I’ve been trying to get Enya’s y8 lore down for the last 3 days but all I’ve managed is to stare at this blank draft KSKDKSKS😭

DPXDC: I wanna be like most girls ghosts.

or Danny: What should I do to make my mom happy?

or ~Danny deserves a little teenage rebellion as a treat~

Maddie: I just want this damned Phantom to stop pretending to be a hero! All ghosts are pure evil, who is he trying to deceive? Danny: Oh, really? And Danny took it personally.

It’s not Danny’s fault that he’s a good kid and wants to make his parents happy. But why would he have to be a monster to make them happy? Why must they hate him to be happy?

Danny’s obsession was going crazy.

Well, when your own parents call you a monster in the face, it hurts. Why do they always believe that only their opinion is the absolute truth? They have no idea how much worse things would be if at least some of the ghosts really behaved the way Maddie and Jack think they’re supposed to. If he really is evil by nature, is there any point in fighting his own fate? They want to see him as a villain, he will become one. He will. He just needs a little help and practice. And not bring it to the level when Clockwork has to clean up his mess. Poor guy is without a vacation for how long? Couple of millennia?

Johnny 13: Sup. Danny: F*ck off, Johnny, I’m not in the mood. Busy thinking about world domination. Get out of here or I’ll call Kitty. Johnny 13: What’s wrong? You’re usually so grouchy only towards the end of the week. Danny: Nothing. Just parents. Again. They are wonderful but I can’t help but feel sometimes that they, em… Johnny 13: Suck? Danny: Right…Damn. I’m a terrible son. Maybe something is wrong with me. Johnny 13: What? No, no, dude. You’re just growing up. And you’re a little late, usually teenagers go through that stage before they graduate. Well, you’ve probably been busy with other issues, so just missed it. Danny: I wonder whose fault it is. Aren’t there ghosts who enjoyed to ruin my life in the middle of school day?

Johnny 13: Oh, bother. Anyway, you’re entering a beautiful time of emancipation, where you’re going to shape your own view of life and, along the way, to get drunk on cheap alcohol at parties, maybe to go to jail and to become the greatest disappointment to your family..And then you will be ashamed to remember it for about the next ten years. Danny: Well, it looks like I’ve already done two out of three additional things. Great success. Johnny 13: When did you get drunk? Danny: I didn’t. Johnny 13: Oh. Want to fix that? Danny: What? No. What an idiot wants to add a headache to his problems? Johnny 13: Well, your loss, then I’ll go terrorize the bars of Gotham alone and no one can stop me. Let’s see what your boyfriend will say about it. ~~~~~ Danny: Bartender, another shot of Dead Man’s Fingers, please. Red Hood: Babe, haven’t you had enough? Danny: Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you try, no matter how many sacrifices you make, in their eyes you’ll always be nothing more than a monster? Nothing more than a mistake? Oh, Death doesn’t give people like me a break. Red Hood: …I’ll have what he’s having. *gives the bartender a sign to switch the rum shots to a batburger milkshake for them, and starts talking to Danny so that he doesn’t understand Hood's scams*

~~~~~

Johnny 13: Other people’s kids are growing up so fast. It seems like yesterday he didn’t know how to shoot ectoblast, and now.. Kitty: Stop trying to make me feel bad, we’re leaving. Johnny 13: But the boy needs our support, honey boo!

~~~~~

Danny: I'm fine. Really, I am. This isn’t the first time mom’s called me a monster. She often called me that when she was upset with my behavior in my childhood. Huh, it's even funny. Jason: There’s nothing funny about that. Danny: No, you don’t understand. Looking back, I was really a very active child and didn’t know when to stop. Not surprisingly that I often annoyed my parents. They’re very busy people, and Jazz couldn’t always keep an eye on me. And I was often afraid to go to sleep alone because there were shadows in the darkness of my room. Well, I used to think they were. But I pretended everything was okay to not distract parents from work. Jason: Hey, it’s not your fault. You were a child. Obviously, kiddo requires a lot of attention, they must have understood that. You are the second child in the family, right? Danny: Well, Jazz was different. I don’t know. Anyway, I thought if the monsters behind the curtain and under the bed were just like me, well, according to my mom, you know, then they wouldn’t want to hurt me. And since they look after me, they are friends. So I kinda greeted all the suspicious noises and howls. Huh, I was a strange kid. Jason: If you smile at someone in the dark alley right now that someone is more likely to wet themselves or faint. Danny: Rude! I’m not that scary. Admit that I’m adorable. Do it right now. Jason: Stunning, darling. But still carry a gun and a knife, please. My childhood taught me that what's hiding in the dark is worth beating up. Danny: Come on, what should I be afraid of? Death? Anyway, I want to try this shit. Like, the inevitable one. Being a bad boy, you know? Hood *raises eyebrows*. Danny: Oh damn it man, I'm talking about ghostliness. I want to try to be like most of dead ones. I want to unleash my side of the trickster and the villain. But only a little bit. I have to be supervised so that things don't go too far. Would you help me, honey?

~~~~~2 hours later~~~~

~~~~~

Goons used to expect a lot of weirdness from working with the boss.

Sometimes Bruce Wayne would go into their base and yell at the Red Hood like he's one of his kids. Of course Wayne's well-known as 'Gotta adopt them all' but the guy must really suffer from insomnia to count the Red Hood into his brood of chicks several times. Sometimes the boss would fight Robin or Nightwing over differences in morals…or for biscuits. It varied from moment to moment. Sometimes the boss caught the local street children, fed them and taught them to steal correctly. And most of the foundlings stayed with them under their protection.

To make a long story short, Red Hood is not the typical crime lord that some of them had to deal with before. Which is a blessing. Thanks Lord for the health insurance. But still the crime lord. Which means he's still scary, and sometimes deadly.

Anyway, when the boss brought in a guy who looked more civilian than any civilian in the whole Gotham and said he was going to be their intern, they thought it was a joke at first. Despite the fact that Hood was not in the habit of joking while working.

