#Kris does not like the very idea of humans. And yet here we are. Watching their every step. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kmze · 2 months

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"S7 therapy" Good one,Kris!

I can see what you mean with regards to Melinda and yes 6×19 was,indeed,brilliant.But unfortunately the same cannot be said about 7×03 and 7×11.I side eyed the flashbacks because they made me physically cringe.I think Allowitz shot that episode. "I don't care about the past..." didn't exactly work for me and I blame the writing and the direction of the retconned story for that.

As for 7×11, I honestly felt bad about Paul.He was not bad at directing episodes but there's so much one can do if the script is terrible.Stefan's post-hell was severely downplayed to service Damon's hell.The voice-overs were stilted and awkward.Stefan's story was plain atrocious.Yes we got a call back to 2×02 via Stefan's hallucination but I had a very dark perspective of those scenes.Stefan's need for his brother multiplied so much for having abandoned him in a faux reality that he not only suffered from insomnia and paranoia but his subconscious guilt for letting his brother drown reflected as hallucination- Damon wanting to Kill Caroline aka his happiness because he didn't believe he deserved to be happy.I might be completely wrong but as a pessimist,this is where my mind went when I watched the episode.(I think Julian faced something similar with Lily when he was in the stone.)This was followed by him not being there when Caroline was dying alone at the hospital and Stefan immediately blaming himself "I almost killed her"(7×12/7×13).I mean if the writers were in the least bit sincere,they could have explained that being the reason why Caroline wasn't there with him since he "killed" her instead of having You-Know-Who be an enabler of his toxic-codependence with Damon to slither into his good books.Don't get me wrong.Maybe as a general viewer or Damon fangirl (which I believe Melinda was)it was an overall good episode but as a Stefan and SC fan, it was thoroughly disappointing.

I had no idea about Rebecca-Elizabeth friendship though.That does explain a lot.I guess it's similar to Plec-Candice, Plec-Paul, Plec-Ian,Plec-Nina friendships.Can we categorise this as workplace politics and blatant favouritism?These kind of stuff are more prevalent in the private/corporate sector,film/television industry being one of them.(Notice how I didn't mention one name here and we all know what she went through and how deserving of quality writing she was.)

Also I think Sonnenshine never liked Caroline.She wrote 4×21/22 where Elena straight up refused to apologise to Caroline for trying to murder her and her mom during her no-humanity bender. No wonder You-Know-Who was so passive-aggressive toward Caroline for no reason although that was a pattern in most episodes, Melinda Tsu's included where she even physically attacked her.

I have heard Rebecca and Michael Narducci are friends too and Rebecca being a small town girl who got out of the small town apparently inspired Narducci to write the "Small town boy small town life" line to give an insight about how manipulative Klaus was that he would dangle a tempting offer in front of someone to beguile them.Narducci drew a parallel of this scene with 2×22(also written by him)where Klaus did the same with Stefan by making him drink from the blood bags.

7×16 gave me nightmare for weeks and then I convinced myself it was a big f***ing joke since it aired on the 1st of April.

I do remember reading the door symbolism metas back in the day and I loved them. As for the letter scene in the 7×18,I noticed forced ambiguity in the writing which is why I couldn't care less about it. It felt more like tokenism.Like I said there was an obvious passive-aggressiveness in the way her episodes were written.Also You-Know-Who's treatment of Caroline seemed like she saw her as an inferior.She gave me Quetsiyah vibes at times but at least Tessa was wronged and Amara was part of it.Caroline had nothing to do with what happened with her and yet it seemed like she wanted to put her down consistently for some reason.She even straight up mocked her indirectly calling her an uneducated,unambitious yorkel. I would blame TVD writers for this though since they seem to inherently believe women exist to tear each other apart over men.What infuriated me the most was how SC references like " spinning the globe" (6×20), "something more" (6×19) was used inappropriately in SV scenes.I have no idea why she was constantly self-inserting as Caroline even though she didn't seem to like her.What was even the point?

Anyway,thank you for letting me rant.We could probably write a book on the endless absurdity of this season but it's not worth it.

Haha rant away Anon, I totally get how that can be cathartic.

I do get why the flashbacks in 7x03 bothered people, and yes the way it's shot and the emphasis it's given is all on Dries' direction as showrunner at that time. However for me I really loved Stefan's speech about not caring about the past and only caring about Caroline being there and safe and with him. I love it because whenever that was the situation (which of course was rare on this show) he was his happiest and it's all he ever wanted.

Maybe I need to rewatch 7x11 to remember stuff (but since I'm doing a rewatch I don't want to watch anything out of order) but I didn't really mind getting flashbacks of Stefan's hell. I thought the flashbacks did enough to show how unstable he was after he came out of it and that was why Damon was so unstable. I do agree that the stone was trying to tell him that Caroline was his happiness and Damon was always the one getting in the way of that. I liked that we saw how Stefan needed Caroline to help bring him out of the darkness and then I really loved how we got to see him spill his guts to her when he ran to the baby shower to make sure she was okay. 7x12 I have way more problems with but I guess I've just accepted that was Dries fault and she basically got removed because if it so I just chalk it up to that (I look at it from a Doylist POV). Valerie just found every possible way to insert herself and even Damon called that out in 7x16. She just became so non-threatening in the end and honestly I was happy she got to live, most of the time characters like her get killed off. I mean she really was just a mish-mosh of Katherine and Rebekah as women who wanted Stefan and they would be mean to his current girlfriend (Rebekah) and scheme (Katherine) because that's all Dries could do, rewrite what already happened into a cheap knock-off.

See when it comes to writers having favorites I think that's fine, they're human and they get attached to certain characters just like the rest of us. The key is you need to have a competent show-runner who knows how to not let that favoritism override the script by making sure everyone has clear direction and knows the path. Dries didn't do that, the flow was all over the place because certain writers she could control (Sonnennshine/Young) and others couldn't (Reynolds). I always felt like Elena being a bitch to Caroline in 4x21/22 is just because she's a bitch, and I think Elena HATED TO HER CORE how Caroline excelled at being a vampire when she failed miserably. She hated how much confidence it gave her and how much it elevated her in the 'verse whereas vampirism was the beginning of Elena's downfall. I find the "small town boy, small town life" line really funny now because even though Caroline travelled a bit in regards to the school and helping her daughters in the she still stayed in that small town by the end of the 'verse so he was WRONG HA!

Yeah I can see how it's to each their own in regards to 7x18, one of those episodes I get why people don't like it but I also get why people love it. I love the letter because it was part of an over-arching theme with Stefan that every time he thought he was going to die he only thought of Caroline. The letter to me was more important for the present when Stefan said "I need to write a letter in case I don't make it out of this" because up until that point we didn't really know how much Stefan still loved Caroline (because of Dries!). Also loved how after Valerie entered Stefan's head she realized that too, I mean the episode before this she was all about helping Alaric so she could keep Stefan and then suddenly she was like "yeah there's no point." I just thought it was powerful that after all the scheming Valerie did to get Stefan into her life from Caroline as soon as that scar was gone she didn't even try. I can't remember what the "something more" reference was but the globe wasn't a big SC thing so it didn't get me (stuff like the coffee totally because THAT was their thing). I guess what I'm trying to say is I see the flaws in that season and totally get why most hate it and why it might have been too little too late by the end of the season. But for me the fact that Julie came back and added things to try and how she fixed them made sense it was enough for me to just get over most of the bad stuff (except the snow scene in 7x09).

#anon for ts #my god I hate dries #s7 therapy #my thoughts on that season will probably be clearer after I rewatch #season 8A was just so fab I got over most of it #and now my hatred turns to kw lol

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winters-hysteria · 2 years

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Get JINXED!

jinx x oc story :D

They shivered in the dark. Getting separated from their friends wasn't the best idea. They couldn't take on those guards by themself. And yet they'd run off to save their friends.

How

stupid

could

they

be.

CHAPTER 1

Axel woke to a blue-haired girl in front of them, staring intently at their face. She was seemingly studying them, her soft fingertips reaching up to stroke the sharp angles of their face. As soon as the neon green eyes opened, she smiled. She slipped her fingers under their chin, Axel lifting their eyes up to look into her electric azure ones. "Hey, bubs. Lookit what happened to you..." she whispered, watching the effect her words had on the kid. They looked up, challengingly. "What do you mean, 'What happened to me?' Pretty sure I look the same as I always have." Jinx dramatically jerked backwards, pretending to be stung by their harsh tone. "Oh, darling, I wanted to know- Why does your right sclera happen to be black? That shouldn't happen in humans." Axel abruptly stood, turning their cheek in Jinx's direction.

Sensing she took things a bit too far, Jinx motioned to the door. "Kris and Arwyn are here, if you'd like to see them. Kris has been slamming the shit outta my door ever since I brought you in here." As if on cue, Kris slammed her leather-clad fist against the door. "LET THEM OUT, YA BLUE-HAIRED BITCH!" Axel's lips curved into a small smile as she pounded again. "AIGHT, KRIS! I'M COMIN' OUT!"

As Axel stepped out of the room, Kris wrapped her arms tightly around them. "You scared me! Don't do that." Axel hugged her back and rolled their eyes. "Yeah, I'll try not to get stabbed in the shoulder and then kidnapped by a crazy blue-eyed girl with braids. Totally can stop that from happening." Kris laughed, glad her friend was back. "Hey, sicko, just stop being so reckless." Axel pulled back a bit. "You're one to speak." She let go and stepped back, allowing Arwyn a glance of their friend. Axel stepped forward and took Arwyn in for a quick hug, gently embracing their oldest friend. "Hey." they mumbled through the mask covering the bottom half of their face. "Hey," responded Arwyn. "You good?" They huffed. "Not sure, the shoulder hurts a bit."

Arwyn tapped it. "Yeah, with the amount of bandages on it, it looks like it does." Axel shivered, the light touch their friend had given them sent an electric shot of pain down their right arm. They turned back to Kris, scanning down her lithe, well-muscled body in search of any injury. They knew Arwyn was able (and preferred to) take care of himself. Kris was glowering at Jinx over her shoulder, clearly still blaming the girl for her friend's pain. Jinx flashed a sharp-toothed grin her way, causing the girl to increase her stare.

"Well, since the love-fest is over, we might want to head out. Your gang disappeared after I threw a couple grenades, but I think I know where they're going. Your twin and your boyfriend, Jonathan and Norin, were with them. I suggest we pack up and hit the road in a few hours. It's not very pretty, and the sooner we go the better. We've lost a lot of time thanks to their injury." Axel turned back to Jinx. "What do you mean, 'We've already lost a lot of time?' You act like I've been out for days!"

Jinx looked up from choosing a bag. "You have. Four days, actually. That's why we have an idea of where your group is headed." They stared at the blue-haired girl. "What? Four days? I've been out for FOUR DAYS?" Jinx sighed. "Sadly, yes. Now let's go." She tossed the bag to Axel, who neatly caught it with their left hand, and walked to the door.

CHAPTER 2

After a while of walking, Jinx threw an arm out. "Stop." she hissed, scanning for something. She waited, counting under her breath, ten very slow seconds. "We can go now." she whispered. "The Hell was that, man?" Kris bounced on the balls of her feet while she hissed out the question. "That was- oh, shit, that." She pointed to a lanky yet strong-looking male. He looked up, taking note of Jinx's vibrant blue braids, and made a sort of hand signal. Jinx signalled back at the kid, a rapid hand motion that would be mistaken for a middle finger had they not been so close. Arwyn and Axel shared a concerned look as Kris stared intently at Jinx's and the boy's hand motions, trying to distinguish them and their meaning. Her eyes flicked quickly between the two, tracking the quick flickers of their hands as they almost danced, a sharp-cut ballet of fingers.

Jinx turned back to the group, ignoring Kris' questioning glance thrown her way. "Daxton says it's okay. We can go." She pulled a piece of strong-looking fabric out of her bag, reached up for the thick, wiry line over her head, and threw the fabric over it. She wrapped her hands around it twice and jumped. The fabric slid smoothly down the line, and as Jinx slipped down, the guy put his hands out and caught her. She glowered lightly at him, and he backed up with his hands raised in a jokingly defensive gesture. Neither Kris nor Arwyn made any move to go next. Axel knew neither of them would go unless they went first. Arwyn didn't trust much until Axel proved it, and Kris usually insisted she wasn't one to do that, whatever it was. So, it was up to Axel to get them over.

They gripped onto the cloth bit, closing their eyes in anticipation. There were only three emotions in their mind at that moment- fear, excitement, and anxiety. They heard Jinx's voice, calling their name brightly, "Axel! C'mon! We got it!" Their feet left the ground as they jumped, propelling themselves forward with just a slight tilt. The wind whipped at their hair, sending tendrils of it flying into their face. When Axel finally opened their eyes, all they saw was everything whipping past them at a rapid pace. "WH-HOOOO!" they screamed, enjoying the feel of the cool wind on their face.

Axel's feet hit the ground and they launched forward into Jinx's arms, Arwyn and Kris not too far behind them. Laughing breathlessly, they straightened and looked over the vast expanse of land the group had encountered. Their expression went from happy to concerned in 0.5 seconds. "Oh, shit," Kris whispered. Axel finished her sentence. "Here we go again.."

#arcane / oc #7 up tag #7-up tag #jinx

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raritarous · 3 years

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Escaping the dark world.

A darkener Sans theory analysis. Enter at your own risk.

This video by 2 Left Thumbs is what really got me thinking about all this. And I will be using it as the baseline for this post. if you are into this kind of thing its a good watch even though it has some outdated info as it came out after chapter one of Deltarune.

I'll be going over each one of the categories listed in the video and added my own supporting and contracting info. And probably going off on plenty of tangents.

(I debated leaving these first two parts in this analysis as they are more a review of what we already know about Sans and the Undertale universe. If you are just here for the new info go ahead and skip to category three where I start adding in my own info.)

Category one Personality

The first portion of the video doesn’t do much to establish any evidence for the theory and is more just a review of things we already know about Sans from Undertale. How he is more aware of what is going on then he may let on, his knowledge of loads and resets, and the heavy implications he is or was a scientist and has connections to the true lab and Alphys. Also touching on Papyrus’ seeming to have at least some idea of Sans ties. I really don’t have anything to add or detract from this.

Category two spaces and time

Again more of a review of things we already know from Undertale. Sans’ shortcuts, and him showing up in his still show covered sentry stand. What Papyrus tells us about Sans room being like another world and pranking us across time and space. But also makes a comparison to Rouxls Kaard who teleports into a room the first time we see him. And to Lancer who seems to be able to be anywhere once he leaves the screen. In the same seemingly impossible fashion Sans does.

The video does go off on a tangent here presenting evidence to say that Undertale and Deltarune are alternate realities to the same universe. I don’t feel the need to rehash all that info here as I don’t think this theory holds any water without working under the assumption that this is true.

For anyone skipping ahead here is your stop.

Category three character design

At this point the video talks about all of the characters we have seen so far having a redesign except for Sans and how that may imply it is the same Sans from Undertale. Also stating that we have no reference for weather Sans’ outfit is the Lightner or Darkener version. As well as the very noticeable lack of Papyrus, speculating that when we do finally see him his appearance will give away something deeper that is going on that we aren't supposed to know yet. A speculation that I very deeply share.

Next we look at the dialog portraits. In Undertale and Deltarune’s overwound all the characters have black and white portraits in their dialog boxes, while in the dark world darkeners have colored portraits, while Susie’s stays black and white. We never get to see Kris’s or Frisk’s dialog portrait so how humans’ work is unknown. The video also states that Sans’ is a black and white character, thusly we can’t tell what category his portrait falls into.

this is a tangent but the video states that Frisk and Kris don’t speak but I am going to disagree with that statement. We never see either of them speak with a dialog box but that doesn’t mean they don’t talk. At the end of a pacifist run of Undertale after we SAVE Asriel he says “You aren't really {player name} are you?” and asks for the real name. We the player see nothing but the next thing Asriel says is “Frisk? That’s... a nice name”. We the player have no control during this conversation and Frisk clearly speaks to Asriel, at least to say their name. It’s not really relevant to the theory but just something I wanted to point out. It may become important later on.

The video draws a connection to the cyan and yellow that Sans eye flashes during his fight matching the pacify and spare in Deltarune but I believe the pacify more matches the darker blue of integrity than the cyan of patients more closely. Though it doesn't really match either.

Regardless of this with chapter 2 of Deltarune we now know what happens to a Darkener who leaves the dark world. Lancer and Rouxls Kaard both become playing cards in your inventory. I think there is an entire other discussion to be had about their abilities to enter your inventory at all but that is for another post. Now you may be thinking that this fact shoots down this theory completely but I think not. I have many thoughts about this and it kind of becomes a theory within a theory but I feel like there is enough evidence outside of the Darkener theory for it to stand on it’s own. This theory will probably be getting it’s own post as some point so I won’t go too deep into it here.

What really got me moving down this line of thought was the pre battle conversation with Spamton NEO. The version you get when you help Spamton not the snowgrave one. He talks about not being big enough and needing Kris to be big with him, needing his SOUL. That together they can see over the dark into heaven. Now to me this sounds strikingly similar to something we here over and over again in Undertale. Needing a human and a monster soul to pass through the barrier to the surface. It’s hard to deny the similarities between and adventure through a dark world and the adventure through the Underground. Both start by falling into a strange world, you make your way across the entirety of said world meeting and befriending the inhabitance, before arriving at a glowing portal you must destroy to go home. We know from Undertale that a monster in possession of a human soul can pass through the barrier and go to the surface. That is what Asriel and Chara did as one being. Could a Darkener in possession of a human or possibly even a Lightener soul do the same? This has some awfully heavy implication of what that could mean if Sans in a Darkener running around outside the dark world. We also know that processing more souls changes a monsters appearance, human or otherwise, due to the multiple forms Asriel takes during the final confrontation in Undertale. A Darkener with a human soul may be unrecognizable to us.

Category four battle

Here is where things really start to get interesting. This category holds the most evidence but is also where things start to get outdated in the video. There is a lot to go over here so I will try to break it down to it’s most basic. If you want the in depth version check out the video. I will however be going deep on the things I add. There are 3 sub categories to this part.

First off blood. Monsters don’t have it, humans do. Sans seems to bleed after finally having a hit land on him during a no mercy run. This is something people have been discussing for a long time. In Deltarune there is a scene where Lancer is trying to seem more threatening after Susie told him he isn’t scary, where he brings out a bucket and says it is to hold all of our blood. Seeming to indicate to him everyone should have it. Susie also has a line saying “everybody bleeds right” which kind of counters this but there are other examples of monsters talking about not having blood so it is an odd thing for her to say. This interaction seem to point to the idea that Darkeners do in fact have blood.

Second magic. The basics of this part are humans have blood, can’t do magic. Monsters don’t have blood, can do magic. Darkeners have blood, can do magic. Lighteners don’t have blood, can’t do magic. This last one however goes out the window with chapter 2 of Deltarune. Noelle is a magic user from the get go, implying that magic is not tied to being a Darkener or Lightener but rather still to being human or a monster, but only being able to access that power in the dark world. Susie even starts learning magic, though her spells are weak and take a lot of tp she is still able to do it. Also I think the argument can be made that Rude Buster is also her using magic. Or magically enhancing her attacks as it is under the magic menu.

Third dodging. No one besides Sans does it in Undertale. In Deltarune Darkeners dodge you all the time if they know attacks are coming. Also Sand walks offscreen and we never actually see him die and the game doesn't count him as a kill. He is defeated by becoming tired, just like enemies in the dark world.

The video gives the impression that it is very clear cut that Sans doesn't turn to dust after walking off screen at the end of the fight, but we don’t really know that for sure. You do gain exp and the sound effect is there. But like earlier stated the game doesn't count him as a kill. Maybe just defeating him (not killing him) is enough to gain exp? Though in the context of this theory that doesn't make much since as Darkeners that flee from you in the dark world don’t raise your exp. Or perhaps he does die offscreen and turns not to dust but to something else? Lots of people think we don’t know what happens to a Darkener when they are killed because they all run away from you before you can take their hp to 0. But that isn’t really true. There is a Darkener you can fight to the death. Jevil will not flee from you if you attack him. You can use violence to defeat him, taking his hp to 0. He doesn’t bleed when attacked or defeated, so that kind of pokes holes in the earlier Darkeners have blood argument. But he does persist after being killed and talks to the party before turning into an item for you to take with you. Now I know the same thing happens if you defeat him via acting as well but I don’t think we can discount that fact that you can fight him until he reaches 0 hp.

The next point brought up in the battle category is hp bars. Undertale monsters all have hp bars that visibly go down when hit. them except for Sans. While Darkener enemies mealy display damage numbers when hit. There hp bars can be seen in the battle menu while selecting them for an act or attack though. But because of the setup of Undertale’s battles it’s possible to make the argument that we can’t see Sans hp bar because it would only be visible in a menu we don’t have. The only thing I want to add to this point is a little off the topic of hp but, I believe Sans is the only monster to flinch and change poses when hit. The argument can be made that the reason he falls over is because you hit him so hard and he is so weak, but no other one hit kill monster flinches in this way I don’t think. Darkeners however all react to being hit by flinching and changing poses.

Miscellaneous thoughts

Don’t forget. These words seem to come up a lot when talking about Sans since the release of Deltarune. And why shouldn’t they with the addition of the drawing with “don’t forget” written on it tucked in a binder of photos of Sans with people we don’t recognize. Kind of makes me thing of

but maybe I’m reading too much into it. Regardless it’s pretty clear that this fraise is tied significantly to Sans, and with the light motif of the song with that title all over Deltarune it’s hard not to see a link. I was hopping for another verse of the song with chapter 2 but no luck.

I really do like the winking theory and want to look into it more.

Silhouettes, this is something I talked about in a previous theory post. Lancer, Ralsie, Space King, and Sans are all able to appear as blacked out sprites seeming when it shouldn’t be possible, standing right next to non silhouetted characters. Ralsei spends most of chapter one with his body silhouetted and us unable to see what he really looked like. Both Lancer and the Spade King are introduced in silhouette, the king while standing right next to Lancer who is not silhouetted. Sans and Lancer are introduced almost identically, appearing as shadows darting across the edge of the screen before approaching you still in shadow. Both Sans and the Spade King have their first lines of dialoged like this as well, while silhouetted like this they both speak without any sound, having the words silently scroll onto the screen without a character portrait. In Sans case also not using his unique comic sans font. The sound of their voices and portraits only accompanying their dialogue once the silhouette is dropped. The same thing happening with Sans in the judgement hall, though both Sans and Frisk are both in silhouette, but Sans still lacks his portrait and comic sans font. Similarly this happens when having dinner with Sans and the MTT resort. Though he doesn't appear in silhouette his portrait appears with completely black eyes and the comic sans font is gone in exchange for the default used by everyone else. Not sure if the other instances are relevant but I have always found them interesting.

The card stuff is interesting but I’m not sure I buy into it and don’t want to really get into that.

I could probably go on but this post is long enough and it would probable me more tangents then actually tying into the Darkener theory.

#undertale #deltarune #sans #deltarune theory #kris #gaster

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inventors-fair · 4 years

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Lessons Unlearned: Short Story Commentary and Reflection

Well. 21 entries isn’t exactly a 50+ commander extravaganza, but that’s where we’re at. This contest made a lot of sense to me, in my own head, and I think I got lost in the concept without considering the full execution, or that Other People Might Not Think Quite Exactly Like Me.

Still, I would say that almost all the entries created their own unique worlds, some plane-based, some personal, and it made for great and creative reading. I feel that something more concrete would help a contest like this in the future, like... Well, I’ll have to save that for another time.

Onto the commentary!

@abzanhero — Captain Morgan the Vengeful

The Card: It’s interesting design space you’re playing with here, and I’m actually a fan. You could pump him up to a 2/2 for a little battlefield presence, but it’s not out of the question. The fact that there’s not consistent graveyard tutelage means that he’s not as overpowered as he could be, and it’s only one counter, which... Admittedly, it’s powerful, but there are a few moving parts to make this less than incredibly overpowered. I’d rather the trigger happen at the end step for that “final fate” feel, personally. Minor templating: “shuffle it into your library” (only planeswalkers get personal pronouns), and I think contemporary design supports “when you do” as a trigger to respond to instead of “if you do.”

The Story: Ha, it rhymes! ... And yeah, it doesn’t precisely explain the ins and outs of the curse, but it’s swashbuckling as hell. It’s one degree off-kilter to have a rhyme that isn’t part of a meta-tale, but I like it, so. I can imagine younger players doing their best pirate voice as they shuffle him (the character, not the card, I know, pedantry) into their library. Arr.

@dimestoretajic — Eternal Bond

The Card: I had to go through the Zendikar image gallery to make sure, but yeah, “party members” isn’t a term. I believe this card would read “Exile two target creatures in a party. (reminder text)” And it would be “combined” toughness, right? Either way, this is a hyperspecific and expensive removal spell, at rare, with a modest amount of lifegain. That simply doesn’t feel good, and I’m not getting a feeling of a “bond” out of, well, a removal spell. Let’s move on.

The Story: So, a kind of love story, framed around a removal spell? That already doesn’t make a lot of sense. I don’t have anything positive to say about the writing itself, so for Magic critique, I’ll say that it doesn’t feel like a Magic card or part of a Magic world, absolutely not Zendikar. There’s a time and place for those kinds of cards, such as Cathartic Reunion and Planewide Celebration. But Magic doesn’t need single-card love stories, unless they’re remarkably well-written.

@fractured-infinity — Baddon, Rivstalt’s End

The Card: Okay, that IS a real town in Innistrad. Had to check that. Anyway, man, someone would love to make a commander out of this bad boy. Kinda eh that he doesn’t do anything specific on his own, but the death effect is cool as-is, I suppose. The only issue is that HOO BOY you are going to have a LOT of memory issues with all your Zombie tokens capital Z. It’s flavorful and I think it would be worth doing, but the second part... Nah, keep it simple. 3UB, no protection, just Zombies, and you’re golden.

The Story: I’m having a really hard time parsing your writing. It took a couple reads to understand that he’s talking about... Well, actually, I don’t know. What do emotional bonds have to do with taking the town, or damaging the bodies? How does that work? Do we get that anywhere else in the story? Hate to say it, but this little snippet doesn’t really make much sense in or out of context, without heavy inference about the world that we don’t really get.

@gollumni — Tempest Serpent

The Card: I love the idea of off-color emerge! Emerge was a fantastic mechanic and I feel that it could come back again. It creates some really neat draft ideas that unfortunately may bend a lot of the pie rules. But also. A three mana 3/3 flying hexproof? That’s OP at uncommon, no question, good lord. Small templating note: Flying comes before hexproof, and the second should be lowercase.

The Story: I can just see the art of a guy on a boat cowering as the ship snaps in half and a massive stormy elemental electric snake monster BLOWS UP outta the ocean ready to eat him. It’s cool how it’s not about the serpent itself, but rather the human/NPC interacting with the serpent. It’s not Hemingway, but you conveyed something great! I liked this story.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Gravedigger of the Order

The Card: I don’t get how all these parts come together. Pro zombies, sure, she’s a zombie caller. The blocking/blocked trigger, uh, I don’t see that coming up a lot considering that she’s only a 2/2 with no significant combat-oriented keywords. And the last ability implies a strong return mechanic that I’ll admit makes a lot of cool sense with your flavor but doesn’t translate to perfect gameplay. I don’t know, maybe I just don’t grok this card, but it feels like there was cohesion sacrificed in favor of flavor.

The Story: Well, this sure as heck ain’t Innistrad. I’m curious about where this would take place, and what kind of world you’re going for here. Let’s try looking at it from an isolated perspective. It’s an alright macabre story, so I’ll give you that. But the name. What is the “Order?” Is she part of it? Do all members of the order whisper to bones like her? I don’t understand her goals and motivations, what “kindness” she whispers, why the dead are coming back at all.

@ignorantturtlegaming — Demonic Mentor

The Card: It feels unplayable and yet extremely playable at the same time. It’s expensive and creates some really crazy shenanigans in Commander with surplus life. Oh my goodness, Oloro would LOVE this card, good GOD. It’s unfortunate that it does have to be costed this way and that it makes sense for a tutor. I believe the wording could be adjusted to one chunk of text: (using Covetous Urge and Thief of Sanity as references)

“Search target player’s library for up to X cards and exile them, then that player shuffles their library and you lose X life. You may cast those cards for as long as they remain exiled and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast those spells.”

The Story: I don’t get it. What does having a demonic mentor have to do with brother rescue? I assume this is part of a larger story, but we don’t have that story for context, and mentorship doesn’t have to do with rescue. This is a card about tutelage and power and losing life, not losing a mind. The library is so often represented as the mind, and you’re not losing that, you’re saving part of it. Really iffy on this one, despite the coolness of the card. Also, watch out - you switched tenses in the second sentence.

@macaroni-and-squeez — The Iroan Race

The Card: RRR for haste, sure, whatever, that’s fine in this day and age, if a little color-heavy. But this card isn’t meant for limited. This is a build-around-me if I ever saw one. “Four instances of haste”?? I don’t want to call that brilliant because it frustrates my sensibilities, but dammitall, it’s...it works. For those of you doubting me, the Zendikar Rising release notes for Attended Healer states “Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.” So, if that is to be believed, this card is designed for some combo player to go nuts with haste nonsense. Or maybe I’m just reading it wrong. Either way, I like this card. But I would make it win the game for you, not anyone else.

The Story: Sure, I’m into it. A guy running a race for Iroas checks out. I would have condensed it a little, but in general, yeah, it fits the world and makes a neat little story. I’m really hung up on the name “Kris.” That...doesn’t feel like a fantasy name as much. I mean, we have things like Gideon, and Judith, etc. but Kris? I can’t help but feel that it’s a smidge too out of touch with Theros worldbuilding. Yay, nitpicks.

