#*f: ankh

[thrilling-oneway]

Walk on and on releases on EN soon and it’s by far the most gay subtext akitoya event so how creatively are they gonna censor “i want to stand by you for the rest of my life”

[beautifulmakkaris]

If you're missing Lockwood and Co, don't despair! Here are some recommendations from fans of the show and books to help fill the void while we fight for season 2 - please share far and wide <3

All recs are from responses to this post, myself and things I've seen floating around the internet (ie, Goodreads suggestions/lists). Recs may be based on specific characters, ships, tropes, genres, worldbuilding or just general ~vibes.

Please make sure to check all content warnings before reading/watching any recommendations on this list.

Books (standalone)

Spellbound by F. T. Lukens

The Agency for Scandal by Laura Wood

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood

The Hidden Dragon by Melissa Marr

Trouble by Lex Croucher

Books (series - *ongoing)

Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir*

Virals by Kathy Reichs

The Shades of London by Maureen Johnson

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Jackaby by William Ritter

Charlotte Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

The Checquy Files by Daniel O'Malley

Alex Stern by Leigh Bardugo*

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerry Maniscalco

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

The Diviners by Libba Bray

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Percy Jackson & the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Mokee Joe by Peter J. Murray

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens*

Letters of Enchantment by Rebecca Ross*

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Dreadwood by Jennifer Killick

The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros*

The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud

Ankh-Morpork City Watch (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Books (graphic novels)

Locke & Key by Joe Hill

Television series (*-ongoing)

School Spirits*

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Shadow & Bone

Wednesday*

Stranger Things*

CW's Nancy Drew

Shadowhunters

Locke & Key

The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself

Spooksville

The Midnight Club

Teen Wolf

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Grimm

Please feel free to keep sending recommendations my way and I'll update this list as often as I can! Also let me know if you enjoy anything you found from this list, I'd love to know if you found it helpful :)

[pieromachine]

Eiji!, CHANGE MEDALS!

...

O..Okay..

[Gothic Ankh+Shingo(F)] [Visual/Punk Ankh]

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

Cariño Masterlist

Jake Lockley X F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Masterlist • ao3 • want to be tagged?

Status: ongoing

Part One: You’re pretty good at procuring hard to find items for others, for the correct price. So when Jake Lockley hires you to steal an Egyptian artefact it should all be plain sailing. Right?

Part Two: Old superstition ate into your bones. There always had to be a problem on a job. You just had to hope it was something small and only just bordering on inconvenient: like the flight being delayed half an hour, a line to collect the jammer. The longer things went without issue, the bigger the problem was going to be. It’s time to get moving and Jake isn’t exactly playing by the rules.

Part Three: “And that’s why we don’t bring twenty two million dollar cars with us on a job.”You're in. Just a short wait before the heist can begin, surely it's got to be plan sailing from here?

Part Four: A gentle interlude.

Part Five: “Kiss me,” you muttered, expecting to have to explain yourself, your reasoning, your plan.  Stealing the ankh was always going to be too easy.

Part Six: Your stomach dropped. But not at seeing him, which was annoying in its own way. No, your stomach dropped as you recognised the man beside White. Edward Malay. The same Edward Malay who owned this house, the same Edward Malay who owned the ankh that was now in Jake’s inside pocket, the same Edward Malay who it was a very bad idea to get on the wrong side of. Featuring a guest appearance from everyone's favourite gift shopist!

[the-chronicle-of-holy-days]

We made it through!

There’s only one thing left

The Comment

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

The study of this Book is forbidden. It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading.

Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire.

Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all, as centres of pestilence.

All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself.

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

Love is the law, love under will.

The priest of the princes,

Ankh-f-n-khonsu

See you next year ❤️

[firespirited]

hot take but I think the fantasy Event Horizon director's cut should have less gore and more of the character building moments. Less is more.

The more ambiguity about whether it was a mass hallucination, the more left to the imagination and conveyed by the actors reactions to what they saw off-screen, the better the film.

The set design, the lighting, the incredible acting speak for themselves - I think those things are so strong you could have a PG-13 rated cut with a single f-bomb (Fishburne's "Fuck this ship!" of course) that still leaves you sleepless.

-------------------------------

9/10 film. Would have been 10/10 without the extra gore.

