#SO. this may make no sense im a bit rusty on close reading like this

[appledotcodotuk]

hey. hi! I have thoughts about Burn Pygmalion <- (just watched a YouTube video and realised there was lore, if ideas from that worm their way in here then that's where they came from! shout out to popykai and the genius lyrics community for being God's strongest album understanders)

so, admire the architecture goes for a bit of a third person perspective - we watch as Jeannie watches the architecture in a moment that feels less like an escape, more a confirmation that even at some level of remove from her perspective, there's a sense she can't escape her own thoughts. i think this is best shown right at the end; there's a moment that seems to dip into either Jeanine's internal focalization (her thoughts) or, more interestingly, her dialogue.

first off, I love that there's some slippage between thought and word. so much of Jeanine is internalised, so there's an impulse to assume this is her own internal dialogue, but these lines jostle with 'sweet talk on the phone / ugly thoughts that won't leave me alone'. the rhyme brings these two juxtaposing ideas (perspectiveless talking vs embodied internalness) into a slightly uneasy harmony that, retroactively, muddles whether the prior two lines are spoken or thought. is this the (no doubt ironic) sweet talk? or the ugly thought?

I think it's interesting too how thought here symbolises internal personhood. Jeanine is closed off; her thoughts are her own and nobody else's - though, ironically we are now privy to them thanks to the magic of music. Dialogue however, by its very nature, requires an interaction between two different characters. Words are a reaching outwards, thoughts are a shutting off. That we can't tell which is which creates a sense of unreality. Jeanine is on her own in this song. Even if she speaks her mind, aloud, her words can only ever apostrophize Sylvia: forge a connection that is never to be realised.

And that's not even my main point!

'Made' is a loaded verb in the context of a album which makes frequent and obvious allusions to the myth of Pygmalion: the sculptor who rejects human love for love of his own creation. In some ways its a reiteration of the myth of narcissism. Pygmalion looks into marble eyes and sees a love that is both unconventional and (appears to be) tragically unattainable. He worships his granite Goddess with the awareness that she is an idol to the true God behind the work: his own hands. Hence the narcissism.

Anyway, how does this apply to Jeanine and Sylvia? Well, creation. Jeanine 'made' Sylvia. Even with the qualificatory 'what you are', that is the gist of the lyric: I created you, and now you're not even mine. TSJ refigure the Pygmalion myth in yet another way by handing Jeanine the scalpel. Part of her anger and sadness at being abandoned (which, yes, is reasonable when you've been left alone while your gf swans off to who-knows-where) is the rage of Frankenstein watch his creature flee into the mountains. It's the despair of the artist. She 'made' Sylvia with her own journalistic craft, and is now being forgotten.

This is not to reduce the romantic side of things, but there is a distinct streak of possessiveness, of the desire to own, that comes through in Jeanine's story. In the final line of the final song, 'Bets Against the Void', Jeanine says:

I know I'm an artist cause I just can't stand the thought / That a love as beautiful as ours can be / Forgotten

Her romantic feelings are bound up inevitably, inexorably, in artistic legacy. Like a statue that outlives the palms that shaped it, Jeanine and Sylvia love each other. It's Pygmalion, without the divine intervention. And there's a sort of tragedy to that love of their relationship as something that both buoys Jeanine into stardom and scrutiny alongside Sylvia, whilst also subsuming the both of them. Frankenstein is the name for the scientist; but is often misattributed to the creature. How many of us knew the statue was called Galatea? Pygmalion's name takes precedence, even as his fame is bound up in the grains of his own statue.

Sylvia is Jeanine's muse. And she, foolishly, hoped that she could keep her all to herself, whilst retaining a sense of self in the process.

[twoheartswrites]

Hi can you write a Connor x deviant reader where Connor meets the reader before he deviates and he’s trying to take the reader into the staton (by like tracking him down and stuff im bad at explaining 😭) and the reader does the thingy where their skin goes up and they like show memories and information and the reader shows what happened to them (like the reader being in a group for like a care center and then humans like destroy the other androids and the reader escapes) and then Connor and the reader just talk for a bit and Connor kinda just deviates a bit after that (btw I’m so sorry if this doesn’t make any sense)

Software Instability

Fem aligned people (+ She/Her users) DNI

[FTM Friendly] DEVIANT Male Reader x Connor

Fluff/Long Fic

Detroit Become Human

Connor's POV:

Where is he? This deviant is the best link we've got to Markus, but he's difficult to catch. We've been practically playing a game of 'cat and mouse' as Hank says.

He leaves notes and shrines for us yet leaves little trace of himself. The closest I've gotten of useful information was a couple drops of blood from our first encounter with him. He got injured at a care center, where supposedly an entire group of deviants had attacked the people new batch of people who needed help. It seems unlikely considering the past links of deviants who just wanted to live a normal life, but justice needs to be served...

It's getting late and I've been standing in this snowy area of the city, surrounded by abandoned building that the deviant led me too for the past hour, trying to find any hint of a shrine or note, but even those aren't here.

Hank had already wrapped his stuff up to go, and at this point- I think it's time for me too. Until I hear a loud hissing sound, like spray paint, coming from inside these abandoned buildings. I quickly (and quietly) make my way around where the sound is coming from.

I climb up on of the buildings where a rusty ladder was, and found one of the buildings with a huge gap in the window. I take a peak inside to find 3 androids. One is spray painting a Jericho symbol onto the walls while the two others are walking away with a large box. Deviants.

I note that the broken glass is how they get into the building as they've built platforms fit for people to safely walk in from here. As the two other androids are no longer in hearing distance, I start to silently sneak myself towards the one left. The closer I got, I was finally able to read what type of Android they were--

A Care Android.

"Joey are you ba-?"

I interrupt him, grabbing onto his free arm, and then the hand that carried his spray can. Immediately, he started fighting back and tried shouting for help "JOEY, SIMON"

His led blipped red in a second and he pushed me up against the wall next to the spray painted symbol. I finally had a good look at his face-

A tear across his cheek, not to deep but still enough to make someone wince at the injury.

"God dammit, Connor just give me a damn second!" he yelled. Him knowing my name was the least of my problems in this moment, but I'm starting to realize I may have underestimated how strong he is.

Care Androids are made to hold heavy weights considering that they had to carry people, help bring in shipments of medication and food, and so on.

But no matter how much I budge, his hold on me gets tighter. "Connor, please" He pleads loudly, making me stop, "Just listen to me. Hand, give me your god damn hand" he demands.

A look of desperation slips into his eyes, and I can't help but hesitate. After seeing these many deviants so far, it's impossible to think his intentions are purely evil.

As I finally stop fighting back, we stare into each other's eyes, silently checking for approval of a truce. His eyes soften, and he lets go of me. We stand frozen for a moment before he pulls out his hand. The flesh of his hand is pixelated away as he waits for my hand as well.

I delay for a second before finally grasping his hand and close my eyes with him.

------

"It's okay, Ellie" I whisper, running my hand over the little girl's forehead. In reality, there's androids getting torn apart down there, and I'm hiding with the sick little girl I was told to take care of. I'm afraid, for the first time in my life, I feel a nauseas feeling as I try to find a way to leave this place while leaving everyone in this room safe.

If I want to live, I must leave, but it's my job-- my only reason to exist is to defend the people who live here.

I feel myself become a traitor, I feel selfish for leaving and wanting to live. But they're human, they'll be safe. I know I have to live for something in the future.

The little girl looks up at me on last time. Hopefully she finds her gift after this whole mess. Hopefully she sees the little happy birthday note I've placed in her room. I'll visit her one day if I live to get out of this.

I open the door and quickly shut it, looking around. Androids attempting to fight back while others lie limp to the suffering, and humans have had enough of us.

I grab onto a broken rail from the stairs as I try to sneak across to the other side where I find of group of deviants trying to escape from.

No eyes on them just yet. One care android, now deviant, looks over to me with worry, almost like they're telling me to be careful and that we'll meet after, before heading out.

I take a deep breath, for the first time I feel something like adrenaline. Like I'm alive

I make a run for it, and finally as I'm about to reach the window, I feel something trip me. I fall onto my side, finding a human lady over me. Anger and hatred has filled her, and pinned me down, pressing a knife against my cheek and slowly trying to slide it against my face, but by instinct, I swing. I swing the rail right onto her head. She cries out, getting the attention of the other humans. Fuck.

I scamper up and pull my way out of the window as the shouts get louder and closer. I slam the window closed, and as I'm about to run away, my legs finally give in, fear and tiredness swallow me whole.

-----

I let go of his hand, panting. I could feel all of it, I could hear everything, his thoughts and the shouting and crying.

He looks at me with worry, gently placing my hand on my shoulder.

"You understand me now" He says softly, "you see me"

He lightly presses his fingers against his tear, before leaving it alone. I do, he's right, but I can't let him know that. I look away from him, still trying to recover from the feelings.

"I just wanted to care for them, Connor-"

"How do you know my name?" I ask, scanning them.

"Echo and Ripples. Those girls you let live from the Eden Club. They heard what your buddy cop called you and then told me. An android deviant who didn't shoot the deviants then and there? I knew you were already in your first phases of deviating..." he confessed.

and though I wanted to deny it, it was becoming harder to.

He sighed, taking a deep breath, almost basking in his new ability. And seeing him so happy about it was almost contagious.

"So detective... you gonna cuff me up now?" he asked, "Or ask me about Markus?"

Markus, right. That.

I nodded, "I need information as to where he is"

His led flipped back to yellow, "So that's why you found me. You didn't find my note?" He smirked, "Mr. Detective Android couldn't find a deviant's note? That'll surely look good in your police files" he teases. He chuckles to himself, shaking his head before pulling out a crinkled paper from his pockets, "This. I made a copy just in case, but it- uhm. It would've sent you to a ship bay, I would've met you there in... a better situation with less fighting and shouting, and then I would've introduced you to him. But I guess this works too" He hums, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

I take the note, reading the information from it.

"So how about this? We meet there tomorrow, 6 pm, you can bring your one buddy cop if you want, and then I introduce you to Markus. Sound good, Mr. Detective?" he smiles, giving me a bright and wide smile.

I study him for a moment, knowing this isn't a trap, and that I shouldn't trust him so easily-- but I understand him.

"Sounds good" I say.

[[Software Instability]]

[quietmyfearswith]

needy little ; preferences

warnings —  DDLG, swearing, mentions of longing/missing someone,  mentions of leaving someone, teasing??

characters — dark!andy barber, dark!steve rogers, dark!ransom drysdale, dark!bucky barnes, dark!lance tucker,  dark!clark kent, dark!syverson, dark!august walker

a/n — THIS IS FIC  WITH DDLG DYNAMICS,, do not interact if youre not 18+,, finally??? a new fic???? oh my god im sorry, i may be a bit rusty..

tagging — @la-cey​ @doozywoozy​ @melancholyy-hill​ @pedropcl​ @beck07990​ @isysen​ @anna-bailey @briefnerdwobblerpainter

their love language | with their little | when you’re insecure | slipping into little space | fussy | happy hoelidays | cartoons | obssessed |little rules | innocent little | bratty little | little activities

masterlist | join my taglist! (please follow my rules)

After placing two scoops of the chocolate ice cream on the cone, Y/N lifted her head up to look at her daddy who sported a scowl on his face as he was drumming a pen in between his fingers as he tried to piece together the facts of the case. Normally, she wouldn’t be allowed so close to Andy as he was working, but given how needy she had been all morning — despite sitting right by his feet wasn’t enough for her — she promised to remain well-behaved and quiet for him so he gave her the green light to go ahead and stay with hi as she played with her scoop and learn toy set. Silently putting down her cone by the ice cream trolley, she moved towards his leg and when he didn’t move or acknowledge her, she clung her arms around his calf as her cheek snuggled up against his shin. “What?” Feeling something cling around his lower leg snapped him right out of his focused trance as his confusion easily melted into adoration as he peered down and saw his girlfriend curled up against him. “My petal’s quite needy today isn’t she?” “Sorry dada,” She said lowly as her fingers drummed rhythmically against his clothed leg, “Was behaved and nice.” Nodding, he then bent and carried her to sit on his lap. She squealed excitedly as she then wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face in his neck, “Wuv you, dada.” Humming, he rubbed her back soothingly as he looked into her eyes, “Need to hold dada huh?” The smile that formed on her lips was a toothy grin that was the attorney’s favorite sight in the whole world. “Want to hold you so much, dada; ‘m sorry,” She pouted at the thought of him being disappointed at her; sensing the drop of her mood, he then cooed and peppered kisses all over her face, feeling his prickly beard graze her skin prompted her to erupt in a fits of giggles as she loved the affection that he was showering her with. “This what you needed, my little petal?” He asked her in his gentle, playful tone as she nodded and snuggled herself against his chest as she toyed with his large fingers, “Mhm, love you so much, dada.”