@milkandraspberry — Burn Down the Library

The Card: Conceptually, this card is pretty cool. Very strange. It’s a different take on anti-blueness in red, and I can go for it. Sorry about MSE and fonts. Reinstallation is a pain but it’s possible. Anyway. I wouldn’t call this card a breakout all-star, but it would be...fun, I suppose. A good combat trick enchantment thing. Shame it doesn’t do much if you have an empty hand. With wording: Use “can’t” instead of “cannot cannot.” Use “cast blue spells” instead of “play;” that’s been phased out for a while. You also can’t discard spells, but you can discard blue CARDS. Question: what if you couldn’t cast blue spells from your hand? Eh? Eh? Flashback and madness? Ehhhhhh?

The Story: This time, I’ll give an example of how this could be shortened. “After years of fruitless study, the young scholar found a better use for her teacher’s wisdom.” Maybe “frustrated young scholar,” or something to give her motivation. Why is she burning down the library? That’s the most important question to ask. “Because she felt like it” is the obvious answer, but that’s not motivation, that’s not intrigue. We have to ask “why,” always. Your story makes sense, but it’s just on the brink of great characterization.

@nine-effing-hells — Arch-Evoker’s Capstone

The Card: I want to like it, and I probably do. I don’t know what kind of deck would play it, as it feels like a Commander card for sure, but yeah, I think I do like it. It’s got powerful stuff attached to it with very red sensibilities. The land destruction is pretty wild, but it’s expensive as hell. Or is it? Five mana to destroy two lands... That’s actually, hm. That’s actually really, really, super strong if this were to see any limited play. You may even have to make it XXRR to get around that if you want to keep that effect. Land destruction is unfun. (I <3 Ponza though, so)

The Story: With this specific card, I wouldn’t have recommended also adding three lines of flavor text on top of four paragraphs of rules text. Additionally, um, I don’t get that last line. “It wasn’t every day the horizon was on fire for a week straight”? It’s exerting too much effort without a strong effect on the reader. Edit and save for a card without as much rules text.

@partlycloudy-partlyfuckoff — Spiraling Depression

The Card: Buries? What opponent? Is this targeting? Is this an edict effect? Least power among creature they control, I assume? I legitimately don’t know what you’re trying to do with this card. Wretched Banquet-esque?

The Story: Instead of attempting to give this flavor text legitimate critique, I would instead advise you that referencing real-world conditions such as “spiraling depression” without a critical lens might appear as insensitive to individuals legitimately suffering from those conditions.

@reaperfromtheabyss — Blazing Sacrifice

The Card: I really love this card, actually. The choice to do CMC over power I would argue requires playtesting, and I would prefer power to compare to other cards in the family such as the lovely Fling, but I can see the argument against it. Yeah, not much to critique or add onto that front. You made a really great card mechanically.

The Story: And then the story lost me entirely. “monsters that would surely go on to destroy everything he loved” is clunky to say the least. “Surrounded by monsters” is fine, it’s decent, it gets the job done. Monsters are monsters, that’s that. But that last line. That’s...a D&D reference, right? I can’t take that seriously, I just can’t. It’s verging on cliche, and it makes sense on a rudimentary level but adds nothing to the Magic world. I’ll be the first to say that yes, it’s personal bias and that some players would appreciate the memetic qualities, but it simply doesn’t do it for me.

@scavenger98 — Walking Stick

The Card: It...is a stick. You know, I think I like this one, and frankly I would consider it for constructed play. I’m a Krenko guy, what can I say. But yeah, it’s fun, it’s fragile, it’s got good equip synergy, and I might actually be underestimating its power. I don’t know, is there some crazy combo that you could do with it? This stick is made for walking, not fighting. Heh. Good flavor tie.

The Story: And there it is, right? It’s kinda funny how it’s implied that the whole story about this thing is that this piece of equipment is breaking. And that’s kinda what makes me on the fence about it. Like, if you had a creature, and the text was about the creature dying, that wouldn’t make a lot of sense, right? Maybe if the text was about Bredik fearing the day when he WOULD face a sword? Eh, I’m just being picky here. I think that it’s still pretty good. I like Bredik. He’s not a fighter, but he walks very fast.

@tmstage — Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies

The Card: Yeah, once again, looking at Zendy Risey, I think the wording would be different than “full party.” I’ve been sitting here and I can’t come up with a better way to word it, but it still doesn’t mesh well even if it groks. And it’s a situational card that’s either going to do literally nothing or it’s going to destroy four creatures for one mana. That’s...not great. Hey. I understand if you don’t like a specific mechanic, but I’ve seen some really great ideas from your neck of the woods. Let’s keep going.

The Story: Technically, uh, this does not fit the criteria. Who was praying to the vengeful god? Was it the creatures in the other party? Is there a god of making rocks fall down? What’s up with the name, anyway? There’s a strong sense of disconnect and many questions that go unanswered. But considering all the factors that are going into this card, I have a feeling they aren’t really asking to be answered anyway.

@walker-of-the-yellow-path — Marathon of Mogis

The Card: Wow, I wasn’t expecting two Theros-themed God-themed enchantments that gave a number of creatures haste. Great minds and all. So, this card. I don’t think you need to reference the active player. The whole thing can be toned down a little. “At the beginning of each player’s combat (or end?) step, that player sacrifices all creatures they control that didn’t deal combat damage to a player this turn.” Keeping it simple. Honestly, though, I...am not sure I like it for four mana. It feels like a game-ender kind of card. Frankly, I would make it six. And I know that’s a lot and I know that it might be too much, but to be honest, this would be an unfun card otherwise, in my opinion. It’s really, REALLY powerful for a clock.

The story: Is that Mogis’ deal? Does he make people run? I checked the wiki and read through it all and I don’t understand why Mogis would get pleasure out of people not dying. The point of the stampedes and the destruction is to invoke slaughter and sacrifice, not to run humans to the bone. The ferocity of minotaurs is not sadistic. This feels like a Rakdos card — the cult, not the color combo. I feel that there was a misunderstanding.

@wolkemesser — Otherskin Scarecrow

The Card: I’ll go out on a limb and say that you could make this a little more Horizons-y and give this card Changeling instead of just saying it has all creature types. Could that make it a shapeshifter? Hm, what if, because it wears clothing from characters in the past, it also has the creature types of all creatures in graveyards? But I digress. Anyway, this card. It’s not bad! It’s not making me super excited, but it’s not bad. You meant for this to have a Reaper King vibe, right? Or at least to work well with it? I think you succeeded.

The Story: Love the first sentence, don’t quite understand the second one. My interpretation is that it’s taking skin from others, right? Well! Um! That’s actually scary and makes me miss the world of Lorwynmoor even moor. Er, more. It’s unfortunate that the mechanics of the card don’t necessarily depict “skinning intruders alive and taking their identity in a grotesque fashion” as much as I’d personally like. Still, that’s a risk, and you know what, the implications aren’t super strong but it’s enough for me to grok.

Once again, thank y’all for your entries. New contest tomorrow. Be prepared. Be scared. Be....ard.

-@abelzumi

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #contest #entries #short story #commentary #inventor's fair

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prettyboysdontlookatexplosions · 4 years

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totally stealing @honeybabydichotomy‘s meme-adaptation concept re: i have a handful of things that could be described WIPs and nearly all of them i already can’t shut my mouth about, but here is a trip through the GOOGLE DOCS GRAVEYARD of abandoned fandoms past (mcu, trc, something too embarrassing to list above the cut so you’ll just have to CLICK and find out)

first up, the last fic i never actually wrote for, lmao, american idol season 8 RPF fandom, back in 2010... this was going to be a bigbang fic but in keeping with my terrible track record re: challenges etc. i did not finish it, although in my defense that had at least something to do with spilling coffee all over my laptop right around the time i started a very hours-intensive job with a huge commute. when i look at this now i’m like, this sure was me writing ten years ago, but i still love the emotional architecture of any story in which one deliberately shut-off and long-repressed individual is uncomfortably thawed by the miracle of someone else’s open-hearted joie de vivre; it’s the oldest story here but arguably the closest to an actual WIP in that the ghost of that idea is the seed for the divorced quentin AU i harbor hopes of one day writing; you can definitely see the Relevant Vibes in this exchange, i think, although i feel the need to clarify that adam lambert enjoying twilight is a thing he said on national television, i wouldn’t do that to someone on my own:

Veselka is crowded, but despite the bitter February cold, Kris doesn't mind waiting outside for twenty minutes, leaning against the glass display case of the expensive toy store next door, separated from Adam by little more than an inch. "So - okay, this is kind of terrible. Like, worse than the Twilight thing. But I feel like you should know who you're dealing with, so."

"It can't be that bad."

Adam just smiles knowingly. "Oh, can't it?"

"Hit me with your best shot," Kris says. Something twitches in his stomach as Adam raises his eyebrow to that.

Adam leans down to whisper in Kris's ear, sending inexplicable sparks down Kris's neck. "Sometimes, when I'm standing in the street or on the subway or something, I like to watch people go by and try to guess what they're like in bed."

Kris blushes. "Very mature," he says with a nervous laugh, embarrassed about his own embarrassment.

Adam holds up his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Hey. We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars," he intones. "Oscar Wilde."

"Do you think that's true?"

"I think it is. At least - " Adam tilts his chin up, a mischievous glint in his eyes " - I identify with it."

Kris searches for something to say that won't make him seem hopelessly square. "What's the view like from down there?"

Adam gazes at the night sky, where Manhattan's perpetual glow blots out all but the brightest lights. "I like it. You see more of them this way."

Kris thinks he's spent six years priding himself himself on keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead, avoiding the pull of the horizon or the distraction of the sun. "So. Mr. Gutter." He points to a thirty-something man getting out of a parked Ford across the street. "What's he like?"

next up: an unpublished MCU snippet! this was a peggy character study set at howard’s funeral, also an excuse for me to have feelings about tony stark; idiotically, i actually have a complete draft of this, and got a really brilliant beta job from @nimmieamee, but then never went back and revised it and also could not bring myself to post it when despite being passable as done i could tell in my bones it was simply Not Working, even though parts of it i really liked:

Howard had not taken to aging with grace. It, too, offended him: the body betraying the dream of perfectibility. Dodging it had taken up an increasing percentage of his time. He took up jogging, early among the public, too late in his life: a few months in and a busted knee earned him doctor's orders to abandon that pursuit. His bones were already too brittle to benefit. Howard himself had become brittle long ago. You could blame the war; but that was what happened to people with no give to them. They were like the driest branches waiting for a storm, only unlike branches they recognized on some level the precariousness of their structure, and consequently dedicated themselves to forgetting it.

Howard was undeterred. (Being deterred also went against his every principle.) He had swimming pools installed, outdoors in Los Angeles, adorned with artificial rocks arranged just so to give the impression of a hot spring, and indoors in West Hampton, heated, lit underwater with a yellow-green glow throwing tendrils of light on smooth white walls. Fitness gurus and nutrition consultants were put on retainer, a bicoastal platoon to prevent malfunctions; physical therapists were brought in to recalibrate around malfunctions. They quit with increasing frequency, as his temper frayed along with his body. He gave up, in sequence, smoking, alcohol, red meat, all meat, alcohol, sugar, processed grains, alcohol, salt, and direct sunlight--although by the time of this last pronouncement, it produced little noticeable effect.

Lately he had become obsessed with the idea of cryogenic freezing: the fantasy of going to sleep and waking up in a time when his intellectual heirs had figured out how to repair and replace his rusted pieces. Skin firmed and thickened; knees stitched back to mint condition; a whole new heart, perhaps, grown in a jar or assembled from compounds yet to be constructed. "Wouldn't you take the chance, if you had it?" he had murmured, eyes going dreamy as they did when he talked of his latest missiles.

Peggy pictured Steve in the Arctic, his hyperactive cells stilled by the indifferent cold. She shivered, like a child hearing a ghost story, and said no, she wouldn't.

finally, two stories from a fandom i actually never published any stories with, or engaged with in any meaningful way: the fuckin raven cycle. the dumbest books on god’s green earth. the first was a ronan story where gansey actually dies and stays the fuck dead, and ronan handles it by being a huge asshole, and then, unlike in these hideous godforsaken books, actually decides on purpose to be a better person.... i’m realizing revisiting this now that some of the itch of this story i’ve finally gotten out of my system via damage control, but the GENIUS IDEA of ronan giving matthew an actual soul by giving up the dream power and thus becoming an actual human, sadly, does not really transfer, even though it’s the best concept i’ve ever thought of in my life. anyway, whatever, i have a type:

He opened the door. Adam and Blue were looking at him with expressions he couldn't decipher. Noah was looking at the floor.

"Are you—" Adam started. Ronan watched the word okay die of its own irrelevance in Adam's mouth.

"None of you were invited," Ronan said.

Blue started, "We just—"

"Sorry," he said, loud enough to drown her out. "But this is a very exclusive party. That means no rednecks"—he pointed at Adam—"no bitches"—Blue—"and no pussies"—Noah. "So I'm going to need you all to leave."

He focused his eyes on Blue. She looked like she wanted to slap him. This was familiar. He wanted to go back to the time when his only interactions with Blue Sergeant involved saying something and watching her look at him like she wanted to slap him. Things had gotten complicated after that. Then Gansey had died. Ronan couldn't articulate the connection, but he felt strongly that it was there.

"Maybe I wasn't clear," he said. "What I mean is: get the fuck out of my house."

and last but not least, another TRC story, motivated initially by dreaminess and then sporadically continued after TRK came out (seriously like ever 18 months i dig this one out and write another 500 words and give up again) out of spite - a story where, because fuck stief, adam parrish gets a cell phone, ronan lynch gets a job, and no one assumes that finally having sex means you’re basically married forever without even talking about if you’re boyfriends. this one is like, so close to being “done” in that it almost goes beginning to end and has a lot of individual lines i actually like, but has always been very difficult to pull together because of the reality that maggie stiefvater wrote a series such that ronan lynch acting like a decent boyfriend or experiencing character growth or talking about his emotions is literally out of character, which makes it hard to write a dreamy summer hook-up story; i was actually thinking earlier this year of picking it back up YET AGAIN, but then damage control ate my brain... one day, perhaps, for the satisfaction of having finished... or i might just listen to “cruel summer” by taylor swift while meditating on it for a couple million more hours:

“Did you call me over just to give me the fucking silent treatment in person?” Ronan said. It sounded less vicious than it should have. Like he had been aiming for a growl and somehow landed on a mumble.

I didn’t call you over, Adam wanted to say, but it wasn’t actually true. He had. That seemed wrong, though. Ronan Lynch wasn’t someone to be called over. He was too wild and spiteful for that. Even Gansey couldn’t manage it. The rest of Ronan’s world had given up trying long ago.

But when Adam had called, Ronan had come.

He felt like he might throw up.

“I’m not giving you the silent treatment,” he said instead. “I’m just—“ But he didn’t know what he was doing. So he switched tacks. “You just—“ But he didn’t know that, either. And asking Ronan what the fuck are you doing had never yielded helpful results.

So Adam stuck to the truest thing, what he had worked his whole life to make true. “I’m leaving in three months.”

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything,” Ronan spat. This time he was closer to the expected intensity, but there was still something strange under his voice. Maybe not. Maybe Adam was just having a nervous breakdown.

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authors-dumpster · 5 years

Text

A Study in Turquoise

Sybill was doing a pretty good job at blending in with the humans. She had set up her apothecary on a quiet street; customers would come and go throughout the day. No one seemed to suspect that a real Witch could be running this shop. Sybill assumed that her customers saw her as a weird and whimsical woman. Nothing more. She would sometimes get customers who seemed more outlandish than she did. This changed when a little blonde boy came into her apothecary one day in the summer. She remembered with a small smile the words he said to her, though she was not smiling when he had first spoken: “Can you make the purple fireworks come out of your hands again?”

What am I gonna do with this kid? Sybill thought to herself. No human could know she was truly a Witch. Her father would be more understanding, but this is something unacceptable for her mother. Sybill’s mother came from a very large and ancient family of practitioners, some Wiccan, some not, but all were Witches. The old Witch had very traditional ideas, but they were based on sound principals. Her most important was that humans can have no knowledge of the witchcraft that coexists with their mundane practices. Witches have to make a living, after all. Sybill was what could be called a “pureblood” in the magical world, but she tried to conceal this as much as possible. Purebloods tend to have a bad rep for their snobbiness and superiority complexes. This was not Sybill. She was a quiet Witch who just wanted to run her apothecary peacefully and eventually make her girlfriend her wife. Then, they could live quietly with Sybill’s familiar, a noisy and opinionated Siamese cat named Kratos.

On the day that the little blonde boy came in, Sybill got the shock of her life. She was very sure that she had only ever cast spells in her back room. She only ever opened her Book of Shadows after closing the shop, and she had definitely set up wards against any malicious beings that would mean to harm her. So who is this kid, and how did he see me casting that endurance spell?

“Well, hello there. What did you just say about the fireworks? We don't have any of those here, just plants and books, little boy. What’s your name?” Sybill squat down to the little boy’s level. He couldn’t be more than five years old. Where are his parents?

“My name’s Felix. I saw you make little purple fireworks. How did you maked that?”

Thinking quickly, Sybill thought quickly of something that would make sense for a human. “Oh, you mean the sparklers? I use them sometimes to entertain my cat. Do you wanna see him?”

At the word “cat”, Felix’s green eyes lit up. “Kitty? Where?” He was very excited now, and seemed to forget about the spell he witnessed. Sybill stood up and held her hand out for Felix. He took it as she walked to the front corner of the main room by the big windows that overlooked the street.

“Kratos! Here, kitty!”

Who you calling kitty? You look like an albino Willow tree today.

Thanks, I try. Just come down here and watch this kid for a little while. I think he may have seen me cast that endurance spell earlier. I need you to distract him while I get a memory wipe potion from the back.

But what if he pulls my tail like the last kid?

This kid is… different. I can’t explain it, so just come down here and see for yourself.

The most important thing about familiars is that they are definitely not your pets. A familiar is a Witch’s companion. The familiar comes to the Witch when they decide they want to, not when the Witch decides. Kratos came to Sybill when she was only 10 years old; they’ve been together for almost 20 years now. A Witch and her familiar can communicate through thought if desired. Sybill usually speaks aloud to Kratos, it helps her focus and adds to her “weird apothecary shopkeeper” aesthetic, but she didn’t want to risk any more magical exposure to this little kid. Kratos hopped down from the hanging potted plant he was sitting in. He got dirt everywhere, as he usually did. He even added to the shop’s collection of dirty-paw-prints-all-over-the-wood-floor.

“Does he like toys?” Felix asked. Sybill had momentarily forgotten about the little blonde boy.

“Good question. Why don’t we ask him? Kratos, do you like to play with kitty toys?” Sybill was totally not making this difficult for Kratos on purpose. She would never.

The cat meows loudly in response, You saw what I did to your fern bush, right? Same thing’s gonna happen to this kid if you leave me alone with him.

“He said yes!” Sybill clapped in a childish way, her many rings and bracelets jingling together.

Felix clapped happily too, “Yay! Kitty likes to play!”

Sybill summoned a few cat toys behind her back and handed them to Felix. “Be gentle with him,” she warned with a pointed index finger. She didn’t know if she was talking to Felix or Kratos.

She quickly moved to the back of the shop, taking a quick look over her shoulder to check on the little boy. Sybill quietly slipped into the back room where her potion supply was. She tied up her unruly mop of blonde curls so that it was out of her face. It was totally a hazard for casting, summoning, and brewing, but Sybill felt proud of her hair. Stark blonde hair was something like a trademark for the Blackwood family. Sybill hadn’t cut her hair in many years, and it reached all the way down her back.

She found the potion bottle she wanted. “Simple memory wipe. Use when needed to wipe a single memory. Dilute potion for children under 13 years of age. Add 3 poppy seeds for humans. Focus intent over a heated cauldron to target undesired memory.” This will do. Now, I probably shouldn’t just make him drink this… I’d have a lot of explaining to do if I got a customer. I can put it in a sweet, like a cookie. That’ll work. Sybill took several strides across the room to one of her many cauldrons, started a fire under a small one, and poured the potion into it. She followed the directions exactly, and finally she had her memory-wipe cookie. I’ll have to add this to my Grimoire.

Sybill finally emerged from the back room to return to Kratos and Felix. She found the little boy sitting on the floor. The Witch got the second biggest shock of her life next. Kratos was curled up in a ball in Felix’s lap, happily purring.

“Well, it looks like you guys became best friends,” Sybill sat on the ground next to Felix and looked down at Kratos.

“Hey Felix, did you come into town with your mommy or daddy? Where are they?”

“Mommy said me and my big brother could go shopping today. Kris is shopping too.”

Sybill was a little frustrated that Felix didn’t answer the question, but she knew how little kids were. “Hey Felix, do you want a cookie? I’ll trade you Kratos for this chocolate chip cookie. It’s his nap time, so I gotta put him back in his bed.”

“A cookie! I want a cookie!” Felix’s eyes lit up again. Sybill started for only a second. The little boy’s eyes seemed to literally light up. It’s probably just the sunlight making them change colour. Sybill handed Felix the memory wipe cookie, and waited for him to finish it. In the meantime, she scooped up Kratos, and stood up to return him to his potted plant. Kratos opened one eye at her and purred. Traitor, she muttered. Sybill brushed the dirt off of her harem pants and got yet another shock.

“Can you make the purple fireworks again?” Felix asked. He looked up at her through his golden hair with anticipation. The potion didn’t work. Great! Fucking great! What am I gonna do now? I have no idea where this kid’s “big brother” is, the potion didn’t work, and I can’t just dump him on the street. I am so not prepared to play babysitter today! What the fuck!

Why are you screaming? Kratos meowed. You woke me up…

Kratos, the potion didn’t work.

Bullshit, you’re the best brewer in the country.

Thanks, that doesn’t help the fact that it didn’t work. What are we gonna do now? I do not want to call Mother. She’ll teleport all the way over here just to hex me in person. And she’ll find out anyway if I tell Father.

Well, you did say this kid was different. You were right, as much as I don’t want to admit it. Maybe he’s not human.

I don’t know… Well anyway, it looks like we’re babysitting today.

You can count me out, it’s my naptime, like you said.

You’ll be in a time-out if you don’t get your fuzzy rump down here right now.

Yes, ma’am.

Don’t call me that, Kratos. We talked about this.

“Okay, Felix, well does your brother Kris know you’re in this store?”

“Yea, he saw me come in.”

“Do you know when Mommy wants you home?”

“No.”

Great. “Okay, well you can hang out here with us until it’s time to go home.”

“Okay.”

Sybill stood there awkwardly with her hands on her hips watching Felix brush around the dirt on the floor.

“Okay, Felix, come on. I’m gonna show you the coolest parts of my store,” Sybill crouched down to pick up the little boy. He was surprisingly light for a toddler. “Felix, how old are you?”

“Five.”

So I was right. She carried him to the check-out desk in the back of the main room, and set him on the desktop. He immediately started swinging his little legs around, and looked around at the stuff on the desk.

“Okay, Felix. We’re gonna learn about plants today. Can you read?” Sybill pulled her hair down and ruffled it.

“Yeah, Daddy taught me how to read. Your hair is pretty. We have the same hair,” he reached out to touch a strand of Sybill’s hair. She noted that he was right. They both had very blonde, curly hair. But they couldn’t be related. Sybill would have instantly known if Felix was a Blackwood. She checked that off the list of “Things That Felix is Not”. She looked into his big green eyes before changing gears. She motioned for Felix to wait there, and he obeyed.

“Kratos, where are my Succulents?”

“Meow,” They’re in the front window, section 4a.

Felix clapped happily, “Kitty meowed!”

Sybill returned to the check-out desk with two, large, potted Succulents. She put one down on the desktop and held up the other one for Felix to see.

“This is a Succulent, Felix. Can you say Succulent?”

“Suckylent”

“Good enough. These little guys are really cool. You see their special leaves? Look, they’re green and pink. They like a lot of sunlight, so I put them in the big windows in the front. They like water, too, but not too much. These guys right here don't have names yet. Do you want to help me name them?”

“Yeah! I want to name them!”

“Great! Do you have an idea?”

“Uhm, I like the name George.”

“George it is then!”

Sybill continued like this for quite a while, telling Felix about many different plants, and their properties. He seemed very intrigued for a five-year-old. She was just about to tell him about her Lamb’s Ear when the entrance door bell rang.

Kratos meowed, Couple of teenage girls. Definitely not Felix’s big bro.

Sybill turned around to greet the girls, holding Felix’s arm to make sure he wouldn’t fall off the counter. “Welcome, ladies, to the Granite Cauldron. Can I help you find anything today?”

One of the girls spoke up, “We’re looking for some small potted plants that will fit on a windowsill? Like, something I can hold in my hand?”

“Ah yes, it seems the Succulents are what you desire. Come, I will show you,” Sybill paused before deciding she should probably bring Felix with her, lest he hurt himself unattended. She placed him on the floor and held his hand as she led the girls to the Succulent section in the front window. She showed the girls the Succulents and provided some care tips. The girls seemed very understanding, which made Sybill happy. After several minutes, the girls were ready to check out. They all headed back to the check-out desk; Sybill let Felix sit on the counter again.

“That one’s name is George,” the little boy said very seriously. “He likes sunlight and not too much water.”

The girl smiled brightly and thanked Felix. “Is it bring your kid to work day? He’s so cute!”

Sybill was about to say no, but then realized just how odd it would be if she admitted that they weren’t actually related. What’s a random kid, who looks just like me, doing in this shop if we aren’t related? “Yes, his name is Felix,” Sybill finally said.

“He’s adorable!” Another girl said. “Thank you so much, have a great day!”

“Blessed be, ladies.”

The door-bell jingled and the girls were gone.

Sybill put her face in her hands and let her blonde curls obscure her vision. Ugh, I have got to get this kid home ASAP.

It felt hours since the little blonde boy entered the store, and still no sign of his “big brother Kris”.

Some big brother, alright, Sybill thought.

Do you think he forgot about him? Can we keep him? Kratos leaped from one shelf to another, watching the little boy as well.

Kratos!

What? He’s entertaining…

I can't just keep the kid, how would I explain that to literally everyone I know?

Right, of course, sorry. It was an option.

Sybill had left Felix near the check-out desk, surrounded by books to entertain him. She got the usual amount of customers trickling in, all asking if Felix was her son. She had to say yes to all, which will definitely prove a problem in the future, but Sybill couldn't afford to worry over that now. Every once in awhile, Kratos would leap down from his various perches (more hanging potted plants) and rub up against Felix to get some pets. Felix would sometimes ask Sybill what a word was, or ask her to explain something. He was very smart for a five-year-old. She was thankful to every god and goddess in existence that the little boy was not a nuisance. He just sat there peacefully reading. He didn’t touch anything that he was not supposed to, nor did he pester Sybill with annoying questions, crying, or temper tantrums. He was the most well mannered and patient toddler she had ever encountered. Sybill was curious about something, though. She couldn’t erase the image of Felix’s eyes lighting up. Part of her told her that it was just a trick of the light, but she wasn’t totally convinced. Sybill has had many encounters with creatures that only look human. Maybe Felix was one of their kids. Maybe he is only a half-blood. Like half a feral creature or a nymph, or something. That would explain why he is so smart, and weighs so little for his size. Sybill could only guess, until her answer finally came to her in the form of Kris, Felix’s big brother. Kris really was a big brother.

The entrance door bell jingled, and Sybill waited for Kratos’ meow to let her know who to expect, as she was overlooking a book on the Natural Life of Switzerland. Her familiar was cut off mid-meow, and when Sybill stood up, she saw why. Her next customer was a seven-foot-tall elf, and he did not look very happy. This was nothing new to Sybill. She got a nice mix of humans and magical beings alike. The elves, however, were rare, and always hard to please.

Kratos finally meowed his report, I think this is our guy…

You think? Sybill replied as she picked Felix up off the floor.

The elf, Kris, had the same blonde curls as Felix, and his eyes were also very green. The one difference was that his eyes were glowing. Definitely an elf.

“Felix, what are you doing in here? You were supposed to meet me by the river at exactly 14 minutes past the hour. It is now 20 minutes past the hour. It is past time to go home,” the Elf said in a stern tone. He continued, speaking to Sybill this time, “I apologize, Witch, for this rascal causing distractions from your practice.”

“He- well- he was not a distraction for me. I’m just glad you came back for him. But he didn’t impede on my practices at all, nope. Not a worry here…” Sybill replied awkwardly. She was not the best at conversing with elves. They spoke in a very odd and proper way that made Sybill feel self-conscious of her thick Northerner accent.

“That is pleasing, then. He has much to learn still. As only a half-elf, he is slower at developing the proper memory skills at this age. It’s the human part that dulls his mind a little, you understand. Thank you for watching over my kin. Take this,” Kris handed Sybill a pinecone, “You may use it for one favour of me, should you need me.”

“Thanks,” Sybill accepted the pinecone with a quick glance to Kratos. He only cocked his head to the side and blinked his big blue eyes.

He took Felix into his own arms and stroked the little boy’s hair.

“Bye, Witchy! Bye, kitty!” Felix yelled over his big brother’s shoulder. Sybill waved and Kratos howled, which caused the little boy to squeal and clap happily. His eyes glowed for the third time, and that confirmed it for Sybill.

A half-elf, huh?

You think they call that a Helf? Kratos leapt from a bookshelf to the check-out desk.

Shut up.

You think we’ll ever see the kid again?

“I hope so,” Sybill said aloud, turning the pinecone over in her hands with a small smile.

