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aetherarf · 3 years

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can i request diluc’s s/o trying to convince him to perform this song at the windblume festival

the s/o plays the guitar

kaeya plays the drums

rosaria plays the piano

and venti plays his lyre

anon... ur mind... bless....

also its been a long time since ive used tumblr outside of posting my writings, WHEN WAS PUTTING HYPERLINKS IN ASKS A THING?

[ i tweaked some of the ideas you offered... just read :) ]

this request killed me its so long. sorry if its weird.

[[ Summary: The wind embodies change, and with it, even the Harpastum festival must change... And you're intent on bringing the change.

Word Count: 4'855 ]]

Countless pages of sheet music, of instruments awkwardly acquired through countless means, songs written...

You looked over the mass of objects. It looked messy, but... hey, they weren't being used right now!

Harpastum had always been a great time for celebration, for bringing loud joy and exuberance... And you were in charge of heralding another change in the City of the Wind.

You intended on putting together a massive performance, a band all together to play music, and to gather Mondstadt to bear witness. However, there was a few problems with this..

You may have written all the music, but you were one person. You couldn't play all the instruments, even if you had reasonable grasp of all of them, and you definitely couldn't sing the lead part--Your voice just couldn't project well enough, as well as you couldn't hit the necessary notes.

You had a few weeks before it was time for you to put everyone on the stage... was that enough time?

... You'd have to figure it out then.

Maybe you could ask Barbara for help? She had her own concerts from time to time, as Mondstadt's Idol herself, so... She might know how to help.

... Sigh. The cathedral.

A quick walk through and a few questions with the sisters told you Barbara was taking a day off--of course, you were happy for her! She never was very good at taking care of herself, but it just left you frustrated with the fact that you truly were alone to figure this out...

You couldn't sit another minute amongst countless instruments that taunted you, so you sat on a bench, looking over the papers you carried with you...

You could take one of the spots... Whatever was left over, really, minus being the singer. Actually--you had an idea of who could be the singer, so you didn't really worry too much, that'd be the easiest of this whole ordeal... it was just... everything else.

"Yahoo! Wah-ACK!"

You jerked your head up, seeing Venti gliding right above you, then a spear shot over him, shooting through his windglider, destroying it as he crashed to the ground, rolling like a dropped sack of potatoes pushed down a hill, but just managing to jump up with a sigh.

"Dangit. Oh, hi!" He trotted over to you, as though he had not been nearly maimed by a sudden weapon, "Hey! What are you looking at?" He was still panting when he bent at the waist, not minding your personal space as he looked at the music, you panicked and pulled it to your chest.

"I-... Are you okay?" You asked, and Venti just shrugged, sitting down next to you.

"I've been worse. I just made a sister very angry at me... Nothing new!"

You looked at him oddly, only to hear the sound of feet stomping on the stone ground, and to see a sister standing over you--

No, over him.

"Bard," She said, harshly, "I could imprison you beneath the Knight headquarters this instant for this, you know."

Venti stood up, "Of course, but! Ack!" With one hand, he held onto his chest, and dramatically fell back, one hand holding the back of the bench, "You've already wounded me so... was this a suffecient enough punishment...?" He asked, dramatically rasping for death,

"Blegh..." He stumbled back, and fell over the back of the bench, his legs from the knee-down hanging over the top of it.

The woman just groaned, shaking her head and grabbing one of his legs, tossing it off to the side of the bench, hearing Venti go oomf! As he completely hit the ground, and the woman took the spot he was just sitting in.

"What do you have there?" She asked, looking over.

"Well, hello to you too, Rosaria."

Rosaria looked at your face--no emotion on her own, and she just repeated herself, "What do you have there?"

You handed over the papers, and she took, holding them with much more care than Venti ever would of--He already slung his arms over the back of the bench, his chin resting atop it so he could watch whatever you and Rosaria were doing, in a... metaphorically front row seat.

"I'm planning something for Harpastum. A... concert, like Barbara's. But I can't really find the people I need." You admitted, genuinely, and she flipped through it a little. Eventually, you noticed she was looking over the piano part.

"I see. Nothing to be concerned of, for me or for you." She set it down on the bench between the both of you, only for Venti to snatch it up, snooping through it as well.

"What do you mean?" You asked, watching Venti out of the corner of your eye.

"Well, you're not sharing anything dangerous with the bard-" She reached over, and flicked him right between the eyes.

"Owwie... you're mean." Venti pouted, for all of two seconds before he went back to reading through it all- the sheet music, the plans, the lyrics, all that.

"As well as the piano part looked simple enough... Don't bother asking the other sister," Rosaria leaned back, "But anyone who knows and has limber enough hands to keep up can play it."

"I like this trumpet part," Venti mentioned, idly, "It's... bouncy."

"Well, it's supposed to be... and if you two iike it so much..."

Both of them locked their gazes right on you,

"Would you be willing to just play a little? And-and if you like it, maybe play for the concert? it's not a big thing, I promise!"

There was a silence, before Venti shouted--loudly, "Of course! Even if it's different than normal, a bard always strives to entertain!"

He then dramatically fell behind the bench again, with a loud oomf.

You idly wonder how he's not permanently as purple as a grape from all the bumps and bruises he gets.

"... Hm. What's in it for me?"

You looked at her helplessly...

"... Conner has a special batch of wine brewing for Harpastum, meant to be drunk near-frozen... for the heat, you know? I can get Diluc to get you a bottle."

Rosaria's eyes widened.

"Wait, do I get wine too?" Venti asked, peeking over the back of the bench.

You sighed, "Everyone who performs will get a bottle of this special wine, I promise!"

Venti, again, cheered loudly.

"Hm," Rosaria hummed, "I'll try out playing the part, at least. Do you have a piano? I don't really want the other sisters to yell at me for playing such..." she raised her hands, doing air quotes, "violent music in the Cathedral."

"I do, I do," you stood up, more than a little excited, "It's at my place, come on! Fair warning, it's a bit of a mess, but it's not like I'm having the concert there."

"Meh, everything's messy at some point." Venti shrugged, and Rosaria simply said nothing, letting you lead the both of them forth...

Oh, this was all coming together!

...

By the time the three of you got there, the first thing you did was move the drums--ah, still needed a drummer, oh well. You moved them out of the way to give access to the piano, adjusting the drums to make it all the easier for whoever came next to play... and, tucked away, you pulled out the trumpet, all but shoving it into Venti's hands as Rosaria sat down.

On the piano, you set down Rosaria's part, and you placed a stand before Venti, setting the sheet music down for the trumpet there..

"Okay... Rosaria?" You looked over at her, and she just tilted her head to look at you, "How about you play your part--Venti, if you blow that in my ear, I will end you."

Venti, sheepishly, tucked the trumpet behind his back, "What? Why would I do that... Ehe..."

You glared at him, "Oh, and..." You fumbled around with the clutter, finding a metronome and setting it on top of the piano, setting it to the right beat...

And without prompting, Rosaria began playing, near slamming her fingertips onto the keys of the piano--nothing like the music that was played in the Cathedral, that was always gentle, loving tickling of the ivory keys, but this was loud and harsh, banging, as though demanding you to move.

"Perfect!" You couldn't help but shout out, making Rosaria hit a wrong key, and she jerked around to glare at you.

"... Sorry," you admitted, "But, oh my goodness... It's perfect! Please, please tell me you'll play!" You were ready to get down on your knees and beg...

She examined your expression...

"... Maybe. Assuming you can get everyone else. And I expect a sample of the wine before we get on stage."

"Of course, of course, that's-that's more than acceptable!"

"Heyyy..." Venti whined, "What about me?"

"Oh, right," Venti just withered at that statement, "Don't do that, now... your turn, Venti."

He perked up without an issue, pressing the trumpet to his lips, and you flipped the sheet music to its first page--

And it was loud, each note forced out with excitement and enthusiasm, Venti all but dancing as he played, even as both his hands were on the trumpet itself, bouncing where he stood--

The music sounded just as excited as he looked.

"Perfect!"

Once again, you made one of your bandmates [ Oh, bandmates! This is really coming together! ] jump, and play a wrong note.

You couldn't be bothered to care!

"Okay, okay! That leaves... That leaves the drums and the guitar..."

You looked at both, focusing on them... "I can play both, but..."

You sighed, withering again at the realization that you were still just at the beginning.

"Not at once..."

Venti looked over the drums curiously for a moment... And smiled.

"I have an idea-"

"You're not going to play them with your feet, Venti."

"THAT WASN'T MY IDEA... Even if it's totally a great idea. But--isnt there a particular Cavalry Captain who was raised in a rich family? They do love teaching their children the musical arts..." Venti hummed.

You stared blankly for a moment, "Kae...ya? Do you actually think he knows how to play, well, anything?"

"Duh, he's a rich boy!" Venti shouted, "Sure, Diluc is the actual rich boy, but we all know he'd rather kiss a Hilichurl than go on stage!"

... You hoped not.

"Well, I suppose it's worth a shot. Do you two want to come with me?"

"Sure!"

"I've got nothing better to do."

What a merry little band you've gotten, all parading your way down to the Knight's headquarters.

It didn't take long to find the office Kaeya was in, all three of you filtering in, all but surrounding his desk, and Kaeya looked up suspiciously, setting down the pen in hand.

"I'd ask if this was an intervention about my drinking, but none of you are able to say anything about it."

Venti, "Hey!"

Rosaria, "Fair."

You just huffed.

"No, this isn't an intervention... yet," You knew Diluc had been getting worried about Kaeya's drinking as of late, but this wasn't the time nor the place, "We have a little... performance going on for the Harpastum, and a little bird told me you know how to play a few instruments."

Kaeya's gaze turned to Venti, and he quirked a brow, before looking back at you, "Maybe... What's this performance?"

You bounced a little where you stood--this meant he might actually say yes! Maybe. Hopefully. Possibly.

"W-well, I've composed some music, it's... Not so much a ballad, but closer to how Barbara sings. It's meant to have a lead singer, a guitarist, a drummer," you nodded to Rosaria, "A pianist," and then to Venti, "And someone on the trumpet."

"So... where do you want me?"

You stared hoplessly.

"... Anywhere."

Venti lightly tapped your arm, speaking in a low voice, hiding his mouth from Kaeya with one flat hand, "Don't sound so desperate."

"I am desperate." You whispered back, less secretive about it.

"Hm... So, paint me a picture," he leaned back in his seat, "What's the whole setup?"

You, exasperatedly, explained it all.

There was supposed to be a lead singer--sadly, you couldn't take the role despite all your hard work, simply because your voice didn't work with what you needed--and behind, or perhaps, beside the lead singer was the accompanying band. The whole concert wasn't supposed to be terribly long, just to whet the appetite of the audience. If it went well, this could be a great sign for your future, and honestly, you just wanted to see the joy you could bring to others.

Kaeya didn't say anything, just humming, nodding every so often, as you spoke... until, he smiled.

"Alright. I'm in. I can take the drums--I always did like percussion... But I don't exactly have a set of my own."

"Oh!" You were beaming, "I have-I have a set, I have all the instruments at my place, and... and I can play the guitar, so..."

You lead the group, all the way back to your place, giving Kaeya a few minutes to adjust to it, and you had the guitar in your hands, and you all managed to, barely, play the first few seconds of it, before it got a little cluttered...

But if you all could already do a little together, with little to no practice...

Well, you only needed time and the lead singer, and that was the easiest of your troubles... after all, how could he say no to you.

...

"No."

Diluc had his arms folded over his chest, nearly glaring at you after you proposed the idea, and you were stunned for a second, expecting him to say yes immediately, you didn't really have a back up response in mind.

"No...?" You asked again, softly.

"I don't like being in... the metaphorical or literal spotlight. You know this."

You did, but...

"Diluc, you're perfect for the spot... And it won't be long, I promise! If it goes bad, you never have to do it again... I already have the other spots fulfilled..."

Diluc's gazed softened a little, and he looked away from you.

"You can't expect me to be your saving grace all the time," he, gently, scolded, "It's not fair for you to plan me into things without my consent."

You were... stunned.

He was right, but...

"... I know." You admitted, "I know, I know, it was selfish... but I really, really need you... Can you, just... Give me one chance? And just do this for me?"

Diluc's hands twitched.

"I'll consider it. I don't think I'd be as good of a match for the spot as you'd think." He admitted, genuinely.

"It's made for you... how about this--I get you the sheet music with the lyrics, and... you don't have to see the rest of the band yet. You can just... try it out on your own? See how it feels? If you truly hate it, then you don't have to."

There was a moment of silence, and Diluc was adjusting his gloves--a clear sign that he was, truly, thinking about it.

"Fine."

From anyone else, the word would have seemed stern, but it just sounded so soft coming from him.

"I have to go see someone... Just leave it on my desk and I'll go through it."

Oh, oh, you could only hope he'd end up showing...

Hope, hope, hope...

...

And you did hope, even if you were worried. More than once you'd come home, hearing him singing his lines oh-so beautifully, but as you tried to stealthily get closer, he always heard your footsteps, no matter how careful you were and went silent, denying he had ever once sung.

Did he really hate the idea so much?

... Didn't matter. It was time to practice, and Kaeya was setting everyone off, tapping his drumsticks together to set up a beat--

"One, two, three, four!"

And everyone was playing together--of course, it wasn't perfect, but it was good. They were managing to work together, and it sounded just as good, no, better than you had hoped... Of course it would sound better with all the parts together, instead of just each all on their own.

All it needed was a little more practice, and the lead singer.

You just desperately hoped that it was all going to end up alright.

The song ended, and Kaeya was half panting--he really did go all out with the drums, Venti even opted to sitting on the ground, and as far as you could tell, despite the fast paced music and the high demand for energy, she didn't seem to have broken a sweat.

"That's... oh boy, yeah, we're going to need practice." Kaeya said, half hunched over, "I forgot how much energy this took."

"We have a few weeks, still." You tried to console him, "Everyone should be ready by then."

"Even your mystery singer?" Rosaria asked.

"Yeah, you keep saying you have one, but... it's alright if you don't. I don't think I could take the part and drum, but I can probably find someone..."

"No, I do, I do!" You insisted.

You hoped.

Only time would tell.

...

You sat there, head in your hands...

It was today, and Diluc and Kaeya left weeks ago. Venti sat beside you, his hand on your back, and Rosaria paced back and forth.

"I'm going to kill them," Rosaria declared, "I'm going to kill both of them for ditching like this, for doing this to you. To all of us."

It seemed, maybe, she was all torn up about this... in her own way--Of course, this had bonded everyone together, but...

"I just..." You sighed, and Rosaria stopped in her tracks. You couldn't help the tears that came to your eyes, "I worked so hard... and Kaeya nor Diluc didn't even tell me where he went..."

"Oh... No, no, it's nothing bad, I promise." Venti reassured, "There was a threat... I-I can't really tell you everything, or else I'm dead, but he didn't just leave because of this, I promise."

"But Kaeya, as well?" You looked at Venti's face...

"He went with Diluc."

"How do you know?" Rosaria glared at him.

"W-Well, I helped them get a ride... It was quite a dire situation, you know!"

He was lying, but you didn't care. Maybe he was just lying to make it hurt a little bit less.

"I'm sure, once one comes, the other will be here too..."

"I can't reschedule this," you sighed, "Everyone was so excited... I can't just... give up..."

Venti hugged you close, letting you rest your head on his shoulder...

You were so caught up that you didn't even hear the footsteps approaching,

"About time, assholes."

"Hey, I didn't mean to disappear like that!"

A shadow came over you, and you lifted your head, seeing Diluc standing there--

"Are you-OOMF!"

You leapt at Diluc, almost causing him to fall back onto his ass, but he was able to hold you close, keeping you both from falling.

"Diluc... I was so scared, I was so worried..." You buried your face into his coat, "Don't leave like that ever again."

For a moment, he was silent, looking around as everyone was looking at him... But, gently, he pried you off of him,

"Hey," he said, softly, "We still have a concert to put on."

You stared at him, confused, before it all hit you at once, "Oh, oh my gods, you're right! Oh, we-we need to set up, no, no we need to practice... you two are... okay to play, right?"

Kaeya looked over at Diluc curiously, "Two...?"

"I meant, are you okay to play?" You detached from Diluc entirely, trying to focus on him.

"Honestly, I'm about ready to die, but one concert before I do isn't the end of the world." He joked, "Now... Let's get practicing. I'm rusty and I don't want to fuck this up."

"... I'll be getting things ready for you." Diluc said, feeling forgotten amongst the chaos.

"Right, and..." You pressed a kiss to Diluc's cheek, "Thank you."

It only took one more moment for you to focus back on the others, bringing them all to where they'd practice...

You wondered, was Diluc really intending on just showing up last minute?

Did he ever practice?

Well...

You were about to find out.

...

Everyone was set up. The instruments, everyone was dressed in suits--even Rosaria and yourself. Rosaria insisted she did not want to wear a dress, and you decided that since everyone else was wearing a suit, you'd wear one as well, appearing uniformly.

It was unbuttoned a little further than what was considered professional, but... hey, it looked good, even if Rosaria really looked like she was about to commit an accidental act of public indecency...

Everyone was there, except...

Him.

"Do you actually have that lead singer?" Rosaria asked, addressing the elephant in the room, "He hasn't been in a single one of our rehearsals..."

"Of course I do, he's just..." You hesitated, "He's not the most social. I promise, I promise... That he'll show."

There was a silence, you couldn't help but just sit there... Wondering in terror if, despite everything, Diluc wasn't going to show. You knew he was mad about you planning him into it without his consent, or even knowledge, but... Was he really going to punish you like this?

It was a bit cruel, but you couldn't blame him. You sat down, and sighed, head in your hands. Venti trotted over, sitting beside you and setting his hand on your back.

"It'll go great, singer or no singer." He reassured, "We've worked so hard, we can do it even if you dumb singer stands you up."

"Don't call him dumb," you scolded, lightly, "We... just... I don't know. I put him in a bad spot." You admitted, genuinely, seeing how Kaeya and Rosaria walked over, "He might be mad at me."

"Well, you're human." Kaeya reassured, "You mess up. If he can't accept that you'll mess up and cause problems sometimes, maybe he's a bit too rough on you."

"Yeah... and-I did apologize, I know I did wrong, but... We talked about it, and I'm working on not doing something so spontaneous again... But he also knows this means... a lot to me."

A moment of silence, and Kaeya got down on one knee, tilting your chin up to look at him.

"Hey sweetness," he said, softly, "It's alright. We're going to make him regret not showing, alright?"

Rosaria kneeled beside him, "We'll do it together, then I'll do it personally."

You sighed... then chuckled softly, pushing yourself to your feet.

"Thank you. With or without Mister No-Show, the show will go on." You declared... sure, it wasn't what was expected, but you can make it work..!

You hoped.

"Apologies... I'm not late, am I?"

You spun on your heel to look at who just walked in, Diluc... Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

And, as expected, he dressed perfectly.

A fine suit, somewhat similar to Kaeya's, however even if he had just as many buttons undone as Kaeya did over his chest, exposing just enough to make it interesting... it felt so much more... taunting when it was on him.

He even had a little bit of make-up on, some blush on his cheeks, eyeliner, some bright red lipstick that matched his hair, that was done up in a high ponytail...

"Rosaria, you owe me a drink." Kaeya said, and the woman just sighed.

"I'll just pay you."

