For all my fellow name nerds out there, I am very pleased to present the second annual "Gloyd Roberson Memorial List of Actual Human Children Who Wrote Letters to Santa in 1920s/30s Oklahoma".

These aren’t all necessarily “weirder than Gloyd” but fall into three rough categories which I’ve dubbed: “that’s got a nice ring to it”, “if I used this in a novel it would be considered too unrealistic” and “you’ve got 5 seconds to name a character that lives in 1920s Oklahoma, GO!”:

Selvyn Atteberry

Dyer Banfield

Bert Baxter

Hilda Bender

Imogene Berry

Heloise Blakely

Burl Boyer

Clyda Pearl Boyington

Okal Brooks

Vada Jo Bricker

Deverett Brumley

Lee Roy Buck

Vivian May Burdue

Donnie Buster

Elmarie Button

Junior Buzzard

Melchor Caldex

Tycene Calhoun

Tiny Bell Callison

Dapalene Caywood

Edney Clopton

Buster Combs

Georgia Countryman

Vantruba Crockett

Alto Day

Buddie DeWayne

Violet Divine

Elwanda Downing

Cletys Durham

Thurlo Epps

Apple Fields

Floyd Fleetwood

Metherine Franklin

Ula Fay French

Wanda Jo Fronterhouse

Irline Fuller

Jack Gritzmaker

J. D. Grizzle

Billie Jean Gulley

Joline Hardcastle

Kaloolah Herrill

Thelias Hatfield

Elva Heavins

Coleman Hewlett

Helen Hillhouse

Virgil Holderby

Katymae Houston

Myree Huffstutlar

Estelline Hurrypack

Blondie Huhm

Lila Lou Jackson

Denver Jones

Vernell Lambert

Sonny Boy Lockart

Dinkey Long (autocorrect really wanted this to be Donkey Kong)

