#I am still so genuinely impressed that they managed to keep on going for almost two years now(?) seemingly by themself

[bradleysbradshaws]

I don't know if this writer will ever know this, but this fic has been what has kept my soul alive for a long time. I daydream about it, and I have a music playlist for it. I actually do think about this fic when I see Rooster and Maverick now.

[thewritingmagician2022]

Hi! I was wondering if you could write how the boys would react to an mc that don’t speak English very well? Spanish it’s my first language and it’s funny because some times I misunderstand what they say and I just stay like 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry for my bad english 😅 I hope you’re fine and healthy uwu

Ironically, I am not healthy - hence the really long delay. But thank you!

Lucifer: Lucifer is not impressed with himself; how did he manage to not realize that you didn’t speak English as a primary language? This complicates things just a little bit but he’s not going to feel too bad about it or give you any leeway.

His favorite thing to say is “you know what I mean!” when you act like you don’t understand what he’s saying. Sometimes you’re able to figure it out and sometimes you’re not but Lucifer doesn’t care. He pushes you to be self-sufficient; you better find a way to make it work while you’re down here.

On the low, he will sign you up for English classes at RAD or get you a private tutor to make sure you’re able to communicate well enough while you live down there.

Mammon: He is so confused sometimes. The two of you will go back and forth, just confusing each other more and more as you try to figure out what the other person said/meant.

Mammon is the kind of person who’s flipping through a pocket dictionary and trying to speak Spanish to you but he’s absolutely butchering it almost every time and ends up saying something rude/nonsensical by accident

It’s really cute that he tries though and he usually just finds it more funny than anything when you don’t understand him

Levi: Levi is embarrassed when you guys can’t fully understand each other. He feels ashamed that he obviously can’t communicate clearly and wonders why you would ever bother trying to talk to an otaku like him

He definitely hides away in the beginning because the language barrier bugs him

The more you talk, the more you both understand each other. He even starts speaking Spanish a little; he learned Japanese for anime so the least he can do is learn a little Spanish for you

Still, he much prefers texting because the phones can auto translate everything and he doesn’t have to worry about either of you being confused/a misunderstanding

Satan: Satan finds it funny in the “well, well, well, Lucifer finally screwed up” kind of way and he tends to dramatize how many misunderstandings there are just to spite Lucifer even more for accidentally choosing a human that doesn’t speak fluent english

With that in mind, Satan starts learning Spanish pretty much immediately and, once you two are on friendly terms, he starts tutoring you in English as well to make sure you can understand and communicate well while you live in the Devildom

Like Mammon, he carries around a little pocket dictionary; however, he’s much more efficient with it and can actually use it to translate

Asmo: Asmo doesn’t need to understand what you’re saying for him to understand you and vice Versa!

He thinks it’s so cute when you get confused and he loves to use gestures and dramatic facial expressions to convey whatever point he is trying to make - it usually doesn’t work well and ends up even more confusing but you both have fun the whole time

Definitely someone who will sometimes pretend to not notice you’re confused (or if he’s rambling about something he genuinely may not even notice) and he doesn’t need you to reply to keep the conversation going; he can talk enough for you both

Beel: Beel is confused and you’re confused

Like Levi, he may avoid communication in the beginning because Beel is usually quiet anyway but it sometimes feels like it’s not worth the hassle and confusion

Beel mimes things to you sometimes to try to better explain himself. He’s surprisingly good at charades and it usually clears things up well enough for you.

If he doesn’t understand you, he usually tries that nod/smile people do when they have no idea what the fuck is going on because he wants to be polite

Belphie: Belphie is too tired for this shit. You’re just going to have to figure out what he said for yourself; use your phone to translate or something

He will draw pictures sometimes, if it’s something he really wants to share with you and he can’t find the right words

When he doesn’t understand you, he doesn’t even pretend to. He just stares at you until you figure out a way to say it in English or make your point known in another way

Diavolo: Diavolo is entirely charmed by the language barrier. He loves that humans have so many different languages and loves how clever you all are about trying to understand each other

He does feel a bit bad considering it makes your life more difficult and miscommunications can be a pain in the ass

To rectify this issue, he tries to make all the demons learn Spanish and asks you to lead them in Spanish lessons and then everyone can speak your language!

Obviously that’s not realistic though and he settles for learning some Spanish himself and making sure all of your learning materials at RAD are translated for you to make things easier

Barbatos: Somehow Barbatos always knows how to say things in a way you understand and he’s always able to understand what you’re saying too

You have a sneaking suspicion that he may actually be fluent in Spanish but he refuses to admit it

Barbatos doesn’t even needs words; he understands your mannerisms and facial expressions well enough and he’s equally good about making himself clear to you

Solomon: Solomon speaks all human languages, both current and past. However, he’s not very good at it because he doesn’t practice the skill often so he’ll be a bit rusty in the beginning

Definitely uses spells and engagements to help communicate better and auto translates books and things for you so you have an easier time rather than struggling to read everything in English and he’ll translate any papers you write in Spanish to English too to make your life easier

Being the mischievous man he is, Solomon does love to laugh a little when you’re not able to understand someone, especially the brothers, and occasionally he may “misinterpret” what they’ve said to cause a bit more chaos

Simeon: Simeon actually already speaks some Spanish. He’s not fluent like Solomon but he understands enough to get by and he’s really good at helping translate between you and another person if there’s an issue

He’s asked you to teach him more Spanish so you guys can communicate better and he offers to help you with English as well

Simeon is a little ridiculous and loves playing the guessing game when he doesn’t understand something, rather than looking it up. He and Luke make a bit of a game of it to see who can figure it out first when there’s a miscommunication

[furiousgoldfish]

Getting disillusioned from your past is an extremely painful experience, and it hurts even worse when we're expected to not feel hurt from that.

What do you mean parents who I struggled to impress and who I loved all my life actually didn't care about me at all. What do you mean I was alone during the formative years of my life and nobody was in my corner and I grew up severely damaged by neglect and trauma due to it. What do you mean I haven't experience genuine love for any moment of my life.

I was in there, dreaming. I was building a life from straws and sand that I was able to grasp and glue together into an illusion of a family. I kept telling myself 'okay, but if this worse thing happened, then I would be protected, then it would be taken seriously, then it would matter.' I thought that's what we were all supposed to do? Every single time I said a word I would hear 'They're your parents and they're just doing what's best for you', what do you mean it was all a lie, every single time?

I was encouraged to put together a life that felt bearable to grow up in, so I wouldn't have to live in the worst possible option. The alternative was living in the world where every single person is an active danger to me and I am supposed to feel tense and terrified for every second of my life. To find out now, that it was not real? That I made everything up, that people were actively telling me to keep making it up, and to now find out I was alone all along, and I was hurt, for a long time, and nobody did anything? I was betrayed by every single person around me, since I was a baby? Everything I held onto was imaginary, every bit of trust and hope and love I held onto so dearly, never even existed?

That feels like wrenching hope out of my shaking arms when I'm still holding onto it to live. It feels like the entire inner world crashed and I don't know who anyone is, and I can't trust myself to find out, because I was wrong every single time I tried. Every event turns into pain. Every memory hurts like a burning wound. It's not 'starting over', it's being plunged into depth and the world closing in on you, showing you a face that you couldn't let yourself see because it would have broken you. And it's breaking you now.

To finally see your situation and your past as traumatic and devastating as it was, it's almost completely unbearable. Nobody should be expected to face that on somebody else's terms, or to suddenly be okay with it. It's not only a loss of an illusion, it's a loss of one's entire past, only to be replaced with a cruel, empty and abandonment-filled version. It's to realize you've been dreaming yourself a family while being alone in a dark cell with rocks thrown at you.

So be gentle with people who still partly live in that illusion, or who are struggling to break out of it. Yes, living in it is dangerous and painful, but breaking out takes a toll few could accept or manage. Nobody should be pushed or hurried up to go thru this devastation. Nobody should be forced to deal with this pain.

[supernovaa-remnant]

so I decided to write a """little""" snippet of my dreambur-centric university au but it ended up being 1.6k words, so it's going under the cut lol

uhh cw for panic attacks and mentioned pet death

Dream’s hand reaches blindly for his bedside table, searching through his haze of panic for his phone. His chest feels tight, and he feels like he can’t really get enough air in his lungs, and his stomach feels uneasy, and he feels vaguely like he’s going to be sick or pass out or maybe both. He feels like he’s a kid again, accidentally stumbling into a blackberry bush with the summer sun bearing witness, anxiety curling around him like the brambles of the bush, piercing and unrelenting. It’s an all too familiar feeling, and, though he knows the cause of it this time, it does nothing to alleviate it. 

He’s going back to university in a few days. And, it feels stupid to be worried about it because his first semester had, quite honestly, been amazing. There are friends he can’t wait to see and classes he’s excited to take, yet the anxiety persists all the same. Because he doesn’t want to leave. Because the thing about going to one’s hometown during a break is that it’s so easy to float in nostalgia and pretend like time is stretching infinitely and that nothing ever changed. He can fall into the same comforts he used to, and he can pretend he’s the same person he was months ago; he can pretend he’s an exception to change. 

But his childhood cat, Hope, died a year ago. And the holidays have only gotten harder the older he’s gotten. And he’s not the same kid picking blackberries with his parents in the summer. He’s outgrown his childhood home, and the ghosts haunt his every move, but he still doesn’t want to leave because he wants to pretend that nothing changed. He wants to close his eyes and open them to Hope laying on his chest and his friends waiting for him outside his house.

But Hope died a year ago. And he’s a university student and not a high schooler, but he wants to shut his eyes and pretend anyway. 

And he’s scared of going back. Because he loves his roommate, but sharing a room with another person can be so incredibly draining, and he just wants the space to exist alone. And a part of him thinks the whole “journey of self discovery” thing that’s supposed to happen at university isn’t quite worth it if it feels like his future has been torn out from under him. 

And Hope died a year ago, and the grief is hitting him in towering waves, and he really can’t deal with everything else on top of that. 

So, he’s fumbling for his phone, because even with all the dynamics amongst his childhood friends suddenly and almost abruptly shifting upon people’s departures to different universities, Bad has always helped him with his panic attacks. 

But it’s not Bad’s voice that greets him when he finally manages to call someone, and he curses himself for forgetting that Bad’s no longer the only contact saved under “B” in his phone. 

“Dream? Why the fuck are you calling me at 3 am?”

Dream doesn’t have the focus required to remind the groggy and annoyingly pretentious British voice that it’s 3 am in England, not Florida. 

“Dream?” 

The voice says again, more alert and laced with worry. 

“Sorry, I–” 

But Dream’s breath stutters, and he finds himself unable to continue his sentence, mouth filled only with the saltiness of his tears as he desperately tries to pull air into his lungs even as sobs keep interrupting his attempts. 

And, through the haze, he hears a calming sound. Slowly, oh so slowly, he finds the panic subsiding. The sound he hears isn’t counting—as he would’ve expected with Bad—but rather softly strummed notes on a guitar. 

“Sorry,” he says, ignoring how scratchy his voice is. 

“Don’t mention it,” Wilbur says, because of course Dream had to accidentally call Wilbur Soot of all people. “Why did you call me, anyway? I was under the impression that you didn’t quite like me,” Wilbur says teasingly, though a bit of genuineness shines through. 

“I don’t hate you,” Dream responds despite knowing that wasn’t what Wilbur asked at all. 

“I know,” Wilbur says, “but that doesn’t mean you like me either.” Something about his voice when he says it causes something in Dream’s chest to twist painfully, but before he has the chance to correct the Brit, Wilbur’s continuing. “Anyway, back to my question; why did you call me?” 

“I meant to call my friend Bad, but I guess I misclicked.” 

“Wait, what am I saved as in your phone? Because if my memory serves me correctly, the letters ‘B’ and ‘W’ are very far apart from each other.”

Dream mumbles a response, not really wanting Wilbur to hear the answer. Because Dream truly had meant to change the contact name after he’d actually gotten to know Wilbur a bit better, but he’d kept forgetting, and every time he did remember, he was in the middle of something else. 

“Pardon?” Wilbur asks, because of course he wouldn’t just take Dream’s muttered words as a response. 

“I have you saved as ‘British Cunt,’” Dream says louder, ignoring the way his face burns with embarrassment. 

For a moment, everything is silent. Then, Wilbur begins laughing, hearty and genuine, and something in Dream loosens. He’s not sure he’s ever heard Wilbur laugh so freely at something he said, and he finds himself with the inexplicable urge to make the other laugh again. 

“As hilarious as that is,” Wilbur says, “you wanna tell me why you were panicking?” 

Dream’s throat constricts at Wilbur’s words, the reminder of his anxiety causing it to flair up again. 

“You don’t have to tell me,” Wilbur’s quick to say upon Dream’s silence. “You can call someone else.” 

“No, it’s okay,” Dream manages to say, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “I’m just nervous to go back to uni, I guess.” 

“Why?” There’s confusion in Wilbur’s voice when he asks, but there's a hint of curiosity, as well. 

Dream struggles to find the words. Where does he even begin? With his fear of change? With the anxiety about next semester’s courses? With the lack of a security blanket? It feels like there’s so much that he doesn’t even know how to articulate it. 

“I’m seventeen,” he settles on, whispering and choking on the words. “I’m seventeen,” he repeats, “and I graduated high school at sixteen, and I don’t think I was ready for this.” 

He hates how scared he sounds. He hates how vulnerable he’s being with Wilbur, of all people. Niki would have been a better person to have this discussion with, or even Techno. But Wilbur? Dream doesn’t know where he stands with the Brit, and he’s not sure he should be telling the other this at all. 

He hears a sharp exhale as Wilbur mutters something unintelligible. Then, Wilbur says, “maybe you weren't ready.” 

“It’s a big change,” Dream says, chuckling wetly. Change. He’d never really been good with that. 

“It is,” Wilbur agrees. “But you can’t go back. Regardless of whether or not you were ready, the change has happened, and nothing you do will make that any less true. Sure, you could drop out or take a gap year, but that won’t magically make things go back to how they were.” 

Dream makes a wounded sound, and he internally curses himself for doing such a thing when Wilbur would hear. A part of him wants to hang up. A part of him wants to hang up and cover his ears and pretend like this never happened. But, a bigger part of him, the part that admires Wilbur though he’d never admit it, is begging him to ask for advice.

“So what do I do?” He asks, voice sounding as unsure as he feels. 

“You move forward,” Wilbur responds bluntly. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be alone,” he adds more softly. “You have Techno and Niki and,” Wilbur pauses, hesitating for a moment, before continuing. “And you have me, if you want me.” 

And Dream thinks about it. He thinks about arguments and debates and biting words. He thinks about Wilbur’s pretentious attitude, and he thinks about everything about Wilbur that has gotten on his nerves during the past semester. He thinks about every conversation with subtle insults hidden under pretty words. 

And then, he thinks about everything else. He thinks about Wilbur and Niki sharing make-up tips. He thinks about Wilbur joking around with Techno and Tommy and Tubbo. He thinks about Wilbur helping Ranboo with the subjects Techno isn’t as strong in. He thinks about Wilbur feeding the local stray cats. 

He thinks about soft hands leading him out of a party and notes from a shared lecture given without ever having been asked for. He thinks about the soft strums of a guitar calming him from panic. 

“Thanks, Wil,” he says. “We should hang out more.” 

“I’m always up for hanging out with pretty boys,” Wilbur responds, grin audible in his tone. 

Dream scoffs and says, “get some sleep, idiot,” instead of responding to Wilbur’s playful flirting. 

“Yeah, you too,” Wilbur says with a yawn. “And Dream?” 

“Yeah?”

“Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. I’ll always pick up.” 

Dream smiles. “I’ll keep that in mind. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight. Sweet dreams.” 

“Oh my god, you’re so stupid. I’m hanging up now.” 

Wilbur’s giggles are abruptly cut off when Dream hangs up, but he can’t shake off the fond smile that has found its way to his face. And, most amazingly of all, he finds himself more excited to return to uni than dreading it. The anxiety is still there, of course, but he thinks that maybe he’ll be able to find ways to manage it, after all. 

[magnificentcenturyfics]

Okay, my prompt, you were probably expecting this:

A Şah/Nigar fic where Şah is intrigued by what Ibrahim found in Nigar that was attractive, and things go on from there to femslash. How Explicit it can be is left to you.

You know how I said it has to be under 5 pages? Well, it almost is. It's like 4-5 pages. Minette needs a long foreplay, yo. And BTW you're gonna regret the whole "how explicit it can be is up to you", because if you make Minette write about sex between two attractive women, she's going to make it VERY explicit.

***

„Your turn, Nigar hatun.“

Şahuban sultan was an afficionado of an older Moorish board game named alquerque. She learned it from Ana hatun, her Spanish Jewish kira, who she used to be quite close to before her unfortunate passing a couple of years prior to her return to Istanbul. Since then, Şah had noone to play it with, untill the arrival of Nigar, who, while not too knowledgeable in it, was certainly a fast learner. They spent many a lazy afternoon in the absense of Şah’s sister and Nigar’s husband playing, especially whenever Esmahan went to the palace again. „She is young.“ sighed Şah. „She needs company of girls her age. Besides, mayhaps this friendship will be of use to us? Hürrem obviously adores Mihrimah, and the girl is certainly old enough to be involved in her mother’s schemes... Well, at least that’s a possibility we must consider.“

„You don’t seem very happy about it, though.“

„Allah, would you be?“ laughed Şah bitterly.

   Nigar’s gaze trailed off around the room while Şah made her move and then drank from a glass of rose water they had on the table. „Sultana... I’ve often wondered about Esmahan name.“

„What do you mean?“

„If I may be so bold... It’s quite similar to the name pasha gave to my daughter.“

Şah’s brow furrowed. „And you expect me to explain this strange occurence?! I do not know the mind of Ibrahim pasha. Never had known...“

Nigar picked up on her sudden bout of melancholy. „Well, sultana, I don’t think anyone had. Hatice, his wife of many years, thought so – but then he became infatuated with another woman, a fact which he managed to keep secret from her for years. I also foolishly considered myself a keeper of his secrets, as if knowing one would give me a key to all the others... But obviously it didn’t, or else his abandonement would not have come as such a shock to me. Matrakçi still thinks so, but I myself am of the opinion that he is wrong as well.“

Şah’s eyes returned to the game. „And Süleyman?“

„Huh?“

„Do you think our sultan had known Ibrahim pasha?“

A sad smile appeared on Nigar’s face. „I doubt it, or else he would not have fallen for Hürrem’s lies and had him killed.“

„Perhaps. But sometimes I think that the exact reason Süleyman had Ibrahim excuted is how well he had known him.“

Nigar was shocked. „Sultana! Hopefully you are not insinuating Ibrahim pasha deserved...“

„No, no such thing!“ Şah interrupted her sharply, seemingly angry at either Nigar, or herself. „Of course he didn’t. I know of the extent of Hürrem’s malice towards him, and of sultan’s love and esteem for that vile woman. There’s no need to remind me.“

   The room then fell to silence, interrupted only by the thuds of pieces falling onto the board. „My sultana, does it bother you?“ asked Nigar in a quiet, almost intimate tone.