The teenager was too well-mannered and sweet to come from Crime Alley. Phil thought the guy was gonna run when he saw the first murder, Jessica didn’t think the domestic boy wouldn’t chicken out at the sight of a fight. But arguing with a boss’s orders in their profession is like asking for a bullet in the head, so these conversations were taking place outside of their boss's sight. God, how can they teach him anything? What do you take from a boy who’s only good to do the coffee run? Fenton will fall if they’ll give him something heavier than 10 pounds. And then boss will yell at them because he treats the new guy like a princess on a pea. Well, at least that’s what they thought until the boss decided to give the new guy his own assignments:

~~~~~

Red Hood: So, what have you learned during your internship, my young Padawan? Danny: Well, it looks like I’m gonna suck at being a criminal mastermind. I think I may have to find myself some other profession. Red Hood: Come on, you just need a little more practice. Danny: Thank you but I don’t think that’s fit my obsession that good. Don't misunderstand me, I wanna be like most ghosts. But I was wrong to go to hit that goal only base on human stereotypes about my nature. Red Hood: What a pity. The newbies just learned not to flinch when you walk in. But, to be honest, I'm not gonna miss the adrenaline-boosting roller coaster of you at work. Danny: Oh, and I guess to hold on to the concept of humanity was really stupid too. I clearly no longer fit in and I’m finally ready to accept that. So, hopefully, if you get into trouble, you can rely on my ghostliness and call for help. I am the spirit of many talents and of my word. I can haunt your enemies or walk through the walls of Arkham Asylum. Whatever you need, I’ll be here. Red Hood: I’ll bear that in mind.

Honey

Joel Miller x f!Reader The Last of Us 3.2k Words/ 3rd POV Feral Reader Masterlist Summary: The first time there was an excuse, the second time was just about release. (If you’ve read the other stories, this would take place after Monsters/Teeth in the timeline. Have a little smut fic to make up for all the angst I’ve been writing.)

Warning: Explicit sexual content (18+ Minors DNI) “ With just a little taste of wasting time Looking for honey But she stings like she means it She's mean and she's mine “ It’d been a hard day.

The vehicle they’d manage to steal from the survivalist’s cabin didn’t last long. For all that group had worked and prepared their fortress, they hadn’t kept up with the maintenance on the car and it had crapped out after a couple of days, even driving slowly. They were back to walking, the dream of quickly getting to Wyoming vanishing. They’d hit a town that had seemed mostly empty, but there’d been a pocket of infected that had swarmed. It was pure luck that there had been no Clickers, only Runners, but it’d been a close call. Now they were holed up on the second floor of a shop, Joel having barricaded the stairs leading up to it and securing the whole floor while she helped set up for the night. They were exhausted and Ellie was a little extra quiet, rubbing her eyes and using some of the water they managed to get out of the pipes into a bucket to scrub out the blood off her jacket. She was still covered in it too, feeling it stick and crust to her neck and cheek, her hands. Joel sat down and they all ate out of cold cans in silence, only the clink of their spoons breaking the gloom. “Those runners…they were newer infected, weren’t they?” Ellie said gloomily. She sighed and Joel chewed slowly, looking up at the teen from beneath a furrowed brow, “They were most likely a group passing through. Got bit and all of them turned. The newer ones tend to be the fastest.” Ellie hummed thoughtfully and shrugged, “Maybe that means there’s not many infected left here if they were the only ones to come out? That mean we’re safe up here?” “Or they’re trapped inside the buildings,” she responded, not wanting to kill her hope but also being realistic, “But we’ll hear if anyone comes in and the barricade should delay them. We’re safe enough.” The young girl nodded and sighed, finishing her food and setting the can aside, “Okay…I’m gonna go to bed. I’m tired.” She sent her a soft “goodnight” and finished her food quietly, the light of the lantern between them all that was lighting the room. She was still wired from the fight, sleep not finding her any time soon. Without saying a word to her companion, she stood and went over to the bucket and picked it up before walking a little bit away to one of the mirrors the store had hanging on the far wall. Clothing racks and shelves were toppled everywhere, moth eaten rags hanging from them and trash littering the ground. She pulled over a cement block nearby and sat on it near the mirror, grabbing a rag off the rack and dipping it into the water. It wasn’t safe to drink but they could at least use it to clean up. The mirror was stained and dirty, foggy from years of neglect and exposure to whatever was in the air. She couldn’t see her reflection fully but could see enough to try and clean the crusted blood off her skin. It came off in flakes from her hands, blood and dirt leading way to clean skin. Boots walked towards her and she paused, looking up as Joel joined her along the shadowed wall, face always that tilted down frown and furrowed brow. He chewed on the inside of his cheek and looked at the water and rag before grabbing another cement block and scooting it in front of her, “Here. You can’t see shit in that thing, I’ll do it.” They hadn’t spoken about that night in the cabin. That night when he’d came and joined her on the floor, has slipped his fingers into her to help her relax and then fucked her into the ground. They’d woken up and went on like it never happened and hadn’t changed a thing. But something was different. They both felt it and didn’t want to acknowledge it. She knew he’d keep bugging her until she gave in so she handed him the rag with a roll of her eyes, turning to face him, their knees pressed together. He took it and dipped it into the water then his calloused fingers held her chin, holding it in place as he passed the rag over her cheek. They didn’t speak, didn’t even make eye contact, but there was a tension suddenly there the moment his skin touched hers. He was being gentle and it unnerved her because Joel was never gentle. Especially not with her. They were at each other’s throats constantly, Ellie being their only glue together. “You shouldn’t have used your knife on those,” he grunted and the sound wrapped around her in the darkness, “Too easy to get bit. If you had ran I coulda shot them.” “Bullets are a bit valuable nowadays, Tex, and I had it handled,” she bit out as he turned her face the other way to get the blood under her ear, “Using the knife conserves bullets.” “It’s not gonna conserve anything if I have to put one in your head because you got infected,” Joel hissed and his fingers pressed a little harder into her skin to emphasize the point. The pressure on her skin sent tiny sparks through her and her heart beat a little faster, his touch and smell all around her not helping at all. “Well if that happens you can say I told you so,” she rolled eyes and tried to not to focus on the slow drag of the cloth as it moved down her neck. Abruptly, he jerked her forward and her hands had to brace on his thighs to keep from toppling onto him. His fingers dug into her chin hard enough she wondered if it would bruise later on, his eyes dark and searing into her even covered by shadows. “Or you can fucking be careful and listen to me,” he growled, breath coasting along her face from his proximity. “Yes, sir,” she answered sarcastically, nose wrinkling with a raised lip. Something shifted in those dark irises and she caught the flicker of his eyes as they dipped to her lips, “Give me attitude and I’ll have you saying that while you fucking beg me.” Her skin was suddenly on fire, tightening at his words, aware of the muscle of his thighs underneath her hands. She felt hot and swallowed, aware he could feel the action with his hand still on her chin, “Sorry to break it to ya, but I’m not begging you for shit.” But then his mouth was smashing into hers, teeth cutting into her lip, and the hand with the rag curling around her neck. She could feel the cool water drip down her skin and run along her chest, the feeling icy against her heated skin. Kissing Joel was like drowning and she let herself, pressing back hard against his mouth and pushing her tongue between his lips, drinking in his groan as she did so. His hand briefly left her skin to ease himself off the cement block and onto the ground before he dragged her down into his lap, knees braced on either side of his thighs. She could feel him beneath her, already hard and pressing against her, the knowledge shooting straight to her core. She sucked on his lower lip, biting and sucking and letting him explore her mouth, his beard rough against her skin. The hand on her chin went to her waist and dug into the fabric of her shirt, pressing her harder against him and his hips rocked a bit, grinding his hard member into her through their jeans. She moaned softly, not wanting to attract the attention of the sleeping teen yards away. The rag in his other hand slid along her neck and he broke away to latch onto the newly cleaned skin there, biting into the spot just under her ear. She bit her tongue to keep her sounds at bay and dove her hand into his hair, gripping the salt and pepper curls tightly in her fist. The day had left her running on adrenaline, raw and vibrating, and she knew exactly what this was. A release. A way for them to get their energy out after fighting for their lives. There were worse ways to handle it. For all that Joel drove her crazy, losing herself in him had its appeal like now when she could touch and caress every part of him that had managed to snag her attention. She ran her hand over the tense muscles of his neck as he continued to press open mouth kisses along her own, biting and licking and sucking his way along the path the rag had cleaned the blood away. Her hand moved to the hard muscles of his biceps, the patch of hair at the opening of his shirt, the rough skin of his stomach after she untucked his shirt. He was untouchable in the day, out there on the road, but she’d take this moment and use it to explore what she could while she had the chance. She ached, need pulsing as he sucked on a particularly sensitive spot at the base of her neck, and ground down into him. He hissed and broke away, resting his forehead against her shoulder, “Fuck. You’re fucking impatient, darlin.” “I’m not impatient,” she rocked against him again and could feel him move to meet the motion, “I’m showing you what needs attention, Miller.” He dropped the rag and grabbed the back of her neck, raising his face to meet hers, their noses touching, “Joel. When I fuck you, you say my name. Not Miller, not Tex. Joel.” She skimmed her lips along his and grinned mockingly, canines showing, “Yes, sir.” He growled and pressed his lips back against hers bruisingly, the kiss a messy clash of teeth and tongue as if they were trying to fight against one another. His hand on her hip moved to the front of her jeans and began to unbutton them, hands jerky and rushed, practically ripping them open and shoving his hand inside. Joel swallowed her moan when his fingers found her mound, sliding through her lips and feeling the slickness there already. He rubbed back and forth and let her rock against his hand, talking against her mouth, “This where you’re needing attention?” “It ain’t obvious?” she huffed and shuddered as his thumb found her clit, pressing hard against it and making her jerk. Slowly he pushed two fingers into her, using her wet arousal to stretch her and slide in and out. His mouth moved back to her neck, listening as her breath left her in raspy moans almost silent around him. He started so slow, letting her get used to him, and then started pumping faster and harder. The friction of jeans, his rough hand, and his own jerky motions of his hips felt delicious and she clawed at his shoulder to brace herself, the other still tangled in his hair. “God, you’re so fucking wet,” he growled against her neck, scraping his beard across her sensitive skin. She could feel the beginning of her orgasm growing, the coil in her tightening and threatening to snap at any moment. His fingers were so thick inside of, filling her up, as his thumb kept circling and pressing down on her clit. And she was almost embarrassingly wet, knowing it was soaking through her jeans and covering his hand. Then, abruptly, he stopped and she gripped his hair and tugged his head painfully back as he removed his hand, “Miller-” “What’d I say ‘bout my name?” he snarled at her, the sound going straight to her throbbing center, “You beggin’ already?” Her tongue was pressed to the top of her teeth, eyebrow raised, as she shook her head in defiance. Instead she ground against him and the hard, straining member beneath his jeans. He was clenching his teeth, eyes fluttering shut briefly at the motion, the muscle in his jaw twitching as he fought hard to restrain himself. But she didn’t want him restrained and she certainly wasn’t going to beg. One of them was going to give in and it wasn’t going to be her. Joel Miller, for all his cleverness and practically, was not a patient man. The hand that had been inside her came up and stroked her chin, then her mouth, rubbing along her bottom lip as he watched. She continued to rock against him and scraped her nails against his scalp, then she teasingly touched her tongue to the thumb along her lip. Joel’s eyes flashed to hers and stayed there, burning in the darkness of the room, as she licked his thumb and let it slide into her mouth, sucking on it. She could taste her own arousal on his finger, the salt and slight grime still there. It was all Joel, perfect and rough and bitter. Her lips wrapped around the digit, pulling it into her hot wet mouth, her tongue licking him clean. His breath was coming out in heavy rapid pants, his other hand digging onto her thigh and sliding to her clothed ass, clenching it. Not once did she break eye contact. Even as her teeth scraped against his skin and her hand went to his belt buckle, she stayed watching him and seeing the fire light up in his dark irises. Then finally he snapped, the first to break. Before she could blink, he had pulled his thumb from her mouth and was lifting her up to her feet to rip her jeans down her legs. He did it swiftly, not caring if the tugging hurt or if he was jostling her around. He got them off her legs while she smirked and as she stood in front of him, he grabbed her thigh and yanked her forward, his mouth finding her cunt while one of his own hands moved to unbuckle his belt and jeans. She had to bite down on her lip to keep from making a sound, eyes flickering to where Ellie was still fast asleep, and sank her hand back into his hair to press his face against her. His tongue lapped at her desperately, beard rubbing against her sensitive skin, lips wrapping and sucking on her clit. It was exquisite, her legs shaking as he managed to coax her pleasure back to life. It was sloppy and rough and fast, her brain struggling to catch up to the lightning flaring up inside of her. His tongue dipped into her and she rocked against his face, desperate to find release. He hummed against her soaking warmth and then sucked hard on her clit, her orgasm hitting her so hard she had to brace herself on his shoulders to keep standing. It was fireworks, a lighting storm, everything hitting her at once as she came hard on his tongue. Joel gently coaxed her back into sitting on his lap, his jeans pulled down and his erection out and heavy against his thigh. She was still trying to catch her breath, hands resting on his naked thighs and head resting on his shoulder. His hand combed through her hair and tugged, using it to straighten back up and look at him, “Uh uh, darlin, I’m not done with you yet.” He kissed her roughly, her own taste all over his tongue and coating her mouth, while he pumped himself a few times. She groaned into his mouth, breathy little pants leaving her, then he was lifting her up to position her over his throbbing cock. She was still so sensitive and as she sank down onto him she squeezed her eyes tightly, biting down on her lips and pressing her