Bamma Lynn

Rep Madden

Standford Mann

Jack Mattingly

Goldia McGee

Madge Messinger

Mauzell Mullins

Jeffie Wayne Muskrat

Archibald Neighbors

Hazel Nickerson

Eulah Oakley

Lyle Oyler

Milburn Partain

Jackson Payne

Montana Phillips

Bobbie Dean Phoenix

Toots Putman

Madonna Mae Rickey

Cyprine Robertson

Juanelle Schneeberger

Billie Jean Sparks

Texanna Smith

Pansy Stetson

Patsy Ruth Stubblefield

Eldon Sweezy

Hoy Trotter

Pearl Vandorien

Leland Weems

Joe Bob West

Wayness Whitely

Buster Wyatt

John Ira Youngblood

Domby Zinn

Papyrus author review

The ever-present sand promotes an entirely new vocabulary. I found it clever to introduce several new terms for sand in its various manifestations for example: scoop – sand that collects in boots, matte – sand that collects in hair. I also sensed a hint of the Dust Bowl era, with its poverty and pervasive grit. The adaptation to a world of sand brings Frank Herbert’s Arrakis to mind with a focus on civilisation rather than religion and prophecy. We are stockpiling post-apocalyptic lectures on the kind of future to which our present may lead us, so it’s refreshing to bypass the lesson for a change and focus on the setting. One of the aspects I enjoyed is that there was no attempt to explain why our previous world has been buried in sand. The world Howey has created is completely satisfying as a setting for a gripping story filled with mysteries, conspiracies and danger. The sand dunes form the landscape and the scraps of a previous civilization form the major currency. Sand is a far future tale of an earth that has been buried. However, after being commissioned by a band of mysterious rebels, a lucrative dive job may end up being his last and a secret is uncovered that can threaten all he knows. The sand is the only place he feels at home. What’s not to love? Rating: 5/5Ī dive in the sand for Palmer is not only a profitable venture, it’s also his passion. There’s plenty of action, an icy subterranean world to explore, artificial intelligence, a completely novel species to meet and the old favourites of politics, petty rivalries and deceit. I would highly recommend both of Carlson’s novels The Frozen Sky and Betrayed. I read this feeling like the Europa mission was a possibility in our future and the attempts to understand an alien discourse also felt plausible. The concepts presented seem well-researched from my inexpert perspective. I didn’t sense any awkwardness or gaffs in the prose and the atmosphere remained consistently tense and exciting throughout. The writing matched the pace of the story well. Her feelings towards Koebsch and Ben added nuance to the story without dominating it. However, romance is introduced through Vonnie in a way that added to my appreciation of her character. I’m not one for too much romance, especially if it feels “bolted on”. Her self-doubts and internal conflicts are exposed which allows us to see more than just a tough and determined heroine. As a reader we essentially inhabit Vonnie over the course of the story and everything is related from her perspective. She has become a controversial celebrity back on earth and we see her developing some political smarts whilst trying to stay true to her mission of developing a truce with the Sunfish species. Vonnie, the engineer and main character of the first novel returns in this novel as an ambassador for the Europa mission, working directly with the Sunfish. It was a thrill ride that I thoroughly enjoyed. What develops, does so very quickly leaving the onus on the reader to keep pace with several intelligent scientists and engineers as they interpret the actions of the Sunfish and attempt to avert a war. Instead the entire story fits within a matter of a day or so, and as such, is a tense, action-packed sequence. It does not attempt to build up the situation over days or weeks, nor does the crisis endure over a long period. In this novel, the plot covers a crisis point in the ongoing truce between Humankind and Sunfish. The environment in which the story takes place is rich, plausible and fascinating. The story revolves around discovery of and interactions with a species of life-form on Europa known as the Sunfish. It’s not the first time that I’ve seen this moon as a focus of first-encounter fiction. Both novels are set of Europa, a moon of Jupiter. The Frozen Sky was a terrific read, so I was quite eager to see what he did with the sequel. How do you maintain a truce with a harsh alien species with which you can barely communicate? And how much more fragile is that truce when all your decisions are made by a distant bureaucracy riddled with self-interest and political agendas? One betrayal could start an inter-species war.īetrayed is the sequel to The Frozen Sky by Jeff Carlson, an author who has had a number of novels which seem to be a mixture of self-published and traditionally published works.

Idiots part 2

A/N: Less of a part 2 and more of a: “I wanted to write a wedding with Anna and Finn”

Finn and Anna had finally announced their engagement to the entire family. It’d only taken them two months after they’d actually gotten engaged to tell anyone (other than you) but no one needed to know that.

They’d set the day for a year after Anna had first met the family. Organising the entire affair was stressful and tedious, especially for you as Anna had made you maid of honour.

You’d helped her choose a dress, flowers, a venue, the music - everything. She’d chosen your dress for you - a beautiful blue lace dress which matched the flowers - and had insisted on John doing the girls hair.

Now, the night before the actual wedding, the two of you were hiding in her hotel, drinking champagne and talking.

Well. Gossiping.

“You and Isaiah,” Anna said as she topped up your champagne glass, “what is going on?”

You shrugged. “Fuck knows.”

“Is he still -“

“Chasing after me despite cheating on me? Yes, yes he is. And the worst thing? I still love him.”

Anna smiled sadly at you. “He still loves you.”

“I know. But can I ever forgive him?” You sighed, taking a long drink. “God knows, but I’ve not told anyone except Finn about the whole, cheating fiasco. They just think we had an argument and broke up.”

“Judging from what Finn did to him, I can see why you’ve yet to tell them.”

“But, I promise you, that our little ‘scuffle’ isn’t going to ruin your wedding day,” You said, pouring yourself some more champagne.

“Even if it does, it’ll just be a normal Shelby wedding,” Anna pointed out and you laughed.

The ceremony of the wedding went off without a hitch. Once you’d reached the end of the aisle, you’d sat as far away from Isaiah as possible, squeezing yourself between Michael and Tommy. The photos went fine. Everything went fine.

Until the reception.

“You can’t keep ignoring me,” Isiah said, cornering you in the kitchen of Tommy’s house as you frantically tried to organise everything.

“I can, because we’re not doing this now,” You snapped, checking the food was actually going to be ready on time.

“I’ve said I’m sorry,” Isaiah said, grabbing your wrist and forcing you to look at him.

“Doesn’t change what happened,” you replied, snatching your wrist out of his hand.

“Y/N, love, come on -“

You shoved Isaiah against the wall, glaring at him. “We are not doing this on my brothers wedding day, Isaiah. I’m not ruining this for him.”

