#dottie writes

[polkadottedpie]

Chell as a Regressor with GLaDOS as a Caregiver from Portal

Since Chell already doesn’t speak, it’s rather difficult to tell at first glance when she regresses. However, GLaDOS is familiar enough with her testing methods to notice the difference. She gets distracted more easily, and once had a very close call when she apparently tried to play peek-a-boo with a turret.

Ever since, GLaDOS has kept a careful eye on Chell’s testing speed and focus, and whenever there is a significant dip below average, she will make a point to either replace any turrets in upcoming tests with defective ones or remove them entirely. Acid pits will also have to go, just in case.

The aerial faith plates stay, though! In fact, they are added in excess. Chell loves flying through the air and bouncing on them like a trampoline.

Once GLaDOS set up a testing chamber that was just one really long chain of faith plates going back and forth across the room and it honestly was hours and hours before she could convince Chell to move on to the next one.

GLaDOS had to install a wireless override/child lock for the portal gun to turn it off herself because little Chell will make those infinity fall tunnels and then get stuck and make herself sick.

Every cube becomes a companion cube to Chell when she’s little. She’ll go to them or spawn them right from the beginning of the chamber and then carry them around the room as she solves the test, then pitches a fit when she can’t take them with her to the elevator.

GLaDOS is still adamant about the testing rules even when Chell is little, so these tantrums over the cubes get very tedious. It’s partially a safety issue, and partially that GLaDOS doesn’t want to set a precedent that Chell can get whatever she wants just because she’s little.

Whenever Chell throws a particularly bad tantrum over the cubes, GLaDOS makes sure that the next test doesn’t have any cubes at all. If Chell can’t be safe and follow the rules, then she doesn’t get to play with the cubes, simple as that.

However, whenever she is good about leaving them behind, the next chamber always has more cubes and even the special mirror cubes with (alternative, non-lethal) lasers to play with as a special treat.

Chell notices this pattern over time and starts “putting the cubes to bed” at the end of each test, tucking them safely right next to the door and pretending to tuck them in for nuh-night. It helps her cope with having to leave them behind.

After a while of good behavior with the cubes, GLaDOS surprises Chell with an extra-special treat in the next chamber: all the cubes ARE companion cubes now, complete with the little heart design! Chell gets so excited over it and ends up playing with them in the chamber for hours, stacking them up and climbing on them and everything in between.

When she finally does finish the test properly and gets ready to leave, she almost throws another tantrum when GLaDOS reminds her that she can’t take the cubes with her. She’s huffy over it for a minute, but eventually tucks all her cube friends in the corner to put them to bed like she learned to do.

She’s happy to discover that every cube in every chamber she’s little in after that continues to have the companion cube design.

[dottie-writes-haikyuu]

Crack and Crumble

This is chapter 14 of my infection apocalypse au! More chapters and extra info here.

Not everyone can handle the pressure of the apocalypse. And with enough cracks, anything, no matter how sturdy, will begin to crumble.

Hinata Shouyou was not an idiot. He had never been an idiot. Now in the apocalypse, he ran things smoothly. Efficiently. His authority was rarely questioned and his people got things done. They were living, as much as anyone could live during the apocalypse.

He had the rugrats watched through the night, he had everything prepared for first thing in the morning. Executions bright and early. Subject 8 didn’t sleep that night, nor did it let go of Tobio until it was sedated, and even after that it just whined throughout the night, limp against the wall.

Pathetic. But malleable. It didn't need to be anything more. It was better being so pitiful. Maybe it was finally losing some fight. Maybe it would finally stop being stubborn and let them do what was best for everyone. Because, like it or not, Shouyou was getting this goddamn cure. No matter what he had to do to get it. No matter who he hurt.

Seven rugrats. Selfish, all of them. Willing to let their cure escape. It disgusted him. Tobio was acting strange, too. He seemed more nervous, more quiet. He had other things to worry about, though, such as when the sun rose he had extremities to cut off and traitors to execute. A team to keep under control. Examples to be made. He couldn't let this be an inspiration, after all. He stopped in the doorway of the lab where Tobio had the laptop, speaking to Subject 8 in his usual clipped tone.

“One message. That is all. Your fucking escape stunt last night ruined your chance of getting more.”

That was a lie. It wouldn't have gotten any, until perhaps the end of its time at Messenger, but Tobio had coaxed it into cooperation with the promise of one. It said nothing, now, as it always did. It looked like a dull version of itself, but all Hinata saw was a vessel. A saving grace. A cure waiting to be extracted.

Then the floodgates opened the moment Tobio began recording.

“Keiji, love, I miss you,” it started, its voice breaking. Hinata almost felt bad, recognizing the pain of being without one’s lover. He shook himself out of it quickly. This was necessary. “They, uhm, they…made me something else. Tell my sisters I love them, and…make sure Kenma..y'know. And keep Kuroo and everyone in line, please. If…when I get back..everything should be in order, y'know? But let them help you too, please, and I think Five had a virus before I left. I love you so much. So much. I hope you'll still– nevermind, I'll see you when I come back. I love you.”

The message was likely sent and then the laptop was pushed to the side. Each “I-love-you” had sounded desperate, pleading, and how curious that was. Maybe it knew that no one would want it how it was now. Not before it had given its proper dues to the cycle, the vicious machine that was the apocalypse. The apocalypse always collected on its debts and no one was immune. And if it shirked out of its payment, then what would that make it? Useless, pathetic, to anyone. Certainly not noble. Shouyou shrugged it off and walked away. Business had to be tended to.

—

The laptop chiming registered numbly in Keiji’s mind, Kenma not even glancing towards it, but Kuroo opened it, and turned back to look at the two. Keiji, when not working, was hardly mentally present. His mind conjured up scenarios about the horrors happening to his Koutarou, kept him occupied.

“Go get Kai and Eve,” Kuroo said, his voice a little strained. “It's a message from Bo.”

Keiji scrambled over to the laptop immediately upon hearing his boyfriend’s name, only being caught by the taller ravenette. Maybe they were letting him go. Maybe, finally, this would all be over.

“Kenma, his sisters,” Kuroo insisted, soothing a hand up and down Keiji’s spine. “Soon, alright? They need to hear whatever it is, too.”

He was close enough to the screen to see what the text above the recording said:

Your first and only message from Subject 8. It would have killed itself, otherwise. Make sure you make your response good, and maybe it’ll cooperate and we can get it back to you faster.