„What should bother me, hatun?“

„That you seemed to have very little insight into pasha’s thoughts.“

Şah squinted at her suspiciously, but Nigar’s interest appeared to be genuine. „It used to bother me greatly, when I was young and foolish. But then our aquitance had ended, and needless to say I did not come away from it with a favorable impression of him. And now... On the one hand, he loved and hurt two women, including my sister. On the other, those two women are still devoted to him to the point that convincing them of my point of view would be a doomed endeavour. And now he had been slain unjustly and my petty grievances towards him from our youth mean nothing. Ibrahim must be avenged, whether I like it or not.“

A mischievious twinkle in Nigar’s eye told Şah she was perhaps too open with her feelings. „Petty grievances?“

„That would be enough, Nigar.“ answered Şah sharply. „Or else I might just start asking you about pasha...“

Nigar seemed unbothered by this. „Sultana, I’d hardly mind if you did so. You’ve heard much at his grave, and I am perfectly willing to tell you more.“

That offer made Şah think. She was affraid of breaching the subject before out of fear of insubordination, but if she wasn’t going to ask now... „Tell me. How did it even happen, that a mere servant like you caught pasha’s eye, while he was married to the most beautiful of all sultanas at that?“

Nigar smiled in mild amusement. „You consider Hatice the most beautiful?“

Şah raised her eyebrows. „You do not? Well, I suppose it’s inevitable that you should not think of her very well in any capacity.“

„I would not dare think ill of a sultana for any reason, mylady. I am just very surprised that someone should consider Hatice more beautiful than you.“

Şah blinked sharply. „I do not have time for empty flattery, Nigar. You said you’d be happy to tell me the story of your acquitance with pasha, didn’t you? Speak, then...“

   And so she spoke. Of her professional encounters with pasha, where her feelings towards him first crossed the line of propriety, of hidden fantasies, which he was slowly made aware of (Nigar’s poetic waxing about the hands that strangled her disturbed Şah somewhat), as well as her increasing allegiance for him within harem politics, something he seemed to appreciate... Perhaps too much. Her account of the first intercourse with pasha was as shocking to Şah as it seemed to be to Nigar when it happened, and was a source of much debate between them.

„Why would pasha even do something so abominable?! Betray his sultana, a woman he loved, in her hour of need, for a plain slave woman such as yourself?“

Nigar maintained an innocuous expression on her face. „How should I know? I already told you, my sultana, I never knew the mind of Ibrahim pasha any better than you do.“

Şah pursed her lips together in erratic contemplation. „But there must a reason for this, or else I must conclude Ibrahim was merely possesed by some sort of ifrit, or perhaps a fit of madness...“

Nigar laughed. „I do not know much of the djinn and their goings on – better leave such obscure explanations for a more mysterious phenomena, I’d say. And I do not believe pasha had shown any signs of madness elsewhere in his life; truth be told, your words were almost hurtful. Sultana, do you think me so hideous that pasha must’ve lost his mind when he looked upon me with lust in is eyes?“

Şah smirked. „Looked he might, but to act upon it, and at such a precarious time for the woman he loved at that...?“ Suddenly, she laughed, with a cynical edge to her words. „As if pasha ever behaved selfishly or inconsiderately! Allah, am I being silly now!“

   Nigar seemed as if she wanted to protest, but how could she? There was nothing but truth in Şah’s words. They already finished their game, and Şah won, as she seemed to every time, so her opponent was all too eager to leave. „Anyhow. Thank you so much, my sultana, for the honour of keeping you company. When will Lütfi pasha return?“

„Come evening, I suppose. There’s no need to bother thinking of him anyway; I am the mistress of this household, and you can stay as long as I will...“

„And how long that might be?“

Şah gave her a mysterious smile. „Why? Do you have any urgent matters to attend to?“

„No, sultana. If you wish...“

„I do, in fact, wish you to stay here longer than usual. Esmahan said she’ll spend the night in the palace, and without her I must be alone in this big palace untill... Well, my husband returns.“ Her features subtly, but recognizably gave the impression that she is not exactly looking forward to it.

   And so, the two women did their afternoon prayer together, then headed to the baths, where Şah usually spent the entire interval between afternoon and evening prayer. As Şah watched Nigar disrobe, she observed her intently, hoping seeing her undressed will somehow explain Ibrahim’s sudden bout of lust that made him forget even Hatice. Hatice, the sweet. Hatice, the innocent. Hatice, the heartbreakingly beautiful, as he once described her. Hatice, who none of her sisters could compare to, especially not Şah.

   And yet, the woman he betrayed her for was an if anything even plainer version of her. True, she was not as monstrously tall as Şah and her sister, but in every other regard she rated far bellow them. Her face had the look of a miniature in it, an eastern flair that, however, didn’t make her exactly beautiful due to lack of youthfulness in her features. Really, more than anything she resembled the impoverished washerwomen and peasant wives Şah only ever saw during her charitable enterprises. Her body was no better, though overall it looked pleasant enough and probably was even desirable before it was marked by childbirth.

   Then again, Şah’s body was much the same, now that she thought of it... Which she had not for a long time. There was no need to – the only one who could’ve dared to judge her for how she looks under her dress, even in his mind, was that dolt Lütfi, and she had no reason to show herself to him anyhow. She desperately looked into Nigar’s eyes, for the first time in years feeling the sting of fear of the image other people see when they look at her. However, Nigar’s face was impassive, assuaging Şah’s shame, untill she suddenly opened her mouth. „Sultana, is there anything wrong with me? You can’t keep your eyes of me, it seems, and I don’t think you like what you see.“

Şah reflexively blinked faster than normal a couple of times. „What? Oh, no, I simply got lost in thought while looking in your direction. I did not even think of you.“ She turned away her gaze, trying to focus on undressing. „Did Ibrahim pasha ever comment on your physical features?“

„Such a strange question, sultana... Why, yes, he praised my eyes and nose, and for what it’s worth, he liked that I am quite short. Is this about your musings on his inexplicable attraction to me?“

   Her eyes. Heavens, Şah herself had the same eye colour. She had no idea about the nose – to her, it seemed quite ordinary. But perhaps it was her plainness in all regards that attracted Ibrahim to Nigar; after at all, it certainly was something he could not find in Hatice. Well, not in all regards... In looks, maybe, but otherwise she was really quite exceptional, intelligent, self-aware and quite marvelous company. In another life, she would consider her the most excellent servant, perhaps even a friend, not unlike Mercan... Still, she was not Hatice, and Şah knew of no man (except maybe that fool Lütfi) that would go for any other woman, had someone like Hatice waited for him at home. Especially not Ibrahim Pargali.

After all, in all regards, she is just me, but lesser.

   That thought scared her to death. But Şah always prided herself on not being scared to face the truth, and if her thoughts truly veered in that direction, she should ask herself why is that so. Who does Şahuban sultan consider herself to be, what does she think she is like and is that even remotely true? Ibrahim’s arrival reawakened in her deep-seated insecurities that she thought withered and died in his absence, far away in Konya where she did not need to fear any kind of judgement by virtue of being a sultana, by far the most high-ranking woman in vicinity. Such easy return to the mental histrionics of her youth disturbed her greatly, especially since they did not seem to fade with Ibrahim’s death. She needed to do something, anything to kill them, and for that she had to stop looking at Nigar as her own mirror. Perhaps if Nigar had some trait that would explain Ibrahim’s attraction to her, which Şah lacks, but does not feel inferior for lacking...

What if she is, for example, really good in bed?

   She misliked thinking of such things, but, well, it was the only explanation that would not thread on Şah’s sense of self. It must’ve been at least part of it, she was sure, because a smart man like Ibrahim would not carry out such a long affair had it not been satisfactory in at least that regard. More satisfactory than his marriage? That she could not tell; her experience with physical pleasure was admittedly quite sparse, limited to faint recollections of the first years of her marriage, when Lütfi seemed to arouse any feelings in her mostly by accident. What would it even look like for someone to choose their partners for how well they are able to please them? Şah glanced at Nigar’s unassuming figure, lounging on the marble, lost deep in thought. There was only one way to find out. „Have you and Rüstem ever... Consumated your marriage?“

„No, sultana. He seems to dislike me too much to even consider it.“

„As I thought, Rüstem is a fool.“ said Şah in a self-satisfied tone. „You have not been with a man for years, then?“

Nigar raised her eyebrows, obviously intrigued. She must’ve noticed Şah’s stares, which may even seemed to her to be lustful. „Truth be told, I haven’t thought of it much. So many things happened in that time, most of them tragic or at least unpleasant, I simply could not find it in me to be frustrated. Melancholy does that to you.“

„Melancholy? Is that what you feel?“ Şah said quietly, leaning in closer. Goodness, she could smell the woman’s body – a strange, faintly unpleasant sensation, but deeply arousing at the same time.

Nigar looked at her with knowing eyes. Clearly, there was no doubt in her mind about sultana’s intentions. „Less so in your company, I must admit.“

   A shiver came over Şah’s entire body, bolt of deep, agonizing pain, reminding her of parts she was neglecting for all those years. A decade and a half of frustration demanded satisfaction, egged on by her own curiosity and need to get rid of the thought that she and the woman next to her are all that similar. Her hand dropped down on Nigar‘s knee, and as their eyes met, Nigar did not need to be told anything to understand. Launching herself forward, she grabbed Şah’s face and kissed her like noone had kissed the sultana ever before. After a few embarassing seconds, when she didn’t know quite what to do with her lips, instincts took hold of Şah and allowed her to reciprocate. As her partner’s tongue found its way into her mouth, Şah gave off a surprised noise, making Nigar back off. Affraid of her reason getting the better of her and the sweetness inside of her discipating, Şah immediately kissed Nigar with long, indulgent brushed of her lips, her hand slowly landing on Nigar’s neck and temple. Nigar put her hand on Şah’s temple as well, tugging her partner closer and fanning the flames of her desire.

   And then she went even further. Her hand suddenly left Şah’s head and landed on her thigh, slowly venturing forward to the folds of her towel, while they continued kissing. When they finally parted, Nigar kept her head close to Şah in an intimate gesture, caressing her legs, hips and bottom. But Şah, seized by violent need, did not have patience for such pleasantries. She grabbed Nigar by the waist and pushed her body towards her own, feeling her breast just bellow her own, just as small and not firm as her own – which slightly defeated the purpose of this encounter, throwing her off balance. „Get naked.“ she whispered in her ear in a somewhat vexed tone. Nigar eagerly obliged, rising up from the marble and throwing off her towel. Şah’s gaze trailed over her body, at once with lust and an increasingly disturbing realization of how similar their bodies look. In desperation, she clinged to any and all differences between them to banish that thought – see, Nigar doesn’t look that similar, she has rounder hips, larger nipples, shorter legs and much less birthmarks than you...

   At the same time, some part of her enjoyed simply looking at her partner, drinking in every curve and irregularity in her shape. It made her shake uncontrollably, as if inflicted with fever, while on the inside of her thighs she felt a strange hot liquid flowing from inside of her. Embarassed, she spread her legs, wanting to make sure it’s not urine, which Nigar understood as a signal. She dropped to her knees right in front of Şah’s intimate parts and fearfully brought her head closer to them. Şah’s head was filled with images of Nigar kissing those parts, and she realized how badly she desires it. So when Nigar lifted her eyes to Şah‘s, waiting for a signal, sultana had no choice but to nod her head. And that was all Nigar needed to put her lips to Şah unmentionables and start licking and sucking. It mouth moved in a very uncertain matter, as if she hasn’t done it before, but saw it or at least heard it described. Of course, the slave girls, they would know, they are together every night, body to body, shoulder to should, in both baths and communal bedroom... God knows what they do there. If not Nigar herself, someone in her vicinity must’ve throughout her long service in the harem. Still, even her clumsy lips brought Şah to the brink of madness, which she could only express in blood-curdling screams. This seemed to only embolden Nigar, as she sucked on more and more hungrily, untill suddenly she stopped, leaving Şah on the brink. „Sultana, I will not finish.“

„What?!“

„I will not finish unless you promise to do the same to me.“

Her request was bold, but considering the strange situation it was pronounced in, perhaps not unwarranted. And frankly, at that point, Şah would sell her own soul for release. „Of course. Just... Please, continue!“

   If anything, the pause made the waves of pleasure return with even bigger intensity. It took only a short while for Şah to let out a final, triumphant yell, a wolf’s howl in the night, which Nigar seemed to recognize. Rising from the floor, she took Şah in her arms, as the sultana realized she was drifting off to sleep. As she softly caressed her spent partner, Nigar whispered. „Are you tired?“

Şah forced her body to tear itself from Nigar’s embrace and stand up, no matter how shaky her legs were. „Yes. And I am going to take a nap now.“

Nigar fluttered her eyelashes. „Can I lay with you?“

Another bold request only made plausible by their strange situation. Were they lovers now? Perhaps... „Of course.“ she answered tentatively.

   As she was falling asleep, Nigar’s head on her shoulder, Şah felt a sense of satisfaction – maybe later it will be complemented by guilt, more desire, or even infatuation, but those were thoughts for another, more sober time. Now, she had had a goal, and she just achieved it. For one, she knew what it feels like to make love to Nigar hatun, and why would Ibrahim crave it so. She understood why he desired her, because now Şah desired her as well, and nothing more needed to be said about that. And in this desire she found an escape from the persistent comparisons that her mind made between her and Nigar. After all, it is unseemly to seek comparisons between yourself and your lover, is it not? There is something truly abominable in desiring someone for how similar are they to yourself. Perhaps that is the source of all the shame and disgust surrounding intercourse between people of the same gender. But, Şah reasoned, all men and all women aren’t the same, so it is perfectly plausible for a person to desire one of the same gender, but otherwise as dissimilar to themselves as they come. And if Şah truly desires Nigar, it was thus an anathema to her to admit any similarities between them...

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1127: Mishima's Shoebox Collection (SSBU X Tekken)

5:45 p.m. at Mishima Zaibatsu Headquarters.........

Kazuya: (Stands Behind a Closed Door) Gentlemen, ladies, allow me to introduce you all to our latest business brand that could potentially help reach the Zaibatsu's name to greater lengths than it already has

The members of League of Villains' (And Zelda's) eyes begins to widens in pure awe as the door opens, revealing a room filled in the brim with brand new and accesible shoes sitting on each shelves inside. The bright, shiny atmosphere of the room alone was more than enough to peak almost everyone's attention.

Ganondorf: (The Only One Who In't as Impressed as the Other) You're starting up your own shoe brand company

Kazuya: (Crosses his Arms With a Smirk on his Face) That's the idea, yes. I've always have a fondness with everything shoes related growing up. So I figured, how else will I gain more power and success to my multinational cooperation than to jump-start my own shoe brand. A Zaibatsu Shoe Brand, the name's a work in progress.

Ganondorf: (Rolls his Eyes) Of course it is......

Bowser: Hey, you don't mind if we try these shoes of yours, on ourselves, do ya?

Kazuya: (Steps Away From the Opened Door) Be my guess.

The gang cheers in rejoice as most of them (sans for Sephiroth, Hades, and Ganondorf who only walks behind) eagarly their way shoe filled room as they begin to check out and try out each pair that they find.

Bowser: (Smiles Brightly at the Pair of Brown Dress Shoes He's Wearing) Man, I am so glad I got dressed up for today. This looks perfect on me!

Hades: (Takes a Look at a Holes Filled Shoe He's Holding in his Hand) So these are one those crock shoes everyone keep yammering about....

Bowser: Yep. They been a hit for three to four years now. Or was it loner than that......

Hades: Uh-huh. (Tries the Crock On Before Looking at It Once More) And exactly why do they holes in them again?

Bowser: (Turns to Hades) To let your feet breathe a little? Either that or maker behind these things, wanted to make it more unique looking than the rest. Whatcha think of them so far?

Hades: (Gets Himself Up From a Chair He Was Sitting While Examining the Front and Back of the Shoe He's Wearing) Hmm.....It's weird looking, but comfy.....I suppose it wouldn't wearing them around every once in a while, so long as I don't have to those feet numbing flip flops again.......

Bowser: (Nodded in Agreement) Amen to that, brother.

Zelda: (Smiles Brightly at a Matching Shoes She and Mewtwo Are Wearing) These limited edition Triforce Shoes looks even more beautiful than the ones in Smash Town!~ Mewwy, we HAVE to get these while they're still on stock!~

Mewtwo: Agrred. I never felt more powerful than I already am right now.

Sephiroth: We couldn't agree more.

Zelda and Mewtwo turns to see the father and son duo showing off the matching Black Air Force Shoes they're wearing with Sephiroth letting out a sinister laugh and Pichu nodding his head while smirking.

Mewtwo: (Stares at Them With Deadpinned Look I his Eyes) We're halfway close to the end of the year ans I still fail to see why that Pichu sees Sephiroth, all of people, as a father figure.......

Zelda: (Smiles Sheepishly) At....least they're cute together. Kind of.

Ridley: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Surprise at What is in Front of Him) No way! You guys are actually selling these glass slippers?

Kazuya: No, they're rubber proof slippers actually. We originally planned on selling them as glass as first before backing out at the last second. (Starts Shaking his Head Before Walking to the Other Side of the Room) I do not have patience to go through another lawsuit right now........

Ridley: (Smiles Brightly) Works for me! (Takes the See-Through Rubber Slipper From Out of the Shelf, Gets Down on One Knee, amd Presents it to his Girlfriend in Front of Him Fpr you, mi'lady~

Dark Samus giggles softly before carefully putting her foot inside the slipper, which managed to fit on her pretty well.

