God I can’t believe I have an influx of new followers (something that rarely happens) while I’m going through a major life change and am thus sentimental, nostalgic, and overall soft. Everyone has to look away. Even my mutuals. No wait never mind everyone has to give me attention now at 3 AM.

stay with me | jjk

❝ maybe staying another night at your boyfriend’s isn’t such a bad idea ❞

[ PAIRING ] : jeon jungkook x reader

[ GENRE ] : established relationship au + smut and a smudge of fluff

[ WORD COUNT ] : 6k

[ WARNINGS ] : oral sex, some real good tongue technology on jungkook’s part, fingering, overstimulation, penetrative sex, creampie, LOTS AND LOTS of dirty talk, jk calls oc ‘baby’ and ‘pretty girl’ way too many times, oc worried that her bf is going to get tired of her, some mentions of anxiety, jk is the sweetest bf and even sweeter at sex, there is barely any plot and just a lot of sex im so sorry 

[ AUTHOR’S NOTE ] : i'm on my period and i got horny and then this happened

masterlist | wattpad cross post | ao3 cross post

“No.”

Jungkook shuffles behind you, the bed moaning. “You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

You shake your head, failing to suppress your smile as you slip on your thong. However, it does little to hide you from him. Glancing at the mirror, you see him shamelessly stare at your ass, licking his lips before he meets your gaze through the glass with a boyish grin.

You turn around to face him. “You’re going to ask me to stay.”

Jungkook hums, eyes dancing across your bare skin, darkening. Heat rushes to your cheeks as he admires you, confidence swelling in your chest and you take a moment to admire him. He sits at the edge of the bed, naked and yours, white, silk sheets pooled around his lower abdomen.

Your eyes trace over his rigid muscles, and your fingers itch to touch him. Even under the dim light, he is beautiful with his dishevelled hair and swollen lips. You finally meet his gaze and swear your knees almost give out. Heat pools in your stomach when you see the hunger in his gaze, breath hitching in your throat. Your thighs press together reflexively and it doesn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Wrong.” Jungkook pulls you at you until you're straddling him. He cranes his neck to press butterfly kisses along your jaw. “I was going to ask you to not leave.”

“Baby.” You thread your fingers in his hair, tugging at the strands. “That means the same thing.”

“Don't care,” he hums, pressing a firm kiss against your lips. “Don’t go.”

His plea tugs at the strings of your heart. It’s hard to say deny him. It’s especially hard to deny him with his dick hard, prodding against your thigh and his lips coercing you to stay cocooned under the sheets with him. However, the anxiety that builds in your chest is overwhelming and the thoughts that kept you up the night before still linger.

“Jungkook.”

“Unless you’re telling me you're staying, I don’t want to hear it.”

You giggle, leaning down for a sweet kiss. Minutes pass by before you pull away with a burn in your lungs and clouded mind. He chases after your lips, but you tilt your head for his lips to press against the corner of your lips, to his reluctance.

“Baby,” you start, “I need to go home and get new clothes. I’ve spent the entire weekend here and now I have nothing to wear.”

“I like you naked, anyway.” He grins as you slap his chest, failing to bite back your smile. “You can wear my clothes.”

“I have no underwear left.”

“I have a laundry machine.” He traces every curve of your spine, sending shivers down your back. “You’ll have clean clothes tomorrow.”

You brush the long strands of his hair from of his face. “I could grab some new clothes and come back tomorrow.”

“It’s going to be dark soon,” he reasons, unhooking your bra with two fingers and you cock a brow. “Leave in the morning — after breakfast. Dangerous people come out at night, y’know? I don’t want anything bad happening to you.”

“You would’ve won me over with that one if you didn’t unhook my bra,” you remark, pinning him with a look.

“Really? Wait, lemme redo that—!” You let out a heartfelt laugh, throwing your head back and he grins. “Seriously, don't go. I don’t want you walking outside late at night.”

“The sun’s only about to set, I can get home before it gets too dark.”

Jungkook’s brows pinch together, lips curling downwards. “You’re trying so hard to leave. Why?”

Your heart misses a beat and you pray he doesn’t notice the hesitation in your eyes as anxiety swells in your chest. Your worries flood your mind as a reminder as why you must leave.

“You're going to get sick of me if I don't give you some space.”

“I could never get sick of you,” he retorts, holding you closer with a shake of his head. “And I don't need space from you. Wanna keep you in my arms forever.”

Your gaze softens on him and his cheeks are coloured pink. “Kook.”

“I don’t want you to leave — not tonight.” He presses hot, open-mouthed kisses against the column of your throat. “Want you to stay with me.”

You indulge in the idea; one more night. You could stay one more night. You could. However, the fear in your chest does not allow for it. You’re scared — worried if he spends every waking moment with you he’ll soon get tired of you. Perhaps it’s a stupid thought considering you’ve been dating for over a year now, but the dread still lingers. No matter how much you reason with it, it haunts your thoughts — keeps you awake in the middle of the night even as he rests in your embrace.

He drags you from your reverie, pressing a kiss against the sweet spot under your ear and you let him have his way for now.

“Don’t go,” he says again in a whisper, pleading with his eyes. “Please. I want you to stay.”

Before you can answer he leans down to press his lips against yours. His lips meld with your own in a fervent kiss, his hand trailing down your body and tracing the curve of your ass, as he presses himself against your core. You roll your hips against him as the kiss becomes more sloppy and desperate with every press of him against you. Waves of pleasure shoot down to your core, your pussy clenching around nothing.

“Jungkook,” you moan.

His lips trail down the underside of your jaw, pressing a wet kiss against your pulse. A coil of desire begins to tighten at every nudge of his shaft against your nerves, nails digging into the skin on his back in response.

“Ngh — Jungkook, please,” you urge as presses his hips against yours, applying pressure to your bundle of nerves.

“Please, what, baby,” he hums, smirking against your skin. “Use your words.”

“Touch me. Please, ah,” you moan, throwing your head back against the pillow. “Need you to touch me.”

He throws your unhooked bra to the side. Bringing a hand to wrap around your breast, he squeezes it adoring how soft and pliant you are under his touch. You arch your back as his tongue flicks against your perked nipple.

“Are you sure?” He asks, his warm breath fanning across the pebbled bud on your breast. “Thought you had to go, hm?”

“Jungkook—!”

“I won’t stop until I’m satisfied,” he says, hoarse, searching your eyes for an answer. “I won’t let you go until you’re begging me to stop. Do you want that?” He rolls grinds his cock against your core, groaning. “Won't stop ’til I feel your hot, tight pussy milk me for every last drop. Ah, wanna feel you fall apart on my cock, see you all pretty and full of my cum, hear you beg for more and more until you break.”

You gasp at his vulgar words, the hot, white coil tightening in your stomach. You wish so badly for him to be inside of you when you clench around nothing. His lips wrap around your perked nipple, licking and biting you, eliciting the sweetest of moans from your lips as his tongue swirls around your bud.

Your thread your fingers through his hair, pulling at the strands at the nape of his neck how he likes it. He moans against you as you continue to experimentally roll your hips against him, desperate for some friction — for him.

“Do you want that, too, baby?” He asks, leaving a trail of kisses up the valley between your breasts. “Means you can’t go home though. You’ll miss your train if you let me do the things I want.”

“Are you sure you’re not going to get tired of seeing me every day?”

You try to laugh, but your voice comes out strained and full of worry. It doesn't sound like a joke as you hoped, voice shaking as you ask your question. Your heart thunders in your chest and you wonder if he can hear it.

Jungkook stills, his lips brushing against your collarbone. He pulls back to look at you, brows furrowed and eyes full of confusion.

“You think I’m getting tired of you?”

You look away from his piercing gaze and he doesn’t like it. Taking your face in his hands, he urges you to meet his eyes and you find yourself meeting his concerned gaze.

“Talk to me,” he says, softly.

You take a deep breath, eyes flickering to your hands resting against his chest. Mustering the courage to open up, you meet his gaze again as he patiently waits for your response, a thumb rubbing soothingly against the soft skin of your cheek.

“I—I’m scared that you're going to realize I’m not as great as you think I am,” you begin softly, voice shaking. “I’m worried if you spend too much time with me you'll get sick of me. I’m scared you’re going to get tired of me and leave me.” You pause, noticing the bewildered expression on his face. “I wanted to leave so I could give you space in case you wanted it. I didn’t — I don’t want to suffocate you.”

He’s silent for a long moment and you know it’s because he’s collecting his thoughts. However, a part of you still worries. You worry it's because he realizes he has grown tired of your presence. You worry he realizes that you have too much emotional baggage and doesn’t want to deal with it. You worry because you have a hard time accepting someone’s love.

“I haven’t done a good job at being your boyfriend,” he starts and your eyes widen, “if you’re thinking I’m going to get sick of you.”

“No,” you reply immediately, cupping his face. “It's not you. It’s my insecurities — my anxiety. You’re more than perfect. You say and do all the right things, Kook. I just… I’m scared one day you’re going to get tired of me — tired of constantly reassuring me, sick of having me around all the time and clinging to you.”

You’ve talked to Jungkook about it before. He knows about the thoughts that keep you up at night — the worries that gnaw at you until you’re in tears. He knows and he stays. He tries to help you in every way he possibly can. He holds you when you need it, whispers reassuring words, comforts you no matter when or where. He’s there for you in every possible way because he loves you.

But sometimes your anxiety gets the best of you — especially when it comes to him.

“Baby,” he starts and it’s hard to meet his eyes, “I will never get tired of you. I will never get sick of you.”

“You don’t know that—!”

He cuts you off, “But I do. I know because I can’t get enough of you. I don’t think I ever will. Every moment you’re not with me all I want is you. All I can ever think about is you. You drive me crazy and you don’t even know it. All I ever want is you beside me, in my arms, in my house with me. I always want you right beside me — right where you belong.” A pause. “You know I love you, right?”

“I love you, too.” Your response is almost immediate and he smiles, leaning to press a soft kiss against your lips.

“Do you know how much I love your laugh?” You’re silent. “Do you know how much I love making you smile; how much I love waking up beside you and falling asleep with you in my arms. How much I adore your victory dances when you win games and your snoring—!”

“Hey!” You complain, but there’s a smile curling on your lips to match his.

“I love you so much — every single part of you — I couldn’t possibly ever get sick you. I love you so much I don't ever want to let you go.”

Hesitantly, you look at him and let the sincerity of his words sink in. His eyes are full of adoration for you and your heart is enveloped by a sudden warmth only he can elicit in you. Lifting your hand between your bodies and extend your pink finger to him.

“Promise?”

He doesn't hesitate to wrap his small finger around yours before sealing the promise with a sweet kiss. “Promise.”

“Okay,” you say, gnawing on your bottom lip. “I wasn’t being too clingy this weekend? I wasn’t bothering you or being annoish—!”

“I’m going to stop you before you say more things I don’t like.” He smothers your face in his hands, eyes narrowed. “Remember, I wanted you here this weekend, too. And I want you to spend another night because I love you and I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”

“Okay,” you murmur, shyly. “I’ll stay the night.”

“Good. I want my pretty girl beside me,” he chuckles under his breath, tucking a loose curl behind your ear. You notice his eyes grow softer, an emotion you cannot decipher hidden behind the awestruck in his eyes that leaves butterflies in its wake. “Move in with me.”

You blink. “What?”

“I—!" His eyes are wide as if he didn’t expect himself to say the word himself. His eyes flicker downwards before they meet yours again with purpose. “I want you to move in with me.” A deep breath. “My apartments too big for just one person and I miss you whenever you’re gone. You spend more time here than you do at your own place anyway. Move in with me.”

You search eyes and all you're met with is sincerity. “Are you sure?”

“Yea,” his smile is soft but it makes your heart swell. “Yea, I'm sure. I’m tired of waking up every morning and not having you beside me.”

“Moving in?” You ask, uncertainly.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while, but I wasn’t sure if you were ready. And you don’t have to give me an answer tonight or tomorrow. I want you to think about it and if you’re not ready, that’s okay because I’ll wait for you. You’re worth the wait.”

“Kook—!"

“I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, ___.” Your eyes widen at the declaration and his cheeks are coloured pink despite the bright smile on his lips. “I know we’re not there yet, but I want you every single day for the rest of my life. So while I wait for you to be my wife, I want to move in with you.”

Jungkook momentarily stills before he realizes the soft pressure against his lips is your own, smiling into the kiss as he closes his eyes. He kisses you tenderly and sweet, but there is desperation behind them. You’ve kissed Jungkook thousands of times but he still makes your head dizzy as he slips his tongue between the seams of your lips. You’re not sure how long you stay like that, your fingers tangled in his hair and his own pulling you closer towards him.

He pulls back first, a string of saliva connecting you before he places another firm kiss against your lips. “Was that a yes?”

“Yea,” you breathe, grinning. “Yea, it was.”

He flips you onto the bed with practiced ease, your back hitting the mattress as he hovers over you. You giggle as he places butterfly kisses all over your neck and shoulder.

“I love you so much,” he breathes, face hidden in the crook of your neck. “My pretty, pretty girl.”

“Jungkook.”

“Yes.”

“I want to cum.”

He laughs, pulling away. “Shameless, too.”

He leaves a trail of kisses down your body until he’s a hair's breadth from your cunt. His fingers brush against your closed slit, arousal leaking through the flimsy material as he presses against your core. Your breathing becomes erratic when he presses a kiss against your clothed lips.

“Baby — fuck.” Your eyes roll back as he drags his tongue to your clit, the friction from the fabric on your nerves driving you crazy. “St-stop, agh, teasing.”

“You’re not in the position to make rules, baby,” he says, rubbing against your clothed clit. “I’m going to take my time with you — have you begging for me to taste your cunt. And when you do, I’ll use my tongue to lick every little drop of sweetness from your pussy. Make you come on my mouth over and over until you’re begging me to stop.”

You whine, “Please.”

He teases you, moving your underwear aside just enough to lick a long stripe from your pussy to your clit. Groaning, he meets your eyes as your underwear slides back in place.

“You taste so good, baby,” he purrs, pressing a kiss against your thigh. “And you're so fucking wet. Bet I could slide right into you.” His fingers are back on you, brushing against your clit but not enough to do anything. “You want me, baby?”

Your arch your back in response to his next ministration. “Yes.”

His touch is gone just like that and you whine, brows furrowed in frustration. He snaps the waistband of your thong against your skin with a smirk.

“Beg.”

“Jungkook—!”

You’re about to complain, but he cuts you off. “Beg or I’ll fuck myself using that pretty mouth and leave you dry. Tell me, baby, how bad do you want me?”

“Please, baby, I need you.” Your hooded eyes meet his heated gaze. “Need your fingers, mouth, cock — you. I need you so bad. Wanna feel you so bad, please.”

“Could be better,” he muses before he presses a kiss against your clothed core. “But I’m impatient.” He taps your hips. “Up.”

Helping you out of your underwear, he brings his face towards your core, blowing against your opening. His nose brushes against your thigh as he places another kiss against the soft skin, hooking your legs over his shoulder.

“You’re soaking and I’ve barely touched you.”

You hum, contentedly when his tongue brushes against your slit. “All for you.”

“My pretty girl,” he rasps, nose brushing against clit. “So wet and needy for me.”

Before you can complain again you feel his hot, wet tongue press harshly against your lips before he drags it up to your clit. He swirls the rosy muscle on your clit, teasingly until your moaning and breathless. Without warning, his lips envelop around your throbbing bud, sucking in full force you scream his name as your hips buck. Warm hands hold your waist down as he hums, tongue licking against your entrance again. For a moment he dips inside you, moaning at the taste of your sweetness before going back to suck at your clit the way you love it and you see stars behind your lids.

He repeats the motion over and over, swirling his warm tongue around your swollen bud and sucking it in a way that has you forgetting your own name. Against your slick lips, he whispers praises, before he slips two fingers into your warm cavern and curling his fingers inside you.

“O-oh, fuck—!” you gasp, fingers tangled in his hair. “Don — mmngh — don’t stop, ngh.”

“Gotchu,” he grins when he finds your sweet spot. “Does it feel good, baby?”

“S-so good.” Your nails scrape against his scalp and he emits a low groan. “So fucking good, fuck.”

His fingers continue their onslaught at a new pace, brushing roughly against the spot that leaves you breathless. His lips are back on your clit like a hot suction and you scream out from the overwhelming pleasure.

“So fucking tight,” he muses, pressing a kiss against your bud. “Your pretty cunt's taking my fingers so well, baby. You sound so pretty while I fuck you with my fingers, but you sound prettier when you cum, you know that?”

Your head is spinning from euphoria, ecstasy and the lack of oxygen, but it doesn't matter — not when he's bringing you closer and closer to your release.

“Mngh — J-Jungkook!” He sets a new violent pace that leaves you overwhelmed as he hits your sweet spot. His name falling out your lips like a broken record while he licks at your juices, groaning against your cunt when you fist his hair and pull him closer to you. An electrifying coil in your lower abdomen tightens, building further when his ministrations bring you closer and closer to your peak. You clench around his fingers, bucking your hips further into his hand, whimpering as you say, “God, yes — ngh, fuck. I’m so close.”

“Cum for me.”

Euphoric pleasure slowly, yet surely floods through your body, his lips enveloped around your sensitive bud as he curls his fingers against your soft spot. With one last flick of his tongue, you fall off the euphoric cliff as he laps at your juices. He presses harsh, but sure circles against your clit with his thumb as you ride out your orgasm. Your hip spams, thighs trembling as he coaxes you through an indescribable, mind-blowing release that leaves your vision white.

His lips don’t leave your nether regions, wincing at the oversensitivity. You tug at his strands of hair but he shakes his head.

“Not done with you yet,” he whispers, licking the fruits of his efforts once his fingers slip out of your dripping cunt. “Wanna have you crying my name. Wanna show you how much I love you. Will you let me?”

You lift your head from the pillow, leaning on your elbows as you sit up. He holds your stare, smirking before he flattens his tongue and drags it up your slit to your sensitive bud and you shudder. His grip on your thighs tightens to keep you in place before he lowers his head between your thighs, the hot suction back on your clit.

“Agh, Kookie.” You throw your head back, chest heaving. “I’m too—” Gasp. “—sensitive.”

“You can take it.” A kiss against your nether lips. “Wanna show you how much I want you — how much I love the taste of you. I’m not letting you go until you’re begging me to stop. You up for that? Want me to remind you how good I can make you feel?” He dips his tongue back in you and you hiss. “Can you be my pretty, little slut, baby, hm? You wanna make me happy, don’t you?”

“Y-yea.”

You feel him smile against your thigh. “Who does this pretty pussy belong to?”

“You.”

“That’s right.” A rewarding stroke his tongue. “This pussy belongs to me. You’re mine. This pussy is mine. Will you let me play with this pretty cunt, baby?”

He watches you with hunger in his eyes and the desire to have him use you as he pleases to seek his own pleasure overcomes you.

He brushes his tongue against your swollen nub, and you gasp, “Yes.”

“Pretty girl,” he hums and you’re immediately wrapped around his finger. “Do you want to be my perfect little slut?” You nod, meeting his heated gaze, a wolfish grin curling on his lips. “You're too good to me, you know that, baby?” He teases his tongue around your entrance, eliciting a whine from you. “My pretty girl.” Lips wrap around your clit and you scream, body falling limp against his sheets. “My perfect, little slut.”

And with that his tongue is on you, violently bringing you to another release. You are oxygen and he is a man deprived, burying himself deeper in your cunt. A growl emits from the back of his throat as you thread your fingers through his hair, your winces from oversensitivity shifting to moans of pleasure. He finds home between your thighs, reluctant to leave as he licks at every drop of sweetness you grant him. Jungkook brings you to release over and over until your tears stream down your face and you find it hard to take the pressure of his tongue against your overly-sensitive nerves.

With one last wave of pleasure washing over you, he pulls away. His cheeks are coated with a warm fuchsia, lips parted as he looks at your cunt with a predatory gaze. From his nose to his chin, he is covered in a sheen of your juices, eyes blown out as they meet your own.

He adores your fucked out expression, your chest heaving while you catch your breath. His tongue swipes at the remnants of your release on his swollen lips, the back of his hand wiping the excess off his chin before he leans down to catch you in a short kiss. When he pulls away, his eyes search yours for any sign that you want to stop, but he finds nothing.

“You did so well, baby,” he whispers against your lips. “How are you feeling?”

“You told me you would make me pretty and full of your cum.” His gaze hardens on you, dark eyes trained on your own. “‘M not full of your cum yet. Can you fix that?”

“Such a greedy slut.” A smile grows on his lips as he leans down to your neck, nipping at the skin. “I made you come on my mouth so many times, but you still want more. Greedy, needy slut.”

“For you.” You wrap your legs around his waist as you grind yourself against his dick. “Only for you.”

He groans, hips rolling in rhythm with yours. “You like being my slut?”

“I like being yours.”

He stills for all of a second before he breaks out into a grin, laughing as he presses a kiss against your lips. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

You wrap your arms around his neck and pulls his lips back on yours. As he leans towards you, his shaft presses against your folds. You’re barely able to focus on the kissing as you lose yourself in the overwhelming sensation as he grinds against you, coating his length with your juices.

A knot forms in your lower abdomen like a hot, tight coil wanting to snap. You can already feel yourself get needy at the feeling of his length against your folds, but before you can act upon it—!

“Tsk.” Jungkook clicks his tongue against his teeth as he catches you trying to slip his cock past your folds. “You want my cock?”

“Mhm,” you hum in a daze, eyes lazily meeting his. “Want you inside me.”

“It’s not going to be that easy, baby.” You furrow your eyes at that, mouth opening in protest. “Beg for it. Tell me how badly you want to be fucked by my cock.”

You frown. “That’s not happening—!”

There’s a teasing pressure against your pussy that makes you gasp, eyes rolling back as your mouth hangs open. A soft whimper escapes from you as he adjusts his cock to rub against you, mixing his pre-cum with your juices.

“What was that?” He asks, smirking and you glare at him through your lashes. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be. I can give you everything you want if you just—” he leans down until his lips brush against your ear, his finger grazing over your sensitive clit and you hiss, pushing your hips against his hands for more, “—beg.”

Again, you ignore his request but more so because he aligns his cock to prod against your cunt and you cannot focus on anything but your need to have him buried in you. You can feel the sudden weight in the pit of your stomach as you lick your lips.

“So hungry for my cock,” he grunts. “You want something to fill you up so good you forget your name, don’t you?”

“Yes,” you cry at the lack of attention on your sex. “Please.”

“Please what?” He asks, lips curling because he knows he has you exactly where he wants. “Words.”

“Please fuck me,” you give in, frustrated as your walls clench around nothing. You’re hungry for more — body craving more of what he’s willing to offer; of the undeniable pleasure he would provide if you just gave in. “God, I want your cock — need it. Need you to fill me up, need you to fuck me — nngh!” You moan, body going rigid against his as his head rubs against your swollen bud, fingers tweaking at your perked nipples. “Want you so bad, baby. Wanna be your perfect, little slut so bad. Have me however you want, I don’t care — do whatever you want to me. I don’t fucking care.” You grind yourself against him, chest heaving as the desire for him to fill you up becomes desperate. “Just fuck me, baby, please.”

“That’s my girl.” He rewards you with a kiss. “I’ll fuck you, baby. I’ll fill you up with my cock. Gonna bury my cock deep inside your slick cunt. Gonna stretch out your walls so good no other cock will be good enough for you — no other cock could ever fill you up like mine. No one will fuck you better than me.”

“That’s right, baby,” you urge. “Make me yours.”

Painfully, slow he slips his cock into your warm cunt, groaning. He’s big, in both length and grith, causing a slight burn accompanied by an abundance of pleasure. Moans fill the room as he fills you up to the brim, inch by inch until he no longer can. Your hot, slick walls clench around him and he groans, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck.

“Stop that,” he growls, brows furrowed in concentration. “You’re so fucking tight, ah. If keep you do that I’m going to fucking blow my load.”

“Do your worst, baby,” you say, eyes hazy. “I want you to ruin me.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, unsheathing himself from your cunt until the tip is nestled an inch within your entrance and then slams himself back into you. A lewd moan erupts from both of you as the stars decorate your vision. You arch your back, pressing your chest against his, eyes rolling back every time he sinks back into you. With each thrust and roll of your hips, he rubs himself against the spot that leaves ecstasy rushing through your veins.

“You’re so, agh, hot like this.” You can feel the pressure build in your stomach, the coil tightening with every brush of him against your sweet spot. “So hungry for my cock.”

“Feel so good in me,” you moan, watching as his dick slips in and out of your cunt. “Fill me up, ah, so good. Fuck, take what’s yours, baby.”

He visibly shudders at that before latching his lips on your perked nipple. His tongue laps around the perked bud on your breast, spare hand coming to knead the other before he swaps breasts.

You groan, dragging your nails down his back, sure to leave a mark. “Oh, fuck.”

Your eyes roll back as the head of his cock brushes roughly against the spot that has you seeing stars. He has your toes curling, his name coming out like a mantra as he ravishes your body, moaning into your neck. A knot of pleasure tightens, burning like a hot coil and he knows with the way you pulse around his dick that you’re so, very close.

You can taste the bits of your orgasm on the tip of your tongue, but it’s still not enough. You need so much more and he hears it in your pleas.

“Puh—please,” you breathe as you feel him press his lips against your pulse. “Hard—oh, my God.” You barely get the words out of your mouth before he’s ploughing into you with a force that knocks the air out of your lungs. “Ngh, like that, fuck. S-so good, baby. Feels so good.”

“Yeah,” he groans, biting your neck. “So good to me, fuck. Such a good fucking girl.” At that, you squeeze around him and he lets out another lewd moan. “You gonna cum?”

All you manage is a nod and a sharp breath of air. His hand slithers down your body to find your clit and he presses against it harshly, eliciting a hiss from you. It’s oversensitive from the multiple times he made you cum on his tongue, but he doesn’t care because he knows you love it. He’s quick to rub circles around the bud and smirks to himself at your vocal response.

“Don’t — ah — stop.” You feel the coil burn more, pleasure building in your body like rapid fire. So fucking close to your next release, even as the sensitive bud stings. “Gonna — ah — gonna cum.”

His lips are eager for yours, pressing against them in a searing, hot kiss as he tries to coax the orgasm from you with his sinful lips. You can taste yourself on him and hum. His release threatens to unravel before him, but he fights against it so he can feel you wrap around his cock when you cum. He lifts himself off you to admire the blissful look on your face as you slowly become undone before him.

“Pretty girl — ngh,” he whispers, hot breath fanning over your cheeks and you whimper. “All mine. Come — ah — for me, hm? Come all over my cock, baby.”

Sweat drips down both your bodies, your walls clenching around him as he fucks you hard. Every thrust leaves his head nudging against your sweet spot, clouding your vision white. A fire builds within you again, leaving you to gasp for air between every moan.

“Kook, I — ah, I can’t come—” Moan. “I can’t come again.”

Softly rubbing against your clit, he presses a chaste kiss on your lips. “You can take it. You’ve been such a good slut for me, tonight, baby. You can do it. Come around my cock for me.”

And with his words and one last thrust, the burning coil snaps, pleasure rushing through your body in euphoric waves. Your veins flood with ecstasy and he soon follows, his seed coating your walls. Overwhelming pleasure unravels within you both like a wildfire, spreading across your bodies as he continues his pace to ride out your highs. His lips find yours once again, pressing a lazy kiss against yours as you both ride out the last remnants of your orgasms.

Once he’s caught his breath, he slowly slips out of you, lifting himself to admire the way his seed spills out of your pretty cunt. You feel his cum spill out your cunt, down your thighs and onto the sheets beneath you.

“Such a pretty cunt,” he says aloud and your lips curl into a tired smile. “So dirty and full of my cum.”

He leaves the bed, heading towards the washroom to grab a warm cloth and you lay there, tired. Exhaustion seeps itself into your bones, lids heavy as they flutter shut. You don’t hear Jungkook return, but rather feel him when a warm cloth brushes against your swollen pussy, cleaning you up. He’s swift to clean you up the best he could before attending to himself and putting the rag away. Maneuvering over you, he brings the blanket over your bodies, nudging you to lay beside him.

“You were so good, baby,” he whispers as he pulls you closer towards him. “Always so good for me.”

“Mhm.”

He chuckles. “Are you tired?”

“Yea.” You nuzzle against his chest finding comfort in listening to his heartbeat. “I honestly could’ve knocked out after that first orgasm.”

He laughs, pressing a sweet kiss against your forehead. “Sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”

“We do?” You furrow your brows. “Why? What’s tomorrow?”

“I’m gonna help you pack your boxes so you can move in by the end of the week.” You laugh along with him, throwing a leg over his own as you get comfortable. “Are you sure? You really ready to move in?”

Unable to hide your smile, you press a chaste kiss to his chest. “Yea, I’m sure.”

"You’ll be stuck with me for a long time,” he hums, exhaustion washing over him. “I won’t be letting you go for a while.”

"You better not.” Your smile quickly turns to a frown when you finally notice. “Jungkook?”

“Yea.”

“I'm hungry.”

all rights reserved © 2020 svenotes

Of something beautiful, but annihilating🚬3

Warnings: nonconsensual sex, violence and abuse, mentions of miscarriage, mentions of death'; violence, attempted rape.

This is dark!fic and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Reader’s husband brings home an unexpected houseguest.

Note: So this is for black Friday and then I’ll be working all today and tomorrow and schedule’s are super late so I dunno when Im working after that. Hope you guys enjoy and don’t hesitate to drop by my asks.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

Arvin let you pick the record. You found it among the box of your daddy’s music. It was one of your favourites and you were glad he wasn’t bothered by Patsy Cline’s droll tones. He seemed to enjoy it as he sat and read a magazine and you searched for a button from your large tin to match that missing from Roy’s jacket.

“You ever listen to Elvis?” He looked up from behind the pages.

“I… I heard him on the radio but you know we haven’t got new records since Daddy died,” you said as you continued your hunt. “And Roy don’t like all that new music. He says it’s no good.”

“Well, he doesn’t seem to like much, does he?” Arvin sniffed, “I always knew he was a grouch but I just thought it was the job.”

“He’s not… He’s just stressed. He works so much.” You looked down and settled on a button that was close enough. 

“You do too,” Arvin hid behind the magazine again. “You should be the one goin’ out and doin’ what you like on a Saturday. Hell, if he ain’t gonna spend his time with you, you should do something of your own.”

“I like sewing,” you shrugged as you threaded the button, “You know, it’s not so bad. I get time to myself. A lot of people can’t say that.”

“Sounds pretty lonely to me,” he flicked the page.

You were silent. You didn’t know how to respond. He was skirting around what he really wanted to say, what you didn’t want him to talk about. The tension in the air thickened as you feared he would admit that he knew or you might confess that your husband wasn’t much of one. Hell, you’d yet to accept that yourself.

Your fears were assuaged by the sudden clatter on the porch and the hinges of the door as it was swung open. You sat up and set aside Roy’s jacket. You stood as he staggered inside. He always did like to drink when he fished, or did much of anything else. You frowned as he tracked mud in on his tall rubber boots.

“Roy, you’re making a mess,” you said as you went to the doorway and watched him stumble around the entryway.

“Keep ya busy,” he slapped a hand on the wall and wiggled his leg free of a boot. “There’s a whole pail of fish out front too.”

“Mmm,” you hummed as his cheeks glowed. You doubted he’d be awake that long. “Well, I’ll just fry those up while you sit down.”

“Agh,” he tripped over his other boot as he slipped it off and Arvin brushed by you to catch him.

“Hey, Roy,” he took his arm, “How was the fishing? Why don’t you sit down? We’ll have a beer.”

“I almost forgot about you, boy,” he shook free of Arvin and ambled closer to you, “Maybe you can hide away after dinner for a while?”

He dragged his hand up your thigh and slapped your ass as he passed you. Arvin turned as Roy clumsily traipsed into the living room and fell onto the couch. He looked at you but you couldn’t stand to meet his.

“Sure,” Arvin uttered, “I’ll just go get those fish first.”

He disappeared through the front door and you crossed your arms as you turned to watch your husband. His head lolled as he chuckled.

“You think he ever fucked a girl?” He asked, “Boy tiptoes around like a virgin.”

“That’s crass, Roy,” you reproached.

“Don’t act so innocent,” he snapped, “If you didn’t, maybe I’d… well.”

His words trailed off and he closed his eyes. He yawned and sighed loudly. You grimaced and listened to the door as it hit the frame again. Arvin continued onto the kitchen as Roy began to snore. It must have been a record how quickly he’d passed out this time.

You went through to the kitchen as Arvin drained the water from the pail of fish. You went to the drawer and got a knife. You rest it on its end as you gripped it and looked out the window.

“He’s already out for the night,” you said, “You hungry?”

“I said I’d make the fish, I meant it.”

“Nah, I’ll flay them and put ‘em in the fridge,��� you swallowed, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“That you’re stuck here with us. Sorry he’s always drunk.” You looked down at the blade. You didn’t say what you really wanted to. Sorry you were stupid enough to choose Roy.

“That isn’t your fault and you know, I don’t mind it so much.” He neared, “We’re friends now, aren’t we? That’s worth it.”

You nodded but couldn’t smile. He always tried to make things seem nicer than they were. He was much better at it than you were.

“You comin’ to church tomorrow?”

“Of course,” he answered like it was obvious.

You turned away and laid out the fish across the cutting board. He stayed behind you, the record silenced and began to skip.

“I think I got somethin’ nice I can find.” He left you and the crackle of the Victrola died.

You slice the fish, careful not to cut your fingers as you deboned it and tossed away the heads and tails. You heard Arvin speak in a low voice and a grumble. Then heavy footsteps interspersed with lighter ones. The stairs groaned and you kept on, wrapping the filets in paper and tucking it away.

You cleaned up and washed the smell off your hands. The living room was empty so you climbed the stairs and found Roy face down on your bed. You turned to the open attic and Arvin descended the ladder.

“You got him to bed?” You tilted your head.

“Wasn’t so hard. Poked him a few times.” He grinned. “So what time do I needa be ready for church?”

“We leave about twenty minutes before service. It’s at eight.” You answered, “Oh, you know what--” You raised your index finger, “One sec.”

You spun and scurried into your father’s room. It was just as it had been before he died except now there were boxes stacked along one wall. You pushed open the closet and fluttered through the clothes hanging within. You pulled out the old grey suit and white shirt that had yet to yellow. You grabbed a tie from the drawer as you passed the dresser.

You smelled them as you went back to the door as Arvin peeked in.

“For church,” you held them out, “My daddy was a bit taller but he got skinny near the end. I can pin up the pants for you and you’ll look just fine.”

“Oh,” he face paled, “You-- I can’t--”

“Roy’ll never fit into these so please,” you pushed them against his chest. “And I don’t think he’ll be up in time for church so I need you to drive.”

He smiled and took the clothes. He hugged them as if they were precious. “Thank you. I’m gonna sound like you for a moment but you really didn’t have to.”

“You think I’m gonna forget that you promised to make the fish? It’ll be a nice Sunday night dinner.” You inhaled deeply, “I think that for tonight, I’m gonna lay down though.”

“Alright,” he let you past, “You have a good night.”

“You too,” you neared your bedroom door as Roy’s snores grew louder, “Might have to stuff my ears with cotton.”

🚬

As you expected, Roy was too hungover to get up for church. You didn’t really go for the sermons but your daddy made it a habit when you were young to make sure you got to see the other kids in town. Sunday school had socialised you in the circles of the small town but they had proven less than welcoming. And since you’d grown out of your education, you went to trade recipes with some of the other wives.

Arvin was awake before you. As you pulled a cardigan over your blue dress you stopped at the bottom of the stairs and he appeared from the front room.

“Oh, Arvin,” you smiled, “That suit looks real nice on you. And the pants…”

“I sewed them myself last night,” he lifted his foot, “Remembered a few stitches.” He straightened the jacket, “You look real good too.”

“Well, aren’t we a pair?” You chimed. “Gonna have to be since Roy hasn’t moved since you dragged him to bed.”

“After you,” he waved to the door, “Think we should get goin’. My daddy woulda whipped me being late for the lord’s prayer.

You led him out the door and climbed into the truck opposite him. He turned the ignition and the engine rumbled to life. You felt calm as you smelled the early morning dew and you looked out the window as he shifted into gear. The lush green grass passed you by and trees swayed as he steered along the old country road.

As always, the church was crowded. You and Arvin squeezed in at the back. He was quiet and sombre as you entered. As you sat, you looked over at him. His jaw squared as the preacher came out and began his weekly scourge. A fire burned behind Arvin’s brown irises and he scowled for a moment before his face went placid.

You looked forward and folded your hands as you listened to Father Milton. You never cared much for his talk of hellfire and brimstone, to be fair, your daddy didn’t either, but in a small town, everyone knew when one was away from service. Roy never cared what anyone thought but you had to deal with Noreen and the other ladies at the grocer or around town about their own tasks.

When mass finished, you stood but Arvin hesitated. He stared up at the altar before he finally rose. He nodded to you and followed you and the other worshippers out into the sun.

You heard your name as you headed for the truck. You stopped and Arvin did too. You turned as Noreen, a woman older than yourself who fashioned herself to be the model for all society ladies, approached you. She wore a wide-brimmed hat over her blonde hair and took short steps in her heels.

“You promised me that carrot cake recipe. The one with the raisins.” She said. “Now I’ve been hounding you for three weeks.”

“Oh, uh,” you unclasped your pocketbook and fished out the card you’d made sure to stow after last Sunday. “Right here. I’m sorry, Noreen, but I gotta get back.”

“Where is Roy? Was he off drinkin’ again? You know, the lord did warn us all against excess.”

“Well, perhaps we can get him to come next week and you can warn him,” Arvin intoned and Noreen looked over in shock.