You looked back at them, barely able to tear your eyes off of him.

"What?" You asked, "Did... Did you guys really make a bet over who the singer was?"

Kaeya just smiled, "Of course. Who would it be, rather than our lovely Master Diluc?" He gestured to Diluc, who didn't seem pleased in the slightest.

"Albedo." Rosaria said, flatly. "But it figures he'd scare us all."

You had a hard time imagining Albedo singing in a concert, but you could argue the same about Diluc.

"Well, it doesn't matter," He shot a glance at Rosaria, "I hope you're ready," Kaeya spun the drumsticks around in his hands, walking back over to the drum set, "Because we're about to start."

"Shouldn't we get a rehearsal with our singer, though?" Venti looked at the concealing curtain--it muffled their conversation, but it wouldn't muffle them all playing.

"We don't want them to hear a rehearsal, we want the first thing they hear to be our best." You declared. "Diluc ... You're ready for this, right?"

You were terrified he was going to mess this up--after all ... He may not have practiced at all!

"Of course," he held your hand, "I know how much this means to you. Now... let's get this started.

...

Lights blaring, the instruments deafening him from all angles, Diluc just counted the beats in his head, trying to keep in tune with it all... Oh, he felt like he could die right here.

No dying.

No giving up.

The show must go on.

Microphone in hand, he began--

"It's a wonderful life-"

He held his hand out to the crowd,

"Please could you kiss my name,"

For the single, not even full beat he had, he blew a kiss to the audience, hearing shouting in turn,

"When the music's oh-ver?"

With the following words, he gesturing to the lights above,

"Turn off the lights,"

They even managed to flicker,

"It was such a sweet time, could you pray for me, my friend?"

He held his hand to his chest,

"It's starting over tiime,

Take oh-ver the night, take over the blue time-

If you heard that screaming shout in your miiind!

Take oh-ver the shine, take oh-ver the shooting star,

All I was talking 'bout was musiiiiiic!"

Even if he could barely even hear, the crowd just exploded before him, the lights too bright for him to see it--

But he wasn't done yet.

The concert continued until it all finally met its end, Diluc panting desperately, getting those gulps of sweet air back into his lungs, looking briefly back at the others, seeing how they, themselves, were full of excitement and joy, even Venti was cheering as though he was part of the audience--not a single one of the entire band was left without being completely exhausted and winded, and Diluc felt that the desire to crash right onto the ground wasn't exclusive to him.

The cheering from the audience was slowly muffled as the curtain closed, signalling the end of this exhausting ordeal.

They all left their instruments on the stage, and walked backstage. Rosaria was the first to start guzzling water, and then she sat down with a huff. Venti just sat down on the floor, leaving the others to nearly trip over him.

Diluc walked backstage last, after everyone else had gotten in, and he was breathing heavily.

"Diluc," Kaeya said, "Holy fuck, I didn't know you could sing like that."

"I didn't either," Diluc admitted, genuine. You jumped at him, hugging him tight.

"Diluc... that was insane! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" You cheered, and he just huffed.

"I know this means a lot to you," he said, softly, and you backed off from the hug... something about him seemed off.

He was swaying a little from side to side, like he wasn't entirely there.

"I think," Diluc said, slowly, "I just need to lie down."

Kaeya was motionless for a second, then his eye shot open and he dove at Diluc, just barely catching him before he crashed to the ground, completely limp in Kaeya's arms,

"Diluc!" You were horrified, and Kaeya just unbent his knees from catching Diluc in an awkward position. "Kaeya... what-"

"He's fine," Kaeya said plainly, shifting to haul Diluc over his shoulder better, "Big liar, he didn't outgrow this."

He brought Diluc over to a table, and you pulled out the chair so Kaeya could have him sit, positioning him so his arms were folded over the table, and he gently set his head on his arms.

"Outgrow this?" You asked, eyeing Diluc cautiously.

"Mhm," Kaeya hummed, "I guess he never told you."

"No, I'm still... confused."

Kaeya folded his arms over his chest, "Well... When Diluc gets overwhelmed, he usually hates it, right?"

You nodded,

"Then he just curls up and tries to hide from whatever's messing with him. But--If he's having a good time? He gets overwhelmed and excited and... then he just passes out. That was the code--I think I just need to lie down, he said that as a kid right before he passed out."

"But," you argued, "I've never seen that."

Kaeya shrugged, "We thought he outgrew it, but I guess he just hasn't had a chance to get that excited in a long time."

"... Do you think," you said, worriedly, "He hated this?"

"No," Kaeya set his hand on Diluc's back, gently rubbing a small circle between his shoulderblades, "He loved it, trust me.

"... He'll be okay. Just give him some time to recover."

If you looked close enough, you could see him smiling.

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #diluc x reader #diluc #kaeya #venti #rosaria #bark writes #fluff #fluffy bark #anonymous #request

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headtothecoast · 4 years

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hogwarts!geraskier au

geralt is a hufflepuff and jaskier is a slytherin if you think otherwise be prepared to catch these hands. and maybe a lute.

geralt's appearance is very much meant to intimidate and jaskier's is meant to sooth. however, the sorting hat doesn't care about that. it cares about intent. jaskier intends to get famous. geralt intends to help people.

so picture this,

muggleborn jaskier who realizes he can literally enchant people with his music and wants to become famous. pureblood geralt whose father vesemir separated from their family when he was younger but takes in children that are unwanted in some way, be it birth/magic/social status.

the two meet on the train. geralt is sitting alone in a cabin and he's quiet and angry as a kid because his family didn't want him and his brothers are off somewhere having fun but he isn't sure he wants to go to hogwarts because he would much rather be at home with roach. he was scared he wouldn't be good at this whole magic thing, eskel had told him that's why his parents didn't want him so he may as well show up, not get put in a house, and take the train home back to roach. that's the plan anyways.

at least until he hears a commotion in the hallway of the train and sees two 3rd years holding a 1st year with wants pointed at him and wicked smiles on their faces and it doesn't matter that geralt's never cast a spell he's seen eskel and lambert practice movements and vesemir perform this one often enough around especially vindictive parents that geralt casts such a strong protego he sends the 3rd years flying and the small 1st year is staring at him with the largest eyes he's ever seen and a split lip.

geralt intends to just walk away because the 3rd years don't look like they're coming back and geralt honestly can't believe it worked except the other 1st year sticks his hand out and introduces himself as jaskier the famous musician! and thanks geralt for helping him and well no he didn't exactly have it under control and my goodness what year are you in because none of the older kids really wanted to help me the sods but you're much nicer than them aren't you and i don't really know how i keep getting myself into those sorts of messes and what magic did you just perform there? i've never done magic before! didn't know it existed until my parents got a letter and they were more surprised than me i guess by golly you are tall mr. oh my goodness i am so sorry i didn't ask your name, what is your name?

and geralt has a headache as well as a better understanding for why those 3rd years wanted this kid out of their cabin but also it's less lonely in his cabin now that jaskier is sitting next to him jabbering away and fidgeting a little because of the silence and geralt almost forgets he was asked a question but tells jaskier his name and is rewarded with more conversation and praise and if jaskier rubs his wrists where the other kids had grabbed him then geralt ignores it and definitely doesn't hand him a chocolate frog when the trolley comes around and smile a little when jaskier's eyes nearly burst from his head when the frog leaps right out of the box and into his hand. and then jaskier's sad because he doesn't want to kill the frog and geraaalt isn't that mean, to eat a real frog and geralt doesn't even get to weigh in that it's a fake one before the prefects walk around and remind everyone to change into their robes.

so geralt and jaskier are sitting again except jaskier keeps going on about his robes and then looks speculatively at geralt and asks if he knows anything about hogwarts. geralt says he has older brothers and sisters that have attended and have been sorted into every house. when jaskier asks him about the house system geralt tells him everything his brothers had told him, albeit haltingly. gryffindor is for the brave, slytherin for the clever, ravenclaw for the smart and hufflepuff for the loyal. jaskier asks how the hat determines which one you are and geralt says it reads your mind, talks to you sort of, asks you what you want in life. jaskier says he wants to be a musician and asks geralt what he wants. geralt says he wants roach. jaskier laughs and geralt prepares to be made fun of but jaskier says that's a wild name and asks what roach is and that it's so cool geralt has a horse or a foal because she's so little and goes off for a little bit before seeing the castle in the distance and sobering long enough to ask geralt if he thinks there's a bad house to get put in because he heard one of the older kids talking about slytherins.

geralt thinks for a moment because his brothers and sisters had been in every house. there were slytherins, gryffindors, ravenclaws, and hufflepuffs all over kaher morhen during the holidays, so many he was sure they could hold class on the estate and hogwarts need not open its doors. he knows that gryffindors are usually loud and boisterous, that ravenclaws are dedicated and single-minded, that slytherins always have a goal, and that hufflepuffs can always be found next to one of them. he tells jaskier that none of the houses are bad, that each one is different and that whichever one jaskier gets put in would be lucky to have him. slytherin just means you know what you want and you're determined more than anything to do it.

and suddenly geralt has his arms full of jaskier who is laughing and thanking him and telling him that he hopes they're in the same house because who wouldn't want to be in the same house as their very best friend.

geralt's eyes go wide because except for his siblings, who don't count, he hasn't ever had a friend. and maybe from the look on jaskier's face of wide eyes and an unsure smile he thinks neither has he. so geralt just nods and says even if they're not in the same house, siblings get put in different places all the time so it's not like they wouldn't see each other.

and suddenly they're standing in a hall with long tables and high ceilings and a short stool in the middle of stone floors while the headmistress explains some updates that geralt and jaskier are too nervous to hear but then the sorting hat sings a song about unity and trust and geralt elbows jaskier as if to say i told you so and suddenly he's sitting on the stool and talking to a hat.

another rivia. how interesting. you remind me of your father. geralt sits up straighter at that. the one thing vesemir had always refused to tell them was his own hogwarts house. he didn't want to admit to favorites. yes i can see that you would like that, or that you think you would like to be like your adoptive father. interesting. and yet the boy you met on the train earlier - jaskier, now there's a talkative kid if you've ever met one. and geralt remains mostly silent while the hat deliberates, he doesn't know if he gets to say anything or weigh in on the decision. of course you get a say. what house do you prefer? and geralt draws a blank. he doesn't know. supposes he doesn't care but that's not right he does care he just, never saw himself getting this far really. expected he'd be back home with roach by now and not actually having to pick a house. so geralt asks the hat which one is your favorite and the hat is surprised. geralt thinks its laughing on his head and then so much like vesemir before the hat shouts HUFFLEPUFF

and there's clapping when he steps down from the stool and he goes to sit at the table except jaskier hugs him and is smiling and geralt smiles back and says good luck and then he's sitting by kids dressed in yellow and waiting for his friend to sit beneath a hat.

ah. a muggleborn. jaskier. geralt's friend. you have an interesting mind. though i'm sure you know that. surprised you aren't talking my flaps off right now actually given how much i saw you talk in geralt's head. ah well. let's see. you want to be a musician correct? at the question jaskier startles and peeps a yes, because the hat didn't sound like it was saying things outloud but just in his head and it was a strange feeling and jaskier wanted to ask geralt what the hat said to him except the hat asked him something else which he didn't quite catch but he heard the laughter and then - yes your thoughts are so fast it's hard to keep pace, and i can read minds. well, given their speed and determination i guess we'll go with SLYTHERIN - the hat shouts and then jaskier is being wisked off to a sea of green.

and when the headmistress looks out over the tables and finishes her welcoming speech she claps her hands and says alright now off with you, arranged seating is only for the sorting ceremony, sit where you like

and geralt barely gets out an oomf before jaskier slams into him talking a mile a minute and geralt just smiles to himself and listens.

*sorry, these are always longer than i mean them to be. they’re too long to feel like a headcannon and too short to be considered a fic.

**not sure how/when to add yennifer sorry, maybe she’s a year above them and no one can figure out which house she’s in since she stole an outfit of each color because i wouldn’t put it past her

#geralt of rivia #geralt x jaskier #jaskier #geraskier #hogwarts!geraskier #slytherin!jaskier #hufflepuff!geralt #the witcher #hogwarts au #vesemir #eskel #lambert

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stray-tori · 2 years

Text

Arcane S1 | live comments compilation

I watched Arcane, and spammed a discord channel so here’s all my reactions.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Finally started arcane and the slow motion beating up makes me laugh more than anything sdyddssxf

Idk if sths wrong with me but it kinda loses the inherent oomf and panic to it, for me.

i felt like it was trying to show intimidating it was for Powder (don't know her actual name yet. unless that is her actual name wheeze) to watch but HHH idk i just have my intuition shdhshsh.

Also holy hell Vi pls put those two strands of hair sticking to your cheek away they and their small constant shadow irritate me so much

these two hairs just stick there for their life help

I am wrecking my tiny brain about the technique used for this though. I'm guessing a mix between 3d models or at least 2d mapped onto it and 2d puppeting/rigging

"were gonna be fine right?" Yup totally - until the blue stone thingies chilling in the ocean explode on y'all.

Sir could you decide between "it's good that it's gone" and "you shouldn't come back from a job empty handed" What a complete 180 lmao

NOOO NOT THE OVERHEARING ONE PART OF THE CONVO AND MISUNDERSTANDING. MISSCOMMUNICATION HOW MUCH I HATE YOU

also holy hell the enforcer lady's voice

Oh boy i sure know who has another piece of evidence and won't show it to Vi and therefore won't know it's good that it's gone bc she just MISUNDERSTOOD *Combusts*

WAIT NO WERE GOOD

Thank god I mean no probably not this will likely go horribly but they talked and she showed the stones THE FUCK whomst is this guy and why does he have berserk-go-potions

WHY DO YOU HAVE THE STONES ON YOU NOOO

Well hello pretty rich lady [Mel]

Whoa i rly love the comp of them searching the bar cellar. We don't know where the kids are hiding and each look he takes is framed from inside the place. Big suspense. Love it

So many victors, no victorias Also oh no

= EP 3 =

Nooo vandor :(( enforcer lady is right everyone wants to have war pls don't go sjsjsjsj nvm take him away holy fuck what is happening

NOO THEYRE DOING THE SLOW MOTION THING AGAIN ADAESRSFE this is serious brain goddamn it dxfsfeg

Whoa the shot of Victor writing on the board from the side with him starting a line close to the camera

"... Crack it up..." shdhsjsj I like victor. "wait a minute this isn't my bedroom" VICTOR ILU

[ Tori found a fave ]

ANOTHER VICTOR HELP I mean there's only 2 but it's funny that it happened twice

I also rly like the council lady whose name i couldnt understand yet shshdh Pretty. And i like the way she talks idk

also Nooo enforcer lady :( rip to her voice

Holy hell that violent crying was so good. Like... Intense and upsetting but just... Idk so real? I don't remember seeing something like that from someone in animated media before... esp a main character. Or maybe I'm blanking on it

Eyyy they utilized slow.motion in a way that didn't make me laugh shdhsh

the monster drink is actually terrifying holy hell. He also seemed kinda out of it when he was given it.... Poor guy.

Also oh NOOO WHY DID SHE THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA aaaaaaa

Also thank god for putting Vi’s hair down on the side No more infuriating cheek hairs. I won

Oh shshdh Silco for dad? I hope that's his name i think so sjdhdj Yeah this is no bueno.

It's also kinda the whole miscommunication concept again. Wanted to go back for her but Mr. Enforcer was like Nope. But i mean i guess that's good bc they probably would have died but oh no the emotional baggage

I'm just kinda like. Laying here trying to process all that...

= EP 4 =

Dang what a glow up tho

Victor... Why you panicking about the decade... Do you not have the time? My tpn-taught alarm bells are going off.

I actually cried only once yet and it was after Benzos death when Vi hugged the white haired kid.

Say about Silco what you want but he asked for both sides of the situation. I respect that.

NO I HATE BEING RIGHT. VICTOR :((( HE COUGHING. Aaaa TvT

Also holy hell jinx needs help The visuals are so cool though

excuse me where’s my man's victor opinion on all the council stuff happening >:(

ENFORCER LADY WOOO

Excuse me Jason (jup i thought “jayce” (jas) was a nickname for Jason, kill me now) and the council lady?? I don’t feel like he had that chemistry with her so far?? and i dont think it’s that I don’t notice because I think he has good "chemistry” (platonic) with blue hair. And I'd argue victor too, though that’s moreso my fond-ness of their setup and meta-dynamic I guess. ... And they were (science) partners :((( Plus the angst of dying :( sad

OH EXCUSE ME YOU ARE NOT DOING THE CUTS BETWEEN THOSE TWO THINGS OH I HATE THIS I LOVE IT BUT :(((

thank good he didn't fully die though i would have thrown my phone out the window

I will say as epic as this is i do think it's quite jarring to realize that of all the previous main cast, Milo and Claggor died (and Vandor and Benzo). Notice something? No hot girls. Milo and Claggor both had fun non-made-to-be-hot designs, one chubby and the other just... Like he's a nice design and I liked him but he ain't the prettiest guy, just saying. And then they died leaving a cast of majorly super attractive girls and while i awooga at that i also just. Man. Why? Everyone is just seemingly made to be attractive if they're part of the main cast. I just think it sucks that two of the most stand out designs just got killed off. It almost feels intentional or like "well they'll die anyway so we can make them not conventually pretty". Idk, not a fan of that...

= EP 6 =

Smol Victor!!

Hold up that's the guy that was with Silco isn't it shdhsjsj oh noo

"She's dying" Well victor can relate to that WHEEZE

(victor talking to the smol council member about legacy) GREAT IM CRYING.

Has my dip into consuming gay Media tipped my scale of het romances bc boi this feels so artificial to me shshshs Like i love them both individually but somehow with them together I'm just like *squints*

[added later:]

I just don’t think it came very naturally, to me. and on top of that it feels very politically motivated. The one genuine moment was when he told her Victor was dying, to me. And with them going into Caitlyn being into girls and the somewhat clear connection between Caitlyn and Vi, but I don’t think the same has held true for a male counterpart? I ackknowledge that there aren’t a lot of men in the main cast, and I don’t want to say that non-het men have to be included; but I guess I just felt that there was a quite good setup for a deeper connection to be explored with Victor and Jayce, and instead both of them got a female love interest (though I didn’t think Victor was interested in her, but still she existed). Now, I know that I’m just seeing things, and I don’t particularly wish for this relationship to have the sort of energy I was hoping it could, but I guess to me what happened there was as if Vi and Caitlyn got their first trip together and then they’d both gotten someone else to be paired off with.

...

Mang i rly love Jayces talk about how he can't do anything now. I'm not sure if i even see them romantically i just rly like the whole setup and dynamic of it... I have this thing where i kind of want to see a "ship" just as... Being each other's special person..not necessarily romantic/sexual but just... Idk. Priority over others,i guess? It's hard to explain, it's kinda like TPN trio for me ig? Tho that leans into romantic sometimes but i guess that sort of weird middle ground between the two.

WAIT THATS HER PAINTING?? I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE BG HOLY HELL LADY BIG TALENT.

okay i know I'm weird about seeing gay things but between last eps cuts between deathTM and the deedTM and now transitioning from her body centered to his? Idk man sus. There's definitely intent to inherently associate Victor with their blooming romance. And i think it's more meant to contrast that he is all alone BUT SHJSSJ.