Dark Samus: S-So......How does it look?

Ridley: (Gives Dark Sus a Smirk and a Two Finger Guns) Like a princess walking inside the ball room~

Dark Samus giggles once more while blushing at his boyfriend's cheesy compliment towards her.

Kazuya: (Rolls his Eyes at the Couple in the Mid Distance) ('Ugh') It's not even that clever of the compliment.....

Ganondorf: Well, what do you expect when you're selling a near replica of a shoe from some fairy tale story?

Kazuya: Fair point. (Turns to Ganondorf) Aren't you gonna find anything in here as well?

Ganondorf: (Crosses his Arms While Turning Away) ('Tch') And give you the satisfaction of getting rich off of my well earned cash? No thanks.

Kazuya: Really? (Pulls Up a Pair of Ancient Boots in the Palm of his Hands) Not even for these pair of boots well fit for an evil tyrant such as yourself.

Ganondorf: (Slowly Turns Back to Kazuya) You don't say......

Kazuya: (Simply Nodded) Yep. And since I'm feeling fairly generous today, I'll shorten the price and only charge you $35.00 for them. Sounds like a reasonable deal for you, king?

Ganondorf stares at Kazuya for a few seconds before ultimately taking out fifty dollar buck from his pants pocket and reluctantly gives it to Kazuya.

Ganondorf: This doesn't change anything between.

Kazuya: (Gives Ganondorf his Now Paid Boots Woth a Satisfied Smirk on his Face) Pleasure doing with you. You and everyone else are doing this cooperation at huge service today.

???: A cooperation you wrongfully stole......

Everyone in the room stop at what they were doing and turn their attention to an young man walking out of the elevator with his hairs looking....almost similar to Kazuya's.

???: From me.

Sephiroth: This is an interesting encounter.

Zelda: Wait.....Is that really......

Kazuya: (Crosses his Arms) Jin Kazama, my one and only mistake of an offspring. What brings you here to my lovely establishment?

Jin: (Glare Starts to Harden at his Own Father) I'm here to put an end to you and all the chaos you've brought into this city.

Kazuya: ('Heh') Real bold of you to think you have what takes to put me down so easily. And need I remind you that YOU'RE the one who caused a global warfare over your own petty desires?

Bowser: (Eyes Begins to Widened) Holy shit. Is he serious?

Hades: (Chuckles Evilly) Yeeeup! Once Jinny boy started taking over, the first and only thing he ever did in his run was put his very own universe into chaos. (Starts Smirking Smugly) Guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree in this mess of bloodline, now does it?

Ridley: Somehow I.....don't feel surprised by all of this. (Turns to Everyone Else) What about you guys?

Everyone: Nah/Nuh-uh/Nope./Pichu.

Ganondorf: This family is filled with crazy ass nut jobs.

Sephiroth: Like father, like son-

Jin: (Angrily Stomps his Foot on the Ground at Everyone Else in the Room) ENOUGH! I am NOTHING compared to this bastard, Heihachi or anyone else in his family but mines alone! I only did all of this in hopes in finding Azazel, destroy it, and put an end to my devil gene and this cursed bloodline forever.

Zelda: Uh-huh. And did it worked out in the end?

Jin: ..........('Sighs Heavily') No, it didn't. Apparently it wasn't enough to make the gene go away completely.

Bowser: So you basically put your own world on fire for nothing?

Mewtwo: Not one of your proudest moments, is it?

Jin: (Lowers his Head Down) It isn't. And I'm willing to take every bit of punishment and accountability that comes my way. (Looks Up and Glares at Kazuya) But first, I must do everything in my power to put you out of your misery for good this time.

Kazuya:You're more than welcome try and do so as many times as you want. You're only gonna set yourself up for failure. (Smirks Evilly) Or did you forget you already are one yourself on the day your mother left you only in this cold, cruel world.

Bowser/Ridley: Ooooh........

Zelda: He really went there, didn't he?

Mewtwo: (Shrugs) I've heard worst.

Jin: My mother risked her own life just to protect me, unlike yours who wanted you and Heihachi dead from very start.

Everyone (Except for Mewtwo and Sephiroth): ('Gasps')

Zelda: Is that true?

Hades: Yeah, apparently his mother was destined to sacrifice him and her husband for the greater good of the world or whatever type of goodie-goodie bullsh-

Kazuya angrily throws a chair directly towards Jin, in which he dodges it effortlessly, much to everyone's surprise.

Kazuya: WATCH WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR GRANDMOTHER, YOU INSIGNIFICANT BRAT! SHOW HER SOME RESPECT!

Jin: ('Tch') Respect? For the grandmother I barely even know? (Walks Dangerous Close to Kazuya) Or the woman who was willing end her own family's life for a clan that I recently know about from a few outside sources.

Kazuya: (Gritting his Teeth) Likely story. But did it ever occur to that woman you BARELY know, was murdered by the man who dares call himself her loving husband and my father? Has it ever occur to you that maybe, JUST MAYBE that her unexpected demise was one of the many things that scarred me throughout my childhood and continues to do so to tis VERY. FUCKING. DAY!

Jin: And you have my condolences. That still doesn't excuse her actions in the slightest and I believe this world will continue to be better off without her and Heihachi in it.

Kazuya: (Enraged) THE ONLY THING THIS WORLD WILL BE BETTER OFF WITH IS YOU!!!

Kazuya throws an electric surge punch towards Jin's face.....only for the offspring to catch it in time with red colored lightning starting to appear around his grip.

Jin: I should say the same for you as well, asshole.

Jin then uses his other hand to punch his father hard enough to send him flying towards the other side of the room before rushing in and attacking his father, starting the fight instantly.

Bowser: (Watxhes the Father and Son Duke it Out Along with Everyone Else) Well.....That was something to see unpacked in front of us.

Zelda: I know this family has problems, but I didn't think it would be THIS messy!

Mewtwo: I don't think amount of therapy will be enough to heal.this trainwreck.

Pichu: Pi......

Ganondorf: Well, whatever problems those two are having with one another is their business to have. (Takes his New Boots and Leave) I'm leaving.

Hades: Right behind you. (Notices the Crocks He's Still Wearing Before Forming a Small.Smirk on his Face and Following Behind Ganondorf) And I am taking these crocks with me.

Bowser: (Starts Rubbing The Back of his Head Back and Forth) Would ve a reeeeal shame to leave here without paying for- (Quickly Rishrs Out the Room With the New Shoes He's Wearing)

Ridley: (Picks his Girlfriend Pick on his Arms) Come on, babe, it's time to go. (Quickly Rushes Out the Room As Well)

Dark Samus: O-Okay.

Sephiroth: (Walks Out of the Room While Carrying Pichu in his Arm) Come, son. Let us show the world the essence of our Black Air Forces.

Pichu: (Smiles Brightly) Pichu!~

Zelda: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) What the heck! Are you guys seriously gonna steal those shoes without paying first!?

Mewtwo: Not really something to be surprised about. They're villains, remember?

Zelda: (Starts Looking For Money on her Purse) I know that! It's still wrong and we're not gonna follow their footsteps. (Chuckles a Bit) Get it? Foot- steps?

Mewtwo: ('Sigh') Yes, I get it. Clever.

Zelda: Thank you~ (Puts out a Cash of Money From her Purse) Okay, this is half our allowance, but I think a hundred is enough, right?

Mewtwo: (Shrugs) I suppose. Assuming he'll care enough to even notice it was here.

Zelda: I mean, I guess, but-

Hades: Princess! Mewwy! You two are coming or what!?

Mewtwo: (Growls and Glares at Hades in the Distance) I told you not to call me-

Zelda: (Grabs Mewtwo by the Hand Quickly Rushes the Him and Herself Out if the Room) Ignore him, Mewwy, let's go!

The gang make their way to a nearby elevator going down, leaving Kazuya and Jin to mercilessly fight one another inside the shoebox room.

@keyenuta

@cyber-wildcat

@albion-93

@theweebmaster31

@thelexhex

@tampire

[pertinax--loculos]

So, I accidentally re-read Absent That Night yesterday (which is a whole post unto itself, which I'll probably get around to tomorrow), but I thought in honour of its almost-Second-Birthday, I'd pick some choice lines to share. ^_^

This, obviously, continues under the cut, because dude, it got long. Ten excerpts of varying length, for your perusal. ^_^

1.

Latrell managed one final, almost-genuine smile before he turned away. It evaporated almost immediately, his mind racing ahead, the day stretching out in front of him, formless, pointless. He was going to have to think of something to take up his time. Something that hopefully wouldn’t frustrate him as much as most of this morning had. He’d think of something. He just had to be careful he didn’t end up at a bar. [scene break] Latrell ended up at a bar.

2.

"So here's a fun question," Latrell said, leaning back in his chair. Albie looked up at him from where she was comparing two photos on the desk beside her monitor. Her expression was wary. Latrell tapped his pen rapidly against the edge of the desk. "Why didn't [Nox] carve his signature into her?" Albie pulled a face. "Seriously?" "Yeah, seriously." Latrell sat forward again, holding her gaze. "How much is that book worth? Nearly a million? But who could put a price on a human life? Isn't that the most valuable thing in that room?"

3.

Latrell was two and a half blocks from the relative comfort of Ronan’s apartment when a car screeched to a halt at the curb in front of him and Eliza Laurie toppled out. He almost resisted the urge to groan, and then didn’t bother. Laurie’s grin amped up the wattage by about a thousand percent when she heard it. “Agent Latrell,” she called as she click-clacked up the sidewalk to him. “Spare a moment?” Her lipstick today was the colour of arterial blood. Latrell tried to keep walking, but that only allowed her to invade his personal space that much quicker.

4.

What was decidedly not normal was the huge whitewashed domes rising out of the earth directly ahead of the car. There were five of them, varying in size; the smallest maybe twenty feet across, the largest easily more than fifty. They rose out of the ground like humps, three or so feet high at their apex, their edges invisible beyond the scraggly grass and detritus that had collected around them. The bitumen upon which the car was parked extended all the way to the domes, part of the same infrastructure, and Latrell had the insane impression that they were literally stopped in a long-dead parking lot. He was still blinking. It still wasn't helping. "It's an aquarium," Nox said, inexplicably.

5. [deleted scene]

“You good, sunshine?” Nox said, stepping around Latrell to get to the kettle. Latrell really needed to nip that fucking nickname in the bud. He said, “Yeah. Just thinking. Going over what we know.” Nox arched an eyebrow, though his gaze stayed fixed on the water he poured into his mug. His voice lifted a little, carrying to the rest of the room. “You can share with the class, y’know. We don’t bite.” “I do,” Gault called. Nox rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop the quirk at the corner of his mouth. “Well, Mark does. But only in certain contexts.”

6.

“What about your Phone Friends?” Latrell managed to keep the wry twist to a minimum. Nox waved a hand. Broad and expansive, far less carefully controlled than usual. Said, "I am unconvinced of the malleability of the people who live in my phone." "How charmingly enigmatic." Latrell didn't bother to modulate the wryness this time. "I am. I also have a proposal." "Ominous." "Look at you, hitting all my major personality traits!" Even in profile, Latrell could see the crinkle at the corner of his mouth, the parting of his lips, the fine lines fanning from his eyes. Nox took a long swallow from his coffee, continued, "We need more people."

7.

“There’s something else I have to tell you.” Albie shot him a quick glance. “Oh?” Latrell pulled his glasses off, pinched a forefinger and thumb across his eyes. “It’s… complicated, alright? And I’ll go into more detail when we get there. Just figured I shouldn’t spring it on you right after you’ve just met our favourite felon.” “Your favourite felon, maybe,” Albie said. The teasing note didn’t quite conceal the apprehension, the disapproval apparent in the downturn of her mouth. She compensated by adding, “I’m yet to form an opinion.”

8.

He didn’t hesitate when he reached the glowing green exit sign. Pushed out the door and emerged into the night. It was cooler still out here. Brighter, too, the moon nearly full, hovering just above the tips of the buildings. The emergency exit opened onto a square of bitumen, bordered on all sides by buildings with their backs turned. Nobody wanted a view of a spit of blacktop. Alleys cut paths between them, leading to… places. Somewhere else. Anywhere else. Nox leant against Ralph’s hood, ankles crossed. He flipped the keys once around his finger as Latrell let the door fall shut behind him. “Where to, sunshine?” he said, voice low, just loud enough to carry across the distance between them.

9.

“Oh no no no, this will not do at all! This is awful! Do you people not have charters against this sort of thing? This is simply inhumane!” Latrell blinked rapidly. His glasses were askew, almost as much as his body, crumpled on the cold hard cot. His limbs screamed as he straightened them, which did nothing for his too-fast breathing or the too-hard slam of his pulse, but at least served to bring him more firmly into the present, into the real and the now. He removed his glasses, wiped savagely at his eyes, replaced them. Surveyed the room in front of him with more mental acuity than the first pass. Wondered if he was still dreaming. Cassandra Nightingale stood in the centre of the room, her back to him. She towered over whoever she was facing, but then she towered over everyone. Filled every space she entered, wall to wall and floor to ceiling, regardless of their relative size. Her dress was different to the one she’d worn at the fundraiser, though would have fit in just as well; layers upon layers of different peach materials, lace and silk and something decidedly poofy, terminating at her ankles in order to show off her terrifyingly high stiletto heels. She shook a finger in the face of whoever she was talking to. Even with her back turned, Latrell had seen the gesture enough to place it. “This is unacceptable! Can you people not see that? Is this some form of passive torture you are trying to inflict upon innocent people? Do I need to remind you that the foundation of our justice system is innocent until proven guilty?”

10.

The thick heavy ball broke free, rising up Latrell’s throat even as he tried to grab it and swallow it back down. [Redacted]’s laugh followed the strangled choked broken sob into the echoing stillness of the room. “Naw, don’t be like that.” [Their] voice was cutting, mocking, coming from every corner and every flat surface of the space. Latrell realised his eyes were still shut. Reluctantly pried them open. For what good it would do him. If [Redaced] didn’t want him to, he’d never see the final blow coming. “What do you say, Latrell? Should we explore more of this old aquarium? I’ll give you a sixty second headstart if you wanna make a run for it.��� Beat. A laugh, loud, malicious. “Don’t think you’ll get very far with that amount of time, though. Not on that knee. Let’s say two minutes. What do you think?” “I think,” said a second voice from nowhere and everywhere, “That you talk too fucking much.”

[that-salty-ghost]

As Above, So Below | Chapter 18 [Bonus Chpt]: Picked Apart [Viktor POV] | Viktor [Arcane] // Male Reader | Rating: M Throughout

A/N: So, this is more of a bonus chapter. I’m trying out Viktor’s POV(-ish) for this one since it’s just him and Sky. I honestly love them and wanted them to share some sort of comradery while they try to achieve the same goal. I was almost going to write this as a short drabble, but it actually fit into the story pretty well so this is where it landed. Hope you enjoy!

// 🎧 Mood Music: Casanova by San Fermin (for Sky <3) 🎧 \\

While lunch wasn’t exactly something he was craving, catching up with Sky was. How long had it been? Five years? Six now? Viktor had lost track of the last time the two of them actually got together to talk.

Sure, they’d run into each other in passing. Exchanged the usuals like “how’ve you been, any word on requirements for admissions” and the like.

Small talk.

But nothing like the handful of times they got to play together as kids—building forts out of whatever they could get their hands on or trying to catch frogs and other critters in the runoff. He wasn’t really sure how they had grown apart, or even that it was intentional at all.

When it came down to it, she already had a close group of friends before they met. And he was often off the grid, learning from his mentor while he helped take care of Rio…until he couldn’t anymore.

He never really did see things quite the same way after that. Maybe she noticed?

The memories grew more distant each day that passed. And while he still had a few stops to make for finding a lab space, Viktor wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to finally catch up with an old friend.

…even if that meant trying to consume more food after eating one of the biggest meals he’s had in years.

“You’ve barely touched your plate, are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

Sky’s attention to detail was always something Viktor admired. He was glad to see that hadn’t faltered after all these years, even if he now had to come up with an excuse since you took off without mentioning how much you cooked just over an hour ago… a coincidence he was sure…

“Yes, of course.” A breathy chuckle followed his words to lighten the mood as he reached for the bread in front of him. “But catch me up on how you’ve been. You look to be doing well.”

Viktor manages to take a bite and moves his fork around his plate to space the food out—an attempt to give the illusion that he’s consumed more than he actually has.

She eyes his plate suspiciously before answering. “I am! Everything’s been panning out for the most part. Just moved into my own place last year and have been an assistant at one of the labs topside a few days a week.”

“That’s great, I’m not surprised in the slightest.” Viktor’s voice was beaming with how genuinely impressed he was with her successes. His excitement and praise made it impossible for Sky to hide the smile etching its way onto her face. “Will you continue that work while you’re at Sylas’s?”

Her nose crinkled while she shrugged. “As much as I would like to, I just don’t think I’ll have the time anymore.”

“I would assume that commute isn’t the fastest.”

“It’s not. And the elevators aren’t always easy to access either.” Sky’s voice sounds strained, like this was a frequent occurrence that constantly plagued her punctuality and Viktor fails to keep his small chuckle to himself.

She chuckles back and he takes another bite of bread to cover up the sound.

“I’m serious! You wouldn’t believe how many apology coffees I’ve had to buy for the scientists up there.”

“Well, if you’re late to any of our progress check-ins—[Y/n] is a talented barista. He might be able to help.”

Sky’s expression shifted as she thought on that. This morning proved to be particularly taxing for her. She had been stressed about finding the right location to set up her temporary lab and thought she had found it. While the space was perfect, she still felt bad about Sylas going off the rails in front of her friend.

“That’s good to know…I didn’t take him for a barista.”

Viktor’s eyes move down to his plate, still picking around and moving the food under his fork. “I didn’t either…although technically he’s only a bartender now.” He flashed his teeth in an exaggerated grimace when he thought about Syd firing you at your own home. “But I have a feeling there’s more to him than he lets on.”

Sky’s eyebrow slowly raises at his hypothesis. “What do you mean?”

He inhales through his mouth when he looks up at Sky. As much as he knew he could confide in her, he gave his word that he wouldn’t talk about anything he learned the day she visited.