His stomach turned. But he would get to hear Koutarou's voice again, and that was enough to almost soothe him. With Kenma, Kai, and Eve came Yukie and Kaori, all of them crowding the laptop. The message began playing and they all heard how Koutarou’s voice trembled, and Keiji didn't even want to try to understand what ‘made me something else’ meant. Of course he'd make sure Kenma didn't relapse; that was hardly even a question.

“Keep them in line” was more a request for them all to take care of each other, and then the phrase came around.

“Five had a virus.”

Security around him was high, then. When the message ended, he found himself in Kuroo’s arms, the taller ravenette rubbing circles in Kenma’s shoulder. Eve sighed, holding Kai tightly. Yukie and Kaori both began to speak, then Kaori said what they were likely both thinking.

“We should reply. And we have to start planning for getting him out, even though we aren’t going to until probably the next supply run. Since security’s tight, maybe slip in something that’ll tell him to coax at least one more message out of them. We can't wait much longer, especially since we don't even know what the fuck they're planning on doing to him.”

Keiji made himself nod, then pressed record after a steadying breath.

“I miss you too, Kou. More than anything. And we’re gonna…we’re waiting for you, and we’ll all be here when you get back,” he assured. “I’ll try to remember if Five’s still infected, alright? I love you, baby, always.”

Kai was quick to jump in.

“No matter what, Koutarou, we’ll always want you to come home,” she said firmly. “We miss you so much.”

“But whatever they’re doing to you over there, remember where home is, alright?” Eve added, her voice trembling a little. “We love you so, so much, Kou.”

“You’d better still be an ass-kicking badass when you come back or else I'll have to take your spot,” Kuroo threatened, his voice only breaking once. Kenma said one thing and one thing only, guilt-ridden and weighted.

“I’m sorry.”

Yukie was quick to interject with a change of subject.

“Lev’s complaining about having to pull his weight now.”

All of them let out slightly wet laughs at that and Kuroo gave a horrible impression:

“Why do I have to handle the rugrats now? They’re so rowdy, I miss Bokuto…wah wah wah…”

That dragged a small, genuine laugh out of Akaashi, despite the ache still in his chest.

Maybe things would be fine eventually, after all. Maybe...maybe this was something they could get through.

—

Tobio had been very good at turning off his emotions, his mind, and simply following; and that was what he did now, helping his boyfriend set up for all seven executions today. He hardly registered his feelings of confliction, doubt, concern, panic and confusion, last night. He had bigger things to worry about, like what Shouyou wanted from him. The ginger filled him with a small discomfort, for some reason, but it was pushed to the side and ignored in favor of doing what he was useful for.

He blocked out the image of BokutoSubject 8 last night, the sounds it had made, the desperate expression on its face. The way he had questioned just for a second if what they were doing was right. Of course it was. Hinata wouldn't be insisting on it if it were wrong. Subject 8 was just...in distress. It didn't understand the bigger picture. Anyone would be suffering with what was being done to it. But it would be grateful when the apocalypse finally ended.

Perhaps a job done right would wipe the feeling away. It wasn't like he'd never felt it before, but doing what Shouyou wanted made things go back to normal. So he listened to the man’s enraged ranting, putting in little agreements whether he agreed or not. Sat through the yelling and hysterics, and hoped the apocalypse hadn’t finally broken Hinata.

Sat through the executions with a straight face, the screams echoing in his head even when they fell silent. The bloodshed that was put on display like some grand spectacle to facilitate obedience.

Silently, softly, wished for his Shouyou back.

Previous Chapter

[angels-haikyuu-agere]

Home

((Ft Cg Iwa, Kunimi, and Kindaichi, little Oikawa and Kageyama, & puppy regressor Kyoutani ))

Tooru couldn’t sit still as Hajime buckled his seatbelt for him. He was bouncing in place, Clarke in his hands as the brute started the car.

“You excited to see Tobio and Kyoutani?”

He nodded vigorously. They were coming home!!! Volleyball season was done and so the two were flying back (Tooru’s ended before theirs and Hajime had recently taken leave for mental health reasons), and the little and the pet regressor stayed regressed for a long time once the season ended to let out all the stress acquired during it.

Tooru was beyond excited to see his brothers, he’d missed them so much and there were so many games he wanted to play with the other regressors.

By the time that they pulled up to the airport, the brunette was literally buzzing with excitement, his carer chuckling as he parked.

“What are our airport rules, buddy?”

“Hold hands, don’t yell, and sit and be patient,” he listed out, causing the shorter to lean over and kiss his forehead.

“Good job. Cmon.”

The airport was always loud. Tobio and Kyoutani always met them in the same spot. Tooru always got a small strawberry milkshake to wait, and this time he was playing Like a Dino on his phone while he sat next to Hajime.

“When’s bubba and Kyoken coming?” he asked for probably the tenth time.

“In ten minutes, bud.”

He sighed heavily. This would be a long wait.

—

Tobio didn’t stay big for very long, once he got off his last plane. It wasn’t even on purpose. Kyoutani held his hand and rolled his own luggage with the other hand, Kageyama faring similarly. He had Julie’s leash in his hand, too, the service dog trotting dutifully beside him.

The blonde led him to where Hajime and Tooru were waiting, and he immediately felt himself start slipping. Hajime asked Tooru to help with the luggage, automatically in walk-and-talk mode. Kyoutani wasn’t in puppy space, but he went non verbal at the sight of their caregiver, like he normally did at the end of every season.

The other simply smiled or hummed at any words that flew out of Tooru’s mouth, Hajime having them all link arms and starting for the exit.

It was mainly a race against the fuzziness overtaking Tobio’s head, to avoid a meltdown in the airport. Yes, Julie would help some, but it was still inconvenient.

They got all the bags into the trunk of the vehicle just before Tobio fully slipped, by which point Julie was settled too and Kyoutani was buckling his seatbelt for him. Hajime handed him a blue pacifier and his squid plushie, Price, which he hugged to his chest. Kyoutani was handed a teether and his well-loved stingray plushie, Kara.

Kyoutani settled, Tooru’s chatter filling up the car ride. Tobio didn’t try to catch it all, as that was a pointless task. He simply floated around in his own brain, eventually falling asleep.