As Anderson himself says, after a certain amount the viewer's imagination is stretched too far and you start to rationalize the rubber props and fake blood. The anatomy is off for PJ's death, the fire's effects are off even for different gravity, the carefully acted distress of the crew isn't present in the shock imagery. That's the one point against it, that and the prevailing belief that it's about a literal hell when that's refuted in the text.

==== I love this film ====

It is breathtakingly beautiful. the sets, the effects, the lighting, the filters, subliminal symbology everywhere. The acting, the way the world is lived in and their relationships are shown to us by the way the actors touch each other and move around their ship.

Within the first five minutes we have everything we need to know: Weir is a self-absorbed "genius" who hesitates over his jugular while shaving, Miller is an efficient and empathetic search and rescue lifeguard captain with full devotion to his crew which is fully returned.

Each member of the crew has their backstory in their mannerisms and design: we have a superstitious pilot with an ankh back tattoo, the sun-starved surgeon has scalpels on a utility vest and encourages you to smoke, the women are "one of the boys" facing the same ol' sexist banter from lovable rogue Cooper, but also respected in their fields. That's show not tell in impeccable detail.

We get a quick meet and greet verbal introduction to the crew at the 10-minute mark. We're introduced to the ship and its gothic, unholy geometries at 25. The design elements invoke a hybrid between the awe of a cathedral and the disgust of an intricate medieval torture device. The technology is robust and, except for an optical drive disk, future-proof.

This ship is a twisted Passion Play in design form with an evil seraphim of eyes within eyes, wheels within wheels as a beating heart engine. You don't have to be told that this thing demands worship and sacrifice, it is in your cultural subconscious.

It is in every jagged tooth and violence invoking shape engraved into the various panels and walls. The designers working on creating future warnings about nuclear waste would be pointing at different elements and yelling "Yes! That's it! Universal, visceral, primal signs of danger! Colours of disease!"

We're in a psychological thriller: the first real violence is a full 50 minutes into a 1h30 runtime and it's a plausible hazard of the job, shown with an unflinching camera with real time tension.

We spend the next ten minutes being gaslit by Weir into believing the ramping violence of the 'haunted house' might just be in our heads until the captain and crew subvert the horror trope and GET OUT. Fantastic story telling, very smart.

We now switch genres. again. to an ultra violent possession and slasher movie with a switch in tone for the ending: rewritten to be just open-ended enough to wonder if it was a shared psychotic frenzy, something supernatural or something natural but beyond humanity's understanding. A nice bookend to that almost campy over the top blood fest of a last half hour where Fishburne is the grounding force to Sam Neill's insane monster.

The CGI is in service to the practical effects and near seamless despite the age, it's mostly composite work on miniature sets and for zero gravity liquids. I honestly don't know how Mortal Kombat guy managed to get this kind of acting and photography talent to work on a space horror.

It feels a lot like the glitch that was Hannibal the TV show, art that wouldn't get made if the money men had known exactly what was involved and art that is bordering on schlocky but toeing a line that makes it brilliant. A kind of art that is achieved with a lot of talent and dedication but also the enforced limitation of The Edit.

I really think that the multiple test screenings and edits made this film better: it's like Robocop vs Showgirls*, Event Horizon vs Resident Evil*: the edits saved us from a movie that went too far and came out silly.

It's a film that feels rare.

*you already know I like both.

[goodbysunball]

Illegal life forever

Sleep's hard to come by these days, but important new music is not. Really excited about all of these albums, though I think a lot more people would be into the J.R.C.G. and Weak Signal records if they heard 'em. Feels wild to be alive in a time where this much new music hits a nerve.

J.R.C.G., Grim Iconic (Sadistic Mantra) LP (Sub Pop) Second album post-Dreamdecay from Justin R. Cruz Gallego, and it's a monster step forward from Ajo Sunshine. While sonically the two albums are drowning in layers of tom-forward drumming, buzzing synths, and effects-garbled vocals, Grim Iconic (Sadistic Mantra) puts all the pieces into a coherent whole. For whatever coherence is present, this is still a deeply adventurous, genreless, psych-damaged, electronics-rich album with enough twists and left turns to hogtie any attempts to pigeonhole it. My favorite songs, "Drummy" and "World i," are lush, heavy meditations on a single theme, driven forward by Gallego's nimble drum patterns and padded with enough synths to glide smoother than a limousine, even where blasts of white noise and black metal vocals come in. Then there's "Liv," in which Happy Songs For Happy People-era Mogwai splits open to reveal a warped vision of '00s dance-punk, or "Junk Corrido," where what sounds like a Goblin track falls off a cliff into eerie ambience, complete with thin, shallow woodwind exhalations. The album can feel just as impenetrable as it is approachable, but all the pieces fit, even where they normally wouldn't, a credit to the production of Gallego and Seth Manchester. Whether you're interested in pulling the million audio-instrumental threads stuffed into Grim Iconic (Sadistic Mantra) or you, like me, just want to listen to "Party People (Heaven)" at maximum volume and never leave its luscious confines, it's one of the year's must-hear records, and one that's scarcely left my listening rotation for months.