forehead to his. Her being on top gave them a new angle that hit differently than last time, letting him fill her completely and hitting every spot that had sparks singing inside her skin. Fuck, he felt good and she had to fight so hard to keep from moaning out loud, could feel it in her throat wanting release. “That’s it,” he hummed to her, voice catching with his own moan, “Fuck, darlin’. I could come right now from being inside you.” Secretly, she was pleased to hear the praise and not be the only one affected. Sex had been good last time, but there’d been a tentative dance to it. Breaching the gap and testing the waters to see if they were on the same page. Now they both knew there was an attraction there and even if they hadn’t spoken about it, hadn’t said exactly what it was or if it had been a one time thing, there wasn’t a hesitation to jump that gap again. She started to move, lifting herself up and down, feeling him slide against the walls inside of her. Those sparks had started up again, building tight in her lower stomach and growing with each move. He began meeting her pace, thrusting up into her while leaning forward and placing hot kisses along her throat. His teeth found her collar bone, the small tattooed stars, and he nipped at them while his hands gripped her waist. He helped her bob up and down on him, starting slow and letting her get used to him. But she didn’t want it to be slow, didn’t want his gentleness. Bending down to his good ear, she breathily moaned and let his name slip out of her, “Joel.” And then the pace turned frantic and hard, his arms banding around her body and him thrusting his hips up into her wildly. His cock hit deep and the feeling bordered on pain, but it only intensified everything. She was soaking his lap in her arousal and his fingers were bruising her waist. It was overwhelming in its intensity, her already sensitive clit rubbing against the base of his erection, and she was climbing higher and higher. She wanted to drown in the feeling, lose herself in him and forget the world around them. Forget she was still covered in blood, forget her name, forget everything but this feeling of overwhelming pleasure. Then she was coming, whispering his name over and over again, him thrusting through her orgasm. She felt the moment he followed her, warmth filling her up completely as his release came inside of her and his movements became wild and slow. He held her tightly on his lap and her arms were around his shoulders, forehead resting against the side of his head. The silence began to seep back, awareness outside of their panting breaths, and the heat died down. She tried not to notice how he pressed one final, soft kiss to her collar bone before straightening up, his eyes meeting hers. “I didn’t beg,” she whispered, voice husky and raw from holding in her sounds. Joel huffed out a chuckle, eyes flickering to her lips then moving away, “Don’t sound so cocky, there’s still next time.” Next time. The words rolled around in her mouth and she tried not to feel pleased that there would in fact be a next time. Because it was something, some form of endearment towards her, outside of the constant bickering and getting after her. She smirked, “We’ll see, Joel.” _______________________ Tag List: @alouise20 @faceache111

𝐒𝐈𝐗 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒 ( 𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐔𝐆𝐎 ) 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

feel free to change the prompts as you see fit! warnings: mentions of death and murder and violence.

❝it’s almost midnight.❞

❝i’m not going to bet on my own death.❞

❝you’re a thief.❞

❝i know it comes easy, but try not to play dumb with me.❞

❝i’m fairly sure you’re threatening me. but i want to be more certain before i decide to what to do about it.❞

❝i can’t wait to wipe that look off your face.❞

❝things aren’t going quite as planned, are they?❞

❝do you really think that secret would die with me?❞

❝shame holds more value than coin ever can.❞

❝always one step ahead, aren’t you?❞

❝i’m a creature of habit.❞

❝when everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.❞

❝men mock the gods until they need them.❞

❝get away from me.❞

❝i need a mug of the darkest, bitterest coffee i can find. or maybe a real punch to the jaw.❞

❝you look exhausted. will you sleep at all tonight?❞

❝if i want to watch men dig holes to fall into, i’ll find myself a cemetery.❞

❝you’re smart, but you need to learn patience.❞

❝are you going to explain any of this?❞

❝brick by brick, i will destroy you.❞

❝fate has plans for us all.❞

❝the brain is just another organ.❞

❝if you’d wanted to help me, you know you could have.❞

❝when have i ever done something for nothing?❞

❝i may die, but i’ll die on my feet with a knife in my hand.❞

❝i can take it.❞

❝you could have come to me on your hands and knees, and my answer would be the same.❞

❝you can keep your money. choke on it.❞

❝don’t i have a say in this? i’m sitting right here.❞

❝i’m not useless.❞

❝you wouldn’t know a good time if it sidled up to you and stuck a lollipop in your mouth.❞

❝the easiest way to steal a man’s wallet is to tell him you’re going to steal his watch.❞

❝it’s hard to keep track of all your wisdom.❞

❝i worry about everything. that’s why i’m still alive.❞

❝there’s a difference between confidence and arrogance.❞

❝the heart is an arrow. it demands aim to land true.❞

❝i’m not sure i have a heart to give any more.❞

❝you at least owe me your best imitation of a human being.❞

❝i can tell you how this one ends, but you’re not going to like it.❞

❝did we win?❞

❝i don’t want to die.❞

❝you came back for me.❞

❝i protect my investments.❞

❝say you’re sorry.❞

❝you’re making me nervous.❞

❝i’m just doing my job. stop glaring at me.❞

❝my ghost won’t associate with your ghost.❞

❝don’t try to move, just rest.❞

❝i’m fine. you’re the one who got stabbed.❞

❝it’s just so much easier to kill people than take care of them.❞

❝don’t make me laugh. that feels awful.❞

❝how long was i out?❞

❝there was enough blood to paint a barn red.❞

❝i’m not a criminal.❞

❝if you aren’t born with every advantage, you learn to take your chances.❞

❝why do you think you know everything about me?❞

❝i want to show you something.❞

❝i’ve been looking for an excuse to talk to you for two days.❞

❝i’ve never heard you admit you’re not good at something.❞

❝i don’t want this.❞

❝unclench your jaw. you’re going to grind your teeth down into nothing.❞

❝shut your eyes.❞

❝you don’t smell like roses any more.❞

❝it’s not normal for someone to be as stupid as they are tall, and yet there you stand.❞

❝i can’t believe your face is going to be the last thing i see before i die.❞

❝i hate the way you talk.❞

❝do you think i care what you like or don’t like?❞

❝there’s always more to lose.❞

❝what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?❞

❝i have been made to protect you. only in death will i be kept from this oath.❞

❝are you afraid of me?❞

❝all right, what do you do for fun?❞

❝what are you so afraid will happen? afraid you might start to like me?❞

❝let me go.❞

❝i will always be a threat to you.❞

❝we’re under attack.❞

❝you did everything but tell the truth.❞

❝what was that?❞

❝just keep talking.❞

❝doesn’t matter how big the gun is if you don’t know where to point it.❞

❝we’re either geniuses or the dumbest sons of bitches to ever breathe air.❞

❝what good is a lockpick without his picks?❞

❝you aren’t going to kill me, and i’m not going to pretend everything is okay.❞

❝stop being dense. you’re cuter when you’re smart.❞

❝have you ever been in a fight?❞

❝i don’t want to kill people, not really.❞

❝you’re obviously dangerous. i’d prefer you never became dangerous to me.❞

❝better terrible truths than kind lies.❞

❝your death belongs to me.❞

❝i want a job.❞

❝i practice the art of ‘pull his shirt over his head and punch till you see blood.'❞

❝a good magician isn’t much different from a proper thief.❞

❝why didn’t you tell me?❞

❝thank goodness we’re proper thieves.❞

❝if you survive and i don’t, make sure i have an open casket. the world deserves a few more moments with this face.❞

❝if we don’t survive this night, i will die unafraid. can you say the same?❞

❝you don’t have to do this, you know.❞

❝i’ve done worse.❞

❝i’m not sure why i began this, but i know why i have to finish. i know why fate brought me here, why it placed me in the path of this prize.❞

❝you’re very graceful in battle, just not while you’re plummeting.❞

❝you presume a great deal.❞

❝i learned the same way you learn about anything. take it apart.❞

❝who am i now?❞

❝you stink of decency.❞

❝we have a party to go to.❞

❝i’m afraid for you.❞

❝i need a dose of imminent peril to get my head straight.❞

❝you can help by shutting up and staying out of the way.❞

❝i don’t like that sound. what’s wrong?❞

❝i don’t love killing people.❞

❝i don’t have any business criticizing you.❞

❝you gave me the tools for vengeance when i needed them the most.❞

❝if we make it out of here alive, i’m going to kiss you unconscious.❞

❝have you come to kill me?❞

❝you shouldn’t make friends with crows.❞

❝you’ve cheated death too many times.❞

❝you won’t shoot me. you need information.❞

❝i. should. let. you. die.❞

❝don’t touch me.❞

❝you almost drowned. you should have drowned.❞

❝this would be a really good time to say you saw this coming.❞

❝i didn’t see this coming.❞

❝they won’t take me alive.❞

❝we’re all someone’s monster.❞

❝you look radiant.❞

❝it seems you prayed to the right god.❞

❝you know you can’t stop them all.❞

❝what will you do when there’s no more blood to shed or vengeance to take?❞

❝was there never another dream?❞

❝what do you want, then?❞

❝stay. stay here. stay with me.❞

❝i want you to stay. i want you to… i want you.❞

❝i don’t want you to see me like this.❞

❝we all carry our sins. i need you to live so i can atone for mine.❞

❝i want to feel safe again. i want to go home.❞

❝i’d like to say it’s been a pleasure, but i’m not that good a liar.❞

❝maybe i liked your stupid face.❞

❝i’m going to invent a new trick.❞

MC + Cursed Toddler-fied Boys (part 2)

prompt: I did a scenario a while ago for the ‘The Forbidden Book of Toddlerization’ event, but realized I never did one for the B-list boys. This must be rectified. (part i)

Diavolo

Seriously. You all needed to stop leaving cursed books around.

Once ‘The Forbidden Book of Toddlerization’ had been recovered from the last time it fell into the wrong hands, it had safely be tucked away in the archives. Where it was to remain, to your knowledge, for all of known time.

Or at least a year. Whichever came first, apparently, since someone had taken it out a let it on the loose.

“I can’t find him.” Barbatos bemoaned with a sigh as you both continued to search for his master. “You don’t think he could have wandered off somewhere? In his current state, there’s no telling what mischief he’d get into. Or worse, if people see him like this.”

“Diavolo is a pretty level headed guy.” You assure him.

“You don’t know what he was like when he was younger.” He sighed again as he closed the doors to one of the wardrobes, finding no young master in it. “Maybe he’s in the garden. I’ll check there.”

“I’ll keep searching in the castle.” You told him. To which Barbatos nodded and took his leave.

Once he was out of the door, and out of ear shot, you heard rustling under the bed that piqued your curiosity. “Diavolo?” You asked as you pulled back the bedding. “What are you doing under there?”

“SSShhh!” He hissed with a finger to his lips. “I’m hiding from Barbatos. I don’t want him to find me [Y/N].”

“So you masked your presence so he couldn’t find you.” Clever, for the mind of a child. “Why are you hiding from Barbatos?”

“Because if he finds me he’ll make me do work.” You tilted your head to the side, and Diavolo scrunched in tighter on himself. “He’s always making me do things I don’t want to. Write my lessons. Learn new spells. How to speak at public outings. It’s never any fun and it’s all work, work, work!”

“True. But we all have to do things we don’t want to now and then.” Although, this didn’t sound a lot different than Diavolo’s normal schedule these days. “Diavolo, did you open the book and curses yourself so you could get out of work for a few days?” His eyes shyly darted over towards you before they darted away again. “Diavolo.”

“I just didn’t want to be a grown up anymore!” He whined. “It’s never any fun. I never get to do what I want. People are always counting on me.”

You nodded. “I guess that isn’t very fun.” You shift around to lay on your stomach and be eye-to-eye with Diavolo under the bed. “We have fun together though, don’t we? And you don’t need to put a curse on yourself to make it happen. If you ever need a break, just call me. We can play together anytime.”

Diavolo grinned and gave a firm nod. “Can we play battleships and sea monsters once, before Barbatos has to change me back?”

“Sure. I think we have time for that.”

Barbatos

It was a wonder that this castle ran at all without Barbatos around. He had only been cursed for a few hours, and it already seemed like everything was falling apart.

“Boys! Seriously! Can you try to not break everything in the castle??”

“We’re trying, but this is really hard!” Mammon argued.

“Yeah,” Levi agreed, “cut us some slack. We only pretend to be butlers now and then. We don’t have the refined, gentlemanly arts of real butlers.”

“Barbatos does it.”

“He is a Satan.” Lucfier replied. “Why don’t you go check on him? I’ll try to keep them out of anymore trouble in their effort to ‘help’.” You sighed and left to do as you were told. At least you would be away from the sound of crashing.

“Barbatos?” You called as you opened the door. “Are you feeling ok?”

“Oh yes [Y/N].” Barbatos replied. Looking up at you with soft eyes from his small table setting on the floor. “We are having a tea party. Would you like to join?”

You looked around to see a pile of books, one ornate pillow, and an actual stuffed rabbit sitting in a circle with him. Each with a china tea cup in front of them. “Um….sure.” You come over and sit cross legged beside Barbatos as he prepared you a cup as well. “Who are we having tea with?”

“This is Lady Downing. She is from the region of comforter and came all this way for chamomile tea.” You awkwardly wave at the pillow. “This is Lord Booksly. He’s very well read.” You snort out a laugh as you take your tea. “And this is Thaddeus. He is a rabbit.”

“No title for Thaddeus?” You ask while sipping your tea.

“Rabbits can’t have titles. They don’t hold land. Because they are rabbits.” You let out a knowing ‘ah’ at the explanation, and choose to take Barbatos word for it.

You finish off the tea with Barbatos and soon enough, with his great powers, the curse wore off. He thanked you for keeping an eye on him and came out of his room to inspect the castle after the boys had ‘helped’. “Well….I suppose it’s the thought that counts….”

Simeon

The sound of foot steps barreling down the hall announced Simeon before he entered the room. “[Y/N]! [Y/N]! Can you read this book to me??”

You set your own book down and look over at him with a smile. Since his cursed episode, you had been watching Simeon to make sure he didn’t get into any trouble. Which, was pretty easy. He didn’t usually seek out trouble, and must have been a good cherub in his youth, because he just sat and read all day with you. The only ‘up roar’ he caused was when he went to find a ‘big boy’ book and have you read it to him.

“Sure. Which one did you pick?” He handed it to you and you have to snicker, finding a TSL book in your hand. “Wow. What a good choice.”

“Do you like this book?” Simeon asked, bright eyed, as he sat cross legged in front of you.

“Yes. I do. In fact the author is a very good friend.”

“Really???” He gushed, and you were literally biting your tongue not to laugh.

“Yep. He’s very nice. And funny. And handsome.”

“Can I meet him one day?”

“I’m sure you will.” You smirk as you open the book and start to read.

Later, when the curse had worn off, Simeon was very embarrassed that he had picked his own writing as his favorite book. “It’s a little narcissistic, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” you told him, “sometimes you need to be your own best fan.”

Raphael

You shouldn’t be surprised that it was quiet. Raphael was usually a very quiet person. But, if dealing with children had taught you anything it was when children were quiet something bad was going on.

