#Like a messier version of her? But i did not like it and found it to be not clever.

[theo-decker]

I know Im getting old cos I don't like ANY of the new pop girlies except chappell and nowadays only want to listen to fucking bob dylan and leonard cohen... What happens to you when you turn 30 should be studied seriously .

[lee-laurent]

Just Friendly Things -- Quinn Hughes

Summary: Quinn brings his "friend" Hayden to meet the guys, only issue... they all wanna get on his nerves by flirting with her

content: arguing, teasing, flirting, some posssibly sexist jokes, suggestive jokes, making out, implied smut but no explicit smut

wc: 6.6k

notes: this took way longer than i expected because i hated the first few versions of hayden that i wrote. hope you guys enjoy! and pls pls let me know which fic from my most recent list you wanna see next!!!

Quinn had been convinced he had a type, until he met Hayden. The moment he laid eyes on the freckle-covered brunette behind the bar, all his ideas of the perfect woman went out the window.

He hadn't planned on approaching her that night--he rarely did that sort of thing--but something about her made it impossible to stay in his seat. Maybe it was the way her eyes sparkled as she teased the patrons, or the quick, confident way she moved, shaking cocktails and sliding beers across the counter without missing a beat. Or maybe it was her laugh, low and raspy, floating above the noise of the crowd and hitting him like a bucket of cold water.

When he reached the bar, he still hadn't figured out what to say. But she noticed him right away, tipping her head at him with an arched brow. "You gonna order something, or just stand there looking pretty?" she asked, smirking.

It had taken Quinn half a second too long to respond, his brain short-circuiting at the sound of her voice. Her smirk only deepened as she watched him scramble for words.

"Uh, yeah--just a beer. Whatever's on tap," he finally managed, shoving a hand through his hair.

"Sure thing, champ." She poured the drink in one smooth motion and set it in front of him, wiping her hands on a bar towel. "That'll be six bucks."

Quinn handed her a twenty. "Keep the change."

Her green eyes flicked up to meet his. "Big spender, huh?"

He shrugged, suddenly unsure of himself. "Just figured you deserve it. You're working hard."

That made her pause. The teasing look on her face softened for a split second, and she gave him a small smile before moving on to the next customer.

That had been six months ago. Now, Quinn had her memorized in ways he wasn't sure were healthy. He knew how her lips curved when she smiled, the exact spot on her shoulder that made her shiver when she kissed it, and the way her voice sounded when she moaned his name in the dark.

Not that they were anything serious--she'd made that clear from the start. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend, Hughes," she'd said one night, perched on the edge of his bed, wearing nothing but one of his hoodies. Her legs had been tucked under her, and her fingers toyed absently with the hem of the sweathshirt. "I don't have time for that right now. Gotta focus on work and school, and I don't need a distraction."

"Fair enough," he'd replied, leaning back against the headboard and trying to sound nonchalant, like her answer didn't sting just a little.

It wasn't like he could blame her. She worked crazy hours at the bar, saving every spare dollar for tuition. And yet, every few nights, she still found her way into his bed--or his car, or his couch--looking at him with those green eyes and making it very clear she wanted him.

And that was the problem, really. He knew exactly what she wanted from him, but the feelings that had started creeping up on him were a hell of a lot messier.

Like now, as they drove through the winding roads to the lake house. Hayden was sitting in the passenger seat, scrolling through her phone, completely oblivious to the way he kept sneaking glances at her. She'd insisted she could come as a friend--"We're just hanging out, right? Your brothers don't need to know anything."

Quinn had agreed, mostly because he didn't want to push his luck. But the idea of her spending an entire weekend around his brothers and friends--Jack, Luke, Cole, and Trevor--while pretending they didn't have history? He wasn't sure how he was supposed to keep it together.

Especially not when she looked like that.

~~

Quinn tightened his grip on the steering wheel, forcing himself to look at the road instad of Hayden. She was lounging in the passenger seat like she owned the place, legs pulled up and bare feet resting on the dash--something that normally annoyed him, but didn't when it was her. Her hair was twisted up on top of her head with a claw-clip, dark sunglasses perched on her nose, and her shorts were so short they were more like denim underwear. And worse, she didn't seem to have a single clue what she was doing to him.

"Any bets on how long before Trevor starts acting like an idiot?" she asked, not looking up from her phone.

Quinn exhaled, shaking his head. "Two minutes after we pull in."

Hayden snorted. "I'm giving him 30 seconds. Kid doesn't have an off switch."

"Don't let him get to you," Quinn warned, though his jaw clenched at the thought. He already knew how this was going to go: Trevor was going to flirt, Jack and Luke were going to egg him on, and Cole was going to sit back and stir the pot like the chaos-loving menace he was. The last thing Quinn needed was his brothers and friends turning this weekend into some weird interrogation.

She finally looked at him, dropping her phone onto her lap. "Relax, Hughesy. I can handle myself."

That was the problem. He knew she could handle herself. Hayden could flirt and toss back jabs like it was nobody's business. She was cool under pressure, quick with comebacks, and completely unfazed by guys like his friends. If anything, they were going to love her. Which was great--except it also meant they were going to keep pushing, keep prodding, and Quinn was going to have to sit there and pretend it didn't bother him.

He wasn't entirely sure he could pull that off.

The house was already crazy when they arrived. Quinn barely had time to turn off the engine before the front door flew open, and Jack and Trevor came sprinting out like a couple of dogs that'd been cooped up too long.

"Quinny!" Jack hollered, dragging out the name like he was twelve. His eyes darted to Hayden before a shit-eating grin stretched across his face. "And you brought a friend!"

"Careful, Jack, you're drooling," Hayden teased, sliding out of the car like she hadn't just turned Quinn's brain to mush.

Trevor skidded to a stop next to Jack, pushing his sunglasses up onto his head as he gave Hayden an exaggerated once-over. "Who's this?" he asked, like Quinn wasn't standing right there.

"Hayden," she said, unfazed. "You must be Trevor."

His grin widened. "Guilty. Did Quinn tell you that I'm his favourite?"

Quinn groaned, dragging their bags out of the trunk. "Literally no one has ever said that ever."

Trevor ignored him, zeroing in on Hayden. "So, you a hockey fan? Or did Quinny trick you into coming up here?"

Hayden shot Quinn a quick, amused look over her shoulder before turning back to the blond. "No tricks. I just like the lake."

"I'm gonna like you."

"Trevor," Quinn said sharply, but it was too late. Hayden was already laughing, and Trevor looked delighted, like he'd just discovered a new game.

This was going to be a long weekend.

~~

The kitchen was already loud by the time Quinn woke up the next morning. Jack was rummaging through the fridge, muttering complaints about the lack of skim milk, while Luke stood at the stove making ovens. Trevor was leaning against the counter, already drinking despite the early hour.

Then there was Hayden, perched on a stool like she'd been part of the group for years. She was wearing a tank top and athletic shorts, her legs crossed as she sipped a mug of coffee one of the guys had made for her. She looked completely at ease, laughing softly at something Trevor had just said.

"Morning, sunshine," Jack called out when he spotted Quinn. "You sleep okay on the couch?"

Trevor smirked. "Guess you're more of a gentleman than I thought, letting Hayden have the bed."

Quinn ignored him, heading straight for the coffee pot. "Someone had to make sure you idiots didn't scare her off already."

"We're harmless," Jack said, grabbing a yogurt and joining Hayden at the counter. "Right, Hayden?"

"Sure," she smiled. "Totally harmless."

Trevor licked his lips, setting down his beer. "So, Hayden, what's your deal? You work at a bar, right? Bet you've got some wild stories."

"Plenty," she said easily. "But I'm guessing you don't wanna hear about drunk bachleorette parties or old guys claiming they already tipped me when it's the first time I've ever seen them."

"Come on," Trevor said, flashing her his most charming grin. "What about the weirdest pickup line you've ever gotten?"

"I don't know... probably the guy who told me I had eyes like a mermaid and asked if I wanted to 'swim into his arms.'"

Jack snorted. "That's terrible."

"Right?" Hayden laughed again. "I told him I'd rather drown."

Trevor laughed so hard he nearly spilled his beer. "Okay, that's solid. But what about the best pickup line? You've gotta have one."

Quinn, pouring his coffee, clenched his jaw. He knew where this was going.

Hayden glanced at him briefly. "I don't really go for pickup lines," she shrugged. "If a guy's confident, he doesn't need one."

"Oh, I'm confident," Trevor leaned a little closer.

Hayden smirked. "Good for you, bud."

Quinn's knuckles tightened around his mug as he turned and leaned against the counter. "Shouldn't you save some of that energy for the lake, Trev? Or is embarrassing yourself in the water not enough anymore?"

Trevor shot him a look, but Hayden only smiled, her green eyes sparkling with amusement. "Careful, Hughesy," she said lightly. "You're starting to sound jealous."

Quinn froze, scrambling for a response. "I'm not--"

"She's got a point," Jack interrupted. "You're lookin' a little tense there, Quinny."

"I'm fine!"

Hayden raised her coffee mug to hide her smile, but the damage was already done.

Quinn's nerves were frayed by the end of breakfast. Hayden had slipped easily into the background, chatting with Luke about something or other, but Trevor and Jack were relentless in their interrogation.

"Hayden, what kind of guys do you usually go for?" Trevor asked carefully as they started clearing the plates.

Quinn stiffened, glancing at Hayden out of the corner of his eye. She didnt' miss a beat.

"Hmm. I guess I like guys who can make me laugh."

"That's me!" Trevor said excitedly.

"Right," she said, deadpan. "But I also like guys who know when to quit."

Jack laughed, clapping Trevor on the back. "Ouch! Guess you're out of luck, bud!"

Quinn didn't bother to hide his smirk, but his amusement didn't last long. Trevor wasn't giving up, and Hayden seemed determined to keep sparring with him.

The group wasted no time in dragging all their gear down to the water. Paddleboards, kayaks, and inner tubes littered the dock, and Jack was already trying to wrestle Luke into the water just for the sake of it.

Quinn had just finished setting up a folding chair near the edg of the dock when he caught sight of Hayden emerging from the house.

His brain short-circuited.

She was wearing a simple blue bikini, nothing overly flashy, but it might as well have been haute couture for the way it made his chest tighten. Her hair was loose now, claw clip abandoned, and her sungless perched on her pale nose as she carried a towel in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

She walked like she owned the place, completely oblivious to how every head on the dock turned her way.

"Jesus, Quinn," Jack grinned. "Where'd you find her?"

Quinn scowled. "Shut up, Jack."

"Hey, Hayden!" Trevor called, waving her over like they were old friends. "You ever paddleboard before?"

Hayden stopped at the edge of the dock, plating her hands on her hips. "Once or twice. Why?"

Trevor pulled a board toward himself. "Because you're about to get a free lesson from the best."

"You mean Luke?" she quipped, smirking proudly.

Trevor clutched his chest like she'd stabbed him. "That hurts. I'm actually really fucking great at this!"

"Uh-huh." Hayden tossed her towel onto a chair, kicking off her sandals. "Fine. Show me what you've got."

Quinn groaned internally as Trevor guided her toward the paddleboard. He tried to focus on adjusting one of the chairs, but his eyes kept returning to Hayden as Trevor "helped" her climb onto the board.

"Keep your knees bent," Trevor said, standing waist-deep in the water beside her. "It's all about balance."

"Got it," Hayden said, adjusting her stance.

"You're a natural," he grinned up at her. Then, with an exaggerated wave of his arm, he tipped her board slightly to the side, sending her wobbling.

Quinn tensed instinctively, stepping toward the edge of the dock, but Hayden quickly recovered, giving Trevor a look that could melt steel.

"Do that again, and you're swimming home with this thing shoved up your ass," she said flatly.

Luke burst out laughing from where he was lounging on an inner tube. "She's not wrong, Trev. You're annoying as fuck."

Trevor ignored him, hopping onto his own paddleboard. "Alright, then. Let's race."

"You're on," Hayden paddled toward the deeper water with ease.

Quinn really wanted to stay out of it, but watching Trevor and Hayden laughing and splashing each other in the middle of the lake was slowly driving him insane. He stood at the edge of the dock, hands on hips like a dad, until Jack strolled over and gave him a knowing look.

"You good, man? You've been standing there glaring at Trevor for five minutes."

"I'm not glaring," Quinn said, moving to cross his arms.

"Sure," Jack said, dragging out the word. "Hey, maybe we should all take turns teaching Hayden how to paddleboard. I mean, I've got skills."

"Don't."

Jack raised his hands in surrender, laughing as he walked away.

~~

Quinn moved from standing to sitting, his feet in the water, when Hayden paddled back toward him. Trevor had abandoned his board by this point, leaving her to float leisurely near the dock.

"Not bad, huh?" she said, smirking as she climbed off the board and into the shallow water.

"You handled yourself," Quinn said, shrugging like it didn't matter.

Hayden raised an eyebrow, stepping closer until she was standing waist-deep in the water in front of him. "You sure you're okay? You've been looking kind of... tense."

"I'm fine," he said, though his shoulders gave him away.

"Right." She reached past him to grab her towel, her arm brushing his in the process. The touch was brief, accidental, but it was enough to send a jolt through him.

"Hayden," Trevor called from the shore, "you wanna head out again? I think I can beat you this time."

Quinn didn't miss how Trevor's eyes flicked down to Hayden's legs as she pushed herself up on the dock, or the stupid grin on his face when she finally looked at him.

"Pass," she waved him off. "I've already proven I'm better than you."

Quinn couldn't help it; he smirked.

As Hayden sat down beside him to dry off, he caught her looking at him through the corner of her eye. "You're glaring again," she mumbled, covering it with a fake cough.

"I'm not."

"Sure..."

Quinn didn't say anything, looking back out over the water. Trying his hardest, and failing, to think of anythingbut how much longer this weekend was going to last.

~~

Dinner was even more chaotic... if that was possible.

The dining table was a mix of empty beer bottles, half-eaten burgers, and bowls of chips scattered across every inch of available surface. Luke and Jack had teamed up on the grill, burning half the patties while Trevor heckled them from his seat. Cole had claimed his spot across from Hayden, watching things unfold with a look on his face that Quinn was starting to resent.

And of course, Hayden--perfectly unbothered--sat at Quinn's right, sipping a beer and laughing at the guys' stupid antics. Quinn tried not to notice how her shoulder brushed his every time she shifted in her seat.

"So, Hayden," Trevor said suddenly, wiping ketchup off his fingers, "we've all been wondering--what's your deal?"

"My deal?" she bit back a smile.

"You know," he leaned foward on his elbows. "What's a girl like you doing hanging out with a guy like Quinn?"

Quinn choked on a sip of water, sputtering into his napkin. "Jesus, Trevor."

"What?" he innocently flashed a grin. "I'm just saying. You're cool, Hayden. You've got, like, a vibe. Quinn's... well. Quinn."

Hayden turned to Quinn, tilting her head dramatically as if evaluating him. "You're right. I could probably do better."

The table erupted into laughter, Jack banging his fist against the table as Trevor fell back in his chair. Quinn groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, though he couldn't stop the smile tugging at his lips.

"See?" Trevor said, pointing at Hayden like she'd just proven his point. "I like her. She's honest."

"Honest, huh?" Hayden smirked, lifting her beer to her lips. "Careful, Z. I don't think you can handle honest."

Trevor was undeterred. "Oh, I can handle honest. Hit me."

"Alright. Honestly? You talk a lot of shit for someone who fell off a paddleboard twice today."

"Hey! The second time didn't count!" Trevor argued, pointing a potato chip at her. "I was distracted."

"By what?"

"By you," he smirked, like he thought he was the smoothest guy ever.

Quinn's hand clenched under the table. He forced himself to take a sip of his drink, trying to mask his irritation.

"Well, don't let it happen again. I'd hate for you to embarrass yourself three times today," she giggled.

Luke snorted into his drink, while Cole howled from the other side of the table.

"I don't embarrass easily."

"Could've fooled me," Hayden said, giving Quinn's thigh a squeeze under the table.

"You're good at this," Jack laughed. "You should come to dinners more often."

"Don't encourage her," Quinn rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on, Quinny," Jack nudged him with his elbow. "You're just mad she's better at coming up with comebacks than you are."

"Not mad."

"Uh-huh. I'll see it when I believe it, Quinnifer."

~~

Once the plates were cleared and the guys had moved outside to do god-knows-what, Quinn hang back in the kitchen, rinsing dishes just to keep his hands busy. Hayden lingered, drying plates as they were handed to her.

"You sure you're okay, Q?"

"I'm fine," he said, though his jaw was still tight.

"You've been 'fine' all day," she teased. "You sure you don't want to try a different excuse?"

He sighed, setting down the plate he was holding. "They're onto us."

"So? Let them wonder. What's the worst that could happen?"

Quinn stared at her, incredulous. "Are you serious? We're not... dating. I... don't need them knowing about... us."

"You're worried because we're casual? Quinn, I'm sure they've all had flings before."

"But, you--"

"Hayden! Quit flirting with my brother and come play pong!" Jack called from the sliding door.

"Coming!" she pressed a quick kiss to Quinn's cheek before rounding the corner and disappearing out of his sight. Maybe Hayden was going to be the death of him and not this weekend.

~~

The house was finally quiet.

Quinn lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling lit dimly from a lamp in the corner, the soft hum of fridge the only sound he could hear along with the occasional snore from upstairs (Trevor). His pillow was lumpy, the blanket was scratchy, and he'd long given up trying to get comfortable. He wasn't sure how long he'd been lying there, but it felt like hours.