#my work #my writing #original characters #halloween #creative short story #short story

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sugapop-rp · 5 years

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*:･ﾟƜιѕнℓιѕтѕ Oƒ Ɯιѕнєѕ

⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ hi, hi! tis bunny anna here and i thought i would decide to make a little wishlist for my muses! i figured this might be handy for in the future because who knows right? so read below to see what i have in mind for my muse beans and if you are interested, please like this post and/or send me a message so we can chit chat about them :)

note:you do not have to be mutuals with me to do any of this (obviously lol), you can be a random peep passing by that is curious and that’s cool with me! you liking this means i shall be sending you a message instead thus make sure there is a way for me to do that (dm or ask). this will be also updated as time goes on depending on what new idea/muse i may have at the time

Choi Ha-joon, 26 and is an elementary school teacher

“muse a sings like an angel but is really shy so they only sing in the shower. everyday,muse b, who is their neighbor, listens to their singing and thinks muse a is actually a professional singer. one day they meet at the elevator of their building and muse b really wants to ask for muse a to sing a song for them, or just compliment them. but how will they do so without making things awkward? and to top this situation, muse a is also a lotattractive.“

give me that cliche old high school lovers see each other again after school by accident, the feels hit them once again and oof. make it angsty, make it fluffy, idc just give me some of that!

ha-joon is a book lover so what if ha-joon keeps coming to this book store that also involves your muse. they get to know each other for their enjoyment of books but the plot twist of this all is that ha-joon doens’t know your muse is not only an author but one of ha-joon’s favorite writers!

you left your USB flash drive in the library computer and i had to go through your files to figure out who you are and i ended up reading the entirety of this book you’re working on and wow you’re actually really good????

Kris Yamada, 26 and is an assassin

so lowkey when i made kris i got a bit inspired by the video game “assassin’s creed” so would be interested to do something loosely based around that. something like say your muse is working for the enemy organization that kris’s order doesn’t like. they meet and get closer (friendship or romantic, doesn’t matter) and go from there? very basic idea i know lol but can be fun i think!

give me assasin buddies, bro this is something that kris is in need of lol. sure he can be like a grouch sometimes but he knows how to have fun! he used to live the wild life so let’s do some wild friend antics lol

speaking of used too’s...why not bring something back from the past for kris? say maybe an old friend from kirs’s childhood? they can maybe meet on the street one day and they may want to ask questions because of kris suddenly dropping all contact? or we could do the more cliche idea of said friend is now a target and oops, now kris is stuck in an oopsie :’)

Song "Hayes" Hyeok, 26 and is an indie music producer.

hayes doesn’t have the best relationship with his parents (this can be read in his bio here) so maybe one day his parents may want to do a surprise visit because he does have good contact with his sister and she praised alot about him. his parents (specifically father) wants to see how “amazing hayes is doing”. cue hayes trying to make things not go south because his parents are not fans of the fact that hayes likes boys...so to see him having a boyfriend/fiance/husband may cause some problems to put it lightly. this could include hayes pretending not to be in a relationship with your muse or pretending they are just roommates. a bit of a heavy idea so far in this list, i know but it is something i would like to explore for hayes.

rival music producers, just give me some of that drama lol

a mentor type friendship where hayes could take in your muse under his wing to help them out in the music scene

“🌟–– we had a really ugly break-up and didn’t talk for a long time but oh hey, you’re at this party too and we’ve had a few drinks and now we’re kissing and … oh, all that wasn’t supposed to happen tonight but we’re sort of on better terms now and yikes!!! i might be falling for you again …”

“muse a is in an accident which leaves them without memory, and muse b had been on their way to break things off with their beloved muse a. when they arrive at the hospital the only thing muse a remembers is how in love they were with muse b, and muse b is forced to keep coming back to positive. muse b is trying to move on, trying to find a way to tell muse b that they want to leave them, but find themselves falling back in love withmuse a. muse a of course, eventually get their memories back, even the ones up until the last moments before the accident where they remember the fights and tension and out of the silence ask ‘youre leaving me arent you?’ but by this time muse b is entirely in love with muse a again, and muse a just feels hurt and decieved“

Sarla Dunnavant, 26 and is a businesswomen (no longer active)

give me that cliche idea of the businesswomen falling for their secretary or something similar, i’m weak for cliche’s and this one would be just fun as fudgecakes lmao.

enemies to lovers;your muse is a rival to sarla’s company and they sort of can’t stand each other ??? but like ??? respect each other at the same time ??? it’s weird but they think they cannot stand each other but one day during some business event, they find out they actually like each other and can get along (can be romantic or platonic)

based of this iconic post

ok hear me out...a sugar baby plot? it doesn’t have to be a schmexy plot either! it can be something like out of kindness (and boredom becuase what else can she do with her money) she will give gifts to your muse. like you want that fancy make up collection? alright, your college? paid off at the moment as we speak. want a lifetime supply of donuts? she can do just that. all she asks is to spend time with her and just chill out.

Angelica Heartorne, 25 and is a vampire huntress

legit anything vampire stuff related. i am not going to be flippen picky.

just because she IS a vampire huntress doesn’t mean it has to be ONLY to vampires. she is multiverse so she can be a hunter for anything supernatural really. this can be something discussed for sure but she is versatile, she doesn’t have to stick to only human like leeches lmao.

a bit of a weird but funny idea that jsut came to mind? but what happens if angelica was dating someone right? but what if that person she was dating...was a vampire and she had no idea about this until by accident or something? please this sounds hilarious to me and would love to rp this out.

“ muse a enters a coffee shop and was in such a rush that she forgot her wallet, as she explains what happened to the worker and ask for them to cancel her order, then suddenly there’s a hand that hoovers over her head and money is slapped on the counter incoming muse b paying for her. muse a is like wHAT THE FUCK ! I AM AN INDEPENDENT WOMEN I DONT NEED ANYONE TO PAY FOR ME, but she turns around and meets eyes with muse b who is beyond attractive. muse a then stumbles and ask how she could repay muse b and he tells her to sit down and enjoy her coffee with him “

“you said you’d call me in the morning but the voicemail you left had her voice in the background”

“ Humans start out at birth with milk white blood. The more crimes they commit, the darker their blood becomes. One day, you meet your soulmate. Skip a few years, and things are amazing… Until your soulmate trips, falls, and exposes black blood… “

based off this post

Jeong Jin-Gi, 25 and is an indie artist

“ Don’t give me one-sided unrequited love, give me two-sided unwanted love. Both sides are deeply in love with the other and both sides are like ‘fuck, really?? them??? really?’ “

“ ok so hear a sister out… i want an actual HEART WRENCHING celebrity & non - celebrity thread. like muse a meeting muse b in the most random place and muse b KNOWS muse a is famous but they’re not gonna say anything but on the inside they’re secretly freaking out. but they get to talking & muse b kinda forgets that they are because they’re just so normal and they have so much fun talking to them, and muse ahas a rich lifestyle & is the most popular person in the world, yet the only thing they wanna do is be with muse b. but dating the most famous person ever comes with the DISADVANTAGES. i want the ugly stans drilling them over dating their favorite star, i want the paparazzi making up stories about muse b & giving the constant break up - conspiracy’s, i want the late night drama filled phone - calls about “ maybe this is just too much for me “ & muse b seeing muse a in a new picture released with ANOTHER apparent love interest, and i want new songs released by muse a that’s a little T O O emotional to just be a careless piece of work. i just want the constant back & forth between them & them wondering if their love is strong enough to overcome the difficulties or if all they are is a love that was never meant to last. “

jin ain’t no angel, he’s a bit of a person with an addiction to drgs so give me anything surrounding that. dealers or pals that find out about his addiction, anything really. just want to dive deeper into this side of jin

“i’m trying to start a celebrity gossip blog and you are an effing trainwreck so now i’m lowkey stalking you in hopes of getting a humiliating story” au

plot idea : muse a was a punk, and muse b did ballet. what more can i say? muse a wanted muse b, but muse b would never that secretly she wanted muse a as well. all of muse b’s friends stuck up their nose because they had a problem with muse a’s baggy clothes. five years from now, muse b sits at home. feeding the baby they’re all alone. b turns on tv, and guess who she sees? muse a rocking on mtv.

James Yeeun, 22 and is an art student in college

“im gonna claw myself apart. we watch netflix together and i keep a respectful and responsible distance; you lean against me to pause the screen. ask if i want cookies. i can’t stop staring at your lips. what? i say. i knew what you’d asked me even as you ask again, i just don’t want the moment to end. we’re just friends. we’re just friends.”

okay but how about an “i’m in my twenties and sick of still being a virgin, so one night when i’m drunk i think it’s a good idea to dm my old celebrity crush who is no longer really that famous anyway and ask them to take my virginity – wait why did they just dm me back?? giving me their number?? i don’t even remember doing this” au

“You kissed me on the playground the day before you moved away in the 4th grade and now your dorm is right across the hall from mine” AU

would love to do something where james could realize he DOES like boys as well. this is something he isn’t sure off himself so i would like to dive into this background of james.

so i was watching tiktoks last night and i’ve came across this story time and would love a plot for it… so muse a had a bad childhood for varies of reasons one thing lead to another and they were kicked out of the house, so they ended up couch surfing.. this enters their fear of the dark because they would wake up in the middle of the night not knowing where they are and everything is just dark and scary, so they begin sleeping with night lights or any sort of light that they have. well moving into college means roommates and muse a is too embarrassed to mention how they’re scared of the dark to their roommate. so first night, muse a wakes up screaming and enters muse b aka their roommate into their room and they’re like ?? are you good? finally muse a breaks and tells muse b what happened to them and then next night muse a finds a night light in their room, however, that night they still wake up screaming. muse b wakes up as well and just tell them that they’re ok and that they got them.. second year of college goes by and they’re not roommates anymore. first night moving in, it happens again.. muse a wakes up screaming only to find that muse b texted them that ‘they’re in their new apartment and that everything is going to be okay.’ it could turn into beautiful friendship or maybe something more?? i just want it pls

Rose Price, 23 and is a rebel along with school drop out

lowkey i legit got inspired by the video game character “chloe” from “life is strange” but i decided to do my take of chloe if that makes sense so...rachel amber inspired plot xD to those that are a bit confused, rachel amber the character is someone chloe befriends during her time when life is a bit downhill to put it lightly. they get close (some would say even romantic) and up until the final years of high school...rachel is gone. now in the games, rachel isn’t alive BUT i was thinking why not twist this around? make said missing friend (this would be your muse) show up out of the blue? with no answer as to why they just “left” and simply goes back to how things were.

“gimme muse a just finished their sentence in jail and they lost contact with most of the people in their former life. on the day of his release, the gate pulls back and their high school sweetheart who they lost contact with years ago muse b is in the parking lot. “

“i drove two hours to the closest video rental store that’s still operating and you were checking out the only copy of the movie i was after“

“we both decided to take a [yoga/fencing/cooking etc] class and we’re the only two assholes not taking it seriously and everyone else is giving us dirty looks but we keep grinning over at each other“

jsut give me any fxf plot ideas man. i want rose to get some love :(

Daehwi Goe, 24 and is an indie video game creator/works at a cafe

" give me a plot where both muses are each other’s pen pals that end up falling in love through letters please. threads would be in letter format up until they finally meet each other. please. “

“ imagine that you’ve been stood up by your douche of a boyfriend on date night and the waitress keeps asking if you’re ready to order but you keep asking for more time hoping that he’s just late. people are starting to look at you with those apologetic looks like they know and you start to feel worse and worse about the whole situation but as you decide to just get up and leave, this boy you’ve never seen sits down explaining loudly “sorry i’m so late, babe, traffic is crazy right now.” and he quietly adds, “i’m Michael. just go with it, yeah? whoever didn’t bother to show up is a dick.” and so you do go with it because he’s being sweet and trying to save you (and plus he’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen) and as you’re leaving the restaurant after the best non-planned date ever, he asks you out for real this time. “

“ AFTER MONTHS YEARS OF REPORTING TO A JOB THAT ABSOLUTELY KILLS MY SOUL, I FINALLY QUIT! WITH NO BACKUP PLAN OR WAY TO PAY MY BILLS ONCE NEXT MONTH IS OVER, I WALKED DANCED OUT OF MY WORKPLACE WITH THE BIGGEST SMILE ON MY FACE.. BUT NOW REALITY IS SINKING IN, THAT I’VE JUST DONE SOMETHING CRAZY IMPULSIVE AND OMG YOU’RE WATCHING ME SPIRAL OVER WHAT A MISTAKE I’VE JUST MADE AND YOU’RE SO SWEET TO OFFER TO BUY ME A DRINK BECAUSE I SURE AF CANNOT AFFORD ONE. “

“we broke up right before a giant roadtrip our friends planned and we don’t want to bail on everyone and ruin the trip so yay, looks like we get to spend a five hour drive and a weekend in a cottage together.”

Adagio Seo, 20 and is a warlock

just give me that chilling adventure’s of sabrina plots man...it’s why adagio was even made lmao.

adagio while yes, i did made him specifically for that show universe, just like angelica he is mulitverse so he’s not off limits to that show only. if you want him to be in a harry potter au? cool with me. a normal college au? also cool with me. want to go full on twlight, even better lmao. just because he is mostly for the show, doesn’t mean he’s not expandable :)

“ does the “i slept with you the other day and i didnt know we had a mutual friend and now we’re sitting across each other for brunch and it’s awkward because i ran out when you were asleep” au exist bc i need that fic “

ok so adagio has an interest of necromancy but like the thing is he’s bad...like really bad at necromancy lmao (there’s a reason he skills in herbal) so like just give the whacky shiz that can happen when doing necromancy wrong.

basically anything warlock/witch plots, throw them my way! want my wild warlock to have some love :(

Simone Hines, 22 and is a worker at the garden section of homdepot

the happy florist who delivers one flower to the boss of the hardcore law firm across the street everyday, just to make their day a little bit brighter

plot #001: in which muse a is really insecure and struggles with their self-esteem, so muse b, their best friend, starts secretly sending notes with all the reasons to love them.

plot #013: one day, muse a wakes up and finds themself to be in the future, seemingly married to their high school enemy, muse b.

any plot with a soft, sweet, submissive male that needs to be protected at all costs because he’s naive and doesn’t know how to speak up for himself with a girl that’s dominant, rough around the edges, not afraid of anything, and is ready to take on the world.

tbh i just need a long distance relationship plot where they cry on skype bc they miss each other so much and they have passive aggressive texts bc of what’s on each others snapchat stories but then the fluffy moments when they see each other at the airport and all the desperate please don’t leave me again sex and i just need a long distance plot

Levi Kim, 24 and owns his own cafe

highkey want a ‘someone wrote your phone number on the wall of a bathroom in my dorm with ‘call for a good time’ and i just texted you to let you know that i scribbled it out and oh wait you’re actually funny and easy to talk to and now we’re talking every day and i might have a tiny little crush on you even tho i don’t even know your name’ plot

i got up at 2 am to get some snacks at the convenience store down the street and opened my door to find you trying to sleep on the floor of the hallway because your roommate has his fiancée over so i guess i’ll lend you my couch for the night AU

it’s 3 am and you’re blasting off classic rock at full volume and your music taste might be awesome but sOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO FUCKING SLEEP YOU SHITHEAD

utterly obsessed with the niche but incredibly romantic concept that is “late night radio show host falls hopelessly in love with and pines for recurring caller, oblivious to the fact that the person calling in whenever they’re on air is also in love with and pining for them after finding comfort in listening to their voice every night on their long commutes home”

Park Hades, 23 and is next in line for the Park corporations/modern day greek god hades

look i’m glad you have a healthy sex life and all but will you please try not to pierce a whole through my ceiling with your bed thanks

i have a policy of not giving my real name on dating apps and apparently you do the same. we have a good conversation so we decide to meet, but oh no … it turns out you’re my ex. yikes!!!

#indie rp #krp #plot wishlist #thread wishlist #wanted opposite #indie krp #{ bunny anna's wishy list }

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queenslasharchive · 5 years

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Believe

A gift for @chaoskirin, never stop believing.

“I believe in Santa Claus

Like I believe in love

I believe in Santa Claus

And everything he does

There’s no question in my mind

That he does exist

Just like love I know he’s there

Waiting to be missed…”

A long long time ago, in the land of ice and snow, there was once an ivory-haired foundling left on the steps of a winsome little cottage in the center of an ever-wintery forest.

Why ever-wintery you may ask?

Well, it was a place where snowflakes never stopped falling, where rivers never broke apart into grue. A place where it could be Christmas Day all year round, everything imbued with a certain sort of magic.

That little cottage in the wood, made of strong sturdy arctic firs and draped with gossamer strings of icicles, the sort that almost looked like the trailing strings of fairy-lights and tinsel, to grace the pine boughs of a Christmas tree decades later… belonged to a family of tiny elves by the name of Kringle, toymakers by trade and a burgeoning family by choice.

They called their new baby boy, Nicholas.

The world would come to know him as Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and Kris Kringle.

But three wan boys with big dreams and empty pockets, would come to know him as John Richard Deacon, their Deaky.

-X-

Strangely enough THE Santa Claus, was rarely, if ever, at the North Pole (which on a map, was actually called Polaris).

He could usually be found fixing something in the apartment he shared with his bandmates, a wrench held between his teeth as he tinkered away. He had been building and inventing toys since he was in the cradle, so the process of creation was nothing new to him. Yet he would still be at a loss for words when Roger would trot over, as John was laying flat on his back, fixing their shitty fridge once again, and plopped down, straddling his stomach. (Which was not round and jiggly like a ‘bowl full of jelly’, thank you very much, modern culture. He was sort of chubby yeah, not gonna deny that. But dear lord, every caricature depicted him as some obese old man. It was almost enough to give him a body complex. Almost).

“Hey Deaky?”

Rog started with that annoyingly inquisitive tone of his and John merely grunted at the knee in his ribs.

“How did you learn to fix stuff like this?”

Because I was raised by toy-making Keebler elves in a magical winter-wonderland forest.

“Practice.”

Roger asked a lot of questions like that.

Most people liked to write him off as the dumb blonde of the band, (obviously there to do little more than pose and look pretty, while playing on his kit or laying on an album cover), but in practice, Rog was anything but.

“Hey Deaky?”

John hummed as Roger’s hand stilled from where it had been carving through his long pale ponytail, bushy as ever in the confines of it’s scrunchie.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, why is your hair all white? Are you albino?” Ever the biology major.

Magic, Roger.

“I dunno, I was born with it.”

Which wasn’t to say that Brian and Freddie didn’t ask difficult questions as well, but they were rarer events. Most of his quirks he could easily explain away to them. Like Fred when he shoved eight cookies into his mouth at once. The impatient boy was just lucky they were still soft out of the oven, or he probably would’ve choked to death and they’d be out a lead singer for the band.

As it stood, Freddie flopped over the arm of their couch’s nasty love-seat, hands folded over his mouth, making several guttural sounds better suited to a porno than a reaction to baked goods.

“Good, huh? Or are those just the sounds of despair?”

Freddie made a noise that sounded a bit like how Cookie Monster must have in the throes of passion.

“Funny, the way you go on, I’d always thought you could fit more in your mouth.”

He caught a faceful of moist towelettes for his insolence, but it was so worth it.

“How in the world did you learn to cook ambrosia, darling?” Freddie asked, once he could finally breathe again. John shook his head and tucked in his chin to hide the smile.

“Tante taught me.” Tante Kringle, his elf mother.

Fred’s brow had crinkled and his lips pursed in confusion. “Tante?”

Deaky did the washing up with a smile on his face. “Yes, it means Aunt in German. She and my uncles raised me.” Brushing a stray clump of snowy hair out of his eyes, just because it was white didn’t mean he could see through it. Freddie came up behind him to wrap his arms around his waist, pressing his curved seashell ear onto John’s back to hear him breathe.

“What happened, Deaky?”

Fred sounded so sad, but John merely tossed his hair aside (Freddie insisted that it stay long for their glam look) and pressed a little kiss to the crown of their singer’s head.

“My parents abandoned me on their doorstep as a baby.”

“They did what?!” Freddie sounded so bloody broken up about it that John had no idea what to say. It wasn’t a big deal anymore. He was raised by the most unbelievably loving elf family. (Part of him wished that the boys could meet them, you know, without freaking out).

“It’s alright, Fred. I never knew them and my family loves me very much.”

Freddie pouted, arms wrapped around John’s tummy. “Still.”

****

Roger snorted as he watched one of the many TV movies leading up to Christmas, “Hey, did you lot know that Santa’s got a pilot license?”

Freddie had laughed into his cornflakes, sitting cross-legged on the living room rug in his underwear. Brian didn’t look up from his textbook, or the leaning Tower of Pisa he’d constructed out of notes from each of his dozen classes, frantically studying for his next final. John nodded, of course he knew, it was his license. Thank you, American Assistant Secretary of Commerce.

“So Bri…” Roger trilled, rolling over until his blonde head was all up in Brian’s face, covering his frantically written notes, in a way that reeked of suicide. The fire in Bri’s eyes could have deforested the Congo.

“Do you believe in Santa Claus?”

“No. He doesn’t exist, he’s a social construct. It’s impossible. No one can go deliver gifts around the world in one night or go down a flue over and over, especially not a man that size. Suffice to say, reindeers can’t fly and could never carry that many presents. Now kindly bugger off, so I can study.”

Thank you, Mr. Analytical.

…Whatever happened to magic?

Sometimes he really wanted to pull A Year Without A Santa Claus and see what went down without him.

But then he’d remember his family, waiting up in the snowy hilltops for him and just how hard they worked for the joy of children each holiday season and he could never pull shit like that. Not when they relied on him so much.

Tante would pull him into her lap as a little thing and smooth out his hair with her dainty glass hands.

“Our boy, our Kris, our little Saint Nicholas.”

-X-

“I believe in Santa Claus

But there was a time

I thought I had grown to old

For such a childish rhyme

He became a dream to me

‘Til one Christmas night

Someone stood beside my bed

With a beard of white…”

-X-

As usual, Christmas Eve came far too soon and he was frantically packing up in the dead of night to get the show on the road.

Making sure his boys were safely tucked into dream-land before creeping out into the living room, dressed in a pair of obnoxiously red flannel pajamas, snow boots and a white parka the same shade as his hair (the suit would be waiting for him in the sleigh, along with the toys and everything else sent along by his ever-vigilant family). His cheeks were round-peach rosy even in the cold and tugged on a pair of fleece mittens with a practiced hand. He was just walking around the couch to grab his discarded polka-dotted scarf, when his foot connected with something worryingly plush and startling human.

Roger groaned as he sat up like Frankenstein’s monster, holding his stomach where John had inadvertently kicked him. “Hey Deaky, what’s the big idea?!”

John was at a loss. “I just saw you… you were asleep in bed…” He waved his hands around as if that would remedy the problem.

Rog just rolled his eyes, “Nah, that’s Fern. The girl I brought home last night.”

“…and you’re not asleep with her?”

Roger cringed as though John had suggested he drop Freddie’s hairdryer in the bathtub, while he was in it. “Well, you know Johnny Boy, when a man loves a woman, or a man loves a man, or a woman loves a woman, (let’s be inclusive here)… sometimes if they’re too close together they…” Cue several vulgar hand gestures. “I wasn’t sure if you lot wanted to hear that.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t. But now I can see it. Thanks for that.”

Roger grinned like a greedy kid on Christmas morning.

“No problem, Deaks!” Then his eyes narrowed in on John’s outfit and the small clutch of luggage in his keeping. “Where are you going?’

The young bassist blanched. “Oh, you know.” A vague hand gesture. “My family needs me to rush home for… reasons.” I have to go fly around in a red suit handing out presents to children. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

He tried to grab everything he needed and make a beeline waddle for the door, but Roger was far too fast for him and basically galloped over, to wrap those skinny noodle arms tight around his waist, stopping him in his tracks. Fuck.

Instead of doing the sensible thing and asking him why he had to go, or if there was anything he could do to help, Roger screamed for Brian and Freddie at the top of his lungs. Yelling about how there was a Christmas emergency and John was trying to flee the country.

Thanks Rog, thanks a whole fucking lot.

Freddie hurled himself out of the bedroom, tinsel wrapped around his neck and candy-cane pasties on his nipples. It complimented the tight yellow star boxers down below that left nothing to the imagination, leftovers from their wild Christmas party the night before. “Wha’s going on? Deaky’s going on the lam? Who did we kill?”

John’s will to live.

“The last of my sanity.” Brian groaned, scrubbing a hand through his half-flattened curls. “What is going on?”

Roger instantly let go and pointed the finger at John, like they were still in primary school and he’d stolen Rog’s Hello Kitty eraser. “Deaky’s trying to run off and join the circus!”

“No, I’m not!” He was about to rip out chunks of his own hair though. “I just have to go home for a few days…” Nope, I’ve got to go be Santa.

Freddie was aghast. “But Deaky, you’ll miss Christmas! I thought we were going to celebrate together.” He looked so sad about it. Dramatic Queens, the lot of them.

John pinched the bridge of his nose. About to launch a long winded apology and partial explanation. Until he got distracted by Roger, who was running about and gathering up all his shit like some sort of small opinionated human tornado.

“Rog, what are you doing?”

“Packing!” The drummer squeaked, squishing himself between the love-seat and the pull-out couch to dig up his other sock. “We’re coming with you!”

Roggie, you can’t just…

The familiar symphony of hooves touching down on the roof, dislodging more than a fair bit of snow, sounded high above their heads and John contemplated using his wintery magic to knock the boys unconscious. Alas, Bri just crinkled his nose.

“What on earth was that?”

John grimaced. “My ride.”

-X-

When he got up to the roof, Donner was all up in his face with that wet nose of hers, the others not far behind her. His loyal reindeer queen. His fuzzy baby girls that he’d raised from the very moment that they’d tumbled out into his arms. They knew his scent, the funny choked-off laugh mimicked by all around the world, they loved him. (Yes, his sleigh ran on fierce girl power. Male reindeer didn’t have antlers this deep in the wintertime).

He trudged through the surprisingly thick snow to be able to reach out to all of them at once.

The boys were openly staring behind him. Keeping a wide berth, but ah hell, what did John have to lose? Might as well give regal disaster Freddie the time of his life. John took the shy singer by the hand and led the scrawny boy towards the rarely skittish creatures.

“Hold your hand out palm up, so they can sniff you.”

Freddie was adorably incredulous, whispering over and over under his breath. “I’m being sniffed by a caribou. I’m being sniffed by a caribou. This is the best day of my life. I’m being sniffed by a caribou.”

Brian cleared his throat, eyes unblinking as he worried at his bottom lip absently. “John. Why are there caribou on our roof?”

“They’re uh… reindeer… That’s the term they prefer.”

Bri nodded, waiting a suitable amount of time before. “Right. John. Why are there reindeer on our roof?”

“They’re my ride.” He sounded sheepish as could be, drawing a hand through his ever-mussed ivory hair, pretty sure that Brian was inches away from pulling a Santa Clause and shoving him off the roof to die.

“Your ride home is… in a sleigh drawn by reindeer? Were the red-eye all booked up?” Disbelief written across his soft features, plain as day.

“Uh no. You um… caught me red-handed. I actually have to make some deliveries first.”

The toy bag was resting in the back. It was magic, you see, the correct toys wouldn’t appear in his sack until he had reached the intended home. The children sleeping softly in their beds, eager for what the next day would bring.

“You have to make deliveries in a sleigh drawn by reindeer on Christmas Eve?” Brian rolled his eyes skyward, those bony arms crossed to hide the way they trembled. “I think I know this story. Isn’t that Santa Claus’ job?”

John shifted side to side, clearly uneasily. “Well, yeah. Though can you really count it as a job when I’ve never gotten paid?”

Bri looked more frozen than the ice freezing on the edges of his curls. “Excuse me, what?”

“You heard me, Bri.”

“Um, no. I didn’t hear you, because Santa Claus doesn’t exist.” And this was the man who thought he was so much better than those who called Galileo crazy, for suggesting that the world didn’t revolve around the earth? Wow. Irony.

John rolled his eyes, because this was going nowhere and he didn’t have any time to lose.

“Look, believe whatever you want. But I don’t have time for this. Take Freddie and Rog and go back inside. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

He moved to climb into the sleigh and change clothes. But not before seeing an eager Roger sitting in the front seat, beaming from ear-to-ear and practically bouncing where he sat. “Oh fuck that, come on boys! Let’s go save Christmas!” The drummer crowed, arms spread as wide as could be.

“Rog, Christmas isn’t in danger.”

“It will be if you don’t get a move on, Santa Baby.” A finger reached out to poke at his soft middle and John blushed all the way up to his ears, as Roger began to hum the opening lines of the song.

“Fuck you.” Honestly, he didn’t mind and could give a shit. (At least it wasn’t Little Drummer Boy, for the thousandth time).

“Aw, don’t be shy, Johnny! It’s cute!” Roger squirreled his arms around John again, who rolled his eyes before hugging back, loathly.

“Rog, you are so on the naughty list, for life.” Enjoy coal, bitch. (Okay, so maybe he cared a just little bit).

“Let’s save Christmas!” The naughty blonde simply crowed, throwing out his arms like he was preparing for some sort of grand entrance at a ball (as the princess).

John pouted as he moved to check all the rigging, he wasn’t taking them with him. He wasn’t.

Spoiler alert: He took them with him.

-X-

‘“So you’re too old for Santa Claus”?

He said with a smile

“Then you’re too old for all the things

That make a life worthwhile…

For what is happiness, but dreams

And do they all come true

Look at me and tell me, son

What is real to you?”’

-X-

He cracked the reins to get them soaring into the air, even though the girls knew exactly what they were doing.

His boys seemed the opposite, a complete motley of emotions. Brian was scowling like a sullen little boy, and holding onto the edges of his seat for dear life. Roger was still bouncing around like a little kid on a sugar high, so no change there. And Freddie was trying to avoid looking down.

“Fred, you okay?”

Soft swallow, “I’m not much of a heights fan, dear.”

“HA! Deer!” Yes, Roger was most certainly still drunk from drinking his body weight in spiked eggnog earlier. Or maybe that was just Roger. John unceremoniously reached over and dropped the reins in Freddie’s hands.

“Drive the sleigh for a minute, yeah? I’ve got to get dressed.” He ordered absently, as he climbed into the back to change into the proper attire. The response from the boys was immediate, Roger froze and stared over at Freddie with unspeakable horror. Freddie himself clutched onto the reins with trembling hands and Brian was flabbergasted, as usual.

“Freddie can’t even drive a car, Deaky!”

“Oh we’re gonna die… we’re gonna die!” Roger moaned from the back and Freddie whipped around with a venomous scowl on his face.