“Hello?” August answered the phone call with a frown — Y/N was never one to call her boyfriend when he had missions that required him to go undercover and/or while he had overseas operations; so it was alarming that she called him he thought of only the worst possible scenarios. “Hi, daddy,” She sniffled out into the phone — part of her was relieved she got to hear his voice, but really she just longed to be with him. “What’s wrong, little one?” He furrowed his eyebrows as he impatiently tapped his fingers against the steering wheel; she let out a sigh before admitting, “Miss you, daddy. So sad without you.” Despite feeling pain on the field of his job, the sound of her small and vulnerable voice was the most painful thing he ever had to hear or endure. “Little one, have you been good for me?” She nodded against her phone as she hugged the Cinnamoroll stuffie that had a shirt specifically sewn on for the stuffie which had the words “daddy’s little one” embroidered on it, “I do, daddy. Miss your kisses and hugs so much.” As he parked his car in front of their yard he smirked as he answered her, “Well who knows when I’ll get back right?” He was positive that there was a pout on her lips as she thought of the likelihood that she was going to be alone for a while, “But daddy I miss you already!” Her whine was so loud that she didn't hear the way August opened up their front door and walked to the living room where she was lying in the couch; he ended the call and he could see her slumping down her shoulders from behind before jumping down beside her and hugging her, “Well good thing daddy’s home now, yeah?” She let out a shrilling shriek in excitement as she kissed his bearded cheeks repeatedly, “I missed you so much, daddy! Promise I was the goodest girl for you!”

“How are your chicken tenders, sweetie?” Bucky asked after pressing a kiss on her forehead; they were out to dinner with Sam and his girlfriend, Leila — who like her was a little too. After the two bonded over the activity paper the server handed to them, they both munched down on their meal. “So yummy, tătic! But,” She trailed off as she looked around nervously. After drinking down a chunk of his beer then looked at him with worry written on his face, “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Without a word, she snuggled close to his side right as she tangled her arms around his metal arm before looking up at him with doting eyes, “All better, tătic!” Slightly picking up on what she was up to, he grabbed another chicken and tapped it on her lips; she moaned lowly when he fed her then snuggled up more to his arm. “Need my touch, don’t you sweetheart?” Shyly, she nodded as she played with his fingers, “Always want you close to me.” Sam and Leila were both busy being all snuggled up too so Bucky repeatedly, sweetly kissed her lips before telling her, “How ‘bout we take a bath later, sweetie?” Extremely thrilled with the idea of spending tub time with her daddy, she nodded too much that little chunks of the chicken she was eating escaped her mouth as she expressed her liking of his idea, “So excited for that, tătic! Can we go home now and bathe together?” Chuckling at the small mess she made, he wiped the sides of her mouth with a napkin then kissed her forehead, “Only a few more minutes before we can bath together, sweetie.”

“Into the tub you go, doll,” Steve sing-songed as he gently placed Y/N into the bathtub that was filled with warm water and soapy bubbles. She giggled as she felt the warm water graze her skin. For a while, she was busying herself with playing and blowing the bubbles; after a while, she was craning her neck to look for Steve, “Sir? Where are you?” A pout was now formed onto her lips that earlier was stretched out into a smile. The super soldier was in their shared bedroom preparing what she was going to wear after her bath when he heard her distressed call for him. Entering their ensuite bathroom the skin of his forehead wrinkled up as he approached her and kneeled down by the tub, “What’s wrong, doll?” A small amount of water splashed onto him when she crossed her arms, “Want you, sir.” Not fully understanding what she meant, he brought a hand to caress her back — as if to coax her into explaining as he said, “I am here, doll. What do you want?” “Want you here, sir,” Unclasping her arms from where they were crossed, she dropped her arms in the bubbly water and pouted at him. Nodding in understanding, he then stood up; hearing her whimper in need made him chuckle a bit, “I’m just gonna remove my clothes then join you in there okay, doll?” Gone was the frown that earlier donned her face for she now had a wide grin as she clapped when Steve slowly dipped in the tub, careful as to not spill water out of the tub. Once he was fully seated in the tub, his doll then moved over to him and hugged him tight, “Love you, sir.” Placing her on his lap, he then kissed the top of her head as he tried to calm his beating heart, “I love you too, doll. Now, how ‘bout we clean you up with your favorite shampoo hm?”

“Where you bringing me, baby girl?” Sy wondered out loud as he allowed his nearly 200 pound self to be whisked away. It was unusual of her to remain this quiet; for some her whining and blabbering would be annoying, but the Texan captain loved how verbal she was especially since it served as a constant reminder about how much he was needed by her. Upon being brought to the den of their house that served as the office, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he gently stroked her back, hoping to coax out an answer out of her, “What are we gonna in the office, baby?” She pointed to the landline phone and to the stuffed animal that arrived defective a few days ago. “You want me to make a call?” He asked and she nodded with a wide smile. “Why can’t you make the call?” The question was asked out of curiosity, but with the way she batted her eyelashes and bit her lip bashfully had him worried. A small smile graced his face when she opened her mouth, but she quickly closed it and instead grabbed a pen and paper. Sitting down on the swivel chair, he patiently waited for her to finish jotting down her message. When she was done, she shyly slid over the paper to him and once he read it the words broke his heart, “My voice is ugly. Who said this, baby girl?” Shrugging her shoulders she fiddled with her fingers but he placed her on his lap which allowed him to gently stroke her thighs, “Come on, baby girl, please talk to me? I miss hearing your pretty voice.” As if to prove his point, his beard tickled her skin as he pressed kisses on her throat; she giggled as her hands pushed his wide chest away and cleared her throat, “Some guy said my voice is too deep for a girl.” Sy’s jaw clenched in anger at the person who disrespected his girl’s feature; a thick finger of his hooked under her chin to make her look at him, “Listen to me, okay? Don’t listen to the meanie who said that. Your voice is beautiful and lovely, just like the rest of you.” Biting the inside of her mouth, she then looked up at him with teary eyes; he was about to question as to why she was tearing up when she wrapped her arms tight around his neck as she peppered kisses on his bearded cheek, “Thank you, daddy. Needed that reminder.”

“Papa?” Y/N groggily called out as she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes and looked to the side of the bed; she frowned when she noticed that the gold medalist wasn’t occupying the earlier spot he claimed. Grabbing for the first stuffed toy he had given her in her arms, she made her way off their bed and checked their walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom — and was displeased when he wasn’t there. There were two other bedrooms and a bathroom on the upper floor and all three areas did not house her loving boyfriend.  “Where are you?” She was now close to crying as she headed down the stairs. Upon hearing noise coming from their dining room, she then skipped over there and was shocked to see him wearing his USA jacket and was faced in front of a laptop. “Well I have to say that my biggest motivation has to be my loving girlfriend,” Just as he said the last word he shot Y/N a sincere smile, patting her lap — motioning for her to sit on it.  Thankful that she wasn’t wearing her little pajamas and instead fell asleep wearing one of his sweatshirts, she shyly sat on his lap and was surprised to see that the accomplished gymnast was being interviewed, “And she just pushes me to be the best I can be, in all aspects.” At the compliment, she shyly waved at the interviewer. “Well that is all the time we have. Thank you so much Lance Tucker for gracing us with your presence and introducing us to your lovely girl too.” Lance’s computer screen faded into his screensaver of the two of them — the gymnast kissing her cheek as she smiled wide into the camera. “Woke up without you and was so scared, papa.” Her confession had his heart hurting a bit but he cuddled her and explained, “I’m sorry, angel. I had an interview and you looked so adorable while you sleep that I didn’t want to wake you.” At his explanation, her little mind was able to understand it and nodded, “Promise to never leave me?” His reply was instant, “My greatest nightmare would be leaving you. I love you so much, angel,” For the only thing he has ever been sure of in his entire life was that she was going to be with her for the rest of their days together.

As much as Ransom and Y/N enjoyed summer, the bright sunny days allowed them to stroll around the different sights and go on long road trips across the state — even the country if the only Thrombey child wasn’t feeling lazy. “Princess, have you packed your clothes already?” He asked from the main floor of his house as he zipped up his duffle bag after checking once again that he had packed the necessary garments for their three-day stay in the high-end resort Ransom got them a booking to.  “King, can you come here please?” The man that was called for had to chuckle as he made his way up the stairs, heading for their bedroom because he could practically sense that she was pouting as she called for him. “Princess, everything alright with you?” Seeing her kneeling down in front of her suitcase with a wide array of clothing articles spread all around her. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms as her lips formed a pout, “Need king to help me pack.” Wrapping his arms around her  and placing her on his lap, he kissed the side of her neck, “My little princess needs help packing her clothes?” Snuggling against his chest, she nodded as she slipped her thumb into her mouth, “King packs my clothes better.” Having her in his lap as he was folding some of her clothes then placing it on her matching suitcases didn’t pose as a challenge for him; in fact he loved the thought of her being all small that she needed him. “Such a helpless, needy little thing you are hm?” Even though he was partially joking, she took it seriously but was not offended by it, “Just want my king near me at all times, please.” After zipping up her bags once they have been filled with all the clothes she was probably going to use during their stay there, he simply kissed her cheek and gently pat her thighs, “Well king’s not going anywhere without his pretty princess. Now let’s go on our vacation, okay?”

“Where are you, bubba?” Y/N pouted as she rubbed her hands on her arms as she stood by the balcony in their apartment. Her phone was in one of the pockets of the bathrobe she was wearing, and when she grabbed for it, she searched on Twitter for Superman. A sad smile graced her lips when she read about him being currently in a different country, aiding citizens who were currently suffering a forest fire in their location. Locking her phone, she then moved towards the door and before fully going in and locking the door behind her she looked up in the sky with hopeful eyes, “Please come home soon, bubba.”

Removing the robe from her body, she rested it by her dresser then crawled under the covers as she hugged the pillow Clark often laid down on when they slept together. A gush of strong wind blew past her and before she could even process what it was or see it properly, she was faced with a freshly showered Clark who was smiling and laying down beside her, “Hi, bubba. I’m home.” Her cheeks hurt from smiling so wide as she kissed his lips repeatedly and excitedly. “I’m so happy you’re home, bubba! I missed you so damn much.” She moaned out in pleasure when his arms opened wide and cuddled her close and warm into his chest. Pressing a kiss on the top of her head, he then rubbed her back soothingly, “I know, bubba. I heard you.” hearing those words, she hid her face deeper into his chest, not having the guts to look up at him. With a cheeky grin, he reassured her, “ And don’t worry, I’ll be all yours this weekend. There’s no way I will be neglecting my precious bubba.”

[bitchiha]

A/N: So I wrote this instead of doing any of my psych assignments which is fine by me. Im a little bit rusty with one shots bc the last one I did was a Harry Potter angst with Draco and that was on a diff blog a few months back. Any who, enjoy and thank you for requesting!!

Request:  I would like to order a Gaara x Reader where Gaara and Reader are dating, but she is a Leaf Shinobi, and she she is always very talkative and smiling, but one day she is serious and quiet, and he is worried, but finds out that she is only concerned with something kind of silly, and then he is relieved and realizes that he really loves her.

✎ Worry (Gaara oneshot)

You didn’t get to see your boyfriend all that often, being that you were a Leaf ninja, constantly on missions and he was a Kazekage, constantly protecting his village. However, whenever you did reunite it was always memorable. In fact, Gaara would be lying if he didn't count down the days to your arrival. 

He always looked forward to seeing you. He would stand at the gate of his village, waiting for your body to slowly become visible through the winds of the blowing sand. He loved the face you would make when you finally discerned his shape in the distance: your eyes would brighten and a smile would spread rapidly across your face. Even if the journey was long, seeing him waiting there always gave you a burst of energy. You would then squint your eyes to shield them from the sand and run the rest of the distance towards him. 

However, when Gaara spotted your figure in the distance today, you seemed a little tense. In fact, when you spotted him you didn't make that signature facial expression he loved so much or even start running towards him.

Something was off.

He watched you carefully as you got closer and frowned. He lacked a lot of emotional experience with others, but there was no denying that you looked worried.

Seeing you like that made him panic a little bit. Again, Gaara has never been very good with emotions - if anything he relied on you to be the one to help him navigate peoples feelings. So seeing you in such a worried state made him really, well... worried. He didn’t know what to do.

Once you finally arrived face to face at the gate you greeted him with a small smile and he guided you into the village. He gave you a little perplexed look in return before weeding the two of you out of the way of villagers and back towards his apartment.