—

Hajime wasn’t stupid enough to not call for backup for the first day having everyone home. Mattsun and Makki normally helped out, but today Kunimi and Sugawara were waiting when he pulled into the driveway. Kunimi unbuckled Tooru, waking the little up gently, and then doing the same for Kyoutani and Tobio. He brought all of them inside, as well as Julie, while Suga helped Hajime unload all of the luggage in the back. Tooru was around 4 or 5 while Tobio was probably 3 at the biggest.

The brute rolled the last of the bags inside, then went to find the little gear for Tobio and Kyoutani’s collar. The mentioned blonde was already barking, having jumped on Tooru who was giggling and patting the other’s head.

“I missed you too, Kyoken,” the brunette assured. Tobio was sitting on the couch, watching, as his pacifier bobbed in his mouth. He was petting Julie and kicking his feet idly. Kyoutani glanced up at the ravenette, whose iPad was being searched for by Kunimi.

Tooru looked up, too, waving at Tobio eagerly.

“Hihi baby!!!”

Tobio stared for a few moments, processing slower than normal with his smaller headspace, before he giggled, letting out some babbles and waving back. He found the collar and a pull-up for Tobio, as well as a rattle and a pacifier clip.

He handed Tobio’s gear to Suga, then turned to Kyoutani, who was currently in a game of tug of war with Tooru.

“Kyoken,” Hajime called, the blonde still growling and pulling the teether that Tooru held. The brute sighed, smiling slightly. He clicked his tongue twice.

“Kyoken, collar,” he tried again, watching the pet regressor perk up and let the teether fall from his mouth. Kyoutani turned to him, and Hajime snapped two times, kneeling and then patting the floor in front of him. “Cmon, collar.”

This was the one thing the puppy ever would cooperate for, normally not the best listener. But the blonde crawled over, sitting back on his heels to let himself be collared. It wasn’t an actual collar, it was a (dully) spiked black choker. After Hajime put it on, he pet the other’s head.

“Good puppy.”

“Kyoken,” Tooru called, the blonde turning at the sound of Tobio babbling.

“Pubby!!”

Tobio was reaching for Kentarou, and it seemed that Kunimi or Suga had let Julie outside. At his little brother calling him so politely, the blonde went over, barking a bit quieter than he did at Tooru or Hajime. The ravenette pet him, before picking up one of the stuffies reserved specifically for fetch, then tossed it.

“Pubby go get!!”

Immediately, the pet regressor was after it. Tooru gasped.

“I wanna throw it next!!!”

Kyoutani narrowly avoided colliding with the wall before he scrambled back to where the two littles were waiting. Tobio pet the blonde again, before Tooru threw the plushie again. Kyoutani chased it, then saw the sliding glass door to the backyard open and darted out. Normally, it would be fine, but Hajime had spotted some sticker weeds out there a few days ago and running around on all fours was probably not the best decision.

“Kyoken, inside!” Hajime called, going out immediately. The other simply growled, then jolted, withdrawing one of his hands to clutch to his chest immediately. The brunette sighed heavily, having anticipated this. The pet regressor whined and started to tear up.

Tooru, as if he’d sensed the injury, came running.

“Oh! Oh, is Kyoken hurt? Papa, he’s hurt! Papa, can I go get the lion ice pack he likes a lot ‘n his paci?”

“Yeah, that should be good, love. You go take care of that, Kunimi can help.”

The little ran back inside and Hajime rooted through his cargo pockets for his finger puppets. He found the lion ones pretty quickly, and popped them into his pointer and thumb as he walked over to the pet regressor who was curled up now with his hand clutched to his chest. Hajime sighed yet again, then clicked his tongue twice.

“Up, puppy,” he said, and Kyoutani reached out and allowed the brunette to hold him on his hip. “Lemme see.”

The now sniffling regressor presented his hand. There was in fact a sticker in it.

“Aww, it’s okay, Haji’s gonna fix it. Let’s get ya inside, hm?” he asked, then presented the two fingers with the lion puppets on them, moving them as if they were talking to each other as he headed inside.

Kyoutani barked, seemingly distracted for now as Hajime went into the bathroom to grab the tweezers and some antiseptic and then presented the blonde with bandaid choices. He had a wide selection of themed bandaids. Kyoutani chose the bone themed ones, so Hajime picked out a black bandaid with bones on it and then went to the nursery and sat on the floor.

He set the pet regressor down and Tooru came scrambling into the room with Kunimi, who held Tobio on his hip.

“He didn’t want me to put him down, so,” Kunimi sighed. Tooru thrust the ice pack his way, then the pacifier— a green one with a black and white shield —and then went to sit by Kyoutani. Hajime held up the pacifier to the blonde, who took it.

“Kyoken, it’s okay! Papa’s gonna take out the ouchie,” the brunette assured. He seemed to be slipping into his older sibling headspace as he held Kyoutani’s good hand. “squeeze if you get scared or if it hurts. Like this.”

Tooru squeezed the pet regressor’s hand. Tobio simply looked on, pacifier still in his mouth as he fiddled with the drawstrings of Kunimi’s hoodie.

“Alright, I’m gonna take it out,” Hajime announced. Kyoutani squeezed Tooru’s hand lightly.

“But be gentle!” Tooru reminded him nervously. “Kyoken, close your eyes. If you see, it hurts worse.”

Kentarou squeezed his eyes shut and Tooru rubbed his shoulder with his free hand. Hajime took the tweezers and pulled the sticker out. It was over relatively quickly, and Hajime swiped over the injury with a little bit of antiseptic.

“All done! Kyoken, done now!” Tooru chimed.

The blonde hesitantly opened his eyes, looking at his hand and watching Hajime put the bandaid on.

“See? All better,” the brute said, and the puppy regressor relaxed a bit. Tobio hummed, Kunimi bouncing him lightly as he played with the man’s hair.

Hajime sighed. The first day having everyone back home was always the roughest. They’d been here for, what, 30 minutes? Kunimi grimaced when Tobio pulled his hair.

“Ow,” he said, a bit over exaggerated to cue the little in that he shouldn’t do that. It worked, as Kageyama almost instantly stopped.

“Can I play with Tobio?” Tooru questioned, pointing at the little who was probably around 1 at the moment. The ravenette, at hearing his name, looked over. Tooru waved, smiling when the other waved back.

“Yeah, go ahead. He’s gettin’ antsy anyways. Should I call Julie up?” the last question was more directed towards Hajime as he set Tobio down and Tooru grabbed a rubber ball.