“Thank you so much, darlings, for the vote of confidence!”

John tucked his discarded parka around Freddie’s narrow shoulders. “It has to be him. Nobody else has the song power needed to keep this thing up.”

Roger snorted into his hand. “Fred’s good at keeping stuff up.” Fear momentarily forgotten.

Brian eyes were practically suspicious slits, “Song power? Is that a thing?”

Freddie looked like a mix between nervous and intrigued. “Do we have to sing Christmas carols to stay in the air?”

Nope.

“Definitely.”

He dressed in the back as quickly as he could, fortunate enough that his warm suit was tucked safely amongst the floorboards. He hastily handed off pieces of his clothing to whoever looked the coldest, as he was serenaded by the worst Christmas carolers he had ever heard in his life. If the sleigh really did run on song power, oh they would have been dead long ago.

Roger wolf-whistled as he climbed into the front in full-regalia. “Looking good, Deaky!”

John flushed all the way up to his ears and Freddie frantically passed the reins back. A few of the reindeer tossed their heads and gave him scathing looks for being under-siege by such an unexperienced driver.

“You aren’t singing.” Brian deadpanned.

“I don’t have to, I’m Santa.”

-X-

Once they’d hit all the bloody homes in Britain, Brian was sitting there blinking in shock. “How in the world…? It’s been minutes!” (What could he say? He’d had a slow start). Bri’s stubbly jaw was half-hanging open like a shutter door somebody had forgotten to close.

“Stand up, Bri.”

They were flying through the air faster than the speed of light, the ocean swirling, curling and sloshing beneath them. Brian looked at him like he’d just suggested jumping into it.

“Stand up!”

Brian rolled his eyes and did as requested, so John dropped the reins into Freddie’s hands again, as he pulled Bri over to the edge of the sleigh. They were flying at a height that turned the clouds into cotton-candy and brought the stars ever closer. He tightened his arm around Bri’s tiny waist to support him, watching as those dark eyes filled with wonder once more. A wide, childlike wonder. Mirroring the face of a little boy who had once believed in magic.

Brian May, Hampton. He’d asked for space-related paraphernalia every year for Christmas during his childhood. The one year he’d asked for a bike instead, John had personally attached planetary stickers and streamers to the handlebars.

Bri, when did you stop believing?

His hands reached out to touch the stars.

“Hey, Bri, do you know what they see when they look up at us?”

Those doe eyes were enormous as he shook his curly head. When did you stop seeing the magic in the stars?

“What?” A little smile playing in the corners of his mouth.

“A shooting star… Make a wish.”

That lovely smile took full center-stage again, a man who believed again, in something more.

Merry Christmas, Brimi.

-X-

“Just believe in Santa Claus

Like you believe in love

Just believe in Santa Claus

And everything he does…

Wipe that question from your mind

Yes, he does exist!”

-X-

They flew around the world in a matter of hours.

Even when Freddie begged to be left in Japan (they’d had to bodily put him back into the sleigh, “Just leave me here to enjoy my life!” Fighting for freedom with all his might). Roger was groaning with a sore distended belly from eating all the bloody Christmas cookies that John had shoved in his direction. (“What the hell? Why did you eat them all?!” Roger pulled his big pouty face. “You said they would be upset if you didn’t!” John rolled his eyes skyward before ordering that if Rog had to puke, he more certainly wasn’t doing it in the sleigh. Magic could only go so far.)

And Brian was looking around like he was seeing the world with new eyes.

John made sure he dragged each of them down the chimney at least once, to give them the full-experience of laying down the presents and experiencing the whole shebang.

Their only issue occurred in America. Where they hadn’t noticed a little girl in a fuzzy green nightie asleep on the couch overlooking the tree. She had sat up with a stuffed snake cradled in her lap.

“Santa?”

All four of them had frozen. (Why he’d thought it was smart to bring all of them at the same time was another matter entirely). John had turned though, with a practiced smile on his face, it wasn’t the first time he’d been caught by a pair of curious little eyes.

“Hello, love. You should be asleep.”

She had rubbed at her eyes with a tired little smile.

“Sorry, Santa.”

“It’s alright, little one. I’m sorry we woke you up, my friends are helping me deliver gifts tonight,” He looked around with mock-furtiveness and spoke in a stage-whisper. “They’re a little new at this.”

John gently tucked her in on the couch. “Merry Christmas, Aeryn.” She smiled that child’s gummy grin and pressed her stuffed snake ever closer.

“Merry Christmas, Santa.”

But nothing was better than looking in the backseat of his sleigh, the one that had seen many lonely Christmases in his time, and seeing all his rough-and-tumble boys curled up together instead of empty space.

Brian’s head pillowed on Freddie’s shoulder. Rog curled up across both their laps. Freddie flopped over like a deflated bouncy castle.

For a moment he wondered if being Santa meant giving himself the best Christmas present as well, for when he looked at the boys he’d miraculously accrued… perhaps he already had.

The sleigh touched down in the center of the small elfin village that he’d helped to build so long ago, all of the icy grandeur patterned around that tiny cottage in the ever-wintery wood. The house that had served as his school, his workshop and his home beyond all else.

He hurled himself out of his uncomfortable wooden seat (they really needed to invest in better padding) to careen over to that same little cottage and the old elfin queen who waited for him there. Tante Kringle opened up her arms and he bent in two to hold her close, even as his knees grew damp and icy cold from the snow beneath them. He couldn’t help the sob that escaped his chapped lips.

“Oh how I’ve missed you my little Saint Nicholas.”

“I’ve missed you too, Tante.”

She pressed a familiar kiss against his forehead, tracing the path of a snowflake. “Did you have a lovely Christmas?”

“The best I’ve had in a very long time.”

Her hands crested on her rounded hips and she tsked in his direction. “And have you called your mother yet young man? You know she’s been waiting to speak to you for millennia.”

John groaned and rolled his eyes skyward. “Let her, I do have eternity, you know. And she abandoned me! She can wait.” He flashed her his token impish grin, only this one came with a forked snake tongue and slitted red eyes. His birth-mother’s calling cards.

Oh you didn’t know Krampus had birthed Santa Claus?

Well, that dears, is a story for another time.

-X-

John carried his limp sleepy boys inside, one by one, and gently tucked them in on their messy couch. Brushing his chapped lips across every forehead within reach. “Happy Christmas.” He whispered to each and every single one of them.

The boys who had ‘saved’ Christmas.

But he lingered a moment afterward, saying a little Christmas wish of his very own.

It doesn’t matter if you lot don’t believe in Santa Claus. That’s not something I would ever force anyone to do. But promise me, that you’ll believe in something. Anything. Even when everything is dark and there isn’t a Christmas light in sight? Believe. Believe in hope, believe in the future, believe in yourselves. That is all I want for each of you. That’s what I’m designed to teach. A belief in something incorporeal. Something beyond the limits of the possible.

Yet when they woke up hours later and fervently asked about how things had gone, had everything gotten delivered in time, oh god was John really Santa Claus? He had merely raised an eyebrow, sipping at his hot cocoa.

“Wow, you three certainly got plastered at that Christmas party last night. I wonder what was in that eggnog…” Smiling to himself with a knowing sort of look.

Already getting ready for next year.

-X-

“Just like love you knows he’s there

Waiting to be missed

Just like love I know he’s there

Waiting to be be missed…”

-X-

(MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Features the song: “I Believe in Santa Claus” from the Rankin/Bass Christmas special. :D)

#fic #submission #secret santa gifts #christmas #john: santa claus #magic au #relationship: polyamorous #fluff #sharing a flat #relationship: established

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minigenos · 5 years

Text

Visitor, Part 2

Part 1 ― Part 2 (you are here)

Ralsei manages to find a way into the human world and spends the day with Kris.

Note: Italicized Kris is the real deal Kris. Unitalicized Kris is the player-controlled Kris.

“Alright Kris, where to next?” Ralsei beamed as he placed the bag of candy inside his cloak. “Just lead the way!”

Kris seemed to be at an impasse; there weren't too many options to choose from in this small town. The real Kris could tell the one controlling him wasn't too keen on calling it quits early and seemed to be mulling over all of their available options.

“Do you have flowers in the dark world?” Kris finally asked.

“Well, there are a couple. Do the dark candy trees count?” the Darkner replied.

So it was decided. The pair would loop around and head over to Asgore's flower shop. Kris grabbed ahold of Ralsei's hand and guided him around the block until they were just a few yards from the store.

“Whoa! What are those?!” the prince asked as they drew closer. Kris quickly let go of Ralsei's hand as the monster walked over to the shop's entrance and stopped to admire all of the colorful blooming flowers.

“Oh wow! There are so many of these!” he commented while admiring the colorful late-season blooms. “These are... flowers, right? Your world's flowers? Ah, they're so beautiful!” Ralsei paused in front of a small bunch of tiny blue and yellow flowers. “Oh! Kris, what are these?” the prince asked as he pointed to the plant.

“forget-me-nots,” Kris replied as he looked over the monster's shoulders.

“That's what they're called? Really? What a cute name!” Ralsei clapped his paws together in happiness. “Do you think they sell them inside? Can we go check?” Kris waved his arm in a gesture that told the Darkner to lead the way.

Without hesitation the monster got up and entered the shop. Asgore was busy trimming down some newly-budding branches as the bell rang to announce the pair's arrival.

“Hm? Yes, how may I-” Kris's dad paused as he got up from his work. “Oh, Kris! How are you my boy?” The large monster moved to give his son a big hug, but was quickly thwarted when he noticed the monster standing next to the teen.

“Who's this? A newcomer here? Did you just move in?”

“No, I'm only visiting!” Ralsei replied. “I was wondering if you have any of those little blue flowers for sale? Kris, what were they called again?”

“forget-me-nots,” the teen replied plainly.

“Yeah, those!” the Darkner nodded.

“I'm sorry, but I don't sell those flowers,” Asgore said with a mildly dejected smile. “They don't really go in bouquets...”

Even though his words weren't meant to hurt Ralsei's feelings, Kris could no doubt tell his companion for the day took the information kind of hard.

“Oh, you don't sell them?...” Ralsei muttered as his body slumped slightly.

Not wanting to see his son's friend look so dejected, Asgore quickly thought up a solution.

“W-well, if you'd really like some I could dig up the plant out front for you, but it may not last that long...”

“Oh, really?” Ralsei's mood had completely reversed course after Asgore's suggestion. “I can take care of them no problem! I won't let them die on my watch!”

It seemed that the monster didn't know the flowers were only annuals. Kris decided not to tell him. He'd find out soon anyways.

Asgore grabbed a small shovel and cheerfully walked over to the entrance of his shop. “I'll be just a minute,” he said as he opened the glass door and left the pair waiting inside. While he was gone Ralsei took the liberty of walking around the floor of the shop and looking at the various flowers that were meticulously cared for.

“Hey Kris, why does this flower have little pointy thorns on it,” the prince asked as he pointed towards a blooming rose bush, “but those ones don't?” His finger had moved over to a bunch of freshly cut and de-thorned roses. “That seems kind of a silly thing to do, don't you think?”

Before Kris could get a word of explanation in, Asgore returned holding the forget-me-not plant – roots and all – in one of his giant pawed hands. “Just one more minute,” the monster said as he made his way over to a bag of soil. He grabbed a cheap planter and filled it with a smidgen of soil, then teased the roots of the plant to dislodge some dirt and loosen up the roots while doing his best to get at least some of said dirt into the planter. After placing the dug-up plant into its new container he covered it up with a bit more soil and what dirt had fallen on the table, poured a tiny amount of water into the planter, wrapped it up in an equally cheap plastic bag, then handed it to Ralsei.

“There you go! On the house!” Asgore said with a wide grin.

“Thank you very much!” Ralsei beamed as he held his newest gift close to his body. Kris could tell whomever was controlling him ate up the monster's unbelievably cute smile as if it was candy; the only response he could muster up was a roll of his eyes, not that it really mattered anyways.

After a quick explanation from Asgore on how to transplant the forget-me-nots, the pair left the flower shop and turned to each other.

“Are you worried about if the flowers will survive?” Ralsei asked. Kris shook his head yes in response. “Don't be! With lots of care and a little magic I bet these plants will look even better than they do now! Next time you visit the dark world I'll show them to you!”

Ralsei seemed exceptionally sure of himself in regards to taking care of the plants, so he quickly changed the subject to something he had wanted to say for quite some time.

“Do you think we could just... sit down for a minute? We've been walking all over the place and, while I don't mind it since I'm spending the time with you, we haven't had a chance to just sit and enjoy each other's company in peace.”

The monster's request seemed to come as a surprise to Kris, as well as his captor.

“There's a park bench nearby,” the teen suggested. “Do you want to go there?”

“Oh that sounds lovely!” the monster smiled. “Lead the way! I'll be right behind you!”

True to his word, Ralsei followed close behind Kris as he led the prince south through town and took a right at the church. The pair passed by the small four-plot cemetery, which seemed to draw the monster's attention.

“This is a... cemetery, right?” the Darkner asked as he entered through the opening in the fence.

“Yup,” Kris replied as he followed behind his companion.

“I read about these in a book once. There used to be one in my kingdom, but it got kind of... lost.”

How the hell do you lose an entire cemetery?! Kris shouted. Not surprisingly, his inquiry remained unheard.

“When I get back home I'll ask Seam if he remembers where it was.” He looked at the four tombstones and the accompanying item that sat at the foot of each one. “If he does remember where it is, do you think they'd be ok with me leaving a little cake like you did with those objects? That's kind of all I can really put there...”

Kris nodded his head yes, which seemed to perk Ralsei up.

“You're right!” the monster said. “I bet they've been alone for a long time, so any gift would be better than nothing!”

Just a few minutes after their somewhat one-sided discussion the pair made it to the bench that sat directly next to the cemetery. Ralsei quickly made himself at home and patted the spot next to him as an invitation for Kris to follow suit. The teen, unable to say no, silently joined the Darkner on the small bench.

Ralsei stretched and let out a long, relaxed sigh. “You're world's just so beautiful Kris. I know I've said that before, but...” he let out another quick sigh. “I just feel so strongly about it I can't help myself.” The monster craned his neck up towards the sky and closed his eyes as he basked in the lingering warmth of the autumn sun. Kris couldn't help but notice the shadows never truly stopped obscuring his face, though they did lighten just enough to allow some of the monster's facial structures to become exposed.

With nothing to do and nothing left to say, the pair sat together for many minutes as the sun inched its way across the sky. Kris checked to see if his captor was gone yet by attempting to move his hands.

No dice. They stayed frozen where they were. Kris went to let out a sigh and-

His mouth opened.

Kris may not have regained control of his body.

But!

He could talk.

“Hey Ralsei...” Kris would have to choose his words wisely and act quickly. He had no idea if the one in true control was distracted or just watching what was going on.

“...do you ever think that sometimes our choices aren't our own?”

His question seemed to draw the monster's attention. After a few seconds Ralsei let out a short laugh.

“What are you talking about? That's silly! Watch this.” He reached out and gently poked Kris's cheek. “Boop!” Ralsei chirped before withdrawing his hand and holding it up in a very matter-of-fact way. “You see? I chose to boop you on your cheek! Nobody told me to do it; I did it all of my own volition!”

It didn't quite seem that Ralsei was getting the point. Kris tried to word his question better.

“That's not what I meant. I mean, do you ever feel that, no matter what you try to do, your choices don't mean anything in the end?”

“Of course your choices make a difference! You could have been mean to the monsters back in our world, but you weren't, and they helped you in turn. You could have refused to help seal the pillar of energy, but you didn't and now the balance of light and dark has been reestablished.

“And, you know, you didn't have to spend the day with me today. You could have told me to leave and I would have without question. Ah, but you didn't!” Ralsei said with a big smile. “And I've had so much fun spending time with you and learning about this world!

“So, to answer your question, your choices do matter. And I think you're very good at making good choices Kris.

“...because you chose to be my very first friend.”

Why does he always bring it back to me being his friend? Kris asked himself. He moved to open his mouth again, but found that it refused to obey his commands. Well, I guess I should have seen that coming. The teen had returned to being a captive audience within his own body.

After a few minutes Kris slid off of the bench, prompting Ralsei to follow.

“Um, Kris, if I said something wrong or that you didn't like I'm sorry. I would never say anything to hurt your feelings. Are we still friends?”

Kris paused for a couple seconds, then walked over to the monster and embraced him in a hug. Ralsei seemed to take it as a sign that they were still good friends and let out a sigh of relief.

“I'm so glad we're friends,” he said with a slight blush. “I really don't want to lose your friendship.”

With their break over Ralsei was ready to check out more of the town, though he did seem to be a little tired. Kris wasn't surprised; they had spent a better portion of the day walking around. He wasn't sure what else there even was to do at this point.

But it seemed the individual in control of his body had one idea left. The teen led the way back towards the church and took another right at the crossroad, heading south through the tree-lined path.

Right before the path ended Kris noticed another save point, as did his captor. He headed over to the glowing star and tried to interact with it, but got the same information screen as before with no save option.

“Kris? What are you looking at?” Ralsei asked curiously. The monster seemed to be completely oblivious of the save point as he craned his body around the teen in order to get a peek at what the teen found so interesting. “Is it another flower or something?”

Unable to save his progress for the second time today, Kris closed out of the information screen and resumed walking south until the pair was standing in front of the pair of red locked doors. The vines seemed undisturbed since the last time he had been here, which didn't seem to surprise Kris. Everybody just avoided this place; there was nothing here for them.

But Kris's captor seemed to believe otherwise.

“Can you open that door?” the teen asked Ralsei. As if on cue the monster walked forward and examined the slightly rusty locks.

“Um, maybe? I never learned how to use this magic, though...” He took one look at Kris and smiled. “I'll do my best to open them for you, though!”

Kris stood aside as the Darkner called forth his magic. The locks seemed to glow briefly, then quickly faded back to their normal state. Ralsei seemed to be straining himself the longer he used his magic, which forced him to call things off only about a minute after he started.

“I'm sorry, Kris,” the monster panted. “I'm... I don't know why but... those locks can't be opened.”

“Why?” the teen asked. They were just locks.

“It felt like...” Ralsei paused as he gently rubbed his hands. “...like my magic was just feeding into a black hole of some kind. Do you know who originally locked those doors?” He turned to Kris, who shook his head in response.

“Because I don't think those doors are meant to be opened,” the monster finished as he backed away towards the teen.

With nothing left for them there the pair walked north until they had nearly reached the librarby and hospital's intersection.

“Hey Kris...,” Ralsei said as he started to fall behind. The teen stopped and turned around to find the monster stopped many feet apart from him. Even with the shadows obscuring his face, Kris could tell that the monster looked pretty beat. He wondered for a moment if the doors had caused him to look like that as he waited for his companion to catch up.

“I- I don't think I can stay here much longer,” the prince said with a weak smile. “When a Lightner is in our world they seem to become stronger, but, I guess it's not the same case here with Darkners, ha ha...”

“Where's the portal back to your world?” the teen asked once Ralsei had finished talking.

“It's close, don't worry. Just follow me.”

The pair continued left past the librarby, with Ralsei leading the way. Once the school was in sight Kris could tell instantly that it had been used as the portal. A pair of dull, heavy-looking gray doors replaced the regular entrance, the same kind that had teleported him and Susie to the Dark World just recently. Once they were close enough the doors began to swing open slowly on their own, revealing a pitch-black interior with a single circular patch of illuminated floor a couple yards away from its threshold.

Why is it always the school? Kris asked himself. What was so special about this place in particular?

Ralsei began to walk forward, then seemed to remember something important. “Oh, Kris, I almost forgot!” He abruptly turned around and trotted up to the teen. “You left this back in our world when you left, and I meant to give it back to your earlier, but it completely slipped my mind until now, ha ha!” Using his scarf to hold the plant like a third hand, the monster searched through his cloak's pockets until he pulled out the Dice Brace.

“I know you gave it to me to wear, but I think you should take it. Consider it a gift. A sign of our friendship!” He smiled weakly as he waited for Kris to respond.

It seemed to Kris that his captor picked up pretty quickly that Ralsei was expecting a gift in return, even though the teen hardly had anything of value on him.

You'd better not give him my ball of junk! Kris threatened.

Needless to say, his threat fell on deaf ears.

Thankfully for him, the one in control grabbed the $10 left over from the $20 he had been given earlier and handed it to the monster. Kris was now back to the original $2 he had before starting his little adventure today, which seemed almost... fitting to him.

“Oh, this is your human money, is it not?” Ralsei asked as he held up the bill to the sky. “How about next time I come here I treat you with this money, sound good?” The only thing Kris could do was nod in agreement, which seemed to greatly please the monster.

Ralsei makes out like a bandit and all I get is this bracelet? Kris sighed as his hands twirled the Dice Bracer around before shoving it into his pants pocket to keep the ball of junk company.

“Thanks again, Kris,” Ralsei said with the best smile he could muster through his exhaustion. “I had a lot of fun today, and I hope next time you can visit me and everyone else in our world.” If not for the limitations of his body in the Lightner's world, he would have loved to stay longer – maybe even have a sleepover if it was possible. But the prince was on borrowed time as it was, so he silently headed into the patch of light that would close the doors and transport him back to his lonely home.

“Bye Kris!” the monster said with a wave as the doors began to close. Kris slowly and silently waved his hand in return until he heard the loud, sturdy Doom! that signified the end of their adventure together.

With nothing left to do for the day Kris returned home to his mom, who had just started making dinner.

“Oh, there you are dear!” Toriel said as the teen entered the kitchen. “I was just about to call you and ask if your friend would like to join us for dinner. Where is he?” she asked once she realized Ralsei was nowhere to be seen.

“He had to go back,” Kris replied.

“Oh dear, that's a shame. He seemed like such a nice monster. Next time you should see if he'd like to have dinner with us.”

Kris nodded in response to his mother's suggestion before heading up to his room.

“Are you going to take a quick nap? Dinner will be ready soon.” Toriel seemed perplexed that a teenage boy would prefer sleep over a plate of delicious food.

“...Tired,” was all the teen could muster up enough energy to say.

“Alright, but don't take too long of a nap,” his mom conceded. “If you do your food's going to get cold.”

“...'k.”

Kris' bedroom was almost completely dark when he entered. Only a few trace rays of the setting sun were able to make their way through the curtained windows. Everything, even the save point, was right where the teen had left it. Kris watched on impassively as his body walked over to his bed, then paused. He couldn't tell what was going through his captor's mind, but it seemed to be something big considering the teen's body did not move for over five agonizing minutes.

Oh c'mon! If you're not gonna do anything then give me my control back! he screamed into the void.

To the teen's surprise, his body seemed to respond to his anger, or maybe it was just coincidental timing. Almost instantly it completely ragdolled, with his upper torso landing on the bed while his legs collapsed onto the floor.

Wait what the f- Kris said as he watched helplessly while the borders of his vision began to blur and fade. What the hell is going on?!

He tried to move.

Nothing happened.

He called out to his mom. To Asriel. To his dad. To Ralsei.

But nobody came.

He tried to cry, to scream, to do SOMETHING.

But in the end all he could do was watch

Helplessly as

Everything

Went

Dark.

The teen awoke that morning to the sounds of birds singing and the bright morning rays. Kris grumbled as his body refused to stay in bed any longer.

“Uugghgghhh...” was all he could muster out as he lazily swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Kris paused for a moment as his brain finally woke up and started processing information.

“Wait a second...”

His body was... his. Again.

He was in control.

Kris looked through his bangs over to the birdcage. His soul sat at the bottom of it, unmoving. A wicked grin spread across his face.

Oh, if he EVER found out who decided to take his body for a joyride and dick him over...

As he got up and inched closer to his soul, Kris realized that the silver save point had disappeared.

Hmm, weird, he thought to himself. Kinda would have liked that thing to stick around at least...

Disgusted with his soul – or, more accurately, the individual who commandeered his soul to take over his body – the teen begrudgingly made his way out of the room and downstairs to his mom, who should have been waiting for him. It was Sunday, which meant church service.

But instead Toriel was sitting in her chair reading a book while a freshly-made cup of tea sat cooling right next to the TV.

“Oh, you're finally awake,” she said in a chipper tone. “Would you like anything for breakfast?”

“...what day is it?” Kris asked, suddenly extremely confused.

“It's Saturday silly,” Toriel replied. “Did you stay up too late again? You know that's not healthy for you.”

But, yesterday was... how??

Kris was confused, to say the very least. His brain tried to process the information as best it could. Eventually the only conclusion it could come up with was that whomever had taken over his body had reset the entire day back to zero once they had finished what they wanted to do.

The longer Kris thought about it, the more realistic his conclusion seemed to become. Ralsei was nowhere in sight, nor had Toriel made any mention of a visitor. It was clearly the weekend, but nobody was in a hurry to get ready for church, so the only logical conclusion was that it was Saturday.

And, if that was the case, why could he remember the day's events, even though they technically hadn't – or wouldn't, at this rate – even happened?

Too confused and upset to think clearly, Kris excused himself and rushed to the bathroom. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh as he slid down the back of the closed and locked door once inside.

This was... a lot at once, and he hated having to sort through such nasty messes. With shaking hands, the teen reached into his pocket and searched around for the one item capable of helping him calm his nerves. His good ol' Ball of Junk.

Oh thank god it's still there, the teen thought as his hand clasped onto the item. A small wave of relief washed through his body as Kris pulled out the ball...

...which abruptly stopped once he noticed that a certain bracelet had become intertwined with the other pieces of junk.

#deltarune #delta rune #kris #ralsei #minisfic

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chaospenelope · 5 years

Text

Between Dreams and Nightmares

His mind seemed trapped in a permanent fog. There was a field of gold blooming all around him. They shined beautifully despite the lack of light. His body felt slightly heavier than normal and each movement was accompanied with a soft clanging of metal. Head stayed down as he walked. He avoided crushing the flowers, gently sprinkling water over them. He didn't remember how long he's been there but he knew they needed it. So many on the verge of wilting and dying. Something ran ahead of him, a swish of wind making the flowers sway. Another quickly followed. He looked up at the cause. Two small children faced away from him, standing in a patch of bare dirt. He recognized them immediately, but they didn't notice him. trying to call their names to get their attention. There was no sound as he opened his mouth. They started to get further away. Feeling desperate he tried to rush to them. A cloth cape warped around him. His body was sluggish, like running trough waist high mud. They were no longer in sight. He fought against his restraints. Struggling to catch up, a deep dread came over him. A stiff wind rustled everything around. He closed his eyes as it blew threw him. Opening them again to see a strange figure before him, showing hints of familiarity, before collapsing into nothing. He gasped as he fell to his knees. The sea of gold decayed into blackness. He began to sob as a strong sadness enveloped him. A presence lurked behind him, reaching out with long claws. He spun around but nothing was there, except for a plain white door that started to open...