“Hey there Raphael. Whatca doin’?”

“Coloring.” He replied. Still completely focused on his drawings.

“Oh, that’s nice.” Not as serious as you thought. “Can you tell me what you’re drawing there?” Thinking it would be a nice woodland scene. Or maybe some places around the castle.

“The Plauges.”

Your face went very pale at his answer and Raphael turned his picture around to show you. “That’s the river of blood. Those are the frogs & locusts sent to barren their crops. This is when Father sent the suffer and ash to destroy the cities of the sinners. This guy is dead because he got hit in the head with one of the rocks.”

“O….Oh…well that’s very….descriptive.”

Raphael smiled and went back to coloring. Completely obvious to the anxious knot that just tied itself in your stomach. Should you like….lock the door or something?

You asked Raphael about his picture when he was back to normal and he snorted. “Don’t be absurd.” He chastised. “The sinners were obliterated on impact when the suffers came. There would be corpses on the ground like this.”

+ Luke

Finally. The ‘Forbidden Book of Toddlerization’ was put away and out of sight. Hopefully under lock and key, and prepared to be thrown into the bottom of the ocean.

You let out a big sigh as you flop down into a chair. Letting all the stress of this week from a new batch of boys acting like children seep out of your bones. You suppose it wasn’t so bad. They were all kind of cute.

“Hey [Y/N],” Your ears pick up when you hear Luke’s voice.

“What is it Luke?”

“I was in the library looking for a new recipe book and came across this one.” He came into view and your face went white as you saw what he was holding. Your nightmare still very true. “Do you know what it is?”

“Luke don’t touch that!” You shout. Which startled the sweet lad, and causing him to drop the book and crack open. It’s powers activating and a big puff of smoke filling the room.

You cough and bat the smoke clouds away, not sure what was going on. This hadn’t happened before with the other curses. So you feared the worse as you called out for Luke. “Luke? Luke? Are you there?”

“I think so.” An older, deeper voice called back and, as the smoke selected, the statuesque figure of a young man was standing there. “I feel tall.”

Your mind went blank as you stared up at the young man in front of you. It was clearly Luke. You could tell from his eyes. But this hadn’t happened with anyone else. “What is going on?”

“The book must have realized I was already a kid and switched it in reverse.” He reasoned, taking a look at himself. “Instead of making me younger, it made me older. Both mentally and physically.”

“That makes sense.” Or as much sense as the evidence, and every other weird thing that had happened in your life in the Devildom, allowed. “Hopefully it wears off as quickly as the others.”

“I don’t.” Luke interjected. “I hate being the youngest. No one takes me seriously, or treats me like a joke.” You supposed that might be true. Unintentional, but true. “Plus, when I’m my real age, I can’t do this.” Luke‘s hand reached out towards your chin to clasp it, before he leaned in towards you. “You don’t take me seriously either.”

Your mind froze again as he continued to lean in. Clearly for a kiss. Unsure how to stop him or how to get your head wrapped around the situation, even as he came closer.

Luckily, just before your lips touched, there was another puff of smoke and Luke was at his proper size again. “Hn? What happened?”

“Nothing!” You clipped. You quickly scramble to get the book up off the floor and held it in a death grip. “You just grabbed the wrong book. I’m gonna….keep it with me for a while.” You hustle out of the room in a flash, then pull out your phone to ask, “hey Karasu-san, where is the nearest beach?”

Chapter 4 The Present TBRAHE

Turns out quite bad. Suguru Geto is quite bad. How do you know? Because the first thing he said to you once you two sat down for tea together is…

“Don’t worry I don’t have any of them lurking around.” He spoke those words so calmly. 

“What?” You replied. 

“Monkeys.” His smile held no animosity towards you. It was scary how serene this should have felt. His estate was Neolithic, but not necessarily in a bad way. Koi ponds and tatami mats instead of rose gardens and Victorian tea furniture. It left you with a comforting feeling; however, that was quickly negated by Suguru’s strange comments. “Honestly I don’t know how Satoru could choose one of them over his sorceress wife. Even if your marriage isn’t happy he should at least be with another one of our kind.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down, what are you talking about?”

“Oh that’s right, you don’t know what I call them. I’m talking about Non Sorcerers. I don’t associate with them.” Suguru’s smile was relaxed, it… scared you for a reason you couldn’t quite pin. 

“Why not? What do you mean by monkeys.” 

“They’re not the same species as us.” 

“They’re human!” You try to reason. 

“So, what are we? Freaks? Monsters?”

“We’re sorcerers, but we’re still fundamentally human. We’re not much different if you think about it. We bleed the same. We fear like they do. We love the same way they do. Why do you hate them?” 

“Why do you love them?” 

“My best friend is a non sorcerer. She’s the most important person in my life. When my mother died she held my hand. When my father remarried she stayed up all night with me trying to figure out if she was a good match for him. And when both her and my little sister died in birth she dropped everything to stay by my side, every second I needed her.”

“That’s nice, but how many curses has she killed.” 

“…what…?”

“Sorcerers are the only ones who can kill curses.” 

“That’s not true. We put energy into objects, non sorcerers can use cursed weapons. That’s actually what I came here to talk about.” 

“The Zenin act. That’s why you came here?” He chuckled. “How many of them would be willing to die for us? Sorcerers have been fight on this war for months because of the advancing forces of Ryomen Sukuna and his general Mahito. What have the mere humans been doing?” 

“Farming! You know, to feed the army.” You say sarcastically.

“That’s something other sorcerers could do. The “Humans” aren’t particularly unique in skill sets. They have nothing a sorcerer couldn’t do.” 

“That doesn’t mean that they can’t be useful. The Zenin Act has merely stopped them from providing that they are just like us. Suguru, they aren’t different from us. Please, help me overturn it.” 

“Prove it. You said you have a monkey friend. Prove that your friend can be of some use. Even if she’s only good for being a clown.” 

“Fine, come over tomorrow at noon and I’ll show you how incredible non sorcerers can be. I hope you have the day you deserve, Suguru Geto.” You said as you mounted your horse. 

Once you arrived back at the palace you untack Pendragon and walk into your rose garden only to see carpenter and gardener running amuck in the place and your Shuttlecock of a husband overlooking them. 

“Satoru! What are you doing?” He looked over as you shouted at him, his familiar eye cover graced your sights. 

“Don’t worry. I’m not taking anything away. I… I’ve been feeling bad about what I did to you. I shouldn’t have brought Marissa here on our anniversary. I thought… maybe I could do something to make it up to you. So I asked Addison for some advice on a gift and she said that you love the little snake thing I gave you. Therefore I thought of combining three of your favorite things, your roses, quality time with Addison and the snake, and I decided to make a… pet play place thing, with a lounge for you ladies… I don’t know… it sounded better in my head.” 

“Oh… um… thank you. I honestly thought that you hated me and wouldn’t ever give me anything.” 

“I don’t hate you. I just can’t say that you’re the love of my life.” He looked away bashfully. “I do want this to work out. Admittedly you are a better ruler than me. I’d be lost without you so, I’ve wanted to do something for a while to thank you but I’ve been… busy.” 

“With her?” 

“…yeah, sorry.” 

“Can we get some more yellow roses? And maybe some more pink ones too?” 

“Oh uh, sure. I’ll order some.” 

“Thank you Satoru.” You smiled softly. This was definitely the first time you’ve ever smiled at your husband. 

He’d never tell you, and you’d never know but that one small gesture sent him spiraling. He wanted more, he needed to see that small smile more. Being spoiled as a child taught him that as long as he threw enough money at the problem he could have whatever he wanted. That smile reassured him of that philosophy. 

“I’ve got to go now. Suguru is coming tomorrow and Addie and I have to prepare.” What have you gotten yourself into. You’ve let tantalus eat from the tree and now he longs harder for what’s been snatched from him.

You explained what happened that afternoon to Addison and she looked worried. “Hey cheer up.” You wrap an arm around her. “You’re one of the most talented people I know. From cooking to ribbon dancing you can do it all.” 

“Well, you’ve always funded my endeavors. I have you to thank for all my skills.” She blushed. 

‘She’s so cute! I want to boop her nose! I wonder how she’d react!’ You thought excitedly at the image of her scrunched up face at the action then pouting at your teasing gesture. 

“(Y/n)? Ma’am? Are you listening?” She broke you out of your daydream and you ushered her out blushing madly at the thought she caught you in a vulnerable moment. 

The next day you found Addison rehearsing a routine and just decided to leave her alone. Marissa and Satoru were at breakfast and you took your food and left them alone, out of respect for Satoru. 

Your office felt quite lonely, until a small dragon snuck his way in through the window. He floats toward you and lands around yours neck. “Riko! My darling, how are you?” He licked your cheek. “You’ll keep me company surely?” He hopped off of you and rolled around on your desk. “Riko, I need to work. So please just sit and be good.” He hoped into you lap and settled down for a nap. His white scales and golden hair contrasted sharply against your long emerald dress. 

20 minutes later a knock on the door sounds. “My lady? May I come in please?” The voice wasn’t familiar to you. 

“Yes.” 

“Hello, please call me Chisa, that’s what all my friends call me.” He was 5’1, long black hair tied back in a ponytail, wisps of his bangs fell around his forehead, and dark red eyes pierced into your soul. He wore standard armor like the other guards. 

“Chisa: Small and precious. That’s certainly a fitting name.” He blushed at your compliment. “You wouldn’t happen to be the guard my father has arranged for me?” 

“Yes, sometime within the past week he sent you a letter yes? I’ve also been told that Duke Geto is here.” 

“To the garden!” You got up and ran out of the office with Riko and Chisa. 

The guest list went as follows: Satoru in a blue three piece suit, Marissa in a long lime green dress, Rachelle in standard maid outfit but with gold jewelry, and Suguru in a navy blue black kimono, with a gold and green sash around the middle. He looked more relaxed in those as opposed to the normal suits he wears at most of the events you’ve seen him at. 

The three of you entered, then Addison followed a few minutes later. She wore a white dress shirt and black pants. 

“Hello everyone.” She greeted. “I have a few things for you all.” She sets down a basket of cookies. “First some sweets I baked. Secondly, I have prepared a special show for Duke Geto.” 

A string quartet comes out and she started her dance. It starts out slow and quickly speeds up as she pulls out a ribbon and twirls it around. It’s like that ribbon was an extension of her own body. Eventually she whistled and Pendragon rides out towards her. She jumped on quickly and started trick riding. Finally she makes a flip and lands then bows as Chisa and I applauded. 

“Why does she get to ride that stupid horse?” Marissa whined 

“Because she’s my best friend, she has my permission to and always will.” You looked at her like she’s crazy. 

“Well, that was certainly quite the show. However, I’m not impressed.” Suguru looked away sadly. 

“Suguru, come on. I’m not even that close with the maid but I think she was incredible.” Satoru reasoned. 

“I don’t know. I think, if you really cared about your little monkey, you’d do just about anything for her.” 

“Don’t call her that.” You grit your teeth. 

“If you want me to sign the appeal of the Zenin Act, I want you to give your blessing to Satoru and his mistress. She makes him happy, so it doesn’t matter to me what she is.” 

“Fine. I’ll stop the animosity, go ahead and date her.” You responded. 

“(Y/n).” Addison called sympathetically. 

“I don’t know. I think that you should prove it.” Marissa smirked. “Give me your wedding ring.” 

“What? No, May May.” Satoru tried to stop her. 

“It’s fine Satoru. It’s just a chunk of metal.” You reason. You take it off and hand it to her. 

“Yay! Now we’ll match Ruru! I’m going to go get yours!” She hurried off. 

“I didn’t see that coming. Sorry.” Suguru apologized.

“Like I said, it’s a chunk of Metal. I’ll go to my office and get the papers. I’d like you both to sign them if that’s okay.” 

“Yeah.” Satoru nodded as you and your posse left. 

Riko ran off once you four were back inside. “You guys go bring the papers to the boys. I’ll go make sure he’s not causing trouble.”

You ran off in the direction of your dragon friend and once you found him you froze. Before the two of she was a blond woman in a long line green dress kissing a man who was not your husband. 

“Oh shit.” You whispered as you snuck away. 

Fearûnian Writing Challenge

Day 5 | SFW

First time seeing their love interest fight

(Not really)

(Since Halsin never start fighting til Act 3 except when we first met him, this is just more camp life featuring bear-Halsin shooing the gnolls near camp area)

Tav waddles over towards Halsin, having just returned from the grove to retrieve the man’s smoking pipe.

Astarion grabs the back of their armour and yanks.

Only it was Astarion who was yanked to the ground.

“Stop! Stop walking!” He huffs and puffs.

Tav finally ceases. They needed a few moments before noticing the poor elf. “What?”

“Don’t you ‘what’ me! Help me up!”

Tav does as they often do.

Astarion huffs a few complaints under his breath as he dusts himself off. He then leans onto Tav, a hand on their shoulder as if it didn’t happen.

“I know that look of yours. You had the same look when we first met.” His voice does that thing where it goes slightly sultry, eyes darken every so little. “You’ve changed your target.”

“Cruel to call it a target.”

Astarion's attitude towards Tav has been… flippant to say the least. When they first met, it took Astarion no time at all to outright hate Tav. It didn’t improve when they saved the grove from the goblin raid, to the point that he outright laughed after he, himself, brought up the idea of having sex with them. Things got a bit better after the Ethel and monster hunter incident. Then increasing as they make it through the Underdark before going back to the upper road to do some unfinished business.

Now, one could say they’re… unlikely friends.

“I don’t judge. We’re like minded people, you and I. And Halsin is a great choice. If we could get him to finally move that big mass of muscles and be useful, all the better for everyone involved.” Astarion waves his hands around, almost smacking against Tav’s face a few times.

“If you’re implying I’m trying to bed him so he’d follow us, you’re–” Tav pauses.

Is Astarion actually wrong, though?

What is the reason Tav is doing all this for? Coming up to Halsin to ask to spend the night, going all the way back to the grove to fetch his smoking pipe, constantly checking up on him at all although he had proved no help after giving them the lead for Moonrise.

Halsin is the Archdruid, Tav is… just some half-elf at best and a criminal at worst.

To try so hard for Halsin, simply because they… like him? That’s… pathetic.

“ –right. Yeah… W– We don’t have a druid with us, especially those who know a lot more than we do. Maybe a few more hip swings and he won’t be able to leave our camp anymore.” Tav traces the texture of the old pipe, focusing on that instead of the sinking feeling in their stomach.

