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mellowwillowy · 2 months

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Back at Yan! Bishop vs Yan! Preacher agenda (GN)

CW: Somnophilia, tentacles (Eldritch horror), asphyxiation

Yan! Preacher who is just a walking menace, he is much more of a demon than a man of holy scriptures, always teaching you entirely false things.

Yan! Preacher who won't hesitate to pull Yan! Bishop's leg for shits and giggles, a hand that lingers on you longer than intended, a lip that is so threateningly close to yours, and a knee pressed down on your crotch by the church altar.

Yan! Bishop who is almost always fuming in anger whenever such indecencies are shown, chiding hands and lips get close to you as he yanks you close to him instead. Despite the vein that popped out of his skin, he could never get angry with you.

Yan! Preacher who enjoys the little cat and mouse game thoroughly with both you and him, ready to end the game whenever he feels so.

Yan! Bishop who will resort to restricting you from meeting the preacher, even going as far as installing locks on your bedroom.

Yan! Bishop who loves you dearly to the point he’s ready to burn the full ache he gets from looking at you sticking around the Preacher, so much that forbidden magic is imbued on the locks.

"Quite the nice locks there, huh? These would burn if I ever lay my fingers on it, no?"

"Then I suggest you not try your hand on it or them lest I decide to burn you myself."

Noel frowned at the way Caelus leaned onto the door to your bedroom casually, as though challenging him to do so. As much as the locks would burn him, it would only amount to tripping him but never making him fall.

At that statement, the bishop raised one of his eyebrows, "Pardon?"

"Done locking it? If so, I think it's time for you to scram."

"The same can be said of you, what are you waiting for?"

"The same as you."

The golden-eyed man flashed him a toothy grin that reached his eyes, "Think I'd never catch your tail? How many times have you worshipped them to the point you copulate with them?"

Noel twitched at his remarks. As though he was remarked to be a mutt in heat, he could also not deny the fact that he had done something unpardonable.

Caelus rounded his way toward Noel and gave his shoulder a squeezing pat, "I'd also rather not sit idly waiting for you to leave just to get my fair share of play."

With a flick of a wrist, the Preacher's finger was imbued with a glowing magic that allowed him to break the locks. Caelus nodded in gratitude for the undoing, "But when it comes to exorcising, I suppose having a lending hand won't hurt."

"Your point is?"

The Preacher smiled at his words, "I'd say we enjoy this together, I won't do anything with your little adoration game to my doll though I must say, sharing is never my forte..."

—

It felt vivid. Within your dreamscape, you could feel something rocking you yet in an oddly pleasurable way. Ghost of fingers and tongues that felt your skin to a dull ache between your legs.

"Didn't I tell you to not fuck like a bitch in heat?" Noel chided the other, failing to keep his wording proper when his cock was snuggled deep inside your mouth, tip twitching just from the rumble of your throat when Caelus managed to hit the right spot.

"Shut it, fraud." Caelus hissed in gritted teeth as he angled you to take his cock even deeper, "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, can't you hear those little whimpers they make for me?"

As much as he'd like to give his fair face a punch, Noel couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that you two were never an item. But so were you and Caelus!

"Then I have the right to say the same too." Noel's eyes fell on your sex, his fingers trailed from your navel to it, feeling the warmth it emitted before working on it, earning yet another whimper from you that made him jerk his hips unwillingly.

"Ooh~? Pretty boy is having a hard time?"

"Shut it-" Noel clasped his mouth with the back of his hand, his hips snapping backward and forward, chasing his own climax albeit gently in a sense. Just as the Bishop's mind was clouded in lust, his red orbs focused on your face, the Preacher took his chance to manipulate your dream into a picture of reality.

"Hm..." His hand traveled to your neck, holding the rosary tightly for a moment before snapping his hips hard and fast.

Caelus couldn't manipulate it even just for a 1/3, let alone entirely. It was not a pleasant fact knowing that he wasn't in charge of the situation alas he could only unravel his displeasure into you.

His finger grazed the rosary as he muttered out a spell, his other hand rested on Noel's back before imbuing it with magic, pushing Noel toward you abruptly.

"Hkh-! What in the world are you-" Just before Noel could elbow him, the rosary tightened around your neck, causing you to groan and sending a wave of pleasure toward Noel's cock that was nuzzled deep in your throat now.

Noel's eyes were trained to the ominous threat yet his mind just could not stop causing him to rut into you, desperate for a release. And release did he have it, the idea of it trickling down through your trachea in ease made him shiver.

"Wh-what? Shit, can't pull it out."

"Hm? I never knew the Bishop enjoys molesting his followers like this, bruising their throat and getting off from it." The Preacher snarked at him, his pace remained steady as shadows of tentacles glowered into an image.

The rosary fell loose, allowing Noel to pull out and adore the mess he had done. His finger went to wipe the stain he left before he gave your lip a soft kiss, causing the other entity to roll his eyes.

"How uncivilized."

"More like you're the uncivilized one here with how foul your methods are..."

"I'm not a mirror you know."

"Done being lovey dovey? If so, you ought to scram, I need space."

Noel raised one of his eyebrows before he saw the shadow again. Numerous tentacles appeared out of the shadow and folded you into a mating press, ankles placed by your ears.

"You-!" Noel's hand was swung into motion as he tried to imbue it with magic yet nothing would come out, causing Caelus to chortle at his attempt.

"You are doing great in controlling their dream but that's just as far as you can go. Abuse more power and you might just set yourself on fire instead." As much as Noel was capable of doing so, he knew that he was not on the same level when it came down to magic with Caelus.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

Caelus hummed out an ancient lullaby you had always enjoyed hearing him sing, his rutting rocking you back and forth like a baby in a cradle being rocked back and forth.

The tentacle threatened itself into your mouth, the suckers feeling your tongue before it entered deeper, and the other gave your neck a squeeze that was barely below crashing your windpipe.

Whimpers, or should Noel noted, choked sobs slipped past your filled mouth, and a single tear fell out of your heavily lidded eyes. Noel knelt down and his tongue went to lick it upward, savoring the saltiness before peppering your face with kisses as he hushed you down, his hand clasped against yours.

"You are doing great, shh... good... good..."

At the sight of your hand clasped with Noel's, Caelus's eyes flickered in disdain yet he held back his comment, lip turning downward and his pace started to turn into a bruising one, uncaring of whether you were pleasured or not.

If he could snap you out of your dream, he would. That way, just perhaps you would freak out and let go of Noel's hand, gripping the bedsheet tightly looked better if you were hesitant in holding his hand or tentacle.

The tentacles squeezed themselves harder against your neck, causing more tears to slip out and louder sobs to fall out. It did not bother Caelus in the slightest for he knew,

𝘛𝘩𝘦 '𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦' 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

A flash of you passed through his mind, snapping him out of his trance, and he bit his lip to the point it bled, his seed nestled deep inside you as his hip halted in place.

The tentacles retreated as he pulled himself out, and your body laid back properly as a dribble of cum leaked out of your abused hole. Noel's hand was still clasping yours as his now gleaming turquoise eyes locked with Caelus' golden orbs.

Two glowing eyes stared at each other in disdain, ready to strangle each other.

—

"Keep looking at me like that and I'll have you sent to Carcosa."

"And keep sticking around them and I'll have you burnt, monster."

You woke up to the birds chirping, opening your eyes as you adjusted your eyes to the light. You tried to sit up only to feel a dull ache in your hip. Weirded out, you slipped your feet into your slippers only to feel ached on your ankles,

"Wha-" You clasped your throat, it hurt when you tried to speak and your voice was hoarse.

Just what in the world had happened during your sleep? Setting worries aside, you were certain that both Noel and Caelus would have the answer for it.

Author’s Note:

Carcosa is a fictional city in Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" (1886)

While writing this, I have to make @thescribeoflostmemories helps me around with Caelus [one, because Caelus is half inspired by one of his OC so she knows his way around lol (also to not OOC his OC painfully <3)]

#CatboX #x GN Reader #Yandere x Reader #Noel the Unbent #Caelus the Henchman #yandere smut #yandere scenarios #yandere imagines #yandere OC #Kudo for them not fightin throwing punches mid sex #yandere eldritch horror

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cheollipop · 1 year

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welcome home

navi | taglist

pairing: puppy hybrid!san x fem owner!reader

w.c.: 1.9k

tags: smut, fluff, established relationship

the thought of his owner coming home after a long week drove san straight into an early rut, and the scent of her pillow was too inviting to brush aside.

warnings: dom!reader, sub!san, pillow humping, plushie humping (I'm so sorry), so much cum, san is in a rut, animal -puppy- characteristics (tail and ears), fingering (f receiving), handjob, mommy kink, breeding kink, impreg kink, bulge kink (idk wtf this is actually called), unprotected sex (👎🏼!), knotting, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, begging, one (1) chomp, nicknames (pup, baby, sannie, love, darling, good boy; mommy)

A/N: I feel the need to issue a formal apology to shiber. I'm so sorry.

nsfw under the cut - minors dni!! 🔞

⊹₊┈ㆍ✿ㆍ ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈₊⊹

You weren’t sure what to expect coming home from your business trip. Perhaps a home-cooked meal; or maybe a pillow fort in the living room with the movie you'd been dying to watch waiting for you on the TV, your favourite snacks laid out over the blankets. You pondered over every possible scenario during your flight back home, and decided that seeing San's face – his tail wagging in excitement as you finally walked through the front door – was all you could ever ask for.

Standing in the doorway to your shared bedroom, you realised that you’d thought about every possible scenario but one:

Coming home to a dark apartment, soft mewls and cries escaping through the open bedroom door, you rushed in, worried that San might’ve hurt himself in your absence. But two steps into the room, you found yourself rooted in place, watching as your puppy hybrid repeatedly slid his cock over the drenched pillow – your pillow. Even when his ears perked up at the sound of your footsteps and he raised his head to meet your eyes – his own lidded and glazed over – San’s hips continued their furious humping, desperate moans flowing freely from his parted lips. His hands gripped the pillow, veins protruding from his sweat-clad skin, the only sound in the apartment a mixture of San’s reckless thrusting and his needy moans.

San’s innocent excitement over his owner coming home after a long week drove him straight into an early rut, his cock growing painfully hard with no relief in sight. Shiber’s soft material instantly drew him in, and he found himself sliding his cock over the back of the plushie, biting down on the comforter as his continuous orgasms shook his whole body. He then caught a whiff of the pillow in front of him, your scent rushing through his nostrils and straight down to his core. Growling, he threw Shiber to the side, instead grabbing your pillow and bringing it down to his needy cock. Sweat dripped down his temples, his thighs shaking as he drenched the pillow with his cum, realising he won’t be appeased until he knotted you.

“M-mommy... you’re finally back,” San lowered himself until his chest was flush with the pillow, shooting another load of hot cum between his bare skin and the soft cotton, his whole body shuddering with the force of his orgasm.

Your lips parted and closed, unable to form words, while your eyes wandered across the room, taking in the clothes haphazardly thrown to the side before zeroing in on Shiber – the plushie’s velvety fabric a dark brown, drenched in San’s release. Looking back at the hybrid, you noticed the lust-filled eyes, his tail swinging uncontrollably behind him as he arched his back to further grind over the pillow. The scene felt familiar – clear signs of an incoming rut.

You dropped your bag, quickly moving to San’s side while ignoring the wave of arousal pooling between your legs. Placing a palm over his slick forehead, you watched him lean into your touch, your hand cool against his heated skin.

“Sannie? Darling, does it hurt anywhere?” You ran your fingers through his hair, holding his cheek with your other hand and angling his face towards you.

He mumbled something under his breath, his hips slowing down their furious pace.

“Speak up for me, pup,” you encouraged him with a few scratches behind his ear.

“D-down there... It hurts,” his hips picked up their pace again and he nuzzled his nose into your outer-thigh, inhaling your scent. “Wanna knot mommy, please, can I-I?”

---

San’s cock was heavy, hot as it glided over your skin. Straddling one of your thighs, San rutted against the soft skin while his fingers pounded into your g-spot, scissoring them to prepare you for his knot.

“I need you, mommy… Can I knot you now?” He pleaded, his eyes glassy and his bottom lip quivering.

He knew you were weak to those eyes, but you learned the importance of proper prep when it came to taking his knot in the past, and were glad he was clear-headed enough to offer you that. You reached a hand behind his ear to scratch at the skin, smiling when his eyes drooped at the added stimulation.

“Just a little longer, baby. Can you be a good boy for mommy and stretch me out properly?” You cooed when San’s ears perked up, his tail standing up straight before continuing to wag excitedly.

He nodded his head eagerly, stuffing his fingers into your cunt and curling them until they brushed against your sweet spot. Your head rolled back over the pillow, your breath quickening as San sent shocks of pleasure soaring through your body. He added a third finger, and then a fourth, fucking them into you until your back was arching and your vision darkened, pushing you over the edge unexpectedly. San’s other hand moved to your clit, rolling it between two fingers as you rode out your high, thigh twitching under him and drawing out a whimper from his lips.

You took a few breaths before sitting up and flipping San over, straddling his hips and wrapping your hand around his aching cock, pumping it roughly and taking in how he writhed under you.

“H-hurts! It hurts- hnngh-“

“Shh,” your thumb rubbed soothing circles over his nipple and you leaned in to press feathery kisses to his jawline. “Give me one more and then you can have me, okay?”

You watched as tears and drool ran down the sides of his face, his face scrunching up as he released all over your hand and his lower belly, his cum translucent and watery.

It took San a few seconds to recover, quickly flipping you over and nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck, his canines running over the delicate skin. He ran his cock – already hard and leaking over your lower belly – through your dripping folds, his head brushing over your clit.

“Please, p-please- Let me fuck you, please, c-can I?” He panted, raising his head to look at you with drool flowing down his chin. “Nghh- ‘Wanna breed mommy- N-need it-”

A guttural moan echoed in the room when San finally pushed his cock inside of you, sheathing the whole length between your fluttering walls in one go. You tossed your head back, hands flying to San’s shoulders when his hips urgently snapped against yours, the base of his knot pushing past your entrance then back out.

“Fuck, San! A-ah- s-slow down-”

“C-can’t- I can’t- Hnnngh! Mommy’s pussy feels so good-” San’s hips were relentless, starting off with rapid, shallow thrusts before shoving his cock so deep inside your cunt you saw stars, grinding the tip into your g-spot before pulling out and slamming back in. “C-can I breed you, mommy? ‘Wanna knot you and fill you up with Sannie’s cum, please, can I?”

Your eyes rolled to the back of your skull, pleasure shooting up your spine every time San drove his cock inside you, releasing breathy successions of ah’s that San didn’t hesitate to lean down and swallow. He moved his lips over yours, hungrily licking into your mouth, his tongue moving with fervour and coating the lower half of your face with his spit.

“Please, you feel so good, mommy- h-hahh-” San muttered against your lips, nibbling on the bottom one while he spoke, the base of his knot tugging at your entrance every time he pulled out before snapping it back in with a throaty moan. “Let me breed your hole; I'll be good, I promise. ‘Just want mommy to have my pups.”

Your own cries of pleasure turned into silent gasps as San rammed his cock inside you relentlessly, your orgasm washing over you and jolting your whole body every time he pushed his cockhead into your g-spot. Your fingers gripped the slick skin of his shoulders, nails digging into the flesh. You were delirious, wanting nothing but to feel San’s hot cum flooding your insides.

“Fuck, Sannie, give it to me, pup- hnnghh-” Your jaw went slack, San’s canines sinking into your shoulder with a husky growl while he continued pumping his knot inside you. You tangled your fingers in his hair, roughly scratching at his scalp while you regained your breath. “Y-your cum- Be a good boy and give mommy your cum, darling-”

San let go of your shoulder, sticking out his tongue to lap up the blood leaking from the wound. “Gonna cum inside mommy… Ah- ‘gonna look s-so pretty when you’re swollen with my pups-“

“Yeah… you’ve been so good for me, love,” you panted, the overstimulation nearly unbearable with the way San’s knot lugged at your entrance. “Come on, baby, do it for mommy-”

With a final thrust, he sheathed his whole length inside your used cunt, his knot locking in place and stretching out your fluttering walls. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and your vision went black when San’s hot cum began pouring into you – rope after rope of white painting your insides until you truly believed that you couldn’t fit any more.

Pressing his hand to your lower belly, you felt him shoot more of his load into your womb, breathing out a curse when it bulged under his palm from all the cum he was emptying into you, his swollen cock twitching between your walls as you milked every last drop out of him.

“San- wait, d-don’t- It’s gonna spill!” Your back arched, feeling so full of San you actually believed you were going to get pregnant.

San released a strangled groan into the crook of your neck when your cunt pulsed around him, licking over the bitemark he’d left there before pressing tender pecks over the wound. “Sannie’s cum isn’t going anywhere. I won’t let it,” he smiled against your heated skin, an innocent blush coating his cheeks, and he pressed his knot further inside you. "I gotta make sure I breed mommy properly.”