Jim Marlowe, Mirror Green Rotor in Profile CS (Medium Sound) From way back in January, a second solo cassette release from Louisville's most active musician, he of Sapat, Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, and now a member of Ryan Davis' Roadhouse Band. Where Time Out on the Miracle Index (Haha Tapes, 2022) veered more toward drone and ambient, Mirror Green Rotor in Profile triangulates on the surface somewhere between Vince Guaraldi, ZNR when they let their guard down, and the oft-orchestra'd crescendos of 00's indie. The latter is woven into a decidedly psychedelic tapestry, stripped of its sometimes embarrassing vocals and melodrama, revealing the many moving parts and layers intertwined and churning beneath. Hooks seem to fall right out of Marlowe's brain and hands, augmented by tumbling drums and hammered piano and a litany of other instruments I'm doomed to misidentify. The tracks that jump out on early listens, like "Imaginate Me" and "64 Deluxe: Plank Ring," are inventive and cartoonish like the cover art, both music and art reminiscent of animation for children from the '60s and '70s. The more pensive moments ("Bud Morton's All Gone," "Pink Rotor Mist") feel no less bright and vivid, the rich, warm percussion-heavy sound stringing together the short vignettes. The noted lack of cynicism, dropped in favor of a bright, punchy sound, shows where Marlowe contributes to Equipment Pointed Ankh, and anyone who liked either or both of their albums last year ought to be right at home on MIrror Green Rotor in Profile. The rest'll find something to hang their hat on across the albums 30 minutes, as these quick, unassumingly busy tracks reward both cursory and repeat listens. My favorite cassette of the year so far.

Mordecai, Seeds From the Furthest Vine LP (Petty Bunco) Sixth LP from America's finest purveyors of lo-fi scuzzy jangly rock, and if you thought they'd clean up with age, breathe a sigh of relief. The band has regrouped to deliver their best and most enjoyable LP yet, even with its members now spread out worldwide, far from their Montana roots. Seeds From the Furthest Vine eschews any crisp production techniques, arriving instead chock full of vocals that sound as if they were recorded through an oscillating fan, cardboard box drums, and guitar solos that wriggle violently like eels out of the players' grasp. While sonic similarities to their forebears can be spotted - Rep/Shepard/Jay, early Pavement, and a splash of the Galbraith/Russell corner of the NZ underground - there simply aren't many groups left that sound like Mordecai, let alone deliver on the promise of that suite of influences. Peep how the soft jangle of "Oval Door" collides with the sharp, clattering noise of "Meat on a Stick," or how the piercing woodwind of "Seeds From the Furthest Vine Pt. II" presages the Fall-indebted blare of "Never Get Ahead." Then there's the audacious seven minutes of garbage heap clang and manic vocals on "Down In an Alley," delivered over a warm harmonium and serving as the speaker-crackling comedown on a rather brilliant album. While it can sound like the group records spontaneously, using whatever means at hand when the situation demands it, the fact that the whole record flows effortlessly belies a logic behind the album's construction. The fragments of lyrics I can make out indicate a thoughtful, poignant core, roughed up and resilient, though more often they're buried and indecipherable ("When You Know Them As"). Vocals are an instrument, too, so whether you're comfortable with that fact or not, Seeds From the Furthest Vine's a winner, capable of floating on the fringes of your consciousness as much as it is enveloping it like a rough wool blanket.