Without another word you quickly disappeared out of the kitchen, pretending to find literally anything else to do.

For some reason, Finn had decided that you were going to say a speech at the wedding. Not a best man speech (that was Arthur’s job) but a twin sister speech. Apparently.

“You don’t have to talk about love,” Finn had said the night he’d asked you. “I know it’s hard, right now.”

You smiled sadly at him. “I’ll get over it, Finn. So, how good do you want me to make you appear?”

As Tommy tapped his glass for silence, gesturing to you to stand up and begin your speech, Finn gave you a reassuring nod from the other end of the table.

You exhaled slowly, calming yourself down as all eyes turned to you. “Shelby’s, Alfie and other people Finn and Anna happen to know. Thank you, for coming tonight. It’s been a year of stress and hopefully, it’s all paid off.” A laugh went up and you instantly relaxed into it. “Finn asked me to make a speech, presumably because he thought Arthur was going to make fun of him and wanted someone who would make him look good.”

“I thought I was rather nice,” Arthur said loudly and everyone laughed. 

You chuckled quietly. “It took me a surprisingly short amount of time to write this speech, surprising because I thought it would be hard to be nice about Finn. However, it is incredibly easy when I look at how much he has done for me over our lifetime. Despite being twelve minutes older than him, something he refuses to accept, he has been the definition of a big brother to me. I never thought Finn would ever settle down with someone, least of all someone as nice and wonderful as Anna. The moment I met Anna, three months before all of you lot, may I add -“

“And thank fuck for that,” Finn muttered.

“- I knew she was something special. The way you and Finn look at each other is something written in a romance novel. The two of you are soulmates and together you make the world appear alright. Love is never kind; love is confusion and pain and abandonment. It’s every single nightmare your mind has been plagued by.” You found yourself looking at Isaiah as you spoke. He was staring back at you, a sad, loving look in his eyes. “And, yes, it can unmake you in ways you never thought were possible, but love - it will remind you what it’s like to be human. It’s what makes us human.”  Suddenly, you felt something fall down your face and realised you were crying. Isaiah smiled at you, his eyes glistening.

“Fuck’s sake, y/n,” John muttered and you looked away from Isaiah to realise that nearly everyone in the room was crying. 

“Sorry,” you said, blushing slightly. “If you can all pause your emotions for a moment and join me in raising a glass.” There was a scraping of chairs as everyone stood up, raising their glasses. “To Finn and Anna, may their love and union show the world what it needs to be.”

Whilst everyone was cheering, you quickly snuck out of the room, disappearing outside. You burst out into the cold air and leant against the wall of the house, panting as you tried not to sob. 

“Why?” You whispered, turning to face the wall and kicking it. “Why, why, why.”

“Is that wall meant to be my face?”

You paused your kicking, leaning your head on the wall. “Isaiah. Of course.”

Isaiah chuckled. “I can’t help but think that speech was aimed at me.”

You sighed, turning to face him. “I said I wasn’t going to do this at Finn’s wedding.”

“And Finn gave me a look that practically ordered me to come out here. He also spoke to me, this morning.”

“What? Telling you to fuck off?”

“Telling me to sort things out with you,” Isaiah said, stepping forward. “I know what I did was wrong.”

“It wasn’t entirely your fault, Is,” You admitted, “being high and drunk does tend to lower one’s boundaries and memories.”

“Blame Finn and John.”

“Trust me, I do,” you chuckled. You looked at him. How perfect he looked in his suit. How perfect he looked any day. “Is, I…”

“I know, y/n,” Isaiah said, nodding. “I’ve had a lot of time to think since the incident.” He sighed. “I got shot, two months ago, down in London with Tommy. I genuinely thought I might die, but all I could think about was how I never got to marry you. How I never got to tell you one more time just how much I love you.” You couldn’t help the gasp that escaped you as he knelt down on one knee, pulling a ring out of his pocket. “I know now probably isn’t the perfect time, but Finn kinda made me.”

“Of course he did,” you said through your tears. “Always has to be fucking involved.”

Isaiah chuckled. “So, despite the rocky road and the shit world around us and the fact that we could die any day: y/n Shelby, will you marry me?”