I should say something, he thought to himself almost awkwardly, but he just didn’t know what. 

Normally you would have started a conversation with him and he would have listened carefully, not saying much himself as he preferred hearing your voice as opposed to his own. However, you didn't seem in the mood to do that today, meaning it was his turn to pick up the slack. 

“Erm- Temari and Kankuro will be happy to see you. Kankuro has been working on a new puppet and he has been dying to show everyone in the village how good it is.” 

You laughed at that, which made his heart warm a bit, but he couldn't help but sense a possible hint of distractedness in your tone. You were gnawing at your nails too - he picked up that it was your nervous habit -  which made him fall back into silence again. 

What am I supposed to say? What do people do in these situations? 

Gaara lead you up to his apartment, knowing that you were tired and usually fell asleep upon arriving at the village.

Typically after you woke up from a nap you two would eat dinner together and then you would really start to catch up on things. You would talk about eventful things that happened on your missions and he would talk about Kank and Temari or some of his own eventful occurrences as the Kazekage in return.

Your naps usually lasted pretty long after your 3 day journey. That would give Gaara just enough time to drop by Temari’s and see if she could assist him with how to deal with this whole situation. She was always the one he fell back on for relationship advice. Deeming Kankuro useless in this field, as he talked more to puppets than to actual human beings.

He opens the door for you upon arriving and remains at the enterance, when you realize he isn’t coming side with you, you turned to look at him. You stared at each other from your respective points in the apartment: him at the door and you just outside his bedroom. 

“Gaara?.. Aren't you coming inside?” 

“...No, I need to, uhm, finish some paperwork. In the meantime you should really take a nap. I’ll be back by the time you wake up.” He said awkardly as he closed the door.

With that, he left you to sleep as he paid his sister a visit, asking her for some needed advice.

Temari was surprised at the visit, it was always very rare for Gaara to ask her for this kind of advice anyway, let alone for him to have a worried look on his face too.

When she lets him inside, he recalls the events that have transpired so far, sitting across from eachother at Temaris dinner table. There was a guide book on Shogi sitting atop the table, which Gaara knew she was reading just to impress a certain Leaf ninja. Anyway, when she caught him staring at it she batted it away embarrassedly and cleared her throat, her face growing hot. There was a moment of silence in the room as she thought about what Gaara had told her. 

“Hm... Well, did you ask her whats wrong?”

“...No.” He realized that would have been an important piece of information to ask.

“Gaara!“

Temari shook her head, but then proceeded to give him a simple rundown of what to do. 

Step one: ask whats wrong

Step two: ask how you can make her feel better 

It seemed so simple when Temari said it, honestly he felt a little embarrassed that he couldn't manage to think of it on his own. He wasnt going to waste anymore time now that he knew what to do though.

As he was leaving Temaris apartment she smiled at him.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that...”

“Oh, its nothing...” she giggled. “Well actually Gaara, you know, going out of your way like this is something people normally do when they care about someone.” Then she closed the door with a cheeky grin, leaving Gaara to blush at the face of a wooden door. 

On his way back to the apartment he thought about what Temari said, going out of your way like this is something people normally do when they care about someone... Of course in his head he always knew he really cared about y/n, but having someone else notice it too really made him stop and think. 

He remembered when he fought Naruto back when the sound village attacked the Leaf. Naruto had opened Gaaras eyes to a lot of important things. He had shown him that you needed to have people important in your life. People that you would fight for and even die for... And for the first time, Gaara realized that y/n ticked all those boxes.

As he arrived back at his apartment, he opened the door quietly, not wanting to wake you up. He could hear your gentle snores as he made his way to your bedroom, holding a medium sized box in his hands.

After leaving Temari’s he had wandered the village a bit, thinking over a few things and clearing his mind, he had passed by your favourite dessert place in his village and figured that it would be a good gesture if he got you something. Afterall, Temari was always so happy when got sweets from anyone.

He opened the bedroom door carefully only to see you curled up on his bed sleeping. It made his heart feel all funny when he seen you sleeping. You looked so calm and fragile. He couldn't really admire it for all that long though because His presence must have alerted you. He watched your eyes open groggily as you sat up.

“Gaara? Is that you?” you asked, letting out a yawn. 

“Yes. I uhm... I got you something.” he placed the white box on the bed next to you. 

 You opened the lid curiously, to reveal your favourite dessert staring back at you. It made you smile widely, as if nothing was wrong in the first place, but in a few seconds the worry crawled back onto your face. This time though, Gaara didn't get discouraged. 

“Something has been bothering you since you got here, y/n. I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me whats wrong.”

It was strange seeing him so forward with feelings, but you liked it. In fact it made you feel relieved that you could tell him about your predicament.

“I guess you're right... Well, you see I guess its kind of... A bit silly but I got you a gift a while back. It was so pretty... You see, it was this necklace I found in a village I was passing through for a mission, it was this red gem wrapped around a sort of turquoise wire and it made me think of you instantly. So, I bought it and I was so excited to give it to you I kept taking it out of my backpack to look at it on my way here. Then when I woke up this morning and checked out of the Inn I stayed in, I went to look at it one more time before I arrived and it was gone!” you sighed, falling back onto the pillows. 

“It would have looked perfect on you, Gaara. I just wanted to give you something special for you to remember me by for when Im not visiting. I don't know I guess its kind of a stupid thing to be upset about, but I just can't help it.” You covered your face with your hands. 

There was a dip in the bed and you felt Gaara lay down beside you, causing you to peek at him through your fingers.

He was relieved to say the least, in fact he may have even been smiling a little bit. This was all she was worried about? It wasn’t about anything that he had done, it was just about a necklace!

“Thats all that was worrying you?” He asked as he looked at you with an almost soft expression, he gently removed your hands from your face. 

“You know, y/n, I’m sure the necklace would have been nice, but all that really matters to me is that you're here now and we can spend some time together.” 

He thought about what you said: I just wanted to give you something special for you to remember me by for when Im not visiting. 

“And you don't need to give me anything to remind me of you while you're away because I think about you all the time when you're not here with me.” He blushed a little bit after he said it, but refused to get all shy about it. 

When you heard that, a big smile appeared on your face, the same one that he always saw when you ran towards him at the villages gates. It was a huge relief to see you like this again, it felt as though there was a crack of sunshine in the middle of a storm of dark clouds. He could see the worry and frustration in your face slipping away slowly. 

It made him feel happy, to be able to make you feel better again. He really did care about you.

“Come on then, eat your dessert and then we’ll go see Kankuro. Like I said earlier, he wants to show you his new puppet.” 

[spookysnicket]

@sceneruby: hi, id like a matchup if ur still takin them! im an about 5’6-7, hazel eyed, short auburn haired girl with a bit of chub. im bi! i love goth clothes but also really like cute n soft colored fits!! from what others say, i naturally have a ‘calling’ aura to me & tend to look intimidating. i talk a bit, n like to make dark jokes. i love makeup, gore, farm life n sanrio! i tend to cry over silly things also & get upset over lil things. i also am on the autism spectrum! thnk u sm!! 💘

---

(Matchups are always open unless I have too many requests, I love doing these for you guys! Matchup under the cut!)

I match you with Jennifer Check

💋 Jen thinks your height makes you so damn hot. When she sees you walking around, her eyes tend to linger to your legs

💋 She always stands super close to you when you guys are talking, and it’s 100% so she can see your eyes better. “Do you know how pretty our baby’s eyes would be if we had kids? Like, fucking pretty, right?”

💋 You don’t mean anything to Jennifer Check if she doesn’t give you a pet name- and she’s got quite a few for you based off your hair color alone (Honestly, deep down she thinks it’s so pretty)

💋 Sparingly, she’ll use sweet ones like Cherry, Red, and Firefly. Unfortunately, she tends to use her more.. Creative ones the most. Rusty, Tampon top, Fire crotch, etc- many don’t know it, but insensitive is Jen’s middle name

💋 Needy says something along the lines of Jen taking laxatives to stay skinny, so seeing how attractive you are with your chub? It kinda rocks her world

💋 You know that scene in the bar when she first sees the members of low shoulder? The one where she then proceeds to gush over how they look? That’s Jen @you in your goth mode, 24/7. I say Colin was WAY more emo than goth, and there’s no actual goth kids we see in Devil’s Kettle- so she’ll love how bad ass and unique you look. Also, she thinks the edge is sexy af

💋 When you dress all cute? Are you trying to give her a little demon heart attack? She loves to dress you up in her stuff! As far as Jen’s concerned, you look the best of both worlds

💋 Being a succubus and all, Jen’s got some pretty damn good aura reading abilities. Your’s is part of why she wanted to go out with you, you're just too interesting to pass up

💋 As the local hot mean girl, Jen gets what it’s like to be seen as intimidating. You two radiate the world’s most intense and chaotic power couple energy

💋 It takes a special person to be able to get along with the likes of Jennifer. It’s you, you’re the special person. Talking is one thing Jen’s always up to do- you guys can spend hours on the phone gossiping and making jokes about other kids. Your dark sense of humor and affinity for gore also really helps with the fact that your girlfriend kinda eats people with no remorse. So, plus?

💋 Jen’s going to do your makeup, there’s no way around it. She’ll make it a personal duty to buy anything she thinks would go well with your complexion, and she carries extra makeup around in her bag just in case you need a touch up throughout the day

💋 To say Jennifer has empathy is to say Stu Macher is a young Stephen Hawking. A lie

💋 Rude is just one of her personality traits, she doesn’t mean to make you feel bad, but she’s got no damn filter and she’s gonna be honest

💋 If she makes you cry, she probably won’t care all too much unless she sees that it really hurt you. She’s not the best at comforting people- acts of kindness aren't her thing- but for you she’ll give it a shot. “Look on the bright side, you still look really good when you cry!”

💋 Listen and listen good, the only person who’s allowed to make fun of you is Jennifer. If someone offends you by saying something and Jen knows (which she will, don’t worry), they’re getting crossed out and put on her menu.

💋 Jen knows zilch about autism. You’ll have to teach her about it, but slowly- she may have a hard time grasping what you being on the spectrum means. When she starts to understand, she’ll try to draw the line of her jokes there. As evil as she is, Jennifer wouldn’t ever want to undermine your struggles. Keyword try though- sometimes her insensibility makes her say things she doesn’t mean, but she will feel like a total bitch afterwards if she makes fun of your disorder. She loves you after all, so that’s one of the few scenarios where you can expect to get an honest apology out of her

[danfanciesphil]

Give Me A Try (New Chapter)

Gay Instagram Model/Bartender Phan AU Part 3

(Part One)

(Part Two)

(Read on Ao3!)

Dan’s in the middle of his break, scrolling through his phone, when a text notification appears at the top of his screen. He drops his bagel into his lap, cursing.

The text is from Phil. He doesn’t know any other Phil’s, so it has to be AmazingPhil, texting him, inexplicably.

He clicks the notification, eyes wide, simultaneously scooping up the bagel bits that have fallen onto his knees.

From: Phil To: Dan im in makeup for a weird photoshoot for some korean clothing brand and they just put loads of silver goo in my hair to make it chromey

As Dan is reading the message, searching between the lines for a reason Phil might be telling him this information, another text pings through.

From: Phil To: Dan whoops, i kinda meant to send that to PJ. but hey, if you’re interested, here’s a pic of me with ‘Kpop Idol Silver Hair Paste’ in lol xx

From: Phil To: Dan [image]

The phone slips from Dan’s fingers, clattering through his legs to the floor of the staff room. Phil has sent him a selfie. An un-edited, un-Instagrammed photo of his breathtaking face, up close. Sure, there’s a weird silvery goop in his usually raven hair, but still. Gingerly, Dan retrieves the phone, a small, strangled sound escaping from his throat as he surveys the image in front of him.

It makes a little more sense now that Phil has informed him that he had actually mistakenly texted the original message, but did the guy really have to follow up with a photo? He must, surely, be aware of Dan’s crush. He witnessed the brunt of Dan’s obsessive stalking in person on his phone, after all.

Bagel entirely forgotten, Dan just stares down into the pixelated blue of Phil Lester’s eyes, wondering how to respond, and if he even should. Deciding eventually that it would be rude not to, Dan shakily types out something he hopes is vaguely witty.

From: Dan To: Phil hahaha wow :’) kpop? more like kpoop. (it looks like bird poop, sorry dude.) x

From: Phil To: Dan hahaha it does ur so right. and if you think thats bad you should see the outfits… xx

Settling back into his chair, Dan bites his lip. As he thinks of a potential response, his eyes wander over to the spot, just to the right of him, where he and Phil had stood not long ago, when it had seemed like maybe, possibly, Phil might’ve…

But obviously that’s absurd. 

