: Hime, you don't have bad luck. The reason bad things happen to you is because you're a dumbass.

—

Principal Yaga, going over Sukuna's resume: Okay, so right here, it states that you’re creative.

Sukuna: Yes.

Principal Yaga: Okay... may I know what you create?

Sukuna: Problems.

—

Sukuna: Okay. I get it. You've had a really hard time lately, you're stressed out, seven people died-

Hime: Twelve thousand, actually.

Sukuna: Not the point. Look, they're dead now and really whose fault is that?

Hime: Yours!

Sukuna: That's right: no one's.

—

Yuji: Okay, help me please!

Sukuna: Got two words for you.

Yuji: I bet they won't be helpful.

Sukuna: Your problem.

Yuji: I was right.

—

Shisui: Junichiro and I got married!!

Sukuna: Don't share your personal problems with everyone.

Hime: We have a problem. Sukuna: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.

this is so funny cuz in bloodflood, he's literally gonna be the cause for 90% of her problems 😭

[readingismyhobby24]

im doing pretty good too ^_^!!!!

im SO excited to yap about rainworlds >:D i wanted the game a lot like last year and its like “oh wow i have it now lol” so ive been playing it a bunch and reading about the lore (because its super hard to tell the lore in the game)

to start off simple, you play as a slugcat (basically cat mixed with a slug) in an ecosystem with other creatures, id like to mention how i enjoy that the creatures dont just have set animations for their actions like most games, theyre placed on a rig and the ai has to go off of what to do which i find interesting! you, the slugcat arent meant to be a hero in the story, youre basically just another part in the ecosystem, youre also very low in the food chain (below you are basically just small creatures and plants, while lizards, scavengers, vultures, etc are above you.)

i also enjoy how it isnt JUST a survival game, each character has a story, such as how monk and the survivor are brothers that were seperated, how hunters cycles count down instead of up because she has a disease, etc!

oh yeah i should also probably do a gender chart so nothing gets too confusing (highlighted in yellow is canon, highlighted in purple is implied, white is just my own personal interpretation)

male- gourmand, monk, survivor

female- artificer, rivulet, hunter

neither- spearmaster, inv, saint, nightcat

oh yeah! i should probably explain the actual main thing you SHOULD be worried about!

basically, every cycle is around 13 minutes i believe (except rivulets, hers are shorter, but its back to normal when you meet five pebbles) and when the 13 minutes is up, you have to find shelter before everything rains. you have a certain amount of food pips depending on the campaign, if you have full food pips you can hibernate for the night and itll save, if you dont have enough filled it wont save and will give you one extra food pip, you can also eat extra so you have a few food pips already filled for the next cycle!

the main objective of the game is to follow the guide (iggy/overseer, i prefer to call em iggy) to Looks to the Moon and then Five Pebbles (theyre both iterators which ill explain later!!!!!) im not quite sure how the campaigns end, but ill find out trust :3

so basically, the iterators are what created the slugcats (i believe) and gave a few of them purposes, most were to send a message (like how spearmaster was made to be a messenger), also they have funky names like “Seven Red Suns” and “No Significant Harassment”

also some parts of the game are just really funny 😭 like i know its a game thats probably intended to make me mad but i cant help but laugh at the fact that spearmaster canonically got top surgery (in a way) and that theres a dating sim after you finish inv’s campaign

after each cycle you gain karma! (everytime you die you loose karma too btw) which can help you get through certain passages :)

remember how i mentioned that hunters cycles counted down instead of up? thats an important detail to her story :) because she basically has a disease, after the certain number of cycles, it starts to effect you, and death is permanent (fun fact! if you die in hunters campaign permanently you can go into gourmands and find her body (did i forget to mention that some parts of this game are actually really disturbing? i HATE the spiders.))

its such a confusing yet amazing game, its definitely worth it to get it with the DLC, the sound effects of the creatures, explosions, stabbing, literally every small detail is incredible and i LOVE the music !! oh yeah theres also an upcoming dlc with the nightcat… im very excited :3

sorry if i yapped a lil too much or jumped around too much or if this is hard to understand 😔

bonus pictures of the slugcats with the timeline :) i love them a lot

Okay! Wow!! This sounds really cool and interesting!! And also stressful because this sounds like a game I'd be horrible at 😅 (but honestly I'm bad at all games except for LoZ games, but even then I still struggle with them). Thank you so much for explaining it to me! The little slugcats are adorable by the way!!!

Also, never worry about yapping too much to me!! It literally doesn't bother me at all. I love hearing what you have to say!!! And getting long asks of people yapping actually makes me super happy ^_^

I hope you have a great day/night 🩵

[detective-inspector-her]

Skulpine Stuff lolololol NSFW Warning

Skulduggery : You look good in that hoodie. Nefarian : You know where else I'd look good? Skulduggery , zero hesitation: My bed. Nefarian , at the same time: By your side- wait, what?

-

Nefarian : Skulduggery , you do remember when we agreed we were better off as friends, right? Skulduggery , naked in Nefarian 's bed: No, I absolutely do not. Nefarian , already taking off their clothes: Fuck... Me neither.

-

Skulduggery : Hey, about that love letter you sent me- Nefarian : *blushes* What are your thoughts? Skulduggery : The fourth sentence- Nefarian : Yeah, that’s where I got really emotional and I- Skulduggery : It’s “you’re��� not “your”.

-

Nefarian : I think we should kiss. Skulduggery : And I think you should die but we don’t always get what we want.

-

Skulduggery : Come to dinner tonight. I can’t cook, but I’ll bring plenty of free wine. Nefarian : Marry me.

-

Nefarian : Bro, I had a dream we fucked. Skulduggery : Bro, relax it was just a dream. Nefarian : Huh, gay, I wouldn’t fuck you. Skulduggery : You wouldn’t? Nefarian : I mean, unless you want to-

-

Skulduggery : Pros and cons of dating me. Skulduggery : Pros. You'll be the cute one. Skulduggery : Cons. Holy shit, where do I begin-

-

Nefarian : I don't need to go to bed. I'm not tired, I'll be fine. Skulduggery : But, darling, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again. Nefarian : O-oh. Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns?? Skulduggery : Is it working?

-

Skulduggery : I’m proud to identify as morosexual. I’m attracted to dumbasses and dumbasses exclusively. Someone asked me what the Spanish word for "tortilla" was once, and now I dream of kissing them under the moonlight. Nefarian : What kind of animal is the Pink Panther? Skulduggery , already taking off their clothes: God, Nefarian , you’re so fucking stupid.

-

Nefarian : Do you want to explain the text you sent me last night? Skulduggery : It was autocorrect. Nefarian : Autocorrect wrote "You're so hot. Please step on me."? Skulduggery : Yes.

-

Skulduggery : Wow, they really hate us. Nefarian : Yes, perhaps they’re homophobic. Skulduggery : But we’re not gay, Nefarian . Nefarian : Skulduggery : Nefarian : We’re not?

-

Nefarian , trying to flirt with Skulduggery : I think both of our families suck.

-

Nefarian : Yeah, a partner sounds nice, but a supreme enemy you can make out with in secret sometimes sounds a lot more hardcore.

-

Nefarian : We both look very handsome tonight. Skulduggery : You know, if you'd just said that I looked handsome, I would have said, "So do you." Nefarian : I couldn't take that chance.

-

*Nefarian is crying after a breakup* Skulduggery : There there, Nefarian . Nefarian , still crying: Thanks, but how did you get into my room? Skulduggery : Great question—

-

Nefarian : Crushes are the worst. Whenever I’m near mine, I start acting stupid. Skulduggery : You always act stupid. Skulduggery : Skulduggery : Wait...

[freya-howlett]

A new companion, an old friend - Inside Hyrule series pt. 2

Content: Link has a new feature in his Sheikah Slate that allows him to summon a creature to help him on his journey. However, you soon discover you know his new friend very, very well.

Author's note: is this a series? I'm not sure, but, hey, it's fun to write! Let's go back to this wholesome concept of mine were you're inside the game spending some good time with Link, this time with some tint of nostalgia. Feel free to comment, send your thoughts or whatever you feel like (just be kind)!

Divider by: saradika (tumblr)

Image: Breath of the Wild Official Concept Art

Y/N. No shipping, only friendship. Short

"Hey, there's something I wanted to show you," Link said as he took his Sheika Slate from his belt. "I got something new I wanted to try out."

You turned your head in wonder. You both had formed an improvised picnic in the Great Plateu, now you were completely rested and with a full stomach thanks to Link's cooking skills. You had even taken out your belts and weapons to laid them at your side so you could take a break.

"Okay..." he muttered, touching the screen. "Here it is. Let's see what this does."

The Sheikah Slate glowed in a slight golden color, almost white, and he pointed at some inches in front of him. Then the activation sound was heard and in the middle of the air appeared a column of green light where small black squares danced for milliseconds. You knew that effect very well and opened your mouth in amazement.

The black squared turned into a black mass that quickly formed into an animal shape and, just like that, in a flash, there was a familiar wolf in front of you both.

You stood up, letting out a happy squeal that also sounded too childish. The wolf turned his enormous head to you and recognized you instantly, his tail starting to wag.

"Wolf!" you exclaimed as you threw yourself at the animal to let him lick your face and rub his fur against you. You chuckled a bit. "Hey, hey, don't be so harsh."

When you turned to Link, he had his eyes raised in confusion and was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is there something I had to remember?" he asked, worried. You felt a sting, you could see how hard it was for him to be amnesiac.

"No, no," you answered quickly. "You forgot nothing," as you were kneeling, holding Wolf's head against you, you had to be careful with your words. "He's an old friend of mine."

Link only nodded and you could see the relief washing over him. You buried your face in Wolf's neck, hugging him, to hide your expression in case it'd give you away.

You remembered this wasn't the first time one Link had encountered another. Wolf met the Hero of Time, but neither he nor you revealed that connection to him. You even wondered if the Hero of Time himself knew about it because you'd never say it aloud.

As far as you were concerned, none of the Links knew about his past lives, nor that he had met you plenty of other times before. That's something you from early age decided to keep for yourself. The reason? Who knows. Even you wondered what'd happen if you opened your mouth, but also you were afraid it'd harm him, his soul. If you yourself learnt you were trapped in a vicious endless cycle where you'll always be forced to be the hero and fight evil forces, maybe you'd get crazy.

You looked into Wolf's dark eyes, wondering if he knew what was going on and where he was, but you were only met with kindness.

"So... that's a wolf and he's your friend," Link stated slowly, like trying to understand.

"Yeah," you nodded, standing up while still touching Wolf's head. "He accompanied me in some trips before."

"Alright, so, is it friendly?" he went down to one knee, extending his arm carefully towards the animal carefully, however that wasn't necessary, Wolf threw himself at Link cheerfully and licked his face as the surprised boy laughed. "Wow! Didn't expect that!" he laughed, grabbing Wolf by the cheeks.

"I'm glad I got to see you again," you scratched Wolf's ear as he comfortably had his head laid on your lap. There was a deep low growl that came from his throat whenever he exhaled, it was almost like some sort of purr or snore. "Have you seen...?"

He shook his head slightly before you could mutter her name. You pushed your lips together, no need to keep on wondering about things you'll never know the answer of. Instead, still caressing his fur, you focused on the nocturn landscape in front. Link fell asleep, surprisingly, before you inside his tent a few meters apart and the only sound was that of nature, wind and the fire in front of you dying out. At the horizon was Death Mountain, ever fuming, with the moon behind its smoke, but still you were very well lighted. The Temple of Time was behind, you couldn't see it, but felt it.

"I feel nostalgic, Wolf, I think you've noticed how destroyed everything is," you muttered absently. He moved his ears, a sign of his attention. "This world is different."

Wolf raised his head to boop you with his nose on your cheek, it was slightly wet and warm. You understood what he meant: "You too."

"I guess so," you chuckled slightly, cleaning his wetness from your skin. "I can't ride on your back anymore, I'm heavier now."

A flashback of a younger you holding onto Wolf's fur for dear life as he dashed and sprang all over Hyrule Field appeared in your mind. You had to admit you miss that, but would never tell.

"We still can have fun anyways," you smiled as he raised to his front paws, sitting at your side really close. He directed his head towards the tent and raised his mouth and nose once. "Link? Ah, he's nice," you shrugged. "I often feel like cargo, you know? But if I am to him, at least he doesn't say it," you poked the grass under your legs. "He does not remember a single thing of his past, he wouldn't even know his name if it wasn't because a voice woke him up, so we're trying to recover his memories. In that sense... I'm more of a moral supporter."

When you turned to face Wolf again, he moved his head and raised on his four feet, you know he meant his time was getting over and he had to go. Where? You didn't know and in a certain way didn't want to ask, so you just smiled softly.

"Already? I wanted to show you the Temple of Time, maybe you recognize it," you said, but he only booped against your cheek again. "I'll see you again, doesn't it? As long as he can summon you."

Wolf only nodded and you leaned your head against him softly, looking into the horizon. However, you stopped feeling his fur for a moment, and instead there was cloth. When you faced him, you saw the Hero of Twilight smiling at you. He was shimmering slowly with that golden aura, he was going to fade away in a few seconds.

"Hey," you greeted him, he hadn't changed a thing. "Glad to see you again."

He only kept smiling warmly and tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear with a light gente touch, contrast to his rough fingers, and then faded in the silence of the night.

"So, Y/N..." Link spoke, muffled due to the food in his mouth he was still chewing. And to think he was a knight, you thought. "Who was the guy?"

"What guy?" you asked as you blew on your plate to cool off the eggs with rice you had made. That morning, breakfast had been your task.

"The one who was here last night, I almost jumped on him if it wasn't because you seemed to know him."

You coughed a little bit, pretending you had something in your throat and cursed to yourself. You didn't like the idea of Link, this Link specifically, getting to know Wolf's truth. He had too many issues with his memory to add more than he could take. Besides, he had only been on his human form for a second, how did he notice?

"You must've been dreaming, no one showed up," you said, biting on the eggs slowly.

"I swear I didn't, because you took your sweet time to go to sleep," he insisted.

So the gaslighting wouldn't work, so you changed your tactics to something else.

"You tracking me?" you raised your eyebrow. "And also, you were supposed to be asleep because you've been truly tiring you out recently. Maybe you were seeing things because of exhaustion."

