Is it obvious I’m obsessed with Chuuya and Dazai I’m a 26 Smol or tiny and this is my strictly sfw blog and I’m trying to keep it that way please and thank you :) Also blanks will be blocked
not sure why people find this weird, both are made for the human sitting in them to be able to do so relatively comfortably for long hours. It just happens to be that ergonomics don't really change *that* much over the course of growing up.
A/N: this was a random burst of inspiration that i have no explanation for hahaha. i've always liked this movie and it's tword scene, so i felt that i should give these characters a little extra time together. this is canon-divergent, as it rewrites what happens between Victor and Emily's duet and the death bell tolling.
Summary: Victor and Emily still have some reconciling to do, but the tension between them dies down and lends itself to a budding friendship
Word count: 2,352
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The bony hand clicked into place at the wrist as Victor took Emily in his hands.
"I like your enthusiasm."
It was true. He did. Even amidst the hellish world that he found himself in, surrounded by the dead and the rotting and the decayed, he found himself quite fond of Emily. She had a bubbly demeanor that was unparalleled to anything he had seen in the world above. Her passion and excitement made her feel more alive than any breathing person he had known before.
The irony was not lost on him, but he was beginning to wonder if it truly was irony at all. The living were weighed down with the parts they each had to play, their choreography in this meticulous dance they called life decided for them at their birth. You had expectations. Responsibilities. The very same responsibilities that landed Victor in this awkward situation in the first place. What became of those responsibilities after they died? What societal obligation was left to fulfill when keeping food on the table was no longer a priority? The souls here were free of any kind of rules previously imposed on them. They danced when they felt like it, they sung when they felt like it, they were free to be whoever they wanted. It was enviable, honestly.
He envied Emily's freedom.
And what had he done to this bright light of a human being? Broken her heart and lied to her.
She thankfully had the grace to accept his apology. But it still didn't sit right with him.
"I really am sorry" Victor said. "I never meant to hurt you the way I did. I was desperate, and scared, but none of those things are your fault. For whatever it's worth... I think you are a remarkable woman."
It was quiet for a moment, and Victor panicked for a brief moment wondering if he had soured the amicable moment they had just had.
"Why were you in the forest that night?" Emily spoke, barely above a whisper. Her tone was deadly serious and slightly sorrowed, but not angry. It was humble and honest; no pretenses whatsoever. All she wanted from him was to know why she had to hurt like this. If Victor were in her position, he would expect the same.
"I... I ran away. I had made a complete fool of myself in front of my bride and her family during our rehearsal. I thought perhaps some practice reciting my lines would do some good. Some good it did, huh?"
He chuckled, but fell silent as he noticed Emily's stoicism.
Emily turned to look at him. Her eyes were glassy with tears, and Victor felt a pit open itself in his stomach. "It really was an accident. Wasn't it?"
"I'm sorry. I truly wish I could take it all back. Maybe if I hadn't proposed to you, someone else might have come along and treated you with the love you deserve. With that being said, I do not regret knowing you, Emily. Not in the slightest."
Her lip quivered a little. "You really mean that?"
"Of course."
...
"You lied to me. And humiliated me. I'm still angry for that. And even knowing that you ended up here through an honest mistake... I'm not sure that I can forgive you."
He certainly couldn't blame her. "That's fair."
"But I do not regret knowing you either."
That took Victor by surprise. Despite having every reason to loathe him, she found it in her good heart not to. He honestly couldn't say it was uncharacteristic of her. His throat tightened as tears threatened to spill over down his cheeks, but he muscled them back down.
"Thank you."
It fell quiet again, but this time it was gentle and peaceful, a soft stillness that let each other's true feelings breathe openly and honestly without apology.
Although, Victor was grateful when Emily broke the silence once again.
"What happened that was so embarrassing you thought you had to run away?" she asked, with a huff of breath that Victor recognized as a laugh. Oh, how glad he was to hear that sound again from her.
"What didn't I do?" he laughed in kind. "Let's just say the whole affair ended with my mother-in-law's dress being set on fire."
He was delighted to hear a snort from beside him.
"Oh gods! That does sound terrible!" she laughed.
"It was" he blushed. It certainly had not been his finest moment, but considered himself lucky that Victoria still wanted to proceed with the marriage after that. "No doubt my parents were considering disowning me by that point."
Emily smiled at him. "Oh, I'm sure that's not true."
Oh how true it was. His parents were an ever-present reminder of how much of a pathetic failure he was at being a man. What was worse was that they were right.
Victor turned away, the thought of his parents seeing him like this bringing him feelings of shame.