Asgore woke up with a start. He sat up with a huff. He looked around the bedroom, realizing he was alone. Everything was still where it had been placed yesterday, photos on the wall, flowers on the nightstand, clothes neatly put away in a closet with the door slightly ajar. He crawled out of bed, stood up, and stretched his back in an arch. He noticed the light seeping through the bottom of the bathroom door. A comforting heat bellowed out as he opened the door. A black bear was stood in front of the large mirror, brushing his fangs. He walked up behind him, putting his hand on the man's back. He threaded his fingers through the long thick fur freshly dried by the hair dryer. He tried to hide his smirk as the bear shuddered. "You know for someone who can conjure fire your hands are really damn cold." Phineas huffed, with a mix of aggravation and amusement. Asgore laughed. He put his arms a him, putting his head on the bear's. "I can't help it, you're so nice and warm." "Mmhm." He padded his hand. "I suppose I can't blame you." He let go and gave a kiss on his head before moving to the tub. He adjusted the shower and took off his undershirt and boxers. The heat was immediate, still not fully recovered from the last use. He hopped in and quickly made use of whatever steam was left. The burden of sleeping in. He sighed as he got out, running a hand through his fur to make sure he rinsed all the soap out, dried off, combed through hair, brushed his teeth. Feeling refreshed and awake he moved back to bedroom to search the closet for some clothes. Pants were a simple choice, it's been warm so jeans or nice tan shorts. A lot of his shirts were button ups, easy for a guy with two tall horns, but the "Mr. Dad guy" shirt was a favorite despite how tricky it was getting it on. Unfortunately he wore that yesterday and got dirt all over it, so he'd have to go with his second choice. He buttoned up the pink, white flower printed shirt as he walked down the hall. Phineas had already started boiling the water. He had dressed in his light brown jeans, a pair of loafers, and a pale orange shirt with a flower pattern similar to his tucked in with a belt. Asgore went to the fridge, picked up some ingredients and started making bacon and eggs for breakfast. "Don't forget we have to pick up the kids a little early today since Toriel and Neda have a meeting with the superintendent." Phineas said as he sat at the table, glancing over the newspaper. "Maybe that's why..." He shook his head. He gave a small laugh. "I did forget." "Why, what? Was it that dream again?" He asked as he looked over at him. "Yea..." He couldn't take his eyes off the sizzling pan. "I'm not sure why it bugs me...It's not like yours." A hand gently rubbed his back. "It doesn't matter whose is worse, what matters is it bothers you." He stood next to him, a bit concerned. "Do you want to talk about it?" He looked at him with a smile. "No, I'm fine... I just don't understand why it's Asriel I see, and Kris...At least, I think it's Kris? Why isn't Penny there, or Nade?" "Well, they do tend to have a little more trouble making friends than Penny and Nade is such an easy going kid he hardly has any problems besides motivation. You're just worried about them more." "That, makes sense...I mean this is the first time since the move and they seem to get along nicely with the kids next door." He flipped the frying pan's contents. "Well, they're talking. It's a start." He admitted, taking the steaming teapot to pour in a couple of cups on the table. "Now that we've all settled I'm hoping they'll have some time to get used to the place." "I think they like it so far." He plated the food and put it on the table. "They are very excited about choosing which room was going to be theirs. They have to share at their mothers'." "It's nice to see you so optimistic again." He smiled. "Well, I," He stopped as their eyes met. He loved their pale orange color, like an old rosa or a leaf in fall. A wisened kindness hiding in them. He put his paw on his as he looked away. His partner chuckled, having to eat breakfast with his free hand. He loved how Asgore still acted like a lovey-dovey teenager. He felt like a passionate flame that kept him light when he needed it most. They finished their breakfast, cleaned up the table, and after a check of the time they went into the dirtier truck to fill out their daily duty. Phineas stepped out of the vehicle and admired the cleaned up shop. It stood on the outskirts of town against a wall of trees. "Nothing like a flower shop to hammer in the ever changing cycle of seasons." "Yeah, each season has it's own beauty..." Keys jingled as he took them out of his pocket to unlock the door. The inside looked clean and tidy. He switched the lights on illuminating hanging garden tools, different bags of soil, a small basket of season or holiday based flags, and various pots and other gardening fixtures. "Looks kinda sad without the dirt everywhere." Phineas laughed to himself. He went to the back door and opened it. "They look like they're ready to bloom." "They're starting to glow already? What colors are they?" He asked excitedly as he rushed over. "All different, two shades of blue, yellow, green-Should we turn the light on?" "Still very faint...keep the light off." He created a flame in his palm as they closed the door. "Get the spray bottle please." Phineas's eyes shifted as they adjusted to the darkness. "Does the water need to have that stuff added to it, or-?" "Just water will be fine." He knelt down next to the tables examining the thin roots that weaved through the soil held in the large container that held all the small buds. He felt the soil to judge how moist it was. "They're expanding but, they need to stay connected...We may have to let them bloom for the first time." "So just a spritz then." He carefully lifted the glass and pulsed a gentle spray on each plant. "Some thirsty bois we have." "Haha, Yes, our thirsty bois." Asgore checked the stems and the petals tightly wrapped up in a small ball. Meticulously going over each one until they were all watered. "Well, that should do it for today." He padded his hands together to extinguish the flame before entering the main room. They turned off the lights and locked the shop back up. "It's lovely out here." Their fur ruffled by a gentle breeze. "Nice day for a walk." He offered his hand. "Care to join me?" "Why not? We have time." He took his hand and they started down the empty street. There was a short trip to the start of a path leading into a wooded area. The trees shaded the wide path as leaves occasionally rustled in the distance. This road was often used by hikers, dog walkers and joggers since it was one of many leading into the local park. It didn't feel like it at the moment, there wasn't another monster or human for miles. Time seemed to stand still for them. It was beautiful. "You think the kids would like to go on a picnic today?" "A great idea. They've been inside putting their rooms together, they're dying to roll around in the grass I'm sure." Asgore laughed as he looked up at the sky. "Yeah, let's hope they don't start throwing dirt at each other again." "Pretty sure they've grown out of that, especially after that incident with the rock...Pretty sure." "It's hard to believe they're already so big..." Asgore stopped, gazing at a tree with white blooms fallen around it. "I know," He watched as the other man walked up to the trunk of the tree. "Could have sworn it was just yesterday Asriel was grabbing my finger with his tiny little paw. Or just a moment ago Kris was crawling under their bed so they can pretend they're sleeping in a cave...And scaring the other children." "-Nade was just a twinkle in your eye and Penny was teething on my hand." He scratched at the brittle bark. "Heh,..." He picked up an acorn, tossing it into the woods. Smirking, he said. "Our cute little trouble makers..." He had his own amused smile. "Mmhm..." He went over to the other side of the tree. "There's a lot of deer in this area." "Really? Wonder why they haven't been in the yard yet." "They probably don't know there's food there now, or, maybe they know you live there." "Ha, ha." The bear faced the path. "I figured, they'd be more scared of you." "Me?" Surprise colored his face. "Well, you are an intimidating figure to the untrained eye." He said as a matter of fact. "You could probably strangle them to death if you wanted to." "I sound so violent." He walked up to the path. "What do I look like to a trained eye?" "Soft husband." He said, holding his hand again. "Aw," He pecked him on the cold nose. "Thanks extra fluffy husband." Their footsteps padded down the soft grass. A twig snapped under their weight. A squirrel ran across their line of sight. It seemed like time was snapping back from standing still. "Is something burning?" He stopped in his tracks. "Burning? I don't smell..." "Never mind...I think someone is having a BBQ." Phineas said as he smelled the air. "A bit early, isn't it?" "Ah, Hm." He took his phone out with his free hand. "Actually, it's around eleven thirty...We've been walking for a while." "Eleven? We have to hurry to the car and pick the kids up." "But-Oh, that's right." He hurried behind in a bit of a half jog. They rushed up to the vehicle and jumped in like they were fleeing an armed assailant. Asgore slumped over the steering wheel, catching his breath before turning the key. The short drive went from the start of a thick wood up a small hill trough the main street of their little town. Small stores lined up each with a character of it's own, except the plain antique shop. There was a nice little cafe with elegant iron furniture set out on a patio, an odd sort of curiosity shop with a bright classic television shaped neon sign complete with rabbit ear antenna, and a refined dance studio to name a few. They turned away before reaching the end. Past the fire station and a collection of apartments there was a neighborhood of various houses. The one they stopped at was a one story with rose bushes surrounding the walls. A manicured path starting down from the stairs of the porch cut the front yard in half, dogwood planted on each side. Phineas and Asgore walked up to the door. The bench swing had a stack of tiles sitting on it, ready to be laid on the path. The doorbell was working again. It's chime muffled from where they stood. There was a silence followed shortly by a rhythm of footsteps on the other side before Neda opened the door. "Sounds pretty great, right?" She casually leaned against the doorframe as they answered. "Yea, it's pleasant, did Toriel pick it out?" Phineas asked as they stepped inside. "Wh-Yes, and I put it in." She said as she moved out the way. "It's got a motion camera too." As she pointed he noticed her phone in her paw. "So you saw us coming." "No, but the notification helped me find my phone so I didn't have to get Tori to call it." Asgore walked further into the house to the sitting room a few steps away. Toriel's chair in the same arrangement it's always been with another seat next to it. There was a rug placed on the wood floor and wardrobe with a tv hiding behind it's doors. Four children were sitting around in seemingly random places. "Dad's here!" Penny jumped up from her spot on the ground and ran up to Asgore, who happily picked her up and held her in his arms. "See mom I told you they weren't gonna be late." "Hey dad." Asriel smiled and greeted him before he picked up the handheld game device she had abandoned and turned it off. "You owe us cookies." Kris sat on her chair, one leg dangling off the side and red horned headband pushing up their bangs. "Yes, I suppose I must eat my words as you said." Toriel walked in from the kitchen with a container in her hands. "These are for your fathers but I'm sure they won't mind sharing...After lunch." The last two words was emphasized as she gave Asgore a side glare. She tucked The container into Penelope's backpack between her sketchbook and games. "After lunch." He repeated with a nod. He used his free hand to take the pack she was now offering. "Is everyone ready to go?" The black bear stepped in and surveyed the room. Kris put their bag on and slid to their feet, walking over to him. Asriel already had his strapped to his back, carefully stuffed full of everything he believed he and his siblings needed. Nade laid on his back with bag set on top of him. He threw a thumbs up to signify how ready he was. "Alright, let's go gang." He watched his youngest son as he lazily sat up. "You have a good time-" The goat woman softly kissed all her children on the forehead. "-And be good." "Yes, mam." "Okay mom." "Sure." They mostly reassured her. They walked out together, Toriel picked up her keys from a bowl next to the door on the way. Neda was the last one out so she locked it. "Wish you could stick around for a while but you know..." "We'll call and talk later." "Yea, talk to ya later." The car doors clicked after everyone was buckled in. Asgore pulled out onto the road again. "So how has your day been so far? Finish with putting your rooms together yet?" "We finished that yesterday. I got a bookshelf built into the wall for my action figures, wish you could have seen them." "We'll just have to do it next weekend when we have our family night." "Yea." "What did you do then?" "The usual, after we had waffles mom made us run around outside before we could watch an hour of tv then we waited for you." Kris looked out the window, watching the buildings go by. "Oh? You play any fun games or did you take that literally?" Phineas kept glancing at the rear view mirror as they conversed. "We ran around the tree until we got too dizzy to stand." They admitted, making the two men smirk in amusement. "How would you kids like to have a nice picnic lunch in the park?" "What are we having?" Asked Nade. "Can we have pizza?" "I knew we should have brought the ball." Asriel muttered. "I don't care as long as we get cookies after." "We're heading home to drop your stuff off and packing a lunch there." "So, tacos then?" "No Nade. We're most likely having sandwiches with potato or macaroni salad." "Oh." He resigned from further questions as a flock of birds out the window grabbed his attention. A few moments of silence as Asriel handed his sister her game. Penny opened it but stopped as she remembered something she wanted to ask. "Dad, did you check on the flowers yet?" "Yes, they're doing great. They even started to glow a little." "Can I see them?" She asked excitedly. "Tomorrow Penny" Asgore said sternly. "You can see them tomorrow, I promise."

The park was bathed in the hot afternoon sun. Phineas breathed in the fresh air. He held his hands on his hips as he looked around, in front of him stretched a long clearing of fresh cut grass. The laughter of the little kids carrying on the wind. They ran around in a thrilling game of tag. The oldest had caught up to Kris, their tag was perhaps too hard a shove. Unfortunately they did not notice their sibling take a hard tumble, hitting their head on the closest tree. "Kris!?" He ran over to check the child and comfort them. "Are you alright? Let me-?!" He stumbled back, seeing the face of a child he did not know. "You're not-" He looked around in a panic. The other children were gone now. "Asriel? Penny! Nade!?" He looked back at the stranger, but they were gone too. He only saw one person. The forest around them growing quiet. He took a few steps forward, a dog started to bark but he couldn't see that either. "Asgore?!" The trees felt like they were bending inward. "Honey, Where-" He felt pain shoot through his body. "I-I can't." Small cracks under his fur and skin as he forcefully shifted. Claws breaking through this fingers, and jaws snapped as fangs grew longer. Drool dripped from his mouth and covered his chest. He fell to the ground, he struggled through the the pain to hold himself up. The grass faded and shortened, becoming stiff and synthetic. His vision blurring as he struggled to get to his feet. "Penny...Asriel, where are you?" He uttered weakly, leaning against a wall as he pushed himself along the dark hall. "Kris!?" He heard a weeping nearby. He hurried to the closest door. "It's okay honey! I'm here!" He pushed the door open, he ran to the bed to his child laying on it. "Oh! Oh my god!" He started to sob, seeing the dark hair matted up with red liquid that trailed from their forehead. He gently picked them up and held them in his arms. "It's gonna be ok, daddy's here." He frantically tried to get to the door, to get help. He had a difficult time, but slowly managed to get down the hall. "I'll get you help, everything will be fine." He froze as he saw his reflection in the glass. His fangs and chest covered in blood... His fell to his knees as he held the child protectively. "I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry." He cried and wept. "Please forgive meee. I didn't know!" "Wake up." He turned as a bright light flashed.

Phineas gasped in sharply causing himself to cough. He tried to quiet himself as he regained full consciousness. Sat up and pulled himself to the side of the bed. He ran his fingers through his fur, failing to push back his bangs and looked around. His husband slept silently. He took a moment to admire his calm face, gently brushing aside some of his blonde hair to give him a kiss on the head. Then he stood up and left the room. He traveled through the hall, quietly checking every bedroom. He noticed Kris's was empty. He casually walked over to Asriel's room. He was still in his bed with his Plush of a green dinosaur, but no Kris. Still not too concerned he looked into Penelope's room. Her bed was also empty. He traversed the pitch black room to the closet doors. He opened the doors ever so carefully, revealing the two young children sleeping in a nest of blankets and sheets. He let out a sigh of relief and gently picked them up, taking them to the bed and tucking them in. Then he checked on the last child. Nade snoozing happily, covers kicked off the bed. They were picked back up and placed on him. The larger man was still resting peacefully, his arm had started to wrap around Phineas as he laid back down. He did not drift off to rest, but at least he felt comforted. He felt the children were safe...

#Undertale au #Asgore #Phineas NightShade #Between Dreams and Nightmares

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fairyscribbles · 6 years

Text

Love at First Bite - Witch. (Kyungsoo, pt. 4) [Chronicles of the Wolf series]

Enjoy~

"He doesn't look it, but he is one of the most playful members of the pack. How those two work is beyond me." Kyungsoo shook his head, leading you further down the hall.

"Are any of the other couples problematic as well?" You couldn't help but to ask- the dynamics of a mated couple intrigued you.

"Hmmm...well, there is Kris and Bom, for starters." Kyungsoo answered after a while of thinking. That didn't surprise you.

"Bom is the same as Bora but from the other side- she used to be a thief." Kyungsoo chuckled at the sudden memory.

"He actually imprinted when he caught her stealing our food." You laughed as well. Nothing better than a start of an original love story.

"And even now they still have problems, since Bom is pretty much against the idea of being marked."

Marked?

"Marked?" The question appeared again, only out loud this time.

"Mm..." Kyungsoo adjusted a random picture frame as he continued his slow pace. "Wolves are pretty... territorial. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you."

Not really, but your mouth was quick to open again. "With their women?"

"Woman," Kyungsoo laughed. "We mate for life. So while imprinting is important, marking is just as important for us."

It sounded like a very stupid question, but you had to...

"Why?" Your dumbstruck question had him laughing.

"Once a mate is marked, she is forever recognized as the wolf's. Other wolves can feel it in her scent and the humans see it in her mark. And she doesn't belong to anyone else but to him and vice versa." That had butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

"And...How do you mark?"

Kyungsoo said nothing, his eyes just flashing to yours as a small smile curled his mouth. It clicked, and you blushed madly even though he provided no clear answer.

"It's a bite," Kyungsoo said softly. "We are wolves, after all."

"Does it hurt?"

He seemed taken aback by your question, and really, so were you. Why you felt the need to know that was beyond you.

"Well yes, but my job is to make sure you don't notice the pain."

Your mind reeled at that, but he was already opening a door to the right and ushering you over.

"And this is my room." He told you with a small smile, holding the door open and waiting for you to walk in. The room was just like Kyungsoo- clean and organized, with everything having its place.

"It probably has the best view at sundown. Come on." He grabbed your hand, pacing over the length of the room, until he reached the balcony.

"You have a balcony in your room?" Kyungsoo chuckled, nodding.

"I have certain privileges since I did most of the work here." You almost didn't hear the last comment, because the balcony door opened and you saw something like never before...

"Ohh..."

"Pretty, isn't it?"

He led you out until you were pressed up against the edge of the balcony railing, Kyungsoo behind you just in case.

"Beautiful..." you breathed, watching the palette of colors paint the sky as the sun dropped.

When you watched the sun set, you realized one thing with a start and your heart fluttering.

"H-how am I going to get back home? The guards are already patrolling."

"I can bring you back," Kyungsoo said surely. "Don't worry."

"No!" You turned until you were face to face. "Don't do that. I wouldn't want them to catch you. That's..."

At this point, it was unimaginable. You didn't want anything bad to happen to him

Kyungsoo smiled, brushing your hair behind your ear. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

You shook your head again, grabbing his arms. You've heard of the horrible things guards would love to do if they ever got hold of a wolf. You didn't want it to be Kyungsoo. Especially not because of you. "No. I can go back alone if I have to."

Kyungsoo's amber eyes darkened at that.

"There is absolutely no way I'm letting you back alone. Not through the dark woods." Kyungsoo sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"Look, I can hear Yixing calling us for dinner. If anything, you could maybe sleep here and go back into town tomorrow. I heard Yijie wanted to buy some stuff at the market."

"O-oh. Can I do that?"

It sounded quite interesting, spending the night in this crowded house. It felt so nice and comfortable here, so warm and homey. Especially with Kyungsoo.

Lately, living alone had been taking a toll on you. You never really left the house, and while you generally enjoyed your privacy, that also meant leading a rather lonely lifestyle. A family like this was both an intimidating and amazing change in pace.

"Of course you can," Kyungsoo said with a laugh. "Come on. I'll take you back to see more later if you want. Let's go get some dinner."

He held out his hand, and you placed yours in it without hesitation, letting him lead you out to the hall and down the stairs to rejoin the bustling family downstairs.

The two of you came in when the most of the family were already sitting in their places- only three chairs were vacant.

As the two of you sat down, Baekhyun and Chanyeol howled with laughter.

"Well, I guess Tao and Bora are the one chaired couple tonight." Kyungsoo muttered under his breath with a smile, plate in one hand as he shuffled in the food with his other.

"One chaired couple?" You asked him for an explanation, looking at what Kyungsoo was putting on his plate- you didn't know the cuisine at all, so you went by his instincts.

"Since one chair is missing, one person can't sit." Yijie leaned over Kyungsoo to explain to you with an excited glint in her eyes. It looked so cute, how happy she must've been to be able to talk to other people.

"And so usually the mate has to ride the wolf for dinner." When he heard Yijie's words, Jongdae choked around his food with hysterical laughter.

"Okay, who taught her that?" Yixing glared at the two of them, both of them pointing at each other.

"Hey! We didn't even have to teach her bad things. She mixes them up by herself," Chanyeol said between snickers, blatantly ignoring Jimin's glare.

"It makes it a lot more fun for us," Jongdae added, to which Haerin just clicked her tongue at him.

"I'm not even sure if I want to help you correct her," another wolf added, brushing his brown hair from his forehead, only to take a long swig of something from a bottle that couldn't be for juice.

You turned to Kyungsoo as he filled your plate, and under his breath, he murmured, "Baekhyun."

"Ah..." You made the mental note as you scanned the rest of the busy occupants.

You spotted them all, tagging them off in your head as well as you could - across the table, it was Kris and Bom, Chanyeol and Jimin, Jongdae and Haerin; then it was Minseok and Haneul in the corner, Yixing and Yijie helping to serve the food they prepared, an empty chair for Tao and Bora your right; to your left was Kyungsoo serving people food naturally, the Baekhyun man he'd told you of, Luhan and his mate whom you haven't met, the teleporter Jongin, and two other men whose name you didn't even know yet. One, with a shock of blonde atop his head, was speaking to Jongin as the other listened to the ruckus in the dining area with such an expression of calm and fondness. An alpha, your brain supplied instantly. Which made for two - Kris and this man with the chocolate brown hair.

Kyungsoo set the plate down in front of you, and the growl of your stomach was painfully immediate. "Ohh..."

You crossed your arms over your belly, to which Kyungsoo just chuckled. "Good thing we're eating now, hm?"

You nodded rigorously at him, still looking at the way Yijie blushed adorably when Yixing explained to her what she just said. She looked so cute, it was impossible to describe.

"Oh, oh, oh, wait for it! Here it comes!" Baekhyun's excited whisper hushed the whole room down and Bora with Tao walked into the complete silence.

"We're sorry we're late. We still had to check the perimeters." Bora apologized curtly, not being able to bow as she wanted because of the arm of her mate wound around her.

"It's okay, though I regret to inform you..." Kris was the one to speak up, probably saving his pack from the feared captain.

"That you have the one chair left."

"Ahh..."

Your eyes widened when you saw Bora's cheeks fill with color. She stared at the empty seat for a moment before looking up at her mate, who just sighed and took her hand to lead her to the chair. He was pretty good at keeping his composure as she awkwardly settled on his lap.

Kyungsoo just chuckled as he set your plate down in front of you. "That's always fun to see around here."

You turned to look at him gratefully, picking up a fork to dig in.

"Fun?" Kyungsoo nodded.

"It's usually when the shy mates are put there- for example Bom or Bora and at times, Yijie. Even Haerin, who's been Jongdae's mate for a long time, still blushes when they get the chair." You moved to look at each of the mates Kyungsoo mentioned- it was evident that Bom was holding onto Kris under the table because of the soft expression he currently sported and Bora, who yelped when Tao hoisted her up higher in his lap, making the wolf laugh.

His chuckle died down when he felt Bora twist his wrist up, making him howl and to your surprise, the other wolves laughed.

"You should stop messing with her," Kris chuckled.

Tao let out a whine before spouting off in a language you didn't understand. Bora gave you - of all people - a look of confusion before frowning at her mate. "I hate it when you do that."

Kyungsoo chuckled, settling down beside you with his own plate and answering your unspoken question. "Tao is from Yixing and Yijie's home country too."

"And so is Kris." Tao revealed, rubbing his wrist and biting at his mate as a form of revenge, making her squeak in surprise. That playful exchange made you feel giddy. It made you feel like...you might just want that.

For your whole life, you've been with a few men, but you never had anything like that with him. The playful banters, the cute kisses and hugs...you wanted that. And with a small glance to the side, you might know who you want it with.

Your heart began racing. Being with a wolf, it was hard to imagine. But at the same time, you couldn't deny the thrill. Especially because of Kyungsoo...

"You okay?"

"Huh?" You jerked, coming back to the present with his query.

"You've just been staring... at me for a while..." Maybe you were imagining, but his cheeks looked flushed.

"O-oh." Your face heated in the same way, your gaze falling to the barely-touched food on your plate. "Sorry..."

"Just got lost in my thoughts."

"The main thing is that you found your way back, then." He grinned at you, something which you couldn't help but to return.

It was different, this wolf love, but it felt more natural than the conservative regulations of the capitol. There, even Bora's innocent sitting would be punished with more than twenty hits with a whip.

A last shake of your head tried to run the thoughts out of your mind, as you dug into the food. The spices were foreign, something you've never tasted before. It tasted very good, though, and your hungry stomach asked for more.

There was a feeling of someone looking at you and you turned to look at a happy Yijie.

"Is it tasty?" She asked you, her last fiasco probably forcing her to shorten her sentences.

"Very tasty," you confirmed, beaming at her before going back to putting forkfuls of food in your mouth.

She just laughed before offering her mate a bite. Yixing opened his mouth with a loud 'ahh~', and again, you were back to looking away from the intimacy.

This room was drowning in it, and while it wasn't something you felt particularly opposed to, it was making you think too much. Making you kind of jealous, and you weren't sure you liked that.

"Almost makes you wanna throw up, doesn't it?"

"Huh?"

Yijie looked offended, and the man clarified with a wave of his hand. "No, no, the food is amazing, noona. I meant all the lovey dovey stuff in here."

He gestured to the entire room, then at your face. "I see it on your face."

Kyungsoo chuckled from beside you. "Don't corrupt her, Baekhyunnie."

"I'm not," Baekhyun scoffed, taking a bite from his plate. "I'm just trying to let her know she's not alone."

You smiled at Baekhyun in understanding. You weren't even with the pack for a day, how must Baekhyun feel to see these things on a daily basis?

"Are you mated, Baekhyun-sshi?" You asked, your voice as polite as it could get. The wolf grew solemn for a second, before taking a swig from his drink.

"I'm...not."

Kyungsoo's hand patted your leg gently under the table, and immediately, you bit your tongue. No more questions, easy message to decipher.

"But you know, I figure I'd rather be the one disgusted than contributing to the atmosphere," Baekhyun explained with an almost self-deprecating laugh. The fact that he took another large swig just punctuated that. "Not that you're not welcome to it, ___."

You were just going to ask what he meant by that when you were interrupted with Kyungsoo's squeeze to your leg. "So how do you feel about spending the night so you don't have to walk the woods in the dark?"

"Yeah! You really shouldn't go out in the night!" Yijie called out, mouth full with food.

"There are creatures outside different from wolves. Creatures without a heart, that won't hesitate to attack." Jongdae rolled his eyes, taking another bite from his dinner.

"Yijie, there's nothing out in these woods that could hurt you when we are here." The seemingly cute girl turned to the wolf with a hiss.

"You didn't see her. She was standing right in front of the house the first night I stayed over."

"Who was?" Blood ran cold in your veins. To see the adorable girl turn so serious, she couldn't have been lying.

Apparently, she didn't know the word in your tongue, so she said it out in her mother language. And even with that, the name sounded like trouble.

"She said she saw a witch." Luhan translated for her, a small smile on his face.

"I don't think you have to fear a witch, ___. We have a witch here by the table."

"Soomi-sshi is no witch. She is a seer." Bora spoke up with furrowed brows, looking at Yijie.

"Seers are much different from witches. Seers work with nature, helping it and those in need...and they are alive, unlike witches." The whole table died down, trying to listen to Bora's explanation.

"Witches are dead servants of the devil. They feed on fear and on pain. They latch on a town, so they have many victims on who they can feast on. It would be a surprise if there wasn't a witch latched on the capital." Bora shrugged, taking a bite, almost nonchalantly, as if she was talking about weather.

"How do you know so much about this, baobei?" Tao asked his mate gently, awe written all over his face.

"My brother is a witch hunter. And my baby sister hunted vampires. All three of us know the basics of what a vampire, were and witch is. Yijie-sshi, what did the woman look like?" Yijie set het fork down, squeezing her hands tightly together, looking like she not quite wanted to talk about it. The memories still frightened her.

"Well, she...she was very pale...her skin was a greenish grey, and she was wearing a dirtied nightgown, ripped up already...her hair was long and very, very messy…but...but her face was the worst. She...she had no soul." Your heart dropped and you seriously hoped that they just were having a scary story session.

"Her eyes were...yellow and...crazy. She looked completely crazy, as she stared right...right at me..." Bora's look hardened.

"That's a witch, Yijie. How come you haven't told us?"

"Is that why I found you asleep under the bed and the spices on the window those times?" Yixing's voice was much softer than Bora's, as he grasped his mate's hand gently. Yijie welcomed the touch, because you could see how she squeezed back.

"The spices were supposed to ward her away…but then she came in again a few days ago...I told you about it, I really did." Yixing's look was guilty.

"I thought you were having a nightmare, tianshi...I'm sorry..."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now...Bora, do you know how to kill it?" To your horror, she shook her head.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't trained to kill a strong witch...I will have to talk to my brother." Kris sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright then, until we do that, nobody is going out of the house after dark. Is that clear?"

"B-but-"

Kris turned to you. "Oh, ___. Sorry about that. We'll make up a room for you though. For the night. We'll plan better next time, won't we, Kyung-ah?"

Kyungsoo just chuckled. "Yes, duizhang. I'll help you with your room, ___."

You nodded, but you couldn't help but worry. How could they just talk of such scary things and expect you not to worry? Of course, the women here were also all mated, so they had protection. You didn't.

"It'll be fine, ___. I promise," Kyungsoo told you with a smile.

You smiled at him, but it wasn't as sincere as you wanted to be. All what was in your head was your own imagination of the dead woman with crazy yellow eyes. In fact, it haunted you so much, you couldn't enjoy most of the evening with the wolf pack. You couldn't laugh whole-heartedly at the bickering between Jongdae and Baekhyun, at Yijie's little misspellings. You couldn't even appreciate when the runt of the pack, Sehun, came to showcase you his superpowers. All you could see was that dead look and manic smile.

It haunted you all the way until everyone retired to bed, and Kyungsoo showed you to your room.

"Your room is just across from mine. If anything happens, whatever it is that will upset you, come right to me, okay?" Kyungsoo told you with a stern glance, hoping you would do as he asked. Your panicked nod had him sighing.

"Wouldn't it be better if...you just slept in my room? You know, backs facing each other, all that...or?"

Your eyes were darting around frantically, your hands wringing together.

"I-is that... too much to ask?"

Kyungsoo looked back at his own door. "They really shouldn't have told that story during dinner, hm?"

You fidgeted, reminded of the eyes. Kyungsoo was still hesitating, which only made you more embarrassed of the request. Shaking your head vigorously and clenching your fists, you decided against it. "You know, that's okay. I'll... I'll stay in my own room. Thank you, Kyungsoo-sshi."

You ducked into the room with a final, forced smile at Kyungsoo's dumbfounded face. The first thing you did was pull the shades shut, closing the curtains until there was barely a crack to between the fabric. You changed into the clothes provided for you, constantly glancing around at the windows for any sign of disturbance.

You would make it through this. You had to.

Climbing under the covers, you tucked yourself underneath until the sheets covered the top of your head, and you closed your eyes tight, praying for sleep.

It was only a couple of hours later. A couple of hours of you thinking of the most mundane things to keep yourself occupied, with half of them ending up Kyungsoo-related and thus leaving you at ease enough to fall into a shallow sleep.

It was then that you heard the scratching. You didn't want to peek, because if it was hard enough to rouse you from sleep, then it must have been bad. But you weren't as brave as you hoped you would be. You weren't sure what to do when the scratching turned into a banging.

Smothering your sob with one hand, you curled into a ball. God, this couldn't be happening.

All you could picture were those eyes. That face, the threat it posed.

The banging was getting more aggressive. You couldn't.

You shot up off the bed, nearly tripping on the sheets as you scrambled out, fumbling briefly with the doorknob before practically falling into Kyungsoo's door.

There was a shocked grunt, and you had just enough time to stand up straight before Kyungsoo was ripping the door open and you were tumbling into his arms.

"___!"

"Kyungsoo! K-Kyung... soo..." You buried your face into his neck, holding on to him as tightly as your trembling arms would allow.

He held you just as tight, his hand smoothing down your back with attempts to comfort you. "Shh~ What is it? What happened?"

"Sh-she's out there! She was... b-banging on my w-window!" You were shaking your head over and over, still shaking.

Kyungsoo cursed under his breath, his hold on you not letting up. "I should've just had you stay with me. Dammit."

With a small growl, you were being lifted up and carried into Kyungsoo's room. The door was faintly closed behind you, but the only thing you had in your head was the swaying body behind your window, tapping against the glass mercilessly.

"Shhh~, ___...it's okay...I'm here now..." Kyungsoo's calming voice whispered into your ear as he slipped back into bed, under the covers with you still gripping him tightly.

A soft sob racked through your body, and you buried yourself deeper in Kyungsoo's warmth. His arms wrapped around you- one gripping your waist tightly for security while the other was in your hair, massaging your scalp comfortingly.

"I'm so sorry, ___...I'm here now...it's alright now...don't worry..."