The first time she arrived, she came alone. Viktor’s parents asked him to go play while they talked and he was happy to find Sky skipping stones on the water outside. He loved watching how the rocks created more and more ripples as they traveled further and further out and was relieved that he didn’t have to be by himself that day.

“Hey Viktor!” Her smile was wide when she held her hand out for him to join.

“You’re really good at that.” He picked a rock up from her hand and tried to copy her technique, only to find himself disappointed when his stone sunk as soon as it hit the water.

“Here, like this.” She repositioned his hand so his palm faced up and handed off another stone. “Now try.”

That was all it took for the two of them to send stones into the distance together until Sky had to go back home. It was a small pocket of time that has stuck with him for years.

“What are you doing out here today anyway?” She asked before she turned to leave.

“There’s someone visiting my parents. I don’t think I’m supposed to hear what they’re saying.”

“…And you’re not going to spy on them?”

“…”

“Good luck!”

As much as it felt like a bad idea, Viktor’s parents never kept him away like that before. Whatever they were talking about had to be good. And even though he wished Sky could’ve come with him while he snooped, he thought he could at least fill her in on the conversation later…

Fast-forward to nearly 10 years later—even with her sitting right in front of him…he still couldn’t talk about it.  

He almost got lost in his thoughts and shook his head when he tried to answer Sky’s question—looking from her back down to his plate while he resorted to other curiosities he’s noticed.

“It’s hard to explain...”

“I can keep up.”

“Heh. Yes, I’m well aware of that.”

She doesn’t say anything, only raises her brows as she waits for him to go into more detail.

“The way he moves is…” He pursed his lips together tight enough to cause him to squint while he tried to explain his thoughts. “Very fluid. I’ve seen him jump over a couple of high-top bars and he barely makes a sound when he lands.”

He shrugs while he wondered if that’s just a quirk, but then looks up at the ceiling with a sigh. “And when I met him, he kind of…” He chuckles before finishing his sentence. “Ehh…fell into a scrap pile.��

“That sounds like a rough day.” She laughed, but Viktor looked even more baffled when he nodded.

“It should’ve been, but the way he sprung up looked like he’s had practice recovering quickly.” He shook his head, grappling with if what he was saying even made sense as he looked back down at his plate.

That’s when his mind started to wander.

From catching a glimpse of the muscles lining your arms while you were putting chairs up at The Last Drop to feeling how strong your chest and back were when he held you to keep you from falling over. Even how solid your forearm felt when he used it for some extra leverage at the coffeehouse…

It was night and day from what you looked like in your baggy clothes.

The illusion of you appearing smaller in your loose-fitting attire mirrored the deceitful amount of food picked apart on Viktor’s plate and he couldn’t help but wonder if that was also intentional on your part.

His mind had traveled a bit too far as he tried to shake away how you felt pressed up against him—the fear of color rising to his cheeks in front of Sky becoming all too real.

He tried not to think about how badly he wanted to kiss you—so much so that he even leaned in to see if you would meet him halfway, but refrained once you looked down and away so quickly.

“Did you just call me…Vik?” It was strange to hear—he’d never had a nickname before and almost missed it entirely after he found himself flush against your chest when you stumbled into him. This moniker sounded decidedly better than “two-ski brewski” from earlier and he couldn’t ignore how softly your breath lingered on the final consonant when you said it.

“Did I? I probably…forgot how to pronounce the rest of your name.”

Given the circumstances, he was dangerously close to being in a similar state.

The smell of alcohol mixed with smoke and some sort of earthy, herbal scent—which he later found out was tobacco—was completely intoxicating. The way your thumb leisurely rolled circles over his bruised hip had him tightening his grip around you with each small movement. The inability to trace whose heartbeat was whose as your chest rose against his own made him all but forget how to pronounce his own name as well.

“Two syllables got you tongue tied?”

You felt positively divine in his arms. His disheveled hair just barely feathering against your forehead, drifting lightly with each staggered breath. Your nose nearly brushed his when you looked up and he had to force his grip on the bar to loosen while his chest tightened. His eyes scanned yours, unsure of whether he should release his hold or pull you even closer.

…until he watched your gaze shift from his eyes down to his lips.

He felt his expression soften, his stomach drop, and his fingertips take the lead on the bar top as he leaned forward, wanting nothing more than to close the mere inches that kept your lips from his…until your gaze quickly dropped to the floor.

“Sorry for butchering your name.”

He wondered how he misread that situation. He wondered if you even noticed. He wondered if he had even been too bold holding your hand at The Last Drop…which only raised another query for him to voice.

“And his hands are so rough, I don’t think he can get callouses like that with a coffee mach—”

Viktor cut himself off once he brought his eyes down to face Sky. He got too lost in his analysis and slipped up. A knot formed in his chest when he anticipated what she was about to say as she moved her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

“How do you know his hands are rough?” Her smirk ate through his thought process at a rate that made it difficult to sift for a reasonable explanation.

“I…was helping him repair a distiller.” He couldn’t look her in the if he wasn’t being completely honest. “I noticed when he handed me some…saddles.”

Sky’s eyebrows were both raised with disbelief while she nodded with a muted “Mmhm.”

“…”

“…”

Viktor shifts his gaze back to her and exhales slowly when he realizes that she wasn’t buying it. She saw right through him and he knew it.

“You look happy around him.” Her tone just barely betrays her, the slightest twinge of sadness striking her statement. She pretended to clear her throat to make it sound unintentional.

Viktor has been nothing but kind and supportive of all of her achievements, supporting him now was something she wanted to…no, needed to do. Both for him, and for herself if he was seeing someone.

It wasn’t a question, but he nods in response anyway. “I am.” A small grin tugs at his lips when he realizes that Landon said the same thing about you this morning when you and Remy were out back.

“Good. You deserve someone who makes you feel that way.” She meant every word. Even if it hurt that it wasn’t her that could do it, she was glad that he found someone who did.

                                                                        -

After saying their goodbyes, good lucks, and good to see you’s, Viktor played the conversation back in his head while he walked to the next potential space that he could set up for his work.

“S’pose I owe you my thanks young man.”

“For what?”

“You must be what’s got [Y/n] back in the kitchen here. I haven’t seen him smilin’ like that in years.”

“I’m not sure I follow…”

“That kid doesn’t cook for just anyone. Only does it for folks he cares about and he doesn’t let too many get that close to begin with.”

“You think he…cares about me?”

“Hah, the way he looks at you? I think it’s more than ‘care’ he’s feelin’.”

“How are you so sure?”

“I watched him grow up. Boy…what he done come from...ain’t right.” Landon shook his head but continued without adding more to that statement.“But he’s had to pick up quick—always knows exactly what he’s doin’, keeps his cards close to his chest, and could haggle with the devil himself if he wanted to…then you walk down here and I see him buckle for the first time in my life. Couldn’t even finish his damn sentence.”

—"Not another WORD about the FUCKING EGGS, Rem!”

“Speak of that devil. I didn’t say anything about any of this—including the spicy jam that you need to try, y’hear?”

“I hear.”

“Good lad. And you let me know when you come back so I can eat good again.”

Viktor managed a laugh before Landon pretended to tell him a story about you. He had no idea if it was even true or not, but admired how swift the man’s mind moved to fly under the radar regardless.

“—So we find the poor little fella stuck up in that tree all by his lonesome. Wouldn’t call for help from nobody for hours, just sat up there like gravity was going to give up at any moment…”

It was a quick conversation, maybe three minutes max. And while it didn’t settle his uncertainty about what happened last night, it did provide just enough information for him to take a chance on asking you out one more time and for him to learn two important things.

1. To his surprise, Landon was right about you.

2. He might be the one person that knows you better than you even know yourself.

----------

A/N: There's a pinned post on my page with even more homosexuality 😌

[miss-nerd-alert]

My thoughts on Last Voyage of the Demeter:

In short, it was an excellently made film and a wonderful adaptation of one of my favorite books. I don’t normally enjoy horror movies, but I was genuinely impressed, even while scared out of my mind. This movie is an homage to not just the original story, but to previous incarnations of one of pop culture’s most iconic characters. If you’re a fan of good horror films, Bram Stoker’s original novel, or even just good movies, I highly recommend you give this one a watch.

More in-depth musings under the cut for both spoilers and mention of horror movie violence.

Dracula’s design and direction were excellent; a great blend of Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi. While the actual character design more closely resembles Nosferatu with the bald head, pointed ears, and mouthful of sharp teeth, this is by no means a near-mindless beast. The rare times you get a proper look at his face there’s a clear and obvious intelligence to him. He’s a hunter toying with his prey, and he visibly enjoys playing with his food. Dracula is well and truly inhuman, however, complete with batlike wings that are used to mimic the form and function of Bela Lugosi’s iconic cape. One particular moment that squicked me personally was when the boy Toby was locked in the cabin with him. At first you don’t even realize he’s there, since he’s curled into a ball to make himself as small as possible. But then he stands, calm and cool as you please, and the way he does so is as far from natural as you can get. It’s like watching a corpse jump up and dance. They also did a good job at selling the hunger, especially when he makes his first kill; he looks gaunt and emaciated, and acts almost desperate, like he’s faint from hunger as he lured in his prey so he can go for the kill.

I liked the character Anna quite a bit. It makes sense that he’d bring someone along with him to keep fed, especially once the characters realize the only reason he hasn’t just killed them all by now is because he needs them to manage the ship and last until they actually make it to England. Anna’s the only character who has any idea what they’re dealing with, since she grew up in the shadow of Dracula’s castle, but she doesn’t know everything. She’s not made some badass vampire hunter thanks to what she knows, but she remains a capable and proactive character regardless. Would’ve loved to get more of her thoughts on her village selling her to the monster they fear, but her hatred of Dracula himself is a good start.

Clemens was also a character I enjoyed quite a bit. I had expected him to mention racial prejudice, but it wasn’t just empty lip service like so many other films have done. The character’s experiences fueled his desire to understand the world, and his drive to not let prejudice defeat him was admirable. He was also a wonderfully gentle character, and his interactions with Anna and Toby were so genuinely sweet and heartwarming.

Liam Cunningham was a fantastic casting choice for Captain Elliot. He perfectly encapsulated the nobility of the captain from the original novel, even with as little as we see of the character in the book. Hearing the early log entries spoken verbatim in the film was a genuine delight. My only criticism comes from very late in the film, where Elliot is denied his most iconic line from the novel. We still get the spirit of it when he says he’ll steer the ship out to sea to ensure Dracula can’t escape, but hearing such a wonderful actor actually say “I am captain, and I must not leave my ship” would’ve been the most brilliant thing. I am also disappointed that they changed the context of the captain being tied to the wheel; making it Dracula showing off instead of a doomed man desperately doing what little he can to preserve his honor and soul was honestly such a downgrade, and a disservice to the character of Captain Elliot.

True to the original text, the horror is more in the buildup than in the violence itself, though there’s still plenty of the latter. Stefan Kapičić legit deserves an award for his performance in this movie, I’ve never been so scared in my life. The image of his bloodied and battered face, empty eyes staring blankly just before he attacks Clemons still haunts me, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget the terror of his scene with Toby.

[bikepackinguk]

Day Thirty-five

Up early at around 5am today as this is one of the few times on this journey where I have a very specific goal in mind for the day, and the tide times aren't too convenient so every little counts!

The light wind from yesterday has died off fully this morning. this wouldn't be a concern but I'm deep into midge country right now, so breakfast is had rapidly and thankfully I'm away without too many if them starting to pester me.

Out from Moine House with it's beautiful views and the massive climb at the end of yesterday is rewarded with a long winding descent to ease into the day, though the road surfacing here does keep me on my toes.

Of course it's not long before the xlimbs begin again around Loch Hope, which are slogged up to turn southward along Loch Eriboll.

I've mentioned before that it feels like around every corner and iver every summit is a new stunning sight to see, but the view here has me alternatively breathless, laughing, singing, or swearing. A beautiful body of water framed majestically by amazing mountaintops.

Unlike the road out from Tongue straight over the water, the path ahead loops all the way fully around the Loch, which turns into a good hour of riding past bubbling brooks and isolated dwellings. It's a genuine joy and I barely notice the few climbs involved due to how damn stunning the scenery is.

The road finally leads out on the northwest past the lovely Ceannabeinne Beach, with another grinding uphill to get around to Durness.

A short stop here to use the facilities is perfectly timed to avoid a brief but strong shower, before a bit more riding down the road takes me to the Kyle of Durness at Keoldale.

The early start to the day has paid off as I get in to the ferry point just a few minutes before it arrives. The bike is loaded on and a short trip over the water takes me onto the desolate northwest region around Cape Wrath.

It's a very tough section of the trip here as the "road" is a combination of potholed tarmac, rocks, gravel, and potholes filled with rocks and gravel. Given the stresses on the bike and gear ao far in the ride, I'm loathe to risk too much going wrong and much of the next six miles ahead turn into a tough hike rather than a ride.

A heavy downpour also arrives whilet I'm pushing up another stewp hill. I am grateful at least that the air is still and the rain manages keeps the threatening clouds of midges at bay. Despite the weather, the scenery amongst the area here continues to be breathtaking, and I keep stopping to turn and take in the countless rivers and hilltops all around.

The path following the turnoff miles down manages to be even harder to follow, a steep droo down a very rocky path that has both me and the bike scrabbling for traction. Getting back up here in a few days is not going to be an enjoyable affair, but that's a problem for another day!

Rounding the corner of the valley finally I behold the objective of today's trek - Kearvaig Bothy! A lovely well-sized bothy above a gorgeous stretch of beach, with mighty waves crashing in that are funneled down by some of the most impressive cliffs you'll come across.

After unloading my gear and getting comfy, I've had a nice lil swim in yhe powerful waves, and cooked up a very well earned late lunch. I'm currently sharing the bothy with a hiker and another cyclist, who both seem grand and I've had some good chats with.

Phone reception down the valley is non existent, but a 2 mile hike back up the hills does provide a bit of signal, which this has been posted with! So friends and family please be forgiving if I'm a little uncontactable whilst here!

Getting out to this place was a big hope for this tour so it's something really special to be sat at. The weather has cleared up almost immediately on arrival and it's a genuinely lovely day. Tomorrow I may jave a hike over the hills to Cape Wrath proper and see the lighthouse, but I'm thinking I may spend 2-3 nights here to make the most of it so I'm in no rush to squeeze things in this evening.

Ye gods it's incredible here.

[marlasomething]

(my) Mag a Week: Praise the Nothingness

Hello there!

I am participating in the "a mag a day" idea by @a-mag-a-day  which is BRILLIANT and I decided to do "statement a week", rolling dice with the characters and fears that were ftw that week in the episodes I have listened.

For today I rolled Archivist!Sasha (I love being able to continue the particular path I put her into in this short stories) and The Dark (Eps. 93-98).

As usual, please do forgive my quick tipper and non-native speaker mistakes, Marla

Allons-y!

CW: emotional manipulation, workplace issues, cult-like behaviour, violence

Also on AO3!

Statement of Luz Phoenix, regarding why she quit her job after almost twenty years of loyalty to her Enterprise.

Audio recording by Sasha James, on a personal interest.

Statement begins.

 Please, you have to help my co-workers. I am just a regular woman with a regular family and absolute no courage whatsoever, but I do believe there is hope for them. I still have trouble believing I actually managed to get enough courage to leave and come speak to you.

However, I highly doubt…never mind, I will begin, alright?

 I used to work for a company that I would like to refrain from naming, as well as what exactly we did. What they still do.

At least, at a legal level.

To say something.

I have never had any issues worth mentioning at work. Yes, sometimes a far too grabby male co-worker or a new employee that had gotten their position because of pure old-fashioned nepotism while knowing cero to nothing of their alleged new tasks…but nothing that doesn’t happen in absolutely any other job in this wonderful society of us (sorry, I have always been called a sour person).

Then, a couple of weeks ago, my previous boss retired. He was very old and, at first, everybody took this as great news. He was getting old and, though his heart was in the right place, him staying was good for absolutely nobody. He had begun to forget things, got violent with the younger (and less white) employees and was prone to just stare at a wall as if contemplating the whole meaning of human existence.

The moment he left, he grabbed my arm, called my ‘Lisa’ (that was his dead daughter’s name, with whom I apparently keep a massive resemblance) and whispered to me “ if your brother take charge, remember them about their souls ”. I answered the most politely I could, since he seemed genuinely concerned and I attributed it to his mental deterioration.

I didn’t take him seriously, though. Nobody did, at least, nobody that could have done something. We just watched him go, both alleviated and saddened by his leaving.

 His son did, indeed, come as our new boss and he was…bland at best. He just asked us to do the tasks expected to us and carry on with the enterprise as it should be. He didn’t even worry enough not to be polite even with the rudest people working for him, so he just seemed even duller to be. As my mom would have said un pan sin sal .

 Things really started to get weird when he asked the people who had been working there for longer to stay after work. My kids are still teenagers, but they could handle themselves pretty well and my partner is the best cook you can get in the entirety of the London area, so I just texted to the group chat my daughter had made for us and tried for once not to choose and emoji that I would later learn has as its main use something sex-related.

I wanted to give a good impression: new boss, new rules and, at my age and the monthly upkeeps I have to deal with…I couldn’t afford to get fired just before I didn’t want to do some nonsense planned by someone in his early thirties that dressed up and acted as if he actually believed he wasn’t even 25.

I just hoped my scepticism didn’t reach my face. Though, for better or worse, it disappeared rather quickly.

 We were taken to a room filled with…photographs, just photographs of moments of our life, of our private life. Things that hadn’t been frozen by time by any camera at all, from angles that not even a Hollywood super-production drone could have captured them.

Dane, one of the most calm men I have ever met, grabbed the scrawny body of our new boss when he realised there were pictures of his little sister, whom he had helped transitioning after the whole family had turned the back on her.

In one, she was still in the hospital, post-surgery, completely vulnerable…

Instead of feeling trapped or threatened, our New Boss just smiled and said that, the important thing wasn’t the pictures themselves (and he said something about how badly did The Eye interpreted the World, whatever that means), but what they really reflect about us.

So, as a mind-hive we all turned to the pictures once again (including Dane, still trembling from pure rage), and started noticing they all had something in common: the angles they have been taken from, they were purely observational, they served absolutely no artistic aspiration, but they all reflected in our eyes lacking… something . We were clearly there, in those moments; not purely in a physical sense per se, but also truly living and thriving in them and, yet, we were evidently not being fulfilled by them. As if we thought, or had thought, those events were, ultimately, meaningless.