"I meant it when I said you're lucky you never have to meet my mother. She's... never been the most... warm parent. And my father, well... he's not particularly affectionate either."
Out of his line of sight, Emily's smile lowered a little, but straightened itself as she lightened the mood. "I'll bet you were a very nice child."
The focus coming back to him startled him out of his misery. He blushed a little, and hoped that Emily wouldn't notice. He has never been the most comfortable being the center of attention.
I suppose that is being a nice child, he thought.
"Oh, I don't know" He rubbed his hand at the nape of his neck, soothing himself. "I don't suppose a gangly grasshopper makes for a good child." There admittedly wasn't much that he could say about his childhood that inspired fondness or joy. Certainly nothing he could share with Emily without making her pity him, and he didn't want that.
Emily, ever the optimist, doubled down on her point. "I'm serious! I bet you were a sweet little boy running around, playing with your dog, having fun. I certainly can't imagine you getting into any trouble."
That last remark had a playful edge to it, punctuated by a swift poke to Victor's ribs.
He jerked and gave a laugh, purely on accident. He hadn't realized that his reaction was that noticeable until Emily spoke.
"Oh, so you're ticklish" she teased.
If his cheeks were not blooming red before, they surely were now. His face now angled away from hers in an attempt to hide it. Bashful, as he had been told, was not a good color on him.
Victor chuckled nervously. "Is it so obvious?"
"Quite, and I'm glad. I don't think I've ever heard you properly laugh before."
"For both your benefit and mine."
"You are far too hard on yourself. And now I have the means to prove you wrong."
Wait, what did that-
Victor hadn't more than a second to process that statement before he felt a familiar bony hand scratch at his ribcage.
Once again, he was caught off guard, and couldn't keep himself from laughing, much to his dismay. When he was a boy, the grown-ups had said that he giggled like a little girl, which was quite untrue. Meaning that even the girls he grew up with didn't have a giggle as squeaky or as high as his. Victor thought that he would grow out of that little habit as he grew, but alas, he still had a laugh unfit for a man like him.
His posture shriveled immediately as his torso bent forward and his arms folded up like a raptor's.
Emily seemed to delight in his flailing. "Oh, very ticklish, apparently" she crowed. "Where do you get the nerve to put down your laugh like that? I've never heard such a sweet sound."
Now she had to be buttering him up on purpose. She was being polite. There was no way she actually meant that.
Victor muscled through his titters, still wriggling about. "This isn't nece- necessarYYY!" he squealed, as another bony hand plucked sharply at his other set of ribs.
"It is too necessary. I haven't seen you smile this wide in the whole that I have known you."
"Of ten hours!"
"Still!" she insisted.
Her fingers wandered up into the hollows of his underarms, causing him to jump in his seat and clamp his arms down with a yelp. Unfortunately for him, that meant those dastardly fingers were now trapped there.
It tickled incredibly, his mind beginning to lose itself with how fried it was from the tingly zaps.
This was so undignified. But it was hardly Victor's fault. He had been tickled once or twice as a child, but that had been with living, fleshy hands. These, that were torturing him now, were bony and thin, providing firmer and more precise pressure.
Unbothered, Emily simply watched him as she picked him apart. "Would you like me to move my hands now?"
What kind of a question was that?!
"Yes!" he answered.
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't. They seem to be stuck in there." And then she carried on, not an ounce of compassion for his plight whatsoever.
"Well, stop tickling then!" he squealed.
"Not until you lift your arms up" she demanded, the grin in her voice quite noticeable. She was having fun toying with him like this.
"I cahan't!"
"Well then, I suppose we should get comfortable then, shouldn't we? I'm good to stay here all night." And, just to drive that point home, she cooed. "Tickle, tickle, tickle! Tickle, tickle, tickle!"
Victor's face burned with the heat of what could have been a thousand suns, shame lighting up his face like the glow from a fire.
"You're embarrassing me!" he cried out.
Emily clicked her tongue sympathetically. "Well there's no need for that. There's no one to impress here. We're just having fun. At least I am. I like you like this; you look happier, lighter. I'd like to see you laugh more often, its a beautiful thing."
Victor began to wonder (with what little brain power he had left) if Emily really meant the things she was saying. It wasn't like her to speak so earnestly and not believe it.
But who could think a shrill laugh such as his was nice, much less beautiful?
No one in his life had ever spoken to him so kindly about his traits. No one he had known had ever looked upon him in such an uncomposed state and thought it a pretty thing. But then again, he wasn't in the living world, was he? Perhaps that was the problem.