Hmm. "It's not what you think. She's with an enforcer" i wonder if she rly does think that or just says it like that to mess with Jinx. Because i could see both shsusjsjs. But i felt Vi was pretty obvious in showing she wanted to get her back.

SILCO DONT YOU DARE KILL THE LITTLE GIRL IS2G

Victor is so awkward help i love him when science partner leaves :( sad life.

OOH ITS THE SCAMMED DUDE. HI FRIEN

THE HUG :((( i thought she wasn't real bc they weren't showing her wound sjshs.... Man jinx... Please let her explain... Aww well I'm glad that she didn't want her to be taken away at least.

= EP 7 =

Wait is this the white haired kid-

IT IS. IM SLOW

Victor no pls i can't take it if they make him a low-key antagonist or he dies as a deformed creature please :((

"love [and legacy] are the sacrifices we make for progress" "Jayce will understand" HELLO?? OH MY HEART-

VICTOR NOO

Jayce go back to the lab pls

oh my god did jinx just explode sth on herself acfdgfd- if so how did she survive that

Also another cool instance of slow motion

= EP 8 = Silco seems to genuinely care for Jinx it's kinda endearing.

And also i love how now the same thing is happening to Silco. People arent satisfied with how he does things, tho to be fair for different reasons than Vandor - but i think it's interesting how the children thing kinda ties them together. I wonder if Silco will have a moment of empathy or like giving a goal up or sth because of how he grew attached to Jinx...

LMAO IS THAT A HOWL REFERENCE

ECHO'S (im writing every name based on how i hear it forgive me, i can’t hear) ALIVE WOOO

EY VICTORS THING WORKED. POG. UH. Victor why are you doing more- stop there, oh god

also Jinx' braids are cool but holy hell do they look inconvenient

ah yes, let the random BG character who of course likes him find victor doing this thank you

WAIT NO I DIDNT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO HER HOLY HELL welp i am in shock.

oh no caitlyn

= EP 9 = wait last episode oh no

hmm i understand that Vi is hardened but I'm quite shocked how unphased she is by the death. despite her own losses... idk oh okay nvm she did seem upset there

tough stuff... im generally always agreeing with "war bad" but in things like these, is there a really a peaceful way to deal with it? give him everything he wants? I mean he just wants to make it better... but it could always backfire later, shady businesses being made, all that... it’s difficult.

try to kill the arcane, arcane will push back

Him putting the ashes and being like “I don’t even know where you’d like it” :((( that is... so sad. poor victor. and he'S STILL DYING ON TOP OF EVERYTHING GODDAMN IT

NO THE PARALLEL SHUT UP. MUTUAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HELLO??? sobs. falls onto the ground.

LIKE I LOVE MEL BUT CAN SHE GIVE ME THIS??? NO SHE CAN’T :/

the way Jayce agreed about the weapon but he actually meant the hex core... the hex core is far more dangerous than the weapon... idk why it obliterated her (bc no runes on her?) but if that gets weaponized holy fuck

oh man look who's getting the same speech Vandor got. i guess there's no appeasing anyone ever ahh

Jinx protecc. this deal would benefit him too, right? but he wont do it bc of Jinx oh man

(council freaking out) NO NOT THE UNINTENTIONALLY COMEDIC SLOW MOTION AGAIN HELPPPPP HAHAHA

listen im not a fan of silco either Jinx, but he didnt rly wanna betray you PLEASE

"we're missing someone" walks up with a plate NO YOU DID NOT. JINX IS2G

HOLY HELL YOU GAVE ME A HEARTATTACK

im :((( can just every other part of silco die and we can keep the dad part? I’m aware he’s not great and not handling her mental state well but they could grow together idk sdhjsd-

is she gonna shoot herself i live in fear.

well thats worse. but i mean the peace wouldnt have happened anyway bc Silco wouldnt have given them Jinx, oh man

... i uh

#arcane #arcane reaction #arcane comments #tori comments #tori has opinions #tori talks #long post

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transbibennyweir · 3 years

Note

dialoge 18 with evil!benny?

“Do you trust me?” / “No.” / “You’re smarter than you look.”

Despite never mentioning it to anyone, Ethan had become a little on edge about another attack of evil doppelgangers. Maybe it was a long shot of it happening again, but you never be too careful in a town like this. It had been more than comforting when Benny emailed him a spell that would come in use just in case something went wrong again and evil Benny popped up one way or another.

But, Ethan knew that he would look at his friend’s face and think he could do no wrong. Maybe that’s why he didn’t notice the shift in Benny’s behavior immediately.

“Dude, this stone is our ticket to never having to go to class again!” Benny exclaimed excitedly. He held up a shiny gem that was roughly smaller than the size of his palm, it was an inky black with speckles of red. It didn’t look very promising but Ethan would try anything once.

“And exactly how is it going to do that?”

“Simple, my dear friend.” Benny started with mock seriousness. “A drop of blood and it’ll create an exact double of you. I do a little spell here and there and in no time they’ll be more than happy to take our place in Mr. Hikers fourth period Algebra class.” Benny added in quite a few hand gestures for showmanship, ending with an arm around Ethan’s shoulders.

Ethan stared at him slack jawed, entirely bewildered that Benny could even think something like this would be a good idea.

“What? Dude, no! No way. We are not doing this again!” Ethan shrugged off the arm around him to stand up and paced around his bedroom, listing every reason why they should totally not make copies of themselves. “Last time, your clone was evil and then was that time Stern pretended to be you and he was evil. Not a good track record with doubles. Plus, there’s no telling if they’ll actually listen and no way of knowing if you’ll mess up and do the spell wrong.”

“And there’s no way of telling if I can do it right either unless we try it out. Come on, E.” Benny pleaded. “You hate that class! And imagine what we could do with all that powe-err free time, I mean! Think of the amount of video games we could play!” It wasn’t a very convincing argument and Ethan wasn’t going to budge on it.

“No, Ben. There’s no way I’m doing that.” Ethan folded his arms. “Just go to class like everyone else. Not everything needs a short cut.”

“Ugh, that’s where you’re wrong, dude. Everything's better with short cuts.” Benny groaned before grabbing Ethan’s arm and pulled him back onto the bed with a small ‘oomf’ as he laid half on top of Benny. He felt a little embarrassed by the fact he was nearly sitting on his friend’s lap, arms wrapped around his lower stomach. Ethan looked up and caught the way Benny tried to hide a soft smile. A small part of him hoped one of them would lean in and….

“It’s a drop of blood. It’s not like you’re going to miss it. Won’t even hurt.”

Right. Of course, well that sure took him out of the moment. Still, Ethan’s face was warm, his nose and cheeks slightly pink. Benny was almost the same. They seem to try to ignore it.

“Why can’t you just try it on yourself first?” Ethan sat up, frankly getting fed up with the topic. He wasn’t going to change his mind. Benny stayed silent for a moment longer than he should have, seemingly thinking of a good enough answer. “Well?”

“It’s… Easier to try out a new spell on someone else. I don’t want to get my intentions confused and I can,” Benny gulped not wanting to finish and looked away, red faced. “I can focus on you a lot easier.”

“Real cute, Benny. But I’m still not going to do it.” Ethan felt a twist in his stomach and went to stand back up, but got pulled right back down when Benny gripped his wrist. “Come on, B. Let go.” He tugged but the hold on his wrist seemed to tighten, it hurt badly and Ethan winced from the pressure.

“Why can’t we at least try?”

“Why are you pushing so hard for this?” Ethan shot back, he yanked his hand away from the aggressive hold nearly falling over from the sudden force. He searched Benny’s face, confused. Benny was acting off but why. There wasn’t immediately any sign but he knew something had to be wrong. “What’s up with you today?”

“Wha- Nothing. Dude, I just think this would be a total waste to not try it out. I promise it’ll be fine.” Benny stood up, his voice sounded too forceful. Ethan’s eyes darted around, a quick glance to the side of Benny’s head gave Ethan the answer he was looking for. A toothpick placed behind his ear caught his eye. Of course, Benny was still Benny no matter how evil and that meant he’d be too forgetful to bother with fixing small details, but lucky for Ethan it was a dead give away. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Ethan stepped back slightly, slowly and carefully trying to grab his phone from his back pocket without Benny noticing. “Okay, Ben. I believe you mean that. I just think…. It’s still a bad idea.” He tried to buy himself time to get the email with the spell sound file in it, working it behind his back. Once again he was thankful the real Benny had a plan for this.

Last time Evil Benny never really tried to hurt him, if anything he wanted Ethan to join him out of his own free will before going to make an evil copy after being rejected. Maybe he was trying to make another copy here. At least it was good to know Benny was still Benny and he would never try to hurt Ethan out right.

“I know what I’m doing.” He said a little desperate now.

Almost got it. “Okay. If I do this you’ll chill out?” Just play along a little longer.

“Yes-yeah.” He cleared his throat. “So, do you trust me?” Ben asked with a wide grin, the jet black gem in hand ready to use. There was a moment of pause, his heart pounding hard in his chest as he tried to hurriedly find what he was looking for secretly. Although if he didn’t find it in the next second he would be caught. Come on, come on, com-

“No.” Ethan answered once he thought he had the sound file he needed.

Benny’s face went dark but his grin stayed in place, becoming unsettling. “You’re smarter than you look.”

Benny lunged at Ethan to tackle him to the ground, a spell on the edge of being casted at the same time. Before he could get any words in Ethan faced the phone towards the evil double, the voice recording of the spell going off and shooting a white blast of light that knocked Evil Benny off his feet, he fell to the ground with a groan.

“And you’re not as smart as you think.” Ethan said coolly. A second passed and he began to freak out a little. “Wait. Shit. If he’s here then where’s the real Benny?”

Quickly he went over to check on Evil Benny on the floor, the spell had knocked him out cold, but for how long? If he couldn’t find the real Benny soon then it’s going be a way bigger problem. Without a second thought Ethan ran out the room and called Benny on the phone only to get hit by a voicemail, he made his way to Benny’s house next door.

Ethan wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not that the front door was still slightly open, Grandma Weir was gone for the weekend, but there wasn’t any sign of Benny.

“Ben? Benny!” He called out a few times with no answer. The seer was starting to grow anxious with worry. He ran through the house, the bedroom was a mess more than usual but still no Benny. “Benny! Ben-”

‘Bang!’ Bang!’

A banging sound came from under the living room rug. “Benny?” Ethan walked slowly towards the noise, unsure if his friend was trapped there or if it was some kind of creature locked away for good reason. The sound continued louder and quicker, Ethan was going to have to take his chances on this one and pulled the rug off the floor to reveal a trap door.

Of course, a weird old house like this one would have a trap door. He pried it open, the weight of the wood heavier than any amount he tried to lift before, granted that wasn’t much, but he was still able to flip it open and almost immediately Benny came hurrying out.

In his rushed attempt to get out, Benny fell on top of Ethan, limbs getting mangled together as they fell backwards onto the hardwood floor. Ethan groaned in pain, Benny’s arm on either side of his face to keep any more weight from squishing him.

“Ethan!” Benny hugged his friend, nearly giving him whiplash. “I’m really sorry. I know it was a dumb idea and I should’ve told you everything myself and I totally get if you’re mad at me but,” Benny pulled away from the hug. “How did you defeat evil me?”

“I didn’t,” Ethan replied dizzy and flushed. “He’s knocked out in my room from that spell you gave me.”

“Oh. Right… okay that’s an easy fix. Uh, he didn’t tell you anything weird?” Benny asked, his cheeks growing pink. Ethan didn’t totally understand what he meant by it or why he seemed so embarrassed but shook his head no. “Okay. Good.”

“Why? What did you want to tell me?”

“Nothing important. It can wait until after I fix this mess.” Benny stood up and helped Ethan to his feet. “And I do know how to fix this. Trust me, I learned from last time.”

Ethan smiled at him. “Yeah, Benny. I trust you.”

#i didnt know if you wanted bethan but uhh here it is #these lines are fun #hard to fit into a short fic but that was part of the fun to!!#mbav #my babysitters a vampire #benny weir #evil benny #Ethan Morgan #Bethan #ficlet #filled prompt

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cloudykaii · 4 years

Text

Care

pairing: bts x eighth member!reader [platonic]

summary: omg i just real some of your eight member scenarios and eveerything was so good!! i wasnt into eight member things before but now.. im super in! 😭 can you do a scenario about compilation of the members little caring act on stage, backstage, when theres camera or not, something like that to the eight members?? if you make it then i would be so delighted. than you !!

warnings: none, it’s just really fluff :( some of it might not make sense, but i really love this

A lot of things could be said about your brothers. Each and every one of them had their moments and mistakes, just like you did. Some people would call them rude, or selfish amongst other things, but the one thing they could never say, is that they didn’t care about you. ARMY pointed it out all the time; they even had compilations of moments the eight of you cared for each other, but your favorite were the ones titled things like: “six minutes of proof that bts’ world revolves around y/n.”

Jin jumped as your head fell against his bicep. You were at an afterparty for an awards show the eight of you had been asked to present at. The music wasn’t too loud- you used to joke that it was because everyone knew rich people liked to brag. You had no idea where the rest of your brothers were but you and Jin had been perched on the oddly comfortable sofa as he socialized. He could feel your hairpins digging into his shoulder.

“Y/N, are you okay?” You didn’t answer and he moved slightly so that he could reach across and tap your arm, but you moved with him. He felt your even breathing and sighed. You still had around two hours left before they could leave.

One of the girls he had been talking to chuckled as you gave a tiny shiver in your sleep. “She must be tired.”

He smiled at her before slipping off his blazer to cover you with it. “She works hard, sometimes I think she works harder than the rest of us,” he chuckled, pulling you closer so that he could make sure she was comfortable.

No one knows how a fan account had that video trending on twitter under the hashtag #BabyY/N three days later.

✦✧✦✧

One bad thing about being the only girl in an idol group, is that sometimes you get the least amount of consideration. Not because they didn’t respect you or anything like that, it’s just that after styling for seven boys, you think sometimes the staff tends to forget you are not a guy, or maybe they had never seen a girl in real life.

Or at least that’s what the short dress you were wearing had you feeling like. It’s not like it wasn’t pretty, a black skirt and connected by a thin, white lacy strip that wrapped around your abdomen. It was gorgeous, and the silky ribbon of a choker around your neck made it look even better, but it was just.. so short.

You powered through like a trooper, despite the fear in the back of your mind that you were flashing the entire audience while you danced. The minute the song stopped and everyone moved to get a drink of water, Yoongi was taking his jacket off and tying it around your waist.

Not speaking into the mic, you let him do as he wanted but asked, “Are you even allowed to do that? Won’t the stylist say something about how you ruined her outfit?”

Tightening the knot of material, he rolled his eyes. “Honestly, I don’t give a fuck what the stylist has to say right now. Not only is your outfit not okay, but it’s obviously making you uncomfortable. You can wear this until the next outfit change.”

“Thank you,” you hugged him briefly, glad he had your back.

✦✧✦✧

There was a time where you guys were recording a live during a long break while at practice. Fans talked about it for ages afterwards. Taehyung sat against one of the mirrors, holding his phone, while Jimin was in the picture beside him.

“Basically, that’s it. We haven’t really-”

“Y/N, stop running around, you’re going to hurt yourself!” Jimin’s voice cut in, making the other man look over.

“What is she doing?”

Jimin huffed, “I have no idea, but she’s going to- Y/N, at least t- no actually come here, I’ll do it for you.”

And when you bounced into the view of the camera, only for all the fans to see Jimin pulling your foot to him so he could tie your shoe. “Be careful this time, even if you’re playing tag.”

✦✧✦✧

Jeongguk laughed at the camera, the comments being ridiculous. He was doing a live, answering questions about the embarrassing moments he chose to talk about. “No, it was funny! He fell, but then he tried to play it off by doing pushups, but he feel while trying to do that, so-”

He heard the door open in the background, and the camera saw him turn to the side just before he let out an “oomf.” The side profile of your face was visible to the viewers as you moved to curl against him on the bed. You rubbed your eyes sleepily, and he frowned. “It’s really late, you’re supposed to be asleep.”

You mumbled, “I was, but then I got scared and woke up. I didn’t want to be alone.” He pouted at that. You tended to have nightmares whenever you were stressed, and since he was the one who found out about them first, he was usually the person you ran to.

“Do you wanna sleep in here?” He asked softly. Everyone tuned in could hear everything, but your brother barely remembered that he was even recording as he fussed over you. You nodded, already drifting off on his shoulder. He smiled down at you before turning back to the camera. He read the many comments of everyone cooing over you. “Yeah, she’s alright. I’ll tell her to tell you guys herself tomorrow. Anyways..”

✦✧✦✧

Of course, there were incidents that were more serious.

The sun was setting, which made the perfect picture for the shoot you guys were about to do. The rooftop everyone was on was beautiful and stone, the kind of background you saw in movies. The sun seemed to glitter, and the wind made everything sway until the lake’s seemingly glittering waves caught your eye. “Whoa,” you gasped, moving closer to get a look.

“Y/N-”

You waved off Taehyung’s warning. “I’ll be careful! I just want to get a closer look!” You walked back over to the edge, admiring the way the sun sparkled on the water. You subconsciously leaned closer, moving your body a little too far against the thin railing, but before you could topple over, a hand grabbed the back of your jacket with a tight grip, yanking you back until you were a good distance away from the railing.

Your back hit someone else’s and you recognized Taehyung as you turned to see him. He stared down at you. “I said be careful!”

“I’m sorry,” you said a little shakily. Taehyung sighed before pulling you back into a hug. “Having a little sister is so hard, you’re not leaving my sight for the rest of the day.”

✦✧✦✧

Another moment fans loved to talk about actually happened at a fansign. You smiled brightly as the next fan came up to you, following the line. “Hello!” you greeted happily.

Something about this girl threw you off though, and the look in her eyes had you unintentionally leaning away from her. You couldn’t decipher it, but when nothing happened, you told yourself you were just overthinking it. She was probably just excited to meet what could have been her favorite artist group, right?

You stood by Hoseok as the fansign ended, moving to follow him out of then venue. He chuckled as he looked at you. “You have that look.”

You wrinkled your nose. “What look?”

“The one that says you’re hungry,” he teased, poking you in the stomach, making you whine. “Well, maybe-”

“Y/N!” You turned around, cutting yourself off mid sentence, to see the fan from earlier. “I found you.” Her smile was a little too bright as she reached for you, only for Hoseok to push you behind him as you stuttered out, “I’m sorry, we really have to go.”

You moved to attempt to leave after that, but her demeanor quickly changed. Her face changed from too happy and delighted, to dark and angry. Her eyes narrowed, and she reached for you more aggressively this time. “Don’t be son ungrateful,” she squeezed your wrist painfully and you cried out as security finally made their way over.

Hoseok immediately pulled you to him, looking at the rapidly forming bruise on your wrist. Even though at the moment, it was just a large red mark, his face still tightened. “This never should have happened,” he cursed when he noticed tears in your eyes.

He pulled you into a hug as he waited for the rest of your brothers to show up. “It won’t happen again,” he promised you.

✦✧✦✧

The moment that was probably the most talked about, was when a talk show host felt the need to ask you how it felt. Namjoon shared a glance with you.

“Excuse me?” you asked timidly, straightening up.