“No need to try that hard. Just take off your shirt. He practically drools every time anyway.” Astarion pushes them forward. “Go get them, tiger.”

Tav fakes a smile. They’ve been growing increasingly good at that. They moved towards Halsin again, less enthusiastic now.

Gods, they really are in over their head. Now their head hurts and it’s hard to tell whether it is the tadpole or because they’ve been… having thoughts!!!

“You’re leaking with anxiety. I can practically smell it from here.” Lae’zel grinds her teeth as well as, well, all their weapons. “What seems to be the problem? You’re never this pathetic.”

It’s like she’s their inner voice, spoken aloud the thoughts they’re desperately running away from.

“I’m just thinking.”

“And it is causing that much grief? Perhaps you should do it less.”

Tav could feel their blood bubbling with rage but this is not the time, Tav. They still have a pipe to deliver.

“If it’s about Halsin, the quicker you can get the druid to carry his weight, the better. He has wasted our time and is wasting our resources.” She takes out one of the many swords Tav brought back, examines it then throws it to them. “Sell this. It’s useless.”

Tav catches easily. “He’s only tagging along for a while.”

“You are very obvious with your intentions. But we are on a deadline. This better be worth it or we will be dead for it.” Lae’zel practically hisses. “Get whatever carnal sins you wish from him then tell him to leave!”

Tav casts their eyes downwards. She’s clearly sharpening Halsin’s whittling tools as they speak. “It’s alright, I know you have a soft spot for animals. He’s practically one anyway.”

“I do not.” She said plainly. Scratch sits on her cushion, tail wagging. “Leave, this conversation is over.”

Tav resists the urge to snap and just turns away.

This is simple. They just need to deliver the pipe. And maybe tell Halsin perhaps his presence is causing a bit of unrest in camp seeing as he’s just kind of… around. Or maybe they won’t tell him at all.

Tav tries to put some energy into their steps again. But not too much to be so obvious that apparently they smell like it. And maybe with a bit of intent so it looks like they’re trying to get something out of him and not just deluded into wanting his attention. Yes. Sounds— great.

A long roar echoed through the woods behind Halsin’s usual spot. Tav stands, shifting from one foot to another awaiting for his return. Within the shadows of the forest, a large bear swings his claws. The pack of gnolls facing him cackles and hisses before quickly retreating. Tav sighs dreamily, catching the disapproving look of Lae’zel and the approving thumb up of Astarion and sucks it back in.

The bear gathers his wooden logs with his mouth and returns to the centre of camp. “Ah, my friend.” Halsin’s voice is muffled through the logs. “Did you come by for the daily petting?”

Tav was about to say no. They were, truly. But the temptations are too big. They rub his bear cheeks and his bear chin, scratching his bear head before stepping a bit back for Halsin to wild shape back.

“Your fur is very soft today too.” The greatest conversationalist - Tav.

“Thank you. I hope you don’t feel discouraged by my enthusiasm.”

“No, no. It’s better for me that you like it.” Tav scratches the back of their head. “Oh!” They fumble, almost dropping the pipe. “In the library. I found. Nettie said it’s yours.” Their voice almost crack. Almost. Just barely held it together.

“Oh, my smoking pipe.” He chuckled. Tav places it in his hand. They ignore the way his palm is twice the size of theirs. “It’s a bad habit of mine. Long hours of work always fill the library with smoke.”

Tav purses their lips. Halsin’s laugh is very nice to the ears too. Maybe it’s better to hold off on telling him to go away for another day…

“My apologies, it’s not something to brag about. I talk of myself too much.” Halsin seems suddenly flustered.

“No, no. I… I enjoy listening to you and learning more about you. Do indulge me.” Tav tried to say.

“I appreciate that. But I need to focus on the Shadow curse Lands.” Tav deflates slightly. Halsin’s eyes grows half lidded, “We’ll… have plenty of time after that.”

Tav perks up at that.

Gotta Get Creative

halloween special !

rottmnt raph x gn!reader

summary: as it turns out, halloween costumes are a whole lot more difficult when you’re trying to match with a mutant turtle.

word count: 1,142

a/n: taking a break from requests to get some halloween oneshots out! i’m counting this as gender neutral, but reader does wear a dress for their halloween costume. happy halloween, everybody!

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

Ah, October, the month of spooks and scares. There’s a chill in the air, and celebrations have begun.

The moment you got out of school, you grabbed your things and practically ran the route to the nearest manhole. It was a path you knew well by now, having walked it so many times.

You arrived at the lair in roughly ten minutes (new record!). You went through your routine, greeting everyone - Splinter on his armchair, Mikey and Leo having some sort of competition, Donnie in his lab. Finally, Raph in his room.

“Hello, wonderful boyfriend of mine! It is October 1st, which means I am now about to become a menace to society. Got any costume ideas?”

You dropped yourself onto the bed next to Raph, who, prior to your entrance, had been knitting. He had set his needles down now though, and you pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before grabbing a notebook out of your bag along with a pen.

“Right to the point, huh?”

“This is business, Raph. Halloween costumes are no matter to be taken lightly.”

Several months ago already, you and Raph had agreed to go in matching costumes this year. Now that October had come, the challenge was to decide what costumes.

Of course, there were a few ground rules. Mainly, whatever it was had to something that would cover Raph’s mutation at least to the point where he could go unnoticed topside. Unless the Hidden City celebrated Halloween the way humans do, which you sorely doubted.

This couldn’t be too hard, right?

•°. *࿐

“My brain has failed me. The Internet has failed me. The world has failed me, Raph.”

As it turns out, your imagination wasn’t being very cooperative today, and neither was Google. In front of you sat your phone opened to a list of couples costume ideas (more than a few of which were more than a little unsettling), and all around you were scattered crumpled up pages of your poor notebook.

“Come on, (y/n), it’s only been thirty minutes.” Raph was patting your back in consolation.

“It’s been almost two hours.”

“What?” Raph blinked at you. “That can’t be right.”

You pointed at the corner of your screen, which indicated that roughly two hours had, in fact, passed.

“Oh. Well-” Raph picked up your notebook, reading through the most recent page. “Okay, so not much. That’s fine. It’s only day one.”

“Only day one! We waited until October to decide, and now we’re going to suffer for it! One of the most important parts of a good Halloween is a good costume - or at least an above mediocre one!” You threw your arms up in frustration (and maybe just a bit for the sake of drama), just narrowly missing Raph’s face.

Speaking of which, you couldn’t help noticing something strange in his expression. Like he was holding back a smile, and…

“Are you laughing?”

“No.” His voice cracked as he spoke, and he immediately burst into a fit of laughter.

“You think this is a laughing matter?” You couldn’t help smiling, despite your words.

“I’m sorry! I just- Wait, wait, no!” He grabbed the pillow you were reaching for before you could, and you both dissolved into giggling messes.

Your head was resting on Raph’s shoulder now, and for a moment, you just took a moment to smile.

There were a few minutes of silence, both of you lying back on the bed, before Raph chuckled. “Imagine if we just… ditched the disguise.”

“What do you mean?” You turned to look at him.

“Like, we just go up top wearing a generic couple’s costume, and when anyone asks we just go ‘oh yeah, we’re Jack and Rose from the Titanic, but if Jack was secretly a turtle monster’.”

It was a joke. It was just meant to be a joke. But… “Raph?”

“Yeah?”

“I think you’re a genius.”

•°. *࿐

Over the next month, you spent your time gathering the supplies for your costume. It wasn’t that difficult, really, the Titanic outfits weren’t that hard to recreate.

When the day rolled around, everyone met down in the lair to get into costume. April was in a circus ringmaster’s uniform, with Mayhem meant to be her circus animal. Donnie, to no one’s surprise, had dressed up as Frankenstein for the third year in a row, and had convinced Mikey to go as the monster.

“Leo, where’s your costume?” You raised an eyebrow, and he responded with a grin.

“What do you mean, where’s my costume? It’s right here. I’m a mutant turtle who lives in the sewers.”

“That’s cheating.”

“Says who?”

At this point, you decided to ignore him. You instead turned your attention to your boyfriend, who was sitting next to you on the couch. Raph’s previous joke had, in fact, become reality - here he was, Jack from the Titanic, but as a turtle creature.

“So, if Jack is a turtle now, does that mean he survives after all?” April asked.

“I don’t think snapping turtles live in the ocean,” was Donnie’s response.

“Shh - let it be happy. We need more happy endings in this world.”

“Glad you could find a happy ending in our cover up for a Halloween costume, April.”

“Hey, every costume deserves a little world building. Like magical circus animals…” April gestured towards Mayhem. Or rather, the spot where Mayhem had been moments ago. “Oh, for the love of- MAYHEM!”

You leaned back against the couch, smoothing out your dress. You’d bought a dress initially, but wound up altering it to your liking. You put a lot more effort into it than you’d really care to admit.

“Alright fellas, what’s our route? Got any intel on where the best candy’s at?” Leo took charge of the planning, or at least tried to before Donnie pulled out a rather extensive map of the best trick or treating spots in New York City.

“Well, I’d say these turned out pretty well. The costumes, that is.” Raph smiled at you.

“So would I!” You returned the grin, and put an arm around his shoulders. Well, you tried to. He was a bit too much bigger than you for it to work very well. “April’s right though. A costume like this needs a story behind it. How did Jack become a turtle creature, I wonder?”

“Maybe he’s a ninja, too. One that lives in the sewers.”

“Hey, guys!” You looked back at the others. Donnie was still holding that ridiculously large map - you had to bite your tongue to keep from laughing.

“I’ve got Mayhem, let’s go!” April called from the sewer entrance.

Everyone got up from their spots around the room; Donnie rolled up his map and Mikey rushed the last few finishing touches on his makeup. You grabbed Raph’s hand as you stood up.

“Let’s go get some free candy, people!”

People always assume monster hunts happen at night; it’s more dramatic, it’s tenser, it makes for a better story. But as my master taught me, it's better to go after vampires during the day, since you have the entire world you can safely run to and they’re stuck wherever they’re holed up. And so it was that, as I walked up the last leg of the path to the ostentatious manor in front of me, it was a bright and sunny day, with a nice cool breeze on my skin. 

Upon reaching the front door, my first thought was that this was a nice place: I guess being alive for several centuries helps boost your real estate portfolio. Using the heavy metal knocker (in the shape of a dragon, because Lord knows vampires have a flair for the dramatic), I waited in silence for half a minute before the door creaked open in front of me. 

“Hello?” asked a young woman with long brown hair, dressed in a maid’s uniform. I silently swore. Of course this creature has innocents surrounding it. I love when my first hunt gets complicated. I answered in my best upper-crust-snob, “Yes, I believe I have an appointment with the lord of the manor?”

Her face lit up, “Oh, you must mean Mr. Lupovi! Of course, of course, right this way!” She led me down a maze of hallways, blood red walls lined with paintings, supposedly showing a line of noblemen, but which I knew were all the same man under different names. I passed by numerous ornate statues, and at least one iron maiden before settling me into a study, surrounded by bookshelves and more Lupovi family paintings. “It’ll be just a moment! I’ll let him know you’re here. In the meantime, feel free to have some tea” she gestured to my left, at a slightly steaming teapot and some china cups, before exiting. 

Didn’t even pour me tea, I thought to myself wryly where do they find help these days? I quickly surveyed the area, noting the possibility of spreading fire throughout the room, all possible spots for an ambush, and triple-checking my hunting kit. After all that was done, I looked back at the teapot. I was kind of thirsty…

I poured myself a cup, added a bit of cream (okay, maybe a lot of cream, don’t judge me) and sipped. Earl Grey. I had some more, finished drawing open the curtains so most of the room was bathed in sunlight, which took…longer than it should have. As I got into my hiding spot, I noticed my fingers felt…leaden…as I tried to grip my stake. I looked down and I had dropped it, and why…why were my eyelids getting heavy…?

  The first thing I felt when I woke up was softness. I was on a fine bed, stuffed with soft down, amid elegant pillows and silken sheets. How long had I been out? I tried to get up, only to hear the clink of chains. My limbs were bound. I looked around for my gear, and saw my coat propped over a nearby chair, alongside my trousers. Glancing down, I realized that I was naked.

Don’t panic, you’re still alive, and where there’s life there’s hope. I looked around the room: elegant, no windows, a rack of whips and riding crops and other…implements dominated one wall, a strange cross the other. Then the door opened, and she stepped in. I had thought she was a maid, but now, wearing a brilliant scarlet dress embroidered with gold, her hair cascading over her shoulders. She sauntered over to the rack of toys, then back over to me.

“Sleep well? She smirked.

“Kill me and be done with it.” I snarled.

She frowned, “But that’s no fun at all. I didn’t just buy this manor, fill it with portraits of my sire, spread rumors of a vampire, and then drug you just to kill you.” Her gloved hand brushed against my left cheek. “No, I’m going to own you.” 

“You want a hunter on retainer? Never” I spat.

She just smiled, looking at me hungrily. “I think when we’re done, you’re going to beg me to let you be my pet. My little thrall. My plaything.” her hand trailed down, first to my neck, then to my left breast. “My hunting dog.” I squirmed as she took my nipple in her fingers, pinching it and rolling it between them. Her words got heavier, sinking into my head deeper and deeper, as she explained “See, most hunters are trained to resist my domination. Even under torture. But I don’t think anyone has ever tried pleasure, have they?” she twisted my nipple to emphasize her point, and I gasped, already feeling myself growing harder.

“You don’t need to say anything. I can see the evidence down there, little hunter.” she took her hand off my chest, and I whined, watching as she peeled off her glove before running her nails down my stomach, scratching my thighs. I frantically thrusted my hips, pathetically trying to get off before she sunk herself any deeper into my mind. 

She tutted softly, spitting into her hand and then wrapping her fingers around my cock. I moaned pathetically, humping her hand as she worked it slowly. “You want to be a good pet,” she said, twisting slightly. “You want me to own you, to be my little feeding slut.” Some misplaced pride wants me to pretend I lasted longer than I did, but it had been a long time, and she had centuries of experience wringing pleasure out of her prey. Before I knew it, I was close, and she stopped. “You know what you need to ask for.” She wasn’t using the voice anymore, she knew she didn’t have to.

“Please…”

“Please what?”

“Please feed on me…”

“Beg.”

“Feed on me feed on me feed on me feed on m-” 

My cries were cut off by orgasmic bliss, as she sank her teeth into my neck and started jerking me off again, as I pumped into her, thanking her, over and over and over again.