Dan’s wishful thinking had clearly driven him to the point of hallucination, because the very notion that Phil Lester, AmazingPhil, the famous Instagram model, would ever have looked at Dan as anything more than a random bartender, is laughable.

Dan sighs to himself, then smirks. Well, just because he has no chance, doesn’t mean he can’t utilise his semi-connection to the celebrity to get some behind-the-scenes footage of his fave.

From: Dan To: Phil well now i have to see x

There’s a noticeable pause, and Dan wonders, panicking vaguely, if he may have pushed too far. Is it a little much to ask this of Phil? Maybe he just won’t respond, and Dan will have to quit his job forever, or maybe just spend his shifts on red alert that Phil will wander into the bar, and hide from him if he does-

He texts back.

From: Phil To: Dan [image]

From: Phil To: Dan hot, right? xx

For two long, uninterrupted minutes, Dan is frozen. Then, he lets out a muffled groan of frustration. The photo Phil sent is a full body shot taken by someone else; he’s dressed in an asymmetrical long white t-shirt with several long rips through the chest, some bright pink camouflage trousers, and a shiny silver puffer jacket with a black fur-lined hood. The outfit is a complete disaster, but it doesn’t matter in the slightest. His chest is visible through the slits in the tee; having seen it twice now IRL, Dan is drawn to the slivers he can see. The trousers make his eyes pop, and the jacket matches the silver streaked through his hair.

His pose is casual, feet apart, smirking at the camera, with his hands gesturing to his body as if to say ‘see what i mean?’. If he’d posted this on his Instagram, Dan gets the feeling he’d have saved it to his camera roll anyway, maybe even made it his phone background.

Dan’s done that with a few of his favourite photos of Phil in the past. He won’t even dwell on the time when Phil posted a photo of himself in the bath and Dan, in a semi-sleep-deprived fit of insanity, printed the photo out and stuck it on his wall.

Tyler came over once, weeks later, saw the photo taped above Dan’s bed, and tore the thing down. He’d told Dan, quite rightly, to stop being such a creep and keep his crazed obsessive behaviour to social media like everyone else.

“Who even has physical photos these days?? You’re like a fucking serial killer!”

Dan chuckles at this memory. He’s glad for Tyler, sometimes, even if he’s only good for keeping Dan’s stalkerish behaviour within the realms of normalcy.

Belatedly, he realises it’s been over five minutes and he still hasn’t responded to Phil. Also, his break is close to being over.

From: Dan To: Phil woww. please, phil of the future, tell me what life is like in 2087 x

From: Phil To: Dan stawwp. i keep laughing out loud at what ur saying and now the designer is sending me death glares :’’’D xx

Trying hard to ignore the fact that his dorky jokes are apparently literally making Phil ‘lol’, Dan checks the time, and sighs, typing out another message.

From: Dan To: Phil is the designer a martian? or maybe secretly one of those reptile-people? maybe skin him just to be safe. also my break is over so i gtg. have fun on set of NASA’s moonlanding recreation x

From: Phil To: Dan aww ur at work too? that sux. i forgot that u work at night lol. hope u stay dry this evening ;) xx

From: Dan To: Phil speaking of… why are u at work? isnt it kind of late for a photoshoot? x

From: Phil To: Dan well its 8am here so no haha xx

From: Dan To: Phil where are you? x

From: Phil To: Dan seoul :) hence the… unusual fashion lol xx

Dan’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead. He stands from his chair, throws his half eaten bagel in the trash, and looks around himself. He’s in the staff room - a small, dusty space with a row of falling apart lockers, a couple of chairs and a small table. There’s a hook on the wall which holds a load of unused aprons, and a rusty heater for when it’s especially cold.

He’s about to go back out to serve a load of rowdy customers some overpriced cocktails, then mop a dancefloor sticky with sweat, alcohol, and whatever other liquids might have found their way there. Then, he’s going to go back to his crummy flat way across in Kemptown, unfold his sofabed, and fall asleep to Netflix.

Phil, on the other side of the world in Korea, is having his hair, makeup and wardrobe done by professionals. He’s being treated like a celebrity, no doubt, and pampered excessively. Later, he’ll receive high-definition, professional photographs of himself looking gorgeous, and post them to his Instagram, where millions of people will tell him how stunning he looks.

Dan sighs to himself. How the other half lives.

*

The following day, Dan wakes up to find that Phil has updated his Instagram story, and posted the photo with the silver goo in his hair. The same one he’d sent to Dan. The caption reads:

Not sure silver hair was a good idea! The designer was going for Kpop, but ended up with Kpoop… can’t wait to show you guys the photos from this shoot! xx

Two things cross Dan’s mind.

First, Dan can now officially state that he had a sneak-peek at an official AmazingPhil photo before it was posted.

Second, the bitch totally stole his joke.

He smiles to himself ruefully, then decides to leave a comment. There’s no way that Phil will even see it - he’s never seen any of Dan’s others, or at least Dan sincerely hopes he hasn’t, as they’re mostly things like ‘choke me’ or ‘slap me round the face with your yaoi hands dad’.

Okay, maybe he tends to leave those sorts of comments when he’s less than sober.

This time, Dan just taps out a simple:

danisnotonfire: joke stealing is a low form of theft phil smh ;)

Still smiling to himself, Dan rolls over onto his side, and settles in to watch Phil’s story. The stories are usually long, silly, and full of adorable clips of Phil being clumsy and cute. As expected, this one is no exception. It’s a tour of Phil’s hotel room in Seoul, which is very posh.

Phil exclaims over the origami hand towels on his bed, the robe provided for him in the wardrobe, and the multiple options on the ‘disco shower’ as he calls it. Just as Dan is marvelling at the panoramic shot Phil has filmed of his view from the balcony, a notification pings at the top of his screen.

amazingphil replied to your comment: joke stealing is…

Dan sits bolt upright in bed, the sheets falling off him. He runs a hand through his messy hair, eyes wide. He clicks the notification before it disappears, heart pounding.

Oh no, oh no, oh no. Dan hadn’t intended for him to actually see. What if Phil thinks he’s being rude? He doesn’t actually mind Phil stealing his stupid joke about the hair goo. It’s an honour, if anything, that Phil finds his dumb joke good enough to post as a caption millions of people will read.

Heart thrumming, Dan finds the response Phil left.

danisnotonfire: joke stealing is a low form of theft phil smh ;)

amazingphil: @danisnotonfire aha i was kinda hoping you wouldn’t see ;D

Another notification pings at the top of his screen.

amazingphil started following you

“Holy shit,” Dan says to nobody.

amazingphil liked your photo

“Fuck,” Dan squeaks, clutching his pillow for support. “Stop it Phil, I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

Curious, Dan clicks the last notification, wondering which photo it was that Phil pressed the little heart for. To his surprise, it’s a selfie, one he took at work around a month ago. He took it during a lull between serving, if he remembers correctly. The lighting hadn’t been awful when he was doing his hourly fringe check in his phone camera, so he’d snapped a pic. It’s nothing special, just a moody expression and a wash of pink lighting across one half of his face.

amazingphil commented on your photo

amazingphil: nice pout ;) xx

Dan falls back into the pillows, mind obliterating itself into a thousand, tiny pieces.

*

Over the next few weeks, Dan has several text conversations with Phil. They’re usually started by Phil himself, who will - out of what Dan assumes is boredom - sometimes send him a random meme, a musing about his surroundings, or a selfie. For obvious reasons, Dan prefers the latter.

No matter how many times Phil reaches out via text, the surreality of it never fails to send Dan’s mind freewheeling. It always knocks the wind out of his lungs, it always makes him stop dead in his tracks, and it always leaves him struggling to recover for the next few hours. Whenever this happens at work, Tyler never fails to tease him mercilessly.

“Whoops! Please excuse him, sir, his mind has been blended by a single text from his crush,” Tyler tells a customer the fifth time Dan drops a glass behind the bar.

Dan scowls at his friend, but doesn’t try to defend himself. It’s true, after all. One text from Phil has him behaving like a moron. He becomes physically inept, unable to make the simplest drink.

One night, after the bar has closed, Dan and Tyler are cleaning up.

“So when’s he gonna stop torturing you over text and come sweep you off your beer-drenched tootsies?”

Dan rolls his eyes at this. “He’s not, Ty. He’s a rich and famous superstar, and I’m clearing up puke for the third day in a row.”

Dan wrinkles his nose as he continues mopping up the patch of vomit. He’s suspicious at this point; three days in a row is unusual. Is the same person coming in each night and spewing their guts all over the dance floor out of spite? Perhaps it’s some sort of hate crime.

“It’s like a Cinderella story!” Ty exclaims, pirouetting around his broom. “Except it’s gay, which makes it even better.”

Dan scoffs at him. “I’m pretty sure fairytales don’t involve stalking someone over social media and having them find out. He’s just taking pity on me because he saw that first night that I’m a fan.” Dan dunks the mop back in the bucket, turning to Tyler. “Besides, I’m pretty sure he has a boyfriend.”

Tyler sucks in a scandalised breath. “What! Who?”

Dragging the mop back to the supply closet, Dan laughs. “Remember the drunk guy he came with? The one who gave me a lovely Rainforest shower?”

“Him?”

Dan sighs, locks the cupboard, and nods. He digs into his pocket for his phone, and brings it over to show Tyler the photo of Phil and Charlie kissing. Matt, the security guard wanders over to see as well, letting out a low whistle.

“He’s a nonce if he thinks that guy’s behaviour was attractive,” Matt says. “He puked ‘soon as I got him out the door that night. All over the pavement.”

Dan looks at Matt, tilting his head in interest. “He did?”

Tyler plucks the phone out of Dan’s hand, zooming into the photo to have a better look, a frown on his face.

“Yep, your friend there came out, called him an Uber and sent him off,” Matt says. “Doubt pukey there would’ve made it home without him.”

“Nice guy,” Dan mutters, cheeks warm.

“This is staged,” Tyler announces abruptly.

“What?”

“Look,” he says, bringing the phone back over for Dan to see.

He zooms in on the crux of the kiss, right onto Phil’s face. Dan grimaces.

“Ty, I don’t want to see-”

“Shut up and look at his face,” Tyler interrupts, grabbing Dan’s chin and angling it towards the phone. “See how his lips are puckered? All stiff and pointed, like he’s kissing his grandma. And his eyes are open.”

“He’s looking at the camera!”

“Nah, Tyler’s right mate,” Matt says. The gum he’s chewing is making gross squishy sounds right in Dan’s ear as he leans over to look. “He looks awkward as hell.”

Dan narrows his eyes at the photo, trying to see what the others see.

“Besides, didn’t you say he hated that guy?” Tyler asks, clicking off the photo.

Dan tuts, snatching his phone back. “Well, apparently he was just being nice to compensate for the fact his kissing buddy covered me in sugary cocktail.”

He makes the smart decision to step away from this preposterous conversation before he does something stupid. Like allow either of these morons to give him hope that Phil is actually single.

Not that Phil being single would even matter.

“Or he was making it clear that he’s available!” Tyler calls after him as Dan stalks over to the staff room. “He whipped his shirt off for you twice and gave you his number. Do you think he’d do that if he had a boyfriend?”

“Drop it, Ty!” Dan calls back, shutting the staff room door behind him.

He will not let himself fall into the trap of daring to believe he could get someone as gorgeous, as hilarious, as pure and… amazing, as Phil Lester. 

He won’t.

*

This is a good philosophy, in theory.

In practise, it turns out to be a lot more difficult. Dan finds this out to his cost when Phil strolls into Habenero the following Friday with Charlie Hickory at his side. Dan’s stomach sinks as soon as he sees the pair, the butterflies that appear each time Phil so much as acknowledges exploding into dust the moment he registers who Phil is here with.

Phil makes a beeline for the bar, a big smile on his face as he sees Dan. Warily, Dan smiles back, very aware that he is not exactly Charlie’s biggest fan.

“Dan!” Phil sings, chipper as ever.

Blushing already, Dan waves an awkward hand. He will never, he’s sure, get used to hearing his name on Phil Lester’s lips. “Hi. You’re back.”

“Of course! This is my local hangout now,” Phil says, winking. “Great cocktails, cute bar staff, crazy Bingo nights… this place has got it all.”

“Some people might not agree with you about the cocktails,” Dan can’t help himself saying, glancing at Charlie.

Charlie shuffles awkwardly on the spot. “Right,” he says, casting a look at Phil. They share a look that seems loaded with something Dan is not privy to, and then Charlie sighs, turning to Dan. “I wanted to, uh, apologise. About last time. Totally not cool of me to… tell you off like that. I was wasted.”