Link frowned, still eating. He wasn't believing a thing you said, but you could see in his expression he gave up on his inquiries.

"You may be right."

You stayed in silence for a moment, eating with the sounds of the birds singing above you until you decided to ease the moment:

"C'mon, Link, we have to prepare for another long day," you sighed. "Weren't you going to show me how to get rupees from a Blupee?"

He smirked enthusiastically.

[thatoneguy031]

Uhh...

Holy wow, that was fast.

But, uhm. Yeah, onto King Clawthorne, the Titan of Burger Queen!

Also, shoutout to @rainbowangel110 for giving me more info on the show and fandom as a whole:

This isn't gonna be a "Oh my god, this character has pizazz" kinda thing, mostly because King doesn't wear much besides his collar, so this is gonna be more of an analysis of his character, and my personal thoughts on him.

Spoilers for the end of the show, by the way. If you haven't finished the show, I suggest you finish reading here!

...You're still here? Cool, just don't sue me if you get hit with the sledgehammer that is the show's endgame.

So firstly, I have to bring up something I realized a long time ago, and talked about in one of my first ever posts up here.

King actually has a mouth. But, he never uses it to actually talk.

Something that someone mentioned to me, though, is fairly interesting about him. You know how some legendary Pokemon have a telepathy-like way of communicating with the humans in the anime/movies? That someone on Twitter(I can't remember the name for the life of me, but kudos to them) said that he might communicate that way, only really using his mouth to either eat or let out those hyper shouts of his.

This is actually a really interesting idea that I wish the animators actually played with more. As far as I'm aware, neither Luz or Eda do as much as acknowledge it, nevermind question him about it. Maybe it has something to do with him being a Titan since his pops does the same thing, but I dunno.

Which brings me to yet another topic about the fellow: He's a Titan. Now, I hear y'all saying, "Guy, no freaking crap he's a Titan! The entire fandom knows this, it's no longer just a theory! What's the point of stating the obvious?!"

Here's one thing that I thought about. In my post about Luz, I mentioned that I loved her Titan Form. Besides the very heartwarming references that are in her outfit, she gets improved magic, durability, and can create glyphs on the fly, along with the magic circles that everyone and their mother in the Boiling Isles have been doing already. I was really upset when I found out that she only got to use it once before Papa Titan's spirit faded away, making sure to steal Luz's cool new form from her as it did so.

Call me Alpharad with the way I'm theory-crafting, but hear me out. King is already tapping into his Titan powers(As he should. You go, little furball!), unlocking and even mastering his hyper shout. How long do you think it's gonna be until he taps into more of his abilities? From what we know, Titans are extremely powerful. A drop of their blood contain enough power to open holes between realms, even being able to make a sort of purgatory area, as shown in Vee's debut episode(Is there a specific name for that area? That was also really cool). At least, I'm sure it's Vee's debut episode it appears in.

This might be the Pokemon fanboy in me, but what if King and Luz managed to sync up to bring that form back? Something more akin to Battle Bond, maybe? Heck, even King himself could get some kind of glow-up.

Speaking of glow-ups...

This... this is cool!

Don't get me wrong, I understand that King was in a state of distress as everything the show threw at him was finally too much to handle, and I do indeed feel bad for him. Very much so. But...

What.

The.

Heck?!

Lost Deity King, as I'm now dubbing him(Mostly because I don't know the form's real name), is what happens when you push a character too far. He's had enough, and wanted to snap Belos's neck for what he did to Luz, and Eda wanted to as well, but I'll get to her in the future. He wanted to kill him the same way Tsunami killed Gill(Wings of Fire reference, for those not aware).

...I really felt bad for him during this scene, though. Seriously. Excuse my language, but think about the absolute bullshit that King had to go through over the course of more-or-less eight years. He:

-Was basically abandoned at birth(I understand that Papa Titan had his own things going on, but he felt like he's been abandoned)

-Was convinced that he was the King of the Demons(Which isn't even a title, as far as I'm aware?) by the only thing he could even remotely call a parental figure

-Had to watch as his mother figure would turn into a dangerous owl monster basically on the weekly

-Was taken as a joke, a walking meme, for most if not all of his life(It sorta made sense for Eda and Luz, as they were family to him, and he knew it was just fun and games from them)

-Nearly died on several accounts, the most devastating of which(That I can remember) being nearly crushed in a magic cube because he did something as petty as refusing to write fanfiction due to burnout

-found out that his friend/sister TRAVELLED THROUGH TIME with his roommate/mother's sister(Who, might I add, TRIED TO KILL BOTH EDA AND LUZ on the SAME DAY, a few weeks ago) to look for the past version of someone that's actively hunting that same sister figure

-Was basically forced to team up with a potentially universe-ending being and be his plaything for about two or three days, watching those he loved being turned into puppets

-Was told that basically everything he believed about himself was an utter lie

Which, by the way, can I talk about that for a while? 'Cause this-

Just this. I can still hear his voice in this scene.

"...Y-You're all just messing with me, like usual, right?"

"Oh no... no no no no no no!"

"No! Keep that thing away from me, it's messing with my head!" Poor guy didn't even want the remnant of his horn back.

I'm not one to cry at movies or TV shows. I'm not trying to sound tough or anything, I just can't really bring myself to do that. But, when I heard King hyperventilate as he began having a existensial crisis, I bawled my eyes out for him. This scene legitimately broke my heart.

All of this, and the worst part?

...King is still a child.

That's right. According to the wiki(Which is where I pull a lot of these images from), King is around eight years old, and he's twelve during the epilogue. Point being, he still in need of caring parents. Yes, Eda was there, but continuing to tell the lie that he was the Demon King(Again, not even a real title) was a bit of a low move for her. I forgive her for that, especially since it was with good intentions, but jeez lady.

Back to the list of messed-up things that King went through:

-Was separated from Luz and his three other new friends for like, a week, as they traveled to the human realm by force(Yes, he caused it, but it was because he literally had to)

-Basically got involved in the second Great Ninja War but if the ninjas were replaced by witches, and was considered a large estate of power

...Oh, and how could I possibly forget? King also had to...*checks notes*...

-LITERALLY WATCH AS HIS BEST FRIEND WAS CRUSHED UNDER BELOS'S FOOT-CLAW-THING, POSSESSED BY STUPID DISNEY "KILL MC" PLOT BS AND DISINTEGRATE INTO BALLS OF LIGHT!!

Yeah, no wonder why he completely flipped his shit in this scene! Wouldn't you?!

It's just that... King really went through a lot. Can someone give him a hug?

Like...

How did we get from this, to... That thing?

I said that I loved the Lost Deity, but if it meant that his mental health could remain stable... I'm willing to live without it.

...Rant and tears aside, I really love King. He's just a lovable dog thing, while still being such a slippery little fella.

For example, someone made this piece of artwork of him, and it's been on my mind for quite some time.

I know this isn't official art, but y'all can still admit that King didn't even have drip anymore... He was a whole fountain. I couldn't trace the image back a specific person, but I found it somewhere here, if you guys want to use it as a wallpaper!

(Also, I don't know why, but he gives such early 2010s energy in this photo.)

Y'all want more of adorable pics of King? Here ya go!

Woo, work it! Yass, slay queen!

Real talk though, we can all agree that this guy is awesome, right? Just off of principle.

Overall, King is my favorite character in the show(Although, between you and me, it was sort of a close call when Titan Luz entered the field), and I just hope that life is nothing but uphill for him.

...He deserves it.

[ifvillainwhysexi]

Incorrect quotes 4 ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

Nine: You know, Skeptic gives Dabi flowers everyday, I wish you'd do that too. Overhaul: Okay. *Later* Overhaul: *gives Dabi flowers* Dabi: ??? Overhaul: I don't know, I'm confused as well.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Overhaul: I love you. Nine: I love you too. I've waited so long to hear you say that. *Overhaul and Nine kiss passionately* Dabi, to Skeptic: You owe me 20 dollars.

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Dabi: I sleep with a gun under my pillow. Skeptic: I sleep with a knife. Overhaul: Both of you are pathetic. Dabi: Oh yeah? What do you sleep with? Overhaul: Nine.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Dabi: Why are your tongues purple? Overhaul: We had slushies. I had a blue one. Nine: I had a red one. Dabi: oh. Dabi: Dabi: OH. Skeptic: Skeptic: You drank each other's slushies?

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Dabi: Why is Overhaul crying on the floor? Skeptic: They're drunk. Dabi: And? Skeptic: They saw a picture of Nine's spouse. Dabi: But they're Nine's spouse. Skeptic: I know.

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Overhaul: Bro, I had a dream we fucked. Nine: Bro, relax it was just a dream. Overhaul: Huh, gay, I wouldn’t fuck you. Nine: You wouldn’t? Overhaul: I mean, unless you want to-

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Overhaul: Did it hurt when you fell- Nine: From heaven? Wow, I didn’t think you were such a flirt- Overhaul: No, I meant when you fell down the stairs. Nine: ... Overhaul: You just laid there for 15 minutes

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Overhaul: How do I tell Nine that I want them to yell at me like they're Gordon Ramsay and I'm a poor little chef who just ruined a crème brûlée?

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Overhaul: I’m proud to identify as morosexual. I’m attracted to dumbasses and dumbasses exclusively. Someone asked me what the Spanish word for "tortilla" was once, and now I dream of kissing them under the moonlight. Nine: What kind of animal is the Pink Panther? Overhaul, already taking off their clothes: God, Nine, you’re so fucking stupid.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Overhaul: Okay, I’m going to get the wedding cake. Nine: Perfect, while you do that I’ll check on the ring bear. Overhaul: ... Overhaul: You mean ring bearER, right? Nine: ... Overhaul: Look me in the eyes and tell me you are not going to bring a dangerous wild animal to our wedding.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Nine: Since we're in a relationship now, your clothes are my clothes too. Don't ask me why I have your shirt on, this is our shirt. Overhaul: Fine, but when I come strutting in with your fuzzy socks I don't want to hear shit.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Overhaul: Nine, you do remember when we agreed we were better off as friends, right? Nine, naked in Overhaul's bed: No, I absolutely do not. Overhaul, already taking off their clothes: Fuck... Me neither.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Overhaul: You know my motto: carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe coles. Nine: Seize the day, seize the night, what’s the last one? Overhaul: Seize the dick.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Overhaul, admiring a sleeping Nine: You’re so cute. Nine, sleepily: I could beat your ass. Overhaul, lovingly: I know.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

I'm back on my shit you guys q(≧▽≦q)

[achitka]

Doors (Chapter 39) Tiempo Para Algo Diferente

Time for something different

This is what happens when you think you're done with change for the day... nope. Anyway... Tears of the Kingdom drops tonight... I need to finish this - gonna be a challenge that.

The Empanadagist

Bubo watched Tuli and Antonio as they ran around with nets, trying to catch the fireflies that would blink in and out of sight. Neither was having much luck, so he waited for them to finish and sit down near a waterfall. He walked up to them and said, “Hi kids, how’s the firefly catching going?”

“Not too good,” Antonio said, “They’re so fast.”

“You want to know a trick, my abuelo taught me?” Bubo asked in his best conspiratorial tone.

Antonio nodded and came closer.

“First… shake out your hands.” Bubo did this, then said as he held his hands together out in front of himself, “Next, you need to stand perfectly still, like a tree and…” after a few moments, a firefly landed on one hand, and he used the other to cover it. He sat down next to them, and both kids leaned in when he lifted his thumb a little, so they could look inside. The glow stood out, and the kids moved closer still. “This little lady is a Lampyridae and is a member of the family of elateroid beetles,” Bubo said, then looked at the blank stares he was getting and added, “it’s a forest firefly.”

“She’s so pretty. Can we keep her?” Tuli asked.

“No, it’s better if we let her go. She probably only landed on me because she thought I was a branch. The girls will do that, so they can get a better look at the boys,” Bubo said and slowly took his top hand away. “If she sees one she likes, she’ll call to him.” The firefly did not fly off. Instead, it walked around on his hand, lighting up a few more times before taking off.

“Wow,” Antonio said, “you sure know a lot about bugs.”

“Insects, Toni, that’s what he goes to school for…to be a … uh… empanadagist.” Tuli corrected, and Bubo smiled.

“Why would he study empanadas?”

“No, I said it wrong… what’s it called Bubo?”

“Entomologist, it’s a branch of zoology.”

“Yeah that.”

“Whatever, Tuli, I want to try the arm thing!” Antonio shouted and jumped to his feet.

“Don’t be so loud!” Tuli shouted, then realized she was shouting and whispered, “You’ll scare them.”

“It’ll be fine,” Antonio said in a more normal tone, arms out in front of him.

Tuli glomped onto Bubo’s arm as she watched. Bubo used his free hand to indicate she should try. Tuli pushed a smile onto her face as she let go of his arm and moved closer to Antonio. She very tentatively held her hands out, and Antonio giggled as fireflies landed on his hands and arms, flashing. Tuli was watching the fireflies land and was biting her lip, it seemed, in an effort to not laugh.

“It worked!” Antonio shouted, and he bounced, causing several of the fireflies to take off. He watched the bugs on his hands for a few minutes, he frowned then said, “They don’t talk… Bubo, how come they don’t talk?”

Bubo tilted his head. Why don’t they talk? Then he remembered what Antonio’s Gift was. Insects were technically animals and said, “They do, just not the way we do. Their bodies don’t work like that. They breathe through their thorax and-”

“Their what?”

“Their tummies, the part on the ends that glow,” Bubo said as he pointed.

“Oh, cool,” Antonio said, and the firefly flashed. He focused his attention on that end and the firefly flashed again. “Still not hearing anything. Did you just make that up?”

“No,” Bubo replied, and felt mildly offended. “Insects talk in their own way, Antonio.” The beetle set off a series of flashes and Bubo said, “This firefly is talking right now, actually.”

Antonio gave him a suspicious look but returned his attention to the beetle. He noticed the flashes then and said, “Oh wow, they talk so fast.”

“Can you really tell what it’s saying?” Tuli asked, coming closer. Her hands had a number of fireflies on them.

Antonio didn’t answer, he was very focused on the firefly in front of him until he frowned. “Nope, I can’t, it’s too fast,” Antonio concluded. “Why do they talk so fast, Bubo.”