That was a month ago. Since then, I’ve been living here, taking care of my mistress. No more pain, no more long nights spent on the open road. Just me and her, and cumming and feeding over and over and over. And hey! Since she got me, she hasn’t needed to feed on anyone else, so in a way, I guess I did stop her from being a threat.”

our flag means death starters

❝ you ever feel trapped, that you’re just treading water, waiting to drown? ❞   ❝ all the revenge, and rage, and anger...it ages you. ❞   ❝ there’s always an escape. ❞   ❝ weeks we’ve been out here with nothing to show for it. ❞   ❝ if you wanted...i could be your family. ❞   ❝ that was a close call, wasn’t it? ❞   ❝ yeah, i’ve heard of you. i’ve heard all about you. ❞   ❝ to think of the ridiculous rumor going around about you. ❞   ❝ what’s on your mind? everything good? ❞   ❝ you almost got us killed. ❞   ❝ i actually thought you were kind of mad at me, if i’m honest. ❞   ❝ no, that’s the worst thing you could do. ❞   ❝ what makes me happy...is you. ❞   ❝ do you know how hard it is to drive a sword through someone’s skull? ❞   ❝ did you hear that? we’re under attack. ❞   ❝ one day, all this will be yours. ❞   ❝ now sheath our swords and sharpen our knives. ❞   ❝ that’s not...is that true? ❞   ❝ this, whatever it is that you’ve become...is a fate worse than death. ❞   ❝ that’s funny. i haven’t heard much about you. ❞   ❝ i, um...i missed you. ❞   ❝ unhand me or bleed. ❞   ❝ chose your next words wisely. ❞   ❝ the point is to rest our bodies...as well as our minds. ❞   ❝ you’re a child with a toy. ❞   ❝ how does one...move past such a thing? ❞   ❝ until you resolve this guilt, you’ll continue to be haunted. ❞   ❝ i wouldn’t take it personal. it’s just that they don’t like you. ❞   ❝ surrender. you have no chance of escape. ❞   ❝ i’ve seen death. i’ve seen the cause of death. it changes you forever. ❞   ❝ this is who i am. can you see me now? you were always gonna realize what i am. ❞   ❝ some men are not built for adventure. some men should concern themselves with gentler things. ❞   ❝ sometime’s a quick death's the best way to end a bad conversation. ❞   ❝ the only good leaders are the ones that hate being leaders. ❞   ❝ stand down now. you’re in over your head. ❞   ❝ here it is. the spoils of battle. ❞   ❝ whatever you're going through right now, it's none of my business. ❞   ❝ the best secret keepers are corpses. ❞   ❝ have you killed anyone recently? ❞   ❝ i understand what it’s like to live in disguise. ❞   ❝ you’re not a ghost, are you? ❞   ❝ you know, i actually thought you’d be dead by now. ❞   ❝ maybe, in your next life, you’ll be a little less nosey, huh? ❞   ❝ ahhh. you’re in love. ❞ ❝ i don’t fit here anymore, do i? ❞   ❝ what are you doing? someone’s going to see you. ❞   ❝ they put a price on your head, remember? ❞       ❝ when you kill, you die as well. ❞ ❝ why’re you hiding your face? ❞   ❝ looks like we’re gonna live after all. for a little while longer, at least. ❞       ❝ i didn’t know this place was haunted. ❞   ❝ it’s always the quiet ones. ❞   ❝ we just can’t seem to stop hurting each other, can we? ❞   ❝ we’re friends. friends tell each other these kind of things. ❞   ❝ i can’t believe you made me do this. ❞   ❝ turn your enemy’s worst fear against them, you’ll own them. ❞   ❝ i will not be trifled with, so don't even think about trifling me. ❞   ❝ still a coward. pathetic. ❞   ❝ listen. i-i thought i was going to lose you. ❞   ❝ you seem to know everything about everything in the whole fucking world. ❞   ❝ here it is. high society in all its grotesque glory. ❞   ❝ i couldn’t help but notice that they got under your skin. ❞   ❝ all their blood’s going to be on your hands. ❞   ❝ what’s happening? am i dead? ❞   ❝ all i’ve been doing is thinking. and drinking. thinking and drinking. ❞   ❝ i just wasn’t built for sitting idle. ❞   ❝ i'm not a good person. ❞   ❝ you’re not a human. you’re a monster. a plague. ❞   ❝ you know what your problem is? you have no idea how to relax. ❞   ❝ sometimes, i think i...i’ve heard you crying. ❞   ❝ we don’t do it because we like it. we do it because we don’t have any other choice. ❞ ❝ it’s not that you deserve it or that you’ve earned it...lord knows you haven’t done that. ❞   ❝ some of us won’t be coming back. others may be wounded. ❞   ❝ look at that. you wear fine things well. ❞   ❝ maybe we can just...get away? start over. reset. ❞   ❝ at some point in a man’s life, he has to face the music. ❞   ❝ do you mind if i sleep in here tonight? ❞   ❝ well, this has been quite a blast, but i’m sure you’re busy with all your things. ❞   ❝ these are my people. i’ll deal with it. ❞   ❝ what’s the scariest thing you’ve ever seen? ❞   ❝ you have any idea who i am? ❞   ❝ you were not raised to kneel, or to turn the other cheek. ❞   ❝ we’re in the middle of nowhere. no one’s gonna recognize you. ❞   ❝ i thought i’d have a cooler death than this. ❞   ❝ we’re gonna have fun today, and that’s an order. ❞   ❝ you can be a real bummer sometimes, you know that? ❞   ❝ i’m gonna try and undo some of the damage from that interaction. ❞   ❝ we are to be lighthouses for each other, remember? ❞   ❝ when you cut lose, you really cut lose. ❞   ❝ this is how you die. ❞   ❝ how does it feel to be in love? ❞   ❝ uh, no. i didn’t hear anything. ❞  

The first day of sharing our favorite aro/ace/demi fics is here! Fics we haven't reviewed yet link back to the story on ao3, while the others link back to our reviews. Enjoy reading!

Part 1

How to Ignore Your Soulmark and Be Happy by broken_ankle [Teen, 4K, Aro!Dean, Aro&Ace!Cas]

Dean and Cas are soulmates. They know, and they know that the other knows, and they've never talked about it. That doesn't stop them from building a life together.

He’s a Little Bit Country by JessJesstheBest [Teen, 8,5K, Ace!Cas]

"Tell me what we’re doing here today, Clarence.” Castiel shifted on his feet, moodily, but answered her in a grumble. “We’re putting on a concert benefit for Planned Parenthood.” “Right! And why is that?” “Because this country is run by a monster who is trying to take away the reproductive rights of women and we need to raise money to continue to fund our program which helps women have agency in their own bodies." Or the one where Castiel, as part of planned parenthood, puts on a joint punk and country benefit concert where he meets Dean Winchester, the handsome country enthusiast who is also an asshole.

Let's Stay Together by Castielslostwings [Explicit, 12,5K, demi!Cas]

Touch-starved COVID nurses Dean and Cas try to solve that mutual problem by platonically sleeping together, but their relationship is affected in more ways than they bargained for.

Staccato by mnwood [General, 6K, Aro!Dean]

It happens gradually. There is no cliff to jump off of or wall to hit or any other analogy of suddenness that Castiel expected. Instead, there are increased touches. Longer looks. A brush of lips on knuckles, shoulders, cheeks, lips. Quiet confessions turn into assertions. It happens gradually.

Inside Jokes by JessJesstheBest [Teen, 5,9K, Ace!Cas]

“Come here,” Dean said, before he could talk himself out of it. Before he could convince himself Cas wouldn’t want to. “Quarantine with me.” Cas’s breath hitched. “What?” Or after only a couple dates, Dean and Cas decide to quarantine together. Because gays be like

When the Magnolias Bloom by Flurry_X [Explicit, 129K, Demi!Cas]

It's been ten years since the Apocalypse. Ten years without talking, without knowing one another. Castiel has a company to handle and a wedding to plan, Dean has a broken marriage and a decision to make. They have separate lives, lovers and families of their own, they aren't supposed to meet again, to mess it all up. And yet they do, when they least expect it, and maybe when they most need it. A story about second chances, about hope and resilience, and a love that feels both doomed and inevitable.

Blades 2 Inside Choices Blog: Blades of Light and Shadow 2

We’re so happy to be back in action with the gang we know and love! Where does Blades of Light and Shadow 2 pick up after the first book’s ending?

Emi: I will say that we don't pick up where you're expecting. 

Kathleen: Unless you were expecting to get hucked out the back of the plot truck and onto the action highway at 80mph. (Fury Road theme plays)

Lil: (is overtaken by the Two Towers theme)

Emi: But rest assured, our original four love interests are back and dealing with their own challenges. 

Lil: And they’re definitely going to need help with those challenges whether you’re romancing them or not. Though we support all variations of ‘mancers here. Mono-, multi-, and necro- . 

Emi: Also they get some new looks that can best be described as "sleeves are B.S."

Jay: Don’t forget “badass pirate coat important”.

What kind of new main characters will we meet in the sequel? Or perhaps, any new love interests?

Jay: There is a strange but familiar hooded figure…whose hotness level was of great discussion.

Lil: He’s very constructive with his feedback. And a monster from Book 1 returns, but not in a way you expect. 

Emi: I think we all know I'm obsessed with Valax. I mean, she's a badass purple lady who only has one sleeve. Obviously that makes her my wife.

Tom: EMI YOU HAVE TOO MANY WIVES!!!

Kathleen: Idk I'm still mad that hot scorpion lady didn't win the monster contest.

Lil: Sky whale supremacy how dare. 

Kathleen: Okay I am excited about the dwarves and goblins though. New dwarf friend is just A+ chaos babe and I love her.

Emi: Honestly though, my fave character is the one who's "head empty, no thoughts, falls over a lot."

Making this sequel has been a labor of love. Does the book team have any must-tell stories/bloopers during production?

Jay: There was an accidental floating dwarf? And too many battles with code. Writers, please don’t do it to me again. I cannot take it. The while loop will win.

Kathleen: During one of my editorial passes I had to give Emi a note like "Okay when we first meet the Big Bad maybe we should use that moment to establish that she's really imposing/scary instead of just going off about how hot she is."

Emi: I may have made too many Aerin memes that are now weekly traditions for our team.

Danielle: I was instructed to design a character with “Vision as a hotness bar” as a guide, I ignored them and used Jeff Bridges instead 😏. 

Jay: Danielle also came up with some incredible filenames, my favorite being “tentacle_monster_buff”.

Danielle: It’s accurate, is it not?

Are there any elements that you are particularly proud of?

Tom: The Shadow Realm was fun to make! Think the Upside Down, but more purple. And to make all the awesome new weapons and armor work with the outfits took 150 unique assets! You’re welcome.

Danielle: My first full book!

Lil: The lore guide for Blades was 60 single-spaced pages before we started adding things that came up during active production. I’m really pleased with how much actually ended up being discoverable in the book itself, so be sure to explore every nook and cranny of Morella and beyond! Because they are filled with beauty and chaos. 

Emi: I cannot tell you how many spreadsheets we made to keep track of things. I mean, the outline alone was 100 pages!

Jay: My code built 😭. And that my production planning got it to you a little earlier than y’all had anticipated hehe.

At the end of the first book, we seemed to have wiped out the forces of evil for at least a day or so. What kind of dangers will we face in the second edition?

Lil: Evil never sleeps y’all. It gets its coffee from Aerin. 

Kathleen: (Aerin, walking up to the counter): "I have a large non-fat birthday cake latte with caramel drizzle and four shots of espresso for (squints at label) ...Emile?"

Lil: In all seriousness, you’re really getting it from all sides in this book. There’s rival factions, shifting leadership, societal upheaval, and monsters. So. Many. Monsters. (Thank you for giving us the Shadestalker, by the way. Can’t wait for you to meet the beefy boy.) 

Kathleen: One cool scary thing about book 2 is that THIS TIME, IT'S PERSONAL (like instead of you and your buds racing against bad guys to collect the magic things, you've now got a villain single-mindedly hunting you down so she can steal your <REDACTED> for use in her evil plans).

Emi: Kathleen may have called me out for it but our Big Bad is hot! Both literally and figuratively!

How much do you love QA?

Lil: SO MUCH.

Emi: Pour one out for our poor QA folks who have had to test what is the most complex book we have ever done! You are the real heroes!

Jay: QA peeps are my saviors!! Their work alone cures my anxiety.

Kathleen: Gawd I would be lost without QA my grammar is a disaster

Erin: Everyone on the Blades team is so wonderful to work with. I also tested Book 1, and to be able to contribute to Book 2 means everything to me. It’s absolutely a labor of love.

We know that years of hard work and passion went into this book. What would the Blades team like the readers to take away from this sequel?

Emi: So Kathleen and I actually helped to brainstorm the entire Blades world back when it first came into being, so it felt like coming full circle to be back and expanding it in new and fun ways. I was already in love with all of these characters and they're even closer to my heart now. I can't wait for you all to see what we've come up with!

Jay: Y’all better like it! This book has taken years off my life. *lies down on floor* (But seriously, we’re as excited about Blades 2 as all of you and hope that it brings as much joy to you as it did for us to make. I think the best word to describe the team as we wait for September 1st is giddy.)

Danielle: I hope you like our art :).

Tom: If you don’t, please keep it to yourself, artists are fragile :’} 

Lil: I was one of the few people who was new at Choices when I began working on this book, and it was truly an honor to see this thing come together. These are the minds that brought you The Crown & the Flame, The Cursed Heart, Wake the Dead, and the first Blades. It was amazing to go from watching them work as a fan to taking this epic journey together. 

Kathleen: THE REAL VILLAIN WAS THE IMPERIALISM WE MADE ALONG THE WAY

Lastly, how much does the team love Aerin?

Kathleen: I DON'T love Aerin he KIDNAPPED my WIFE.

Danielle: Which one…

Emi: Aerin is my sweet baby boi with a little dose of evil. He should be protected at all costs but also really needs to go to therapy. I live for the angst of him and Raine though. It's so juicy.

Danielle: Aerin has caused me, personally, a lot of pain.

Lil: Really, one of the fun things about the book is you can decide how much pain Aerin causes you. Unlike us.

Jay: He haunts my dreams and my Wednesdays.

Danielle: Livid and sad and livid and sad

Thank you team for taking us through the fantastical production journey of the Blades of Light and Shadow 2! We can’t wait to dive in and meet up with the gang. Launch day is so close!! 

Thank you, readers, for supporting us and our book teams!

<3 The Choices Community Team

Relapse | Jeno Imagine #6

Title: Relapse

Genre: Angst, slight fluff

Warnings: mentions of self-harm and anxiety!

Word Count: 640

Author's Note: So uh I may not have gone a little crazy recently. And I kind of just wrote this on the fly. I'm not trying to encourage hurting yourself, seriously, don't do it. But I find myself being comforted when I imagine people like Jeno being there for me during difficult times. Though I wrote this mostly for my comfort, I hope those who might also be having a hard time can feel better. There's a phrase in Korean, "힘내," him-nae, which means have strength. So 힘내! ✊

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

He was coming out of the shower after a long dance practice when he pulled out his phone to text you. Checking up on you at least once a day became a part of his daily routine. Though you often said he didn’t need to with a pout, Jeno knew you secretly appreciate this gesture of his.

You usually texted him back right away. The more time passed without a response from you left Jeno uneasy. Maybe he was overreacting. But he thought there wasn’t any harm in going to your place to make sure you were okay.

All the lights were turned off in your apartment when he let himself in. Your shoes were at the doorstep though, so you had to be home. As he neared the hallway, he could hear shallow breaths from your bedroom.

