Sticks & Bones // IC Inbox

[thebladebringstheflame]

as the age-old adage goes: i will make this look good later

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Day after the meeting

[ezellotry]

[ So shit has been a tumultuous rollercoaster lately. Ezell had to spend the whole night and then some after the meeting just decompressing from the meeting. He feels... horrible? But... confused. And maybe just a little better knowing that he was able to help Flamebringer, but...

Whatever the case, Ezell has made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast to share with Flamebringer, as well as two very well made cups of coffee with some phenomenal flavor profiles.

He knocks on his room's door. ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Guess who's still asleep when Ezell knocks??? It's Flamebringer, whose sleep schedule can be described as "Idk I just go to bed whenever" which like most millennials means he's either in bed at 9pm or still up at 3am. Last night was an "up until 12, crashed at 12:01" deal.

Ezell is about to find out that Flamebringer only sleeps in his boxers (they have succulents on them!) when he opens the door in just those. No shirt, no pants, not even socks, he is very naked right now and he lacks the shame to cover up.

He also has forgotten about the take-your-meds issue entirely and just—]

Yeah?

[ezellotry]

[ While Ezell himself doesn't go out too much and instead encourages people stay inside, he knows Flamebringer is out there. It wasn't uncommon for him to be out there for hours without Ezell seeing him. It worried him. He knows his affinity for fights, but...

Catch him outside at some point with his shotgun at the ready, and regardless of the bullshit Flamebringer is doing, he's getting pulled away, even if Ezell has to fire at whatever monster he happens to be fighting. Even with just an air canister loaded, it'll easily fling whatever back and stun them for long enough for Ezell to start dragging Flamebringer from the fight to go back into the inn. He isn't sure how much of the blood on him is his own but... woof. ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer is indeed out there. The bullshit he's doing is mostly being set kind of on the back foot, not that he hasn't been before or minds. He's being forced to use both of his blades to hold the monster off. One of the dragons. They're the most stubborn, but the most fun to fight, too.

He's about to slam the larger, blacker blade down and cleave its skull when Ezell's shot goes off and sends it flying. Flamebringer briefly glances over his shoulder and grins.]

Nice job— [And then he gets yoinked.] —hey?

[The good news is, he doesn't protest... only because he's learnt not to do that with Ezell.]

9/28

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood has had a Day. He is emotionally exhausted, and he hasn't even confronted all of the messy situations he'd unintentionally left behind yet. He's seen and made sure Liv was okay (for better or worse, given he didn't get to speak to "him"), he's checked on Ain and had just a massive heart-to-heart because oh my fucking lord did his body pick the worst time to give out on him, and now he's left trying to figure out where to go next.

Then he remembers those notes left behind and a switch flips in his brain like ah, yes. You.

So off Wolfwood goes next to find Flamebringer, though he's unaware he's got a new shop he's working at now. He only ever knew of his Greenhouse, so that's where he's headed first. He hasn't forgotten the fact he broke out a window and broke into the house, even if it was to do a wellness check or whatever. But he's also been taking care of Ain's plans for him in his absence, so...hnn.

Whatever. He'll see how he feels when he gets there. Right now he's definitely firmly in the "some kind of way like I want to punch something" territory.]

:3c

[thebladebringstheflame]

[And Wolfwood will suddenly feel worse because Flamebringer was being a cock to him in the notebooks.......... RIP.

But yeah, Flamebringer is in the greenhouse. He's not at the bunny bakery, he's not at his shop, he's watering the herbs and taking cuts of some to preserve for Pure Vanilla. Despite the way he refers to people — with nicknames and short, snarky comments — he has a lot of respect for the old man, and it helps that the guy needs help with the plants too. It's easy enough to settle into a routine here, like at Rhodes Island. Though, yes, he's spent the entire last month making sure his blade hasn't dulled by using deadly creatures as a whetstone.

Lately, too, he's been keeping the left side of his body bandaged — his hand, wrist, all the way up his arm, with sticky square bandage pads on his face where the Oripathy is the worst — because cuddling with Ezell is going to be impossible if he's sharp and pointy.

So. Wolfwood shows up to the greenhouse, and there's Flamebringer, watering the flowers, because for some reason all homoerotic ventures with this man start when he's taking care of his fucking plants.]

Look who finally dragged his ass out of chit-chatting in the notebook.