“Excuse me. And who is this… man you have as your escort?”

“Roy is letting the attic out to him. They work together. This is Arvin.”

“Arvin Russell,” he introduced firmly. 

“That’s an unusual name,” Noreen remarked, “You’re not from here?”

“No, but from a place like this.” He countered, “I’m gonna go get the truck goin’.”

He turned without courtesy and marched away. You looked back to Noreen as she curled her lip.

“Oh, he is a rough one, isn’t he? You have that scoundrel livin’ with you?”

“He’s a good man. Helps around the house. It’s a big place and Missy Grable has a tenant of her own.”

“Missy Grable has a farmhand to tend the fields,” Noreen lifted her chin.

You weren’t certain what to say. Noreen always found issue with whatever you said and you hated to give her further reason to.

“Well, here’s the recipe. I really ought to go.” You said.

“I understand, honey,” She smirked, “Your husband needs his caretaker… oh sorry, wife.”

You flinched but said nothing else. Your shoulders dropped as you turned away and dragged your heels through the dirt. You opened the truck and climbed in without a word. You clutched your pocketbook and stared ahead as Arvin back out of the lot.

“Pardon my saying so and I don’t use this word often, but she was a bitch,” Arvin said. “Remind me why I ain’t go to church.”

You looked down and nervously unclasped and unclasped your purse. “You didn’t have to come.”

“No, it’s your house and I wanna be a good guest,” he said, “It’s nothing to do with you.”

You scoffed and shook your head. “My daddy hated goin’ too but he didn’t want me to be ostracised, you know? He told me, near the end, that he stopped believin’ durin’ the war. He said no god would let the things happen that he saw.” You leaned against the door and watched the buildings pass. “Seein’ how these Christians act, I can’t blame him.”

Arvin was quiet as you left the main street and the house began to thin out until the country sprawled out around you.

“My sister…” he said so low you barely heard him. He cleared his throat and spoke louder. “My cousin, she was tricked by a preacher man. She was young and too willing to love. And he was just a liar. He knocked her up then refused her.” His voice was brittle and you glanced over as his hand tightened on the steering wheel. “She hung herself but it was that snake-tongued charlatan who killed her.” He shook his head. “No god would take her like that. No god would let a man sworn to him trick the innocent.” He rubbed his forehead as his eyes bore into the distance, “I’m sorry. Just been a while since I sat in a pew.”

“No, I’m… sorry. Sorry about your cousin.” You said, “I didn’t-- You can stay home next week.”

He pondered it and a little smile curled his lips. “Don’t think I will. Think I’d like to see that Noreen again. Maybe say a prayer for her soul, wherever it may be.”

🚬

Roy was still in bed when you got home. You tried to rouse him and he swatted you away. You brought him a sandwich and some water and left it beside him. You went back down to clean up as Arvin sat in the front room, As you wiped your hands, the record player buzzed and a tune rose on noontime air.

You went to the living room as Arvin stood straight and you listened to the smooth tones of Sinatra. He turned to you as you entered. 

“I like this one,” you said. 

“Me too,” He had shed the jacket and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, his tie disposed of. He turned his palm up as he stepped away from the player. “You dance?”

You giggled and shook your head. “No, not much of a dancer. Roy wouldn’t even at the wedding.”

“Come on. It’s a good song.” He got closer and began to sing out of tune, “I get no kick from champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all…”

You shied away and he caught your hand. You let him draw you closer and smiled as your cheeks warmed up.

“Just follow my lead,” he urged as he moved his feet, “Don’t look down, just one, two, one, two…” 

You moved your feet around his as he swayed you and turned you on the spot. His hand settled on your lower back and you grasped his shoulders. You were jittery as you moved with him in time to the music.

“Arvin…” You breathed. 

“Every pretty girl should dance,” he said, “I’d say you’re a hell of a dancer for a beginner.”

“Thanks,” you trilled and settled into his embrace.

“I mean it. You deserve more.” He leaned closer and you felt his hot breath on you. “You deserve the world.”

You smiled as he gazed across at you. Your heart leapt as there was a sudden clamour by the stairs and you pushed away from Arvin as Roy stomped into the doorframe. His hand fell away from your back and you tiptoed over to your husband.

“Roy, you’re awake? How ya feelin’?”

“All this goddamn noise you makin’ down here,” he grumbled, “Shut off that dang thing. There’s a game on.”

You flitted away and turned off the Victrola. You looked at Arvin as he watched Roy. He looked irritated and repulsed by the man.

“I gotta do some chores,” you muttered. “You boys enjoy the game.”

“I think I’m just gonna go upstairs,” Arvin tucked his hands in his pockets. “I’ll be down to cook that fish in a bit.”

You watched the younger man leave and Roy turned the dial on the radio. Your husband flopped onto the couch as the commentator’s voice filled the room.

“How about a beer?” He demanded, not asked.

🚬

The day turned to night. Dinner was quiet and tense. Roy didn’t drink as much as the day before but the alcohol made little difference. Arvin was pensive and seemed to lose himself in thought. You were nervous as you thought of the dance and your temperamental husband.

You hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just a dance. How come Roy could spend his days drunk and dozing and you couldn’t do anything you liked?

You cleaned up after supper. Arvin retreated to his room once more as Roy sat in the living room with another bottle and you tidied up. You cleared the last of the mess and looked out into the front room. Roy belched and sneered as he saw you.

“Wife,” he beckoned you forward with two fingers, “What did you do today?”

“Went to church. Cleaned.” You edged closer. “That’s all. I was real worried about you, Roy.”

“Were you?” He snorted and stood as he dropped his bottle on the table. “You didn’t seem too bothered when I came down.”

“What do you mean?” You stopped a foot away from him.

“You and that kid. You get on real well, don’t ya?” He snickered. “You down here dancing.”

“Just a dance, Roy,” you said meekly, “I didn’t wanna be rude.”

“You just wanna be a whore,” he snarled, “Huh? What you doin’ with that boy? I’m your husband.”

“I know, I know that, Roy. I never-- I didn’t do nothing.” You pleaded as he stepped closer. “I was just waitin’ for you to wake up.”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” he hissed as he grabbed the back of your head and thrust you close to him. “You been doin’ everything but what a wife is meant for.”

He tore open the front of your dress and you cried out. “I’m gonna fuck you and let that boy hear who you belong to.”

“Stop, please.”

“Stop!? This is what you promised me, dear wife.”

You struggled with him as the smell of alcohol on his breath made you cringe. He spun you and shoved you so hard you stumbled back against the couch. You got up as he ambled after you and were knocked back by his fist. You cradled your cheek as you fell onto the cushions.

He pushed you up against the back of the couch and tried to wrench your legs apart. You squeezed your knees together and slapped at him blindly as fear bubbled in your veins. He forced your legs open and knelt on the couch between them. He grabbed your throat as you tried to wriggle away and he struck you again. He never hit your face; he didn’t like people to see what he did to you.

“I’ll show you,” he muttered, “I’ll show you, you little whore.”

He reached for his fly but his face mirrored your shock as he suddenly stilled and for a moment, he froze in time before he fell back onto the floor. Arvin stepped aside to avoid the crash and turned to hit him across the face. Roy’s brow split and began to stream with blood.

Arvin struck him a third time and pointed the gun at his head as he laid prone on the floor. Roy touched the back of his skull as he stared up barrel. The whack from the butt of the gun would likely leave a worse lump than his punches.

“Get up and go.” Arvin growled. “Or I’m gonna smear this carpet with your brains.”

“Are you crazy? This is my house!” Roy barked and pushed himself up. The pistol clicked and Arvin pressed it to his head. 

“It’s her daddy’s house.”

“She’s my wife, boy.”

“You don’t act like no husband,” Arvin said gruffly, “You think I’m scared? Think I haven’t shot a man before?”

“Sure you have, boy.”

“It’s different. You go out and you hunt your bucks and they don’t know what’s comin’, they don’t even know when they shot. But a man, oh he knows to the end. He begs, even if he can’t speak, he does. It’s in his eyes, in the way he gurgles as the life drains from his lips.” Arvin kicked Roy, “And once I pull this trigger, you’ll be begging too but it’ll be too late and there ain’t no words you can say to stop the blood. So you shut up and you go before you can’t.”

You were paralysed on the couch. Your head throbbed as you couldn’t believe what you were seeing. You trembled as Roy stood slowly and winced as Arvin followed his movement with the muzzle of the gun. Arvin followed your husband to the door and you heard the sharp whine of the other before it clattered shut. 

Crickets chirped as dirt stirred beneath feet and you heard the old truck shudder to life. The door snapped shut and locked loudly. Arvin appeared and lowered the gun. You stared at it as he came close. He set it on the table and sat beside you as he touched your face and you winced.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he pulled you against him, “I’m sorry he hurt you. I shoulda-- shoulda been faster.”

“Arv…” Your voice turned to a wisp and you let him hold you.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I got you now.”

hi i’ve noticed the pencey prep gay conversation going on over on @awsugar and i have spent lots of time dissecting pencey prep lyrics and subjecting nathan @faggot-frank to my deranged ramblings so Here is my pencey prep super ultra mega gay lyrical analysis masterpost. it’s very long so its all under the cut but i will include a TL;DR for those who dont wanna read paragraphs of my deranged ramblings: Pencey prep uses lots of themes of: heartbreak, forbidden love, keeping love a secret, and toxic relationships. which none of that is gay on its own but combined with them almost never using gender indicators in their songs and the “nail in the coffin song” of 8th grade it ends up being a very Fruity Album.

I will be going through heart break in stereo in order and pointing out which lyrics and elements of certain songs jump out to me as Super Mega Gay and then summarizing my conclusions at the end <3

1 ) PS Don't Write

PS don't write is about leaving a toxic relationship, it has notes of moving on and leaving someone behind. "packed up all my shit / stole back all my tapes / left your spare key under the mat / this is not a joke / you'd better learn to take a hint / 'cause i'm not coming back / maybe you'll understand / when you're waking up alone / in a cold and empty bed." it has no gender indicators or pronouns which is the case in a lot of pencey prep songs, and something i'll bring up quite a bit. it also has general "coming of age" themes, something common in lots of pencey prep songs. which Yeah apply to straight people to but read in this context combined with future evidence can be pretty Fuckin Gay. "somewhere along the line / i found a hidden strength / i didn't know i had / standing on my own / cutting all the strings / that you used to control / surprise surprise / i am long gone / if you thought you could hold me down / by holding me up / you were wrong / you don't call the shots anymore." not to say only gay people can find inner strength and the room to love themselves but combined with other context it is a really poignant message about accepting yourself for who you are.

2) Yesterday

Yesterday is very repetitive and has a lot less to analyze, but the constant themes of wanting to "run away" strike me as very Fruity. once again, not saying gay people are the only people who can want to run away or escape from something But Combined With Other Context. and once again a song with no gender indicators, doesnt specify who the speaker is running away with or what they are running away from. just that they want to Leave. "i wanna run with you / i don't care what we do / gotta get out of this place / because it feels like yesterday." also saying "it feels like yesterday" could mean that the town feels backwards or old timey in its beliefs, implying homophobia. how the speaker wants to run away from an old fashioned town.

3) Don Quixote

i'm going to bring up the cultural significance of this title and literary reference first. Don Quixote is a classical novel by Cervantes which is about a crazy dude who thinks he's a knight, and goes on weird adventures with his best friend. It's typically used as a symbol of following your dreams and breaking free from what people expect of you. In the context of the song its used as a symbol of following your dreams with Someone. once again this someone is given no gender indicators. "you say it's not worth it / been burned too many times / if your spine's receding / you can borrow some of mine / don't go and quit right now / cause i'd follow you through hell." "you say so many things / and not a word of it was true / if you're still in that state of mind / i'd still vacation inside of you / cause i think you're worth every minute / and every dime that i spend / i'd spend all my time fighting dragons / just to keep you alive and talking." it's about wanting to spend time with someone, wanting to be with them no matter what. and its also about how this person feels unreachable, like being with them would be a fairytail but the speaker Still Reaches for it. "your imaginations running wild / round your deceptive heart / this is my crusade / and you're the unreachable star / but i'm reaching." talking about this person being unreachable and unattainble. which isnt gay By Itself  but again combined with the other context. FRUIT BEHAVIOR.

4) 10 Rings

another breakup song once again with no gender indicators, are you guys sensing a theme here? anyways this song is about someone cutting you off and then coming back suddenly wanting to talk again after breaking your heart. it has a sense of forbidden love, like this person Told the speaker they cant be together for Whatever Reason ;] and is now trying to come back and repair their mistake when the speaker is already hurt and reeling. "learn to live with decisions you make / i learned things from the break i can't forget / catch you doing drive-bys at 1 AM / it must kill you to know we can't be friends." "end of the summer you cut me off / i cut you out all the pictures i have." which this Isnt Gay By Itself. but bringing that phrase back with other context this is such a uniquely gay experience. being in love with someone and they cut you off Because theyre weirded out by that and then they try to come back, convince you it meant nothing.

5) The Secret Goldfish

my FAVORITE pencey song. this one has a lot. it's another breakup song about heartbreak and loss and im not even gonna dwell on the no gender indicators because yall see the theme now. it has themes of heartbreak and losing someone who is very close to you and having to let go of them and having to accept that this person cant be yours and you cant be with them. "land of the lost / i found myself in nothing / this time, promises broken find me / clutching to you for something / something that you're not / believing in what you say / it makes me lie awake at night / the truth, the truth is not what scares me / it's why you have to lie / all the time." here we see these themes of having to let someone go because they just Aren't The Same as you. "clutching to you for something / something that you're not." maybe like chasing after a straight boy and getting rejected? also the repetition of "heartbreak is forever" when you're young and gay losing that first person you felt some kind of love and attraction to can feel like the end of the world and can be a huge deal because of the lack of representation and guidance young gays get. and the themes of nothing lasting forever, the fact that gay people never get promised eternal love the same way straight people do.

6) 8th Grade

this song is the nail in penceys fucking coffin honestly. the rest of these songs have a lot of plausible deniability, just vague enough to maybe Not Be Gay. but framed in the context of 8th grade they all start to get a lil fruity. Im just gonna go through lyric by lyric for this one. "caught staring again / like a deer in the headlights / when you can't move fast enough / i take a hit for the team / pretty girl is blushing / i can't tell if she's disgusted / laughter starts to swell / someone gets the joke." this kid was staring at some cute boy ass and got caught and everyone is laughing at him for being gay. the "pretty girl" here is what most people think he's staring at but with the rest of the song it's obvious she's not the one he's looking at. "bells ring, i make my escape / helps a little, but doesn't save / beat downs a common thing / with us every day / maybe im just strange / cause i dont change schools / so maybe i like the abuse / or maybe i just like you." literally This is the nail in penceys fucking coffin. "maybe i like the abuse or maybe i just like you." this kid purposefully takes beatings from his bully who is Obviously male if you take into context the next verse. because he Likes Him. "maybe im just strange / cause i dont change schools" literally willingly taking beatings from his bully bc he has a crush. "another confrontation / you've got something to prove / your girl can't tell how tough you are / when you beat me up in the boys room." this just confirms that the subject of the song is a boy, and a tough macho boy with something to prove. maybe also hiding his own internalized homophobia through bullying? "well i made a big mistake / but i can't help who i like / this may not cost my life / but i am branded forever lame." LITERALLY ITS RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. "can't help who i like" "branded forever lame" do i even need to fucking explain this oh my god. he got outed as gay, he Can't Help Who He Likes and is now branded forever as "the gay kid." the rest of the song is general "im gonna get back at my bully" stuff but literally THIS. THIS is the song that brands all penceys other very vague songs as 100% verified super mega ultra gay.

7) 19

this song has a lot less, and is more about internal struggle than anything. but it is the only song with a "she" pronoun in it. but there is one thing i wanna mention. "I scream out loud / but no one hears a sound / i take my life with lack of sleep / i believe the things i feel / the things i see are fooling only me." this song is about not believing what the world shows you, believing what you think is true in your heart and what You feel. not what anyone else tells you. which is a gay experience. believing in yourself and your heart and your feelings, believing theyre right and theyre true and valid. Also this song has a significance in coming right after 8th grade on the album, going from being 13 to 19, from being unsure in your feelings and angry about the people who dont like you to lost and hopeless but somewhat grounded in yourself.

8) Trying To Escape The Inevitable

this song is about an abusive and toxic relationship, knowing you Need to escape it but being so infatuated with the person you literally cant. “i have this reoccurring dream / you make it hard for me to breathe / i gave you everything i could / i gave up everything i owned / and when you smile it’s not for me / you offer little sympathy / your grasp so far exceeds your reach / i wake up, this is not a dream.” “i have this reoccuring dream / where you admit that you’re not happy / i know that you will never leave / you’re here just to torment me.” which like again this isnt an exclusively gay experience but it is very interesting when framed that way. in that gay people are way more likely to throw themselves into abusive and toxic relationships because they dont feel like they can get anybody else. the repetition of “i know i should run” makes it seem like the speaker Knows he should get out but he just Cant because what if he never finds love again? and the little reprise in the middle “i have a new dream / and everything is perfect / the sky is pink, yellow, green, blue, and orange / and all the past has been forgotten / and we fell in love / and we fell in love / and we fell in love / and i fell into your trap.” implying that even if he escapes, even in his dreams he still falls for this person because he feels like he cant have anything else.

9) Lloyd Dobbler

another love song about wanting to have someone but not being able to because of Unspecified Forbidden Reasons. “why are you so far away / even when you’re standing next to me? / your eyes give you away / telling secrets your mouht don’t feel like talking.” falling in love with someone, maybe sensing that they like you too. that they Are Like You and that they have a Secret they dont want to vocalize. do i even need to explain it at this point? and in the chorus “That I’ll be your lloyd dobbler / with a boom box out in the street / and i’ll be there if you need someone / even if he isn’t me.” saying you’ll be there for someone even if that person isn’t you, also the use of Pronouns which is big for pencey prep. which yes the use of “even if he isnt me” could imply a straight girl ooorrr....Fruit Behavior. also this line “There’s a norman rockewll painting / of two kids sitting on a bench / it reminds me of all the stupid things / i’d like for us to share, but i dont care.” normal rockwell is a painter that paints traditionally “american” scenes. like the american ideal, that maybe he wants with this person. but he knows he cant have, but its stupid and domestic and he wants it but he Cant Have It because of FRUIT BEHAVIOR.

10) Florida Plates

another of my favorite pencey songs, and this one brings back those tragic “love but we cant have it” themes, except with a more somber tone. instead of being angry or resentful or spiteful in the face of adversity. its an Acceptance, of what they had and how good it was and how it just Cant Last. “kiss a mouth to open eyes / stall one last moment before goodbye / drive in different cars in different directions / never write all the letters full of good words, better intentions / it’s for the best although we don’t know it / paper words will cheapen the moments we shared / it’s better if i say nothing at all.” it’s about knowing you have to leave someone, even if having them in the moment is great they Can’t Stay and you can’t even talk or write about the moments you had. which do i even need to explain it at this point? forbidden love, not being able to have each other, not even being able to Talk about it. its a secret, and painful one but its beautiful while you have it. Conclusion alright!!! thank you so so much if you read all the way through that i Know it was long i Know it was a lot of repetition but i wanted to make my point. pencey prep has very big gay themes in their music. with forbidden love, letting go, heartbreak, keeping secrets, toxic realtionships. which none of it is gay on its own but in the context of: almost none of the songs having clear gender indicators and always speaking really vaguely about the subject and Eight Grade the “nail in the coffin song” you can see my point thank you and goodnight.

Chapter Six: Friends in Cold Places

Dr. Vinschpinsilstien stared blankly for a moment at what she'd caught in her net.

"Once." She sighed, kneeling by the net and cutting it open so she could pull out the motionless body. "Just once, would like to catch only fish."

Being so close to The Wall, catching a corpse or two wasn't uncommon. They had the bad habit of just dumping their bodies and trash into the ocean, making it harder for the scientist to catch only her next meal, which was the entire reason she'd decided she should move away from that area of the cliff.

This, however, she noted as she pressed two fingers to the body's neck, was not a corpse. He was still breathing, just barely, and she could feel a weak pulse beneath her fingers. Corpses didn't have pulses, and they certainly didn't breathe.

She glanced to the top hat and gold chain alongside him, somehow not lost to the ocean. It'd gotten tangled in the net with him and told her all she needed to know: Toppat. The leader, in fact, by the look of it. She'd heard that Reginald had handed over leadership in return for mercy, however, she didn't think it'd be someone she recognized.

"Never thought I'd see the day you returned to the Toppat Clan, Suave." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien stood up, lifting the Toppat in her arms. "Last I heard you ran after your father died, what happened to you?"

The only response was a moan of pain, but he didn't wake up as she carried him inside and laid him on a bed. His left arm was obviously and likely irreparably broken, twisted at more than one odd angle. Even then she could see frostbite was already setting in and likely was going to take it if she didn't. She began examination, experimentally testing reflexes and rolling him over to check his injured back.

She didn't need an x-ray to know his spine had been broken in more than one place, likely from the bullet hole she found as well as the fact it looked like he'd fallen into the sharp, jagged rocks that lined the cliffs. If he had any hope of recovery, or even survival at this rate, it'd need to be completely removed and replaced.

She suddenly stopped.

Why was she even considering any of this? She had told herself she would never help the Toppats again after she left. She had already refused to assist them once, when they called asking her to come save Right, and she really didn't want to give them the satisfaction of giving in at any point. Hell, she only knew Henry because he was Terrence's son and with how much trouble he'd gotten into, even as a child, it was hard not to know him.

She could, and honestly should, just toss him back in the water. He was already half-dead, and she owed him and the Toppats nothing.

Her fingers nervously tapped the table at that thought. She could do it, yes, but would she? Hell no. It felt...cruel to leave him to drown or freeze to death. It wasn't her place to decide who got to die based on her emotions. Did she hate the Toppat Clan? Yes. But was it right to leave someone to die because of her own experiences with them? Certainly not!

Briefly she wondered why he was even in the water. Was it a denouncement ceremony? It didn't look that way, if she was honest. The gold chain and his hat would have been taken if it was, but no one seemed to be looking for him.

Then again if he fell into the rocks, why would they? She wondered briefly, looking at him. He was obviously quite weak, struggling to even take a single, faint breath. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was still alive at this point. She knew his lungs had to have water in them, which on its own could be fatal. They probably assumed him to be dead.

She briefly wondered how Right and Reginald were holding up. She knew they loved Henry as their own son, losing him all those years ago, getting him back and then immediately losing him again must be tearing them apart. She didn't really want to, but she could imagine the heart-wrenching scream of Reginald, and the blank but grief-filled stare of Right as they had lost him for a second time.

Her hand balled into a fist.

She was so weak.

Finally she made a decision. She'd stabilize him for now, then call Reginald and Right to come get him. Maybe she'd perform the surgery to replace his arm and spine, if they paid her for it.

Time to get to work. She sighed.

Stabilizing Henry had been harder than Dr. Vinschpinsilstien thought it would be.

Even unconscious and injured as he was, he had fought like hell when she put a tube down his throat to drain the water from his lungs. It had been pitiful, honestly. Dr. Vinschpinsilstien certainly didn't pride herself on her bedside manner, but she couldn't help but gently try to reassure him that it was alright, and it would be over soon.

Sighing heavily, she sat in her chair before sending a call through to the Toppat Clan's airship division. Straightening up, she took a deep breath as the call was accepted, and Right responded.

"What? We're a little busy at-"

"Hello, Right."

"Ah, Doctor. 'Ave you reconsidered our offer to rejoin the Toppats?" He asked. She could almost hear the strained smile in his voice, and she quickly strangled the feeling of pity. She'd let herself feel sympathy for her patient, but the Toppat Clan would get no pity from her.

"Oh I'll join you alright, I'll join you in hell." She replied, teeth clenched. "But that's not why I'm calling. It seems you lost your leader."

There was silence for a moment.

"Did you...find the body?" He finally asked quietly.

"Oh I found a body, just not a dead one." She replied. "From here, you have three choices. I've stabilized him for now, you can come get him and deal with his injuries yourself, or you can commission me to perform surgery. If you do neither, I can always hand him over to the government."

"W'at kind of surgery?" Right asked a bit skeptically.

"His arm is broken in a few places and he's suffering from frostbite." She replied. "His spine is also broken in multiple places. Both will need completely replaced, likely along with his heart, as he's too frail to perform surgery on while still alive."

There was silence again, and she heard him take a trembling breath. "W'at do you want in return for saving 'im?"

"I won't ask for much this time." She replied. "I want appropriate compensation, for one. I'll go with the low end of one hundred, fifty thousand for both the spine and arm, and my time. These augmentations are not cheap to make or install. And I would rather like the dinner I lost from catching him in my net to be replaced."

"T'at's all?"

"That's all." She confirmed. "I suggest you make a decision quickly. Henry is very frail, I cannot hold him for long."

"Done, we'll bring the payment as soon as we can." He took a breath. "...may we see 'im?"

"If you wish. But you need to find your own way here." She didn't particularly want either of them on her boat, but there was no way she could safely move Henry to the airship, and she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to revive him. Replacing his entire spine was experimental, even by her standards.

If she failed, this may very well be the last time they see their son alive. Who was she to deny them of that?

Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sighed, crossing her arms as she stared up at the airship.

Honestly she wasn't sure what she was expecting when Right asked if he and Reginald could see Henry. I suppose arriving in the airship and dropping down is better than trying to pick up the boat and bring it inside the airship. She thought, a little bitterly, as she watched Reginald, Right and a few others climb down a rope ladder. She raised an eyebrow upon noticing one of them was a government pilot. "Toppats working with the government? Is the world ending?"

"It's only temporary." Right grumbled. "We don't particularly want 'im 'ere."

The other person, a woman with fiery red hair, glared at him. "I did. We both owe Henry. You admitted he might not survive this, we needed a chance to thank him, even if he's not awake."

"I'm sorry," Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sighed. "Who are you two?"

"Charles Calvin and Ellie Rose." The pilot replied. "General Galeforce sent me on a mission to retrieve files so we can shut down the Wall. He thought that since the Toppat Clan were lying low we could at least take them out and lighten our workload. Ellie was a prisoner, she came with us."

"Henry broke us out." Ellie nodded. "We just...need to see him, just once."

It took a few moments for what she just said to sink in. "He...broke you out of the Wall?" She asked slowly.

Both nodded.

"I'm going to want that story later." She turned away. "Come with me, I'll take you to my workroom, that's where I'm keeping him."

Leading them to the small room, Dr. Vinschpinsilstien blinked in surprise seeing that he was actually awake now. Immediately Reginald pushed past her, running to his son's side. "Henry!"

"Reg...inald...?" Henry breathed, meeting his eyes.

“I’m right here.” Reginald squeezed Henry’s hand. “I-I’m right here. I...I’m not going to leave you.”

"E...everything...hurts..." He squeezed back weakly, blinking as Right came up next to him. "Right...I..."

"You don't 'ave to say anything."

Henry shook his head. "I...I'm...sorry. I...hurt you. I..."

"I know." Right replied, voice uncharacteristically quiet. "It's alright, I'm not angry."

"Henry." Reginald's voice broke. "Please, hold on a while longer. The doctor is doing to fix you, I promise. You'll...you'll be alright."

“...promise…?”

"I...I promise."

Dr. Vinschpinsilstien's breath caught in her throat as she got a good look at Henry's face. His eyes were half-closed, dull with hopelessness and clouded with pain. He was struggling to stay awake, to even stay conscious.

Charles tapped her shoulder. "Doctor...is he going to survive this?"

She shook her head. "No, but I need to completely replace his spine, and I can't do it while he's alive, anyway."

"But you can bring him back?"

She nodded.

"...'m tired." Henry murmured.

Reginald covered his mouth to hide a sob. "I...I know, Hen."

“...it’s so cold...so dark…” He breathed. “D...Dad...I...I don’t...I don't want to die...not like this...”

That was all it took for Reginald to break down into sobs, hunching over his son. Right held him tighter, reaching to join his husband in holding Henry's hand. “You’re not going to die!" Reginald finally choked out. "I’m not going to let you die, I refuse to let you go like this!”

There was no response.

"...'Enry...?" Right asked, eyes clouding with grief.

Silence. Henry's eyes stared sightlessly up at the ceiling, no breath leaving his lips.

Reginald screamed. "HENRY!"

"That's your cue to leave." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien cut in, pulling Reginald away. "Go wait outside so I can work."

"T'ank you, Doctor." Right spoke up, leading his husband out. "I trust you with the rest."

______________________________

It'd been a few hours since Dr. Vinschpinsilstien had begun surgery.

Right sat against a wall, Reginald sleeping against his chest. He'd only left once to help her remove Henry's left arm, but he hadn't lingered long.

Seeing Henry hooked up to life support, so unnaturally still and pale, was too much, even for him.

(He'd briefly wondered where she'd gotten a ventilator, but it was keeping oxygen flowing to his brain and preventing brain death so he wouldn't complain.)

Right glanced over at Charles and Ellie, the two in a corner leaning against each other. They, too, had fallen asleep, it'd been an exhausting day for them and he didn't blame them for wanting some rest. He himself only remained awake so he could recieve the news as soon as Dr. Vinschpinsilstien was finished.

Suddenly there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. Right looked up, seeing the good doctor peeling off her gloves.

"'Ow is 'e?"

"Alive. But he's very weak." She replied with a frown. "I hope you know it is unwise for him to return to the Toppat Clan."

Right stared at her blankly a moment. "I...I'm sorry, w'at?"

"It is unwise for him to return to the Clan." She repeated. "Right, Henry's augmentations are not nearly as stable as your own. I've managed to connect his heart replacement to his spine in a way that his brain thinks it's his heart, so he won't have any problems with that, but the second that spine is damaged his body will begin to shut down again."

"So? No one cares if 'Enry has to be more careful. But you left, so I wouldn't expect you to understand our familial bonds."

"Do you really believe that? You have over a thousand members, what will happen if a small group, or even a single person, decides Henry is weak and unfit to lead? Do you want Henry to live past the age of thirty-five?"

"Of course!" Right forced his voice to stay steady so he didn't wake the others, despite the rage bubbling in him. The nerve of this woman!

"Then let him go. He has a chance to get out of this life, you have to let him take it."

Right fell silent, glancing down at Reginald. "...we can't say goodbye again. Not after all of this."

"Who says you have to say goodbye?" She knelt down. "Just give him a chance to leave, if you think he'd never speak to you again you're dead wrong."

"...can we just see 'im?"

The doctor sighed. "Go ahead. He's asleep for now, but I suspect he'll be complaining if he wakes up and none of you have visited."

It took a few minutes for Right to wake Reginald up, but soon enough they stood before their sleeping son.

His left arm was completely gone, even the shoulder was missing, replaced by smooth metal. There were patches down his side for easy connecting a disconnecting, and a blue light glowed on his chest, becoming brighter with each inhale before dulling slightly upon exhale.

She'd explained his spine was exposed, since there was just no way for her to get skin over the metal without it shredding like paper if it ended up strained. Just another reason for Henry to leave the Toppat Clan, permanently this time.

Reginald will not like that. Right noted, staying quiet as he sat down by Henry. Reginald squeezed his hand, giving him an exhausted smile.

Right couldn't help but smile back.

At that moment, it felt like everything was going to be just fine.

I'll be my own Inquirer

Why so incapable of contemplating this constantly unstable mental state put up with it for a taste of what it feels to be understood for once but is it worth the risk I really need to think this through why I'm reluctant

to share my ideals and opinions tell people what my thoughts are open up with my consciences but cant quite make a coherent sentences so I just hide keep everything inside make sure nothing can come in from the outside because i don't care to confide in the ones who saw something good in me

Wow.. oh! really? what a pussy you see what I mean who talks about their feelings you just need to vibe bro it's not that complex just go with the flow let go stop holding on to the to the shortest rope with the least likelyhood of success

Success what is success dress up for attention have the latest model and nicest brand surrounding yourself with distractions procrastinating instead of contemplating how to be the best you that you want to be

But am I changing for me? or for what I was programmed to be just waiting for directions like the rest of humanity

Stop and take a hit just smile and laugh shut up and start relaxing your attitude is really taxing

How is it, that you can be relaxing while others are slaving away to pay their bills mountains that came from hills

Nah man here just take some more pills I'm not here for this shit

You ain't real enough for this shit just a cog in a machine a dog on a leash careful not to bite the one who feeds

Following orders and deeds obligated to represent reputations neglecting their just vessel a tool being used to confuse the masses they think their the consumers being programmed frequent frequencys colors and pretty flashing lights

Designed to have you mindlessly sitting on the couch smiling neglecting your brain till you go insane till you open of your pouch of pain meds now your addicted but not affected cause your drugs did their job of robbing you of your cognitive thinking now your a cog no need to thrive a bee in hive serve your queen that's not obscene

I'm not trying to instigate these situations I hate but I can't pretend that I dont spectate and sit alone think hold what wait try a lil harder to file my thoughts thought hard about it I feel myself departing no longer hanging I the branch I've hanging on for way to long

I cant let me lose myself cuz I'm all I got I don't care what i was taught I'm not on the clock

Still so unsure what the game plan is but I'm getting more uncomfortable with uncertainty

Let myself stay close to home dont get lost all on my own but still complete that dont mean I want to compete

It's not hard to see that I'm socially inept. I'm begrudgingly accepting the fact that I don't mix with society cuz a part of me has always wanted to blend in but in my own way

Cant even keep track of these days constant reruns don't need the attention I dont want to be in your silly little club or a taste of the sweet life I dont ever want to be a wife

I want stay true to me but when I'm obstructing my own sight its really hard to see who I actually want to be

I went to wander and roam free think for myself try to make it on own but now I'm lost in this labyrinth that is everything I fear everything i hold dear lost in mind and seem to find this part of be that seems to be missing

I'm no longer okay please stay away

I've created a tailored hell just for to sink further into insanity no I don't need help. I'll do it by myself just go away

Or you'll have hell to pay I'm I'm toxic but not just cause I'm sick of all this shit of adjusting and trusting for them to not care what I think

But they dont have to but I'm of hearing bitching from someone whose so insignificant that try to be something superior to me

Why cant we see that were equally capable of maintaining a stable mindset but I know it just goes right over my headset manically depressed or just obsessed trying to breaking away when something's

Telling me I need to stay to find that there will always be pain clean up another blood stain refrain from buying a fresh blade

At a masquerade ball try to find my way but feeling more like im looking in fun house mirrors facing the fears I have of myself

Won't stop complicating everything thing I'm saying can't stop arguing with my self is there really a war going on in my head can't stand the hours I set here laying in bed waiting patiently silently debating constantly switching the side I stand on till I fall find myself laying in bed awake again

Not know how I left myself drifting so long

Being shifty but letting things slip out of control and I don't think I'm holding on to anything but my problems can't keep my promises

I just want to find the common denominator to all this mental labor. But I trapped myself within these these conflicting thoughts

the way I'm feeling can't say just what I'm thinking cant help how far I'm falling

I wont reach out for help... I don't need your help. I dont want your help I just run away from everything right now

Why are all my thoughts consistently conflicting wont stop contradicting what I try to put my mind too

Always finding new ways to contribute to the progression of humanity

I won't stop obsessing I can't bring myself to comply even if I have to lie

Whenever I stand up tall try to make myself different from you all but the universe is so much bigger than us all we don't realize how far we're actually falling

It gets me wondering to where I just sit alone pondering the possibilities of so many diverse realities

The perspectives of everyone. are enough to confuse anyone

Making you feel so discombobulated used to think everyone else was assimilated

Yet it still feels like ive been searching for so long feel my patience slowly slipping away

As my path remain unclear forced myself to stay say I was okay not knowing what that means to me

I fell away blindly moving to go forward into life I thought wanted still struggling to grow up and deal what I've been through not knowing what seems right I dont know how much longer I can stay fight

Wanted so bad to hold onto the mistakes I've learned from but I fell down a rabbit hole everything pulling me back into the habits I want to let go of

I don't know how to move forward I want to go but part of me won't budge

I need a nudge feel free to judge me but who am i judging really why am i comparing all of these people? because I wont let myself see when in comes down to it the only one that i got through it all is me and I need to focus on myself cuz I'm all I have for the long haul but I'm still not ready at all

afraid to receive affection or look at my own reflection not willing to stop and check my agenda hoping to get enough high that it will distract me from my health and keep me from falling into this paradox I call myself

I just have to keep deceiving myself so I cant trick everyone and so I Don't forget to smile and constantly contradict and contort so that they cant see me decaying and semi consciously constraining what im actually thinking because its wrong to think about all the bullshit the majority's put up with an If you can't help but think about it

Just pretend like your okay because that's how you run in the human race

Still can't help ask why I alive? Who is this mask? I'll follow their lead finish the task neglect what need

To fuel the fire that seeds my Insanity

Because I am alright I'm doing fine

I'll say that I'm okay so I dont bare the shame of running away

WARNING- Cats and Birds is a mob AU fanfiction of the Arcana game, and is not meant for young audiences and is not meant to offend anyone. Some writing choices were made so characters are out of their canon way of acting and thinking. Please do not be offended by character choices made by the authors and content creators, this story was made for fun and in the way we wanted it to be. The story was not hijacked by any of the authors to make any ships or characters overshadow any other. All content contained in this story has been agreed upon and accepted by all parties in it’s creation.

TW- Cats and Birds contains scenes that may not be suitable with some readers, including themes of violence, smoking/drug use, sex, cursing and various other strong themes. Special warnings for scenes will be posted with chapters. Proceed with caution and Reader’s discretion is advised.

9

The next morning, Rose shivered against ilya, waking up to a cold room. She wrapped herself in the blanket.

Julian stirred awake, he just laid there and didn’t bother to move, the barking had stopped sometime in the night so Julian wasn’t completely sleepless.