“I think he’s good,” the brute replied, watching Tobio hit the ball experimentally before rolling it back over. “We don’t really have her up here unless we have to, because we aren’t exactly puppy proofed up here, but he seems fine for now.”

Kyoutani ran downstairs, and then a few thuds were heard. Hajime grimaced before hearing a good number of excited barks.

His roommates were…a handful. For sure. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.

[dottie-writes-tmnt]

Two Sides of Two Coins

This is part 6 of my fic A New Kind of Familiar. Tags and other chapters can be found here!

Ruby felt at home among all the chaos and people like himself. Red saw his awe and chuckled, patting his leg.

Cw for attempted suicide

Watching that portal close, Leo stood, wide eyed, for a few moments, staring at where his brother had just been. Mikey whimpered beside him, staring at the same spot.

“Raphy…?”

“Donnie, what did you do?” he questioned lowly. Fishface looked perplexed but he couldn’t find it in himself to even care about the villain right now.

“I-I— it was an accident! I told him to move! We all did! Mikey pressed the button, but he had ample enough time to get out of the way!” the genius defended, voice high and squeaky in a way that it hadn’t been in years. Mikey was shaking, and seemingly braced for something. The eldest shook his head.

“Get us home. You have to figure out this mess.”

This was his fault and he knew it, but he couldn’t let any of that show in front of his brothers, he had to force his breathing to stay even, keep his fists unclenched, voice unconcerned, shaking limbs stiff. This was his fault. He didn’t have the right to get upset about it.

 

—

 

Donnie breathed a stream of curses, pulling into the Shell Raiser’s parking spot, and he felt Leo’s icy stare fall on his back.

“I’ll get started on a portal device right now. Don’t expect me to be at dinner,” he murmured, turning off the vehicle and getting out.

He knew this was his fault, he didn’t need Leo to start saying it. He’d get their brother back no matter what it cost him. He just needed time…

He could work away the sudden ugly thing eating away at his chest, leaving a swirling black void in its wake. If Mikey came into his lab crying every so often, who could really blame him for snapping?

It wasn’t like he wanted to. His head pounded and his eyes burned with unshed tears and every time he did it, and it hurt somewhere in that black hole he called a heart. But he couldn’t help it.

 

He had to get their brother back.







—





Mikey wiped his tears as he watched Leo storm over to Donnie’s lab, deciding to chase after the eldest.

“Leo, just leave him alone, if you mess with him it’ll throw him off his game,” he tried. Leo rolled his eyes.

“He must already be off of his game. It’s been a fucking week.”

“Just—“

“Mikey, screw off— “

They both fell silent when they opened the lab doors to see the genius slumped over.

“See? He’s sleeping instead of working on getting Raph back!”

“I— Leo, we need sleep to function,” he said, slightly confused.

It was no matter, though, because his big brother was already making his way over to Donnie and shaking him. Mikey just left before they could start arguing.

 

And then, a few weeks later when Mikey walked into Donnie’s lab to try to get him to eat something like he did every few days, and the sound of shattering glass reverberated through the lair?

When Mikey stared, wide eyed, at the amount of red on the floor and saw his big brother unconscious in the middle of it all, and started sobbing? When he screamed for Leo, for his older brother, running over to Donnie and shaking all over, and the only thing Leo had to say as he fixed the genius up was how selfish their brother was being?

Well, Mikey simply had to tune the blue-banded turtle out and wipe his tears. Leo was like this before, too, but he thought the eldest was better now. He supposed Raph being gone changed things.

“I miss you, Raphie,” he whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed that Donnie was still unconscious in, the heart monitor beeping. Leo had left a while ago. “Please come back.”

 

——

 

Ruby had never been to a pride parade before, and honestly? What the fuck was he supposed to expect?

“Guys, get ready, we leave in 30!” Raph called, and Leo shoved Ruby into his new room.

“Hurry up and get dressed! We all have to convince Barry to go with us,” the slider hissed, before leaving.

Ruby shrugged after a moment, putting on a jacket he’d modified a few days ago; it had all his pins and a few patches on it, so it seemed perfect. By the time he made his way to the pit, Raph was hoisting him up onto his shoulders.

“Barry said yes, so we’re going to the Hidden City. Cmon, buddy.”

 

And holy shit, there was a city full of mutants (Raph said they preferred the term ‘yokai’, which was weird because yokai were evil) underneath New York. A rabbit joined them at some point and Leo stuck to the newcomer’s side like glue. There were so many sounds and sights and colors and…

Ruby felt at home among all the chaos and people like himself. Red saw his awe and chuckled, patting his leg.

“It’s a lot, isn’t it, buddy?”

“In a good way, yeah,” he breathed, simply marveling for a while.

Raph gave a fond laugh, letting Ruby down when he asked and allowing the turtle to run around after a while.

And that’s when he met him. A lizard yokai with silver scales, dustings of gold scattered all over their figure, and yellow eyes that seemed to pierce his very soul.

The definition of gender envy, in short. And Ruby hated getting gender envy because it emulated a crush very closely.

“Hi there, I like your jacket,” the stranger said with a smile, and Ruby found his cheeks heating up the longer he stared at that perfect smile.

He knew this was gender envy, though, because his mind was focused on comparisons. Even so, he stammered out a few incomprehensible words before he got himself together.

“Thanks. Uh, what— name—“ Great, he was embarrassing himself. “What’s your name?”

The other had an amused smile, tilting his head.

“Mateo. What about you?”

“I’m Ruby. I like your scales, the pattern is nice.”

“Thank you. You have a very pretty name.”

“Thanks.”

He smiled, a genuine one this time, and watched the other’s face soften. Maybe some good would come out of this whole situation after all.

 

—

 

“Ruby made a friend,” Mikey murmured beside him, pointing to where the terrapin was talking with a lizard. Donnie hummed.

“That’s nice,” he said, completely genuine.

“Speaking of friends, have you found yours? I know they said they’d meet us here, but you haven’t gone off yet.”

“Ah, they’re sick. I will be visiting them after to curse all people in a relationship because it is not me. Bitter solidarity until death.”

Mikey snorted.

“Just be home before curfew, Dee.”

“Okay, Raph.”

The box turtle jumped at him, wrapping around his midsection and sticking his tongue out. Donnie wrapped an arm around his younger brother to support him, rolling his eyes.