“Perhaps it’s because, compared to people, they lead very short lives. Once they reach this stage, they only live for a few months.”

“That’s it?” Antonio asked.

Bubo nodded but added, “When they are a larva,” Bubo paused then said, “When they are babies, they live on and underground for about a year, and they don’t have wings like they do now.”

“That makes sense. They need to get everything done in a hurry. Guess I’ll have to practice.”

“Hey, Toni,” Antonio looked over to see his brother, and Camilo asked, “You got a minute hermano?”

“Sure,” Antonio said and gave his arms a shake. Fireflies scattered in all directions, and Antonio waved for his brother to follow him. “Can go over to the other tree? It’s really cool over there and there was something I wanted to show you.” Camilo nodded, then waved to Bubo and Tuli as he followed Antonio to the bridge that was not too far off.

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Orden del Caos (Order from Chaos)

Bruno growled as the sponty started. Isabela helped him sit before the full force of it hit him. He took an almost breath and felt Isa pull up his hood. She sat next to him and took his hand. She began to hum a song that wasn’t a song and Bruno realized Isa was using her Gift, and it seemed to be affecting the flow of the vision. He could smell lavender and something else he couldn’t quite identify, but was sure it was some kind of mint. This sponty had started as the glimpse variety that were always the most difficult to understand. As Isa sang it shifted, smoothed out and showed him those glimpses in a more coherent way. First was Isabela and Tuli looking up at the great oak in the plaza. This shifted to Mirabel walking with Camilo, Bubo and Luisa. That dissolved to show José Márquez speaking angrily to Bubo. That morphed into Mirabel reaching out, while Luisa had a hand on her shoulder. It dissolved again back to Bubo and José, but the anger was gone from their faces. Returning to Isabela and Tuli by the tree.

Bruno blinked as the sponty ended, and he reached to pull the bottle from his pocket. He paused. His hands weren’t shaking. He slowly returned his hand to his lap and looked over at Isabela. This was new.

“You okay, Tío?” Isabela asked.

Bruno took off his hood and said, “Yes, I’m doing pretty good, actually. Isa what was that song?”

“Well, it wasn’t an actual song,” Isabela blushed and looked at the floor. Several dandelions popped out of the grass and aged.

“Really?” Bruno asked.

“Yeah, kinda more of a feeling I sent to the nearby plants. Just something I was trying… you know to help strengthen them and I, ummm, asked the plants to help you… wow, that sounds really dumb now that I’m saying it out loud.”

Bruno lifted an eyebrow. Even when she was small, he’d rarely seen Isabela struggle with anything. The fact that she saw this new thing she was trying as ‘dumb’ was not like her and explained some of her behavior of late. Since the magic came back, Isabela seemed to question more if what she was doing was what she should actually be doing. That, in and of itself, was not a bad thing, and under normal circumstances he wouldn’t worry, but the vine sleeves now creeping slowly down her arms gave him pause.

Bruno reached out and gently touched his sobrina’s knee and said, “You know, I’ve noticed that you’ve been having a little trouble finding your place in our family. Believe me, I know how that feels. You’ve lost confidence in yourself; think you haven’t grown with your Gift. That you’re somehow failing at all this.” Isabela frowned and gave him a small nod. Bruno noted the vine sleeves, that had made it to her elbows, were now sporting tiny thorns. Isabela didn’t even seem to notice it happening. Bruno took her hand and gave it a squeeze and said, “I think maybe you’re focusing on the wrong thing, Isa.”

“What do you mean?” Isa asked.

“Whatever you just did, it was remarkable. You say you asked the plants to help me, and I felt your song... and damned if it didn’t push some direction into that sponty I just had. For the type of sponty it was, that has literally never happened before. Look at these hands… not even a twitch.” The thorns retracted as she focused back on him. “Grant yourself a little bit of Grace to learn, time to try and most important, permission to fail. I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told your mother when it was clear she wanted something other than what had been laid before her.” Bruno made sure she was looking at him and said, “Your whole life has been dedicated to doing for others. Let me remind you… It is not selfish for you to want something for yourself. Follow your heart, Isabee. Let it be your guide. Do what feels right for you because in the end, it’s your happiness that matters.” The vine sleeves dissolved, and Bruno patted her arm.

“Thanks, Tío.”

“Anytime, Isa.”

Isabela’s attention went back to the path Bubo had taken, and she said, “You think they’re alright? It’s been a while. How long can it take to tell someone that someone they hate is dead?”

“Well, maybe it’s not the hate that’s the problem, but more the fear Santiago inspires in Tuli. Fear will trump hate every time and is harder to counteract. Whether it’s a reasonable fear or not. You should probably go check on them soon, and for the record, I like that boy, so unusual. Not at all what I was expecting.”

Bruno felt the beginning of his agitation as his neck muscles tightened slightly. He sighed; he really didn’t want to deal with this right now. Something in that sponty had triggered this. He just wasn’t sure what. “I need to talk to your mother. Not about any of this, mind you. If I leave you here, are you gonna behave yourself?” he asked and waved toward where Bubo had gone.

Isabela returned her attention to him. She shrugged but at least was no longer frowning as she answered with a small smile, “Maybe, Tío. Maybe.”

“Good answer,” Bruno said and smiled as he got up.

Camilo and Antonio rounded the corner, and Antonio was carrying Little Parce on his shoulder. One of the stuffed jaguar’s eyes was missing, so they were probably headed for Mira’s room. Antonio stopped only long enough to give the actual Parce a hug. The jaguar didn’t move more than to twitch his ears, and Bruno joined them and said, “See you in a bit, Isabee.” She nodded and sat back on the swing.

Once in the hall, he watched his sobrinos head toward Mirabel’s room. Once they entered, he asked, “Casita, can you let Julieta know I need her… and to bring Pepa as well?” There was an affirmative clatter and Bruno headed toward his room. Bruno went in as he closed the door he said, “Doli, please make my room off limits for the time being, my thanks in advance, Corazón.”

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Tristeza (sadness)

With Antonio gone, Bubo noticed that Tuli once again became nervous as she smoothed her skirt and took a deep breath. She was trying so hard to show she was happy around him that it worried him. She was locking away her fear and sadness, just like she did when her mother was killed. When her hand went to the locket, Bubo asked, “So other than riding jaguars, what have you been up to today?”

“I got to meet some of Antonio’s friends,” Tuli said, and let go of the locket as she sat down on the grass. “Alejandra and Cecilia are really nice. Alejandra is really loud; she yells a lot when she talks, and she introduced me to a bunch of other girls. Cecilia is super pretty. She has a straw hat with flowers on it.”

“Do you know what kind of flowers?”

“Forget me nots,” Tuli replied then added, “blue ones. She said they have bunches in her backyard. You would never know she and Alejandra almost got killed the day before when they were playing.”

Bubo noticed that the fact that people were being killed or almost killed was becoming a reoccurring thing in Tuli’s world view. It made him sad that she didn’t even seem phased by it, just another day. This was the incident that caused the meeting to be delayed the day before. The fact that they thought the weakening of the roof was intentional had shaken him some. But people were people, and there would always be some that were not great at being human. He hadn’t been able to find out more than the fact that the Madrigals were responsible for the rescue ending well. “Yes, I heard about that. I understand they were playing in a house that wasn’t finished being built.”

“Yeah, and the roof broke,” Tuli continued. “Juancho said it was lucky they found them, cause he said it was getting hard to breathe, and he only sort of remembered when Camilo helped get them out.”

“Who is Juancho?”

“He’s another one of Antonio’s friends. He was with Alejandra and Cecelia when it happened. He said it wasn’t their fault. He said they got invited, and he drinks a lot of coffee,” Tuli said this then added, “I miss coffee. Do girls drink coffee here?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she asked, “You know what the best part was?”

“No, what?” Bubo replied.

“Alejandra said I wasn’t a boy,” Tuli said and smiled a genuine smile.

Bubo grinned and said, “She sounds like she’s a smart girl.”

“I don’t know, Bubo, they were talking about wearing pants like girls should be doing that.”

“Oh no, I smell controversy,” Bubo said, waving his hands under his nose.

“Do you think girls should wear pants, Bubo?”

“Tuli, girls wear pants all the time at home.”

“This is my home now.”

“Fair enough,” Bubo said and nodded, “However, is that something you should be deciding for someone else?”

Tuli looked down at her skirt, smoothing it. “I guess not,” Tuli said and shook her arms, so the remaining fireflies would take off. She sat next to him and said, “Do you really think it’s going to be okay, Bubo. What if Tío says I have to go back to Bogotá?”

“I don’t know, Tuli. He can be pretty stubborn. But I’m sure he cares about us. Tío wouldn’t have come this far if he didn’t. He also doesn’t know you are safe with me.”

“I hope he never runs into Santiago,” Tuli said and had her skirt bunched up in her fists, “If he tells him what… that I…” Tuli stopped and closed her eyes and tried to force that smile back on her face. She was not very convincing as she had her hand on that locket again, now staring at something he couldn't see.

“Tuli, do you remember the promise game Abuela taught us?” Bubo asked and held out his hands. Tuli blinked and again tried to put that fake smile back into place. She nodded and came a little closer. She let go of the locket and sat in front of him and took his hands.

Once Tuli looked to be comfortable, Bubo said, “I’ll go first. I know you’ve been deeply hurt, and I want you to know that if you want to talk about it, I promise to listen. No judgement. And if you do not, that’s okay too.”

Tuli's grip on his hands got a little tighter, and she said, “I promise not to run away anymore.”

“I promise,” Bubo said, “regardless of what our Tío says, I’ll stay with you.” Tuli almost smiled and though he really didn’t want to spoil her day… “There is one other thing I needed to tell you,” Bubo said, “Everyone’s come back safe from the mountain and Santiago is-”

“Santiago is here?” Tuli asked in a low hiss, and she immediately pulled away as she got up and backed away.

Bubo was not surprised by her reaction, but her assumption that the smuggler was here was telling, and he said, “No no no, Tuli, he’s not here.”

Tuli knotted her hands up in front of her, “You’re sure? He’s really sneaky…” she said in a whisper, looking around.

Bubo went closer to her and as he knelt down, he turned her to face him and said, “He’s dead, Tuli. He died on the mountain.”

Tuli blinked, she was still breathing heavily and asked in the same fearful tone, “He still died?” Her whispered voice was full of pain as she grabbed hold of his vest and added, “I saw... but you didn’t… you’re really sure? He told me he couldn’t die…”

Tuli was not making a whole lot of sense, but it was her tears that broke Bubo’s heart as his guilt reared its head again, and he said, “I’m really sure, Tuli. He can never hurt you again. Do you understand?” he asked. This surely wouldn’t have happened if he’d gone to see Tuli in Bogotá. At the same time, he realized it was his Tío’s insistence that she be sent to the Jesuits that had sparked Tuli’s flight. With no one to talk to or see things from her perspective, Tuli’s isolation must have been profound. She’d acted out of fear and Bubo had to face the fact that nothing would have changed; she would still have left with Santiago and Bubo wouldn’t have even known about that if not for, as Mirabel said, the fact that she landed here, where he was. Chance? Mariano did not seem to think so, and Bubo wondered at the circumstances that had brought him to the Encanto and what had kept him here.

Was he even doing the right thing? Eventually, Tuli would become an adult, what then? He did not have answers to that… People were people… and not everyone in the Encanto was as understanding as the Madrigals. As he thought on it, it was unlikely that his Tío would have sent Tuli anywhere near the Jesuits. He loved the Church, but was not particularly fond of that brand of Catholicism. Perhaps that is why he was in the mountains now.

Tuli released his vest and plopped down in his lap. She had hold of her locket as she curled up. He put his arms around her and Tuli whispered, “He was a bad man.”

“Yes, as awful as they come,” Bubo agreed and kissed the top of her head. “You’re safe now, Tuli. It’s going to be okay.” Tuli was crying softly, and Bubo was not sure how long they remained there, but eventually, he looked around to see Isabela standing nearby. He looked down and noticed Tuli had cried herself out and was now asleep, still clutching the locket.

“Need a hand?” Isabela asked as she came closer.

“No… I’m,” Bubo went to stand and then immediately decided against it as he replied, “Yes, actually.” He shifted Tuli, realizing one of his feet was almost asleep.

Isabela bent down and easily lifted Tuli, then carefully deposited the sleeping child in the hammock that Casita provided. She took off her shoes and tucked the blanket around her. Isabela removed the daisy crown off Tuli’s head was thoughtful as she examined the flowers that still had a sparkle to them, and Bubo wondered what had brought on her melancholy smile.

“I take it your sister is well?” Bubo asked, and stood up and shook his leg to wake up his foot. His knees also hurt from being in that kneeling position for too long.

“Yeah, like you said, she is a very resilient person. Are you okay? I can get Mamá.”

“Oh no, no need, just too long in a bad position,” he said, “foot fell asleep. It’s fine.”

She nodded and said when she noticed he was looking around, “Toni went to Mira’s room a little while ago with Camilo. Little Parce needs eye surgery and since you’ve been gone for a while, Tío Bruno suggested I come check on you two.” Isabela looked at Tuli, “How’s this one, is she doing alright? Take the news okay?” Isabela asked as she gently pushed the hammock.

“She’s still pretty scared,” Bubo said, coming up next to her.

“Even with Santiago being dead?”

“Yes. I am not sure if she actually believes it, and I think the real problem is that he’s alive in her head.” Bubo’s previous anger returned, and he almost regretted not going to find the smuggler. “It’s just gonna take time. I’m actually a little afraid to leave her here by herself,” Bubo said, “Since her mother was killed, she’s been prone to nightmares.”

“Well, why not just stay here with her. I’m sure Abuela won’t mind if you stay tonight, given the circumstances. There’s a guest room downstairs. I doubt she’d want you to have her stay in Señor Aguilar’s storeroom. Oh wait, Doris and those other kids are here now as well,” Isabela paused, and she tapped her chin, “Toni’s probably still in Mirabel’s room.” Isa looked at Tuli and said, “Doli, if your Mamí or Papí are nearby, can you send one of them to Antonio’s room?”