Everyone had settled for the night, laughter and shouting just a ghost of the day now. Trevor had been the last holdout, talking loudly about his plans to crush everyone at volleyball the next day until Jack shoved him up the stairs to the guest room.

Quinn waited until he was sure--absolutely sure--the house was still. Then, as quiet as possible, he swung his legs off the couch, folding the blanket and tossing it over the armrest.

The door to his bedroom creaked slightly as he opened it, and he winced, glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody had heard. The hallway remained silent, and he slipped inside, shutting the door softly behind him.

Hayden was lying on her side, her back to the door. She was scrolling through her phone, her hair splayed out across the pillow, one of his old t-shirts draped loosely over her frame.

"Took you long enough," she murmured, not bothering to turn around.

Quinn rolled his eyes, tugging his hoodie over his head and tossing it onto his desk chair. "I had to wait for them to fall asleep."

"They're not asleep," Hayden said, her voice low but teasing. "Trevor's probably lying awake right now, trying to figure out if you're sneaking up here or not."

Quinn froze, his hand on the edge of the bed. "He's not."

"Wanna bet?"

He sighed, pulling back the covers and sliding into bed beside her. "If he was, he'd already be at the door making some dumb comment."

"Fair point," she sighed, finally setting her phone on the nightstand and turning to face him. Her eyes gleamed faintly in the low light from the hallway. "Still, you're playing a dangerous game, Quinny."

Quinn propped himself up on one elbow, frowning at her. "I'm not the one who spent the entire day letting Trevor flirt with me."

She smirked. "What was I supposed to do? Tell him to stop? That'd make things way more suspicious."

"You didn't have to encourage him."

"I wasn't encouraging him," Hayden cocked an eyebrow. "I was shutting him down."

Quinn scoffed. "You call that shutting him down?"

"What would you call it?"

"Flirting," he muttered, unable to keep the bite out of his tone.

Her smirk only widened. "You sound jealous."

"I'm not--"

"Relax," her tone softened. "If I wanted Trevor, I'd be in his bed right now."

Quinn stared at her, unsure of how to respond. Her tone was casual, but held a quiet reassurance he hadn't been expecting.

"Besides," she added, shifting onto her back, "he's not my type."

"Yeah? What is your type?"

Hayden turned to look at him, biting her lip to hold back her smile. "You really wanna know?"

"Yeah," he said, his throat dry.

She didn't answer right away, letting the silence stretch between them. Then, finally, she reached out, her fingers brushing lightly against his arm. "Go to sleep, Huggy."

He exhaled a quiet laugh, lying back against the pillow. "Night, Hayden."

If I wanted Trevor, I'd be in his bed right now.

He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse... so much worse.

~~

Jack and Trevor had dragged the volleyball net out from the shed, while Luke attempted to detangle it and Cole sat nearby offering unhelpful commentary.

"Hayden, you any good at volleyball?" Trevor asked, tossing the ball lazily in the air and catching it.

Hayden shrugged, standing at the edge of the makeshift court in one of Quinn's t-shirts knotted at her waist. "I can hold my own."

"Perfect! You're on my team then," he said, his grin widening.

Quinn grimaced, adjusting the net. "We didn't even pick teams yet."

"We don't have to," Trevor said, tossing the ball at Hayden, who caught it easily. "I already called dibs."

"Dibs don't count," Jack argued, stepping into the sand. "Besides, I don't trust you not to ruin every single serve she makes."

"Guys," Hayden interrupted. "We can rotate teams."

Jack and Trevor exchanged a look then both shrugged, apparently satisfied.

"Fine," Trevor smirked. "But don't be mad when we crush you."

~~

"Out!" Luke yelled, pointing as the ball bounced into the sand.

Trevor threw his hands in the air. "That was not out!"

"Dude, it was so out," Jack said, shaking his head as he jogged to retrieve the ball.

Meanwhile, Hayden stood at the net, adjusting her ponytail and smiling. Quinn couldn't help but stare, admiring everything from the curve of her neck to how her shorts fit her thighs.

"Q, stop staring and serve the ball!" Jack called.

"I'm not staring," Quinn mumbled, lining up to serve

The next rally was fast-paced, with Jack diving to save a ball and Luke lobbing it back over the net. Hayden held her own, quick on her feet and unflinching as instructions were barked at her.

"Nice hit!" Trevor exclaimed after she spiked the ball, raising his hand for a high-five.

She slapped his palm lightly, her smile easy, but Quinn caught the way Trevor's hand lingered for just a second too long.

"Focus, Trev," he snapped, tone sharper than intended.

Trevor turned to him, eyebrows furrowed. "I am focused. You okay, man?"

"I'm fine."

~~

A few points later, Hayden stumbled as she went for the ball, her foot catching in the sand. Quinn moved without thinking, reaching out to steady her before she could fall.

"You good?" he asked, his hand warm on her arm.

"Yeah," she said, brushing the sand off her leg as she looked up at him. Her eyes get his and the rest of the group seemed to fade away.

"Thanks," she added softly.

"Anytime."

"Alright, lovebirds," Cole called, ruining their moment. "Can we play now?"

Hayden laughed, stepping back to her spot. Quinn shot Cole a glare but didn't respond, his ears burning.

The final play came down to Hayden, Trevor, and Cole on one side, with Quinn, Jack, and Luke on the other.

"Just hit it over," Quinn muttered to Jack, who was already bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Trevor set the ball perfectly, sending it sailing towards Hayden. She jumped, spiking it cleanly over the net and straight into the sand on the other side.

"Game!" Trevor yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

Hayden raised her hands in victory, giggling as Trevor ran over to give her a congratulatory hug. Quinn gaze looked like it could kill as Trevor lifted her slightly off the ground, spinning her once before setting her back down.

"Alright, alright," she said, patting him on the shoulder as she escaped his grasp. "Calm down, Z."

"Can't help it," Trevor said grinning as he turned to Quinn. "You guys put up a good fight, though. Better luck next time."

Quinn didn't respond, heading straight for the water with the ball tucked under his arm.

Hayden watched him go, her smile fading. She didn't follow right away, but when she did, she caught up to him at the water's edge, where he was skimming the ball across the surface.

"You okay?" she whispered, wanting to keep their conversation private.

"I'm fine."

"Still just fine? Because you seemed... tense back there."

"Not tense," he muttered, thought Hayden knew him well enough to know he was lying. She could tell from the tightness in his posture.

"You know you can quit the protective act, right? Trevor's harmless."

Quinn snorted. "Harmless isn't the word I'd use."

She knocked his shoulder with hers. "Chill, babe. You need to be more... zen."

"Zen?"

"Shut up, I'm trying. And... just for the record, you're way more fun to play with."

"Yeah?"

"Duh," she said, her smile teasing. "But don't let it get to your head."

"Noted."

~~

The fire crackled softly, sending soft ambers into the air around it. The group lounged in mismatched deck chairs around the campfire, beers and marshmallows in hand. Luke was poking at the logs with a stick, while Jack balanced on the two back legs of his chair... strongly against Hayden's wishes.

She was curled up in one of the chairs, her legs tucked up to her chest, the glow of the fire casting shadows across her face. Quinn sat across from her, trying--and failing--not to stare at how majestic she looked.

"This is nice," she mumbled, sipping her drink.

"Best part of the trip," Jack agreed.

"Well, second best," Trevor added with a grin.

"Let me guess," Hayden said dryly. "The best part is beating everyone at volleyball."

"You fucking know it!"

Quinn rolled his eyes, taking a long sip of beer.

"Alright, I've got a question for you, Hayden," Trevor giggled to himself, already tipsy.

"Here we go," Cole cackled.

"No, no, it's a good one," he insisted. "If you had to date one of us, who would it be?"

The group erupted into groans and howls of laughter, with Luke flinging a marshmallow at Trevor's head. "Dude, what's wrong with you?"

"What?" Trevor asked, popping the sweet into his mouth. "It's a valid question!"

"Is it?"

"Yes! And you have to answer. It's the rules."

"What rules?" Jack asked with a snort.

Trevor ignored him, looking back at Hayden. "Come on. Hypothetically. Who's your pick?"

Hayden looked around the circle, her lips twitching like she was holding back a laugh. "Hmm," she said, drawing out the word just enough to make Trevor lean forward in anticipation. "I think... I'd pick... Cole."

Cole nearly choked on his s'more. "What?"

"You're the least annoying... I think," she shrugged.

"Fucking brutal," Jack shook his head.

"Good choice," Cole lifted his beer to her in toast.

Trevor pouted. "That's not fair. I'm not that annoying."

"Very debatable," Cole said, earning a hard shove.

Trevor, however, wasn't done.

"Okay, new question. What's the most romantic thing a guy's ever done for you?"

"You're fucking killing me," Luke groaned.

"Just answer the question!"

"Probably this guy who made me tea every morning for a week after my late-night shifts. And he didn't even drink tea himself."

"That's cute," Cole nodded.

Jack frowned. "Quinn doesn't drink tea."

Hayden bit her lip, trying to hide her amusement.

Quinn's cheeks burned as every eye in the group turned to him. "What?"

"Nothing... just making an observation."

"Interesting."

"I think it's time for bed," Quinn said abruptly, standing and brushing the sand from his shorts.

Hayden lingered for a moment, finishing her drink before standing and following him.

~~

Quinn was already lying on "her" bed when Hayden slipped into the room, closing the door softly behind her.

"You okay?"

"You keep asking that."

"Let me guess you're fine?"

"Yup," he said, popping the 'p.'

Hayden shook her head, pulling off her tank top and replacing it with one of Quinn's t-shirts before climbing into bed beside him. "You didn't look fine."

"They're fucking relentless."

"It's their job. They're... feeling out my vibe."

"Trevor sucks dick," he rubbed his hands over his face.

Hayden reached out, running her hand through his hair. "You didn't like his questions?"

"No."

"You're cute when you're worked up, you know that?"

Quinn rolled his eyes, but smiled despite himself. "Go to sleep."

"Fine," she said, rolling onto her back and pulling the covers over her. "For the record, I wasn't lying about the tea."

"Goodnight Hayden," he chuckled.

"Night, Huggy."

Hayden couldn't help but wonder if this weekend was proving that maybe... they weren't meant to just be "friends."

~~

Breakfast passed as normal, Trevor making comments about "volleyball rematch strats" and Jack pestering Hayden about if she'd ever stay for another "family" holiday again. Quinn kept his head down, gritting his teeth through most of it.

By the time they made it down for another round of games in the late afternoon, Quinn was wound so tightly he could feel it in the back of his neck.

And then... Trevor started again.

"Hayden, I think you should be the ref," he said tossing the ball between his hands. "You're way too good at this. It's like totally unfair to the rest of us."

"She's not that good," Quinn said, adjusting the net.

"Oh, come on, Qball. Don't be bitter just because she carried my team yesterday."

Hayden cocked an eyebrow. "I'm standing right here, ya know?"

Trevor smirked. "Trust me, I know."

Quinn felt a rush of heat flood his chest, a sharp pang of jealousy and irritation that he couldn't ignore.

"Alright," he snapped, letting go of the net and stepping back. "Can we just play already?"

"Jeez, man. Relax," Trevor blinked, his grin fading slightly.

"Quinn," Hayden mumbled, but he was already walking toward the house, his jaw set and his fists clenched at his sides

~~

She found him a few minutes later, standing in the kitchen and staring out the window at the water.

"What are you doing?" he exhaled sharply.

Hayden frowned. "What'd you mean?"

"This," he gestured towards the lake. "With Trevor. With all of them. You're enjoying this way too much."

"So what if I am? It's harmless, Quinn."

"It's not harmless," his voice rose. "They're pushing, Hayden. They're asking all these questions, making comments--and you're feeding into it!"

"I'm not feeding into it," she said, her tone defensive. "I'm just... playing along."

"Well... maybe you should stop."

"What's your problem, Hughes?" she narrowed her eyes. "You're the one who agreed to keep this under wraps. I'm just doing what you asked."

"Yeah, well, it's not fucking working. They clearly know."

"So what?" she challenged, stepping closer. "What's the worst that could happen? They find out we're sleeping together? Who cares?"

"I care!" Quinn yelled, his voice echoing off the walls.

Hayden froze, her eyes as wide as saucers.

He sighed. "I care, Hayden. Because this isn't just some game for me. It never has been."

The tension in the room was thick, the weight of his words hanging between them.

"Quinn..."

"You have no idea how hard this has been," he said, his voice low and intense. "Watching them flirt with you, tease you--like you're just some... some random girl I brought along."

"Q..."

"I know we're not serious. Not official," he continued, his words tumbling out in a rush. "I know you don't want anything serious. But you're mine, Hayden. And it's fucking killing me to sit here and pretend that you're not."

Her breath hitched, her eyes locked on his.

"Say something," his voice was rough, almost pleading.

Hayden didn't say anything. Instead, in two quick steps, she grabbed his face and pulled him down into a kiss.

Quinn froze for a quarter of a second before his hands found her waist, pulling her closer. The kiss was hot and urgent, everything that Quinn had been bottling up for months spilling out at once.

They stumbled back toward the counter, Hayden's hands tangling in his hair as he lifted her onto the edge. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him impossibly closer as his lips trailed down her neck, leaving a burning path in their wake.

"Quinn," she whispered, breathless.

He pulled back just enough to look in her eyes. "Tell me this isn't just casual for you."

She stared at him, her lips swollen and her cheeks flushed. "It's not," she admitted. "Hasn't been for a while."

"Good," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her again.

~~

The lay tangled together in his bed, the room quiet except for them both trying to catch their breath, Hayden drawing patterns on Quinn's bare chest with her finger.

He felt lighter than he had in days, the knot in his chest finally loosened... maybe even gone.

"You okay?" she whispered, pressing a kiss to the skin of his pec.

"Yeah, you?"

She tilted her head up, scruncing her nose as he kissed it. "I'm good."

Finally, they could both breathe easy.

~~

Jack and Trevor were already bickering as Hayden headed downstairs in the morning. She paused in the doorway, taking a second to tug the hem of Quinn's hoodie further down her thighs. It was comically oversized on her, the sleeves swallowing her hands, but it was warm and soft, and she hadn't felt like getting dressed into her own clothes.

Her hair was a mess from both sleep and sex, and her skin was flushed in places Quinn's stubble had brushed against the night before. She wasn't even thinking about it was she padded into the kitchen, bare feet against the hardwood floor.

Trevor was the first to notice. Of course.

"Morning, Hayden," he said cheerfully, taking a bite of his eggs. Then his gaze dropped to the hoodie, and his smile widened. "Wait a second. Is that--"

Jack turned, taking in her appearance. "Oh, no way! Is that Quinn's hoodie?"

Hayden blinked, feigning innocence as she grabbed a mug from the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Good morning to you too, Jack."

"Don't 'good morning' me," he pointed the spatula he was using at her. "What is going on here?"

Trevor's eyes flicked to her neck, and his jaw dropped. "Oh my God!"

"What?" she asked, sipping her coffee like nothing was amiss.

Trevor laughed, loud and incredulous, gesturing wildly. "You've got-- Jesus, Hayden."

"You're gonna have to be specific, Trevor."

Jack moved closer, squinting his eyes like he was solving a crime. This his eyes widened. "No fucking way!"

"What?" Luke asked. He followed Jack's gaze and nearly dropped his fork. "Oh, damn."

"What?" Cole said, peeking over Luke's shoulder. His eyes moved from Hayden to the hoodie to her neck, and then to Quinn, who had just walked in from the living room.

Quinn froze, his hair still damp from the shower and a fresh t-shirt clinging to his chest. "What's goin' on?"

Jack and Trevor turned to him in unison, both grinning like maniacs.

"Quinn," Jack started, his voice high-pitched with fake shock. "Care to explain why Hayden is wearing your hoodie and why her neck looks like she lost a fight with a fucking vampire?"

"Can we not do this right now?"

Trevor cackled, doubling over. "Oh, we're absolutely doing this right now."

"Dude," Luke shook his head. "I thought you said nothing was going on."

Cole smirked, "Guess the couch wasn't so comfortable after all."

"Not helping," Quinn shot him a glare.

"Y'all are making a big deal out of nothing," Hayden said, popping a piece of bacon into her mouth.

Trevor pointed at her, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. "Oh, no. This is not 'nothing', Hayden."

"Looks like something to me," Jack wiggled his eyebrows.

"Guys," Quinn's voice was strained. "Can you please just drop it?"

"Oh, come on, Quinny!" Jack nudged him in the ribs. "This is a big moment. You've got a girlfriend now!"

"She's not my--" Quinn started, but Hayden cut him off.

"Careful, Jack," she smirked. "You sound jealous."

Trevor howled with laughter, gripping the counter for support. "She's good. She's so good."

Quinn groaned, running a hand through his hair. “I hate all of you.”

“No, you don’t,” Hayden said lightly, taking another sip of her coffee.

Luke, who had been mostly quiet, finally spoke up. “So, uh... are we gonna talk about this, or are you just gonna keep pretending it’s ‘nothing’?”

“It’s nothing,” Quinn muttered, glaring at his brothers.

“Yeah, sure,” Cole said, smirking. “We believe you.”

Hayden laughed softly, setting her mug down. “Alright, boys. Enough interrogation. Let the man eat breakfast in peace.”

“Fine,” Jack said, holding up his hands. “But this isn’t over.”