Negative Gears, Moraliser LP (Static Shock) Second record from Sydney's Negative Gears, arriving after five long years, and it couldn't be more suited to the moment. The band sits within the dark grooves laid down by Crisis, Siekiera (both mentioned by the label) or Juju, fleshing that framework out with multiple guitars, keyboards and vocals dripping with contempt. They frame the moment through a psychological lens, lending fresh eyes to all the seemingly unsolvable problems everyone acknowledges: crushing workloads, social media-begotten loneliness, and keeping up appearances that everything's fine through it all. While their sound is certainly of a contemporary Australian lineage (equal parts Total Control, Constant Mongrel and Low Life), they keep it fresh and stand out on their own by bringing wild energy to the topics at hand, eyes bulging through the swelling, driving noise on "Room With a Mirror" and "Lifestyle Damages." Moraliser's catchy as hell in spite of its lyrical evisceration of society, late-stage capitalism and themselves, which they cover right off with "Negative Gear." Despite the dour topics tackled, there's an undeniable itchiness and movement about these songs; you could probably dance to "Ants" or "Connect," and I imagine they'll be crowd favorites in no time, tightly wound construction leading to anthemic release. Even though the music might lend itself to movement, there are long, moody tails at the end of each side to drive home the real state of things, conjuring visions of empty city streets, drizzle, wet trash rolling around, the unavoidable mess humans leave when they're gone. The earth will be fine even if we won't, and it's hard not to have some optimism about younger generations' action and impact, but on days when it feels like all's lost, Moraliser is the album to lean on.

Vampire, What Seems Forever Can Be Broken LP (Televised Suicide) It's been a bumper crop year for bands on the Amebix-Rudimentary Peni sound axis, and amongst the bunch that I've heard, Vampire's What Seems Forever Can Be Broken stands tall as my favorite. Any fan of Death Church is gonna find a lot to like here: tom drums pound, the bass threads vicious lines around each hit, and the guitar’s a distorted buzz saw. Where Vampire really distinguish themselves is their vocals, placed right up front and enunciated clearly despite the rage and bile bubbling underneath. Sounds like each of the three members takes turns, but the feral gnashing and their more melodic foil are the two vocalists that make the most appearances. The best vocal performance has to be the opening verse on "Endless Chain," where it sounds like the one vocalist is chewing off and spitting out each syllable, blood dripping from the corners of their mouth. "The Letter" is another standout, a disarming takedown of shamers and abusers set to an absolutely bulldozing riff. The band keeps things trim, with most songs snuffed out after two minutes, and that extends to the lyrics, too: “We’re looking for a future/there’s nothing to hold” hits the nail. There's a respect for their anarcho forebears, but Vampire veers slightly more toward hardcore, except with audio so crisp you can feel the sweat and spit coming out of the speakers. The production allows tracks like "Human Market Capital" to hit that much harder, all tightly wound tension and release squeezed inside 90 seconds. Gotten a ton of mileage out of What Seems Forever Can Be Broken, as much of an adrenaline boost and it is an unfortunate reflection of our current moment. Apropos now, and probably forever.

Weak Signal, Fine LP (12XU) If there is one band you should hear this year, it's Weak Signal, the quietly prolific trio from NYC. Fine already feels like a future classic, the kind of record that I listen to multiple times a day and still find more time to listen to again. The trio is brutally efficient: drums hammer rudimentary patterns, locked down by the bass, and the guitar chugs along with crunchy, muted notes and chords until a solo breaks free. The band's lyrics and Bones' straight, baritone delivery cut to the quick with the bite of Denis Johnson, unpretentious sentiments that are washed and tumbled from half-a-lifetime of experience, as cynical and biting as they are heartbreaking in their economy. They can cut both ways at once, like "I only love my friends/that's why I leave them be" from "Baby," or the chorus to "Wannabe," where Bones manages to sound both at peace and deflated. They even reach for a bit of unapologetic hedonism on "Rich Junkie" and all without a whiff of condescension, a fleeting thought given space and squashed in the span of two minutes. The lyrical efforts would all be for naught if the music wasn't up to snuff, but the band has doubled down on their streamlined grunge sound, excess grime wiped clean and even given a bit of polish with acoustic guitar and mellotron accents. There are blasts of noise that open up each side of the record, rock star moves from a group that deserves to make 'em, but they're tamped down in favor of choruses and guitar lines that both stick in your craw. The combination of the music and lyrics connects in such a primal, satisfactory way that it's almost beyond words, but when the solo on "Disappearing" hits, or "A Little Hum" leaves you with a lump in your throat, you just know this is it. Feels like a big moment for a band that deserves a bit of recognition - a fact wryly acknowledged by Bones a few times on the album - and here's hoping Fine is the album that does it.