I called bullshit on it as politely and gently as one can, in a voice that almost made me sound like my mother (unblocking my biggest fear in the entire planet) and most of my work colleagues seemed to agree in different degrees of shyness. I told him that, maybe, we were regular people, which usually translate in rather busy existences that required to never being completely in there when it came to our leisure time. He just laughed.

“If it is so, why did you see precisely that? And why do you feel that utter need of defending that lovely idea?” this argument, as lazy as it was, still managed to make an impression on the rest of the people in the room, who started nodding. Usually, I would have thought it was their fault, falling for a very strange version of a door-to-door Bible seller, but here…the lights all titled and I felt a drag towards his words, towards this existentially terrifying concept of not mattering. Or, worse even, thinking that you don’t matter.

I am ashamed to admit that, for an instance, I also wanted to believe it. There is something brutally appealing about not mattering. If you are nothing , if you let it drawn you…responsibilities die with you as an individual. Things are, by default, not your fault, you are just a pawn and, Lord knows, I have wanted to be a mere pawn so many times in my life…but, then, I remembered the day my partner proposed to me, the first day I made up with my eldest daughter after an ugly fight…and I stopped carrying whether it was true that I didn’t matter.

I didn’t even bother to wonder whether I actually believed I mattered or not. I wanted to be there as my imperfect self, and that was more than enough.

However, the rest of the people seemed to have bought into our new boss’ speech and he kept on talking.

“Admit it: we are Nothing in this World, and there is a beauty to it. We are expects in an endless void. We come and go and nothing really changes…wouldn’t you want to embrace the Real Darkness and forget about the False Meaning? Be lightened and help other be lightened from the unworthy pride of thinking they mean absolutely anything” his speech carried on, in the tone I have heard so many religious leaders over the years and, I must admit, at certain points I had to make an active effort not to buy into it.

But I made it through. Alone, but with eyes still not clouded by the end of the evening. Because that is something that happened to all my co-workers: their eyes became covered by an ever so slightly visible layer of fog.

 From that moment on, I had to endure this speeches every other evening, And since his glibness only seem to increase as time went by, I made the decision to go to these talks with earpieces not visible to the casual observer from the Spy Store close to my home, where I played records of my family so below par I could barely make out the words, but I just needed the constant reminder (and the blessing of having a boss that was as tech-savvy as my grandmother, might she rest in peace).

All my previous co-workers (some of which I didn’t only considered friends, but as close as family) started to wear only plain dark clothes and apply the same make-up, drink the same coffee and eat rather similar food (food intolerances and allergies haven’t disappeared, for what I could understand). Some, even commented in an massively visceral tone (rather surprising, seeing how apathetic regarding most things they had become), how their families were following in their steps towards the Bright Darkness. By this point, even if the work itself was still the same, I already wanted to quit, just as badly as I was scared of the aforementioned consequences of someone on my demographic finding herself in the unemployment queue once again.

Then, the bizarre tasks began and, the moment I was told to send an important client a contract were not only their income and outcome were marked, but also how they spent that money and how little of a difference it had done in the last two bloody decades , followed by some lines I can only describe as I suddenly think the Mormons were the less pussy people on Planet Earth.

I closed it and, within an hour, I resigned.

 And that was it, I communicate this to you and I pray that things can get better to the people I leave behind. We are moving to Edinburg, with my brother Mark, until we get a place of our own. There is a beautiful church nearby his flat, though I think even my life-time-long religion started to feel just a bit asphyxiating for me…

…maybe, I hope, it is all for the best.

  Statement ends.

  I…I know these statements are coming from The Institute. I know me staying at Jon’s old flat, the one he left behind without hesitation the moment he was ascended to Director is something he is likely to not have missed…I just hope Georgie is still as suspicious of him as I am and hadn’t say a word about certain things I helped put into motion…I trust her completely as long as he (whoever he is, because I don’t believe he is Jonathan Michael Sims anymore, he would have never murder Leitner, much less frame me for it) stays away from The Admiral…what a cute kitten the is.

Anyways, I think this particular statement is, somehow, a twisted mock over me for leaving. Especially taking into account that I had found an article about Luz, her partner and their three kids.

They were beaten to dead by an angry mob up to the point their faces were unrecognizable even with a computer program. The culprits claim to be of the True Religion of the Dark Brightness. I guess they did some rebranding from their original name.

Never mind that last comment, I just needed to release a bit of tension. If anything happened to Tim…or Martin.

End recording.

[hcrdknocklife]

"Yeah, exactly..." Truth be told, unattached was probably not the exact word Hayes would use to describe his current relationship status, but Riley was not entirely wrong about their reasoning behind it either. Aside from the complicated power dynamics that prevented him from ever acting on his feelings, he knew that Riley had a lot going on right now. Even though she was a prodigy, she still had a lot more to learn. She needed complete her residency and find the self-confidence that her ex had managed to take from her. They still had a lot of self-development ahead of them, and the last thing Hayes would ever want to do is hinder it in any way. "Yeah, I figured it might have crossed your mind, knowing you..." He could not help but laugh softly at the thought, and he shook his head before he picked up his glass of water to take a sip. "Well, there are many reasons why I wanted to get to know you better. Your unique childhood was a start, but you're also quite known around the hospital for your incredible bedside manner. I wanted to know if that was because you wanted to make an impression on your superiors, or if you genuinely cared for your patients. Now I have my answer. Plus, you have been so kind to little Jenny... I've noticed that she's not the most popular among residents. I wanted to thank you properly for doing what you do for her. You have no idea how much it means to her." He explained with a shug of his shoulders, and set down his glass. "Trust me, it's more than just a good reprieve from the usual. You're perfect." The words had slipped out of Hayes' lips with such ease that he almost panicked upon realizing what he had just said, and he quickly followed up before they could get suspicious. "I wouldn't say that talking isn't your strongest suit. You have no problem with talking to people once you've become comfortable with them.." He remarked, a rather playful smile finding its place upon his lips. "But you could use some help with keeping things concise during the oral component though, and not letting your anxiety get the worst of you is very important. I've noticed that you tend to ramble a lot when you get nervous, but that's something that we can work on together... if you want to. The best way to prepare for the oral boards is through hours, and hours, and hours of practice." Upon hearing her words, his smile grew wider. "You can always ask me for help, Riley. Everyone else does. You residents are my responibility, remember? I could walk away from any other responsibility I have, or I could pawn it off to someone else... but not this one. This is a responsibility that I refuse to walk away from."

Riley's words had only caused the smile on his lips to grow even wider, the fact that at least one person in his hospital had recognized the work that he was doing as somewhat valuable to them being like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the constant dismissal that he had been used to hearing at his board meetings. "Well, I guess you're not wrong about that. I am nothing like my father, or at least... that's what my sisters have told me." Truth be told, all three of them had said it in three different ways. Diana had been the one to reassure him that the way he was running the hospital was nothing like the way his father would have done it, and she had always encouraged him to continue following his heart when it came to the decisions that he had made for the hospital. Ella had used the fact that he was nothing like their father to show him as much disdain as she possibly could, letting him know that he could never be worthy of taking their father's place in her life. As for Jenny, she had always told him that he had loved her more than their father ever could have, but that was probably due to the fact that she had been so young when they had lost their father. "Great... In that case, I guess I'll just bring you some lunch. But don't worry, I'll try to be discreet." He remarked, a soft chuckle bubbling out of him at the thought of how easy it had been to convince them of just about anything. A part of Hayes could not help but wonder if that was something that only he had been able to accomplish.

"Oh." He nodded, understandingly. "Well, it's not that... I don't need photographic proof, no. That's not what I meant." He was quick to shake his head. "It's just... I never really had any sort of hobbies growing up." Hayes was rather hesitant to admit it, but he was very well aware of the act that Riley would be the last person on this entire planet who would judge him for it. "I mean, my mother... she was very strict. All she wanted was for me to do well in school, and I spent most of my free time as a child doing homework at the reception desk in the clinic where she worked, or volunteering at the pediatrics ward at the hospital where she had privileges." He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, even if she did let me have hobbies, I'm sure that the last thing she would have ever let me do was baking. She never would have let me make a mess of her kitchen. I'm just fascinated by the kind of life that you've had. It's so different from mine." Not to mention the fact that there had also been a part of him that wanted to be a part of that life, one that involved a little cafe, and Riley being covered in flour. It was a life that seemed far more idyllic in comparison to being the Board Chairman of a hospital. "But I must say... I would for you to bring me by your parents' cafe at some point. I do love supporting small businesses, and I would love to meet the people who raised one of my best doctors." Hearing Riley speak of her family made Hayes realize that not every family had to be as dysfunctional as the one that he had been given, and he would be lying straight through his teeth if he were to say that he was not feeling the slightest bit jealous about the fact that she had been so lucky to have such wonderful parents. "They sound like really wonderful people. No wonder you turned out to be such a wonderful person."

"Come on, Riley. Just learn to accept a compliment for once." Hayes remarked, letting out a rather hearty laugh before he shook his head. "You're bloody cool, and there's no doubt about it." But what he followed with seemed to get a much better reaction out of her. He was at least grateful for that. "I'm not saying anything that's not true. There's so much more to you that even you don't seem to see in yourself, but I want you to know... I see it. I see all of it in you. I see your drive, your desire to succeed, your potential to be one of the best doctors in my entire hospital. But I also see your kindness, and your empathy. I see it in the way you treat patients, and I see it in the way you're there for my sister when no one else is. You're the coolest person I know because you never let your intelligence make you arrogant in any way, and that's a gift that only a handful of people can possess. You're definitely one of them, Riley." Hayes reached over to place his hand on top of theirs, and offered them a rather firm nod of his head. "Don't you ever forget it."

"Okay, then it doesn't have to be awkward." Hayes nodded once again, and offered her another smile. He gave their hand a reassuring squeeze before he withdrew it, and leaned back in his seat. "Would it though? Would it really be that ridiculous? But now that you know that it's true, do you still believe that it's so ridiculous?" He could not help but ask her, taken over by his own curiosity even though he had maintained a rather playful tone in his voice. "No, it's not some playground crush that I'll get over in a week. I mean, I could if I tried... but I'm not going to. I don't know this person well enough to consider my feelings to be anything more than an infatuation of some sort, but I won't be acting on any of these feelings either. Not when there's a lot at risk. But that doesn't mean that I'm just going to let it go. Some people are worth waiting for, Riley." Hayes did not know how he could keep the truth from them for much longer, and he was grateful for any change of subject at that moment. "What can I say? You carry multitudes." He winked, another laugh escaping his lips before he shook his head once again. "Riley..." Hayes breathed out a sigh as he leaned forward in his seat, and met their gaze. "If you're not comfortable taking this job, then I'm not going to force you to do it. I don't want to stress you out about this, and if you're not up for it, It's fine. I can find someone else to run the clinic."

“yeah, i guess you’re right about that… then maybe it’s a good thing we’re unattached right now after all. better that than wasting more time on pointless dates that you know won’t go anywhere.” they’re both too busy for that type of thing; him most of all. she stands by the fact that a decent work-life balance is something everyone at the hospital could benefit from, but if that means she has to find herself caught in a relationship that’s anything like her previous one, she might be selfishly changing that opinion. she’s fairly certain she’d rather stay single for the rest of her life than date another man with such a strong aversion to encouragement. “it’s definitely crossed my mind,” they admit with a slight shrug. surely he has better things to be doing than having dinner with a nervous resident. “but for what it’s worth, i do trust you… and while i’m a little surprised that it’s me you want to get to know better, i’m glad we’re here. i hope it’s a nice reprieve for you from dealing with crotchety old men all the time.” if they aren’t better company than that, they might as well pack up their things and leave right now. they may not be the world's greatest conversationalist, but that would be a new low. “i mean… if you’re offering and it’s not too much trouble, i wouldn’t necessarily say no. it’s probably obvious by now that talking isn’t always my strong suit.” neither is confidence which is a whole other issue that could potentially hold her back during the boards. she can’t let such a ridiculous flaw impact her results. she refuses. “i just never would’ve thought to ask you for help before.” even if she had finally gotten anxious enough to admit she needed a little bit of tutoring, it wouldn’t have been a real option to come to hayes first. he’s constantly busy — he said so himself — and the last thing she wants is to add to his ever growing pile of work, or for anyone else around the hospital to accuse him of playing favourites. 

“i don’t think you have to worry about that. i’m no expert, but i don’t know if it’s as simple as waking up one day and suddenly realising that you’ve become selfish and greedy. if you’re already self aware enough to worry about becoming one of them, you should be able to stop yourself from ever slipping into their habits, and from what you’ve told me, it sounds like you’re really trying to improve the hospital for everyone involved. i mean, can you honestly say that any of them would be making sure there was readily available therapy onsite for their employees without you? or a free clinic for those who need it?” it seems highly unlikely. riley wouldn’t say that the hospital is necessarily perfect as it is, but if some of the other board members had it their way, there’s no doubt in her mind that the difference in comfort and functionality at work would be clear as day. hayes being there to fight for staff and patients alike is fundamental. “as stressful as i know it can be for you sometimes, we’re definitely lucky to have you be the one calling the shots now. you’re living proof that someone can be both a brilliant surgeon and a nice person. i’m sure you were like a breath of fresh air for all the people who used to work under your father.” a lot of research had gone into riley’s decision as to which hospital would be best suited for them and after considering all the variables — location, the programs they offer, reputation — learning who was in charge was a big tipping point. if she were brazen enough, she would admit that he was an important factor for where she ended up. even after their residency is completed and they’re able to look for a permanent job elsewhere, they hope to stay where they are for a while longer. they’re not looking to get out anytime soon. “hey, if you were kind enough to bring me lunch, it would be rude of me to turn you away.” with a smile of her own, she welcomes the teasing and knows damn well that he could make her agree to just about anything if he wanted to.

“oh, it’s okay. i really don’t mind where we are. besides, if they were there too, they would probably misinterpret this whole thing and find some way to embarrass me, so… it might actually be safer this way.” she’s already doing a decent job of the embarrassment part all on her own and unfamiliar as it may be, at least this place doesn’t have any naive parents lurking across the room who would immediately associate any man having dinner with their daughter as having romantic undertones. as if they would ever take a first date to the family business. no, that would be asking for trouble. “oh, come on. what’s so difficult to imagine about that? i know i couldn’t have chosen a career that’s more different from mixing dough and decorating cakes, but everyone has their hobbies... do you need photographic proof or will you take my word for it?” their head tilts in curiosity, taking far too much joy out of being able to bring such a big smile to his face with something so simple. there’s never been much reason to bring up what she does at home to help unwind at the end of a particularly gruelling day, especially not to him, but now she’s regretting that she hadn’t done it sooner. “pretty normal, i think... running their own business obviously meant they were busy a lot, but i never felt like i was missing out on anything. if they had to work after picking me up from school when i was smaller, i would just stay at the cafe with them and do my homework there until it was time to go home. it was pretty easy to work quietly when you’re a child being bribed with a milkshake.” besides, it’s not like her parents ever really had to worry about either of their kids sneaking out and getting up to no good. it’s never been a difficult task for them to sit and mind their own business and it helped that there was never any pressure when it came to school or passing exams; at least not from their family. the only one who ever insisted that they had to do well academically or everything would crumble was riley herself. “i’m lucky they’ve always been supportive. i wouldn’t say we were well off at any point in our lives, so i know that me wanting to become a doctor made them nervous for a number of reasons, but they still did what they could to help me get there.” not every family would have been so willing to let their child pursue such a tricky line of work knowing that it doesn’t always work out, but they had faith in her. they were the first ones who ever did.

“oof, that doesn’t sound right to me.” if he genuinely believes them to be cool by any stretch of the imagination, they hate to break it to him, but that could have nothing to do with them and simply be because his standards are frighteningly low. then he continues and their amusement slowly begins to fade with each word, replaced instead with a softer gaze that can’t settle on him for too long without getting nervous. shit. “you know, i’m not actually sure how to respond to that. cool was something i could laugh at, but you had to go and be sweet about it, didn’t you? that’s just not fair.” it’s strange to feel so seen, particularly by someone who she hadn’t realised had even been paying any attention to her in the first place. in such a big space with so many talented doctors around, there’s not a chance she would've thought herself special enough to have caught his eye.

“nothing, i just… even if i make a stupid joke, that’s all it is, you know? there’s no real… pressure or anything. no reason for this to be weird.” though it's probably too late for that. “i meant it more in the sense that… well, you’re you — this big, successful surgeon with his own hospital to run who even has some of his own staff members whispering about how handsome and wonderful he is. i would never expect you to show any interest in someone like me that way. that’d be ridiculous.” or, as they said, utterly delusional. she hates that it could even sound as if she’s throwing herself a pity party because that couldn’t be further from her true intentions, but it turns out this isn’t a particularly easy feeling to describe. then again, riley could say that about most of them. in her mind, it's obvious that he should be with someone on a similar level to himself; respected, polished. evidently, that isn’t her. “ah, so it’s not just a playground crush that you’ll get over in a few weeks then? i don’t known why i assumed otherwise.” their curiosity is officially off the charts, but they do everything in their power to bite back the somewhat invasive questions that desperately want to be heard. the longer he talks, the more difficult that becomes and they fear they don't have very much restraint left in them.

right on cue, riley's skin begins to feel hot beneath the surface and she curses her body once again for its traitorous reactions. god, this is beyond embarrassing. “you’re calling me cute now? really?” a flash of uncertainty crosses their face, lifting the back of their hand to their cheek to help them cool down and willing themselves to get the incessant flushing under control. “i know i wouldn’t be alone and i’d be happy to have others with me, especially you and jenny… but at the same time, i don’t know if i’m fully capable of being someone’s boss.” would a competent boss constantly blush at the slightest compliment or have a bundle of nerves in their stomach at the mere thought of something not going according to plan? “i have zero experience with that type of thing and when people look at me, i don’t think they see a leader. that’s probably for good reason.”

[spacexseven]

OHHHH TUNA I HAVE FINALLY BEEN ABLE TO READ UR ANSWER TO MY ASK U ARE SOOO GENIUS and now im VERY curious to hear about ur mermaid chuuya thoughts, if you happen to have any on hand? and since dazai has been ruled out as our siren, who do you think would fit better? maybe chuuya could do it? fyodor kinda seems like the type to me as well. hm siren! chuuya/fyodor and a pirate captain reader.... imagine the tension.