Quinn sighed, grabbing a plate and filling it with eggs and toast. He sat down at the table, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

Hayden slid into the chair beside him, her smile softening as she leaned in close enough for only him to hear. “You okay, Hughes?” she asked for the millionth time that trip.

He exhaled a quiet laugh, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “I’m fine.”

“Good,” she said, squeezing his hand three time under the table.

Quinn didn’t look up, but the faint smile tugging at his lips didn’t go unnoticed.

Maybe the chaos was all worth it in the end. Because Quinn Hughes finally had the girl of his dreams.

[goldenlikedayl1ght]

wildest dreams - m. murdock

a/n: i have literally not been inspired for two weeks then i was STRUCK with the urge to write this. guys. i am so proud of this one i am not even going to lie. this one is dedicated to @bunmurdock because i am literally always thinking about professor murdock.... i really hope you guys enjoy this one, because i enjoyed writing it :) warnings: SMUT! inappropriate dynamic, P in V smut, so much cursing, lots of inappropriate thoughts and pining, power dynamics, dirty talk, reader does an edible and is high for a small part of this fic, reader isn't stupid in this one! she is just horny! she is also deaf, and there is yapping of readers daddy issues word count: 6.3k likes, reblogs and comments are always appreciated! <3 summary: you have a huge crush on your professor and spend many days desperate for him. pairing: professor!matt murdock x hoh!reader now playing: wildest dreams - taylor swift (taylor's version) "i said, "no one has to know what we do"/his hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room"

You could treat him better than any of these other horny grad students.

Seriously, that is your only conscious thought watching this man move around the front of this lecture center. You’re not dumb, you know everyone sitting here wants him—Those who are attracted to men want to fuck him and those who aren’t seek his approval. But you are built different, you’re also lacking a major sense, besides, your brain runs ramped with disgusting thoughts about the man.

Today’s focus is on the man’s outfit. It’s his last class of the day, and it shows. His clothes are a bit more wrinkled, and his hair is messier than it had been when he started the day. But most importantly, his jacket is thrown on the back of his chair, meaning you have a phenomenal view of his torso.

He wears a white button down, with the cuffs of the arms rolled up to just below his elbows, the bottom of the shirt tucked into the waistline of his pants. The shirt is tight, maybe a little too tight, especially around the arms. Maybe it’s because he works out. Or at least, you assume he works out.

That brings us to his tie. Oh, his tie. It’s nothing special—a pure black tie, just hanging from his neck. Your mind wanders. It starts at the dissection of a key court case in the subject of minimum wage, but from there, it starts drifting to his tie.

You think about the tie moving back and forth above you as he thrusts into you, brushing against your face, pulling on it to bring him closer. You think about that soft half chuckle he does, before he says something dirty like—

“Did you have something to add?” His voice right in front of you snaps you out of your trance. Fuck. You were not paying attention.

“Uh, No, Professor..” Your face is a deep red, embarrassed. You wish you could take off your hearing aids to stop listening to all the giggling from around you, from peers who are thrilled that Professor Murdock’s little (not-so) secret admirer got called out for her staring.

“Hm,” he taps the table in front of you, “Then I want you paying attention.” He says, before going back to his lecture. You could die right there. Everyone is laughing at you. He embarrassed you.

Okay, so you have no proof that he’s ever wanted you in the way that you’ve been so god damn desperate for him, but it’s still crushing that he’d single you out in that way. That maybe while you were increasingly needy for him, he found you fucking annoying, in such a way that he felt the need to embarrass you in front of your peers.

You want to melt—Melt into a puddle with just your boots and your hearing aids left behind so you never have to face him ever again. That’s why you’re so relieved when he dismisses class right on time (Well, right on time for him. He always ends class five minutes early to leave room for questions) and you quickly gather your things.

Because of the sheer level of embarrassment he has caused you, the other students in the class who want him try to flock to him, sensing that you no longer have the confidence to engage with him—But your desire is still there, as you messily shove your things into your backpack. You turn when you’re finished, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

Your face is still flushed, part because you’re embarrassed, part because you are out of breath from rushing. But you are faced with the view of your professor, all alone. Your breath hitches when his hand moves up to the top of his tie, as he smooths it out, running his fingers down the fabric.

“I read your essay on the expectations of the courts and law versus the realities of it. I loved it. The argument using Gideon versus Wainwright to justify the existence of the right to counsel as a civil right and not a liberty was fascinating, especially considering your other arguments about how race, class and gender play into those realities. Well done. I thought it was some of your best work.”

Your face is flushed for a new reason now. Wasn’t this the same man who was mad at you for not paying attention?

“I thought so too.” You confess, and he just smiles. He loves that you’re confident in your work. You’ll make a great lawyer one day.

“Oh, and,” He digs through his leather satchel to pull out some notes, running his finger over the folder tab to make sure he has the right folder, “Here are the printed copy of our notes from the last few lectures.” It’s part of your accommodations that professors give you a copy.

“Thanks, Professor.” You smile gently, reaching out to take the papers. Your hands meet and as you grip the notes, the tips of your fingers just barely brush against his. Neither of you say anything. Neither of you let go.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you today.” He starts, “But you’re bright—Smarter than most of your professors, I bet. And I don’t want you to fall behind.” He says softly, and without saying it, you know he’s worried because of your hearing. He was disabled in law school once upon a time, and he recognizes your potential.

“It’s okay.” You say softly, softer than your voice usually is. “I get it, really. It won’t happen again.”

“Good.” He says gently, letting go of the papers now. As you clutch them close to your chest, his hand goes back up to mess with his tie again. Does he know what he’s doing? Does he know how wild it drives you? He must. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“See you on Thursday.” You agree, and that’s when you leave the classroom.

As the door closes behind you, he listens intently. He hears your nervous heartbeat, could practically feel the heat radiating off you. But he knows your routine by now. You’re about to start playing music, and he likes knowing what sort of mood you’re in as you leave his class.

A smile spreads across his face when he hears the opening notes of that new Hozier song, ‘Too Sweet’.

• • •

You are a straight A student. You study days in advance for exams, you write elaborate study guides and most of all, you do not miss class, unless you are dying (no, seriously, the last time you missed class you were rushed to the hospital, sick with pneumonia after a big exam, which you aced). So, when you’re not in Matt’s class on Thursday, he tries not to panic.

You’re a grown woman, he tells himself, and he doesn’t have an attendance policy, having told the class on syllabus day that he trusted them to know when to come to class and when they should go lay in the sun or stay home with a bad cold.

But you once came to class doped up on cold medicine with a mask on, just because you didn’t want to miss any important information. He heard it before you got to class, so he faked a family emergency to cancel class early that day. He could hear your rattled sigh of relief as the other students flooded out.

And he knows for a fact you didn’t show up today because of how fucking loud you are; You don’t mean to be, but he can hear the light buzzing of your hearing aids, and you wear these big work boots that stomp even when you’re trying to step lightly. And he heard neither buzzing nor stomps today.

Oh, your boots. He’s spent years with everything being too loud, but he just can’t help but think about the boots—What color were they? What were their texture? He has this fantasy that lives at the very back of his mind of putting you in heels, heels too big for anyone let alone a girl who only wears clunky work boots, that way he would have to help you, take care of you, and it is a fantasy that will probably live at the back of his mind until he dies.

Sure, he’d probably get married, settle down with someone his age and never worry if she might be dissatisfied with an older man, and she’ll be quiet. No hearing aids, no big boots. They’ll have kids, they’ll be happy together. He’ll still go to you when he can’t sleep, and no one will ever know.

Wait, what was he doing? Oh, right. You weren’t in class today.

His fingers move over the keyboard to look you up in the system. He clicks on the audio assistant to read him your information. It reads out your first and last name, middle initial, then your grade in his class (A+), your accommodations (Notes, time and a half, things like that), your birthday, and—

Wait, he takes a moment, and his fingers go over to his braille calendar, realizing that you’re taking a day off because it’s your birthday. A laugh escapes his lips, because how silly was he being?

His fingers move again to find your email address. He debates for a moment before adding the subject line, “Absence Today.” Then, he erases it and changes it to, “Class Today”, hoping you wouldn’t freak out before reading the email.

And just for a moment, he lets himself dream. He writes the following email to you,

“Hey, sweetheart—

Happy Birthday. I’m so happy you’re taking a break, you deserve it, more than anyone else I know. Are you doing something fun for it? Going out and getting wasted? Hooking up with some college guy who couldn’t fuck you properly?

If I could, my birthday gift to you would be a day spent with my face buried between your pretty thighs, although that might be a birthday gift to me and not to you. I’ve always been a selfish man, and you seem to be something I am entirely selfish about. I want your hands tangled in my hair, tugging on it as I taste you. I want you all to myself. I didn’t hear the buzzing of your hearing aids or the clunking of your boots, and I felt this striking yearning.

I can’t stand being around you without having you. It’s torture.

Happy Birthday,

Matthew.’

He thinks about it for a minute, before completely erasing the email, and sending you this one instead:

‘Missed you in class today! We went over the reading for Chapter Seven. Happy Birthday! Professor M’

He sends it, and then rubs his face, a long sigh leaving his lips. He is completely enamored by you, and it is so unfair.  You’d be in class on Monday, he told himself. He’d see you then, and it would be like getting his fix of you.

Then, he turns to the distraction of trying to grade papers. It won’t work. He’ll still have you on his mind all day, and there will be no relief in sleeping. Hopefully he’ll dream of that long day between your thighs.

• • •

Truth be told, you were not drinking and fucking some random guy when Matt emails you. You were cuddled up in bed, giggling and eating snacks, so many snacks, because, well, you took an edible with a bunch of your friends and now are high out of your mind.

Some animated shows are on in the background, and when your phone buzzes, you pick it up and almost melt when you see the email from your favorite professor. You start giggling like a kid, your fingers clutching your phone as you read the email over and over again.

One friend looks up to you from her place on your floor and asks, “Are you alright?”

You don’t answer at first, but then you nod, and pull your blanket close, imagining Matt’s arms around you. Your brain paints you a picture of him holding you against his chest and gently playing with your hair.

It’s a nice fantasy.

• • •

For being a law student, you really fucking hate it sometimes. Okay, that’s not true. You love being a law student and are so excited to go out into the world and make that difference. But you’d be lying if you don’t sort of contemplate dropping out and getting a sugar daddy over certain assignments.

Maybe Matt is in the market. Then you shake your head to get the thought out of there, before opening your laptop to check your professor’s office hours. The one that assigned this assignment is an old bat who does not have office hours except for during your other classes on Fridays.

Then, you look at Matt’s office hours. He has office hours right now. You click the pen in your hand a few times, thinking. Contemplating. Would he want to see you at this point? Would you be able to control yourself?

You give the question you’re working on one more time before you lean down and grab your boots, starting to lace them up. Then, you pack up your bag, heart beating nervously over what—Asking him for help with an assignment?

You make it all the way across campus, the whole time worried about if you’ll walk in on your professor with some other girl. You almost laugh at that thought, because you think you’re silly for how dramatic you are about the man.

You stand down the hallway from his office for a few minutes, just contemplating. You could just turn around and not at all open the possibility of being around him, and everything stays the same. Nothing changes, and your relationship with your professor maintains it’s strictly professional relationship.

You walk towards the door, knocking on it before holding your breath.

“Come on in,” He calls from behind the door. Now or never. You open the door, and smile in his direction.

“Hey, professor,” You greet, a soft smile on your face. His tie is loose around his neck. You blink away whatever daydream your brain wants to dive headfirst into.

“Hey,” He greets, “I don’t think you have any assignments due, so what’s up?” He asks, tilting his head in your direction. As you think about it, you realize that you do not need help with an assignment.

“This is going to sound like a lie. But I had trouble with this assignment earlier, and suddenly I walked in here and realized I knew exactly what I was doing. I’m sorry for bothering you.” You explain, but you make no attempt to turn around and leave.

“Let me guess,” He starts, gauging by what year and academic proficiency you’re at, “Professor Reid’s estate planning class? That assignment about the will and testament of an old lady with a marriage less than 90 days and estranged kids?”

You groan and take a seat in one of the chairs in his office. He laughs in response, shaking his head.

“That old bat.” You roll your eyes. He just smiles and shakes his head.

“You’ll be fine. Just remember to cheat on your final.” He tells you, and you give him a perplexed look.

“What?”

“Well, for the final, there’ll be a question about a super niche argument on inheritance. Just cheat on it.”

“You’re a professor, telling me to cheat?”

“I cheated on it,” He shrugs. You suddenly remember that he used to go to school here and has taken all the classes you’re struggling with right now.

“You’re being unprofessional.” You tell him, and he smiles again. Your heart skips a beat, and somehow, his smile grows. As if he knows exactly what sort of effect he has on you. As if this is all a game he likes to play with you, his eager and willing participant.

“Okay, forget that I told you to cheat on Reid’s exam. We have to talk about something, it would be awkward to just sit here in silence. Uh, what did you major in in undergrad?”

“English. I minored in Disability studies.”

“So why Law?” He asks curiously, leaning forward and clasping his hands together, before resting them on his desk. Jesus Christ.

“I’m tired of being poor.” The answer slips out before you can really stop yourself. He laughs again, and something in you stirs. As if making him laugh is the newest way you feel good about yourself. How twisted is that? “I’m being serious!” You laugh too, unable to contain it.

“I’m sure,” he promises, “I grew up poor too, I was sick of it too. But if you’re going to be a lawyer—”

“You need to have respect for the law and the people taken advantage by it,” You finish, “I get that, really, I do. And I want to help people. I want to go into divorce law and help all the poor and battered women like—” You’re forgetting yourself. You’re forgetting that this isn’t a date and that this man is your professor.

“Like..?” He prods you to finish, curious. He is on the edge of his seat about you. This is more than he has gotten of you in the past few weeks you’ve been taking his class.

“Like my mom.” You finish suddenly looking for something to do with your hands. Anything, really. “But the check that comes with it isn’t exactly deterring me, you know?”

“I get that,” he says earnestly, “I was an orphan, one of those dirty scrappy ones you feel bad for,” he does that half chuckle that makes you want to go over there and kiss him. “Never knew my mom, and my dad died when I was young. So, I get it. Being poor and wanting to do better for yourself. For your parent who sacrificed for you.”

But it clicks for him, the hidden meaning behind your ambitions. You have daddy issues, and he can tell that’s part of your crush on him. Though, he’ll never say it to you. He’ll let it be something unspoken between the two of you.

“Yeah, I guess you do get it.” You smile softly. But this is dangerous. So so dangerous. The two of you are dancing this dangerous line—Well, more like you’re damn well dancing clear over the line and ignoring it. But you don’t know how to stop it. Maybe you don’t want to stop it.

“Well, uh, maybe you could finish that assignment while we’re here.” He clears his throat, straightening his tie and you try to connect the wires in your brain to focus on the assignment. You pull it out of your bag and place it on his desk, smoothing it out a bit. Matt gets up and starts to wander around the office, and you look at him curiously. “I think better when I can move around.”

You should’ve known that much, you have stared at him doing lectures, wandering from end to end of the rows and rows in the classroom.

“Yeah, totally,” You nod, focusing on the assignment. It’s on paper, the old bat refuses to use online assignments. You’re practically flying through the assignment, and it’s at the point where you are forgetting your company. In fact, you really don’t notice him.. Until you lean back and stretch, jumping when you realize that Matt has taken a spot right behind you, his hands on the arms of your chair, leaning forward. You’re practically leant up against him.

“See? Was that so hard?” Your face flushes, his voice right next to your ear. He has to know; he has to know how you’re affecting him. You tilt your head a bit, and your eyes are level with his chin. His stubble moves as he sets his jaw. He doesn’t smell much like anything… except the faintest hint of clean sheets and this slight scent of mahogany. It would go perfect with a whiff of whiskey.

“No,” you say quietly, and he almost shudders at the feeling of your warm breath against his cheek. “Not at all, Prof—”

“Call me Matt.” It’s almost begging. You’re kind of into it, but that’s not surprising given how incredibly attractive you find him.

“Okay.” You say quietly. He has reduced you to one-word answers. The two of you stay quiet for a while. You’re unsure what to say. Matt is contemplating his options. Anyone could walk in on the two of you like this. The door isn’t locked, and you want to bring this up, but the words die out in your throat. His head tilts a bit towards you, and you get a glimpse at those perfect lips of his.

“You know—” He starts, but before he can get any farther, you lean in and kiss him. You kiss him intensely, your hand on his cheek, and for once, you are not filled with regret at a bad decision. He doesn’t react at first, and for just a second, you’re nervous.

Then, He kisses you back, letting out this deep hum as he deepens the kiss. He tilts his head to get deeper into your mouth, and his hands make their way down to your hips. He focuses for a second, before wrapping his arms around you to pick you up and sitting you on his desk.

His hands trail down as the pair of you kiss, landing on your thighs. His fingers rub back and forth, and you gasp when he squeezes your thighs. He grins and takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. Your clunky boots hit against his desk and he practically growls at the sound. He pulls away, his teeth biting your bottom lip as he does.

You’re completely out of breath, and so is he. He stumbles back a bit, his lips swollen and bright pink from kissing you. He wipes his mouth as he pants, and inhales deeply. You run your fingers through your hair, brushing the hair that has fallen onto your face.

“We..” he mumbled gently, running his hand over his chin. “Holy shit, kid—”

“Don’t call me kid—”

“Listen,” he goes over to you and brushes the hair from your face, “That was.. it was phenomenal, but someone could’ve walked in on that, and.. Fuck, if we do that again, I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.” he confesses, his hands on your cheeks.