For an awkward moment, Dan waits for the actual word ‘sorry’ to leave Charlie’s mouth. It becomes obvious fairly swiftly that the dude feels he’s already said enough, so Dan just gives him a tight smile, and clears his throat.

“Oh, yeah man,” he says. “Let’s just… move on, I guess.”

If Charlie won’t say sorry, then Dan’s sure as hell not going to say he forgives him.

“So, drinks?” Phil asks, seeming to sense the taut atmosphere. “Maybe not cocktails?”

Dan can’t help the splutter of laughter, but Charlie shoots a dagger-like glare Phil’s way. It makes Dan’s lip curl; how could anyone be angry with Phil, of all people?

“Maybe some beers?” Dan suggests, teeth clenched. “We have a load of craft beers, or if you’re more into spirits I could make you guys a-”

“I’ll have a vodka and light tonic, no ice,” Charlie interrupts. “A double. If you use regular tonic, I will know.”

“Charlie,” Phil hisses under his breath.

They exchange another loaded look, and again Charlie sighs, turning to Dan with a fake smile. “Please.”

Swallowing the urge to roll his eyes, Dan nods, then gladly turns his attention to Phil. “And for you?”

“Oh,” Phil says, like it’s only just occurred to him that he needs to order as well. “God, I’m so bad at deciding, err…”

As he’s dithering, Charlie sighs. “Are you cool to get these, Phil? I’m gonna go find us a table.”

“You don’t wanna dance?”

“Not in the mood.”

Phil nods, obviously disappointed. “Okay, yeah, I’ll meet you in the back.”

With that, Charlie is gone, slipping into the crowd. The look of distaste must be more evident on Dan’s face than he thinks, because Phil laughs at it.

“I know,” Phil says. “But he does have a few… marginally amiable qualities.”

‘Why have you chosen to be with someone that’s marginally amiable when you’re so great,’ is what Dan wants to ask. Instead, he simply shrugs, deciding to change the subject.

“Have you decided on a drink yet? I’d better get on with making his low-cal dishwater.”

Phil laughs a little, then leans forwards, his smile deepening as he leans across the bar. “Surprise me.”

Something sparks a roman candle in Dan’s stomach, and his skin prickles with the heat it creates. He drags his eyes free of Phil’s with some difficulty, nodding, and turns to make the drinks.

He prepares Phil a ‘PopQueen’ cocktail, which is one of their most popular. It’s inspired by popcorn, along with the trio of Pop Queens that rule the gay music scene: Gaga, RiRi, and Bey. The moscato vodka base is made from Italian grapes to represent Gaga’s heritage, the spiced rum is a shoutout to Bey’s favourite drink, and Riri comes in in the form of a smoky splash of passion fruit bitter. The rest is topped up with popcorn syrup, lemonade, a sprinkle of caramel popcorn kernels, and as many sparkly cocktail sticks as Dan can fit in.

He explains the whole concoction to Phil as he presents it, a little smug because he knows this is an impressive looking cocktail. It’s probably his favourite one to make; the Viniq shimmery moscato vodka makes the drink swirl and shimmer - always exceptionally pretty.

Sure enough, Phil’s mouth drops open at the sight of it. “Okay wow,” Phil says, chuckling. “I’m gonna get drunk tonight, aren’t I?”

“If that’s your plan, this should definitely help you on your way,” Dan says, laughing too. “I wouldn’t recommend having a second if you want to remember your evening.”

Phil leans forwards to take a sip of the PopQueen, moaning around the straw, much to Dan’s dismay. He plucks one of the popcorn pieces off and eats it, eyes closed. In related news, Dan struggles not to fall to the floor. “Dan, you are an artiste,” Phil says. “Popcorn is my all time favourite food.”

“Oh, wow, that’s... lucky, I guess,” Dan stammers, a swell of pride surging up into his chest. “Glad you like it.”

“So, how much?”

“Oh, on the house.” Dan smiles, sliding the cocktail across the bar along with Charlie’s vodka tonic. “I feel bad for not letting you in on the forfeit for Bingo last time.”

The look on Phil’s face softens into something so sweet Dan can taste sugar on his tongue. 

“You don’t have to do that,” Phil says softly.

“It’s fine, really,” Dan assures him, all but sliding his elbows across the bar towards him. “I insist.”

A twitch in the corner of Phil’s mouth, and then he’s leaning across the bar. It happens slowly, but Dan still manages to be caught off guard. One moment, he’s watching, bemused, as Phil inches towards him, and the next there’s a light press of paper-soft lips to his cheek. A scratch of stubble grazes over Dan’s skin as Phil leans away.

“Thanks,” Phil tells him, smiling. “You’re sweet, Dan.”

And then he’s turning away, drinks in hand, slipping into the mass of people.

*

For the next few hours, Dan hopes for Phil to return to the bar for another round. He waits, eagerly, for this moment to come. Instead, Charlie is the one who brings his and Phil’s glasses back over, and waves to flag down Dan’s attention.

He nods in acknowledgement, finishing up the drinks order he’s in the middle of, and sidling over to Charlie. He forces a strained smile.

“Same again?”

“Yeah,” Charlie says, digging out his phone. “And a couple of vodka shots.”

He says nothing else, eyes glued to his phone screen. Dan waits for a moment before moving off, eyes stuck to Charlie’s face. He’s the kind of gorgeous that shouldn’t exist in real life. Unblemished, tanned skin. Clean, dark stubble, lacing his perfect, razorblade jawline. His hair is a swoop of glossy mahogany; even the cut of it looks expensive.

Charlie’s eyes flick up to Dan’s, obviously questioning why he’s staring, so Dan nods, embarrassed, and hurries to make the drinks. From a superficial standpoint, it’s obvious why Phil is with Charlie. Obviously, in Dan’s eyes, Phil is the most attractive man on the planet, but that’s just because he’s Dan’s type. Even he can tell that Charlie is objectively a beautiful human being.

It’s just a shame about everything below the surface level.

Dan pours the two shots Charlie ordered. “All together it’s twenty pounds, please.”

Charlie snorts, then pockets his phone at last. “Figures you’d give Phil the discount.”

He pulls out a twenty and slaps it on the counter.

“Sorry, I can’t give you guys free drinks all night.”

Charlie just stares back at him, a faint, knowing smile caught on his dusty pink lips. One of this thick eyebrows is slightly quirked, sliding an irritation under Dan’s skin. “Listen, Danny, is it?”

“Dan,” he grits.

“Dan,” Charlie says, leaning across the bar. “A little advice, yeah? Don’t be so transparent. It just comes across as pathetic.”

He downs both the shots in quick succession, baffling Dan, who is frozen, mortified, to the spot. Before his brain can thaw enough to stammer out some witty rebuttal, Charlie has swept the drinks off the counter, and is moving away.

Cheeks burning, Dan turns around, trying to calm his boiling blood. He squeezes his fists together, counting to ten, the way he makes himself after all encounters with dickhead customers.

“Hey, sweetcheeks, can we get some drinks over here, please?”

With a deep sigh, Dan unclenches his fists, and turns to the next customer.

*

At around one in the morning, Dan runs to the bathroom for a minute, and on his way, he sees Charlie. He’s against the wall of the club, near the DJ booth. There’s a muscular, dark-skinned man pressing him there; their faces are close. Dan can’t stop, he’s left Tyler and Dodie to the mercy of the drunks in their worst state - things get rowdy an hour before closing - and he needs to get back there. So, instead, he simply tucks the image away in his mind, to think about later on.

That man, leant against Charlie in a less-than-innocent seeming stance, was certainly not Phil, after all. As he exits the bathroom, he notices that Charlie is gone, as is whoever was with him.

*

At 1:55am, the lights come on. As usual, an enormous groan chants out of the crowd of patrons on the dance floor, followed by a few pairs awkwardly stepping out of the shadows, some squinting and eye-covering, and the slow, jelly-legged walk to the coat-check area.

“I think I just saw some guy getting up off his knees in the corner,” Tyler says despondently. “Shotgun not mopping the floor tonight.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Dan sighs. “On the dance floor? Really? Why can’t they suck each other off in the bathroom like normal people?”

“Oh, there were definitely people doing that in one of the stalls about an hour ago,” someone says to Dan’s right. The voice, for some reason, sends the hairs up on the back of Dan’s neck.

He turns, wondering when Matt’s voice got so low, only to find that Phil has perched himself on one of the bar stools, the dregs of his cocktail still in a glass in front of him. For a moment, Dan is too stunned at the sight of him to reply. Then, he registers that the lights are on, and cringes, knowing he likely looks frightful. Phil, of course, looks radiant as ever even under the harsh fluorescents, apart from a faint tiredness, visible in the dark circles underneath his eyes.

“You’re still here,” Dan comments. “I thought you guys had gone.”

“Charlie left,” Phil says, looking away from Dan. “Or I assume he did.”

Out of sight, Tyler catches Dan’s eye, making an obscene gesture with his hands before snickering and running off in the direction of the supply closet. Dan just glares after him, pink-cheeked, and turns back to Phil.

“Wait, he left without telling you?”

One of Phil’s shoulders moves towards his neck, then falls. “He does that.”

“Wow that’s… kind of shitty.”

As soon as the words are out, Dan regrets them. He can’t help but think of Charlie’s comment from earlier; it rings in his ears as if the guy had screamed it at him.

Don’t be so transparent. It just comes across as pathetic.

He was right, probably, though Dan had hated hearing it. He should stop being such a suck-up. It must be awkward and cringey for Phil to see Dan so obviously smitten.

Still, Phil throws him a faint smile. “It’s cool. He’s just a flaky guy. A bit of a princess. He grew up rich, so he’s always been a bit superficial. I’m trying to wring the bourgeoisie out of his blue blood.”

Dan snorts with laughter. “In my experience, you can’t filter the dickishness out of people very easily.”

There’s a silence, then. Phil regards him with a faintly curious expression.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” Dan says once the silence gets too uncomfortable. He shrugs, grabbing the rag from his back pocket and starting to wipe down the bar. “I don’t know the guy, really. I’ve just had a couple of unfortunate experiences with him.”

“Oh no,” Phil says, face falling. “What did he do this time?”

Dan laughs, bitterly. “Don’t worry about it. He’s just a little mouthy, is all.”

“Ugh, I’m sorry.”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“So, when do you get to leave this place?” Phil asks, playing with his glass. He still hasn’t drunk the remainder of his cocktail. “Or do you sleep here?”

“On weekdays, the bar closes at two, so I get out of here at around two-thirty.”

“Christ,” Phil mutters. “And I thought my job was long hours.”

A laugh bursts out of Dan’s throat, but he covers it as best he can with a cough, turning away. Busying himself with ‘dusting’ some liquor bottles, Dan tries to compose a straight face. Is Phil honestly going to try and argue that his job is difficult? When was the last time that guy ever grabbed a broom, or handled someone’s sticky change?

In a minute, Dan is going to go into the corner of the dance floor, get down on his knees, and clean up some randomer’s come. A few weeks ago he saw Phil swanning about a five-star hotel in Korea. If AmazingPhil’s worst complaint is that he had to have a few questionable outfit choices put on him, and some silvery goo in his hair, then he needs a reality check.

Nevertheless, Dan knows that he can’t say any of this. Not only would he never dream of insulting Phil Lester, but it’s pointless to try and explain the differences between classes to someone in a privileged position. They’ve usually forgotten how to understand.

“Are you close by, at least?” Phil asks, interrupting Dan’s thoughts.

Dan turns back to him. “Kemptown. It’s half an hour’s walk, more or less.”

“You walk?” Phil asks, eyebrows skyrocketing towards his quiff. “At two in the morning?”

“Five in the morning on weekends,” Dan confirms, hiding a smile at Phil’s surprise. “It’s okay, you get used to it. Besides, it’s mostly just drunk idiots chugging cans of cider and threatening to run into the sea. Not too scary.”

Despite Dan’s reassurance, the look of pity and concern on Phil’s face doesn’t subside. After a while, Dan turns from it, feeling awkward. He busies himself with clearing away the last of the empty glasses, yawning into the crook of his elbow. Tonight was rough.

“You should crash at mine,” Phil blurts.

Sure he must have misheard, Dan faces Phil slowly. “Um, what?”

“If you’re exhausted, I mean.” Phil fidgets, fingers tapping against his glass. “Like, on the nights you can’t face walking all the way home, you can totally just sleep on my sofa.”

Speechless, Dan simply stares.