I am so messed up about ur sea monster dazai interpretation what a little aquatic asshole.... I've been thinking of a slight alternate scenario where he might get a bit ahead of himself in his excitement to eat darling, they get just a bit too close and smell SO good. can you really blame him if he goes for the kill a little earlier than planned? but, alas, his little human actually manages to get away from him! him!!!! of all sea creatures this human actually managed to wiggle out of HIS claws! his ego is pretty bruised for a while (as well as his FACE you KICKED him and it REALLY HURT and he thinks it was a bit uncalled for honestly) but then he actually does start to feel lonely, for the first time. not the fake sad fishie routine he pulled on you, genuinely alone. you Were pretty interesting to talk to, he supposes.... and kinda cute, for a human. it rubs salt in the wound when he can occasionally see you walk near the water, hiding behind some human, not daring to venture too near. maybe at first, you fear was funny to him and he'd threateningly flick his tail in the water to watch u lock up, but now if he sees you he goes completely still, wondering (hoping) if you'll get closer. you never do.

anyway, imagine sea monster dazai realizing he has feelings for u and trying to win u back, to very little avail. why do all his presents he leaves for you on the shore scare you? isn't bringing your mate things you've hunted for them a standard courting practice in most species? I mean, he eviscerated them, sure, but don't humans PREFER when fish have their organs and heads removed? hes really not sure what hes not getting right here. what do you MEAN slaughtered sharks aren't gonna work, chuuya?he thought grand gestures were the way to go, should he go for something even bigger? meanwhile ur SHITTING yourself thinking that this awful creature you barely escaped from is gonna crawl up on shore and turn u inside out. well, I mean, you're half right. figuring out how to walk among humans and find you himself IS the next step hes considering, if you keep being stubborn.

- 🩹

AQUATIC ASSHOLE you know i have a huge soft spot for alliteration i love it so much this makes me so giddy

cw yandere characters (chuuya, fyodor, dazai), obsessive behavior, mentions of dismemberment, stalking

here's the thing about siren chuuya...he's literally irresistable. it's not just his singing voice or his pretty eyes or his overall perfect existance—something about him is almost addictive to people. even he doesn't know what part of him it is that makes people swoon so hard for him. so when he meets a regular little human (that is actually the captain of a pretty big ship. he is impressed.) who just Doesn't Care about him, it hurts his pride and goes against his very existance. it makes no sense!

and because chuuya can't have other mers knowing about this and his indisputed title of Best Siren Ever to be taken away, he starts following you around. a lot. what he doesn't know is that he's not the only siren you've got on your tail. from somewhere far away during one of your adventures, you caught the attention of another reknowned siren, because again you didn't seem to be affected by his charm either. no amount of singing or spells or staring into your eyes changed your feelings towards fyodor and it won't change anything towards chuuya either.

so they're left with only one other option.

making you fall for them the human way.

which also means no underhanded tactics, no singing (not that it had any effect on you before) and no contacting any sea witches to help. what they could do was try to court you like humans did each other.

every morning you wake up and you find unnaturally huge fish gutted and waiting for you cook, priceless items from deep under the sea (you're sure, one time, that that was a bag of real gold coins waiting for you), and a few times even dismembered hands and feet. that was a terrifying sight, even for you. coincidentally you'd find out someone who was giving you trouble just happened to lose a limb or two that same day...

it's very likely dazai will lose his patience and try to eat you (very literally) before he realizes he kinda wants to keep you whole. just another day on your boat talking to your poor little victim sea monster friend and all it takes is for you to come a little too close and leave your hand on his claw for a little too long before he's snatching you and dragging you over the side of your boat and into the cold water (his waters, where nobody would help you, little human) ignoring the way you scream and struggle, using his unnaturally strong limbs to hold you in place while he goes for a bite. what he doesnt expect is for you to jab him in the eye, so hard he's sure it will look all ugly and swollen, before scrambling back onto your boat and going back to shore. damn motorboats and their violent little propellers.

and then you don't come back.

he gives you some time, thinking maybe you got a little bruised up and needed the rest (though he would happilly nurse you back to health if you had asked). but you don't show your face near the water for days and days on end, until even he knew it was far too long to be just because you were injured.

it comes to him through the form of chuuya (who considered himself a master at understanding human behavior, having spent a lot of his time around them, watching them gush over him) that you were probably scared of him. which was really nothing new, anyone with any survival instinct would know to be scared, but when it was you who had been so genuine and unbothered by his demeanor, he was a little distraught.

maybe he should apologize.

it was hard when you rarely came near the beach except when you were with someone else, but he managed to leave gifts for you after waving at you, pretending to not see the grimace on your face or the way you shrunk into yourself.

it was even more painful when you just ignored the things he left for you, no matter how much stuff he left or how luxurious of a gift he left, you would just ignore it. he wondered if he deserved such treatment. how was he to know you would get scared so much?

and you wouldn't even let him explain himself. how was he going to apologize if you didn't hear him out? he didn't have any bad intentions, really.

well, if you weren't going to approach him, then he'd have to approach you, right? luckily, he knew some people who owed him some favors—favors big enough to even change his form temporarily.

[whiteqnn]

Pairing: Corpse Husband x Fem! Reader

Summary: Sean invites one of his good friends - Y/N - to play with him and the group. She has a lot of fun with them, but at the same time is too oblivious, too nice, and too pure to notice that one particular Among Us player has taken a liking to her the moment he heard her voice...

Notes: Hello everyone! This is the very first time I’m publishing something bigger in here, I’m honestly still figuring out how Tumblr works, even though I’ve had this account for quite some time now 😅. That being said, please don’t expect anything super impressive. I tried my best though just so you know. 🥺

A/N- It didn’t turn out as I expected, but I really hope at least some of you find it enjoyable :(

Y/C/N - your channel name

part 2

part 3 

part 4 

part 5 

PURE [1]

“Did you guys find anybody?” Felix asked, as the number of players still showed just 7 of them. They could just start now, but the game would be way more fun with a full lobby. 

“Yeah, Lily’s joining. I just texted her the code, so she should be here at any moment.” Sykkuno replied after receiving a text message from the said girl. “Oh, and Corpse also said he’d be joining soon.” 

“Great. Anyone else?”

 “I think Jack was also bringing someone, right?” Dave asked.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I have one coming, she’ll join us in a few” the asked man replied at the same moment Lily’s character appeared in the lobby. 

“Who you’re bringing Jack?” 

“Y/N” he said, causing Felix to gasp in shock and yell into his mic:

“How the fuck did you manage to convince her? I’ve been bugging her about this game for the past week and she always had some excuse!” 

“What can I say, my charm is irresistible” Jack replied nonchalantly, causing everyone in the lobby to laugh at his fake deep voice.

The number of participants changed to 9, as a little black astronaut with horns on his helmet appeared in the lobby. 

“Corpse, you’re here!” Rae’s character ran up to the man, circling him excitedly. 

“Hey man!”

“What’s up, Corpse?”

“Hello everyone” his deep voice sounded out “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“All good man, we’re still waiting for one person.” Felix reassured him “Sean, why is she not here yet? Are you sure you’ve sent her the right code?”

“Of course I am!” he all but shouted at Felix “And about that, she just texted me to give her a few more minutes and that we should start without her.”

“We can just wait, right?” Lily offered, earning a few hums of approval from the others.

“I think it might take a little longer than a few minutes, she has some problems with her microphone.”

“Who are you guys talking about?” Corpse asked, completely unaware of who Jack was referring to.

“Wait, Jack, you mean Y/N from Y/C/N?” Sykkuno asked suddenly, only then realizing why this name sounded familiar

“Yeah, the one and only” Jack replied, a smile evident in his voice.

“Oh my god, I love her videos!” Rae exclaimed at that “She’s so funny and sweet!”

“Yeah! Her new video is so freaking cute, I wish she’d upload more often.” Poki agreed. 

“Right?” Jack said, clearly very proud of his friend. “But don’t let that sweet demeanor fool you guys cause she’s one of the best players I’ve encountered in this game.”

“That’s true, she’s a secret big brain genius” Toast confirmed, making Pewdiepie gasp once again. 

“wHAT??YOU TWO PLAYED WITH HER?!” Felix’s offended voice boomed through everyone’s headphones “HOW DARE YOU. HOW COULD YOU NOT INVITE ME?!” 

“That’s for not inviting me to your latest Cringe episode!” Jack was quick to respond, making others in the lobby laugh at their mini fight. 

“Oh, so that’s where I recognized her from!” Sykkuno nearly shouted when he finally put two and two together. “I can’t wait to meet her, she seems like a really nice person.”

“She is! When she got impostor for the first time she refused to kill me” Toast explained, earning himself a couple of Aww’s from his friends. “So we just ran around the emergency button until I called the meeting and voted her off.”

“Yeah, only to be her first victim in the next game.” Jack all but giggled, clearly very amused at the memory of Y/N going into a full berserk mode. No one except for him and Toast knew how good she really was at this game... 

“She’s basically the wolf in sheep’s skin” Felix concluded with a chuckle “Very soft wolf, however.”

“She’s like the complete opposite of Corpse, both in voice and personality” Jack suddenly said, making Felix laugh wholeheartedly at something only two of them understood at the moment. 

“I don’t know how should I take that” Corpse admitted with a chuckle. He remained silent for most of the conversation since he didn’t really know who the guys were talking about. But he would lie if he said he wasn’t intrigued by this girl at least in the slightest. Although he heard about her channel, he hasn’t seen any of her videos, so he didn’t really know what to expect. But hearing what gamers like Sean and Felix said about her, he knew he’s not gonna be disappointed once the girl joins them in the game. 

“Imagine Corpse and Y/N talking.” Felix said suddenly with a seemingly very amused voice.

“Imagine Corpse and Y/N both being Impostors” Toast said, which resulted in many of them shouting over each other at how crazy that would be. 

“Alright, now that you mention this I start fearing the moment two of them meet” Jack confessed with loud laughter following the sentence. Corpse chuckled deeply under his breath, at the same time glancing at the questions his audience was asking him in his stream. He could hardly read any, as there were quite a lot of people asking, so all he saw was just a bunch of comments moving at the speed of light in his chat. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was slightly nervous, seeing the growing number of people watching his stream. It was still a rather new thing to him, and he feared he'd say something inappropriate, or just make a complete idiot out of himself. 

"At least no one can see me..." he mumbled under his breath after muting his microphone. 

"Oh! Y/N just texted me! She's joining the call right now!" 

"Fuck yeah!" Felix shouted excitedly "Just so you know Jack, I won't forget that you two played without me."

"Uh-oh. Is that a threat? Are you threatening me now?" 

"It's a warning" Felix replied, receiving a series of gasps from other players. "If I get impostor, you're the first one on my list."

"Okay, everyone heard that! You know who to vote off when I'm dead!" 

"It's so cool to play with someone new, I wonder if she's as good as you guys depict her" Sykkuno spoke up, but before anyone could answer his question, a new character popped up in the lobby.

*** 

"Hi everyone! I’m sorry I left you just like that, but this stream would be completely useless without me being able to answer your questions. Fortunately it wasn’t anything serious, I just had to readjust my mic and go through the settings to find what was wrong. Took some time, but here I am now!” Y/N chirped into her microphone, smiling apologetically at her webcam. At the moments like this, she really appreciated how supportive her audience was. No one was hating on her when she had to get off the stream for a couple of minutes, and everyone was just so understanding that it made her heart melt. Perhaps her audience wasn’t very big, but it felt almost like a second family to her. 

“Anyway, as you already know from my twitter, today I’ll be playing Among Us with my friends and their friends! I can’t wait if I’m being honest, last time I played this game was so much fun, and there was only a few of us.” she admitted with a genuine smile on her face. “Let’s just text Sean now so we can get into the lobby...”

Y/N: Ready to play with you guys ^^

Jackaboy: Great! You got that mic fixed already? 

Y/N: Yes, everything is fine. I’m sorry you had to wait so long.

Jackaboy: It’s all good kiddo, no worries. I’ll call you and send you the code in a sec. 

Y/N: Perfect, thank you Sean :)

Jackaboy: Btw, everyone can’t wait to meet you ;-)Y/N stared at the screen for a moment, only now, seconds before joining the group, realizing how nervous she felt. From Sean’s tweets she saw earlier, she figured that the lobby was right now full of many famous streamers, those she wouldn’t even compare herself to. It’s not that she thought of herself very low, but... being among such youtube celebrities like them made her panic a little bit. She didn’t want to look like a complete fool amongst them. 

Playing or recording with Sean and Felix was something else because she knew those guys for years (and yet still sometimes found herself thinking how lucky she got to be able to call them her friends). She felt good in their company, not worrying about choosing the right words. But amongst the rest of the players, she knew only Toast and talked with Rae maybe once in her life... 

What if the rest won’t like her? 

Y/N cleared her throat, realizing that she was still staring at her phone like hypnotized and her audience was already asking her what’s going on. She quickly typed in the code Sean had texted her and readjusted her headphones, before joining the discord chat.

“THERE SHE IS” screamed Sean, making her grin from ear to ear, hearing how excited he was “Little wonderchild!”

“I think you meant little TRAITOR” Felix corrected him with a scoff. A silence settled in the lobby as everyone was waiting for Y/N to speak up.

“Um... hello everyone..” she said softly, almost inaudibly, a sudden wave of shyness taking over her. “I’m Y/N” 

“Oh, you were right about that Corpse thing!” replied another, also very soft and very sweet voice, and Y/N saw the image of someone named Lily pop up. “It’s like the exact opposite!” 

“See? Told ya. Everyone, meet Y/N/N, the little angel from Y/C/N.” 

“Hey Y/N!”

“Hi there!”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“H-Hi, so great to meet you, Y/N!” a very friendly sounding voice said, and a little lime astronaut with the name Sykkuno above it started running around her. “Can’t wait to play with you!”

“That’s so nice, thank you” she replied with a wide smile on her face, moving around his character as well. “I can’t wait to play with you too, actually with all you guys. It’s so great to be here with you.”

“Jack I swear she’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever heard. Where the hell did you find her?!” Poki all but yelled at the man, making Y/N giggle to herself and in-process loosen up a little bit. They all seemed like someone she’d happily be friends with. 

“Or rather, where do you get one?” someone else commented, making them all burst into laughter, Y/N included. 

“Guys, what did I say about that sweet demeanor...” Jack said after calming down from his fit “Don’t put your guard down just because she sounds like that!”

“Wait- what did you tell them about me?” Y/N asked confused, the tone of her voice making him laugh even more “Jack!”

“Don’t worry, only the good stuff” a very deep, low voice spoke up, leaving her taken aback for a moment. Her eyes widened slightly and she glanced at the name of that person, reading out CORPSE. Now that’s something she didn’t expect... 

“Corpse, mind your manners! You didn’t even introduce yourself!” 

“Oh, shit- yeah, sorry. Um, I’m Corpse, it’s very nice to meet you Y/N” he replied right after, making her lip corners curl up into a smile. 

“Nice to meet you too Corpse, you have a really pleasant voice.” she spoke sweetly, completely unaware of the chaos that was taking place in her stream chat. She didn’t even think of it the way her audience did, she just simply spoke up her mind, and being an incredibly nice person - turned it into a compliment.

“Oh- wow. I mean, thank you so much. I love your voice too, it’s really sweet” he replied, nervously chuckling at the end, before muting his mic. It was, however, enough for Felix and Sean to start teasing him, as the two immediately screamed:

“SIIIMP!!!”

“It’s the voice Felix, I told you he’d fall into her trap!” 

“Wait- he was just being nice, guys! Stop making fun of him” Y/N immediately defended the man, trying to speak up over the hysterical laughter of the other players. 

“Oh my god, but what if they both get impostors and they both pull the voice cards on us?!” Rae managed to yell through all the noise, making Y/N even more confused.

“Wait, what? What do you mean? I don’t understand.” 

“Don’t worry Y/N, that’s how I feel all the time around them.” Sykkuno seemed to be the only one who heard her question, as the rest continued their gabbing without giving her as much as a glance. 

“Alright, let’s start the game maybe. I might have a few old scores to settle” Toast cleared his throat theatrically, his astronaut coming face to face with Y/N’s. 

“Oh, you mean me? I thought I already apologized!” she replied frantically. “You gave me no choice Toast, I didn’t even want to kill you in the first place...”

“BUT YOU DID. IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND” 

“I’m sorry!” 

“Alright, enough! Toast, just don’t kill her right away, okay? Let her run around the map, fearing for her life for a moment.” Y/N gasped upon hearing Jack’s words, clearly sensing the smirk behind his voice. 

“Wha- Jack?! Since when are you against me?!” 

“Don’t worry Y/N, I won’t let them hurt you. You haven’t played with us yet, I’ll protect you.” 

“Oh, thank you so much Sykkuno! I’ll protect you too!” 

“Great. Another one simping...” was Felix’s last words, before the game began. 

Y/N sighed in relief upon seeing the word crewmate forming on her screen, but at the same time feared Toast’s inevitable revenge. She thought they'd already buried the hatchet, but it seemed that he was desperate to make her pay for the last time they played together. 

“Aw, Sykkuno was serious” she mumbled with a smile, when his lime astronaut started circling her white one, so she would follow him. “Okay, let’s do some tasks.”

They both made their way towards the medbay, Sykkuno patiently waiting nearby as she did the scan, then Y/N waiting for him to do the same. The moment his little character stepped towards her, a meeting was called by none other than Felix.

“What happened?” Rae asked.

“I called the meeting because I’m afraid of Jack” he responded, causing everyone to laugh. “Seriously though! Dude’s been following me around the whole time.”

“I was just making sure nobody kills you.”

“Yeah don’t go all Sykkuno on me!” Felix screamed, making the call erupt into even more laughter. 

“Alright, are we skipping?” 

“Yeah.”

“Guys, my life is in danger!” Felix wouldn’t give up. “Come on, show some support! Y/N? You played with him, you know his techniques!” 

“Sorry Felix” Y/N giggled, clicking the skip button. 

When the next round began, Sykkuno was quick to join Y/N on her way towards admin, where they both found Poki doing the upload. They did the card swipe and left her there, when the lights suddenly went off.