The following few hours were a pleasant ceremony of aftercare – you basked in the loving kisses San littered all over your face, your neck, your chest, anywhere he could reach, taking in the his soft giggles at your repetitions of I love you and good boy.

When his knot finally went down, he pulled out of your weeping cunt, his release flowing out of you in one stream. Before you could complain or feel embarrassed, San instantly began doting on you, carrying you to the bathroom and washing your hair, then cooked you dinner while dressed in the pink apron you had gifted him for his birthday.

You savoured these peaceful moments during San’s ruts – the calm before the storm. You rarely ever caught it in its early stages, when his head was clear enough to tend to you instead of solely focusing on himself. You didn’t mind, knowing he didn’t have much control over it, but still cherished when he would cater to your needs as well as his own.

You watched the hybrid’s chest rise and fall, his arms secured around your waist while he slumbered, his face resting peacefully. You knew he’d soon wake up hot and desperate again, but knowing that tranquillity resided within him even during his toughest ruts flooded your chest with searing warmth. Your body moved on its own, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the plush of his lips, smiling at how his mouth formed a pout when you pulled away. With fondness swarming through your body, and love nearly bursting through your chest, you allowed San’s steady breaths to lull you to sleep.

apply for my tag list here (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

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rose-tea-and-strawberries · 9 months

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Jack Howl And The Blustery Day

The rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

In rushing, rising riv'lets

'Til the river crept out of its bed

And crept right into Piglet's

- Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day

Jack shivered slightly from where he stood in front of the old, dilapidated building that is Ramshackle, gusts of wind and droplets of rain making him antsy. Around him, he could see the chilly breeze rousing fallen leaves to bob and weave across the air.

“Y/N!” Jack called, knocking on the creaky door, “Y/N! Let me in!”

He heard your muffled voice, a tad bit higher and squeakier than it usually was, call out in reply, “not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”

What the-

“Y/N!” he called, “open u-”

He was interrupted by the sound of a lock clicking into place and watched as the door opened to reveal you dressed in fuzzy pyjamas, a teasing smile adorning your face, “hello, Mister. Come on in.”

He shrugged off his jacket and gently hung it on a nearby coat rack before toeing off his shoes and following you to the living room where he was surprised to find you sitting amidst a variety of blankets and pillows deposited on the floor next to a table that held up three steaming mugs.

You laughed at his befuddled expression as you patted the space next to you, “It was Grim’s idea to make a blanket fort. I was telling him about them while we were making the hot chocolate and he wanted to do it with me. As you can see he already fell asleep before we could make it into an actual fort.”

The fondness in your words made a tendril of warmth swirl around in his chest as he followed your gaze to find your feline companion snoozing on a flouf cushion with a blanket carefully placed on him.

You once again made the non-verbal demand that he join you so he slumped himself against you, allowing you to bundle the both of you up in different covers and duvets before handing him a steaming mug of hot chocolate. The heat of the crackling fireplace and his head resting on your shoulder doing more than enough to protect the two of you from the cold of the elements outside.

The soft cozy atmosphere inside your living room, with the mellow sounds of the movie playing on your television and the melody of your heartbeat was enough to lull him into a pleasant slumber. Until it wasn’t.

The serenity that encompassed the two of you was pierced by the crackles and rumbles emitted from the inky black and smoky grey tufts that inhabited the murky overcast sky, the constant drizzle intensifying into a vigorous torrent. Buckets and buckets of water came pouring down, splashing and splattering over every exterior surface and howling sounds thudded on the window, giving the tell-tale signs of an approaching tempest.

Noting the endless cascade showering outside, you turned to Jack in amusement, “I don’t think you’ll be leaving here anytime soo- huh?”

You were cut off by your boyfriend throwing himself at you, wrapping his arms around your waist and practically melting against your torso, causing you to topple backwards at the force of his well-built, muscular body slamming into yours. Despite the tense stiffness of his posture, you could feel him shaking slightly as he buried his head into the junction between your neck and shoulder, his nose rubbing against your nape. His usually upright, pointy ears were pinned back, slanting downwards, and his tail was tucked and curled between his legs. The sound of soft little whines, whimpers and howls graced your ears and you could feel his arms constricting tighter around you when the ground trembled from another resound of thunder.

“Hey, Jack,” you cooed, threading your fingers through the grey strands at the top of his nape, “are you alright, big guy?”

Your only reply was an uncharacteristic keening whine that was muffled against your shoulder. Another bout of thunder boomed from the heavens, resulting in his solid hold constricting tighter around you, your hands caressing the trembling expanse of his back when your ears caught on to the stray whimpers he let out.

You hummed, soft and soothing as you held him, continuing on with your ministrations.

“It’s okay, big guy,” you consoled, “it’s alright, I’m right here.”

You hear a sigh before a gruff voice mumbles, “‘don’t like thunder.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” you say, “we’re all afraid of something.”

“‘M not scared,” he argues though his hold doesn’t lessen even a bit.

You do your best to hide the smile in your voice as you agree, “of course, of course. But even if there was the possibility that you were scared - which you definitely aren’t - I’m just saying that there’s nothing wrong with that.”

He nuzzles his face closer to your neck, “just-just keep holding me, okay?”

“Okay,” you say, “though it might be easier to do that if you transform. Your arms are a bit - uh - enthusiastic.”

At first there’s silence, and he remained stock still, so you wonder if he even heard your suggestion but then there’s a poof and you find yourself with a large wolf making himself comfortable on your lap.

And so you closed your eyes and relished the feeling of warmth that spread across your body, caused not by the dancing wisps of golden and amber flames, but by the adoration you felt for your boyfriend, that grew and grew with every stroke of your fingers through glacier grey fur.

There the two of you sat, in your calm, drowsy state, as the rain continued to pour outside.

The rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

When the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

#jack howl x reader #twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #fem reader

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sweaterkittensahoy · 1 month

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I'm gonna fix that lack of Lemmons/Rosie prompt - okay just these two and in the blue hours of the morning, before sunrise.

Rosie's favourite thing about Ken is watching his hands work, seeing his focus. Rosie's least favourite thing is sitting quietly after a mission, after interrogation, and watch Ken pace back and forth in front of a downed Fort that some lucky bastard managed to fly home and Rosie just knows that Ken is thinking all the things he couldve done differently, as though his care and genius can be a protective shield against the Germans. As though every man in all the planes that Ken touched couldn't feel his soul in every part of the war machine, flying them to meet their maker and found some kind of solace.

(Reads like an actual drabble, but how about you pick up where that left off?)

[Let's see how I tone match, eh?]

Robert knows where Ken will be when he leaves interrogation. He knows Ken will be there for a good, long time. So he takes a little time to get himself put back together. He takes a shower and shaves and puts on a fresh uniform. He doesn't bother with hair cream.

The sun is setting as he bikes to the runway. A few of the ground crew wave at him, but no one needs to point him in the right direction. Robert just aims himself at the worst-damaged fort. It's on the last hardstand. There's a hole in the side, down by the tail, large enough for two men to stand in. Ken's sitting in the hole, legs hanging out. He's got a socket wrench in his hand and is doing something to the floor. He doesn't look up when Robert stops beside him.

"They all made it back," Robert says quietly. "Bunny saw the shot coming, got Milkweed out of the way. It was the last hit they took as they turned around to come back."

Ken doesn't answer, just keeps working the socket wrench. The rhythmic noise of it carries on the air.

Robert goes over to the hatch and climbs in. He stands in the belly of the fort and looks towards Ken. Ken puts the socket wrench down and yanks at the floor panel. It lifts up, and he tosses it through the hole.

Robert walks over to Ken. He glances out at the floor panel. It looks fine to him. It's not dinged or dented or torn. He looks down into the bare bones of the fort, and it all looks fine too. The beams that make up the shape of her are all there.

Ken looks up at Robert. He shakes his head, his way of saying he doesn't have it in him to talk right now.

Robert crouches by the open floor. "Okay," he says. "Hi." He touches Ken's cheek. "I'm back."

Ken turns his head and kisses Robert's palm, then he pulls his legs into fort and drops into the floor shaft. He holds out his hand, and Robert passes over the socket wrench.

A moment later, Ken turns on his flashlight, and Robert lays flat on the floor to try and see what he's doing. He's turned towards the outer bow of the plane, the socket wrench creaking again. Robert drops his hand down so it's near Ken's head, and Ken puts the bolts into his hand. Supplies are, as ever, tight, and any pieces of the forts they can keep, they do.

Ken holds up the socket wrench. Robert takes it. Ken kicks the panel, and it pops off, late afternoon sunlight pouring into the underfloor. Ken looks beautiful as the light envelopes him, his freckles bright in his face when he looks up to meet Robert's eyes.

"Come here," Ken says, standing to one side.

Robert turns over his hand and pours the bolts into Ken's palm. He puts them in his chest pocket so he can secure them, then he holds out his hand to help Robert down.

Robert slips between the beams, having to suck in his stomach a little. "No wonder you're all so lithe," he says.

"It helps," Ken replies. There's no smile on his face, but his eyes are warm.

Robert finds his footing and follows Ken's pointing finger. There's two beams just above waist height on Ken. One has a small dent, about the width of Robert's thumb. The other is completely buckled, curled in an arc that looks wrong and awful even to Robert's untrained eyes.

"You couldn't see that from the outside," Robert says. "How'd you know it was there?"

Ken looks out through the hole. There's a fort on the next hardstand, nearly stripped for parts. "Penny Baby," he says. "I found the same thing on her when I was pulling panels while you were up there." He touches the buckled beam, then curls his hand over it. "She got hit about the same place."

"It was a smaller hole," Robert says. He remembers it because he'd walked the pilots around Penny Baby himself, explaining what each bit of damage had done to their fort, assuring them they'd done their best and letting them get used to the reality of what they'd be doing twenty-four more times in order to go home.

"I don't know why it didn't tear open like this one," Ken says. "Might not have known we needed to check the bones if we hadn't needed to break her down so fast."

Robert places a hand on Ken's back. "Hey," he says. "Look at me."

Ken does. He looks haunted. Terrified. "It's a load-bearing beam," he says. "If it goes, the whole underside comes apart. If we hadn't--"

"But you did," Robert says.

"Other forts have gotten hit like this," Ken says. His eyes drop to the buckled beam. Robert takes hold of his chin and turns his gaze back to his own.

"You're not an X-Ray machine, Ken. You never will be. You're doing the best you can the same as the rest of us, okay?"

Ken closes his eyes. His breath shudders out. "Eleven," he says.

Robert pulls him into a hug. "I know," he says. It's the number of forts that didn't come back. The ones that got chewed up too much to even limp home. "But not because you couldn't see through them, Ken. Okay? You're not the one shooting them down."

Ken doesn't answer. His breath is hot against Robert's collar. A damp spot is spreading on Robert's blouse. He presses his cheek to Ken's hair and hums a love song. The bolts in Ken's front pocket dig into Robert's chest, and Robert thinks that's what it must feel like for Ken to carry these forts with him, even if they don't come back. Heavy and hard against his heart.

#rosielemmons #fic prompt #ask #answer #masters of the air #robert rosenthal #ken lemmons #angst

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igodownjustlikeholymary · 2 years

Note

No thoughts in my pea brain only rain, sodo and reader....with smut if you do it but if not thats totally okay

i don't do smut, sorry! i rlly hope this turned out good, this is my first time writing about the ghouls.

a day to remember

summary: you get to spend a day hanging around the ministry with your favorite ghouls. (g/n reader, use of pet names, implied smut kinda)

you opened your eyes to see sunlight pouring into your bedroom, it had to be late already. you grumbled and attempted to get up, though the two ghouls you were sandwiched between made that quite difficult. sodo wrapped his tail around your leg and rain snuggled his face into the crook of your neck, planting a small kiss. "c'mon baby, stay a little longer?"

you sighed, you knew you couldn't say no. you were still exhausted, and you were sure they were too. after all, none of you did very much sleeping last night, and you had no doubt someone else had been kept up as well by the noise. you gently turned your head to face sodo, meeting his soft and warm gaze. "as much as i'd love to stay here with you two forever, sister would kill us if we didn't get our duties out of the way," you said, reaching up to stroke his horns. he let out a sigh and hesitantly unwrapped his tail. rain let out a discontented groan upon hearing him crawling out of bed and you sitting up.

"come on rain, you too." you said, pressing a kiss onto his forehead. next you knew, you were all up and getting dressed when rain had a proposition. "why don't we all tag together for the day? that way we won't have to spend nearly as much time separate." he tossed sodo his mask. "that sounds like a great idea!" you exclaimed, clapping your hands. you both looked back at sodo, putting on your best puppy eyes. he looked at the two of you for a few seconds, before finally giving in and saying yes.

the rest of the day was chaos in its purest form, vases were broken, fingers were smashed in doors, fires were caught and promptly put out, papas were embarrassed at your behavior, but your hearts were full. you all could hardly calm down when it was well past time for most of the clergy to be asleep, opting to have a sleepover instead.

rain and sodo built the worlds coolest pillow fort while you picked out a mini marathon of your favorite movies and snuck to the kitchen to get snacks. you got settled between your lovers, though you knew it probably wouldn't be long until you all were moving again, but you didn't mind. you loved nights like these, knowing you'd be covered in love bites by morning, despite everything being so calm now.

the clergy was the best thing to happen to you in a long time, all thanks to the two ghouls you loved so dearly.

---

a/n: i feel like this sucks lmao

also sorry if this is overly fluffy, it's mainly what i'm used to writing :'D hope you enjoyed either way!!

#sodo ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #rain ghoul #nameless ghouls #sodo x reader #dewdrop x reader #rain x reader #sodo x reader x rain #rain x reader x sodo #dewdrop x reader x rain #rain x reader x dewdrop

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eldritchaccident · 3 months

Text

Timing: January 2nd (before the bois got together) Location: The Jones House, Sorta Feat: @mortemoppetere & @ohwynne & @eldritchaccident Warnings: Alcoholism tw (ment) Summary: When the fort gets too big....

Paranoia ebbed in his mind, making every shadow seem like an enemy. He’d already finished the bottle he’d picked up at the liquor store; he’d had to go back, anyway, because he’d forgotten the goddamn juice he’d promised to pick up for Teddy. Barry had offered him a concerned glance, but hadn’t said anything when he’d come up to the register. Emilio figured he knew better.

The walk home had been slow, with more twists and turns than was necessary. If he had a tail, he intended to shake it long before he got back to Teddy’s no matter how pissed off it made his goddamn knee. (The pain had been worse since that conversation with Barry; Emilio knew that at least some of it was in his head, but he didn’t know how to make it stop.)

So it was dark already by the time he got back to the sprawling estate Leviathan had left for Teddy. The lights on the front of the house were switched on; among the paranoia and nausea pulling at his gut was a faint feeling of warmth at the idea that they’d been left on for him. He pulled his jacket a little tighter around himself as he stepped up to the door, looking forward to burying himself in the pile of blankets he’d squirreled away for himself and forgetting, just for a little while.

Except… he opened the door, and he came face to face with… a tent? He recognized the blanket acting as the entrance; it had been one of the ones on his aforementioned pile. For a moment, he just stared at it. Unblinking, unmoving, confused. After a beat, he decided this just wasn’t something he had the capacity for at the moment. He turned back towards the door, preparing to walk right back out, but…

What the fuck was that? Fur, horns, large stature. It snorted at him, placing itself between him and the door and digging its heels into the ground as if…

Ah, shit. The thing was about to fucking charge him. Without another path to take, Emilio ducked down, crawling through the entrance to that stupid tent to make his escape.

—

The force with which Emilio came around the corridor was enough to take Teddy off their feet. The two of them slamming together and collapsing just shy of the third, Wynne. Thankfully, it was a very soft landing, as seemingly everything inside the great manor had been transformed into a quilted labyrinth. Blankets on blankets on blankets. Far as the eye could see. Twisting turns and maddenings heights that drop suddenly into chasms of cozy entrapment.

The pair inside already had been there for… hours. Felt like more. They woke up after the initial shift, heard the rumblings of a great beast lurking amongst the sheets and booked it as fast as their legs would carry. Trying in vain to find anything familiar.

Well, in one way, they did.

“Emilio!” Teddy practically shrieked with delight. Not even caring that the man was suddenly on top of them, looking down with a wild wide eyed stare. As if he’d just been running from a ghost. Had he seen the beast? Where the hell did he come from? Teddy was far too lost in the relief his face brought to actually ask. Only having enough faculties to throw their arms around him in a tight squeeze.

—

They let out a yelp as the two others collided, watching with slight horror as Teddy and Emilio became one pile together. Wynne then let out a nervous laugh which they reprimanded themself for before remembering there was no need for that. The nervosity didn’t leave, though, and they tossed a look over their shoulder.

“Hi! Hey!” They breathed those two greetings heavily, extending both hands to help the two up. “Did you — where did you come from? We can’t find the way out.” They looked over their shoulder again, tried to listen for the beast.