Emily was right. There was no one down here in this parlor for Victor to impress. The rules of etiquette that existed in the world above were no longer relevant here. So what he was he so timid for?
Victor's laughter rang out in the air now with a new fervor, newly unburdened by his self-consciousness.
He supposed this was rather fun, wasn't it?
But still was the issue of releasing those tickly fingers from under his arms.
With as much willpower as he could muster, he snapped his elbows out towards his sides, giving Emily's hands the chance to escape.
True to her word, she moved them.
"Very good" she said, sounding impressed.
Victor's moment of reprieve ended abruptly as her hands now skittered and crawled up and down the rest of his torso, sending him into another fit of bubbly hysteria.
Perhaps he was a tad naïve to think that this little game had been over so simply. Though, if he were honest, he was not disappointed. Not even a little.
"That's better!" Emily chirped. "Now I can tickle you everywhere!"
"No!" Victor whimpered half-heartedly.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Emily mocked. "I need to find out where else you're ticklish. Unless you'd like to give me a hint."
Absolutely not.
"Absolutely not!" he shouted.
Emily merely shrugged. "Have it your way."
A hand lingered over Victor's midriff when it had felt him flinch, and honed in on the spot.
His head thunked pathetically onto the piano keys with a loud twang as he gasped breathlessly.
"Ticklish there?" Emily asked.
Victor could not reply, though his cackles probably served as a sufficient answer.
Emily ventured out towards his sides and kept going down as she reached his hip bones.
A spark shot up Victor's spine, and without warning, his legs kicked out, thrusting himself backwards and sending the both of them tumbling off of the bench.
Emily was laughing with him now, her merriment radiating in the room like a lantern next to him.
The two continued to lie there, still a little in shock, but laughing themselves silly.
As Victor caught his breath, he heard Emily giggle. "Well, that was unexpected."
As unexpected it had been for Emily, it had been even more so for poor Victor. The couple of times he had been tickled had never gone to his hips, and he had no idea they were that sensitive until now.
He couldn't help having a little fun with her. "Serves you right for attacking me like that."
"Oh, like you weren't enjoying yourself."
Victor found himself with nothing to say.
"I see that blush!" Emily crooned. "You know I'm right!" She pushed her pointer finger into his cheek, making him laugh again.
"Alright, alright..." he surrendered, batting the finger away.
He sighed, a warm and fuzzy feeling still filling his chest. It had been years since he had laughed that hard. He had forgotten how much he missed it.
In less than seventy-two hours, the Land of the Dead had already become more welcoming to him than his home had in twenty years.
He hoped that perhaps this could be the beginnings of a wonderful friendship for Emily and him. He had never had a friend before, and he would be honored for her to be that first.
The sudden ringing of a bell signaled a new arrival, and the parlor buzzed to life.
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ive never come across a character more lee than victor. look at him!
AN: day 2, here we go! This has been one of my favorite fics to write so far! It’s just so fun & playful, & I just love these characters so much! If you haven’t already, go watch Blood of Zeus! Now, on to the fic!
The fight was far from over, Heron knew this well. Their victory on the battlefield will be short lived, but for now, they could enjoy the rest and relaxation.
His friends remained on earth while he resided in Olympus for the time being, talking things over with his half siblings and training by their side. Their father would be proud.
Heron sat on the side of the field, drinking water as he watched his brothers spar. In a flash, Hermes ran behind Apollo, hooking both arms under his before slamming him to the ground in a cloud of dust.
"Why you little-" Apollo growled, swinging his legs to knock Hermes off his feet. His back hit the hard packed dirt with a pained groan. His eyes flew wide open as he felt an arm wrap around his legs and he began kicking with all his might, the wings at his ankles flapping frantically.
"Apollo don't! That's cheating!" he cried, a smile playing at his lips as he tried to shove him off.
"You cheated first! Attacking from behind like that, really Hermes?" he taunted as he began scribbling against the downy feathers. Hermes shrieked so loudly, it made Heron jump in shock, head snapping up to look at the pair.
"Ohoho plehease, you're just looking for ahan excuse to- NOHO WAHAHAIT!" Hermes cut himself off with a giggly squeal before hysterical cackles burst free from his chest. Heron found himself chuckling along to the infectious, goofy sound, though a blush was quickly spreading and he found he couldn't bear to watch the scene for long. He grabbed a whetstone and began sharpening his sword to appear busy, watching from the corner of his eye.
"Stick around long enough, and you'll be next," a gentle voice warned from behind, startling him enough to turn around. He relaxed slightly; it was only Athena.