You nodded furiously, not given Isaiah a chance to stand up before you’d bowled him over onto the driveway in a hug. 

“I’m assuming this is a yes,” Isaiah asked as he hugged you back. 

“I nodded, so, yes.”  You reluctantly stood back up, allowing Isaiah to dust your dress down and actually put the ring on your finger. “I give Finn ten minutes before he spoils it.”

“Twenty,” Isaiah replied, linking arms with you as you walked back into the house. 

You let Isaiah walk into the ballroom first, waiting a bit before you walked in, not wanting it to be suspicious. You weaved your way through the crowd of people, spotting Anna and Finn chatting to Polly and Tommy. Finn caught sight of you, took one look at your beaming face and looked down at your hand. His eyes lit up and he nearly dropped the glass he was holding, Anna, who had definitely known, catching it before it smashed. You glared at Finn to keep quiet as you joined them, winking at Anna. 

“Congrats,” Finn whispered in your ear whilst his wife distracted your aut and brother. “I made him do it tonight, before you ask.”

“Thank you, Finn,” you whispered back, hugging him. “Just, thank you.” 

“Word of advice,” Finn said as something smashed over where Arthur and John were. “Elope and skip the whole wedding shindig, it Is very overrated.” 

You laughed, catching Isaiah’s eye across the room and smiling at him. He smiled back, winking before he got dragged away by Esme and Ada to presumably discuss your non - existent relationship which was, actually, very real. 

A shitload of Deltarune headcanons below the cut:

Hometown

Kris

Has selective mutism, but can really talk if you get them going.

Is skilled in many musical pursuits, including singing, but doesn’t like having to face the audience in order to perform, so they prefer the piano.

Might have something along the lines of bipolar disorder, but where that starts and the frequent possessions by foreign entities ends is a mystery. Adverse reactions to medicine prevent them from going the medical route of treatment.

Obtained the birdcage from the attic where either the previous homeowner or Toriel left it after having a pet bird.

Was adopted as a baby.

Highschool age but probably not a Senior or Freshman.

More of a battle strategist and puzzle solver than a leader, but still a valued member of the team regardless.

Susie

Has been an outcast from a young age.

Wore that funny ponytail from the concept art as a kid, as well as a bow. Probably dressed much more feminine back then.

Probably either poor or subject to subpar parenting, either neglect or hovering. Maybe something like Lancer’s situation where her family isn’t at rock bottom, but they don’t care enough to provide for her as much as they can.

Has some degree of pica, but has a stomach strong enough to not die from it.

Doesn’t like quiet people because one of her neglectful parents is like that.

Would probably eat cigarettes instead of smoke them.

If she had been introduced to Kris while they were pranking someone, they might have sparked a friendship as the school troublemakers.

The Town

Monster religion isn’t Christianity. There’s no cross, and there’s a pointed emphasis on worshipping an Angel as opposed to the son of God, so Jesus either isn’t in their mythos at all or is not considered as important a figure. One part of their religion is the reduced or nonexistent consumption of alcohol.

There was no full-scale war between humans and monsters, but there was enough conflict to designate territories where one is the vast majority over the other. Gerson’s writings may have been based on the tensions of this time period.

The school used to be a religious boarding school but was secularized sometime before the events of the game.

The general public isn’t 100% sure what is up with Kris. Though they’re a bit of a local celebrity, nobody’s really sure why Kris acts the way they do. Media doesn’t depict humans as being so taciturn or erratic, so they honestly don’t know what to make of them.

Darkworld

Darkeners

In nature, darkeners are not monsters, but rather another classification of magical being that is a little more physical in makeup. If a monster dies, they turn into dust, but if a darkener dies, they might leave a shriveled corpse or a pile of sludge.

Darkeners tend to be changeable based on the amount of light in the environment; too much light makes them antsy and irritable, while little to no light makes them relaxed and confident. Light and dark levels affect their power, so of course, it’d affect their moods too.

The Board used to be its own sovereign nation, but it was either conquered by the Card Kingdom or merged by way of royal marriage.

Darkeners can reduce themselves into cards or toys if too badly damaged, or to play dead if threatened.

Lancer

Middle school age. Probably knows where babies come from but he isn’t at the point where he finds it anything but gross (prepubescent).