There was no way to tell how the blanket fort had grown from just a small living room project to this, but Wynne was very certain that they hadn’t made it this big. There was no way in the world that Teddy owned enough blankets to even do such a thing, after all, and no way that their time before their unfortunate nap had been spend on this many blankets. “We’re lost.” Their stomach sank. It would be better to be forthcoming. “And Perro is also somewhere, in here.” And also a monster. But they didn’t want to say that. Maybe Emilio already knew.

—

He collided into something decidedly more solid than the blankets and pillows that had overtaken the house, going down with a long string of curses. It was only when he landed that he realized what he’d collided with, relief flooding him at the sight of Teddy — and Wynne, still standing — in one piece. Teddy’s arms wrapped around him, and Emilio had to admit, it didn’t feel… bad, after the night he’d had. Briefly, he returned the embrace before realizing that he was on top of them. He shifted his weight, rolling off the ex-demon and looking up at the ceiling. Which was blankets. What the fuck?

“I came from the door,” he grumbled, shifting up on his elbows to motion in the direction he’d come from only to find that the passageway had closed behind him. He stared at it for a moment before bringing a hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. With his other hand, he fished into the inside pocket of his jacket, retrieving his flask. He opened it, taking a long swig and trying to ground himself.

At least he could say, with utter confidence, that this wasn’t related to whoever was looking for him from Mexico.

It was only when Wynne spoke again that the detective’s eyes shot open. “What? You lost Perro?” His eyes darted between Wynne and Teddy. “How did you lose Perro?” Easily, logic told him. Perro was small. “Well, we have to find him before we leave.”

—

“We didn’t lose him, he was sleeping, we were building a fort, when we woke up he wasn’t near us.” Teddy shot back, a bit defensive, despite the big smile on their face. A dog in peril was one of the very last things the ex-demon would ever allow. Especially Perro. Beloved baroo-ing baby of the Jones house. The captain canine who captured Ted’s heart faster than any other.

“Obviously we’re gonna get Perro back. That’s why we’ve been looking for him. He’s probably fine, probably sleepin’ somewhere. I mean, except for–” Teds shot Wynne a look. “–the thing that’s been lurking around here… this place is a puppy paradise. Are you alright though?”

Nothing in this place had harmed them exactly. But that didn’t mean everything was okay. Teddy had been running for so long with Wynne that they weren’t sure how many paths they’d taken, how many turns, and how many places they’d already explored. The one saving grace, if you could call it that, was that all the blankets seemed to be unique. Some manner of navigation was possible if they could remember the patterns. Well, except Emilio said he came from the door. And there was decidedly not a door behind him. Shit.

—

“And the fort got out of hand!” They didn’t want Emilio to be mad about this or anything, really. He already had enough on his plate, Wynne figured, and they had said they’d look after his dog. But here they were. “It grew while we’re asleep. That sounds … that sounds weird but it’s true.” They pointed at a polka dotted blanket. “I’ve never seen this one before.”

But it was true, Perro was probably just curled up on one of the many blankets. It was very cozy, and they wouldn’t mind lying down if it wasn’t for the thing. That monster. They hadn’t seen much of it, but they’d heard its gruff breathing, its hooves clopping on the soft ground, the grunts and the shadow of its horns, a flash of fur. It didn’t seem nice. It seemed like it was trying to find them.

“Yes, are you alright? We should, um — stick together,” they said, almost decisively. At least Emilio had weapons, right? He always had a knife, they learned that a while ago. Wynne blinked up at him. “And yes, the thing. Did you see it, do you know what it is?” The slayer was smart when it came to these things, seemed to know things that most others didn’t. Maybe he knew a thing or two about spontaneously spawning-blanket forts. Their eyes widened as they heard hoofbeats and they started moving in the opposite direction. “Let’s talk and walk.”

—

Of course, Emilio knew that neither Wynne nor Teddy would ever put Perro in any danger. He knew that any misplacement of the pup had been purely accidental, and that both of them would do just about anything to keep Perro safe. He was just… on edge tonight. ‘Eyes darting to every shadow,’ ‘perpetual shiver up his spine’ type on edge. He was never at his best when he was like this, whatever like this meant. He flashed an apologetic expression to the pair, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Saw the thing,” he said gruffly. “Big. Ugly. Chased me in here.” The idea of Perro being by himself somewhere in the mess of it with that thing on the loose didn’t do much for the slayer’s building unease. “Pascal around? Or…” His expression soured. “Gabagool?” Maybe the three of them were together someplace, laying low. Was that the best case? Emilio genuinely had no idea anymore. Wynne and Teddy’s story – that the blankets had all cropped up on their own – seemed to track with Wicked’s Rest’s usual brand of bullshit, though. At least there was no goo involved this time.

And maybe they could keep the extra blankets after they killed this thing.

Nodding absently, he gestured for Wynne and Teddy to go ahead of him. Better for him to take up the rear if they were being chased, after all; he doubted either of the other two had half as many weapons on them as he did. “Not undead,” he said, as an afterthought. “The thing, I mean. Whatever it is. It’s not undead. So… that’s something.” He put the flask away, replacing it with a knife he twirled absently. Iron. If it was fae, this would be useful. If it weren’t… well. A knife was a knife, wasn’t it? “Maybe we… look for the basement. If we can’t find the front door. Could get out through Axis, if we have to.”

—

“Well, we’re gettin’ nowhere fast just laying here.” Teddy still hadn’t moved, still laid in the position they’d been shifted to. Almost sinking into the blankets beneath them. A siren song in its own right. If not for the gruff sounds, the strange looming presence that seemed to follow just behind wherever they went, this place would have been nice.

Much better than the odd hotel like series of endless hallways they’d been trapped in with Leila and Metzli, the first time they met the vampire and started a somewhat rocky relationship that was always put just a bit at a distance with how protective the (then) demon had been over the thrift store owner. Leila didn’t need protection, not exactly. Definitely not from Metzli. The pair seemed to be pretty inseparable as of late, even when outside forces tried pretty desperately to shake them apart.

The comparison did bring about a certain… claustrophobia though. They had known with decent certainty what article of clothing caused the issue. Here… well there wasn’t much new in the house. Nothing that hadn’t been used before, that’s for sure. Teddy liked to believe they’d have noticed a cursed blanket, but without their father’s magic flowing through their veins… maybe they were entirely blind to it. Maybe they couldn’t sense that shit at all.

With a huff, the Leviathan’s ward fought their internal shackles, pushed up from their elbows and rolled into a more or less standing pose, then reached down to collect Emilio as well. Their gaze however, turned towards Wynne. “Shit, your hearing is better than mine. You recognize the designs in that hallway?” Of any of them, Wynne was the most likely to have an eye for this kind of navigation. They were by far the most adept at sewing, quilting, knitting. All the things necessary to craft the ‘bricks’ of this cozy dungeon.

“Pas is at Nora’s, she needed baby time. I don’t know about Gabba. He usually goes out on Thursdays.”

—

They were nervously glancing around, not at all comforted by Emilio’s unease. It was probably good that the slayer was here, but it wasn’t good that he’d immediately grabbed his flask and seemed on edge. If he was on edge, then they were going to be even more on edge. Suddenly Wynne imagined Perro laying amidst blankets like one of the dead lambs at home and blinked heavily to rid themself of the image.

At least it wasn’t undead. “Okay. Okay, that’s good, right?” Why would an undead person or creature care about blankets, anyway? They weren’t sure. Ariadne liked blankets, but she couldn’t do this kind of thing. And it wasn’t like she liked blankets because she was a mare, they figured. Wynne started to move, shoulders pulled up high and tight as they looked over their shoulder every now and again.

They squinted at the designs at Teddy’s question, not entirely sure. It took a moment, but eventually, yes — “There!” They pointed at a large quilt, the one Teddy had given them along with the tiny house. They moved towards it, tugging on it, but it wouldn’t give. “It’s not coming off, though. We didn’t tie them that tight, did we? I don’t know — don’t think that we can find any stairs or anything, maybe?”

It didn’t seem like there was a way out. They tugged at the blanket once more, looked at Emilio and the vast space behind him. Wynne bit their lip. “Do you still hear it?”

—

Something akin to disappointment settled onto his tongue as Teddy got up, and Emilio chased it away with another swig from the flask. He let them pull him to his feet, knee aching in absent protest. It had been louder since his conversation with Barry at the liquor store, like it was voicing its opinion on the whole ordeal. A haunted blanket maze was either exactly the distraction he needed or the last thing that was going to help him. It was difficult to settle on which. But, in any case… if he had to be stuck in something like this, with his mind in the state it was, it was good that he was with Teddy and Wynne. It was good that he was with two of the people he trusted most. They’d drag his sorry ass out, even if he lost himself in his head. He knew that.

“Well,” he said dryly, “I’m glad we won’t have to deal with Gabagool, at least.” The demon would have certainly had shit to say; Emilio wouldn’t have put it past him to have been the one responsible for the whole ordeal to begin with. Knowing that Perro was likely alone in all this mess had his unease growing, though. The poor little dog was always a little jumpy, didn’t much like being on his own. He’d chewed Emilio’s table to shit the first time the slayer accidentally left him home alone a little too long, and there was no telling what he was doing to whatever furniture he was close to now. (Maybe he’d already chewed his way out of the blanket maze; maybe they should be looking for a Perro-sized escape hatch somewhere around here.)

He followed Wynne absently to a blanket they seemed to recognize, eyes darting around as they tugged at it. “What exactly did the two of you do here?” They hadn’t built the whole thing, but it seemed they’d built some of it. Why? Just to ensure Emilio would stop hogging all the blankets? That seemed a little extreme.

Something shuffled from the direction he’d come from. He turned his head towards it, tensing. There was a groan, a loud, scratchy voice. “TEEEEEJJJJJJ. TEEEEEEJJJJJJJ.” Emilio cursed absently under his breath, ushering both Teddy and Wynne forward.

“It’s coming,” he warned. “No time to look for direction. I think we run.” His bad leg flared with pain at the mere thought of it, but what was the alternative? Letting some monster swallow him whole would piss his knee off worse than running. “Go. ¡Vamos!”

—

“No, they were barely tied!” Teddy responded, a hushed kind of concern welling up more than it already had been. Teddy didn't like being trapped. Made the world seem to cave in, no matter how expansive the space. The corridors helped, they thought, the illusion of choice was good. But it still felt like they were in a hazy memory or a reoccurring dream. Their head turned to Emilio who was processing through his own five stages of grief, then back to Wynne while trying to muster up a smile. “Maybe since we're seeing the blankets we actually used we're close to an exit?”

Then came the sound, the call to run, but for some reason Teddy was stock still. Gaze drifting back, a confusion in their expression they couldn't quite place. Everyone else started moving and it wasn't until Emilio practically shouted that they snapped back to reality. Turning from their strange stupor and following the group, but not before scooping themself under Emilio’s arm. Not even taking a moment to ask, because running on an odd soft surface wasn't exactly the best on their joints, they could only imagine how awful it would be on his. (And not at all because of how close it made them, not at all because it gave them an excuse to slip one hand around his waist for support, not at all because they could hold onto the hand that wrapped around their shoulder. Definitely not.)

“C’mon, I see another blanket I recognize.” Two lefts, a right, quite a long straight away, then a sudden sharp left as the floor beneath them dropped, and the distant groaning of that strange distorted ‘DEEEEEEEJJ” or something, grew far enough away that Teddy could almost catch their breath. “This place is fucking–” Panting, panicked, and positively exhausted, Teddy started to waiver. “–it's fucking endless, there's no logic to it–” most magic had some kind of sense, this?? It was an expansive blanket wasteland.

And for some reason (probably because it was their idea to build the fort in the first place) Teddy felt responsible. Felt like this was somehow for them, and not the others. A deep stirring in their gut kept trying to tell them something, but the frantic running had their mind spinning too fast to catch up.

“The hell do we do???”

—

Running was something Wynne knew how to do. An instinct befit for them. While most of their life they’d opted for fawn or even freeze and they’d even opted for fight more recently, they preferred fleeing. Especially when they were with others, it seemed. To save themself was one thing, but Emilio and Teddy should get out of this mess as well. And though it wasn’t like they could run to something, there was at least something to run from.

They were in front, which felt like a horribly selfish place to be in. But Emilio had wanted to take the back and they didn’t want to argue with him about his martyr-esque ways, not right now. Not when there was something howling behind them, voice distorted and echoing. How could it echo when everything was made of cloth? What even was it? They felt their breath quicken, their stomach churn. Did it sound like the demon from back home? No — surely it didn’t. Right? Wynne looked over their shoulder at Emilio and Teddy, the latter supporting the former and wondered how they would ever get out of here.

“We keep running, there has to be a way out, there always is a way out,” they said, panting slightly. There always had to be. There had to be. They had to find Perro.

Wynne turned another corner and because there was no logic to this maze, they were suddenly staring down at the monster that had been on their tail. No longer behind them, but in front of them, looking like it was ready to charge at them. They let out a loud scream, turned around and pushed at their Teddy and Emilio. “Go, go, go!”

—

Teddy was practically clinging to him, and Emilio knew he ought to push them to move forward, but he couldn’t bring himself to separate. They’d be a lot faster without him and his bad leg slowing them down — they both would — but he knew that saying this would be met with protests. He told himself that this was why he made no move to remove their arm from his waist, why he didn’t try to pull his hand out from beneath theirs. Arguing would waste time, and they had no time to waste. Not with this creature on their tail.

Teddy seemed to have some idea of direction… or, at least, some idea of what direction should be. They were right — logic, within the confines of these blankets, was all but lost. There were more hallways than there should have been, less rooms. Teddy’s house was big, but it wasn’t endless. It shouldn’t have been possible for them to run as much as they had without coming across a bedroom or a bathroom or something. Whatever magic was happening here, maybe it had transported them. The thought made Emilio’s stomach churn. Complete loss of control was a hard thing for him to swallow. He wanted no part of it. But what say did he have? He was here. He couldn’t leave without Perro, and Perro was nowhere to be found.

He stumbled a little as Wynne came to a sudden halt in front of him, eyes widening at the sight of the beast that had been tailing them suddenly at the head of their group. Forcing himself to pull away from Teddy’s grip, he positioned himself in front of both Teddy and Wynne, motioning for them both to run as he pulled out a knife. He was prepared to turn and follow the pair when he spotted it — a little black bundle in the beast’s massive arms. Perro.

“Give me back my fucking dog,” he demanded, holding the knife forward in an obvious threat. He didn’t want to leap into an attack with Perro there; he couldn’t risk hurting the dog or having the monster drop him in order to fight.

—

The beast stood a tall seven foot something, and it was still hunched over. A thick sable fur covered most of its body. Only an exposed human-ish torso, leading up to a large bovine head. Massive nostrils flared around a septum piercing over a hungry looking maw. Its horns were huge, even the one that was cracked and splintered at the end. How it even fit through the corridors of the strange blanketed wasteland was beyond Teddy, beyond anyone currently sharing the fine mess they’d found themselves in.

It chuffed, a heavy hot breath of air as Emilio spoke, demanding the small package it carried. Only to straighten up, only to have the room expand with its unfurling. Showing off that this dimension was listening only to him. As it stretched it glared down on the group, settling its glowing golden eyes on one in particular.

Teddy lept to be at Emilio’s side, to push Wynne to the back, protective as ever despite how little they could do to a thing like that. It began to open its mouth and Teddy braced for something horrible, braced for a scream, a bellow, maybe even fire. Their hand found Emilio’s left, their muscles tightened, everything stood stock still until– Until it pulled out a tiny pair of glasses and spoke with all the sweetness of sugar.

“Teej!!!” An excited smile lit up the hallway. “Oh goodness me, you gave me a freight, you did. Thought we had some unexpected guests in the labyrinth. You’ve grown so much! Look at you!” The beast gleamed, and the ex-demon balked.

What?

“Right, so the dog IS yours then, here you go lit’le pup.” It paid very little mind to the knife Emilio had produced, and let the small dog go on the ground between them. Perro stretched lazily, yawning a little and looking back towards the creature as if to ask why he’d been let down. Then toddled over to Emilio where he sat and looked up patiently, wagging his tail as if nothing at all was wrong. “Lookit you though, proper right adult now, eh? Even got you a beau and a bean all your own! Wouldn’t your papa be proud.”

W h a t ???

Teddy was stunned, their mind had blue screened. The creature was talking to them like they’d known each other for years, and that wasn’t possible except– Wait. Shit.

“..............................Freddy?”

“Yeaah!! S’right! You remember me! A’lfredo D. Harbingerbinger, at your service. Gonna introduce me to the fam then, aye?” Fred beamed, and extended a hand out towards Emilio and Wynne. Clearly very excited to get to know them too.

—

Their heart was beating in their throat as they took in the full sight of the creature, its horns and its tall stature. Wynne wasn’t sure if they were afraid or just run through with adrenaline, with a need to see Teddy and Emilio and themself, too, safely out of this strange maze. And though they’d suggested running, Emilio had another idea as he stepped between themself and the creature. In their mind’s eye, the horns of another demon gleamed menacingly, and they shook their hands as if it would alleviate bad memories and stress.