For some reason, you found yourself shaking your head, your face burying as close as you physically could to him. Kyungsoo's hands smoothed over your back in comforting strokes, his lips mouthing what were likely soothing words. Not that you could hear them past the pounding of your heartbeat.

"She was knocking on my window." It came out in a rush, into the warmth of Kyungsoo's neck.

"I know. I'll check on it."

"No!"

Your arms squeezed him closer. You didn't want him to leave you, and you definitely didn't want him going out there to potential danger.

"I don't want her to hurt you."

"O-okay... I won't..." He brushed his fingers through your hair.

"Don't leave me..."

"I'm not going to, ___. Shhh~"

Your tears had subsided, but you were still trembling. Kyungsoo seemed to pick up on that because he tucked the blanket tighter around you.

"It's okay. She won't bother you in here. She can sense me. She doesn't like wolves."

It wasn't his statement that made you feel better. It was his presence; just having him there made you feel safe. His arms were strong around you, his legs tangled with yours.

"Go back to sleep, okay..?"

You nodded, hoping to try. The excess warmth you could feel radiating from him definitely helped. You realized he probably wanted you to move, but you couldn't find it in yourself to release him.

You thought about saying something, asking him if this was comfortable or if you should move away a bit, but Kyungsoo was already moving you, making sure you were facing away from the window, as he wrapped his arms around you from behind, smothering your back against his front.

"This is more comfortable..." he muttered his reasoning into your hair and you nodded, grabbing onto his hand that wound around you. Immediately, his fingers entwined with yours, squeezing them in reassurance.

Kyungsoo sighed behind you in contentment, his breathing evening out quickly. You found yourself relaxing, finding the protection wrapped around you reassuring. She wouldn't get to you while Kyungsoo was here.

So you were glad for the gradual calming of your heart rate, the slowing of your breaths to match the pace of Kyungsoo's.

And thankfully, dream land was peaceful.

#kyungsoo #kyungsoo story #d.o #d.o story #exo #exo story #exo werewolf story #exo werewolf au #werewolf au #werewolf story #series: Chronicles of the Wolf

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sage-nebula · 7 years

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Pokemon XYZ or blue exorcist please!

Someone else asked for Blue Exorcist, so I’m going to go ahead and do Pokémon XY(&Z). I’m also assuming you mean the anime here, but if not and you meant the games, feel free to send that in, haha.

But as for the anime … oh buddy.

Very first order of business here is to fix Alan’s ending, because I hate, hate, hate everything that happened with him post-episode 44 to the point where I feel actual anxiety in my gut every time I so much as think about it, much less actually see screencaps or gifsets of it. (Well, okay—that scene where Sycamore tries to encourage Alan to dance despite the fact that Alan clearly doesn’t want to, only for Bonnie to drag Sycamore off a couple seconds later despite how startled and reluctant he is, while Alan grins at Sycamore getting a taste of his own medicine there—that was super cute. But everything else? Everything else was garbage, and I’m wiling to sacrifice those seconds of cuteness if it means getting rid of all the other trash.) While the abusive situation that gave me C-PTSD that I’m still grappling with to this day lasted a lot longer for me than Alan’s lasted for him, his situation also came with so many more severe incidental traumas, so I feel it evens out in terms of relatability for me. With that said, the fact that he was given no time to deal with them—the fact that we see in XYZ044 that he’s feeling and sounds suicidal enough to worry Ash to the point where Ash basically gives him a “promise me you’ll battle me again at some vague, undefined point in the future, which means you have to be alive and well enough to do it” offer and that Alan refers to this as Ash saving him, all to just completely sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened two episodes later so they can toss him out on a journey again (despite, you know, the fact that Professor Sycamore said that with the way Lumiose City was Alan was needed there in episode 44 and Alan was so happy he practically started crying while smiling when he heard that), sickens me.So! Before I get into anything else, the first thing that’s changing is that. Alan is staying at the lab—his home—at the end of the series, in order to rest and recuperate. He no longer has the Mega Ring (and Lizardon no longer has that godawful collar), but the Key Stone and Charizardite X were kept and Sycamore has them fashioned into a matching set of pendants: a half-sun for Lizardon, and a half-moon for Alan. But even though they have those back, they’re still staying at the lab for the time being, with no definite plans for the future. Right now, Alan is just focusing on recuperating—or rather, Sycamore is focusing on Alan recuperating, while Alan is focusing on helping out around the lab. You know how he is. In his mind, he’ll rest when he’s dead. (Which Sycamore would like to be very many decades from now, rather than at some point before his sixteenth/seventeenth birthday, but that requires getting Alan to actually rest and take care of himself, and sometimes that can be a struggle.) So he has no definite plans, but before Ash leaves he does reaffirm that they’ll battle again someday, and whatever he does will work toward that. Ash is pretty happy to hear it.Manon, meanwhile, returns to her own journey. She’s reluctant at first; we see throughout TSME and the main series that Manon has little to no real confidence in herself as a trainer, shown both in how she never actually has a single battle on-screen aside from when she captures Fla-chan (which Alan helped her with and might as well have never happened anyway since Fla-chan was never seen after that moment)—and no, TSME 3 does not count, because Manon did not command Hari-san. He acted independently in order to defend both Manon and Alan. Her lack of confidence is also highlighted in TSME 4, when she tells Alan that if he’s with her then she and Hari-san can grow stronger, and he tells her (truthfully!) that she needs to stop relying on him all the time. So Manon is reluctant to go on her own, but Alan encourages her, tells her that he knows she can do it, and as an added bonus invites her to pick a Kanto starter to take with her. She chooses bulbasaur, and he gives her a cryptic message about how he might have something special for her should she ever manage to evolve her bulbasaur all the way to the venusaur stage. Manon gets excited and pesters him about whether or not it’s a Key Stone/Mega Stone (“Will I be able to mega evolve?!” - “It’s your pokémon that mega evolves, not you—” - “I know that, jeez! Just answer the question!!”), but he refuses to tell her. Just smiles and playfully shoos her on her way. She’s still nervous—scared, even—but she and Hari-san (and her new bulbasaur Fushi-kun) go on their journey to build confidence in themselves and each other.So that’s number one—the biggest one, but a very, very important one. As for others?

The Showcases have got to go. They do. They just do. They’re bathed in idol culture, which is extremely toxic and harmful, and honestly I wouldn’t be as bothered by the Showcases if they weren’t female-only, but the fact that this is The Girl Activity (whereas Contests, for instance, were always co-ed) bothers me, particularly since there isn’t any battling involved, but there is a lot of dancing and cooking, et cetera. It feels like a rigid enforcing of gender roles on top of being steeped in idol culture, and I don’t like that. It needs to go.That said? The Pokémon anime actually did introduce the concept of idols way back in the OS—specifically in the Pokémon Chronicles special episodes—and it was far less of an issue then. Pokémon Idols in the OS took the form of trainers like Marina (who was based on Kris from the games), and while the actual job description is somewhat vague, from the way Marina made it seem the goal of a Pokémon Idol is to be as entertaining as possible while battling. It is, essentially, to be a performance artist as well as a battler. So for instance, whenever Marina would battle she and her pokémon had choreographed entrance moves whenever she released them from their pokéballs. She also insisted to Jimmy (who was based on Gold from the games) that she wanted to “turn her battles into performances” in order to make people happy. And you know what? She did! Marina participated in the Johto League/Silver Conference, as well as a Grand Festival, but she was also shown modeling the Pokétch on a magazine cover and has had her face on t-shirts. She has become a star/idol, while at the same time working as a trainer skilled enough to participate in the Johto League/Silver Conference, and a coordinator skilled enough to participate in a Grand Festival.This is relevant, because if they really wanted to capitalize on the popularity of idol culture/idol anime such as Love Live!, the PokéAni writing staff could have worked in something similar for Serena. Rather than inventing Showcases the way they did (and removing the battling aspect completely), they could have instead set up something such as a Kalosian Idol Search, which hosted special battle competitions around Kalos in order to search for the next idol a la Marina. Perhaps these are similar to, but not the same as, Gyms, in which the objective is both to win a series of battles, but also turn those battles into performances in order to win the favor of the public (so, sort of like Contests, but not wholly the same). This could be co-ed as well, meaning that Tierno could participate in an attempt to be an idol, which would be perfect for him given that he loves to dance (and likes to incorporate dancing into battles, which is right in line with what Marina liked to do back in the OS). This way, Serena could be an active battler while still pursuing a goal that doesn’t mirror Ash’s badge quest, and yet isn’t so rigidly “this is for girls, and girls don’t battle,” which is the vibe much of the XY&Z saga gave me. Something like that (albeit a bit more refined, as this is a rough idea) would be far better than the Showcases were. (More entertaining to watch, too, imo.)

And speaking on Serena some more, we’re not going to have her hero worshiping/hero crushing on Ash for the entire series, because to be quite honest that created far more problems than it solved. It’s fine to have them meet in childhood (even though bby!Ash in the flashbacks do not at all resemble OS!Ash, which they should have—and that would need to be remedied, too), and it’s fine to have her remember that meeting and still hold a childhood crush on him—but he should have changed a lot since then. She should have, too. And we should have—we needed to have a moment early on where Serena realizes that he’s not just the amazing and courageous hero that she remembers, that he’s a human being with flaws, and maybe that bursts her bubble a bit, maybe she’s disappointed and put-out that this isn’t exactly like a fairy tale …… but then she gets to know him, as a person, flaws and all. Sometimes they quarrel, sometimes she’s less than impressed with him, but othertimes she is impressed with him, other times she sees that he makes her laugh or that, even if he’s not some amazing hero, he’s a guy she likes …… and, if we must go down the romance route, feelings develop from there.What made Ash/Misty so great in the OS was that Misty wasn’t introduced with the idea of, “This is Ash’s love interest.” Instead, their friendship was first and foremost what was developed, and the romance—which was canonically there from both sides, even in the JP version—developed naturally over time. They are most definitely best friends with crushes. If the anime writers wanted to write a romance arc with Ash and Serena, okay, that’s fine—go for it! But in that case, focus on developing them as friends first. Have the crush grow naturally. Don’t create Serena with the express purpose of having her fawn over Ash (which, yes—a recent interview revealed that the reason why this was written in was because a writer wanted to “see the series from the eyes of a female companion who admired Satoshi” which is just … no). Instead, even if she has a crush on him at first, have her get to know him—actually get to know him this time, not meet once and then separate for years on end, but know him as a person—and have her develop feelings for who he is now, not who she has idealized him to be. (And don’t have him be perfect all the time, either! Let him get mad! Frustrated! Selfish! Petty! Let him be feisty!) And likewise, have Ash develop a special and concentrated friendship with Serena, rather than just cute shippy moments here or there. Show us that he actually feels something for her beyond friendship. Show us before the very end where you just have his eyes sparkle after she kisses him, because you know what? His eyes sparkled the same way when Rowlet cuddled up to him in the Sun/Moon anime. Different animation style, sure, but I’m js. That’s not enough. And if the writers have to tell us later on “oh yeah, it’s meant to imply Ash and Serena are a couple later,” that’s not good writing. You guys can do better than this. Prove it.… So, um, yeah, I’d fix that. I’d change that ship from “girl meets boy when they are 5, develops a crush on him, and continues crushing through to the end as she works to be worthy of him” to “girl meets boy when they are 5, develops a crush on him, realizes when they are 10 that he’s not the Ideal Hero she built him up to be, befriends him as a person, realizes she’s developing new and stronger feelings for him now that she actually knows and sees him as a person, and he comes to see her as one of his closest friends and confidants, and their relationship is much more believable and stronger as a result.” That’s definitely a change I would make if the romance angle needs to be kept. (Which I don’t think it needs to be, but you know, in the interest of fairness, I’m just saying I could have done it better. Js.)

I can’t believe I forgot about this until point four, but rework Bond Phenomenon ffs. First of all, we’re no longer giving it to Greninja (or at least not limiting it to Greninja). That was stupid pandering meant to push Greninja’s popularity, and I’m not having it. If any one of Ash’s pokémon is getting it, it’s Pikachu, particularly since “but Pikachu isn’t fully evolved!1!1″ doesn’t matter because Bond Phenomenon is not mega evolution, and therefore the same rules don’t apply. The entire point of Bond Phenomenon was to avoid giving Ash a mega evolution for whatever asinine reason the anime team had, and if that’s the case, then there is no reason not to give the special love-powered super form to the partner and platonic soul mate that Ash has had since day one, particularly since Ash’s bond with Greninja was so poorly developed and not believable in the least bit. So if Ash is still getting Bond Phenomenon for whatever reason, it’s going to Pikachu, and that’s final.Second, although I know there are many people who would hate this, sorry I’m not sorry, but I felt that there was plenty of foreshadowing that made it seem as if Alan and Lizardon would be tapping into that in the finale of the Flare Arc, perhaps following a scene where they tossed off the Mega Ring and collar right in Lysandre’s face and tapped into Bond Phenomenon afterward, given that they have “a bond that overcomes reason” (Alan’s words, TSME 1) / “a bond that surpasses its limits” (Malva’s words, TSME 4). So on top of giving Bond Phenomenon to Ash and Pikachu and making it clear that it’s not exclusive to that (which, conveniently, Sycamore’s explanation in XYZ036 did plainly enough by saying it’s rare but there are several recorded instances throughout history!), we’d perhaps tap into it here as well, albeit only on a Lvl 1 or 2 scale, and one that probably knocks them both out at the end of the battle due to the physical toll it would take on them.Or, if not that? Then ditch Bond Phenomenon altogether and just give Ash a goddamn mega evolution, particularly in the form of ‘Zard Y. I’d be very happy with that as well, especially since Ash wearing his Key Stone attached to his hat would be adorable (and a nod to Red, whom the anime team specifically said they pulled from when putting together Ash’s XY design, most notably with the sideburns). Either way, Ash-Greninja is getting the boot for sure. Gtfo, froggo. No one wants you here.

Last (but certainly not least), I wanted a real confrontation between Lysandre and Sycamore over what Lysandre did to Alan—the lies, the manipulation, the abuse. We see in TSME 4 that Sycamore gives Lysandre a cold reception when first meeting him, and I really, really wanted Sycamore to go save his son, or at least confront Lysandre over it. So I definitely would have worked that in there, as well as more focus on Sycamore and Alan’s father-son bond in general. We needed more of that. More childhood flashbacks, perhaps (imagine flashbacks showing little five-year-old Alan, fdsfdsafda), some more heart-to-hearts near the end, perhaps … things like that. So, an actual confrontation between Lysandre and Sycamore, and more focus on Sycamore and Alan’s father-son bond, yesssss.

There is a lot more that I would change, I feel, but these are major ones. And this is super long/a lot as it is, so … that should tell you how many feelings I have over it, haha.

#five things i would change meme #decadeoldtiger #long post for ts

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shadowleaf10 · 5 years

Text

Remembrance - Chapter Two :Cracked:

Pairings: Exo x child reader (platonic/family/sibling/parent)

Wolf/Werewolf AU

Word Count: 7500

Masterlist

"C-Can you leave the light on p-please?"

I don't want to fall asleep.

"Sure. Goodnight (y/n)."

If I close my eyes it might happen again.

"C-Chanyeol?"

I don't want to be alone again.

___________________________________

The way back to the boys' home was quite long, and Chanyeol didn't stop rubbing circles on (y/n)'s back. Some members of the group had moved further ahead to get away from the annoying sound of her sniffling and crying spurts and others just went on ahead to not be awkward. Jongdae had stuck beside Chanyeol as they made their way home in the forest and the birds were singing songs again like nothing had happened the night before. (y/n)'s gaze moved up from Chanyeol's neck which was now soaked with her tears and she mumbled out a quiet apology as she looked down at the ground behind him. Chanyeol heard her and in his mind he really didn't care. The child had just lost her family. As well as seen the dead body of one of her family members. It was okay for her to cry. Everyone needs to cry at some point to alleviate stress.

(y/n)'s puffy (e/c) eyes widened when she looked at the ground and saw huge paw prints heading in the direction they were coming from. Why were they ignoring those like they weren't even there? What if it was following them somehow? Her mother and father always emphasized about looking out for signs of wolves, and how dangerous they are, but here they were, in the forest, a part she had no idea where they were, and there might be a wolf following them. Jongdae turned his head to look at the girl and he raised a brow. She was currently looking around as if she was waiting for something to pounce out at her. "Hey," He called out loud enough to grab her attention, but there was no hostility in his voice, "what's bothering you?" He asked and mentally face palmed himself and Chanyeol groaned. Of course something would be bothering her right now. He was such an idiot.

(y/n) turned her head to glance at the male she had yet to know his name, but her mouth gaped open to speak to him, "What if wolves find us?" she asked in a hushed tone and she felt Chanyeol tense up under her question. Jongdae laughed at her question avoiding eye contact trying to brush off as what she said to be silly.

"Wolves? Here? Highly doubt that. Don't worry, you have us strong males to protect you." He emphasized the last part and puffed out his chest trying to lighten the mood. (y/n) looked at him wearily, but trusted him none the less. She blinked a couple of times and rested her head back into Chanyeol's neck with a loud yawn.

It grew quiet between the trio and Chanyeol only needed to look down slightly to see that the (h/c) haired girl had fallen asleep from all the amount of stress and crying. Her grip around his neck loosened as well and her once tight grip on her stuffed lamb was disappearing causing it to fall. Jongdae's reflexes kicked in and he caught it before it touched the ground, but due to the downpour of rain the night before, the ground was still wet and muddy causing Jongdae to fall in the process of mission rescue (y/n)'s lamb. He landed in the mud with a thud, but held the lamb high in the air as Chanyeol turned to only chuckle at his hyung's actions. He turned back around and went on his merry way with (y/n) in his arms leaving Jongdae behind. "I'm okay thanks for asking!" Jongdae yelled and Chanyeol turned his head to glare at him pushing a finger to his mouth indicating that he didn't want to wake up (y/n). Jongdae opened his mouth forming the shape of an 'o' and Chanyeol shook his head before walking again.

(y/n) nuzzled deeper into his neck as she made a noise of discomfort and Chanyeol lifted her up a bit more to make sure his grip wasn't slipping on her. As they continued walking, Jongdae sat in the mud watching them go. He smiled at the sight of how cute the scene looked and he stood up racing after them with the stuffed lamb in his grasp.Why Jongdae went out of his way to not dirty the lamb anymore was a mystery in his head. He had just acted upon instinct, but as he thought about it more when he caught back up to them, he bit his lip as he looked at (y/n). He then stared down at the ash covered lamb, it was her only remaining thing that could remind her of home.

Home. He looked over at Chanyeol and up ahead he could hear his friends talking among themselves. They were his family. What would he do if his friends, his family were just gone. He gripped onto the lamb and tightened and his eyes narrowed. Why would the Association kill their own members? Which made him wonder even more, did the little girl sleeping before him even know about the supernatural or the Association? Was her family ripped away from her and she has no clue as to why it happened? He growled and looked away at anything but the girl. Humans like the Association could be so cruel, yet so could his kind.

Chanyeol looked down at Jongdae and his brows furrowed. He was confused at his sudden change of behavior and began to move away slowly in case anything happened that could harm (y/n) who was sleeping in his arms. "Jongdae. You need to calm down." Chanyeol whispered and Jongdae only nodded steadying his breathing.

They continued walking in silence and soon the trees around them began to be more disperse and the sight of a two story house was in view. Chanyeol thought about waking up (y/n) to let her know that they were at his groups home, but she seemed so tired and exhausted from her mental shock of what had happened not long ago, so he walked on wards to the front porch step, hearing somewhat of a commotion inside. He looked to Jongdae to open the door, since his own arms were carrying the small girl and he moved to the side so Jongdae could get past him. He opened the screen door and let Chanyeol step in first. The living room was the first room presented to them as the two males stepped in and the long couches were arranged so one was facing away from them and the other was facing the TV hanging over the fire place to their right. There was a lot of noise upstairs from all the jumping around, but Suho and Kris were sitting in the living room on the couch facing away from them, so when Chanyeol and Jongdae walked in their heads swiveled back to look at them. Suho's eyes softened, but Kris' narrowed and he stood up to walk to the stairs not glancing at the girl in Chanyeol's arms after seeing her when they first walked in.

Suho gestured for Chanyeol to sit down on the other couch and he did so, settling (y/n) beside him very carefully, so he wouldn't wake her. She still held onto him slightly and hugged his waist as he moved her. Jongdae was about to sit beside them, but got swatted upside the head with what felt like a bat, yet when he turned around holding his hand to his head all he saw was Kyungsoo glaring at him with a rolled up newspaper in his hand. "You're not sitting on my clean couch with your muddy self." He whisper yelled seeing the small (h/c) haired girl lying asleep on the couch.

Jongdae looked at him bewildered, "Your couch? Since when was it your couch? Last I checked we all live here." He shouted slightly which earned him another smack on the head from Kyungsoo and a glare from Suho and Chanyeol when he yelped in response.

"Keep it down or you'll wake her." Chanyeol growled lowly and Kyungsoo looked at his usual beagle like hyung in surprise at the sudden tone. Suho kept quiet, but his features upon his face were evident enough that he didn't want his friends bickering right now.

Suho stood up and walked to the kitchen entrance that was in front of him, "Kyungsoo, let's finish up preparing lunch and Jongdae," He turned his gaze to the male that still wanted to sit on the couch, "Go clean up, seriously. You're smelling up the whole house with that stench. It's bad enough when it rains, but we have to try and be clean. Then you can sit on the couch." He said calmly and Jongdae sighed before heading to the stairs to go take a shower.

"Yes Hyung..."He murmured and Kyungsoo went over to Suho who was walking into the kitchen. Jongdae paused and ran back to Chanyeol and sleeping (y/n) to place her stuffed lamb beside her before running back up the stairs. Chanyeol chuckled and moved the lamb closer to her and as if she knew it was there one of her arms wrapped around it. Her (h/c) was in now messy braids and Chanyeol could smell the soot. Why Kyungsoo didn't even bother to say that she couldn't sit down proved to him that his dongsaeng did have a soul. The clattering of things in the kitchen was heard and the smell of food wafted into the air as Chanyeol kept his hand on (y/n)'s head comfortingly.

As soon as the smell rose up to the rafters and the overhang of the hallway upstairs, Chanyeol noticed a few heads begin to look down and heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. All of them muttering something along the lines of 'Food'. Tao was walking down the steps with the other maknaes of the group, the tall white blonde, and the brown haired male with dark chocolate orbs. As they walked past the couch the other two talked among themselves as they headed towards the kitchen, but Tao turned his head to the side and saw (y/n) curled up beside Chanyeol sleeping. He tilted his head and to make sure he was seeing this correctly, he back tracked in his steps and slightly smiled at the sight,but the white blonde cut in, "Yah, Hyung, why does she need to be sleeping on the couch? Her scent is blocking out the scent of food." He snorted and Chanyeol raised his gaze from (y/n) to said male.

He was about to speak, but Tao spoke up instead, "Sehun, shut-up and let her sleep. I can't believe you're trying to start something over this little thing." Tao scoffed and shoved past Sehun enough to get the message that what Sehun said was inconsiderate. Sehun only clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes before heading into the kitchen with the other male. Chanyeol glanced at Tao and thanked him silently, so he wouldn't have had to go wack Sehun up the head himself.

(y/n) shifted slightly at the smell of food, and her eyes groggily opened ever so slightly. "Grandma, what time is it?" She asked instinctively forgetting where she was entirely and when she opened her eyes more, she didn't recognize where she was and she shot up into a sitting position on the light tan leather couch. Her (e/c) eyes scanned the room before landing on Chanyeol beside her who looked back at her with a worrisome gaze. His hand was frozen in the air as if he wanted to comfort her, but he was hesitating at how scared she looked. She began thinking back to what happened and realized that is wasn't a nightmare. It had been real. She looked at her starry pajamas and they were covered in soot even her (s/c) was covered as well. She then looked at the couch and stood up not wanting to dirty the house she was in. The hardwood floor was cold underneath her bare feet, and she grasped onto her lamb more tightly. "I-is this your home?" She asked softly and Chanyeol nodded at her response.

The sound of a new voice caught some of the other's attentions that were currently in the kitchen eating up whatever Kyungsoo had made. Some looked out over the counter to see the girl standing there awkwardly, while others paid no interest at all. Kyungsoo however swatted any hands that tried to take two slices of grilled cheese from the plate he was carrying out to the living room. There was a weak smile on his face as he approached (y/n) and she looked in his direction when she heard someone clear their throat. She had no idea who his name was, but he seemed to be friendly enough since he held out a plate of grilled cheese. "Here's some lunch. I hope you like grilled cheese." He said in a soft tone and (y/n) looked at him hesitantly and then at the plate as if trying to process whether it's okay to take it or not.

She turned to Chanyeol, "Is it okay?" She asked gesturing to the plate and Chanyeol nodded.

"He said it's for you. Go ahead. He didn't poison it." Chanyeol encouraged and the others in the kitchen who were watching saw (y/n) reach out slowly to take the plate from Kyungsoo. Her hands shaking and her lamb still in her grip. Kyungsoo smiled a bit more and (y/n) dipped her gaze downwards.

"T-thank you...." She paused she only knew Chanyeol and Suho's names. She even didn't know the other male's name that had been walking beside Chanyeol on their way here.

He realized he never introduced himself and he bent down a bit more so he was her height, "Kyungsoo, though people often call me D.O., you can call me that if you'd like." He placed his hand out for her to shake and she set the plate of food down on the couch seat beside Chanyeol before taking Kyungsoo's hand in her spare one and shaking it gently. Kyungsoo too shook her hand gently as well and let go after their little introduction. "Well, if you finish your grilled cheese and you're still hungry, I made tomato soup to go with it." (y/n) only 'hummed' and sat back down on the couch awkwardly looking at the food as Kyungsoo went back into the kitchen to make sure the other boys weren't eating all the food. She was grateful for the food and she was hungry, but she didn't know why her mind was telling her not to eat it.

Chanyeol scooted closer to her and bent down to whisper to her, "If you're not going to eat that than can I have some?" He asked with a silly grin plastered to his face and (y/n) pulled the plate to the far side of her away from Chanyeol and grabbed a slice of the grilled cheese. She took a bite while looking at him and gave a thumbs up to indicate it was good.

She closed her eyes as she enjoyed her meal and continued eating quietly, not noticing a hand try and steal her other slice until she heard a loud smack and saw Kyungsoo hitting another boy with red hair's hand away from her plate since he sat down on the other side of the couch. Tao pouted and looked at Kyungsoo, "But I'm hungry~" He whined and Kyungsoo snorted at this.

"Chanyeol," His gaze went to the tall black haired male on the other side of (y/n), "your meal is in the microwave. Go get it before the others race back in there to get it." He said while a dirty blonde haired boy leaning against a chair near the kitchen entrance who was stuffing a slice of grilled cheese perked his head up.

"The microwave!" He shouted and his eyes widened as he bolted to the kitchen, "Why didn't I search there!?" he exclaimed and Chanyeol ran after him to save his lunch.

"Baekhyun! YAH! That's my lunch!" He shouted leaving (y/n) alone in the living room with the rest of the males besides Jongdae who was still upstairs. She shuffled over to where Chanyeol was sitting moving her plate with her and went back to eating quietly, not raising her gaze to meet anyones. Tao glanced at her food and then back at her. Even though Kyungsoo-Hyung had made them all a good amount of food to eat, it never seemed to fill their appetite. Maybe he could somehow get some food from her.

"We haven't been introduced yet, so I'd like to say hello, and that my name is Tao." He smiled and (y/n) glanced at him warily putting her arm between her plate and his view. Some of the others chuckled at this.

"She knows what you're up to. So don't try it." Suho scolded and Tao pouted slightly after he said that. "Besides you shouldn't be as hungry as the rest of us, you ate Jongdae's lunch after all." (y/n) finished up her first slice glancing between Tao and Suho. She wanted to laugh at the sight. It looked like how her mother would scold her for doing something bad. Her mom....she looked back down and was ready to grab her second slice when her head shot up at the noise of someone running down the stairs.

Their brown hair wet and a towel draped around their neck. She knew who he was, but never got his name, but she remembered he was the male that had walked with her and Chanyeol. His eyes scanned the room and they locked with Kyungsoo, "Did I miss lunch?" He asked a little louder than what (y/n) assumed was an indoor voice and it caused her to jump slightly. Tao on the otherhand fiddled with his hands as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Yes, your grilled cheese was very delicious~" Tao teased and Jongdae ran all the way down the stairs to lunge at Tao from behind. Before he could do that Kyungsoo swatted him upside the head again, and Suho glanced at the almost play fight in the house.

"No rough housing inside. We have a guest." Suho gestured to (y/n)'s form who was watching them all with wide eyes. She glanced at her last slice and to Jongdae who was glaring at Tao for eating his lunch and then back to her last slice. She cleared her throat slightly which caused their attention to be fully on her.

She picked up the last slice of her grilled cheese and locked eyes with Jongdae, "Y-you can have my last slice. I know it's not much, but it's better than no lunch at least." She said cautiously as she stretched her hand out for him to grab it. His eyes widened and a loud laugh escaped his mouth.

He reached out for it and took it from her hands before stuffing it in his mouth, "Thanks" His mumbled with a mouth full of food and Kyungsoo swatted him again.

"Mind your manners. Keep your mouth closed while eating your food." He scolded him and Jongdae rolled his eyes at him.

"Would you stop hitting me? I'm your Hyung." He sighed and earned himself another swat.

"What did I say about keeping your mouth closed while eating?" Kyungsoo groaned and a small laugh left (y/n)'s lips. Jongdae looked at her again with a look of begging and Kyungsoo smirked, "It seems she enjoys me hitting you as entertainment." Jongdae's eyes widened and he went to the back of the couch bending down so he was looking up at (y/n)'s head.

"Please (y/n), don't let him." He pleaded and (y/n) bit her cheek from laughing. She shook her head at Kyungsoo and he sighed.

He then raised a brow at her, "Do you want some tomato soup?"

She nodded with a small smile, "Yes please." Kyungsoo smiled and whacked Jongdae on his way to the kitchen.