The interviewer turned to you. “Oh, you speak English! I was just asking how it felt to be so similar to a child all the time.” The man’s tone of voice didn’t even change, but the idea that he had expected Namjoon to translate this to you, and now casually asked you as if there was nothing wrong with the question. “You know, they’re always taking care of you, it makes it seem like you can’t do anything by yourself. Does it ever irritate you?”

You tried laughing it off, the chuckle leaving your lips as you ticked a strand of hair behind your ear awkwardly. “Not really. They’re not doing anything to be condescending, and I know that.”

“Do you feel like that is because you need their help?”

“That’s enough,” Namjoon cut in, his jaw clenched as he slid forward a little in his seat as if to help get his point across. “Y/N is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. We pitch in to check on her because we love and care about her, and she does the same for us. She is not a child but a grown woman who we love and care about enough to make sure she’s okay and gets the nice treatment she deserves. With all due respect, if you insult our sister again, we will be forced to cut this short.”

You looked over to him, offering a silent thank you as the interviewer coughed, trying to recover. The bad news was that this interview was live, so he really couldn’t do anything but sit there and realized he had just embarrassed himself.

Honestly, what else is there to say? You loved and cared about your brothers, and they loved and cherished you.

#aimee grace writes #bts #bts eighth member #'bts 8th member #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #kim namjoon #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jeongguk #bts imagine #bts x reader

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scurvgirl · 4 years

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Live

Holy moly I actually wrote something. And while in grad school no less.

Zevran/Male Surana; my boy’s name is Faleris (Fal)

Synopsis: A mage's phylactery is a leash, and they are done with leashes. All they ever wanted was to live, free of the Crows and of the Circle. Fal freed Zevran from the Crows, and it's time for Zevran to return the favor.

Warnings for: Blood, self-harm (for blood magic purposes), near death experiences, implied sexual content

This is also available on AO3 under the same title.

Please remember that reblogs and comments make a content creator’s world and will prompt content you like!

__________

It did not escape his notice that of all the buildings to sustain damage during the battle, Denerim’s Chantry was one of the least hit. Not to say it wasn’t damaged, but it wasn’t rubble. There was a smudged but clear ring of darker dirt surrounding the abbey, marking the place where so many people decided they would die fighting to protect the Chantry. He could contemplate the sadness of the loss of life, but now was not the time. Rather, it was fortunate for him and his purposes this night.

Zevran slipped into the Chantry, quick and unnoticed, the shadows concealing him like a familiar coat. His steps made no noise, his eyes were quick, his decisions quicker. Not so long ago, he would have been reveling in this, the knowledge he was in a place he wasn’t supposed to be, about to do something many did not want to happen, but also something some did want. So much had changed in a short amount of time. He wasn’t that man anymore, and thank the Maker for that.

“The elvhen word for love is vhenan.” Fal whispered, gently running his finger down Zevran’s arm.

“A pretty word,” Zevran murmured sleepily.

“I think...I think my father was Dalish, because he would say that sometimes. I remember him saying my name and that. Vhenan.”

“Amor…”

“And this word, I want it for us. I want it for you...vhenan.”

The corridor was lit with the bare minimum number of candles, casting large shadows that made this easy. None of this was easy though.

The door he wanted was located in the Revered Mother’s quarters. Zevran happened to know she was currently occupied at the palace, praying over the brave souls who risked their lives during the battle. The Chantry had unfortunately been too small to house all of them, and the newly minted King had graciously allowed the use of the palace to serve as an infirmary.

Zevran opened the door with the key he had swiped from the Mother earlier in the day. The door lead to a dark downward sloping staircase that Zevran descended swiftly. There were no sounds of activity, but there was another barrier he would need to pass in order to reach his destination.

His ears pricked and he stopped, listening carefully.

“I love your ears,” Fal purred, nibbling at the sensitive lobe.

Metal scraped against stone - Templar. A lone one given the limited sounds and the fact that he knew that the Templars were largely called to assist in other areas of the city that had sustained significant magical damage.

Relying on his hearing and hands, Zevran finished descending the stairs. The landing was small and the templar stood guard at a wide, metal door. There wasn’t much room to maneuver, but Zevran was nothing if not skilled. Leveraging all his quickness, Zevran rounded the edge of the room, maintaining himself in the templar’s blindspot. He dropped to the floor behind the templar, struck out with his legs, knocking the guard to the ground.

“Oomf!” Zevran grabbed hold of the helmet and slammed it into the ground once, twice, until he was sufficiently knocked unconscious. There. He’ll wake up with a nasty headache and bump on his head, but he wouldn’t be dead unlike many of his fellows.

Zevran picked up the key loop from the templar’s belt and went to the task of opening the door. There was a total of four keys to open the damned thing, but he was determined.

“You’re quite talented, you know,” Fal said, fully clothed in broad daylight, watching Zevran sharpen his knives.

Zevran quirked a brow, “I am happy to show you my talents.”

Fal rolled his eyes, “Outside of lovemaking and death. I mean, your mind, you’re clever.”

The door swung open and there he was, standing inside a vault full of blood, but he only wanted to find one.

“I wish I wasn’t a mage sometimes,” Fal confessed, his body turned away from Zevran’s.

“Why? Your magic is beautiful, and quite enjoyable.”

“It’s a leash. No matter how good I am, how much I try, they’ll always hunt me down if they so much as think I’ve stepped out of line. An elven mage? We’re hunted.”

Zevran turned over and wrapped his arms around Faleris, holding him tightly, angry at a world that seemed determined to villainize his lover. “I won’t let that happen.”

There were thousands of vials, hallways full of racks of blood with neat labels. His skin itched from the magic permeating the air, making him angry at the hypocrisy. It was blood magic, using a mage’s own blood to track them, not that the Chantry would ever admit it.

Fal relaxed in Zevran’s arms, “When I don’t dream of darkspawn, I dream of them. I prefer the darkspawn.”

As clever as Fal believed him to be, Zevran had no idea how the vials were organized. He started with the obvious thought, alphabetical, but it there were only clusters of alphabetized vials. There were no consistent...wait, there. He gently moved a vial to the side, finding a plaque reading “9:1 Dragon”. Of course, they were organized by the year each mage was harrowed. Fal had told Zevran of the Harrowing, how they stuck demons inside of apprentices and expected them to resist it otherwise they were killed. Or even worse, they weren’t even Harrowed and were made tranquil.

Zevran moved through the racks faster after that, checking the dated sections, going further back and to the left until he found a half-full section labeled “9:30 Dragon.” This was it, Fal’s phylactery had to be here...and there it was. There weren’t many phylacteries for the year, given the state of affairs, but there was Fal’s - a small, glass tube that looked like every other vial in the room. The blood was bright red, the stopper laden with magic.

“I want you to feel something,” Fal whispered, leaning over Zevran, already naked and wanting.

“I already feel it -

“Not that, silly! But this.” Fal ran his hands down his sides, incredible pinpricks of energy and pleasure sinking into his skin. Zevran gasped then groaned.

“It’s my magic, for you. I want you to love it like I do.”

Zevran flipped them over, kissing Fal deeply, “Oh I love it.”

There was no pleasure with this magic, but the prickliness was familiar. The blood was familiar too, though he wouldn’t have known it if it were not for the label. All blood looked the same, but this...this was taken from Faleris when he was just a child, to be tracked if he ever deigned to leave the confines of that prison they call a Circle. Or if he dared to use magic they deemed wrong.

This was it, Zevran thought, this was how he died. It was terrible too, just when he had decided to live again, when he discovered what it was to love and be loved in turn.

“Vhenan! No! No! You can’t, you can’t!” Fal...he was crying and screaming.

“Shh, shh, amor, it’s alright.” He tried to speak, but there was too much blood in his mouth. He knew they were out of the healing poultices. He knew that Fal had no real skills as a healer. He was so gifted in his magic, but healing...it wasn’t one of them. And Wynne wasn’t near.

“Vhenan, I...I won’t lose you. Just...just hold on for me, please.” How could Zevran not do as Fal asked when he sounded like that, when he looked like that - broken and crying, the dirt and blood on his face making his hazel eyes stand out even more?

Fal reached down and pulled out a knife Zevran kept on his belt, and before Zevran could process it, Fal was dragging the knife across his palm. Forbidden words slipped past his lips and the blood spilling from his hand began to move. The pain in Zevran’s body faded slightly, and Fal cut himself again. More pain faded. Another cut. Less pain.

It took five cuts for Zevran to find the strength to reach up and snatch the knife away.

“You will not kill yourself because of me!”

“I’m...fine.” Fal collapsed in Zevran’s arms, bloody and exhausted but alive.

Back at camp, Wynne healed them both and she thankfully said nothing about the obvious carnage done to Fal’s hand.

Zevran left the vault with the vial tucked into his cloak. He had “accidentally” knocked over a couple of the other vials in the vault to make it less obvious that Fal’s vial was missing. After everything Fal had done for the world...the world owed him his freedom at least. Zevran knew that the world wouldn’t give what wouldn’t be taken, so he took it for Fal.

He sneaked his way back into the palace, up to the private bedrooms where a specific elven mage lay unconscious and healing.

He closed the door to the bedroom behind him and took off his outer layers, palming the small vial.

“I know it’s late, mi amor, but when has that stopped us?” He asked the silent man.

“Mm, yes, the Deep Roads. You hated it there, never in the mood for anything fun if you couldn’t feel the sun the next day.” He climbed onto the bed and kissed Fal’s temple gently, careful not to touch any of the bruises that still colored his body.

“I love you, how can I...even if I liked that, how...would you forgive me?” Fal asked, pain clear on his face even in the low light of the fire.

“Mi amor, you have found a way to live. I beg you, live.”

Fal had taken Morrigan’s gamble, and still he was here in this bed, nearly motionless, breathing shallow, and barely clinging to life. Zevran would have hunted the witch if he didn’t know that even this much was a miracle thanks to her.

Zevran crawled into the bed, careful not to jostle Fal. He took Fal’s right hand, pausing to run a thumb over the ugly scar that marred his palm. He kissed the scar for what felt like the hundredth time, hoping it wasn’t his last. He took the vial out of his shirt pocket and pressed it to Fal’s palm.

“You’re free, amor, they won’t ever be able to hunt you. You’re safe.” He kissed Fal’s lips, his heart hurting terribly in his chest. “Now, please, live. Live. ”

#zevran #zevran arainai #zevran x surana #zevran x warden #warden #dragon age #fanfiction #fic #my writing #faleris surana #angst

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pumpkinpaix · 4 years

Text

tagged by @bahoreal! <3

Rules: Answer 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers you want to get to know better. please i immediately forget everyone i know whenever i’m told to tag people

Name: cyan

Nickname: 👀

Zodiac Sign: sag sun/sag ris/lib moon/wood dog i don’t believe in astrology--_(:3」∠)_

Height: smol. (4′11″/150cm)

Language(s): fluent: english; conversational fluency: mandarin chinese, french, basic: japanese; i also have basic listening comprehension in shanghai dialect but i couldn’t generate it to save my life _ (´ཀ`」 ∠)_ with all the language studying i’ve done, I feel like i should have more on this list. i took german for a year as well, but oomf, I can barely recall any of it. took ancient greek for a summer and tbh all i remember from that is agora, so who’s the real clown here.

Nationality: usa

Favorite Season: spring! :D everything comes back to life! spring storms! spring flowers! the smell of it!

Favorite Flower: toadflax (*´▽`*) if we’re talking scent-wise, osmanthus and gardenia

Favorite Scent: oh whoops. it’s different though aaahh. well, actually, osmanthus still goes on this list lol. baking bread. sweet pea. apple. cooking food. approaching rain.

Favorite colour(s): the color of sunlight

Favorite animal: snails? :D

Favorite fictional character(s): ooohhh boy. in no particular order: lan xichen. lan wangji. andromeda shun. sophie hatter. alice quinn. quentin coldwater. hermione granger. luna lovegood. sun wukong. enjolras. cosette fauchelevant. loki. joan watson. raven from the teen titans. idk the list continues :’)

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: bubble teaaaaaa. or hot chocolate with cinnamon!

Average hours of sleep: whomst know. 7?

Number Of Blankets You Sleep with: currently, four ahahaha.

Dream trip: honestly, I’ve already done so many of my dream trips?? I’ve been to athens and delphi and mycenae in greece, seen the tomb of clytemnestra. i’ve been to the site of hrothgar’s hall in denmark, and I’ve seen the hermitage in saint petersburg and the musée d’orsay, sainte-chapelle, notre dame and the catacombs of paris. i’ve seen several berninis! the david! i’ve seen greek curse tablets in person, which is excellent, and liver models! ostraka! i studied in japan?? which is all EXTREMELY wild like sometimes i think about that and it’s like ???? dang wtf i’ve really lived my child self’s dream. O_O one day, I’d like to see beijing. i’d like to see nüwa’s stones (lol is this even real or just a hazy memory from something my chinese school teacher told me) and I’d like to see my grandparents’ hometowns. and i’d like to visit the rabbit god temple in taiwan. oh, and one day!!! i would like to see the cathedral of chartres and also visit bretagne. :’) oh oh! and vilnius! I’d love to see vilnius and kaunas! and I’d like to see more of the US. im. extremely greedy lmfao. /o\

Blog established: 2012 babee

Followers: i don’t really like talking about follower count publicly, except at milestones hhhhh part of the appeal of tumblr over twitter is no public follower count thank the fucking lord.

Random fact: there is a largely forgotten,once-famous chinese vaudeville magician who went by the name of Long Tack Sam. his wikipedia page is here. his great-granddaughter, ann marie fleming, made both a documentary film and an illustrated biography about his life. i’ve read the book, but I haven’t yet watched the documentary. i always find asian american history fascinating because it’s so little discussed in mainstream US history classes. we learn about the chinese exclusion act, the railroads, and japanese internment but that’s like. it. nothing about chinatowns, the races status of asians in the US, asian celebrities, asian artists, asian gang violence, asian leftist movements and how they were influenced by the black panthers etc. idk. i myself know very little about it, but I’d like to know more.

ANYWAYS, tagging uhhh, @thewickling @tonyglowheart @pilferingapples @kingedmundsroyalmurder @picktheonesthatlast @bodhimcbodeface :’) i think a lot of the other people I know have already been tagged ahahah

#long post #cyan dlc #ask meme #personal #bahoreal #cyan talks too much lsdkjfsljd

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teaforten · 4 years

Text

Rabbit and the Monkey Cups - (Part 1/2)

Did you need AIW fanfic? Here is AIW fanfic.

I haven’t written in a long time for this show, but it was Rachel’s birthday and I decided to turn a little thing into a big thing. But didn’t finish it, so this is part one of two.

Here’s a preview, and the rest is under cut. Tumblr wanted to put a bunch of spaces in between every paragraph and frankly I don’t have the energy to take them all out, so sorry about that.

Preview:

Wondermart was having a huge clearance sale on Halloween stuff, so Hatter and Hare were promptly there on a crisp November afternoon, to hit two birds with one stone. You see, Rabbit’s birthday was at the end of the week. How did they know? Alice had just told them. She was tagging along right behind them, actually, mentioning it in a timid fashion, because she herself was unsure what to get the bunny, or any bunny really, let alone one of his age.

“Ahhh, there’s got to be something here,” Hatter said to the other two confidently.

“You think he might want a new cape?” Hare wondered, patting at some leftover Dracula capes at the end of a costume rack.

“It’s possible. How about a skull? You think he needs one of these?” By now, Alice was squinting as Hatter plucked up a funky glow-in-the-dark skull from a shelf of cheap yard decorations.

“No, let’s get him this candy bowl,” Hare suggested, though just as he indicated it, the plastic skeleton’s hands guarding its mouth closed around his hand and gave him a serious jolt.

“You guys...” Alice started.

“I want that for myself,” Hatter told Hare.

“Hell if you’re keeping that in your kitchen!”

“It’ll be great for my cookies!” Hatter insisted, with a scowl. “Lord knows you’re not keeping me away from them!”

“You GUYS.”

“Huh?” They both turned to her obliviously, holding each side of the bowl as the skeleton hands slapped open and closed.

“I don’t think Rabbit wants leftover Halloween stuff for his birthday,” she tried to tell them, in what was the most neutral voice she could manage.

“Are you sure?” Hatter wondered. She just rolled her eyes.

“Why don’t we try, uh, some plants at the nursery, or, or a sleep mask? Some fuzzy slippers?”

Her two companions looked to each other and shrugged like she might have a point.

So off to the Wonderland nursery they went, where Alice was plucking up pots of pansies and tulips and flashing them at Hatter and Hare, who seemed not at all impressed. “I mean they’re fine if you just want something to take up space in your window sill,” Hare told her with his eyes half closed. Alice was silent, as she really didn’t see a problem with this. “Alice. Alice Alice Alice~~” Hare drawled, looking around the nursery like he was embarrassed to have to explain this to her. “When my Grandpa December was around the Rabbit’s age, he was going through his very last existential crisis, and the last thing he needed was to fill up his window sills.”

Hatter nodded emphatically. “Mhm. Mhm. That’s a mid-life crisis kind of present.”

“What we need to get the Rabbit is something that reminds him that he’s in control of his life again.”

“Right! Something that says twilight can be just as exciting as any sunrise,” Hatter chipped in, swooping his hand into the air.

“I don’t know where you’re going with this,” Alice told them.

“Well obviously--” Hatter started... then he turned to Hare, looking for some help. “Where are we going with this?”

Hare was all shifty-eyed by now. “Come. Come, my children,” he said.

In no time, they were being led to the “restricted” section of the nursery… a shady little greenhouse shack thingy-mabob… covered with vines and thorns. And the woman helping customers there looked awfully witchy. Her wiry salt and pepper hair was stacked onto her head in a bun, almost all of her fingers had a ring, and she was walking around with a hunch. It gave Alice the creeps. Hatter, too. He was trying to hide behind her, actually, and it wasn’t working out very well.

“Do you have a membership card?” She asked Hare, also looking very shifty-eyed. Hare took out his wallet and flashed the goods. Then she jerked up her chin like a bouncer who had recognized one of their own, as if to say “a’iiiight, ya’ll’s cool to go in”...

In a very interesting turn of events, it was Hatter clutching Hare’s arm and nibbling his knuckles, and Alice trailing behind them, using his coat-tails as some kind of safety leash.

“Poisonous… carnivorous…” Alice read the signs hesitantly as they passed them.

“Cadaverous… smelly?!” Hatter screeched.

“Oh, the smelliest!” Hare flapped his hands and kept walking.

“I don’t think the Rabbit is going to want a smelly plant, Mr. Hare. After all, he’ll have to keep it at the palace, and if the Queen doesn’t like it…” Alice started.

“Well then I know! We’ll get him a guard plant!” Hare concluded. Hatter seemed both extremely terrified and extremely excited about seeing which selections of guard plant this place had.

“There are plants that can guard palaces?” Alice wondered incredulously.

“Shhh, everyone be quiet,” Hare told them. They weren’t far from an enclosure where a deep crimson light was shining on a beastly looking growth in the corner of the greenhouse. At its base was an array of spikey pads clustering around even spikier shoots and bulbs -- all more or less foaming at the mouths, or whatever it had.

“What? It can’t hear us--” Alice tried to say before Hatter’s hand fell over her mouth.

“You don’t know that,” he stage-whispered without looking at her. She almost had the nerve to bite him. Evidently, Hare had immediately forgotten to show any caution once he realized what was in the enclosure because he was bursting at the seams and hopping in place like a cheerleader without pom-poms.