“Uh-oh. Let’s head the opposite direction, Sykkuno” the girl murmured, dancing around his character and heading towards Comms instead of going to Electrical. It was the easiest way to die, after all. 

Once they entered the room and waited for someone to fix the lights, Y/N could see another figure appear in the same location. She couldn’t recognize whose character it was, but upon seeing the horns on the helmet she smiled to herself.

“Hey there, Corpse” she said, walking up to the black astronaut, who was standing still in the same place as if he was just watching her and Sykkuno run around Comms instead of doing their tasks. 

They stood like that for a couple of seconds until Corpse turned around and ran away, and that’s when the first body was reported. 

“Oh no, Jack!” 

“Poor guy. He’s gonna haunt us now.”

“Where’s the body?” 

“Navigation” replied Rae, who was the one to find Sean’s green astronauts’ body “Didn’t see anyone around, but I’m pretty sure someone just vented right in front of my eyes...”

“Any suspicions?” Toast asked.

“Um, not really sure, it was the exact same moment the lights went off. I was doing tasks with Jack and then he just died. I only saw the vent close, nothing or no one else.”

“Okay, where are you guys right now?” 

“I’m in admin with Dave, we only passed Poki when we got there.” Lily’s voice sounded out, quickly being joined by Poki’s explanation.

“Yeah, I was finishing the upload when you guys came in, Y/N and Sykkuno saw it”

“Did you see her?” Toast asked, addressing his question towards the white and lime astronauts. 

“Yes, we were doing the card swipe before going to Comms. Corpse joined us for a moment and then left.”

“Yeah, I was on my way to fix the lights when I stumbled upon them in Comms, the body was reported the exact moment I left.”

“Can someone confirm this? I mean, did someone see you besides the two of them?” Toast continued his questioning. 

“I think I only saw Felix in Medbay.”

“Hmm, so no one really knows where you were this whole time. You could easily lure Jack into Navigation and kill him there. Is that what you did, Corpse?”

“Woah, that’s some serious accusation” Corpse replied in his usual, low and calm voice. “Where were you Toast? You seem the only one who still doesn’t have an alibi”

“Neither does Felix.” Y/N spoke innocently, and the mentioned man quickly started his explanation.

“Okay, I was with Jack at the beginning but he clearly can’t confirm this since someone snapped his fucking neck. We’ve split up in O2 after doing our tasks and then he must’ve gone with Rae. I just wandered around the map, escaping from the death.”

“Hmm, so not only were you one of the last people to see him alive, but you also admit to not doing your tasks” Y/N said, trying her best to keep her voice steady and stop herself from laughing. She was sure Sykkuno was doing the same thing, they both refused to do any tasks after the lights went off, after all.

“Yeah, but does that already makes me an Imposter? I’m just scared for my life, that’s all.”

“Y/N has some good logic, but I’m not really sure it’s Pewds. I mean, I saw him in Medbay and he really seemed to be just jogging around.” Corpse said, his voice almost immediately doing its magic, as people more or less willingly agreed to skip this round as well. 

“I think it’s Felix. I mean, I haven’t played with him yet, but I have this feeling that he’s just acting.” Y/N said to her chat after muting herself. She went towards Weapons to do another task, seeing Sykkuno’s little character follow her once again, but the doors were suddenly locked and his lime astronaut remained in Cafeteria. “Oh no, Sykkuno” she sighed with a pout on her face, deciding against waiting for him and risking getting her neck snapped. She finished her task in Weapons and moved towards another location, when suddenly Corpse appeared in front of her, coming right out of nowhere. 

“Oh- Corpse, you scared me to death” Y/N breathed a laugh, watching as his character stood still for a couple of seconds, before circling around her white astronaut. Y/N nodded her head with a smile, even though he couldn’t see her, and followed him in Shields, where they found Poki’s dead body. 

“The body is in Shields” Y/N replied right after reporting the body, only to gasp in shock when she realized more than one person was killed. Red crosses decorated not only Poki’s name but were also visible next to Dave and Lily. 

“What the hell?!” Felix all but yelled into his mic, obviously shocked just like everyone else who was still alive. 

“Now that’s... a lot of bodies” Sykkuno mumbled under his breath. 

“Alright, who’s in Shields? Y/N, you said you found the body there, which one?”

“Poki’s, Corpse was there with me” her reply was followed by his short and low hum. 

“Sykkuno, where are you? I didn’t see you anywhere since the last round.” Felix asked, clearly accusing the lime astronaut of being a murderer. 

“I was... doing the wires in electrical, Toast was there for a moment as well.”

“Yeah but I was only searching for the body, so I saw you maybe for a second” Toast replied, building even more suspicions around Sykkuno.

“But- guys, you know I wouldn’t kill two people in one round, let alone four of them.”

“No one says you did that, I only mentioned that you were nowhere to be seen. You could’ve been sabotaging the map for the other Impostor” Felix said nonchalantly.

“Guys, I-”

“It’s him! It must be him!” Rae shouted through her mic. 

“Sykkuno is 100% innocent, I can vouch for him” Y/N’s voice sounded out in everyone’s headphones “We were together since the start of the game and he didn’t kill me, even though he had quite a number of chances to do so.”

“Weren’t you with Corpse this time?” Felix asked suspiciously.

“I was! But at the beginning, I was with Sykkuno, until someone locked him in Cafeteria. That’s when we split up.”

“And you haven’t seen him ever since?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Then I can assure you it was only a matter of time before he’d stab you in the back” Toast concluded, making Sykkuno gasp in confusion.

“Wha- No, I would never do that! Y/N is our guest, I was just making sure she was okay!”

“Sykkuno, simping won’t save your life right now” 

“Wha- I- Guys!” he tried to stutter out some logical explanation “Y/N, don’t believe them!”

“I don’t, I know you’re innocent! C’mon guys, he wouldn’t do it!” 

“Yeah yeah, let’s kick him out. Corpse, who are you voting?” Toast asked, and Y/N could see the I voted sign next to his character. 

“I kinda feel like Felix tries to shift the blame onto Sykkuno. He didn’t even tell his location, and was already throwing accusations on someone else.” Corpse replied after a moment, making the smile widen on Y/N’s face. Someone was finally on her side! 

“That’s because he can’t even explain himself!” Felix exclaimed, voting as well. 

“Besides, I’m pretty sure if it wasn’t for whoever locked that door, Y/N would be dead as well!” 

“No, I told you I-!”

“Guys, we have ten seconds to vote. Rae?” 

“I think it’s him as well. He was acting suspiciously since we started this round. I vote Sykkuno”

“But..!” 

“No, Sykkuno...” Y/N whispered with a pout on her lips, when she saw the number of people who voted for her lime friend. 

Sykkuno was ejected. 

“Alright, I’m pretty sure it’s Felix. I saw Rae multiple times and she didn’t kill me, Toast also doesn’t act very Impostor like, but maybe that’s just one of his strategies... Corpse is with me again, I don’t think that’s him, I mean, he followed me around last round, but still didn’t do anything, and even vouched for me and Sykkuno when we were both clearly chilling in comms. It can’t be him... right?” 

 Dead body reported.

 “I just saw Corpse kill Toast, then vent!” Rae’s voice blared through Y/N’s headphones, as she looked in shock at the red cross next to Toast’s name. If not him, then..?

“What?” the accused man asked calmly “That’s a self-report, she’s trying to frame me. You guys can’t possibly believe her.”

“I believe her. I saw you enter the Electrical with Toast, then he’s suddenly dead” Felix said. 

“That’s because she vented in there and killed him.”

“No! I swear, Y/N/N you have to believe me!” she directed her words towards the girl who remained silent during their discussion, processing her accusations over and over in her head. “I was fixing the wires, Toast was doing another task, and then boom! I see Corpse snapping his neck!”

“How could you see that if the lights were off?” Y/N suddenly asked, making Rae cut her own sentence off “No one went to fix them, they were off the entire round.”

Silence. 

“It’s Rae, it must be her” Corpse couldn’t help but laugh wholeheartedly at how small was the mistake which completely blew Rae’s cover. “We’re voting Rae, right Y/N?”

“No! Guys, I mean, let me explain, I-!”

Rae was ejected. 

“Now that was something I didn’t expect. I would’ve never thought it was her, I even suspected that Sykkuno might really have been the other Impostor, but now... It’s just me, Corpse, and Felix. I’m clear, clearly, so it must be one of them. And since Corpse protected me for the past few rounds, there’s no other option than...”

Her eyes suddenly widened when the realization hit her, and she quickly turned around to speed towards the emergency button. Fortunately, no one was around to stop her from calling the meeting.

“Felix.” Y/N started, trying to contain her excitement and sound seriously “Where were you when Sean was killed?”

Neither Corpse of Felix said a word, as it was probably the last question they expected her to ask. Felix cleared his throat, however, and finally replied:

“Y/N, that was literally the beginning of a game. How am I supposed to remember what I did then?”

“Well” she said nonchalantly “I, for example, clearly remember the things you said even when we were in the lobby.”

“What are you implying?” 

“Wasn’t it you, who told everyone that Sean was your number one if you get Impostor?” she asked with a wicked smile on her face. Felix was dumbfounded, he obviously didn’t expect her to pull that card on him, hell, he didn’t even know how she knew about it since she wasn’t even in the call at the time. 

“FELIX” Corpse suddenly broke the silence, simultaneously breaking the said man from his train of thoughts. 

“Okay, first of all- YOU WEREN’T EVEN IN THE CALL WHEN I SAID THAT” he yelled through his mic, making both Y/N and Corpse laugh, as it only confirmed their suspicions. 

“See? You only proved my point.” 

“Oh, fuck’s sake- I was just joking okay?!” he tried to defend himself, but hearing how he couldn’t even contain his own laughter anymore, it was clear he already accepted the defeat. “It wasn’t serious, god damn it!” 

“You know what to do, Y/N” Corpse’s voice asked through her headphones, and surely, she knew exactly what to do.

“C’mon Y/N, that’s not fair! At least let me explain myself!” 

“Bye Felix” she said in an overly dramatic tone before Corpse voted as well. 

Soon enough, the sign VICTORY could be seen on her screen, which made her squeak and joy. This game was really fun, even though she was so scared of being killed first. 

“I knew it! I knew you would figure out it’s him! That son of a bitch who murdered me!” Jack basically yelled out, clearly very happy about the result. 

“Y/N, seriously now, how did you know I’ve said that?” Felix asked without even hiding his surprised tone.

“Let’s just say I might’ve stolen some of your viewers, Felix” she admitted, winking at her webcam, a new wave of comments landing on her chat. “Thanks guys!” 

“Okay, that is rude and not fair!” 

“It helped me win, so I’ve got nothing else to say” Y/N grinned from ear to ear, before muting herself for a moment to finally answer some of the questions from her chat, while the rest took a quick break to eat something or go to the bathroom.

She was halfway through telling the story of how she met Sean when she noticed she got a message from a private discord chat. 

CORPSE: That was really impressive :)

Y/N smiled to herself upon seeing his text and quickly typed out the answer. 

Y/N: Thanks!! I wouldn’t have done that without you though, you stood up for me and Sykkuno and all

Y/N: Also, thanks for protecting me from being murdered ^^

CORPSE: No problem, I knew you were innocent right away. 

CORPSE: Anyway, good game, Sean was right saying that you’re one of the best players

She couldn’t help the blush that arose on her cheeks, it was very sweet of him to say that, even though she didn’t actually do much except for exposing Felix. 

Y/N: I wasn’t an Impostor though, so you didn’t really see much :)

She watched the three dots beside his name, that signaled he was still texting. The chat was completely forgotten, but people seemed to quickly notice that small, shy smile on her lips, and the pink tint decoring her cheeks.

CORPSE: Okay, now I’m intrigued... 

Y/N: Maybe we’ll both be Impostors one day ^^

CORPSE: Can’t wait for that to happen.

Soon enough, they returned to the lobby to begin another game. Y/N glanced at her chat for a second, and the moment she returned her eyes to the game, her jaw basically dropped. 

IMPOSTOR was written in bold letters in the middle of the red screen, right above her name.

Corpse’s little character was standing beside her. 

[assassinmidnight]

Their resident Genius

The BAU is called in by Scotland Yard to help with a case, Spencer becomes intrigued when he hears that they have their own resident genius.

_________

Spencer Reid x Holmes!Autistic!Female!reader

_________

Honestly Spencer was unsure why Scotland Yard had called them in, he always knew that their team was one of the best but the fact that Scotland Yard had called them in had surprised the Genius a lot.

--

“Okay team, we’ve been called in by the English. We’re gonna be gone for a bit so pack accordingly. Airstrip in 30,” Hotch called. “Wait, the English? You mean Scotland Yard? Scotland Yard called US in, why?” 

“Really Reid, I thought you’d be the most excited to meet their team. Apparently they have their own resident genius,” The reply from Hotch had Morgan smiling “Resident Genius? Is he smarter than Reid? Man I have to see this,”

--

During the entire flight Spencer had been thinking of the so-called Genius. He didn’t really believe in genius as a word but he had become intrigued. He wondered if Hotch was honest, if he was correctly informed. Spencer had for a long time kept track of Scotland Yard but he’d only heard of Sherlock Holmes being their resident genius, but he was a consultant not an official agent. Did he decide to join them officially?

“Reid stop, I can hear the cogs turning in your head and it’s keeping me from my sleep,” 

“Shut up Morgan,” Morgan looked over “Reid I get it, you’re stressed about meeting new people and maybe even someone who can go against you in brainiac power. But dude chill, it’s gonna be all good, chances are they aren’t even close to your level.” 

Spencer took that into consideration, it’s true most people who are called geniuses aren’t close to his level.”

_

“Okay team we’re gonna meet the people from Scotland Yard. Behave,” Hotch sounded more serious than he looked.

Spencer was surprised when they entered the building, it was nothing like their own. This place was not messy or filled with people stuffing the rooms, it was all quiet and strict as if it was a classroom. “This way to the office,” Hotch pointed towards a room and they all headed there.

“Ah Agent Hotch, thank you for coming,” The man smiled and shook hands with Hotch, “This must be your famous team of profilers,” The man quickly looked at his watch before looking up again. “We should wait with the introductions, one of ours is running late,” Morgan smirked “Your resident genius?” The man looked up surprised before nodding, he looked like he was about to answer but got interrupted by the door swinging open.

“I’m sorry for being late, you know how my brother is,” A woman came in, a bit out of breath. She looked around 21 and had (y/h) colored hair, quite long too.

She seemed to realize the company they had and went beet red, Spencer thought she looked pretty cute. 

She turned back to the man, “So this is the BAU team lestrade? The best profilers,” 

“Wait you’re Greg Lestrade? You worked with Sherlock and Dr. Watson,” The two brits looked over at Reid, the girl cocked her head to the side before smiling. “Dr. Reid I presume. I’ve read a lot about you, three PhDs and working for the FBI at 24, impressive,” now Reid turned red earning a laugh from Morgan. “You did your homework,” The woman looked at Morgan, “Yes I did, I like knowing who come here, Agent Morgan.” 

“Y/n behave. I know you prefer working alone but no need to be rude, you are better than your brothers aren't you?” The girl named Y/n sighed and nodded. “Good, introduce us to the UnSub.”

__

Throughout the entire briefing Spencer had been staring at Y/N, he couldn’t figure out how such a young woman was part of Scotland Yard. He tried to profile her but all he could decipher from her movements, which were many. She fidgeted a lot, tended to stare at the wall and kept her arms crossed over her chest. She was distracted, bored and introverted. That profile didn’t fit someone in this field. 

“Yes Y/N?” Hotch's voice brought Spencer from his thoughts.

“Dr. Reid, why are you staring at me so much? Is it really that hard to profile me?” Her voice was quite gleeful. She was proud, she had an advantage and she knew that. “Mm, yes sorry, I was profiling you but it wasn’t hard. You are clearly bored by this, unfocused throughout the entire briefing and you are closed off. These are not common attributes in Agents, that’s why I was staring,” He felt pretty proud of himself until “You didn’t introduce me Detective?” “No, I thought it best to keep the introductions til we're all here. But it seems like you know them well enough which I expected but you should probably introduce yourself,” Lestrade smiled and Y/N nodded. “My name is Y/N Holmes, little sister of both Mycroft and Sherlock. I am the one who usually works alone in my cave but apparently I was needed for this case. And no Dr. Reid I was not bored or unfocused, quite the opposite actually. I was just in my mind palace,”

“You’re the sister of Sherlock? Wait you’re the resident Genius,” Y/N laughed at Morgan’s reaction. Once again she cocked her head to the side, smiling. “How many PhDs?” She turned to Reid, “None, school bores me. Also resident genius isn’t what I would call myself, creative genius with hypersensitivity. All the Holmes boys got none of the emotion so I got all of it,” Reid nodded. “Well now that we’ve been introduced to the most interesting thing in England, how about we get started.”

__

“You still thinking about Miss smartypants, Pretty boy?” Reid tossed a pillow at Derek, but he did nod. “There is something about her, she wasn’t looking at me but knew that I was watching her. She assumed Lestrade had introduced her to us but was happy when she got to do it herself and she pointed out that she is more creative and sensitive than her brothers who are known sociopaths. I can’t understand her brain, or her profile,” Morgan stared at Reid before laughing “Dude it sound like you have a crush on Miss Holmes, well if she is as smart as they say your kids will definitely be something out of this world,” Morgan kept on laughing even when Spencer turned around on his bed.

__

“Welcome to my cave, don’t touch anything without asking.” Y/N was stern, her look was cold as well Spence nodded. “So um, why am I working here instead of in the field?” he asked, she looked at him annoyed before turning to her screen. “Because your boss thought it would be best to keep the two geniuses in the same room.”

The two kept working, Reid was surprised at all the tea Y/N was drinking and how she compulsively played with her bracelets whenever she was thinking. OCD, that did fit but something still felt off. “Just ask, get it out of the way before you drive me absolutely nuts” she looked at him expectantly. Spencer gulped before asking the question “Why can’t I profile you? I know it’s nothing on my end so it must be something on yours,” She shook her head and smiled, looking back at her screen. Spencer sighed thinking she wasn’t going to answer. 