[ezellotry]

[ There's a note on Flamebringer's bedside come morning. Ezell is not there, but there's still a breakfast muffin and his pills for when he's ready to be a person. ]

Good morning, Flamebringer.

Whenever you are ready, I would like to take you on a date this morning. I cannot promise anything fancy or fantastic. When we're back on Terra, I'll take you on a date you'll definitely remember, either to a parade or festival, or even just to a serene park or botanical garden. But we don't have that here. I still want to do something special for you all the same.

I'll be in the greenhouse. I made food, so if you don't want to eat the muffin, I understand. It's a brunch date.

See you soon. <3

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Meanwhile, Flamebringer's dumb ass that sleeps until 10am...

He rolls over, feels around for Ezell... Ezell wakes up earlier anyway, so it's not shocking when he's not there. He smells food before anything, and that's what alerts him to the note, which he sits and reads while he's stuffing pills and muffin into his face.

God, Ezell's cute. He doesn't deserve him. He needs to dress decently, too, and the only things in his wardrobe are his usual crock of outfits. Hm...

Ah. Here we go. It's cooled off enough now where he won't feel weird wearing this many layers, and it makes him look nice, at least. So!

He will wolf down the rest of that muffin and make his way to the greenhouse.]

early october (CW: there be dead bodies, slit throats, more tbd)

[beathollow]

( it's an ordinary autumn morning. which is to say, despite the veneer of calm, something is definitely going wrong somehow!

in this case, it's the sound of something crashing and falling over, and a familiar soft voice isn't nearly as soft anymore. )

Let- Let go of me!

( ... by the time flamebringer turns the corner, it's quiet. but there's two mafuyus. one, forcing the other off of her as she breathes raggedly. the other limp on the ground, blood pooling around her head. )

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Cool cool cool thanks Forest you Bastard you had to get the kids involved in your shit too huh—

Flamebringer is going to do the logical thing here and rush forward to separate them first. Who's who, he wonders? It's not like he'd be able to tell otherwise. Not like the Forest doesn't know everything about them. One of them is clearly dead and/or dying, though, and he hopes to God that's the fake one.]

piercing time

[submittome]

[ Hope you're ready for what you're about to face, Flamebringer, because Affogato and his doppelganger currently have an accord. And that's: play nice with each other while attempting to out poison the other to see who the real winner is.

But that means there's Two of Them busting into Flamebringers tattoo and piercing shop, bickering with themselves. ]

The belly piercing sounds far more elegant. "Oh, I agree, but I want something... shocking." Ugh, I know what you want, you whore.

[ Then they pause and their eyes swivel towards Flamebringer. Hello. ]

piercing time :)

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Oh god there are two of them now.

He's literally just. Sitting there at his little desk. Drawing his little tattoo designs.]

I see you two are getting... along. [Sure, we'll go with that.] I've got one chair, so if I'm doing both of you, you're gonna be taking turns. [There's a waiting area type chair for the one who isn't actively getting work done, at least.] If you want something where you have to undress, we're going to the room in the back for privacy before someone waltzes in and sees something they weren't ready for.

fills ur inbox like a bitch- (sometime late Nov)

[ezellotry]

[ Ezell doesn't really do well with snow. It's cold - Laterano doesn't really get all that cold. So he's very often cuddled up under the blankets in his room, only going outside when he absolutely has to. But it also means he's curled up against Flamebringer more often than not, too! So, really, the Sarkaz is winning, right?

Well, certainly so, when Ezell decides he wants to make it up to him that he hasn't really been helping him with anything. Thus, today, Ezell has the bunnkery closed to the public, and he might smell the distinct scent of cinnamon coming from the oven downstairs... ]

i think u mean. Fills FB—

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Meanwhile Flamebringer's dumb ass: facedown in bed taking a nap, because the cold is demotivating and icky, until his nose goes "hey homie food" and he suddenly sits up in that "whuh, huh, where's my man" kinda way.

Turns out the cinnamon smell is where the man is! Surprise!! And so Flamebringer gets out of bed, yawning, and pulls a shirt on and fixes his hair and drooling and generally tries to look Presentable before he ambles downstairs.

Tail swaying, he paces into the kitchen, and if Ezell isn't holding something right now, Flamebringer is going to hug him from behind.]

Making something?

[DREAMING] (cw: implied dead kids)

[sticksandbonesmods]

Asher stands in the kitchen, stirring a large pot of stew. There's enough for at least eight people, but probably more given how stews tend to work. The sound of his boy teaching one of the girls to sing trails from the other room and he can see Lena and Podenco in the garden out front.