[ndostairlyrium]

Three Songs Playlists

I was tagged by the lovely @herearedragons 💛 I'm a sucker for playlists and I have um, too many characters :'D I'm totally copying the idea of putting as many OCs as possible, but I'm making a selection of course <<

I'm tagging: @n7viper @demandthedoodles & @underneathestars and whoever likes this post ✨

***

Ankh

Joan of Arc - In This Moment (spotify | youtube)

Lee Van Cleef - Primus (spotify | youtube)

Questo Amore è Come un Cero - Atroci (spotify | youtube)

Ela

Limitless - Amaranthe (spotify | youtube)

Dancing in Nightmares - South Haven (spotify | youtube)

Pissed Off and Mad About it - THC (spotify | youtube)

Hawke

Down at the Crossroads - Koritni (spotify | youtube)

My Luck is so Bad - The Real McKenzies (spotify | youtube)

Larger than Life - Lita Ford (spotify | youtube)

⬇ More in the Lost and Found Department ⬇

The Mass Effect Clowder

Lenore

In a Moment - Stereophonics (spotify | youtube)

Dead as Yesterday - Zakk Wylde (spotify | youtube)

Love Is Only a Feeling - The Darkness (spotify | youtube)

Serge (Twinkles) R'lyeh

Drop Dead Cynical - Amaranthe (spotify | youtube)

Butterfly - Top Cats (spotify | youtube)

I Rule the Ruins - Doro (spotify | youtube)

Castor Actius

Diablo Rojo - Rodrigo y Gabriela (spotify | youtube)

"The Sword of Damocles" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show (spotify | youtube)

Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (spotify | youtube)

Logan Klein

Radioactivity - Kraftwerk (spotify | youtube)

Out of the Dark - Eisbrecher (spotify | youtube)

Bizzarre Love Triangle - New Order (spotify | youtube)

The Originals

Rhian

F*cked with an Anchor - Alestorm (spotify | youtube)

Hail to the King - Avenged Sevenfold (spotify | youtube)

Any Means Necessary - HammerFall (spotify | youtube)

Rozenn

Never Met a Girl like You Before - The Insects (spotify | youtube)

Into the Heart of Danger - Battle Beast (spotify | youtube)

Breakthrough Starshot - Amaranthe (spotify | youtube)

[mahamudra23]

Ankh-f-na-khonsu

[throne-for-queens]

Hi Sandra!

I'm too shy to submit a post or share it to my Tumblr for now, but if you'll allow it, I would like to share a super short fanfic snippet (I write fanfic for just myself at the moment but don't mind sharing this bc it's not too crazy. ;) If you don't want to share it however, no hard feelings! and hope you enjoyed reading it :) ) that I wrote after seeing the clip of mgk's Lonely Road music vid. 

Well without further ado here it is:

Lonely Road 

by Anonymous

"She knew the consequences," Colson muttered under his breath, with a confident shrug, as he and JR walked away from the fresh gravesite. They were both dressed in all black, twinning, although different as night and day. 

JR was sturdy in size with a face full of tats and in a looser fit. Colson, thin, his coal colored tattoos blending in almost with his fitted suit. A lone glistening ankh silver necklace, a precious present his daughter gave him before he went away the last time, adorned his chest. The sun was oddly out on such a somber occasion and made his star belt buckle shine brightly. 

JR said nothing, with a stoic look on his face but he was in agreement with his boss. His beloved wife Honey was Lilah's best friend and was utterly destroyed by her fate. She was home holding down the fort with their little angel and Colson's princess. Colson spared Honey some grief by not demanding her presence at the burial. JR was grateful for that. Colson was a heartless motherf**ker most of the time. And with this latest betrayal to the XX family, JR wondered if he would ever witness his right hand man smile again. 

He glanced at Colson's cold face, his half jet black, ice blond hair blowing gently in the wind and shuddered at the fact the man had just laid to rest his woman. Not no more she was. If she had a headstone it would say: 'Here lies lying Lilah.' That lying b***h had betrayed Colson and the family in the worst possible way. No way she could live after that. It didn't even matter to Colson that she was-

"F**k this s**t. Let's roll," Colson's gruff voice commanded, cutting through JR's thoughts.

JR looked at his boss who had a twisted smile on his face. He saw that look in his eyes. His blue eyes were red on fire for more blood, for more revenge. Rightfully so. JR grinned, showcasing a mouthful of gold. 