"See, at least she has some manners." Kyungsoo scoffed and Jongdae rubbed his head when Kyungsoo disappeared. The others in the living room went back to conversing with themselves and Jongdae leaped over the couch to land beside (y/n). He smiled at her and she gave him a nervous smile back and that's when a light bulb lit up in his head.

"Oh by the way, my name's Jongdae. I don't think that I've told you that." He said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head as he sat between Tao and (y/n). "Thank you again for sharing your meal with me since someone," He glanced at Tao who was listening on Jongdae, but was also participating in a conversation with Suho and Kris, and narrowed his eyes at him, "had to go and eat my lunch."

(y/n) looked over Jongdae to look at Tao before looking back at Jongdae, "You're welcome, though if I had known that he ate your lunch, I would've given you my other slice...I'm really not that hungry..."She mumbled the last part and cuddled into her stuffed lamb as she waited for Kyungsoo to come out with the tomato soup. Jongdae's ear twitched at the conversation that was almost silent on the other side of him, but his attention went back to the girl to keep her occupied.

He pointed at the stuffed lamb and tilted his head, "What's it's name?" He asked with a curious tone and (y/n) shifted slightly before speaking up.

"Lamby..." She said softly and a voice scoffed from the other side of the room. Jongdae looked over to see Sehun stop talking with a light blonde male. (y/n)'s uncomfortable expression was evident on her face and Jongdae glared at his dongsaeng to watch it.

He chuckled at her, " I think that's a wonderful name." He smiled brightly and (y/n) looked up at him with her round (e/c) orbs.

"Really?" She was surprised that he wasn't making fun of the cheesy name like the other male across the room that had somehow managed to hear her. Jongdae nodded.

"It's cute. Ignore Sehun, he's always bratty when someone else gets more attention than him." He whispered the last part in her ear and (y/n) giggled slightly, but stopped when she noticed the boy named Sehun staring at them.

"Could you not talk about me to her like that? I can still hear you." Sehun growled and (y/n) looked confused for a moment. How could he have heard them. Jongdae sure seemed loud at some points, but she was positive that no one could have heard them other than Tao. The light blonde nudged Sehun to shut up and he did so, but in return glared at (y/n) on the couch. She gulped and it almost looked like she was trying to disappear into the couch if she pressed into it enough.

Jongdae glared back at Sehun and looked at the faces around them. They should introduce themselves all to (y/n) so she doesn't feel so awkward. "Why don't we all introduce ourselves? Hmm?" He asked and Suho and Kris stopped their quiet conversation to look up. (y/n) looked around and saw most of them nodding while some shrugged. Kyungsoo was walking out with the dirty blonde haired male in a head lock while Chanyeol walked out behind them with a bowl in one hand and a plate in the other. "You've already met Suho-Hyung and Chanyeol." he moved his head in the directions they were sitting and Chanyeol sat down beside (y/n) when she moved closer to Jongdae so he could sit. Chanyeol quietly handed her the bowl as well as a spoon.

"Careful, it's hot." He said quietly and (y/n) nodded turning her attention back to Jongdae.

"You've already know my name and I'm assuming you got introduced to Kyungsoo." She nodded and Jongdae went back to talking, "Well next to Suho-Hyung with the tall stature and dark brown hair is Kris-Hyung." (y/n) took a sip of her tomato soup on her spoon and as she looked at Kris. In her opinion he seemed kind of stand offish. But maybe that was just her as he looked at her with narrowed eyes. No. It wasn't just her. Chanyeol caught on and scooted closer to her as he ate. Jongdae then pointed at a golden orange haired male leaning on the back of the couch Suho and Kris were on, "Then there is Lay-Hyung." Lay lifted his left hand up in a small wave gesture and (y/n) smiled slightly before taking a spoonful of her soup. On the other side of Suho, a light brown haired male who had a young looking face looked at (y/n) with wide eyes. "That there is Xiumin-Hyung. He's the oldest Hyung." Jongdae said leaving out the part of despite his looks, but (y/n) was thinking the same thing so she did a small smile at him, yet he turned away after muttering something and she frowned slightly. Her attention went to the dirty blonde who broke free of Kyungsoo's grasp, "And that's Baekhyun-Hyung." Jongdae leaned over to (y/n)'s ear, "Don't accidently call him Bacon. He doesn't like that." Baekhyun gave her a weird look before walking over to Chanyeol trying to steal his food without him noticing. As this carried on Jongdae turned (y/n)'s attention to the three males leaning against the wall on the far side of the room next to the fireplace. "You've already met our brat Sehun." He indicated to the tall white blonde who glared at him annoyingly while (y/n) took another spoonful of her soup quietly. "Then on his left with the brown hair is Kai, and on his right is Luhan-Hyung." Kai gave an awkward wave and Luhan looked slightly uninterested as he looked at (y/n) one second and then his gaze was on Xiumin.

Tao raised a brow a Jongdae, "What about me?" He asked and Jongdae looked to his side to see Tao.

"Oh and he's the jerk that ate my lunch." Jongdae said pointing behind him as he faced (y/n) who subtly smiled at his comment. Some of the others chuckled at Tao's reaction and Tao elbowed Jongdae. "What? It's the truth. This is why it's not a good idea to eat my lunch." Jongdae explained and (y/n) began finishing up her tomato soup at this point. She set Lamby on Chanyeol's leg and stood up slowly with her bowl and plate in both hands.

She turned to look at Kyungsoo and felt pairs of eyes on her, "Where can I put these?" She asked and she heard someone mutter something resulting in hearing a growl like sound behind her. She flinched slightly and Kyungsoo walked forwards to her. She looked so out of place in this room due to her messy soot covered pajamas and her small form.

"I can take them off of you." He said calmly and (y/n) shook her head.

"I want to clean them. You already made lunch, so you shouldn't have to clean my dishes." She explained and Kyungsoo lifted his head to stare at his Hyungs and dongsaengs. At least she had better manners than some of them.

"Well let's do it together then. You can help me clean the other dishes and Tao can come help as well." Kyungsoo compromised and Tao shot up from his seat.

"Why me?" He half-whined half demanded and Kyungsoo raised a brow at him.

"Because you ate more than your share and tried getting some of (y/n)'s food." He said nonchalantly and beckoned young (y/n) to follow him into the kitchen with a deflated Tao behind.

"Karma~" Jongdae teased and Tao turned around ready to walk over to him only to have a small hand grab his arm. He looked down to see bright (e/c) eyes looking up at him. She led him back into the kitchen and that's where they began their cleaning routine of 13 sets of dishes for just one meal.

____Le' Time Skip (Have some pity for the author writing this)_____

Once (y/n), Kyungsoo, and Tao were finished with cleaning up after lunch, to alleviate Kyungsoo of his cooking duties, Suho and Kris had decided to go out and pick up pizza for dinner. Everyone had scattered around the house except for Chanyeol and Jongdae who had been sitting on the couch the whole time waiting for (y/n) to finish up. When she reentered, Chanyeol stood up and Kyungsoo eyed him as he walked away to go talk to Kai. "Let's go get you cleaned up? I don't think you want to be stuck in those soot covered pajamas all day." He began to smile slightly, "Even if they are pretty cool starry pajamas anyway." (y/n) looked at her pajamas and took in the sight. Her hands weren't as dirty anymore since she had helped wash the dishes, but further up it was obvious that she needed to clean herself up, so she nodded in confirmation.

Jongdae stood up aswell and made his way up the stairs. Chanyeol held out his hand for her and she took a hold of it. He led her up the steps and she followed behind his tall form and peeked out from behind him to see Jongdae fumbling around in a room looking for something. They walked past him and to the end of the hallway upstairs only for Chanyeol to knock on the closed door. When no one answered he opened it and it revealed a nice sized bathroom. It wasn't exactly small, but it wasn't large either. It fit a sink and countertop along with a toilet next to the bathtub which had a shower head above it. Chanyeol let go of her hand and instructed her to sit down, so she made her way to the toilet and sat down on the lid as she watched Chanyeol fumble about in the cupboards below the countertop. He pulled out a washcloth, but he groaned and closed the cupboard door to turn and call out to Jongdae who was walking over with what looked like clothing. "Jongdae, do you have any towels? There are no clean ones in the cupboard."

Jongdae shook his head, "I thought there was one left in there after I took a shower today...who's on laundry duty?" He asked and Chanyeol rubbed his forhead.

"Sehun..."He sighed and Jongdae placed the clothing down beside the washcloth.

"She can always use my towel or yours. They're semi-clean." Jongdae shrugged and Chanyeol whispered something in his ear that (y/n) couldn't make out so she assumed it wasn't for her to hear. When Jongdae made a 'o' shape with his mouth he walked out of the bathroom and went into a different room on a quest for a clean towel.

Chanyeol walked over to (y/n) sitting and bent down to her height, "You'll obviously want some privacy so I'll show you how to turn on the water. The faucet is kind of tricky sometimes." He instructed her how to turn the knob and let her try it herself to see what was too hot and what was too cold and she smiled at Chanyeol when he asked if she could handle it. "Good, I'll wait outside the bathroom and Jongdae has some clothing for you to change into after you're done. Hopefully he'll come back with a fresh towel." His eyes brightened and he pulled something else out of the cupboard, "Here's the shampoo and body wash. Sorry that it's male oriented."

She shrugged and in her opinion it really didn't matter to her. She saw Jongdae walk in with white towel and Chanyeol raised a brow at him, "It's clean?" He asked.

Jongdae nodded, "Yes, it's Suho-Hyung's. Hopefully he won't mind." Chanyeol nodded as Jongdae placed the towel on the toilet seat after (y/n) stood up. She turned to them and thanked them and they just nodded before walking out and closing the door behind them.

She waited a moment longer before grabbing the washcloth and getting the bath ready for herself. She took out the hairtye holding her braided hair together and she wished she had asked for a brush now that she thought about it, but didn't want to bother Chanyeol or Jongdae even though they were probably waiting right outside the door.

She was done with her bath and now the water was a murky grey color. She opened up the drain to let the water out and stepped out of the bathtub to grab the towel that was placed out for her. She wrapped herself up in it just to stay warm and looked at the clothing laid out for her. Of course anything of theirs would be super large on her, but it would have to do for now. She grabbed a hold of the dark green sweater and put it on only to have her arms halfway through when she heard a knock on the door, "Almost done in there?" It was Chanyeol's voice.

"I'm just getting dressed." She replied and fit her head through the top of the sweater to grab the long baggy sweatpants. Once she put them on they started slipping on her waist and she had to pull them up even more and roll up the pant sleeves so she wouldn't trip. Her hair was still wet and tangled as she opened the door to see Chanyeol waiting there for her and he smiled at her.

"All clean?" She nodded with a small smiled and turned around to go grab her pajamas that she left on the floor. He took them from her sweater paws and chuckled, "We'll put this through the wash, so you won't have to wear that for too long." Too be honest it was nice wearing something large. It made her feel safe like she was wrapped up in a blanket. He took a hold of her hand and her sleeve rolled down since her arm was now elevated as they made their way back downstairs. The smell of pizza hit her nose and she licked her lips. Having pizza at home was treat. When she looked across the living room, everyone was scattered about chatting away and eating as the TV about the fireplace was on talking about the news. Chanyeol let go of her hand and went down a different hallway. So she stood there waiting eyeing the TV not noticing some of the males looking at the baggy clothing she was wearing. One of them was about to speak up, but Chanyeol came back rather quickly after one of them muttered something. The couch they were previously sitting on was empty besides Kris and Tao. Chanyeol led her away for a moment so they went into the kitchen to get pizza.

Inside Suho and Kyungsoo were chatting away while guarding the 4 boxes of pizza. Wow could these boys eat. When they saw (y/n) and Chanyeol walk in, they stepped aside and Chanyeol looked down her, "We have pepperoni, sausage, meat lovers, and plain cheese."

She pondered for a moment. She sure did love pepperoni, but maybe the others did too, so she responded with a soft voice a little bit unsure, "Cheese please?" Well that rhymed.

Chanyeol laughed slightly at her 'cheesy' request, "Of course." He dipped his head slightly and opened one of the pizza boxes to put a slice of her paper plate that he had in his other hand. Once he served her up and handed the plate to her and she grabbed it from him slowly, not wanting to tip it and make her pizza fall off. When she took it, he went back and served himself up three slices of pepperoni. He smiled down at her and she smiled back slightly too. Kyungsoo and Suho watched the scene before them and once Chanyeol and (y/n) walked out of the kitchen Kyungsoo spoke.

" I hope you choose what you think is best Hyung." And with that he walked out too to the living room leaving Suho behind in thought.

" What's for the good of the pack." He responded and closed his eyes, "remember meeting later tonight." Even though no one else was in the room he heard a 'yes Hyung' from out in the living room. He served himself up and while he did that Chanyeol had situated himself on the couch next to Kris and Tao. (y/n) sat down in front of Chanyeol on the floor, her baggy clothing working as a blanket to the cold flooring underneath her. Tao continuously kept staring at her unkempt wet hair as she nibbled away at her slice of pizza while trying to keep the large swaeter sleeves from moving constantly. He groaned and stood up walking away causing the others to look his way confused by his sudden action. (y/n) looked behind up at Chanyeol wondering if it was something she had done, and he shrugged in response. No one really knew what went on in Tao's mind sometimes.

He reappeared with a hair brush and sat back down on his space in the couch. (y/n) was almost finished her pizza and paused from taking a bite when Tao looked at her again. Her head turned when he began speaking, "(y/n), scoot over here so I can take care of that thing on your head." His words surprised her since they had talked a little in the kitchen when cleaning up, but she didn't think he would be so concerned about her hair. She opened her mouth to speak, but Tao cut her off again, "No buts, just scoot over here." He indicated the open flooring in front of his feet and she did so as everyone else went on their merry conversations. Tao began brushing her hair and her head pulled back when he did so. He placed his other hand on her head to still it and began brushing out the tangles. It hurt every so often, but (y/n) kept her mouth shut and used her pizza as a distraction.

Eventually Tao untangled her hair and was simply just brushing it gently now. Everyone else was finished eating so they were either talking among themselves or watching the TV. Soon Tao began humming a tune he had heard (y/n) hum to earlier when they were in the kitchen cleaning and noticed how relaxed she had become at this simple thing. She leaned back against his legs and let him play with her (h/c) locks all he wanted.

Suddenly the news icon flashed up and someone in the room turned up the volume when a familiar scene flashed onto screen, "Yes, Jerry, I'm here at the scene of a once wonderful home. Just last night this house caught on fire because of a stove being left on, killing the family inside while they all slept. They are still trying to identify the bodies, and haven't given too much information, but the family that once lived here was a settled down couple (f/n) and (m/n) (l/n). Living with them was the husband's mother (g/n). Back to you and the station Jerry." The woman on the screen said and (y/n) looked at the TV frozen in place. Her mouth slightly agape and her throat felt dry as she tried to speak, but no words came as the news went back to the anchorman. "It's a good thing that they had no children right Jill? Children are more prone to dying in fires, so parents keep your children prepared if a fire happens. Onto other breaking news-" The anchorman was cut off when the TV blacked out and everyone turned to see Suho holding the remote in his hand.

"I think we've all seen and had enough for one day. Chanyeol?" Suho turned his head from where he stood to look at Chanyeol who was keeping his eyes on (y/n) who seemed to be unresponsive,, though he could see the tears welling in her eyes. He glanced at Suho for a split second to let him know he was listening, and then went back to looking at (y/n). "Why don't you take (y/n) to the guest bedroom. Jongdae set up a bed for her to sleep and it's getting late. So I suggest you do it now." He said calmly, but there was an authoritive tone behind it and Chanyeol stood up from the couch to see everyone watching the interaction.

(y/n) stayed frozen and Tao nudged her up so Chanyeol could grab her hand and lead her upstairs again for the second time that day. Her eyes looked dull as she held back her tears and walked forward letting herself get dragged along almost by Chanyeol even though he was being very gentle in the way he was holding her hand, she just seemed so out of it. The room grew quiet as the two went up the steps and when they reached the top and out of sight whispering commenced down below.

Chanyeol opened a door next to the bathroom to see an open white room with a mattress and sheets on it with a lamp beside it. Chanyeol sighed and led her further in after he turned on the lamp with a light switch next to the door. "Come on (y/n), let's get you tucked in." He said softly and the young girl could only move forward to let him know she heard him. Thoughts swirled in her head as she pulled back the covers and lied down in the bed facing the door with a saddened look. Chanyeol tucked her in and rested his hand on her head soothingly. No words were spoken, but they both knew what the other was thinking. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, and she wanted to let him know there was nothing for him to be sorry about. It wasn't his fault. A small sigh escaped his lips and he patted her on the head before walking to the exit of the room. Just as he was about to turn out the light a cracked voice reached him.

"C-Can you leave the light on please?" (y/n) said with a raspy voice due to her dry throat as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes if she spoke anymore. Chanyeol stopped and nodded.

"Sure. Good night (y/n)." He was about to close the door when she stopped him yet again with her pleading cry.

"C-Chanyeol?" She half whispered half cried and Chanyeol moved back into the room when she started crying again, "p-please don't leave...." she begged and Chanyeol went back to the mattress. He hunched down and wiped a tear off of her cheek.

"Hey. Hey, I'm not going anywhere. See?" He indicated as he sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed her side to calm her down. She nodded fast as she continued to cry as silently as she could and Chanyeol continued to try and calm her down. "Do you want me to lie down with you?" He asked and she nodded in a fast manner once more, so he did exactly what he had asked. He lied down behind her and draped an arm over her protectively and her breathing seemed to even out and her sobbing died down. It wasn't until that he couldn't hear anymore crying did he know that she had completely fallen asleep. He wasn't going to be a jerk and leave as soon as she fell asleep. No. What if she woke up and saw he was gone? She might panic. Plus it was quite comfy on the bed so he decided to rest his eyes which turned into him falling asleep beside (y/n) whom was asleep as well.

Time passed and a familiar head poke into the room to see Chanyeol and (y/n) asleep. He chuckled loudly, and closed the door keeping the light on. Once the door was closed Jongdae made his way down the stairs to where all the others were and he grimaced at the words spoken before he reached the bottom. "So it's decided then." Suho's words echoed out to Jongdae and the others who were already there in the living room.

"Hyung, we can't do this to her." Jongdae said quite loudly, he was upset they were even considering this. No one listened to him and Suho rubbed his forehead before speaking up again.

"Tomorrow we send her away to the orphanage."

#exo wolf au #sibling relationship #exo x child reader #wolf au #x reader #x child reader

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thenerdytomboynewb96 · 5 years

Text

Samantha Allan Park Ch. 50

Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to “TMNT Out of the Shadows” DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC’s and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. Thank you.

Chapter #50

Sunday March 13, 2016. 1:00p.m. at the beach

Once everyone had discussed the room arrangements and had unpacked, everyone slept. Literally everyone. Some people found some cozy places throughout the gigantic mansion of a house, like Donatello and Kris who had explored the outside of the house and had discovered the extremely comfortable hammocks on the humongous outside deck (which there was also more than one). The majority of the group however just stayed in their rooms and relaxed. It was 12:30 when everyone was officially awake and ready for some fun activities on their very first day of vacation and the first thing on everyone’s mind was the beach.

Each room had its own mini living area including a mini kitchen and even a mini living room (including a hot tub, which everyone in the group was also eager to try out). On each fridge was a list explaining how things were run and what the group would need to take care of since there were no workers attending their jobs due to the group’s request. These lists included information about what devices were located on the docks and also what beach or outside equipment was located in a shed right by the dock as well. The group made sure to get ready and was down by the beach at 1:00p.m.

The first thing the group did was explore what materials were available in the shed and were amazed at the variety of materials available. Of course everyone first grabbed the sunscreen, even the turtles who were forced to put some on thanks to Sam (whether they actually needed it or not, no one was sure, but Sam wasn’t allowing them to take that risk, and Splinter just smiled and agreed with whatever the young and determined woman said).

Mikey and Kris then went for the volleyball and the volleyball net. The two worked together to set up the net while Raph and Leo were testing the feel of actually walking into the ocean for the first time (April made sure to take pictures because their faces were priceless and their smiles were wider than ever). So far the guys had only ever experienced the waters during their mission in Brazil, and that wasn’t exactly a fun time. This was a much better first true experience towards water outside the sewers and the boys were enjoying every second of it.

Meanwhile, Donnie was building sand castles with Renet and was teaching her what tricks to use to make the castle stand as tall and as long as possible. The rest of the group was still lotioning up at this time. “Guys we need to make teams!” Mikey called out. “I’m busy” Donnie called over. “Go!” Renet bluntly stated. “Well, I see my help has been appreciated” Donnie teased. Renet giggled. “Go play with your brothers, I’ll hold down the fort…unless you don’t trust me” she teased as she turned her head and pouted. “Ohhh, we’ve taught you so well” Donnie said as he hugged the girl and then ran over to join his brothers. Brenda and Jay then walked over, taking their turn to play with their daughter.

Raph and Leo had already exited the water and were standing amongst the group of teens. April and Casey had already been passing the volleyball back and forth nearby. “Since when did you get so athletic?” Raph called over. “Since I’ve become the mother of four mutants that can pick me up and throw me over their shoulder” she called as she hit the ball so hard that Casey missed it. He looked at her in awe. “Whatever you’re doing to train her, I want in” he said as he ran to get the ball. “Well training starts now. Get over here so we can pick teams” Leo said as he waved him over. “Where’s Sam?” Donnie asked as he started counting heads to see if they would have even teams. “She’s almost done lotioning up” April said as she then turned towards Irma who was standing further away and helping Sam put on sun screen. It was at this moment that the turtles realized that they had never seen Sam in a bathing suit. They had officially seen her in a dress, and they had seen her in sports bras that revealed nothing and covered her very well, but was this how she dressed when she went to the beach? Did she wear bikini bottoms? She had always worn shorts in front of them, so how would she look now? They each turned towards each other and gave each other a look that without words stated ‘we remain calm and show no signs of change,’ to which each of them nodded in agreement. Kris caught on to this however and let out a light laugh. “Guys, its Sam. There’s not going to be anything shocking about the way she dresses to the beach. “Yet we saw her in heels and with make-up on at the wedding” Raph said, emphasizing his surprise when he saw her that way. Kris looked confused. “Yeah, but all women dress that way at a wedding.” “Yeah, and all women wear revealing bikinis that show off their boobs and butt at the beach” Mikey said as he was using his feet to juggle the volleyball back and forth between him and Casey. “Um, I’m not” April stated. She was wearing a sporty bathing suit (she had gone shopping with Sam) where the top made a V but it was thick enough where the V did not reveal anything, this was also because athletic bathing suits were a bit tighter and didn’t allow as much jiggling up top. She was also wear athletic bikini bottoms that were solid black. “Yeah, but I can’t even picture Sam wearing what you’re wearing” Donnie stated. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing” April said with raised brows as she crossed her arms and smiled. “On you it’s fine, but Sam has never worn anything like that. She wears sports bras that reveal nothing, and we’ve never seen her wear anything other than shorts.” “So what exactly are you looking for, you know, since she’s not revealing anything?” April asked in a manipulating tone. Donnie just shook his head and smiled. “You just love twisting my words around don’t you?” he asked. “April and Sam hangout a lot now, they have become one maniacal duo” Leo stated with a smile.

“Hey guys, did we pick teams yet?” Everyone turned to see that Sam had finally ran down and joined the group. Kris was not shocked at what she was wearing because he knew her personality and knew what she would be wearing. April already knew what she would be wearing since she had gone with Sam when all the women in the group went to buy bathing suits. Casey just saw Sam as being Sam and, well, he also wasn’t a teenage boy (plus he was focused on how gorgeous April looked in her athletic wear). The guys all smiled as they saw Sam wearing a very comfortable bathing suit that fitted her personality perfectly. She was wearing a sporty crop top bikini top that covered everything perfectly and had thin straps that ran over her shoulders and along the back of the suit (no ties of course, she wasn’t going to allow any part of her top to come off and reveal her breasts) and she was wearing a bikini bottom bathing suit, but no one would ever know since she was wearing a pair of board shorts that reached down to her mid-thighs over top.

The oldest three thought that this outfit fit her perfectly and weren’t shocked like when they had seen her at the wedding. The youngest brother however, was a bit shook. He was expecting much thicker straps, or even a long sleeve surf shirt, he had never expected to see such thin straps criss cross along the top of her shoulders. And he assumed her shorts would reach down closer to her knees, not so short that they only reached her mid-thigh, which was also skin he had never seen before. Sam loved to wear epic designed spandex under her shorts and also did so in case she needed to change shorts so that she wouldn’t have to run somewhere and change in private. But all those spandex shorts run long, she never wore volleyball spandex, so seeing this sight was a surprise to him. Mikey was so shocked at what he was seeing (even though no one would ever know since he bore the same exact same calm smile as his brothers) that when Casey beamed the ball back to him, it hit him right in the face. It stung a bit, but he was in the back where no one could see him, so he just stood there and continued to smile, pretending he was fine. April had seen everything though, but she wasn’t going to say a word.

“Alright let’s pick teams!” Raph called. “I’m team captain.” “Whoa! Why do you get to be team captain?” Mikey called out. “Because I can kick your butt if you try to say otherwise” he said as he shoved his hand into his brother’s face and pushed him backwards. “Well I get to be team captain because I’m the leader” Leo said. “I think I should be team captain because I can hold the ball so that none of you can touch it” Donnie said with a smirk as he knocked the ball out of Raph’s hand, who had been preventing Mikey from getting to it. “I say you all get stuck working together since right now you all sound like annoying 4 year olds” Sam said as she crossed her arms. “Heyyyyyy” came a young voice from further behind them. Sam displayed an apologetic smile as she slowly turned around. “Hehe, sorry Renet” Sam said with her hands clapped in front of her. “Hmmmm that does sound interesting though” April said. “What?” Casey asked. “Mutant brothers verse the humans. I think we could take em. What do you guys think?” The youngest three brothers looked at each other and shrugged. Raph nudged Leo in order to get a response. “What?” Leo asked. He had been staring off as he watched Renet run over and pull Splinter by the hand down to where her sand castle was. He had been meditating, but seeing this child’s creation and then help her build it so that it was even sturdier obviously was much more important which was made evident by the huge smile on the rat’s face. “Humans verse mutants. You cool with crushing their hopes?” “I’m sorry, what?” Casey asked as he now got closer to Raph. “You heard me” Raph said, now taking a step closer towards Casey. “I think we can take care of ourselves” Casey said, trying to act tough. Raph just shook his head and smiled. “Alright tough guy” he said as he snatched the ball from Donnie, who had been holding it at his side, and then shoved it into the stomach of the man in front of him, “let’s see if you can stay true to your word.” “Hey! You guys are wearing the bathing suits I bought you!” Sam randomly called out. Casey and Raph just stared at her. “Good luck having dazed and confused on your team” Raph said with a smirk. “I’d make a comeback if I wasn’t so happy you’re wearing the bathing suits I looked for two weeks for” she said with a beaming smile. She then turned towards Mikey. “So you’re cool if I’m not on your team this round?” she asked, since usually the two were a dynamic duo. “Yeah, there will be other rounds” he said, waving his hand to show that this was no big deal. Sam smiled. “Alright, just checking. Don’t hold back” she said as she pat his shoulder and then ran past him. Mikey smiled as if everything was okay, but in a way he was glad they weren’t on the same team. He wasn’t sure he could work with her when she was showing off so much leg!

The first game started. The guys weren’t sure what would be the best strategy to determine where each should stand, so they just went based on age. Leo and Mikey were in the front, with Raph behind Leo and Donnie behind Mikey. On the other team stood Kris and Sam in the front, and then Casey and April in the back. This way there was always a guy and a girl in each rotation so that the guys couldn’t try to take advantage of that aspect. Donnie was the first to serve the ball and was shocked to see April bump it back with ease. Raph bumped the ball up so that Leo could spike it downwards, but Casey called it and dove forward so that when he got to it in time Kris was able to spike it downwards. They got the point that time. However, the next time the ball was served and this happened, the ball was right by the net and of course Raph was there to get it before Kris could jump up and slap it back to the other side. There were multiple times throughout the game where the match got playfully intense. Of course there were times where Raph and Sam were matched up and they basically made it their own personal goal to see who could spike the ball down in front of the other as many times as possible. Mikey would playfully flirt with April each time they were in front of each other, and of course the first time this happened she made sure to bump the ball high enough so that Mikey couldn’t reach it. He caught on quickly and also made it a personal goal to always pass the ball to where she was, and being the ninja he was, he always hit it in spots where it was difficult to determine whether she or the person next to her should go for the ball. She shook her head and smiled. “You’re going down Hamato” she said as she pointed at him. “Bring it angel cakes, make my day” he said with a smirk. Leo and Kris somehow also made it clear that they were challenging each other as well (even though none of these challenges were ever truly spoken, but they knew who was challenging who). Kris was constantly mocking Leo’s stances as he tried to stay poised and ready for anything that might come up, and because of this Leo constantly spiked the ball at the boy’s feet. “Hey! My eyes are up here” Kris said, pointing from his toes to his face, “I didn’t give you permission to look further down” he pouted as he crossed his arms. “It’s just so tempting” Leo mocked as he stared the other teen right in the eyes and smiled. “Get a room!” Sam called out as she cupped her hands around her mouth. The two boys looked at each other and shrugged. “We got one” Leo said. “Then let’s go!” Kris said as he ducked under the net and then jumped into Leo’s arms. “Later guys!” the two screamed as Leo began to run off. “Well that’s a ship I didn’t see coming” April said “I thought Raph was gonna run away with Casey first. Guess Raph is too wimpy to confess his love.” “HEY!” Raph called out and pointed at the woman. “I’m not wimpy! Casey already knows he’s mine! I bought him jewelry and everything!” Casey was now nodding his head. “It’s true, for my birthday he got me a man necklace.” “A what now?” Sam asked, raising a brow and leaning to her side in a cocky manner. “You know, a man necklace. A necklace for guys. Obviously he wouldn’t wear the same necklace that you would see April wearing” Raph said crossing his arms and leaning onto the man in front of him. Casey nodded his head. “What can I say? He gets me” he said as the two bumped knuckles. “Well apparently you don’t love each other as much as those two” Donnie teased. Mikey then turned towards Jay. “Hey Jay! Kris loves Leo more than you do!” he shouted over to the man who was being buried in the sand. “What?!” he screamed. “Dad! Go prove you love Uncle Leo more!” Renet said with a beaming giggling smile, and with that Jay was now chasing after the duo. He then quickly turned around and called out to Mikey “dude come with me! You take Kris while I win back Leo!” Mikey smiled as he then ran off to catch up to Jay (with Casey and Raph not far behind because of course they had to declare their bromance as stronger than the others). Donnie held his arms out to the side of him. “That’s cool, I don’t get a bromance. Whatever. I don’t care.” He then noticed Brenda had walked up beside him. “Well, you could help me win my husband back from the mutant man he just left me for” she said with a wicked yet teasing smile. Donnie laughed. “Need a ride over there? You know, before we piss off your husband?” Brenda smiled as Donnie turned around and allowed her to jump onto his back.