More educated than he looks, but not in anything especially important, just stuff that looks good on a king.

Will eventually grow to be as big as his father, but he probably won’t develop his temperament.

He inherits his goofy personality from his mom, even though she died/disappeared when he was very little.

He’s got some dog-like traits, but not nearly as much as the dog monsters from Snowdin. It’s a contributor to his hole-digging habit.

He’ll probably have some initial trouble speaking when he grows his big boy teeth (fangs like his dad’s).

His goofy demeanor will cool down when he gets older so he might come to resemble Asgore in terms of personality when he gets to that point, though perhaps less oblivious to others.

The Kings

The King of Spades’ given name is Pike. He doesn’t like it because it sounds dog-like and makes him sound simple-minded, so it's using is only reserved for those extremely close to him (that is, his wife, at least before she left the picture, and maybe the other kings).

The other kings are either Spades’ cousins, his brothers, or members of three other royal houses. Either way, the lot of them have known each other for a very long time.

Clover is the Princess/Jack of Clubs, though she isn’t in the habit of acting like it, hence why she’s still running free despite being in competition for the throne, technically. Too busy arguing with herself.

The kings all had different reactions when the princess and later prince were born. Clubs was experiencing a lot of emotions when Clover was born, with pride and protectiveness lording over all the others. Diamonds thought the kids were cute as babies but he didn’t want them to puke on him so he kept his distance. Hearts loved the babies to the point he acted kind of like a second mom.

The King of Diamonds is a rather apathetic guy who just wants to do his job and get paid at the end of the day. He, like the Rudinns, has something of a weird dragon-like instinct to hoard shiny stuff, so he likes to have his things bejeweled to hell and back.

The King of Hearts is a lot like the Hathys in that he’s kind of a lovebug. He’s a sappy guy who probably reads romance novels, good and bad, out the wazoo and is probably the biggest consumer of romcoms this side of the Darkworld. Finds the art of courtship to be the purest of art forms, even though he’s single.

The King of Clubs has as many personalities as he has heads, and they all have their own names, but the consensuses he comes to are usually really sound and thought through, so he makes for an effective though slow king. He was perhaps the closest to Spades out of the lot of them, being black suits and all, but ultimately this helped none during Spades’ takeover. He’s kind of like a weird lion hydra.

The King of Spades was, at one point, a rather quiet guy himself. He preferred to work in the shadows and keep to himself, and to his credit, this worked well for him, though he tended to feel forgotten and useless at times. The Knight came after him because he was a relatively insecure soul and more prone to holding grudges, which gave the Knight something to latch onto and blow out of proportion.

Rouxls Kaard

He’s made of silly putty. Though most headcanons of him make it so he melts when stressed, I think he only gets all liquidy when he’s relaxed. He probably sleeps in a bathtub.

He consciously has to keep up that eloquent facade, because he thought it was cool at one point, but he’s done it so much it’s become a force of habit and now he can’t not do it.

I like to imagine he’s bisexual, though he’s probably too preoccupied with trying to keep himself alive than pursuing love. If he did return anyone’s affections, he’d probably be very hush-hush about it at first because of his concerns with Spades.

He probably has slurped worms from a soup bowl like he was slurping up ramen before.

He literally can’t stop smiling. Has anyone else seriously not noticed how his smile never wanes when he gets mad or scared? It actually gets wider, you can only see how he feels through his eyes and tone. Not sure if this is how his face is structured or what.

I like the idea of him having some degree of reality-warping powers as the rules card, but that’d require his opponent to be playing his game. So, the only instance in which he could do that is if someone accepted a proper challenge from him. Puzzles are not his forte at all, and it’s implied he’s incompetent at battle too, so what is his game, then?

While in between working on Paralyzed (Vampire!Arthur), I decided to throw on my writing playlist and write some drabbles based on what played. It’s been a long time since I actively wrote, so I’ve found this to be a good exercise that helps the creative juices flow =P All of these will be Mystery Skulls Animated, and the song inspiration will be listed before each drabble.