Leo had run off with Usagi a while ago. Raph was nowhere near, likely speaking with his yokai friend he’d picked up a while ago, a caiman with dark scales and blue patterned spots. April and Cassandra had run off somewhere to be menaces, Raph only yelling at them to keep destruction of property to a minimum.

The two were best friends and their own natural disaster if left unchecked. Casey Jr. had gone with them to supervise while Draxum took Splinter shopping in hopes of finding the rat a cloaking brooch. His father missed seeing his face in the mirror some days.

Mikey jumped off, smiling at the softshell.

“So, what do you think, Nattie?”

The purple-coded turtle smiled.

“It’s the best thing ever.”

Previous chapter | Next chapter

[glimmerpup]

Cupcake

I couldn’t take it anymore. Everyone’s eyes on me, scanning each of my moves. I was trapped, and I needed to escape. Running back to Thor’s bedroom, I collapsed onto the bed. Yanking my backpack over to me and pulling out my stuffed companion. Cupcake, my best plush friend. Squeezing her little paws, holding her against my chest to bring me back to reality. Holding back my tears, wanting to spill after being filled to the brim with anxious thoughts. I stroked the fur on her soft ears slowly, along with each of my breaths. Just as I was about to place her back in my bag and attempt to face the crowds again, a sound yanked me away from my thoughts.

The bedroom doors opening, and Thor entering his room. I had no idea why I wasn’t expecting him to wonder where I had gone off to. My stomach tightened, and I curled up in a pathetic ball on the bed. Attempting to hide Cupcake with my body. Yet, instead of the frustration that I expected in Thor’s expression there was only soft concern. He rushed to my side, noticing one of the tears streaming down my cheek.

“Dottie! Are you alright?” He placed his hand on the center of my back, which I knew I should’ve been used to but I still gasped. “Were you hurt?”

“Oh it’s...really it’s nothing. Sorry if I worried you!” I sat back up, forgetting that I was still holding Cupcake.

“Please, tell me if anyone offended you. I, even as your fake partner should be there to protect you.” He moved his hand up to my shoulder, and I unconsciously leaned into his touch.

“Yknow, I can take care of myself plenty.” I huffed, before cracking into a giggle. “Thank you, though. I was scared you’d be mad at me for running away like that...”

“Never! This was plenty to ask of you to begin with, I would never scold you for needing time on your own. Just...if you do not mind...would you inform me next time that you need time alone? I was searching the halls of the palace in quite a frenzy.” He chuckled softly, but I could tell that he truly was worried moments ago.

“Of course! Now that I know you’re okay with it...” I let out a sigh of relief.

Without realizing, I had gone back to stroking Cupcake’s ears. They were down-turned and fluffy, easy to take into my hand. When I was a child I remembered running my hands along carpet and sheet samples at furniture stores, rubbing her ears brought me back to that innocent mindset. Calming me down significantly in moments of extreme stress, giving me the strength I needed to think through tough situations. Suddenly, I noticed that Thor had his hand cupped around one of her paws. I gasped, pulling away and ducking my head.

“Did I hurt you?” He tilted his head.

“No, no it’s just...I’m sorry I should’ve put her away ages ago! Just gimme a second.” I scrambled to find my backpack.

“Dottie, Dottie...” He placed his hand on my back once again, making me stop in place. “Keep her out, I have no issue with her. She’s quite charming, actually. May I learn the young maiden’s name?”

“You...really don’t have a problem with it?” I turned to face him, blushing when his ocean blue eyes met mine.

“Not at all. Why would I? She is a toy, not a weapon!” He hesitantly reaches towards her, and I brought his hand to one of her ears. “How soft...I understand why you find her so appealing.”

“Well...her name’s Cupcake! You better treat her right!” I grinned, squeezing her tummy.

“Of course...it is a pleasure to meet you, Cupcake.” He kissed one of her paws gently.

“Y-you big dummy...” I blushed, despite my smile not shrinking in the slightest.

[polkadottedpie]

Ouma Kokichi as a Vent Regressor

CW: canon typical horror (character death, the killing game, gore, etc.), vent regression/regression from trauma, repression, anxiety, trust issues

Wrote this because I've never seen Kokichi agere content in the actual context of the killing game, which is fair, but it was a concept I actually wanted to think about just for myself. Mentions of Amami Rantaro as a big brother-esque caregiver before his death.

Ouma Kokichi has never been one to allow himself to be vulnerable in front of just anybody, and that goes doubly for his regression. He doesn’t understand exactly what it is, so he doesn't have an exact age range, but he knows he’s not at 100% when it happens and that’s cause for concern. It’s hard to play the part of the Ultimate Supreme Leader of Evil when your head is foggy and you feel so small and your lies get worse and controlling your emotions gets harder.

In a place as dark and scary as the killing game, though, there’s nothing Kokichi can do to prevent the headspace from bubbling up along with all the despair and anguish he’s forced to experience as things continue to escalate. So, if he can’t hide this vulnerability away, the only solution he has is to bury it with more and more lies to obscure it from everyone in plain sight.

Thankfully, it’s easy to hide even the worst lie when you’re already known to be a liar. Kokichi swings hard in the direction of acting like a child, even when he’s not regressed, so everyone just sees him as childish in general. He pokes fun at others, plays practical jokes, breaks out the waterworks at every opportunity, he doesn’t take the game seriously at all, all to both cope with the situation and blur the line between his big self and his regressed self so none will be the wiser.

This becomes a bit of a double-edged sword, as throwing himself into the spoiled brat schtick only makes it easier for the haze of regression to roll in, especially when Monokuma first establishes the First Blood motive and time limit and things start to get serious. He does his best to scrounge up what clues about the killing game he can, but any time he’s forced to interact with one of his classmates and he has to turn up the kiddie act, the danger of potentially triggering himself looms in the back of his mind.

It’s dear Amami-kun, sharp as a tack and ever vigilant around his peers, who picks up on Kokichi’s behavior first.

Out of all of his classmates, Amami-kun was most partial to Kokichi for how his lies always twist the group towards the greater good at his own expense. He’s seen how serious Kokichi can be when he called Akamatsu-chan out at the Death Road of Despair when no one else would. It puzzles and intrigues him as to why he’d insist on acting so childish the rest of the time.

Amami-kun begins to notice how Kokichi’s behavior fluctuates, the thematic differences from his obnoxious kiddie act overshadowing the more genuine flashes of a frightened child looking for comfort and distraction. He may not remember much about himself, but he does still remember his sisters, how the younger ones acted when afraid or stressed out. It doesn’t take him long to put the pieces together.