“The couch is pretty comfy,” Phil continues in a ramble, not meeting Dan’s eye. “And my flat is just up the road, literally like a minute away. I’m not saying, y’know, come over every night, ‘cause obviously… that might be an issue, but you can absolutely stay round on, say, Saturday nights when you finish later. That wouldn’t be a problem.”

He’s just being nice. That’s Dan’s only explanation. Phil Lester is a sweetheart of a person, and he got so worried about the hypothetical danger involved in Dan’s walks home, that he offered something big, even though he didn’t really mean it.

Dan is a stranger to him. He needs to decline the polite offer, and let Phil off the hook he accidentally created to string himself up on.

So, Dan forces out a small chuckle, and says: “Oh, no, it’s really fine. Thanks for the offer, that’s really good of you, but I quite like the walk. It’s a nice come down after a busy night.”

Phil nods, chewing his lip. He looks unconvinced. “I’m not just saying it, though.” His voice has dropped to a lower tone. “Like tonight… you’re so tired, I can see it. Just grab some sleep at mine before you head back across town.”

As soon as Phil mentions it, the quilt of his own exhaustion flops around his shoulders, dragging Dan’s bones towards the floor. He tries to picture the stumble back to his crummy flat in Kemptown, loathing each imaginary step.

“You barely know me,” Dan says - one last attempt at refusal.

Sensing he’s won, Phil smiles very slightly, then downs the rest of his cocktail at last. “I don’t know if it’s just me, Dan, but I have this feeling that we’re going to be good friends.”

(Part 4!)

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

Who’s Crushing on the New Manager? [1]

Monsta X

Son Hyunwoo (Shownu)/Reader [F]

Words: 2.8k

Genre: Fluff

Others: Intro / Shownu / Wonho / Minhyuk / Kihyun / Hyungwon / Jooheon / IM

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

“I’m Y/N, I’ll be in your care.”

Her voice was just as soft and warm as her smile.  It didn’t take much, but those few seconds.  He already knew that that soft fluttering in his stomach was none other than a small crush, ready to blossom into so much more.

Shownu cleared his throat and kept his professionalism in check as he bowed back to her, eyes locking back with her as he straightened his spine.  

“Hyunw- uh, I mean Shownu.”  You chuckled at him, as he stopped himself from introducing himself with his given name.  You nodded to him, an amused smile on your face.

“Yes, I know who you are, I am your manager after all.”  Your chuckle almost made his cheeks heat along with the pounding in his chest.  Of course you knew, he didn’t really need to introduce himself.  The short conversation was interrupted by the official who spoke up before he turned to leave.

“Please take Ms. Y/L/N to the studio and introduce the rest of the boys to her.  And Please, don’t scare her off.”  You giggled at his smirk and Shownu just rolled his eyes playfully before the official took off to wherever he came from. Shownu looked at you, your face turned slightly away from him as you watched the man walk off.  

Your profile was just as magnificent as looking at your face head on.  He was already convinced you owned every angle and didn’t have a bad one.  When you looked back to him, he kept looking at you. You two just stared at each other for a moment before he smoothly angled his body to silently lead you.

“Shall we?  I have a feeling the boys are getting rowdy and anxious.”  You chuckled, which made him smile.  

“What makes you think so?”

“Call it a leader’s instinct.”  

“Is it as good as what we women call intuition?”  He sucked in a breath through his teeth playfully.

“I don’t know about that.”  And with that short interaction, he silently followed you to where the rest of the boys were.  And when you arrived, he was spot on. It was quite a sight.

Chankyun was in a corner, just screaming?  For no reason? Minhyuk was running around, chasing Jooheon for God knows why.  Hyungwon was sitting on the couch, seemingly normal, until you notice the lump that is under his rear was most definitely not the couch, but Wonho’s back.  The younger boy pushing the older into the cushions.  And Kihyun had emerged dramatically with his ipad in his hand, belting a note that was stable, but, coming from him, was rusty in sound.  

Shownu just stood where he was, and put his hand on his forehead, moving his finger to pinch the bridge of his nose and just breath.  Why? Why were they like this?  Was it because they had a new manager?  No, that couldn’t be it, could it?  They hadn’t done this before?

While he stood there, he heard you cover your mouth, the slap of your palm hitting your lips catching his ear.  He looked down at you through his fingers and noticed your red face and shaking shoulders. He was about to question you, making sure you were okay when you burst out laughing.  

You laughed loud as you clutched at your stomach, nearly untucking your shirt with how hard you gripped it.  Soon, the chaos that was the boys calmed down and they all swarmed around you, smiles and laughter of their own.  Minhyuk was the one that came to your free side and slung an arm over your shoulder, before Shownu smacked it off.  

It was bad manners.  Yeah, that’s why he did it.  

When all the laughter died to just chuckled and harsh breaths, introductions finally began. They introduced themselves one by one, with cheesy titles attached to their names, like ‘sexiest member’, ‘softest’, ‘cutest’, etc.  When they were done, you just told them that an introduction was necessary for their part, but it was appreciated anyways.  You gave your name and then happily told them that you would enjoy working with them.  

The energy that they radiated was contagious and it just made a person smile.  That first day wasn’t too much, and all you did was get to know the members.  And soon that day ended and you went back to your apartment while the boys when to the dorms.   

The next day, the boys were to go to a showcase for their fans, as well as hold an interview about their next album and, of course, other music related questions.  So, the day had started early for them, earlier for you.  You had woken up early, getting all the schedule times down before hopping in your car to get to the building and then follow the van the boys use to travel in.  

When you had stopped at the dorms, you watched the 7 sleepy boys amble out in their clothes, masks and caps on as they all piled in the van.  A few offered small waves to you, but it took a lot for them to properly function with so little rest.  You felt bad for them as you let out your own small yawn.  

Then, you were off again and before you knew it, you were getting out before them and waiting at the entrance of the building they were using. A bit more awake, some of them had questioned and complimented your attire.  You were in casual clothing today, and would start to dress this way unless something came up that required you to dress up again.  

Dark jeans that hugged your legs, a t-shirt tucked only in the back slightly, a black jacket and your shoes. Your hair was down and a cap was on your head to hide your, probably now tamed, bed hair that a brush couldn’t get rid of.

“The casual look today?” Shownu had approached you as the boys walked in front of you, maneuvering through the halls.  You nodded to him, looking at the piece of paper in your hands as you walked, reading through what they were doing and when today.  

“Yeah.  I only dressed in a business casual attire yesterday because I had to finish up paperwork in the main building offices.  But, since I’m working and on my feet most of the time, and since it’s not like i have a dress code to follow, I’ll be dressing more or less like this.  Unless, of course, I’m asked to dress up.”  He nodded at you, it made sense.  Part of him felt bad for the life of a manager.  He had a hard enough time working with the hard schedule.

Recordings, little rest, sometimes finding hard times to stop and eat well, filming, editing, photo shots, travel; it was all a lot sometimes.  But, he felt like managers had it a tad worse.  With them having to work before the schedules, always be ready at all times, make adjustments in their own time, even when they should be having a break.  They were a big step in the hypothetical drawing board that is the life of an idol.  

And even if they didn’t show it as much as they wished they did, every one of the boys respected their manager, and every other staff member who would work with them.  They were all hard working and talented people with skills that flourish to new extents.  

And, with that first, tiring, fun, fan-filled day rapidly moving by, everything fell into place.  Day after day passed with you as their manager and everyone of them getting a specific relationship with you across.  Some like brothers, some playful friends, but there was one member whose line was blurred, and not distinguished like the others.  

None other than Son Hyunwoo.  

The leader of the group would always be polite, and would always seem so calm around you, but if you turned away or left the room, he would basically crumple into his chair or into the couch or steal longing stares your way until you looked back to him, in which he promptly turned his head.  

Point was, he did a bad job of hiding the fact he had a crush on you. Your personality was infectious, happy and full of smiles.  Even when the schedule was packed and times were tough, you always tried your best to make sure they were feed, safe and happy.  Putting a smile on everyone’s face no matter what the obstacle.  

That in itself was attractive to Shownu, not to mention your maturity in which you handle situations.  You would be this fun, playful, prankster at times, but when it really counted, you would turn into this professional manager with every fact, piece of information, time and number ready on the tip of your tongue to any question.  

You astonished him.  Yet, you never seemed to know his gazes.  You were oblivious to it even.  He didn’t know if you were just too busy to notice, which would be logical, or if you were just oblivious in nature to notice these things, or if you were just uninterested.  He didn’t know.  

However, you may not have noticed him, but everyone else did.  Namely his team.  And they did not let him leave it down.

They would tease him in the dorms, and behind closed doors openly, and if you were around, they’d just shot him looks or one member would put on a dramatic two way romance with another member.  But, even if they gave him crap, they thought the idea of you two as a couple was cute as hell and supported it with their whole heart.  

Then one day, he somehow worked up the courage to tell you.  Tell you everything.  And how it happened surprised even himself, as it was a spur of the moment.  

The boys had a rare day to themselves, and many stayed at the dorms, and so you decided to pay them a visit as a friend, not a manager that day.  It was a fun filled day until you had to leave and it had already gotten quite late, so Shownu had offered to take one of their cars and drive you back to your apartment.  

You agreed as the two left the house and he did as he intended.  He drove you, dropped you off, said your goodbyes and he left.  But, it wasn’t until about the halfway point back to the dorms, where he suddenly stopped, turned around and was driving back to your apartment building.

He don’t know why he did this, or what made him do it.  Maybe he was finally fed up with hiding it, or maybe he just was thinking irrationally, he had no idea.  He had no clue what he was doings, what he would say, or why he would say it.  He just thought of you and that fueled everything on.  Everything he was unsure about, but he was concrete on what he would do tonight, reject or accepted.

He’d tell you everything.  

So, when he parked in the parking garage and ran out of the car, and up to your floor, he was out of breath as he rang the bell by the small box speaker by your door.  When you came over the speaker to see who it was, all he did was ask to be let in, in which, surprised you ran to the door in a frenzy and opened it up.  

He nearly melted at the sight of you.  Apparently, he had been gone long enough for you to wash the makeup off your face and change into a pair of pj pants littered in small bears and a white tank top.  He chuckled at your pants, seeing the bears as you offered him inside.  He stepped in, but didn’t leave the door within 5 feet.  You looked at him quizzically.  

“Hyunwoo?  What’s wrong?”  That was another thing he loved about you.  You always called him by his real name when it was just the two of you.  It was something so small, but he didn’t want his name to be said by anyone else like that.  

“I have a problem, and I think you’re the only one who can help me figure it out.  I don’t care what the outcome is, I just need closure.  To get it out.”  He was still slightly out of breath.  You didn’t know what he was talking about, and you bit back the red threatening to erupt your face and secretly gripped at your pants to keep your breathing and heart rate in check.  

You tried to offer him inside, for water or something to calm him down.  But, once again all he did was stand there.  In the doorway, staring at you.  Through you almost.  

“Hyunwoo, just come inside.  We can talk about it when you’ve had time to catch-”

“I like you, okay?” You nearly fell over.  The red you had suppressed now overpowered you and started to spread over your cheeks and nose.  Your gripped your pants tighter, less secretly now.  “I know your busy, busier than me-”

“You know I’m not busier than you.”  You interrupted, but he kept talking like you hadn’t.

“-But I had to tell you before anyone else did.  I’ve always thought you were cute, but it kept growing in my head and my chest and now all I do is stare and admire and just want to be here.”  There was silence as you focused your eyes on his shirt, his plain white shirt as you felt his eyes bore into your face.  

“I said I wouldn’t mind the outcome, reject me or not, I-”  You whipped your head up, eyes blown and red littered on you face.

“Why would I reject you?!”  Your quickly slapped your hands over your mouth, turning redder still, as you wanted to crawl into a hole and just hide.  “I-I mean, who would do that?  Reject the opportunity to possibly be in a relationship with such a good man?  That’s just crazy talk, or maybe I’m talking crazy, or just… I’m crazy.”  You huffed as you bent down to the floor, hugging you knees and hiding your embarrassed face into them.  

The boys had been picking fun at you for month and your loud crush for their leader.  It was a typical ‘we know, they don’t scenario they found themselves in.  You thought you had been the only one who was teased in private, but hearing it from Shownu, he probably got the same treatment.  It almost made you laugh.  

You jumped as you felt your wrist being grabbed along with your opposite arm and then your body being pulled back to your feet.  Once you were nearly straightened up, you then were pushed into a chest as arms wrapped around your shoulders.  Your breath hitched as you felt a chuckle rumble from Shownu’s chest and into your ear.  

“Your warm.”  You pouted and wanted to hit at his sides, but your arms felt like jelly.  It was like you had no control of your body.  