"Trying to scare me away so you can have the field all to yourself, sister?" he teased, looking down to hide his blush. She snickered, something sly and knowing behind the sound.
"It was a warning. You're fresh meat for them, and if they see you sitting here..." she trailed off, looking him up and down. He squirmed under her gaze, furrowing his brows. "I'm afraid you'll be serving yourself up on a silver platter."
"That's ridiculous," he hissed, dragging the stone across the blade harshly. "They're all the way other there, and a little busy, if you haven’t noticed," he reasoned, a fair amount of sass entering his voice. "I'll be fine." Right? he didn't say aloud, but looked up at her expectantly, hopefully.
Athena arched a brow at his tone, cocking her head to look at him.
"Do you know what Hermes is the God of?"
"A lot."
Athena snorted and rolled her eyes, resting her hand atop his head and leaning on him like a table. "Be specific."
"Speed, travel-"
"Mischief," she cut him off, and he snapped his mouth shut, eyes wide. "And Apollo is almost as bad, though he may have you fooled. But, I mean, just look at who started this mess?" she nodded to the pair subtly, not keen on drawing their attention by pointing.
Heron followed her gaze, watching the pair roll around and laugh. Hermes was flopping around like a dying fish, cackling and pleading for mercy as Apollo pinched and rubbed the wings between his fingers. He scratched at the base of the wings where they met the ankle and his laughter spiked, surging forward with renewed energy to launch an attack of his own. He buried his hands under Apollo's arms and he jolted, slamming them down to his sides with a bark of laughter. Hermes let out a triumphant, giggly war cry as he fought for the upper hand. Heron smirked as they watched it all play out, but there was the faintest touch of sadness to it. These were brothers, who grew up wrestling and playing with one another, who loved each other wholeheartedly. This was everything he and Seraphim never got to have, and he bit back the vile taste of jealousy.
He wasn't jealous that he wasn't included! That's not what he meant, so don't go putting words in his mouth. He was jealous of the bond that never was; the brother- the best friend he should've had. It was like looking in a twisted mirror of what could have been.
His lip curled in a sneer as he scraped the stone along the sharp edge. "So?"
"Do I really have to spell it out?" she asked, more amused than annoyed. "You're our brother. That makes you just as much fair game as the rest of us," she teased softly. His mouth hung open in shock, but she cut him off before he could speak. "So if I were you, I'd get a head start. Hermes is quite fast."
Heron sat there frozen, looking between her and the wrestling Gods on the ground. He locked his gaze with hers, "Are you being serious?"
Athena chuckled, shaking her head fondly. "Trust me, I'm one of the few who won't pull the wool over your eyes." He nodded before heaving a deep sigh, accepting the truth of the matter. If she's right, he'll be quick work if he sticks around. So he gathered his things as quietly as he could, but by that time, he could hear their fight beginning to wind down. Still, he crept towards the exit, praying they wouldn't notice.
"Just where are you off to?"
Of course they fucking noticed.
"I'm done training," he said curtly, glancing over his shoulder to call out, trying to play it casual. When he looked ahead, he stopped in his tracks with a choked gasp as Hermes stood blocking the exit.
"Actually, I don't think you are."
"Excuse me?" he asked, tossing his things to the side, knowing it's best to ditch them now than while he's running for his life.
"You have to get a full workout. You can't just hit the weights brother, cardio is very important," he practically purred, taking a step towards him. Heron took three steps back.
"I think I'm good-"
"No, he's right brother," Apollo spoke from behind, and he tensed up when he felt a large arm rest over his shoulders. He slipped out of the hold, stepping away and turning so he could keep both of them in his vision.
"Why so jumpy Heron? Did our dear sister warn you about us?" Hermes asked with a smirk. Heron didn't move a muscle, and that was all the confirmation they needed. "She knows us so well," he mused.
"I'd hope so. Otherwise we'd need to give her a little reminder," Apollo piped up.
"I think we should anyway. She did tip him off," Hermes shrugged nonchalantly.
"Guess it's settled then," Apollo agreed. As the pair spoke, Heron took off running across the field. They gave him a few more seconds to believe he had a fighting chance before they gave chase.
Heron came to a screeching halt when Hermes suddenly stood in his path and he turned on his heels. He screamed when he saw Apollo coming up from behind, and he made a B-line for the rows of seats. He jumped over the wall into the stand, heading towards the exit. Apollo paced him on the field while Hermes circled around from behind.