Teddy pushed them back too and they stumbled, wanting to argue with whatever it was the others were doing. But another part of them felt themself flush with a warm feeling. They were being protected. The realization was too big to fully analyze in the moment, but it was there. Overwhelmingly so.

Still, there was no room for them to argue or to push past the two larger people to remind them that they should be running, as the monster opened its mouth. It didn’t roar. It didn’t howl crude words at them, nor did it demand they kneel or look down. It sounded distinctly human and as Wynne popped their head up between Teddy and Emilio’s shoulders, they took note of the tiny glasses on the monster’s nose.

A good monster, maybe. Like Nora.

Their cheeks flushed at the way this creature described them and Emilio, mentioning the Leviathan in the same breath. Gythraul’s horns shined menacingly in their mind. They noticed they were holding their breath.

But Teddy knew the monster, called him Freddy. Wynne’s eyes widened a little and pushed themself between Teddy and Emilio, glancing at the offered hand. They looked up at Emilio and his knife, had a feeling that he’d probably not offer his name. If they knew anything, it was to be polite, and it seemed that being polite to this monster seemed like the best thing to do. “I’m Wynne. I’m not a bean.”

—

The creature was stretching to an impossible height, the blankets moving with it, and the knife in his hand was too small, and Teddy was coming to stand beside him when they should have been running, and Emilio was so tense he thought he might snap. Teddy’s hand found his, and he was selfishly grateful for the warmth of it, even though he knew they ought to be anywhere but here. They could probably make it if they ran, could probably save themself and Wynne, could probably —

The monster reached for something, and Emilio’s grip on that too-small knife tightened. He crouched, ready to jump forward, but… it was glasses? The creature was putting on a pair of glasses. It put Perro gently on the ground, and the dog trotted over to Emilio with a curious tilt of his head. Emilio hesitated and, without taking his eyes off the beast in front of him, darted down to gather the dog in his arms. He quickly turned, pushing the bundle of wriggling fur towards Teddy in order to keep both hands free for the fight that… wasn’t coming?

The beast was speaking. The beast had a soft voice and a strange accent. The beast knew Teddy. The beast also evidently thought that Teddy and Emilio were an item, and that Wynne was their kid, and there was a tightness in Emilio’s chest that he didn’t much feel like unpacking. Teddy called him Freddy (was it normal for things to rhyme?), and Emilio trusted them enough to relax, even if only slightly. He glanced back to Wynne, still behind him and Teddy but peaking over their shoulders now. It was probably fine. Teddy wouldn’t do anything to put them in danger, so if they were referring to this beast by name, then the beast wasn’t a threat.

But he did still have questions. He glanced to Teddy, head tilting in a way that wasn’t unlike the way Perro’s had as he’d approached the group. “If nobody tells me what is going on,” he said slowly, “I am going to find something to stab.”

—

“Aw, Sorries little one, just an expression is all. These two lookin’ after you? S’all it means. Can’t be nothin’ else, don’t think. What with all that mama and papa bear energy yous two got.” Fred grinned and it shouldn’t have looked so endearing, but it did. All those teeth in such a strange configuration for a bull’s head. It should have been terrifying to see that thing smile. Maybe it would have, if not for the way the chain looping the small glasses on its nose jingled while it talked, or the way it seemed so light on its feet… hooves… whatever. “Wynne is a right lovely name though, pretty as a peach.”

Teddy was still stunned. Still processing something they thought was a dream from yesteryear. “I thought I had imagined you– Dad never– I mean I–” They stammered, Fred laughed. A hearty chortle coming from deep within his gullet. It shook everything. It shook the tiny bells on the glasses, shook the fur on his neck, shook the pink and white fuzzy polka dotted blanket that had been made into some kind of toga, everything. Teddy felt like they had a fever.

“Ah, well, while he’s too tongue tied–” Fred started.

“I actually– go by– they/them now–” Teddy replied blankly. As if that was the most important thing here. As if there weren't a billion other things they should have been explaining.

“Oh! While they’re too tongue tied to properly explain, lemme give ya the skinny.“ The lesser demon stepped closer, awkwardly closing his big hand and using it to scratch behind one of his ears. Taking it a bit in stride, though, like he wasn’t at all bothered by the lack of trust. Almost like he was used to it.

“Used to be the little tadpole’s nanny, I did. When the big guy was out n’ about, doing its business. Couldn’t always look after this little mop.” Fred laughed again, such a warm inviting thing, then palmed the top of Teddy’s head. Mussing their hair before giving Perro a little scratch under his chin. “Til they got old enough to take care of themself, or til the Leviathan saw fit to bring ‘em on the job. Guess ya still got my summonin’ blanket though, or else we wouldn’t all be ‘ere now would we.”

—

Was the creature suggesting that Emilio and Teddy were their parents? Wynne’s face grew slack, their expression unsure at the mistake. “No they’re …” They weren’t sure. “We’re just friends.” Their parents were at home, if they’d stayed, or somewhere where they didn’t want to know where they were. They corrected themself: “Family.” They were family, that much was true, that much they had realized — but they hadn’t put any other terms to it. They gave a half-hearted smile at the compliment to their name.

They were eyeing Teddy to figure out how to feel, as Emilio’s response was making them wonder if they should be more aggressive. But this large figure knew Teddy, and Teddy was someone with good judgment when it came to people (if this was a people) and so Wynne decided to trust their instincts over those of Emilio.

Besides, Perro seemed alright, didn’t he? And it turned out this Freddy had been Teddy’s nanny, which was completely ludicrous — but then Teddy’s father had been the Leviathan, had been something much larger and frightening in its true form. “Oh.” Their response left their mouth O-shaped for a bit, eyes wide as they tried to make sense of this. They looked at Teddy again. “I didn’t know you knew a Minotaur and that it was your nanny.”

Because that’s what he was, wasn’t he? Wynne didn’t know a lot about Greek mythology, but they knew about the labyrinth because that was the story that featured Ariadne. This Freddy wasn’t goatlike, but sooner bovine — and that story had contained a half-man, half-bull as well. And a labyrinth.

It still didn’t explain all the blankets, though. “Are these blankets … yours? Can you help us … out of here?”

—

In spite of the confusion-turned-anger (or anger-turned-confusion? The order felt uncertain, but Emilio was pretty sure there was both anger and confusion in the mix), Emilio couldn’t help but feel a warmth spread through his chest as Wynne called them family. They kind of were, weren’t they? It wasn’t something he ever thought he’d find again after Mexico, but he found he was glad to have it now. Even if it did come with a giant maze of blankets and an impossibly large, horned beast.

He found himself continuingly looking to Teddy for guidance as said beast spoke, ready to follow their lead. Except… they weren’t giving much of a lead. They looked pretty dumbstruck, staring at the creature with a gaping mouth and none of the fear they’d expressed before. There was shock, there was confusion, there was uncertainty, but none of it seemed to carry negative connotations. Not a threat, he decided, mind allowing him to accept Teddy’s reaction as proof.

He only tensed a little when the beast — when Fred reached down to touch Teddy’s hair and pat Perro, and after a moment, he loosened his grip on the knife to the point that it was less weapon, more security blanket. He spun it between his fingers absently, watching the interaction with more curiosity than paranoia now. “Nanny?” He repeated the word. He knew what it was, though of course he’d never had one. Elena Cortez had taken a very hands on approach to parenthood. “You knew them when they were small, then?” His eyes flicked over to Teddy, brow raised slightly.

And… what was a Minotaur? Emilio glanced back at Wynne, question clear in his expression. Was that this kind of demon? Wynne certainly knew a thing or two about demonic entities, though Emilio hadn’t realized they knew the correct names (or classifications?) for them. He was a little impressed, and he offered them a curt nod to express it.

Then, he turned back to Fred. “Your maze is bad,” he added. “There is no exit. There is supposed to be one, no?” Blunt, and maybe a little rude, but… that was Emilio. It kind of always had been.

—

“Ah well, family’s the blanket you wrap yourself in, innit?” Fred softened, a proud look both at his metaphor and at the kid he used to watch over. Teddy started to stir from their stupor, blinking back to the current, abandoning ideas of being in danger to an excitement befitting a big reunion.

“Wait-wait, I’m an asshole, Freddy commere.” The ex-demon shuffled the bundle of black fur and snores over to Wynne so they could embrace the current-demon. The bigger one laughed, wrapping his hefty arms around the smaller. “If I– Fred if I knew you were still around I would’ve had you over a long fuckin’ time ago. To meet the–”

A pause. Another realization. Wynne said family and their heart swelled. A goofy little grin stirred Ted’s features as they turned to face the others. Eyes flicking between the surly detective and the kid. Of course they had felt that way. Teddy had been so protective over Wynne ever since learning about their past. Hell, maybe before that. The pair had been walking dogs together for a while, always talking about things or sharing recipes, and it was always so nice. Something about them just clicked together. Puzzle pieces that were always meant to find the right picture to become a part of.

This said nothing of the fact that Teddy did not correct Fred about Emilio though. Their mouth dried a little, knowing how big their feelings were, and how the slayer didn’t quite reflect them. But that was another story. Another clue for the man to see inside their head. Fred didn’t seem to notice much, he took the young Jones by the shoulder and grinned.

“Sorry to disappoint little one, not a real Minotaur. Can see how the confusion mightn’ just pop in though!” Another hearty chortle and it was like the cookie jar of memories was unlocked in Teddy’s mind. Before Fred had a chance to continue they knew what was coming next. A story. Fred loved stories. “Ya see, When I was but a wee lesser demon, not too much taller than yerself there luv, I got into a bit of a tiff, I did.”

“You pissed off a… spider demon?” Teddy recalled as if they'd only been told yesterday.

“Ah! Yeah! Theugh Mi’sus!” Freddy confirmed, though it sounded like he said ‘The Mrs’. The old not-minotaur had a lot of friends with strange names, Ted found themself remembering a whole lot of old stories. Bits and pieces flooding in as they stood next to the big beast. “Well, ya see, She was right to be angry. I was a young upstart makin’ my way in the demon world as it were. But I sorta used her old traps to do my business, right? Bit of a faux pas I guess but I wuddn’t that bright in them days. So she cursed me. Made me look like the human’s story of a bullheaded jerk stuck in the middle of a web. Or labyrinth I guess. But she made my prison soft like, yeah? All these comfy fuzzy blankets. From that point on, I could be summoned into this dimension through my quilt. Just gotta build a fort. Lovely lady actually, though. Don’t blame her much for the whole confusion. We play poker on Thursdays now!” Another big laugh, practically shaking the corridor.

“Thing is, I ain’t actually a minotaur, even if I was one, right? Y’see the Oh Gee was named after his father! Technically he’s just the Bull of Minos. Didn’t know all this back then, but boy do I know it now.” Fred continued, clearly ready to go on for a whole lot longer, but Teddy saw fit to cut him off.

“Right, so– Freddy knew me… up until I was like eight or nine?”

“Ayup. Auuuugh, I remember the tantrums you used ta throw wherever you didn't get yer way. Such a little spitfire, you wanna see pictur–”

“NO. We just need to get out, like Wynne said.”

“Ahh well, ‘course I can help with that, it’s my maze afterall, innit? Not supposed to be a solvable thing by outsiders.” He winked toward Emilio who'd just said something to the same effect. With that, it was like the blankets started to shift with a mind of their own. Responding to the lesser-demon’s will. Molding a door from one of the walls. Still made from the same material, but intricate, complete with a knob and a little pillow shaped knocker.

—

Wynne elbowed Emilio softly as he spoke rudely to the Minotaur called Freddy. What if the demon decided it would not be spoken to with such disrespect and suffocated them all with the thick blankets? They didn’t want to die by blanket — they didn’t want to die at all. (That seemed to be a big difference between the two of them: Wynne’s refusal to die, Emilio’s acceptance that he should die soon.

They nodded at the demon solemnly. “Yes. And you can pick the blanket to wrap yourself in,” they said, which was true. Emilio and Teddy and them shared no blood nor long-stretched past, but it was familial in this home. It was easy to think of them as that.

“Oh, that’s okay. I’m sorry that I misjudged.” They swallowed thickly as the demon went on and on to remind them that it was a demon, and Wynne remembered how even Levi hadn’t been that nice a demon at the end of it all. But Teddy seemed to trust the other, to be familiar with it and that had to be at least somewhat of a good sign. Teddy would never put Emilio or them in danger, after all, and that was something they trusted in. “But … I think you’ve made the most of it, right? I’m sorry this is a prison. Can you really never leave, or do you leave for the poker?”

They tried to relax, eyes still as wide as sauces as they continued to stare at the other. Maybe that was rude too, but they also figured it was good to keep eye contact. Like you had to do with some animals. Wynne really hoped Freddy couldn’t read their mind.

Teddy remained focused, but Wynne smiled a little. “I think … we have time to see a picture.” They gave a look to Teddy, finally averting their gaze. They looked at the small doorknob, glad that they weren’t forever stuck among the blankets, and then back up at the demon. “Thank you.”

—

Wynne elbowed him in the ribs, and Emilio swatted at them instinctively. He knew he was being… difficult, to say the least, but this wasn’t the kind of situation he really knew how to react to. He’d met demons before, of course — Levi and Teddy and Gabagool and the one at Wynne’s family’s compound, though he wasn’t sure the last one really qualified as a meeting. But this still felt like uncharted territory, and Emilio was so bad at uncharted territory. He always defaulted to angry, and angry rarely got him anyplace good.

But this demon — Fred, who had known Teddy since they were young and throwing tantrums — didn’t seem to mind the anger. He barely seemed to register it at all. And while that might normally make Emilio even angrier, he was a little more interested in the things Freddy was saying. He didn’t understand half of it — surprising no one, Emilio wasn’t familiar enough with mythology to have heard of a Minotaur, nor did he want to think about demons playing poker — but he did find some things of interest. Namely, things about the ex-demon who used to be Fred’s occasional charge. “They still throw tantrums when they don’t get their way,” he said dryly. “Very good at pouting. You probably know the look. Es lindo, pero estúpido.”

There was some relief, at least, in the revelation that Fred could get them out easily enough. The ‘fort’ (why were they calling it a fort?) wasn’t exactly a small, contained space, but Emilio felt his palms starting to sweat the way they tended to when he was trapped in one all the same. Maybe it was that feeling of being trapped that brought him back to the shed, brought him back to being six years old with a knife so big he had to use two hands just to hold it properly. He didn’t like being anywhere without a ready-made escape plan and, up until the moment Fred willed that door into existence, he hadn’t had one here.

He felt a childish desire to rush the door, to slam it open and run through it, but he held back. He gestured for Wynne to go first, ushering Teddy in behind them as he glanced back to Fred again. With a quiet hum, he nodded. “Need to see the pictures,” he agreed. “All of them.” He glanced to Teddy out of the corner of his eye, the expression on his face only describable as a shit-eating grin. “Teds never shows us anything.”

—

Before Emilio even said anything, before Wynne turned the tides on the toddler tantrum evidence and when it should be shared, Teddy was already making the infamous face. Lips drawn into a tight line, cheeks slightly puffed. A few dimples forming in their chin while their brows drew together in a concentrated consternation. However, the whole expression dissolved the moment it was brought up. He called it cute?? A more sheepish tint washed over the ex-demon’s demeanor. The same that had cropped up quite a few times recently.

Freddy didn’t seem to notice much. The old demon was taking all this in stride. A grin on his face and an eagerness to share an album's worth. “Not quite a prison anymore, luv. Won my freedom from Theugh Mi’sus. More like a house now, completely re-arrangeable. Quite comfortable too, really.” If there was one thing the strange not-minotaur seemed to be proficient in, it was rolling with the punches. Finding silver linings in piles of dirt. “Though I did lose a quarter of it to Knaughonne Eylse. Sort-of like a roomie now. Ah, well, least it keeps to itself.” A’lfredo opened the door happily. “I don’t have all the snappies on me, but believe you me, if you like I could come by with the book of ‘em. Been scrapbookin’ a lot lately. Got me all nostalgic hearin’ the stories from–Ahh! There ‘e is!”

Beyond the threshold, one leg high in the air as he stretched, cleaning himself like a cat or particularly flexible dog, Gabagool froze in place. Clearly surprised by the sudden materialization of the door in the living room. Languidly the badalisc lowered his limb and looked up at the group. Surveying each look on each person’s face before turning his attention to the other demon.

“Hey Fredo, still on for Thursday?”

#wickedswriting #mortemoppetere #ohwynne #eldritchaccident

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thecreaturecodex · 2 years

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Reptilicus

Image © William Stout

[It’s been a while since “movie monsters” and “Halloween” lined up on my schedule. This is going to be the next theme block for a while--I’m planning through the end of October and into November.