“Oh, WOW. They said they were going to order it in, but I HONESTLY DIDN’T BELIEVE THEM. Look you guys, it’s a GIANT CATAPULTING FLYPAPER TRAP! And no wonder they’ve got these bars: someone could fall right into that thing and they’d be a GONER,” Hare told them, tenting his fingers and grinning from ear to ear, with every possible dimple in his face showing.

“Geez, Mr. Hare. I never realized you were so, well, morbid.” Hare looked mildly surprised for a second, then just shrugged.

“Anyway, Rabbit could never handle something like this. And look at the price. Oof!” They watched Hare take out a neon green notepad from his pocket and scribble down a note. “Reminder to myself to break open the ole piggy bank when I get home. I just might have enough!”

It was Hatter’s turn to lay down the line:

“Hell if you’re keeping that in your garden!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t put it in my garden. I’d put it in my dungeon,” Hare told him matter-of-factly.

“Ohhhhh. Well in that case… just remember to show it who’s boss.” A whole lotta eyebrow wiggling and elbow jabbing took place before Alice could no longer sit with this image. She pointed at the first thing she saw.

“Uhh, what about this? This looks exciting enough. What is it?” She asked Hare, who was even blushing by now. He cleared his throat.

“Oh, those are… I think I remember… oh yes! Monkey cups!”

“Monkey cups? That doesn’t sound too scary.”

Hatter and Hare shrugged. Their minds had clearly moved on to other things. “Nahhhh, guess not! It’d probably be perfect for Rabbit - he can feed it bugs and stuff when he’s having a bad day. Hahahahhaha!” Alice frowned just as soon as he winked at her. “What? We all know he has a sadistic side.”

@ @ @

As cool as the plant was, Alice wasn’t particularly sold on the idea that Rabbit would be satisfied with just that kind of gift on his birthday, so she begged and pleaded for them to come with her to hit the nearest convenience store. They were being absolute drama kings about it as if they were in some kind of black and white purgatory hell as she perused the greeting card section for just the right one.

“Come on, Alice. How is this watercolor pastel painting of flowers any different from the other ten that you looked at?” Hatter wondered with his eyes rolled back into his head and his giant purple body slumped up against one of the flimsy card racks. A clerk nearby could now see how precarious this situation looked and was watching them carefully.

“And they all say happy birthday!” Hare chimed in as he wandered up to Alice’s side. As he did so, she noticed that he was holding the pot of monkey cups off to one side of his chest, almost as if he had been breastfeeding them or something. He also randomly had a hiccup blanket over his shoulder. She scrunched up her face for a second before she had a response prepared.

“Yes, but they just don’t have that… oomf!” Alice told them, making sort of a “glitter exploding” gesture with her hand.

The both of them repeated the word several times to each other, also imitating the gesture.

“You know. A certain... je ne sais quoi?” She emphasized, even getting on her tippy toes. Hatter tilted his head and mimed the phrase in confusion while Hare tried to pronounce it. He even handed Hatter the plant so he could sort of pop his booty out and tip his toe, while still butchering the phrase spectacularly. Alice smiled and rolled her eyes. “It’s French. I learned it from my penpal, Yvette. It means. Well, it means that you don’t know what it means. But it’s something special.”

Hatter frowned.

“Alice, do you even know why we’re here?” He asked.

“Because we’ve been trying to figure it out for the past eternity.”

“We’ve been here for five or ten minutes tops. And yes, I know why I’m-- DUM!” She hopped when she saw a familiar face pass the glass from the outside. The Tweedles were on their way to the front doors. Hatter and Hare cranked their necks as the bell on the door jingled, while Alice went to greet the twins without a moment’s hesitation, as if they were rescuing her. It would seem they might have also been whispering their hellos and other exchanges, which was just plain rude, in Hatter’s opinion, based on the way he squished up his lips. He looked Hare in the eye and nothing further needed to be said.

Just as the Tweedles were heading back with Alice to the card section, they passed Hatter and Hare, who were on their way to the door. “Oh hey, you two!” Dee greeted, followed by some timid waving by Dum. “Hey guys, uh, we’re just gonna be going,” Hare told them, jutting his thumb out with a crooked smile. “It’s these poor little guys’ nap time.”

“Uhh yeah, and we’d hate to be a 4th and 5th wheel,” Hatter muttered, sort of coddling the monkey cups and shielding them from the Tweedles’ view. Hare was equally concerned about this and hovered around him, trying to put the hiccup blanket, which had a soft little cartoon cactus print, around Hatter’s arm and over the plant, going “sh sh sh…”

Dee cocked his brow and didn’t say a thing until they were gone.

Then, once they were:

“Why are they going around babying a patch of bright green dangling plant dicks?” Just as soon as he said it, Dum was seized by cackles… and more or less so was Alice. But hearing“Mr. Dee” talk like that was highly unusual.

She wanted to speak but couldn’t stop laughing and started sinking into herself. Dum had to pull her up before she hit the floor. “What?! What is it, Alice?! XD” He kept asking her.

“They’re not plant weeners!” She peeped into his ear, still trying to properly breathe again. “They’re m-monkey cups! They’re for the Rabbit! For his birthday!”

This started a whole new round of reeling between the Tweedles, which garnered the attention of the store clerk, who still wasn’t happy about Hatter leaning on all the card racks.

“Excuse me… do you three plan on buying anything?” He asked. He was old, uptight, and easy to dismiss.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Dee told him, swishing his hands before he let them fall on Dum and Alice’s shoulders. On their way to the cards, Alice tried to explain the meandering logic that had led her and her eccentric companions to and from the nursery today, with such an odd purchase.

“Well just make sure the Hare keeps the receipt, is all I’ve got to say!” Dum told her, earning a high-five from Dee.

“You guys wanna help me find something else?” She wondered, quite relieved just to be hearing sensible sentiments again. Dee thought about if he had any plans for the day.

“I’m game.”

“Yeah, so am I,” Dum said.

“A’ight. Let’s find something with some real je ne sais quoi around here and then hit that sleep store across from Just Add Sugar!” Dee turned up his nose with a smug smile like he knew exactly what he was doing. And he probably did.

@ @ @

It was five-thirty in the afternoon and Hatter and Hare were tipped back in their chairs with their bellies full of crumpets, cookies, and jam. And tea, of course. Lots and lots of tea. Beside the Hare was one of those bouncy baby seats that he periodically tipped with his foot. And inside of the baby seat was the pot of monkey cups, wrapped up in the cactus blanket. Several crumpet crumbs were surrounding it. “Do you think it liked the crumpets?” Hatter was busy scraping food out of his teeth and was probably in a food coma when he answered:

“I mean, it ate them, didn’t it?”

“I think so.”

Just then, they saw the Tweedles and Alice frolicking by, flailing shopping bags and sipping slurpees. It was an immediate outrage. Then they slam-dumped the empty cups into Hatter’s trash-can outside the gate. “Oh hi, Hatter and Hare!” Dum shrieked cheerily in a blur.

“Bye, Hatter and Hare!” Dee shouted, just as they were opening their mouths. Alice apparently didn’t even notice where they were or whose house they were passing. It just looked like she had been having the time of her life, or something.

“You know, sometimes, Hare… I don’t know about that girl.”

@ @ @

The day of Rabbit’s birthday, Hare was simply a sobbing mess, and Hatter was having to do a lot of bedraggled consoling that frankly he was not prepared for, in order to make this visit to the palace even possible.

“Come on, Hare,” he told him, trying to pry the plant from his needy little fingers. It was not unlike trying to pry a fly from a venus fly trap. Except this fly trap was worried about the fly and was sure that keeping it in its mouth forever was the only way to keep it safe. Just as it popped free from Hare’s desperate clasp, his arms collapsed in his chest and his knees hit the ground as he wailed:

“We shouldn’t have bought them so early in the week! Now they think I’m their ma, and they’ll miss me terribly!”

Hatter frowned, then realized that he was sort of petting one of them. “Hey, what about me?”

Hare shrugged as a tear pooled in his eye. “They’ll sort of miss you too.” Hatter turned to the fourth wall and just stared. “But every plant needs their ma!”

“Then the Rabbit can be their godmother! Their fairy-godmother! Ahhh? He’ll let you visit, I’m sure.” Hatter’s proposal wasn’t all that bad. Still, Hare was caught up in a moment and could only sniffle, so his partner gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder and walked past him. “Now, I’m gonna take these guys out for one last walk, and then we’ll head to the palace. Take a hit off the hookah, if you need.”

@ @ @

The palace courtyard was unusually quiet that day. Hatter and Hare were thinking there’d either be some sort of bash already started, or they’d have to get into an argument with the Queen about letting Rabbit have free time on his birthday. Instead, they found him kicked up on the chaise lounge, being fanned with a giant banana leaf by Alice. Totally oblivious to their presence, as he was wearing a thick cushy sleep mask and slurping up a tropical smoothie with an umbrella, Rabbit had more or less slipped into nirvana, or as close to it as an old servant would ever get. On the nearest table was a catalogue for the sleep store Alice had visited with the Tweedles, there were brand new, fuzzy wuzzy bunny slippers on the floor next to him, and even a gift basket filled with soaps, bath salts, and the most basic bitch teas Hatter had ever seen. Not that he would say anything.

But he had to say something, because poor ole Hare was still waiting for his hit off the hookah to kick in and had red eyes that could be seen from a mile away. He even forgot to stand and face their friends. Hatter grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him in the right direction.

“Rabbbitttttt!” He shouted at the bunny.

“Mmmmmmm...yyyyyesss???” Hold up a moment. The peaceful smile on the Rabbit’s face slowly fell as he realized he had heard the voice of someone he was sure in the past had never helped him achieve any sort of serenity. He snatched off the sleep mask. “Oh, hello... Hatter. Hare.” He was sort of leaning back and away from them now. Luckily, he couldn’t see that Alice was behind him, trying to hold it together.

“A little birdie told us it was your birthday today!”

“A little birdie?” Rabbit scrunched up his face, confused.

“He means me,” Alice said sweetly over his shoulder.

“Oh, but you’aaa~ not a bird!”

“Yeah, but she overhears all kinds of things, like a bird on a tree-branch!” Hatter explained, to which Alice nodded, “and that was the only way we were going to know it was your birthday, you secretive, sly, s-selectively friendly…s-senior citizen--”

“You had better get on with whatever you came here for, Hatta~...” Rabbit muttered, just as Hatter felt a tickle in his throat.

“Ahem! Yes.” He turned to Hare, who had been trying to blot a tear with the cactus blanket without anyone noticing. “Uh, Hare, why don’t you take the blanket off and show Rabbit this wondeeerfulll, spectaccuullar giftttt, ahhhh?” Hatter tried his best to sprinkle all the razzle-dazzle of two people onto the reveal, but no matter of twisting and twirling elicited much of a reaction out of Rabbit once he saw under the blanket. And he only had one thing to say.

“My, those are awfully phallic, aren’t they…”

Alice just bit her lip.

“What’s ‘phallic’?” Hatter questioned, not yet sure if he should feel validated or offended. Alice shrugged, as she didn’t know either. Rabbit immediately regretted that it had ever fallen from his mouth.

“Uhhh… Well what are they, anyway?” He diverted.

The Tweedles, meanwhile, had been oo’ing and ah’ing at all the boring af statues the Queen put up in one of her hallways, like really putting on an oscar worthy performance out of the sincerest desire for Rabbit to have some alone time with his gifts in that chair. When they were back to the courtyard with her majesty, however, they were having a really hard time keeping a straight face while a clueless Hatter and an unreasonably forlorn Hare waved around the bright green plant dicks monkey cups and pitched them like they were going to be Rabbit’s newest obsession.

All they had to do was step into Alice’s vicinity and make eye-contact with her and she was already giggling.

“So you see, Rabbit, this isn’t just some midlife-crisis window-sill filler… set these up at your table on bingo nights and you’ll have all the bunny ladies crowding around, knowing you’re up to something.”

“And what exactly am I up to?” Rabbit cocked his eyebrow, quite distracted by their striking resemblance to, well, cocks.

“Bein’ a plant daddy,” Hatter told him, smiling and nodding like he was very sure of himself, “to a hardcore plant that’ll eat all the bugs in your garden. Even frogs, too!”

“Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!” Was Rabbit’s first reaction. Then he leaned forward and tapped one of the cups before the Queen belted from behind him.

“That’s BARBARIC.” Immediately, Rabbit fell right on his face on the floor beside the lounge, then had to prop himself up and heave a little when he realized she had been so close to him all along. “Why would you get Rabbit a gift like that!”

Hare had recoiled just as much as Hatter, but he looked more defeated than anything else that neither of them were impressed with his gift, especially now that they were his babies that he’d raised for a week. Once again, Hatter had to do the explaining, patting Hare’s hand, which was squeezing his arm, all the while.

“We thought he needed some excitement!”

“He has PLENTY of excitement around here!”

Rabbit darted his eyes around. He wasn’t about to disagree with her, because technically she was right, it’s just… it wasn’t the good kind of excitement. The Tweedles and Alice were feeling even surer about their gifts by now.

“Well then really, this plant can keep up with him, is all we’re saying,” Hatter told her, not even missing a beat. “Oh look, it already likes him!”

For the first time in the last five minutes, Hare had something to say: “It does?”

Hatter gave him a look. “Uhhh, of course it does, Hare. Hand it over. Wouldn’t want to keep these two parted.” Try as he may to sort of direct the pot towards the birthday bunny himself, Hare was sort of squeezing it close and didn’t know how to let go. Rabbit, meanwhile, looked completely flabbergasted as he sat there on the floor beneath those looming plant dongs. The Queen threw up her hands, which just elicited more of the Tweedles’ giggling.

“You have GOT to be kidding me!”

“Uhh, they mean well, Your Majesty!” Alice tried to step in, being the noble child among the group and all that. “I mean if you think about it… it’s just as silly as any other gift they’ve given him…”

“Hmph, you’re right… there’s no way this is a joke,” her Majesty answered back in a deep voice, with her chin tucked into her neck. Then all five of them just kept watching Hatter and Hare fuss over the pot.

“Hare, just let go! One finger at a time. Come on, now.”

“I’m trying!” Hare pouted.

“I highly doubt that!”

“You don’t know what it’s like to be a mother!”

“No, but I know what it’s like to live with one!”

“DON’T shame me for being an empath!” Hare growled through his tears, still with the cactus blanket thrown over his shoulder.

“Alright you two, listen!” Rabbit professed, just before he scurried to his feet and yanked at his vest, then patted a few fuzzballs away. “I’ll keep the plant for a few days and see how it goes, but I want He’a~ on call at all times! He obviously has a grrreener thumb than I~, but I appreciate your thinking of me on my birthdehh~, so I shall try my best. Ehh… provided her Majesty approves.”

They all slowly turned to her in suspense, looking somewhere on a spectrum between apprehensive and hopeful. And then there were the Tweedles, who were just about to whip out their popcorn bowls. The Queen squinted at them for a moment before she decided it was not her circus, not her monkeys. Well, hopefully.

“Fine. But I don’t want to hear a thing about it. Call the Hare if it gives you any trouble, and if he can’t help you, hohohhhh,” her eyes bulged as she cut her hands into the air, “it’s straight back to the nursery.”

“Of course, of course. Ehh… thank you.” Rabbit nodded to the Queen awkwardly before he turned to Hare and opened his hands to receive the plant. Hare just stared at him until Hatter leaned into him.

“Give Rabbit the plant, Hare.”

“Eheheheh! Right,” he said, his arms extending out with a tremble to relinquish his babies to his favorite frenemy. Rabbit took hold of the pot and tried not to cringe as the dongs sweeping over the side brushed his forearm. Try as he may to bring them closer to his chest, Hare came with them. He laughed and gave them a better tug, which prompted Hare to tug them back. Before everyone knew it they were bouncing back and forth. Finally, Hatter took Hare’s shoulders and held him in place, so that Rabbit could pluck the monkey cups out of his motherly smother, and inspect them with none of the same sort of affection.

“Eheheh, loveleh~ loveleh~~...” he trailed. “Well, I’d better- eh, put these somewhere. T-thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes and gifts… You’re all too kind.”

“OH WAIT, RABBIT,” Hare screeched, wriggling out of Hatter’s grasp and pulling a baby bag out of nowhere.

“This is all of his stuff!” When Rabbit took it from him, his arm plummeted as if he had just taken a bag of bowling balls.

“Gee, thanks, I feel so prepared now~” He said through his teeth to the fourth wall. Then he fluttered his fingers and rolled away. Hare looked at least somewhat reassured as Hatter patted him on the back and he blew his nose.

Part 2 coming soon!...

#adventures in wonderland #fanfiction #fanfic #hatter and hare #rabbit #don't even know how to tag this #I wrote it #lmao #me and my meandering plots #rabbit gets a gift he wasn't prepared for #that is extremely phallic #and ruins the queen's life #PG-13 #hatter mentions a hookah #hatter and hare are definitely secretly a couple

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ofstarsandvibranium · 5 years

Text

My Wonderful Girl

Fandom: Marvel (Biker AU)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: After the failed meeting with you and Bucky’s friends, you decide to have a do-over. You invite Bucky and his friends to your place for dinner….limiting the alcohol.

Part 1: My Drunk Girl | Part 2: My Sober Girl

A/N: I like how this unintentionally became a three-part series. oops.

Your knee was bouncing at a very fast rate as Bucky drove you two to his mom’s place in Brooklyn. You stared out the window of Bucky’s 1982 Chevy truck that once belonged to his dad. Your head whipped to your left, Bucky’s eyes glancing back at you, the feeling of his hand on your now stilled knee, “Hm?”

“Don’t be nervous.”

You snorted, “Whaaat? Me? Nervous? Psh! Yeah right!”

He rolled his eyes, “You’re always gettin’ nervous about meeting the important people in my life and it always goes without a hitch! Everyone loves you, doll. My ma and sister will too!”

“But what if they think I’m some floozy or stupid or no good or-”

“Hey,” Bucky put the car in park, and grabbed both your hands in his, “They won’t think that. They already know how amazing, smart, funny, and beautiful you are because you’re all I talk about to them.” he kisses both the back of your hands, “Everything will be okay.”

“Bucky!!” you turned to see that you were parked in front of a house. Standing in the doorway was a young woman who looked like the female version of Bucky. She waved her arms in the air excitedly.

Bucky chuckled, “Here we go. We got this, sweetheart. You got this.” he hopped out of the truck, the door squeaking as it swung open and closed with a slam. He helped you out of the truck, offering his hand out to you like the gentleman he was. Don’t let the leather jacket fool you, Bucky Barnes was no heathen.

You laced your fingers with Bucky, squeezing his hand tight. With a reassuring smile, you both walk up the stoned path and to the doorway where the female Bucky waited for you.

“Hey, Becca,” Bucky said as he hugged the woman, “Bec, this is my girlfriend, Y/N. Y/N, this is my younger sister Rebecca.”

You give a shy and timid wave, “Hi, Rebecca, it’s-oomf!”

Rebecca threw her arms around you giving you a nice, tight hug, “It’s nice to meet you, Y/N! Bucky never shuts up about you!” She pulls away, a big smile on her face, “Oh and sorry. I’m a hugger.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, “Yeah, I gathered that.”