The sun's setting, and dinner's almost ready. It's been a good day.

One by one he sets out and fills eight bowls and brings them to the table, a fresh loaf of bread ready and waiting.

As he goes to call out for the others to come in for dinner, he opens the door to darkness and flame, hellhounds made of rose bushes and hollowed out trees turned monsters storming the town.

There's blood in the garden, and he doesn't know where any of his family is.





Flamebringer awakens.

Birthday!

[ezellotry]

[ Ezell wasn’t sure he was going to get a gift at all for Flamebringer, instead thinking that maybe he’d just spend the day with him, with maybe some treats and such thrown in, and all his chores within the greenhouse done so he can just relax.

That said, he does spot something within the greenhouse that makes him reconsider a gift altogether.

So, around noon, Ezell is heading back to the bunnkery with a small box that has a few holes poked around the sides. Where’s Flamebringer? Is he awake? ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Being awake is so hard... but yes he's awake, he's in bed reading a book. Very slowly, but still reading. Cinnamon (the orange cat) and Cloves (the Sphinx) are curled up on his stomach in a ball together, and Cinnamon will bring her head up to mrrrp when Ezell comes into his room.]

Hey. Mornin'. [Girl it's like 12pm] ...whatcha got there?

[a smoothie]

Happy New Year it's an asshole

[lupusxylem]

[It is still...fucking cold outside. Cold enough that Wolfwood is having to make use still of his thick winter coat, the whole thing zipped up to his neck in a vain attempt to keep out the winter chill. The fact that this thing doesn't have a hole for his new tail is equally annoying (none of his pants do, he's literally wearing a pair of sweats he had to cut a ragged hole into until he can get Ain to tailor more of his regular pants) as it currently is flicking around underneath the bulk of the coat. It's not much unlike Flamebringer's own actually, albeit thicker with a sharp blue that shines through the cracks in the scales. Honestly, you'd think he'd be more alarmed by it all, but after the corruption...yeah he's used to the feeling, as weird as it is.

The horns that curl up from his temples aren't so easily hidden. They share the same sort of pattern, with jagged spikes coming off the curve in irregular intervals that make way to a flash of blue underneath. The horn on his left, where his leg is missing, is broken off, revealing the blue inside more clearly.

...anyway he's at the Bunkery first since he doubts he'd just be chilling at the tattoo parlor, knocking on the door as he raises his voice over the cold wind.]

Oi! Asshole! Are you home?

leans out the window with cinnamon and does this to wolfwood /srs

[thebladebringstheflame]

[ezellotry]

[ Ain has been back for a solid twenty-four hours, and while he would like to curl up on him for a week because he's missed the angel so much, he isn't going to hog him. Besides, now that he's mildly less depressed and not trying to make pot brownies every two seconds, he's probably less fucking horrible to be around, so...

...And there's also something Ezell wants to talk to Flamebringer about, too. Perhaps all the Death has him thinking about it again.

Ezell's bed is bigger than both Ain's and Flamebringer's, since it's meant to be the one two/three people spend time in, but Ezell still goes to Flamebringer's room to crawl into bed with him and curl next to him, looking to cuddle. ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer is reading a book... he's got reading glasses on and everything, like a fucking nerd. Not like that's gonna fix his left eye right now, but they're on!]

Heyyyy.

[Book away, cuddling commenced. His tail starts wagging like, immediately.]

[ozmosis]

[ Well, it seems like he's stuck here, so he might as well make himself useful.

He learns pretty fast that the clinic has an attached greenhouse. And because he is polite, he doesn't go busting right in there and get to work. He tries to figure out who's in charge, and before long he has a name and vague idea of when he might catch the man at the clinic.

And when he finally does find him, he doesn't hesitate to approach, even though his body language is a touch shy and his expression is a touch hesitant. ]

Excuse me. I'm looking for Flamebringer...?

[thebladebringstheflame]

[The greenhouse is maintained (partly) by the most terrifying man you've ever seen, with huge horns and fangs and claws and— yeah okay, other than his height and the cluster of black stones across the left side of his body, he's genuinely not that scary-looking. The huge horns and claws and fangs do apply though.

The man is holding a watering can in one hand, his other positioned on his hip while he does his usual watering rounds. He doesn't look up when the young man enters or addresses him.]

That's me. What's up?