Apollo jumped into the stands with ease, quickly gaining on him. Heron should've known better than to look behind him. It was the same kind of fear as when you're up high, and you look down. A small scream escaped his throat and he ran even faster.
He was grabbed from behind, and panic surged through his body. He shot forward with God-like speed, breaking free of the hold. Hermes cut him off at the last second and he froze, caught between his half brothers.
"You're trying awfully hard to escape. You must be rather ticklish to go through this much trouble to avoid it," Hermes teased, flashing him a smirk. Heron took a step back.
"No, I just know you two are awful together," he justified with a smirk of his own.
"Thank you, you're too kind," Hermes hummed, taking another step towards him, and Heron took that as his cue to start running again.
"Great brother, you let him get away," Apollo rolled his eyes.
"Relax, it's not like he'll get very far," he quipped, dashing off and returning in less than a second with a struggling Heron in tow.
"Noho, let me gooo!" He leaned back as far as he could, running in place as he tugged on his trapped arm.
"Oh dear, laughing already?" Hermes cooed, chuckling at the blush that spread across Heron's face.
"No! Shut up!" he snapped defensively. He landed with a thud on the ground when Hermes let him go, watching Heron launch himself into the dirt with his own momentum.
"Is that any way to speak to your brother?" Apollo asked, crouching down to grab his arms while Hermes straddled his waist.
"I'm sorry! Let me go!" Heron put up a good fight, trying to get away. However, he had a twitchy, nervous smile and the struggling was mostly for show.
"No can do. See, you haven't gone through initiation yet," Hermes drawled, resting his hands on his sides. "I mean, are you really our brother if we haven't tickled you until you cry?"
"What?"
"Oh please, you're scaring him. Don't worry Heron, we'll stop once you beg for mercy. We're not animals."
"No way, I'm not gonna beg from a little tickling," he argued. His defiance was adorable.
"Won't you?" Hermes asked, arching a brow. Heron faltered in his confidence.
"No?"
"Oh my, you sound a bit unsure of yourself," Apollo spoke up smugly. "What's the matter, afraid you'll crack?" he taunted. Heron grunted and strained to pull his arms down, but they were firmly pinned beneath Apollo's knees.
"I won't!" he growled, kicking his legs against the ground. Hermes smirked down at him, leaning in a little closer.
"Let's test it then, shall we?"
Heron's eyes flew wide open and he shook his head. "Wait, that's not what I meant!"
Hermes threw his head back in a shrill, hysterical cackle of his own. "Oh dear, sweet, baby brother, there really is no escape. So you might as well just accept your fate now." As soon as he finished speaking, he began squeezing his sides softly, relishing in the way Heron jumped beneath his touch, yelping before biting down on his lip. Still holding onto the last shreds of his dignity, he shook his head.
"Oh good! I was so hoping you'd go down fighting," Hermes chirped, clawing just beneath his ribs.
Heron grit his teeth together, sealing his lips shut as tight as he could, but muffled giggles and shrieks still managed to make themselves known.
"I just love it when they try to hold it in, don't you?" Apollo teased, walking his fingers down his arms. Heron jerked under the touch, arms straining to come down. His breathing came in quick bursts through his nose, sounding more like laughter by the second.
"It's only one of the best parts," Hermes agreed before clawing at his stomach. Heron immediately crumbled at the touch, allowing loud belly laughs to escape. Hermes couldn't help but giggle at the reaction, "Aww, you really are a ticklish one, aren't you?"
Heron felt a blush rise to his cheeks, and he tried to hide his face in the crook of his arm. "SHUHUT UHUHUP!"
"I didn't hear a no," Apollo pointed out, scratching his bare armpits. Heron shrieked and arched his back before flailing uselessly beneath his half brothers.
"You're one toho tahahalk!" he managed to taunt back.
Apollo gasped loudly before drilling his thumbs in the center of his pits. Heron was thrown into hysterics, and the God had to raise his voice to be heard over frantic laughter, "You little shit! Just for that-" He didn't finish his sentence, instead he brushed Heron's hair away from his neck and took a deep breath.
"Wahahait! W-what ahahare you- AHAHAHAHA OHOH SHIHIHIT!" Heron tried to scrunch his neck to block the feeling as Apollo blew a raspberry on his neck. He pulled away, watching as Heron giggled and rubbed his neck with his shoulder, panting heavily to catch his breath. "Whahahat the hehell was thahat?"
"Oh? Don't tell me you've never had a raspberry before."
Heron scrunched his face, "That's what you call it?"
"Well, that's what humans are calling it," Hermes reasoned.
"Why?"