None of Kokichi’s other classmates would play along with his antics quite like Amami-kun did. Akamatsu-chan and that sheepish detective that follows her around found him annoying at best and outright malicious at worst, and since she’d become the de-facto driving force of the group, most everyone was quick to follow suit.

Amami-kun, however, rolled with Kokichi’s energy pretty well. When Kokichi had the mental fortitude to be serious, Amami-kun was clever enough to brainstorm with, even if he kept a lot of his insight a little on the vague side. When he couldn’t be bothered and broke out the childish antics, he smoothly played along with his games like a cool older brother, and for once it made the fuzzy fog that would roll into Kokichi’s head feel safe and warm. It was the most comfort he’d felt since they’d all arrived at the Academy.

It’s a shame it couldn’t last.

Kokichi’s head was already spinning from the time limit video blaring in his room when the body discovery announcement suddenly played, directing everyone to the library. It was too much, too fast, and the whiplash from one anxiety to another had already put him in a daze when he rushed out of his room.

He had never plummeted so hard and so fast as the moment he saw Amami-kun’s body on the floor of the library, blood spattered across the bookcase and pooling across the carpet from the gaping wound in his head. He couldn’t stop staring, couldn’t hear anything anyone else was saying. He could feel the tears already coming, but the oppressive presence of everyone else in the room choked him up in spiraling thoughts of not safe, not safe, not safe.

Amami-kun was dead.

Everyone who remained hated him.

There was no one left to trust.

Immediately, Kokichi threw himself into theatrics to hide himself in another lie.

If people like it, I might consider continuing this journey through the other parts of the game with agere tones. Let me know if you'd be interested!

[dottie-writes-haikyuu]

I’ve Got my Eye on You

This isn’t related to my apocalypse au! This was just for funsies!!

Sakusa was wearing a deep frown, eyes cast down as Atsumu gazed at him from his seat on the couch. 

"Omi?"

The ravenette's hands were trembling when he looked up. 

"We should clean up some," the other said stiffly. Atsumu turned around fully, concern starting to permeate his mind.

"We just did, right before ya showered, which ya just finished."

"I'm gonna take another shower," stated his boyfriend. His monotone was cracking. He turned, the blonde getting up and going over to him.

"What's wrong?" he questioned softly after getting between his lover and the door to the bathroom.

Sakusa felt more compelled to repeatedly clean an area or himself when he felt shitty; it gave him control over something and something to focus on. Atsumu had noticed that early in their relationship. The ravenette gave no reply.

"C'mon, sweetheart, yer stressed. What's goin' on? Talk ta me."

"Nothing, Atsu, I just don't feel well," came the response. He tried to get around the setter to no avail. "Just let me shower one more time, alright?"

"This a no-touch night?"

The hand reaching for the doorknob hesitated. Sakusa glanced back towards Atsumu, his face all screwed up.

"We can put the pillows between us an' just watch Shrek," the slightly shorter man softly offered. "Would ya like that?"

A nod. Kiyoomi's skin still crawled with the nonexistent dirt and bacteria he was convinced were on his skin.

"I'm gonna shower this last time, okay?"

"Don't scrub yerself pink. Am I towelin' yer hair? Baggin' yer clothes? Didja leave Maggie on the bed?"

He shook his head for the last question, not assuring that he wouldn't scrub the invisible impurities from his skin until he was pink. 

"I think you can towel it, yeah. Yes, please bag my clothes. I don't wanna have something on my skin that's touched everything else...that's disgusting."

"It is,” Atsumu agreed with a nod as if they didn’t do that nearly all the time. “M'gonna go wash my hands 'n get everythin' ready for ya, okay?"

Another nod and Sakusa went for a shower while Atsumu went to prepare the bedroom. He turned on the hot water, because the higher the temperature, the more germs died. And he scrubbed meticulously until his boyfriend came banging at the door to see if he was drowning. How you drown in a shower is a mystery to him still.

"Omi, ya doin' okay? It's been thirty minutes! Didja drown? Or slip? Are ya dyin'? Oh wait, are ya cryin’ in there? Sorry, I didn’t mean ta interrupt!”

"I'm coming out! Jesus, Atsu!" he shouted over the running water as the blonde yelled something about how he didn't need to come out because it was obvious that he was gay. 

He rolled his eyes and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel out of the cabinet and drying himself. He snatched another towel and wrenched open the door, throwing the cloth into his boyfriend's face and proceeding to his side of the bed where the clean, sealed plastic bag was, holding fresh, clean clothes inside. 

He dressed and noted that this specific pair of sweats was exponentially more comfortable than the others. Then he turned to the humongous stuffed tortoise that was also on the bed. He picked her up, squeezing her and breathing in the familiar scent. He could never name it, but it was the best scent he'd ever encountered. Better than his boyfriend, even, especially after a game when Atsumu's sweaty, stanky ass would hug him until he felt he may combust, be it win or loss. 

He made a pleased sound in the back of his throat, half purr, half laugh, and half sigh. Don't ask him how 3 halves fit in one sound. He'd spent too much time around Atsumu. He was lucky he hadn't picked up that fucking accent yet. He found himself on the bed, curled up with Maggie, face still buried in the stuffed animal as he vibrated like a fucking purring cat. This was how Atsumu found him. 

The blonde simply took the other side of the bed and covered one of his hands with the towel that had been thrown his way earlier, reaching over the pillow border and using this to gently dry Kiyoomi's raven curls and massage the spiker's head. 

He always felt cared about, when Atsumu did little things for him. Like remembering his order at any restaurant they ate at, catering to him but not babying him when he had a bad joints day, buying him hair products for his curly hair, carrying a mask in his pocket at all times, things like that. Atsumu was one who loved both loudly and softly. In public, there was no question as to whether they were dating. Atsumu was very much a pda person and talked about Kiyoomi…quite a lot. He felt nice, though, knowing that Atsumu could love him loudly.

He’d never had that before.

"Omi," murmured Atsumu, getting a mere twitch in acknowledgment, before Sakusa inclined his head slightly and let out a satiated sigh. 

"Feels good, mm? Hang on," his boyfriend said softly before the hand migrated lower, under his curls and directly to his scalp. He groaned, not a sexual sound, just one of deep satisfaction. "Ya still wanna watch Shrek?"