"Let's go! Shady ain't got a fucking prayer! God almighty himself can't stop what's coming to that sorry ass son-of-a-b***h!" JR exclaimed, excited to execute Colson's carefully crafted plan to take down the man responsible for his downfall.

"Preach!" Colson laughed uproariously, making prayer hands. Then he reached into the front of his pants and pulled out a long black and pink semi automatic pistol. He pointed it up to the sky and fired off a flood of rounds, still laughing like a maniac, as JR and the rest of XX mimicked their badass boss with their own weapons. 

No one else was around for miles to see or hear them while on their territory, but not for long. Colson and his posse were coming for the head of his greatest opp on a platter. Right now.

This is cool, always willing to support a fellow writer! ☺️

[thrilling-oneway]

i thought about this for a bit longer because i was like "surely surely there's gotta be a slash or femslash where people do that" and while there are some instances, from observation flanderisation and mischaracterisation of both the character and the ship generally seems to happen more with m/f

M/f ships especially for whatever fucking reason

[santoschristos]

Ankh-F-N-KhonsuI am the Lord of Thebes, and IThe inspired forth-speaker of Mentu;For me unveils the veilèd sky,The self-slain Ankh-af-na-khonsuWhose words are truth.Mahaboka, M/J

[eyesfullofscars]

Minor nickpick

But why the f*ck is the Norse God of mischief wearing an egyptian Ankh¿ earing?

The key to life

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

Cariño [Part 5]

Jake Lockley X F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Masterlist • ao3 • want to be tagged?

Cariño Masterlist

Summary: “Kiss me,” you muttered, expecting to have to explain yourself, your reasoning, your plan.  

Stealing the ankh was always going to be too easy.

A/N: Sorry this chapter has taken so long!

Warnings: typos, kissing, reader can't speak Spanish, please let me know if I have missed a warning

Word Count: 1628

___________________

You weren’t sure why you had worried about getting upstairs. It had been almost too easy. 

You had presumed that there would be at least some security, or barrier, or something. Seemed like Malay was another classic born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth type that thought nothing could ever go wrong for him. And put too much faith in his security cameras. 

More fool him.

The room you needed (3rd floor, god, why did his man need so many floors and rooms – everything was boringly minimalistic. It’s not like he needed the space.) was protected by a seven digit pin code. 

You put your gloves and punched the numbers in. It would have been boringly simple to hack even if you didn’t have the code. 

Jake followed close behind you, quiet with a faint frown of concentration on his face. It was like he was listening to something in the far distance. 

Honestly, it was a little off putting, him being there. Someone watching you work. It was like you were performing, your hands shook with minute tremors that didn’t usually appear. But that was what it was always like when Jake was around. 

The room was cooler than the other places in the house, the air conditioning buzzed lightly in the background. There were no windows, and only the one door. You closed it behind Jake as he stepped over the threshold. 

There was a small woosh of air and thud-click as it shut. 

Jake quirked an eyebrow at you. “We’ll be able to get out of here, right?” There was a hint of a smile at his lips, an injection of humour into his words. But it didn’t reach his eyes. 

You nodded. 

Jake swallowed and looked away, glancing around the room. 

It was large, spacious with rows of cabinets housing precious art and artifacts from around the world. 

But the lighting was static, cold. Meant to keep any possible damage to the treasures to a minimum, despite the face that they were sealed away. It was like a hospital. 

The still air and lack of exits made the space smaller than it was, the walls closer. Like a tomb. Like a coffi-

“It’s over here.” You said, breaking Jake out of his thoughts. You had been watching him carefully as you found the ankh’s location. 

There was a skittishness about him that you’d never seen before. A slight tense of his muscles. A subtle thing that he held well. 

“You okay?”

He swallowed. “Yeah.”

You paused, in two minds before asking, “do you want me to prop the door open?”

“No.” He shook his head. It was obvious that he was lying. “Don’t want to attract unnecessary attention, do we?”

“No one knows we’re here.” You spoke softly. 

“Don’t want to risk it.”

“Okay.” 

You managed to tear your eyes away from him for long enough to go back to the task at hand. 

There were no locks here, and it was easy enough to open the fifth drawer, take out the replica of the ankh in your bag and replace the real thing with it. 

You felt, more than heard, Jake move near you, hovering just behind. 