“When I was staring off into space last week, I was thinking about your tie.” You tell him, your hands are finding the base of it now. He tilts his head, curiously.

“What were you thinking about?”

“Was daydreaming about it brushing against my face as you fuck me.” You could swear his face is red. You grin.

“Yeah?” He laughs, taking the tie from you and bringing the tie up to brush against your cheeks, “Like that?” he teases, and you laugh back. Dick.

“Mhm,” You giggle, and your hands find his, wrangling the tie out of his hands, and tugging on it, before bringing him in for another kiss. He inhales deeply as he kisses you, taking the taste of you in for a moment before pulling away.

“I’m serious, sweetheart, this is dangerous.”

“Sweetheart?” You grin. He takes your chin and grips it between his thumb and pointer finger.

“Hey. Pay attention.” He says, and you want to argue that saying things in that low gravely tone will not help you pay attention, but you can tell he’s serious. That he wants your attention focused on him, this is important. “Listen. I like you. I like you a lot, but we have to be careful if we want any of this to go further. We have to be subtle and watch our steps.” He says softly.

“Okay.” You promise, “Okay, we should be careful.” He smiles gently and leans in to kiss your forehead.

“Good pup.” He hums, and your face flushes.

“I like ‘pup’.” You like sweetheart too, but your stomach flips when he calls you pup.

“Yeah, I know you do.” He grins. “Wanna get out of here?”

“I thought you said we have to be careful.”

“Okay, then I’ll give you my address and you can come over.” He shrugs. “I know how badly I need you, I can only imagine how you feel.” He hums, and you grin.

“Okay, Here, give me your phone.” Matt fishes his phone out of his pocket and hands it to you. You put your number in with your name, sending yourself a quick text before handing the phone back to him. “There. Send it to me.” He steps back so you can hop off the desk, before putting your homework back in your bag.

As you sling your bag over your shoulder, he grabs your wrist in his hand and pulls you close, just to kiss you again.

• • •

Your hands are shaking as you drive over to Matt’s apartment. You’re so full of desire for him, and you take a second after parking the car to adjust your hair and makeup. Luckily you had no plans with your friends so it’s not like you’re hiding anything from anyone.

Are you about to sleep with the professor you’ve had a crush on since the beginning of the semester? Hopefully. You take a quick glance down to the apartment number he sent you before climbing out of the car, locking it behind you.

Then, you manage your way through the building, finding yourself in front of his door for the second time tonight. You hesitate. Though, you’re not sure why. Well, maybe you do. Maybe you’re terrified that this is going to be bad. Or maybe that you’re scared you’ll be bad, and he’ll hate you.

Maybe you just need to get over yourself. Although, you can’t really do much more convincing because Matt swings open the door and grins at you. You almost die at the sight of him. His tie is gone, and his shirt is unbuttoned by three buttons.

“You’re so hot,” You blurt out as you hand him a cheap bottle of wine you picked up on the way here.

“You’re cute,” he hums, grabbing your arm and pulling you into the apartment, leaving you giggling as he closes the door behind you. You look around his apartment, your eyes catching on the giant billboard. You’re standing in front of the window when he comes up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. His lips gently kiss your neck, up and down, biting your shoulder gently. “Enamored by the billboard, sweetheart?”

“Your windows are so big, probably a lot of light in here during the day.” You say softly, and he smiles against your neck.

“Mhm, one day, I’ll fuck you against those windows—”

“Matt,” You groan, but he just shushes you and kisses your neck again.

“I know, pup,” He hums, “But don’t worry, I’ll show you a very nice time, hear all those pretty noises you can make for me.” You blush, turning to say something to him but he wraps his arms around your waist again, before throwing you over his shoulder and carrying you to his room. You’re laughing all the way there, before throwing you onto the bed.

“Mean.” You accuse, but he shrugs.

“You’ll get over it, sweetheart, I promise.” He hums, and you sit up on his bed. He stands between your legs, leaning down to kiss you gently, his hands finding your cheeks again. He kisses you like this for a few minutes, before slowly kneeling in front of you, never breaking the increasingly sloppy kiss. You pull away from the kiss to study him. He tilts his head, his hands finding your thighs to rub them again as he did in the office. “What?” he asks gently.

“I spent all those lectures only being able to study you from a far.. Just let me really look at you for a while..” You request. He grins gently as your fingers run over his stubble again. Your hands move up to his glasses. “Can I take these off?” You request, tilting your head.

Matt hesitates, just for a second. He’s not really used to it, to someone truly wanting to see him, every part of him. But he trusts you, wants you to see him. So he nods, letting out a soft ‘yeah’ as you pull off those circular red glasses, gently folding them and setting them down somewhere safe.

Then, you take a good, long look at his eyes. They’re this deep brown, almost black, irises that are drop dead gorgeous. The skin around his eyes is scarred, but the scars are old, yet, you rub your thumb gently against that scarred skin. You lean in and press a kiss to the corner of his eyes, first the left one, then the right one.

He leans up and kisses you after that, his hands slowly making their way down your legs. Your hands find his buttons of his shirt starting to undo them. He pulls away from the kiss, before slipping off his button up, throwing it away somewhere in the room. Your eyes drift down to these scars on his collarbones, and your fingers run over them. Then, you notice other scars on his skin, and your hands find those too.

“Your boots are so loud,” he hums, and you’re taken back by it.

“What?”

“Your boots.” He hums, “I hear you stomping around with these things on, they’re.. Like a bell, you know? I like knowing you’re around.” His fingers go down to the laces of your left boot, slowly untying them. Then, he does the same with the right boot.

He pulls off your boots, before running his fingers over your socks.

“They’re multicolored. Bright and patterned.” You confess, and he grins, before pulling them off. Then, he stops, realizing you have another pair of socks on. He blinks, before starting to laugh.

“You have two pairs of socks on?” he chuckles, your face flushing.

“My boots are just a little too big!” You tell him, and he laughs, resting his head against your thigh. He finishes taking your socks off, before working on the buttons of your jeans. When he finally gets those undone, he pulls off your pants, throwing them somewhere close to his now abandoned shirt. His hand comes up to rub you through your panties, and he lets out a scoff as he does.

“So wet for me, pup..” He mumbles, coming up to gently kiss your cheeks and then your jaw, as you whine. “I know, baby, I know,” he says softly, rubbing your clit gently. You whine gently at the feeling, gripping his wrist. He chuckles softly, kissing you to shut you up a bit.

He pulls his hand away from your throbbing cunt to pull off your tee shirt, throwing it wherever. He starts to kiss you as you fiddle with the buttons of his pants and pull them off, letting him step out of the before he casts them away.

You grin into the kiss, before he pulls away.

“What? What’s got you so giddy, pup?” he asks, a grin on his face too.

“Briefs,” You hum, fiddling with the waistband of his briefs, and he laughs, shaking his head.

“Thinking about your professor’s underwear?” He teases, leaning in to bite your neck. “Dirty, dirty girl.” He grins, and you swat at his shoulder, which causes him to laugh. He likes having fun with you, even if it’s not inherently sexual.

His hands come up to run gently over your skin, trailing from your hands up to your shoulders, and then all the way to your ears, where his fingers gently run over your hearing aids. It’s a nice gesture, really, but as soon as his fingers brush over your hearing aids, you immediately retract, the feedback shooting through your skull, uncomfortably.

“Ow—” You cringe, leaning your head back to try and get away from his fingers. He cringes, hearing the feedback, not as badly as you do but knowing it’s there and that you’re in pain pains him.

“I’m sorry,” he coos softly, his fingers moving down to cup your jaw. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart, I hadn’t realized—”

“Hey, it’s okay,” You hum, tilting your head to kiss his palm gently. “It happens, It’s why you should never touch them while I have them on.” You shrug. He leans down and kisses your stomach a bit, before going back to kiss you again, deepening the kiss a bit before roughly shoving you back on the bed. You giggle as he climbs on top of you, caging you in between his legs, as he slips his tongue into your mouth again. He kisses you with passion and need, and it drives you entirely too wild. As he pulls away, one hand comes up to grip your chin, before he leans down with his head against yours.

“Want me to fuck you, pretty thing?” He asks gently, his voice sweet as honey as he talks so obscenely to you. You whine, finally getting what you want after weeks and months of waiting. He just smiles and shakes his head, “No, no, puppy, you gotta say it to me.” He requests.

“Yes, I want you..” You groan, bucking your hips a bit at the thought of him finally fucking you.

“Want me to do what?” he asks, innocently.

“Want you to fuck me, please..” You request, and this finally seems to satisfy him. His hand comes down to unhook your bra, throwing it behind him with the rest of your clothes, before his lips begin to travel downwards, kissing down your jaw and neck, before he’s kissing the valley of your breasts, his hand going down to rub your clit again.

He groans against your skin at the feeling of your wetness soaking through your underwear and listening to your moans. His hands begin to work to take off your panties, and as soon as those are gone, your hands come up to his briefs, wanting them gone.

“Off, off, off—” You huff, and he laughs as he slips them off. Then, he reaches over and grabs a condom from the bedside table, but you grab his hand, shaking your head, “No, no—I’m on the pill, promise.”

“You sure?” He asks gently, and you nod, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

“Sure.” You nod, and then you’re kissing him again, your hand going down to stroke his cock, and he gasps into the kiss, before chuckling. He pulls away to mutter out to you--

“Needy girl,” he purrs, before moving to kiss you again. As you’re kissing, he slips his cock into you, and you moan into the kiss, tensing at the feeling, “Relax for me, pup.. So fucking tight for me.” He groans, his hand coming down to swat your thigh. “Relax.” He tells you, his voice sterner this time.

You nod, trying to form a more conscious thought than the pure bliss you feel, your hands wrapping around his neck, scratching down his back a bit. He groans softly, as he starts to slowly thrust into you. He is using every ounce of self-control he has, resisting the urge to absolutely violate you.

But he’s trying to be gentle, be nice.

“Faster,” You gasp out, your fingers pulling on the hair at the nape of his neck. He does that half chuckle, and it makes you whine as he begins to speed up.

“Beautiful little pup..” he says lowly, “Been staring at me.. Wanting your professor so badly these past few weeks, dirty little thing,” he hums, “Fuck, so.. fuck..” Your legs are beginning to shake the longer and harder he thrusts into you. “So fucking good for me..” You whine into his lips as they crash into yours, one hand going down to rub your clit gently, the stimulation too much for someone who hasn’t had sex this good, ever, but especially because you haven’t had sex at all in the past.. well, six or more months.

“Matty, ‘m..” You can barely get the words out as he fucks you harder,

“I know baby, come on, cum for me, pup,” he coos, his thrusts nor rubbing slowing down, maintaining his pace. Within a minute, you’re coming with loud moans into his ears, and he’s following suit shortly after, coming deep inside you.

But for the few minutes after the two of you finish, he continues his thrusting, relishing in the pretty moans and the sound of his deep thrusts into you. Eventually, he slows down, remaining deep inside of you. He pulls you close, kissing you deeply before flipping the pair of you over, and holding your legs close to stay buried deep inside of you.

For a few minutes, there are no words spoken, just deep, frantic pants and sweaty skin against each other.

“You know, that was as good as I’ve been fantasizing about for weeks.” You pant, “Better, even..” He laughs and nods.

“Me too..” he kisses you softly. “Let me take you out somewhere.”

“I thought we had to be careful..”

“We’ll go away somewhere then. Just the two of us for the weekend. I need to be with you, I can’t get enough of you now that I’ve had a taste.. Besides, I haven’t even eaten you out. Now that, that is going to be fun.” He grins, and you swat his arm.

“Evil, mean man!” You gasp, and he just laughs, kissing your forehead.

“I’m sorry, pup, let me make it up to you,” he hums.

“How?”

“Calling you pup a few times, ordering Thai food and teaching you how to suck me off?”

“I know how to suck you off,” You scoff.

“Oh yeah?” He tilts his head, leaning in to kiss him. Then, lips still against yours, he whispers, “Prove it, pretty puppy.”

[deedah]

”Nightmares..”

[Roxy]=True]

⚠️⚠️WARNING!⚠️⚠️

THIS FANFIC INCLUDES

-TRAMA

-MENTION OF K!//ING THEMSELVES

-FLUFF

Ships!- (NUzi) (Soxy) (Voxy) (F x JC)

Word count- 1678

Roxy belongs to- @roxy4life

Serial Designation S belongs to- @biscuits-and-such

Lexi belongs to- @locothewolf

G-O belongs to- @serial-designation-g-o / @glorious-owl

Serial Designation F and JC belong to me- @deedah

Cynthia from the Second Chances AU belongs to- @coppernuggets

(To give context for this fanfic was a request and is placed in an AU. Uzi, N, and V now save other drones that are lost in space due to their own planet being blown up, and all the oc’s above are a part of that group that were saved. So yes, this does take place after ep. 8 and they are still on copper-9. How copper-9 got fixed? Idk)

    Roxy sat up straight as quick as she could as she awoke from another nightmare. She was sweating as she looked down at her hands to make sure she was alright.

    Gosh dang it!! Her mind yelled as she lightly pushed her legs that were under the covers. She looked to her side to see S spilled out all over the bed with one of her arms loosely holding onto Roxy. She didn’t want to wake S, so she slowly got out of the bed as she went immediately to a mirror to look at herself.

    Roxy had half red hair and half blue hair that was styled a little like Uzi’s, but a bit fluffier and messier. She wore a blue tinted scrub (like Nori’s dress) with a choker around her neck and a black tank top under her scrub. She had two different colored eyes, her left eye purple while her right eye green.

    She looked down at her hands. After a while of staring at herself, she looked back to S.

    S had long white hair and had bangs a bit like V. She wore a small black bow clip in the front of her bangs. She wore a fluffy black jacket like V, but she had a name tag on it for some reason. She didn’t wear pants or a skirt because they ‘are uncomfortable and don’t help her to move at all’. And she also had black stockings up her thighs like V.

    Roxy smiled as she watched S’s chest slowly rise and fall due to her breathing. But she immediately stopped smiling when she remembered her fricken nightmare.

    Roxy tiptoed to the door of the room as she went out of it and slowly closed it. Roxy then went to all the rooms in the apartment building that they lived in to see if anyone was awake.

    In the first room, she found F and JC curled up together as they both slept. F had short white hair that was styled like Uzi’s and had two bangs that swooped back with a little hair that fell in the middle of her visor. She wore a cropped burgundy sweatshirt and tan shorts. She also has a pilot hat like N does, except hers doesn't have a symbol on it like N’s and gold-ish glasses that she had off right now. She did have point legs like V, but her legs were completely white for some reason

    (JC is just the concept boy version of J btw (yes I got lazy) But!! His legs are painted black up to his knees cause.. idk.. I like it :3)

    Roxy went to the next room to find N and Uzi sleeping on a bed together as Lexi slept on the floor.

    Lexi had very bright blue hair and eyes, and they also wore fake ears that almost matched their hair exactly. She wore a yellow shirt and grayish flared leggings with black shoes under them.

    And G-O was hanging upside down from the ceiling. G-O was a special type of drone, and even Roxy didn’t know what they fully were. They had a strange Cyn-like claw for their left hand, worker drone legs, and bird-like feet with 1990’s leg stockings over them. They had black hair and yellow eyes as well. They wore a dark green crop top with no pants and an arm band on them like every disassembly.

    Roxy closed the door as she heard commotion downstairs. It sounded like voices, but none she knew.

    Roxy slowly went into the living room as she turned the corner to see V watching TV. Roxy speculated if she should bother V or not. She then took a deep breath as she stepped out into the open as V turned her head towards her.

    “Roxy?” V asked quietly as Roxy took a step forward in the light. “What are you doing up at this hour? It’s nearly 3 am..!” V said as Roxy held her arm.

    “I-“ she started as she recalled her dream, no, nightmare, “I had a nightmare.. it’s stupid really, I’ll just go back and sleep with S..”

    Roxy said as she turned around to start to walk up the stairs as she held a pawed hand grab her.

(Yes Disassembly drones, in my AU, have pawed hands. Why? It’s cute!!)

    “No, Roxy..” V said as Roxy turned her head around. “You have said this before, these ‘nightmares’ are bad..” V explained as she slowly took Roxy by the hand and led her to the couch.

    V gently made Roxy sit beside her as she paused her show. “You have said that ever since you got the memory of your parents.. ya know..” she said as Roxy nodded, “You’ve had these nightmares, that won’t go away..” V said as Roxy looked down.

    V then cuffed her finger under Roxy’s chin as she lifted her head up.

    “Wanna stay down here with me?” She offered as Roxy, slowly, but immediately nodded.

    Roxy and V shuffled a little to where Roxy was laying her head on V’s chest and V was rubbing Roxy’s hair. It was peaceful for a minute, before a nose disturbed the moment.

    Roxy and V heard a clanging noise from the kitchen. And they both shot up as they saw white eyes under a flickering light.

    Once the light stopped flickering and stayed on constantly, Roxy saw that it was just Cynthia getting a cup of oil.

    “Oh.. Sorry..” she started as she pulled the mug of oil close to her body. “Did I interrupt y’all..?” She asked softly as she started to walk closer to the living room where the worker and disassembly was.

    Cynthia used to be the host of the Solver, until Uzi ate the singularity. Since then, Uzi was able to somehow eject the real Cyn who was stuck inside the Solver’s control. They then built her a body of old worker drone parts and led her on her way.