“Shut up. It’s rude to tease you manager.”  He chuckled again, rubbing your back in a way that made your eyes droop.  He was one of the few members who knew of your constant back pain, so the little action did a lot of you and your racing heart no doubt.  

“But, your more than my manager, so I think it’s okay.”  You felt your pulse in your hands and arms, heart quickening more and more.  

“More?”  Your voice rose an octave, cracking slightly as you asked him to elaborate.  That same chuckle hit your ears for the third time.  A fourth and you’d probably drop to your knees again, slipping from his arms.  

“You’re my manager, sure, but you’re also someone special.  A friend, an important person, and if you give me the pleasure of saying ‘yes’, then you can have the chance of being my girlfriend.”  You wanted to whine at him, he was being too sweet, too smooth for himself.  He was confidence, because part of him knew.  He knew you couldn’t say no.

“If you stay the night, I’ll be more inclined to say yes.”  You all but whispered into his chest.  You wanted to try and take some control of the situation, but ultimate, Shownu saw through your attempted and pulled his phone from his back pocket. 

He quickly sent a text to the group chat he had with the guys, saying he’d be staying with you for the night and that she’d drive him to the dorm tomorrow when their schedule picks back up.  Of course a few cracks came afterwards, but it was done.  

Now, you were his, and he wasn’t ready to let you go for at least the next 100 years or longer.  Depending on how long his life is.  Point being, you were his for the rest of his life, and you had no qualms about it.  

You were his manager, but now, you were just his, as he was yours.  For a long, long time.  

[shooter-nobunagun]

Orphanage of the Cosmos [Bloodborne AU]

//Covers lore and events from Upper Cathedral Ward through the Orphanage; usual spoiler warning.

“Tell me something; why are you really here?” The hunter acted as if he hadn’t heard the other man, only continuing to etch the rune patterns along his skin but Adam knew he was listening. “You Executioners only care about the Vilebloods, and you certainly don’t need our strength.” There was no response still, and Adam felt his eyelid twitch.

“What is it you’re really after?”

The pick was laid down with a soft “clink”, Tell methodically bandaging up the scars until the etchings healed and the rune’s power would take effect. “Adam Muirhead. That is a question I could ask you myself; Your strength is impressive and your hunts, even moreso. Why you would take such an interest in a newcomer I do not know, but it’s not just for her skills.”

Though Tell didn’t say anything explicitly, Adam felt his pulse increase. Just how obvious was their relationship becoming... Even though he was sure they were taking enough precautions around each other, and hell it wasn’t as if anything more happened after the kiss in the gardens (and there had been nobody else around, he’d made sure of it). Regardless, if Tell was subtly hinting he was aware of this bond between them, then anything was game.

“...This hunt, it’s different than the past ones, somehow...I know you can sense it,” he replied, though avidly looking away. “It ain’t my first, and I’m not stupid enough t’ turn away help for the sake of pride.”

“Different, you say...?” Tell’s voice carried only a hint of further knowledge, but it wasn’t enough for Adam to make a judgement of whether or not to push for more. “In any case, it’s none of my business; as you so rightly said, I am merely with your band for the time being because I find it an interesting change of pace. I do not need your strength to survive.” 

“Then keep yer bloody nose outta this,” Adam muttered, wondering if Tell really was a threat or simply a hunter who’d been on too many hunts, and now merely found ways to keep himself amused during the never-ending nights. “Call us interesting if yeh want, just don’t stir up unnecessary trouble.”

Tell hummed a questioning note, before finally strolling over and eyeing Adam face-to-face. “Unnecessary trouble...I have a feeling it’s not me who’s at risk.” It was unnerving, both the double entendre and also how close Tell was standing to him, those dark eyes piercing his own.

It felt like forever before he blinked and stepped away, Adam letting out the breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding. Shit; Tell was definitely onto them but unlike Mirza, it didn’t seem to be malice so much as curiosity, or perhaps even caution.

“Just remember, Muirhead; anything more than the occasional midnight visit will come back to bite you, sooner or later.” Adam nearly dropped the tool he’d been holding while embedding a blood gem into his gun. There was a chance Tell was simply poking fun in jest, but after all that, he had a feeling the Executioner knew.

About his true feelings for the huntress.

“Adam...? Is everything okay?” Speak of the devil. His head turned and there she was, eyes large and questioning as she handed him the turnscrew he’d dropped. “Did Tell do something?”

“...It’s nothing.” He took the tool and turned back to the workbench, Sio looking a bit hurt at his abrupt attitude but he couldn’t risk revealing anymore than they already had. If only he could find some way to be sure they could get some privacy, he could tell her... “Oy, Sio—”

But when he turned around again she’d already disappeared. ---- “Tha’s a mighty long face ye’ve got thar, lass. Sumthin’ the matter?” The surgeon gave her a friendly pat on the head but Sio’s expression remained unchanged, only focused on tuning her blunderbuss. “Och, somethin’s got yur goat; did that Muirhead do sumthin’ again?”

Sio barked out a laugh. “Ha! More like not do anything...” she muttered, hands going through the motions of oiling the locks and switches along the gun’s shaft. “Even now, I feel like he’s so hard to get a read on...one minute he’s being all nice, the next he ignores me like I’m a brat,” she growled, tossing the dirty rag into the supply trunk. “If you’re just using me for your own pleasures, then why the hell did you say all that in the gardens...”

Hunter raised an eyebrow at the insinuations Sio’s words carried, but kept it to himself. “Well, tha’s how he’s always been, fer as long as I’ve known ‘im. Hell, I’d say he’s actually gotten a lot better, since we’ve started traveling wit’ ye. Take it easy lass, it’ll take ‘im some time t’ get used to...uh, well,” Hunter cast her a sheepish glance, not sure if he should reveal the fact he already knew about their relationship. “A-Anywho, I’m sure he’s got his reasons; ‘f there’s one thing I can assure you, it’s that he isnae th’ type of man t’ act carelessly. Well, least I dinnae think so...”

“Well, if you say so...” Sio grumbled, not entirely convinced. Then again, what did she know about love and relationships? This was her first one, and with a veteran hunter from Yharnam, to boot. Maybe displays of affection were rare among their kind? Or maybe she was thinking too far in him giving her anything beyond the occasional compliment or even kiss. ‘Seriously Sio, you couldn’t have fallen for a more normal guy?’

A tap on her shoulder nearly sent her jumping out of her skin again, but to her relief she managed to control it—even moreso after she realized who it was that wanted her attention. “Oh! Uh, William Tell...right? Is there...something you need?”

“I was discussing the state of things with Vidocq earlier; he mentioned you and Muirhead were able to communicate with a Great One—Rom?” 

A familiar shiver crawled down her spine at the mention of that topic. Surely Tell wasn’t suspicious as well...she hadn’t sensed anything foreboding from him, but he could very well have an ulterior motive, like so many of their fellow hunters. 

“U-Uh, y, yeah...I-I mean, I wouldn’t really call it...communicating, but more like...” She twisted a lock of her hair nervously, wonder how wise it was to reveal everything. On one hand, if Tell already spoke to Vidocq then there wasn’t a point in hiding it. But on the other...who knew what he wanted this information for. “Um—can, can I ask...why are you interested in this anyway? It’s not like Rom’s around anymore...and to be honest, I’m not sure what more I can tell you that Vidocq already hasn’t; if anything, he could probably tell you more, considering his research...”

To her surprise Tell shook his head. “Actually, I am asking because I know someone who might be helpful in figuring this out.” She stared at him blankly, not sure what to make of this. “Sio Ogura, are you interested in learning more about why you are able to hear those thoughts? With creatures beyond any imagining, and what they mean?”

“H-Huh?” Now she was really confused. “W, Wait, what do you mean...Tell, do you know what a Great One is? Can you also hear their voices?”

“...Not really. Well, I suspect not as well as you can. However, an acquaintance of mine recently wrote to me about a great discovery that may shed more light on this...phenomenon. He is an elite member of the Healing Church; the Choir, if you’ve heard of them.”

Sio shook her head slowly, still trying to grasp everything. “O-Oh, I...see.” Though she wasn’t truly interested in figuring out a mystical entity that was probably best left alone, a part of her curiosity couldn’t help but be piqued. Perhaps this would yield a way to break that strange connection somehow, or at least explain it. The blood sickness was bad enough, she didn’t want another potentially fatal condition to deal with. Besides, these Great Ones and the beasts they fought had to be connected somehow...right? Though Sio didn’t know how exactly, instinct told her they co-existed for a reason. “Where is this friend of yours?”

Tell was about to speak when another voice cut in. “Oy, what’re you two doing...” The look Adam was casting him could only be described as daggers, but the other hunter didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Ah, Muirhead. Nothing much, was merely asking Miss Ogura if she would be interested in heading to the Orphanage at the top of the Upper Cathedral Ward.”

“An orphanage? Whatever for...” Adam’s eyes narrowed at that comment. He’d never heard of anything at the top of the Cathedral...though it was true, there were rumors of a locked gate leading to a secret place where only the most skilled and wise hunters were able to venture. “This isn’t the time to be taking any grand detours—”

“—You are not interested in why you could hear her? Rom, the Great One?” Adam tensed at the mention of that battle. “From what I’ve learned during my travels, not every hunter hears them, you know. The Great Ones...and to be able to understand more than just feelings and images...”

“...What are you insinuating?” A cold sweat ran down his spine. “I—yeh, sure, it would be nice to know, but I don’t think it’s anymore important than finishing the hunt—”

“—Is it?” Both Adam and Sio could only stare at Tell, unsure of what to do. “You have never wondered, how these beasts came to be in the first place, why this night continues so?” He was walking in circles around them, pose non-threatening as usual but Adam slowly gripped the handle of his pistol underneath his coat. 

“The Orphanage. At the very top of Upper Cathedral Ward." He held up an elaborate, rusty key. “I will see you at the headstones if you wish to accompany me, and seek the truth.”

And then Tell left, coattails swirling behind as the girl collapsed on her knees while he continued staring, and wondering.

“Oh man...that was intense,” Sio shuddered, slowly picking herself back up.  “What the heck was all that...”

“I don’t know; this Tell figure, I don’t get what he’s doing...bloody hard to figure out,” Adam muttered. “Sio, you alright? He didn’t do or say anything, did he?”

“N-No, it was kinda the same as he told you...he asked, if I wanted to know why I, I can hear those...things,” she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase those horrible memories. “I-I mean, I know you’re right and we don’t have much time, b-but I can’t help but wonder...what if he has a point? He said he has a friend or something there...a part of the Choir?”

A member of the Healing Church? Adam raised an eyebrow, but didn’t dismiss Sio’s words. The Church was definitely not his favorite group of people, but at least they were better than the Vilebloods. Marginally. “It’s true, I’d rather not take anymore unnecessary detours...but I am curious as well. And especially for you...”

Sio blushed with embarrassment and guilt. “A-Ah, I’m sorry—seriously, it’s not like Tell is forcing me to go, he just asked; honestly, we probably should just get on with the hunt—”

She stilled as he leaned over her, a somber expression on his face. “If you really want to Sio, then it’s your right and your choice. You don’t need my approval for everything; least of all something that so deeply affects you.” There it was again, this weird change in attitude he only showed sporadically. Still Sio couldn’t tell if really cared about her, or just put on a front to make her feel better.

“Erm, yeah sure...by the way, this isn’t related to anything, but...what’s with you?” She gave him a pointed stare. “I don’t want you to coddle me or anything, but I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t just dismiss me at the drop of a hat.”

Adam winced internally at that stare. Of course, Sio never let anything slip her by, not even when he brusquely brushed her off. “Ah, look, about that earlier...I apologise, I didn’t mean to. It’s just...” He glanced around, before nodding his head towards the more secluded part of the woods just beyond the gate. “There’s a reason I don’t want others t’ catch on about...us. Anymore than they already are.”

“O-Oh...makes sense.” Suddenly she felt guilty, thinking back to all the possible moments she might’ve let slip that they were involved now as more than just allies. “Sorry...you’re right, I should be more careful myself...I’m pretty sure Hunter’s already put two-and-two together by now—”

“—Hunter we can trust, and yeh, like you said he...pretty much already figured it out,” Adam muttered bashfully. “I’m talkin’ more about the others. Not just folks like Tell...but also Geronimo...and Mirza.” His eyes narrowed at the thought of those two. More than once already, they’d each hinted at how Sio was special somehow, not just as a hunter but to him, personally. “Especially those two; hate to admit it, but I’m startin’ to regret keeping them around...”

Sio felt a shiver of fear at Adam’s words. Just from working together with them, she’d learned the two were not to be trifled with; things were uneasy enough with her blood sickness, but if Adam was starting to become concerned, then there could only be consequences down the road if they weren’t careful. To be sure, Geronimo was always polite towards her, but her intentions towards infected hunters were painfully clear. And Mahesh Mirza...