They both chuckled, and Heron felt his face grow warm. "I don't know. Say, you're half human, why don't you tell us?" Hermes asked with a smirk. Heron whined, tugging on his arms and bucking his hips.
"Just lehet me gooo! You're being mehehean!" he giggled, throwing his head back in defeat. The mischievous pair replied in unison.
"Oh I'll show you mean!"
"What? But we're being so nice!"
Hermes rolled up Heron's shirt, taking a deep breath just as Apollo had moments before. He shook his head, eyes wide with giddy fear as he realized what was coming.
"Nohoho wait! Please, I'm sorRYYYYY!" his pleading dissolved into a shrill squeal as the trickster God blew a raspberry in the center of his stomach. Heron kicked his legs and bucked as much as he could, snorting and cackling when Hermes blew another raspberry, followed by one on each side of his belly, still quivering with laughter.
"Plehehease! You're killing mehehehe!" he squealed, eyes shut tightly and nose scrunched adorably as he laughed.
"What? Come on, you can take a little tickling, can't you?" Apollo asked smugly, scratching behind his ears and earning a choked off giggle in response. "I mean, you're half God, so it would be pretty embarrassing if this was what did you in, after everything-"
"OHOHOKAHAY I GEHET IT! SHUT UP!"
"Oh, he gets angry when he's flustered. Good to know," Hermes noted with a smug smirk, clawing at his sides.
"Noho I dohohon't!" Heron argued, blushing profusely and trying to look at anything else besides the two Gods grinning down at him.
"Agree to disagree," he shrugged smugly. He moved down to squeeze his hips, and Heron bucked with a loud, giggly shriek.
"Ohoho shihihit! Nohot there, plehease!"
"Not there, you say?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. He squeezed his hips, making him thrash with another yelp. "See, when people say that, they usually mean it really tickles. So, is this a bad spot?"
"Ihihhi'll kihihill you!" Heron growled through his laughter. They both rolled their eyes.
"Sure you will. You look quite threatening with that smile plastered on your face," Hermes taunted.
Oh, that was the last straw. Heron summoned what little strength he could and thrust it out through his hands. He latched onto Apollo's knees where they were keeping his arms pinned and let the electricity flow from his fingertips, hoping for the best.
Suddenly, Apollo jumped back with a startled shriek of his own, rubbing his knees frantically. Hermes stared at him quizzically.
"What-"
"He used his damned lightning," he explained in a rush, cutting him off. He turned to look at Heron, hoping for a truce.
"I'll help hold him down if you promise to do that to him-"
"Excuse you, but what the fuck?" Hermes snapped, staring at Apollo with a look of utter betrayal.
Heron nearly choked on the air he was sucking in. He looked at him in bewilderment, furrowing his brows.
"You do know you'll be next, right?"
"Of course, I'm just biding my time, same as you. It's why you ran, is it not?"
"Just stop talking." When they looked up, Hermes was already halfway across the field. Apollo smirked and pointed at him.
"See, if he really wanted to escape, he'd be halfway to earth by now."
"I can still hear you!"
Apollo stood and stretched, "And yet, you don't hear him denying it." He smiled down at Heron and winked, offering a hand to help him up.
"No, you don't," Heron agreed with a genuine grin of his own.
"Well, he's waiting for us to catch up. So? What do you say?"
Heron just smirked and cocked his head before taking off in a sprint.
Want to make a brief address to the handful of individuals who are spreading gossips about me. Sorry for cluttering your feed with all this, but I'm done with being the scapegoat just because of someone's sick imagination
Certain people are spreading rumors about me, claiming that I'm a grооmеr and a реdорhilе. I usually ignore it or brush it off with a joke, like "yeah, i'm also hiding Hitler under my desk and imposed the idea of adding ads to asmr videos," but I'm tired of getting hate messages and being blocked by people who have absolutely no idea who I am and who believe this vile misinformation about me
Why are you doing this? I don't believe you want to help anyone, because you're spreading brazen lies about things that never happened. What is the goal of all this?
Some are saying I send sexual messages to minors:
Some are saying I requested 18+ fics involving kids from BNHA—a series I made comics for but have never even watched to ask content for:
NO. None of this ever happened. Never
I don't understand why people believe these smear campaigns and immediately rush to spread this further without even asking ME first: "is this true?". Coming back to this now:
If you ask me if I, as an adult, have ever talked about sexual things to minors, I will answer "yes". And it's important to understand that behind this "yes" aren't the motives someone's frightened mind is painting.