He shook his head. No, he just wanted to sleep, thank you. He reached a hand through their pillow border, pinkie extended. He felt another pinkie wrap around his own and heard the blonde shift. 

"Alright. G'night, Omi. I love ya."

"Mhm," he murmured, though it was more sigh. He was so very comfortable right now. 

"Love ya," he mumbled, the words slurring, as he still had his mouth pressed into an oversized tortoise. Then he realized the accented "you" that became "ya". He'd get hell for that later.

"Can I kiss ya? Mm? Can I give my dumplin' a kiss before bed?"

He rolled the idea over in his head before peeking over the pillow border. A gentle kiss was pressed lightly to his head by the feather-soft lips he'd had a good bit of contact with over the years. 

"Ya feelin' better?" Atsumu questioned quietly, not wanting to break this. He hummed, the blonde taking it as the yes that it was. "Cmere."

He cleared some of the pillows away to make room for the blonde to come through because Sakusa sure as hell wasn't moving. He got a snort, but his lover made his way over to him and smoothed his hair from his forehead, kissing the surface again. The ravenette felt those long lashes flutter across his head as the setter's eyes shut. 

They were like that for a while, Atsumu wrapping a loose arm around him and Kiyoomi entangling their legs.

"If yer not wearin' socks, m'gonna kill ya," he murmured sleepily, the accent he thought in (due to the fucking country bumpkin that had stolen his heart) seeping through his voice. It didn't help that he was on the brink of slumber, so he didn't feel like pronouncing the correct words fully. "Ion wan' yer nasty ass feet all over me."

"Don't worry, Omi, I'm wearin' socks. Go to sleep, sugarplum, yer tired."

He nodded, grabbing Atsumu's free hand. 

"I lob you," he said, yawning. The fake blonde chuckled softly, humming as he ran a hand through the dark curls that crowned his head.

"Love you too, honey. Go to sleep."

[dottie-writes-tmnt]

Confessions (pt. 2)

This is part 9 of my fic A New Kind of Familiar. Tags and other chapters can be found here!

No summary actually

They talk about Leo and Karai in this chapter. (Nickelodeon was fucked up for that. Literally after it was revealed they were siblings they were still romantic with each other.) And they talk about Leo having hallucinations

Donnie groaned, letting his head fall forward to hit the table. The lab door opened and closed, Mikey coming over to grab his bandanna tails before he could start banging his head on the table.

“Breakfast, Dee,” the snapper said, holding the plate out of the way in case of the wood turtle lashing out. He offered no response, looking at the snapper.

“If I…if I can’t do this…what’s gonna happen to him? What’s gonna happen to us?”

“Oh, wow, mind reader. I was thinking about that last night. Dee, you know I’ve been thinking about destiny and all that ever since…well. You know.”

And he did. Renet had accidentally-on-purpose (not really, it was an accident on her part but it was something their timeline required) sent herself and Mikey somewhere and the time scepter wouldn’t work. While they were there, Mikey developed some abilities. Things came to him in dreams, he was even more emotionally aware than before, and he was probably strong enough to bench press Leatherhead.

“I’m saying this for a reason, pay attention. I had a dream last night. I saw Raph. It was blurry, but…he looked happy. Happier than he’s ever been with us. I think this is destiny sending him away for some character development, and just like the time scepter wouldn’t bring us back until everything had happened, your machine won’t work until that’s all complete, too. So don’t stress, Dee. I’ll even talk to Leo.”

“He’s been talking to the hallucinations again,” Donnie felt he should inform. His baby brother froze where he’d been getting up, half propped up on the table now. “Said Splinter thinks I should work harder. Which, yeah, he would say that, but he’s not here. And we watched Splinter’s ghost pass on for good. But the moment I said that he got all pissy and… you know as long as he’s talking to things that aren’t real, you can’t get through to him.”

Mikey settled back down, sighing.

“We need to get him out more.”

“Probably.”

The duo sat there, listening to Leo’s footsteps near the lab, and to Donnie’s surprise, Mikey got up and locked the door.

“Mikey, what are you doing? He’s just gonna be even more mad when he sees me!”

“You’re not doing good and you’re just gonna get worse if Leo can talk to you,” the snapper explained, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the table next to Donnie. “And I don’t… Dee, I don’t want all of us to drown just because he is.”

Donnie had never been good at comfort. He had never been good at much besides technology, honestly. Not good at people or being social or anything of the likes. He didn’t know why. But he figured trying wouldn’t hurt. He set a hand on his little brother’s knee, sighing deeply.

“Then we’ll be each other’s lifeboats.”

 

——

 

Leo was more than a little worried about his twin, who had gotten a board out and was writing notes all over it, drawing lines between things like those crazy people in movies.

“So we all agree that he should want to go back if he had a pleasant experience living there, right? Logically, he should miss his brothers.”

“Yeah, but he seemed so…upset when he thought I was gonna send him back.”

“Maybe he’s just attached to us too?”

“No, he talked like they were the worst people alive.”

“I noticed the same thing when he was helping me cook on the first chapter— I mean, night he was here!”

“I’m kinda worried.”

“And we all know what he said about Splinter, but he was probably thinking of his own.”

“That doesn’t make it any better, Leo,” Raph pointed out.

“I know. But someone banned us from asking about his brothers at all.”

“I didn’t wanna make him upset considering he’d only been here for not even a day at the time,” the snapper defended. Mikey shut them both up with a glare.

“We should talk to him. Assuming won’t do anyone any good.”

“Great idea, hermano—“

“Me and Donnie. Sound good? Good. I’ll cook, just send him in about 30 minutes from now. And don’t worry, you two will get your turn. I just don’t wanna overwhelm him with all four of us. And he may be a tad embarrassed about that night, Leo. Raph, he looks up to you. He won’t wanna seem ‘weak’.”

That made sense. Leon sighed.

“Fine.”

 

—

 

Donnie sat at the table, messing around on his phone until Mikey finished cooking, setting the plates so that he and Mikey would be across from Ruby. Almost on cue, right as Mikey closed the fridge, the terrapin walked in.

“You guys wanted to talk? I was doin’ somethin’.”

“Yeah, we did, but I’m sorry we interrupted you,” Mikey said, gesturing for Ruby to sit.

“What were you working on, though?” Donnie asked. Ruby perked up a little.

“I was making some compression gloves for Casey. She says her hands hurt when she crochets and she wishes she had some, so.”