“Here,” you turned, smiling, and holding the ankh out to him. “Does this meet with your approval?” 

You placed it carefully in his hands before going back and closing the draw. 

Jake ran his fingers over the etched hieroglyphics, nodding. 

There was a small change in the air, a momentary breeze. You frowned. There must be something wrong with the air conditioning. 

“Shall we go?” 

Jake finally looked up at you and nodded once again before slipping the ankh into his inside jacket pocket.

You weren’t entirely sure why you did it, but you lightly took hold of the wrist of his free hand and guided him gently to the door. 

The pounding of his heart ran up through your fingers. He didn’t try to pull away. 

You let go the second you were both out, your thumb tingled where you had brushed it over the back of his hand. 

Heat has risen to your cheeks. You breathed in, a little too deeply, trying to get a hold of yourself before you turned back to Jake, your mouth open to speak.

The words never came out. 

Jake’s face was tense, alert, his jaw clenched and his head bent to the side. Listening. 

It was only then that you heard it. The faint crackle of a radio and booted footsteps. A guard. 

Your eyes widened at the realisation. A brief flare of irritation ignited in your might. This wasn’t what was meant to happen. This wasn’t part of their protocol. Why the hell did they have to be wandering around now? 

The emotion was quickly swallowed down and overcome with a spike of fear. This was what went wrong.

Jake grabbed your hand and pulled you down the corridor, his footsteps light and quick. You followed close behind him as he opened a door and hauled you both inside, shutting it just in time as the corridor came into the guard’s line of sight. 

It was dark, but the faint light from outside was enough to illuminate the room. You glanced around quickly, the schematics for this building that you’d poured over playing out behind your eyes. This was a guest bedroom. Too high to jump. No way out. 

Jake kept your hand in his as both of you listened intently for any sound in the corridor outside. The music from the garden floated in, barely audible over your racing heart and breathing. 

There was another crackle of the radio. Footsteps. And the sounds of doors opening and closing, growing closer and closer and closer. 

Jake tensed beside you. 

This was not good. You both needed to be out of here without any altercation. 

While there was a good chance that the both of you could incapacitate one guard, it wouldn’t be long before there’d be more. With guns. 

Besides, even if you did get out, Malay's reach was wide, escaping his radar was something very few did. 

Another door opening. Footsteps. It seemed like he wasn’t just doing a once over either. The guard was searching the rooms, not that there was much to hide behind in this minimalistic nightmare anyway. 

Seeking passed him while he was in another room seemed too dangerous, but what other option did you hav-

A thought sparked in your mind. You winced. Internally trying to push it away, to think of something else. But you came up empty. 

Another door opening, so much closer now. 

You turned to Jake, pulling at his hand to get his attention. You could see the frown on his face even in the weak light. 

“Kiss me,” you muttered, expecting to have to explain yourself, your reasoning, your plan.  

But it seemed like Jake was on the same wavelength. 

His lips crashed into yours. His hands coming up to cup your face and guide you backwards, pushing you up against the wall. The speed in which he moved took your breath away.

He swallowed down the small gasp of surprise that escaped your lips, sneaking his tongue into your mouth to deepen the kiss.

You grabbed at his biceps, screwing up the material of his jacket as he leaned in closer to you. You tried to push down the heat that flared along your skin, the longing that threatened to explode in your heart and overload your mind. This was just cover, this was just cover, this was just-

Jake pressed his body flush against yours, easing himself between your legs and sliding his hand down your right thigh. He took hold just behind your knee, his fingers warm and sure but so careful not to bruise despite the almost fevered rush in which he moved. 

He groaned into your mouth as he lifted your leg up and over his hip, keeping his hand on your skin and holding it in place as he rocked against you, licking further into your mouth and-

The door opened. There was a flash of light. 

You had briefly forgotten the whole point of this exercise. 

Jake turned towards the light as you shied away from it, tucking your face into Jake’s neck as it blocked you from the intruder’s vision.

The guard made an apologetic sound. “Sorry, erm,” his Italian accent was strong, but his English was perfect. “This area, is off limits, I-”

“Oh, we are so sorry.” Jake smiled; the rumble of his words reverberated through his chest into yours. He sounded so confident, composed and sure of himself. Charming. “Just looking for a little private time.” He still hadn’t let go of your leg. 

“Of course.” The awkwardness in the guard’s voice was enough to make heat rise to your face, as if it hadn’t already. “But I have to ask you to-”

“We’ll be out. Momentarily.” 