Morning darling.” Rose purred and kissed his neck, smiling “You were rough last night.”

“Hmmmm….you think?” He sighed, caressing her face.

“It was good. But that nickname wasnt your best idea. It was cute though.” She sighed

Julian blushed and hid underneath his pillow. Damn her. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?!??” He groaned into his mattress, her haunting was becoming increasingly annoying as long as that goddamned photo wasn’t burned to ash.

“D-did i do something again?” she looked at him, her smile dropping from her face.

Julian sat up in a hurry and cupped Rose’s face. “No! No darling! It’s not you! God it could never be you.” He sighed, “I think I’m being haunted is all.”

“.......” She looked at him, skeptical and stood up “Im...going to shower…” She picked up her clothes and mumbled.

With rage boiling in his blood Julian dug through the waste basket and tore the photo up. “Good riddance to you, you're ruining everything!” He shouted, the pieces fluttering to the floor. He tore the photo in a few big chunks but Julian was more disappointed in himself more than anyone.

As Rose showered, Plume was downstairs making plans for Rose's next trip heist. It would be a little longer than her last.

Julian was on torture that morning, he slipped on his black gloves, and faced the cell. His mind was not in the right place but a job had to be done.

“Alright. Our queen is heading out for a month or two to chicago. She’s going on a supply run and needs a companion.” Plume set down the map of the route as a few guys volunteered. Meanwhile, Rose was toweling off and packing her bags, mumbling to herself and trying to think if she’d done something to upset ilya. She hurt on the inside and wished she could just disappear into her bed.

He opened the cell and was met by two brown eyes. The woman who was handcuffed was big and she looked….really familiar.

The woman looked up, “look….if you’re here to torture me I already told the big fella that it was all a misunderstanding-“ her eyes flashed and she laughed. “Noooooo…..yes? It can’t be???”

Julian looked into the eyes of...Bèatrice.

“Bèa….what the hell are you doing here?” Julian growled.

Bea spat blood into the concrete. “I could say the same to you, you son of a bitch. We all thought you DIED.”

Julian could not handle this today, he rubbed his temples, “but that’s not why you're here.”

“Right…..I’m here because I was looking for Madeve your dog.” She explained, “he’s been getting out a lot recently and I’ve been helping get him home.”

He nodded and Bèa continued.

“What would she say if she knew you were here? Would she ever forgive you-“

Her words were cut short by a bullet to the head. Julian held the gun with shaking hands and stepped out from the cell. He was probably going to get a scolding from Plume, but it was worth not having to deal with this matter anymore.

Plume looked up from the map at the sound and growled “Damn it. Alright everyone, prep the queen and get ilya.”

Like clockwork Ilya was dragged to Plume. Julian with a blood splattered face was so done with everything and everyone.

“Who the fuck did you kill now you usesless dog?” Plume hissed, tossing the map into a bag and glaring at him.

“A trespasser.” Julian hissed crossing his arms over his chest.

“Whatever. Rose is leaving for a few months.” He pushed Julian into a chair “We’re getting her things ready.”

“I take it, I'm going with her.” He sighed, “I am pretty sure I’m the last person she wants to see currently.”

“It's up to you. She’s getting her clothes from your room right now.” He mumbled. Upstairs, rose was bending down to grab her shirt, pausing as she noticed torn pieces of paper on the floor. Carefully she looked at them, her heart sinking slightly as she saw a beautiful face she’d only seen in magazines. Her mind began to wander as she put the paper in her pocket. What was he doing with her torn picture? Was it an infatuation? Maybe it was just remnants of an old magazine…

Julian found Rose in his room. He smiled, wiping some stray blood from his cheek. “Well, I took care of the trespasser.”

“Huh? Oh...thanks.” Rose put her jacket on and fixed her hair, unimpressed.

“Did I piss you off again?” Julian frowned, “Rose, this is becoming a pattern and I would like for it not too.”

“No, I'm just busy and sore...sorry.” She sighed, going to the door, the ripped pieces in her pocket.

Julian sighed and began packing himself, meeting Rose out in the garage when he was done. “So we’re going all the way across the country. For supplies. “

“We? You're coming with me?” She put her bags in the back as plume nodded “Yes. and You two are fetching more artillery from our Chicago pride since we can't ship them anymore.”

“Perfect.” He smiled, tossing his bag in along with Rose’s. “Are we going in disguise this time?” His smile widened into a mischievous grin.

“Yep. Once you're in the city rose will be dressed as Mistress thorne and you” Plume tossed lingerie looking close at him “Will be her collared sub Thomas.” Plume laughed “No one questions the mistress.” It was a joke, but he didn't doubt ilya would play the part anyway.

Julian laughed, “ha! Good thing it’s a long drive it will give me plenty of time to get into character.”

“You'll keep your mouth shut.” Rose mumbled and got into the driver's seat.

“As my Mistress commands.” Julian bowed dramatically and got into the car.

Blasting music, rose took off to the highway, opening the window as they began the trip.

“The city seems strangely quiet today.” Julian sighed staring out the window, “we haven’t gone on a long trip together in a very long time.”

“Yeah… almost a year now.” she mumbled and glanced at him “New york last time.”

Julian chuckled, “That’s Right! That mission was an absolute disaster….but it was fun. And you had fun fucking me into oblivion.”

“Mhm. next time i'll gag and peg you with a strap.” She weaved her way through the streets, listening to an old rock song.

He unbuttoned his shirt slightly, his charismatic smirk on full display. “Just hearing you say that makes me hungry and excited.” He traced a gentle line from her cheek down her neck.

She slapped his hand away and huffed “I'm not touching you until we get to chicago.” Her voice growled “Then I'm going to make sure you submit and learn your place.”

Julian held up his hands in full surrender, shutting up. He instead brought his attention to the passing streets.

The ride was a long 10 hours until they finally stopped at an inn. It was pitch black outside as they got a room, Rose spent another hour nursing a blunt on the balcony. Her mind was full of memories of old lovers. Each had ended up leaving her for Hollywood models and performers, saying they were better than her. They had called her an alley cat, a mangy stray. And after finding that picture, rose was sure ilya was fantasizing about being with a performer. Someone prettier and more talented. She finished smoking and dropped her head, looking at old scars on her arms.

Julian wrapped his arms around her and hummed into her neck. “Someone is in the pits of despair” he chuckled, “ I thought I was going to get punished once we arrived.”

“In chicago. You have 15 more hours.” She looked at him “Cant a girl smoke in the night in peace?” She looked at the dark night.

He let her go, “alright I get it. You're upset I’ll leave you be.” He retreated back into the room. Mulling over what he did this time. Each answer leading to the one thing he had been fighting these past 2 weeks.

“It doesn't feel good, does it?” She whispered and looked at the moon “Gods, my papi would kill me for being this petty.”

Julian heavily sighed, “you think I haven’t been suffering? Your suffering makes me suffer! And aside from that, I’m still just suffering.”

Rose went into the bathroom to shower, sitting on the tiles as warm water hit her back. She got lost in thought, a few tears mixing with the water.

Julian flopped back on the bed. Rubbing his eyes in frustration. He wished that bullet had killed him, it would spare a lot of feelings and memories that were now causing issues.

Rose came back to the bed, laying down with her back to ilya, browsing her phone quietly and yawning.

He looked over at her, “I’m sorry.” He muttered.

“For what?” She mumbled, setting down her phone on the nightstand.

“For everything.” He sighed, “I’m sorry I stumbled upon your branch in Spain, I’m sorry you had to save me while I was bleeding out. I’m sorry I have made life so much worse for you. Rose I love you, but there are things that….haunt me. They have come back and it has affected our relationship, and I’m sorry!!! So so sorry!!”

“....Believe it or not… You're the best thing that's happened to me ilya.” She mumbled, looking at the wall “And i know there's shit that both of us deal with…. But i don't regret saving you. Or falling in love.”

Julian shook his head, “what if I regret being saved?”

“NO.” she sat up and glared at him “You shut the fuck up right now ilya. Don't ever say that.”

“...I CAN’T HELP IT ROSE!” He shouted sitting up. “I have been suppressing so much pain!”

“THEN WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LET IT OUT?! IF NOT TO ME THEN TO SOMEONE OR SOMETHING ELSE?!” She got out of bed, her eyes stinging as she went and locked herself in the bathroom.

Julian punched the wall and fell back into the bed. Rubbing his eyes, he tore his eye patch off and rubbed his bad eye. Trying to prevent everything from coming out.

Time, Space, and Texting: Chapter 2

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THIS IS A SPACESHIP

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: WE’RE FOUR DAYS’ TRAVEL FROM THE TARDIS 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: On the other hand, General Eve Cicero is here 😍😍😍 what a legend!

AO3 Chapter 1

RyanS: GUYS I’M SO BORED

RyanS: WERE STUCK IN THIS WEIRD HOSPITAL AND THE DOCTORS NOT AWAKE

yaz01: is now really the time ryan

RyanS: YES

bad-wolf-girl: is the doctor okay?

yaz01: the medics say she’ll be fine. we got hit with some sort of weird space bomb but these people are taking care of us.

Graham O’Brien: Are we really texting right now?

yaz01: that’s what i said.

The Captain: When you say weird space bomb…

Graham O’Brien: I think one of the medics said “sonic mine.”

RyanS: theyre trying to find our medtags now. taking bets on how long it takes them to realize we havent got any

The Captain: A sonic mine? You know how lucky you are to be alive, right?

RyanS: picking up on it yeah

yaz01: hold on a sec, dr’s awake

DoctorJones: In the meantime, I’ve finally convinced Mickey to check his phone.

mickeyrick: hey, it’s been a while. heard there’s a new doctor. or however that works.

RyanS: might want to read up a bit

yaz01: ryan! get off your phone!

RyanS: you’re on your phone!

yaz01: only to get your attention! come on!

bad-wolf-girl: so we’ll just assume they’re busy, then

bad-wolf-girl: anyone meet any cool aliens lately?

cyberbill: heather and i went to a planet that was nothing but ocean. pretty cool.

oswin: you two are made of water or something, right?

oswin: suppose you were right at home there

cyberbill: yeah pretty much.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THIS IS A SPACESHIP

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: WE’RE FOUR DAYS’ TRAVEL FROM THE TARDIS 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: On the other hand, General Eve Cicero is here 😍😍😍 what a legend!

The Captain: Whoa, really?

The Captain: *The* Eve Cicero? Named in the Book of Celebrants?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: The very one!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyway, got to go, I’m walking.

yaz01: while she’s doing that. cyberbill, did you say you’re made of water?

cyberbill: just bill. and long story, but yeah

RyanS: i give up making sense of you lot

yaz01: sometime i’d like to hear the long story!

cyberbill: well, sounds like you all are going to have time to read, at least. four days away from the tardis and all that.

RyanS: yeah n now the doctor’s gone off who knows where so we dont even have her whole crisis to deal with

cyberbill: i don’t even know where to start. to be honest, i’m not sure i even understand it all. but my crush got taken by this sort of water thing, and then i was a cyberman for a bit, and next thing i knew i was water.

cyberbill: heather says it’s all just atoms. she’s better with all this than i am

cyberbill: someday i’ll add her in here. don’t know if she’d say much.

The Captain: We’re all dying to meet her.

cyberbill: or *you’re* dying to meet her

oswin: oi, i’m already dying. don’t add this into it!

yaz01: you’re dying?

oswin: long story

yaz01: you all keep saying that

oswin: fair enough. basically i’m frozen in the moment right before i died. but i can still move around. so i’ve stolen a tardis and i’m running around in it now

RyanS: im beginning to understand how the doctor picks her friends

RyanS: ur all completely mad

oswin: not sure what that says about you, then

RyanS: oh i’ll accept me being mad too, that’s fine

johnsmith42: nothing wrong with a bit of madness!

bad-wolf-girl: says the man who reconfigured our entire television to not use the color green

johnsmith42: I don’t like green! what’s wrong with that?

bad-wolf-girl: everything shows in shades of red and blue now

bad-wolf-girl: good thing i figured out how to encase my laptop in dalekanium

bad-wolf-girl: for all their faults, Daleks are pretty good at indestructible metal

johnsmith42: for the record, I would NEVER mess with your laptop

yaz01: daleks?

oswin: oh boy

johnsmith42: VERY dangerous aliens. do NOT approach.

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sure you’ll meet one someday. they tend to pop up around the doctor.

yaz01: why?

bad-wolf-girl: that’s really her story to tell, sorry

yaz01: fair enough, i guess.

RyanS: glad ur computers safe

bad-wolf-girl: yeah me too

mickeyrick: so i finished reading up. sounds like you’re having a bit of a time.

mickeyrick: when the doctor gets back tell her i like her jacket

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m back! 👋

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Oh, hello, Mickey! Thanks! 🤗

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyway, there’s something *very bad* going on. 👎😱👾😲

Graham O’Brien: And you’re spending time picking out emojis?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Doesn’t take that long! 😡😡😡

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: ANYWAY. Something’s on board and it’s killed Astos. Ryan, Graham, Yaz, be careful.

RyanS: wed better go find her hadnt we

yaz01: yep

DoctorJones: Be safe!

bad-wolf-girl: good luck!

mickeyrick: i’m remembering why i never come in this chat

mickeyrick: my life might be dangerous but at least it makes sense

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyone know anything about something called a “Pting?”

bad-wolf-girl: you have a pting on your ship?

bad-wolf-girl: we came across one of those a few years back

bad-wolf-girl: didn’t exactly go very well

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sure you’ll be fine though

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: That’s not encouraging!!! 😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We’re looking it up in the ship’s systems 😬

bad-wolf-girl: all you need to know is it eats *everything*

bad-wolf-girl: and its skin is toxic

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: 😱😱😱

The Captain: oh, boy

The Captain: Doctor, I’m going to need you to check in with us frequently until this one’s over

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Will do.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Got to think. What do we do???

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THE SHIP’S GOT A BOMB IN IT 😱

johnsmith42: what???

The Captain: well, that’s a check-in, I suppose

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: It’s a Tsuranga ship, there’s a self-destruct in case anything happens that makes the ship a danger to the planet on which it lands.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: But we are NOT going to be a danger!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We are going to SOLVE THIS.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: So the bomb is really unfair!

bad-wolf-girl: too bad life isn’t fair i guess

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Oi!!! You shut up!!!

bad-wolf-girl: 😘

Amy: hey everybody! what’s up!

bad-wolf-girl: doctor’s in danger, the rest of us are laughing at her to hide our worry

Amy: must be Tuesday

bad-wolf-girl: pretty much

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: AMY! Hi Amy!

Amy: hey, doctor!

Amy: oh, never mind. looks like you have bigger things to do than talk in this groupchat

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m procrastinating 😔😓 can’t think of a plan!!! 😬😬😬 Don’t worry, I’ll get there!

yaz01: doctor, we’re on our way back

yaz01: have you been talking to your friends this *whole time*?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Don’t worry! I almost have a plan!

yaz01: i can’t believe i trust you with my life!

Amy: but you do…

Amy: it’s a trap we all fall into

Amy: side note, but is this version of the Doctor somehow more of a mess than the last two?

johnsmith42: *definitely* more of a mess than me.

bad-wolf-girl: keep telling yourself that 😘

johnsmith42: I will, thanks.

RyanS: ABOUT TO HELP DELIVER A MANS BABY WISH US LUCK

Amy: ???????

The Captain: Good luck!

bad-wolf-girl: good luck!

Amy: what happened to the alien?

cyberbill: something tells me they might be a little too busy to talk right now

oswin: good luck!

oswin: oops i’m too late

yaz01: THERE’S NO INTERNET TUTORIAL FOR STAZING A PTING

oswin: are those real words?

oswin: you’ve got to be careful. i swear the doctor likes to just make up words.

bad-wolf-girl: i second that.

bad-wolf-girl: i still make up words for everything i don’t understand and i blame him...

bad-wolf-girl: marrying his clone can’t have helped.

johnsmith42: oh, you love me

bad-wolf-girl: 😘😘😘

oswin: careful… use that many emojis at once and you’ll get confused for the doctor

bad-wolf-girl: lol

DoctorJones: Hold on… is everyone all right?

oswin: seems like the jury’s out

oswin: i’m fine tho

DoctorJones: Ryan, do you need help? I’m an *actual* doctor on Earth.

yaz01: not sure human medicine is entirely applicable

yaz01: but there’s a medic doing the heavy lifting, don’t worry

yaz01: ryan and graham are being doulas

yaz01: OH SHLJKKDSA

DoctorJones: Yaz?

bad-wolf-girl: everything all right?

oswin: what happened?

Amy: yaz???

yaz01: sorry yeah everything’s fine

yaz01: just drop kicked a pting nothing to see here

yaz01: dropped my phone mid-message

yaz01: sorry about that

DoctorJones: Glad you’re all right.

yaz01: yeah me too

yaz01: but no time to talk drs here

oswin: good luck

oswin: side note i just found a planet with six-headed lizards

cyberbill: what, you mean like the hydra?

oswin: yeah!

oswin: think they came to earth and inspired the ancient greeks?

Amy: doubt it

Amy: anyone can think up a many-headed dragon

oswin: true enough. anyway i’m going to go explore. ttyl

Amy: have fun!

mickeyrick: anyone else *really worried* about this whole alien-spaceship situation?

Amy: they’ll get out of it

DoctorJones: The Doctor does have a knack for getting out of these sorts of things. I’m sure they’ll be fine.

bad-wolf-girl: doesn’t always end well though

Amy: she’s had time to come up with a plan now

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Hi everybody I’m brilliant!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Pting ate the bomb and now all we have to do is get the ship to Resus One, and then we can go right on back to the TARDIS.

Amy: told you!

bad-wolf-girl: nice!!!

RyanS: this babys so cute i might cry

Graham O’Brien: Not because of the heartwarming conversation you just had or anything.

RyanS: no its just really cute

RyanS: im serious its so little

RyanS: did you know they make people that little

RyanS: its fingers

RyanS: are tiny

yaz01: ryan have you ever seen a baby before

RyanS: leave me alone yaz!!!

DoctorJones: Is the dad doing all right?

RyanS: yeah hes fine

RyanS: hes gonna be such a good dad

RyanS: but thats not why i might cry i swear

RyanS: (grahams looking at me funny :-( )

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Bad news. General Cicero is dead.

Graham O’Brien: Oh, goodness.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We’re going to be holding a funeral in the engine room. Ryan, Graham, do you think Yoss will want to come?

RyanS: ill ask

RyanS: he says yes

Graham O’Brien: Be there in a moment, Doc.

The Captain: Quite a loss.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I know. 😢

DoctorJones: May she rest in peace.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She lived a good life.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Died saving us.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She had pilot’s heart. Knew she had pilot’s heart. Took over control of the ship anyway.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: All the emojis in my name are seeming really inappropriate right about now. 😢😢😢

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sorry doctor

Amy: I’ll add her to the list.

Amy: General Eve Cicero?

yaz01: the list?

bad-wolf-girl: when people die we add them to a list

bad-wolf-girl: we make a point of remembering them every so often

bad-wolf-girl: roughly once a year in the timeline of whoever’s holding the list

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: General Eve Cicero is right.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Also add Astos.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: He was the medic who died.

Amy: got it

<document: the list>

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Thanks, Amy. 💙

Amy: no problem

yaz01: wait, how often do people die??? this is a *long* list

bad-wolf-girl: this is over the course of maybe a thousand years in the doctor’s timeline

bad-wolf-girl: it’s a dangerous life, yaz

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m sorry. I did warn you.

yaz01: yeah i know

yaz01: took me by surprise i guess

The Captain: General Cicero is 116th century, right?

The Captain: from Keeba?

The Captain: I know those funeral rites

The Captain: they’re beautiful

The Captain: I hope they carry her well

bad-wolf-girl: what’re they like?

The Captain: Keeba’s a solar system full of voyagers

The Captain: there wasn’t any life there until it got developed

The Captain: so their rituals and ceremonies assume every religion is real and has value.

The Captain: it depends on which planet she’s from and where her family’s from

The Captain: but they tend to involve everyone standing in a circle and speaking together.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: That’s exactly right. We had her android consort lead.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She’s been laid to proper rest now. Among the stars. 🌠

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: And we’re almost to Resus One, which’ll teleport us back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Not sure my ectospleen’ll ever be the same, though.

RyanS: not sure your ectospleens our biggest concern

yaz01: i think she just fell asleep

johnsmith42: well, she’s clearly had a long day.

Graham O’Brien: I’ll say. I’m about to fall asleep myself.

RyanS: you do that

RyanS: im gonna go see if yoss will let me hold his baby brb

Our story Ch.3

She knew choosing to be with Simon meant he didn’t want kids or to be married, and thats what she always wanted as a little girl, and now knew that would never happen, but she was willing to accept the reality when she chose to be with him. As Paula was watching the children, Simon noticed “Are you okay darling?” Simon asked “Hm? Oh yeah, I was just thinking..” Paula answered. “Are you sure? We can go back to the hotel if you don’t feel good” Paula gave a quick smile, “It’s just my back, from walking all day, are you sure you don’t mind if we go back” she asked. “Of course not” he said as he put his arm around her back and leaned over to kiss the top of her head.

-At the hotel-

They walk into the room and Paula takes off her shoes and goes to sit down, and Simon meets her. As he walked over to the couch, he saw her hand on her lower back and her face was winced in pain. He genuinely felt bad that she had to deal with something that hurt her like this, and his first instinct was to comfort her. He went over, and sat next to her and rubbed her back with his hand. “Do you want to go to lay down?”He asked. “Yes, it helps most of the time ” she said, then he helped her up and over to the bed. “Do you want me to get you anything” he asked. “No, I’ll be fine.” Paula said as she found a comfortable spot on the bed. Simon noticed the scars she had, because of the halter top she was wearing, and he traced one with his hand . Are these from your surgeries?” He asked quietly “Yeah, I’ve had 12 of them to try to help, but its only made it worse” she said “My god...I had no idea” Simon started. “It’s okay, some days are better than others” she said. Simon looked at all the scars on her and felt bad he had never talked to her about her pain before. He moved to her lower back, and heard her let out a small moan. He then leaned down and kissed one of her more prominent scars, slowly making his way to her neck and Paula slowly turned over, shifting herself under Simon. He continued kissing her neck, while Paula ran her hand through his hair,taking the moment in, and Simon placed a trail of kisses to her lips. “You’re so beautiful” he said through the kiss. “Simon...” Paula said as he moved back to her neck, but was too quiet for Simon to hear. A tear began to run down her cheek as she had a flashback to Jt. “Simon..” she said, trying not to sound scared. Simon heard her, and pulled away. “Darling.. Are you alright? ” He asked as he saw the tear on her cheek, as he sat up. . “I’m sorry I...I cant” She said as she fought back the tears she already felt. “I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to..Are you all right?” He asked as he took her hand in his . “No it wasn’t you..Its just I haven’t..been with anyone since Jt” She said once she caught her voice. “Are you sure? I feel absolutely horrible.” He said. She nodded her head. “It’s okay,I know” she said . “I just..I could never do...what he did.” Simon said. Paula kissed his cheek “Its okay I know. It wasn’t you, you don’t have to apologize Simon...” She asked. “Is there anything I can do?” He asked “just hold me” “come to simey” He said as he patted his knee and held his arm up for her. Paula went on his lap as she buried her face in his chest. Simon wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head.

- A month later

It was early in the morning, and Paula was downstairs making coffee. Simon was up stairs getting ready for a meeting he had to go to for American Idol, and Paula was about to leave for a meeting she had for a dance company she was going to buy. Simon had moved into Paula’s house about a week after they came back from Hawaii, and everyone knew they were dating. Paula’s and Simon’s mothers were both very excited they were finally together, and always wanted them to get married. Simons mother was always very fond of Paula, and saw her as the daughter she never had. Paula’s mother saw how different she was around him, and could tell she had never been happier. She noticed the way Simon would look at her, how he talked about her, and how he would hold her, and she had never seen anyone treat her as well as Simon did. Paula was just poring Simons coffee for him as he walked into the kitchen. He hugged her from behind and gave her a kiss on her cheek. “You look beautiful in that suit darling” he said as Paula turned around. “Thank you, and you look handsome in that color” she said as she reached up to fix his collar. “Mmm, you smell good too. Im going to be late,but I made your coffee for you, and don’t forget we have the realator coming over at 2 today. I should be home by then” Paula said as she reached up to give him a kiss. “Is that today? I’ll call you when I’m done. I love you” he said as Paula walked away. She smiled “I love you too” she answered as she reached the door. “Paula, wait. Have you seen my keys?” He asked “Yeah, they’re on the table by the front door.” She said.

- A few hours later

Paula was on her way to her sisters house,to have lunch when her phone rang while she was sitting in traffic. She reached for her purse and dug her phone out, thinking it was Simon. “Hello?” She answered “Hello, Im looking for Paula Abdul” a friendly female voice answered. “Hi, yes, this is her” Paula answered. “Yes, my name is Lisa. I’m a nurse at Cedar Sinai hospitals’ emergency room department. We have a patient here by the name of Simon Cowell. There has been an accident, and we need you to come in as soon as possible. You can ask for me when you reach the third floor.” The woman replied. “What? Yes that’s my boyfriend. Is he okay? What happened?” Paula said as she felt tears begin to form. “I’m sorry ma’am but we aren’t able to release that information. We just need you to come in right away. Does he have any other family I can call?” She asked. “No, they all live in England. Im on my way, I’ll be there in 15 minutes” Paula said. She arrived at the hospital about 20 minutes later, because of traffic. She rushed up to the third floor and went to the nurses station she saw. “Hi, I’m looking for a nurse named Lisa from your Emergency Room department. she called me about my boyfriend, Simon. Is he okay?” She asked. The nurse at the desk typed something in the computer. “Yes, Paula? I’ll page her for you” she smiled.

About a minute later a nurse walked up to her. “Hi, Paula? I’m Lisa” she reached out to shake her hand. “Hi, so how is he? What happened?” Paula asked. “Your boyfriend was in a serious motor vehicle accident. A truck hit the front of his car head on. The driver didn’t make it, but Simon is in the ICU. He has a concussion, two broken ribs, and a lot of torn ligaments in his right shoulder, and he is pretty bruised, but he is going to be okay. I’ll get the doctor for you, and he can let you know more. He will need surgery for his shoulder” the nurse told her. Paula felt the tears run down her face “Is..is he awake? Can I see him, please” Paula said through tears. “Yes, he has to stay awake because of the concussion. Follow me, I’ll take you to his room.” The nurse put her arm around Paula and led her to a door and stopped. “Here he is, go ahead, talk to him, he’s been asking for you” the nurse said, and walked away. Paula slowly opened the door and walked up to his bed. He was barely awake because of the pain meds he was on. She sat down beside him, and held his hand, as the tears ran down her face. She tried to wipe them away but they kept streaming down her face. “Simon, it’s me..I’m right here..its going to be okay honey. If you can hear me..I love you” she wiped her tears away again, as Simon slowly opened his eyes. “Paula..I’m sorry..” he said as he tried to breath through the pain. “No, honey, it wasn’t your fault. Someone hit your car. It’s going to be okay, I’m here” she said as she wiped the tears away, then held his hand to her cheek, then kissed it. “Don’t cry darling. I’m okay. I love you” He said as he held her hand.”I love you too”. She said as she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

-3 days later

Simon was in surgery, and Paula was waiting in the waiting room for the doctor to come out. She had stayed by Simons side and hadn’t left the whole time she was there. She was drinking her third cup of coffee that morning to stay awake. She had barely slept or ate the three days she was there despite the wonderful nurses bringing her food and insisting she get some rest. Just then the doctor walked in and walked up to her and smiled “Good news, the surgery went good, he did great. He’s still in recovery, and recovery shouldn’t be to bad, he should be himself with in a few weeks, but he will be sore” The doctor said. “Thank you! Doctor you have been amazing. Can I see him?” She asked. “He will still be a while.I know you haven’t left him since he came in. You should go home, take a shower, eat...sleep. He will be in good hands, he needs you to take care of yourself too. I’ll let him know you’ll be back” The doctor said. Paula hesitated. “I just don’t want anything to happen to him. I don’t..” Paula started. “He would want you to rest, just take a couple of hours for yourself” he said. Paula bit her lip. “I guess a quick shower wouldn’t hurt....thank you doctor” she shook his hand and he gave her a hug.

June 23: Ships that pass in the night (Chapter Three)

So Roots was a story I was going to write about Ruby growing up as a trans girl & figuring out her identity, as well as unraveling the mystery of “why do ruby and yang have different last names? and who is Summer?” but it’s mostly a story about Yang and Summer

When I started writing it we knew NOTHING about Yang, Ruby, or Summer, so in this story Yang isn’t Ruby’s sister, but Summer is. Their dad is named Ash Rose and I never gave their mother a name. Naturally a lot of shit got jossed so I dropped it but @arulaen reminded me I’ve never posted the whole story. I’m literally never going to write any more but I did like the ideas I had. (And it’s very On Brand for the shit I like). 

Anyway, in the last chapter of Roots we met the death-predicting cat named Grimm. (This is based on a real cat.) Summer watches that cat with dread as over the next few days he goes to every single person she saved in the hospital, just hours before they die, until there’s only one person left. Summer is sick with grief at not being able to save these people, and Ruby sees being a huntress isn’t all heroism and fairy tales.

Summer hates that cat. Ruby feels a little bad for him and suggest that maybe predicting death is like his Semblance, he didn’t choose it : ( don’t be mean to the cat, sis. Summer  stays with that last patient until one day Grimm comes back. He always wanders around but every time she sees him, Summer gets a little heart attack. Please take me instead, she thinks weakly, sleep-deprived and weary from days spent in the hospital watching over the sole survivor. Please let me save just one person.

Maybe it worked, maybe it didn’t, maybe Summer was praying to a cat. But Grimm never swings by and the last person survives and recovers and wakes up. Her name, of course, is Yang Xiao Long.

Her family is gone so Summer begs Ash to adopt Yang.

There’s a bit of a legal dilemma where Ash tries to adopt Yang but it never goes through. Something something but he’s able to keep her in his family as his apprentice, but it’s tenuous, and the threat of her being sent into the foster system is high. Summer makes her father promise, swear on his life, that he’ll never let Yang be alone and afraid ever again.

Summer immediately and strongly forms a deep attachment to the only survivor of the grimm attack. But Yang lost most of her memory, didn’t remember Summer saved her life, & Summer is a repressed little jerk and doesn’t know how to talk about feelings. It’s a bit of a “pull on your pigtails cause I like you” thing which Yang, understandably, does not appreciate. She keeps her hair short out of spite.

Yang doesn’t ever recover her memories but it’s heavily implied she harnessed her semblance at that young age and that’s how she was able to survive. But she doesn’t know how to use it now. So Summer tries giving her “tough love”, training her how to be a huntress and telling her things like “In this world you need to learn how to fight for survival or else you’ll rely on people like me saving you over and over again & I’m not always going to be there. On top of that if you don’t make it as a huntress, Ash can’t keep you as his apprentice!” and Yang is like “fuck you!!! I don’t need you to save me and I never did and I never will! I’m gonna be a huntress, & I’m gonna be BETTER THAN YOU”

Not only that, but Summer and Yang would get into constant fights over how to raise Ruby, as both of them see themselves as her older sister / mother figure.

“Stop being so rough with her! She’s just a kid!”

“If you think that’s rough, you should see the games we play at Signal >:)”

Summer is much more harsh and is the “toss you into the lake so you learn how to swim” borderline abusive kind of teacher. Yang is much more gentle, so Ruby and Yang obviously become very close very fast. 

Summer feels a little left out as she leaves for Beacon. Yang gets accepted into Signal and continues training Ruby until Ruby joins her. It’s a rough two years for Ruby, who retreats inside herself more than ever.  Ruby and Summer keep in touch but the relationship gets pretty chilly.

(More bullshit about how Yang and Ruby want to be legal sisters so bad, so bad, Ruby feels guilty for sometimes lying awake at night, sleeping in the same bed as Yang, thinking if only Yang were my real sister and not---)

Summer rarely comes home because she prefers the independence of life at Beacon (she didn’t get along with Ash, either). She’s very selfish and rude and mean and a lone wolf and gets into trouble a lot, but she’s the best huntress of her generation and everyone knows it. 

Meanwhile Ruby is slowly breaking out of her shell and making new friends at Signal, but she hasn’t come out to anyone except Yang. 

So when Summer finally comes back to visit them in person it’s been years since they’ve seen each other in the flesh. Ruby & Yang have both grown up and Yang is about to graduate from Signal. Ruby comes out to Summer and Summer is extremely excited and supportive! (she always knew tbh, ever since Ruby chose her new name)

Summer & Yang are both kinda tomboyish and they’re both :\ about Ruby being super femme, but they go halfsies on buying her a brand spankin new super fluffy hyper femme wardrobe, because goddamn you if you’re going to try and outspoil her on my watch, she’s MY Sister

The trip home ends on an unusually high note, and Summer and Yang grow much closer because they finally realize the most important thing they have in common is they would set the world on fire if it meant protecting Ruby. Summer also comes to grudgingly respect Yang’s strength as a huntress, because she’s top of her class and gunning for all of Summer’s old records.

 Take that, bitch.

So on a whim Summer demands that Yang write to her as often as Ruby does. Yang agrees, but half-heartedly, and both of them expect nothing to come of it. But Yang keeps up regular correspondence with Summer, and grudgingly starts to respect her as an adult huntress-to-be. She actually writes letters to Summer more often than Ruby does, which makes Ruby feel very “:)??”

Summer isn’t that much older than Yang but she’s on an accelerated course (as Ruby later would be). 

So she graduates Beacon and comes home again as a legal adult, and a huntress, and she asks Yang to marry her.

Yang:

Summer: Don’t get it twisted. This is just so that you can join our family. I’m aroace anyway, like Ruby is (and also probably our uncle Qrow) and I’m not interested in anything else from you.

In Summer’s eyes, it’s a win-win situation. She can finally relax, knowing that Yang will always be taken care of. And Yang gets what she always wanted, which is to be Ruby’s sister. (Plus, Summer gets a pay bonus if she’s married. Cha-ching!) Since she’s like 19 and an idiot this seems like a great setup.

Yang is like “I’m 16 dude” and Summer is like “yea? so?” and yang is like “I can’t get married as a kid that’s like leaving the party at nine o’clock” and summer is like “well who else are you gonna marry :\” and Yang is like “IDK!! maybe nobody! Maybe somebody I love!” and Summer is like “you're making a real big deal out of this” 

Yang: “you’re not making big ENOUGH of a deal out of it!” 

Summer: “I’m proposing a solution and you’re shitting all over it! RAAAH!!!!!”

Yang: “You’re proposing one? ;D wait shit this isn’t the time for jokes im mad as hell!”

Summer gives her the ring and tells her to think about it. Summer is already wearing hers, because she’s always been a cocky motherfucker. 

Fast forward a few years to Weiss’ POV for a few chapters. She’s crushing hard on Yang, her team mate at Beacon, but refuses to admit it. Ruby is on an accelerated track just like Summer was. There’s a few episodes of them dealing with problems and a few missions and Ruby finds out that Summer was involved in some shady stuff before she died. Really shady stuff. Yang has no opinion but she winds up defending Summer and Ruby is like :\

So there’s increasingly weird things happening and then someone even tries to set fire to the school! Everyone abandons ship... but Ruby is like “NO! NO!!” and fighting Yang like a wildcat trying to get back inside

Yang: wtf is your problem!? Ruby: Summer’s in there! Yang immediately changes tack and they both jump into the flaming inferno.

Weiss: (who the fuck is summer? and WHY IS THIS MY TEAM OH MY GOD)

Ruby and Yang jump right into the flames and recover one of the only photos of the three of them that they have. They do some cool shit with their semblances to put out the fire. Ruby recovers the photo and Yang comes out, all smiles, and is like “Oh Weiss I saved some of your stuff too :) and Blake’s too of course”

Blake: My heroes Weiss: (why do I have a crush on this idiot why is my face this hot)

Yang also saved the rings. She now wears them both on a necklace.

Ozluminati shenanigans are rampant and the tournament is used as an excuse for some BAD GUYS to storm the school and try to find something really precious hidden underneath. (Another big part of the reason I dropped Roots was because they wound up using this plot point in canon, hahaha.)

So naturally the leader of the bad guys is.... SUMMER?! And she’s got a cool robot arm, because robot arms are sick. Weiss sees Yang and Ruby are especially rattled because... well, there’s not a lot of time to explain. 

Summer: Why’d you cut your hair short? You know I like your hair long Ruby: PIXIE CUTS ARE VERY IN THESE DAYS WAIT WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS

Somewhere in here I was going to have a #romantic moonlit scene where Yang explains that they never recovered Summer’s body but they recovered The Ring and Summer was her... fiancee? maybe? She doesn’t even know, they were both stupid kids, it probably wouldn’t have happened. But the fact remains that Summer dying meant that Yang lost... so much. (Weiss: wow Yang is so tormented and beautiful mmmm im gay)

But they have to RACE SUMMER THROUGH A LABYRINTH OF TRAPS N SHIT underneath beacon. Blake and Weiss team up to fight other people and let the sisters go thru THE MAZZZZE. 

And of course there’s one room that traps Ruby and Summer together and they have to fight! And it’s the last room and The Artifact is right there within reach and if you want it you have to get through me, Summer! and Summer is like Ozpin is using you! He’s using you like he used me and I am NOT the bad guy here! and Ruby is like You don’t get to say that after hurting innocent people! 

Yang is trapped just outside unable to do anything but watch because #magic force fields or something, and it’s just like a sick twisted repeat of when they were kids and Summer would abuse Ruby under the guise of toughening her up. And Summer beats the dogshit out of her and is like There’s nothing you can do! I’ve always been the stronger Rose and this Artifact is mine cause I’m the only one who can use it! and ruby is like WHYYYYY SISTER!!! and Summer is like I’m in debt to some Bad People, Ruby... people who make me and Ozpin look like angels!