    She didn’t want to be called ‘Cyn’ anymore because of her messed up past, so she changed it to Cynthia.

    She had white eyes, blond hair what was in the same style as Cyn, but with shorter side pieces (idk how to describe it, help). She wore a burgundy beanie with a black bow in the back. She also somehow got Tessa’s old dress and sewed it back together. She normally wore red and pink tennis shoes with purple socks, but she had taken her shoes off for the night. Even though the Solver was no longer in control of Cynthia, she still had some old aspects of it, like she still slouched a lot of the time, and her head went to the side like a cat rather than straight up.

     Her memories are soup too, and she only clearly remembers the time before the solver took over. Though she does sometimes remember faintly about terrible things that the Solver did.. like the gala massacre.. and Tessa..

    “Oh, hey Cynthia..” V started as Roxy went to lay on her chest again as V resumed rubbing her hair, “no your fine,” V looked to Roxy as Cynthia pointed to her and gave a confused look.

    “Nightmares..” V stated as Cynthia nodded and sat beside Roxy as she started to rub their back. 

     “It’ll be ok, Roxy..” Cynthia said as Roxy went to look at her. “I’ve been through some nightmares as well. That's why I don’t sleep that well too..” she said as she looked and had an awkward smile on her face when V gave her a small death stare.

    “I’m just doing self pity right now..” Roxy mumbled in V’s chest.

    V immediately stopped rubbing Roxy’s hair, sat up straight, and grabbed Roxy’s cheeks as she held Roxy’s face in front of her own.

    “Roxy..!” V started as Cynthia had jumped away a bit to give room as Roxy went limp like a ragdoll. “This is not self pity! You saw your own parents die!” She stated as she brought Roxy into a tight bear hug on her chest.

    Roxy tried to fight back by lightly punching V, which did absolutely nothing. As she started to giggle.

     Roxy’s giggles kept coming louder and louder, even if they were kinda breathy.

    Even Cynthia started to giggle as she too wrapped her arms around Roxy’s waist from behind and started to hug her.

    “Ok, ok!” Roxy said muffled, “I get it!”

    “Say this is not self pity and I’ll let you go..” V commanded.

    “Ok! Fine! I am not in self pity..!” After Roxy said that, both V and Cynthia let her go.

    V and Roxy shared eye contact before Roxy turned around to meet Cynthia eye to eye.

    Cynthia’s right eye flashed to the white Solver symbol as she just smiled sweetly.

    Roxy just ignored the symbol as she just smiled back.

    “Wanna go to sleep girly..?” V suggested as Roxy nodded. Roxy curled up on V’s chest as Cynthia went to the blanket cupboard and grabbed out a big fluffy blanket and threw it atop Roxy and V.

    “Sleep well..” Cynthia mumbled as she was about to walk away. But then V’s tail wrapped around her wrist and slowly pulled her to V’s other side where she pretty much forced her little sister to sleep on her other side. A couple of minutes after everyone got settled, V started to slowly and softly sing eternal dream to the two young drones.

    Both Cynthia and V fell asleep before Roxy did. But before Roxy fell asleep, she looked up towards a window that was shattered to see beautiful stars in the night sky that were around one of the moons of Copper-9.

    Roxy then felt a peace she hadn’t felt since she was a babe.. a peace that you could only get for a moment nowadays, but it lasted a lifetime.

    And with that.. Roxy fell asleep to the thumping rhythm of V’s heart.Yeah.. Roxy thought before she dozed off, I’m surrounded by the best people..

[:D <3]=True]

(Btw meh fwiends, I gonna be gone the whole day cause I have to go to school, then I have to go to a sports game, srry, but I’ll be on as soon as I can get home)

[blocked-zombieartist]

Hawthornes and Vogue

Here’s the surprise I mentioned earlier, loves! I took inspiration from a comment chain about if this very scenario happened with the TIG characters, so I can’t take credit for the scenario. But I hope you enjoy!

  Avery was sitting at her desk in her office at Hawthorne House, reviewing reports from different sectors of the Hawthorne Foundation and the Hannah the Same Backwards or Forwards Foundation. Suddenly, her best friend, Maxine rushed in, looking particularly pleased with herself about something. She held something behind her back.

  “You will never guess in a million faxing years what I’ve found.” Max grinned deviously.

  Avery put her paperwork to the side. “What did you find?”She leaned to try to see what her best friend had. Max tossed a stack of four magazines on the desk with a dramatic flourish.

  “Ever read Vogue?” She asked with a smirk. Upon inspection, the top magazine was indeed an edition of Vogue. On the front was a picture of none other than Xander, clad in a messier version of the Country Heights uniform. Hair styled to a messy perfection, shirt cuffs unbuttoned, the works. Avery chuckled and looked up at Max. 

  “Is this real?” Avery thumbed through the first magazine. Among the other featured people and columns, there was an entire section full of pictures of Xander. Avery’s eyebrow was raised and her mouth hung open with a surprised smile. “I cannot believe this,” she chuckled. An entire feature in THE Vogue, all on Xander, and full of the most Vogue-like photos of him. An entire photo shoot was here.

  Max grabbed that magazine finally. “You know I’m keeping this bad boy.” Avery chuckled, then looked at the next one. Another Vogue. And on its cover was…

  “Nash?!?” Avery keeled over laughing in her office chair, and Max joined. The cover of this one boasted a typical “sexy cowboy” look on good old Nash. Cowboy hat, black(and somewhat sparkly) jeans with an undone belt buckle, and a flannel shirt, unbuttoned completely. They paged through this one laughing at each new photo. While all the brothers had always been photogenic, and while Nash was no exception, it was hilarious to see that their resident easygoing, brotherly cowboy had even agreed to such a thing. “Lib’s gonna adored this,” Avery said while wiping a tear from her eye from laughing so hard. 

   “There’s more. You’ll have a particular fondness for this next one,” Max said as she gently elbowed Avery. The third Vogue magazine showed a photo of Jameson on the front, clad in tight white pants, classy shoes, a silver chain, and a leather jacket hanging open, no shirt. A typical trait for Jamie, but eye catching nonetheless. Avery took a little more time to thumb through this one, both her and Max occasionally chuckling at how at home he seemed flaunting in front of the camera.

  “Crazy boy,” she muttered. Before putting g this one to the side to reveal the final magazine, she looked up at Max with a look that barely suppressed amusement. “If this next one is Grayson, I’m gonna lose my mind.” Max only stifled a smirk and a laugh before nodding for her to look. Avery put the magazine featuring Jameson to the side, revealing the subject of the final edition.

  The cover boasted a set of neutral colors and shades. A pure white upholstered chair of to the side, a cherrywood side table next to it, grey colors in the background. And in the center, the featured “distinguished person” of the special edition, clad in black shoes, pressed black dress pants and a classy matching belt and turtleneck… was Grayson Hawthorne himself. He looked more classy in this picture than most of his brothers’ photos had been, but he appeared just as comfortable showing off for a camera as Jameson had, just with more subtlety. A peek into the magazine’s pages showed that whoever had been in charge of the photoshoot and wardrobe had been quite insistent however.

  Among the distinguished photos of Grayson, there were also some that had less restraint and modesty. One had Grayson lounging over the aforementioned chair, eyes closed, head lolled back, in a different pair of dress pants, now brown, and an open suit jacket without its shirt. Other photos featured this outfit in other poses, showing him off. Knowing him, Grayson must’ve hated this part of the shoot, but you’d never notice by looking at the pictures. He might have disliked the affair, but anyone could tell that he absolutely knew the power he held through the lens and had no qualms with wielding it.

  The two girls had a high time thumbing through the photos, laughing at the fact that these even existed, as well as fawning a little over some of the ones of their own respective boyfriends. Libby later got the magazine that contained Nash’s photoshoot, which she gladly took as well.

Well, what did you think? Maybe a part two where they confront the boys about this? Let me know!

[the-nerds-in-black]

If you don't mind me asking, what inspired your designs for the LiB human forms? Why did you give them the looks that you did?

I love this question!! I'll explain a bit of my design process. (Be prepared, it is a long explanation!)

First and foremost, I wanted to retain their color schemes, but sort of "normalize" them in a sense. The lords dress very bright and wacky, and I wanted to keep that but also make them look like someone you could just pass on the street. So, the first thing I did was assign them natural hair colors. A more natural blonde for Tinky, ginger for Wiggly (because I found it funny), etc etc..

I also tried to make their clothes more "believable". You dont really see a lot of people walk around in shiny, brightly saturated, monochromatic outfits in everyday life. Personally, I think we should normalize that, but whatever. So, I broke up and spread the color throughout their outfits. Pokey still has blue, but its only in his pants and tie. Tinky still has orange and a little bit of red, but he doesnt have those neon yellow matching jacket and pants combo like in canon. Basically the first step in designing them was making them look.. kinda normal!

Then the second part! Relating them to my pre existing lords designs!

Disclaimer!! These are old designs from months ago, and Ive been slowly redesigning them so they aren't exactly accurate to how I envision the Lords!

But anyway, then comes the easy part, making them look like my interpretations of the lords! Face shape, nose type, hair texture, body type, etc etc. I did accidentally make Tinky less husky as a nerd, which wasnt intentional, so when I draw him later he will be a bit stockier!

As for exact design choices for each of the Nerds In Black, this is how I designed them!

Pokey

His outfit is meant to resemble Paul's outfit by the end of tgwdlm. Its pure irony and I am a sucker for that! It also feels like something Pokey would wear casually: formal but not too formal. The little heels are purely for show. In the future I'd probably draw him with chunkier heels. The little streak in his hair comes in a later chapter!

Tinky

I really channeled nerd energy into his design. The short sleeved button down over a t-shirt speaks to me. Also gave him a watch because I felt it was the easiest way to allude to who he is. Plus, it matched the shape language of his glasses! (Which alludes to his goggles in canon) When I draw him in the future I am drawing him a bit chubbier and with messier hair. Also, ive never written about it or drawn it, but Tinky still has an overbite!

Wiggly

He is actually pictured in an outfit that will show up in the next few chapters! It's a dressier outfit than what he woke up in. The inspiration comes from a funny place actually: Grace's outfit. White shirt, cardigan vest, a little ascot resembling tentacles, its just a slightly more masculine (and green) version of her outfit. And this serves a purpose! For now, I'll say that Grace and Wiggly have a surprising amount of things in common, and they are sort of like foils to each other. It was also important to make him look non threatening, including his lanky frame and freckles. Basically, i wanted to emphasize his insecurities, the parts of himself that he believes make him weak, so that he can't avoid facing them head on!

Nibbly

I went a little silly for this one. PERSONALLY, and this is my opinion, I dont.. really care for Nibbly's outfit in canon, but I tried to keep the skirt, pigtails, and overall feminine expression. I feel like the dark sweater contrasted well with the skirt and peppermint inspired accents. Honestly, im not sure if this one is one of my favorites and I may rework it a little, but I still think its cute! Plus he has a little gap between his teeth! Also, the corset was a fun idea I had, and I think he will get it in a later chapter. The strings on the corset are supposed to resemble sharp teeth too.

Blinky

Being fr I have no idea what i was thinking with the polka dots on the hoodie. Maybe like.. eyes? Definitely going to rework that. Anyway, I wanted Blinky to be dressed very modestly. Its sort of meant to represent that he prefers to watch and not be watched. The face mask also serves that purpose, plus obscuring his mouth. I also kept his glasses, but made them a necessity. Its an added weakness, and worse, its a weakness that was once his strength.

In conclusion...

Overall, I think Pokey, Wiggly, and Tinky are my strongest designs that have a lot of thought into him! I will be changing a feel small things in the future, but for now I think they are fine.

And that's my design thought process! Thanks for asking about it :3

[alexanderlightweight]

@faejilly

thank you!!! i have been dying to flail about a fic! and fic and @saeths is asleep and needs rest cause they're sick.

okay so it's a bit funny but this fic is one of my longest wips and still doesn't have a name but basically magnus accidentally woos kelpie!alec (half seelie/half shadowhunter sad backstory blahblahblah) who is very just. he's very impressed by Magnus' everything okay.

also saeth finds it really funny that in some of my darkest fics i focus the most on how good of a friendship magnus and cat and ragnor have. and so i just... half of the fic is now ragnor and cat and magnus and then figuring out the addition of alec to their party because while magnus will hangout with them without alec, he wants alec to be apart of it since its so important to him.

uhm there is quite a bit of murder in this fic. like magnus goes and kills a bunch of people he's slept with to get them out of the way because of a misunderstanding and cat and ragnor have absolutely no fucks to give with it. cat is literally just like, 'i need at least eight hours of sleep and a massage after this' because she loves her boys to pieces. and alec eats people in a none hannibal way its much messier.

... maybe i should have thought about what fic i wanted to share before begging for interaction. you dont have to read further if its not your cuppa tea, i can totally rant about a less dark fic

and saeth is part of alxndrlghtwoods and writes amazing stuff like dominion magic and they have a fic called 'take me for a ride' and so that fic has pretty heavily influenced the vibe of this magnus. except we see a lot of behind the scenes where he's with his friends, not just alec.

and magnus is very much a terrifying traumatizing person, but he's still the same immensely powerful person that ragnor had to douse with tea when he was learning to be hungover. and who ragnor chased around for 'bringing that disgusting tar into my house' when he tried to get ragnor to try coffee.

and he's still the person that ragnor held as he and cat pieced together magnus' heart so that not another single soul could ever hurt him like camille tried to. magnus lost any softness he did after camille and there is a very specific reason he opens himself up to alec in this fic and it's quite literally because of an accident.

like magnus wasn't hurt by camille in the same way as canon. what hurt him the most was that 'to him at the time' he was weak enough to almost be hurt by her. and that was worse. magnus doesn't do friends outside of cat and ragnor. and he doesnt do relationships.

alec very much has his own goals for the entire fic, as does magnus and their goals reach the same endgame? so even they go about different ways of getting there, it's fine? and magnus puts a magical pond on the roof so alec can still enjoy water and the first time magnus dips his toes in, he almost loses a couple because alec has an automatic reaction.

magnus: ... you could have said if you were that hungry

alec: magnus. you put body parts in water. it's a conditioned reflex at this point. i didn't realize they were attached to you.

magnus: my toes alexander! i just painted them

its a very morally grey fic because you have two very-nonhuman sets of instincts and quiet misunderstandings (no angst in the misunderstandings though) and a lot of brunch with the trio.

brunch is any meal that is with the three of them. if someone else tries to argue about it, they either die, or magnus mockingly takes them to where it is still brunch. Magnus has lost several dates this way.

He lost them on purpose. they were never found.

brunch is a vibe, not a time. yes, they frequently plot out mass casualties and murder over scones and lemon curd and cat's favorite of strawberry crepes and papaya with lime juice. ragnor still prefers kippers and toast. even if he has finally upgraded to the 'fancy' version. and magnus cycles through favorites but always has a very specific tea that he imports from where he was born.

magnus and alec have a very intense predator/prey but also with greater predator/smaller predator in that Alec is very willingly submitting to magnus and they both know that. because he is also incredibly dangerous and powerful. magnus very much does not want to deal with an upset alexander, he's seen how powerful his teeth are okay.

oh something that i love in this fic is alec gets most of his power from the small lake pocket dimension that he lives in. because it's created a self-sustaining cycle that balanced on alec being a big enough predator to protect the lake until natural magical defenses could shore up. it's pretty much a magical leyline and alec got anchored to/by it in the way of natural dominion magic. so he's not a king like magnus, he doesn't have a magical sovereign, he's just the sole guardian and sentinel for a, think of it kind of like those self-sustaining eco-systems but magical.

because i love magical realism and i love exploring into all the nooks and crannies that the showrunners never bothered to explore. like there is an entire different world of bugs and insects and flora and fauna and reptiles and animals and even canon!alec is more likely to know about magical creatures than mundane.

and magnus is super thrilled when they finally go back to alec's lake because hidden under a very clever array, is the fact that the entire lake is brimming with magical plants and magnus can very carefully and protectively cultivate some without harming the ecosystem, damaging the plants, hurting the environment. like magnus is mostly going to take a few cuttings from where alec needs to weed anyway.

alec is like: these are all trash, you can have them

magnus: darling, these are the magical equivalent of saffron

alec: yeah i don't know what that is either, do you want them? or ill feed them to the lily pod fairies.

alec knows they're important to the lake but he also can tell when the plants are getting too greedy and so he kind of tends to the lake very carefully. sometimes he uses a plant or another for its use, but he's very happy to just take care of the plants and only take them when necessary for himself or the lake health.

saeth likes calling my fics 'cute' and 'soft' even when they have like, mass murder and cannibalism and it's kind of funny because i do get it. i really love writing darkly and horrifically soft malec. it's the jam and butter to my bread. its good with only one, but better with both.

uh and if you managed to make it through that long winded smash of keys, here is a snippet from one such murderous brunch

—

Cat accepts a cup of tea with a small smile as Magnus laughs and Ragnor’s scolding gets increasingly louder.

“They were a perfectly lovely invention!” Ragnor is saying. “They should never have gone out of fashion!”

He’s said the same thing three times. Increasingly louder, as if it will eventually shut Magnus up. 

Cat sips her —perfect as always— tea and summons a box of biscuits.

Normally Ragnor offers them himself, but Cat will allow the discrepancy. They did find him quite indisposed.

Magnus is still laughing, holding his belly as though it might burst as he slumps into one of Ragnor’s large armchairs.