She grabbed your hand, pulling you away from Bucky, “Now c’mon! Ma’s been so anxious on meeting you!” She pulls you further into the house.

Bucky just snickers as he closes the door behind him, following the two of you to see his mom. He enters the kitchen just seconds after you to see his mom’s hands on your face.

“Look at you! You’re gorgeous!”

You give a nervous laugh, “Oh, haha, thanks, Mrs. Barnes.”

“Oh, please, call me Winnie! And take a seat!” You sit at the kitchen table where the food is already cooked and ready to eat, “James Buchanan Barnes! Get over here and give your mother a kiss!”

You giggle when you see a blush form on Bucky’s cheeks, “Hey, ma.” Winnifred Barnes plants several kisses on the cheeks of her son before nudging him towards the seat besides you, “Honestly, Y/N, you have to tell me what spell you used to capture the heart of my boy. You’re all he talks about now.”

Your couldn’t help but snort, “I don’t think it was a spell, ma’am, moreso of me having the guts to put him in his place.”

Becca and Winnifred look to Bucky who’s smirking like crazy. He gives a shrug and a nod, “It’s true. Nearly hit her with my bike and I got quite the earful from her.”

Rebecca threw her head back with a cackle, “I think that’s well deserved, don’t you, ma?”

Winnie chuckled, “I agree. I told you to be careful on that bike of yours, James Buchanan.”

“I know, I know, but hey, it landed it the most wonderful girl in the world,” he says with a proud smile as he puts and arm around you.

You lean into his embrace, “And don’t forget that this wonderful girl can kick your butt.”

“No doubt about it, baby.” Bucky presses a kiss to your temple, which makes Winnie and Rebecca swoon.

“Ugh. You guys are great together. I haven’t seen Bucky this crazy about someone in forever.” Rebecca says with a teasing tone.

Bucky rolls his eyes, “Lay off it, Becca.”

“Make me, Bucket Head!”

Winnifred clears her throat, a scolding look on her face. Both her children immediately say in unison, “Sorry, ma.” which makes you burst into giggles.

“I’m assuming that happens a lot?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe. They’re grown adults and they still act like they’re teenagers.”

“It keeps you young,” Rebecca says jokingly.

Winnie nods, “Yeah, it does.”

Bucky clears his throat and then excuses himself to the bathroom, thus allowing his mother and sister to have some alone time with you.

They immediately badgered you with questions when they heard the door to the bathroom shut. What you did, every detail about how exactly you and Bucky met, when he asked you to be his girl, details about your family, etc.

______________________________

When Bucky was done with his business and neared the question, his ears perked at the sound of your laughter.

“-it was so embarrassing! But then Bucky invited everyone to my place the next night for dinner so I can have a re-introduction. It was great. I was able to spend some time with Steve, he’s amazing. They’re all amazing and I’m so glad they’ve accepted me as part of their group.”

Bucky heard the chair squeak along the floor, and his mother’s tone was a little more serious, “Y/N, please be honest with me, are you in love Bucky?” his breathing hitched at the question. He silently cursed his mom for throwing that at you so suddenly. When he heard you sigh, he held his breath.

“I think it’s a bit too soon to be feeling that way. We’ve only been together for a few months, but I think I’m falling in love with him, yeah. Winnie, I don’t know what it is about your son that just makes me feel so...safe and cared for. I mean, when I look at him, I feel at ease. I feel at home. Your son is very special.”

Bucky heard his mom chuckle, “He’s not the only one who’s special, Y/N. Bucky...he’s gone through a lot. With losing his father and taking the roll of man of the house, trying to help me out while having his own personal struggles I don’t know about...what I’m trying to say is that I haven’t seen my son truly happy in so long. You’ve done that. Whenever he brings you up in conversation, he has this liveliness to him. It’s so great to see.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he hears Becca say, “Buck’s been a dark place for a long time. I think you’re the one who’s pulled him out and, my ma and I are so thankful that you’re there for him.”

“You think he’s in love with me too?” you asked hopefully and curiously.

Winnifred snorts, “Honey, I know for a fact he is, but just give him time to say it. He’s not too good with his words.” Bucky hears Rebecca laugh and he’s sure it’s time to step in.

He rounds into the kitchen, a soft smile on his face, “So, what I miss?”

You shrug, “Nothin’ much. Just girl talk.”

“Yeah?” he asks, staring into your eyes, you could see the shining that his mother and sister were talking about.

“Yeah.”

_____________________________

On the way back to Bucky’s place, you were cuddled up into his side, his black leather jacket keeping you warm.

“So...I think tonight was a success,” he says, eyes still on the road, but one arm wrapped around you.

You hummed, “I think so too,” you tilt your head up to look at him, “Your mom and sister are great. I really enjoyed dinner with him.”

“They did too. Ma wants me to bring you around for dinner at least once a month.”

“I’d like that,” you say with a content smile.

“I would too,” he presses a kiss to your head, “You truly are the most wonderful girl in the world, you know that? And you really did help pull me out of a dark time in my life.”

“You heard all that?” you look up at him, your anxiety creeping up on you.

“Yeah, and, for the record, I’m most definitely falling in love with you too.” he glances your way, a blissful smile on his face.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, ‘cause all of your friends and family love me so there’s no getting rid of me now.”

Bucky chuckled as he pulled you in closer, “Baby doll, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

#Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky x reader #biker au #marvel #au

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dork-empress · 5 years

Text

Half-Elf Callum 3--part 1

Part of my ‘another 100 Dragon Prince aus’ oneshot collection

Read on Ao3

Callum makes it to the city of skyvale, home of the Dragon Queen....but Zym may not be the only one to meet a parent he never knew.

Before you ask, yes there will be a part 2 tomorrow.

“I don’t know about this,” Callum said for the 1 millionth time. That’s what Rayla was approximating anyway. She stopped counting after 2.

“Don’t go being a wimp now,” Rayla instructed him, “Besides we have to go to Skyvale anyway, remember? Sky Dragon Queen? Lives with the Sky elves? In the Sky?! To return the Sky Dragon Prince?!?!”

Zym yipped happily, feeling the wind in his hair. He was only just barely big enough to carry them both, a little bigger than a horse, but still small for a dragon. He occasionally went off course, but Callum was there with a quick windspell to keep them on track.

Callum sighed dramatically. “What if I don’t know him?” He said, “All I have is this note.” he said, finding it in the old notebook his mother had left him, “There could be HUNDREDS of Skywind elves named Calor. He might not even be living here anymore! It’s been 15 years, he might have moved or died or...or something!”

“Callum,” Rayla said, “You’ll be fine, ok? It may not even happen.”

Callum huffed, but stayed quiet.

They landed in Skyvale with a ridiculous amount of ceremony. Skywind elves came to greet the dragon prince, who chirruped at them happily. Callum was so taken up with the amount of strangers (trying to get a look at each and figure out if any had features similar to his own) he nearly missed the floating stones of the city, giant boulders sitting like iceburgs in a sea of clouds, doors with no walkway to them, and a castle built not up, but down, a hanging stone of magnificent marble.

At its, the dragon queen came out herself, sniffing at her son, speaking in a language Callum had little to no chance of understanding, and Rayla desperately trying to translate every other word. The gist of it was they were welcome here, ushered off into fine rooms and catered to by the Dragon Queen’s servants.

It was only after several days that Callum felt in any way at ease. He had never been comfortable with his horns or his skin or his fingers, but here everyone looked like him. Well, they all had marvelous feathery wings. Apparently the growth of them required some form of magic which was easier to perform as a child when the body was already malleable, but possible as an adult. Callum was putting it off.

He was exploring getting some more elven clothes to more properly fit into this land, at least while he was here, when he was pulled aside by a tall man, with large brown-black feathered wings and the typical bluish-white skin of the skywind elves, “That scarf,” He demanded, “Where did you get i?”

Callum’s hand went to his neck. “I’ve always had it,” he said, “my mom gave it to me when I was little, to fight off winters.”

The man’s brow set. His fingers traced along the edges of the threads. “This thread was made with Sunsilk worms. It absorbs the light and holds in the heat better than any fabric.”

“Oh,” Callum said, “Well, it’s always worked well for me.”

His fingers went over the golden thread at the base, “This is a signature. An elvish signature of the maker.”

“Signature for whom?” Callum asked. The elf didn’t answer, but Callum’s eyes wandered. In the clothing shop was a coat, a coat with the same symbols sewn into the edge. “Are you...are you Calor?” he asked, hesitantly. He wasn’t even sure if he was pronouncing it properly, what if he messed up, and this guy said ‘no’ but he WAS Callum’s dad, and then Callum would never know, and then--

“Yes,” Calor said, nodding. His eyes went from scanning the scarf to scanning Callum, with just as much intensity. Callum didn’t know quite what he was looking for, but whatever it was, Callum was sure Calor found it.

“I think,” Callum said, his voice weak. He cleared it, trying to get a grip, “I think I’m…I mean, I think that you are my--”

“DAD!” An excitable voice squealed, dropping down from the hole in the ceiling, landing with an “Oomf!” on the ground.

“Etara!” Calor exclaimed, rushing over to the side of the small girl, who was picking herself up, “What have I told you about jumping like that?”

“But Daaaad,” little Etara whined, brushing off her bumps and bruises, “You promised you would close the shop early today for flying lessons! You promised you promised you PROMISED!”

Callum couldn’t take his eyes off the little girl. She had two long light-brown braids, and fluffy brown wings on her back. She must have been half Ezran’s age, and seemed to remind him of his brother when he was that small. Her skin was the blue of the brightest summer sky, with only small whisps of white at her temples and on the inside of her arms.

In other words, she looked nothing like Callum. Callum was always told he looked like his mother, and his memories and the portraits agreed. Ezran didn’t look anything like him, after all.

“You’re right,” Calor said, picking the girl up, “And when you’re right, you’re right.” The girl beamed, smug. Calor turned back to Callum, “Come by the shop tomorrow. I think….I think we have a lot to talk about.”

#the dragon prince #tdp #tdp fanfic #tdp fic #tdp callum #tdp rayla #half elf callum #laura writes #another 100 dragon prince aus

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sweetblink · 6 years

Text

The Paint War.

Not edited.

The Paint War

Kevin Atwater x Reader

Requested by: Anon

Can I pls, pLEASE request #34 for Chicago Fire/PD/Med & reader is dating Kevin Atwater.

#34. "Alright listen up losers, I hid Nerf guns all around, I made up a scavenger hunt to find them, when the clock says times up, we're all meeting here, and we're gonna have an epic nerf gun fight."

Warning: I'm make the reader a Med doctor, small cursing, just fun times, with all the Fire/ PD/Med people. ALSO Justice makes a special appearance

"So, what are you hiding, Y/N?" Kevin asked, as you dropped the box that you held. You jumped and let out shriek.

"Jesus Kev, you scared the crap out of me." You breathed out, as you stood up. Kevin just chuckled and walked over to you, as you let out a huge smiled and wrapped your hands around his neck, when he wrapped his arms around your waist.

"Hey babe." Kevin greeted, as he leaned down to kiss you.

"Hi." you replied against his lips, smiling wide. He pulled back, and smiled. "I thought you were going to be at work today?"

"Nah, we have the day off today." Kevin replied, you smiled and nodded. "What’s with the boxes, and being here at the park?" he asked.

You let out a small squeal and nodded. "Okay, so you know how almost everyone is getting ready for the Chicago events?" you asked, Kevin nodded and you smiled. "Well I talked to Voight, Boden and Goodwin, and they all agreed, that instead of we head over to the events, that we have a special field day for all of us."

"And that is?" Kevin asked.

"Well, later on today, almost everyone in Fire, PD, with the help of, Jefferies Nagel, Valdez and Stone, and Med, are to meet here, and start the small Nerf gun war."

"Wait, are you serious?" Kevin asked.

You nodded. "And to mix things a bit more up, Boden added a small scavenger hunt, everyone will have to find as many as guns as possible. Boden hid all the clues around the station, or close to the station, Goodwin hid hers, all around the close to the hospital and Voight hid all his around the police station, or close." You explained. "And after times up we're all to meet up here, and go into a small war. I made shirts all saying Team Fire, PD, and Med."

Kevin just laughed and you beamed. "Baby, you're so gonna lose." he told you.

"In your dreams Atwater." You replied, the both of you laughed, and watched as all your friends made their way over.

"Hey, Y/N!"

You turned around and let out a small oomf as Adam picked up into a hug and spun you around. "Voight explained what we're doing to day, and let me just say that you're awesome."

You giggled and nodded. "I know, I'm the best."

Soon you saw all your co workers, and high fived them, talking to them and making plans to how to win all of them. Pretty soon everyone was there and ready, and saw Goodwin, Jefferies, Voight, and Boden stand in the middle of you all, but before they can say anything, you beat them to it.

"Alright listen up losers, I hid Nerf guns all around, I made up a scavenger hunt to find them, when the clock says times up, we're all meeting here, and we're gonna have an epic nerf gun fight." You yelled. Everyone stopped to stare at you and you just laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't help my self, I really wanted to yell that."

Everyone just shook their head, while Kevin just hid behind his hand, you giggled and walked over to stand next to Ethan, and waited for Voight to speak.

"Alright listen up!" Voight yelled. You smiled widely, and walked over to where you had the three big boxes, with all the team shirts.

"Y/N here, came to us during spring break, and talked to us about creating this day." Goodwin followed. "Today marks our first annual, Paint Nerf gun war, day."

"We have all came up with clues, and hid many, many nerf guns around the work places," Boden continued. "You will all have about two hours to round up as many Nerf guns as you can, and will all come back here to meet up."

"Also there are small bottles of paint to use, so make sure you all get paint right now." Jefferies explained. "This is like a paint ball mixed with a bit of dodgeball."

"Aright, everyone grab their shirts." Voight ordered. You sliced open the boxes, and grabbed the Team Med shirts, and started to handed them out.

"Damn Y/N, you went out with our shirts." April teased.

"Of course I did, we have to look amazing when we win." You replied.

"Babe, I think you meant us winning." Kevin spoke up, you watched as he took his shirt, and put on his Team PD shirt, as you greedily eyed his arms, and let out a small moan.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus, I got blessed with a hunk." You said. Everyone around you laughed, and Kevin smirked. "But still, Team Med is going to win."

"Guys." Gabby said. "You got no chance we're gonna win." she said.

"Yeah, cause us Fire house are fast." Stella said.

"Don't worry, Y/N. Us Med got this." Ethan said, with Connor nodding behind him. Sarah stood besides him and rolled her eyes in amusement.

You all got into your teams and waited for someone to talk, Sharon was the one who smiled and stepped forward. "Now everyone, you all have about an hour to collect many guns, and don't think about cheating, the guns are all color the same color for the team."

"Alright guys, get ready, we start in." Boden began. "3... 2.... GO!"

Everyone took off running, and got in their cars, the first text was sent, and you hopped into Ethan's truck with Sarah, April, and Noah. "Alright, I know that most of the guns are hidden in close to the hospital, since we they couldn't hide them in the hospital." You said.

"Alight, I'm on the phone, with Nat." April said, she put her phone on speaker. "Alright guys, we need to today, let's round up as many Nerf guns as we can, and beat Team Fire and PD."

"Positive." Will replied. "Alright Team Med, let's win today!"

"Found one!" You yelled. You grabbed the red Nerf gun, and ran back to meet up with Ethan. You heard Sarah yell that she found two, and ran back to you all, then soon April and Noah ran back to you all.

"Hurry guys, we're almost running out of time." You urged.

"Y/N is right, how's it going guys?" Nat asked.

"Good, we got like a dozen." You replied.

"Alright, that's the last one, let's go!" Noah yelled.

You all ran back to Ethan's truck, and got in. "DRIVE!" you yelled, and Ethan took off, the whole ride back to the main spot at the small park you had close by your home. You turned to see Jay's truck and Kevin with him.

And the other side was Matt Casey and his small crew. "Oh goodness, this is gonna be fun." April said. You nodded, and let out a small giggle when Ethan pressed on the gas, and sped off to the park.

You saw Jay and Matt do the same thing, and laughed. "Oh this is gonna be the best day ever!"

Ethan made it in a matter of minutes and you all got off and got the guns, and started to run to where Sharon and Dr. Charles stood. You can hear Nat, and Maggie yelling, while Bekker just laughed loudly. They quickly ran over to you guys, and saw that you guys were the first team to all arrive.

"Yeah, Team Med beats them all at meeting up." You said. Everyone high fived each other, laughing and hugged. You guys waited for every to arrive when Voight stepped forward.

"Now, this is where the fun begin, you are to run and hide, if you're hit, you are to come back here and wait, the last person remaining, is the winner, and wins for the team." Voight explained.

"Teams, get ready!" Sharon yelled.

"Set!" Boden yelled.

"GO!" They all yelled.

Everyone took off running, trying their best not to get shot. You heard Kevin behind you yelling. "I'm get you baby! So you better run and hide!"

"In your dreams, babe!" You yelled back, and went into hiding.

The next hour, you took out as many people as you can, surprising, Kelly, Brian, Antonio, and Adam. You also saw many of your team members, you saw April get taken out just now, and you quickly managed to hide from the one who shot her, which was you boyfriend.

"Fire has three remaining, Med has five, and PD has four!" you heard Jefferies yell. You quickly shot out Stella and you giggled. "Sorry Stella, I still love you!" You yelled, and then took off running to hide.

The game continued on, and finally there was four players remaining, you, Ethan, Kevin, and Gabby. "Alright, we have to win, we got this." you whispered to Ethan.

He nodded. "Alright you take the right, and I'll take the left." he said. You nodded, and he told you guys to move, you ran to hide behind a bush and you managed to swerve the painted bullet and heard Kevin say damn. You giggled and continued to run, you noticed Gabby, and tried to shoot her, and eliminate, and succeeded.

"I love you Gabs!" you yelled. And before she can reply, you heard a small grunt behind you and saw Ethan now eliminated. It was now between, you and Kevin.

"Now it's a classic stand off." Kevin said, smirking.

You smiled and just as he shot the bullet to you, you quickly jumped to the side, and rolled away. "You're going down Atwater!" you yelled as you shot him, but he managed to dodge it. From the corner of your eyes, you can see everyone standing there waiting to see who was going to win.

You quickly dodged another bullet, you did that epic move where you throw yourself and began shooting the painted bullets, all of them hitting Atwater at his chest, and you quickly tucked yourself in a ball. You heard your team start to cheer, and heard Kevin's groan. You let out a a yell, and stood up.

"We WON!" You yelled. All your friends ran over to you, Will and Ethan carried you on thir shoulders as you all celebrated.

"And this years winner of The Paint War is... Team Med!" Sharon yelled. You all cheered, and laughed as you guys got a fake, trophy, the guys let you down and you turned to your boyfriend. "Babe, you lost." you teased.

Kevin just chuckled and pulled you to him. "Congrats babe." he said, as he leaned down to kiss you. You smiled in the kiss and then pulled back. "For the record, loser has to do chores all this week." you said, and walked away.

"Wait, babe! No we didn't agree on this!" Kevin yelled.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go celebrate at Molly's!" Herrmann yelled. You all cheered and started to make your ways to the cars. Kevin wrapped his arm around your shoulder, and your arms around his waist.

"Today was fun, we should do this at our place." Kevin said.

You smiled and nodded. "I already stocked up."