Would you believe there’s a Danish kaiju movie? Reptilicus was made in Denmark in English (sort of--the actors spoke their line phonetically) for an American market, and the finished product is... something. Reptilicus himself is a marionette, filmed on a camera so undercranked it resembles a slide show. The special effects for him eating someone involve his victim being replaced by a still image, superimposed into his mouth with animation. And the shots of him flying were so unconvincing even by these standards that they were cut from the American release. It’s a hoot and a half, well worth checking out for the dedicated lover of trash. It was the featured movie in the first episode of the MST3K reboot, an honor it deserves, although I still would recommend the uncut version over the one with Jonah and the Bots. For one thing, MST3K cuts out the lengthy interlude that seemingly exists only to advertise Copenhagen as a tourist attraction, complete with an original song!]

Reptilicus CR 21 CN Dragon This creature is a serpentine dragon, with large scales and a slimy cast to its hide. It has four short, clawed legs, and a pair of fan-like wings protruding above its forelimbs. Its face is twisted into a perpetual snarling visage.

A reptilicus is an animalistic aquatic dragon, most dangerous because of its incredible regenerative ability. A reptilicus can recover from wounds at remarkable speed, and fire and cold slow this regeneration down but do not necessarily stop it. A reptilicus switches between frenzied activity and deep torpor, feeding on huge quantities of meat until it is sated, and then returning to the depths of the ocean to sleep. A reptilicus is as comfortable on land as it is in the water, and so may come to the surface to feed on people and livestock if it tires of whales and fish.

Reptilicuses are barely sapient, but seem to enjoy destroying buildings, ships and other large manufactured items out of the sheet joy of breaking things. They use this in combat primarily in order to target flaming swords, magic wands and staves, and other items capable of dealing fire or cold damage. Enemies that keep their distance are sprayed with its sticky acidic breath, and any that come close are eaten. A reptilicus does have strong claws, but they have short reach compared to its jaws and tail.

The reptilicus is an asexual creature; it reproduces not through traditional means, but from damage. If a significant chunk of its body is torn away, it will regrow into an entire new organism. As such, reptilicuses that are older and well fed may intentionally antagonize creatures that are capable of actually hurting them, such as true dragons, sea monsters, and powerful adventurers, in the hopes of calving off an offspring. For whatever reason, few reptilicuses mutilate themselves to achieve such effects.

Reptilicus CR 21 XP 409,600 CN Colossal dragon (aquatic) Init +4; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., Perception +22, scent Aura frightful presence (180 ft., DC 25) Defense AC 36, touch 2, flat-footed 36 (-8 Dex, +34 natural) hp 410 (20d12+280); regeneration 20 (cold, fire) Fort +26, Ref +14, Will +18 DR 20/magic; Immune acid, charm, compulsion, fear; SR 32 Defensive Abilities ferocity, improved regeneration Offense Speed 50 ft., swim 100 ft., fly 100 ft. (poor) Melee bite +29 (4d8+17 plus 2d8 acid plus grab), 2 claws +29 (2d6+17), tail slap +24 (4d6+8) Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft. (15 ft. with claws) Special Attacks breath weapon (140 foot line, Ref DC 34, 21d8 acid, 1d4 rounds), swallow whole (AC 27, 41 hp, 2d6+25 bludgeoning and 6d8 acid) Statistics Str 45, Dex 10, Con 38, Int 3, Wis 19, Cha 20 Base Atk +20; CMB +45 (+49 grapple, sunder); CMD 55 (57 vs. sunder, 59 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Greater Sunder, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Vital Strike Skills Fly +6, Perception +22, Survival +22, Swim +43 Languages Draconic (cannot speak) SQ amphibious Ecology Environment temperate land and aquatic Organization solitary Treasure none Special Abilities Breath Weapon (Su) A creature that fails its save against a reptilicus’ breath weapon is entangled in slime for 1d4 rounds. Each round it is entangled, it takes 10d8 acid damage. Water does not wash away this slime, but a gallon of strong alcohol or universal solvent will remove it. The save DC is Constitution based. Flight (Su) A reptilicus’ fly speed is a supernatural ability. In areas of antimagic, it cannot fly, but takes no damage from a fall and lands on its feet. Improved Regeneration (Su) A reptilicus’ regeneration is reduced only by 5 any round in which it takes cold or fire damage. In order to disable its regeneration, it must take cold or fire damage from enough sources each round to drop the number of hit points regenerated to 0. Swallow Whole (Ex) If a creature cuts its way out of a reptilicus, the reptilicus can use swallow whole again the next round that its regeneration functions.

#reptilicus #kaiju #b movies #pathfinder 1e #it came from the silver screen

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super-paper-swap · 3 months

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Super Paper Swap: Ch. 1-2 (OLD)

Word Count: 2,910

Chapter Summary: Luigi, Blecky, and the newly-recruited Laddie continue through towards Yold Town for a chance to rest, unaware that their next stop has a mystery afoot.

And so, Luigi learned of the mysteries of the Next with the help of his newest partner, Laddie. While the achievement of obtaining a new partner was incredible news, our hero did not have time to celebrate as there was still a Pure Heart in need of being found.

"Follow me!" said Blecky as his keen senses led them the looming mountains ahead, the towing barrier protecting the Pure Heart hidden somewhere on the other side.

Chapter 1-2: Afoot in the Foothills

For a mountain trail leading to a populated area, the Mount Lineland pathway was an incredibly difficult road to navigate, if you were a normal person that is; luckily, Luigi was anything but normal by many standards. Case and point: Luigi's Super Jump, which allowed him to leap to heights not possible for the average man, made navigating the mountainous region a breeze. Then the enemies appeared.

It began with an encounter with a goomba and a koopa troopa, a typical sight to see among members of the Koopa Kingdom, they looked perfectly normal and indistinguishable from normal members of their races, but their behavior was peculiar. The second they spotted Luigi, they tried to attack him, actions usually attributed to them being forced under Princess Peach's commands out of fear to oppose her; this simply wasn't the case however, they attacked willingly and with a great amount of determination.

Naturally, Luigi's first action was to fight back, albeit with reluctance since he always felt a tinge of guilt in harming the normal docile creatures. The goomba ran towards Luigi, bearing its teeth as it jumped towards his face. A single swing from Luigi's hammer was enough to knock the angry fungus out cold, leaving only the koopa to fight back. It tucked its body into the ruby-colored shell on its back, using its hind legs to spin the shell at a remarkable rate and launch itself at the plumber. The attack was unavoidable, but it allowed Luigi to attack from up close as he kick the turtle in the stomach, forcing it to fall helplessly on its back and pass out when the initial impact, added with being injured and upside-down, caused it to experience a concussion.

With their foes unconscious, the trio was able to examine the cause for the sudden madness: a tiny, green sprout with a single leaf fashioned like the tail of an eighth note.

"Who would've thought such a tiny plant would be the source of our 'treble'...wait." Luigi fumbled when he realized the pun he had made and vainly tried to cover the mistake before receiving an expected glare of disapproval. Surprisingly, the look he got from Blecky wasn't one of distaste, but rather one of shock; he swore he could see a visible smile on the bats transparent face the second they made eye contact.

"I did not realize you had a 'forte' in the art of word-play." Jested the bat. What followed suit was back-to-back puns between the two parties as they moved their former foes to a safe place away from the scorching elements of the sun and proceeded upwards on the mountain trail. Laddie lagged behind them to avoid the annoyances in front of them and moved closer when the material their companions had began to run flat. At the very least, Laddie was glad the bickering duo had found common ground.

"Those are spiny tromps."

"OW!"

"You can't fight them."

"Thanks for telling me ahead of time Fang Face!"

'So much for common ground.' Thought Laddie.

The team had reached a part of the trail that was a long slope...infested with spiny tromps. The circular, spine covered rocks had a knack for conglomerating on the slopes, hence why the mountains were 'difficult' to navigate everywhere else except for the slope straight to town.

"All I'm saying is that maybe you should let me finish my analysis before you approach things all willy-nilly."

"I was trying to knock it out of your general direction you bat brain! It would have steam-rolled you into oblivion if I didn't interfere!"

"You were the one that wanted information."

"You couldn't have flow out of the way?!"

This was getting tiresome.

Laddie hovered between the other party members on the hill they argued upon, droning out the slander that was beginning to erupt and flipped them all into the Next, where the rolling foes were seemingly nonexistent, thus allowing the group to continue onward.

Another plus was that the fighting had stopped when they flipped. The hill they originally stood on was also missing in the Next, causing Luigi to plummet to the ground from his spot.

They reached the top without anymore hassle, only to be halted by an obvious gap between them and the town.

"Looks like Green pulled the bridge up...stay here for a second." Laddie didn't give either person time to respond as they flew to a distant house where the guard of the drawbridge apparently lived, a rather unorthodox action since the group could probably climb up the lifted bridge and leap to the other side, but the ladder shaped pixl needed some time away from the others, and they needed time apologize, so it seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

With nothing to do, Luigi and Blecky sat down and decided to engage in small talk, a nice change of pace compared to the yelling and word-play of before.

"I'm sorry about earlier..." Luigi was the first to admit. "I've been worried about my friends and brother, and the sudden task of rescuing the entire universe is a lot to chew as well."

"..."

"I guess I'm just incredibly reckless when it comes to having too much on my plate to handle at once. You know what I mean?"

"Not really," Blecky replied. "But I'm assuming it must be very overstimulating...I'm...also sorry. I should have realized that organic beings get stressed under different circumstances than pixls, I'm just so used to people that already know me and immediately listen to me. I should have been thinking about your problems alongside my own."

"It's ok...I forgive you." Luigi assured the bat. The mention of 'organic beings' bugged Luigi a bit though, were pixls not organic? He decided he'd ask later.

Laddie finally began their trip back to the duo, it had taken longer that usual due to Green somehow ending up in the Next and needed some time to calm down. When they arrived, the drawbridge had made its way down, over the seemingly bottomless ravine below.

Laddie saw a tall figure in green robes and an almost impressive mustache wave to them with a spear in his hand, the trio waved back or attempted to wave back as they cross the wooden bridge into Yold Town.

Yold Town didn't have much going for it, it was a small town on a isolated mountain, neighboring a ridiculously large desert that harbored hidden ruins which, in turn, were guarded by a ferocious guardian that protected a sacred treasure at the very end of said ruins. Needless to say, the town was very lackluster compared to what was ahead of it, so the prospect of anyone passing by was far from unheard of.

The trio were quick to notice a sense of unease among the townsfolk, they were nervous and glare at one another with untrusting eyes, the only exception was a young boy hopping around town in search for a playmate. The boy approached the visitors with beam of joy on his face; Laddie noticed the child's arrival and seemed to smile as well when he appeared.

"Laddie Laddie! You came back! I knew you would!"

"It's good to see you're well Bozzo." Laddie flew to the boy and gently pat him with one of their wings. "My friends, please meet Bozzo, my usual partner." They introduced him to Luigi and Blecky who couldn't help but gush at the child's playful nature. The number of eyes staring at the boy were unnerving to say the least.

"Why's everybody acting so strange?" Asked Luigi, wondering if the group had done something to wrong everybody.

"You mean you haven't heard?" A feminine voice answered. The voice's owner, a young woman who had been near the town store, moseyed over to the group, gentle pushing the child aside. "Word has it that someone from town tried to end the Mayor's game earlier today, not long after he sent his 'that' pixl", she pointed at Laddie, "over to his cousin's house in Lineland Road. Apparently he sensed this attacked ahead of time and needed to keep his special flip-magic away from his attacker. He says the assailant was someone from the town itself, so we've all been on edge trying to figure out who it is."

A failed assassination attempt? Seemed rather fishy to Luigi.

"The Mayer, I'm assuming his name Bestovius?" The hero inquired.

"Yes sir. Why do you ask?"

"I came here to speak with him. Would that be possible?"

"I don't-"

"Of coarse you can talk to Grandpa! I can take you to him!" Bozzo interjected and grabbed Luigi's hand to walk him over to the end of town. "Bye bye Miss Babs!" He said as they left.

On the way there, Bozzo talked about how much he missed his 'best friend Laddie' and how excited he was to see the beast that lived in the Yold Ruins make his annual visit to the town and bring snow to the children. This visit, known as "The Day of Ice", was a tradition that had been around since the Pure Heart was first placed in the ruins and that the beast, according to Laddie, was a creature of the heavens that insisted on remaining in the Linelands as a mortal being to bring joy to the children of the dessert. Luigi found this tradition to be incredibly heartwarming to say the least, and filled him certainty that, with this information in mind, his journey for the Pure Heart would be a bit easier.

Bestovius was an odd fellow to say the least, but that was to be expected from someone referred to as a 'Flip Wizard'. He was a red-cloaked man on a magic cloud, his eyes obscured by a pair of foggy glasses underneath a blue hat. The orb-shaped mouth characteristic to members of the Shaman race was emerald green and perfectly aligned underneath a thick mustache.

Such a man would be expected to be rather slow in both mind and body, but his quick movements and way of speaking begged to differ; he greeted the heroes with a swift and pompous "Hello" and a brash "What do you want?". Luigi, not being one to be startled off by harsh words, approached the elderly mayor and made his claim to find the assassin. The bewilderment in Bestovius' eyes was enough to tell Luigi that he would accept his offer.

He led them to a empty house in the middle of town, their place of stay for the night. Bestovius only spoke about the murder on the trip there, the rest of the walk was silent aside from Bozzo's occasional chime-in about how cool the town was, to which Bestovius himself would scorn for the child to quiet down. Bozzo's expressed confusion seemed to indicate that this behavior was abnormal for the mayor; Luigi wanted to shrug it off as Bestovius' nerves making him jumpy, but the wizard had proven to have a calm demeanor over everything else, it was as if he didn't recognize the boy as his own grandson.

Nonetheless, there was still an assassin loose in town, and such information made it difficult for one to sleep when nightfall arrived. Luckily, Blecky offered to keep watch for the night, just in case the assassin appeared; unluckily, the assassin did appear, and did everything in their power to put Blecky and Laddie to sleep before throwing the trio into a secret room underneath the house they were sleeping in. A heavily guarded room. Protected by thwomps.

Granted, the assassin made the poor decision of trying to trap our main character who, regardless of the obstacles ahead of him, would stop at nothing to accomplish his end goals. Yes, it would take a while for everyone to wake up, but what mattered most was that they would wake up at all.

Upon waking, the first things Luigi noticed was that it was very dark and that his companions were far from conscious. The next thing he noticed was the heavy breathing of Bestovius next to him and a gross gurgling sound on the opposite side of the room. The thing he noticed immediately afterward was the lack of his trusty hammer being in his possession.

The sounds of gurgling death rammed towards Luigi's direction, its attention drawn to his movement. He stood up, surprised to find himself unharmed, and ran to one of the side walls, hugging it as he slide to the opposite side of the room to draw attention to himself instead of his friends.

He felt a switch, and instinctively yanked it upward. Something large dropped from the ceiling and clunked onto its side, its single content, whatever it was, rolled out. Luigi's pursuer could be heard slurping up the spilled treasure. A hissing noise commenced and the room lit up from the place of the hunter, a simultaneously gelatinous and heavily-armored creature with millions of tiny legs akin to soggy french fries, grey-purple body plates, and a single, giant, blue-lipped mouth, puckered up as if to prevent its meal from escaping.

Stacking out of the mouth was a light blue fuse, the only light source in the room. The burning fuse entered the mouth briefly before the monstrosity combusted, miraculously not leaving any insides behind, making it easier for the author to keep this story at a K+ rating; what was left behind instead was a key, Luigi's hammer, and a bomb-shaped object.

The blue colored bomb sprung to life with beady light blue eyes and a pair of semi-circular wings of the same color. He moved with the rhythm of a ticking clock, jittery but rapid.

"BADA-BOOM! Talk about a rude awakening!" Yes, he's got a Jersey accent now, don't question it. "I ain't one to appreciate being interrupted from a nap, but I've been trying BLAM myself out of that box for the past 1,500 years or something, I was going crazy in there. Actually scratch that, I was crazy to begin with." He stuck out his fuse and held it out like a hand, "Name's Boomer, BADA BING. I'm assuming your one of them Legendary Heroes I gotta team up with, right?"

"Yeah. Um." The hero hesitantly shook the...hand...fuse, "I'm Luigi."

"Luigi, eh? Nice name." He spun around the plumber, the movement somehow created a irritating ringing inside Luigi's head that stopped as soon as Boomer ceased his spinning. "You da boss now, so here's the deal: I put up my special psychic link exclusive to you and the other heroes, you use it to help fuel my pyromaniac-like tendencies, and BADA BING, BADA BOOM, we blast our foes into dust." Luigi nodded and plucked the two remaining objects off the ground.

The key fit perfectly inside the room's only exit, and quickly unlocked; the spiked rectangles known as thwomps that slammed outside were impossible to avoid without being squished, so Luigi decided to wake his friends so he could avoid the beasts in The Next, but Bestovius had been far ahead of him. The magician, carrying Luigi's other partners, took them to The Next with much more ease than Laddie ever could and led them to the other side of the room where a ladder led to the house above.

The light outside indicated for it to be midday, the commotion outside indicated that everyone was in a panic at the disappearance of the mayor, and the confused mumbling of Bestovius seemed to indicate that he had no memory of the previous day, aside from sending Laddie to Watchitt.