“I am autistic with traces of OCD and dyslexia, that’s why you can’t profile me. I don’t fit the general profile for autistics. I have a deep emotional understanding but I lack logical intelligence that is usually paired with the diagnosis. My OCD traces are caused by my autism and the compulsive behaviors are mainly caused by anxiety. I suffered deep trauma in my childhood like both my brothers but unlike them I never emotionally distanced myself, this is why you can’t profile me Reid, I don’t fit the general profiles just like you,”He was surprised at her answer but considering what she just said he really shouldn’t have. 

“Wow, that’s- that’s a lot. Wait, you profiled me?” He was genuinely surprised, she laughed at him, breaking her cold act. “No I didn’t, but most intelligent people are the same,” he nodded before laughing with her.

__

“So thanks to the BAU and our own Agents we’ve managed to catch this killer and he will soon be behind bars,” JJ announced on the news. The team were currently at Lestrades house having a drink. Reid kept looking over to Y/N, ever since they’d solved the case she’d been distant towards him, it hurt for some reason. He thought they were getting along, especially after they’d started to talk about Dr. WHO, guess not. 

“Something wrong, Reid?” He turned and saw that the voice belonged to Lestrade, he nodded. “In my experience with the Holmes siblings, they rarely act like this unless it’s something that will actually impact them. You should talk to her, as much as she detests it she is like her brothers and when angry instead of being consumed by emotions like them she turns them off and goes all logical. Easy to have a conversation with if you watch your words,” When Spencer didn’t move Lestrade pushed him slightly making him go over to Y/N.

“Why are you ignoring me?” She turned to him, cup of tea in her hand, she sighed then gave him a strained smile. “Reid, go back to your team,” “Not until you tell me why you’ve been ignoring me?” She gave him a cold look before sighing again. “I have been ignoring you because I like you, Reid. You are going back to America so I am simply distancing myself to get used to not having you around any more. It’s all logical,” 

“You like me?” he was genuinely surprised, he found Y/N cute and even had a bit of a crush on her, something he’d never admit to Morgan but he never thought she liked him back.

“Of course I like you. You are smart and cute and have these small quirks about you. You are funny and a geek and get almost every single of my pop culture references,” Reid just looked at her with fond eyes, she liked him back and was now rambling on about why. It was cute, really cute. He pressed his lips against hers, successfully muffling her rambles. She seemed surprised at first but soon reprocrated the kiss.

“WHO IS THAT GUY KISSING MY BABY SISTER!” The two geniuses broke apart, red and turned to the voice. Seems like Sherlock Holmes had invited himself in and based on the look in his eyes said one thing, the high functioning sociopath was not happy with Reid kissing his sister.

[flusteredloser]

sugar sweet

richie tozier x fem reader

category: fluff, fluff, literally just fluff

word count: 3,3k

content warnings: swearing, stealing, slight nsfw (sexual innuendos... bc it’s richie tozier), a driving scene written by a bitch who can't drive, overbearing fluff, sonia

a/n: hello here’s a lil soft fic i wrote in a hyper state today <3 i had ‘beverly’ by ben wallfisch from the it 2017 soundtrack stuck in my head while i wrote the ending so !! enjoy

🎡

"sweetheart, if you don't put your head back in, i'm afraid i'm gonna have to marie antoinette you."

you laughed dismissively at his empty threat, feeling a grin take over. you let the wind crash against your face and through your hair, the scent of sea salt softly filling your nose. if richie thought that you were going to give this feeling up, oh, was he wrong.

despite what he was saying, the sight of morning sunlight streaking through your flying hair and your torso poking out the passengers' window was one richie wished he could get used to. despite his nagging for the past half hour, ranting about the dangers of vehicular manslaughter and mishaps, he couldn't help but beam at your laughter. 

he almost hit himself in the head for getting all worked up about safety like eddie always did, but it was something he found himself doing often with you. keeping you safe and sound was one of the few things that kept him from staying up all night. besides, you guys were going to see eddie and the rest of the losers in a bit anyways. the designated role of the pedantic worrier would soon be shrugged off richie's shoulders.

keeping one hand on the wheel, richie’s free hand never left the edge of your knee, not once in the hour-long drive. no matter how far you reached your body out his car's window, his fingers stayed glued around you. you never said anything about the gesture apart from placing your hand over his. being his was something you never got used to, but you were far from complaining.

"richierichierichie i think we're here!" you exclaim, ducking your head back inside the car.

"you sure, dummy? the massive ferris wheel and circus tent means we're close to the carnival?"

your hand leaves his to go shove his temple, "fuck off, rich."

"i know i know, you're really excited," he taps your knee, "so am i."

he pulls into the parking lot, expertly navigating his way through the crowded area before finding a space. an empty space which was coincidentally beside a sketchy beat-up minivan painted with "URIS," in fat letters.

richie laughs, "what are the fucking odds.”

his hand moves from the skin on your knee to the back of your seat, his body shifting to face the rear. you subtly eye your boyfriend sitting in the driver's seat and tried not to physically express any of the thoughts firing in your mind right then. dear god, did he look good today. you end up shamelessly staring at him as he strains his neck to squeeze his way through tight space. his knuckles turn to this ghostly shade of white when he flexed them against the wheel, his rings glinting under the sunlight.

once he finally put the car in park and shifted his weight back to you, he catches your gaze. throwing a wink, he pulls out the keys and stuffs his belongings into his jean pockets. 

you’re sure he has zero clue about the effect any of this had on you. sure, he was your boyfriend but sometimes you found yourself feeling scared at how much you liked him. this boy has you wrapped around his finger and he barely knows half of it.

you reach over and run your fingers through his unruly hair a couple more times, enjoying the way the curls bounce back. “you look so good, rich.”

he rolls his eyes at your remark, but you don’t miss the way a small blush reaches tips of his ears. “enjoy it while it lasts, i can’t let the guards recognise me again.” 

“i still can’t believe you got fired and banned on the same day, rich. that’s genuinely so impressive, you know that?"

richie rolls his eyes but you see the hint of a grin on his face, “you going soft on me, sweets?”

“could never.” you ruffle his hair, letting your nails glide along his scalp and you laugh at the way his head naturally tips back. richie had no clue why the feeling of your hands in his hair that made him short-circuit, but he wasn’t complaining.

“do we really have to go see them...” richie groans, grabbing your hand and placing it back onto his head when you pulled away.

“richard tozier. i did not pester you to drive us an hour away just so you could fold at me playing with your hair.”

he side-eyes you. “why did i agree to this again?”

“because every day for the last month you wouldn’t shut up about ‘taking eddie’s slushee v-”

“ed’s slushee virginity, riiiight,” he breaks out in a smile, “jesus, can you believe sonia never let him near one in his entire life?”

you tug his fringe towards you and the rest of his head followed, “well, now that he’s all alone there, someone’s got to be there to guide him through his first time, right?” 

he faux-pouts back at you, the mischievous glint in his eye sparkling brighter. “fine.”

finally, you let go of his hair and he pecks a kiss against your cheek before putting on his sunglasses and tipping his cap further down his face. opening his car door, you sit there dumbfounded as you watch the 6'2 disguised dork clamber out of his side with your tote bag on his shoulder.

he glances back, offering a hand as if you were going to climb out on his side as well, “c’mon, we don’t have all day.” and richie made sure you knew that by dragging you through the park, evading the guards left and right in under a minute. it was only so long before you spotted a group of idiots wandering aimlessly. bev’s bright red hair was the instant identifier, and watching this bill’s lanky frame grab a fistful of stan’s curls to yank it about sealed the deal. 

“stanley, darling,” richie yelled through the crowd, “if you wanted someone to pull your hair that badly you could’ve asked me nicely.”  “shut the fuck up, trashmouth!” stan yelled back. “wait. rich?”

you walk over and sling your arm around bev, “you guys haven’t been waiting long, have you?”  she grins at the sight of you, “no, but if i have to hear mike argue one more time that the high striker is apparently ‘broken’ i’m going to kill somebody.”

“do me a favour and kill me, bev!” stan’s voice cuts through, followed by a shriek when richie too grabs a handful of his hair. 

bev’s hand leaves yours to go smack both boys upside the head. “y’all better stop acting like children before i get fucking fired. i’m not going out like dumbass richie here did.” she eyes the rest of them, who all halt in their tracks.

“yes, ma’am,” the chorus sighed.

🎡

"ed's, i swear on your mother's smokin’ bod that blue is the. best. flavour. there's literally nothing wrong with it."

"you just called blue a flavour, richie-”

"because it can be. it doesn’t matter if blue and red colouring are the same, you can feel the difference.”

"no, i really can't. i don't understand how the colour blue could possibly be-"

richie groans, "fine, eat your mommy's packed lunch like the big boy you are." he teasingly starts to wave his cup in front of eddie's eyes.

"quit it, rich. if eddie doesn’t want toxins in his body, leave him be." ben interjects before sipping his own neon drink.

the boys huddled together around a picnic table they had managed to snatch before the carnival’s lunch rush swept over. richie and bev used to work in the carnival last summer, the two-week period spent with one another supposedly being “worse than the devil’s asscrack.” the comment itself earned richie five slaps, one each from the boys, and a high-five from bev. that was until richie got permanently banned (which you still don’t know how) and now bev carried on by herself whenever they roll back into derry. 

currently, you and bev were on your way back from the concession stands, attempting not to spill anything. you each held at least four bags of carnival foods and drinks in your arms, bev also balancing the few candy bars she stashed under her shirt. teeter-tottering your way back to the boys, richie burst out in laughter at the sight of you struggling. 

“as graceful as a job you’re doing with that, sweets, do you want some help?” he smirks, already swinging his leg over the chair.

“nope, nothing to see here,” you groan at richie’s smug grin. “rich, i swear to god if you come near me i am going to-”

“hurt me, hit me, murder me, mmhm. i’m sure you’ll do a whole lot of damage.” he winks, swiping the bags from your arms.

“freaky.” stan muttered, churning his slushee with the straw. you grumble at richie’s endearing irritating act of heroism and plop yourself next to stan empty-handed. 

“here, you want some?” stan raises an eyebrow, offering his blue slushee towards you.

“thanks stan, but he’s got my...” you glance towards richie, half-expecting to see him distributing the snacks, only to see him aggressively nudge the slushees in eddie’s face. “you know what, i’ll take it.” 

stan scoffed, “what, you thought i was offering this from the depths of my generous heart? i thought you knew me better-"

the sound of plastic crinkling and eddie’s yelp cut through stan’s sentence. 

you look back at the sight of richie threatening to pour the ice into eddie’s hair, eddie shrieking and wildly missing punches at richie. dear god, your boyfriend was such a menace. richie and eddie never spent a day where they weren’t at eachother’s throats though, but anyone with a pair of eyes could see that they deeply loved one another. rich had that effect on people, you think. he was rarely overtly loving, but it’s not like he needed to be. you guys just knew.

ben smiles sweetly between you and your gaze on richie. “you’re staring again, y/n.”

you immediately snap out of it and go to slug ben in the shoulder. “was not.”

“was too.”

"was. not."

"was too!"

you narrow your eyes at ben who sheepishly smiles in innocence. he reaches over to grab a couple onion rings from your bag to which you lightly slap the back of his hand. he groans, trying again from another angle, “just because i pointed out your goo-goo eyes at trashmouth?”

bev snatched a couple rings from across you and threw them at ben. he chuckles gleefully at the perfect catch. “you know, he’s not wrong,” she points out.

“for the last time, i wasn’t staring,” you groan.

“not about that, genius. the way you’re absolutely whipped for that dick.” she smiles. “i mean,” you barely conceal your smirk, “the dick is pretty g-”

"not what i meant," bev sighs while the rest of them groan at your words.

“seriously though,” bill asks with genuine curiosity, “how did you even end up together? how do you even like someone that much?” bev tuts from the other side, “tread lightly there, denbrough.” 

“shut up, you know what i mean. it’s trashmouth we’re talking ’bout here.” bill grins, “it’s a mystery how someone can shut him up so quick.”

you laugh to yourself, thinking about the few times you get to see richie completely speechless. “it’s not that hard, you know?” you shrug softly at the way the losers nod. you may all pretend to hate the life out of him but he always had a special place in each of your hearts. “he cares with everything he’s got, no matter what. he’s always there for you even if you don’t want him to be. i just...i don’t think he’s been anything less than...” 

“-if you say ‘perfect’, i’m going to hit you.” stan says.

you roll your eyes at stan, “fuck off, but... but yeah. it’s so easy to love him and i honestly owe you guys an apology for being so annoyingly whipped for that dork,” you joke.

aside from the distant bickering coming from richie and eddie in their own little world, a silence hung over the six of you. it was too quiet. wondering if you said something wrong, you scan over them, only to be met with six variations of a smirk. more than confused, you chuckle nervously. “i was joking about the apology thing but if you really want-”

“you said ‘love.’” bev laughed.

“what?���

“you said ‘love,’” she repeated. “that you loved him.”

“i... of course i love him, he’s..” not trusting any more of the words coming out of your mouth, you cut yourself off and gather your thoughts.

of course you loved richie. each and every one of you loved your resident trashmouth, he was one of your best friends. the two of you were the closest of friends, an insufferable duo for years before you began dating. it might have only been a few weeks since he asked you out, but it’s not like too much changed from when you were friends. 

there was only more love, more affection, only slightly more sexual innuendos (majority of them were solely just to piss off stan). 

so of course you loved him. more than you did when you were friends. which he’s gotta know... right?

“fuck, maybe i do owe you guys an apology.” you joke.

“don’t think twice about it, this is nothing compared to him. if i took a shot for every time he went on some sort of love ramble about you, i’d be fucking dead.” bev replies, “and then he would carry on.”

you laugh, shaking your head in denial, “c’mon, he does not do that.”

“are you blind?” mike speaks up. “you’ve had him since the first day you joined us at the barrens. i can still see fourteen-year-old richie ogling you clear as day.”

you stammered at your response, tripping over your words. “mike, i think you broke her. she’s become bill,” stan teases.

you go to shove stan again and sorely miss. “anyways, my point is...” 

you avoid their eye contact and go back to churning stan’s slushee. “he has my heart, fuck, he’s got all of our hearts. like, is he an asshole? sure. does he get on my nerves every other day? definitely. will he be the death of me? probably. but i l-”

“i sure hope you’re winding up to something there, sweets.” 

you snap your head up from your dreamy rambling to see richie smirking next to you and eddie squeezing himself next to bill. you feel yourself go bright red at the realisation that he had been listening. 

“i- no. that was it.”  

“you sure? you going off about me... ‘but’...” richie pushes, quoting your words.

“richie, if you genuinely think you have redeeming qualities, i suggest some self-reflection.” stan quipped. “yeah, i was just pointing how much you bother us. no ifs, no buts,” you jokingly agree.

“mean,” richie rolls his eyes, shifting back in his seat next to you.

he’s gotta know... right? 

you wink and stick your tongue out playfully, to which richie raises an eyebrow at. he glances between the blue drink in your hand and your tongue, his gaze on your lips making you nervous. 

“now, what?” you sigh, wiping the ice from your mouth and pretending that you weren’t dying to know what was churning in that brain of his. 

“nothing,” richie shrugs smugly, “just that i’ve always wanted to know how my cock looked blue.”

the comment took you off guard, your instant blush only fuelling richie’s grin. without hesitation, you lean over with a faux-pout, an act that has richie’s eyes wide. “careful there, trashmouth,” you tease loudly. “you keep this up and you’ll see how stan’s looks blue.”

bev immediately gasps with her hand over her mouth, followed by mike’s stifled cackle as he slapped richie’s back. the rest of the group looks frankly stunned, and stan’s face is on a whole different level of red. 

richie doesn’t even look the least bit angry. his jaw is dropped slightly and he runs his hand over his jaw, trying to stop the chuckle that leaves his throat. if anything he looks proud. 

shaking his head with a smile, he slings his arm over your shoulder to pull you closer. “that’s my girl,” he grins.

“yeah, that for sure is tozier’s,” bill says.

there’s no way any of you miss the way richie’s face goes red under that comment and your heart skips a beat when he squeezes your side. when no one’s looking, you lean up and kiss by his ear, absolutely delighted by the deeper shade of red on his face. 

“darl, if you don’t stop that i’m going to go as red as stan,” he whispers into your hair. the both of you look back at the boy who’s trying to concentrate on his slushee and not the blush that’s continued to creep to his neck. “i’m actually getting concerned.”

you giggle, “shh, he’s fine.”

“no really, i give it a couple seconds before eddie pulls out his medical fanny pack,” richie says.

you look up at him as you’re tucked into his side, his arm still slung around your shoulder. his dark hair and eyelashes caught the sunlight, his blue eyes glinting as he glanced back. his lips were tipped into their signature cheeky smile, almost like a cue that he was going to say something out of hand. you felt the swell of your heart grow as he raised his eyebrows, prompting what he knew you were going to say. 

“you know, earlier...” you whisper, looking down to his hand intertwining with yours. “i just... i wanted to say that i... you know... that i-”

“i feel like i should be offended at how hard it is for you to tell me you love me, sweets,” he whispers back, clearly trying to keep a straight face.  fuck.  “oh god please, you know i-” richie shushes you, kissing the crown of your head. “it’s okay, i know.” you can feel the curve of his lips against your hair. “i love you too.”

trying to tame the aggressive blush and stupid smile that reached your face, you follow his gaze over to eddie. just like richie joked, he had this fanny pack laid on the table in front of stan. you weren’t listening to anything they were saying, but you watched the way stan was squirming from eddie, insisting he did not have heatstroke. mike stood right behind stan, pinching his cheeks and periodically wrapping his strong arms around stan to stop him from squirming. bev was leaning across ben and bill’s laps, joining in and poking her fun at eddie and you notice how bill’s hands traces figures along bev’s side. ben gazes at the group of them, chiming in every so often when stan’s quips got too violent. 

it was one of those moments you wish you could freeze. 

after a while, richie whispers into your ear. “do you think they’d even notice if we left for the ferris wheel?”

you break your eye contact from the group to gaze up at him. “nope, not at all. you think you can sneak us some tickets?” 

“please, you think i got kicked out of here for nothing?” he scoffs.

“is this how you’re going to get banned again?” you grin, poking his side, “stealing tickets for your girl?”

with a soft smile, he takes your hand to subtly stand and back away from the group. with stifled giggles, the both of you manage to make it at least twenty feet without the losers even noticing. the second you two were out of earshot, richie wraps his hand around yours and begins to run, “i wouldn't want it any other way."

🎡