Bubo wondered what on earth she was doing and then remembered what Dolores’s Gift was and thought, well, that was easy. Bubo sat back on the grass to wait for whatever to happen, and he went very still when Isabela sat right next to him. She was close enough that he could smell her, and he thought, get a grip, Bubo. She pulled her knees up under her chin and she had a slight smile that was making him almost anxious and needing to distract himself, he said, “I meant to show this to you earlier. You did say if I ever found another…” and he realized his hands were shaking slightly as he reached into his vest pocket. He pulled out a small box and slowly slid it open.

“Oh, is that the wood beetle you showed to Mira?” Isabela asked as she leaned in.

Bubo swallowed but managed, “Ummm, yes. This is an Euchroma gigantea…” he stopped and realized he was over explaining again, and added, “it’s a metallic wood beetle.”

Isa’s smile grew as she held out her hand, so the beetle could climb from the box to her fingers. She wasn’t the least bit put off by its size, and she said as she moved it closer to her face, “Mira wasn’t kidding, it’s adorable.”

Isabela's look of fascination seemed so incongruent. He’d been so sure she would never have been willing to sit and just talk to him, let alone talk to him about insects. Mirabel had been right when she said he had grossly underestimated her. Bubo again reminded himself that Isabela Madrigal was clearly so much more than he let himself believe. He also decided he would need to be cautious of what he said about Isabela or any of the Madrigals to others. He knew they’d be listening, waiting for some random bit of information to try and use against them.

It was a wonder to him, but it did not appear that Isabela had many close friends outside of her family. None of them did, except Mirabel. She knew most people and was not shy about finding out who people were. A very insular group for sure. He’d generally only seen Isabela in town with her sisters or her prima Dolores. When she wasn’t with them, he’d heard she was working in the fields and talking to some of the farmer’s wives. Some viewed this as a fall from grace. Señorita Perfecta was the name the townsfolk used when he’d asked about her. Some in a kind way, others less so. But all agreed she had been the Madrigal Golden Child, at least before the breaking. Jealousy was an ugly part of human nature that Bubo disliked more than most things.

A few in town had claimed the status of ‘good friend’ and those tended to openly mock his lack of height just because he’d asked about her. Mariano had never done that; he would only smile and say she was her own woman and not to pay attention to the rumors. One of the reasons he volunteered to watch over the river was because Mariano started dating Dolores and was no longer around very much. With more time on his hands and his worry for Tuli prodding him to return to Bogotá, Bubo decided it would be better to be somewhere else.

He returned his attention to her when she asked, “What sort of wood does it eat?”

“Well, pretty much anything plant related, mostly softwoods, leaves, and they do love pollen.”

“It’s funny when I think of how many flowers I’ve made over the years, would have been a regular fiesta for these little guys.” She tilted the beetle and a small fuchsia colored flower appeared between her fingers in front of it. The beetle immediately made for it and began munching. She smiled as she watched it for a bit, then asked, “Why does it look so dull? Mira said it was shiny.”

Bubo adjusted his glasses and leaned in for a better look at the beetle, “It’s because it's a newer adult, kind of like it’s a teenager in the insect world. It will lose that waxy look as it gets older.”

"Oh, that's fascinating," Isabela said and smiled at him.

Bubo smiled back and thought, yup... I’m doomed alright.

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Brujas

Julieta came into the guest room, where Pepa and Esteffi were helping Doris and the kids settle in. Inez was in the bathroom with the three youngest, giving them a bath and getting them ready for bed. The two older children, both girls, were already cleaned up and changed into nightgowns. The dog was on a folded blanket and had gone to sleep in the corner after a meal and good brushing. The girls had their heads together and were whispering furiously. Julieta smiled and thought back to when she and Pepa would do that, dragging Bruno into their gossiping because they could. Julieta set the tray she was carrying on the only table in the room. It had small cups of warm soup with chicken tamales, and she brought a cup of broth to Doris.

“Oh no, please feed the children first.”

“There’s plenty for everyone, Doris, and I insist you get something into yourself.”

Doris opened her mouth to say something and noticed she was being watched intently by the children on the bed. She rolled her eyes as she took the cup and thanked her. Julieta, however, waited until Doris took a sip and was satisfied when the bruises that Doris had gained when she ran into Isa’s vine earlier faded to nothing.

Inez returned with the three small boys, and they joined the girls on the bed. Julieta gave each a cup, and the boys drank the broth quickly. She handed a cup to Inez, who hesitated until Doris nodded. She, too, thanked her and took some small sips of broth. Doris noticed the cuts on Inez’s arms heal, and she pointed at Inez as she looked accusingly at Julieta and said angrily, “¿Es eso algún tipo de brujería?”

Everyone stopped moving. Pepa’s cloud was back and there was a peal of thunder, but it was Esteffi that spoke next. “Of course not, child,” Esteffi said as she stood straight. Doris was tall, but Esteffi was actually taller, and much broader. She put her hands on her hips and said in an exasperated tone, “Los disparates, show some gratitude.  That’s just Julieta’s Gift. She can heal people with food. Brujería? Honestly, we already explained to you about Pepi’s Gift,” she said and added, “Don’t act so surprised that her sister would have one as well.”

Doris gave the older woman a sour look but nodded and said to Julieta, “I apologize, Señora Madrigal. We’ve run into several less than generous people of late. Thank you for helping our little ones.”

“You’re most welcome, and no offense taken. This is a lot to take in,” Julieta said.

Doris turned and smiled at the kids. All had been healed of their physical hurts, and were now eating small chicken tamales. Inez was busy wiping their hands, so they wouldn’t get any food on the sheets.

“These are really good, Tía,” one of the girls on the bed said, “You should have some.” And she offered up her half-eaten tamale.

“No, Lucia, you finish that, but thank you mi vida.”

Julieta set about collecting the cups and plates and said, “We’ll let you all get some rest.” Esteffi and Pepa finished setting out the clean clothes and proceeded Julieta into the courtyard, and Julieta said as she closed the door. “Good night.”

As they reached the center of the courtyard, Esteffi turned and said as she hugged them in turn, “Good night, mis queridas. Such an eventful day we’ve had. Juan Pedro!” she said just short of shouting, and her husband appeared from the kitchen, “Let’s go home, mi amor.”

Juan Pedro smiled, and Casita opened the door for them. Esteffi was laughing as she told him about Doris calling Julieta a witch. The door closed, cutting off the rest of the conversation. The sisters walked into the kitchen, and both started laughing. Their husbands, who were on the patio, heard the commotion and came inside, asking what was so funny. Casita clattered a few tiles near the window, interrupting their conversation, and Julieta said, “I'm sorry Casita, what was that?”

The tiles shifted again. Julieta sighed and said, “Okay, we’ll head there now.”

“What’s happening, Juli?” Agustín asked.

“Bruno wants me and Pepi to come to his room.”

Agustín sighed and said to Félix, “Looks like we’ll have time to finish our chess game. Hope Pá didn’t clear the board yet.”

Félix snorted and said, “You only say that because you were winning.” And together they left the kitchen.

Pepa’s cloud let loose a rumble of thunder as she tugged on Julieta’s arm and said, “No explanation, just ‘come to my room’?”

Julieta turned her sister around and said, “The longer we stand here, the longer this will take.” And gave her a gentle push toward the stairs. They reached his door and knocked once before they went inside. They found their brother alternately sketching and twisting his shoulders. The sisters paused. When they were young, Bruno would do this when he’d seen something in one of his spontys that terrified him. Not the sketching, that was new, but what could it possibly be if the smuggler was already dead? A full on vision was pulling at him, and he always pushed those down with his whole self because he believed if he gave in to that urge there was no way to get back from it. It did not appear that he’d heard them come in, so Pepa asked as she touched his arm, “Bruno? What’s going on?”

Bruno turned and looked surprised they were there, then gave himself a shake and got up from the desk. Julieta could see his hands were trembling a bit as he sat on the chair and waved for them to come sit on the sofa. They did, and Bruno hastily opened the sketchbook to his most recent effort as he said, “It’s essential that Mirabel and Luisa go with Bubo tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Julieta took the sketchbook from Bruno, and she and Pepa flipped through the pages. Pepa’s cloud was back, and it was drizzling. Julieta closed the book and noticed Bruno’s twitches were getting worse, she was clearly a part of whatever was happening and said, “Okay, that should be fine, I’ll talk to Gus.”

Almost immediately, his hands settled, and Bruno relaxed a little, took a calming breath and said, “Bubo has to be the one to ask for that too. At breakfast maybe?”

“Surely, he’s gone home by now,” Julieta said.

“Oh, he’s still here. He’s sitting with Tuli, Isa was going to go check on them,” Bruno said, and as he did, his voice evened out and Julieta could tell his panic level was dropping quickly. “She said she would behave herself.”

Julieta rubbed her temples and Pepa just snorted then she let out a squeak, and said to no one, “Okay mi vida.”

She looked back at her siblings and said, “Isa just asked for me to come to Antonio’s room.”

“Perfect! Then we can ask him tonight… but we can’t tell him why… only that it has to be him and maybe ask him to come with us to Bogotá,” Bruno was rambling now, so Pepa got up.

“Nice, okay, hermanito. Meet me outside Antonio’s room,” she chuckled and said as she went to the door, “We’ll shanghai him there.”

Julieta wanted to shake her brother but instead, picked up the nearest pillow and tossed it at Bruno’s head.

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

“Hello, Isa, Bubo. Dolores said you needed to see me?”

Bubo pulled back, realizing just how close he was to Isabela, and both got up, leaving an arm’s length space between them. Isabela still had the beetle on the back of her hand and held it up for her Tía. Her Tía backed away and said as a dark cloud appeared with her hands up, “Isa, mi amor, you know I don’t do bugs.” She was smiling, but there was an accompanying low peal of thunder.

“Oh right, sorry Tía,” she said and turned back to him. Bubo knew he was getting flustered as he took the beetle from her and put it back in its box with the flower. Isabela turned back to her Tía and said, “I just… ummm, never mind, that is not important. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you thought it would be okay for Bubo to stay here tonight with Tuli.” Her hands were waving about some as she continued, “He's worried Tuli will end up having nightmares because of… well, you know… the smuggler. And I mean with Doris and Inez and the new kids in the guest room... and since he’s going up to meet his Tío tomorrow… and …” she trailed off seeing her Tía’s smile, and she put her hands behind her and finished by asking, “So, what do you think?”

Her Tía’s cloud had winked out, as she listened to her sobrina with that smile that told Bubo, this was not how Isabela ‘normally’ did things. Her Tía looked from Isa to him, then back to Isabela. That knowing smile never leaving her face as she said, “I’m sure that will be fine. Isa, mi vida, just in case Tuli wakes, can you stay with her for a bit?” she didn’t wait for an answer before she said to him, “Bubo, can I talk to you privately?”

Bubo blinked and nodded. Isabela gave him a nervous smile, and he wondered if he’d done something wrong but said, “Of course.” He followed Tía Pepa out into the hall and was very surprised to see Isabela’s mother and Tío Bruno there. Julieta Madrigal was giving him an appraising look, but did not look angry, and Bubo felt a little relieved. He followed as they walked in silence over to a series of doors that had pictures of the triplets, and they stopped in front of the one that had Bruno’s name and likeness on it. Pepa was now whispering something to her sister, and Julieta almost laughed as she covered her mouth, so he wouldn’t see her smile.

“We’re going to let Mamá know what's happening, and I need to make sure Antonio has gone to bed. That boy’s been up since dawn. We’ll come by after that, Bruno,” Pepa said as she took her sister’s arm and walked off. Heads together, clearly in full gossip mode.

Bubo and Bruno went inside, and Bruno indicated he should have a seat and Bubo sat on the sofa, hands on his knees, fingers rhythmically tapping. Bruno then went to the large desk and began removing various items and the bag that Bubo remembered held the sketches from the meeting. Bubo was feeling very nervous and wondered if there was something that wasn’t covered.

Bruno set the stack on the ottoman and sat in the high backed red velvet chair across from him. Several rats scurried to him, and he smiled as they arranged themselves in his lap. Fura, Bubo had noticed, was asleep on a pillow nearby with a tiny blanket tucked around her.

“Relax, Bubo, you’re not in any kind of trouble,” Bruno said as he pulled out a small sketchbook. “I need to ask a favor, but before that, I want you to look at this sketch,” he said as he rifled through the stack of larger sketches and handed one to Bubo and tapped the sketch. “Dolores heard a conversation between these two. She thought she heard someone hit this other man hard enough to knock him out. That group then left him out there.”

Bubo looked at the pair. The taller was definitely his Tío and Bubo stared at the other. He did not like the look of that one at all. “Do you know who the other man is?”

“That, is Santiago.”

“Santiago? He is dead, yes?” Bubo asked as he stared at the sketch. His anger welled up all over again.

“Oh yes, there’s no doubt about that. Agustín says he’s being slowly digested by an unusually large anaconda. Probably gonna give the poor snake indigestion. I have a feeling Antonio had more to do with that than anything else. Just not going to find snakes that large in the mountains.”

Bubo looked at the sketch again and though he could see the anger on his Tío's face, he knew he wasn’t the one doing the hitting. His Tío abhorred violence and when things started going wrong in Bogotá he came to see Bubo in his dorm. He gave him not only money, but a pack stuffed with various other items. Telling him that if it did come down to it, he should leave the city for a while. He was aware of Bubo’s political leanings and said it was better to be late graduating than dead. He’d often said that Bubo could never imagine how much a dead man weighs, reminding him there was no greater burden a soul could carry than to have killed a man.

Bruno then opened the sketchbook and showed him the sketches of the visions he’d had while at the church. The first two were of things that happened earlier. The first was him seeing Tuli across the plaza, and the other was of Tuli standing in front of him in Casita. Bruno indicated he should move on to the next one when the door opened, and his sisters came in and quietly sat in chairs near their brother. Bubo flipped the page, and stared at it. The sketch showed him standing over a very dead looking Santiago. Bubo paled as he looked over at Bruno and said, “But this never happened. I never left Casita.”

“No, no you did not, and I know that since you were with me,” Bruno said, “No one was more surprised than me when you turned up in Antonio’s room.”

“Pardon my saying so,” Bubo said, “but more than a few people in town have said that if you’ve seen it, it’s going to happen.”