"That creature...I think it took me...when I had left my guard down." Bestovius muttered, something about his voice seemed different, more genuine than before. "Are Bozzo and Laddie doing well?"

"Yes sir, are you alright?" Luigi responded, concerned for the old man's well being.

"That creature was quite aggressive, but I think I will be fine. I'm more concerned about your quest, dear Hero of Light. I shall tell Red to lower the bridge to the desert, you can stay here until you are ready to leave."

Luigi's team stayed for another night at the town, this time without the fear of some monster assassin looming above their heads; they met the shopkeeper, a look-alike cousin of the one in Flipside, and became more aquatinted with the members of the small town. Bozzo seemed quite relieved that his grandfather was acting like his normal self again and asked Luigi to say 'Hi' to the ice beast when he found the Yold Ruins.

The following morning, Team Luigi bid farewell to Yold Town, a red clothed figure waving goodbye from his distant home, and headed towards the Yold Desert. Following behind Luigi was no longer two but three pixls, loyal to the end and ready to face the scorching heat and blistering sand alongside their human leader.

#super paper swap #super paper mario #super paper mario au #sps fanfiction

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worldswithoutendings · 2 years

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The one where he doesn't leave [eddie munson]

because he deserves to live

pairing: Eddie Munson x platonic! female reader

summary: the one where hellfire saves Eddie in the upside-down and takes care of him

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The whole team was geared up, Dustin had slipped out a couple of days ago about what was happening in the upside-down, making Hellfire go into hysterics. All want to fight Vecna to clear Eddie’s name. You had slipped into a black tight long sleeve and army trousers. Your hair slicked back into a high ponytail while your body was bedazzled in gear. The entire team was desperately looking for music in case it went wrong, you heard Eddie and Robin fight in the background about what music actually is, making you smirk. Only for it to quickly fade seeing how nervous Gareth is “we’ll be fine Gareth, have no fear” you said.

Well, that turned south, Dustin left out the part that demogorgons, demobats and demodogs exists “what the fuck is this!?” you yelled as you saw the swarm of bats “okay we have to make a distraction” dustin said as Eddie climbed upon the roof “what are you doing?!” Jeff yelled as you heard the speakers “ARE YOU GONNA PLAY AT THIS MOMENT MUNSON?!” you were shocked, too shocked “Chrissy, this one is for you” “goddamnit” gareth whispers “if that girl hadn’t come to him for fucking drugs we wouldn’t be here!” he yells as Eddie starts to play Master of Puppets. You had to agree with Gareth here, you couldn’t help but blame Chrissy, even though you felt bad fort he situation. A big part of you was angry at her. Eddie had done nothing wrong, but that’s why we’re all here. To clear his name, kill Vecna and make sure Eddie can get his degree.

The swarm of bats came closer and you heard Dustin warn Eddie about how much time he had left. Hellfire started to get their weapons ready to shoot down those god forsaken bats. But you couldn’t help to admit that those bats looked scary “i’m not ready” “we have to!” Jeff yells at Gareth “for eddie!” he yells and you all started to scream in unison while shooting at the bats “get inside!” Dustin yelled as he and Eddie got off the trailer, but you didn’t listen. Wanting to empty your chamber “y/n no!” Eddie yells as he grabs you by the waist to get you inside. Seeing a bat fly against the door made you scream.

As you all tried to get back to the real world you saw how Eddie cut the rope “no!” you all yelled, followed by a lot of cursing. You all decided to follow Eddie as he ran out of the trailer “no i’m buying us more time!’ “i’m not letting you die!” you yelled, your voice started to get raspy. Realising that Eddie might be sacrificing himself for time, for a town who hated him, called Hellfire a satanic cult, called you all a bunch of losers “i did not get bullied enough just to see you die!” Gareth admits. You all try to kill as much bats as you could. But when you looked at Eddie you saw that one was trying to choke him, you got the knife out of the pocket from your jeans you had put in earlier and ran through the swarm of bats. The look on Eddie’s face would definitely traumatise you for the next couple of months but you had to save him. You slit the tail lose making Eddie fall to the ground. Only to realise you were both in the swarm of bats.

Trying to protect Eddie you got thrown another gun from the guys as you stand in between his legs “don’t you die on me Munson!” you yelled, not seeing how a bat flew right at your waist, making you yelp out in pain. You heard the boys scream out your name, as if they were fueled by adrenaline they started to use all the guns they had, but all of a sudden the bats dropped to the floor. You heard the boys curse from pure shock as they ran towards the both of you. You did lose a good amount of blood from the attack but Eddie lost more. Thankfully he wasn’t attacked too much that he looked like he was dying “i don’t think that we should stay here” you whispered as Dustin hugged you tight “That. Was. Metal!” he screamed. Helping Eddie up he looked at your waist ‘why did you do that?! Are you insane?! You could’ve died!” he yelled “i did it for you!” you complained, making him go silence “you did it for me?” he asks and you nod.

After the gunfight you all were standing in Eddie’s trailer, getting back into the real world. The boys decided that one should be sitting on gareth his shoulder so they could support the people who got hurt in the upside down, since Eddie had cut the rope. You tried to help Eddie by supporting him as he climbed up the rope, you heart was beating in your throat. Hoping he wouldn’t hurt himself more in the mean time. As Eddie got succesfully back you were the only one left in the upside down. While the entire hellfire looked at you as you climbed up the rope. Jeff held out his hand to grab and you carefully pushed yourself out. Landing on the matrass with a sharp pain in your waist but you tried to ignore it, but you opened the wound even more. Steve, Robin and Nancy were waiting for you all and Nancy’s face softened as she saw what happened with you and Eddie

“help him first” you said as they opened the first aid kit, you tried to surpress your wound. While Nancy and Steve were helping Eddie with his wounds Robin decided to check your wound “jesus christ” her voice sounded even more raspier because they all got choked in the Creel house “it doesn’t hurt” you lie “well, i fit doesn’t hurt than you are in big trouble missy” Robin said, making you smile. She took you to the bathroom as if she felt that you didn’t want to see the club how bad you were in pain. Because you wore a black longsleeve your wound wasn’t that visible to the others, only where it was split. But the amount of blood that appeared when robin lifted your longsleeve was shocking to both of you “let me get Nancy” Robin said immediatly. She called Nancy in who sighed deeply at the sight “y/n” she whispered “it was either the both of us or Eddie dying” you whispered back, you didn’t want him to die, so you were proud of your actions in the upside down “but Dustin had left out the bats” you tried to make it lightly while Nancy cleaned the blood of your waist and looked at your wound “it’s not that bad, i can stitch this up” she sounded confident. She grabbed a bottle of liqour and gave it to you. You held it closely thinking it was just for support “no, take a swig” she said “you need to be a little bit numb-“ “can i sit on the floor, i feel dizzy” “yeah sit down on robins legs”

Dustin decided to check on you and couldn’t help but look shocked and leave out a couple of curses “what!? Is she badly hurt?!” Steve yelled and Dustin nodded “not as bad as Eddie, but her wa- oh my god that’s a lot of blood” he looked at the amount of red cloth that nancy had used to clean you. You heard shuffling, expecting Steve, but it was Eddie while you lay with your head against Robins shoulder “are we battle buddies now?” you joked “at least you didn’t lost your spirit” Eddie sounded harsh, but he was mostly feeling guilty, he shuffled back with his bandaged waist. Only then you realised that he was shirtless, you had seen him shirtless before when you all went swimming in the summer with the hellfire club. But you had forgotten how he looked. He was actually pretty fit for the situation he was in. You couldn’t help but laugh at your own thoughts “what is it?’ robin asked “we all just fought bats and here i am, fangirling over eddie’s figure” you whispered. Making Robin and Nancy laugh “believe me, Steve also got attacked in the upside down a few days ago. I also have to admit i was kinda fangirling” ‘yeah me too, even tho it was really weird to see him like that” thankfully you weren’t the only one.

After you were patched up you walked shirtless out of the bathroom. Making hellfire excluding Eddie shield their eyes immediatly “can i maybe, get a hoodie from you?” you asked Eddie and he just pointed at his bedroom “eh wait, wait” he immediatly said “i didn’t clean” “eddie please” you mumbled as you walk into his bedroom. It was indeed really messy, but not something you hadn’t seen before. You saw a used black hoodie but that was good enough for you. Thank god Eddie loved to wear his sweaters oversized. Robin had decided to make tea for everyone, while they were thinking about the next action to take. While the trailer started to shake, you got down to the floor like everybody else and you crawled to the others. Eddie held out his hand and you immediatly grabbed it.

After the shaking was over you got concerned for your own family, hellfires family and Eddie’s uncle “why did it sound like the world got split open” Dustin whispers and you all crawl up, making Eddie moan out in pain.

You all went outside, seeing how badly Hawkins got attacked by the earthquake “holy shit” you whispered as you held tight to Eddie’s arm “you should call your uncle” Eddie immediatly went inside to call his uncle. The others all decided to go to their families, but you decided to stay and call your family to be with Eddie to take care of him as he seemed pretty shaken still from everything. Your family turned out fine and were understanding that you were staying with Eddie since he was alone. His uncle would be back a little bit later as it would be harder now to go through Hawkins. You had sat down with him with some tea while talking about the day “I’m so tired” Eddie whispered “yeah well that is understandable” you giggled, you layed down on the couch with the blanket above you “hey!” Eddie said “you can sleep next to me, do you want to be the big spoon or little spoon” “little” he smiled as he layed down next to you, you had extended your arm for extra support, not caring if it would fall asleep. As long as Eddie was comfortable. That was your main priority. That he slept well and regained his energy.

A little while later Wayne walked into the trailer “hey kiddo” he said “goodevening Mr Munson” you smiled “is he okay?” he whispered as he walked towards the couch “just tired mostly” you smiled as wayne softly caressed his cheeck “poor boy, we need to clear his name” he said and you nod “get some sleep as well” he patted your head as he made some tea for himself. You laid your head against Eddie trying to catch up on some sleep.

You both woke up to birds singing their song and Wayne made breakfast for the three of you “did you sleep well?’ you ask Eddie and he nods as he turns to look at you “little spoon is nice” he whispers as he holds you close, you went with your hand through his hair “how is your wound?” he asks as he lifts the blanket and the hoodie you were wearing, your bandage was a bit pinkish, just like eddies’ bandages “you guys need new ones?” Wayne asks and you both immediatly stand up “we don’t want it to be infected do we?” he smiles as he grabs the kit “i can do yours, Wayne can do mine” Eddie says and you nod. You didn’t know why, but today you felt more vulnerable. Maybe because it was that it was only Eddie and Wayne, and not the others. You both took off the bandages carefully and showered after eachother before you applied new ones.

After you both had new bandages you decided to go back home, know Wayne is with him he is in good hands. You gave him a hug and waved Wayne goodbye as you walked out. Going through the battlefield called Hawkins, you were scared to death seeing the roads being cracked open. As you got home you kissed both your parents being happy that they both are alive “we can help the donation center, they talked about setting it up in two days, to help the people in Hawkins” your mom said and you nod ‘yeah I still have some stuff laying around I wanted to donate anyway, I can also call the Munsons if they want to donate anything” you smile, making your dad laugh “Wayne is too big of a hoarder to donate, how is Eddie? Is he okay?” “yeah he.. he is good, thanks, dad. That’s really sweet of you” you smiled, your father actually always liked the Munsons, he knew Wayne from his earlier work but he resigned because of Eddie taking care of him when he was younger. So he also sometimes let them stay over for dinner. Knew they didn’t have much, but just enough to survive on food stamps and canned food. Which is also why Wayne was always nice to you but not anyone else in Hawkins, because he knows you’re a good kid ‘can we invite them over for dinner? They were pretty shaken by the earthquake and I just want to make sure they have a good dinner” you asked, your throat went dry but your mother immediately stood up “of course honey! Of course, they can come over for dinner” she smiles as she kisses your temple.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things

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v-arbellanaris · 1 year

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ok quick story time but tabris was my SECOND playthrough if u guys remember and by my second pt i had a much more fixed idea of the dragon age world and who loghain was/how he mattered in the wider context of ferelden, why he's such a pivotal character, the sort of weird mythology around him and i was like yeah that makes sense. so i went into my tabris with this kind of like. frame of mind. where amell probably knows the history but is essentially divorced from any kind of patriotism for ferelden -- if she does anything it's to like. further her own personal political agenda and interests rather than ferelden as a nation.

but tabris is different; she grew up IN DENERIM a scant few miles away from the king's palace. she grows up with maric the saviour and queen rowan and the hero of river dane as myths, as living legends she can see walking down the street with a retinue whenever she sneaks out. they're towering figures to her, central to her history, her pride as a citizen of denerim -- denerim, where the king lives, the king and the hero of river dane, who fought back against orlais, the historical oppressor of her people (elves, fereldans) and pushed them back home with their tails tucked between their legs. she grew up with a thousand different stories about the rebellion - her father would have grown up in and lived through meghren's occupation, after all, and the rebellion is not distant to her (i imagined. i imagined cyrion still talks about meghren's head on that spike at fort drakon with the hushed, anxious glee of someone delighted with the comeuppance and terrified their new oppressors will find out; he's more responsible than he thinks for her rebellious spirit).

the rebellion CAN'T be distant to her, not when she has lived in denerim all her life, not when her family lived in denerim for years under meghren's rule. i went into this story with a very fixed idea of tabris idolising loghain because she literally knows no other hero. who the fuck would tell her about garahel or the emerald knights or anyone else? the chantry? no one even taught her to read until after the battle of ostagar. he is literally the only hero she has ever known. and she's so painfully aware that he's human, and she's not, and they're not even remotely the same, and she knows, in her heart, that if he really was a hero, the alienage would be different, it wouldn't exist at all, but there's still that blindness to it. that vague hope of maybe he just doesn't know, maybe--

and then she gets to ostagar, surrounded by human men who leer at her, and it's loghain who tells her, fuck all of them, you belong here and don't ever let anyone make you forget it, and then the landsmeet happens and she walked in knowing she was going to kill him, that he was irredeemable, but then it's suddenly all she can think about - that he saw her anxiety, her unease, when she was just one face among thousands, and went out of his way to try to make her feel better despite everything else going on - and it turns out that it matters so much she can't fucking kill him after all. and it changes everything.

#and then i saw this comic and i was like yeah. that's literally it. definitely shorter than my explanation but like.#narratively too. if you do a certain kind of playthrough. there's SO many parallels between them. it's so fucking good.#kalyani tabris #i know no one else wants to hear me rambling abt them but i need to get this out of my head ok #vee rewrites da #rs: even now i ask for this ache.

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oathofpromises · 5 months

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"Pocky" - from Data to Hiroto O<O because of course why wouldn't I indulge

The viper picked up a biscuit from the box in front of him. He twisted it between his fingers, feeling its texture before bringing it up to his mouth. The crunching sound echoed in the room as he bit into one end. The buttery aroma of the snack reminded him a lot of the green tea. Why did he even have such a thing? Well, Stella had thrown a box of them at him earlier that day. He couldn't help but smirk at the memory. Stella, his younger sister was a petite woman with striking features, her arms crossed over her chest before shoving a box of pocky at his face. Hiroto turned to look her, his eyes furrowing slightly.

"I find it confusing how a simple snack can somehow help me and Data have a deeper connection. At times, I struggle to comprehend my sister's thought process."

As he contemplated the day's events, he suddenly remembered a particular incident that had caught his attention. Earlier that day, he had inadvertently walked in on Stella, who was sitting on G'raha's lap. The two of them were sharing a piece of pocky and seemed to be enjoying it, or at least the kissing part. The two were nibbling on opposite ends of the snack, their lips grew closer, touching for the briefest moment. As their hands intertwined with each other adding more to the closeness.

The crimson locks of the Miqo'te sway as his tail curls around her leg, drawing her closer to himself. Their lips in a soft embrace, lingering as they finish nibbling on the sweet pocky sticks. Instead of leaving it there, the two had remained so close. Hiroto can't help but chuckle at their playful flirtation, yet he can't deny the similarities between their behavior and that of him and Data.

A few nights ago, Hiroto and Data were standing close to each other, their hands intertwined and moving in a rhythmic pattern across each other's skin. Hiroto's heart was racing as he felt the soft, warm lips of Data pressing against his own. In that instant, everything else faded away, and the only thing that mattered was the brunet in front of him.

The Viper sighed deeply as he flung the box onto the table. He realized that being romantic wasn't exactly his forte. Many years ago, he had gone through an awful heartbreak that led him to close his heart off to the world. It was better to shut everyone out than let another get that close. Of course, he periodically indulged in one-night stands, primarily for missions but would even use it to numb his emotion. Nothing to get attached to if people only craved him for his body. Yet here he was, trying to devise new and sweet gestures to show his boyfriend.

Which was another thing: Hiroto was still getting used to the idea of having a boyfriend. Meeting Data for the first time was unpleasant; they had crossed paths under the worst circumstances. Hiroto felt like he deserved a beating from Data that day, but the Red Mage hadn't donea thing. Instead, the other had shown a surprising amount of kindness and understnairng. Despite the initial awkwardness, Data wasn't hostile towards Hiroto.