Jeno peeked through the doorway and saw you sitting at your desk, head in your hands. Every part of your body was trembling. You looked as if you could shatter in mere seconds.

Despite feeling slightly afraid, Jeno stepped into the room and slowly approached your withdrawn figure. The dim light from your desk lamp allowed him to see the razor blade lying on the desk. His eyes fell on your red hand and the several lines on your arms that dripped with fresh blood.

“(Y/n)-ah,” He said softly, praying for his voice not to break when doing so.

When you glanced up to see him, new tears of guilt and frustration spilled from your eyes. You heard a sad sigh before a pair of arms wrapped securely around you. He rested his chin on your head as he gently rubbed your back.

“I’m—I’m sorry Jeno-ssi,” You sobbed into his hoodie. Hating yourself for letting him see you like this.

“It’s okay. You’re okay," he murmured into your hair.

Four months. Four months have passed since you resorted to self-harm. You were doing so well. You were handling your anxiety with Jeno’s help. You were smiling more and trying to enjoy life. But it only took one thing to bring you back down to the place you were before.

Once you calmed down a bit, Jeno would bring you to the bathroom to take care of your cuts. Tears couldn’t help but prick his eyes as he cleaned the blood off your arm. 

Jeno has witnessed you in this state many times. Though it’s been a while since you’ve had a mental breakdown, seeing you like this still broke him. 

“I’m sorry for not coming sooner,” He’d say with a heavy heart.

You stared at him for a moment before cupping the side of his face in your hand.

“I should be the one apologizing. For disappointing you.”

The boy shook his head. “I’m not disappointed. I—just wish you had told me you were having a hard time before…”

Your mouth opened to say something, but Jeno closed it with a short kiss. 

“Enough with saying sorry. We’re going to lay down and you can talk to me if you want,” He said affirmatively.  "I'll be here to listen whenever you're ready."

And that’s exactly what you did. Jeno held you close to him the entire night, repeatedly saying how much he loved you. He may not be able to get rid of the monsters that terrorized you. But he could fight them with you. No matter how many times the dark thoughts got the best of you, he would be there to remind you of how precious you were.

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ

Faithful (Sternclay)

The last fill is the winner of the more sweet than spooky prompts: My friend/relative is too sick to go trick-or-treating, so I’m taking their kid

“Thanks so much again for bailing me out” Lillian ties her scarf around her neck before kneeling down, “Grace, you be good for your uncle okay? I’ll be back in time to tuck you in.”

“Okay” Joseph’s niece smiles and bends her head foreward so his sister can kiss it. 

“That’s my girl. And don’t eat too much candy” She stands and gives Joseph The Look, “moms rules, got it.”

“Got it. Drive safe.” He hugs her, then holds Grace’s hand as they wave her off to her car. 

His niece looks up at him with what he can only describe as the Stern Family Gaze, “what are ‘Moms Rules?”

“Your grandmother would let us eat as much Halloween candy as we wanted on Halloween itself. But only if we ate actual dinner first.”

“What are we having for dinner?”

“You mom left some chili for us.”

“Blech”

“All the candy you want, remember?”

She narrows her eyes,  “Fine. But I’m getting into my costume first. You’re helping me.”

“Of course, my little lake monster.” 

Ten minutes later, he’s staring at grotesque chicken in place of his niece. 

“You’re…an evil robot?”

��Her name is Chica and she’s possessed by a murdered child.” She says with the scorn only a seven-year-old child can muster. 

“Okay then. Come on, it’s dinner time.”

He’s bemused that his sister would let be something from a horror game but on the other hand maybe this means he’ll one day have someone to watch scary movies with. Not that he’s testing that theory tonight; Lily has baby pictures and is not afraid to use them if he accidentally traumatizes her kid. 

They set out into the streets as it gets dark, porches lighting up orange and purple and the smell of candy and singed pumpkin drifting through the air. 

This neighborhood is full of families, so they spend plenty of time waiting at the foot of steps for other kids to collect their candy. It takes all of five minutes before someone is telling Joseph what a good dad he is just for holding her hand when a flock of boisterous tweens storm past covered in fake gore. 

He smiles and corrects them; this happens to him a lot. Lily works on-call half the time, and his brother-in-law is an RN whose schedule seems to think he does not actually have a life. A perk of having left the FBI is that Joseph can set his own hours, so at least once a month he’s summoned to keep an eye on Grace. Not that he minds; it’s nice to talk with someone who still thinks he’s the coolest guy in the world. 

Grace insists on the long route for candy collection, and by the time they’re heading along the park towards home there are hardly any families on the street. 

As he’s asking her what her favorite decorations were, she freezes and tugs his arm. 

“There’s a dog in that bush.”

He follows her pointed finger, expecting a beagle or pomeranian cowering in the foliage. Not a fucking wolf. 

“Yes, it seems there is” there are no wolves in Madison, so this has to be a really big husky or a wolf-dog or something, “but let's leave him be.”

“But he’s hurt.” 

She’s right; the animal has a cut on its snout. Joseph takes a step, then another, and all the dog does is whimper. 

“It’s okay, big guy, we’re friendly. Are you lost?”  He gestures slowly for the dog to come to him, “let’s see who you belong to, then we can-” he sighs as he sees there’s no collar or tags, “we can figure something out.”

The dog licks his hand, sad brown eyes staring up at him. Its fur is gorgeous dark brown and very soft when Joseph pats its head. He can’t shake the feeling that he’s looking at a wolf that’s just not quite right in the face. 

“Is he nice?”

One floppy ear perks up at Grace’s voice, and then the dog flops onto its side, showing her its belly. She laughs and kneels to pat his head. 

“It seems like it. I’d say he should come with us but I don’t have a leash. So how about this; we get you home, then I’ll come back and look for him and see if we can find his owner.”

Grace agrees, reluctantly stands, and takes Joseph’s hand. A few seconds after they’re back on the pavement, this a click-click of claws following behind. 

“Uncle Joseph, look, he likes you!”

He glances behind them with a smile, “That or he wants your candy. Either way, I guess he’s coming home with me.”

Joseph coaxes the dog into his car to wait until Lily gets home. Once his sister is back and his niece is putting away her candy, he hops in and drives back to his house. It’s on the outskirts of the city, where the woods start to encroach, and the dog sniffs the air in the direction of the treeline as he unlocks the door. 

“Now, I have a dog already. Her name is Nessie. She’s a little scared of other dogs, so she might run away or hide from you. If you chase her or bully her, you will spend the night outside. Got it?”

The dog boofs once, a low and happy sound. 

“Good enough.”

As he expected, Nessie skitters out to meet him and freezes when she sees what he’s brought home. But instead of running, she cautiously comes closer, sniffing the newcomer, who sits patiently during her inspection. Then she licks him once on the face and trots over to Joseph for attention. 

Interesting. 

“I missed you too, girl. Now let’s find our new friend somewhere to sleep.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

In Barclay’s defense, he never meant for it to get this out of hand. 

He’d known this area had some nasty off-shoots of vampire hives, but he’d also heard that some of his friends might have found safe haven here. So he was willing to risk the trip. Turns out nasty gangs of vampires breed nasty gangs of humans (or maybe it’s the other way around), and said humans like to stab first and ask questions later. He’d avoided a knife to the gut but not the face and ran for his life, changing into a wolf once he lost them so any humans would see an injured dog, not a huge scary man. The plan was to lay low until he could sneak into the night and find a safe place to hide. 

And while the foot of Joseph’s bed is certainly safe, it’s weird to lay here in the dark with a human happily asleep and completely unaware they let a vampire into their house. 

Weirder still has been how gentle Joseph is with him. No raised voices or threats, no getting annoyed when Barclays bulk knocks things over. Just the offer of dinner (Barclay managed to let Nessie eat his share without the human noticing) and then a bath. A bath during which a very good human stripped to his boxer-briefs and undershirt in order to scrub mud and blood from Barclay’s fur. A bath after which Joseph toweled him off and put a bandaid on his nose and called him a good boy for being so well-behaved.

Barclay would have gone belly-up for him in that moment even if he was in his human form.

His plan is to escape come morning, but Joseph doesn’t leave for an office as Barclay assumed he would. Instead he spends the morning on the phone calling around and checking online to see if anyone is missing a dog. When that search turns up nothing, he bundles Barclay into the backseat of his car and drives to a vet. 

Mercifully, he just wants them to check Barclay’s cut to make sure it doesn’t need stitches. He doesn’t, and he uses the moment of eye contact with the vet to put them in enough of a thrall so they tell Joseph no other care is needed. 

Joseph stops at a burger shack on the way home, pulling into the lot to eat. Barclay’s pleading eyes earn him a fry, which is for the best; he couldn’t handle much more mortal food than that without getting sick. But it’s not his fault salt and fat still smell good to a vampire.

In the evening, Joseph walks him over on a makeshift leash to a pet store, then back towards home on a sturdy, tartan-patterned one. As they’re cutting through an alley, a figure steps from a back door and calls Joseph’s name.

Barclay knows another vampire when he sees one, and bares his teeth as the man steps closer. 

“Easy, big guy” Joseph says calmly, “Alan is a friend of mine.”

“More like your fucking servant.” The vampire smiles, “my sister got out yesterday; the fang-mark stuff you showed the cops did the trick.” He offers his hand, “You ever need to woo someone or go to a funeral or anything, your orders at my place are on the house.” 

Barclay glances up to see Gravedirt Florist printed on the backdoor. 

Joseph says he’ll keep that in mind and waves goodnight. As they walk he muses to Barclay, “You didn’t act that way towards anyone else today. I wonder…can you tell vampires from humans? Or do you just want to protect me?”

Barclay barks in what he hopes is an affirmative tone. 

“That gives me an idea. After all, a vampire ‘hunter’” he makes literal air-quotes, “can use all the protection he can get.”

They reach the door of the house. Barclay shouldn’t follow him through it, shouldn’t let himself be alone in a room with a fucking vampire hunter, sure as fuck shouldn’t agree to be his guard dog. He should use all his strength to yank the leash free and run for the hills. 

Joseph rubs his head, “We can sleep on it, right big guy? You deserve a break and to be spoiled after being lost and fending for yourself.”

Blue eyes shine, trusting and kind, as the grip on the leash loosens so he can open the door. 

Barclay cuddles up to Joseph’s thigh and follows him in. 

Just a few more days. Then he’ll go.

—-------------------------------------------------------

A week after bringing the new dog home, Joseph follows the sound of Nessie’s barking into the living room. As he expected, a vampire with a grudge is waiting for him. 

“That’s the most pathetic guard dog I’ve ever seen.”

He needs at least a few seconds to grab his tool-belt from its hook.

“Oh, Nessie is just the alarm.” A growl grows in the darkness behind as he says glibly, “Bigfoot is the muscle.”

It turns out when you have a massive, snarling dog, troublesome vampires show themselves out without fight. 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------

Barclay stands, surveying the house for the last time. For two and a half weeks he’s only left it with Joseph or on the few nights he snuck out to visit the butcher. It feels wrong to be leaving with no intention of coming back. 

Nessie prances at his feet, UFO chew toy in her mouth. Whenever Joseph is gone for the day, Barclay will turn human and play with her for hours before cuddling up on the couch to read from Joseph’s excellent collection of mystery novels. 

“Sorry, sweet girl. Not today.” He rubs her ear, “take care of him, okay? And for go-ow, for goodness sake try to get him to sleep more.”

He slips out the front door and down the street. His first stop is the butcher for some blood, then to the library to use the computer to look for somewhere to live. When he comes out, no leads to be found, he sees Joseph on the corner, asking the guys at the falafel food truck if they saw a large, brown dog come this way. 

Barclay’s not going to feel bad. He’s not going back. He’s not. 

He sees Joseph several more times throughout the evening, having some version of that same conversation. 

At three in the morning, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he sneaks back to the house. Through the window he can see the human on his laptop, refreshing what looks to be the community notices page; the one where people post lost pets. 

Joseph closes the computer and leans back, wipes his eye and casts a hopeful glance at the backdoor. 

No one’s mourned his departure that much in years. 

He takes his wolf form, scratches at the door, and waits only a few seconds before Joseph is on his knees, hugging him and making him swear to never do that again. 

He can’t promise that. But maybe he can hang around a little longer. 

—-------------------------------------------------------

“Well that could have gone better.” Joseph peels off his bloody shirt, already standing in the shower to avoid making the whole bathroom into a crime scene. 

Barclay nods, a habit he hasn’t managed to hide and is praying Joseph won’t notice. His fur is matted with blood from a truly horrendous night. He didn’t know there was such a thing as a multi-mouthed graveghoul, but it turns out there is and that it’s aggressive as fuck.

Joseph points to the tub and he climbs in, lets the human scrub him clean and run his hands over him in search of injury. Once he’s clean and dry, Joseph shoos him out so he can take a proper shower. 

Seeing him step out ten minutes later in only a towel makes Barclay hot under both the literal and figurative collars.

“I’m glad you’re okay, big guy” Joseph ruffles his fur, “we make a good team.”

They do. But lately all Barclay can think is they’d make such a better one if he could be human. If he could make breakfast for Joseph after a long night, could sit and read while the human looks over his case files, could walk holding his hand instead of on a leash and talk with him about everything. 

(Could feed from him instead of sneaking drinks from a carton)

But being honest with Joseph can’t mean anything but losing him. And Barclay’s not quite ready to lose him. Not yet. 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Here we go, some entertainment for you” Joseph sets the puzzle toy down for Bigfoot, “and some light reading for me.” He laughs at his own joke as he drops a stack of new, vampiric history books on his table.

Bigfoot wags his tail at him, then settles in to nap. Fair enough, they did have a long night of chasing down a vampire hunter who was lighting vampire businesses on fire for the hell of it. 

The first book is A Compendium of Vampirical Powers. When he hits chapter three, he turns the page to a plate showing an illustration of a vampire who has taken the form of a wolf. Assuming this is an accurate image, he’s impressed; it does look like a wolf. 

A wolf who’s not quite right in the face. 