“There’s the rub, Bubo. In the past, that was unfortunately very true. My Gift was incredibly reliable. Almost to the point of being unbearable. But the circumstances then were different than they are now. Look at the next page. I had this particular sponty just before I brought Fura up to Tuli.” The sketch showed Fura sitting in someone other than Tuli’s lap. Bubo looked over at the sleeping rat and almost smiled. He needed to thank Mirabel for stopping him earlier, and Bruno indicated he should look at the next page. Bubo did, and it showed a smiling Isabela standing in front of him as he dangled, wrapped up in vines. Well, that’s embarrassing, he thought.

“So, what is it you need from me?” Bubo asked as he handed the sketchbook back to Bruno.

This elicited a smile from Bruno, and he set the sketchbook aside, but it was Julieta who spoke next, “We want you to take Mirabel with you tomorrow. She’s been itching to help out, so I thought this would be a good experience for her.”

“That’s it?” Bubo asked, trying not to sound skeptical.

“Yes,” she answered and added, “Luisa as well. Isabela will look after Tuli.”

“Don’t forget to ask about going to Bogotá,” Pepa said, nudging her sister.

“Oh right, Pepi,” Julieta nodded and said, “We understand you were a student at the college and that there are dorms for the men, but we need to find out what sort of accommodations are available for young women attending school there. How much things cost and the like.”

“But going to Bogotá will take weeks,” Bubo said, feeling more nervous and confused by the minute, as all three smiled at him in just the same way.

Pepa said, “Don’t worry about that part of it, Bubo. We have a solution for that.”

Bubo recalled then that Bruno had said it had something to do with magic and that Mirabel had said that her sisters were thinking of going to school there, and he said, “I feel I’m under qualified for this. Señor Aguilar, for example…”

“Nope, it has to be you, Bubo,” Bruno said.

“Okay? I guess. Can I at least ask why?”

“No.” All three said at once.

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Una Necesidad de Saber (A Need to Know)

Dolores was sitting by the window in Mirabel’s room, admiring the stars after watching Mariano and his mother head home, when she heard her Tío Bruno say (Doli, please make my room off limits for the time being, my thanks in advance, Corazón.) Dolores squeaked. Thankfully, no one was paying attention to her. This, of course, only served to make Dolores ten times more curious. She went to Mira’s door and poked her head out. When she saw her Mamí and Tía coming off the stairs, she backed up and waited. It was almost killing her to not listen to what was going on in her Tío’s room.

Isabela (Doli, if your Mamí or Papí are nearby, can you send one of them to Antonio’s room?) Odd request since Antonio was here jumping on Mirabel’s bed while she rummaged through a small tin of stray buttons. She shifted her focus to Antonio’s room and listened briefly, realizing Isa was talking to Bubo. He was still here? Then sat lightly on the floor and relayed Isa’s request to her mother.

A short while later, she heard her Tío’s door open again, and she wanted to look but could tell from the footfalls it was her mother and she was headed toward Antonio’s room. She heard her brother’s door open, then close. No one said anything about not listening to her brother’s room.

Mamí (Hello, Isa, Bubo. Dolores said you needed to see me?) pause (Isa, mi amor, you know I don’t do bugs) Dolores smiled at the accompanying low peal of thunder.

Isabela (Oh right, sorry Tía, I just… ummm, never mind, that’s not important. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you thought it would be okay for Bubo to stay here tonight with Tuli. He's worried Tuli will end up having nightmares because of… well, you know… the smuggler. And I mean with Doris and Inez and the new kids in the guest room... and since he’s going up to meet his Tío tomorrow… and) there was another pause and Isa asked (So, what do you think?)

Mamí (I’m sure that will be fine. Isa, mi vida, just in case Tuli wakes, can you stay with her for a bit?) then (Bubo, can I talk to you privately?)

Bubo (Of course.)

Her mother then left her brother’s room, and Dolores realized there were additional people waiting there for her mother. She wasn’t paying attention, so she wasn’t completely sure who they were, since no one spoke. Dolores said goodnight to everyone in Mirabel’s room and moved to the door, but only in time to see her Mamí and Tía walking toward Mira’s room. They had their heads together and both were laughing about something. Bubo was gone, so she assumed he’d gone into her Tío’s room. She grunted, realizing she could not listen in. She slipped out and went toward her room, but didn’t enter. She watched until her Mamí and Tía went into Mira’s room, then Dolores ran back to Antonio’s and slipped inside.

She paused and heard Isa humming a tune, problem was, Antonio’s room was very echoey. Isa must be using her Gift somehow as her voice seemed to resonate within the surrounding plants and Dolores decided to just walk up. She couldn’t be too far ahead. Fireflies flitted in front of her, and Dolores felt compelled to follow them.

She found her prima sitting in the grass, softly humming and gently pushing the hammock Tuli was sleeping in. Dolores was a little surprised that the air smelled of lavender and vanilla. It took her back to the days before their Gift ceremonies, when Isa’s mom would tie lavender bunches she’d soaked in vanilla water in the nursery to help them sleep. Isa looked up at her and smiled, then stopped humming. She yawned mightily as she continued to push the hammock gently. The smells tapered off, but did not disperse, and Dolores realized that it was Isa who was making the scents that filled this little forest area of Antonio’s room.

Dolores came and sat next to her and put an arm around her and said, “Isa, you’ve learned something new, and it’s such a wonderful new thing.”

Isabela nodded as she leaned on her and mumbled, “Thanks Doli… do you think,” she started, then closed her eyes for a moment.  

Dolores could tell Isabela was not okay, she’d clearly overdone it today. She needed her bed. She heard the door open and shortly after that Camilo appeared with Antonio asleep in his arms.

“Hey Sis, wanna pull off his shoes for me?” Camilo asked, and Dolores leaned her prima against a nearby tree and took off Antonio’s shoes. Camilo placed their brother in one of the empty hammocks, covered him with a blanket and settled Little Parce under one of his arms, then said as he turned to Isabela, “She’s not looking like she’ll make it to her room.”

“That’s what I was thinking, but Luisa’s already gone to bed.”

“Mira too. You know I can probably get her there, it’s not like she's heavy,” Camilo said and made himself a little bigger. He lifted Isabela and turned to go and stopped when his mother appeared.

Since Antonio was in his hammock, she looked at the now sleeping Isabela and said, “Ay, no. She’s overdone it, for sure. Come on, mi vida, let’s get her to her room. Dolores, can you stay here until your Tía comes?”

“Yes, Mamí,” Dolores replied and watched them go. Once they were gone, Tuli began to whimper in her sleep. Dolores went over and rocked the hammock. Tuli settled back into her restless slumber, and Dolores understood now why Isa had been using her gift. The door opened a few minutes later, and she heard her Tía and Tío come in. There was a third set of footsteps she was not familiar with and was a bit surprised to see Bubo following along behind them.

He was carrying several items, but Dolores could tell what they were. Her Tía said, “Isa’s gone to bed?”

“Yes, she was all but asleep when I came in,” Dolores replied.

Her Tía nodded as she turned to Bubo and said, “I’ll help you put up the lavender. It’ll help her stay asleep.”

Dolores wondered why her Tío Bruno was there and realized he was indicating that she should follow him. Her Tía only looked over and nodded, so Dolores followed her Tío into the hallway. They went to her room, and he opened her door and indicated she should go inside.

“Doli, I need you to keep an ear on Antonio,” he said.

“What do you mean? Why?” Dolores asked.

“Camilo mentioned that Antonio has been… what’s a good way of putting this… making things happen.”

“Like what?”

“He showed Tuli my sketchbook, that he conveniently borrowed from me.” Bruno opened it to the page showing Bubo standing over a not so alive Santiago. “This didn’t happen, do you know what that means?”

Dolores shook her head.

“Look at the next page. They’re in the order I had them, and this was after Antonio borrowed the sketchbook too.”

She flipped the page and realized that it was Bubo with Fura sitting in his lap. Her Tío indicated she should continue, so Dolores did, and she smiled at the picture of Bubo hanging in Isa’s vines. She flipped back to the sketch of the dead smuggler and said, “So has your gift changed?”

“I think in a lot of ways, my Gift is the same as it’s always been, however, when I had the sponty on the next page, Antonio was holding my hand. He was already planning something. Camilo told me that his little brother had given him a that whistle that led Parce to him on the mountain. I’m assuming you knew about that as well?” Dolores nodded and her Tío continued, “Camilo told me he thought it was for Doris’s dog. He didn’t realize he was guiding Parce until he saw the jaguar with him in the tree.”

“So, Antonio sent Parce to… ”

Bruno shrugged. “Probably not that, since all Parce did was hold the man down and lick his face. The fact that he had a heart attack or whatever made the other sponty moot. Santiago was going to die one way,” he said as he tapped the sketchbook, “or the way he did.”

“But why?”

“I have two new rats that have joined my little group, but only since Tuli arrived. Camilo told me, Antonio’s been talking to the forest rats because they tell the best stories, almost since he got his Gift back.”

“Are you saying he’s been,” Bruno nodded, “that little shit,” Dolores said, “Does Mamí know?”

“Your father does. He figured it out when the anaconda showed up on the mountain. He asked me if I’d had any spontys with regard to any of that. Something your father has never done before.”

“So what am I listening for?”

“Not sure. I’ve been having a lot of conflicting spontys the past few hours, so he’s likely up to something. Guess we’ll find out at breakfast tomorrow.”

“Okay Tío.”

Her Tío left then, and Dolores got ready for bed. She hadn’t been actively listening to Antonio because most of what he said to the animals in his room was nonsense kid stuff. She got into bed and Casita blocked most of the external noise and the cricket sounds increased. She really loved crickets.

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

Notes:

No one pays enough attention to what the youngest of the Madrigals is up to...but they're starting to.

Next Chapter:

Previous Chapter:

[dullahandiaries]

I spent a long time trying to figure out how to make a website. I have the very, very bare bones down for something, which is more than I thought I'd have? It's a learning curve, but I want to keep chipping at it. For now though, I'll make my diary here. It's easier that way.

Part of the reason I even want a diary is to make my mark on the system. I guess I don't really care about a legacy in a broad, world-wide success sort of way, but I do as an alter. Our memory is so bad... I hardly remember Zacharie, and he was here for... Years... I was around at the same time as him. Shinra hardly remembers him and they were so close...

I guess you could say that's scary. It is. But it mostly just feels like lost information to me. It's such a shame because he was so important to us and our development. He used to credit me with how open our system was, but he implemented a very open and loving culture that isn't really around today. Not that we don't all love each other, it's just... A little less involved. We've settled with our chosen ones as opposed to dating everyone, I guess. When he was host it was open all over

Anyway. Sometimes I see things from him and I'm shocked I don't relate at all. Physically we look different, obviously, but I always think oh, we probably don't act that differently. We probably have the general same interests. No! No we don't! I mean yeah people change but WOW we just... Really aren't the same person, huh...?

I'm getting off topic: I don't want to lose MY essence the way we did Zacharie's, if for no other reason than because whoever is next, should there be another, would PROBABLY maybe be upset we lost the 2020's. What was Celty like? What did she like? What did she think? How did she act? Worry no more, future alter who may or may not exist! I'm here to tell you. Kind of.

Firstly, Zacharie was a trans boy. I'm... Not? I am? I'm a transfem transboy? I'm pangender. It feels a little like I'm disrespecting the work Zacharie put in to combat the nonbinary accusations (because of how he liked to present, people would discredit him as a man and justify his interests with nonbinary...ism...), but I am. Officially and fully: I am nonbinary. I'm also intersex, but he kind of was too, so that's neither here nor there. I do, however, have tits, and he did not. Score for me

My relationship with pronouns is... Complicated.... He/him is fine, especially if you're a stranger. She/her is good, but only if you're not using it in a cis way. I like neopronouns but haven't really found any that really click. He/hymn is also nice. They/them is still not great. I prefer feminine titles, but seeing me as just a boy or just a girl is doing me a HUGE disservice. It has to be both - it has to be MORE than both! You have to Feel the Essence of Gender on your tongue when you address me. It's important! I'm a girlboy boygirl woman (man) man (woman). All of it. All at once. Mogai genders too. All of it. None of it. All of it.

I really like lavender and lilac colors. I used to be all about pink, and I still like it well enough, but pastel cool colors are where I'm at right now. Blues and purples are the highest, but there are some cool greens, too. I'm also currently into lower saturated colors. Again, I used to be into bright neons and pastels, but not right now. Maybe that'll change, but hey. I'll say so when/if it does.

I love fish a lot, both as a food and as an animal. I love aquariums. I love silly little fish and big big fish. Pufferfish are my favorite, specifically porcupine puffers and pea puffers. I like deep sea over shallower waters usually, but a fish is a fish. I will eat any fish, cooked any way. Cod is lame but most others are good. I love sushi a lot, though I think I legally have to say ramen is my "favorite" food (it's just what I eat the most). Takoyaki is my actual favorite food right now; I will eat it wherever I can if I can afford to. Our local sushi place has the best still, most other places are chewy. I also will never turn down a Korean BBQ.

My fashion sense is middle aged mom 💀 Or show-my-ass. I'm looking into both more turtlenecks and pleather. Sometimes I want to be sexy fun and free, and others I want to be cute and cozy and put together. Either way, my fashion sense is "maturing" I think. Dominatrix by night bakesale-mom MILF is where I'm at I think LOL

Pets I'd love to have but won't are a hedgehog, a chinchilla, and a pufferfish

I don't think I have a favorite restaurant? I kind of don't like eating, and there are few things I crave consistently. I guess if local Japanese/Korean doesn't count, I don't have one. Fast food is fast food to me

I do have safe foods though. They're not necessarily what I crave all the time, they're just foods I know I can make it through. They are: corndogs (help....), dinosaur nuggets, and firewok instant noodles. I get a lot of frozen foods in general, but nugs n dogs are staples because they're easy

Right now all I ever seem to want is a baked lays potato chip 💀

My favorite music is disco or Powerful Women Stuff, and anything that makes me dance and/or laugh. I also love anything that reminds me of Shinra

Um. I'll add more maybe another time, or you can learn about me through 🫧 reading 🫧, but its 230 am so 🫢 Goodnight

[casspurrjoybell-33]

Wreckless - Just Like Finn

*Warning Adult Content*

Finnegan

Rhys has a coloring book of animals and games.

One of the Power Rangers and one of cars and trucks.

I take that one and we end up on our stomachs, chins on hands, ankles crossed in the air.

I haven't sat in this position in longer than I can remember.