Ragnor seems to have given up and is grumpily sipping his own tea as he gives Magnus a snotty look.

When Magnus has finally, finally stopped laughing, Cat gives a silent sigh of relief.

And then Ragnor opens his mouth, dooming them all.

“If you must know.” He says with an aggrieved sniff, “it helps keep my horns from rubbing against the headboard. It’s quite annoying to have to polish them so often. Valois mentioned they were looking a little worn at the last gathering.”

And Magnus loses it again.

Ragnor had been napping on an armchair when they’d portaled in. Small round glasses perched on his snoring nose, a long flowing nightgown and a nightcap that hasn’t been used in several hundred years. 

It was only several lifetimes spent practicing self control that ensured Cat didn’t burst into laughter herself. 

She makes a note to order and send several bonnets to Ragnor, they’re much nicer than the undoubtedly musty nightcap Ragnor probably dug out of a moth-infested dresser in some half-abandoned cottage he forgot about.

Ragnor huffs and gulps half of his cup before Cat has pity and offers him a digestive. 

“The cheek on this lad.” Ragnor grumbles, “and what kind of present is this! At least it was well taken care of in that witch Selene’s library. If not tragically undervalued, so why is there blood on my bloody book?”

Magnus is going to give himself a hernia at this rate and Cat is both off duty and not inclined to be nice so she sends him a little zap and gives Ragnor the most mischievous smile she can.

Ragnor immediately catches on and good humor replaces his glower.

“Oh? What’s this? Cat, love! Don’t hold out on me. What’s ducky done now?”

“Guess who has to do a little spring cleaning, because he accidentally courted an un-declared kelpie.” Cat says in a rush, fingers snapping her biscuit in her eagerness to share.

Magnus gives a mock groan, “yes yes, laugh at my hubris. But trust me, a little bit of cleanup is well worth my Alexander.”

Magnus has one of his arms flung over his eyes and doesn’t see the quick, tight look Ragnor shares with Cat. Nor the brief joy when Cat simply smiles and nods, giving her assurance that Ragnor won’t need to make too many contingencies.

“And what does this time of new life and purging entail?” Ragnor asks and this time it’s Cat who laughs as Magnus gives them both a sheepish smirk.

“Ah, Alexander may be under the impression that I have been courting him… exclusively.” Magnus winces, “For the last four decades.”

Ragnor fights desperately not to gawp, and to not ruin his tea with incredulous laughter. 

And then he realizes the problem and his laughter fades.

“But you didn’t know.”

Magnus shakes his head, something bitter and angry in his eyes that Ragnor will worry over later. 

With sherry and Cat as backup. 

“That’s quite a bit of cleanup.” Ragnor murmurs quietly. Because Magnus takes fidelity seriously when it’s offered, “better take it to the last five decades, just to be safe. Don’t forget that orgy you told me about, the one in Dubai that you talked about for weeks in the 70’s. Don’t just do memory wipes, make it clean.” 

Magnus nods and Cat sighs despairingly as he summons a notebook and jots it down. 

“My, dear overachieving boys. Magnus should just use a ritual. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it properly. So we need to be thorough. We’ll have to add some element of a geas to the secret, Magnus can use one of his loose ends to power it. We can’t just murder all of them outright, it’s too conspicuous. Are there any spells that the Council needs done that require past lovers?” Cat looks at both of them sternly, “see how much we can brush under the Council’s cauldron and go from there.” 

“There, there ducky.” Ragnor tuts and sends over a cup and saucer to a groaning Magnus. “There’s not as many as you think. It’s a much smaller mess than if this happened when you were younger and off sowing your oats.”

‘Sowing my oats?’ Magnus mouths incredulously across his cup at Cat and she bites her lip to hide a chuckle. 

“Ah and Camille will need to finally be dealt with.” Ragnor says, so very obvious in how hard he’s trying to be nonchalant. Ragnor is always looking for a reason Magnus can accept and Cat is always hoping it works.

And for once, Magnus doesn’t even notice. 

“You know what, you’re right.” And Ragnor’s gaze snaps to Magnus with a relieved but disbelieving look as Magnus continues.

“She would definitely use any opportunity to get between us.” Magnus looks angry now, instead of the bitter pain that Camille normally brings out. “Putting a geas on her and sealing her won’t be enough.” And then Magnus pauses and there’s a dangerous, confident gleam to his eyes that Cat has mourned the lack of.

“Alexander does look divine in jewelry, and after everything he’s made for me, I should return the gesture. So I’ll need to commission him some.” And Magnus gives a soft, pleased smile. Like some deep wound has finally been healed, “and I have always wondered what the color of Camille’s soul is.”

Ragnor gives a content, pleased smile and nods sharply. “If need be we’ll say you’re cleaning up your court. Camille is a perfect and public example of a traitor being dealt with. There’s always an enemy if you look hard enough.”

[new-berry]

for the fic writer asks — 7, 9, 14 :)

I did seven but

9. What inspired you to write your first fic?

14. Share a snippet. (WIP? Spain 3 and Conor/Mason if you want to skip to that bit.

My very first fandom was wrestling RPF which is like… it’s already fanfic. Pro wrestling is fandom, I won’t be convinced otherwise.

It had everything, sex, violence, magic, you could ship anyone with anyone… amazing. Although I don’t watch as much I go through stages of watching every week.

So becuase it’s me I think my first ship was probably the Hart family. So yeah, I’ve always skated every line of wrong.

Speaking of skating…The first thing I wrote (like aside from when I was a kid and wrote like thinly veiled barbie fanfic - she was not after men. I think she was with Sindy in one. I totally wrote one where Ken and GI Joe did whatever the ten year olds version of hooking up is. I think they kissed and got married. In a little diary.

And I had a whole saga where barbie got fed up of Ken and went off to be barbie of the jungle and all my stuffed toys were her minions. The jungle had an ocean view because I had a stuffed whale.

If I want something in my fics, I will make it work.

The first thing I posted was, oh god hockey? It doesn’t exist anywhere Mark Messier and Marty Mcsorely, was it the m’s? If you don’t know hockey one was the enforcer who protected the glamour players. If Martinez was a hockey player in that time period (although thinking back they were retired when I wrote them) he would be an enforcer. They met in a gay bar after someone ducked in from the rain.

I’m not joking it is only up since then. I wish I could say it was the second which was two juniors (think like Tino Liverermento and Lewis Hall) their first year in the league finding themselves and their sexuality and where they belonged. I don’t think it exists anywhere.

WIP

Mason / Conor “low winter sun”

There was an uneven distance between Conor and Mason. Deepening that last spring, when it was whisper upon rumour, and the whispers were as common as the daffodils that sprung up.

Slightly uphill, and a little off course. Getting out of breath walking with him. Shaving in the morning, talking to Mason’s reflection in a mirror. A tape delay, speaking across time zones. Throwing water in your face and looking onto him gone and a towel folded, polite as a hotel room.

Spain 3

It slips up on him, like a rush of cold water when he was expecting hot. Rio laughing and tussling over the ball with John, bright grin stretching his face, dark skin lit up like the light is falling just for him.

A slick greasy longing that he’s always pushed down. Held down by the warnings his father gave him, sniffing out Frank’s weakness as easily as he found him hiding from training.

[truly-sincerely]

Dark Star Falling (1 of ?)

Star-

I can talk a devil into killing himself but for some reason when I try to tell you how I feel nothing comes out quite right. So here I am, having gone thru more paper than Klagga trying to confess his love to Minthara.

I don’t understand why you didn’t want to bite the blood merchant. I respect your decision not to, of course, but I don’t understand what’s different about her. We both want you to bite us. Was it because I was reluctant at first? Or because I punched you for killing me? Because I was your first? I didn’t really believe you when you said you caught feelings for me. You seemed so sincere and you’re an awful liar, but it doesn’t make sense. Just because I’ve been kind to you. I’m kind to everyone (as far as they know). Did I trick you, somehow, into believing I’m worthy of affection?

But then I almost killed you and you made jokes about it and I fell in love with you. I liked you from the moment I saw you. I know that was the line you used on me, but it’s true. I liked it when you put a knife to my throat and called my neck darling. Not just because I’m a depraved pervert tho. I saved Shart and Gale and even Lae’zel (the second time). I liked that I didn’t need to save you. Even tho I think we both know you would’ve died in the wilderness without me. You really did need my protection, but I like that you picked me instead of just getting stuck with me.

My butler said something when he was telling me to kill you. He said that you’re afraid of everyone except me, who you should be the most afraid of. He’s right, but that’s also why I love you. He also said you’ll never believe that I love you for more than your looks. I’m writing this because I don’t want that to be true. I’ll tell you that you’re beautiful whenever you want and it’ll be true but it’s not your piercing eyes and your dangerous smile that I want. You make me feel safe, like you’re covering my blind spots. Your jokes make me laugh, and you accept all of me even tho I’m messy and I stick my arm in stuff and lick things and make, sometimes, extremely catastrophic mistakes like destroying a building on top of you. Which is important because I’m never going to stop doing any of that (except, hopefully, the building thing).

We’re going to the coronation tomorrow and then into the city and I’m pretty sure that I’m going to find out that I’m bhaalspawn. Orin hasn’t exactly been subtle in calling me out. I’ve been piecing things together. That I went to moonrise and Orin ambushed me and destroyed my brain and put me in a pod. I also found something. A letter or a prayer. Everything I’ve found is in my pack, if you want to read it. But the short version is that I think I have history with Enver Gortash (and I mean sex, just so we’re clear). I think things are going to get even messier.

No matter what happens or how bad it gets in Baldur’s Gate I love you. We’re going to kill Cazador and set you free. I love you. I want to make your next two centuries joyful. I love you. I want to be there with you when this is all over. I love you. Please love me too.

-Your Darling

Next

[the-real-big-man]

PHEW it has been a while hasn't it! I know I said I might post more frequently but that was very clearly a LIE. Genshin Impact has consumed me and yes, I have C1 Neuvillette and no, I am probably not going to be able to get Furina in the next update, unfortunately. Poor F2P here. That being said though, I DO have something to share with you all that I had done a bit ago! I thought it would be fun amidst the GrimmHollow event that I'm a part of to draw Candice in a Halloween costume!

Say Hello to Candice Afton! For those of you out of the loop (which is many because I haven't posted about Candice at ALL here), Candice is my character/persona for a Discord Server that I am in called Macca Corp. Essentially, Macca Corp is a fan project between me and a couple of friends based off of Lobotomy Corporation, where our characters manage a McDonalds located in the Backrooms (because it's funny). Candice and her team make sure the Corporation is kept clean, and they also repair anything that ends up broken! In lore, Candice was a ex employee of Fazbear Entertainment who got tangled up in Pizzaplex shenanigans, and was fired due to "violent tendencies". She ended up tripping and falling into the Backrooms, which split her between space time, resulting in her body being... weird to say the least.

THAT BEING SAID THOUGH, Candice was a HUGE fan of FNAF, hence why she even worked at the Pizzaplex, and so for this Halloween she's going as Michael Afton during the bite of 83!

This next portion has NOTHING to do with the last one, so if you want to see more art and me gushing about my style overall, you may continue, but for now that's all I have to say about Candice without getting into ~Spoiler Territory~

So BECAUSE of this drawing that I absolutely fell in love with, I took another deep dive into my old art, and I found THIS gem of an artwork!

Needless to say, it's not the worst, but there is a LOT to be desired here. Firstly, the shading is ALL OVER THE PLACE. I remember it was supposed to be a top down perspective thing, but for whatever reason I decided to ALSO add ring lighting, so it just looks so messy. I remember as well that this was a redraw of ANOTHER drawing I had done a bit before that, but THAT drawing is on paper, so unfortunately I can't get it at this time. Still, I KNEW I could do better now, so I did!

SAY HELLO TO THE NEW DRAWING!

I used a lot of the same techniques I used in the Candice drawing above (although this one is considerably messier because I didn't feel the need to refine it, as it was mainly just a test), and I LOVE THIS ONE. I decided to just stick to ring lighting for it, so no top down unfortunately. There IS a difference in programs though, I will admit, but I still feel like a lot of the same techniques could be applied in my former program (I use Clip Studio Paint nowadays, but before I used an outdated version of Firealpaca).

Anyways I just felt the need to gush about the difference in style, I absolutely adore this mish mash of different brushes and tone layers, and I will never be going back!!

[connoraidann]

The Day The Internet Died | Part II

What would happen if the internet suddenly vanished?

To read along with the audiovisual version, click here: youtube.com/@ConnorAidan To listen to the audio-only version, click here: Stories on Spotify

Friday

HONK!

Sonya woke to the sound of a car horn outside. She was sprawled out on the couch—still in yesterday’s scrubs. What time is it? She fumbled around the couch cushions looking for her phone before finding it face down on the floor. Just after 10. Damn, how long did I sleep for?

Sonya heard Alex’s door creak open and instantly shut her eyes. She knew it was childish, but she did not want to answer for what she had said last night just yet. If only she could ink out just a few more minutes of bliss.

She heard Alex slowly creep around the couch, and then ever so quietly open and close the front door. Moments later, she heard a car backing out of the driveway. Quickly, Sonya rushed to the window just as the car was driving away. That’s Katie’s car isn’t it? Sonya looked at her phone again. Little late to be going to school?

Sonya rubbed her eyes and slumped back into the couch. Lying down flat, she stared up at the ceiling, replaying in her head the events that had happened last night.

I went too far last night. I shouldn’t have… I know how much Alex has been going through. I don’t need to pile even more onto it. Where did she go? With Katie?... She’s not running away is she?

With renewed focus, Sonya shifted back to her feet. Okay Sonya. Where would Alex go? She walked over towards Alex’s room and carefully opened the door, as if she was afraid Alex might still be there. Looking around, it seemed mostly like Alex’s normal room. Sure, recently it was messier than it had been before Sonya left for college, but nothing was obviously awry.

On the desk by the computer was a ton of loose papers. Sifting through, she found mostly old school papers. But one was different. Turning it over, she was confronted with the grimace of a large silhouetted face. What the hell is this? Though the face took up most of the page, there were a few sentences appended under it.

—

TAKE BACK WHAT IS YOURS

We the people will not stand for this injustice and restriction of basic human rights. Do not believe the Telecom lies. Do not believe the government lies. Stand with us and demand answers.

On Friday, August 7th starting at 12PM we will gather in front of the Telecom building and demand answers.

—

“What the…” Sonya pulled out her phone to check the date. Shit! That’s today! Sonya sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding the flier. Surely not. Surely Alex wouldn’t fall for something like this. This is obviously some conspiracy theory bullshit. Telecom isn’t working with the government to suppress information. They’re just…

Sonya wracked her brain, trying to recall what was the cause of the outage. What did it say in the paper? She walked back into the living room and grabbed the newspaper she had taken home from the hospital yesterday. Okay. Okay… State of… ‘State of Emergency declared’... ‘outage continues’... ‘Amidst mounting government pressure, Telecom continues not to provide an official statement as to what caused the outage.’

With a frown, Sonya flung the newspaper and flier down onto the coffee table and sat back on the couch, the gears in her brain continuing to turn. Okay. So Telecom is silent. Why? Who fucking knows. There must be something they’re trying to cover their asses for. And this…“group”... is obviously trying to take advantage of the whole situation to stir up unrest. But why… and where does Alex fit into all this?

Sonya moved to the bathroom to wash off the previous day's accumulated grime in preparation for what she was about to do. The gears continued to turn. Okay Sonya, but that’s not the only place she could have gone. Honestly, she could have gone anywhere. And it’s a State of Emergency… What does that even mean? Is her school canceled?

Sonya continued to clean up, hopping in and out of the shower as fast as she could. Yes, yes. There’s gotta be somewhere else. She wouldn’t go to this protest thing. She knows better. Katie knows better. But no matter what logical loopholes she tried to jump through, Sonya couldn’t shake the feeling that they did go to the protest. After all, she bet that practically the entire town would show up. Just judging from how it had been at the hospital the past week, she could only imagine how badly others had been affected from the outage. Practically everything ran on the internet these days.

Standing in the doorway, Sonya slapped her cheeks to get the blood flowing. Okay Sonya. You’re going to go to this stupid protest to make sure that your stupid sister isn’t there doing something stupid. Because like it or not, it’s your responsibility to make sure she doesn’t die.

1 Year Before the Outage

Sonya’s phone buzzed as she walked through campus on her way to her next class.

‘Hi Sonya. It’s Aunt Molly (your mom’s sister). Please give me a call when you have a moment. I’m afraid it’s urgent.’

Sonya frowned at her phone, but nevertheless continued her brisk pace. Walking beside her was Christopher, also a med student, trying desperately to keep up while also stuffing papers into his bag. “What’s that face for?” he said.

Sonya looked up from her phone. “Oh. My aunt who I haven’t heard from in years just texted me. Said it was urgent I call her back… I’m sure it’s fine though. I’ll just call her after we finish biochem.”

Christopher stopped abruptly, forcing Sonya to halt as well. “Sonya, if she said it was urgent, you should probably call her back now.”

“I’m sure it’s—”

“It will take two seconds! Just call her back now and see what she has to say.”

“I’m just gonna—,” Sonya started before Christopher gave her a stern look. “Okay! Fine.”

—

Sonya sat in the hospital waiting room, trying to remember how long it had been since she had last slept. One hour to pack. Twelve hour drive. Stopped twice. Sixteen hours since I’ve been in the hospital. Two hours since we’ve last spoken to the nurse. She rubbed her swollen eyes. She couldn’t tell if they were more red from tiredness or tears. But at this point, it didn’t matter.