An adult and a minor is not necessarily a toddler and a rapist, if you think about it right away. It also can be 17 and 18/19 year old friends/classmates/groupmates. If we discussed moments from yaoi gacha or manga, that DOESN'T mean I was grooming them. Are you out of your mind? We're consuming content and having fun. I've been known these people for enough time and when I told them that some tumblr warriors want to protect them from me, they laughed
Talking to minors about sexual things was also part of my job as a counselor at a summer camp. When a girl started her period, but her parents didn't tell her what it was, I had to explain that and why women need it. It's called sex education, and it was written into my job description. Now we should cancel pediatricians and teachers?
Stop talking nonsense. If you are adults, then engage your critical thinking. If someone states that a person grооmеd someone, analyze the situation first. It's easy to be tricked by emotional posts, but each of you can become the object of slander, so put yourself in the other person's shoes. Enough with the pedohysteria and canceling everyone left and right just because you heard something out of the corner of your ear. It is this very behavior that is the scourge of the community, not your imaginary threats. I literally just draw art for the sake of tickling and chilling
Please stop accusing people of a serious crime over nothing more than hearsay!!
Seeing some people fling around certain words like it's nothing is making my stomach sick and my eyes bleed.
I normally do not engage in any kind of drama, but seeing this resurface and how badly it spiralled beyond control, reason, and comprehension really breaks my heart.
These are very serious allegations made and spread without proof! THINK! Before pointing your pitchfork at a person you've never met!!
Or spread rumours about someone out of thin air like it's a high school drama.
Authors Note: Thanks so much to @stopiteatpopcorn for inspiring me to continue and rework this fic! Your excitement over it changed it from a casual drabble to a full length fic that I'm honestly really happy with! And to my best friend @chibisstuff for listening to my constant ranting and helping me decide which title I wanted to go with. Love ya both!! <3
Summary: Epel makes a mistake in Spelldrive and accidentally wakes a certain lazy housewarden. The consequences are dire, but perhaps not so terrible as he expects!
Epel squealed, his accent in full effect as he kicked and squirmed under his upperclassman's weight, desperate to buck him off.
All of it had started earlier that morning, during Spelldrive practice. It was a nice day, so as usual, Leona had been sleeping under a tree nearby, taking an extended breaktime while everyone else ran drills. An overall normal practice really.
Epel had been feeling pretty good that day. More than good actually. Vil had a housewarden meeting early that morning so he hadn't had to listen to any lecturing, he'd gotten a good grade on his Alchemy test and even received praise from Professor Crewel for it!
His good fortune even seemed to have extended to Spelldrive during the first half of practice. He'd pulled off some new maneuvers flawlessly, scored a lot more points than usual, and overall had seemed to improve his overall control a lot. That is, until he'd gotten just a tad overzealous and threw the disc too hard. So hard that it missed it's mark entirely and veered off to the right.
Straight into Leona's face.
Epel would never forget that moment in his life, seeing the rightly angered Housewarden of Savanaclaw slowly sit up and lock eyes with him, while their teammates all pointed towards him as the culprit, his furious green gaze turning straight onto him.
What followed next was a bit of a blur. One minute he'd been midway through trying to stammer out an apology, and the next, he found himself shrieking and flailing in the grass with an extremely ticked off Leona hovering over him whilst he dug into his ribcage. He hadn't even seen him move!
"Eeeheeheek!!? N-Nohohohoo!" Epel would've liked to be able to say he was the type of person who could take it stoically, or at the very least, was able to somewhat fight it off effectively in order to maintain a semblance of his dignity in front of their teammates, but alas, that was not the case.
Instead, all he could manage to do was screech and wriggle in surprise under his captain's claws while he tried to vainly free himself from his grip, and even that privilege was soon taken away from him when Leona eventually seemed to quickly tire of his constant thrashing and gestured Ruggie over, who jogged over with a knowing smirk.
"Oi. Ruggie." Leona grumbled, pausing his attack and scowling a little as he struggled to try and get the annoying first year to uncurl from his protective little ball. "Keep the cub still would'ya? His squirmin' is gettin' on my nerves."
"You got it Boss~! Shyehehe!" Ruggie replied, pliant to his housewarden's whims as ever, and Epel watched through mirthful tears as the other beastman jogged over, ignoring his underclassman's pleading for him not to.
Already anticipating that the hyena might try and pull his arms up over his head, Epel tensed himself up as much as he could in preparation for a struggle as Ruggie's mischievous expression came into view, fully intending to at least put up a fight for his pride's sake.