We've been coloring for at least fifteen minutes when he says...

"It's okay if you want to be Finn. Or need to be. I don't mind."

It's not that.

"No, I want to play I just... it's hard sometimes."

"Yeah."

He looks at me and smiles.

"I know. 'Cept for me I go Little at bad times. Sometimes at school during free hour or if the kids are doing an art project I sort of slip up. But I catch it, I'm a good teacher. I can stop. But sometimes it sneaks in."

I bet it does.

"I'd probably mess up at school with kids too. But I wear a suit and work with all grown-ups and I'm really new at being me around other people."

"Well Emmett seems really nice, Finn and now you can practice with me and Quincy. Hey, did you get your tattoo?"

I didn't and now we're leaving soon so I might not.

That sucks.

"No. I wanted it, too."

"I'll make you one," he offers, holding his marker towards me.

"I think we'll get in trouble."

He sits up and very seriously says

"Why? It's washable. See?"

He points to the marker and he's right, it says washable.

"But we can have them for today. I'll do one for you and you can do a bunch for me. Like yours, please? I want arms like you."

By the time Quincy comes up to get Rhys for his nap, I am sporting a new shell and his name on my arm.

He has done most of his left arm himself, he has practically a whole sleeve that he's done as similar to mine as possible.

I've drawn, at his request... Floppy on his right arm along with a bunch of stars and the moon.

We're so engrossed that neither of us hear him come up the stairs and then he bellows

"RHYS."

Rhys jumps up and hides his arms behind his back.

"Hi Quincy."

"What did you do, bunny? Huh?"

"We colored."

"Yeah, I see that. Why don't you show me?"

"It's washable," he announces.

Granted, it's important but I'm guessing Quincy already knows.

Quincy nods a bit.

"Yes, I guess they are. Show me, bunny."

Then he leans out the door and yells down the steps...

"You might want to see this, Emmett."

Rhys slowly presents his arms and he's smiling so wide that even Quincy is having a hard time frowning.

"I'm pretty like Finn. And I have a Floppsy. Finn made it."

"Very cute. Does Floppsy have tattoos too?" he asks.

Good question.

Rhys just laughs.

"No, just me. And Finn. I made him a shell. Show him Finn."

Emmett appears in the doorway as I hold out my arm and then he sees Rhys and his eyes get wide.

"Wow."

I think he's trying not to laugh.

"Luckily it seems to be contained to their arms," Quincy replies.

"Rhys, it is nap time."

"But we not done."

Quincy chuckles.

"Oh, yes you are. That is enough tattoos for anyone. Put everything back in your back-pack."

Rhys immediately starts cleaning up and I help because there are markers everywhere.

"Good boy. Thanks for helping, Finn."

He takes it from Rhys and slings it over his shoulder.

"Now go and use the toilet and then come into our bedroom, bunny."

"Do I get a spanking?"

"Do you want one?"

Rhys just kind of smirks.

He might.

"Milk time," he says.

"Bye Finn. We can play again after nap-time, okay?"

"Okay."

Emmett walks over and offers his hand.

I take it and stand up.

"Time for lunch, you must be starving. I have to admit that you guys were playing so nicely that we didn't want to bother you. I figured you'd come running down the stairs when you got hungry but I guess you were too busy. Come on down. We'll give them some privacy."

I accidentally let my frown out and he laughs.

"Naughty boy... come on."

I end up on a stool and Emmett makes us both sandwiches.

"Can we go in the pool?"

"Sure, this afternoon. Let me get a better look at this shell."

He puts his plate down next to mine and sits.

"Not bad, actually. Is that where you want yours?"

"We don't have time now to get it but yes, I want it right there."

He raises his eyebrows.

Okay, that was whiny.

"I booked you an appointment for tomorrow at eleven. Thought we'd pack up the house and then do it on the way home so you could get as much pool and beach time in as possible."

Oh, he did? 

He didn't forget.

"I like being in the water."

"I know and that's easier without a fresh tattoo."

"You're smart, Em. But we can stay in tomorrow afternoon, right? Or go to the arcade."

But I wanna go to the beach, he's right.

And the tattoo place won't be open Sunday probably.

"I don't know."

"You can decide tomorrow morning, grasshopper. Now, Quincy and I are gonna grill for dinner, how does that sound?"

Yummy.

"I love bar-b-que."

"Me too. Honestly, he's gonna do all the work, wants to thank us for letting them stay and I'm not sure I can grill without burning everything or giving us food poisoning. What I can do is shop. You wanna come with me or stay here and relax? Won't take me long."

I'm barely Finn and if I go outside with people I'll have a hard time.

"I'll stay and watch a cartoon, okay?"

"Absolutely. I'll get you all hooked up before I go. What's your favorite food off the grill?"

"Hamburgers."

They're the best. 

"With cheese."

"Hamburgers and cheese, it is."

I hop onto the couch and he drapes a blanket over me and turns on the cartoon channel.

"And I want 'roni salad please, it's yummy."

"Roni? Macaroni, you got it. I will look for it."

"Thank you, Em."

He leans over and kisses my forehead when he gives me the remote.

"Be a good boy while I'm gone."

"I will."

[dalt20]

Tooning In 9. Dev Ross part 5 of 7

DL: so we were taking about disney last time right?

DR: I don't remember, I did tell you about my time there yes. Not sure if that was where we ended up.

DL: well, after jungle cubs how did you feel when you left the house of mouse?

DR: Disappointed that things had become so distant there. Lost the old feeling of comraderie. No real personal relationships. No team work, Very cold and corporate. I was very sad and felt I had lost a big part of my something that had once been so special.

DL: I'm sorry to hear that. Oh,so you wrote for Aladdin the series?

DR: A few eps,that is all.

DL: process for that?

DR: Don't remember a thing. I wasn't on it long enough for it to have made memories for me.

DL: so did you watch the film,before writing for the series or the sequel?

DR: Yes.

DL: thoughts on the first film?

DL: yeah he was great! so did you like any other 90s disney films?

DR: No. It was a pretty predictable Disney film. The best part was the Genie. Robin Williams ability to improv made the film. His stuff was fresh and out of the box.

DL: yeah he was great! so did you like any other 90s disney films?

DR: You'd have to be specific. I don't recall which movies came out when. I left Disney because I felt their still had become too predictable. Their use of iconic characters over and over was troubling to me.

DL: I see.

DR: They insisted on using their cast of characters and only finally reached for new characters long after I left. Meanwhile you had Pixar who was wildly creative and out of the box. Pixar wasn't afraid to find new heroes.

DL: well sadly pixar is now stale.

DR: Yep. It happens. Youth are turning to webtoons and 2D limited animations from Japan and Korea. Also the gaming industry has leaped ahead of narrative stories.

DL: well it's called 'anime' but yeah, that's all the rage! you probably grew up on speed racer and kimba.

DR: I know that it is called anime but what it is artistically is limited 2D animation. I did not watch speed racer or kimba.

DL: Gotcha. back to your career, you worked on adventures of the book of virtues for porchlight and PBS.

DR: Yes.

DL: written the episode, patience. can you explain to me the show and the episode.

DR: William Bennet was the driver of that. He was the a secretary of education under Reagan and very conservative. He believed kids weren't being taught morals and virtues enough so brought this series to life. Give me a clue on the patience episode as I don't recall it.

DL: thanks for giving me a history lesson (this is not sarcasm) the annie and ari are trying to teach other kids things but the other kids can’t do it and they become impatient with them. and also hellen keller.

DR: I actually really loved working in this show! I loved taking the lessons from the book and making them relatable to kids. But neither came easy. I did the play in high school and loved being Helen!

DL: That's awesome! Good for you!

DR: The fact that it showed the incredible resilience of these women was wonderful for me. I love telling these kinds of stories.

DL: Wow! So,how did you write the episode but trying not to make them christian? secular, i mean.

DR: I wrote them to be universal. All religions have common values. I'm not into religion at all but I do recognize intrinsic human values of kindness, compassion and patience. We all could use a giant dose of that today.

DL: Agreed.

DR: sends me a smiley face emoji 😀

DL : you wrote that episode with the creators according to IMdb.

DR : Not sure what you mean. I'm credited as writer on it...

DL : it said on the page for the episode you co wrote it with them.

DR : Hmm. I never co-wrote. I have the only credit on it when you view the opening. Maybe they made changes later. I don't know

DL : oh ok, lets talk about the Land Before Time. your golden ticket to fame!

DR: Yes. Loved writing those films. Great team.

DL: the first film, the great valley adventure. process on that?

DR: They had a script they didn't like and asked me to doctor it. I did a major rewrite of it in two weeks and that sealed the deal for more. I was fast and they liked my take on the characters. I used my own kids for inspiration and that worked! My six year old son was Little Foot and my bossy four year old was Cera.

DL: Oh, wow!

DR : I would see the problems they encountered with friends and used them in my stories. My son was getting picked on so I used his struggle to deal with prejudice kids. My kids would always give me ideas. It was so wonderful to turn their experiences into stories.

DL: That's awesome!

DR: It was very rewarding!

DL: so you read the original script, can you tell me what was from the script?

DR: The beginning with them finding the egg but that's pretty much it. I still had to share credit though.

DL: Ah, I see. so The Time of Great Giving, the process of that film and the story?

DR: That was crazy. They wanted me to create a Thanksgiving theme along with a fire safety message!

DL: wait, WHAT!?

DR: Since there weren't exactly turkeys back then or a Thanksgiving holiday, I had to find a story that gave those values. It was a bit nutty!! I wrote the whole script then was asked to go back and put a fire safety message in there! But the value of giving thanks and being grateful, that was easy to do. If you watch it, you'll see the Valley has a big fire and Littlefoot helps veryone escape safely.

DL: well, ( i dont curse that often but) that must be absolute hell to write!

DR: When you write for kids you are used to putting in subliminal and obvious messages. But, yes, that one challenged me! But I've made my career on taking hard topics and making them entertaining. I'm working on a science and medicdd as l show for kids now and some of the medical stuff is downright boring! But! We are putting it all in space and using aliens for the medical scenes which makes it crazy fun. The ep I'm working on now deals with constipation!!! But I'm showing it by Mr heroes getting stuck inside a giant space creature who is constipated!!

DL: is that Weird Detention?

DR: Sorry for my bad typing.

DL: It's OK.

DR: No, this is for Dr. Theory. Weirf Detention address conflict resolution. Weirddetention.com

It addresses the need for better communication via magical realism. Three kids trapped in school detention with no way out.

DL: oh ok, but we're  gonna talk about that at the near end. your gonna spoil the the project!

I send her a smiley face emoji 😁

DR: Nah...

DL: that was suppose to be the suprise at the end.

DR: Ok. I ruined my own surprise party!

DL: besides your IMdb credits get shorter when time goes on.

DR: Very true! It's called ageism, Hard to get hired when you get passed forty.

DL: I see.

DR: That's why I do mostly my own productions now.

DL: Oh, OK. Stories of My Childhood, what was that? You wrote the elEnglish dub for a episode.

DR: That was hard! I was hired to take old Russian animation and redo the stories in English. I had to fit English in mouths that were animated for the Russian language. I often had to change the stories as they were very old and not great for American kids. So I was stuck with the animation and had to use it to tell a different story.

DL: did you watch The Snow Queen? old soviet animated film from 1957, that had a all star cast like Art Link-letter. if your old enough to know.

DR: It was not easy. Yes, I think another writer redid that one. Maybe Stephanie Mathison or Sindy McKay. It was fun to be in the editing room on it. Working to adjust the character's mouth movements

DL: Did you watched the first "Art link-letter' dub as a kid?

DR: No.

DL: Of The Snow Queen.

DR: No.

DL: Okay. So but how did you feel about the show using old 50s Russian animation to show to 90s kids?

DR: It was oddly fun to try and make the stories more relevant to our audiences. I loved the challenge but it was tedious!

DL: I can only imagine.

DR: Everything had to fit their visuals and we could only stretch or shorten their mouths so much. Very time consuming. But dubbing is often just doing a translation. I was often rewriting the meaning of the show. That was very difficult.

DL: oh, well how do you feel to be a dub writer?

DR: It was challenging. I wouldn't want to do it a lot!

DL: ok so journey through the mists, process for that film?

DR: That was my need to address xenophobia. Fear of the unknown. People being afraid of others who are different. The story tells that by putting the characters in a strange new place full of new creatures. They need to deal with their fear of others while finding important medicine for Littlefoot's grandfather.

DL: you introduce Chomper the Sharptooth in that right?

DR: No. Chomper is in the first one I was hired to rewrite.

DL: oh ok. how did you came up with him?

DR: I inherited him from the other writers.

DL: Okay.

[lulupen2023]

BellDom One Shot: This is a Conspiracy

Let's try an experiment: I'll post a fanfic directly here and see how it goes, no link to ao3 this time:

This is a conspiracy! Matt and Dom are in the dressing room while the supporters are performing.

So far so good, except that a fan managed to meet them and give them a gift (just a single one) that is proving to be worse than the Apple of Discord: a colorful T-shirt with animal print and glitter inlays.  

Both have decided that it is the perfect outfit for that evening, but neither of them wants to give in. "For the last time, Bells, it's more suitable for me, it enhances my figure!" Dominic tries to pull the coveted garment towards him, and, just like Matt, he’s wearing only jeans. “With those big mustaches, nothing suits you anyway, I’d better wear it, it even matches one of my guitars!” Matthew counters, yanking the T-shirt.

Dominic doesn't even have time to get indignant, because Bing, having come out from who knows where, snatches the T-shirt from the two contenders' hands. “Wow, this T-shirt is so cool, it fits a little big, but I like it too much, I know what to wear to see your concert tonight!” He exclaims enthusiastically, putting it on top of the one he judged too sober.  

Something inherited from his father.  

“This is a conspiracy!” The two adults protest in chorus.

"Thank you dad, thank you... uncle." the little boy makes them melt  with his sweetness, disappearing as fast as he appeared. Left alone, Dominic approaches Matthew with a hungry look.  

"Of course, Matteh, arguing so much to put on a T-shirt, when it would be wiser to take the advantages that both of us are not wearing anyone..." he murmurs, placing languid kisses on his neck without warning, which then become demanding hickeys.  