Joseph looks at his guard dog. His guard dog who only eats when Joseph isn’t looking at him, who learns commands as if he understood english, who always seems to bark when a human would reply to Joseph thinking aloud. 

“Bigfoot?”

The dog opens its eyes and lifts its head to regard him. 

“If you…if you were a vampire, you would tell me, right?”

The dog tenses, which does nothing to soothe Joseph’s worry. 

“I wouldn’t be angry. I promise. But if I’m onto something, and you care about me even a little, please be honest with me.”

Bigfoot closes his eyes with a resigned sigh, and then there’s a large, bearded man on Joseph’s rug. 

“Um. Hi.” Strong arms wave from a ratty t-shirt, and thick, hairy legs stick out of shorts, “So, you’re right, I am a vampire. I was being chased by some of those shitty guys we dealt with last week and I panicked and turned into my wolf form to hide and then you were there and…yeah” he undoes the collar at his throat, “I’ve been living as your dog for months.”

“Ohjesus” Joseph runs a hand through his hair, “I can’t believe I was so dense, it was so obvious, oh god I have rubbed your belly so many times and you, you slept in my bed!”

“You said you wouldn’t be mad.” The vampire winces away from him. 

“Sorry. I’m just…why did you let it go for so long?”

“At first I needed somewhere to hide, then I couldn't handle running away and making you upset and I, I really, I like you, Joseph. You saw a huge, scary dog and took him home instead of calling the cops, and you were so good to me I didn’t want to leave. Even though I knew I should. I’m so sorry.” He sits up, scrunching in on himself to seem smaller, “I can go.”

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

“Not really.” The vampire says sheepishly. 

Joseph slides down to the floor so they’re face to face, “Then I’m not kicking you out. I trust you; if you were a threat to me, you would have attacked me by now.”

“Never” The force of the reply surprises them both. 

“Am I right that you don’t have a job either?”

“Uh huh.”

Joseph touches a tattooed arm, “What’s your name, big guy?”

“Barclay.”

“Here’s what I propose, Barclay: I still need extra protection. And I have the money to pay for it. So if you want, you can keep working for me and living here. Just as a roommate.”

“I’d really, really,  really like that.”

“Then it’s a deal” Joseph helps him to his feet and tries for levity, “but no more sleeping in the bed.”

“I thought it was what a dog would do! Plus it gets cold at night and Nessie hogs the spot by the heater.”

Joseph chuckles, “She really does. I’ll guess I’ll just make sure there’s lots of extra blankets in the spare bedroom.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The benefits of Barclay having told Joseph the truth are many, starting with the fact that Barclay is an excellent cook and likes making meals for Joseph even when he can’t eat them himself.  Joseph feels like a spoiled husband whenever he wakes up to breakfast already made or comes home to dinner waiting on the table. 

Barclay is also an excellent conversationalist, even though Joseph is playing catch-up when it comes to getting to know him while Barclay is familiar with all his most embarrassing habits. Then again, it’s tremendously relaxing to be around someone who’s seen him sing to ABBA or curse at the dishwasher and still wants to spend time with him. 

For his part, Barclay is clearly enjoying not having to hide anymore, and is just as protective of him as a man as he was as a wolf. He’s also still using the dog shampoo Joseph bought him because he likes the way it makes his hair soft. 

Joseph does miss being able to touch him, and with every passing morning the temptation to reach across the table and hold his hand as they have coffee becomes less bearable.

Tonight, Barclay is humming along to the radio as he dusts pumpkin ravioli with ricotta. As he bends to grab a plate from the dishwasher, Joseph notices an odd lump in his back pocket. If it’s what he thinks it is, it’s a very interesting situation indeed. 

He stands and slips it free just as Barclay straightens. 

“Whoa, hey there” Barclay laughs as he turns, “you that…hungry…for..oh man I can explain I promise.”

“Please do” Joseph dangles the old collar between them. 

“I kept it as a, uh, a souvenir. Of the part of being hidden I liked.”

“Keep talking.”

“I liked” Barclay looks down, “I liked being good for you. Being yours. I like belonging to you because I knew you’d take care of me and it made me so fucking happy and also it was really fucking hot to be on a leash for you which gives me all kinds of weird feelings. And being with you now is agony because it’s so close to being yours, and now I know how well we work together, but I don’t want to make you feel like you have to want me….

“So what I’m hearing is that you’d like to keep being mine under certain, um, conditions? My good boy who’s also my boyfriend?” Joseph sets the collar on the counter. 

“Please.”

“I think that can be arranged.” Joseph leans in and kisses him, the vampire whimpering until Joseph puts his arms around him and holds him close. 

“Does this mean I can sleep in the bed again?” Barclay smiles, fangs glinting promisingly in the kitchen lights. 

“Yes, big guy, it does.

The Luck o’ the Irish

Fandom: 911 Lone Star

Characters: Carlos Reyes, T.K. Strand

Summary: St. Patrick's Day with a Kindergartener means only one thing: Leprechaun traps. And Carlos isn't thrilled with the results.

A/N: I teach K-5 music and St. Patrick's Day is BY FAR the biggest day of the year. They've been making traps all week long and I couldn't help but write a little something for the boys.

Read on AO3

Carlos stares at the monstrosity on his kitchen table. It’s an eyesore and it hurts him to even be in the same room with it. Maybe if he just…

He stands and walks closer, eyeing the offending object with his hands on his hips. He’s reaching out to try and adjust a couple things when he hears T.K. coming down the hall, causing him to whip around, hands held innocently behind his back.

“Okay, it took three books and the goodnight song, plus an extra monster check and a drink of water, but he’s down,” T.K. says as he rounds the corner. He spots Carlos and his eyes narrow. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Carlos says. “Nothing. I was just looking. Three books? It’s supposed to be one.”

“Well I had to bargain him down from six. He’s definitely your kid,” T.K. says with a smile as he starts making hot water for tea.

That their kid loves reading as much as Carlos does makes Carlos’ heart soft with happiness on a regular basis. It’s amazing to see pieces of yourself in the tiny human you’re raising. 

Unfortunately Carlos does not see a single piece of himself in the abomination that takes up a third of their table. He frowns down at it again, then sticks out a finger to swipe at some errant glue.

“Don’t touch that,” T.K.’s voice says behind him and Carlos can’t take it anymore.

“We can’t let him take this to school tomorrow.”

“Because…you want bring shame on our family by having our child to be the only one in his class that doesn’t have a trap to catch the leprechaun?”

“T.K., his teacher is going to take one look at this and think we’re terrible parents! It’s a disaster!” He looks down again at the pile of floppy, wet cardboard and paper. “Look at this ramp! It’s not even close to ADA compliant, it couldn’t bear the weight of a fly let alone a small mythical creature. He didn’t even cut straight lines or use any of the stickers I got him.”

Carlos points to the unopened packages of shamrock and gold star stickers that he’d purchased to adorn their child’s masterpiece. As it turns out, their kiddo isn’t interested in arts and crafts at all. He’d spent fifteen minutes on the thing, sticking some green paper to the outside of a box, and then emptying an entire bottle of glitter glue (Carlos’ reluctant compromise to having glitter in their house) at the bottom of a paper towel tube he’d haphazardly placed along the side. 

“Well first of all, I think it’s a slide, not a ramp, and considering that no creature, mythical or otherwise is going to be inside of it, I don’t think we need to have the safety inspector come out,” T.K. tells him. “And I’m sure his teacher has seen worse.”

“It looks like a five-year-old did it.”

“That’s because our son is a five-year-old,” T.K. tells him as if he’s a small child too. “This is what five-year-olds do.”

“Not me,” Carlos says defensively. “My school projects were masterpieces. Whatever this is, he gets it from you.”

“Are you saying you’re perfect and I’m a mess?”

“No, I’m saying I’m fastidious and you have a more carefree approach to life,” Carlos tells him. “What if I redo it and we tell him the leprechaun came early and helped fix it up?”

T.K. raises his eyebrows. “The leprechaun came to help build his own trap? I don’t think our kid is going to buy that one babe.” 

He’s right. Their child may not be a Picasso, but he definitely outsmarts them both on a regular basis. “Let me at least try and get some of the glitter glue out of it. It’s never going to dry.”

“I think that’s the point. The leprechaun goes down the slide and gets stuck in the glue.” T.K. takes a sip of tea, sending his husband an amused look over the rim of the cup.

“You’re enjoying this,” Carlos accuses. 

“A little.”

“It doesn’t bother you that our son is going to school with a subpar project?”

“Nope,” T.K. pops the ‘p’. “For three reasons. One, I know most of the other kids are going to have projects that look exactly like this. Two we always said we’d let our kiddo be his own person; clearly arts and crafts are not his thing right now and that’s okay, plus he’s very happy with how it turned out. Three, we promised that when we had kids we wouldn’t be those parents who do their kids’ work for them. It’s his project, not ours.”

Carlos deflates a little. “Those are very good reasons.”

“I know they are.” T.K. walks over and hooks a finger into the waistband of Carlos’ sweats, tugging him close. “And you do too. You’re just blinded by your perfectionism and need for aesthetically pleasing artwork.”

Carlos blows out a breath and tries to release all of the anxiety that’s pent up inside him. “You really don’t think his teacher is going to think we’re bad parents?”

“Babe you bought her like forty boxes of tissues and helped with the Halloween parade and the holiday party. Plus you freaking sewed costumes for the class play when you don’t even know how to sew. I think she likes us just fine.”

“Okay, okay, you’re right,” Carlos says, running his hand up and down T.K.’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as you will be when our son is the first Kindergartener in the history of Maplewood Elementary School to catch a leprechaun,” T.K. teases, making Carlos chuckle. 

His laughter quickly melts away and turns to horror as the words sink in. “Oh god, what if he’s upset that he doesn’t catch one? How are we going to explain that to him?”

“Okay Papa, that’s enough stress for you tonight,” T.K. says with a roll of his eyes. “Let’s go to bed.”

“T.K. he’s already asking questions about Santa, what if he thinks we lied to him?”

“Carlos.”

“Maybe we should tell him in the morning. Be up front with him.”

“Carlos.”

“I don’t want him to think—“

He’s cut off when T.K. grabs his face with both hands, kisses him hard, then looks him directly in the eyes. “If you come to bed with me right now, I promise you will forget all about this.”

Words like that still make his stomach flip, even after all these years together, and he melts into T.K.’s touch. “Oh yeah?”

T.K.’s eyes glint with mischief. “Oh yeah. You, Carlos Strand-Reyes are about to get very, very lucky.”

Hanahaki Disease || Silver || Short

Briefly, my eyes glanced over towards the boy that was sleeping in the courtyard. Surrounded by birds, squirrels, and small animals of all sorts. Looking almost ethereal by the glow of the day light. 

Silver. That was who was sleeping in the courtyard under one of the many apple trees by the wishing well. Dozing away. Completely ignorant to the world. Ignorant to the way my eyes always seemed to stray towards him.

“Hey-!! Henchmen! Hurry it up, I’m starving here!!” Grim yowled. My eyes traveled towards my short grey companion. The one whose stomach I could hear growling. 

“Alright. Let’s get going to lunch.” I smiled as Grim cheered. Having to chase after the small monster to keep up.

My throat was unbearable itchy. 

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Grim groaned complaining about the fact that the two of us were delivering a bunch of water bottles to Riddle. For his equestrian club. As well as a large bag of sugar cubes.

Grim wasn’t even the one doing the heavy lifting. And I had constantly reminded him that it was the least we could do since Riddle didn’t have to invite us to any of the Unbirthday parties. Grim had been quiet only for a singular moment before he started up again.

Though that was probably because he knew Riddle wouldn’t stop inviting the two of us over one small favor. In fact, I was almost certain the reason the redheaded boy invited us to every one was because he knew Crowley wasn’t exactly suppling us with a lot of food and he wanted to make sure we ate. At least if the way Trey tried to shove all of those treats off on us was any education. Or perhaps that was just Trey. Or the both of them.

Not to mention, it wasn’t like me taking up this favor was an entirely selfless act either. Since I knew a certain silver haired knight would be there.

“Why do we have to do this anyway? Couldn’t he have gotten Trey to do it for him?” Grim asked. I rolled my eyes at Grim, considering we had already made it to the stables.

“Trey has his own duties as part of the science club. We aren’t apart of any club Grim.” I reminded.

“Well than maybe we should become apart of one. That bozo Crowley already gives as all those tasks! We shouldn’t be running around doing even more!!” Grim exclaimed. I couldn’t help the smile on my lips or the light laughter that fell out at his words. Crowley was certainly an....interesting sort. Though, I’m more than positive that Grim would still be complaining even if the Crowley didn’t give us any absurd tasks.

“Grim, Prefect, you’re here.” A voice spoke up, and I turned to see the familiar face of Riddle.

“Hey Riddle! Do you think this will be enough? Or do you need us to go and get more?” I questioned.

“What!? No way we’re doing this again after how long it took the first time!! You can go get your own water and sugar cubes after this!!” Grim yelled in frustration.

“Grim, don’t be rude.” I sighed.

“There’s no need to worry. This is plenty enough. Would you mind helping me carry this all the way to the stables?” Riddle asked.

“Not at all!” I cheered, hoping to catch of glimpse of someone.

“Oh, c’mon!!” Grim complained, but he still followed after me and Riddle. Listening to Riddle talk about the horses, or more specifically, Vorpal. And while Grim engaged with the conversation, I was mostly silent. Giving only obligatory responses when needed.

In the end, I barely caught a glimpse of Silver before he was gone from my sight once more. Forever unknowingly elusive.

“Lets get going, Henchmen. Maybe we can go and bother Ace!!” Grim cheered, probably wanting payback for a certain prank Ace had played on the small monster earlier.

“Don’t go getting into trouble. And don’t drag any of my dorm members into it. Ace already gets into enough trouble all on his own, as is.” Riddle lectured.

Before I could respond to either of them, I started coughing violently. Placing my hands to my mouth. Grim gasped in surprise as Riddle sprung forward and patted my back in an attempt to help me.

“Are you alright?” Riddle inquired once the coughing had finally settled down.

“I’m fine-” I began, only to be caught off by a certain monster.

“Like hell you are. You’ve been coughing like that for awhile now.” Grim commented. I barely restrained myself from glaring at the little monster. Grim had never been one for tact.

“If this has been going on for awhile now, you need to go to the infirmary. With your situation, it wouldn’t do for you to get sick.” Riddle pointed out. My situation. My being from another world. My body wasn’t used to the illnesses of this world, so anything could be deadly to me.

“I will, don’t worry!” I reassured Riddle and Grim with a smile.

I never did go to the infirmary. The petals of bloody bluebell flowers clutched in my hands, hidden from sight.