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"writing": " “Mum? Dad?” a young Biscuit asked, holding each of his parents hands as they walked together along a sandy beach; a kaleidoscope of colors was strewn across the sky above them in a breathtaking aurora, dotted with glittering stars and supernovas like the most brilliant chandelier imaginable.\n “Yes, Biscuit?” Bluey, who was 13 years old at the time, asked in return.\n “I love you… so much,” Biscuit said with a smile, though Bluey picked up something on the expression on her son’s face that seemed a little sad.\n “I love you too,” she and Bandit said together as they stopped, kneeling down and wrapping Biscuit in a comforting embrace. Bandit was the first to pull away, followed by Bluey shortly after. \n “Is something the matter, sweetheart?”\n “It’s just…” Bandit sniffled, “The sun’s probably going to come up soon, and you’ll both have to leave me again… like you always do. I just wish you could stay here with me, forever. I miss you too much when you go.”\n “Aw, we miss you too, mate. We try to stay here for as long as we can, but we still need to go live our own lives eventually… y’know?” Bandit’s eyes felt watery, rubbing the top of his dream-son’s head. He saw so much of himself in Biscuit.\n All the [i]good[/i] parts of himself, anyway - whatever that was worth.\n “Can’t I come with?” Biscuit asked, his tail wagging a little at the mere idea, “then we [i]could[/i] always be together, for real life!”\n “Oh Biscuit, we’ve been over this before already,” Bluey sighed, “you were born here, in a dream. As much as we’d love for you to be, you’re not… [i]real.”[/i]\n Biscuit’s eyes began to fill with tears. \n “Oh…”\n “W-what she [i]means[/i] to say is, you’re real to [i]us,[/i] and we love you more than anything,” Bandit added as he rubbed Biscuit’s arm affectionately, trying to salvage the situation, “No matter what, we promise we’ll always love you, even if we can’t be together all the time. But the thing is, bringing you with us… that just isn’t how the world works, kiddo. There’s a saying that goes something like, ‘you can’t take it with you.’”\n “What does that mean?” Biscuit asked, wiping his eye. \n “It means, uh… well, it [i]actually[/i] means not to focus on material possessions, because once you, um… ‘expire’, you ‘can’t take it with you’.” Bandit scratched the back of his head. “B-but in our case, it’s a bit more literal than that… because unfortunately, we physically [i]can’t[/i] take you with us, even if we tried.”\n “Exactly,” Bluey continued, giving Biscuit a reassuring kiss on the cheek, “because fantasy and reality are two different things, honey, and we can’t let those lines cross. Ever. Otherwise…”\n She looked over at Bandit in mutual understanding.\n “...bad things can happen.”\n Just then, a faint static began to appear around Bluey and Bandit; just as Biscuit had expected, they were about to wake up at any moment.\n “Please, can we just [i]try[/i] to bring me to the real world? Please?!” Biscuit pleaded.\n Bluey and Bandit gave each other a look of concern, but nodded and decided to give it a shot. They were both certain they knew how this would turn out, anyway.\n “Okay, here goes nothin’...” Bandit said, and he and Bluey began to chant together like they were making a wish as they held onto Biscuit as tight as they could. \n [i]“Bring Biscuit with us… bring Biscuit with us… bring Biscui-”[/i]\n And just like that, they were gone, leaving their son all alone once again.\n Defeated, Biscuit bitterly curled up in a ball as he lay on the lonely beach, and began to weep. Each day they were gone felt like [i]years[/i] to him. Unlike his parents, he didn’t need sleep. He didn’t even need to eat. All he had for the time that his parents were gone was to explore the vast reaches of this endless dreamscape alone, observing others' dreams as they slept.\n “...Hi!”\n Biscuit looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, turning his head to see a cheerful 6-year-old blue and orange heeler boy looking down at him. \n\n [i]“My name’s Cobalt, what’s yours?”[/i]\n\n Cobalt watched as the psychiatrist scribbled something down on his clipboard; there was once a time when that would’ve only made him more anxious, but as the month of discussing his private issues regarding his intrusive thoughts, vivid nightmares, and maladaptive daydreams to Dr. Malinois went on, he genuinely began to feel more at peace with himself. \n “So,” the therapist finally said, looking up from his clipboard, “how is the prescription treating you?”\n “Honestly… pretty great, actually!” Cobalt replied with a smile, “I haven’t had any daydreams - or, any dreams at all, really - since day one. It’s definitely taken the edge off. I’m sleeping so much better, and my grades are improving. My mood sure is, too. ”\n “That’s good to hear. Great, even! Now, as for your hobbies, I believe you told me you were into drawing, so how’s that coming along?”\n “Well, I haven’t really…” Cobalt paused, realizing something. “I haven’t drawn much [i]at all[/i] lately, now that I think about it.”\n “Lack of motivation?” the doctor asked.\n “No, more like… I’ve tried, but I guess the ‘vision’ isn’t there?” Cobalt replied inquisitively, his brow furrowing. “Typical art-block, I guess.”\n “Interesting, interesting.” Dr. Malinois nodded. “I’d like to try a quick little experiment, Cobalt. It’s very easy, just hold out your hand, if you please.”\n “...O-okay.” Cobalt did as he was suggested, holding his palm up.\n “Now I want you to imagine an apple. It can be any kind of apple you want. You can even close your eyes, if that helps. And when you have this apple in mind, I want you to describe it to me with complete honesty. The weight, the feel. Every minor detail you can picture. Understand?”\n Cobalt nodded, trying to picture a mouthwatering honeycrisp apple - large, red, and shiny. Crunchy apple-skin to bite down on, yet juicy on the inside. All the words for it were there in his head, but when he tried to imagine it physically in his hand…\n “Nothing.”\n “Nothing at all?” the doctor asked, tilting his glasses. \n Cobalt shook his head. \n “Hm, a ‘five’, then…” Dr. Malinois mumbled to himself as he wrote on his clipboard again.\n “So, uh,” Cobalt continued, “My Noctivex prescription only had enough for the month, and as we speak, I’m officially on my last one. Is there [i]any[/i] chance at all I could get a new bottle today?”\n “Well I can fill out a request for a new prescription before I leave the office, but it’ll take a few days before it’s ready to be picked up. Since the weekend just started, it won’t be until Monday at the very earliest.”\n Cobalt groaned wearily.\n “Cobalt, allow me to be transparent for a moment and say you’ve been doing [i]great[/i] during our sessions, and I’m seeing a lot of real improvement since you first walked into my office. In short, you seem much happier. There’s a light in your eyes again. And, in my professional opinion, I think you’re a very mature and capable young dog. I recommend seeing if you can handle weaning yourself off the medication for a few days, and if the issues come back again, then I can even request to up the dosage for you. Sound good?”