"That's my girl." he said, as he kissed you hair. You just giggled and turned to kiss his chest.

I hope this was okay, but can you imagine this happening?

Masterlist.

#kevin atwater #kevin atwater chicago pd #kevin atwater imagine #kevin atwater imagines #kevin atwater x reader #reader x kevin atwater #kevin atwater x you #you x kevin atwater #chicago pd imagine #chicago pd imagines #chicago fire #chicago me #chicago justice #one chicago #chi hards

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peachdaydream · 7 years

Note

#5 with young k pls! Thank you!

I’m going to assume this is from the ‘Super Sappy Lines Prompt List’, but if not, let me know!

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” you can hear the excitement in Brian’s hoarse voice as you return to his room with more pillows.

“I know, you’ve said you wanted to do it before,” you begin with a chuckle, placing another pillow on his bed before pressing your hand against his forehead to check his temperature, “so why not now? Bring a little joy to my sickly boyfriend’s life and get him to stay still and rest, two birds with one stone.”

He catches your hand with his before you can pull away fully and places a kiss on the inside of your wrist, resisting the urge to lean forward instead and give you a proper kiss since he didn’t want to get you sick too, “Thank you, not just for this, but for taking care of me.”

“What else am I supposed to do? I know for a fact if I’m not here to force you into bed then you’ll be doing anything that isn’t resting,” you tease gently before allowing your voice to take on a softer and more affectionate tone, “you’re welcome. Now hush, lay back and I’ll turn the fairy lights on,” you respond, giving him a soft smile before getting out of the blanket fort you made together around his bed, complete with a make shift bed canopy made from a spare bed sheet.

“Oh, this is awesome,” you hear him say and you know he can feel your gaze through the canopy because he speaks up again a moment later, “Right, hush so I don’t make my voice worse, sorry…”

You roll your eyes playfully at him before joining him in his little pillow nest, laying on your side next to him and gently brushing his dyed orange hair away from his face as you begin to hum to him. A smile begins to spread across your lips when you see him smiling up at you with the fairy lights reflecting in his eyes, making it look like he has all the stars in his eyes.

But before Brian has the chance to wrap his arms around you and anchor you into bed with him, you clearly know where his train of thought is going because you’re suddenly getting up and murmuring something about soup that he misses completely because he’s too busy thinking about ways to keep you in bed before resorting to the old fashioned way.

He grasps your hand, gives it a firm tug and, because you’re not expecting it, you fall back into him easily enough with a soft ‘oomf’ as he traps you in his arms.

“Brian!”

#day6 imagines #day6 scenarios #day6 writings #young k scenarios #young k x reader #brian kang x reader #kang younghyun x reader #whatevu73 #peach answers #my writings

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zerathine · 7 years

Text

Chapter 1: Your Best Friend

Book 1: Dark

Breaking the barrier permanently and ending the Resets will require Frisk and Chara to choose a side: friends or enemies?

Virtual

The bed of golden flowers

I lie on stretches to soak in the feeble sunlight. The cavern is cozy, a smidge wider than my room at home but much, much taller. A tan hand that does not belong to me covered in pollen lifts to block the light. I roll…

No. Wait. That is not quite right, is it? I am not the one in control.

The voice - his? hers? theirs? - is more of a thought than speech but is as clear as the music of Mom’s crystal wine glasses.

The owner of the voice stands--and I with them--a stick clutched in their left hand as they pat the pollen from their striped shirt. Tufts of leaves poke out of the stick’s single branch. They’re lucky it didn’t impale them or snap from the fall. As though sensing my thoughts, they inspect their person for injury apart from whatever the bandage on their forearm covers.

They...they...No, that, too, is inaccurate. I am not an outsider peering in. I am...dead. Was dead. Irrelevant. I can sort that mystery out later. Correcting my perspective to right this disorientation takes precedence.

My essence is bound to...to you. As it was once bound to another. You breathe, and I breathe with you. Through your eyes, I see a white card reflecting sunlight tucked into the flowers.

That’s new, you say, and these words resound off the surrounding pillars.

Hmm, no, that perspective does not quite fit either. This person is not really “you,” are they? “You” are entirely someone else.

The child kneels to collect and inspect the empty card, and their wonderment buzzes through me, just like their question.

Name...My name is….

My name is…?

My memories of the time I was alive are far from lacking: tender moments with family sitting before the lit fireplace or moments where I was given that rare delicacy known as chocolate, but like the card, my name is empty.

/* I don’t know. */

The person blinks and lowers their arm to their side, head tilted. My answer, I suspect, is unexpected, but the hesitation lasts a heartbeat before another thought comforts me:

Ah! Let’s. Let us. Us, we, ours. Had I lips, I would have smiled. We smile anyway.

We slide the glossy card into a pocket on our shorts and snap the button shut, then follow the single passageway to a slate-colored doorway with the Delta Rune emblazoned above, supported on a pedestal by two ridged pillars. We brush our fingertips along the dry stone in the threshold, eyeing a cheerful flower bobbing along to its humming. When it spots us, its smile widens.

/* Really. Well then, what do you propose we do? */

/* And has that worked for previous encounters? */

/* Hah! Then, what makes you think it’ll work now? */

Well, that’s the finest display of optimism by my new companion…. We inhale and, it occurs to me as we run toward the flower on our exhale, that we haven’t been properly acquainted.

/* Hey, what’s your-- */

“Howdy!” The flower’s friendly smile widens. He expects us to stop. “I’m Flowey! Flowey the Flo-”

Our foot smashes into Flowey’s face, and we exult with a reverberating “whoop!” and laughter. Never, in the history of human or monster-kind alike, has a plant faced such demoralization.

“Aaaaargh! What’s the big idea, you idiot!?” Flowey shouts.

The magic he flings at our back tinks against the stone floor as we dash into the next chamber where a grand staircase hugs a pile of Autumn leaves. Our chest spasms from our giggles and breaths.

Something latches onto our collar and lifts us running from the ground, reducing us to dangling Flowey-bait. So much for our great escape.

“My child, you should pay closer attention to your surroundings,” a woman chides.

She sets us facing her on our feet and brushes down our wrinkled shirt. Ears drape over her shoulders and small, white horns poke out of her head. She holds herself with the grace of royalty, posture erect, towering even. Her face...

“You ought to apologize to the poor dear.”

...M-Mom.

It’s...it’s Mom.

But she should be at New Home. Not here.

But here she is.

Why…?

We stumble after her tug on our wrist, too dumbstruck to resist. Flowey, whose grimace reeks with suspicion, leans away from our approach and into the halo of light, which highlights the footprint stamped into his face. With a bit more force, the indentations might have been permanent. It’s too bad dirt will wash away.

“Do not be scared, little one,” Mom says. “The child only wishes to tell you they are sorry.”

She releases us but places her paw in between our shoulder blades to keep us from fleeing, a habit she developed because of my past fights with Asriel, heheh. She nudges us forward, and our hand flexes around the stick, the tip of which Flowey eyes as it teeters up and down.

“You do wish to tell him that you are sorry, do you not, my child?”

We flip the stick so the point faces behind us, grin at our masterpiece, and frame the shoeprint with our fingers. Some of the pollen from the golden flowers has mixed with the dirt. Truly a photogenic piece.

“That’s not an apology,” Flowey says, glowering.

We crouch to eye level with him and circle our arms around our legs, then pick at the bandage on our forearm. He sinks into his stem.

“Well?” Flowey snaps.

We pull our eyelid down with a finger and stick our tongue out at him.

“Rrrgh, you little--”

“My child.” We flinch at the severity in Mom’s voice as she places a hand on our shoulder and kneels beside us. Her disapproving frown foretells a Mom talk. “In life there are many choices, each of them paired with a resulting consequence.” She gestures to Flowey. “Your decision to terrorize this poor creature will result in a negative consequence such as a night without dinner. However, should you reverse your course, a positive consequence may follow such as my warm, homemade, flaky butterscotch-cinnamon pie.”

Mom’s pie...steam rises from caramelized sugar waiting to melt in our mouths. The spicy-sweet scent of the cinnamon glaze Mom brushes onto the pan and the top of the pie permeates the cavern. We can almost reach out a hand to dig our fingers into the gooey filling, but our growling stomach bursts the daydream into a pie-less reality.

I’m sorry…

“What was that?” Flowey drawls. “I couldn’t tell if that was your mouth or your stomach talking.”

I’m sorry your face found my foot.

Flowey giggles. His tipping head leads the sway of his stalk like one of those gaudy solar dancing flowers.

“Golly, that’s…” And in that instant he freezes, his expression darkened to a poignant scowl while we bite back more laughter. “That’s not funny…. Stop laughing.” We laugh harder. “I said stop laughing!”

“Oh dear,” Mom sighs. “I’m sorry, ah…”

“Flowey,” Flowey growls.

“My deepest apologies, Flowey, for the child’s misbehavior. Allow me to make it up to you somehow. Would you and your family like some baked snails?”

“Hmph, I don’t have a family.”

“O-Oh...dear. I am sorry. I, ah, did not realize….” Flowey shoots Mom a withering glare. “Well, would you like to accompany us for some pie?”

What, no!

“Hush, my child. We will deal with your punishment when we return home.”

/* Worth it. */

“No. I’m fine,” Flowey says.

“Are you certain, small one? I would like to do something to make up for the child’s discourtesy.”

“I said I’m fine. But thanks. For the invitation.”

“Well, if you change your mind you are more than welcome to join us.”

We waddle the cramps from our legs into the next room, where amethyst clusters protruding from the ceiling saturate the brick with a deep purple glow, almost disguising the stone crumbling from years of disuse. It’s certainly a stark contrast to the blackness of the previous cavern. We glance over our shoulder, but Flowey’s gone. Well, at least we dodged on apologizing, and he’s out of our hair now. Plus, whatever punishment Mom decides upon won’t be cruel.

Mom herself, now that we can get a better look at her, looks older. Her coat has lost its luster to time’s corrosion. It’s more matte, more brittle than soft. The only exception is the faintest glimmer of joy in the crinkle of her eyes.

“What an interesting creature,” Mom says as she follows our gaze to the now-empty moss. “I’ve never seen a flower monster like him before. Hmm, nevermind. It’s not as though I have spoken to every existing monster myself.” We meet her eyes. “My name is Toriel. I am the Keeper of the Ruins, and every day I pass through this area to see if any humans have fallen. Though your behavior was less than ideal, I still look forward to showing you your new home.”

We follow her up the deteriorating steps, the stone rail rough with age under our hand. Even the crystals above look like they might wiggle loose with one good quake, crushing the staircase into dust and rubble and submerging this room, too, in darkness. Mom hums a haunting lullaby that accentuates the hollowness of the Ruins. Slimes, shadows, frogs...monsters of all sizes, shapes, and stenches used to pack these vacant walls. But now they are no more.

Just how much time has passed between my death and now?

We hop up the remaining two steps, whereupon a flower pops out of the floor near the doorway.

“Howdy,” Flowey says. His face looks naked without our footprint art. “So, I’ve thought about your invitation, and I’ve changed my mind. I think pie sounds like a wonderful idea, and it’s the perfect apology.”

“Oh, splendid!” Mom says.

/* This is not splendid. */

“We would be delighted to have you join us, wouldn’t we, my child?”

We say nothing as Mom turns the corner ahead of us. We squeeze the stick to dispel our rocketing anxiety, point two fingers at our eyes, and then jab them in Flowey’s direction. Unfazed by our warning, he bares his fang-filled smile and plops underground.

“...variety of difficult puzzles,” Mom says as we’re entering the first puzzle.

/* Oops, should we have been listening to her? */

She lowers the lever and the doors scrape open to the sound of rushing water. We shuffle along the well-worn path past the six depressed buttons and into the next corridor where water flows along two parallel troughs. Flowey, waiting for us at the first lever, pulls it with a vine and a leafy wave. A distant mechanism clicks, slides, and clicks.

“Puzzles will be no problem if we work together, right?” Flowey asks as he sways to and fro.

I can do it on my own.

“I mean, I’m sure you’d be fine, but what’s wrong with a little bit of help from your best friend Flowey?”

Repaying a Loan Shark would be easier. We ignore him and dash across the bridge ahead of Mom to pull the next lever.

/* Wait, that’s-- */

“No!” Mom shouts.

We jerk our hand back as though scalded by the metal, our jaw clenching when Flowey giggles from behind us.

“That’s the wrong switch, silly,” Flowey says.

We stumble back and look between the two levers, puzzled, though it’s pretty clear which one is correct.

/* But the yellow arrows are pointing to the right one. */

“What’s wrong, my child?” Mom says. “Go ahead and pull the other switch.”

I just wanted to see what this switch would do.

“Well, if I’d have known you wanted to waste everyone’s time, I wouldn’t have given away the answer,” Flowey says with that ear-drilling giggle. “By all means, go ahead and pull it, but it’s just a dud.”

You’ve taken all the fun out of it.

We march to the other lever. We tug it down. The spikes slide beneath their plates, which opens the way to the next room where a dummy sits in the far corner.

/* A cotton heart and a button eye, you are the apple of my eye. */

“In the underground, you will run into monsters who will try and attack you, but do not fear, my child,” Mom says. “Simply talk to them and stall for time until I can come to your aid. Why not practice talking to the dummy?”

Monsters...monsters attacking us. No, that cannot be. Knight Knights, Bye Bees, Doppel Gen Mirs, Migospels, Gorgonzillas...None of them would hurt a human.

Flowey’s existence is proof enough of that. He pokes out of the ground next to the Dummy and pats the base with a leaf.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me this stuffed animal scares you,” he says.

No.

“Do you hate dummies?”

No.

“Then what’s the problem? Don’t you want to be its friend?”

We cross our arms and jerk our head away.

No.

Wait….

The dummy sheds a stuffing tear and putters into the air out of sight. We wince.

“Gosh, that wasn’t very nice,” Flowey says.

You set me up on purpose.

“What are you talking about? I just asked you a simple question. You were the one who chose to say no. Don’t go blaming others for your insensitivity.”

“Flowey is right, my child,” Mom says. “You cannot place blame on others for your actions, even if it was an accident.”

“From what I’ve heard that dummy is pretty sensitive, too. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s telling its cousin about what you said right this instant,” Flowey says.

“That’s enough from you, too, young one. It is cruel to dig at the wounds of another.”

Flowey rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”

He burrows beneath the rock, and Mom leads us into the next room, where vendors with vibrant stalls once lined up in rows to sell their handmade blankets, dishware, and trinkets away from the city bustle. Only the stone remembers the echoes of the names they once hailed.

/* By the way...you never told me your name. */

/* Frisk? That name...it feels so familiar, but I am certain this is the first time we have met. */

/* What? */

/* Try me. You certainly act like this isn’t your first time through here, yet everything has taken you by surprise thus far. */

/* Changed? */

/* Calm down. Your jumbled thoughts are making me dizzy. Wait, watch out! */

A Froggit hops into our path within the narrow corridor, more startled by our presence than we are its. We keep our posture open and inviting to counterbalance the Froggit’s offensive crouch.

Aw, aren’t you a cutie.

It doesn’t understand our words, but it relaxes and blushes pink until Mom hustles up to us and frightens it away with her stinkeye. It hops by in a hurry to escape her, poor thing. It didn’t do anything wrong.

Mom takes hold of our hand anyway to guide us across the spiked floor ahead of us. She’s more protective than I remember.

/* What do you mean my name has changed several times? */

/* None of those are me. */

...None of those are me. I can’t explain how I know this, but those names do not encompass who I am. With nothing left to say, we step through another threshold into a corridor stretching into an infinite nightmare. Mom turns to face us.

“I sense some remaining animosity between you and Flowey, my child,” Mom says. “Please, forgive me for what I am about to do, but I believe it is for the best that you two work through your differences.”

Mom books it to the other end of the hall, a white and purple speck by the time she reaches the lone pillar. Flowey pops out of the ground, giggling.

“Finally, she’s gone. Now you and I can chat without interruptions.”

We sidestep Flowey and entertain the thought of stomping on his face again. He cuts us off.

“Well, gosh, from the way you’ve been acting, it seems like you already know what’s going on here, huh?”

We shrug. It’s still a long way to where Mom’s hiding.

“You seem pretty smart for a human,” Flowey continues. “Say, and I’m only making a wild guess here, but…”

We skip past him again, confident he won’t attack where Mom can see us. He sure is a persistent flower.

“...Hey…”

We ignore him.

“Aaaaaaaargh! Would you stop and listen to me, you idiot!? If you don’t, I’ll kill her. Hee hee hee.”

We pause and tap the tip of the stick against the cave floor. Flowey clears his throat to draw our attention, but we cross our arms and wait. If he wants to talk, he can come to us. He growls but pops up in front of us once more so we can talk face-to-face.

“As I was saying, it seems like there’s been a misunderstanding between us. I mean. Our first meeting was you stepping on my face. And then blaming me for your mistakes. So, I’m not exactly in the wrong here.”

We wave a hand in front of us to tell Flowey to get to the point.

“At least this time,” Flowey adds. “So, what was it before? I give you some bad advice? Try to steal your stick?”

You know the answer to that already.

We start to walk away again to let him know we won’t answer his roundabout questions.

“Okay, okay. I admit, the thought of killing you did cross my mind. I’m guessing that’s what I’ve done in the past, so I understand why you don’t like me.”

We shouldn’t have said anything, but we halt again, since he has stopped beating around the bush.

“Sure, I may have done some preeeeeeeetty gross stuff to you before. But” --he studies us-- “are you entirely innocent yourself?”

Distorted thoughts skritch along our brain like dozens of agitated bees. Our flinch is the trigger for Flowey’s next sting.

“You aren’t, are you? You’ve toyed with their lives, too. You realize this is all just a game, so you Reset to discover what you’ve missed. Hee hee hee. You sicko. You’re just like me.”

That’s not--

“But it’s okay because no one remembers. Why golly, even I can’t remember!”

You’re just assuming things.

The skritching worsens the longer Flowey considers us.

“I can be amicable, too, you know,” he says slowly. “We could be allies, you and I. Wouldn’t that be interesting? With your ability to Reset, it’d be useless to try and kill you, I see that now, but if we worked together, we’d be unstoppable. The best part? There wouldn’t be any consequences!”

No, absolutely not. We storm past Flowey, our heart and mind racing in opposite directions. His fixation on this idea bodes ill for us, and we’re only a third of the way through the hall. But if Flowey is right and we...if Frisk is some anomalous time traveler, then the probability of Resetting to sate their curiosity seems rather high.

/* Is it true, Frisk? */

/* Then why Reset so much? */

Flowey wraps a vine around our ankle, which we shake as he stretches his stalk further from the ground to twist in front of us.

“Why are you so against the idea of us working together?” He follows our involuntary glance to the pillar where Mom hides. “You think that pig hiding actually cares about you? That she’s any better than me?”

She looks more like a goat.

“Augh, whatever! Pig, goat, trash, I don’t care what you call her. The point is you are just a replacement to her, a fantasy for times long past.”

You’re lying.

“She ran away from her responsibilities and now searches for poor, injured humans to try and fill in her loneliness. Look at her. She’s a pathetic bleeding heart. She’d be more than happy to let you march off to your own death than try to prevent it. Why? Because she’s afraid. She’s afraid of facing her shortcomings and mistakes far more than she fears for your safety. What a hypocrite.”

That’s not...