Mid-March

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood :) Is angy :)))

Between his altercation with Mephisto, and his even rougher altercation with Add, and all of the feelings he's having to deal with rolling around in his head about that, Wolfwood is not having a good mental party right now. His mental garden is not zen. He is about to fucking lose it-

He has better coping mechanisms these days thanks to therapy, for the most part. He isn't going after the offending parties to stir shit, or try to make a point/one-up them, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still really want to break something. Part of that need to let off steam is handled by going some distance into the forest and Literally Screaming at the top of his lungs, while another part is spent destroying things in the therapy building's destruction room.

But he knows neither of those things will help as much as getting in a proper tussle, but the problem there...is that he and Flamebringer are. Something. Now. And he's realizing that he's not sure if Flamebringer would just punch him in the face now no questions asked, without Wolfwood having to get all up in his feelings as to why he needs that.

Fuck. God damn it.

He decides to find a middle ground by just going to See him to start with, because he at least has a good excuse. He did say he wanted to add to his ink, didn't he?

Instead of stapling notes to the door, Wolfwood will actually come up to the greenhouse proper when he sees the silhouette of Flamebringer's body moving as he tends to the plants through the glassed-in walls, leaning against the inner doorframe with his tail lashing behind him. Subtle.]

You busy? I've got some free time if you wanna do the rest of my arm today.

[thebladebringstheflame]

[haha he saw your boyfriend laying on the new guy when he came home haha loser—

Flamebringer is busy trimming off some dead stems when Wolfwood enters. Last time a man entered the greenhouse and he had garden shears he pinned the man to the wall with them, watch out— (it's fine he won't) (maybe).]

Let me finish snipping the dead branches off. [Clip, clip.] Why are you so pissed off?

Neo Eden sex shop.............. (obv cw: nsfw)

[ezellotry]

...Hey?

[ They hadn't quite headed down the... well, "red light district" of Eden, but that doesn't stop Ezell from catching that adult store on the corner out the corner of his eye. He sort of halts his walking, tugging very lightly on Flamebringer's hand. There's suddenly a very light dusting of pink across his cheeks. ]

My love... sorry... do you think we can take a quick stop... um, over there? [ He points, nervously. ] I... I just want to see what they have.

[thebladebringstheflame]

Huh? [Looks over... ohhhh. The way he smirks.] Hell yeah, we can. C'mon.

[This is such a horrid fucking idea anyway he's beelining to the entrance, stopping briefly to look at the lingerie in the window that has the weirdest metal boobplates he's ever seen. What is UP with Neo Eden that is NOT sexy (does not help that Flamebringer is also not that into women but still).]

Backlogged, during bunny (cw: nsfw)

[ezellotry]

[ Ezell is enthused Flamebringer is back to normal, of course. It's just strange that he's still a bunny himself. They turned around the same time?? Maybe it's because Flamebringer was much bigger, and took up more of the mushroom's ability faster, or something like that? He doesn't know how it works, but that makes sense in his head. It's like how Mostima can stop time in smaller areas longer than vaster ones, sort of, right?

Well, whatever the case, he's just happy to have Flamebringer actually be inside. And he'll show him as much by hopping on his bed when he's finally able to relax on his own mattress, and flatting the bunny half of his body on Flamebringer. ]

Hello, love. You have no idea how nice it is to have you inside with me.

👁

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Honestly, he stepped on a mushroom and it reverted him. It was when he was out looking for more weird native plants. Oops. But yeah, it's nice to be back inside. The cats are happy to see him, too, and not from out the window this time.

The cats have been shooed out to go play for now though.]

Oof. You seem much bigger than you actually are when I'm back to normal. I think it's all the fluff.

[Pets Ezell's bunny arms... hehe. Soft.]

suri games suri games suri games (blanket cw for potential internalised ableism)

[lilyberation]

( it's not long after the fallen sun makes his offer- and names his price. there's been a whirl of emotions in her heart since the reveal, and though part of her is ashamed, she makes a hard call.

or maybe she's just telling herself its hard to make herself feel better.

regardless, she knows who she cannot ask... so she goes to who she wants to believe she can, pulling him aside before the panic sheltering truly begins. )

Flamebringer? I... I am sorry to place this burden upon you. And I will understand if you say no. But...

I must ask a heavy request of you.

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer, who has yet to kill anyone at this point (though he's making eyes at Wolfwood) is honestly expecting Lily to ask for him to guard the door, or something. He's good at that.]

Let's hear it.