\n “I guess so…” Cobalt crossed his arms disappointedly. After what happened the [i]last[/i] time he had a dream though, he’d much rather not go through an ordeal like that again. And with the long-awaited school dance already coming [i]tomorrow,[/i] it couldn’t have come at a worse possible time. \n “And hey, if you feel perfectly fine without the pills and you feel like you don’t need me anymore, then nothing would make me happier, believe me,” the doctor went on, “But don’t take that the wrong way though of course, haha. There’s just no better feeling for me as a psychiatrist than when I never have to see a particular patient enter my office ever again - because then that usually means I’ve done my job right. [i]Usually.”[/i]\n “I gotcha. And… thanks for all your help,” said Cobalt, getting up out of his seat on the couch as he noticed on the clock that his time was nearly up. “It really has helped a lot.”\n “It’s always a pleasure, Cobalt,” Dr. Malinois said, standing as well. “The main thing to always remember is that these thoughts you’ve had, these troubling sexual fantasies about your family members… they’re just thoughts, and you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. You’re a growing teenage boy, and I know these feelings can be scary. You’re figuring out what kind of dog you’ll become, and I think you’ll know the answer sooner than you might think. The brain is a very complex thing, and its complexities have been confounding dogkind since the dawn of time. But it isn’t our imaginations that define us, it’s our [i]actions.[/i] And based on your actions, I personally believe… no, I [i]know[/i] - that you’re a good boy, Cobalt Heeler. And you’re meant for great things.”\n Cobalt’s tail wagged, and he crossed over to hug his therapist.\n “Thank you, doctor,” Cobalt said, before realizing what he was doing. “I-I hope this is okay.”\n “Of course, it’s what I’m here for,” the therapist patted Cobalt’s back for a moment before politely breaking the hug, and Cobalt began heading for the door. “Please keep me up to date on how things are going while you wait for your prescription. And Cobalt?”\n The young heeler had already grabbed the handle and opened the door, but looked back at his therapist as he waved him goodbye. \n “Have a good weekend.” \n “You too, Dr. Malinois!”\n\n “Hey, kiddo, how’d it go?” Bandit said as Cobalt opened the car door and got into his seat.\n “Pretty good,” Cobalt replied, buckling in, “though he said I won’t be able to get more Noctivex until Monday. Said I should ‘wean myself off it’.”\n “That’s not all that bad an idea,” Bandit nodded, turning the steering wheel and driving off the lot. “The less drugs in you, the better.”\n After some time during the ride home, Bandit sighed quietly.\n “Is something wrong, Dad?” Cobalt asked.\n “N-no, it’s just… I know I’m no professional therapist, but I wish I could’ve helped you more with whatever it is you’re going through. I promised I wouldn’t badger you about your problems, and I know there’s things you probably feel more comfortable with me not knowing. But still, I just kinda hoped I could’ve done more for you.”\n “It’s nothing personal, Dad,” Cobalt said in reassurance, “I promise. You can only do so much for me though, and you’ve done plenty for me already. You’re a [i]great[/i] dad.”\n “Thanks, Cobalt. That really means a lot, coming from you.”\n Bandit smiled a little, putting his hand on his son’s shoulder in a fatherly way. But even so, those words…\n [i]‘You’re a great dad.’[/i]\n Inside, they secretly stung him in a way that he hoped Cobalt would never know.\n\n When they arrived home, there were several additional - yet familiar - vehicles parked in the cul-de-sac. Cobalt and Bandit were both expecting this, but only Cobalt knew the real reason why everyone was gathering at the Heeler house.\n Tonight was the big night - when Bluey’s plan to propose to Judo would be put into action.\n After discussing the plans further with his older sister, Cobalt was now just as confident as Bluey that Judo would say yes; the Chow Chow was apparently a bit notorious for loving being the center of attention, so having a supportive crowd around her for the question would likely only boost Bluey’s chances in a positive way. And while Cobalt didn’t consider it much, he’d done all he could do to help Bluey plan this family gathering, as well as keep the real reason for this get-together under wraps. \n Stripe, Trixie, Muffin, and Socks were already here, as well as Wendy, who was talking with Cobalt’s aunt Brandy and her daughter, Azure. There was also Calypso, and of course…\n “Hey, Sapph,” Cobalt said once he got out of the car, already greeted by a loving hug from his half-sister. “Glad you could make it.”\n “Me too, Mum was so distracted by making her lesson-plan for next year’s Kindy that she almost completely forgot about tonight!”\n They laughed.\n “So, what’s the special occasion?” Sapphire asked.\n “N-no special occasion!” Cobalt smirked nervously, “Just another nice family get-together!”\n “You really are a terrible liar, Cobe,” she said smugly, “Does someone have some big news?”\n “N-no! Well… I can’t say anything about it yet, but… yes.”\n Sapphire gasped loudly, grabbing at Cobalt’s stomach.\n “Is it you? Are you [i]pregnant?! Congratulations!”[/i]\n Cobalt stepped back, shaking his head and chuckling in bewildered confusion.\n “What?! Why would [i]I[/i] be having a baby? Who would I even be having a baby [i]with?”[/i]\n Sapphire snickered playfully.\n “Oh, I don’t know. I’m obviously just bein’ silly, relax bro.” Sapphire winked before walking past him to give her father Bandit a hug, but not before discreetly swishing her fluffy tail in such a way that it gently caressed Cobalt’s own as he heard her whisper something that sounded something like,\n [i]“Can’t wait for the dance tomorrow.”[/i]\n Sapphire’s tail sent a pleasant shock up Cobalt’s spine, followed by a numbing tingle throughout his body that made him experience what he was sure being drunk must’ve felt like. Although his intrusive thoughts about the rest of his family were gone, he knew his love for Sapphire was something that no amount of therapy could ever fix - and he didn’t want it to.\n Another vehicle arriving in the cul-de-sac snapped the dumb lovestruck grin off his face, a large black truck pulling up onto the curb strip. Just as expected, uncle Radley hopped out the driver’s side, followed by aunt Frisky and their son, Almond.\n “Hey cousin, uh, Colby!” he said, shaking Cobalt’s hand with a firm grip that almost matched Rad’s.\n “Er, Cobalt, but close enough,” replied Cobalt politely.\n “Ah, my bad, I’m terrible with names. It has been a few years, hasn’t it?” Almond asked, swishing his hair.