The urge to hit Jake for that was so strong you nearly didn’t stop yourself. 

The guard began to speak again before Jake cut him off. 

“Just need a moment to look presentable.” Another dashing smile. “We won’t be a second.” 

The guard paused before he nodded. “Of course.” And closed the door.

You both stayed still, Jake holding his breath as you heard the guard’s footsteps move away and a door open further down the corridor as he continued his patrol. 

Jake put your leg down slowly, as if his touch could break it. You hurriedly smoothed down your dress, preferring to look anywhere except the man in front of you. 

“Sorry.” He whispered. The sincerity of his voice was shocking in the quiet.

You stared up at him, confused. 

He waited a moment before he grinned wickedly. “I smudged your lipstick.”

.

Taglist: @pleasurebuttonwrites @jake-g-lockleyy @raven-rkn-rk @campingwiththecharmings @alexxavicry @mystinky-butt @cocodiem @oscarisaacsspit @welcometostayingawake @mbakubabe @solobagginses @melodygatesauthor @dumdaradumdaradum

[enemies-to-lovers-bracket]

What are the new current submissions?

Right now this is the list. But i might have to remove some IF we end up going over 64 (unless we get so much we can make the bracket even bigger)

Akko and Diana (Little Witch Academia)

C!Wilbur and c!Quackity (Dsmp)

Alex Claremon and Prince Henry (Red, White and Royal Blue)

Keefe Sencen, Tam Song, and fitz vacker (Keepers of the Lost City)

Catra and Adora (She-ra and the Princesses of Power)

Sun Wukong and Macaque (Lego Monkey Kid)

The Oncler x The Lorax (the Lorax)

Gilgamesh and Enkidu (Sumerian mythology)

Jude Duarte and Cardan Greenbriar (The Folk of the Air trilogy)

Shadow and Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)

DJ Octavio and Cap'n Cuttlefish (Splatoon)

Lace and Hornet (Hollowknight: Silksong)

Rey and Kylo Ren (Star Wars)

Sam Winchester and Gabriel (Supernatural)

Han Solo and Leia Organa (Star Wars)

Dazai Osamu and Chuuya Nakahara (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Luz and Amity (the Owl House)

Zuko and Sokka (Avatar the Legend of Aang)

L x Light (Death Note)

Janai and Amaya (the Dragon Prince)

Ballister Boldheart and Ambrosius Goldenloin (Nimona)

Daniela Vargas and Carmen Santos (We Set the Dark on Fire)

Akira Kurusu and Goro Akechi (Persona 5)

Tim Te Maro and Elliott Parker (Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues)

Red and Blue (This Is How You Lose the Time War)

Kyoko Sakura and Sayaka Miki (Madoka Magica)

Victoria and Camille (Reinaeiry)

Andrew Minyard and Neil Josten (All for the game)

Sniper and Spy (Team Fortress 2)

BLUE Soldier and RED Demoman (Team Fortress 2)

Lightning McQueen and Jackson Storm (Cars)

Arthur Kirkland and Alfred F jones (Hetalia)

Fluttershy and Discord (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)

Red and Green (Pokemon)

Kaito and Stacy (Zenkaiger)

Spike and Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Pat and Pran (Bad Buddy)

Ankh and Eiji (Kamen Reider 000)

Ren and Shinji (Kamen Reider Ryuki)

Kairi and Keiichiro (Lupinranger VS Patranger)

Sound and Win (My School President)

Tarou and Sonoi (Avataro Sentai Donbrothers)

Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang (the Untamed)

The Conductor and DJ Grooves (a Hat in Time)

Vegas and Pete (Kinnporche: the Series)

Keith and Lance (Voltron)

Sean and White (Not Me: the Series)

Ringo and Easy (Unter Uns)

Porsche Kittisawat and Kinn Theerapanyakul (Kinnporche) Jae Young and Sang Woo (Semantic Error) Akk and Aye (the Eclipse) I don't know a lot of these ships, so if someone would let me know if there aren't any weird incest or paedophilia ships or smth, it would be appreciated lol!

[melto]

Ankh hates Gotou. Maybe more than anything in the world.

little fic i wrote for @ampersandra's birthday based off of one of our first ever kamen rider sillays! happy birthday i love you soo much let's make jokes about toku characters saying the f slur forever and ever<3