Alex’s head rested in her lap—a makeshift pillow—as she lay across the hard hospital bench. Even in her sleep, she still seemed to be crying.

—

In the funeral parlor, Sonya sat at a small bench tucked away in the corner. The service and burial had wrapped up over an hour ago, and Aunt Molly had already shuttled Alex back home. Only a few stragglers remained.

Christopher approached her. His flight had landed only a few hours before the service, so they hadn’t had much opportunity to talk. Sonya rose, and they embraced. “Sonya…” he started before trailing off. “Sonya, I’m so so sorry.” Sonya began to start sniffling again, which surprised her because she didn’t think she had any tears left. She buried her face in his shoulder as he continued to console her.

“It’s okay. It’s…” He stroked the back of her head as she began to cry. “It’s okay… Here, let’s sit down for a minute. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Sometime later, after Sonya had gotten out what few tears she had left, they continued to sit on the bench, her head leaning on his shoulder for support.

Christopher was the first to speak. “Do you… do you know what… um… what is going to happen with Alex? She’s still in school right?” 

Sonya, still leaning on his shoulder, spoke, “She’s going to be staying at our aunt’s for the next few days. After that… I think I’m going to withdraw from this semester to come back here to stay with her.”

“Sonya…”

“She needs someone right now. With both of them gone… She still has a few years of school left. She can’t just live by herself, even if she wants to. I’m sure our aunt could take care of her… But we hardly know her. She needs me.”

Christopher grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it. “But who is going to take care of you, Sonya? Maybe I should take off some time as well, come down here to be—”

Sonya cut him off. “No Chris. No… you don’t need to do that. I don’t want you to get behind. I know how hard a year you have coming up.”

“But Sonya, I need to make sure you’re going to be okay.”

Sonya sat up straight. “I’ll be fine. I might be able to get an internship or something at the hospital. Or I’ll just see if I can take classes online. Or I’ll just do… something.” Chris didn’t seem very reassured. “I’ll be fine Chris, I promise. I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.”

Christopher was quiet for a few moments, before finally speaking. “Okay. I’ll come back down as soon as I can. I’m sure we can figure something out together. Hell, knowing you, you’ll probably figure out a solution for this whole thing before I even get back!”

Sonya shifted her gaze towards the front of the room, where only an hour ago the two caskets had laid.

“Yea,” she said.

Friday

HONK! HONK!

“Move buddy! I got somewhere to be!” Sonya honked her horn in agitation at the mass of soon-to-be protestors clogging the road, making it impossible to go any further. 

“Just my luck…” Sonya mumbled as she attempted to pull off to find a place to park. Opening the car door, Sonya stood on her tiptoes to scan the crowd. Jesus, with this many people here it’ll be impossible to find her. Begrudgingly, Sonya mixed into the crowd and made her way towards the Telecom building. Every once and a while, she stood on her tiptoes to see if she could make out anyone in the crowd, but without success.

The crowd grew denser and denser the closer she got towards the final destination. Already, she could sense the agitation in the crowd. People were starting to shove to get by one another, and several times she was shouldered by a passerby. This is stupid. This is so stupid. Why am I here? What if she isn’t even here? What if I’m the one who gets swallowed by the crowd?

With great effort, Sonya extended herself again to scan the crowd, looking for something, anything, that could help. She saw now that she was almost at the Telecom building, and could make out a dozen or so policemen planted in front of it. Drawing her attention back to the crowd, she scanned again, looking back and forth and back and forth. Finally, her efforts paid off.

Is that? “Katie!” she yelled! “Katie!” As she screamed Katie turned to talk to the person next to her, confirming to Sonya that it was in fact her, but the crowd was already so loud that she didn’t seem to hear. Beside her, she saw what appeared to be the back of Alex’s head. Fucking hell. They are here.

Sonya attempted to move closer towards them. “Katie! Alex! Excuse me! Sorry! Excuse me! Hey, I need to get by you please!” She heard someone from the front of the crowd shout something at the cops, which in turn riled up everyone else. After that, the pushing and shoving seemed to increase tenfold, as everyone in the crowd tried to compact towards the front.

CRASH!

Sonya heard what sounded like glass breaking, followed shortly after by another. The crowd erupted even more in response. One of the policemen raised a megaphone. “ATTENTION! THIS HAS BECOME AN UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY! DISPERSE NOW, OR YOU WILL BE FORCED TO DISPERSE!”

Shit. What did I get myself into? At this point, the crowd was so compacted that it was almost impossible for Sonya to make any progress. Sonya tried to extend herself again to scan the crowd, but was swiftly knocked over by a person rushing past her. Barreled over, Sonya clutched her injured side. What the hell is going on?! How am I going to get to them? With great effort, she tried once again to scan the crowd. This time, she saw that Katie was only a few yards in front of her.

At the top of her lungs, Sonya yelled, “KATIE!” Finally, Katie turned around and made eye contact with her. Tears were streaming down her face. After taking a moment to realize who it was, Katie yelled something back in response, but Sonya couldn’t hear her over the crowd. Sonya looked around her and noticed Alex wasn’t there. “Katie!” The crowd jostled Sonya back and forth. “Katie! Where’s Alex! Katie—”

BOOM!

From off to the side, a police car erupted into flames.

9 Months Before the Outage

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

“Hey Alex, do you have a minute?” Sonya stood outside Alex’s door, still in her work clothes from her new job at the hospital. “Alexxxx…”

From behind the door, she heard a grumble. “What do you want?”

Sonya frowned at the closed door before recomposing herself. “I just want to see my beautiful sister’s face and tell her all about how much my new job sucks!” Sonya heard a grumble in response, but couldn’t decipher it. “Alex…” With a deep breath, Sonya put on as sincere a smile as she could manage and slowly twisted the doorknob. “Okay, I’m coming in…”

Sonya entered the room and found Alex huddled at her desk in front of her computer, clicking and scrolling through a seemingly never-ending amount of content. Without even glancing up, Alex repeated, “What do you want, Sonya?” The name added a subtle hiss to the end of her remark.

Sonya took a chance to survey the room. With her new work schedule, it had been a while since she had had an opportunity to come in. It was even messier than when she had last seen it. Clothes littered the ground. Empty bottles and plates cluttered the night stand. A pile of what she assumed was undone schoolwork stacked up next to her desk.

Sonya walked over to grab a few plates. “You know you’ve been spending an awful lot of time in here lately. Why don’t you come outside, breathe some fresh air. At least eat dinner with me in the living room.”

Alex, still at the computer, responded again without turning around. “I’m fine in here.”

“What if I call Katie to come over? She’s been calling me nonstop to try to get a hold of you. She really misses you.”

“I’m fine. I just want to be alone right now.”

“Alex…”

Finally, Alex managed to turn around. Her face was as somber as her tone. “Can you just leave me alone please?”

—

“Alex! Dinner is ready!” Sonya yelled from inside the kitchen. Alex was, as usual, in her room with the door firmly shut.

Sonya put the plates on the table before walking to the door. Leaning in so that her voice could be clearly heard through the door, she continued, “Alex, I’ve got food ready. Can you come out and eat?”

From behind the door, Sonya heard the distinct click click clicking of a computer mouse, followed shortly by the now infamous grumble. “I’ll eat later.”

“Please Alex… Can you please come out and eat with me? I just want to talk. If you don’t want to talk, maybe we can just watch a movie? Or do whatever you like.”

Sonya was answered with yet another grumble. “I just want to stay in my room for now.”

Alex’s one note melancholy had been starting to get on Sonya’s nerves. She gripped the doorknob. “Listen Alex. You can’t stay holed up in there forever. You’ve got to come out eventually. I know you’re sad. But I’m sad too! So can we please just talk? I miss you! Katie misses you! Everyone misses you!”

This time, Sonya was answered only with silence. 

Seconds passed by like hours. Finally, Sonya spoke up again. “Alex, I’m coming in…”

Finally, Alex responded. “No! Please just leave me alone!” Sonya heard the trembling in her voice, the quiet call for help, and it in turn made Sonya also tear up.

Sonya attempted to turn the doorknob, only to find it locked.

—

“Did you turn off the internet?”

Sonya looked up from the couch to see Alex standing in her bedroom doorway, still holding the knob.

Sonya shifted to better face her sister, pretended to check her phone, and lied, “No. I didn’t. Looks like it must be down in the whole house.”

Alex stared at Sonya for a full minute. Slowly, she narrowed her eyes. “You’re a bad liar.”

Sonya perked up from her seated position, accosted by the accusation. “I didn’t lie! It must just be out!”

Alex continued to glare. “I know you turned it off to try to get me to come out of my room.” She spread out her arms in mockery. “Well, are you happy?”

“Alex, you’re crazy. I wouldn’t do something like that. But I am happy to see you. Do you want to come sit on the couch with me?”

Alex’s voice rose. “See, I knew you did it! You didn’t even attempt to check!”

At the sound of Alex yelling, Sonya closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “Alex, please. You haven’t been out of your room in months. I’m just worried about you.”

“I don’t need you to worry about me! I can take care of myself!”

“Alex…”

“Just because Mom and Dad died doesn’t give you the right to baby me!” Alex was now yelling at the top of her lungs.

Sonya rose to confront Alex. “Newsflash Alex, it does! I’m your guardian now! That means it’s my responsibility to make sure you’re okay!”

“WELL, YOU’RE DOING A SHIT JOB AT IT!” screamed Alex, before slamming her door shut.

Friday

The sound of the explosion vibrated Sonya to her core. Heat rapidly radiated off the police car inferno and smoke filled the air, choking out what little oxygen was available. Sonya started to frantically look around. Shit! Shit shit shit shit!

“Alex!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Alex!”

But Sonya heard no response. Frantically, she began pushing through the crowd in front of her, trying to make it to where she had last seen Katie. But the density of the crowd coupled with the smoke choking out the air made it almost impossible to tell which was which. Sonya pushed and pushed, trying to get through. Finally, she spotted her.

“Katie!” Sonya rushed to Katie and wrapped her arms around her. Katie crumpled into her arms. “Katie! Katie what happened? Why are you here? Where is Alex?”

Katie tried to respond but the words were garbled in between the sobs. “I’m…. I’m trying… Alex… lost her… please…” Sonya put both her arms on Katie’s shoulders and tried to put on as soothing a voice as she could manage. “Katie… it’s going to be okay. I’m here now. Just stay with me. We’re going to find Alex, and we’re going to get out of here. Okay?”

Katie sniffled and gave the slightest of nods. Sonya grabbed her hand. The smoke continued to billow just above them, smearing the sky in dark gray. “Alright Katie. I need you to be with me for a minute. When were you last with Alex?”

“I… We were together right about here. But then someone bumped… I lost her hand… I tried to look for her… I yelled for her but she didn’t yell back… So I started making my way back—”

“So your original spot was just a bit ahead of where we are now? Towards the front of the crowd?”

“Maybe,” sniffled a defeated Katie in response.

“Okay.” Sonya leaned into Katie to be heard clearly over the roaring crowd. “Okay Katie. We’re going to get Alex. Whatever you do, do not let go of my hand. Okay? Squeeze tight and don’t let go.” Katie nodded in assurance.

Once again, Sonya began forcing her way through the crowd, dragging Katie behind her. But the smoke and density of the crowd made it almost impossible to see anything. Shit. It’s getting hard to breathe. I need to find Alex and get us the hell out of here. Sonya continued to push, and used what little breath she had left to yell, “Alex!”

No response. Pushing forward.

“Alex!”

Crowd compacting. Smoke choking.

“Alex!”

Almost. Please.

“Alex!”

With a final push, she made it through another few members of the crowd, and finally, finally spotted her. Huddled over, shielding her ears from the noise, was Alex.

3 Months Before the Outage

Sonya sat in Dr. Harper’s office, still in her work scrubs. It was the day after Alex’s routine therapy appointment, and Dr. Harper had phoned Sonya to come in for a discussion.

He began, “It has taken some time, but I believe I’ve finally gotten Alex to open up to me. Yesterday was quite successful.”

Sonya shifted slightly in her seat. “That’s great.”

Dr. Harper stared at Sonya, but it was a gentle stare. A stare of understanding.

“I know the sudden death of your parents has taken a heavy toll on the both of you. And at such a pivotal stage in Alex’s development,” he gently brought together his hands, “it has caused her to retreat into herself.”

“Yes,” Sonya responded. “She spends almost all her time in her room. I can hardly ever get her to come out. At first, I thought it was best to give her some space. We all grieve our own ways. But it’s been months, and I’m worried about her. She won’t talk to me about anything. We used to be so close…”

Dr. Harper gave a gentle nod and took some time before he next spoke. “She is worried about you too.”

“Really?” Sonya was genuinely shocked.

“Yes,” Dr. Harper continued. “She blames herself for you having to abandon med school to come take care of her.”

Sonya didn’t know what she expected Dr. Harper to say, but it definitely wasn’t this. “But… but it’s not her fault. And I didn’t abandon med school. I just took some time off. It’s not… that… big of a deal…” Sonya mumbled the last bit.

“Yes, but for Alex it has been another major stressor in her life. She blames herself, and as a result struggles to be able to come to you for help.”

“But,” Sonya leaned forward as if to say more, but ultimately lowered her gaze to the floor. “I don’t know what to do…”

Dr. Harper closed his eyes and gave a series of gentle nods. “And because Alex cannot find solace in you, she has been looking for it online. Spending more and more time online, searching for understanding.”

Sonya continued to make eye contact with the floor tiles. “Yes, she spends a lot of time on her computer…”

“Sonya,” Dr. Harper said in a calm but affirming tone, forcing Sonya to meet his gaze. “I know you are trying your best. I know all of this takes as much a toll on you as it does her.” He gently closed and opened his eyes. “It will just take time. When she is ready, she will come to you.”

Friday

“Alex!” Sonya rushed up to Alex, tugging Katie along with her. Alex was huddled over, hands over both ears, repeatedly muttering something inaudible under her breath. Around her, the crowd had turned into pure chaos. People were now shoving in the opposite direction, trying to escape the fire.

Sonya momentarily let go of Katie’s hand and placed both her hands on Alex’s shoulders. “Alex! Alex! It’s me! It’s Sonya!”

Alex, still cupping her ears, looked up at Sonya. Her eyes looked as if she was in a trance.

Sonya fully wrapped her arms around her. “Alex! It’s going to be okay! I’m here! I’ve got you! I’ve always got you. I’m never going away!”

Alex looked up at her, finally realizing who it was. “Sonya!” she cried, latching onto her sister and sobbing into her arms.

“I’ve got you Alex.” Sonya squeezed her tight. Tighter than she had ever before.

After a moment, Alex came up for air and began frantically looking left and right. “Katie?!”

Sonya released Alex from her embrace but kept her arms on her. “Alex! Katie is right here with me! She’s right here!”

Alex shifted her attention to Katie, and more tears welled up in both of their eyes. Katie ran over to embrace Alex. “Alex! I’m alright! We’ve found you! We’re not going anywhere!”

Sonya watched the embrace unfold before gently placing her hands on both of their shoulders and leaning in for a huddle. The smoke stung all of their eyes. “Alright. We need to get out of here now! Alex, I want you to hold my hand and hold Katie’s hand. We’re going to form a line and get out of here! Do you understand? Don’t let go!” The minors both nodded their heads in agreement.

The three linked up and began making their way towards the rear of the crowd. Thankfully, due to the fire the rest of the crowd was starting to flee that direction as well, aiding in their escape. With one arm acting as a shield and the other firmly holding onto Alex behind her, who was in turn was firmly holding onto Katie behind her, the three trudged through the crowd.

As she was pushing, Sonya started to aggressively cough. Shit. There’s too much smoke. It’s getting hard to breathe here. She looked back at the two girls momentarily. I need to get us out NOW. The three continued in a line, going as fast as they could, parting the crowd around them. Just a little more. We’ve got… *cough cough*… just a little more… *cough cough cough*…

Finally, Sonya saw a break in the crowd. Summoning all the energy she had left, she gave one final push and brought all three of them out of the crowd.

A New Day

Alex lay in bed rereading the message on her phone for the third time. It was Saturday morning, the day after the protest. Sometime in late hours of the night, the internet had come back on. Alex’s lungs still hurt, and her clothes discarded on the floor still reeked of smoke. Outside the door, Alex heard Sonya, who in typical Sonya fashion, hadn’t even made it to bed and was instead sprawled out on the couch, trying to soak up as much sleep as she could manage. The night before they had finally talked, their first real talk in ages.

Alex returned her attention to her phone to reread the message for a fourth time.

Dear Alex, your bestest friend in the whole world wanted to wish you the happiest birthday ever! I know things have been really tough for you lately. But I just wanted to let you know that you are loved so so so much! I love you, your sister loves you, everyone loves you! You’re impossible not to love! So never ever forget that there are always people there for you, no matter what happens. Don’t! Forget! Anyways, there better be cake tonight because we’re celebrating in style! Crap, I think Mr Sanderson sees me typing this. See you soon! Love u!

“Love you too,” Alex said with a smile.

—

End of Part II.