\n “It was last Christmas.”\n “And how the time flies. Anyway, good to see ya!” With that, Almond was off. “Hey, Muffett!”\n [i]“My name is [/i][b][i]Muffin!”[/i][/b]\n\n It wasn’t much longer until the rest of the family arrived: Wendy and Bandit’s son Indigo arrived with his boyfriend, Ruckus, followed shortly after by Bingo with her boyfriend, Dougie. And last, but not least, Bluey and Judo finally pulled into the lot, and the real party could finally begin as they all headed to the backyard.\n As the night went on, Cobalt began to feel more at ease around his family than he’d been in what felt like a lifetime ago. No sexual daydreams, no awkward moments, no uncomfortable conversations, just good times and good fun with his estranged family members as he got to reconnect with them again, just as he’d been longing for.\n Just as they’d [i]all[/i] been longing for.\n\n “Okay, Cobalt,” said Bluey in a hush, having taken him off to the side for a moment after the sun had gone down, “I’m going to propose soon, how do I look?”\n “You look great, Bluey,” Cobalt said with a smile.\n “You promise?” Bluey said, clearly feeling her nerves finally catching up to her as he doubts set in.\n “You look beautiful, big sis. There’s no way Judo would ever reject you.”\n He held her hands, and her trembling slowed. \n “Thanks, Cobalt. I love you.”\n Bluey leaned down, sweetly giving him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. And instead of feeling flustered or aroused, Cobalt’s heart only swelled with pride for his sister.\n “I love you too, Bluey. You and Judo are gonna make each other really happy, I just know it.” \n The two siblings held each other for a moment, their tails wagging as one. \n “Y’know, you seem so different from just a month ago,” Bluey said with a pat on her little brother’s back as she slowly parted their embrace, backing away to return to Judo. “You really are growing up, little brother.”\n Cobalt looked on as Bluey approached Judo, saying something inaudible to her for a brief moment before getting down on one knee and pulling out a small box. Then, she opened it. There was a deafening silence that fell over the party for a moment as Judo stood in breathless shock, covering her mouth with her hands. Everyone else was holding their breaths as well as they anticipated her answer.\n The Chow Chow then nodded frantically, and Bluey immediately sprung up again and hugged Judo so tight that she picked her up off the ground and swung her from side to side.\n Bingo began jumping up and down excitedly, Frisky fainted into Radley’s arms, and Stripe began whooping and hollering in what sounded like a triumphant war cry. Bandit, however… Cobalt noticed that he had a rather unexpected reaction. Bluey’s father stood in place for a moment, leaning his hand against the nearby table for balance as he appeared to be deep in thought with a blank expression on his face before taking a deep breath… and began walking towards the house. No, ‘congratulations’, no hug for Bluey… nothing. Not even a smile.\n Cobalt knew for a fact that Bandit was no homophobe, which made this response from his dad all the more confusing to him. Was he feeling unwell? Or perhaps simply overwhelmed with emotion? Different people processed events like this in different ways, after all. Could it be that seeing his daughter getting engaged was causing Bandit to have something of a mid-life crisis? \n At first, Cobalt wanted to check on his dad to see if he was okay, but ultimately decided that he might just need a moment to breathe, so instead he approached Bluey to join in with the rest of his family on congratulating her engagement.\n\n Once all the excitement had died down after about an hour, Bluey had finally taken notice as well that her dad was still nowhere to be found, and so she went into the house alone to check on him. Cobalt caught a glance of his oldest sister as she disappeared inside, waiting a few minutes more before eventually deciding to follow her to finally see what was up with dad as well.\n Cobalt entered the house, naturally going upstairs towards his parents’ room as he figured Bandit might be resting there. When he reached the top of the stairs, he heard a faint sobbing coming from the end of the hall where Bandit’s room was. He crept steadily down the hall, taking care to avoid that one floorboard that creaked slightly, before the voices of Bluey and Bandit coming from his parents’ bedroom were more discernible. \n “...I-it’s just… Bluey, I… I’m so happy for you, I really am,” Bandit said, his voice cracking through his tears, “And I know it’s unfair of me to be acting like this, but with everything that’s happened between us… it still hurts a little. You’re not a little girl anymore.”\n “Dad…” Bluey said, “I still love you more than anything, I hope you know that. I’ll always be yours, and Judo can never truly replace you in my heart. But… I do love her. We both knew this day was coming eventually. You said so yourself, remember our first date?”\n [i]‘First [/i][b][i]date?’[/i][/b][b] [/b]Cobalt thought, scowling to himself, [i]‘everything that’s happened between us?’[/i]\n “I… I know,” Bandit said with a heaving sigh, wiping his eyes. “You were only seven then, but it still feels like yesterday. I always knew we could never be together for real life, but… we’ve been slowly drifting apart for a while now, and now that the day is actually [i]here…[/i] it doesn’t make it any less painful.”\n “We’ll always have our dreams, Dad,” Bluey whispered.\n “...Yeah. In our dreams,” Bandit whispered in return.\n “I love you, Dad.”\n “I love you too, Bluey.”\n After another minute of silence, Cobalt gently pushed the door open and suddenly wished that he were only imagining things. But this was no daydream - sitting on the bed and facing towards the balcony, Bluey and Bandit’s mouths were pressed against one another in a deep kiss that was definitely [i]not[/i] meant to be shared between a father and his daughter. Cobalt froze in horror as his sister and father’s tongues intertwined, the airy sound of their hot breaths burning into his ears as they moaned into each other’s mouths. At the sight of the strand of saliva caught between their parting mouths, Cobalt had seen more than enough.\n “Dad? Bluey? What… [i]the [/i][b][i]FUCK.”[/i][/b]\n Bandit and Bluey both gasped and distanced themselves from one another as they looked at Cobalt, having been caught-red handed.\n “C-C-Cobalt, l-look… i-it’s not what it looks like…” Bandit said defensively, standing up and crossing around the bed in an attempt to explain things.\n “N-no, I saw you… and Bluey… [i]making out.[/i] What [i]else[/i] would that fucking[i] [/i]look like?!” Cobalt backed away, pulling out his phone. “You… you mentioned when she was [i]seven.[/i] Please, PLEASE tell me that doesn’t [i]fuckin’[/i] mean what I think it does!”