Little Lion Man-Mumford and Sons Arthur wheezed as he ran, scrambling for somewhere to hide until the pursuing footsteps stopped. Once upon a time, in elementary and middle school, he would have stood up for himself; called out the kids trying to bully him, and protect those who they would turn on next. Unfortunately, as puberty hit Arthur found himself growing lanky and thin, the towering stature he once held over the other kids in his grade diminishing significantly as the rest of his classmates grew more stocky, many joining sports teams as he fiddled with mechanics in his uncle’s shop. None of which boded well for the socially awkward teen, given that with his loss of status as class guardian, he quickly and easily became target number one for those he once denounced. He glanced back as he whipped around a corner, nearly letting out a startled shriek as he ran smack into a broad chest and immediately fell backwards onto his tailbone, a pained grunt escaping him. He shook as he began to spew apologies, too preoccupied by the quickly advancing jeers of the boys that had been following him to pay much attention as to who he had run into, figuring they were probably in cahoots with the others anyway. All the well built jock types seemed to be friends with each other, and none of them were fond of Arthur. “You okay, hermano?” A soft baritone spoke as the boys chasing Arthur rounded the corner as well, the blonde finally looking up properly to see Lewis smiling down at him. Lewis Pepper, once the shortest kid in the class and such a fan of alpacas that he used to have a soft purple plush key chain permanently attached to his backpack. He was an easy target for bullies, and Arthur had often stood up for him when they were small, until Arthur moved to a different middle school in the school district closer to his Uncle’s shop and the two had lost touch. And he was now towering over Arthur with a friendly smile on his face, all broad shoulders and mountain tall. Arthur swallowed thickly as the boys who had been chasing him came to a halt, Lewis glancing up at them and tilting his head, a small frown gracing his features. “Hey, guys. What’re you doing, chasing Arthur, here? I’m hoping you were just goofing and not seriously intending on doing anything untoward with him.” One of the boys grunted, two others already shuffling away. “’Course not, Lewis. We were just giving him a hard time.” “I should think you might want to reconsider that, next time,” Lewis said, his smile firmly back in place, but the threat obvious in his tone. The boys let out a collective titter of affirmation before disappearing back around the corner of the building. “Th-thanks, man,” Arthur stuttered, taking Lewis’ proffered hand and lifting himself back to his feet. “Of course, hermano. I think I owe you,” Lewis chuckled, clasping Arthur’s shoulder and giving him a shortly, friendly shake. “I haven’t seen you in a few years. My family’s restaurant isn’t too far, would you like to catch up?” “I’d like that a lot, Lewis,” Arthur nodded, a smile finally gracing his own features as the two headed down the street. Stessed Out-Twenty-One Pilots Arthur stared down at the photo album in his lap, an anguished look on his face as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. His uncle had been so understanding since he’d come from the hospital. His memory was fuzzy at best over what had all happened, but what he knew for certain was that something had attacked the trio in the cave, and now he was down one limb, and one best friend. No one knew where Lewis had gone. There had apparently been a cave collapse once Vivi had gotten him out, his bleeding too profuse for them to dally long enough to realize that Lewis had disappeared. Vivi’s memory was even more unreliable than Arthur’s, her’s blocking out everything that even remotely had to do with Lewis. Trauma, the doctors had said. Arthur brushed his fingers over a picture of the three of them sat together on a couch, only a year after the three had met, Mystery was still small enough that Vivi could carry him like a baby in her arms. Lewis on one end, Arthur on the other with Vivi and Mystery squashed in the middle, grins on their faces, the coffee table in front of them covered in snack bowls and plates of sweets, celebrating the official recognition of the Mystery Skulls as a full fledged paranormal investigation crew. Arthur chocked out a sob as he clenched his eyes shut, his fingers pressing into the album, the pages wrinkling under the pressure. He would find Lewis, once he was allowed to leave his Uncle’s house when his arm was healed enough. He would help Vivi remember. He would fix things. He had to. Rather Be- Clean Bandit (The Magician Remix) Arthur stared at the other two, Mystery having disappeared at some point when Lewis and Vivi had declared they needed to have a ‘talk’ with