Ruby is like What do they want with this artifact then? and summer is like lol.... not my problem. B)

And she pushes Ruby over the edge and then suddenly Ruby gets Red Eyes.

Summer: oh shit

Turns out the Artifact is something that lets you leech other people’s semblances? And it’s attuned to her?! So Ruby has Summer’s AND Yang’s and her own semblance and bang! she beats Summer and takes the Artifact and the force fields all drop. Backup swiftly arrives and Ruby is a big weepy bleeding mess as they take Summer away to HUNTRESS PRISON or w/e.

So then the story starts winding down with Yang Weiss Blake and Ruby talking to Ozpin, very “Dumbledore explains everything at the end of the book” where Ozpin is like “this artifact is a part of a great prophecy and it said that the daughter of [some old ruby ancestor] would take it one day :\ I thought it was Summer but now I realize it’s you, Ruby” 

and ruby is like “what! I don’t wanna be a part of a big prophecy, I have normal knees!” 

and Ozpin is like “mmmm But Thou Must Ruby and now we’re going to leave it really vague! Dangling plot threads! Who was Summer working for? Maybe Cinder? Xekstrin didn’t plan for a sequel.”

So Yang visits Summer in Huntress Prison to ask her questions. Weiss is there for emotional support and DEFINITELY not because she wants to see this ex-fiancee of Yang’s out of jealousy. Ruby is basically like Summer is dead to me

Yang offers the rings to Summer but summer is like “nah, you keep them. that’s contraband ;)” Summer doesn’t seem defeated at all and, throwing everyone off, keeps the tone very light and almost nostalgic.

Weiss leaves determined to keep her feelings for Yang under wraps. She doesn’t want to burden her friend with them. 

The story ends with Yang thinking about the last time she saw Summer before Summer faked her death. They’d stayed up all night talking and fell asleep in the same bed. It’s sort of like what Yang does with Ruby sometimes, but Ruby is her sister and Summer is..... Summer.

Yang wakes up first and watches Summer in her sleep. She’s considering the proposal, even though Summer has been more withdrawn lately, and taking on more dangerous missions, and looking haggard like something is chasing her even in her dreams...

Summer wakes up and sleepily runs her left hand through Yang’s hair. Half-awake, she mutters “You look like an angel with the sun in your hair like that. You should let it grow out so you can be this pretty when we get married.”

It’s just an idle comment, but the idea is like a seed, slowly taking root in Yang’s heart.

Haechan || I'll Make It Up To You (ang/f.)

+Where his instincts cause a girl to be put in the hospital, feeling guilty he decides to make it up to her somehow only to find he may feel more than guilty towards her+ "Kill me now!" My friend groaned while slamming her head on her locker. "With pleasure." I roll my eyes only to have her glare at me. "What's wrong now you angsty millennial?" I ask as she takes her books from my arms and shoves them in to her cramped locker. Highschool. We all hate it whether it's academics or the people there. I for one hate both, I mean academics aren't the worst but they aren't the best either. However, the people are another story. Of course I had my own group of friends but there were more groups such as the scene kids, the drama kids, vegans, potheads etc. I wasnt much for labels but sadly this is what society conditions us to consider. "Mark hasn't talked to me in a while.... I just think something is up you know?" I scoffed and waited for her to close her locker so we could start walking to my locker. "I don't, honey incase you forgot I dont know anything about the anatomy of said male species." I said, she glared at me again this time I knew it was serious. "Im sorry kiddo it's just when it comes to boys I'm not the one you should be coming to." I gave her shoulder a pat before walking ahead of her to catch my locker. She leaned on the locker beside mine and frowned, it was a sunny day but with her it felt really cloudy. "Just talk to him, maybe he's just going through something and needs some space...." I trailed off as I noticed the red liquid ooze out of my locker like honey. "Ah! What the fuck!" My friend shrieked and grabbed my shoulder to pull me back with her. "What in the...." I looked around to see who could've done this only to find myself groaning internally. "Of fucking course it was her it's always her." I muttered and closed my locker. "Sorry babe I'll catch up to you later!" I said as I walked straight to my class. As I entered all eyes were on me, of course they would there was fake blood all over me who wouldn't even glance? "What's your deal?" I said angrily to the blonde girl with the black oily roots who stood there just smirking at me obviously finding my anger amusing. "You're so stupid! All my books were in there you fucking idiot, sorry to break it to you but unlike you I can't tell my daddy to buy me something everytime I want! you little spoiled bitch!" It wasn't common of me to be so angry usually I wouldn't care but something about the fact that ALL my shit was there really pissed me off. She was smirking at me but suddenly dropped the smirk only to replace it with tears. I stood back in surprise and turned around only to make eye contact with to ever to lovely Haechan. Of course, just when I was at my worst he had to appear. He dropped his backpack and literally ran towards the crying girl, "What the fuck is your problem?!" He yelled at me as he put the her behind him in a protective manner. I was way beyond angry, beyond furious, there was no word to describe it all I know is that there was probably smoke coming out of my nostrils. "I don't know who you think you are but she's playing victim and right now you look stupid defending the wrong per-" I was cut off by his angry shove which left me literally flying across the room like some person in some stupid overrated action movie. All I could hear was gasps of shock, my vision was getting blury from the tears if pain. My head was banging and my ears were ringing before suddenly I knocked out. 2:45pm I laid in the hospital bed not yet awake but very aware of my surroundings. Feeling like I was stalling too much I decided to finally open my eyes so that I could intake my surroundings properly. "Oh look a chair, oh look another chair, hey~ it's a window...." I said to myself with full sarcasm. I felt something tight on my head so out of instinct I reached up to snatch it off only to realize it was a band that was probably put there to help close up the wound that kid caused. "That stupid kid, if only he knew...." I huffed. "Oh Miss y/n! I see you're finally awake! We're currently talking to your parents you'll be out of here in no time!" The nurse smiled and she walked over to me, I thankfully nodded and turned my attention elsewhere. Wait till I get my hands on you Haehcan just you wait. ||The next day|| Sleeping was a pain. My head was constantly banging, my nose was stuffed, my hair was tied into this weird thing, I felt like I was sleeping with a condom on my fucking head. I was angry. "Mom no. You can't be serious!" I argued, it was only a few ten hours after my discharge from the hospital and instead of my required rest I was to be sent to stress in my ever so lovely school. "Hon, it's for the best there will be no one here and at least if you faint this time someone will be able to do something about it." She gave me a stern look signaling she was not about to argue anymore meaning all I could do was just sigh in defeat. "Now hurry and get dressed!" She yelled from the other room. || 7:00am|| I'm not very fond of hats or anything but today was one of those days where I was forced to put something on my head to avoid questions about why I have a bandage on my crusty ass forehead. As I walked through the halls I was relieved to only have stares being thrown at me and not meaningless conversations. I walked closer to my locker expecting a huge mess from yesterday but to my surprise I found much more. It was clean. The outside of my locker was no longer stained fake blood, but if someone cleaned my locker what did they do to the inside? I could only be eager to find out. I hesitantly opened it only to see I had my hopes up too high. Everything was messier than before, my books were still covered in the red liquid which obviously caused great damage but I was more heartbroken to see that someone had the nerve to steal my personal belongings and if they didn't steal them they were right there....broken or soggy. I felt like breaking down and falling, I just wanted to cry it out. I could only let out a disappointed sigh as I closed my locker slowly to avoid getting the fake blood on me again. I began to walk towards class only to hear someone call my name. "Y/n!" I turned around and didn't hesitate to give them a weird look. It was my best friend. "There you are! I've been looking for you since yesterday I can't believe you left me alone!" She smiled and gave me the tightest hug I've ever gotten. "I can't believe it either...." i mumbled into her shoulder before letting go and telling her I was heading to class. It was loud and almost everyone was running inside, I really can't believe my classmates are such animals. However, once I stepped inside everything I was already on the floor thankfully I didn't hit my head like last time but my bottom hurt so bad. A hand was offered to me and I was about to take it but thankfully I saw who it was and stood up myself despite the fiery pain. As much as I would've liked a hand to help me I couldn't accept Haechan's. He was clearly angry that I rejected his offer but he did nothing to express it besides the look on his face he so unhesitatingly wore. I could only walk to my seat slowly and in silence. Throughout class I felt eyes just blazing on me, there was no breaks it was every fucking minute of class. Thankfully break rolled along quite quickly, right as the bell rung I wanted to just zoom out of class but I couldn't. I just sat down in silence and minded my own business as I turned my head towards the windows and stared at the scenery outside. "Im sorry." A voice was heard right next to me, I knew exactly who's it was too. "Do you even know why you should be sorry? Or are you just saying it to ease your guilt?" I couldn't look at him, I really really couldn't and I didn't know why. He was silent, I took a deep breath before turning to face him, his face fell. "Do you realize what you did to me yesterday?" He put his head down in defeat, "Do you?" I stressed. "Sorry doesn't make up for the fact that you publicly and incorrectly humiliated me, sorry can't pay expensive ass hospital bills, sorry can't bring back my personal belongings that were destroyed, it can't bring back the money I have to pay for the damage of those book, sorry can't....bring back my feelings for you." As soon as I felt a tear slide down my cheeks I grabbed my backpack and left class. I can't believe I just did that. ||Author pov|| It hurt Haechan to have those words thrown at him but he knew it was the truth. He didn't like to hurt people but he always caught himself unintentionally doing so. And to make things worse he hurt the one person he swore to never even lay a finger on. His heart could only ache at her stinging words. After she stormed out of class he wanted to leave her to do her own thing but he couldn't. As he stepped out of class and looked for her he knew he could only do one of two things, hurt her more or make things better. She hadn't got very far from the class as she was walking very slowly therefore it was very easy to catch up to her. Knowing she wouldn't want to stop and talk he grabbed her hand with a tight grip and lead her out of campus until they were in a park nearby. ||Back to you|| "What are you doing?!" I yelled angrily as we stopped walking. "Shut up and sit down we need to talk." I scoffed at his words. "Have fun talking to yourself bec-" He grabbed my hand and pulled my down with his only I wasn't beside him, I was on him. I could feel my cheeks redden and my palms get sweaty from the sudden action. His face was also red, as if he didn't expect to do that, his palms were also heating up against my own. "Do I have your attention now?" He said, I could only nod. "Good. Listen, about yesterday I'm actually very sorry. I had no idea what was going on and it was my mistake for acting out of instinct. I'm sorry I really am. When I heard what really happened you don't know how much I just wanted to fall face first down a flight of 1000 stairs.... I was looking for you everywhere and I got so scared because I couldn't find you-" "I was at the hospital? Didn't an ambulance come to pick me up?" "No.... Jeno actually carried you to the nurses office and then I couldn't find you anywhere. You don't know how much I wanted to run after you but I was so in shock from what I did that I couldn't correctly." He looked down and suddenly his fingers were intertwined with my own. "You don't have to worry about bills by the way, your bills are being payed by the daddy's girl that started this in the first place." I sighed feeling a heavy weight being lifted off my chest. "Im sorry, and I promise.... I'll make it up to you." He smiled. "And how will you do that?" He was in thought for a long time before suddenly springing up an idea. "How about a date? I'll pay for everything, you just need to show up?" I could only nod and smile excitedly. -Admin So this summer hopefully im very active on here now that I'm done studying for a few months and all. Hope you guys enjoy this little scenario btw I have a Ten scenario on the way soon!! I hope you guys have a good summer!! AND BTW SUMMER 127 IS A BOP WE CAN FIGHT ON THIS

Top 5 scenes/ moments/ sections of dialogue from RF?

I’m gonna answer this under a cut!

1) Mulligan with Hamilton in loco parentis (I love Mulligan.  I love Mulligan having his shit together more than these kids.  Someday I’ll do a bonus thing of when Hamilton was staying with him.  This is honestly maybe my favorite scene in the whole damn thing because I just love Mulligan so much.)

Mulligan was silent while he composed a message neutral enough to sound like it could have come from anyone and sent it.  He pocketed Hamilton’s phone and let him sit quietly for the rest of the ride.  He paid the driver, led the way into his building, and let them into the apartment.  It sounded like one of his flatmates was in his room but otherwise they were alone.  Hamilton dropped his bag on the floor and collapsed face-down on the sofa.

“I hate this,” he moaned.

“We’ll sort it out.  Take off that jacket, the sleeves are too long for you.  I’m gonna hem ‘em while we wait to hear back from ‘im.”

Hamilton dropped the jacket on the ground without getting up.  Mulligan sighed and picked it up, taking it over to the sewing machine on the table.

“Like raising a friggin’ five year old…”

“Fuck off.”

“You gonna throw a tantrum?”

Hamilton raised one hand to flip him off.

“I can’t think, Mulligan,” Hamilton complained as the machine whirred.  “Me.”

“Thanks for implyin’ the rest of us are a buncha idiots,” Mulligan said, his back to him as he worked.

“You know what I mean.”

“So you forgot your keys, big deal.  Said you were sleep deprived anyway.  Too much fuckin’ on vacation?”

“Just once.  Wasn’t that.  That didn’t help.”

Mulligan didn’t say anything, waiting patiently for Hamilton to start up again.

“Maybe I am sick,” he finally said, turning his head to the back of the couch and touching his face.  “He said I felt hot.  I get sick every winter anyway, fuck winter.”  He struggled to take out his dry contacts.  “That must be it.”

“Lovesick, maybe.”  The machine stopped and Mulligan inspected his work, looking over just in time to see Hamilton reach over the armrest and drop the contacts to the carpet.  “Oh, come on, I don’t spit on your floor.”

Hamilton left his arm hanging and Mulligan dropped the jacket on top of him.

“Try that when you’re done whining and tell me how it is.”

“‘Kay.”

“You done whining?”

“No.”

“I’m getting a beer.  I’d offer you one, but it’s illegal to give alcohol to children.”

“You’re a jackass.”

Mulligan came back into the room, popping the tab on a can of beer.  “You’re being a baby.”

“I fucking lost my work keys and I can’t get into my apartment!”

“That’s not what you’re really complaining about, Hamilton.  I might not be a hotshot genius like you, but I’m not a moron.  Move your legs over.”  Mulligan sat heavily on the couch next to him.  “You like the guy?”

“Yeah.”  Hamilton’s voice was heavily muffled by the couch cushions.

“You like him a lot?”

“Yeah.”

“Things get a little too real spending that much time with him?”

Hamilton paused.  “Yeah.”

Mulligan patted his leg.  “Suck it up,” he said sympathetically.

2) CVS (First, this is the start of the islands/ocean theme. Second, look at these boys, this is back before they’re all over each other, that hand on the shoulder was Intimate.  Someday I’ll also go through and pull things to show the progression of their sleeping habits.)

Laurens pulled him down, running his thumb over his high cheekbones and then his fingers through his hair.  “You’re gonna get wrinkles,” he teased, “you’ll turn gray.”

“I’d be a silver fox,” Hamilton replied.  “All the girls’ll be lining up at my door.”

“‘Girls’?”

“Yeah, I banned you after you made fun of my hair.” Hamilton rolled away from Laurens onto his back.  “It’s like a sauna in the city at this time of year.  I’m melting.”

“I thought you’d be used to it.”

“Trade winds.”  Hamilton waved one hand dismissively in the air above his face.  “And not all of this cement for the heat to just bake you in.”

Laurens propped himself up on his elbow, watching Hamilton’s face.

“I bet winter was a surprise.”

“Ha.  Yeah.  I stepped off that plane and—d’you know what, John?  I saw autumn leaves for the first time in my life.  Squirrels.  CVS, for chrissake.  All this shit that I had this image of in my mind because of course I knew about it, I’d seen it everywhere, and that’s the thing, isn’t it?  No one in New York cares if I went to Gore’s of St. Croix, but I’ve got CVS already engrained somewhere in me and it’s beautiful, the flow of power.  Soft power, John, recognize our maps and naturalize our flora and fauna and without even realizing it your center of balance is off.”

Laurens was quiet and Hamilton tucked his hands behind his head.

“You know what?”

“What?”

“You’re right, four hours isn’t enough.  I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“That’s not true.”

Hamilton closed his eyes.  Laurens waited for a minute to see if he would say anything else, then lay down once he heard his breathing slow, putting one hand on his shoulder in spite of the heat.

3) Inappropriate sick flirting (Okay this isn’t like a CLASSY option or anything, but I crack myself up every time with Hamilton’s attempt to deflect-by-flirting here and I’m a sucker for sickfic, so.  Shrug.)

Laurens, like Lafayette, woke before his alarm.  He had gotten up late that night to take his headphones off and close his laptop, and then alternated between dozing and playing on his phone for a few hours, not willing to wake Hamilton if he was so soundly asleep.  It wasn’t until he heard the second coughing fit that he got up and pulled on a pair of pants.

“Alex?”  He knocked on the bathroom door.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”  He sounded a little strangled.

“Are you sick?”

Hamilton started coughing again.  “I’m fine,” he repeated after a minute.

“Alex, come back to bed.  Do you need something to drink?”

“I have water.”  Laurens could hear him put the mug down on the side of the sink for emphasis.  “And my laptop.  I’m fine.  Go back to sleep.  I don’t want to keep you up.”

“I’m awake now.”  Laurens tried the handle but it was locked.

“I don’t want to make you—”  Hamilton cut himself off, clearing his throat and taking a drink.

“I thought you said you weren’t sick.”

“Said I was fine.”

Laurens sighed.  “Look, if I’m going to get sick the damage is already done.  I have to go in an hour.  Just come back out.  I feel weird talking to you through a door.”

There was a pause, then Hamilton opened the door and stepped out, all false-casualness in sweatpants and a pullover, taking a sip from a university mug.  “Hey, J.  You’re up, I’m up.  What’re the odds.  Wanna fuck?”

Laurens gave him an incredulous look.  “No.”

4) Masculinity (Would you believe I wrote all this shit about gender before thinking critically about gender in my own life?  Like, jeez, it’s one of Hamilton’s main recurring issues and the one I always identified with the most.  Anyway, it was a toss up between this and the argument he has with Laurens at the end of the chapter, but it’s the same deal really.)

“What did I say wrong?”  Lafayette asked.  “I didn’t mean anything bad.  I was teased a lot too, you know, but I’m happy for the two of you.  I like being in a relationship like that.  The closeness, the cuddling…”

“Yeah,” Hamilton said sharply and more directly than he meant to, “‘cause you’re not being treated like the freakin’ girl!”

Lafayette looked at him in surprise and Hamilton, embarrassed, turned away.

“Shit,” he said, walking towards the platform.  “Don’t tell him I said that.  I didn’t mean it like that.”

“John doesn’t think of you as a girl.”

“I know that.”

“Well, if you know that…”

Hamilton didn’t say anything.

“Do you think other people see you that way?”

“Fuck other people.  How should I know what they think?”

“You would make a very bad girl,” Lafayette said.

“Shut up.”

“I don’t think anyone sees it like that except for you.  John certainly doesn’t.”

“I know—look, fine,” Hamilton said, accepting that he was just going to be that annoying guy having a fight on the subway.  He dug a quarter out of his pocket and tossed it into a street performer’s open guitar case to try and balance his karma out.  “So he doesn’t, great.  I feel bad, okay?  I know he doesn’t—I like when—It’s just the way other people react sometimes.  Like I’m…”  Hamilton paused, gesturing helplessly as he tried to find the words.  “…Less than him.  Like with his friends, I liked that on the whole, it was great, I’m glad he had a good time and they were chill.  But there were a couple moments where it was like they were almost making fun of me.”

“They teased me, too,” Lafayette protested.

“Bully for you.”  Hamilton saw Lafayette’s hand twitch towards his pocket and he sighed.  “Go ahead, write that one down.  It’s dated, that’s probably why you haven’t heard it yet.”

Lafayette tucked the box under his arm then took out his notebook and copied the phrase out.

“I know it’s stupid,” Hamilton said, making an effort to lower his voice.  “It shouldn’t matter.  There’s nothing ‘feminine’ about it and even if there was, that’s not a bad thing.  But it’s weird, okay, and I don’t like it.  It’s not about being with him,” he went on after a pause in which they both waited as the train loudly pulled up.  “I just hate being made to feel like less of a man for it.”

Lafayette cocked his head to the side, considering this.  They got into a car and took hold of a pole near the door.

“Fucking bullshit heteronormativity,” Hamilton complained as the car pulled away, taking a step to the side for balance.  “Gender doesn’t function in a void, Lafayette.  In a perfect world none of this would matter and also I’d live in an apartment that didn’t leak heat during the winter.”

Neither of them said anything as the car rattled along to its next stop.

“You know what’s extra bullshit,” Hamilton started up again as the train stopped.  “I fucked him today.  I should be the one getting all the accolades.  Instead it’s just, oh, look at the little guy, he’s so cute.  Bullshit,” he muttered again, tugging his scarf down.  “Doesn’t always bother me,” he added.  “I dunno, I know you didn’t mean anything by it.  Wasn’t even the tone.  I don’t know.”

“I think you’re very masculine.”

“Thanks.”  Hamilton still sounded sullen.

5) Out (Is it weird to say that I consider this part “a classic”?  This is the thing that got me by far the most amount of comments and, I mean, Laurens earned it.)

“God damn,” Humphreys complained, freshly dressed and sitting next to Laurens on the bench between the rows of lockers and working at a knot in his neck.  He tipped his head to the side so that fine braids slid like a curtain over his hand.  “Don’t get me wrong, Laurens, I don’t want to blow my shoulder out, but you don’t even know how much shit I would have gotten into if I had gotten a month and a half off.”

“Dirty shit,” Tench laughed.  “Go back to your farm, find some of those sheep?”

“Shut up,” Humphreys said, laughing as well.  “That was a business plan.”

“Yeah, the oldest business in the world.  Sam, catch.”  Another player walking by caught his wallet without missing a beat.  “I owe you ten.”  The money was taken and the wallet was tossed back.  Tench dropped it in his bag.

“Anyway, like I was saying, it’s not that I envy you, just those extra six weeks.”

“I hear you,” Tallmadge agreed, coming back from the shower in just a towel.  “It’s hard to visit my girlfriend during the week.  It takes so long to drive down, it’s really only possible on the weekend, but then, okay, so we can’t fool around as much as I’d like.  Not that I’m actually ready for the monastery like our boy Laurens,” he teased, shoving Laurens playfully as he opened his locker.  “How’re you holding up?  I’d have assumed you just weren’t interested if I hadn’t had to listen to you for all these years.”

“Sainthood’s a real lonely road,” Tench added.

“Hey, come on,” Laurens protested, not really thinking about what he was saying, “My boyfriend’s all over me too, I know what it’s like.”

There was actually a moment of stunned silence in the locker room during which time Laurens braced for—

“You aren’t single?  Hey, look, it only took five years!  That means there’s still hope for you yet,” Tallmadge said loudly, slapping a passing first year, the younger of the two Trumbull brothers, hard on the back.  “If you bitch about not getting a date one more time, I’m not stopping your older brother from whaling on you.”

Laurens watched in relieved surprise as various conversations picked back up around him.

“That explains why you haven’t gotten any personal fouls so far this season,” Tench teased him.

“So can we know who it is yet?  Or is it still a secret?”  Tallmadge dropped his towel to change, facing his locker.  “I want to know who tamed the stallion.”

“‘The stallion’?”  Humphreys was packing his bag.  “Oh, come on, and I’m stuck with the sheep?”

“You wrote that paper, you brought this upon yourself,” McHenry said, breaking away from his earlier conversation and pushing up his glasses.  “So who’s the lucky gent?  I’m with Tallmadge, he deserves a Goddamn medal for finally wearing you down.”

“Alex,” Laurens started, caught between embarrassed and incredibly grateful.  “Alexander Hamilton.”

“Hamilton…  The guy with you at the trustee dinner?  Short,” Tench said, gesturing his height.  “Wavy hair?  We went to André’s after.”

“That guy?”  McHenry cut in.  He tugged at the collar to his shirt and glanced down at himself, feeling the tag sticking out in the front.  “Shit.”  His voice was muffled for a second as he pulled it off over his head, flashing well-defined abs and two faint scars curving under his chest, then put it back on.  “He works for the dean, doesn’t he?”

“Secretary to the president,” Laurens said, tentatively bragging a little.

“I thought he was with your roommate?”

“André’s his friend, he said that was just a rumor.”

“Obviously,” Tench rolled his eyes at Tallmadge.  “Know-it-all.”

“Hey, André,” Humphreys called as André, also in a towel and with his hair wet and down in his eyes, showed up.  “Did you know Laurens’ been holding out on us?”

“Uh.”  André looked quickly at Laurens, who stood up.

“All right, all right, that’s enough.”

“So how is it?”  Tench asked, ignoring Laurens’ protests.  “Does he just want it all the time?”

“What?”

“You said he was all over you,” Tench pushed.  “Did you have to give up your rule?”

Laurens reddened slightly.  “No.”

“What?  So, nothing?  Not at all?”

“All season?”  Tallmadge asked.  “I take it back, he’s the saint, not you.”

“Wait, you did fuck though, didn’t you?  You were together at the dinner, right?”

Laurens, still standing, not sure what was really stopping him from just walking away, felt an excited rush of camaraderie.  “Yeah, we were, and we did.  The night before,” he added before he managed to second guess himself and lose his nerve, “I fucked him so good he cried.”

Another shocked silence, then a delighted whoop of laughter.

“That’s our boy!”  Tallmadge pounded Laurens on the back as he grinned, simultaneously self-conscious and proud.

“Damn,” Humphreys shook his head.  “And here I thought we were going to need to give you a talk about the birds and the bees before you graduated and got sent out into the real world.”

“Maybe we still do,” Tench said.  “Laurens, let me make this brief: you’re a moron.”

Laurens frowned, unsure.  “What?”

“You said it yourself, he’s all over you.  Go take advantage of that opportunity, man!  You’ve waited long enough.”

“I had sex in high school,” Laurens protested weakly.

“Yeah, you know, you told some of us that story,” McHenry pointed out, “and while it sounded like a real great time, half a decade has passed in between.”

“He’s pretty cute,” Tallmadge agreed as Laurens stared at him in disbelief.  “Long eyelashes.”

“Since…  Since when do you check out other guys?”

“Relax, please, I sat next to him in lecture once.  I remember because they friggin’ cast shadows on his face.”

“Uh-huh,” Laurens said, not sure at all about what to do with that.

“You do want to sleep with him, don’t you?”  McHenry asked.  “This isn’t another basil farm incident, is it?”

Laurens looked over at André, who studied the ceiling.

“No, uh,” Laurens said eloquently.  “The sex is—it’s good.  I enjoy it.”

“Then go fuck your boyfriend,” Tench told him, a little louder than Laurens would have preferred.  “Seriously, Laurens!  Did you hit your head when you ripped your shoulder out of its socket?  He wants to, you want to, that grand tradition you thought you were holding to is a bunch of bullshit—no one actually does it.  If you’re so concerned about your stamina then don’t sleep with him the night before the game!  Jesus!”

“His girlfriend’s on study abroad,” André reminded Laurens, nodding his head at Tench.

“Right.”

“Lucky son of a bitch,” Tench muttered, zipping up his bag forcefully and slinging it over his shoulders as he stood.  “Right, I’m starving.  You getting breakfast, Laurens?”

Laurens smiled.  “Sure.  Sounds good.”

If you're still doing dialogue prompts? 160? For whatever you want?

160.  [text] Who says no to sex and donuts?!

When I saw this, I thought of Jean, so @tiggeryumyumm I decided to work in your Valentine’s day themed jeanmarco in the same prompt.

Sorry for the wait!  I’ve been fighting some real writer’s block.

Jean: Who says no to sex and donuts?!

Eren: just bc i work at a bakery doesn’t mean u can take advantage of it

Jean: I just thought it would sweeten the deal ;)

Eren: obviously it didn’t work

Jean: T-T

Eren: considering how thin the walls are in our apartment, i’m grateful for ur lackluster flirting skills

Jean: …. Rude

Jean locks his phone and sighs as lets himself into their apartment.  It’s only 5 a.m., about a half hour after the Wings of Freedom closes for the night and therefore way too early in the morning to deal with Eren’s teasing.  Jean drags his feet as he makes his way to his cluttered bedroom, exhausted from both his most recent rejection and a long night of wiping down tables at the bar.  He simply throws his uniform–which chronically reeks of alcohol–into a corner of the room as he strips, not even bothering to throw on pajamas before he flops into bed and promptly falls asleep.

Hours later he’s ripped away from a pleasant dream about a handsome stranger with plump kissable lips and warm, welcoming arms by an annoying buzzing noise uncomfortably close to his ear.  Jean groans as he fumbles, finally finding his phone underneath his pillow with the display lit up with a new message.  Part of him wants to ignore it, but he knows that if Eren pities him enough he might offer to bring him food–but only if he replies before he changes his mind.

Turns out, the text is from Eren, but it’s a picture of a flyer with no words attached.  He can’t help but groan as he taps the image to enlarge it and squint at the tiny, pixelated words his brain isn’t awake enough to comprehend yet.

“Valentine’s Meet Up,” it says in a curly romantic font.  “Hang out with other singles and donate your time to brighten someone’s day.  Make friends and meet someone new.”

Before Jean can think of a coherent response, though “what the fuck” would probably be a decent enough answer, Eren texts him again.

Eren:  i signed u up

Jean: whyyyyy?

Eren: bc ur single +whiney + u have a day off on 2/14

         also ur a romantic loser so i know ur gonna be extra whiney on V day

Jean: ….

Eren:  u kno im right. Accept it

Jean:  i only read this text b/c i thought you were offering me food

Eren:  if i bring u a donut will u stop complaining

Jean: its a start

Eren: i hate u

Jean puts his phone on his dresser and sighs happily as he relaxes back into his pillow, looking forward to the treat his roommate will inevitably bring him.

Jean makes good on his promise and doesn’t complain about the singles anonymous meeting Eren has signed him up for.  Though he makes sure to give his roommate the stink eye when he finds out that he has holiday plans of his own.

“If you’re hanging out with Mikasa and Armin, then why couldn’t you just let me tag along?”  Jean whines, turning to give his roommate the most pitiful expression he can muster from beside him on their lumpy clearance-sale couch.

Eren doesn’t bother to look up from his phone as he promptly answers, “Because you would spend the whole day complaining and flirting with my sister.”

“Not true!  I might flirt with Armin too,” Jean flutters his eyelashes as Eren groans, turning away from him to finish texting his sister about their plans.

“Yeah, like I want to make my sister and my best friend uncomfortable all day.”

“But you’ll let your sister crash your date with your crush.”

“It’s not a date!”  Eren exclaims despite his bright pink cheeks.

“But Armin is your crush?”  Jean laughs as he reaches out to playfully ruffle his roommate’s hair, an attempt that costs him an elbow in the side.

“I hate you,” Eren groans.

“Then get your own Netflix,” Jean suggests, switching windows on his computer away from the website in question to check his email.  He makes a point to delete his junk mail as slowly as possible, just to rile up his roommate even more.  After about ten excruciatingly long minutes he’s about to give in and start the episode of Stranger Things when a new email pops up in his inbox.

“It’s for that Valentine’s thing,” Jean remarks, catching Eren’s attention.  He crowds over Jean’s shoulder to watch as he opens the message.

Dear Mr. Kirstein,

Thank you for expressing interest in helping to set up and organize the Valentines Meet Up event.  Would you mind meeting me at the bakery to discuss planning details?

Thanks,

Marco Bodt

There’s a moment of silence as they stare blankly at the polite message before Jean pointedly glares over his shoulder.  “Eren!  I thought you signed me up for the event, not the planning committee!!”

“Whoops,” Eren shrugs and leans back into his own spot on the couch, giving his roommate the space he needs to properly fume.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Jean accuses, narrowing his eyes into an even harsher glare.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Eren turns his attention back to his phone, pointedly avoiding further eye-contact as he resumes texting.  Jean puffs his cheeks angrily, unsure whether the avoidance is a sign of guilt or exactly how little Eren cares about the situation.

“… That’s it, we’re watching Hart of Dixie.”

“No!” Eren exclaims, dropping his phone in his lap as he finally returns eye contact.

“If you signed me up to be a romantic sap for the full week until Valentine’s day, well then I’m going to start now.”

Eren groans but shifts in his seat to see the screen better.  “It’s not even romantic, they’re just idiots for the sake of drama.”

Though Jean agrees with him there, he can’t help but roll his eyes at the remark.  “You can complain when you have an actual love-life, Mr. I’m-in-love-with-my-bff-but-I’m-too-scared-to-say-anything.”

“Says the chronic single,” Eren bites back, digging his elbow into a ticklish spot in Jean’s side, making the other man squirm.  “I hope you meet someone at the stupid event so you’re too busy being stupid and in love to bother me anymore.”

“You and me both.  Watching you guys flirt is more excruciating than watching Zoe and Wade go back and forth.”

Eren grumbles profanities under his breath for several minutes before he angrily remarks, “Are you going to start the show or not?”

Jean sighs as his alarm goes off at 11 a.m. the next day.  Working nights means that on a normal day, he tends to sleep through the afternoon.  But thanks to Eren, he has plans to meet the event guy at the bakery that cut his much-needed sleep short.

The night before had been a long, tiring day and even as he wakes up he still feels tired and listless, barely able to keep his eyes open.  Maybe if he was more awake, he would have put the effort into dressing for a first impression.  But the fact is, he’s simply too tired to care.  So he slips into a pair of sweatpants and a flannel shirt, not even bothering to comb his hair before he shoves his shoes onto his feet and stumbles out the door.

Eren’s wiping down the counter when he arrives at the Braus’ bakery.  As Jean slumps against the customer side of the counter, Eren shoots him a distasteful look.  “Really, not even an effort?”  

Jean finds enough effort to roll his eyes.  “Give me the sugar I need to get through this.”

Eren grunts an affirmative as he reaches into the display case to pull out a raspberry filled donut.  As Jean pulls out his wallet to begrudgingly pay–though this is all his roommate’s fault, he knows better than asking him to pay too often–Eren nods toward one of the front tables.  “Marco’s here already.”

As Jean turns to find the person he’s meeting, he suddenly wishes he had bothered to look in a mirror before he left the apartment.  Dressed in a spotless lilac button-down and steam-pressed gray slacks, the man looks as put together as Jean isn’t.  But by this point, Jean is just too tired to even think about running back to his apartment to scrounge up an outfit that looks half decent.  Though he does quickly finger-comb his hair before he slides into the chair opposite the man.

“Hi!  Are you Jean?”  The man smiles brightly at his approach, making Jean regret his clothing choices all over again.  Because that dimpled smile single-handedly makes his heart clench and his hands start to sweat.  Though the freckles across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose certainly make the expression far more endearing than anything larger than a baby animal should ever be.  In contrast, Jean can almost feel the bags under his eyes and wonders what the stranger thinks about the hot mess he regrettably is.

“Yeah.” Jean does his best to smile politely, though it falls short.  His cheeks feel stiff and his flirting muscles are not quite awake enough to throw out his usual charms.  “Are we waiting for anyone else?”  He takes a moment to look around the shop and though there are few people getting breakfast to go, there aren’t many people milling around.

“No… you’re the only volunteer.”  Marco threads his fingers around his coffee cup and looks crestfallen for a moment before he smiles again.  “Let’s start brainstorming, shall we?” he suggests as he pulls out a small spiral notebook and a pen.

“Um, sure.  What do you have in mind?”

Marco eagerly flips the page in his notebook, revealing rows upon rows of neat handwriting and messy doodles and diagrams.  “I’m so glad you asked.”

The following week is the busiest Jean’s had in years.  Whenever he turns around, he’s making bright colored paper chains or folding squares of paper and cutting out paper shapes, filling his and Eren’s apartment with boxes upon boxes of decorations.  Whenever Jean gets ready for work, he can hear Eren stumbling and cursing over the new boxes that appear while he’s out of the apartment.  It would be funnier if Jean didn’t trip over the damn things himself, too.

The highlight of all the paper toil is that Marco is loathe to make him work alone.  During the week, they meet up at the bakery at noon, where Marco spends his lunch break away from the library decorating the place with him.  (Jean makes a mental note to pay the local library a visit someday soon.)

Even after spending so much time together, Jean doesn’t find himself tiring of Marco.  In fact, with each day he looks forward to every time he leaves to return to work, Jean finds himself actually looking forward to the next day even more.  Marco is just as charming as he was the first day they met, cheerful, creative, and fun.  

Unwilling to repeat the embarrassment of their first meeting, Jean’s careful to pick the best outfits in his closet for their afternoon meetings.  He can’t help but blush the day Marco compliments a shirt ornamented with an iron-on transfer of one of his own art prints.

Jean has always been one to preen over compliments, but the sheer sincerity in Marco’s voice and smile as he gives them is enough to fluster him every time.  Halfway through the week, Jean realizes that his attraction for Marco is slowly growing more than skin-deep.  That day, Marco laughs cheerfully at even the shittiest of his puns–a quip about Eren being the real breadwinner in their roommate relationship because bussing tables doesn’t exactly set the bar high–and Jean softens.

By the weekend, Jean finally finds the guts to invite Marco over, so they can watch movies while they create card supplies.  Marco brings takeout and they eat together on his lumpy couch.  When Jean watches tv with Eren, they have no qualms about personal space, throwing arms and legs into the lap of the other at a whim because they’ve learned not to care about boundaries after years of living together.  Here, with Marco, Jean is fully aware of just how small the sofa is and just the barest brushing of skin against skin is enough to make him jittery.  