\n “I-it’s really complicated, Cobalt,” Bluey said, “But everything’s okay, I promise. Please, don’t do anything rash.”\n “Then tell me what in the [i]fuck[/i] is going on!”\n “Cobalt, please j-just relax, and listen to me,” Bandit said, cautiously approaching his distraught son. “I can explain everything if you just hold on a minute. Y’see, Bluey can-”\n “-Enter dreams, is that it?” Cobalt interrupted with a snarl, “Your little ‘lovechild’ already told me everything, I just didn’t want to fuckin’ believe it! I… I can’t believe… you [b][i]raped[/i][/b] Bluey!”\n “N-no, see, it [i]wasn’t[/i] rape,” Bandit insisted, “Bluey [i]wanted[/i] it. Sh-she-”\n “Are you fuckin’ [i]hearing[/i] yourself right now, Dad?!” Cobalt yelled, “She was a [i]child![/i] You… had sex… with your [i]child.”[/i]\n Chilli then entered the room.\n “Cobalt? Bandit? Bluey? What’s going on?”\n “Mum, I hate to tell you this, but Dad, h-he…” Cobalt pointed at Bandit in disgust. “...He raped Bluey when she was only seven, and they’ve been having a secret affair ever since.”\n “Wha-? Oh, haha!” Much to Cobalt’s horror, Chilli began to chuckle. “Sweetheart, you’re a bit confused. It wasn’t [i]rape,[/i] Bluey loved it! Didn’t you, Bluey?”\n Bluey nodded.\n “MUM!”\n Cobalt stepped back, his heart sinking.\n “You… you knew, all along. And then you tried to corrupt me too, to get me in on your sick game. It… it all suddenly makes a lot of sense now…” Cobalt looked at the three of them in utter disbelief. “Are all of you fuckin’ [i]insane?!”[/i]\n “Cobalt, please!” Bluey pleaded, “We can talk about this! I’m perfectly fine!”\n “Why the fuck are you [i]defending[/i] them, Bluey?!” Cobalt pressed ‘000’ on his phone, holding his finger close to the call button as he stared daggers into his parents. “Give me ONE good reason why I shouldn’t call the [i]fucking[/i] cops on you pedophiles right now!”\n Bandit and Chilli were silent for a moment. The big blue heeler then sighed as he pinched between his eyes with his fingers, sitting down on the floor in front of the bed in defeat.\n “...You’re right, Cobalt. You’re right about everything. Do what you have to do. I’ve… I’ve had this coming for a long time.”\n “Don’t try to get any fuckin’ sympathy from me, Dad! It’s [i]not[/i] gonna work!” Cobalt’s finger trembled as it inched closer to the call button. \n “I’m not trying to get any sympathy, son,” Bandit whimpered weakly as he looked up at his beloved daughter., “This is what I deserve… for all the things that I’ve done. None of this was ever fair to you, Bluey. I should’ve been a better father, to love you only like a father should. It was my responsibility to teach you that… this kind of love was always wrong, from the very beginning. I was never supposed to be your lover, and now you’re messed-up because of me. I’ve messed up everything, and I have no excuses. No one to blame but myself.”\nBandit looked to his son again.\n “So go ahead and call them, Cobalt. I deserve to spend the rest of my life behind bars for what I’ve done. But please, if I can ask just one thing… please spare your mum. She’s not innocent in this either, but at least give her the chance to get the help she needs. But not me. I’m too far gone. What I’ve done doesn’t deserve forgiveness. I really am… a monster.”\n “Please don’t do it, Cobalt,” Bluey begged, beginning to cry. “It won’t change the past. It’ll only rob us of our parents for the rest of our lives. You know in your heart that they’re not monsters, they love us. They love [i]you.”[/i]\n Cobalt thought it over, the possible outcomes of what he could do next. The power he had. His parents could spend the rest of their lives in prison, and Cobalt would likely be in foster care for the remainder of high school. True, they were his parents, but they were still bad dogs, and deserved to face justice for what they’d done. What was he to do?\n Everything seemed so damn normal until a few short months ago. Cobalt never in a million years would’ve expected his parents to be… this. But now that he knew the full, unadulterated truth, could things ever have any chance of going back to the way they used to be?\n Did they even deserve to?\n Cobalt felt his whole world breaking apart around him, and it tore him up inside.\n He tightly clenched his fist, reluctantly dropping his phone onto the carpet floor. \n “...Fine. This is what's going to happen,” Cobalt said coldly, “Against my better judgment, I won’t call the police. I won’t even tell anyone else. But, Dad… as of this moment… you’re [i]dead[/i] to me. And I want you to know, you’re… a horrible dad. A horrible [i]dog.[/i] Same goes for you, Mum. We're done. It’s going to take a [i]long[/i] time for me to ever even [i]consider[/i] forgiving you both for what you’ve done to this family. I don’t want either of you to ever speak to me, unless I speak to you first. I want both of you in my life as [i]little[/i] as possible. As far as I see it, you’re no longer my parents until further notice. Maybe, just [i]maybe,[/i] I’ll forgive you someday, but maybe I won’t. Don’t even try to bribe me, it won’t help. There’s nothing you can do. I just need time. And, in case it wasn’t clear already… Mum, Dad… I don’t love you anymore.”\n Bandit brought his hand to his chest, shuddering a little as he clutched his fragile heart.\n Chilli sat next to him on the floor, tears running down both their cheeks at their son’s ultimatum. In a way, this actually felt [i]worse[/i] than life in prison. But if it was what Cobalt deemed a fitting punishment for them, they accepted it fully.\n They nodded silently as they looked down, already obeying Cobalt’s request not to speak to him without any objection.\n “Cobalt…” Bluey said shakily, “Don’t you think that might be a bit… cruel? They’re our parents…”\n “You want to talk to me about [i]cruelty?”[/i] Cobalt scoffed, pointing at Bandit and Chilli. “You’re looking at the [i]wrong[/i] fuckin’ dog, sis.”\n “But, Cobe,” Bluey said, “Please, can’t we just-”\n “I’ve already heard enough bullshit for one night, honestly,” Cobalt said, picking up his phone and putting it away as he headed for the door. “Congratulations on your [i]engagement,[/i] Bluey… for whatever your loyalty to Judo is actually fuckin’ worth.”\n With that, Cobalt left the three alone to think over what they’d done. The irreparable damage they’d caused. \n\n The family they’d destroyed.\n\n Cobalt dragged his feet to his bedroom, closing the door behind him and locking it before turning off his light. Emotionally-exhausted, he collapsed into his bed, pressing his face hard into the pillow as it quickly soaked up his tears. \n He took a deep breath in.\n\n [i][b]“...FUUUUUUUUUCK!”[/b][/i]",
"writing_bbcode_parsed": " “Mum? Dad?” a young Biscuit asked, holding each of his parents hands as they walked together along a sandy beach; a kaleidoscope of colors was strewn across the sky above them in a breathtaking aurora, dotted with glittering stars and supernovas like the most brilliant chandelier imaginable.