Another thing caught the Viper off guard was the mage hadn't tried to get rid of him. Unlike most people from his past, who had made numerous attempts to make his life a living hell. Data's attitude towards him was the opposite. It was reassuring, which was so unfamiliar and different. The Viper inside of Hiroto had learned to expect betrayal and abandonment from those around him. It was just a fact he had gotten used to over the years. However, Data was different, and Hiroto was still trying to figure out what that meant or even how to feel about the whole thing.

The idea of finally allowing himself to experience happiness was both exhilarating and terrifying. He had yearned for it for so long, but the thought of opening up to Data made him feel vulnerable. He knew that in order to let Data in, he would have to reveal everything, which would include all his deepest fears and insecurities. A side that the viper had sworn to never show another person again. The last time he had allowed someone to get that intimate with him, they had betrayed Hiroto, leaving the white haired male feeling used and a broken heart.

" I care for him so much, in a way that I never thought possible. Despite my uncertainty, he has always been kind and supportive, never revealing any trace of hatred. However, the thought of allowing someone to get so close to me is a daunting one. Can I truly trust myself to be so open again and bare my soul..or will my fears hold me back?"

Hiroto's eyes fluttered shut as he let out a soft sigh, attempting to ignore the dull ache resonating in the back of his chest. He was just about to rise from his seat when the sound of the front door opening caught his attention. He listened intently as the soft footsteps descended the stairs Before he could say anything, he felt the gentle weight of the brunet settling onto his lap, it was calming.Slowly Hiroto's eyes slowly fluttered open, adjusting to the dim light in the living room. He looked down, just as he felt a weight lean against his chest. There Data was nuzzling into Hiroto body, seemingly lost in thought.

"Data?" Hiroto whispered, His voice was husky, betraying the slight fatigue he felt. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night due to returning home late from his recent mission. The Viper could tell the brunet was also exhausted since he had been gone since early this morning. It was a daily occurrence that the brunet would go on his daily botany run with Marv. Gently Hiroto cradled Data closer to his chest, feeling the weight of the brunet's head on his shoulder. He smiled softly, savoring the warmth. It was clear that Data had overexerted himself and was now thoroughly exhausted. Probably due to the fact that somehow he had ended up getting wrapped into someone else affairs.

"Hey, Data," Hiroto said, his voice low and gentle. "I know you're feeling tired, but could you sit up for just a moment?"

Slowly, the brunet sat, his legs now strading Hiroto's lap, reaching down the white-haired male pulled out one biscuit, placing one end into his mouth. A slight part of Hiroto was internally cursing himself for even attempting this, but maybe it would put a smile on Data's face.

"Let's make a game out of this," he said. "You bite into one end, and I'll bite into the other. We'll take turns nibbling away at it until we reach the last piece, and whoever gets it wins."

With each bite, Hiroto savored the snack, allowing himself to fully partake in the delightful sensation of the biscuit's sweetness melting on his tongue. While he was nibbling on it, he couldn't help but observe how their faces were getting closer. As Data finished the last piece of the biscuit, Hiroto's spine tingled as their lips softly brushed against each other. The overwhelming sensation enveloped his thoughts completely.

It wasn’t enough…the kiss was too quick.

Hiroto still feeling the taste of the biscuit lingering on his tongue, blending with the sweetness of the kiss grabbed Data and pulled him back in. Every touch, every gentle caress, sent waves of bliss rippling throughout his body. He could even feel the rise and fall of Data's chest against his own, their breaths intertwining in a synchronized rhythm. Being this close, he felt a sense of completeness, a feeling Hiroto had yearned for all his life.

Soft fingertips traced the curves of the freckled face, his touch feather-light. Hiroto leaned in closer pressing his forehead against Data’s, "Wow…that was different." There was a hint of surprise in his tone, mixed with a tinge of excitement and curiosity.

"I must admit, my sister was right. But please, don't tell her I said that. She'll never let me hear the end of it." He laughed before nuzzling his face into the crook of Data’s neck.

You make me feel human…give me something worth fighting for. One day, I’ll be able to say those three words you deserve to hear.

#— ❛❛ // HIROTO CAELUM ¦ Painful past and shattered Hearts yet a light burning within ・「 Threads」#— ❛❛ // DATA MOCHI ¦ Sunlight in the darkness you never gave up on me・「diademreigned」#— ❛❛ // HIROTO CALEUM & DATA MOCHI¦DYNAMIC・「I swear I’ll be yours forever my beloved 」#Ooc: I hope you like the soft with this dear it turned out super fruity

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star-going-supernova · 1 year

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Okay, so I just finished the "Change in Ownership" fic and I'm just imagining the what-if of Joey waking up from his coma. Everyone is fully prepared to riot for Henry when Joey returns and goes to "talk" to Henry about what he's done to the studio...except five minutes later Joey walks out with his tail between his legs.

Oh my gosh, the hilarity if Joey wakes up before the studio fully defaults to Henry!

He's mostly better and ready to take it back, internally horrified by how much progress Henry's undone, and he shows up totally ready to thank his—old friend? ex-friend? he's not sure—for holding down the fort while he was indisposed with a fake smile and faker cheer. He's already trying to mentally do the math on how to "fix" everything after he gets Henry out of there when he enters Henry's office. But instead of the easygoing, gentle man he remembers, he's faced with a pissed-off Henry who's been looking forward to this conversation (aka the mother of all talking-tos) since the day Anthony Matthews showed up at his front door.

Joey doesn't stand a chance.

#i answered a thing #anonymous #life and times of star

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nikrangdan · 3 years

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lovestruck!enhypen x reader

pairing: lovestruck!enhypen x reader

genre: FLUFF fluff Fluff

description: how enhypen would be if they became lovestruck by the reader ☹️☹️ this is such an adorable request!!!! itll vary for each member ur relationships so you’ll either be strangers or already dating etc.

a/n: idk if all of them are lovestruck exactly bc i just got carried away with the fluff for some of them and idky maknae line revolves around sleeping BUT IDC sleepy!enhypen is the best 😁

———————

HEESEUNG

u worked at a pretty popular clothing store

and well well well heeseung had shown up dressed very much your style so u were like

Wow who is this guy....

he was alone just looking around

and there were like 10 other people in the store but u wanted to talk to him so bad so u went up like

“hi, welcome! are u finding everything okay?”

he was looking through a rack of shirts and turned around when he heard u but WOW

when this man turned around he looked even better in person u couldnt believe it 😫

BUT IT SEEMS HE FELT THE SAME BC U SWEAR HE BECAME SO FLUSTERED WHEN HE TURNED AROUND

his eyes got so wide u almost laughed it was so cute ☹️

he stuttered and was like “oh um im okay”

Aw man

but u said “okay then! let me know if you need any help finding anything or if u wanna use a dressing room!” and u sent him ur nicest smile u could give

his eyes were still kinda wide open and u gave him one last look before turning around😢😢

BUT THEN HE SAID SOMETHING

“w-wait! actually.. um....uh.. do u.. do u guys have sweatpants..?”

u giggled to urself on the inside bc u knew he just made that up on the spot

“we do! here, follow me”

while u were showing him the clothes u guys had exchanged names and had some small talk

and that was the start of something very Beautiful

and since then he has been coming almost everyday to visit u at work 🤗🤗

JAY

jay swore he found new things about u to love every single day

and today wasnt an exception!!!!

u knew jay had been really tired and just worn out from work recently so u had decided to make him his favorite meal for dinner

a nice little surprise for when he got home ❤️

and also the anime he was watching ready on the tv for u two to watch together :(

u had literally been preparing all day and u even decided to go out and buy dessert too

AWESOMEST PERSON EVER U ARE!

it was 8pm already and jay should be getting home now

u set the table all neatly and put on one of his sweaters

AND WOULD U LOOK AT THAT HE GOT HOME AS SOON AS U WERE DONE

Fate 🔥🔥

romantic stuff like this wasnt really ur forte so this was out of the normal for u

but u wanted to do something for jay because he did stuff like this for u alot

the table isnt in view when u walk into the apartment so he wasnt able to see his dinner yet

“hi” you smile brightly and go up to hug him and give him a little kiss

he had his bad slung over one of his shoulders and he was taking his shoes off in the doorway after he closed it

“hey.. it smells pretty good in here” he gave you a tired smile while one of his arms was wrapped around your waist

“really? it smells normal to me” you giggled before walking to the kitchen area together

he stopped and looked at u with LITERAL HEARTS IN HIS EYES when he saw the table

jay: ❤️_❤️

“y/n..”

“surprise!!! you know im not good with words but i wanted to show you that i can cook” you laugh “and that i love you very much and im so proud of you”

jay doesnt say anything but instead drops his bag on the couch and gives u the Biggest Hug Ever

ur face is practically smushed in his chest and his hand is resting lovingly on ur hair :(((

he loves u so much im so sad

JAKE

“layla!!! layla where are you?” jake was yelling quite loudly in the massive park he was in the middle of

yeah jake lost layla.. uh oh

quite a coincidence you found the cutest dog you’d ever laid eyes on

and she seemed to love u very much

the dog had made u topple over and now she was excitedly playing with you while you were sat on the ground laughing to your hearts content

after a minute of playing you had got up because you knew she was somebodys lost dog and her owner was probably looking all over the park for her

“okay.. lets go find your owner before they have a heart attack” you giggle

just as you said that though, you heard a boys voice yell “LAYLA!!!!”

the dog next to you looked in his direction, tail wagging and tongue out, but she didnt move an inch from her spot next to you

it made me you laugh out loud

as you were watching the boy run up to you, you noticed how cute he actually was

Omg..... ur heart started beating a little faster

“hi..” the boy hunched over with his hands on his knees breathing very heavily “you have my dog”

“uh yeah” you laugh “sorry about that, she ran over to me a couple minutes ago and i was just about to go find her owner”

“its okay, thank you..” he trailed off to find out your name and finally looked up to meet your eyes

“y/n” you told him

“y/n” he repeated with a small grin on his face “im jake”

“hi jake” you lightheartedly give him your hand to shake and he chuckles before taking the offer

“and it was nice meeting you layla” you crouch down to meet her level and she licks your face making you fall on your butt

you laugh and jakes quick to help you up

“layla! thats not very nice” he jokingly scolds her and pets her head

after u got up u bid goodbye to the two before jake invited u to continue walking around the park AND HE EVEN BOUGHT U AN ICE CREAM

Is This A Date, Jake? 😫😫❤️❤️❤️❤️😳😛😛

SUNGHOON

“you should be more careful” you scold the boy sitting with you standing between his legs

sunghoon had apparently gotten elbowed in the face by his friend and scratched by his friends cat on accident????

“it wasn’t my fault! he turned around and i just happened to be in the way. and i didnt even do anything to the cat!” he whined

“i didnt say it was your fault. i said to be more careful.” you tried to sound stern

u knew ur logic was making no sense but u just thought it was so fun to mess with him

he let out a sigh and gave up, slouching over again

you were stood between his legs, wiping the blood away and applying ointment

“im just kidding, you’re so cute” one of your free hands comes up to rub his hair

a small grin pops up on his face and his arms come to rest on your waist

he looks up at you while you focus on tending to his wounds

and u guessed it WITH LITERAL HEARTS IN HIS EYES

❤️_❤️

“you know y/n” he begins

you hum in response, letting him know you’re listening

“im gonna marry you one day”

you freeze in your place

it took you a minute to collect yourself because you felt like your heart almost leaped out of your chest

“who says?” you joke

he leans up to give you a quick kiss on the lips before sitting back down

“me.”

SUNOO

you noticed sunoo had been really tired lately and u just wanted to make him feel better :((

the boys were going out and invited you two obviously but you could tell sunoo was iffy about going

“uhh..” you trail off and look over at sunoo who was laying on the couch

“you know what guys? i think me and sunoo are gonna stay home today.. you guys have fun though!” you bid goodbye to the other boys and they all understood and left

you dont even know if sunoo knew they had left already because when you walked over to him his tired eyes were glued on the tv

“hey” you leaned against the couch and looked down at him

“y/n? are we going soon?” his eyes move to the top of his head to look up at you

you start laughing and he literally goes 🤨???

“silly, they already left! so what do you wanna do?” you plop down next to him and he was in the process of sitting up

“what? when did they leave...” his mouth drops open

“like 2 minutes ago” you giggle, leaning back to rest your head

sunoo had sat still, pondering for a moment

“why did they leave us?” he turned to look at you

your eyes met his “well i figured you didnt wanna go... you didnt, right?”

he slowly shakes his head “how did you know?”

you give him a sneaky smile and jokingly push his arm “because i know you so well”

he laughs at this and leans his head on your shoulder

“wow y/n.. im impressed” he grins, snuggling into your arm

your other arm crosses over to pat him on the head, leaning your head to rest on top of his

“but thank you y/n..” his eyes slowly close to rest “im thankful for all the little things you notice about me”

u literally go 🥺

your hand goes down to squeeze his and he falls asleep peacefully on ur shoulder ☹️☹️☹️❤️

JUNGWON

“y/n..what is that” jungwons eyes can barely open as he tries to comprehend whats going on while hes waking up

you haphazardly tap around the bedside table trying to turn off the new alarm you set last night

and that new alarm was jungwon singing 🤗

“its you, dummy” your eyes were still closed but you turned to face jungwon and snuggled closer to him

“wha- where did you even get that???” he was almost fully awake now, staring down at your half asleep figure

you yawned before answering in your i-just-woke-up-and-i-should-probably-drink-some-water voice “remember when you sang me to sleep last week? yeah i was secretly recording you. no biggie” you pat his chest twice and leave your hand there, content with life at the moment Lol

“y/nnnn” he whines “change ittt i dont like it”

“you’re kidding.” you deadpan, shocked he would say such a thing!!! “jungwon you sound like an angel threw up on a field of flowers full of puppies and kittens! okay thats kinda weird maybe not that”

jungwon giggles a little and sits up so he can sit against the headboard while your head rests on his lap

“you like my singing that much?” you can hear the smile in his voice as he asks you

you finally pop one eye open to look up at him, a goofy grin in your face

“i love your singing”

his hands run through your hair and you let out a sigh at the feeling

jungwon doesnt say anything

all he does is admire you

you can feel his eyes on you so you open your eyes again (both this time🙏🏼) and meet his eyes

“i can feel you staring straight into the depths of my soul, jungwon”

he laughs at this, bring his other hand up to pinch your cheek

“i’ll sing for you whenever you want me to y/n”

NI-KI

“shut up sunghoon, hes sleeping” you whisper-scolded the boy

ni-ki was currently asleep on you

literally SPRAWLED all over your body and you were basically mummified

by nishimura riki

his legs were tangled in yours, his head shoved into your neck, and his arms were bent around you in ways you didnt know were humanly possible

“you literally have an alien taking a nap on you y/n” sunghoon deadpans before walking out the room

“when you’re asleep sunghoon i will send you into a spacecraft for the rest of your life so you can go see aliens for yourself”

“wowww im so scared y/n” the boy remarks and shuts the door

you half laugh and half scoff before turning your attention back to the ipad screen sitting on the bed infront of you

well

kind of infront of you because ni-ki’s acrobatic position was basically blocking the view

you were having a decent time watching the show playing, definitely not the most comfortable person on the planet at the moment

until you felt the body on top of you.. rumble?

you knew that feeling

ni-ki was laughing

HOW and WHY the hell was he laughing ?!!?!!?!

“what the hell?” you look down at him and his face is shoved near your shoulder but you caught a glimpse of his big smile

his laughter gets louder and you still dont have answers yet

“why are you laughing???? i thought you were sleeping?????” you try to push him off you but he was persistent in laughing in your shoulder (??)

after a couple minutes of you just letting this happen

ni-ki finally speaks!

“you’re so funny y/n” he finally pulls away from you and wipes his tears

“what are you even talking about... and how long were you awake, you sneaky kid” you poke his chest

he leans down again to hug your waist and start cuddling you again

“10 minutes”

“so you’re telling me i could’ve freed myself from that god awful demon EMBRACE you had me in 10 minutes ago???!!”

ni-ki starts laughing again and looks up at you

“thank you for threatening to send sunghoon to aliens for me y/n” he grins

you laugh, finally understanding what the boy had been going on about

“sunghoon deserved it”

#enhypenwriters #enhypen imagines #enhypen #enhypen scenarios #enhypen reactions #enhypen x reader #enhypen drabbles #enhypen fluff #enhypen fic #enhypen headcanons #jungwon imagines #heeseung imagines #sunghoon imagines #ni ki imagines #sunoo imagines #enhypen timestamps #enhypen imagine

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aminiatureworld · 3 years

Text

An Unexpected Rival

Characters: Childe, Scaramouche, Xiao, gn!reader

Word Count: 3,556

Warnings: Swearing

Premise: When thinking about fighting for the affections of someone, one normally imagines great declarations of love and promises of loyalty. But sometimes that’s not it. Sometimes it’s simply living with a being that hates you more than anything.