Ruggie snorted, clearly amused by the first year's weak attempt at self defense as he leaned over him, and instead of making a grab for his wrist or trying to pin his shoulders down, all he did was snicker. How cute this little first year was!
"Hey Epel?" He greeted teasingly, waiting a moment until the younger finally looked up at him, then winked while pointing to the corners of his own wide smile, "Laugh with me~!"
With a smug grin, Ruggie casually raised his arms up and interlaced his fingers together behind his head, and he couldn't help but laugh at the horrified look on Epel's face as he was magically forced to imitate the pose against his will. The heck?!
"E-Eh?!... What in the- how are ya doin' that?!- Eeheeheep?!!" The violet haired boy squawked bewilderment as he felt that invisible force tugging his arms upward, kicking his legs out in a frankly hilarious display of panic when he seemed to realize the full scale of his predicament. Was this Ruggie's signature spell or something?! No way! This had to be cheating!!
If it was though, neither Ruggie nor Leona seemed to care as they both hovered over him, Leona's fingertips already poised over his stomach and making him giggle in fearful anticipation while Ruggie just stood there and watched. Keeping his magic active so that no matter how hard he tried, Epel simply couldn't bring his arms down, as if there were invisible puppet strings keeping him in place.
Leona smirked a little as his fingers twitched down to teasingly tug at the hem of his shirt, and Epel gasped, eyes widening as he rapidly shook his head in protest, a plea already slipping past his lips. He hated to beg, but this? This was one situation that called for it!
"L-Leona-san, please... Please no! N-nohohot thahahahat!! EeeyaaAHAHAA!! AHAHA NOOHOHO!! I'M SOHOHORRYEHEHE!!" He shrieked as soon as his fingers started tapping against his bare stomach, bucking around for as much as Leona's weight and Ruggie's magic would allow him to. He could even hear a few of their other teammates snickering at him before they went back to practice, leaving poor Epel to his fate. How embarrassing!
"Shyeehehe!! That's what you get for hitting Leona-san in the face! What even was that throw~?" Ruggie teased, and Epel couldn't help but to whine through his laughter, snorting when Leona's fingertips dug into his bottom most set of ribs. This sucked!
"Ehehehehehahaha!! I'm sohohohorryehehehe!! Plehehease!!" He whined, thumping his heels in the grass hysterically. Honestly what had he been thinking? He hadn't thrown anything that far off target since he first started playing! His aim was normally way better than that! He'd gotten cocky, and now his moment of carelessness had landed him here!
Leona, for his part, hadn't actually said much of anything this whole time, expression unchanging as he oh so easily went about the task of driving Epel's nerves up the wall. Yet for all his annoyance at the younger student for waking him, a small part of him couldn't help but find the younger boy's giggly mewling a little bit cute. Just a little. And, perhaps, he could admit, that not all kids were completely unbearable...
The entire thing was terribly embarrassing for the poor Pomefiore student. No matter how hard he tried, Epel simply couldn't break free of Ruggie's magic in order to fight back, and even if he could, he highly doubted it would be any use anyhow. Leona-san was simply too far out of his league to escape from without some serious assistance.
Just as he began to consider the humiliating thought of calling out and begging their teammates for help, Leona surprisingly seemed to decide on his own to have some mercy and let up, signaling casually for Ruggie to let him go as he stood up and stretched, yawning lazily as if he hadn't just half murdered one of his underclassmen in the middle of practice.
"Oi!" The Savanaclaw Housewarden shouted, waiting a moment until he had the full undivided attention of their whole team before he spoke, "Any of you herbivores hit me and wake me up again, and I'll get you twice as bad as I did him, got it?" He warns, glaring them all down threateningly and waiting for them to nod their understanding in various stages of terror and pity as they looked down upon their poor fallen teammate, before shooting Epel one last hard stare and walking away to continue his nap. Gone just as quickly as he'd come.
The second he was gone, Epel slumped into the grass and groaned, arms tossed over his face in embarrassment, already debating whether or not he should call it a day before he let out a small squeak when he felt a teasingly gentle poke on his stomach.
He peeked an eye open to see, and then pouted a bit when he saw it was Ruggie squatting there next to him, grinning as he offered him a hand up. And he at least had the decency to look like he felt a bit bad while he helped him to his feet.
"Shyehehe! Geez, he really gotcha good huh?" He snickered while he helped the first year to his feet, "Come on. As repayment for helping out Leona-san, I'll getcha something to drink from the vending machine, just don't go telling the others about my generosity, yeah?"
He offers before running off ahead, and Epel can't help but to smile despite himself as he chases after him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to miss a throw or two in the future after all...
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