“Yes, Biscuit?” Bluey, who was 13 years old at the time, asked in return.
“I love you… so much,” Biscuit said with a smile, though Bluey picked up something on the expression on her son’s face that seemed a little sad.
“I love you too,” she and Bandit said together as they stopped, kneeling down and wrapping Biscuit in a comforting embrace. Bandit was the first to pull away, followed by Bluey shortly after.
“Is something the matter, sweetheart?”
“It’s just…” Bandit sniffled, “The sun’s probably going to come up soon, and you’ll both have to leave me again… like you always do. I just wish you could stay here with me, forever. I miss you too much when you go.”
“Aw, we miss you too, mate. We try to stay here for as long as we can, but we still need to go live our own lives eventually… y’know?” Bandit’s eyes felt watery, rubbing the top of his dream-son’s head. He saw so much of himself in Biscuit.
All the good parts of himself, anyway - whatever that was worth.
“Can’t I come with?” Biscuit asked, his tail wagging a little at the mere idea, “then we could always be together, for real life!”
“Oh Biscuit, we’ve been over this before already,” Bluey sighed, “you were born here, in a dream. As much as we’d love for you to be, you’re not… real.”
Biscuit’s eyes began to fill with tears.
“Oh…”
“W-what she means to say is, you’re real to us, and we love you more than anything,” Bandit added as he rubbed Biscuit’s arm affectionately, trying to salvage the situation, “No matter what, we promise we’ll always love you, even if we can’t be together all the time. But the thing is, bringing you with us… that just isn’t how the world works, kiddo. There’s a saying that goes something like, ‘you can’t take it with you.’”
“What does that mean?” Biscuit asked, wiping his eye.
“It means, uh… well, it actually means not to focus on material possessions, because once you, um… ‘expire’, you ‘can’t take it with you’.” Bandit scratched the back of his head. “B-but in our case, it’s a bit more literal than that… because unfortunately, we physically can’t take you with us, even if we tried.”
“Exactly,” Bluey continued, giving Biscuit a reassuring kiss on the cheek, “because fantasy and reality are two different things, honey, and we can’t let those lines cross. Ever. Otherwise…”
She looked over at Bandit in mutual understanding.
“...bad things can happen.”
Just then, a faint static began to appear around Bluey and Bandit; just as Biscuit had expected, they were about to wake up at any moment.
“Please, can we just try to bring me to the real world? Please?!” Biscuit pleaded.
Bluey and Bandit gave each other a look of concern, but nodded and decided to give it a shot. They were both certain they knew how this would turn out, anyway.
“Okay, here goes nothin’...” Bandit said, and he and Bluey began to chant together like they were making a wish as they held onto Biscuit as tight as they could.
“Bring Biscuit with us… bring Biscuit with us… bring Biscui-”
And just like that, they were gone, leaving their son all alone once again.
Defeated, Biscuit bitterly curled up in a ball as he lay on the lonely beach, and began to weep. Each day they were gone felt like years to him. Unlike his parents, he didn’t need sleep. He didn’t even need to eat. All he had for the time that his parents were gone was to explore the vast reaches of this endless dreamscape alone, observing others' dreams as they slept.
“...Hi!”
Biscuit looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, turning his head to see a cheerful 6-year-old blue and orange heeler boy looking down at him.
“My name’s Cobalt, what’s yours?”
Cobalt watched as the psychiatrist scribbled something down on his clipboard; there was once a time when that would’ve only made him more anxious, but as the month of discussing his private issues regarding his intrusive thoughts, vivid nightmares, and maladaptive daydreams to Dr. Malinois went on, he genuinely began to feel more at peace with himself.
“So,” the therapist finally said, looking up from his clipboard, “how is the prescription treating you?”
“Honestly… pretty great, actually!” Cobalt replied with a smile, “I haven’t had any daydreams - or, any dreams at all, really - since day one. It’s definitely taken the edge off. I’m sleeping so much better, and my grades are improving. My mood sure is, too. ”
“That’s good to hear. Great, even! Now, as for your hobbies, I believe you told me you were into drawing, so how’s that coming along?”
“Well, I haven’t really…” Cobalt paused, realizing something. “I haven’t drawn much at all lately, now that I think about it.”
“Lack of motivation?” the doctor asked.
“No, more like… I’ve tried, but I guess the ‘vision’ isn’t there?” Cobalt replied inquisitively, his brow furrowing. “Typical art-block, I guess.”
“Interesting, interesting.” Dr. Malinois nodded. “I’d like to try a quick little experiment, Cobalt. It’s very easy, just hold out your hand, if you please.”
“...O-okay.” Cobalt did as he was suggested, holding his palm up.
“Now I want you to imagine an apple. It can be any kind of apple you want. You can even close your eyes, if that helps. And when you have this apple in mind, I want you to describe it to me with complete honesty. The weight, the feel. Every minor detail you can picture. Understand?”
Cobalt nodded, trying to picture a mouthwatering honeycrisp apple - large, red, and shiny. Crunchy apple-skin to bite down on, yet juicy on the inside. All the words for it were there in his head, but when he tried to imagine it physically in his hand…
“Nothing.”