April and Sam stood there with their heads tilted to the side as they saw the group as they made their way back to one of the decks and were joking around near one of the large outside pools. They turned to see that Renet was still playing with Splinter, while Keeno was sleeping in a carrier under a large umbrella, with a blanket hanging over top his carrier so that the sun could not touch him. He was located next to Irma and Vern who were happily talking away, but constantly turning to check on the baby. They overheard Renet asking questions to Splinter about his sons, in which he replied “I don’t know them.”

April then turned to Sam. “You okay with Leo stealing your man like that?” she provoked. “Jay?” Sam said disgusted, “no that’s my brother. Let Leo do whatever he wants with him.” “That’s not what I meant and you know it” she said as she squinted her eyes at the teen. Sam just stood there, her expression making it very clear that she was very confused. April rolled her eyes. “I mean Kris! Everyone knows you like him” she said as she nudged the girl. Sam looked down at her shoulder where she was just nudged and then slowly lifted her head to look at April, her mouth slightly open and showing her lightly gritted teeth while the rest of her face was scrunched up. “I like who now?” she said in a low and sloppily muttered voice. Now it was April who looked confused. “Do…do you not like him? Like, like-like him?” Sam shook her head, and not in the rapid way that would mean she was nervous. She genuinely shook her head no. “Does…does everyone think I like him?” “No, well I guess I assumed people thought that since I did. No one has ever actually said that to me though. I know me and Casey think you like him.” “No, I stopped liking him a long time ago, why did-” “Aunt Sam!” Renet cut in, running as quick as she could over to her aunt with her arms open wide, signaling she wanted to be picked up. Sam’s expression changed once the young child had come closer, and she scooped the young girl up into her arms. “What’s up buttercup?” she asked as she gently rocked the child while she held her against her hip. “Will you go in the water with me? Sensei is going to check on the uncles to make sure they’re not acting younger than me” she said with a giggle. “Well I would love to go in the water with you! Did you ask Aunt April if she would like to join us?” Renet’s eyes went wide. “Sorry Aunt April! That was rude of me. Would you like to join us and go in the water?” she said with a beaming smile. April walked over and bent down a bit so she was eye to eye with the girl being held in her other aunt’s arms. “Maybe a little later, that volleyball match tired me out. I’m not anywhere near as athletic as the rest of your aunts and uncles. I’m going to go check on your brother, which I think your mother had the same idea since she’s jogging back over here now.”

With that, April walked back over to where everything was set up, and Sam placed Renet back down on the ground and took her hand. “Have you ever felt the ocean water before?” Sam asked, now noticing Renet was holding onto her hand tightly once her feet touched the ground. “No…I thought you were gonna carry me in” she said with a frown. “Then why didn’t you say so?” Sam asked as she then scooped the child back up with a spin and then hugged her close and blew ‘raspberries’ against her cheek. “Are you ready now?” she asked the hysterically laughing four year old.” “Yes!” Renet said, throwing her arms around Sam’s neck. Sam took a few steps into the water and sighed. “The temperature is perfect. There’s enough sun where the cold water feels just right. The sun isn’t beaming down to the point where it’s unbearable, and the water isn’t so cold that it makes you feel miserable. Everything is just right.” Sam was now standing far enough in that the water had reached her upper thighs. A wave splashed up and hit Renet’s legs. “It’s chilly!” she giggled. “Well that’s because you’re not walking in it, so when it hits you it’s going to feel really cold. Your body isn’t used to the temperature yet. I’ll walk a little further so that part of your body is more in the water. Is that okay?” The little girl nodded her head as she held on tight to her aunt. Sam now walked far enough in so that the water was hitting her waist, and now was hitting Renet’s legs. The girl got so excited every time the water splashed up and hit her tummy. “I wanna feel the water more!” Renet exclaimed as she happily kicked her feet. Sam laughed as she tightly held onto the girl. “Now hold on, we have to go back and get your swimmies if you want to fully go in the water. It’s starting to get to high now-” Ironically, just as Sam was referencing the high waves, a rather large wave had come crashing down and was up to Sam’s neck, meaning it had hit Renet in the face. It was powerful enough to knock Sam backwards and she would have fallen backwards if a tall turtle hadn’t shown up behind her at the perfect time. Sam instantly began checking on her niece and was waiting for the girl to cry (she knew she cried the first time she was splashed in the face when at a pool when she was a kid) but Renet just shook her head and puckered her lips together. “Ew, that’s yucky” she said. “Are you okay?” Sam asked in a worried tone. “Yeah, I just taste yucky” Renet said. Sam sighed and then tilted her head back some. “Thanks D, I owe you.” Donnie smiled down at the two ladies in front of him. “I came to see how you two were doing, looks like I made a smart choice.” “As always” Renet said, making the other two laugh at her blunt honesty. “Let’s go back and wipe our mouths with a clean towel. I don’t like that salty taste either.” “Uncle Donnie, why is the ocean salty?” Renet asked as the three made their way back to shore. “Salt is poured into the ocean from rainfall on large rocks from land. This salt builds up in the ocean because the only way water can leave the ocean is through evaporation. And when the water evaporates it doesn't take the salt with it. So you end up with less water, and the same amount of salt, resulting in a pretty salty sea” he said nonchalantly. “Renet” Sam said. “Hm?” “Repeat what Donnie just said.” “Salt comes from rocks on land. The water only leaves the ocean from evaporation, or the water turning into air. But the salt doesn’t leave with the water, so the ocean becomes even more salty.” Sam raised her eyes and nodded. “Alright, just checking.” Renet narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t think I understood him, did you?” “Well, most four year olds wouldn’t have a clue what he just said, but then again, you’re not like most four year olds” Sam said with a smile. “She’s a bright one alright” Donnie said, ruffling Renet’s hair as she was placed back on the sand and then ran over to her parents. “They couldn’t have picked a more perfect child to fit this quirky family” Sam said, leaning onto the tall turtle. “I was worried that she would tell others about us, but she’s bright. She knows how to keep secrets, and not only that, but she comprehends why they’re important. She’s going to change the world one day. I just know it.” “Well someone is jumping to conclusions pretty quick” Sam teased. “I thought so to the first time that crossed my mind, but she just…doesn’t follow the guidelines for how children develop. She can comprehend things that typical children in general wouldn’t understand. I was literally talking to her about different parts of the world the other day because she found a globe in my lab, and she absorbed everything I was telling her. I was even asking questions that would prove whether or not she was understanding me and she was able to properly respond to everything. Heh, and then she sees Mikey and goes back to acting like a typical 4 year old” he said as he saw Mikey run up to Renet, who was running up to him, and then watched as Mikey fell back and hold Renet up high as if she had knocked him over all on her own. Donnie couldn’t tell which of the two had the bigger smile on their face. “I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t noticed it either. She’s intelligent. Oh god, that means she’s going to turn out like you” Sam said as she looked up at Donatello with a worried wide eyed expression on her face. He squinted his eyes as he looked down at her. “And what’s wrong with that?” “That means…she’s going to be a geek!” Sam scream-whispered just loud enough so that her friend could hear.

“Oh” Donnie pouted as he turned around and took a few steps out into the water. Sam took a few steps and followed him, afraid that she had touched a nerve. “What’s wrong?” she asked, slightly concerned, slightly mockingly. “I just think you’re confused” Donnie said. “Cause geeks can’t do this” he said moving so swift that Sam couldn’t react and that fast was scooped up and thrown far off into the deeper waters. When she popped her head back up above the water, she saw that Mikey had now tackled Donnie screaming “only I can do that to my best friend!” Of course, if two brothers were water wrestling, then the other two just had to join, so now it was Raph and Mikey verse Leo and Donnie. Of course, Sam had to avenge her best friend! So when Leo wasn’t looking, she ran up behind him and jumped on his back, covering his eyes with her hands. “I’ve got him!” Sam called. “Back to the water!” Donnie called as he grabbed her and tossed her back. “Oh we can do that to” Raph said with a smug look as he caught up to his second to youngest brother and tossed him further out. When Sam rose her head from the water, Donnie had made a splash right next to her. “Ha! Karma boi!” she said. Donnie’s reply was to push her back into the water and then run away to avenge his oldest brother, who right now was being lifted by Raph and Mikey. Now Kris was joining to avenge his bromance brother. The match was now 3 vs. 3…until Renet ran in to avenge the losing team (at the moment, Kris, Leo, and Donnie). “Rawr!” Renet called with her hands up in the air. “RUN!” Mikey yelled as he literally threw Sam over his shoulder. “SHE CAN’T BE STOPPED!” Raph shouted as the two brothers darted onto the shore with a tiny Renet chasing after them. The other group was laughing, until Jay walked near the edge of the shore with an even tinier Keno in his arms. “Grrr fear me! I have powerful poopy powers! Fear me as much as my diaper!” Jay said in a high pitched voice as he carefully held his son in front of him. “Nnn” the three men said as they pretended as if they had been cursed and were losing feeling in their bodies, twitching their arms and grabbing their chests. “I can’t move!” Leo called out as he fell to his knees. “Is this the end?!” Donnie shouted. “Hold me” Kris said as he basically trust falled onto Donnie, and the three playfully collapsed in the water. “Dang, we have some strong kids! I feel proud as a parent” Brenda said. “We’re heading back guys. We want to put Keno down for a nap and get him out of the heat.”

The teens all nodded and decided that now was a good time to head back and relax as well. They all headed to the pool while the older humans (being all coupled up) and Splinter as well (who wanted some meditation time since it was happily taken from a young girl on the beach) headed to various places inside the gigantic house. The 6 teens decided to test out the gigantic pool, along with its numerous water slides. It was now 2:30, and the teens slid and swam for hours. Eventually they made their way up to the literal designated relax space filled with comfy chairs. They were still wet so they didn’t want to go back in just yet, so they all just hung out and talked for a while. They never meant to, but they all drifted back into sleep (they had been playing on the beach and then in the pool for many hours now). Most of them hadn’t even realized they had fallen asleep, Mikey being one of them, as he was the first to wake up. He sat up very slowly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to look around. The sun was setting now and there was a beautiful pink and red glow across the clouds. He was about to wake up his brothers so that they could see the view as well, but he then realized that Sam was no longer amongst the group.

At first he assumed she had just gone inside, but then he saw that her flip flops were still outside. She would have taken them inside if she had gone in, so she had to be somewhere. A slight bit of panic began to rise in him as he wondered where she was. He stood up from his lounge chair and walked around some, first checking (and then sighing in relief) to see that she wasn’t floating alone in the pool. As he continued to walk around, he saw that the shed door was still open down by the end of the dock. He took a few more steps forward and smiled in relief when he saw her lying on a boogie board out in the ocean. He jogged down until he reached the water and then slowly walked out towards where his friend was lying down. She turned her head when she felt more ripples growing stronger, and she smiled when she saw her best friend walking towards her. “Getting a taste of the ocean before the night ends?” she asked. “I am now. I was wondering where you went. I was afraid you fell asleep out here.” “Nah, too paranoid a wave would get me and I’d panic. This is a place to relax, not to end it.” “Heh, good to know” he said sarcastically as he leaned back on his shell, floating alongside his female friend. “I never thought I would see the ocean again” Sam said calmly. “Why?” Mikey asked. “I dunno. Life just got dark for a while. I guess I assumed I wouldn’t experience normal things like trips to the beach anymore.” “Ahhh, so that’s why you’re out here. Letting your thoughts roam, huh?” Mikey said, but Sam could tell by the way he spoke that he was being serious and genuine rather than silly and playful. She smiled. “Yeah. It’s easier to let thoughts roam when you’re alone.” “Do you still have bad thoughts?” he asked. “Not the same way I used to” she said as she now turned onto her stomach on her boogie board. “I mostly just have nightmares every once in a while, but even those have died down.” “What did you used to think about?” he asked, cautiously, not wanting her to speak of anything that would upset her or make her uncomfortable. She sighed. “Robbing stores, figuring out what I could get away with. Not caring about the consequences. Just wanting attention because I was always alone.” “Why?” Sam scoffed. “Why to which one?” “All of them” he replied softly. Sam turned her gaze towards her friend and now realized how concerned his face was as he stared back at her. “Well, I was mad at the world because of what I lost, and I felt like there was nothing to look forward to every time I came home to an empty house. Jay had to work, well, what I thought was actual work in order to provide for us, so he was rarely ever home. I would come home to an empty house with no one to tell me right from wrong, so when I got angry or upset I did whatever I wanted. I never meant to get arrested, but it happened a few times.” “Then what happened?” “Jay would fight for me to get free bail, reminding the authorities about what I had lost and why I was lashing out. That’s when therapy started. That was one of the reasons why I stopped stealing and doing petty crimes. God I wanted therapy to end, that was just so frustrating” she groaned as she now turned back over to her back side. “What were the other reasons?” Sam folded her hands across her stomach. “Mostly therapy, but my coaches and dance instructors said I wouldn’t be able to participate if I kept acting the way I was, and I was reaching a point in life where soccer and dance had so much meaning and purpose for me that I couldn’t lose that. That and there was one other reason…” she trailed off. Mikey stood up in the water and put his hands on the side of the boogie board. “We don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready” he said. Sam then sat up herself. “It’s fine. Just, don’t tell the others okay? I’ve never really talked to anyone about this.” “Of course, you know me” he said. “Well…I got into an accident once. I was running from a store where I had just stole a couple packs of gum, and I wasn’t paying attention and ran right in front of a car…you okay?” Sam asked in fear of the uneasy look her friend was displaying. “Yeah” he said with a fake smile, “just, thinking of things.” “Like?” she asked, wanting him to further explain himself. “…just thinking of when we saw you almost die…twice…sorry, this is your story” he said, shaking his head. Sam then gently placed her hand on his arm. “Don’t ever apologize for being worried about me, it’s literally saved my life before. And I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t talk about it.” “Well now I need to know what happened” he said, trying to lighten the mood. “Luckily it wasn’t anything serious, but I broke my arm and sprained both ankles, so I was in the hospital for a few nights, and I stayed home for about a week. The pain didn’t really faze me…but my brother. That’s what truly changed me.” “Did he lose his shit?” Mikey asked, cringing as he thought of Jay lashing out at Sam, just like when they all returned from Brazil. “That’s the thing,” Sam began, “he was so silent. He got a call that I was in the hospital and from what Brenda eventually told me, since he physically seemed calm, but mentally be was breaking down so she had a talk with me in his place, and apparently he was a mess when he got the call. Almost got into an accident himself speeding to the hospital. I had been so selfish and was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I had forgotten the way he reacted when he found me about to throw back pills the morning I woke up, just hearing the rest of my siblings had died-” “Stop” Mikey sternly interrupted. “You’re shaking…” he said as he clutched his hand tighter onto her arm. She smiled at him. “It’s okay, I don’t think I can every calmly talk about this, but I promise I’m okay” she said in a calmer and sweet tone. “So, your brother made you change your ways?” Sam nodded. “Now I wasn’t ready to completely change everything, but I knew I needed to make smart changes. I had learned a lot from my failed robbery attempts, and that’s what lead me to learning coding and hacking so that I could sneak into places overnight. That’s honestly also why I wanted to get back into martial arts and self-defense training. I convinced Jay that it was all so that I could safe, and also more confident in soccer and dance. Those weren’t lies, but it wasn’t the full truth either.” “But you made changes for the better. You were able to take better care of yourself so that you weren’t in danger like you were before. You still snuck out at night which wasn’t safe, but now you could protect yourself. That meant you weren’t adding to your record and you weren’t hurting your brother. I’m glad you made those changes.” “Oh really? Why so?” Sam said with a chuckle. “You’ve said in the past that you also would sneak out so that you’re siblings would send you a signal that they were watching over you. Well, since Jay allowed you to train yourself, and you stayed home and did things like study up on skills you could use to your advantage sine you weren’t sneaking out during the day anymore, you made discoveries at night. And that lead you to the greatest sign your siblings could give you to show you they cared.” “And that was?” Sam asked with a smile, already knowing where he was going with this. “To us. To your new family” he said gently. “I know. And I thank them for that every day.” “I wish I could thank them in person. You’ve changed our lives. Heh, none of us ever thought we would be here.” “Neither did I bro, neither did I.”

“HEY! Get up here! Dinner is ready inside!” The two turned to see Raph calling down to them from further back closer to the house. “I love how my stomach doesn’t think of food until someone else mentions it” Sam said as she now held her stomach. Mikey stood up in front of Sam. “Hop on. Your suit looks like it’s dry, so no point in both of us having to dry off when we get back.” “My, what a gentleman” Sam teased she hopped onto her friends back. Mikey walked her back to shore and then ran the boogie board back to the shed, hoping that maybe that would help dry his suit off some. It didn’t do much, so Sam ran inside and grabbed him a pair of soft and dry sweatpants (man she was good at buying comfortable and appropriate sized clothes for the guys!) and then ran them back outside so that Mikey could change in the outside bathroom (since of course there was a lovely bathroom outside, like full plumbing and clean as could get, it was a beautiful bathroom and changing space!) The two then made their way inside where they joined the rest of the family in the dining area in the lobby where all the fancy tables were located. Everyone was already sitting down and had begun eating food along the dinner buffet. The list of instructions left by the original owners of the house stated that the mutants only needed to be hidden for a short period of time at the beginning of every day when a couple of trucks dropped off food that was usually served buffet style to guests staying at the house (it was easier to serve larger crowds that way). The instructions then informed the group of how to simply prepare the food so that they could eat all three meals each day at the house. The two joined everyone for dinner, and after everyone was showered up afterwards, it was straight to bed where everyone fell asleep in mere minutes.

It had been a great first day.

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ssteezyy · 7 years

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Ask the Vet: Dr. Kris Answers August’s Questions

Welcome to our regular “Ask the Vet With Dr. Kris” segment! Once a month, Dr. Kris answers as many of your questions as he can, and you can leave new questions for him in a comment.

Dr. Kristopher Chandroo is a veterinarian, scientist, photographer, animal welfare advocate, and creator of Stress to Success (STS): The Essential Guide to Medicating Your Feisty, Grumpy or Reluctant Cat. Dr. Kris wants your cats to be twenty years old. And counting! And he wants to provide medication and therapy to them in a way that respects the bond between cat and human.

Here are Dr. Kris’ answers to some of your questions asked in June. If your question didn’t get answered here, Dr. Kris will answer them on his own website in the future. Subscribe to his updates so you’ll be notified when the answers are published.

Are “fixed” male and female cats identical in behavior?

Tom: I have a general knowledge type of question, not a medical question, but I don’t know who else to ask. Are “fixed” male and female cats identical in behavior or do some gender-related traits remain. For example, relating to outdoor cats, males have much larger ranges than female cats. Does neutering make any difference to things like that, or is a male cat still a male cat except for ability to reproduce, and ditto for females?

Ooohhhh good question.

I would not be surprised if there are gender specific traits that are still there, despite the sterilization. I would go further and say there are individual personality differences that are intact despite sterilization.

Would be a cool study to be apart of!

Dr. Kris

Helping cats with arthritis

Beth: Dr. Kris, I really enjoy your monthly Q&As and love the idea of you doing an “arthritis masterclass”. My current cats do not have an issue, but both of my previous cats seemed to have issues during their last years (17 and 18). We moved things around, changed the litter box set up(s), put steps & kid stools near the windows, and basically tried to make it easier for them to get around and still be cats. It would be so beneficial to know what to look for and how to you tell if your cat has arthritis. What are the early signs? Is there anything we can do to prevent it? What are the options with medicine and homeopathy? What else can we do to help them so that they can still enjoy being cats? Thanks for all that you do.

Ok, I hear this loud and clear! Arthritis masterclass is in development! It’s going to take a while but I hope it is worthwhile for everyone who is managing this for their cats.

Dr. Kris

Cat with advanced kidney disease

Kate: I have a senior cat with advanced chronic kidney disease. She only has one functioning kidney; however she is still playful and full of spunk for a 15 year old cat. I am not a fan of feeding those “prescription” foods. I am currently giving her premium wet food with the phosphorus dry matter basis below 1%. I understand the lower the phosphorus level, the better. I also understand that I should watch her sodium levels in her food. My question is (1) What is the acceptable sodium percentage on a dry matter basis? (2) What other minerals, vitamins and amino acids should I monitor in her food on a dry matter basis percentage?

Hi Kate,

Phosphorous and sodium for sure are the ones to watch for. Then I want awesome sources of vitamin B12. Most importantly, I want a stable body weight – and I’ll take a stable body weight no matter what the micronutrient content of the food is (assuming it’s a quality food).

When you can get a constant, healthy body weight, they just tend to do better overall. It’s associated with longevity as well – so most of my nutritional goals are aimed at trying to eliminate maladaptive weight loss.

So my main tool in figuring out if I’m doing things right nutritionally?

A weigh scale.

You need one that measures accurately in their weight range – so a small pet or baby scale.

If their body condition is working out, you are doing it well!

Dr. Kris

Side effects of Gabapentin?

Melody Carnell: Hi Dr. Kris, it’s me again with the Gabapentin for arthritis question. I will talk with my vet again about the 100 mg of Gabapentin being too high but since then, Sweet Pea (maybe 10-12 years of age said my vet because the arthritis in her rear spine and hips shows prominently on her xray) has been taken off the prednisone and is now still on the 100 mg Gabapentin and had her first acupuncture which from the look on her face was mind blowing! It appeared to work quite well! I have never seen her in such bliss, made me cry, she deserves it!!!

My question now is, I’ve heard long term use of prednisone in cats has a high risk of causing diabetes, does that also apply to Gabapentin? It that harmful with long term use? Should I just try the acupuncture alone? Do you know of any non-medication things I can do for her to help with the arthritis? I have asked my vet about the Assisi Loop but she’s not familiar with it and wants to read up on it before prescribing. Thanks for any assistance!

Hi Melody!

That is great she responded so well with the gabapentin.

With most drugs you are just trying to use the lowest amount to give you the best result (the lowest amount meaning none for some cats, or it can be relatively high for others).

You drop the dose, stay there for two weeks, and see if we are looking just as good. Then you drop the dose again. Wait another two weeks. Of course you want to check with your vet or at least advise them that you want to do this.

Diabetes isn’t a typical side effect of gabapentin though. Being really really overweight checks that box.

Thanks for letting me know how she did – and I’ll keep you comments in mind as I start to write out an arthritis guide!

Dr. Kris

Alternative pain medications for arthritis

Jenny French: Your arthritis masterclass would fill a void, since cats are living longer and arthritis is so common and yet drugs often seem to be the only answer. I want to understand everything I can about pain management. I’m looking for alternatives to the pain medication (Buprenex) the vet gave me for my 14-year-old female. X-rays revealed arthritis along her spine. Interestingly, the images suggested her body seems to have fused the vertebrae, which would explain her stiff gait. She takes Amlodopine for high blood pressure but nothing else. A recent blood test showed all other values within healthy range. I’ve tried to make the home comfortable for her. I pick her up with a lot of support. She is very sensitive to touch on the lower back, so I avoid stroking her there. Buprenex makes her sleepier than usual, even for a senior cat, and wobbly too. And is long-term use advisable anyway? I need other options to try. She’s a loving cat and I want to repay that love with the best life possible.

Hi Jenny!

Ok, thanks for your comments – they really help formulate what can go into an arthritic masterclass. Keep those coming people!

You are completely right – our cats are living longer (average age has come up since the 90s), so we will expect to see more arthritis. People (and vets) are also better at knowing what it looks like – and are more willing to treat it nowadays.

As she is 14, it is completely understandable that you don’t want her gorked out on buprenex for the rest of her life. It’s a reliably safe drug and I have had patients on that off and on for years, but it can cause the drowsiness you are observing.

There are plenty of options though that don’t have drowsiness as a side effect – tell your vet you want a less drowsy choice. With every new choice you make, you will have some who call it the devil, and some who call it their savior for their cat. It really depends.

There isn’t a perfect drug, but there is a process that you can figure out what works best for your cat as an individual. That’s what I’m hoping the masterclass does – help people figure out faster what works for their cat. Thanks,

Dr. Kris

How to acclimate cat to getting topical flea treatment

Patricia: Hi Dr. Kris, can you recommend a good way to get my cats acclimated to taking the flea drops on their neck? I got scratched up pretty good the last time. I have to get through this as my cats are indoor and my dog is indoor outdoor. Protection against fleas and other pests is important. Please advise.

First, I’ll assume you’re using a product that doesn’t bother them or is noxious in any way. I’ve used thousands of doses of topical revolution out west in flea country, and I’ve only had two cats resent the feeling as the liquid is absorbed.

Assuming the product you are using is good, you need to use it, and they just hate the experience of it, then you want to do something called counter-conditioning.

What that means is that something that they do not like is paired with something that they DO like, and if you can do it the right way, they learn to tolerate or even enjoy what they previously disliked.

It REALLY helps if they love treats or food, and they are hungry before you do this.

Here are the steps, assuming they are like the stereotypical Walt Disney fat kid in a candy shop (all the Disney movies of the 90’s have them).

1) In your left hand, present the food/treat etc. Give it to them. 2) While they are eating it, just touch the back of their neck/shoulders. 3) Take away the food, and stop touching their neck/shoulders. 4) Give them back the food/treat, and start touching their neck shoulder. 5) Repeat every 3-5 seconds.

Can you do that? If your cat lets you do it, you then take the tip of the applicator (the plastic part unopened so no liquid comes out), touch them with that in exactly the same way as written above.

If they can handle that, then there is a good chance you can give the topical medication with them feeling much better at it.

If at any point it doesn’t work, go slower and back to the previous step where they didn’t care about what you were doing back there. I should make a video for this – it’s so much easier to show that tell. Wait – I DID make a video showing this (Stress to Success) although I would try what I’ve written above first.

Good luck!

Dr. Kris

20-year-old cat in hospice care

Louise Ayers: I would love to hear about those senior cats. It may be to late for mine by the time you respond, but my vet I trust explicitly said I will always want to do whatever I can or beat myself up if I don’t try. My female cat is in hospice care with us, and each day may be her last. 20 is a good number to live, she has never eaten table food, or treats, just her good quality cat food, now all wet. This has been her choice. It doesn’t make it any easier as she is a very picky eater. She has in the last couple months developed a tumor that has grown rapidly under her ribcage. She had a biopsy on it and though large it doesn’t spread to her other organs. When we started the procedure to remove it and find out for sure where it was attached, we did the initial bloodwork. We found out she had anemia, with a value of 15, 2 days later it was 16 after the liver supplement, then Saturday it had dropped to 8 so we put her on Buprenorphine to help her pass normally, as we figured it was only a matter of days. She is still eating and drinking, though seems nothing has progressed so far that she is ready to go. Our bed has been on the floor for 2 months, her cat tree was disassembled to a floor model now, so she wouldn’t hurt herself jumping. Just wanted to say, which ever path you choose for your baby has to be the right one for you. Do not grieve and wonder what if, do the best you can.

Louise I have a special post for you titled “When You Don’t Want to Say Good Bye” – I’ll put that up soon on my website. In the meantime, you may want to watch this video.

Sue Lamothe: Would you recommend Lysine as a supplement for a 6 yr old cat diagnosed FIT + ? ( never been sick)……if so, which Lysine brand / form do you prefer? thank you

Lysine is one of those things that it almost never hurts to try (always nice if it comes in a treat form so they voluntarily eat it – less stress for them that way). Does it work?

Some people say yes, some say no.

A lot of us still use it as it could help, and side effects – I’ve yet to see one.

If it’s stressful for your cat to consume it, then I probably would look for alternatives though.

Cheers,

Dr. Kris

Sonja R Copley: I have a blind cat that started having what I called night terrors, take to vet,put him on phenobarbital, didn’t help much. Finally videoed it, took him back, this time they put him on lorazepam, which did help alot. But then he went right into one when I gave him the pill.the episodes have changed, you can visibly see him getting shocks, can’t afford neurologist, started giving him CBD OIL, it helps, doesn’t seem to get shocks when I do. It’s heartbreaking to see him go through these.any ideas?

Sorry to hear this Sonja.

I’m going to assume that your cat has an illness with his nervous system based on the treatment choices here. But there are many pieces to this puzzle that I don’t know from his description.

He’s the kind of kitty that I would need to lay hands on to really appreciate what he might be going through.

It’s ok if you can’t afford the neurologist.

You and your vet can make some educated guesses about what this might be, and trial and error things from there – as long as he’s not suffering, right? He should be eating, and recovering from those fits pretty quickly if things are going smooth enough.

Some pets can seizure, then they go on with their lives, and other than the seizures, they are perfectly normal. Other cats, especially if they are geriatric, start to seizure but it’s not good when they start doing it at an older age.

I know it’s really hard to see this happen. Many cats need to try several different medications before you find the right combination that works, so you can ask them what other options you have in addition to the lorazepam.

Good luck,

Dr. Kris

Do you have a question for Dr. Kris? Leave it in a comment and he’ll answer it next month!

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