“That’s nice of you,” Mikey chirped, adjusting his glasses. His back was to Ruby. “I’m sure she’ll love them! Especially considering she’s been doing a lot of crocheting recently.”

“Yeah.”

Finally, Mikey turned around and sat next to Donnie. The trio continued to make small talk, Mikey waiting for Ruby to finish eating before sighing. He gave the smallest terrapin a smile.

“Ruby, do you mind telling us about your brothers?”

The relaxed but slightly nervous expression fell, replaced by all those barbed walls falling into place. Immediately. Though Donnie had expected as much.

“Yes, I mind very much. Why? What do you want to know? I already told you they’re perfect at everything they do. Did I say something? I don’t want to talk about them,” the box turtle snapped immediately, already moving to stand up.

“Why not? Did they do something?”

“I said I don’t! Why?! Is there something you’re looking for? They aren’t anything like you, if that’s what you’re thinking, and they’re exact opposites of me.”

“That isn’t what I’m asking for,” Mikey murmured, and Ruby’s head twitched to the side slightly, a behavior Donnie had picked up on from the terrapin when he was in upsetting situations. Donnie watched as the box turtle tapped his fingers against his thighs, an act of nervousness. Stimming.

“Father loved Leo,” he started, spitting the word like a curse, like a slur, through a snout full of poison and hurt. “Donnie makes things, and Mikey draws. Leo was a star student. Donnie’s smart. None of them have tempers like mine. What else do you wanna know? They’re perfect,” Ruby spat through vitriol-coated teeth.

“I wanna know how you feel about them. You’re giving me qualities out of a book. I wanna know about your brothers from you.”

Ruby’s head twitched yet again, the terrapin narrowing his eyes for a moment.

“I can guarantee you don’t.”

“I don’t know them. I don’t care about them. There isn’t an image to shatter.”

Ruby stared at Mikey, skeptical of that calm, caring smile. Finally, the red-wearing box turtle sighed.

“Fine. Get everybody in here, though, because I’m not repeating myself.”

“Well, I re—“

Mikey kicked him. He wasn’t sure why. He was just going to assure Ruby that he wouldn’t have to repeat himself, since he recorded everything. Whatever. He got up.

“I’ll go retrieve the others.”

 

—

 

Ruby wanted to bury himself. He could’ve walked away from this situation. Now the eyes were on him, and he wanted to shrink into a hole, but it was too late now.

“Mikey was still awesome. He was talented, like…he was good at art and stuff, and Splinter was always going on and on about how we needed to be like Mikey because he had more raw talent than all of us combined, especially me. Because Mikey was all happy n shit.

“He liked to piss me off on purpose to see how far he could push me, cuz it was funny apparently. But then he’d get pissy when I did get pissed off, but when I was nice, it was like the world was fucking ending. His insults were always somethin’ special. I think he just liked making me feel guilty, though.”

He glanced up, immediately deciding he didn’t like the looks on their faces.

“Donnie was still smart. Splinter wanted me to be like him because thinking rationally instead of emotionally was an asset I should have. He wasn’t that bad, I guess, he just used big words and said he liked making me feel stupid. And when we were kids, he tried some shit, but we were kids. I think he was the best to me out of them all—“

“What did he try?” Mikey asked, gently.

“Nothin’ big.”

“If it wasn’t anything big, you wouldn’t have said anything,” the box turtle murmured.

“He just let loose his ant farm in my room, it was a joke. He knew I was scared of bugs, and he thought it’d be funny. Everyone got a good laugh out of it and I moved rooms.”

“But…you weren’t laughing, were you?”

That confused him. Of course he wasn’t laughing, he’d been terrified, he’d cried, and then they all just laughed at him and he’d had to replace everything, and poor Spike’s shell had been filled with even more bugs, and April had had to take him to the vet because Ruby couldn’t. But it was just a joke that Ruby overreacted about. He said as much and Mikey simply shook his head.

“It wasn’t a good joke. Tell me about Leo,” the box turtle prompted, and Ruby felt the poison fill his mouth.

“He’s perfect,” he spat. “Splinter’s star student. Splinter’s favorite. The only one Splinter ever listened to, really. He’s everything I’m not. He never loses his cool, he always falls into line, and he annoys the crap out of me. He was the last to cooperate when I came out, though. Kept sayin’ I couldn’t change my gender ‘n stuff.

“Yaknow, like father like son or somethin’. When Splinter died, he appointed himself as the Sensei. And then shit really went downhill. I could never catch a fuckin’ break. Then we killed the Shredder. Then we killed him again. And then Leo decided to get with his sister. But Leo’s always like that. Says you shouldn’t do one thing then does something worse. He used to make me mad on purpose when we were younger. Now it’s just obvious he doesn’t like me.”

“Do you like them? ” Leo questioned, voice oddly gentle.

“Sometimes. When they’re not being dumbasses.”

“And, Ruby, you do know that what they did…isn’t right, don’t you?” Mikey questioned, slowly.

“I did worse,” he was quick to defend them even still. “I’m always snapping at them and being a dick.”

“Because they intentionally push your buttons.”

“Well— but—“

“They were wrong for what they did. Would you ever do any of that to any of us?”

“Of course not! Why the fuck would I—“

Oh.

He frowned, feeling oddly small. Mikey smiled softly, a sad thing, but not pitying.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?”

He gave a tiny nod. That was why he thought the things he thought. The tiny voice in his head always sounded suspiciously like Leo, back from when they were little and he’d constantly try to scare him by saying the others were talking about him or thinking things about him even if they weren’t.

He got angry because his brothers would always make fun of him when he cried. He was fucked up like this because of the way they shaped him.

He was shocked out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up to see Red.

“They’re the ones that lost someone great. Yer fuckin’ awesome, and if they failed to see that, then they have no place in your life,” the snapper said firmly even as he pulled Ruby into a hug and rubbed his shell while he sniffled. The others moved to join, and they ended up having another movie night.

Ruby borrowed Donnie’s headphones and didn’t talk for the rest of the night— the words just wouldn’t come, which happened a lot more often than he would like and was always frustrating —but he dozed where he was comfortably wedged between Donnie’s oddly comfortable soft shell and Junior.

Mikey was like a living weighted blanket on his lap, humming along to the songs and applauding the twins’ duetted performance of Poor Unfortunate Souls. His head was filled with cotton, but that was fine, he supposed. Ruby didn’t really want to think after what happened earlier, anyway.

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