“Nothing at all?” the doctor asked, tilting his glasses.
Cobalt shook his head.
“Hm, a ‘five’, then…” Dr. Malinois mumbled to himself as he wrote on his clipboard again.
“So, uh,” Cobalt continued, “My Noctivex prescription only had enough for the month, and as we speak, I’m officially on my last one. Is there any chance at all I could get a new bottle today?”
“Well I can fill out a request for a new prescription before I leave the office, but it’ll take a few days before it’s ready to be picked up. Since the weekend just started, it won’t be until Monday at the very earliest.”
Cobalt groaned wearily.
“Cobalt, allow me to be transparent for a moment and say you’ve been doing great during our sessions, and I’m seeing a lot of real improvement since you first walked into my office. In short, you seem much happier. There’s a light in your eyes again. And, in my professional opinion, I think you’re a very mature and capable young dog. I recommend seeing if you can handle weaning yourself off the medication for a few days, and if the issues come back again, then I can even request to up the dosage for you. Sound good?”
“I guess so…” Cobalt crossed his arms disappointedly. After what happened the last time he had a dream though, he’d much rather not go through an ordeal like that again. And with the long-awaited school dance already coming tomorrow, it couldn’t have come at a worse possible time.
“And hey, if you feel perfectly fine without the pills and you feel like you don’t need me anymore, then nothing would make me happier, believe me,” the doctor went on, “But don’t take that the wrong way though of course, haha. There’s just no better feeling for me as a psychiatrist than when I never have to see a particular patient enter my office ever again - because then that usually means I’ve done my job right. Usually.”
“I gotcha. And… thanks for all your help,” said Cobalt, getting up out of his seat on the couch as he noticed on the clock that his time was nearly up. “It really has helped a lot.”
“It’s always a pleasure, Cobalt,” Dr. Malinois said, standing as well. “The main thing to always remember is that these thoughts you’ve had, these troubling sexual fantasies about your family members… they’re just thoughts, and you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. You’re a growing teenage boy, and I know these feelings can be scary. You’re figuring out what kind of dog you’ll become, and I think you’ll know the answer sooner than you might think. The brain is a very complex thing, and its complexities have been confounding dogkind since the dawn of time. But it isn’t our imaginations that define us, it’s our actions. And based on your actions, I personally believe… no, I know - that you’re a good boy, Cobalt Heeler. And you’re meant for great things.”
Cobalt’s tail wagged, and he crossed over to hug his therapist.
“Thank you, doctor,” Cobalt said, before realizing what he was doing. “I-I hope this is okay.”
“Of course, it’s what I’m here for,” the therapist patted Cobalt’s back for a moment before politely breaking the hug, and Cobalt began heading for the door. “Please keep me up to date on how things are going while you wait for your prescription. And Cobalt?”
The young heeler had already grabbed the handle and opened the door, but looked back at his therapist as he waved him goodbye.
“Have a good weekend.”
“You too, Dr. Malinois!”
“Hey, kiddo, how’d it go?” Bandit said as Cobalt opened the car door and got into his seat.
“Pretty good,” Cobalt replied, buckling in, “though he said I won’t be able to get more Noctivex until Monday. Said I should ‘wean myself off it’.”
“That’s not all that bad an idea,” Bandit nodded, turning the steering wheel and driving off the lot. “The less drugs in you, the better.”
After some time during the ride home, Bandit sighed quietly.
“Is something wrong, Dad?” Cobalt asked.
“N-no, it’s just… I know I’m no professional therapist, but I wish I could’ve helped you more with whatever it is you’re going through. I promised I wouldn’t badger you about your problems, and I know there’s things you probably feel more comfortable with me not knowing. But still, I just kinda hoped I could’ve done more for you.”
“It’s nothing personal, Dad,” Cobalt said in reassurance, “I promise. You can only do so much for me though, and you’ve done plenty for me already. You’re a great dad.”
“Thanks, Cobalt. That really means a lot, coming from you.”
Bandit smiled a little, putting his hand on his son’s shoulder in a fatherly way. But even so, those words…
‘You’re a great dad.’
Inside, they secretly stung him in a way that he hoped Cobalt would never know.
When they arrived home, there were several additional - yet familiar - vehicles parked in the cul-de-sac. Cobalt and Bandit were both expecting this, but only Cobalt knew the real reason why everyone was gathering at the Heeler house.
Tonight was the big night - when Bluey’s plan to propose to Judo would be put into action.
After discussing the plans further with his older sister, Cobalt was now just as confident as Bluey that Judo would say yes; the Chow Chow was apparently a bit notorious for loving being the center of attention, so having a supportive crowd around her for the question would likely only boost Bluey’s chances in a positive way. And while Cobalt didn’t consider it much, he’d done all he could do to help Bluey plan this family gathering, as well as keep the real reason for this get-together under wraps.
Stripe, Trixie, Muffin, and Socks were already here, as well as Wendy, who was talking with Cobalt’s aunt Brandy and her daughter, Azure. There was also Calypso, and of course…
“Hey, Sapph,” Cobalt said once he got out of the car, already greeted by a loving hug from his half-sister. “Glad you could make it.”
“Me too, Mum was so distracted by making her lesson-plan for next year’s Kindy that she almost completely forgot about tonight!”
They laughed.
“So, what’s the special occasion?” Sapphire asked.
“N-no special occasion!” Cobalt smirked nervously, “Just another nice family get-together!”
“You really are a terrible liar, Cobe,” she said smugly, “Does someone have some big news?”
“N-no! Well… I can’t say anything about it yet, but… yes.”
Sapphire gasped loudly, grabbing at Cobalt’s stomach.
“Is it you? Are you pregnant?! Congratulations!”
Cobalt stepped back, shaking his head and chuckling in bewildered confusion.
“What?! Why would I be having a baby? Who would I even be having a baby with?”
Sapphire snickered playfully.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m obviously just bein’ silly, relax bro.” Sapphire winked before walking past him to give her father Bandit a hug, but not before discreetly swishing her fluffy tail in such a way that it gently caressed Cobalt’s own as he heard her whisper something that sounded something like,
“Can’t wait for the dance tomorrow.”
Sapphire’s tail sent a pleasant shock up Cobalt’s spine, followed by a numbing tingle throughout his body that made him experience what he was sure being drunk must’ve felt like. Although his intrusive thoughts about the rest of his family were gone, he knew his love for Sapphire was something that no amount of therapy could ever fix - and he didn’t want it to.