“Oh my…” Matt moans, tilting his head to give him more access. "Don't leave a mark on me though." "It's a risk you have to run..." the other chuckles, pinching his right nipple, another thing that makes Matt moan. “But if Elle sees another one…” "That’s your shit, Bells!" replies Dom, mercilessly, even sinking his teeth, without too much violence, except that necessary one to drive his beloved mad. “Oh, the hell with everything, come here!” Matthew growls eagerly, pulling Dom to himself for a greedy kiss, while his hands explore his partner's chest and back as if it were the first time. It's now been more than twenty years of 'first times' and every convinced scratch that Matthew leaves on his skin is a warning for the other to remember how much they belong to each other. “It's a pity we didn't fight over the same pants as well.” Taking Matthew's implied request, Dominic doesn't hesitate to undress both of them, their erections awakened by their mutual contact. His hands, one more shameless than the other, grab his partner's cock, knowing exactly how to move. "Oh God, Dommeh, please, more..." Matthew begs him, one step away from orgasm, but he knows that something is still missing. Dominic flashes a mischievous smile and bows, ready to oblige, only to pull back at the last second. “Oh yeah, it's true, you hate my mustaches, you wouldn't approve!” He looks at him defiantly, putting on his clothes and leaving his lover alone, stunned and above utterly unsatisfied. “I was wrong,” Matt grumbles, self-rectifying, a much less fun method. "This is a conspiracy!”  

-- THE END

[zzzaaaa]

The Tap-Dancing Mind

(Self-deprecation at its finest, June 2018)

“Oh, um you go”

“no ,you.”

“ooh oh ok yeah , thanks.”

“Oh no you’re welcome.”

Clears throat. “Yeah how’s your day?”

“Good”

“nice , yeah that’s good.” .....~silence~ being awkward is a fucking trip and a half. It’s like you’re always in a state of transiency—sure my body and face are in place, however my mind is looking down at me dancing with tap shoes , mocking my inaccessibility. Right before I talk to most people, my stomach clenches , oil glands open, and my tapdancin mind drifts above me , leaving me to stammers and blank thoughts after blank thoughts. Most times, the best access to continual conversation is my environment : I see something around us which interests me, simply to state “oh wow that squirrel looks interesting.” ..heh, cue nervous laughter, meanwhile the person just doesn’t respond because why the fuck would you? Or they graciously give me a pity nod, cuing my nerves to increase and desire to tuck and roll immediately.

Or perhaps a very clever person I have the chance to talk to gives me room to expand , cuing more nerves at this unprecedented offer, paving way for more nonsense to spew out my mouth: “ha yeah cuz squirrels are like pretty cool animals, it’s just that one is , ya know um, we’ll gaha , I guess I don’t know ..interesting ..”slowly looks down.

I will say there is a silver lining to being awkward and that’s my ability to listen. Sit me down with flappy lips and I’m appreciative of their cohesive thoughts and nonstop vernacular. Most times I genuinely take in what they have to say, although I have moments of self-reflection —“what the hell went wrong with me?” The tap dance begins. That’s when they intuitively stop talking and wonder if I can chime in—“haha, yeah yeah, interesting interesting...”eyes roll up to the fricken tap-dancing mind once again leaving my body to the silence of my impended awkwardness.

Now, when awkward flirts with a crush, a real crush too, like someone that you’re fond of for many reasons, the tap dancing mind leaves the room and I’m forced to breathe through sheer nerves masked by instant friend-zoning behavior. I might think, “here’s the time to really impress my crush with all ideas, facts, and stories i have bottled up in some dusty corner of my mind,” only to make statements without much room to walk in.

“Hey how’s your day?” They might ask.

“Oh you know, ha, fine. Did you know that , um, huh, you know, I forgot what I was going to say.” Mind? Mind? Where the fuck are you?? Get back here. As my eyes shift back and forth, I only see the boredom arise and my only salvage is to hope they can talk a shit ton about their day.

Now if a crush compliments me, my awkwardness is fully bare, “you’re so cute,” one crush once told me out of the seemingly blue. So my immediate, visceral reaction is to “hahahaha, ah yeah... yeah,” heaving. My go to response, wait for it, “My feet have bunions so uh you know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.” Kills the moment almost to the point where any energy that may have been attracted between us repels to nearly dead-air.

If love doesn’t kill, awkwardness will. You’d think when awkward meets awkward it’s kind of like love at first sight? Well they’re both true in the sense that they bring false hope. When two awkward people interact, we get a glimpse into truly viewing ourselves outside of ourselves, and begin hating each stutter, nervous laughter, gangly gesture, and unclear thoughts even more. Sure this person gets me, and we can sit in low-discomfort levels of silence for quite some time, however our spurts of ideas fused with excitement trail off in t-minus 30seconds post-expression because neither party can add much more to the conversation:

sits in silence for a few minutes, then suddenly “oh!! So I was reading the other day that our brain consolidates memories differently each time we share them out loud, which makes it hard for us to truly remember the fine and accurate details of a memory!!”

“Oh wow?Really?? Huh. I wonder how many memories of mine are more false than true !”

“Yeah!! I wonder too.., yeah, I was just like wow.”

“Ha, yeah..wow.”....looks down and to the side.

Nonetheless , this awkward bond does unify our tapdancin minds above to wonder “why the hell do we exist?” Like why and how has being awkward continued the survival of our species? We offer no benefit to conversation and quite frankly we offend people just enough to run off inside their own minds and wonder “why the hell is this person looking at me with bugged-eyes and flared nostrils? What did I ever do to them?”

[rebeccccccaaa]

ʜᴏʟᴅ ᴀ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴄʟᴏsᴇ

_________________________________

ғʀᴀᴛ ʙᴏʏ!sᴛᴇᴠᴇ ʀᴏɢᴇʀs x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: you and steve hooked up once and neither of you can forget that night

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: smut 18+ minors dni plz, kinda rough? but of course major fluffy aftercare from soft boi stevie, bit of inexperienced reader and insecure reader

(accidentally written unprotected sex but this is fanfiction lmao plz be safe irl)

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ’s ɴᴏᴛᴇs: ive never participated in a challenge before and i think @honeysucklesteve is just the sweetest so hope you like it el! And congrats on 4k :T

__________________________________

“And the interesting thing about that, mind I add…” the words of your professor falling short because you can’t shake the feeling of his eyes looking at you.

You kept your head low fighting the urge within you not to look back. A couple nights ago you landed yourself in the bed of the infamous frat president Steve Rogers and to make matters worse, you both major in American Studies meaning you share all of your classes.

You didn’t have much experience with guys in high school so it wasn’t surprising when you had the same experience in college. What was surprising was the fact you spent a night in the arms of one of the most handsome men you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Steve Rogers was a huge catch. Teachers loved him, girls chased him,and guys wanted to be him.

You remember that night so vividly.

The way his hands fit so perfectly on your hips. The way his lips felt so hot against your own burning skin; and moved perfectly against yours. The things he whispered in your ear. They way he held you close when you fell asleep in his arms. The way you hated yourself the next morning when you snuck out. The way your tummy flutters simply because he’s looking at you right now.

You breathed out shakily before turning your head to find his eyes with yours; he looked away the moment you did shyly, very unlike him. Fuck he was gonna be the death of you.

“And that should be the end of the lecture. I’m gonna go ahead let you guys go a little early. Have a good weekend everyone and make sure to check your emails,” the professor gathered his things and left.

You packed your things quickly trying your best to avoid his gaze that you knew was still on you. Steve packed quickly too before walking hot on your tail, just about to call your name until…

“Hey, Y/n,” Bucky called out.

“Oh, hey Buck.”

“It’s the weekend and as usual the guys and I want to party tonight. But the dean said one more noise complaint about our house and we get on academic probation so we’re asking a couple of people who might wanna come to the club with us.”

Behind Bucky you could see Steve walking towards you two and your stomach sank. Bucky and Steve were best friends and you don’t know if Steve told him that you guys slept together last weekend. What if something happens again tonight if you say yes. Why are you even thinking that something could happen again? Steve Rogers is way out of your league it was a miracle that you landed a chance to be his bed warmer in the first place.

“I’ll see you for lunch, man,” Steve said to Bucky patting his best friend's shoulders. His eyes lingering with yours until you had to pull away.

“I don’t think I should,” you told him, walking towards the door.

“Come on, Nat told me you're quite the party animal and you left early last week I didn’t get to see you in action,” Bucky chuckled, walking with you. You didn’t leave early…

“Buck,” you looked at him.

“Please?” he asked. You exhaled sharply rolling your eyes before walking away to your next class.

“Is that a yes?” he shouted, making you turn around with a cheeky grin. You got to your next class and noticed Steve sitting in a new seat today, particularly the one next to the seat you usually sit in. None of his housemates or regular friends took this specific lecture so he usually sat in the very back corner alone. But today here he is.

His head snapped up when you entered the room. You hesitantly sat down next to him still avoiding his eyes. You set up your laptop on the small table as did Steve; both your eyes glancing at each other quite awkwardly until Steve finally interrupts the silence.

“You coming tonight?” he whispered.

“What’s in it for me if I do?” you said playfully.

“A repeat of the best night you’ve ever had,” he said cheekily.

“Oh, really,” you chuckled sarcastically as he nodded with an overly proud smirk.

“Probably not,” you answer his question.

“Seriously? Why not? I can pick you up,” he said.

“Steve,” you warned.

“What? Afraid you won’t be able to resist me?”

“You’re so full of it,” you said, making you both laugh.

“You were full of my dick last week,” he whispered.

“Steve!” you punched his side making him laugh hard enough for other students to take notice of your ruckus.

“Welcome class, we’ll begin the lecture in one minute. I’m just gonna pull it up on the projector,” the professor said rushing in.

“Please come tonight,” he whispered.

“Why are you obsessed with me?” you joked.

“Fuck off,” he chuckled.

“If I say ok, will you shut up for the rest of the lecture?”

“Maybe,” he grinned.

“Then maybe I’ll come,” you smirked.

Throughout the lecture Steve paid absolutely no attention whatsoever. Steve had been thinking about that night just as much as you had. The way your neck craned to the side a bit, reminding him of when he littered marks and bruises all over last week. The way you subtly bit your lip in concentration but all that clouded his mind was lust remembering how you looked so pretty from above when he was settled between your legs.

He wanted you again so badly. He wasn't going to lie, it sort of hurt him when he woke up and you weren't there. He thought maybe there was something between you two, god knows the tension was overwhelming that night. You weren't the most frisky woman he'd been with but you were sweet; slight innocence with your intimacy. He craved you.

Steve leaned towards you, his fingers twiddling with yours. You tried your best to ignore his advances despite how much you equally craved him. He ran his nose along your cheek and jaw and your breathing quickened inhumanly.

"What are you doing?" you whispered.

"Nothing, just relax," he responded. As much as he wanted to drag you out of class and fuck you so good, he knew you'd rip him a new one if he did. No matter how he'd make you feel.

"No, we're in the middle of a lecture," you argued.

"I'm not doing anything," he said humorously, you were not humored though.

"Steve," you scolded when he pressed a faint kiss under your ear.

You knew a guy like Steve was horny practically twenty-four seven, but you didn't take him to be quite clingy. Especially with someone like you. His arm wrapped under yours. His other resting on your thigh. His head tucked in the crook of your neck. It wasn't particularly sexual, but it was intimate. Something normal to couples, and you two were not a couple.

"Please come tonight," he whispered, “If not I’ll come over.”

"Ugh fine," you grunted, your voice breaking into a giggle because you did somewhat enjoy this unfamiliar attention.

Steve continued to sit next to you during the rest of your classes for the day absent mindedly teasing you, playing with your fingers, twirling your hair between his fingers, leaning his head on your shoulder while he held your hand. Like geez, take a girl out already.

By the time you got back to your shared apartment with two of your closest friends you felt conflicted. Why the sudden shift in Steve? You two weren't exactly best friends before, just two people who shared classes and accidentally slept with each during a drunken night at a frat party.

"Hey, everything ok?" Wanda asked you noticing your inner battle.

"Uh, yeah. Kinda. No," you said defeatedly making the girls chuckle.

"What happened?" Nat asked.

"That guy, that I… you know."

"Fucked?"

"Nat!" you said embarrassed.

"Go on," Wanda encouraged.

"Well, I never told you guys but the guy was Steve," you said shyly.

"What!" the girls exclaimed simultaneously.

"You're lying," Nat laughed.

"You really went from zero to a hundred," Wanda giggled.

"Guys stop," you whined.

"All day today, he's been like super clingy. Holding my hand and pretending he's like my boyfriend."

"Wait, I thought you liked him?" Nat asked, confused.

"I mean I do, but it's sudden and I'm pretty sure it's only because he wants to get in my pants again, you know?" you rationed.

"Awe, I don't think that's true. I've known Steve for a bit and yeah he sleeps around sometimes but he's not a giant dick. Doing that would be way too shallow, especially for Steve," Nat said.

“Yeah but don’t you think it’s weird?” you asked.

“Look did Bucky ask you about tonight?” Nat asked.

“Yeah, he did- how do you know that?” you asked, confused.

“Oh- Uh,” Nat paused.

“She asked Buck to invite you,” Wanda snickered.

“Why?” you asked.

“Well, you never go out with us and the last time you did we thought you just went home but apparently you were getting laid,” Nat cackled.

“Oh my- shut up,” you huffed before storming off to your room.

“Wait! Can you at least come with us tonight?” Wanda followed you.

“No,” you giggled.

“Please!” both girls said at the same time. As you closed your door with a grin on your face not responding.

Hours later you laid on your bed lowly listening to the soft rumbling chaos from your comedic roommates. You stayed in your not so sexy undergarments and not so sexy sweatpants along with a hoodie you stole from your brother before you moved.

You ate the junk you’ve stocked up on the past few weeks feeling a bit glum. It’s not that you didn’t necessarily want to go, you would love to spend another night in that gorgeous man’s arms but there’s absolutely no way Steve is gonna want you the way you’d like him too. Not sober.

There was a subtle knock on your door and you called out knowing the girls were probably ready to leave.

"How do we look?" Nat asked, walking into your room with Wanda.

"Wow, you guys look hot," you said sitting up.

"You think Vis would like this or is it too much?" Wanda asked sheepishly, she's had a crush on the foreign exchange student Vis for the longest time and had yet to make a move.