Marco doesn’t seem to mind his nervousness, too busy laughing at the antics of the characters of The Grand Budapest Hotel and flashing smiles Jean’s way when a particularly funny line is spoken.  Jean confides that he’s an aspiring artist working at the bar only to make money in the meantime, so Marco makes an effort to point out the parts he finds visually inspiring.  He enjoys the pastel color palettes–strikingly similar to the colors of his dress shirts– and cheerfully taps Jean’s knee to point out the most brightly colorful scenes.  (He likes the pinks of the Mendl’s boxes the most.)

At nine o’ clock, Marco needs to leave and Jean has to get dressed for another night working the bar.  As Jean locks the door behind them, Marco hesitates for a moment, twisting his fingers together.  “I’ve heard that In the Mood for Love is a really visually interesting movie too.  And I’ve been dying to see it,” he remarks off-handedly, looking down the hall at the flickering lights instead of at Jean.

“Sounds cool,” he says, words that seem like the understatement of the century.  

For the first time ever, he smiles through his whole shift at work.

“Do you guys have to come flirt at my workplace every day?”  Eren asks on February 13th.  “It’s sorta gross.”

Jean’s ears warm but he scoffs at the question, “We are not flirting.  He just happens to actually appreciate my jokes.  Unlike some people.”  

Eren snorts.  “The only way he’d find you funny is if he has a crush.”  He leans against the oven door casually, enjoying watching Jean squirm with embarrassment for once.

Jean huffs in retaliation, “Less talking, more baking.  If we’re doing to decorate cookies tomorrow, we need cookies.”

Finally it’s the night of Valentine’s day and Jean’s nervous.  All their hard work is on display, hung up around the bakery, decorating it with reds and pinks from head to toe.  Trays of fresh cookies are ready to decorate and paper pieces are prepared for cards.

The cheerfully colored donation boxes are set up in the front of the room, listing the names of local hospitals and orphanages that are accepting cards.  The slogan “Give a card, give a smile,” hangs on a banner directly behind the boxes.

Sugary sweet pop music starts playing as Marco returns from the sound system, setting up a themed playlist from his phone.  Jean tries not to stare at the pink tie the man has on–the same color as the Mendl’s boxes in the movie they had seen together.

“It’s almost time,” Marco smiles, threading his fingers together restlessly.  “People should start arriving anytime now.”  The air between them seems charged with anxious restlessness.  Suddenly, in their last moments alone together it hits Jean that once the day is over, once they clean up the bakery, they’ll lose their excuses to see each other.

It doesn’t really matter that over the course of the week, Jean has learned that Marco’s favorite color is teal and that Persuasion is his favorite Jane Austen novel.  That Marco didn’t tease him when Jean confided that his favorite childhood movie was The Princess Bride.  It doesn’t matter that Jean showed Marco his art portfolio and the other man enthusiastically admired it, saying that if he ever finished writing his book he’d love to commission him to design the cover.

Once the event is done, they no longer have a reason to spend so much time together.

The shop bell rings and people start arriving, forcing the two men to separate and socialize, doing their best to keep the mingling running as smoothly as possible.  (Honestly, Jean hates this sort of thing, but after all the work they had done, he can’t weasel his way out of chaperoning a bunch of adults for a night.)

Regardless of how busy Jean finds himself throughout the night, his eyes always wander to the other side of the room where Marco is cheerfully chatting with other cute single people.  

He’s busy staring instead of paying attention to the card making tables when a young woman with wavy auburn hair whistles at him.  “Yo loverboy.  This is the wrong place to stand around being lovesick,” she chides, carelessly wiping cookie crumbs off her fingers.  “Sit down, make a card.  You’ll fit in with all the unhappy singles that way.”  She grabs a sheet of cardstock out of the pile and quickly scribbles something on it before handing it over.

It messily reads “Ur hot freckleface” above a hand-drawn heart that looks remarkably like a butt.

“See, it’s half done now.”

Jean sighs but sits down to work on fix the card she started.  He grabs a pink paper heart that’s just barely large enough to cover her unromantic words.  As he glues it down, he can’t help but notice that it’s the same shade as Marco’s tie and that thought convinces him to hazard a glance over at him.  The tall man is busy chatting and working on decorating his own cookies, even as he oversees others.

It wouldn’t hurt to make my own, I guess, he muses, searching through the box of children’s markers to find a color he likes.  It’s been years since he’s made anyone a hand-made valentine.  The only friend that might appreciate one would be Armin–the most sentimental out of the group–, though Eren would definitely change the wifi passwords for that sort of “personal offence.”

After an hour, Jean and Marco switch stations; Jean overseeing the decorations of the last batch of cookies while Marco helps with the cards.  Jean slides his own card into the back pocket of his jeans, unwilling to let his newfound friend even guess toward his intentions yet.

Finally, two hours after it started, people begin to leave, many of them in small groups as they chat and exchange phone numbers.  Even the woman who “helped” Jean with his card is cheekily hanging off the arm of a stern-faced young man.  She whispers something in his ear and his cheeks flare red before she turns back to wink at Jean as they leave the building.

The floor is covered in cookie crumbs, sprinkles, and paper scraps that will be a pain to clean-up, but even so Marco still smiles.  “Looks like a success.  People walked in alone, but they’re leaving with friends.”

Jean’s card feels like a weight in his pocket and he has to concede that yeah, it really seems like a success.  

They take their time cleaning, taking away all the little sugary clues that they’d been there, that they’d prepared for a whole week over it.  Jean’s smile falls as he returns to his earlier train in thought:  that their reason for spending time together is quickly falling away as they sweep up the mess.

“Cheer up, Jean.  The night’s still young,” Marco laughs, taking a moment to turn up the speakers.  Cascada’s “Everytime We Touch” blares, bringing back memories of youtube videos Jean forgot watching.

“Where’d you find this?  What year do you think it is?  2007?”  

The music becomes a palpable presence in the room, especially as Marco begins singing along, dancing with his broom as he sweeps.  Jean cracks a smile as he laughs, leaning into the table he was in the midst of cleaning for support.  He’s laughing so hard that he doesn’t notice Marco’s approach until he leans the broom against his table.

“Mind dancing with me?  That broom is just too stiff and wooden.”  Marco holds his palm upwards, like a prince asking for a dance in the ball of a fairytale, not in an empty bakery that looks like it was ransacked by preschoolers on a sugar-high.

“I can’t dance.”  Jean waves his hands in refusal, but Marco’s grin only widens.

“Neither can I.”

Finally, Jean gives in and reaches out to hold onto Marco’s shoulders as the other man leads him around the room.  They trip and stumble on chairs they hadn’t put away yet, but they only laugh in the face of their own clumsiness, each mistake bringing their bodies even closer together.

The song ends and something slower and mellower replaces it.  Jean can feel his pulse pounding but it’s hard to be embarrassed about it when he can feel the beat of Marco’s own heart from where their chests are touching.  

“I’m not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts.  Some superhero, some fairytale bliss.

Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss.”

Marco smiles breathlessly, his lips barely inches from Jean’s, and suddenly it feels a little too close and intimate, so Jean takes a step back to pull the card out of his pocket.  It’s more than a little crumpled around the edges from their romp around the shop, but Jean finds himself passing it over anyway.  It just seems… fitting.

The card is brightly colored and framed with paper hearts, but on the front it simply reads “Thanks” in Jean’s best penmanship.  Marco’s face falls a little as he looks at it, so Jean hurries to explain himself as he opens it.  “I wanted to thank you for setting this all up, because it really turned out to be a lot of fun.  And mostly because I got to meet you.  And I hope you don’t mind if I ask, but I’d really like to keep hanging out, even though Valentine’s day is over….”

Marco cuts him off with a gentle hand on his own.  “I’d really like that…  But you know, Valentine’s day isn’t over quite yet….  And there’s no one I’d rather spend it with than you.”

Jean’s cheeks burn brightly as Marco retrieves a small plastic bag from where it’s lying forgotten on the counter:  a cookie decorated with a heart and Jean spelled in pretty cursive.

They have a whole lot of cleanup left to do, but Jean really can’t bring himself to mind.  Even if he had to stay there all night, picking up each and every crumb individually with his bare fingers, he’d willingly do it if Marco would keep looking at him the way he is now, like he’s been the highlight of the night.

But the night’s still young, of course.  And if they want to watch In the Mood for Love and kiss on Jean’s couch, then they need to finish cleaning.

hi keenan !! im sorry if this brings back bad memories but how did u deal with the break up with jess?? i just got dumped and i feel awful and i have no idea what to do with myself ... pls tell me it gets better lmao (btw u dont have to answer this i dont mean to overstep)

omg no of course not!! im sorry in advance if this answer is all over the place omg idk where to start :0

ngl at first it was the hardest thing ever .. i couldn’t process it, i had trouble attending classes at uni, i didnt/couldnt study for my uni exams, i was staying awake until 3 am crying my eyes out bc i could physically feel the pain in my chest. it was difficult - trying to do anything at all, and trying to be okay with her leaving, im sure u know this already but ya

the easiest thing is to just let urself feel every single emotion, cry your heart out, write down everything, miss them until you simply don’t miss them anymore, surround yourself with positive people. and omg i know it’s super tempting to message them but i literally cannot tell you how destructive it is to yourself, if you try and talk to them.. it’s bad for your mental health and no good comes out of it !! u need time to heal and the easiest way to do it is by yourself.

after a break up tbh there’s always some amount of ‘reflection’ we can do, and u can use it as an opportunity to evaluate everything in the relationship and preventing the negatives from happening again !! if you’re religious, ask god for guidance, wisdom, and strength, and soon enough you’ll gain the clarity you wanted at the start and eventually you will move on. it takes time, but it’ll happen!!!! 

after months of progress, i cannot tell you how much i’ve changed since that relationship, and i definitely see now, why everything happened !! idk tbh what im getting at is that there’ll be pain, suffering, but there’ll also be good that comes out of it, i promise. you may not see it now, or this might’ve not been the answer you were looking for but eventually things will work themselves out, i promise!! and who knows, maybe in the future, if you’re meant to be together, the both of you will be in each others’ lives and maybe things may be better from then!! and omg also improving yourself and focusing on yourself will be better in the long run bc youll always naturally attract other people !!

anyways ik no one asked LMAO but i feel that enough time has passed since whatever happened, so i want to be her friend again, talk to her like normal and ask her how her uni is going etc but i know it’s not my place anymore bc i know she doesn’t want to hear from me anymore.. ngl i do miss her from time to time but :/// ya i guess sometimes u just have to accept that they’re out of your life, most of the time it’s for the better!!!!

inc. au

Arsé-kun: “I told you, I was merely on a walk!” exclaimed the gentleman, hitting the floorboard with his cane. “Sure, I "stuck it” in one, but it’s what I do. Je ne sais pas, however, what happened. I am going to take a look for you, Monsieur.“ A pause. "Y-yes, I fully intend to return home. One a day, I know my limits. Je suis éclaté, after all.” Without another word, the red-clad gentleman took his leave.

Before long, his silhouette was outlined by the raging flames in front of him. He did not seem fazed by the heat- Instead, he leaned forwards into one. Had he been human, he would have burnt instantly. This not being the case, this slight motion forward granted him a better view of the wreckage. Upon a first glance, he saw nothing of note. Knowing better than to quit now, he took another, slower look around before spotting a strange dark spot in the distance. Having caught his curiosity, he approached.

Realizing the spot was moving ever so slightly, his pace quickened. Once he was at the side of it, he bent down to investigate. A light poke with his cane was met with a weak cough and a whine. Nearly dropping his cane, he realized it was a curled up child, and immediately pulled them into his arms. He was once again startled when he spotted marks on their skin. Ink black stripes, that seemed to waver in the heat.