Another vehicle arriving in the cul-de-sac snapped the dumb lovestruck grin off his face, a large black truck pulling up onto the curb strip. Just as expected, uncle Radley hopped out the driver’s side, followed by aunt Frisky and their son, Almond.
“Hey cousin, uh, Colby!” he said, shaking Cobalt’s hand with a firm grip that almost matched Rad’s.
“Er, Cobalt, but close enough,” replied Cobalt politely.
“Ah, my bad, I’m terrible with names. It has been a few years, hasn’t it?” Almond asked, swishing his hair.
“It was last Christmas.”
“And how the time flies. Anyway, good to see ya!” With that, Almond was off. “Hey, Muffett!”
“My name is Muffin!”
It wasn’t much longer until the rest of the family arrived: Wendy and Bandit’s son Indigo arrived with his boyfriend, Ruckus, followed shortly after by Bingo with her boyfriend, Dougie. And last, but not least, Bluey and Judo finally pulled into the lot, and the real party could finally begin as they all headed to the backyard.
As the night went on, Cobalt began to feel more at ease around his family than he’d been in what felt like a lifetime ago. No sexual daydreams, no awkward moments, no uncomfortable conversations, just good times and good fun with his estranged family members as he got to reconnect with them again, just as he’d been longing for.
Just as they’d all been longing for.
“Okay, Cobalt,” said Bluey in a hush, having taken him off to the side for a moment after the sun had gone down, “I’m going to propose soon, how do I look?”
“You look great, Bluey,” Cobalt said with a smile.
“You promise?” Bluey said, clearly feeling her nerves finally catching up to her as he doubts set in.
“You look beautiful, big sis. There’s no way Judo would ever reject you.”
He held her hands, and her trembling slowed.
“Thanks, Cobalt. I love you.”
Bluey leaned down, sweetly giving him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. And instead of feeling flustered or aroused, Cobalt’s heart only swelled with pride for his sister.
“I love you too, Bluey. You and Judo are gonna make each other really happy, I just know it.”
The two siblings held each other for a moment, their tails wagging as one.
“Y’know, you seem so different from just a month ago,” Bluey said with a pat on her little brother’s back as she slowly parted their embrace, backing away to return to Judo. “You really are growing up, little brother.”
Cobalt looked on as Bluey approached Judo, saying something inaudible to her for a brief moment before getting down on one knee and pulling out a small box. Then, she opened it. There was a deafening silence that fell over the party for a moment as Judo stood in breathless shock, covering her mouth with her hands. Everyone else was holding their breaths as well as they anticipated her answer.
The Chow Chow then nodded frantically, and Bluey immediately sprung up again and hugged Judo so tight that she picked her up off the ground and swung her from side to side.
Bingo began jumping up and down excitedly, Frisky fainted into Radley’s arms, and Stripe began whooping and hollering in what sounded like a triumphant war cry. Bandit, however… Cobalt noticed that he had a rather unexpected reaction. Bluey’s father stood in place for a moment, leaning his hand against the nearby table for balance as he appeared to be deep in thought with a blank expression on his face before taking a deep breath… and began walking towards the house. No, ‘congratulations’, no hug for Bluey… nothing. Not even a smile.
Cobalt knew for a fact that Bandit was no homophobe, which made this response from his dad all the more confusing to him. Was he feeling unwell? Or perhaps simply overwhelmed with emotion? Different people processed events like this in different ways, after all. Could it be that seeing his daughter getting engaged was causing Bandit to have something of a mid-life crisis?
At first, Cobalt wanted to check on his dad to see if he was okay, but ultimately decided that he might just need a moment to breathe, so instead he approached Bluey to join in with the rest of his family on congratulating her engagement.
Once all the excitement had died down after about an hour, Bluey had finally taken notice as well that her dad was still nowhere to be found, and so she went into the house alone to check on him. Cobalt caught a glance of his oldest sister as she disappeared inside, waiting a few minutes more before eventually deciding to follow her to finally see what was up with dad as well.
Cobalt entered the house, naturally going upstairs towards his parents’ room as he figured Bandit might be resting there. When he reached the top of the stairs, he heard a faint sobbing coming from the end of the hall where Bandit’s room was. He crept steadily down the hall, taking care to avoid that one floorboard that creaked slightly, before the voices of Bluey and Bandit coming from his parents’ bedroom were more discernible.
“...I-it’s just… Bluey, I… I’m so happy for you, I really am,” Bandit said, his voice cracking through his tears, “And I know it’s unfair of me to be acting like this, but with everything that’s happened between us… it still hurts a little. You’re not a little girl anymore.”
“Dad…” Bluey said, “I still love you more than anything, I hope you know that. I’ll always be yours, and Judo can never truly replace you in my heart. But… I do love her. We both knew this day was coming eventually. You said so yourself, remember our first date?”
‘First date?’ Cobalt thought, scowling to himself, ‘everything that’s happened between us?’
“I… I know,” Bandit said with a heaving sigh, wiping his eyes. “You were only seven then, but it still feels like yesterday. I always knew we could never be together for real life, but… we’ve been slowly drifting apart for a while now, and now that the day is actually here… it doesn’t make it any less painful.”
“We’ll always have our dreams, Dad,” Bluey whispered.
“...Yeah. In our dreams,” Bandit whispered in return.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, Bluey.”
After another minute of silence, Cobalt gently pushed the door open and suddenly wished that he were only imagining things. But this was no daydream - sitting on the bed and facing towards the balcony, Bluey and Bandit’s mouths were pressed against one another in a deep kiss that was definitely not meant to be shared between a father and his daughter. Cobalt froze in horror as his sister and father’s tongues intertwined, the airy sound of their hot breaths burning into his ears as they moaned into each other’s mouths. At the sight of the strand of saliva caught between their parting mouths, Cobalt had seen more than enough.
“Dad? Bluey? What… the FUCK.”
Bandit and Bluey both gasped and distanced themselves from one another as they looked at Cobalt, having been caught-red handed.
“C-C-Cobalt, l-look… i-it’s not what it looks like…” Bandit said defensively, standing up and crossing around the bed in an attempt to explain things.