"I think someone's gonna have a lucky night," you wiggled your brows suggestively, making her roll her eyes and blush.

"What about you, still chasing Bryce?" you turned to Nat looked extra sexy tonight.

"His name is Bruce," she rolled her eyes.

"And yes, I am," she chuckled.

"You're so weird," you giggled, Bruce didn't seem to particularly be Nat's type but hey, no judgement.

"I heard he's got like a monster cock," you said.

"Shut up," she pushed you playfully.

“It’s always the nerds,” Wanda giggled.

"Anyways, are you sure you don't want to come?" Wanda asked sincerely.

"I'm sure," you smiled.

"Steve's gonna miss you," Nat teased.

"Yeah, I doubt that."

"Well, stay safe, cutie," the girls waved heading to the Uber that waited outside for them.

"You too!"

You sighed before grabbing more snacks to stuff your face with. A couple hours went by of sitting around watching nonsense on TV for a bit. You ate dinner that was far from fine dining but it was available before slouching on your bed until the late hours of the night.

You were practically falling asleep, tired and dry eyes glued to the screen of your small TV when you got a knock at the front door. You check the clock by your bed wondering if maybe either of the girls left their keys, but it wasn’t even midnight yet.

You clutched your phone walking hastily to the front door as quietly as possible creeping up to the peehole to see who would be your unexpected guest.

“What the hell are you doing here?” you swung the door open.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Steve retorted.

“My jamas,” you rolled eyes stepping to side to let him in.

“Seriously what are you doing here?”

“I told you earlier, you didn’t come tonight so I came to you,” he said, taking his jacket off.

“Seriously?” you tried not to smile, but the action gave you butterflies.

“You promised to come. I missed you,” he said walking up to you.

“You’re so full of shit,” you giggled, staring at his devilishly handsome grin.

“Come on, whatcha doing?” he said, grabbing your hand and taking you to the room. You three had a fairly small apartment and your light was obviously the only one on in the whole apartment making it easy for him.

“Well, before you rudely invaded my home, I was stuffing my face with all kinds of junk watching TV,” you said to him making him scowl playfully at you.

“Well, then let’s finish the rest of your junk food then,” he said laying on your bed. You still couldn’t wrap your head around the sudden shift in attention. Steve was a guy who could have anyone and he’s chasing you for some reason.

You weren’t a blonde bombshell with a perfect hourglass figure that made guys want you left and right. You had flaws that drew people away and you don’t think Steve remembers that night like you do. What if he hates your body? What if he thinks you're annoying and suddenly leaves?

“Everything alright?” Steve asked you.

“Uh, sorta,” you answered honestly.

“Come here, talk to me,” he said, opening his arms. You couldn't help your eyes narrowing at him.

“What?”

“Do you even remember anything from that night?” you whispered.

“Where’s this coming from?” he asked.

“Steve, come on,” you chuckled.

“What?”

“Do you just wanna fuck now? Make it quick so you can go back to the party-”

“Woah, who said anything about fucking?” he stood up towering over you making you suddenly feel really small and shy.

“I mean that’s why you’re here, right?”

“I came because I told you if you didn't go out with us that I was gonna hang with you. I didn’t say anything about sleeping with you. If you really want I can go home but I wanted to hang out with you,” he said sincerely.

“Oh, I- uh,” you stuttered; well now you feel like a dick.

“We can just sit and keep watching TV until you want to go to sleep and I can head out,” he said, sitting back down on your bed. You sat beside him carefully watching his movements. He kept his eyes trained on the TV for a bit before locking his eyes with yours. You turned away quickly hearing him chuckle before sudden movement escalated behind.

Steve grabbed you from behind gently and leaned back so you laid on his chest. You could feel the hard plains of muscles on your back. And the way his strong wrapped perfectly around your waist, it felt heavenly.

Steve’s jaw tightened from the hypnotizing scent of your shampoo. He remembered it from that night not long ago and he couldn’t get it out of his head.

He wasn't going to lie, since that night all he could think about was how smooth your skin was under his fingertips. How pretty you sounded when he was settled between your legs. How good it felt when your fingers carded through his hair. He wanted you so bad.

He wanted to wake you up between your thighs again. Ravish you once more before breakfast, hell eat you for breakfast. But when you weren't there sleeping as peacefully beside him like the night before, his heart tugged. Did he say something wrong? Did he do something wrong? What if he hurt you?

He gave you space, clearly evident you hadn't wanted to talk to him but those few days went by and the same lingering stares and shy glances came back again and he craved you in his arms again.

When Nat asked him and Bucky to invite you again out to party, he really wanted to be with you that night even if you didn't end the night naked in each other's arms, just being around you was enough for him. Fortunately here he is with you, with arms wrapped around your waist and Steve couldn’t be happier.

You looked so fucking adorable to wearing sweats and a hoodie; he wishes it was one of his own. You had fluffy socks on too that had dog faces on them and he swears his heart melted. What you two were watching was making you laugh and each chuckle or giggle that came from you was like music to his ears.

He couldn’t help himself when his lips pressed against the top of your head. Your body momentarily froze before relaxing again in his arms. Your arms laid over his and tightened so you could cuddle into him even more. Your eyes felt heavy and the feeling of Steve’s lips slowly reaching your neck didn’t help you want to sleep.

When his cool lips grazed your burning skin, you could feel your skin burst into chills. You practically shuddered in his arms and your face grew hot when you did. It all becomes suddenly overwhelming and you jump off on his lap turning to him with a distressed expression.

“What happened? Did I do something wrong?” Steve said worriedly.

“You did just want to sleep with me,” you mumbled tears forming in your eyes.

“What! No, that’s not it,” he panicked; using you was the last thing he wanted you to think he was doing, and wanted in general.

“Then what’s going with you? Ever since we fucked you’re suddenly attached to me, putting your hands all over me, pretending like you're my boyfriend! And I don’t understand why,” you said frustrated.

“I feel like your just using me or something-”

“That is the last thing I want,” he interrupted, his voice low.

“Then why are you doing this; Steve you could have anybody and for some fucking sick reason you keeping mocking me. Making me think I have a chance.”

“And you don’t think you do?” he asked, heart broken, making you scoff and turn away.

“Look, fine I’ll admit that maybe before that night I wouldn’t have made a move; but I’m gonna admit that I haven’t not felt something for you before,” he said, getting closer to you.

“What?”

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we met. And that night didn’t do shit to help me get over you,” he chuckled.

You crawled to him carefully looking into his eyes for any sign that he was being untruthful; you cupped his face gently.

“Are you drunk?” you whispered.

“Not one bit.”

You pressed your lips to his feverishly and Steve nearly moaned at the feeling. His hands grasped your waist firmly pulling you to sit comfortably on his lap. His hands crept under your hoodie holding you close.

Your hands rested on his broad shoulders holding yourself up as slowly leaned back onto your pillows. Your cold hands cupped his face as you deepened the kiss and his hand went to rest on your bottom.

With this new found position, his chest pressed against yours, his hips grinded up allowing you to feel all of him. Every pushing second you grew needier and whiny, practically clawing at his shirt to feel his skin.

"So needy already. And I've hardly touched you," he chuckled lowly in your ear.

He sat up nonetheless and stripped his shirt revealing his gorgeous physique that kept you up at night and infiltrated your dirtiest dreams. You brushed your hands all over his chest with your bottom lip between your teeth; Steve smirking slightly proud of the effect he had on you simply by having his shirt off.

"Come on, pretty girl. I wanna see you too," he's whispered before kissing you softly.

"Wait, I don't…" you didn't particularly feel very sexy and instantly became insecure about your body compared to Steve's.

"It's ok, we can cuddle," he smiled.

"Well, if I'm being honest I do want you. It's just, I just ate all this junk food and I'm not wearing anything sexy. I didn't shave and-"

"Hey, I don't care. You don't need to impress me or wear anything special for me. I just want you to look pretty sitting on my face and make pretty sounds telling me how I'm gonna make you feel."

Your body trembled at his words, arousal instantly flooding from you. His nose brushed against your cheek dragging along to your jawline before pressing kisses gingerly to your jaw and neck. His hands slowly lifted your hoodie and you raised your hands letting him remove your hoodie.

Your shoulders caved in out of habit, being topless in front of handsome men wasn't normally on your schedule; but the look in Steve's eyes, the look on his face holding a hungry and adorning expression made you more comfortable, reaching out to cup his face kissing him deeply.

You sighed breathlessly into the kiss as Steve's hands rubbed your sides. You pulled away momentarily only to put your lips on Steve's neck. Steve felt himself growing harder and needier to see you, feel you, pleasure you.

"Pretty girl, I need you. Lemme taste you, please," he whined.

He picked you up and laid down on your back to pull your sweatpants down your legs. You lifted your hips for him and he smiled cheekily at you biting his lip. Steve lifted your leg kissing the inside of your calf staring at with those hungry eyes.

"I still wanna see you sitting on my face, pretty girl," Steve said, pulling to him.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna crush you or anything," you whispered, making Steve chuckle.

Steve laid down assuring you that he wanted this and grabbed your hand helping you straddle his face. When you did Steve kissed the inside of your thighs playfully nipping and marking the sensitive skin making you gasp.

Steve wrapped his hands around your thighs bringing your center impossibly close to him, finally licking a long and wet stripe up your slit. Your moans were soft at first but when Steve started circling his tongue around your clit, you could help getting louder and bucking your hips grinding on his face.

Steve’s eyes were close relishing in your sex. You combed your fingers through his hair and Steve moaned loudly against your pussy. He dipped his tongue past your folds and that along with the vibrations from his beautiful moans, you head threw back moaning in pure ecstasy, moaning so loud your neighbors were definitely going to file a complaint.

“Fuck, Steve. Your mouth feels so good; shit!” you whined.

His tongue circled your clit again quicker this time and you bucked your hips, tightening your stomach and squeezing your legs as you approached your high. Steve kneaded the soft flesh of your ass lapping up everything you gave him.

Steve crawled from under you as you held onto the headboard, still standing on your knees, trying to catch your breath. Steve came up behind you rubbing your hips softly, kissing the back of your neck softly. He quickly rid the remaining of his clothes he still wore, his painfully hard cock slapping against his stomach desperate for some sort of attention.

You breathe softly, hyper focused on the cum that slipped down your inner thighs. Your legs lightly trembled from just his mouth you couldn’t wait to feel what his cock would feel like, filling you up like it was only a week ago. Steve sat beside you looking at you with a soft smile on his face, his hand softly rubbing the back of your legs and your bottom too.

He reached around to grab your hip and slowly turned you around settling you between his legs; your back pressed against his chest as it was only moments before, more innocently than now. His lips sucked and kissed your neck as his hands cupped and kneaded the soft flesh of your breasts.

Your hands rested over his own and your hips squirmed a bit for eagerness. The low growl from Steve because your hips grinded against his cock was incredibly arousing.

“Such an eager little slut ain't cha’,” he grabbed your hair.

“Fuck,” you mumbled as he pushed you forward on your hands and knees.

“Want me to fuck you? Remind you how I felt buried so fucking deep inside you? God, I think about you every fucking night; how perfect you were wrapped around me, how beautiful you sounded underneath me,” he whispered huskily in your ear making you shudder.

“Stevie, please,” you whimpered.

His hands rubbed up and down your back as he chuckled darkly.

“Oh, I’ve been waiting to take care of you again, pretty girl,” he kissed your back softly.

He wrapped his hand around his cock slowly and languidly pumping it. He couldn’t help but tease slightly circled his tip along your entrance pulling desperate whines from you. He finally reached his own breaking point, unable to stand not being able to feel you so he pushed his hips forward moaning loudly at how tight you felt around him.

“So good, pretty girl,” he moaned.

“Fuck, Stevie. Filling me up so good; you’re so big,” you sighed.

“Damn right, pretty girl. Taking my cock so well. Fucking made for me,” he grunted.

His snapped in and out increasingly quicker with each thrust; the vulgar sounds of his movements and skin slapping against each other echoed loudly in the room. Harmonizing with both your pleasurable moans.

Chasing both your releases, Steve’s hips jerked rougher and harder in and out of you making you practically shriek at the feeling. He leaned forward wrapping his hand around your throat before pulling you flush against his chest.

“Such pretty baby,” he bit your ear.

“Fuck! Stevie I need to come,” you whined.

“Yeah, you want to come all over my cock? Make a fucking mess?” he growled.

“Please!”

“Hold on, pretty girl. I’m almost there,” he sighed, throwing his head back and closing his eyes in pleasure.

You whined and whimpered, tears brimming your eyes from that overwhelming feeling. You couldn’t help but clench hard around his cock desperately holding back for your release.

“Fuck, do that again, pretty girl,” Steve gasped.

“God, yes. I’m close, pretty girl. You ready to come?” he pulled your head back to look at your face.

Tears fell inelegantly down your cheeks, sweat lined your forehead, your chest moved rapidly up and down; to Steve, you looked ethereal.

“Please,” you whimpered.

“Let go, pretty girl. I gotcha,” he whispered against your lips.

Your eyes rolled back as your body shook against Steve’s, releasing onto his dick profoundly. Steve swallowed your louds moans, roughly pressing his lips to yours, moaning himself. You clenched hard around Steve one last time feeling his throbbing cock shoot hot ribbons of cum, coating your walls.

When you eased your way slowly down from your high, Steve laid you down gently pulling out to see his cum mixed with yours spilling from you. You looked so fucked out breathing heavily, whimpering at the loss of Steve inside you. He wanted to, but held back from taking you again. But not wanting to hurt you, he treaded towards the bathroom and turned on the water to run you two a hot bath. He picked you up gently pressing kisses all over your face and neck before planting one delicious kiss on your lips; your hands reaching around his neck to deepen it if that was even possible.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, coating your arms with soap to wash you. You laid against him with your eyes closed desperately trying not to fall asleep in his arms.

“I didn’t hurt you?” he asked softly.

“Mh-m,” you shook your head slightly with a blissful smile on your face.

“Good,” he wrapped his arms around you tightly, kissing you passionately.

“Thank you,” you mumbled, barely audibly.

“For coming to hang out with me tonight,” you chuckled. Your eyes felt too heavy, simply remembering the way he carried you carefully back to your bed and held for the rest of the night.

ᴛᴀɢʟɪsᴛ: (For all my work)

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