Arthur. He had been nervous, of course, given that Lewis had only returned to them less than a year ago, their relationships finally settling back into comfort after Vivi and Arthur regained their memories, and the green demon had been dealt with. Were the other two finally going to tell Arthur they were happy together and that he needed to find his own place so they could move on with their lives? Lewis may have been dead, but he knew they were amping up for a ‘step’ in their relationship, if half overheard whispered conversations were anything to go by. “So,” he murmured nervously, absently playing with a latch on his prosthetic, “You guys wanted to talk?” In no way did he want to part ways with the others, his heart finally no longer racing in fear when Lewis approached, or worry when Vivi began ranting about the paranormal. Instead, he’d found himself back in the headspace he’d been in before the cave. That cursed feeling of wanting more than he could ever ask for from the other two. It had been what let the demon inside in the first place, but he couldn’t help himself. Lewis’ kind heart and Vivi’s exuberance had always been like a beacon to him. And he knew he should be nothing but happy for them, even if he did often feel like he was being left out in the cold. He hated himself for it. “We certainly did,” Vivi nodded, hands clasped in her lap as Lewis sat beside her on the couch, across from where Arthur was huddled in a recliner. “...About?” Arthur prompted as neither made a move to continue. “It’s...it’s hard to explain,” Lewis muttered, looking bashful, his fingers finding their way to his ascot to pull at it nervously. “It’s really not,” Vivi sighed, a pinched look on her face, “just hard to broach. See, Arthur,” she took a breath, “Lewis and I are really happy. Like, moon and stars sort of bullshit you read in those trashy romance novels Lewis likes so much-” “Hey!” “Don’t start, Lewis. You know as well as I do those are trash. Anyway! Back on track. You see, Artie, we’re really happy, but-” “You want me to move out,” Arthur cut her off with a wave of his hand, sardonic smile on his face. “It’s okay. I knew this day was coming, I just didn’t-I was being selfish, staying here so long. You guys need to get on with your lives, and having a roommate isn’t exactly what most couples want when they’re trying to get on with their lives, so to speak. I get it, you guys don’t need to worry. I’ve already got some of my stuff packed up.” Vivi and Lewis were giving him wide-eyed stares of disbelief, causing Arthur to shift uncomfortably and curl further into the chair he was in. “You know, it’s really okay, guys. Did you think I was going to put up a fuss?” “No!” Lewis suddenly spat out, his chest heaving as he took in a breath he didn’t need, “Arthur, no! That’s not what we wanted to talk about.” He looked so forlorn, Arthur felt like he’d just kicked a puppy in front of him. “The exact opposite, actually,” Vivi said, sounding upset, “Arthur, what would make you think we wanted you to move out?” “Well,” Arthur rolled his shoulders, half shrugging, “You guys are finally settling back into the way things used to be, and moving on. I overheard you a couple nights ago, conspiring about ‘moving forward’, so I figured, you know. You guys wanted to be a real couple and have your own place and stuff. You can’t do that with me here.” “We can’t do it without you here, either, Arthur,” Lewis stated, rising from his seat and striding over to Arthur’s chair, startling the blonde slightly as he knelt down. “We love you, Arthur. We don’t want you to leave.” “Yeah, but-” “No, Arthur,” Vivi cut him off, also moving to the chair, “We love you.” “Thanks, guys, really, I get it, but I’m not going to hold you two back,” Arthur shook his head, frown on his lips. “He’s not going to get it until one of you kisses him,” Mystery suddenly pipped up, wandering into the living room with a less than pleased look on his face as he trotted over to his dog bed in the corner of the room. “Kiss me? What?” Arthur looked towards Mystery, before being startled by Vivi grabbing his face and turning his attention back towards her. “We love you, idiot,” she scolded, her frown turning into a smile as she planted a kiss on Arthur’s lips, “Apparently we need to spell it out for you.” “You were our ‘moving forward’, Arthur. Our dynamic doesn’t work without you. And we both realized that without you, life wouldn’t be nearly as interesting,” Lewis chuckled, gently prying Vivi’s hands from Arthur’s face to tilt the blonde’s face in his direction. “We love you, Arthur Kingsmen. We want you to stay with us, for as long as you’ll have us.” A light dusting of pink coloured Lewis’ face as a bashful smile curled his lips. “May I kiss you, too?” Arthur’s mind was swirling in surprise and disbelief, even as he nodded and Lewis’ lips pressed softly into his own