In which the reader’s pet hates their s/o

Author’s Note: I did give the pets names because I felt I couldn’t really refer to them as “your pet” the whole time. I also am not a pet owner. Still I hope you enjoy!

Going to try non bullet pointed for a bit. We’ll see how it goes!

Childe

Honestly you didn’t know what to do.

Here you were, standing in the middle of the living room of your apartment, trying desperately not to laugh at the sight of your dog sitting directly on the chest of your much beleaguered partner.

You hadn’t really considered the consequences of introducing Childe to Lacey. I mean, how badly could the interactions be between the man you were convinced was your soulmate and the nicest golden retriever that had ever existed? If there was going to be issues you’d reasoned it would be on Childe’s side. So when your partner lit up at the mention of your fluffy child, you’d assumed all would be well.

Evidently that was not the case. You knew that Lacey could be clingy on occasion, but she’d really been making an effort these past few weeks. Knocking your partner out of the way when you two walked through the door together, refusing to stop walking when you two met up at a park or on the street, refusing to answer to Childe’s attempts at affection. It was almost impressive, the lengths Lacey was willing to go to establish her position as Number One Childe Hater – especially impressive considered the well-attested competition, including but not limited to a Fatui Harbinger.

Now you sprung into action as best you could, bottling up the giggles that threatened to erupt at any moment.

“Childe!” You exclaimed, walking closer. Lacey still refused to stand up, but her tail thumped excitedly against the floor, and she let out a short whine of appreciation. Unfazed by this cry for praise you sighed. “Lacey! Get up! Honestly, you’re not being a very good testament to your intelligence right now.”

Nudging her slightly you sighed with relief as the golden retriever sprang up, attacking your hands and face with kisses as you dragged Childe up to a sitting position. Childe at least seemed unfazed by the sudden attack, letting out a mere “oof”, and smiling a slightly embarrassed smile.

“I’m really sorry about this Childe.” You said, hands still batting away Lacey’s frantic activity as she attempted to get you to focus on her.

“It’s alright. Just, wow she’s a heavier girl than I expected.”

“Hopefully no squished organs?”

“Archons no! It’ll take more than this girl to fell me, don’t you worry.” Childe attempted to give Lacey a pet, but the dog that had just before been laying all over him now scampered out of the way, instead pawing at your back.

“Lacey! Stop being so rude! Urgh, and here I was hoping that you two would be somewhat settled before I went on my trip.”

You sighed, letting your head drop into the palms of your hand, not wanting to think about what might happen during the week and a half that Childe would be required to take care of Lacey. Would she even let him in the apartment to feed her? What about walks and the like? Were you going to come home to all our warfare? Childe seemed to understand your quickly dropping mood, placing a hand on your shoulder and rubbing small circles with his thumb, even as Lacey whined and began pawing at his arm.

“I promise it’ll be alright my dear. We’ll manage while you’re gone and who knows? Maybe by the time you get back we’ll be thick as thieves, and then you’ll be the one getting sat on.”

“Who knows.” You let out a burst of laughter. But even as you two shared this moment of levity your mind continued to spin its threads, dreading the days to come and what you’d be presented with the day you got back.

“Alright, what’re we going to do.”

Childe stood in the foyer, hands on his hip, irritation in his heart. Lacey seemed to be mimicking the gesture, chest puffed out proudly as she stared the Harbinger down. They must’ve been standing like that for at least ten minutes, Childe thought to himself, ten minutes of staring and nothing yet done. It was beginning to grate on him, and were it not for the fact that you’d have to pay for damages, he was quite tempted to vault over the nearby furniture, if only so he could get to the kitchen and have this miserable showdown be over.

He didn’t dislike Lacey, no Childe didn’t think he could truly dislike any dog if he tried. He used to dream of owning a wolf pup, of flopping around in the snow with his companion, running as fast as he could and still being chased down with a crash, before being bombarded by affectionate pawing and kisses. These memories seemed quite silly when faced with the reality of caring for a dog however, and now he wanted only to bang his head against the wall, and maybe pass out from the exertion.

“I get that you love your owner.” He spoke again, how long had he been talking to this dog? “But I don’t think this is the way to win their heart.”

Lacey said nothing, simply narrowing her eyes and letting out a slightly hiss. Still Childe continued on.

“And like it or not you are going to have to eat eventually. So I suggest if you’re going to misbehave, that you should at least do it on a day when I’m not your primary caretaker.”

When there was still no movement from Lacey Childe sighed. That evening when he returned to his own apartment it was with the unfortunate knowledge that golden retriever bites hurt a lot more than he’d expected them too.

It was storming, and the city of Liyue had transformed from a glistening city to one of mud and rusted iron. Childe swore under his breath as he pulled his coat closer around him, desperately trying to keep as dry as possible. Who knew if he’d be able to make it to your bedroom and grab one of his spare shirts with Lacey acting like he was a burglar instead of well known acquaintance? The song and dance between the two of them was grating. Feeding your golden retriever being nearly impossible, not to mention the times when Childe half dragged Lacey through the most half assed of walks. Really how could such a gentle spirit turn so stubborn so quickly? Childe didn’t know, all he knew was that the sooner you came home the sooner he could stop worry about being nipped at the heels.

The sight that met Childe at the entrance to your apartment was jarring. Instead of the usual irritated dog Childe was met with utter silence, and a stillness that betrayed the fact that not only was Lacey not in the hall, but she was also avoiding the kitchen and the living room.

“Lacey?” Childe called out, getting no answer but the whipping of wind and the rumble of thunder. “I swear if you managed to run off – Lacey!”

Going further down the hall Childe finally heard the sound of muffled whimpering. Walking into your bedroom he spied Lacey under the bed, eyes filled not with disdain, but with anxiety.

“Lacey, why in Teyvat are you here?”

There was no reply, until suddenly another clap of thunder shook the walls. Lacey let out a yelp and crawled under the bed a little more, flattening her head against the floor, although there was not much room left in that department. Childe stared at this for a second letting the pieces fall into place. He just couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that this was the same Lacey who so fearlessly guarded the apartment against his entrance every day.

This slight smugness was extinguished rather quickly though, instead replaced with a sense of pity, and the need to make this poor girl feel the least bit better.

“Hey, hey it’ll be alright.” Childe spoke softly. For a moment he left the room, but quickly he returned, towels and blankets in hand, praying that you wouldn’t mind that he messed up your closet a little bit.

“Let’s make a fort, shall we?”

Not waiting for any sort of acknowledgment Childe began to pile up the covers on your bed, making sure to lay down towels in case you were worried of shedding. At first Lacey did nothing much than scooch out enough to watch him, but within the next flash of lightning she was up and moving, diving under the makeshift fort and clambering around Childe, as if trying to find out if she could burrow through the Harbinger.

“I know, I know, it’s pretty scary out there, huh?” Childe ruffled Lacey’s head slightly. “But you’ll see, it’ll pass soon enough. And then we can go back to fighting, alright.”

Lacey let out a whine, but nevertheless began to settle down, lying down and once more resting her head on her paws.

“There’s a good girl.” Childe smiled softly. “You aren’t that bad you know. At least you aren’t that bad when you’re not trying to bite my leg off.”

Your surprise at the improvement in Childe-Lacey relations was somewhat immense when you returned. Though Childe refused to say what had managed to form such a bond between your disgruntled pet and him, only that he hoped you didn’t mind dog hair on your bed. Lacey, for her part, no longer tried to sit on your partner.

Even if she still pushed him out of the way when you came home.

Scaramouche

Scaramouche could deal with a lot of things. He could deal with the fact that your parrot wouldn’t let the man within three feet of the parrot’s cage without attempting to bite his hands off. He could deal with the obnoxiously loud clicking whenever he got too close to you, and he could deal with fact that your parrot was fond of yelling random phrases at him in the most aggressive tone Scaramouche had ever heard. Scaramouche could deal with all of that. What he couldn’t deal with is what your parrot insisted on calling him, no matter how much time was spent saying: “Scaramouche. I am Scaramouche!”

“Electro boy? Really?”

“I’m sorry Scara,” you let out a giggle, “I didn’t know what your name was when I first saw you.”

Oh Scaramouche was sure of that, but did that really mean that Oliver had to call him solely by that title? It didn’t help that you must’ve referred to Scaramouche an awful lot as “Electro Boy” for it to be the name that stuck in Oliver’s mind. And regardless of how many times you used the title, it was one thing for you to use the nickname. It was quite another thing for Oliver to, since, unlike in your case, Oliver’s use of “Electro Boy” could be nothing but derogatory.

Scaramouche had long given up in wooing the errant parrot over. If they were to be mortal enemies, so be it. He’d dealt with that before.

“Oh Scaramouche, you must be joking!” You’d exclaimed when he’d revealed this train of thought, cupping his face in your hand and pressing affectionate kisses to his face. He’d let you do so, let you imagine that one day there might be a reconciliation. But in his heart he knew. Unless Oliver learned to stop with the name calling, Scaramouche would never forgive him for the insult.

“I wish you would write.” You whispered.

Pain skirted through Scaramouche’s face, but still he refused the promise that you needed. You knew that Scaramouche would never be able to have a normal relationship with you, that these trips were necessary, were a part of him that you’d never be able to wrench away. Still, the least he could do was promise to write. Without his writings, well how could you even be sure he was alive?

“I’m sorry.” Scaramouche whispered. Leaning in so your foreheads were touching he let out a sigh, warming your lips with his breath. “I cannot promise I will write. I wouldn’t like to break a promise to you.”

“I know.” You whispered back, shaking your head as much as you could. “Still, I’d almost rather a broken promise.”

“You wouldn’t. I know it would drive you mad.”

“Perhaps, but better than nothing?”

You two stood there, basking in silence. A familiar cry broke the reverie.

“Electro Boy! Electro Boy!” A series of clicks accompanied the sudden shriek. There was no better way to break the spell. Almost immediately Scaramouche pulled away. Walking towards the door he paused, turning around one more time.

“I’ll miss you.”

Those words washed over you, their owner having been carried away with the wind.

Scaramouche hurried up the steps, anticipation keep his pace quick and his thoughts a jumble of fragments. The long mission he’d been sent on was finally over, and now he could think not of noisy soldiers, nor of the people who continually disappointed him, but of you. He couldn’t wait, every step on the staircase felt like an obstacle, something he must triumph against to reach you. Finally arriving at your door he barely paused, stepping this way and that as he opened the door before striding into the hallway as fast as he could.

“I’m home.” He called into the afternoon light. Almost immediately two things happened. One was that you leapt off your position on the couch, practically barreling yourself into his arms. The second was that Oliver began to screech, hopping from one foot to the other in an indecipherable dance.

“Scara, you’re home!” You cried, exclamation by the way you buried your face into his shoulder.

“Scara! Scara! Scaramouche!” Oliver echoed. The words made Scaramouche freeze up, taken aback as he was by their usage.

“What was that Oliver?” He called out, not altogether sure if the parrot would even reply to him. Scaramouche had really only referred to Oliver by name the first time he met him. After that you had to settle with “the bird” or “the noisemaker”. This time, however Scaramouche couldn’t help but use it. This was, after all, a matter of great importance.

“Scaramouche, Scaramouche, who’s a pretty bird?” Oliver tittered irreverently.

His tone was still somewhat sharp, Scaramouche never heard Oliver snap at you the way he did him, but nevertheless the words had struck a chord. Finding himself at a loss for words Scaramouche stared at you, trying to figure out what was going on.

“That’s probably my fault,” you laughed hesitantly, “I guess I was talking about you more than I thought. It’s only that, well I missed you an awful lot. And Oliver is my confidante, he always has been. So I guess I’ve just been talking a lot to him about you. I’ve really missed you…”

Scaramouche felt his heart soften. Leaning over he pressed a kiss to your forehead, much to the indignation of Oliver, who twittered away as normal. Still, it was better than it had been before. And, if Scaramouche could admit it to himself, he didn’t mind the idea of you pouring out to Oliver how much you missed him. It made him feel important, feel whole. And if your rude bird had helped at all, then Scaramouche could find it in him to respect Oliver, though only a little.

“I’m glad you thought of me.” He whispered to you. “And I’m glad you still had a confidante to talk to.”

And if the result was a parrot who no longer called him “Electro Boy”, then all the better.

Xiao

Honestly Xiao couldn’t really see the appeal of pets. Something that was only cemented when he met your cat.

“And this is Honey.” You’d said softly, picking up the orange feline and cradling her in your arms. The cat made no sounds, instead it stared straight at Xiao, eyes narrow, gaze untrusting. Xiao was equally out of depths in this matter. What was he supposed to do? Pet it, presumably. Reaching out with hesitant fingers Xiao almost immediately pulled away, dodging an onslaught of clawing.

Ever since then there seemed to have been an odd hierarchy established, at least in Honey’s mind. She never let Xiao sit next to you, oh no, that would’ve been too generous. Instead Honey squeezed into the space between you two, no matter how small and wow was it small sometimes, meowing angrily as Xiao passed his arm over her head to hold your hand. Sometimes she’d try the tactic of walking all over you, lying on your lap, wrapping herself around your shoulders, and all the time glaring at Xiao as if he’d brought some sort of catastrophe on her for daring to try and get close to you.

“Your cat hates me.”

“She does not!” You exclaimed. “Honey doesn’t hate anyone! She just needs to get used to you.”

“She hates me. She thinks I’m beneath her.”

Xiao glared up at Honey, who was looming over the conversation via the bookshelf in your bedroom. Honey’s eyes narrowed and for a moment Xiao felt as if he’d somehow spilled the cat’s secrets. It wasn’t his fault that he knew what she was thinking. After all, hadn’t Xiao been like that for a time? An ornery soul who found most interactions beneath him? Who knew he’d be on the receiving end of that relationship someday. He certainly didn’t appreciate it now.

“You just need to get used to one another.” You continued to assure Xiao. “Honey’s a little bit possessive. It’s nothing personal. She’ll get over it.”

Well it’d been four weeks since that conversation and unfortunately Honey showed exactly zero signs of “getting over it”. Though perhaps she wasn’t clawing at him anymore, maybe because you’d actually scolded her for it, the gaze never left her eyes. The fact that she meowed loudly whenever Xiao made more contact than hand holding also didn’t help her case.

Xiao sighed, staring at the sky as the sun began its descent beyond the peaks of Liyue. A cluster of trees ringed the back part of your house – trees apparently planted by your grandparents – and Xiao enjoyed perching in them to watch the sunset.

“At least here the cat will leave me alone.” He muttered.

It’d been a tiring day. Honey had been in a particularly bad mood – probably the result of Xiao staying the night – and the atmosphere in the house had become somehow so tense that Xiao figured taking a hike wouldn’t be a bad idea. Even if he found the whole exercise a bit demeaning.

“I’m losing to a cat.” Xiao called flatly out into the air. There was no reply of course, but he didn’t mind that. Imagine what his fellow adepti would think of him now, flailing around, trying to win the affections of a furball whose favorite pastime was being as irritating as possible.

Now Xiao heard a familiar yowl. Glancing down he spied Honey, hair standing on end, gripping a branch as if her life belonged to it. An old conversation rose to the front of his mind. Something about cats being able to go up trees very easily, but not so much down. What an idiotic creature, he thought to himself.

Still it’d be ill form to leave the poor idiot clutching onto the branch, so fighting his smugness as beset he could Xiao leaned over and attempted to wrench the cat from the branches. Honey let out a series of shrieks, claws digging into the bark, but eventually she relinquished and Xiao pulled her up onto his lap. Almost immediately she began pawing at his chest, meowing her indignancy.

“I know.” Xiao glared at the cat. “But they wouldn’t be very happy if you got stuck.”

As if to reply Honey narrowed her eyes, turning around to look at the skyline, rather than acknowledge the adeptus she was now laying on. Xiao hummed in response.

“You know things would be easier if you weren’t so aggressive.”

A meow in response.

“I don’t understand you. I don’t understand why you’re so territorial.”

Another meow.

“I suppose I’m like that. I also want them to myself. Things would be easier without you clawing at me. But they love you, and that’s what matters. I don’t know why but they do.”

Silence, perhaps Honey was insulted by the way Xiao spoke.

“I can’t say I’ll love you. But I’ll try to like you. As long as you try to like me.”

Silence again, but this time Xiao took it as an assent. Letting out a sigh he turned back towards the horizon, gaze drifting towards the peaks that Honey too was watching with interest. The night was alive with the soft chirps of insects, and a faint breeze ruffled Xiao hair, dancing through Honey’s fur. Xiao let out a sigh and, nemesis on his stomach, allowed himself a little rest.

You stared at the mismatched pair, a smile playing on your lips. How funny they looked, curled up together. Like two cats, one a panther, the other a tabby. And yet somehow the tabby was running the shots.

They look so peaceful, you mused to yourself, who knows what they might be like in the morning.

At the very least, you’d be sure to enquire about the nature of your partner’s conversation with your cat, something which had seemed very important to him.

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