He was momentarily unable to find words, transfixed by the stripes until another cough from the child reminded him of the urgency of the situation. Very carefully picking them up, he softly muttered “Je vais vous aider… I am going to help you. Do not worry, young one. I will let nothing more harm you.” He stood up, and narrowed his eyes at the flames in his way. As if scared, the flames moved away, making a path to walk through. Once through, the flames returned to their previous place. By the time they naturally extinguished, the pair was long gone. ~~~~ Sheepy: Sheepy: *it takes his senses a moment to adjust to the new environment upon waking up. he was silent for a moment, needing time to summon his voice, and finally spoke.* give… give it b-back… you… you didn’t… … … Arsé-kun: Lupin: *From across the room, he only says one thing to make his presence known.* Eh? Sheepy: Sheepy:……huh? *he slowly begins to sit up, and then notices Arsene. He locks eyes on him.* you’re not… where is this…?? … Who are you? …and what?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I am not one you would know, and I apologize for bringing you to my dwelling. I found you, abandoned in a forest fire. *he tips his hat* And you may refer to me as Monsieur Lupin. *he leans forward a bit* And what is your name, if I may inquire? Sheepy: Sheepy:…uh… … name…? … he… uh… … Sheepy: Sheepy:…I don’t remember… Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he tilts his head* Hm? It is possible it may only be a temporary fit of forgetfulness. Je ne sais pas, I will admit. Is there anything you do recall..? Sheepy: Sheepy: …um… I.. made a deal with s-someone… but he didn’t keep his promise. So he took them from me…. Arsé-kun: Lupin: What? Took what..? *he leans forward a bit more* Sheepy: Sheepy:…uh, my memories… most of them… it’s really hazy trying to remember much… Arsé-kun: Lupin: This certainly is a predicament, mon amie. I will offer you any assistance I can give. Sheepy: Sheepy:…Oh, uh… thank you. Sheepy: Sheepy:…Did my arms burn? *he seems pretty confused about the markings on his arms* …They weren’t like this before… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … These are new..? But that’s… *he shakes his head* Let us assume those markings are new, and not from the burns. Sheepy: Sheepy: I didn’t have them, no. Sheepy: Sheepy: I didn’t have anything like this. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … There is no easy way to explain this, I apologize. *he bows, and stands straight up.* Are you aware of what an Incubi is? Sheepy: Sheepy:…uhhh… the name rings a bell. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Simpler, then. Vampire? Sheepy: Sheepy: ….oh, I’ve heard of Vampires. Arsé-kun: Lupin: It is very similar. And you, I’m afraid, seem to have joined their ranks. Sheepy: Sheepy: Eh…??? B-but!! They’re bad! They… they come… and if you’re bad… they’ll drain your blood… and you’ll die… Arsé-kun: Lupin: This is fairly accurate. However, you are not a Vampire, mon amie. You are an Incubus, which does not partake in the same… *ahem* activities. Sheepy: Sheepy: they don’t drink blood?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: We may. It is not the method of choice by most. It is dirty and not at all tasteful. Sheepy: Sheepy:… … There’s an alternative? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Only a few. Some are only for very specific types of Incubi. The main method… Hm, hm, I’m going to assume you are too young to know. Sheepy: Sheepy:??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he makes a dirty hand gesture, one which requires both hands* Sheepy: Sheepy:…??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he sighs* Sex. Sheepy: Sheepy: … *he stares for a bit before it clicks in* … but I… I don’t want to Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Then, we may have a problem. I may be able to share energy with you, but you’ll need to learn eventually. Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s really gross sounding a-and girls and boys are really gross Arsé-kun: Lupin: Sérieux? Sheepy: Sheepy:???? Sheepy: Sheepy: What does that mean? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … My apologies, I oft find myself slipping into my native tongue. I merely asked “Seriously?” Sheepy: Sheepy:..I’m not… not interested in anyone like that… and if I’m not interested… i-it’s not nice to… uhhh… Sheepy: Sheepy: get involved with someone who I’m not interested in… Arsé-kun: Lupin: We shall see. One’s feelings often change upon the transformation. Sheepy: Sheepy: W-wait…. we?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he bows his head down.* Oui. *he looks back up at the sheep, and his face is covered with the same stripes as the ones Sheepy is decorated with* Call it luck that a fellow Incubi happened upon you. Sheepy: Sheepy:??? does that mean you know how to get me back to normal? Arsé-kun: Lupin: This is normalcy now. At least, until you recall what occurred to you. Sheepy: Sheepy: it… it is? it doesn’t feel normal… Arsé-kun: Lupin: It may take time to get used to. Sheepy: Sheepy:…is it normal for people to get turned into incubi? Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. Non. Most definitely not. Sheepy: Sheepy:…Oh… Sheepy: Sheepy: It’d be nice if I could remember his name… Arsé-kun: Lupin: We.. We will work on your memory as we go, I suppose.. *he adjusts his coat as he’s speaking* Sheepy: Sheepy: Th-thank you!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: It would be my pleasure. Sheepy: Sheepy: I just hope that it won’t inconvenience you. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Most certainly not. I would not mind assisting you in getting back onto your feet. Sheepy: Sheepy: I’m glad… uhh… I don’t see how I can make myself useful, though… Sheepy: Sheepy: I apologize … I don’t have any money or goods. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he waves his hand* That is quite alright. I can easily spare you some. Sheepy: Sheepy: N-no! I can’t accept that…!! I’ll feel… really bad…. Sheepy: Sheepy: Like a freeloader. Arsé-kun: Lupin: It’s only until you can manage on your own..! I am not one to toss someone out..! Sheepy: Sheepy: But if… uh… if I don’t do something of use to you in exchange… it won’t feel right… Arsé-kun: Lupin: We will find something. I assure you, whatever it is will not harm you. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he stifles a yawn with his free hand* I hope you do not mind, but I am inclined to turn in for a while. You may look around all you’d like. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay… Arsé-kun: Lupin: And as a word of warning, do not tell the spirit he can’t be a bird. Sheepy: Sheepy:…Spirit? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. Sheepy: Sheepy:…Where??? Sheepy: *Lupin’s hat is knocked off his head* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Tom, mon amie, must you do such things? Sheepy: Tom: yesyesyes i dooo Sheepy: Tom: who’s this??? who’s this??? im tooooommm Sheepy: Tom: and i want to be Sheepy: Tom:……… Arsé-kun: Lupin: .. Of course. *he picks up and dusts off his hat* … We have not decided on a name for you, have we? Sheepy: Tom: a bird, but not a seagull, because they poop on everythiiiing and they provide nothing to humanity except for disease and poop Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, uh, no… we haven’t. Sheepy: Tom: he doesnt have a name? Sheepy: Tom: thats ok he can be tom too Sheepy: Tom: you can too if you want to lupin Arsé-kun: Lupin: No, thank you. Sheepy: Tom: ok Sheepy: Sheepy:…I can’t think of anything, um.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he yawns again* We can think of a name at a better hour. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay! Sheepy: Tom: oh… im interrupting something Arsé-kun: Lupin: Non, non, you are fine. Sheepy: Tom: just mention me and ill be there to help. dont worry lupin. everything is ok as long as birds. Sheepy: Tom: oh. im not? Sheepy: Tom: im fine??? Sheepy: Tom: still. ill leave you to this. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nods* Sheepy: *where did tom goooo* Arsé-kun: *HE IS GONE.* Sheepy: Sheepy:….???? Sheepy: Sheepy: W-well, uh, good night, Mr. Lupin! Sweet dreams! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he just gives Sheepy a tired smile, nods, and heads out. So now the sheep is Alone. What do?* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he decides to investigate the room. he finds some of the objects there of interest, but decides not to question their existence in the room.* Arsé-kun: *QUESTION IT, SMALL SHEEP.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he questions it* Arsé-kun: *It doesn’t answer. I have no idea what you expected.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Hmm… tough suspect.. Arsé-kun: *Okay, it looks like a fancy knife, though. What is something like that doing out in the open? It is a mystery.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Wow.. he must be a knife connoisseur. Sheepy: Sheepy:…well, to each is their own. Sheepy: *he finishes his exploration of the room but decides not to explore outside of that room until Lupin is awake* Arsé-kun: *That means he’s gonna be staying put for a while. What do?* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he decides to spend his time by trying to remember exactly what happened, along with doodling on any scraps on paper he can find. good way to use your time friendo* Arsé-kun: *And how does that go?* Sheepy: *he remembers that art is hard and sleeping to escape the suffering that is art is more fun.* Arsé-kun: *about 8 hours later..* Sheepy: Sheepy: *better go and find Lupin* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he’s a room over, reading the paper. he lowers it when he notices Sheepy* Ah, good morning. Sheepy: Sheepy: Good morning!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: How do you feel? *he puts the paper down* Sheepy: Sheepy: Much better than yesterday. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Good! Any luck with your recollections? Sheepy: Sheepy: Uh… not really… Arsé-kun: Lupin: Hm… Well, do not worry! It has only been a few hours! Sheepy: Sheepy: Yeah… that’s true.. Sheepy: Sheepy: I… uhh.. noticed that you like knives. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Tis better than collecting something you can’t defend yourself with. Arsé-kun: Lupin: As well, it has made would-be thieves reconsider their actions on multiple occasions. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh.. that’s..uh..true… but.. I don’t really ever remember.. placing an importance on self-protection… … Arsé-kun: Lupin: As if you remember anything at all, little sheep. Sheepy: Sheepy: I remember being cheated… Arsé-kun: Lupin: It is a start. Sheepy: Sheepy:…Umm, are you living all by yourself…? I haven’t noticed anyone else… Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. I have Tom, and occasional.. Erm.. ​Visitors​, but that’s about it. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh…!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: That matters not. Here is what does matter: Aren’t you hungry? Sheepy: Sheepy: But I thought you said.. uh… . and I don’t want t-to.. … … Arsé-kun: Lupin: Well, yes, I did say that. I am not going to subject you to that immediately, though. That would be cruel. Sheepy: Sheepy: There’s alternatives… oh… I remember you saying that… Sheepy: Sheepy: Thank you for not subjecting me to that..!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: That’s right. Unfortunately, I brushed up on the subject.. Most of those variations are far too rare to be the case… Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… Sheepy: Sheepy: Well, thank you for checking…!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Quite welcome. Oh, are you going to stay standing? Here, take a seat. *he pushes the chair next to him out* Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh…! Thank you! *he takes a seat in the chair* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he gives the newspaper a curious look* Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… whoever likes this likes writing about the events of the world!! I wonder why… Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he shrugs* Who knows. *he puts a hand on Sheepy’s shoulder* Arsé-kun: *Sheepy feels a sudden jolt of energy, which goes away just as quickly as it started* Sheepy: Sheepy: ????? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Like I said, I wasn’t going to force you to do anything. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh…! That’s what that was…!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. I can feed for myself again later. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … *he seems a bit tired* More importantly, I’m going to start teaching you the basics of Vamping. *he reaches for his cane and stands up* Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay… Arsé-kun: Lupin: Eh? Just “okay”? Sheepy: Sheepy: Umm.. wait, do you mean…??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Not feeding, no. How to hide yourself, how to control any abilities you may have. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, okay. That’s fine. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Let’s start with the easiest. *he waves a hand over his face. his stripes appear. he does it again and they disappear* Sheepy: Sheepy: *He blinks, obviously confused. whaaat* Sheepy: Sheepy: Where did they go?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Your stripes, mon amie, can appear and disappear at will. You may also control them. *they come back again* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he slowly copies Lupin’s example* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oh! You learn quickly! Very good! Sheepy: Sheey: Thank you. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *something catches his attention by Sheepy’s hand* Sheepy: Sheepy: ? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Merely curious about your ring, is all Sheepy: Sheepy: This…? *he looks at the ring* oh, uh… I don’t know anything about it… sorry. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. ……….. I, I will take a better look at it later.. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Fine by me! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he leans back* The next one may take some time. Sheepy: Sheepy: What’s the next one? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he starts removing his jacket* How do you think you would feel in the air? Sheepy: Sheepy: In… in the air? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: Umm.. I don’t know… Arsé-kun: Lupin: I suppose we’ll have to find out. Sheepy: Sheepy: How?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Well, we can wait for Tom to visit. Or I can push you off the roof Sheepy: Sheepy: I.. I don’t really like that second one. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Me, neither. But it worked for me. Sheepy: Sheepy: Your parents pushed you off a roof? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Let’s not discuss this topic. Sheepy: Sheepy: …Isn’t that illegal?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Implying Incubi are covered by law? Sheepy: Sheepy: …they don’t have laws??? Why not?? Sheepy: Sheepy: That sounds.. uh.. kinda dangerous. Arsé-kun: Lupin: There are. Just not publicly known. Don’t worry- Most of them are common sense. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh.. okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: But… then… if they aren’t known, how do you follow them? Arsé-kun: Lupin: They are, but only by some people. Once again, common sense. Sheepy: Sheepy: But.. how do most people follow them, then??? Sheepy: Sheepy: Is it just like… it’s morally wrong to hurt someone, so you don’t do it? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … That is not a good example, but yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why isn’t it??? Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Please stop asking so many questions. Sheepy: Sheepy: … .. uh, when did you want to do that… thing… seeing how I feel about being in the air?? When that ghost guy comes…? Sheepy: *speaking of ‘ghost guy’, something that isn’t fragile falls over* Arsé-kun: *there he is* Sheepy: Tom: hi there. did you need me? did you want some fun bird facts? Sheepy: Tom: alright. Sheepy: Tom: did you know that chickens are the most common species of bird? Sheepy: Tom: did you know that penguins are the only birds that can swim? Arsé-kun: Lupin: That’s… That’s great, Tom. I did need you, though. Sheepy: Tom: did you know that kiwis are almost completely blind? Sheepy: Tom: oh. you did? but not for bird facts?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he explains* Sheepy: Tom: oh. Sheepy: Tom: so throw him off a roof gently. Arsé-kun: Lupin: First of all, how do you do that “gently” and don’t answer that. Sheepy: Tom: let him gently descend into the depths of hell. Sheepy: Tom: … Sheepy: Tom: er. Sheepy: Tom: …. let him gently descend??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: You’re hilarious. Sheepy: Tom: oh. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Just pick him up. Sheepy: Tom: ok. … *he picks up Sheepy, who reacts by immediately trying to get back on the ground. nopenopenope* Sheepy: Tom: do not worry. i only intentionally drop things. i dont unintentionally drop things. Sheepy: Tom: can i offer you some fun bird facts in these trying times? Sheepy: Tom: a group of chickens is not called a flock, but rather a peep. Sheepy: Tom: a group of birds is a flock, but most birds have specific group names for their species. geese have four different names depending on where they are, and ducks have three. Sheepy: Tom: some types of birds even have multiple names for their groups without being in different locations. such as there being a colony of penguins, but also a pride of penguins. isn’t this incredibly interesting? Sheepy: Sheepy: *he’s stopped flailing around to listen to Tom. for once, Tom’s rambling has helped* Sheepy: Tom: but do not be mistaken. platypi are not birds. they also don’t have a collective name because they are solitary creatures, and generally do not form groups. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Then what is a group of crows- Oh, I am late. Go on. Sheepy: Tom: … Sheepy: Tom: …. Sheepy: Tom: ​The way I DIED. Sheepy: Tom: aren’t these facts fun? hahaha! Sheepy: Sheepy: You.. died to a group of crows? Arsé-kun: Lupin: ? Sheepy: Tom: … Sheepy: Tom: its a murder Sheepy: Tom: do you want to know any more fun bird facts Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Ah. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he now looks uneasy* Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Sure, Tom. Sheepy: Tom: did you know that the trait of laying brown eggs and the trait of red ear lobes are connected in chickens Arsé-kun: Lupin: Amazing. Sheepy: Tom: the first bird domesticated by humans were geese Arsé-kun: Lupin: Why are they such jerks? Sheepy: Tom: geese? Sheepy: Tom: So what’s so bad about the goose? First off, they are mean. They would rip your face off of your skull and do the Mexican hat dance on it if given the chance to. Sheepy: Tom: geese are territorial birds and see you as a lower being. if you make a lot of ruckus, such as car honking, theyll believe youre the alpha male and will follow you around rather than going after you. it really depends on who they see as an alpha male. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he looks to Sheepy* This isn’t too bad, is it? Sheepy: Sheepy: n-no, but… I doubt this is how it’s going to be like… Arsé-kun: Lupin: It isn’t too far off. Sheepy: Tom: from my experience its not too bad not having your feet on the ground but then again im a ghost Sheepy: Tom: i go through walls Sheepy: Tom: and dont feel pain Sheepy: Tom: like if you stabbed me i wouldnt feel anything Sheepy: Tom: because why would you stab a ghost Sheepy: Tom: thats stupid Sheepy: Tom: that being said Sheepy: Tom: im usually in your house somewhere Sheepy: Tom: because there are some children who are troublemakers and like chasing me around with a weapon that actually hurts to be hit by Arsé-kun: Lupin: As long as it isn’t the closet- Ugh. Must I tell them off for you? Sheepy: Tom: i doubt youll get anywhere Sheepy: Tom: but i havent done anything about it because i could probably throw them pretty far but i dont want their parents or something to catch wind of that Sheepy: Tom: i hide in things i find cute. like that lamp. that lamp is cute. have you noticed that sometimes it flickers? thats me. its not the bulb. sorry. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I was wondering about that. Sheepy: Tom: oh. Sheepy: Tom: is this enough, or should i keep holding him Arsé-kun: Lupin: That is enough. Sheepy: Tom: *he drops Sheepy* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Couldn’t just put him down? Sheepy: Sheepy: so.. is that all I’m going to have to do with that??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Well, no. But some people just cannot be in the air. Sheepy: Sheepy: What do you mean? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Airsick. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Well I don’t think I am… Arsé-kun: Lupin: We’d know if you had been. So, I’d say you passed that. Sheepy: Sheepy: Yeah… Arsé-kun: Lupin: .. And do not worry. I would not have you thrown off a roof, for any reason. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh.. that’s good… I thought you were being serious. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Non. Sheepy: Sheepy: Haha.. well, you got me, then. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Hmhm. *he tosses his jacket aside (finally) and sprouts his wings. he then turns so Sheepy can get a better look* Sheepy: Sheepy: ????? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Why else would I ask about the air? We can fly. Sheepy: Sheepy: We can…??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: …how??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *one flap, two flap, into the air* Sheepy: Sheepy: ???? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he comes back down, and folds his huge fukin wings* Tis not too hard, after practicing. Sheepy: Sheepy: But where did they come from? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Much like the stripes, they can be hidden at will. I’m not going to make you pull yours out- It just happens. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he just stares. he doesn’t get it* Sheepy: Sheepy: So I just… will them to appear…? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. I apologize if I am not explaining clearly. This is my first time teaching such.. Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s okay! Sheepy: Sheepy: I guess I should try, now, uh… Sheepy: Sheepy: *it takes him some time, but he does get them to appear. good job buddy* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he’s genuinely impressed* Sheepy: Sheepy: Um… so I do that.. and then… Sheepy: Sheepy: ..uhhh… Sheepy: Sheepy: …I don’t know how to move them Arsé-kun: Lupin: Try shrugging your shoulders. See if they do anything. Sheepy: Sheepy: ..So you fly by aggressively shrugging your shoulders? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he laughs* Well, no. That isn’t too far off, though..! Sheepy: Sheepy: That’s good. It’d be really uncomfortable… Arsé-kun: Lupin: That would be positively absurd. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he uses big words that sound fancy so he must be someone not to mess with* Arsé-kun: Lupin: .. And we still have not come up with a name for you. Sheepy: Sheepy: Yeah, that’s true… umm.. I don’t have any ideas, though… Sheepy: Sheepy: Sorry.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: The only thing that comes to mind whenever I want to address you is “Sheep”, unfortunately. That is not a proper name. Sheepy: Sheepy: I look like a sheep??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: In my humble opinion, yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… I didn’t know because I haven’t looked in the mirror as of yet. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oh! *he fetches a mirror* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he looks in the mirror* Wow! I look suspiciously like that chair in the background, haha! Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Take the ring off first, Sheepy. Sheepy: Sheepy:??? Okay… *he takes it off* Sheepy: Sheepy:….Oh! There I am! Sheepy: Sheepy:…Looking at this face in the mirror… it doesn’t feel quite right… but I guess that’s me… Sheepy: Sheepy: … Wait a second, how did you know that this ring… did that? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I was hoping you weren’t actually a chair- Hm? Sheepy: Sheepy: Umm… what do you know about it…??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … A fair bit more than I should. No, I do not have one. No, they have nothing to do with being an Incubus, and no. Sheepy: Sheepy: Then where do they come from??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: May we discuss this later? It may not even be yours to begin with. Sheepy: Sheepy: I stole it?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Like I said, I do not know. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Okay. We don’t have to discuss it now. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he puts his wings away and picks up his coat* I will be back in a few hours. You may explore any room you wish, just do not leave. For your safety, I mean. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Arsé-kun: *Lupin heads out* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he watches him leave and decides to look for something that will jog his memory* Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s tempting to go outside but I don’t know what’s out there. Sheepy: Sheepy: Maybe nothing of danger but he’s testing me. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he decides just to wait it out…* Arsé-kun: *Lupin does indeed return a few hours later, and he announces his return by gracefully slamming into the door trying to keep his balance* Sheepy: Sheepy: A-Are you okay?! *he goes over to help support Lupin as best as he can* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Y-yes, mostly. I need to stop looking out of the elevator window. *he realizes what he said and promptly shuts up* Sheepy: Sheepy: There’s an elevator??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. After I, er, recover, I’ll show you. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Arsé-kun: *so about an hour later, Lupin brings Sheepy out into the hallway.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Wow. It’s an apartment! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. Sheepy: Sheepy: What floor are we on??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. 7th. Sheepy: Sheepy: Wow! So high up! Arsé-kun: Lupin: It goes higher up, if you’d like to see. Sheepy: Sheepy: Umm… not particularly, no. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Very well. The elevator is at the end of this hall. I do not mind going down in it, so if you want to explore, you may. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay! Sheepy: Sheepy: But what’s the dangerous thing?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Eh? Sheepy: Sheepy: You said it’s dangerous to go out alone. Arsé-kun: Lupin: After what happened to you, I was merely being cautious. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Arsé-kun: *so they go down i guess? idk man* Sheepy: Sheepy: Wow! It looks really nice!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nods in agreement* Sheepy: Sheepy: You lead!! I don’t know what’s around so I don’t know what to look at! Arsé-kun: Lupin: That’s me leading you around, not exploring. Sheepy: Sheepy: There’s a difference? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: But if it’s dangerous to be alone, how do I explore? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I won’t be far, I can assure you. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay… Sheepy: Sheepy: *he goes to explore, yaaay* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *and he collapses onto a nearby sofa. fuck this* Sheepy: *Unfortunately his rest is interrupted by Izzy sitting on him* Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. Must you? Sheepy: Izzy: Hi there! It looked like you weren’t gonna reply to anything else, so I tried this. Sheepy: Izzy: But I’ve got a question~ Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui, Mademoiselle. Sheepy: Izzy: Where’s the best place to put a missing child poster? You’re smart. You should know this. Arsé-kun: Lupin: If the next words out of your mouth are “He looks like a sheep”, I’m going to strangle a hooker. Get off of me, please. Sheepy: Izzy: *she moves* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Mademoiselle, there is something very fishy afoot. I would go into detail, but there is a high likelihood we would be caught mid-explanation. Sheepy: Izzy: Ohh. Hmm… well, you can explain later, right? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Most certainly, to you or… Him. Sheepy: Izzy: Him? Oh, you know about the missing kid? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I was referring to the Monsieur, but yes. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh! Thanny! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. Sheepy: Izzy: He looked like he needed a break from me so I decided to come bother you instead. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Thanks a million. Sheepy: Izzy: I only bother friends … Arsé-kun: Lupin: I am aware. I apologize, I’m in a bit of a mood. Sheepy: Izzy: What’s bothering you? Sheepy: Izzy: I can strangle whoever it is for you! Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. We’ve covered the matter before. Your response was to throw me onto a mountain for “therapy”. Sheepy: Izzy: Ohh… thaaatt… Sheepy: Izzy:…Wait a second!! I threw you off a mountain? Sheepy: Izzy: That’s awesome! Arsé-kun: Lupin: No, you threatened to. Sheepy: Izzy: But! Hey!! I’ll try to do something about it~ Sheepy: Izzy: *she raises her voice* Gee they should add opaque walls to the elevator or someone is gonna get strangled Sheepy: Izzy: *she lowers her voice* Sheepy: Izzy: But, don’t worry! I don’t think you’re wimpy because of it. Sheepy: Izzy: You’re brave, because you actually face what you fear. Most people wouldn’t do it. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … I…. Thank you. Sheepy: Izzy: Whenever you feel bad about it, just remember that bravery isn’t not being scared. It’s being able to face your fears. Sheepy: Izzy: Does that make you feel better?? I hope so. I can’t think of any other motivational things. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Actually, yes. Sheepy: Izzy: I’m glad! Sheepy: Izzy: But, look, if you need help with that, I’m here. I don’t have much to do with my time anyway. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nods* Sheepy: Sheepy: Mr. Lupin! I’m baaack! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oh! And how did it go? *he quickly stands up, partially blocking Izzy from view* Sheepy: Sheepy: I had fun!! I think I’m starting to understand the geography now! Sheepy: Izzy: you’re a dad???? Sheepy: Izzy:???????? Arsé-kun: Lupin: That’s good, that’s good- N-No! Sheepy: Izzy: he’s adorable… hello small child. I’m your mom now and you don’t have a choice in this matter Arsé-kun: Lupin: Mademoiselle, please. He is not my child. Sheepy: Izzy: Ohh. Okay. That means he might actually have a mom then. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. We do not know, though. Sheepy: Izzy: Huh. Weird. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Ah, I’m sorry I ignored you. This is one of my… Er.. Bosses, lets say. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… Sheepy: Izzy: He’s rad. He’s also a nerd his existence makes me want to give him a noogie Arsé-kun: Lupin: M-mademoiselle..! Sheepy: Izzy: Huh? Sheepy: Izzy: Am I being too informal?? Sheepy: Izzy: Okay. Lemme try to be more formal. Sheepy: Izzy: *she mimics Thanny’s voice badly* you’re fired grumble grumble paycheck grumble project grumble Sheepy: Izzy: Is that better? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Not exactly. Sheepy: Izzy: I tried. Sheepy: Sheepy: She’s your boss? Okay.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: One of two, yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: ohh. Sheepy: Izzy: Lupin, we should race RC cars later Arsé-kun: Lupin: And you call me the nerd? Sheepy: Izzy: yeah you’re a nerd Arsé-kun: Lupin: .. Thanks. Sheepy: Izzy: Like when they show people being shoved into lockers for being a nerd, the victims call upon you to bring dowm justice because you’re the giga nerd Sheepy: Sheepy: *he is lost already* Arsé-kun: Lupin: If you do not mind, Mademoiselle, I think I am going to return upstairs. Sheepy, you may come if you wish. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay! Sheepy: Izzy: See you later, man. Sheepy: Izzy: I might drop by later 'cause I’ve got a job for you. Sheepy: Izzy: Don’t worry. It’s easy. Sheepy: Izzy:…At least, for you. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I understand. Sheepy: Izzy: GREAT! Great! Sheepy: Izzy: *there she goes. goodbye izzy* Sheepy: Sheepy: … She’s weird. Arsé-kun: Lupin: M-hm. Sheepy: Sheepy: …What kinda job do you have that has you working for her??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Later. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he gets up, and heads for the elevator* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he follows* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *open sesame, elevator* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he enters the elevator. the windows are still so cool, wooow* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he presses the button and faces away from the window, concentrating on the elevator door* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he doesn’t even notice that Lupin isn’t looking out. scenery is more important right* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *and now we wait* Arsé-kun: *1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, wait, what* Sheepy: Sheepy: …eh? Sheepy: Sheepy: …We’ve been going for a while… haven’t we…? Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. Oh, not this again.. Sheepy: Sheepy: ? Arsé-kun: Lupin: .. It breaks sometimes when going up, and goes to the wrong floor. We can just use the stairs to go down, it’s not a worry. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, that’s good… Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he leans back, using the rail to stay balanced* So we just need to wait a minute. Sheepy: Sheepy: Are you okay? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes, I’m fine. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, okay, that’s good… Sheepy: Sheepy: but are you going to be okay?? Arsé-kun: *And it dont stop goin and it dont stop goin and it dont stop-oh it stopped* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. Sheepy: Sheepy Okay, that’s good. Sheepy: Sheepy: But don’t push yourself. Arsé-kun: *The elevator stopped, y'know* Sheepy: Sheepy: We should get out. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Possibly. *he hits the Open Door button. It’s the roof. k* Sheepy: Sheepy: Wow… we’re high up! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes, we are. Sheepy: Sheepy: …. so there’s a staircase around here.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Right over there. *he points it out* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he heads over to the staircase* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he follows, making sure not to look anywhere else but the staircase* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he seems to be keeping an eye on Lupin* Arsé-kun: Lupin: … What? I’m fine. Sheepy: Sheepy: You sure? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. You’re awfully concerned for someone you just met. Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh? Ummm… well, you just didn’t look so good earlier. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I’m fine. It’s okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay… Sheepy: Sheepy: *he stops at the stairs and waits for Lupin* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he catches up* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he heads down the stairs* Arsé-kun: *so does Lupin. Intense* Sheepy: *Sheepy doesn’t actually trip down the stairs. good job buddy* Arsé-kun: *Lupin almost does, but that’s because he’s a moron. A+.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he looks over* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *nothing happened I swear* Sheepy: Sheepy: *okay* Sheepy: Sheepy: By the way, why didn’t we take the stairs up? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Because they’re a mess. Sheepy: Sheepy: Did your boss destroy them? Arsé-kun: Lupin: At least once, probably. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Sheepy: Sheepy: Maybe your boss knows something about that ring of mine. Although, if it’s not mine, it’s kinda useless… Arsé-kun: Lupin: Most likely. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh! Well, if you want, you can have it for now so you can show it to her. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I’d rather not. You already have it, so. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why do you dress really fancy while your boss was wearing sandals with socks? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Preferences. Sheepy: Sheepy: Do you do evil things? Sheepy: Sheepy: Because only evil people wear sandals with socks Arsé-kun: Lupin: There is an entire culture who do that, you know. Sheepy: Sheepy: There is? Sheepy: Sheepy:…I think she also planted that flower garden I saw… it had all yellow flowrs except for one, which was red. Arsé-kun: Lupin: That was her, yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: But… but why…??? Sheepy: Sheepy: That’s so…mean… Arsé-kun: Lupin: I thought it looked nice. Sheepy: Sheepy: But it’s completely fine until the one red flower. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I think it makes it stand out. Sheepy: Sheepy: But it had the opportunity to just be completely yellow. Sheepy: Sheepy: And then that red flower happened. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I used to joke about it being me in a world of idiots. Not anymore, of course, that would be rude. Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh? Why not anymore? Arsé-kun: Lupin: It’s simply rude. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Arsé-kun: *Getting back into the apartment, there’s a few papers and pictures on the table that had not been there earlier. Lupin does not notice them.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Where did these papers and pictures come from? *he goes over to look at them* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Eh? What are- Ah! *he goes over and puts his hand over them* Do not worry, do not worry! Sheepy: Sheepy: ?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: It does not concern you. Mademoiselle did state she had a job for me.. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: The way you’re acting … makes it seem really suspicious… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Well, actually… *he takes the papers and leaves the pictures* You can look those over, in the off chance they’ll spark a memory- Hm? I.. I just do not like discussing the details, I apologize. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he looks at the pictures* Arsé-kun: *it’s just pictures of people. nothing too exciting* Sheepy: Sheepy: Wow. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ? Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s people. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: Your job is photography? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Non. Sheepy: Sheepy: ??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I did say to not worry, did I not? Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: But I can’t think of any job that would require anything like this. I don’t recognize any of these people, either… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Then don’t think about it. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: You’ve got a really weird job … Arsé-kun: Lupin: Indeed. I would quite dislike if either of my bosses got angry at me, so I believe I am going to take care of this now. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he bends over, takes something out from under the sofa, and heads out before Sheepy can get a good look at it* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he watches Lupin leave* Arsé-kun: *he is Gone* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he waits a bit to make sure Lupin doesn’t suddenly return before checking under the sofa* Arsé-kun: *there is nothing else there* Sheepy: Sheepy: *oh.* Arsé-kun: *there’s a noise like a firecracker from the roof, then a second. no more after that* Sheepy: Sheepy:….??? *he wonders if he should go investigate * Arsé-kun: *he could if he wants to* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he remembers the warning about it being dangerous outside, but at the same time. he’s curious. curiosity wins and he goes to check it out* Arsé-kun: *the elevator is currently in use. take the stairs? y/n* Sheepy: *y* Arsé-kun: *So he does. Lupin is not up there, but whatever he was carrying is.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he assumes that it’s intended for Lupin’s bosses, and doesn’t touch it. Arsé-kun: *But is there harm in seeing what it is?* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he is tempted to see, but wonders if Lupin will check on it soon* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he decides to stay put and see if anything happens* Arsé-kun: *nothing does. yippee* Sheepy: *he gets really curious and decides to check it out* Arsé-kun: *That is a gun. That is most definitely a gun. A long gun. Longgun. And if Sheepy decides to touch it, it’s still warm* Sheepy: Sheepy: *WELL BETTER GET OUT OF HERE FAST HAHAHA* Arsé-kun: *So Sheepy goes… Somewhere. Where?* Sheepy: *he decides the place to go is the best hide-y hole he can find in the building to give himself some time to think through the gun* Arsé-kun: *he isn’t interrupted and doesn’t find anything on the way.* Sheepy: Sheepy: well he isn’t looking for me it seems… so maybe the contents weren’t intended and he was framed… Sheepy: Sheepy: But the longer I stay out, the more suspicious it’ll seem Arsé-kun: *There is some noise from elsewhere* Arsé-kun: *and a door closing* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he looks over at the noise* Arsé-kun: *he sees a closed door. exciting* Sheepy: Sheepy: … … ? *he looks at his surroundings* Arsé-kun: *someone was there, he can tell. their shadow just disappeared from view. huh.* Sheepy: Sheepy: ….? *he considers going out of his hiding place to look, but…* Arsé-kun: *well, they are certainly gone now* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he gets out of his hiding spot and looks around* Arsé-kun: *AINT SHIT. Check closet y/n* Arsé-kun: *HEY KIDS, YOU KNOW WHAT’S BETTER THAN SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET? DEAD BODIES IN THE CLOSET! GEE, WOWZERS!* Sheepy: Sheepy: ??!! *he screams, but covers his mouth to try not to attract any attention. he proceeds to close the closet door and go back to hiding. nooooope* Arsé-kun: Lupin, from a few floors up, and very muffled: SHEEPY?! WAS THAT YOU?! WHERE ARE YOU?! Sheepy: Sheepy: *he isn’t sure if he should reply or not… so he does his best to remain quiet, trying to decide between his two choices* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he continues calling for Sheepy, taking a risk with the ruined stairs * Sheepy: Sheepy: *he tries to get his voice to work to reply to Lupin. That doesn’t work too well* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he’s beginning to sound worried* Sheepy: Sheepy: *oh shoot. oh shoot. he tries a few times, the first three or four times his voice can’t get all too high, and the last he finally manages to get out a “I’m here!”* Arsé-kun: *Lupin nearly falls down the stairs getting to him, and boy oh boy is he worried* Arsé-kun: Lupin: A-are you all right?! Sheepy: Sheepy: I..sorry..I…closet…t​here’s… … h-heard noise on roof… and.. and uh… so I hid here because uh… then… someone came.. b-but… closet.. Sheepy: Sheepy: There’s a body i-in the closet! Whoever was here put it there! I didn’t see them but I’m sure of it!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he pales a little at the mention of the closet* … A-ah… Th-that… Sheepy: Sheepy: D-Did you see them?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I, er, did see, y-yes… Let’s go upstairs, away from it.. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he stands up* okay… Sheepy: Sheepy:… why was it there…?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. ….. Sheepy: Sheepy: Y-you don’t know either, huh… w..well, let’s be careful… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … No. I am fully aware of it. *he takes a moment to regain his composure* Once again, let us go elsewhere. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: You know … the body itself isn’t that scary. It’s just that someone left it there… … Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. Had nowhere else to put it, perhaps? Sheepy: Sheepy:…but it’s more that the person who put it there is the scary one… Sheepy: Sheepy: so let’s try to avoid them, okay? Arsé-kun: Lupin: ………….. Sheepy: Sheepy: Is… is something wrong? Sheepy: Sheepy: Did they threaten you?? I’ll fight them! It’s okay! You’ll be safe from them!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: N-no.. Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh? What is it then? Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. Let’s go upstairs. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Arsé-kun: *and they go, with Lupin visibly nervous the entire time* Sheepy: *and Sheepy is focused on Lupin* Sheepy: Sheepy: Um, since we’re here now, someone’s trying to frame you! They put the murder weapon in your bag! Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Non. Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh? But… but I saw it in your bag… Arsé-kun: Lupin: It was there, correct. Sheepy: Sheepy:…but then…why are you sure no one framed you? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he quietly takes a seat, and waits for Sheepy to catch on* Sheepy: Sheepy:…you… you killed… them..? th…that body’s… something you left there …?? Sheepy: Sheepy:…. but why? Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. *he shakes his head* No choice. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he parrots the words back again a few times* … … no choice… uh, are you g-going to… kill me..? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he looks rather horrified at the idea, and he quickly shakes his head* N-non, most certainly not..! Sheepy: Sheepy: … Okay. I believe you. Sheepy: Sheepy: I won’t tell anyone what I saw. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … … You do not have to do that. Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh? But it’d be bad to tell anyone, because then you’d get in trouble, and you don’t want to do it anyway. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I… I did not expect you to take this so.. Easily.. Sheepy: Sheepy: They aren’t scary. It’s just the people who make them that’s scary. But you’re not bad, so it’s okay. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Very well. If you ever feel you need to leave, go on ahead. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: I don’t feel like I do… Sheepy: Sheepy: I mean, unless you want me to. But it’s safer here than out there… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … I suppose. Sheepy: Sheepy: It is! Because I know you won’t try to hurt me because you said you wouldn’t! But no one else has! Arsé-kun: Lupin: … You’ve got an awful lot of trust in me. Sheepy: Sheepy: ?? “Trust”? Arsé-kun: Lupin: The belief that I will do as I said. Sheepy: Sheepy: Of course you will! Because you said so! Sheepy: Sheepy: People… people don’t actually say things and then not do them, do they? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Some do. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why…?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: A multitude of reasons. Sheepy: Sheepy:???? Sheepy: Sheepy: I didn’t know that. Sheepy: Sheepy: But I doubt you would, because you told me about it. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …… I see. I… I am sorry you had to see that.. Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s okay. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … I don’t understand you. Sheepy: Sheepy:? Sheepy: Sheepy: What do you mean? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Do not worry about it. It is not a bad thing. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay! Sheepy: Sheepy: Why are you paid to kill? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I’m… Not really.. Paid, exactly. Sheepy: Sheepy: Then how do you pay for your room? Arsé-kun: Lupin: By working. Sheepy: Sheepy: But you don’t get paid. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I do not need to be. I work, I get more time to live here. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: I hope me staying with you doesn’t affect anything… Arsé-kun: Lupin: I hope not. Sheepy: Sheepy: I’m sure your boss will understand! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I sure hope they- *there’s a knock at the door, followed by a quieter one* Sheepy: Sheepy:??? Sheepy: Sheepy: Is that your boss? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Judging by the- Arsé-kun: *the door is kicked open* Sheepy: Sheepy:!!! Arsé-kun: Impey: YO LUPE MY DUDEEEEE Sheepy: Fran: You could’ve waited a bit longer before doing that… it might break for good one day… Sheepy: Sheepy:…….“Lupe”? Sheepy: Sheepy: Do you know them, or are they robbers? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Thankfully, ye- Arsé-kun: Impey: DUUUUUDE, WHEN’D YOU ADOPT Sheepy: Fran: I didn’t know you had a kid. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. ……… I don’t, two you. It’s only temporary. Sheepy: Sheepy: He’s letting me stay with him until I get my memory back. Sheepy: Sheepy: It was stolen from me after they turned me into this… Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nods to confirm* Impey, Fran, this is Sheepy. Sheepy: Fran: It’s nice to meet you. (but how does he know that’s his name) Arsé-kun: Impey: So is he a new Ink? Have ya taught him to stick it in yet? *he gets punched by Lupin. Hard* Yow! Take a joke! Sheepy: Sheepy: What? Arsé-kun: Lupin: He’s asking if you’ve fed for yourself yet. Sheepy: Sheepy: oh… Sheepy: Sheepy: *he is visibly grossed out* … Arsé-kun: Impey: *he observes* That a no? Sheepy: Sheepy: I haven’t. It sounds nasty. Sheepy: Sheepy: You’re kinda weird… Arsé-kun: Impey: *ouch.* Sheepy: Sheepy:? Sheepy: Sheepy: That wasn’t meant to be an insult. It’s just weird to ask about that. Arsé-kun: Impey: Not for us it ain’t! *he grins, baring his fangs* You’d better get used to it, kiddo. Sheepy: Fran: It is a bitof an awkward question to ask… Arsé-kun: Impey: Naaaah. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he shakes his head* I don’t like girls or boys. Arsé-kun: Impey: Huh. Sheepy: Sheepy: They’re gross. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I would like to assume! That you two have vacation time and that is why you are here? Sheepy: Fran: *he nods* Sheepy: Sheepy: Do you have the same job he does? Arsé-kun: Impey: Nope! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Mon aéroglisseur est plein d'anguilles! There is no need to question him so much! Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Okay. …. but why not? Sheepy: Fran: It’s not busy where I currently work, and they didn’t seem to need me currently, so I, uh, took some time off.. Arsé-kun: Impey: And I wasn’t doin’ anything, so I dragged 'im to visit ya! Sheepy: Sheepy: Are they incubi as well? Arsé-kun: Impey: Some of em! Sheepy: Sheepy: ?? Arsé-kun: Impey: I am. Franny isn’t. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Sheepy: Sheepy: So he’s like that weird lady I saw earlier? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I suppose. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, okay. Sheepy: Fran: ??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: My boss. Sheepy: Fran: Oh, her… Sheepy: Fran: …she’s interesting alright. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Quite. Arsé-kun: Impey: I don’t know, I think you’re more interesting~ Sheepy: Fran: I am? *he doesn’t seem to get that that’s a flirt. oh well.* Arsé-kun: Impey: :3c Sheepy: Izzy: Wow! It’s a party in here! Why didn’t you invite me? *her tone becomes serious, if not threatening* ​Is it because you did terribly at your most recent job?​ *it goes back to its cheerful tone* Hahahah! That’s okay! I believe in you! You can do better next time! Sheepy: Izzy: As long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything! ​I’d seriously recommend taking that advice. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he flinches* R-right, Mademoiselle.. That won’t happen again..! Sheepy: Izzy: Huh? Why’re you so scared? Don’t worry. I’m not actually mad. Sheepy: Izzy: Accidents happen. I’m not too concerned about it. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nods. he’s still a bit scared tbh* Arsé-kun: Impey: *this is awkward, better start flirting with the boyfriendo* Sheepy: Fran: *impey no* Arsé-kun: Impey: *IMPEY YES.* Sheepy: Fran: *but why* Arsé-kun: Impey: <3 Sheepy: Izzy: You’re like… not comic relief, but a relief from every boring person who I work with. Especially Thanny. He’s so grumpy all the time. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I would hope I am not comic relief. Sheepy: Izzy: They’re all like, “You can’t make a remote control monster truck and then take over a whole city with it!” What do they do for fun? Reading? Sheepy: Sheepy: I want to do that. Sheepy: Izzy: I know, right? I’ll be the monster truck overlord. Arsé-kun: *Lupin notices Impey and Fran, and decides to COMPLETELY IGNORE IT.* Sheepy: Izzy: I’m sure you think taking over through monster trucks is a great idea. Right, Lupin? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Clearly. Sheepy: Izzy: Great! You can be my partner in crime! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I feel honored. *he can still see Impey and Fran and it is uncomfortable* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he doesn’t appear to notice them* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *try to ignore the lovers. fail step 1.* Will you two get a room?? Sheepy: Fran: S-sorry! Sheepy: Sheepy: How do they get a room if they need to work for one??? Sheepy: Sheepy: They don’t have the same job as you, so they probably can’t own one here… Arsé-kun: Lupin: It’s not literal. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… Arsé-kun: Impey: *he takes it literally anyway, picks up Fran, exit stage left. Lupin does not look impressed* Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ……… May we move this discussion elsewhere? Sheepy: Izzy: Yeah, sure. Arsé-kun: *so they go downstairs. yippee* Sheepy: Izzy: Maaan, it must be lame to have to deal with that… fortunately, most I have to deal with is Thanny. He’s boring but that’s good. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I don’t mind too much. It’s company, and they don’t get the chance often. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh, I see. I’m willing to be company! You’re more fun to talk to than Thanny! I guess I have responsibilities though. Sheepy: Izzy: Like strangling people. Arsé-kun: Lupin: C-carrying on! Sheepy: Izzy: Huh? Sheepy: Izzy: Is there something wrong with that? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Slightly Sheepy: Izzy: What’s wrong with it? It’s my job. Sheepy: Izzy: I ​promised I would do it EVERY DAY. Sheepy: Izzy: But don’t worry! I like you, so you’re safe! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Th-thanks, I suppose… Sheepy: Izzy: You’re welcome! Sheepy: Izzy: I don’t have any problems with a friend or two living with you, though. I know you’re working in order to be able to stay here, but companionship is important. That’s what he said before he revealed that he brought five cats home. Arsé-kun: Lupin: They aren’t living with. Merely visiting. Sheepy: Izzy: Yeah, I know. You implied you’re lonely though. Sheepy: Izzy: Don’t worry. I am too. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Pas de soucis. I’ll be fine. Sheepy: Izzy: I can’t help but to worry, but… if you say so. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he seems mostly uninterested in this* Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. And if I may, might we have a meeting later this week? Sheepy: Izzy: Fine by me. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Thank you. Sheepy: Izzy: Do you have a preferred time or day? I’m free whenever. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Provided that was my week’s work, even tomorrow is fine. Sheepy: Izzy: It was, yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: I won’t leave again. Sorry for making you worry. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Hm? You may go where you wish inside. I was only worried when you yelled out. Sheepy: Sheepy: I went out because I heard something.. sorry. Arsé-kun: Lupin: My apologies. Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: How long do you expect to be gone? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I am not sure. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, okay. Sheepy: Izzy: It’s not really like you to want to have meetings, though, so I’m a bit surprised… Arsé-kun: Lupin: And I do not. But the matter requires such. Sheepy: Izzy: I get it! You feel bad 'cause I said I was lonely! You don’t need to feel bad! Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Too late? Sheepy: Izzy: I was right? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Partially Sheepy: Izzy: You’re really good at making someone feel bad, you know that? Sheepy: Izzy: You shouldn’t just hang out with me out of pity. If you aren’t enjoying it, there’s no purpose to it. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Point taken, but I still think it is necessary. Sheepy: Izzy: Well okay, whatever you say. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he glances over his shoulder at Sheepy* I do not know if my friends will be here still tomorrow or not. If they are, you may go out with them. I trust them enough to allow it. Sheepy: Sheepy: Really? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Really. Sheepy: Sheepy: Thank you! Sheepy: Izzy: I’ll be looking forward to it. Sheepy: Izzy: Is that all you wanted to discuss, or…? Arsé-kun: Lupin: More or less. Sheepy: Izzy: Ohh, okay. Well, I’ll let you get back to whatever, then! Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Might be a bit before then. *he glances at the ceiling momentarily* Sheepy: Izzy: Oh. Sheepy: Izzy: That… Arsé-kun: Lupin: It’s weirder for me than it is for you. Sheepy: Sheepy: I used some of your paper to draw earlier… I hope your don’t mind. Sheepy: Izzy: I can see how it’d be weirder for you. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I do not mind. Sheepy: Izzy: I’m glad my friends aren’t like that. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay, that’s good. Sheepy: Izzy: I never understood that about Incubi… Sheepy: Izzy: You’re different, which I’m glad for. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Not really. Sheepy: Izzy: You’re different from most I’ve met. Sheepy: Izzy: Most of them are annoying… Arsé-kun: Lupin: I take this to be a compliment. Sheepy: Izzy: It is! Sheepy: Izzy: If you were part of the group of annoying ones… Sheepy: Izzy:….When I first met you, ​my scythe would’ve been the last thing you saw. Sheepy: Izzy: Hahaha, what? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *awkward laugh* Indeed… Sheepy: Sheepy: I want to see your scythe. Sheepy: Izzy: I don’t have it with me, but you can see it later! I recently found these really cute ribbons for it! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he falls quiet* … ….. Sheepy: Sheepy:…why do Incubi have horns if they aren’t going to headbutt each other to establish dominance or fend off predators??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Huh? Well, they could.. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Okay. Sheepy: Sheepy: So it’s a last resort. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. That’s often why it’s the last thing we reveal about ourselves, as well. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Arsé-kun: Lupin: As well, some groups consider it to be a highly personal thing. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Sheepy: Sheepy: I guess that makes sense… Arsé-kun: Lupin: Carrying on. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he looks like he’s trying to think of more questions to ask Arsé-kun: Lupin: … I wonder, are you able to feel what I am at the moment? Sheepy: Sheepy: ???? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Taking that as a no. Sheepy: Sheepy: I don’t think so. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why? Arsé-kun: Lupin: merely curious. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, that’s fine… Sheepy: Sheepy:…I didn’t think anything was going on though… Sheepy: Sheepy:….is that why we’re out here? I zoned out so I just followed you…. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. It is not a large deal. I was simply unsure if staying put was the best idea. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, okay, if you say so. Arsé-kun: *One timeskip to the next day later* Sheepy: Sheepy: Have fun at your meeting. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I most certainly will not. Have fun with those two. Sheepy: Sheepy: Thank you! Arsé-kun: *And Lupin heads out, yippee* Sheepy: Izzy: Heyy. You didn’t tell me what the meeting was about, so I’m not at all prepared!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I did not because whom is being discussed was present, mademoiselle. Sheepy: Izzy: Ooh, gossip. I love gossip. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Not gossip. Far more important. Sheepy: Izzy: Then what’s it about? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Your missing reaper. Sheepy: Izzy: Really? Sheepy: Izzy: I’ve missed him… Arsé-kun: Lupin: I know where he is. Sheepy: Izzy: You do?! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. He’s back in my apartment. Before you comment, I found him with a Reaper’s ring and it works for him. He also, minus being an Incubi, matches your description. *he shakes his head slightly* I just don’t fully understand how. Sheepy: Izzy:…Hmm… well, it’s not like reapers are set looking… well, human. Arsé-kun: Lupin: My point is, he lost his memory and is unaware of his Reaper status. Sheepy: Izzy: …huh. That’s a problem. Sheepy: Izzy: Who would aim for him with something like this…? That’s kinda stupid of them… were they not aware of the fact he’s my kid? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … The little he recalled was making a deal with someone, immediately followed by them taking.. something. Other than his memory, I presume. Sheepy: Izzy: I should know what’s going on, but… Sheepy: Izzy:…I really don’t. Sheepy: Izzy: He’s of the animal division. Who would he even make a deal with?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I do not, either. I have never heard of such a thing. Sheepy: Izzy: Where did you find him? I’ll start there. Arsé-kun: Lupin: On the way home. Remember how there was a small forest fire the other day? In that. Sheepy: Izzy: Ah…! Sheepy: Izzy: Okay! I’ll look there. Arsé-kun: Lupin: If you wish to. Sheepy: Izzy: It might be safer if he stays with you, though, because it might’ve been a move against me… Sheepy: Izzy: I have power, but you don’t. Sometimes, safety comes with lack of power. Arsé-kun: Lupin: He does seem to trust me. Even after knowing what it is I do.. Sheepy: Izzy: Well, that makes things easier! Arsé-kun: Lupin: It does. Do you want me to tell him what he is? Sheepy: Izzy: That’s fine by me. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Then I shall. Sheepy: Izzy: Thank you! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Je vous en prie. Sheepy: *Lupin gets a blank look as a reply* Arsé-kun: Lupin: I said you’re welcome. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh! Sheepy: Izzy: Was that all? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Mostly. The only issue with this is that, as an Incubi, he has to feed himself. He completely refuses to do such. *he pauses to word the next statement* So if I begin to make poor performances, I know why. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh…. I see. Sheepy: Izzy: Well, thanks for helping him! Arsé-kun: Lupin: You are quite welcome. Sheepy: Izzy: Poor performance is okay with a reason like this. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I understand. If I am permitted, I will take my leave. Sheepy: Izzy: Fine by me! Arsé-kun: *BYEEEE, LUPIN* Sheepy: *meanwhile, sheepy is having fun with impey and fran is having a hard time keeping up* Sheepy: Fran: I-Impey… wait up…! *he is trying to catch his breath* Sheepy: Fran: I…. I can’t keep up…! Arsé-kun: Impey: *he stops* Do I need to carry you? Sheepy: Fran: N-no! Sheepy: Fran: I’ll try harder to keep up…! Arsé-kun: *ok this sucks back to izzy* Sheepy: Izzy: Well, it was sorta good news, so for once in your existence, you should stop moping! Arsé-kun: *the shadows nearby make a grumbling noise that may or may not be a foreign swear* Sheepy: Izzy: That’s not getting up and enjoying life. Sheepy: Izzy: Are you nervous the shadows will get lonely without you? Arsé-kun: Thanatos: …. You are not funny in the slightest. Sheepy: Izzy: I’m not trying to be funny. Sheepy: Izzy: Is it impossible for me to be concerned about a partner in crime? Arsé-kun: Thanatos: ….. …… Most importantly. From what has been learned, something very foul has gone on. I can only think of one thing capable of such a thing, but it does not make sense. Sheepy: Izzy:?? Arsé-kun: Thanatos: It could not be a wish type deity or being. They do not take without permission and this clearly was such a situation. Sheepy: Izzy: Yeah… Sheepy: Izzy: It’s weird… Sheepy: Izzy: Too bad the only witness doesn’t remember it. Sheepy: Izzy: If he had his memories, we could track down whoever this is, but… Arsé-kun: Thanatos: If he had them, this entire predicament would have been solved. Sheepy: Izzy: That’s true.. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: But he does not. Sheepy: Izzy: Maybe we could try asking wish type deities or beings about it. Sheepy: Izzy: That’s hard though… Arsé-kun: Thanatos: Perhaps. Some are easily offended, as well, so it would be dangerous. Sheepy: Izzy: That’s true. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: Furthermore, even Incubi do not know how they can be “created”, and thus are of no assistance. Sheepy: Izzy: Thanks, Incubi. Sheepy: Izzy: Man… what a choice though. Sheepy: Izzy: An incubus, of all things… Arsé-kun: Thanatos: Mhm. And he refuses to feed? That will not end well. Sheepy: Izzy: Not surprised about that part. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: It will affect both of their performances, possibly permanently. Sheepy: Izzy: That’s an issue, definitely… Arsé-kun: Thanatos: If I recall correctly, sharing energy can only be done for so long before one side is forced to weaken. Incubi are not adapted to do that sort of thing. Sheepy: Izzy: I’m glad Lupin is helping, but I’ll feel bad if he’s damaged in the process. Sheepy: Izzy:…'Forced to weaken’?? Arsé-kun: Thanatos: Not have as much energy as necessary. They may weaken to the point where reversal is impossible. Sheepy: Izzy:…That’s…not good at all… I wonder if Lupin knows this. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: I cannot say. He seemed to know, but may not know the entirety of consequences. Sheepy: Izzy:…maybe I should tell him… Sheepy: Izzy: But you know more about it. Sheepy: Izzy: And I might mess up an important detail.. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: You may. I will come with, though. Sheepy: Izzy: OK! Sheepy: *she goes to visit lupin i guess* Arsé-kun: *She goes and knocks (the door down maybe) but he doesn’t go and get it* Sheepy: Izzy: I feel super rejected! Sheepy: Izzy: What a rude individual! Arsé-kun: Thanatos: ….. *he tests the doorknob. It opens* Sheepy: Izzy: And that’s careless. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: Considering no one else is here… Hm Sheepy: Izzy: Maybe someone broke in. Sheepy: Izzy: That would be no good at all. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: I doubt this scenario. Sheepy: Izzy: No idea, then. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: How about… You do as you intended, and I will check the perimeters. Sheepy: Izzy: So go in? Sounds good to me Arsé-kun: Thanatos: *he walks away. bye* Sheepy: *she goes in* Arsé-kun: *Lupin’s not in the living room!* Sheepy: Izzy: …? Arsé-kun: *Better check a different room!* Arsé-kun: *which* Sheepy: *a room. select a room.* Arsé-kun: *well fuck you, too, theres only two rooms to check nearby* Sheepy: *she checks room #1* Arsé-kun: *that is a bedroom, and he is indeed there* Sheepy: Izzy: *oh whoops. but she’s got a message to give…* Arsé-kun: *well, go wake him up if you need to* Sheepy: Izzy: *she goes and wakes up Lupin* Arsé-kun: Lupin: …….? ?? Sheepy: Izzy: Hi, Thanny told me there’s stuff I still have to tell you. He came along, but I don’t know where he is right now. Sheepy: Izzy: ..By the way, you left your door unlocked. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ..! *he sits up and blinks* I told them to lock it on the way out…. Sheepy: Izzy: So you weren’t the careless one. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Why would I leave it unlocked…? Sheepy: Izzy: *she shrugs* Arsé-kun: Thanatos: *he has returned, and he slinks in, keeping close to the shadows on the wall* Sheepy: Izzy: There’s Thanny. He’s got something important to say to you. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: ….. You. Said you were going to say it. Sheepy: Izzy: Dude…. I don’t remember what you said, just that it was super important for him to know and a great risk to his health. You have all of the weasel words that made it sound as terrifying as it did. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh, right. Arsé-kun: Thanatos: …. I worded it honestly. Sheepy: Izzy: Basically you’re not supposed to transfer energy to him or whatever because after a while it can kill you. Sheepy: Izzy: And dying is bad. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *this is really awkward, and nervewracking.* But of course… Sheepy: Izzy: Can’t Incubi be child friendly in their feeding habits? Arsé-kun: Lupin: N-not that I am aware of… Sheepy: Izzy: I feel bad for your entire species. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. C-can you guys wait in a different room, perhaps? Sheepy: Izzy: Yup! Arsé-kun: *So Lupin makes himself more presentable, and goes out* Arsé-kun: *We’ve basically covered this already, so lets cut to team Moron: Aka, Impey, Fran, and Sheepy.* Arsé-kun: *the good news is that they’ve finally sat down. the bad news is that Impey is being a disappointment. because he is talking* Sheepy: Sheepy: If you’re going to the moon, I want to go too!! Sheepy: *dont worry fran is good at tuning him out* Arsé-kun: Impey: *0* You’d be a much better partner to go with than Lupin! Sheepy: Sheepy: We can fight aliens on the moon!! Arsé-kun: Impey: I like the way you think! Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh! Is there actually a man on the moon? Sheepy: Sheepy: Doesn’t he get lonely? Arsé-kun: Impey: I’ve got no clue! We need to find out! Sheepy: Sheepy: Let’s be friends with him!! Arsé-kun: Impey: Should we bring Fran, too? Sheepy: Sheepy: Yeah!! Sheepy: Fran: Huh? Bring me where? Arsé-kun: Impey: The moon! Sheepy: Fran: Oh. I’m willing to come. Arsé-kun: Impey: Yaaaay! Sheepy: Fran: It sounds like fun. Arsé-kun: *There’s someone looking at you, Fran* Sheepy: Fran: ….? Sheepy: Fran: Um… can I help you? Arsé-kun: Watson: *howdy* Sheepy: Fran: Oh, um, hi. Arsé-kun: Watson: *he takes Fran’s glasses off his head and onto his face* That may help. Sheepy: Fran: Oh! Watson! Arsé-kun: Watson: Good afternoon, Frankenstein. I will cut directly to the chase. *he returns two books* Sheepy: Fran: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed them. Sheepy: Sheepy:…? Arsé-kun: Watson: I did, yes. Holmes may have learned something, as well. Sheepy: Sheepy: Fran-ken-stein??? Arsé-kun: Impey: I think it’s German. Wait, no, that isn’t right Sheepy: Fran: Oh, good, good. Sheepy: Fran: Er, it is, yes. Arsé-kun: Impey: Oh! I got it right that time! Sheepy: Sheepy: Why is his name long and complicated? Arsé-kun: Impey: Because German is long and complicated! Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh!! Arsé-kun: Watson: ? Don’t tell me you two have adopted a child. Sheepy: Sheepy: Who is this guy? Is he an incubus?? Sheepy: Fran: A friend of ours found him. He had a meeting and asked us to babysit him. Arsé-kun: Watson: Ah, that makes more sense. And no, I am not an incubus. Sheepy: Sheepy: Someone stole something very important from me. I can’t remember a thing. Arsé-kun: Watson: Oh? Perhaps I may be of assistance. I AM a doctor. Sheepy: Sheepy: Really?? Sheepy: Sheepy: That would be super nice!! Arsé-kun: Watson: Yes. I would love to, but now is not the time. I need to catch up with my partner. Perhaps next time we meet we may discuss it further. Sheepy: Sheepy: Thank you very much Mr. not an incubus! Arsé-kun: Watson: Aren’t you funny. You may call me Watson. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay, Watson! Arsé-kun: *And so Watson goes to find his partner. Where has he gone this time.* Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh! William!! Arsé-kun: Watson: It’s Watson. What are you doing up there? Sheepy: Sherlock: I want to understand how cats feel when they’re in trees. Arsé-kun: Watson: So you can’t get down? Sheepy: Sherlock: You’re very bright, Winchester! Arsé-kun: Watson: I give up. Sheepy: Sherlock: So now I know what they feel is fear! Amazing! Sheepy: Sherlock: If I fall, I could break my neck and die. Sheepy: Sherlock: You should try it out as well! Arsé-kun: Watson: …… I can’t get up there. Sheepy: Sherlock: Why not? Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s very easy! Arsé-kun: Watson: *he, instead, helps Sherlock get down* Arsé-kun: Watson: May I ask you a question, while you are here? Sheepy: Sherlock: Yup! Arsé-kun: Watson: Why is the television always on the weather channel? Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, er… Arsé-kun: Watson: It’s been two weeks, and I have never seen it off. Do you just like the background noise? Sheepy: Sherlock: Because I need to know if I need an umbrella. Sheepy: Sherlock: That too!! Arsé-kun: Watson: Hm, hm. I see. Sheepy: Sherlock: But, don’t worry about it! You can change it if you want! Arsé-kun: Watson: Oh, no need. I was merely curious. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh! Okay! Arsé-kun: *So team Moron have returned to the apartment!* Sheepy: Sheepy: We’re back!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *He’s seated on the sofa, looking rather thoughtful. He does look up, though* Eh? Welcome back! Sheepy: Fran: Watson said that he may help later. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oh? How..? Sheepy: Fran: Um, checking him, I guess. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I suppose that would be helpful… Sheepy: Fran: I didn’t really think to ask why. Sheepy: Sheepy: He might figure out how I can feed without needing to use other people to do so… Sheepy: Sheepy: Because doctors know everything, right?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Sure. Sheepy: Sheepy: Great!! Sheepy: Sheepy: I’m gonna get my memories back soon at this rate!! Arsé-kun: Impey: :D Sheepy: Fran: Er… yeah. Sheepy: Fran: Ah… it occurs to me now… I was meant to be the one who locked the door, wasn’t I? But I forgot… my apologies! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Perhaps. No harm done. Sheepy: Fran: I’ll check next time! Sheepy: Fran: I’ll do my best to remember it in the future. Arsé-kun: Lupin: That’s fine. How did today’s outing go? Sheepy: Sheepy: It was really fun!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I’m glad. Sheepy: Sheepy: Impey and I are going to go befriend the man on the moon one day!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oh? Have fun. Sheepy: Sheepy: Yeah!! Sheepy: Sheepy: Fran’s coming too!! Sheepy: Fran: Oh, right, I am.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nods.* Have fun, you three. And Fran, if I may, when do you have to work again? Sheepy: Fran: Oh, uh… I’ll need to check that for you… I’ve forgotten the date. Sheepy: Fran: Why do you ask? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Well, I would not want you to miss work trying to reach the moon with these children. *he sounds like he’s joking, but he isn’t smiling* Sheepy: Fran: Is something wrong, Lupin? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Impey’s mouth is open, he’s about to speak. God save us. *again, he sounds like he’s kidding* Arsé-kun: *Impey promptly flips Lupin off from the safety of behind Fran* Sheepy: Fran: You seem upset… Arsé-kun: Lupin: Not upset. Do not worry yourself over it. Sheepy: Fran: You’re making me worry more. Sheepy: Sheepy: Maybe he got fired. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I- Non. Not at all. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he seems curious anout what’s up* Arsé-kun: Lupin: There is no way to put this lightly. Sheepy, we need to talk. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay!! Sheepy: Fran: Impey, we should let them, er, talk alone. Arsé-kun: Impey: Should we “get a room”? Sheepy: Fran: Not in that sense Arsé-kun: Impey: I’m being bullied. Sheepy: Fran: But, Impey, we really shouldn’t. It might unnerve them. Arsé-kun: Impey: I’m going to starve and die. Arsé-kun: Impey: Not really! We’ll head upstairs, Lupe! Sheepy: Fran: Thanks Impey. Arsé-kun: *so fran and impey leave, I guess* Sheepy: Sheepy: OK!! What did you want to tell me? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Quite a bit, actually. Sit down. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he sits down* Arsé-kun: Lupin: I’ll start with the good news. *he grins rather suddenly* My boss and I were able to figure out who you were! Sheepy: Sheepy: Really??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui! Sheepy: Sheepy: Who am I?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Well, you were actually originally under her service helping animals. She had commented on losing one of her reapers, but I had never thought about it.. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh!! That makes sense! Arsé-kun: Lupin: It does. The only part we are unsure about is how you became an incubus, as you were not before. Sheepy: Sheepy: I don’t know, either. But the person who made me lose my memories is definitely the one who made me this way. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I am inclined to agree. Sheepy: Sheepy: And they stole my special thing! How could they…? Sheepy: Sheepy: Good news implies there’s bad news, though… Arsé-kun: Lupin: Correct. Arsé-kun: *Lupin then explains what Izzy and Thanatos told him regarding the energy passing* Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… Sheepy: Sheepy: Hmm… I don’t know what to do. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Nor do I… Sheepy: Sheepy: Because I don’t want to do that. Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s not right to leech off of people, I think. Arsé-kun: Lupin: It isn’t as if we have much of a choice. Sheepy: Sheepy: But it’s gross to do it that way. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Considering you’re also a reaper, you may not have to. Sheepy: Sheepy: Yeah, that makes sense to me!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: There is food in the fridge. … I don’t know if it’s any good, but it is there. Sheepy: Sheepy: That could work! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I’ll have to ask her next time I see her. Sheepy: Sheepy: Thanks a lot!! Sheepy: Sheepy: I doubt most people would be as kind as you. Sheepy: Sheepy: So I’m lucky you’re the one who found me! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I Sheepy: Sheepy:…? Sheepy: Sheepy: Is everything okay? Sheepy: Sheepy: Did i say something weird? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Did we not have the discussion where I disagreed with your statement already? Sheepy: Sheepy: I still think so. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I continue to disagree. Sheepy: Sheepy: It’s still my opinion. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I suppose. Sheepy: Sheepy: But, thank your boss for me too!! Sheepy: Tom: woa Sheepy: Tom: did you guys miss me Sheepy: Tom: i went on an adventure Sheepy: Tom: it was very exciting. i was a dog toy Arsé-kun: Lupin: YES, Tom. Sheepy: Tom: they’re sharp and hurt my dog toy soul Sheepy: Tom: im just an innocent little dog toy Sheepy: Tom: you should join me next time lupin Sheepy: Tom: although on a full moon you’d be a dog toy too Arsé-kun: Lupin: … What? Sheepy: Tom: it’d rip you to shreds on a full moon probably and if you live you won’t enjoy the next full moon Arsé-kun: Lupin: What are you talking about? Sheepy: Tom: i saw some things lupin Sheepy: Tom: like a guy turning into a dog. it was disturbing Sheepy: Tom: it must be what furries dream of Arsé-kun: Lupin: I… see. Sheepy: Tom: id be careful on a full moon Sheepy: Tom: because theres a furry on the loose Sheepy: Tom: although i guess they’re called werewolves? whatever just dont get bit Sheepy: Tom: or you’ll get sick as a dog Sheepy: Tom: heh Arsé-kun: Impey: *from at least two floors below them* WHO IS TALKING ABOUT DOGS WITHOUT ME?? Sheepy: Tom: i am Sheepy: Tom: you can join Sheepy: Tom: its important for health anyway Arsé-kun: *Impey enters mere moments later* Sheepy: Tom: hey Sheepy: Tom: theres a werewolf Sheepy: Tom: i posed as a dog toy Sheepy: Tom: it threw me around Arsé-kun: Impey: *he goes from excited to… more excited* Seriously?? I haven’t seen one of those yet! Sheepy: Tom: and then got sad there was no one to play with Sheepy: Tom: yea. it was disturbing watching the transformation Sheepy: Tom: i could tell you where it is if you wanna see Arsé-kun: Impey: Yeah, yeah, yea- Arsé-kun: Lupin: Non. We are not putting any of ourselves in danger just because you want to see a dog. Sheepy: Tom: suit yourself I guess Sheepy: Tom: i doubt youll ever go over to their residence or anything anyway Sheepy: Tom: and you should be ok anyway if you dont come over for dinner Arsé-kun: Lupin: All right, that’s enough. Sheepy: Tom: woah Arsé-kun: Impey: Woah? Sheepy: Tom: lupin hates dogs Arsé-kun: Lupin: I do not. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why are inflammable things flammable? Arsé-kun: Lupin: …….. What did you do? Sheepy: Sheepy: I messed up. Arsé-kun: Lupin: … *he gets up to look* Sheepy: Sheepy: I tried cooking. Arsé-kun: Impey: … Tom, my dude, my buddy, you gotta show me. Sheepy: Tom: ok i can show you Sheepy: Sheepy: Is salad meant to be cooked like this?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Don’t ever say those words in that sentence ever again. Sheepy: Sheepy:? Sheepy: Tom: come and we will gaze upon a pup Arsé-kun: *By the time Sheepy and Lupin clean up, Impey and Tom are gone. Okay.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh. They left. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Seems so. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh well!! Sheepy: Sheepy: In a way, though, it’d be terrible if the person who’s a werewolf was living with someone, because isn’t Impey basically breaking into their house? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he shrugs* Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, um.. why does your boss make you do what she makes you do? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I… am not actually sure? Sheepy: Sheepy: …You aren’t??? Sheepy: Sheepy: Maybe it’s some evil plot to take over the world and your'e actually helping!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I.. doubt that. Sheepy: Sheepy: What do you think it is then??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: If I am correct, reapers are not allowed to kill, but I have heard utterings of people having to die by a certain point. That may be it. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, I see.. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why’d you choose this job, though?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … I didn’t. Sheepy: Sheepy: Did she force you into it or something? She seems like the type. Arsé-kun: Lupin: More or less. Sheepy: Sheepy: She’s a jerk. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Sometimes, yes. Sheepy: Sheepy: I’m glad I don’t have to work for her!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: A news update: All reapers work for her. Sheepy: Sheepy: Huuuhhh??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: She is one of the two bosses of the reapers. You are one. Sheepy: Sheepy: That stinks…!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui, and- Sheepy: Izzy: *she slams in* Hey, hey, hey!! Did you tell him yet??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *jESUS CHRIST* Oui, oui I did, don’t do that! Sheepy: Izzy: Don’t do what? Talk in my normal voice and enter in my normal manner? Sheepy: Izzy: You’re super duper demanding! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Maybe so, but it would be appreciated, mademoiselle! Sheepy: Izzy: *groan* Fiiiine. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh! Don’t worry. I’m not so cruel as to make someone work when they don’t remember who they are. Sheepy: Izzy: Maybe. Sheepy: Izzy: Unless we’re understaffed. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Is that ever? Sheepy: Izzy: I don’t think so. Sheepy: Izzy: We sorta just work our entire lives forever and ever and never really die, I think. Sheepy: Izzy: Or something. Sheepy: Izzy: I don’t really think about it. Arsé-kun: Lupin: That sounds horrible. Sheepy: Izzy: I mean I guess we don’t exactly have to work, but our existence doesn’t have much purpose if we don’t. Sheepy: Izzy: Considering that reapers are specifically made for the purpose of reaping souls. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I figured you had only meant taking vacations. Arsé-kun: *meanwhile in Tom and Impey town* Sheepy: Tom: it was here Arsé-kun: Impey: I hope you mean that yard, and not this tree! Sheepy: Tom: the yard Arsé-kun: Impey: Okay, good. Sheepy: Tom: although maybe he wanted to be a cat Sheepy: Tom: you dont know Arsé-kun: Impey: Maybe. Either way, now we know where it’s coming from if anyone is hurt by it. Sheepy: Tom: yeah Sheepy: Tom: it threw me around. it was very sad. that must be the life of a dog toy Sheepy: Tom: you only realize just how reliant a dog toy is on a dog for friendship when the dog ditches you. Sheepy: Tom: although the fact that hes a werewolf implies that theres another one Sheepy: Tom: so we cant be sure its this one Arsé-kun: Impey: That’s true! It’s too bad me and Fran live elsewhere. Sheepy: Tom: its ok Sheepy: Tom: secret agent tom is here to Sheepy: Tom: die Sheepy: Tom: woah Sheepy: Tom: bird gender Sheepy: Tom: ill deduce things because im sherlock holmes ii baby Sheepy: Tom: heck yeah Arsé-kun: Impey: does that make me the john to your sherlock Sheepy: Tom: yeah Arsé-kun: Impey: I’m finally important, my dreams have come true. Sheepy: Tom: were gonna solve the case Sheepy: Tom: we probably wont need to worry about it though Arsé-kun: *ok this is boring so MEANWHILE NOWHERE CLOSE TO HERE* Sheepy: Sherlock: Willy.. it’s much too quiet. How is a detective like me going to get cases when there’s no crime?? Arsé-kun: Watson: Tack on “supernatural” to your title. Wait. Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m not at all supernatural, Wayne. Arsé-kun: Watson: I suppose. Sheepy: Sherlock: To us, we’re completely normal. For others… Sheepy: Sherlock: I believe we’re the weirdest ones here. Arsé-kun: Watson: (or you are.) Hm, hm. Sheepy: Sherlock: At least Mrs. Hudson doesn’t think we’re weird. That’s a plus. Arsé-kun: Watson: I’m very glad for that. Sheepy: Sherlock: And you don’t think I’m weird either, so that’s nice, Walter. Arsé-kun: Watson: You’re just interesting. Sheepy: Sherlock: Thank you!! *sherlock no need to bear hug him- you know what nevermind* That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me for a while!!! Arsé-kun: Watson: You’re, err, quite welcome, Holmes. Arsé-kun: Watson: They’re strange. Sheepy: Sherlock: Yeah!!! Sheepy: Sherlock: You are the only one who has called me “interesting” rather than “strange”.. Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s a relief someone feels that way, Wilson! Arsé-kun: Watson: Now if only you got my name right. Sheepy: Sherlock: I do my best… Sheepy: Sherlock: Do you have a non-W name I can try? Sheepy: Sherlock: W is a hard letter. Arsé-kun: Watson: Do you not remember that, either? Sheepy: Sherlock: I don’t. It’s… er, ehhh, Jjjjooohn…ny??? Sheepy: Sherlock: I think it’s Johnny? Sheepy: Sherlock: Maybe Jim… no, no, don’t tell me, I’ll get it eventually. Let me just search my memory. I’m sure it’s there. Arsé-kun: Watson: You were close. Sheepy: Sherlock: Hmm… Sheepy: Sherlock: Johnson???? Something like that??? Arsé-kun: Watson: Close. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, oh! John, right? Arsé-kun: Watson: you’ve got it! Sheepy: Sherlock: Great!! I told you I could get it! Arsé-kun: Watson: You did. Sheepy: *sherlock seems much happier about being right than he should.* Sheepy: Sherlock: But… why was I trying to guess your name, again? Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh well! If it were important, I wouldn’t have forgotten it. Arsé-kun: Watson: Indeed. Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s very sad. Sheepy: Sherlock: Maybe I should have chosen an area with more crime as my base of operations.. Arsé-kun: Watson: I don’t know. I think I may have something for you to work on. Sheepy: Sherlock: Really?! Arsé-kun: *Watson then repeats the information he had been given on Sheepy’s memory being stolen.* Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh…! Sheepy: Sherlock: Sounds interesting!! Sheepy: Sherlock: I’ll take the case and meet up with the kid!! I guess I should tell him that. Sheepy: Sherlock: I don’t know who he us though.. Arsé-kun: Watson: You can come when I speak with him. Sheepy: Sherlock: Really?? Thank you!! Sheepy: Sherlock: I appreciate it! Sheepy: Sherlock: Because even my caramel is feeling what it is to be lonely and without a single thing to be interested in… Sheepy: Sherlock: And my violin is sad. Sheepy: Sherlock: But Wag seems happy as ever… Sheepy: *speaking of Wag, he is here now.* Sheepy: Wag: *he hops up onto Watson’s lap. hello. I am here now!* Sheepy: Wag: *meow* Arsé-kun: Watson: *small kitty. you are my friend now? pet, pet* Sheepy: Wag: *no im a ruler and this is my throne but I’m okay with being called a friend* Arsé-kun: Watson: So, is Wag the reason there is fur all over your apartment? Sheepy: Sherlock: Yes. He was a friend’s, but they’re living somewhere that doesn’t accept pets, so they gave Wag to me. Arsé-kun: Watson: Ah, that makes sense. Sheepy: Sherlock: He likes breaking things, too, so I’d recommend not letting him get around anything fragile. Sheepy: Sherlock: Cats are cruel.. Arsé-kun: Watson: I may be inclined to agree. Sheepy: Sherlock: He knocked over some of my chemistry stuff earlier… Sheepy: Wag: *meow* Sheepy: Sherlock: And he likes to make direct eye contact with me and knock things off of places so they break. Sheepy: Wag: *what is this weird human speak? I don’t get it. let me imitate it. meow. I am part of the conversation now. acknowledge my existence. I want attention only because you aren’t giving it to me. if you were, I wouldn’t want it.* Arsé-kun: Watson: *he pets Wag* Sheepy: Wag: *good.* Sheepy: Sherlock: By the way, when’re you going to check out that kid? Arsé-kun: Watson: When they call over. His temporary parent has my number. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, really? Hmm.. oh well. At least it means I’ll get a case eventually. Arsé-kun: Watson: Here’s a case: Why is this place so messy? Didn’t we clean up last week? Sheepy: Sherlock: *he crosses his arms* … Who am I supposed to question about that? I can’t make myself break down and tell a truth that not even I know… Arsé-kun: Watson: It’s probably possible. Lets clean up. Sheepy: Sherlock: Alright! Sounds good to me! Arsé-kun: *SO THEY CLEAN* Arsé-kun: *also wag got in the way a lot. sherlock gets a cat to the face* Sheepy: Sherlock: It looks much better in here now! Arsé-kun: Watson: That, it does. Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s never like this!! Sheepy: Sherlock: I don’t recall really cleaning at all before you moved in, actually. Arsé-kun: Watson: How did you survive? Sheepy: Sherlock: I just avoided the mess. Arsé-kun: Watson: …. I’m inclined to ask. Sheepy: Sherlock: Hudson reminds me that eating, drinking, and sleeping are daily needs. Cleaning, she doesn’t ask me to do as much. Sheepy: Sherlock: She’s not so pushy about the sleeping part, either, really. Sheepy: Sherlock: So… Sheepy: Sherlock: It isn’t too important, if I forget it, I think. Arsé-kun: Watson: We’ll see about that. Sheepy: Sherlock: Although… I guess you’re a doctor, right? Sheepy: Sherlock: I guess whatever you say is necessary for the human body, is necessary for the human body… oh well. Arsé-kun: *and we skip ahead to much later* Arsé-kun: *Watson glances towards the hallway as a CRASH was heard, and he spots a shadow against the wall. A particularly large one. He peeks out, and it’s.. Wagahai, standing next to a downed lamp.* Sheepy: Wag: *meow* Arsé-kun: Watson: *he seems relieved. Also, the front door closes. Did Sherlock leave? Whatever, it’s too late to chase him.* Sheepy: Wag: *he doesn’t appear to think anything weird is happening* Arsé-kun: *so where’s sherlock?* Sheepy: *there is a noise of something bumping at the door. Hudson goes to get the door and. THE DOG IS IN* Arsé-kun: Watson: *WHAT IS THAT. IS THAT A DOG* Sheepy: Dog: *I AM HERE NOW!!! HELLO EVERYONE!!* Sheepy: *Hudson doesn’t seem all too surprised about this. Wag goes over to greet the dog.* Arsé-kun: Watson: *he heads out and leans slightly over the banister* Holmes never mentioned having a canine to me..! Sheepy: Hudson: Oh… this pup isn’t Holmes’. I really wouldn’t worry about him, though. He’s very friendly. Arsé-kun: Watson: *he slowly comes downstairs and Wow that is a Big Dog* Sheepy: Dog: *THAT LOOKS LIKE FRIEND MATERIAL!!! LET ME WAG MY TAIL AND ACT SUPER EXCITED* Sheepy: Wag: *meow* Arsé-kun: Watson: Ms. Hudson, pardon my asking, but are you quite sure that is a dog..? Sheepy: Hudson: It certainly acts like one. Sheepy: Dog: *it jumps onto Watson. HELLO HELLO I AM DOG I HAVE BIG TEETH BUT IGNORE THAT IM 100% A DOG* Arsé-kun: Watson: *#dead. not really but that is a really big dog* Are you sure this is not some sort of wolf?? Sheepy: Hudson: I’ve never really thought about it. Sheepy: Hudson: It does have some unusual traits for a dog. Arsé-kun: Watson: Erm, all right.. *he goes to pat the pup’s head* Sheepy: Iris: *where did she come from? wag breaking the lamp probably awoke her.* Oh! Shirley’s here! Sheepy: Dog: *MORE PEOPLE LEMME JUST ACT EXCITED* Arsé-kun: Watson: *he takes a moment or so to register “Shirley”* Sheepy: Iris: He’s got a really bad habit of knocking stuff over. Sheepy: Dog: *whimper* Arsé-kun: Watson: So.. Like.. Holmes. Sheepy: Iris: Yup! They’re really alike, aren’t they? Sheepy: Iris: Dogs and Holmsies, I mean. They’re both always sticking their heads in places that they shouldn’t. Arsé-kun: Watson: I had been under the belief you called Holmes “Shirley”. Sheepy: Iris: Huh? I like both names, really. It’s just a bit strange calling him “Shirley” to you! Arsé-kun: Watson: So both names are still for Holmes. Sheepy: Iris: Uh-huh! Sheepy: Iris: So that’s why I called the puppy “Shirley”! Sheepy: Dog: *bark* Arsé-kun: Watson: And where did Holmes go? Sheepy: Iris: He’s right there. *she points to the dog* Arsé-kun: Watson: … I was quite hoping it would not lead to the conclusion it would. It does explain quite a bit. Sheepy: Iris: Holmsies told me not to say anything, but we’re all living in the same household, so… Sheepy: Iris: It wouldn’t be nice to leave you out. Sheepy: Sherlock: *woof* Sheepy: Iris: He waltzed in with his head stuck in a tire. Sheepy: Iris: Hudsie and I had to help him. Arsé-kun: Watson: …. I am not surprised. Sheepy: Sherlock: *I’m right here while you’re talking trash about me* Arsé-kun: Watson: How long has this been happening? Sheepy: Iris: Holmsies said he was born this way. Arsé-kun: Watson: *he looks surprised* I had no idea. Sheepy: Iris: I should’ve based bunny Holmsies after a dog instead of a rabbit.. Sheepy: Iris: He was complaining that he wasn’t some undignified, brutish werewolf and was something else entirely, but… Sheepy: Iris: Holmsies has a bad habit of rambling until people stop listening Arsé-kun: Watson: Perhaps we should stop speaking as if he is not present. Sheepy: Sherlock: *IM RIGHT HERE!!! YOU TELL EM WILSON* Sheepy: Sherlock: *with some difficulty* you tell her wantson Arsé-kun: Watson: That is the closest you have gotten all day. Sheepy: Sherlock: *whimper* Arsé-kun: Watson: At least, that I am aware of. *sherlock gets a headpat* Sheepy: Sherlock: *yea thats right I did get it right today* Sheepy: Wag: *meow* Arsé-kun: *Later that day!* Arsé-kun: Lupin: N-no, Sheepy, that’s not how you cook at all.. Let me show you. Sheepy: Sheepy: *he lets Lupin get to it* OK… Arsé-kun: Lupin: *so he shows Sheepy the proper way to do it-* Arsé-kun: *Which is interrupted by Impey correcting THAT.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he seems confused* Arsé-kun: Impey: ..? Sheepy: Sheepy: *there are way too many ways to do this right. why is there not one way.* Arsé-kun: Impey: *because cooks are weird.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Cooking is weird! Arsé-kun: Impey: It really is. Sheepy: Sheepy: But I’ll do my best to figure it out! Sheepy: *One’s sherlock senses are going off really strong right now. Oh, wait, that’s because he’s talking loudly and one can hear him from inside.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Who’s that? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Oh, no. Sheepy: Sheepy:….? Sheepy: Sheepy: What’s wrong? Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. He’s kind of a…. How do I say.. Imbecile. Sheepy: Sheepy: Imbecile? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Idiot. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Well- Sheepy: *Sherlock may or may not have kicked the door in in order to enter* Sheepy: Sherlock: Hi! Sheepy: Sherlock: *he gives Lupin a big hug* I missed you!!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he looks startled and uncomfortable* Please stop Sheepy: Sherlock: …? Huh? But… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … Kicking in my door. It’s going to fall off one day when you do that! Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh! Okay! I just missed you! I couldn’t help myself! Arsé-kun: Lupin: It hasn’t been that long..! … Has it? Sheepy: Sherlock: It has! Arsé-kun: *And Watson finally catches up, having taken the shitty elevator.* Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, Wilson, there you are! Arsé-kun: Watson: *why do you hurt me in this way* Sheepy: Sheepy: Are you a dummy, too? Arsé-kun: Watson: I don’t even get a hello before I get insulted? Sheepy: Sheepy: But Lupin calls Sherlock a dummy and he never said 'hello’… Sheepy: Sheepy: So I asked you to make sure if I’m supposed to say hello to you or not. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. You’re still touching me. Sheepy: Sherlock: Is that bad? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I need to breathe. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh! Breathing is important, right! *he lets go* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Thank you. Sheepy: Sherlock: You’re welcome! I got too excited! Sheepy: Sherlock: I dunno why we’re here! But I’m very excited to see you again! Verrrry excited!! It makes me want to wag my tail! Sheepy: Sherlock:…. Sheepy: Sherlock: Figuratively. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes. Figuratively. Sheepy: Sherlock: But that’s how it makes me feel! Arsé-kun: Lupin: I.. See.. Sheepy: Sherlock: Is there something weird about that? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Non. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, good! Sheepy: Sherlock: So, why are we here? Arsé-kun: Watson: I was going to speak with Sheepy. You came because you wanted to. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, okay! Sheepy: Sheepy: What did you want to speak to me about? Arsé-kun: Watson: Your memory loss. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh! Sheepy: Sheepy: Ask away! Sheepy: Sheepy: I can’t tell how much I can answer, though. Arsé-kun: Watson: I’ll keep the questions simple, if that will help. Sheepy: Sheepy: OK! Arsé-kun: Watson: … Let’s start at the beginning. Is there anything you do remember? Sheepy: Sheepy: I made a deal with someone and they didn’t keep their side of the deal. Sheepy: Sheepy: They stole my memories and made me like this. Arsé-kun: Watson: And nothing else? Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh? You mean, did they steal anything else or do I remember anything else? Sheepy: Sheepy: Because that’s all they stole, and I don’t think I remember much else. Arsé-kun: Watson: Hm. And nothing has seemed familiar to you? Sheepy: Sheepy: Familiar? I don’t know… it’s more that I get a strong feeling when something is unfamiliar. Sheepy: Sheepy: Like this body. Arsé-kun: Watson: It’s a start, I suppose. Sheepy: Sheepy: I’ve been trying ti figure out what I asked for that they didn’t give. Sheepy: Sheepy:…Really, all I know is that they didn’t. Arsé-kun: Watson: Are you quite sure? If you don’t remember, maybe you did ask for whatever changed. Sheepy: Sheepy: I can’t see why I would… Sheepy: Sheepy: I want to remember… Arsé-kun: Watson: It takes time. Sheepy: Sheepy: I just remember feeling incredibly upset and thinking I’d been cheated… Sheepy: Sherlock: I often feel that way when I go to the store. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. ? *he pauses and looks towards the kitchen* Impey, are you baking again?? Sheepy: Sheepy: Impey bakes? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes, and quite well. … I’m going to need to go grocery shopping again. Sheepy: Sheepy: I’ve never been to a grocery store before! Can I come? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I suppose? Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, um, I had a thought. Arsé-kun: Watson: Hmm? Sheepy: Sheepy: Wasn’t your boss putting up missing posters for one of her reapers earlier, and that ended up being me? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Yes, that’s right. Sheepy: Sheepy: Do you think she has any left? Maybe seeing how I looked before hand would help. Arsé-kun: Lupin: That… That is a fantastic idea, actually. Sheepy: Sheepy: Really? Arsé-kun: Watson: I am inclined to agree. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, that’s great! Arsé-kun: *also everyone can smell the smell of BAKING.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *IT SMELLS LIKE BAKING and also chemicals, faintly?* Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. Impey, tell your boyfriend to not do alchemy right under the vent. Sheepy: Sheepy: Why does Impey cook if he doesn’t eat food? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I never said we couldn’t eat food. In fact, I told you we could. Sheepy: Sheepy: But… but don’t Incubi have a restricted diet? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Well, yes, but Impey knows how to go around that. Sheepy: Sheepy: Ohhh.. Sheepy: Izzy: ARSENE YOURE HAVING A PARTY WITHOUT ME?? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nearly jumps out of his chair* N-non, mademoiselle..!! Sheepy: Izzy: I thought you were my friend. Sheepy: Izzy: You even invited… Sheepy: Izzy:….. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I did not. Sheepy: Izzy: Holmlock Shears and uh… Sheepy: Izzy:…….. Sheepy: Izzy:….Some guy off the street maybe? Arsé-kun: Watson: *he looks done* Sheepy: Sherlock: Huh? His name isn’t Holmlock Shears. Arsé-kun: Lupin: A-anyway, mademoiselle, would you happen to have any of those lost posters left? Sheepy: Izzy: No, that’s your name. Sheepy: Izzy: HECK YEAH I DO!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: May we have one? Sheepy wanted to see it. Sheepy: Izzy: *she takes one out and gives it to Lupin* Thanny was like, “this is stupid!” and left. Sheepy: Izzy: So I designed it on my own! Arsé-kun: *Lupin immediately passes it to Sheepy* Sheepy: Izzy: There’s the most recent photo I had and then a baby picture. Sheepy: Izzy: Because I can show off any baby photos I want on missing people posters! Arsé-kun: Lupin: That’s… Uh, not how it works, I think…. Sheepy: Sheepy: Um, but… this kid looks younger than me. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I see the similarities, though. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh, yeah! I rule over violent death! I’m one of the main reapers! Nice to meet you two. Sheepy: Izzy: Don’t worry! You have lots of time ahead of you! Sheepy: Izzy:….Although. Sheepy: Izzy: How do I phrase this…?? Sheepy: Izzy: Well, it’s not too important I guess? Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….? Sheepy: Izzy: Your friend has a soul, right? Like, he’s supposed to have one? Sheepy: Izzy: The geeky one. Arsé-kun: Impey: *he comes in, with cake. Impey, why* Huh? Yeah?? Sheepy: Izzy: Is that so…. Arsé-kun: Impey: *he puts the cake down, looking worried* Shhhould I call him? Sheepy: Izzy: Lemme just say this as bluntly as possible. Sheepy: Izzy: He doesn’t. Sheepy: Izzy: I stopped detecting it a while ago. Like, when I got here. Arsé-kun: *Impey takes out a cell phone and calls Fran. Everyone can hear Fran’s phone ringing downstairs. .. He does not answer it.* Sheepy: Izzy: Huh…. Arsé-kun: Impey: ……… Sheepy: Izzy: And I thought he was supposed to have maaaaannnyyy years ahead of him. Sheepy: Izzy:…. Arsé-kun: Impey: …. Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?! Sheepy: Izzy: Sort of? Sheepy: Izzy: We reap souls when people die, so… Arsé-kun: *Impey fucking bails at the speed of GONE.* Sheepy: Izzy: ? What’s up with him? Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. Were you saying that he died..? Sheepy: Izzy: I dunno if he’s DEAD…. Arsé-kun: Lupin: You don’t know…??? Sheepy: Izzy: I can’t tell. Sheepy: Izzy: OK, kiddo! I bet you want to see a real live dead body, right? Let’s go! Sheepy: Sheepy: But- Sheepy: Izzy: *she grabs Sheepy’s hand and rushes towards the scene of the crime* Arsé-kun: Watson: what just happened Sheepy: Sherlock: I have no idea! Sheepy: Sherlock: Should we follow them? Arsé-kun: Lupin: It would probably be for the best. Sheepy: Sherlock: But how much would we help? … I guess they’ll get mad if we don’t go… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … I don’t think we could do much, in actuality. Sheepy: Sherlock: Huh? Really? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Perhaps. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh well. Arsé-kun: Watson: Shall we have cake, then? Sheepy: Sherlock: Um, but what if that guy is dying? Arsé-kun: Watson: I have the feeling that it’s out of my league. Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m of no use either. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Me, too. Sheepy: Sherlock: Maybe later. Sheepy: Sherlock: I guess I AM a detective but… Arsé-kun: *More importantly, downstairs..* Arsé-kun: *Impey’s trying to revive Fran. At least Fran isn’t dead.* Sheepy: Fran: *he collapsed at the table. the alchemy stuff is untouched. a card was left and something was etched into the table.* Sheepy: *….fran is also completely unresponsive…* Sheepy: Izzy: Hmmm… Arsé-kun: Impey: –Fran?? *he shakes Fran* C'mon! Wake up! Sheepy: *he doesn’t wake up.* Sheepy: *he’s still breathing… maybe he really is sleeping?* Arsé-kun: Impey: …… *he’s fallen quiet, but he’s still trying* Sheepy: Izzy: It’s not gonna work. Sheepy: Izzy: People need their souls. They can’t live very long without them. Arsé-kun: Impey: …………….. …………….. *he slowly stops* Sheepy: Sheepy: Let’s find who took it and get it back! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he finally joins them* Eh? We can do that? Arsé-kun: *Impey has sat down next to Fran, an expression of sadness beginning to form on his usually-cheerful face. He slowly and carefully pulls Fran into a gentle embrace, burying his face in Fran’s shoulder. He shakes and shudders, silently weeping in fear and sorrow. On the occasion that he raises or turns his head, his tears are able to flow more freely. His eyes seem to have lost their usual shine, replaced with a dull, red glaze. He is absolutely and completely broken-hearted. “Victor….” Sheepy: Sheepy:!! Oh, no! Impey, don’t cry! … … I’ll figure it out!! Sheepy: Izzy: *she is reading the card.* … … Those idiots! They think they can steal MY kill?! That was gonna be mine!! Sheepy: Izzy: I can’t just accept this! Sheepy: Sheepy: *he’s looking at what’s etched on the table* This symbol… Sheepy: *a big, furry dog has entered! he sticks his snout in Impey’s face. hellooooo gimme attention. the dog pauses, gets up on its hind legs, and wraps his forelegs around impey* Sheepy: Dog: *boof. please ignore how big and sharp my teeth are, and how muscular I look when I stand* Sheepy: Izzy: Just what we need, a dog! Hey,doggy, do you smell any smells? Any smells that can find the culprit? Sheepy: Dog: *he sniffs at the card Izzy has put in front of his face, getting one of those big dumb dog grins on his face and a quickened tail-wagging rate* Arsé-kun: Lupin: ……. *he backed away when the dog first arrived, and is watching it with a look of discomfort and nervousness.* Arsé-kun: Watson: *he finally catches up, again* Arsé-kun: Impey: ….? *he slowly looks at Dog. Dooog?* Sheepy: Dog: *please stop crying and give me attention. I am Important.* Arsé-kun: Impey: *he slowly reaches up and pats the dog.* Sheepy: Dog: *he licks Impey’s face. gross.* Arsé-kun: Impey: H-hey! Sheepy: Dog: Hey? Hey! Hey! Hey! *woof* Arsé-kun: Watson: Holmes, that was unsanitary. Sheepy: Dog: *whimper* Sheepy: Sherlock: you’re the wan with the unsanitary mouth. Arsé-kun: *Impey’s kind of staring at Sherlock. Lupin is still uncomfortable* Arsé-kun: Lupin: ……. So now you’re so happy you’re wagging your tail. Literally. Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m vvveeeeerrrryyyyyy excited to help!!! Sheepy: Sherlock: I’ve never been more excited!!! except when I saw a squirrel a few days ago!!!! I chased it into a tree and got stuck! but wilson helped!! Arsé-kun: Watson: *deadpan* watson. Sheepy: Sherlock: the card has a smell! I smell a trail! follow me follow me follow me!! Sheepy: Sherlock: *he tugs at impey* Arsé-kun: Impey: But, but, what do I do with….? *he means fran* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he tilts his head, as though he’s thinking* Sheepy: Sherlock: I can drag him along!! Arsé-kun: Watson: Please don’t drag. Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m no horse! I can’t carry him on my back. Sheepy: Izzy: Psh.. if I have to. Sheepy: Izzy: *she takes Fran from Impey* Arsé-kun: Impey: *he wipes his eyes and stares at Sherlock in amazement* S-so.. Y-you’re the werewolf….? Sheepy: Sherlock: No! Werewolfs are brutes! Sheepy: Sherlock: They bite people and hurt people! Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m a… … … the name’s verrrryyyyy complicated!! But I don’t bite and eat people! My job is to protect the young, the sick, and the injured! Arsé-kun: Impey: Oh! A Faoladh! I think that’s greek. Or irish. Sheepy: Sherlock: Yes!! Sheepy: Sherlock: That’s me!! Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m verrrryyyy eager to help! Sheepy: Sherlock: *he sniffs at the card once again and starts following a scent trail* Arsé-kun: Impey: *he runs after Sherlock* Sheepy: Izzy: *she follows them. Sheepy stays close to Lupin* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *He walks behind them, wary* Sheepy: Sheepy: Why do you think they did that? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I don’t know. Sheepy: Sheepy: Maybe they wanna sell it. Sheepy: Sheepy: Is that possible? Sheepy: Sherlock: We’re getting closer!!! Sheepy: Sherlock: I wonder who it is! Sheepy: Sherlock: *he slows down some to let them catch up* Sheepy: Sherlock: Look, look! Sheepy: Sherlock: There!! That’s someone! *tailwag* ​Welcome!! Arsé-kun: *There most certainly is. Who, you can’t tell, due to wearing a hood. They’re seated on the ground, holding a blue flame in their hands. They seem to be concentrating on it.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he goes over to investigate. do you like dog snout in your face? no? too bad* Sheepy: Izzy: Ah, that thing in their hand is… Arsé-kun: *That definitely gets their attention, and they scoot backwards in terror.* Sheepy: Sherlock: IM SHERLOCK!! Hey hey hey hey! Welcome!! Arsé-kun: ??: W-w-were….. T-take it back, take it! J-just stay away from me! *Sherlock obtained the soul! dadada daaaaaaaaa* Sheepy: Sherlock: *you know that weird thing dogs do where they’re feeling really playful so they stick their butf in the air and they shake it? he’s doing that.* You look fun!! What’s that? Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh! I got the thing! I got the glowy thing! Sheepy: Izzy: *she goes and retrieves the soul from Sherlock, giving the hooded figure a good look* Sheepy: Izzy: Did Thanatos give you this order? *she sounds dead serious* I didn’t. Sheepy: Sheepy: Lupin, who’s that? Sheepy: Sherlock: They look nice!!! Sheepy: Sheepy: They took Fran’s soul. Sheepy: Sherlock: Let’s be friends!! Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m not a werewolf so it’s okay! Sheepy: Sherlock: I don’t bite people! Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m something that’s veeeeerrrry hard to pronounce for me! Arsé-kun: ??: …… *they look from Sherlock, to Izzy* No. You know I want knowledge. Sheepy: Izzy: Don’t run off with it when I’m right there. Arsé-kun: ??: Didn’t know you were present, Ma'am. I was going to return it. Sheepy: Izzy: You realize that if it’s not given back fast enough, they’ll die, right? Arsé-kun: ??: Of course I know that! Sheepy: Izzy: Then don’t make that mistake. Sheepy: Sherlock: Did I do well?? Sheepy: Izzy: *she returns Fran’s soul to him [Fran]* Sheepy: Fran:……*he slowly opens his eyes* …….huh? Arsé-kun: Impey: Victor! Are you okay?! Sheepy: Fran: Impey…? What happened? I feel really tired, but other than that, I’m okay… Arsé-kun: Impey: Hold on, I need to make sure you’re you! *he kisses Fran on the mouth* All right, we’re good! Sheepy: Fran: *his face goes bright red* Sheepy: Izzy: *she passes Fran over to Impey* Sheepy: Izzy: There’s a few people you can’t do that too. They’re off limits. Arsé-kun: Impey: *he hugs Fran and glares at the Dude* Arsé-kun: ??: N-noted, ma'am. Sheepy: Fran: *he seems pretty happy to be hugged* Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh! He’s back! YOU’RE BACK!! Sheepy: Fran: *he clings to Impey. nopenopenope* Sheepy: Sherlock: *whimper* Lupin, why is everyone scared of me? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he shrugs* Sheepy: Sherlock: I don’t bite people. Sheepy: Sherlock: You’re not scared of me, right? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Scared, no. Wary, yes. Sheepy: Sherlock: Huh? Why? Sheepy: Sherlock: I’d never hurt you! *he is a sad pup* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Because I have never dealt w-with a were before… N-nothing against you, though..! Sheepy: Sherlock: But I’m not a werewolf!! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Lycanthrope, then. Sheepy: Sherlock: *sad dog noise* Sheepy: Sheepy: What does he learn from taking souls? Arsé-kun: ??: Whatever I want from them. Nothing personal, though. Arsé-kun: Impey: *he puts Fran down. Now that he isn’t worried about Fran, he approaches Sherlock* Sheepy: Sherlock: *friend?? FRIEND!!* Arsé-kun: Impey: Can I… Can I pet you?? Sheepy: Sherlock: *he gets excited. that’s probably a yes* Arsé-kun: Impey: *he slowly puts his hand on Sherlock’s head* Sheepy: Sherlock: *good. good!* Arsé-kun: *And then Impey just ends up semi-aggressively petting Sherlock. Who’s a good boy? Who is it? Is it you?* Sheepy: Sherlock: *IT’S ME!!!* Arsé-kun: Impey: *IT’S YOU!!* Sheepy: Sherlock: *WOAH!!! ME!!!* Sheepy: Sheepy: Why did you steal Fran’s soul? Arsé-kun: ??: I answered that already. Sheepy: Sheepy: But… what’s so interesting about his knowledge? Sheepy: Izzy: Hmmm… actually. I’ve got a question for you. Arsé-kun: ??: Yes? Sheepy: Izzy: You’re smart. Do you know of any wish granters who have, y'know… granted wishes recently? Arsé-kun: ??: Huh? N-no, ma'am. Why? Sheepy: Izzy: He says he was cheated, though. Arsé-kun: ??: *he seems thoughtful* …. No idea. Sheepy: Izzy: That’s too bad. Sheepy: Izzy: If you hear anything about wish granters cheating their customers, though, can you tell me? Arsé-kun: ??: Of course, ma'am. Sheepy: Izzy: Thank you~! Sheepy: Izzy: I’m glad it was you, though. Sheepy: Izzy: I was ticked, because I thought someone stole his soul and because I rule over violent death, it’s technically mine. Sheepy: Fran: That’s very, um, concerning. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Y-yeah. Sheepy: Izzy: Is it? Sheepy: Izzy: Anyyyyway, because it’s mine, I didn’t want anyone to touch it. Arsé-kun: Lupin: That says a lot about the future. Listed under things I didn’t want to know. Sheepy: Sheepy: But don’t you feel at all bad? Arsé-kun: ??: I was going to return it. I don’t see the issue. Sheepy: Izzy: Nope! When you’re in the biz long enough, you stop feeling bad for those you know you’re going to claim the souls of. Sheepy: Sheepy: I wasn’t asking you, Mr. No Name. You’re okay. Arsé-kun: ??: I have a name. Sheepy: Izzy: *she pats Sheepy on the head* If you follow my example, you’ll go from animals to humans in no time! Sheepy: Sheepy: You have a name? Sheepy: Izzy: Completely ignored…! Sheepy: Sheepy: What’s your name? Arsé-kun: ??: Germain. Sheepy: Sheepy: Lupin calls me Sheepy so that’s my name now. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh! Nice to meet you! Sheepy: Izzy:…But.. but… we lovingly chose out your name… well, actually, I tried to name you, but I was met with, “Izzy, Godzilla isn’t a good child’s name! Nor is Terminator!” Sheepy: Izzy: Why does everyone hate my ideas? Sheepy: Fran: Um… Watson… do you think that getting your soul taken can cause health problems? Arsé-kun: Watson: I wouldn’t know. It was returned, so I don’t believe so? Sheepy: Fran: Oh, good… Arsé-kun: Impey: *he laughs* Godzilla?? Sheepy: Izzy: I tried to name him Godzilla. Sheepy: Izzy: It fit him perfectly! Arsé-kun: Impey: I can’t believe Sheepy is actually Godzilla. Sheepy: Izzy: But instead he got an incredibly lazy name. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I think you should tell him what it is. Sheepy: Sheepy: Lupin, what’s a Godzilla? Sheepy: Izzy: His name’s Aries, because that’s the star sign he was born under. Sheepy: Izzy: Lazy, right?! Sheepy: Sheepy: I like Sheepy more. Arsé-kun: Lupin: That’s fine. Sheepy: Sheepy: So I can just stick with that name? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. Sheepy: Sheepy: Great! Also, um… Sheepy: Sheepy: I know we’ve figured out who I am, but… I wanna stay with you still. I feel like if I stay with you, we can find the guy who made me this way. Sheepy: Izzy: I’ve been totally rejected… ouch.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Eh??? Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, um, I guess you’re not okay with that. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Non, non, I’m okay with it! I just… But… Why? Sheepy: Sheepy: I feel safer around you. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ………… *he looks slightly vexed* That’s… Fine, then Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, that’s great! Sheepy: Sheepy: I’ll do my best to be useful to you! Arsé-kun: Lupin: And the first order of business is grocery shopping. Tomorrow. Sheepy: Sheepy: OK!! Arsé-kun: *Germain apologizes to Fran in the background, explaining that asking for souls generally does not work. Fran accepts multiple times. It is an experience* Sheepy: Sherlock: Germain doesn’t seem bad!! Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, oh! If people are scared of me because I look like a big dog, would this help? Sheepy: Sherlock: *he stands up on his hind legs* Arsé-kun: Impey: *he looks up at Sherlock* *woooooooow* Sheepy: Sherlock: I just look like a very tall man in a mascot suit, right? So no one should be scared of me! Arsé-kun: *Germain appears to be the contrary.* Sheepy: Sherlock: ….? Sheepy: Sherlock: Is this worse…? Sheepy: Sherlock: But… but I don’t want to be scary… Sheepy: Sherlock: Wilson, how do I not be scary? Arsé-kun: Watson: *he shrugs* Sheepy: Sherlock: Hmm.. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he stifles a yawn* Arsé-kun: Impey: Oh, right. *he goes over to Sheepy* Lupe told me already. Here. *he passes some energy on* Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh…? Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… thank you…! Sheepy: Sheepy: But… I thought you weren’t supposed to do that because it doesn’t end well for either party. Sheepy: Sherlock: *he gets back on all four again* Sheepy: Sherlock: Wilfred! Should we go home? Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, um… Lupin, are you tired? Sheepy: Sherlock: Home has Wag!! And Iris!! And Hudson!!! I miss them verrrrryyyyy much! I haven’t seen them in forever! Sheepy: Tom: look impey its a werewolf Sheepy: Tom: but thats not the werewolf i saw Sheepy: Tom: i havent seen this werewolf before Sheepy: Tom: oh hi there edgy man i am tom Sheepy: Tom: im a ghost Sheepy: Tom: i do ghost things Sheepy: Tom: like this *he knocks watson’s hat off if he is wearing one* Arsé-kun: Impey: It’s okay once in a while! I’ve never done it for ya, have I? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he nods once Impey’s done speaking* Yes. Oui. Arsé-kun: Watson: *he picks his hat up* Ah, so you’re Tom? Nice to meet you. Sheepy: Tom: woah Sheepy: Tom: youre bowler hat man Sheepy: Tom: the werewolf i saw was smaller Sheepy: Tom: but. yes yes yes i am tom Sheepy: Tom: i am dead it is nice to meet you Sheepy: Tom: did you know Sheepy: Tom: catbirds are good at copying other birds Sheepy: Tom: but never accomplish anything themselves Arsé-kun: Tom: kind of like me Sheepy: Tom: and are absolute monsters who will go after you just because you’re alive Sheepy: Tom: what did i miss Arsé-kun: Lupin: A lot. Sheepy: Tom: but im important Sheepy: Sheepy: Should we head back if you’re tired? Arsé-kun: Lupin: … I’d like to. Sheepy: Sheepy: OK! I want to! Arsé-kun: *so they go back* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he, too, appears a bit tired. sheepy. what did you even accomplish today? not much that’s what* Arsé-kun: *you dont have to physically do much to be tired* Arsé-kun: *anyway, once they get back to the apartment, lupin immediately collapses onto the sofa. better find somewhere else to sleep, sheepy* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he thinks for a moment, goes to get a blanket, and puts it on Lupin* Arsé-kun: *How kind of you* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he goes to bed.* Sheepy: *and by bed, I mean one of the chairs* Arsé-kun: *sheepy no* Sheepy: *sheepy does as sheepy wants* Arsé-kun: *and that’s where Sheepy wakes up the following morning.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he starts to get up. ow. stiff. better not try curling up in a chair again. ow, ow, ow.* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he’s already up, and reading a book. He looks up* Good morning. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh…! Good morning! Sheepy: Sheepy: What time is it? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Almost noon. Sheepy: Sheepy: ..Oh. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oops. Arsé-kun: Lupin: And there was a bed you could have used. Sheepy: Sheepy: There was? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. Sheepy: Sheepy: …where? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Down the hall, of course. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… Sheepy: Sheepy: I hope you weren’t too cold last night! I gave you a blanket but I don’t know if it helped at all… Arsé-kun: Lupin: It did, merci. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, good! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Impey and Fran have left, by the by. Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh? They did? *he looks a bit sad* Why? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Fran has work. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, right… Arsé-kun: Lupin: We’ve got to go grocery shopping, anyway. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, yeah! I forgot! Sheepy: Sheepy: When should we go? Arsé-kun: Lupin: When you are ready, I suppose. Sheepy: Sheepy: OK! I’ll go get ready!! Arsé-kun: *They go out when Sheepy is ready. What a big store. wowee* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he sticks real close to Lupin. he doesn’t want to get lost in ＳＴＯＲＥ　ＨＥＣＫ* Arsé-kun: *Sheepy has a good time. I guess. Until it comes to carrying groceries back. haha, get rekt nerd* Sheepy: Sheepy: *this is heavy. he is suffering* Arsé-kun: *Lupin is not suffering as much.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *hide the fact you’re having trouble. hide the fact you’re having trouble.* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Do you need help? Sheepy: Sheepy: No, I’m fine! Sheepy: Sheepy: *remain strong.* Arsé-kun: Lupin: D'accord. Sheepy: Sheepy: *oh, good, he didn’t ask further.* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Bonne chance. *he goes on ahead* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he lags behind some* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he notices, and waits for Sheepy to catch up* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he is thankful for this.* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Are you sure you don’t need help? Sheepy: Sheepy: I’m sure!! After all, I said I’d carry this! So it’s my job now! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Vouz avez plein de merde. I don’t believe you, but fine. Sheepy: Sheepy: I don’t want to feel useless, so I have to do something. Arsé-kun: Lupin: W-well, all right. Sheepy: Sheepy: So, don’t worry! I’ll manage! Arsé-kun: Lupin: If you say so. Arsé-kun: *they survive and make it back to the apartment. the elevator is not an asshole* Sheepy: Sheepy: *HE’S SO HAPPY TO FINALLY PUT IT DOWN* Arsé-kun: *And Lupin starts putting it all away* Sheepy: Sheepy: Is there some way I can help? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Oui. Arsé-kun: *and then they get everything away* Sheepy: Sheepy: I hope I was of assistance! Arsé-kun: Lupin: You were. Arsé-kun: *Meanwhile, at the house of sherlock and pals* Sheepy: Sherlock: Hey, Watson. Don’t go out tonight. Sheepy: Sherlock: *he sounds dead serious* Arsé-kun: Watson: !! *he looks up from his writing* I’m not sure what I should be more concerned about: Your tone, the warning, or that you got my name right. Sheepy: Sherlock: There’s a werewolf. He’s okay during the day, but… he’s very violent at night. Sheepy: Sherlock: I keep watch over him, but I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to kill you. Sheepy: Sherlock: So please be careful. Don’t go out no matter what. Arsé-kun: Watson: *he nods* I understand. What I don’t understand is how you were able to keep all this from me. Sheepy: Sherlock: Hard work and determination! Arsé-kun: Watson: *he laughs* I can respect that. Sheepy: Sherlock:…Because. Sheepy: Sherlock: I thought if you found out… Sheepy: Sherlock: You’d be scared of me and eventually hate me like everyone else. Arsé-kun: Watson: Nonsense. You’re already my friend. Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m really glad!! Arsé-kun: Watson: … If you’re a … I forgot what you said you were, is this other wolf something different? Sheepy: Sherlock: Mhm. They’re your run of the mill werewolf. Brutish, violent, cruel. No control over their actions. Every full moon they change and begin their hunt. Sheepy: Sherlock: I don’t know if they’re hungry or just enjoy the bloodshed, but… Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s disgusting. Sheepy: Sherlock: I feel bad for those who have been cursed with it… Arsé-kun: Watson: That sounds terrible. Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s my job to protect people, but… Sheepy: Sherlock: He’s much more powerful than me. Arsé-kun: Watson: Isn’t there any way to keep him in check? Sheepy: Sherlock: I don’t know. Arsé-kun: Watson: If you’d like, I can do some research. Sheepy: Sherlock: As long as you aren’t in danger. Arsé-kun: Watson: Of course. Arsé-kun: *There’s whining and scratching from the front door. Get the door.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he opens the door* Arsé-kun: *It’s a dog! They look happy when they see Sherlock. Did I say dog? I meant a wolfish dog. Wolfdog. Shut up* Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, Issachar! Hi! I was just about to head out! Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he barks and wags his tail.* Sheepy: Sherlock: Did you want to come with me? Arsé-kun: Issachar: *Yip!* Sheepy: Sherlock: OK! Let’s go! I’ll be back before you wake up, Wilson! Arsé-kun: *so Issachar and Sherlock go out!* Arsé-kun: *they then arrive at a small house. it’s a few miles away, but the walk isn’t hard.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he basically kicks the door in* Vaaaan, we’re here! … Van? Sheepy: Sherlock: Maybe he’s sleeping. Sheepy: Sherlock: *he hunts for Van and finds him!! sleeping.* Sheepy: Sherlock:…. …. *he prods at Van* Vaaaan, wake up, we’re here. Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s me! Sherlock! Sheepy: Sherlock: *as soon as there’s any sign that Van is waking up, he gives him a big hug* Sheepy: Sherlock: I’m verrrrryyyyy happy to see you! Sheepy: Sherlock: Issachar and I are here to make sure nothing bad happens tonight! Arsé-kun: Van: …. *he groans and reaches for his glasses* wh'time is it…? Sheepy: Sherlock: 2:30! Arsé-kun: Van: You’re here this early…? Sheepy: Sherlock: Yeah! Arsé-kun: Van: Ugh. Sheepy: Sherlock: What’s wrong? Arsé-kun: Van: ’m not ready for this month. Sheepy: Sherlock: If there was some way I could fix it, I would. Arsé-kun: Van: Yeah, I know. Move so I can get up. Sheepy: Sherlock: *he moves* Sheepy: Sherlock: Don’t worry! I’ll make sure nothing bad happens! Sheepy: Sherlock: Because that’s my job! And we’re friends! Sheepy: Sherlock: So I should protect you! Sheepy: Sherlock: I didn’t come too early, right? Arsé-kun: Van: I guess not. Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, good! Sheepy: Sherlock: My friend may look into it. Arsé-kun: Van: That would be great. Sheepy: Sherlock: Yeah! Sheepy: Sherlock: He’s smart! Arsé-kun: Van: ….. *he’s quiet for a moment, then bangs on the wall* Get out of the fridge, mutt! I hear you doing that! Sheepy: Sherlock: ? Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he strolls in with meat hanging out of his mouth. issa no* Sheepy: Sherlock: Issachar, that’s his food. Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he whines* Sheepy: Sherlock: Don’t do that again. Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he gulps it down and whines again* Sheepy: Sherlock: It’s not nice. . You aren’t the one who bought it. Arsé-kun: Issachar: ….. I’ll pay for it! Sheepy: Sherlock: You will? Arsé-kun: Issachar: Well, yeah. Sheepy: Sherlock: OK, good. Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he sits down* Sorry, Van! I couldn’t help it. Arsé-kun: Van: Yes, you could. And I’m not taking you for a walk, either. Sheepy: Sherlock: I’d think you’d have a bit more self control than that… Arsé-kun: Issachar: I don’t need that anyway! The walk here was enough! Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, good. Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he lies down on the floor and huffs* Sheepy: Sherlock: Oh, um, how have you been, Van? Arsé-kun: Van: Fine. Sheepy: Sherlock: That’s good! Sheepy: Sherlock: Everything has been great recently! Arsé-kun: Van: that’s good. Sheepy: Sherlock: Is there anything I can do to help before, uh… Arsé-kun: Van: … Do we not do the same thing every month? Sheepy: Sherlock: I guess that’s true.. Arsé-kun: *and then we skip to that night bc fuck* Sheepy: *Sherlock would think about how uncomfortable his transformation just was, except he’s more concerned about Van* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he checks on Van* Arsé-kun: *If by “Van”, you mean that shuddering furball, he’s there and alive. And still changing. Lovely sounds include bones BREAKING TO REARRANGE. IT’S SO LOVELY* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he goes over to see if he can comfort the shuddering furball* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he wonders why, exactly, he doesn’t have such a painful transformation like van’s* Arsé-kun: *maybe bc sherlock is a werewoof.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he sits by Van* Arsé-kun: *BEING HELSING IS SUFFERING* Sheepy: Sherlock: *don’t worry I’m here for you buddy* Arsé-kun: Van: ……… *he huffs and uncurls. why he so tol.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *HELLOOOO FRIENDO* Arsé-kun: Van: *he pushes Sherlock to the side so he can get out of the room. He doesn’t push Sherlock hard, though.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he follows close behind Van, tail wagging as he goes* Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he yips and moves out of Van’s way* Sheepy: Sherlock: Where are we going tonight?? Arsé-kun: Issachar: No idea! Sheepy: Sherlock: I guess it’s really up to him. Arsé-kun: *Van is busy dumping food into his face. Packaging and all. Van, no* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he is slightly concerned about the packaging part* Arsé-kun: *And Van finished before lumbering outside. He’s go* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he follows Van* Arsé-kun: *Van makes his way up a hill.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he follows Van up the hill* Sheepy: Sherlock: What’s up at this hill that’s so exciting? Sheepy: Sherlock: *he moves to Van’s side and looks around* Arsé-kun: Van: *he plops down and makes a noise somewhere between a whine and a growl. Doesn’t seem too happy* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he is confused. why is he unhappy.* Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he trots over with a branch in his mouth* rets ro romrmphin! Sheepy: Sherlock: Would he appreciate you throwing a branch around??? Arsé-kun: Issachar: ri rurro. Sheepy: Sherlock: *he pokes at Van some* Arsé-kun: Van: *he glares* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he goes over to join Issachar* Sheepy: Sherlock: What’re we gonna use this stick for?? Arsé-kun: Issachar: Whatever we want! Sheepy: Sherlock: Sounds good to me! Arsé-kun: *then they play with the branch. it’s great. that poor tree gets rekt because Van joined in. rip tree* Sheepy: *rest in pepperoni tree* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he’s somewhat relieved that Van has joined in* Arsé-kun: *and that most of van’s aggression is on the tree, and not dogs* Sheepy: *Sherlock is thankful for that* Arsé-kun: *So is Issachar* Arsé-kun: *the tree isnt.* Sheepy: *but the tree is not as important as the dogs* Arsé-kun: *of course* Sheepy: *who knows, the tree may even be the person who cheated sheepy* Arsé-kun: *if they were, they’re dead now* Arsé-kun: *anyway, the night passes without incident* Sheepy: *it was amazing* Arsé-kun: *ye* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he heads home.* Sheepy: Sherlock: *he makes sure not to wake Watson up* Arsé-kun: *good job* Sheepy: *HE DONE IT!!* Sheepy: *you know what it’s time for? Izzy to kick the door of arsene’s apartment down* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *and he jumps, like usual* Sheepy: Izzy: Hey-o! Arsé-kun: Lupin: Mademoiselle, with all due respect… Please don’t kick the door. Sheepy: Izzy: But that’s my main way of entry! Sheepy: Izzy: How’s everything going??? Arsé-kun: Lupin: F-fine..? Sheepy: Izzy: Great! I’ve got a request for you. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Is it work? Sheepy: Izzy: Sort of? Arsé-kun: Lupin: And I’m not being paid overtime, am I? Sheepy: Sheepy: I thought you don’t get paid. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …… The point stands. Sheepy: Izzy: I need you to capture this guy for me. I need info from him. Sheepy: Izzy: I’d do it myself, but, y'know. Arsé-kun: Lupin: All I heard was “Lupin, please jump off a roof.” *he sighs* I’m going to need more information than that. Sheepy: Izzy: I can throw you off one if you want! Arsé-kun: Lupin: P-please have mercy. Sheepy: Izzy: Here, I have a picture of them. Arsé-kun: *Lupin takes the picture* Sheepy: Izzy: I want them alive. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …… I’ll see what I can do. Sheepy: Izzy: Good, good! Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. But, why? Doesn’t he work for you? Sheepy: Izzy: You think he listens to me? Arsé-kun: Lupin: …… oui? Sheepy: Izanami: That’s where you’re wrong. Arsé-kun: Lupin: I see. Sheepy: Izanami: He goes missing suddenly, he never listens to our orders, and I’m pretty sure he’s got something up his sleeve. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. Noted. Where am I to bring him? Sheepy: Izanami: Here’s the address. *she gives a slip of paper to Lupin* Boy, am I lucky to have you. Sheepy: Izanami: You listen more and you’re more fun than most of the reapers working under me. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Th-thank you? Sheepy: Izanami: No, really, I mean it! Sheepy: Sheepy: *he hasn’t been paying much attention to this* Sheepy: Izzy: Oh yeah. Thanks for being a babysitter. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Je vous en prie. Sheepy: Izzy: Now! I should probably leave you to whatever you were doing. Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. I was going to go out later, too Sheepy: Izzy: Huh? Really? Sheepy: Izzy: Go ahead and do that. It’s no rush. Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. You can guess what I mean bu “go out”. Either way, merci. Sheepy: Izzy: That I can! Sheepy: Izzy: See you later! *she go* Arsé-kun: Lupin: Sheepy? I’m going to get dressed, and I’m going out for a few hours. Sheepy: Sheepy: Okay. I’ll stay here. Sheepy: Sheepy: Is there anything you want me to do while you’re gone? Sheepy: Sheepy: I’m sure there’s something I can do. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Of course. Feed yourself. Maybe find fresh clothes to put on. Sheepy: Sheepy: OK! Arsé-kun: *So Lupin goes out!* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he does as Lupin asked, and then decides to clean. gotta stay busy.* Arsé-kun: *Lupin is out far longer than he probably intended. It’s getting dark* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he’s starting to get a bit worried…* Arsé-kun: *Today’s options include: Ask Tom to look, look out the window, look off the roof, go downstairs and look. Or do nothing* Sheepy: Sheepy: *Ask Tom to look *Look out window *Look off the roof >​Go downstairs and look Arsé-kun: *Sheepy goes downstairs. Lupin is not there.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *Ask Tom to look >​Look out window *Look off the roof Arsé-kun: *Sheepy doesn’t see shit! There is faint yelling in the distance, though. This is followed by Lupin flying into view, dragging Germain along. Werewoof Sherlock is with them. Not far behind them is a very large, angry, outraging bara furball.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh. That looks like a predicament. Arsé-kun: *team WE’RE GONN CRY bursts through the doors, which inexplicably catch on fire. Fire stops the angered furball* Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, hi. Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he lets go of Germain and lands* Salut. Let’s all agree now to not ever go through that again. Sheepy: Sherlock: *he just. flops over. he’s done. he just wants a nap. save him from this misery.* Arsé-kun: *Germain is sobbing a little.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Why was that furry man chasing you? Arsé-kun: Lupin: Full moon. Were. *he sounds like he’s catching his breath* Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh.. Arsé-kun: *the doors stop being on fire.* Sheepy: Sheepy: Why was the door on fire? Arsé-kun: Lupin: I panicked a little. Sheepy: Sheepy: I don’t think I’ve ever been that panicked in my life… Arsé-kun: Lupin: …. Either way, if he comes back, we’re not safe. Sheepy: Sheepy: What do we do if he comes back? Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he shakes his head* I don’t know. Sheepy: Sheepy: Maybe we should call your boss and ask her to help… Arsé-kun: Lupin: … It’s worth a shot. Arsé-kun: *Lupin calls Izzy* Sheepy: Izzy: Helloooo, how may I transfer your call? Arsé-kun: Lupin: To whatever department manages us not being murdered by an angry were. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh, you came to the right place! One moment. I’ll be over. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Please and thanks, I lit the doors earlier. Sheepy: *Izzy hangs up. About ten minutes later, she arrives* Sheepy: Izzy: The star of the show is here! Arsé-kun: *and so is van, again.* Sheepy: Izzy: Huh, you didn’t mean the sleeping carpet on your floor. Arsé-kun: Lupin: Non. Sheepy: Izzy: Oh, well. Hey, Mr. dog, I really would recommend going somewhere else. Sheepy: Izzy: You don’t wanna know how a reaper’s scythe feels. Arsé-kun: *Izzy is snarled at. Van doesn’t seem to care for the words you are speaking* Sheepy: Izzy: Fine, I warned you. Sheepy: Izzy: *she summons her scythe* Arsé-kun: Van: *he growls and raises his haunches. or whatever. i dont furry anatomy* Sheepy: Izzy: *she gets ready to fight* Arsé-kun: *Van leaps at her! roaaaaaaar* Sheepy: *Izzy tries to protect herself using her scythe* Arsé-kun: *and that just serves to make the angry furball angrier* Sheepy: Izzy: Alright, you asked for it! Sheepy: Izzy: *she goes for him with her scythe* Arsé-kun: *Today, we learn that limbs are meant to stay on. It’ll probably be where it belongs in a few hours.* Sheepy: Izzy: Oh, huh. That’s not what I intended to do. Arsé-kun: *and then van grabs his arm off the floor at whacks izzy with it. effective* Sheepy: Izzy: Eww. You’re getting werewolf blood all over me. Sheepy: Izzy: Aren’t you at all concerned about the fact that I just cut off your arm? Sheepy: Izzy: You bloodied up my scythe, too! Sheepy: Izzy: I just cleaned it! Arsé-kun: Van: *He growls, baring his teeth and preparing to lunge at her again* Sheepy: Izzy: If you do that, I’ll cut the other off, too! Arsé-kun: Van: *he’s still growling* Sheepy: Izzy: Sit. Sheepy: *Sherlock.. is napping through this. Good job buddy. You’re contributing so much.* Arsé-kun: *germain’s still crying.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he’s gone over to try to help comfort Germain* Arsé-kun: Van: *he does not sit. he snaps in izzy’s general direction* Sheepy: Izzy: That’s not sitting. Sheepy: Izzy: Unless you act nicer and stop trying to kill people, I’m gonna treat you like a dog. Sheepy: Izzy: Ordering you around and talking to you like you’re a baby. Arsé-kun: Van: *he’s STILL growling. izzy, that’s not working* Sheepy: Izzy: Shush. Arsé-kun: Van: *a single bark is thrown into the growl 3x combo* Sheepy: Izzy: Barking’s okay. No growling. Sheepy: Izzy: Put your arm back down and chill. Arsé-kun: Van: *he drops to all fours (threes. shut up) and stares. look how HAPPY he is. SO MUCH. YES.* Sheepy: Izzy: Do you want me to.. Sheepy: Izzy: Give you a ​hand? Arsé-kun: Van: *he snaps at her again* Sheepy: Izzy: No, really. Do you want me to help you with your arm? Arsé-kun: Van: …… *he snorts and sits down.* Sheepy: Izzy: *she goes over and starts helping him, y'know, put his arm back on. because that works.* Sheepy: Sheepy: How are you feeling?? Arsé-kun: Germain: Terrified, disgusted, and uncomfortable, but fortunately alive. Sheepy: Sheepy: That last one’s always good. Arsé-kun: Germain: Yes, yes, of course. Sheepy: Sheepy: I think the dog’s done for now, and the other one’s sleeping. Arsé-kun: Germain: Yes, yes, I do see this, but I swore I had seen a third. Arsé-kun: Issachar: *woof!* Dog?? Where?? Sheepy: Sheepy: There’s a dog who lost his arm just now and another dog right there. And there’s a third dog, apparently. Are you the third dog? Arsé-kun: Issachar: That’s right, kid, I’m a dog! Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Well, this guy saw you. That’s what he was saying. Arsé-kun: Issachar: *he tilts his head* Hello, sailor! I’m the well behaved dog. Sheepy: Sheepy: But the one that’s sleeping right now seemed well behaved the last time I saw him. Arsé-kun: Issachar: I was kidding! Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Arsé-kun: Issachar: And for the record, I’m no were, either. Sheepy: Sheepy: You aren’t? Arsé-kun: Issachar: Nope! *one zorua-esque backflip later, he hu mun. with clothes. not sure how that works. dont ask. dont tell* Ta-daa! Sheepy: Sheepy: Wow. Arsé-kun: Issachar: *and he sits down. plop.* Really, the only one of us that is a real were is Van. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh. Is that why he attacked them? Arsé-kun: Issachar: Yeah. *he frowns* He always gets like this. Me n’ Sherlock can handle him the day before and after the Full, but day of? Not at all. Sheepy: Sheepy: Will his arm grow back? Arsé-kun: Issachar: … Uh. No? Sheepy: Sheepy: She cut his arm off. Arsé-kun: Issachar: hUh?? *he looks back at Van again* Sure doesn’t look like it from here! Sheepy: Sheepy: She did. Sheepy: Sheepy: We all saw it. Sheepy: Sheepy: And then he picked it up and hit her with it. Arsé-kun: Issachar: … Sounds like something he’d do. I’ll believe it. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh, good. Sheepy: Sheepy: Maybe she fixed his arm, if you don’t see that it was cut off. Arsé-kun: Issachar: Maybe! Sheepy: Sheepy: Are you feeling better? Arsé-kun: Germain: *he nods* Y-yes, I think I’ve calmed down. Sheepy: Sheepy: I’m glad! Sheepy: Izzy: That’s great! Now, quite unfortunately for you, I’ve got business with you, and I guess this place is as suited as any. Arsé-kun: Germain: Ahh?? L-like what, ma'am? Sheepy: Izzy: I think you know. Arsé-kun: Germain: … Oh. Sheepy: Izzy: Don’t think you’re getting out of it. I want to know everything. Arsé-kun: Germain: … I suppose I’m trapped. Where shall I begin, ma'am? Sheepy: Izzy: Wherever you want. I don’t care, as long as I know everything by the end of it. Arsé-kun: Germain: “Everything” is a bit of a broad spectrum.. Sheepy: Izzy: What you’re doing. Why you’re doing it. What your aim is. Arsé-kun: Germain: Learning as much as I can. Because I ’d like to know a wide range of topics. For curiosities sake and also something else. Sheepy: Izzy: I don’t believe you. Arsé-kun: Germain: I did not lie. Arsé-kun: Germain: I just did not detail the end result. Sheepy: Izzy: Detail the end result. Arsé-kun: Germain: Not here. Sheepy: Izzy: Is it really so bad that you don’t want to discuss it here? Arsé-kun: Germain: Not bad. It’s just not a well received topic due to how others understand it. Sheepy: Izzy: Huh? Sheepy: Izzy: Sounds shady. Arsé-kun: Germain: *he shrugs* It’s like how the modern world think zombies are raised dead, when that isn’t what the originally were. It’s nothing bad. Sheepy: Izzy: Oookay. If you say so. Sheepy: Sheepy: How d'you do the thingy? Arsé-kun: Germain: …? Sheepy: Sheepy: The thingy where you read people’s souls or whatever. Arsé-kun: Germain: … I don’t know how to explain. It’s just something I’ve always done. *he slowly shakes his head* Sheepy: Sheepy: Are you reading their memories or something? Arsé-kun: Germain: I could if I wanted, but no. Sheepy: Sheepy:….Would it work on me if my memories got stolen?? Arsé-kun: Germain: *he blinks* I… I do not know. Are you asking what I believe you are? Sheepy: Sheepy: Uh-huh! Arsé-kun: Germain: ….. *he looks up at izzy* Sheepy: Izzy:….I don’t agree with it, but whatever. I can’t complain. Go ahead. Arsé-kun: Germain: I will be quick, I promise. Sheepy: Sheepy: I probably don’t know anything you care out, but… Sheepy: Sheepy: I hope it isn’t too inconvenient. Arsé-kun: Germain: I recommend you sit back against the wall. Sheepy: Sheepy:….? OK… *he does so* Sheepy: Sheepy: Why? Arsé-kun: Germain: So you do not fall, of course. *he turns, and lightly places his hand on Sheepy’s chest. His hand then goes INTO sheepy’s chest, and he pulls out a green soul. He quickly glances at Izzy again, and then turns his full attention to the soul* Sheepy: Izzy: *she watches him closely* Arsé-kun: *Other than breathing, he doesn’t seem to be doing much.* Sheepy: Izzy: *and Germain?* Arsé-kun: *thats who i meant you dope, but its basically the same, except germain is conscious.* Sheepy: Izzy: *she waits* Arsé-kun: Germain: *it’s hard to tell if he’s even conscious by this point, with how little he’s moving- oh, never mind, he blinked. the first in several minutes* Sheepy: Izzy: *creepy* Sheepy: *sheepy doesn’t mind because he’s unconscious* Arsé-kun: Germain: ……. *he blinks a few more times, and shakes his head. He puts the soul back and waits.* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he wakes up* Sheepy: Sheepy: Huh… .. oh, how’d it go…? Arsé-kun: Germain: Well. When you said “Stolen”, I’d thought they’d only be missing in your head.. Sheepy: Sheepy: What do you mean…? Arsé-kun: Germain: There’s barely a trace of your memories in your soul. Before we sound too negative, though, your knowledge remained. Sheepy: Sheepy: Really??? Arsé-kun: Germain: I didn’t go through much, as I did not intend to. I did get something, though. Sheepy: Sheepy: What’d you get?? Arsé-kun: Germain: You had a bit more knowledge of genies and fae than anyone your age would need. *he closes his eyes again and shrugs. he :). the default. it returns* Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh… Sheepy: Sheepy: So that means I probably asked one for something and they cheated me. Arsé-kun: Germain: If that is the case, it had to be the fae. Genies cannot cheat except certain situations. Sheepy: Sheepy: Oh…! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he returns from wherever the fuck HE went. By which i mean he was lurking on the stairs for the last two minutes. Before that, dragging the changed-back van upstairs.* So that’s what it was? Sheepy: Sheepy: That’s what he said. Sheepy: Sherlock: *he, too, has changed back, except he’s still sleeping on the floor* Sheepy: Sheepy: But what does that mean for me? Sheepy: Izzy: Once I find that fairy I’ll throw a table at them! Sheepy: Sheepy: …. but how would that fix anything? Sheepy: Izzy: It wouldn’t, but it’d mqke me feel better! Sheepy: Izzy: Although, I gotta make sure it’s a whole table, because if it isn’t, it’ll give them…. a leg up. Sheepy: Sheepy:………….huh?​ Sheepy: Izzy: You know, like table legs? Maybe it’s missing table legs? Sheepy: Sheepy:………….ok. Sheepy: Izzy: Aww, shoot, they took your sense of humor, too. You would’ve laughed before. Sheepy: Sheepy: Was that a joke? OK… Sheepy: Sheepy: *in the most bored way possible* Ha. Ha. Ha. Sheepy: Izzy: You poor child…. Sheepy: Izzy: You poor, poor child… Arsé-kun: *Lets skip to the following afternoon, for convenience* Sheepy: Sheepy: *he is being himself aka clumsy aka he probably knocked something over bt accident and is now cleaning it up* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he decides to help* Arsé-kun: *Elsewhere, Germain is hunched over multiple books, his wide-open eyes darting from book to book. Tightly gripped in his hand is a staff, an ugly thing with skulls hanging upon it. The foreign language written on the pages seems to make sense to Germain, and a faint smile crawls onto his face. Pleased with his findings, he gently closes the aged tomes, scattering dust throughout the air. He stands, closing his eyes and setting his staff on the table. His smile remaining, he extinguishes the lights and leaves the room, locking the door behind him.* Arsé-kun: *But anyway back to sheepy and lupin* Sheepy: Sheepy: Thank you! Sorry for knocking it over…..! Sheepy: Sheepy: I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and tripped… Sheepy: Sheepy: But, d-don’t worry! I didn’t hurt myself! Sheepy: Sheepy: *a nervous grin has spread across his face, and despite his words, he seems intent on hiding his hand from view and the slight smell of blood is in the air…* Arsé-kun: Lupin: ….. Did you hurt yourself? Sheepy: Sheepy: Nope! Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he gives a side glance to Sheepy* Really? Sérieux? Sheepy: Sheepy: I didn’t! Arsé-kun: Lupin: So the scent of blood must be my imagination. Sheepy: Sheepy: *welp. he’s caught. better just show his hand off to Lupin* Arsé-kun: Lupin: *he sighs, and fetches bandages* Sheepy: Sheepy: Sorry!