Our struggle against Flowey’s hold ceases at the flicker of a memory, not from me but from Frisk, of Mom’s hug begging us not to leave the Ruins yet not offering to accompany us either to ensure our safety. Her expectations, her loneliness, her fear....she’d claimed to set them aside for us, but the truth was that she had clutched onto them all the tighter.

/* No, Mom isn’t like that, Frisk. */

Flowey continues, “But me? I’m not afraid of anything, and I’m the only one who can really understand you and your ability. Hee hee hee. I can help you. Your false trust, your loneliness, your fear. I can help you overcome them. I can show you the truth, and I won’t lead you astray. There’s just one itsy-bitsy thing you gotta do. It’s simple, really. You just have to side with me. It’s your call. Just make sure it’s the right one.”

Flowey burrows underground, leaving us to contemplate his offer.

But to accept would be absurd. We are caught at a crossroads halfway between the corridor’s entrance and Mom’s pillar. This is all wrong. Asriel’s and my plan had failed, but Mom should still be with Dad, so why is she here anyway?

/* Frisk, what happened since...since my death? */

/* What do you mean? I deserve to know what happened to my family. */

/* Fine. */

We reach the pillar in silence, where Flowey waits with Mom, who has her hands clasped before her until she sees us from the corner of her eye. The furrow of her brow betrays the dissatisfaction she won’t voice.

“Greetings, my child. I am sorry to have left you. I wished to not only test your independence but allow you the opportunity to reconcile with Flowey. However, he tells me you continue to ignore him.”

Mom hesitates and scrutinizes us. With a curt, self-assured nod, she pulls out an ancient-looking cellphone from the pocket of her robe and approaches us.

“Here, my child, take this. I must attend to some business in order to prepare the pie and think it would be best if you and Flowey used this time to continue working through your differences. I am sure that you two have more in common than you might think. Why not talk about some hobbies you may share while I am away? Or pretend you are monarchs ruling over the leaf pile with a fist of iron. I will return in a short while to see how you are doing. Be well, my children.”

In the yard with the blackened tree, our knuckles white and hand aching, we brandish the stick as the weapon it truly is for the first time against Flowey. Too many battles has that contemptible flower interfered, providing wrong directions to watch us flounder against easy enemies throughout the entirety of the Ruins.

No, not enemies. They are not enemies, no matter what poison Flowey feeds us. There’s no reason to kill them, even in self-defense, as Frisk has proven.

But this...this parasite will ruin us.

“Boy, without me around to help you, you woulda been dead by now, huh, friend?” Flowey says. “Good thing I’m here! Are you sure this isn’t your first time though? You seemed kinda lost. I mean, there was that whole thing with that stupid ghost--”

His name is Napstablook, and it’s your fault he left crying!

“--plus the puzzles you constantly screwed up at every turn despite how much you’ve supposedly done them, and have you never fought Moldessa triplets before?”

I’ve only seen them a few times, and that was forever ago.

“I’m not judging you or anything, but your form was a little sloppy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone fight more pathetically than you.” His sly smile is another cut along our battle-weary soul. “Maybe it’s not that you choose to befriend everyone but rather you can’t even fight. You don’t know how to attack, you don’t know how to kill, you don’t know anything! Maybe the previous times I tried to kill you because it would be a mercy!”

Our befriending attempts may have been sloppy, but our vertical slash at Flowey is swift and precise. Flowey jerks to the side in time to catch the blast of air as the stick whistles past his face.

“Golly, you sure are quick to attack for someone who’s never killed, huh?” Flowey taunts. “Have I already angered you to homicide? Hee hee hee. That was easier than I thought.”

We sweep the stick parallel to the ground, but Flowey tunnels out of the way.

“I guess you’ve made your choice then,” Flowey says.

I won’t side with you. Lie to as many monsters as you want to make them hate me--

“What in the world is going on here!?” Mom shouts.

A wall of flame intercepts our next slash, and we falter in our step, aghast. Not often have I witnessed the sort of rage that engulfs Mom’s arms in fire to the elbows without singeing a lock of her fur--or the bag of groceries clenched in her opposite hand. We instinctively cower away from her.

“That is enough of this childish behavior. You two could get seriously hurt. Child, follow me this instant. I do not know how you were treated on the surface, but down here we do not needlessly attack one another when there is a disagreement.”

Mom snatches our arm and drags us staggering toward the quaint house, one of the only structures not falling apart brick by brick. Despite being in trouble, the lighting as we enter the foyer casts a homely glow, even as we’re tugged to the right and down a hallway consisting of three rooms, the first at which she jerks us to a halt. We relinquish the stick to her outheld paw, sulking as we’re ushered into the bedroom.

“You may come out when you have calmed down and thought about your actions,” Mom says.

Though we expect the door to slam behind us, the jamb mutters shut and the lock snicks into place. We jostle the handle to no avail. We truly are locked in. Mom’s voice fades as she exits the hallway toward the living room, asking Flowey if he’d like to help her with the pie and apologizing on our behalf, as if we’re the enemy.

We scour the room for an escape, but aside from dusty toys, a chest full of shoes, a camera on the bookshelf, and a closet full of assorted striped shirts, we find nothing. Along with the camera sits a music box, which we wind up to fill the tense silence. It’s the lullaby Mom was humming earlier, the underlying chords warming the melody.

We plunk down onto the bed and rub a hand along our face, sinking further into the mattress as we exhale.

Not particularly keen on talking to Frisk myself, I retain my silence, and we listen to our heart slowing to the music’s tempo. Throughout the Ruins, we bumbled through attacks and floundered through puzzles, our knowledge of how things should be and reality differing from one another. Our accidental insults toward the monsters had dwindled into stony silence with Flowey as our constant shadow.

Stacked atop all of that is Frisk’s insistence on withholding knowledge claiming it’s for my benefit, just like Mom used to say when I asked her questions, or like that one game, keep away, which I used to play with Asriel. Except now I’m the victim. No wonder he always tattled on me.

/* The least you can do is stop invading my thoughts. */

We unsnap our pocket and remove the card we found at the start of our journey. Both sides are still empty. It’s rectangular, about the size and glossiness of a photograph.

/* You’ve said before that it was new. */

We close our eyes, our hand covering the card on our stomach while our legs dangle over the side of the bed. We picture a long hallway tinted blue and devoid of sound, writing etched into the wall where occasionally a gray door stands.

"I can feel it,” Asriel’s deep voice echoes. “Every time you die, your grip on this world slips away. Every time you die, your friends forget you a little more. Your life will end here, in a world where no one remembers you…”

The world is ending, has dissolved to the darkness of final confrontation. Before us Asriel floats, the wings of the cosmos extending to the ends of the universe. I can feel it, too. Every soul pulsing within his body cowers at the magnitude of the power ensnaring them. They are lost, each and every one of them. Yearners, dreamers, wishers...all seek the forgotten.

Hundreds of beams punch through our paralyzed soul until it splinters into halves. But it refuses.

“Still you're hanging on...? That's fine. In a few more moments, you'll forget everything, too. That attitude will serve you well in your next life."

We bolt awake, solid and whole and shaking.

/* Frisk, was that… */

/* Asriel’s alive? */

/* Then what? */

Huh, that makes a bizarre sort of sense. Neither alive nor dead but caught within the circuitry like a glitch.

Rubbing our eyes of sleep and yawning, we slide from the bed onto our knees to grab the card and pocket it again. A dense grogginess numbs our mind, but we rock to a stand and approach the door, not like Mom’ll have unlocked--

It swings open. We blink, then creep into the hallway like fugitives. The warm smell of pie clobbers our olfactories, nearly toppling us into a starving heap on the floor as our stomach clenches into a meal-deprived knot. Mom’s too far away to summon for help. Looks like we’ll have to proceed on our own.

We slink through the foyer, straining our ears to listen for any suspicious sounds, arms wrapped around our stomach to muffle its protesting growls until we reach the wall between us and the living room.

“...digestive systems as they mature?”

Ah, facts about snails. Asriel loved it when Mom shared a new snail fact with us every week, always spent the first hour trying to guess what fact she would share by shouting nonsense like, “Talk. Really. Slowly?” Flowey, on the other hand, looks bored to tears as we poke our head into the living room. Huh, surprising he hasn’t threatened her with violence yet.

Mom catches us from the corner of her eye and smiles while she places the snail book in her lap. “Good morning, my child. You are just in time to eat pie and enjoy some facts about snails. Would you like to join us?”

We nod and enter the room in trepidation as Mom leaves for the kitchen and returns with the biggest slice of pie I have ever seen. We take the plate, plop onto the floor, and scarf down the pie, much to Mom’s amusement and Flowey’s distaste.

“Say, what would you do if you found out the human killed someone?” Flowey asks.

Mom nearly spits out her bite of pie, and we nearly choke on ours. “What?” Her attention snaps to us. “Who did they kill?”

“Oh, nobody!” Flowey giggles. “It was just a hypothetical question. You know, just in case they ever do.”

Mom contemplates her answer. “I would ask who they killed, why they felt inclined to do so, and if they thought it was the right thing to do. There is always an underlying reason for our actions. I would then explain to them that the monster likely had a family who had cared for them very much and that now the monster is gone and will never return home.”

“Wow, that’s really sad.”

We dislodge from our throat the chunk of pie that tried to kill us and set our plate aside--fork and knife included. The pie looks less appealing now as apprehension worms its way into our stomach instead.

“What if they continued to do it?” Flowey says.

“W-what?”

“You know, kill monsters. What if they didn’t listen to you?”

“I…”

“Golly, what a heavy question. They would never do that, would they?”

Flowey shoots us a pointed look, his head tilted sideways. We shake our head, our pulse racing. Flowey’s eyes sink into his disk, forming hollow orbits through which his pupils glow, and his smile curls into that of the deranged, growing wider and wider until it could swallow us whole. We fall back on our hands to scramble away from him.

“That’s why someone has to do it for them until they learn otherwise!” he says.

A barrage of pellet-sized bullets punch through Mom, who slumps back in her chair, eyes glassing over as we scramble to our feet. Her plate clatters to the floor.

“Ha….ha…” Toriel gasps the last of her breath.

Her dust plumes out to cover the chair, her soul hovering in the negative space until one pellet strikes and shatters it into thousands of sprinkling shards. Flowey cackles.

“So, you won’t kill anyone, will you? No, you want to save them. Hee hee hee. That’s okay. I’ll help you overcome your fear of watching them die by killing them myself when you’re least expecting it. Go ahead! Reload your last save. I’ll be waiting.”

Flowey vanishes beneath the floorboards.

The room tears away into darkness that sews itself together into the bedroom where we were previously grounded. We release a shuddered breath and exit into the hall. This time, when the pie’s sweetness bombards our nose, we swallow a gag. Nauseated, we slink into the living room contemplating the worst outcomes.

Mom lowers the snail book to her lap and greets us with her ignorant smile.

“Good morning, my child,” Mom says. “You are just in time to eat pie and enjoy some facts about snails.” She frowns. “Oh dear, are you unwell? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Flowey makes a show of dipping his head to inspect his leaves, his eyes lifted toward us while another of his disturbing smiles sprouts along his face.

I’m okay, just a little tired.

“Howdy!” Flowey perks up. “Boy, you slept forever. I was getting bored and was about to ask our host what she would do if you ever decided to kill her.”

“Goodness,” Toriel says, “what prompted that question?”

“Well, they're human, aren't they? And humans are notorious for believing they're above consequences! Aren't you? Hee hee hee.”

That's a lie! You’re the one who thinks there’re no consequences for our actions. You believe this world is kill or be killed, but you’re--

“Right!” Flowey says. “This world is kill or be killed. And I’ll show you why.”

Again the bullets puncture Mom’s body. We let out a strangled cry, reach for her as her dust billows outward in a cloud. We crawl toward her shivering soul, but it bursts into glass fragments that dissolve upon impact with the floor. We sink against our heels, arms limp at our sides.

“You know, my sibling used to get me in trouble all the time,” Flowey says. “It's kinda nice being on the opposite end of that for once, hee hee.”

As he twists around to face us, Flowey gives our shoulder a sympathetic squeeze with one of his vines.

“Oh, stop crying. The only reason you're suffering is because you refuse to distance yourself. You should revel in the freedom that killing others brings without worrying about the consequences. Continue like you are and you’ll only end up alone with no one to blame but yourself. I’m your friend. It’s not like I enjoy seeing you like this, but you’re hurting yourself with your constant lies. All you need to do is admit that you’ve killed, and this violence will stop. That’s it!”

We shake our head with conviction. Flowey sighs and tuts at us like we’re a simpleton.

“You’re lying,” Flowey says.

He disappears, and the world tears away to the bedroom once more. Again we march to the living room and again we stop short as Mom smiles at us.

“Good morning, my child. You are just in time to eat pie with us and enjoy some facts about snails.” She frowns. “Oh dear, are you unwell? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I’m fine, just a little tired. Can I still have some pie?

Mom chuckles and stands, placing the book on the cushion of her chair. Once she disappears into the kitchen, we snatch one of the fire pokers from the stand in the corner adjacent to the doorway, the wrought iron heavy in our hands.

“Hee hee hee. You’re so easy!” Flowey says.

We rush Flowey just as Mom walks in with the pie, which clatters to the floor and explodes into a gooey mess. Fire weaves itself into the palms of her hands, but a cascade of bullets hail through her. Her body shivers from each impact.

“Did you really think attacking me was going to help her?” Flowey asks.

Mom drops to a knee. We shout and stab at Flowey’s smug, nightmarish face with the poker, but his litheness makes him a difficult target.

“Ha….ha….I see now….my child….” Mom says before her form dissipates.

“You’re never going to save her.” Flowey’s eyes bulge with hunger-lust. “Maybe you should choose more carefully who your enemies are. Hee hee hee. Just admit you’ve killed before and I’ll end the torture. Your move.”

Flowey disappears, the living room vanishes, and we find ourselves materializing in the dark bedroom, the length of which we pace.

A rather unpleasant question with an equally distasteful answer.

/* Sometimes it’s better to keep your enemies closer than your friends…. */

We stop with our heels pressed together. Teddy bears, dolls, blocks, and toy trains overflow from the toy chest. None of these toys, however, can solve our dilemma.

/* He wants to get a rise out of us. If we submit for now, we can wait for an opportunity to gain the upper hand, lure him into a false sense of security. But we can’t give up pushing his buttons entirely or he’ll become suspicious of our behavior. */

/* We can figure that out later. He’s not going to budge on this. Unless you want to watch Mom die continuously. */

/* Make sure it’s convincing. */

We leave the bedroom and return to the living room, freezing mid-step as a pile of dust greets us, “The Book of 72 Snail Facts” face down and its pages bent from how it fell.

“You waited too long this time, friend,” Flowey says. “You should have known you were on a time limit. I wonder, how long will your Determination last? Will you cave and start killing her yourself just so you don’t have to deal with the pain, or will you watch as I turn her to dust over and over and over?”

Okay, Flowey, you’re right. I have killed during previous Resets. We hold ourself with pride, shoulders squared, back straight. I’ve killed Froggits, Vegetoids, Migosps, and Moldsmals. I’ve gained Toriel’s trust just to stab her in the back, and I’ve cut her down with one blow. But one thing has never changed, Flowey, and that’s the strength of my Determination.

Flowey grins at the conviction empowering our words. The best fibs contain a spattering of truth, but in this case I can’t tell how much is truth and how much is lie.

“I knew you’d see it my way,” Flowey says. “But you’re only halfway forgiven. Hee hee hee. Reload again, and maybe this time I won’t kill her.”

We do so and roll our shoulders before entering the living room for the final time. Mom smiles at us.

“Good morning, my child. You are just in time to eat pie with us and enjoy some facts about snails.” She frowns. “Oh dear, are you unwell? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I’m fine, just a little tired. Barbs scratch our dry throat as we repeatedly swallow. I...I’ve also thought about what I’ve done. It was wrong of me to step on your face and blame you for my mistakes, Flowey, and I’m sorry for attacking you earlier. I hope you can forgive me.

“Golly, it'd be criminal of me not to forgive you, friend! You already know I’m not one to hold a grudge. An apology was all I wanted.”

Flowey sticks out his tongue and winks.

“I am so proud of you, my child. It takes a lot of courage to shoulder responsibility for one’s mistakes and apologize for them.”

We flash Mom an exhausted smile. Can I have some pie?

Mom retrieves the biggest slice of pie we’ve ever seen from the kitchen. It tastes like dust and imprisonment.

“Um, I’d just like you both to know how glad I am to have you here,” Mom says once she settles into her chair. “I know that if you give each other a chance, you could become friends. Maybe even...siblings?”

“Golly, that'd certainly be nice, wouldn't it?” Flowey says.

/* Hah. Well, whatever may happen, you must stay Determined. We are in this for the long haul, partner. */

Reality

Re: Anomalies

Ness Dink

To: Gentry Itti; Vance Serpere

7/3/18 7:20 PM

Apologies for the late reply. I just got off of work. It certainly seems as though today has been rather active for everyone in the gaming universe. Even the people I have spoken to who hate Undertale have expressed concern over Toby’s disappearance. It is quite the conundrum, but there isn’t much we can do, is there? It’d best be left to the authorities.

I suppose we could livestream. I will run Genocide, since you have already claimed Pacifist in your blog, though I am not looking forward to fighting Sans again, but since there will be plenty of others who will explore the neutral routes, I think it would be good of us to stream the two extremes first.

I think it would be best if we did not race, however. If there are as many new events as Vance has claimed, then we will want to take our time and explore all of the differences.

Bray will also want to study our recordings to come up with her own theories, so don’t get overzealous like you tend to, Gentry.

On 7/3/18, Fri at 6:13 PM, Vance Serpere wrote:

Actually, it is not uncommon for game devs to set up a scheduled time for an update to be released, especially if they’re going to be gone for a while.

Heh, who knows, maybe he faked his own death because of how much of a celebrity he’s become.

On 7/3/18, Fri at 6:05 PM, Gentry Itti wrote:

Vance, buddy! Glad you saw my post. Sounds like you and the other DedRiters have been busy. Crazy stuff, huh? Toby hasn’t updated the game in centuries, then BAM, an update goes out the day he vanishes.

Still can’t get over the fact it’s Friday 13th. I’m not normally superstitious, but this gives me the heebs.

Luv the idea to livestream, Vance. What do you say, Ness? Ready to wipe off the old Undertale livestream accounts and race like we used to?

On 7/3/18, Fri at 5:56 PM, Vance Serpere wrote:

Hey.

So, I’ve run some initial tests that I think you two might find interesting. I suggest livestreaming both of your profiles from here on out because the game gets insane.

It’s easily tripled in size and gameplay, bumping up average time to about 18 hours. At least 12 new rooms have been added along with new enemies and dozens of new objects to interact with. It’s like a completely different game with the same premise and graphics.

I’m going to see what else I can crack, but right now there’s some code that even those more skillful than I cannot access because of some high-level encryption. Dunno what Toby’s been doing for the past 3 years since the game’s release, but his programming skills have rocketed.

Oh, I also looked into the MIRAGES bit you mentioned in your blog, Gentry, and it looks like Room 269 is now off limits until an event triggers. However, it’s become more difficult to edit room values and fun values without hitting a wall. Believe me, my buddies on DedRit are trying, but every time we crack through a bit of code, a firewall goes up to keep us out.

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