“N-no, I saw you… and Bluey… making out. What else would that fucking look like?!” Cobalt backed away, pulling out his phone. “You… you mentioned when she was seven. Please, PLEASE tell me that doesn’t fuckin’ mean what I think it does!”
“I-it’s really complicated, Cobalt,” Bluey said, “But everything’s okay, I promise. Please, don’t do anything rash.”
“Then tell me what in the fuck is going on!”
“Cobalt, please j-just relax, and listen to me,” Bandit said, cautiously approaching his distraught son. “I can explain everything if you just hold on a minute. Y’see, Bluey can-”
“-Enter dreams, is that it?” Cobalt interrupted with a snarl, “Your little ‘lovechild’ already told me everything, I just didn’t want to fuckin’ believe it! I… I can’t believe… you raped Bluey!”
“N-no, see, it wasn’t rape,” Bandit insisted, “Bluey wanted it. Sh-she-”
“Are you fuckin’ hearing yourself right now, Dad?!” Cobalt yelled, “She was a child! You… had sex… with your child.”
Chilli then entered the room.
“Cobalt? Bandit? Bluey? What’s going on?”
“Mum, I hate to tell you this, but Dad, h-he…” Cobalt pointed at Bandit in disgust. “...He raped Bluey when she was only seven, and they’ve been having a secret affair ever since.”
“Wha-? Oh, haha!” Much to Cobalt’s horror, Chilli began to chuckle. “Sweetheart, you’re a bit confused. It wasn’t rape, Bluey loved it! Didn’t you, Bluey?”
Bluey nodded.
“MUM!”
Cobalt stepped back, his heart sinking.
“You… you knew, all along. And then you tried to corrupt me too, to get me in on your sick game. It… it all suddenly makes a lot of sense now…” Cobalt looked at the three of them in utter disbelief. “Are all of you fuckin’ insane?!”
“Cobalt, please!” Bluey pleaded, “We can talk about this! I’m perfectly fine!”
“Why the fuck are you defending them, Bluey?!” Cobalt pressed ‘000’ on his phone, holding his finger close to the call button as he stared daggers into his parents. “Give me ONE good reason why I shouldn’t call the fucking cops on you pedophiles right now!”
Bandit and Chilli were silent for a moment. The big blue heeler then sighed as he pinched between his eyes with his fingers, sitting down on the floor in front of the bed in defeat.
“...You’re right, Cobalt. You’re right about everything. Do what you have to do. I’ve… I’ve had this coming for a long time.”
“Don’t try to get any fuckin’ sympathy from me, Dad! It’s not gonna work!” Cobalt’s finger trembled as it inched closer to the call button.
“I’m not trying to get any sympathy, son,” Bandit whimpered weakly as he looked up at his beloved daughter., “This is what I deserve… for all the things that I’ve done. None of this was ever fair to you, Bluey. I should’ve been a better father, to love you only like a father should. It was my responsibility to teach you that… this kind of love was always wrong, from the very beginning. I was never supposed to be your lover, and now you’re messed-up because of me. I’ve messed up everything, and I have no excuses. No one to blame but myself.”
Bandit looked to his son again.
“So go ahead and call them, Cobalt. I deserve to spend the rest of my life behind bars for what I’ve done. But please, if I can ask just one thing… please spare your mum. She’s not innocent in this either, but at least give her the chance to get the help she needs. But not me. I’m too far gone. What I’ve done doesn’t deserve forgiveness. I really am… a monster.”
“Please don’t do it, Cobalt,” Bluey begged, beginning to cry. “It won’t change the past. It’ll only rob us of our parents for the rest of our lives. You know in your heart that they’re not monsters, they love us. They love you.”
Cobalt thought it over, the possible outcomes of what he could do next. The power he had. His parents could spend the rest of their lives in prison, and Cobalt would likely be in foster care for the remainder of high school. True, they were his parents, but they were still bad dogs, and deserved to face justice for what they’d done. What was he to do?
Everything seemed so damn normal until a few short months ago. Cobalt never in a million years would’ve expected his parents to be… this. But now that he knew the full, unadulterated truth, could things ever have any chance of going back to the way they used to be?
Did they even deserve to?
Cobalt felt his whole world breaking apart around him, and it tore him up inside.
He tightly clenched his fist, reluctantly dropping his phone onto the carpet floor.
“...Fine. This is what's going to happen,” Cobalt said coldly, “Against my better judgment, I won’t call the police. I won’t even tell anyone else. But, Dad… as of this moment… you’re dead to me. And I want you to know, you’re… a horrible dad. A horrible dog. Same goes for you, Mum. We're done. It’s going to take a long time for me to ever even consider forgiving you both for what you’ve done to this family. I don’t want either of you to ever speak to me, unless I speak to you first. I want both of you in my life as little as possible. As far as I see it, you’re no longer my parents until further notice. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll forgive you someday, but maybe I won’t. Don’t even try to bribe me, it won’t help. There’s nothing you can do. I just need time. And, in case it wasn’t clear already… Mum, Dad… I don’t love you anymore.”
Bandit brought his hand to his chest, shuddering a little as he clutched his fragile heart.
Chilli sat next to him on the floor, tears running down both their cheeks at their son’s ultimatum. In a way, this actually felt worse than life in prison. But if it was what Cobalt deemed a fitting punishment for them, they accepted it fully.
They nodded silently as they looked down, already obeying Cobalt’s request not to speak to him without any objection.
“Cobalt…” Bluey said shakily, “Don’t you think that might be a bit… cruel? They’re our parents…”
“You want to talk to me about cruelty?” Cobalt scoffed, pointing at Bandit and Chilli. “You’re looking at the wrong fuckin’ dog, sis.”
“But, Cobe,” Bluey said, “Please, can’t we just-”
“I’ve already heard enough bullshit for one night, honestly,” Cobalt said, picking up his phone and putting it away as he headed for the door. “Congratulations on your engagement, Bluey… for whatever your loyalty to Judo is actually fuckin’ worth.”
With that, Cobalt left the three alone to think over what they’d done. The irreparable damage they’d caused.
The family they’d destroyed.
Cobalt dragged his feet to his bedroom, closing the door behind him and locking it before turning off his light. Emotionally-exhausted, he collapsed into his bed, pressing his face hard into the pillow as it quickly soaked up his tears.
He took a deep breath in.
“...FUUUUUUUUUCK!”",
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