Thank you for reading Stories. This story was written by me, Connor Aidan. To read rough drafts before they’re posted and actually influence how the story turns out, head to patreon.com/connoraidan

[rescuefield-arch1]

If Claire is specialised in healthcare, where does her job as reporter come from? (for the meta questions if you're still doing it)

hello anon, yes i'm always replying to meta questions!! thank you for sending one 💖

okay technically capcom never bothered to clarify what kind of job claire does because i guess they think people don't care, but for my version of claire it pretty much goes like this:

based on her attitude and personality she was probably advised to go to nursing school after graduation, which was fine to her. however i think claire struggled a little bit - not because she's dumb obviously, but because she thinks outside the box and the school system tends to be brutal to that kind of people, you know? so she still went to college, but applied for a EMT course. now if you know a bit about those, some can last months while others years. by 1998 claire had finished the basic one but never got to take the national certification exam.

so that's her next step. she gets to take the exam later in 1999 after her story is explained ( being a "contained zombie apocalypse survivor" has its perks sometimes ) after that she took another course for Advanced EMT and with that not only she got to find a stable job while trying to get sherry's custody, but eventually became helpful when terrasave gained traction and became a full fledged NGO rather than just a college movement.

now that we have this part done and over, here's the reporter part:

claire could be considered an investigative reporter, but the thing is that she doesn't have a degree for it. her anger about what happened to the citizens of RC, to her, sherry and leon, even what happened to steve - all of these singular things are what fuel her end of the pact about taking umbrella down. she researches and documents and writes on her blog everything that can lead people to knowing the truth about umbrella ( at least at the beginning, then as we know it got messier ) and once again ending up under terrasave radar grants for her voice to be heard - and so the other millions of voices that corporates try to shut up.

so her career as a reporter comes out of nowhere, is kind of granted to her due to the fact that she survived RC, she survived many other outbreaks too and knows what she's talking about, and lastly - she's has a very particular way to write about these events, very empathetic and feelings driven, you can absolutely tell that she cares about these topics even tho her investigation method borders insanity and usually involves breaking laws.

a good example of what i said above is her report in heavenly island. i'm not sure how useful chris found it ( she did sidetrack a bit with those "here's what they're doing now" stories lol ) yet it keeps you hooked, it makes you worry for the people involved. she's a legend if you ask me, could absolutely write a book of she put her mind into it.

[talkativeanonymous]

If you’re wondering, Mastermind!Kiko more of looks like her older self

She still wears her normal outfit

Just imagine a messier version of her hair down and pink eyes (think of Danganronpa blood pink)

Also after Irl Mikado’s death that Kiko definitely didn’t plan, she asked Kokoro if she could make something in remembrance of him

And that’s how ai Mikado was born in this AU

Ai mikados a lot more obsessive and only wants to spend time with Kiko

Plus, Kiko’s the outcast in this AU after the Kisaragi Foundation found out about her past crimes 👀

I love that she kind of like.. Retains the fuckedupness of AI!Mikado in canon but is also so different from him?

Hey, even if Kiko couldn't hold divine luck, she *did* ultimately restore it. Wonder what shes doing after that, or if shes making a plan c or something..

tyforthedesigntipsbtwihadkindanothingtogooffofsoillkeepthatinmind

[catastrophicxfailure]

A distraction? Possibly. But his assumption was far from the truth. The intimate moments she shared with him, the touch she caved to each and every time under the hidden cover of a darkened hotel room and the façade of a business trip, they were more than just boredom, more than just some affair. He was wrong in that assumption, but she couldn't bring herself to admit that, couldn't find the words to tell him that he was wrong, that this was so much messier than either of them ever expected when they met during the one fateful business trip. So instead, she stuffed it all deep down, clenching her jaw and offering him a version of her that wasn't about to rip herself wide open and risk getting hurt, risk messing up the good life she'd found for herself, even if it wasn't the life that made her happiest.

The anger he spit out was new — so far from the soft gaze and gentle touch against her skin as they found themselves entangled in a room where the outside world could never dream of reaching them. For some reason, the anger in his words just fueled her defensiveness, made her grit her teeth and bear the chill that ran through her veins in response, her gaze never leaving his as a whisper of hollowed amusement, ghosted across her lips. "Why would I try to deny it? You're here, aren't you? You know the truth, trying to deny it now wouldn't do either of us any good." Neither would remaining this close to him, barely a few inches of space between them. In any other moment, she would've closed the distance. Even now, with the flames she could feel radiating from him, the coldness in her own chest as she tried to shut off any feelings that threatened to bubble up, she ached to move forward.

"Are you? Done with me?" Cemile couldn't help the curiosity. Did he come here planning on saying his ado's? Casting her off without a second thought? This seemed like a lot of effort to go through if he'd decided he was done with her, wouldn't it have been much easier to just go about his life as she went onward with her own? She raised an eyebrow just slightly, almost tauntingly. "You're the one who showed up here, Ali, I don't think it matters what I want or you would've just stayed where I left you instead of messing everything up."

ali's heart pounded in his chest as cemile’s words landed, their sharp edge slicing through the air between them. he felt his stomach twist at the casualness of her tone, the way she tossed the truth in his face with a cruel, almost amused detachment. he had come here with so many things to say, but now, standing in front of her, it felt like the ground was shifting beneath his feet. her last remark hung in the air, crude and dismissive, as if their time together meant nothing more than a string of physical encounters. his jaw clenched, and for a moment, he didn’t trust himself to speak. the way she twisted the knife with her words, making light of what he had thought was something deeper—it made him feel like a fool. "you think that’s all this was?" ali finally spoke, his voice low but seething with anger. "just some affair you could keep hidden, a distraction for when you were bored?" he took a step closer, his eyes locked on hers, searching for any hint of emotion beyond her icy facade. "you’re not even trying to deny it. that’s the worst part." he let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "all those nights, cemile. the way you looked at me, the way you touched me... and you never thought i deserved to know? you knew exactly what you were doing. you played me. every single time."

ali ran a hand through his hair, frustration bubbling up inside him. he had imagined so many versions of this conversation—ones where she apologized, where she admitted some deeper feeling, or at the very least, gave him an explanation he could understand. but here she was, treating it like a game she had already won, and that made his blood boil. "you didn’t mention him because he didn’t matter in the moment?" he scoffed, eyes narrowing. "or was it because you knew if i found out, i’d be done with you? is that it? were you afraid of losing your little secret life?" he stepped even closer, closing the space between them, his voice low and edged with hurt. "what do you want from me now, huh? do you expect me to just walk away and forget everything? pretend like none of it mattered?"

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

so I just read Clementine Book One and now I taste nothing but salt

here are my first impression notes-

the spoiler free version: It’s bad. Like things weren’t great but I was vibin’ until about chapter 8, then it took a nose dive into shit. 

Can’t wait to read it several more times and write up the full review because ha ha I have a lot to say and very little of it is nice. 

1/5 stars, and yes, Amos makes up that one star, otherwise this would get nothing from me. 

the spoiler version: 

before I even begin, I should give a brief summary of how I’m feeling, that way I can compare the pre-read/post-read feelings: Ugh. I feel ugh. 

now that we’ve documented that, let’s begin.

alright, not even a a full page in and I’m already so blehh about this not being in color. For those who don’t know, color is important in Tillie Walden’s other works. In my opinion, the way she uses color is the best thing about her work because it compliments her messier style of linework, working with it rather than against it. But when everything is greyscale, it’s so boring and lifeless... sure, it’s the walking dead and the world sucks and I’m sure skybound wanted this comic to match the others so Tillie doesn’t even get to work with the thing she excels at.... great. 

sooooo Clementine is on crutches, she’s using them and a knife to kill a bunch of walkers........ why isn’t she covering herself in walker guts in order to make it past herds without having to fight and run? y’know, like a smart person? 

she broke her peg leg and fell down... and the very first thing we get outta her as far as dialogue is “euch”..... amazing

gasp, is that an Amos I see? must be, Clementine’s glaring at him. 

“what’s it like on the road? are there lots of devils ‘n stuff?” oh please tell me that these people call the walkers “devils,” please, that’s hilarious

Okay, so remember Denny? The guy who was in the teaser pages we got forever ago but I wasn’t sure of his name so I just named him Denny because he was a dentist. Turns out his name is Rabby, but I’m tempted to keep calling him Denny just outta spite.

Still rolling my eyes at the fact that this Clementine doesn’t know how to take care of her leg as if she doesn’t know basic first aid. 

Yes, Clementine, obviously you have to wash your leg regularly to prevent infection, obviously you have to redress it often, you should know that. 

Anyway, Denny is a chill dude, too bad Clementine is so insistent on getting outta there so she can climb a tree. 

“Hey! Hat boy! You’ve got company!” .......hat boy. Ugh. 

not impressed with the overall dialogue so far, you can really feel that this isn’t a telltale voice, y’know? 

y’know, this Clementine feels like if ANF Clementine never found AJ and TFS never happened, she just went on with her angst train, lost her leg some other way, and now ended up here. 

I’m glad Amos finds Clem funny, because I find her dull.... god that’s not a sentence I want to be typing. 

...Alright, I don’t know what’s supposed to be happening, Clementine and Amos [mostly Amos, Clementine wanted to leave] saved three? I think I could three? people and it looked like one of them was gonna turn into a walker but no? he’s not? I’m sorry, was he trying to crawl forward and Clem took that as a threat? did he grab her and she attacked? I think that’s the implication since she them stomped on his hand and someone else in the carriage said “what did you do to that girl?” ..... sure wish I could tell what the hell was actually happening.

but also, not at all surprised that Tillie would throw in a “and then Clementine got groped by an old man,” based on some of her other novels. 

Oh..... Helen is the horse. Pfffttttt..... it took me how many pages to realize Amos is talking about the horse and not someone back at the town?? uuughhhhhh

Amos is literally the only likable thing so far. He actually has a voice and personality whereas Clementine is just an angsty piece of bread. 

Ugh. Evil twins who won’t give their names. 

PFFFTTT.... oh no, the evil twins killed Helen! Who could’ve seen that coming?? Literally everyone??? SKSKSKSKS

Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh about a dead horse but c’mon, the cheapest way to get a reader/viewer to feel something is to kill an animal and like, now Amos is all sad and I’m shaking my head and sipping my wine. 

oh good, the new love interest is here. 

......what. why are you blushing and looking at Clementine already? y’all met two seconds ago and had one conversation.

They’re calling the twins Right and Left.... alright then. 

Amos is my favorite so far. He’s the only one who has gotten a laugh outta me. 

Nawww look at the three of them being friends, this is tooooootally gonna last, mmhmmm....

oop Ricca made a remark about Clem’s leg and she got upset, now Amos is sick. Lame. 

AH YES, LEAVE AMOS ALONE AND SICK WITH THE EVIL TWINS, THAT’S FINE SKSKSKS

oh my god, this whole Clementine and Ricca “romance” is so.... not even a romance, I’m cackling 

KJASLKJLAKJDSLKJSAD WHY

WHY THOUGH

oh now we’re just gonna info dump Ricca’s backstory? turns out she had a brother who used to push her ahead when checking for danger and then broke her glasses so that she had to rely on him until she found another working pair, so then she abandoned him and never looked back. 

CLEMENTINE NAMED HER LEG KENNY THAT REVIEW WAS RIGHT I CAN’T WHAT A GARBAGE CHOICE

Kenny was probably one of the worst people to have Clementine name her leg after. Naming her prosthetic leg after the guy who beat the shit out of Arvo... the kid who wore a brace on his leg? who struggled more and more to move around the more Kenny beat him up? great choice. 

“he was moody” HHAHAHAHHAHA YEAH THAT’S ONE WAY TO DESCRIBE KENNY SURE

Oh for fucks sake, we’re gonna flashback to AJ cutting off her leg, huh? why bother?

who the fuck is this???

Tim???? Who the fuck is Tim??? AND HE GOT BIT SAVING CLEMENTINE 

I’m laughing

what is even happening

Amos and one of the twins wanna run off.... what

okay seriously, the art is making it so hard to understand what the hell is happening

...........what

what

what

what

do you hear that? in the distance? that’s me... I’m laughing. Why? Because the evil twin fucking pushed Amos off a cliff and then stomped on her sister.... she literally murdered Amos and it came out of FUCKING NO WHERE

Amos was the one good character in this book and you killed him. You killed the only good thing. What is this pacing? there was no set up for that, you just pushed him, and I’m..... what the fuck is this writing?

Oh, and apparently one of the twins isn’t evil. Olivia is supposedly good but the other one is evil. I know this because sHE PUSHED AMOS OFF A CLIFF 

OKAY

I’m fucking choking on my wine because for the first time, I’m legit pissed. 

The reason Clementine left the school? the REAL reason? Clementine left Ericson because “But after I lost my leg, everything felt different. No one *said* it, but I could feel it. They thought I was a liability. But I think the real issue... was that I couldn’t talk to and of them about it. They were all around my age, and I... I just wanted to talk to Lee about it. Someone older, and I don’t know....”

Are you

Are you fucking serious

Are you shitting me

are you fucKING

oh my god

oh my fucking hell 

I 

you

...............................

Tillie, Skybound, we need to talk because you 

I am so 

........................

Ricca just called Clementine baby.

oh and she’s shot

and the evil twin is dead

but who gives a shit, really?

my entire mouth tastes of salt what the fuck

they found a stupid plane but I no longer care about anything, I’m mad that Amos is dead for no reason other and that THAT was the reason Clementine left

“Continued in Book 2″ oh fuck off

So, how do I feel now? compared to when I started? I feel UUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH

Take that as you will. 

Stay turned for the full review. Don’t know when it’ll be out but I gotta read this stupid thing a couple more times before I start. Ugh. 

[starglitterz]

request; childe fluff, celebrity au, normal reader who isn't a fan

link to the zhongli version here !

please reblog! it helps a lot :)

( @viagiraffe )

childe.

"do i have to?" childe groans, running his hands through his ginger hair and making it even messier than before as it sticks up in all directions. he rolls around on the sofa, complaining the entire time, "but i don't want to!" and seeming for all the world like a whiny kid. "mr childe, please-" his poor manager begins, but she's interrupted by him standing up dramatically and stating, "plan it however you like, comrade. i'm going out now!" "but sir, it's already past midnight, and you have rehearsals tomorrow, so-" "whew, dinner was quite the feast. a spot of exercise is in order," he cuts her off, strolling out with a wave, leaving the woman to groan and wonder why she was saddled with childe out of all the actors under teyvat corporation.

it's late, sure, but childe genuinely couldn't care less. he absolutely adores his job, he loves acting out the evil villain with performances that give his viewers chills, he loves interacting with his fans, he loves it all and wouldn't change it for the world. but sometimes... even the famous tartaglia gets tired. 'tartaglia' and 'childe' aren't even his real names, for goodness' sake, and it feels like existing as a celebrity on the internet was like playing a character in itself.

finally reaching the park near the hotel he's staying in, childe exhales happily, overjoyed he had made it without any unwanted exchanges. he doubts he would be able to reply with his usual charisma if he did bump into a fan. yet as he's about to plop onto the wooden bench he normally sits on, he realises there's someone already sitting there! his heart drops into his stomach, but he forces himself to keep walking and sit next to you, figuring it would be weird if he suddenly turned the opposite direction.

when you don't say anything, childe's confused - do you not know one of the most trendy celebrities is seated right beside you? so he tries to start up a conversation, intrigued by your aloofness which is so different from the competition for his attention he undergoes daily, "hey!" you finally look up from your notebook and register that there's someone else there, "woah! who are you?!" you raise the book threateningly, ready to smack him with it, "i have a weapon, so you better not try anything funny!" "i'm not going to! i swear! just please, put the book down," childe freaks out - he completely did not expect this kind of reaction, was his reputation really that bad?!

"okay..." you reply, slowly lowering the book while keeping one eye on him to ensure he doesn't do anything suspicious, "now who are you?" "just someone passing through the area," childe lies through his teeth to try and ease the situation. if you really and truly don't know who he is, you can bet your life he's going to take advantage of this, "what about you?" "i live around here," you wave vaguely at the surrounding neighbourhood, not wanting to give this stranger a clear picture of the exact house. "ah, makes sense. so why are you out so late?" childe tilts his head and asks, quite enjoying the easy conversation that's starting to arise between the two of you. it's a welcome difference from the usual stiff work-related ones he has with his team, and from the energetic cheery ones he has with his fanbase.

"i was... working on something," you tap the notebook cover, "i think i work better at night." "me too!" childe laughs, "really gets the creative juices flowing." "right?" you nod happily, glad you found a fellow night owl. the two of you continue talking and learning more about each other, forming a tentative friendship. childe wants to leap into the sky for joy, he got to meet such a fun person today, and they (albeit unconsciously) helped chase away his exhaustion!

"also, i'm not sure if i mentioned this, but i'm y/n," you suddenly realise you haven't introduced yourself. childe leans back against the bench, placing his hands behind his head and winking at you, "what a lovely name, it suits you." you chuckle at his boldness and reply, "thanks! what's yours?" a million thoughts rush through childe's mind as he weighs the pros and cons of what he's about to say, but then his instincts just tell him to throw caution to the wind in the face of this budding friendship, so he replies with a smile, "my name's ajax."

quill speaks !

ahhh this was v cute haha, and i think it can be interpreted as platonic too,,, bc i wasn't rlly sure how to make it romantic in the span of one meeting ykwim?

but yes i hope u liked this via !! actually i hope u liked both this one and the zhongli one :] i wrote them both one after another LOL

anyways im sleepy so i'm ending the a/n here ahaha

i hope you enjoy your stay at quill’s dessert cafe, and do check out the menu if you'd like ! 🍭

© starglitterz 2021. do not repost or modify in any way.