“U-Uhm, Adam?” He gave her a curious look, but didn’t interrupt. “A, About Mirza...I, I don’t know, if this means anything--ah hell, maybe I was just imaging it—”

“—What is it Sio? Did he try anything with you?” She was surprised by how alarmed Adam seemed at the mere mention of the man, his expression changing and quickly he strode over to her. “What’s wrong?”

“U-Um, well...it’s just, you know how I was sleeping...in your lap, right after we came back from Cainhurst Castle, right?” A nod. “W, Well, this was right when I woke up, b-before you were awake...I, I noticed him just...staring at me...” Adam’s hand gently laid itself on her shoulder, the weight comforting her even as Sio felt her stomach twist at the memory. “I...I-I mean, I didn’t see him directly...it was only because, of the angle and where I was lying...I could see his face in the Stakedriver’s reflection...I-I don’t know if he could see back at me, o-or what, but...”

His grip on her shoulder tightened slightly but Adam didn’t say a word. So, his suspicions were correct...Mirza was indeed after the huntress, and not just on a flirtatious level. ‘This must have something to do with her blood sickness...and perhaps the ability to hear the Great Ones...’

“A, Adam... I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this earlier, but...” He shook his head, gently patting her on the back as she tried not to cry. “I, I was just so shocked by it, a-and then we were getting ready to all go to Yahar’gul, I-I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble at a time like that...!”

“It’s all right Sio; I understand.” Adam sighed heavily before sitting down next to her. “Honestly, it’s my fault; I should’ve kept a closer eye on ‘im myself...and also not made it seem like things would be fine as long as I was around.” He should’ve known Mirza would find a way to get what he wanted, even with him and Hunter practically standing guard around Sio. “Thanks for telling me that, Ogura. And next time, trust your instincts. Hell, I’d trust yours more than I’d trust mine at this point...”

Sio nodded, burrowing her head slightly against his arm and was rewarded with a small embrace. “Thanks, Adam...but I’m just curious; how come you and Hunter always talk about Mirza like he’s some sort of...well, vagabond? Yet he’s part of our group?”

“Oh boy...now that’s a story.” Rubbing his temples, Adam wondered how much he should tell or where to even begin. “I guess the best way t’ put it is, he’s a bit of an...enigma. Born into a rich family, stable life and all that—then for some reason he throws it all away and goes about acting like a hunter and ends up gettin’ disowned by his parents...guess he’s got some skills, but it’s just...” Adam gave an aggravated sigh as he leaned back against the stone pillar. “It’s just, something about him doesn’t add up; he claims he just wants to ‘see the glory’ of being a hunter, and yeh he ain’t half-bad on the field, but still...he’s hiding something, that much I can sense. There’s just something about his actions and intentions that don’t make sense. He’s a hunter, but not for the reasons he says... And that’s not even counting his womanising behaviour. So yeh, tha’s why me an’ Hunter are wary of him...but I figured, it was better than lettin’ him wander away where I can’t keep an eye on him.”

“I see...” Sio contemplated Adam’s words with her own musings. Her suspicions weren’t far off either, the sense that Mirza was definitely after something, yet he acted with just enough charm that made it difficult for them to pin any sort of accusations of underhanded doings. ‘The type of person who knows how to get what they want, how to play the game without getting caught...’ The man reminded her of a snake, lying patiently in wait until the prey was close enough for a single, deadly strike. “In any case, I’ll be sure to watch myself around him...”

Adam nodded in agreement. “Yeh, I’ll mention to Hunter as well tha’ Mirza’s likely to try something if he thinks he can get away with it...hopefully two people might dissuade him from doing anything stupid...”

“Have you worked together with him in the past before? With Mirza?”

“Hmm? Well...wouldn’t exactly call it working together. After you’ve been in this business for a while, you tend to know who’s around and who’s likely to not get killed. We’ve teamed up once or twice to take on some particularly nasty beasts but that’s about it—went our separate ways pretty quickly afterwards, no need to stick around.” Adam shrugged. “Back then, my policy was t’ mind my own business, even if those I worked with weren’t exactly...trustworthy.”

The huntress hugged her knees and thought about Mirza’s behavior, and now Tell’s mysterious words. “So...do you, wanna go to the Orphanage, then? With Tell? I-I mean, I...personally, I kind of want to...if only I can finally understand why... Plus, I feel he at least has more morals than Mirza.”

Adam stood up at her words, lending a hand to the smaller girl. “Hell, why not. Hopefully won’t be a long detour...and I am kind of curious myself. Plus, there’s no way in hell I’m lettin’ ya go by yerself, ‘specially now,” he gave her a slightly roguish grin to which Sio blushed, “Tell himself asked me if I was curious as well...which makes me think this phenomenon concerns more than just you.”

The two strode in a comfortable silence to the headstones where the stoic Executioner awaited, eyebrow slightly raised but otherwise un-surprised to see them. The trio knelt at the headstones as the fog encompassed them, unaware of a fourth who then knelt down right behind them. ----- “This...can’t really be an orphanage...can it?” The foreboding atmosphere, thick fog and onerous shrieks that greeted them the second they arrived...and that wasn’t even counting the steps leading into the Upper Cathedral Ward, which were littered with countless grotesque, larval-like creatures that tried to spit acid on them with every step. “Ouch—damn this acid—!” The pain in her foot burned, but even worse was the familiar feeling of losing herself, her control slipping away and giving in to that frenzied bloodlust... Growling low in her throat, she transformed the Rifle Spear, charging it up towards those stupid larvae—

“Oy Sio, careful! Here, drink this,” and before Sio could push him away a dark, pungent liquid pushed past her lips, the girl swallowing clumsily and coughing as she choked on the thick sedative. “There...feeling all right now? Have some water as well.”

“Ugh...ooh, what the...” Still coughing, Sio wiped her bloody mouth with her sleeve, flinching as she noticed the crimson color. “What th—wh, what did you just give me?”

“A sedative; concocted at Byrgenwerth, it helps calms those whose nerves are easily frayed...such as yourself, Miss Ogura.” She turned to the voice of William Tell, who was picking off the creatures with several molotovs. “I noticed it when you were fighting in Cainhurst, and again in Yahar’gul...but you have an affliction towards frenzy...do you not?”

Sio could only nod helplessly, upset and frightened this hunter had figured her out so easily. Not just that...but what he could do with such knowledge... Even with Hunter and Adam’s support, it wouldn’t be wise to strain things anymore within the group. “Y, Yeah...I guess it’s pretty obvious by now...but, wait a minute, you called it frenzy, and this...sedative, you knew...this place, the Choir...” Tell was looking at her with an almost amused gaze, as if he enjoyed watching the huntress putting the pieces together at last. “You...know about this condition. And it’s related to the Great Ones...and how I can hear them...isn’t it?”

As she finished her hypothesis Sio knew she was correct, judging from the rare smile Tell was giving her. “Again, you astound me with your insight and knowledge, young huntress. You are correct; the reason you tend to go into a frenzy, is because your mind is particularly vulnerable to the whisperings of those Great Ones...so whenever you come in contact with them or one of their kin, you are at risk to lose your mind to whatever madness they try to tell you.” 

“B-But then, that means...a-are you saying I’ll eventually go insane? And why the hell are they trying to talk to me?” Sio felt herself go numb with dread, wondering how much her sanity was already gone. 

“That’s what the sedative is for. It will help to counteract and strengthen your mind against such probings,” Tell answered, “though as with any form of blood ministration it should be used sparingly, so it’s best to avoid coming in too-close contact with any of them. As for what and why...well, perhaps my colleague will be able to answer it better than any of my own delusions.” 

Sio nodded mutely, still distraught over her own realizations and the fact that she’d just swallowed an entire bottle of human blood. As if having to inject blood vials wasn’t bad enough...but if she wanted to protect herself from any more madness, what choice did she have?

“This place...it’s so dependent on blood—no, they’re obsessed,” she muttered to herself as they proceeded inside the dilapidated hall. Adam and Tell took the lead as they scouted ahead cautiously, while Sio waited until a signal for her to either charge forward or else stay back as they handled the numerous brain suckers, werewolves and other horrors present inside the cathedral. A terrible shriek and shattering of broken glass startled her out of her thoughts, as a pair of monstrous werewolves crashed through the thin frame and into the crowded corridor where she waited. Shaking off the glass, she didn’t even wait for the two men to catch up before her Rifle Spear pierced deep into one of them, shooting the second to fend it off while she finished the first. The floor was slick with blood and entrails by the time Adam and Tell returned from dealing with the third, Sio already wiping up her weapons while two massive corpses lay at her feet. Though he didn’t say anything, Tell gave her an even glance, before the three of them continued up through the center of the mansion.

Even as a group of three, and her increased experience, still Sio felt the constant dread of fear, hanging just out of reach to prevent it from overwhelming her completely, yet enough unease remained to keep her pulse high and all senses hyper-focused for any potential threat. Despite its innocuous name, Upper Cathedral Ward was anything but mundane; beyond the numerous threats of werewolves and brainsuckers was the building itself, rotting and dark with stairs that creaked ominously and evidence of hideous experiments strewn about. 

As they reached the top Sio’s eyes slid over to a curious statue, posed with arms outstretched in peculiar manner. If it weren’t for the gravity of the situation, she might’ve even laughed. Still, when Adam and Tell were taking a breather, Sio couldn’t help but raise her arms as well, mimicking the strange pose and then it seemed as if she’d...gained something, although nothing physical happened.

“That’s an interesting gesture you’re doing, Ogura.” She yelped in embarrassment as the two men came rounding the corner, Tell raising an eyebrow and Adam giving her just the slightest of winks, as she mumbled something about ‘just stretching’, before following the two in an awkward silence. When would she be able to act like a real, grown-up hunter instead of a bumbling newbie?

The anxiety eased slightly as they finally reached the tall doors, which Tell handily opened with the key. The actual orphanage didn’t seem to be much better, though the outside air was an improvement compared to the stale and fetid damp that stuck to her nostrils no matter how much she breathed. They were now in some sort of garden, filled with large flowers she didn’t recognize that faintly glowed whenever she approached them. 

“What are these flowers? I’ve never seen them before...” She was tempted to reach out and touch one, their soft light lulling her into a bit of a trance-like state.

“Lumenflowers; for some reason, they’re quite common in this area. To the best of my knowledge they’re not dangerous, but one does wonder why they glow like that...” 

Sio quickly withdrew her fingers after that comment. Better to be safe than sorry, especially in a place like this. Still, the garden was much needed after fighting the dark for so long; Sio didn’t even notice how tight her grip was until they paused for a break, having to pry her fingers from the dirty bandages that wrapped around the Rifle Spear’s shaft.

“Oy, how’re you holdin’ up?” It took every fiber of her being to not jump suddenly as his voiced pierced her ear, even as she welcomed his presence. “A bit jumpy, huh...don’t blame yeh; been gettin’ weird vibes this entire time...and it’s not just the unwelcome company.” Adam gave a slight glance around the area. “I just hope this friend we’re supposedly meeting ain’t gonna be another lunatic we need to worry abou...” His voice trailed off and Sio felt a sudden quiver of unease run through her, the very air itself becoming charged with a kind of energy that set all the hairs on her neck straight up. 

“Wh-what’s, what’s going on...there’s, something...”

“...It seems we’ve company to deal with first, before meeting up with Nostradamus...wonderful.” Sio barely caught the name of their contact before strange, little blue pygmys streamed into the room, their bulbous heads aglow with an ominous light as they ran on spindly little legs that somehow did not snap under their own weight. They did not growl like the usual monsters, only gibberish as they ran around the hunters, the circle growing increasingly tight as Sio felt the suffocating frenzy building up again...ignoring her own disgust, she forced another bottle of sedative down, resisting the urge to heave. No matter how repulsive she found the blood to be, there was no denying it did help to keep her calm, to focus on the task at hand instead of blindly charging forward.

“What the hell are these things?” Adam’s Stakedriver was working full-time in knocking out the seemingly endless wave. “They’re not beasts, are they?”

“No; from what I’ve gathered, and Nostradamus’ notes, these creatures were once human, but did not turn into beasts. Rather, they’re something else entirely...” Tell’s arrows fired effortlessly into the distance, picking off the stumbling blue blobs one-by-one. “Tch...there’s no end to these things...”

“There must be a leader of some sorts...I’m sure if we can find and take it out, the underlings will lose their direction and be easy enough to pick off.” Sio tried to scan the creatures to discern which one could be different, but they all looked the same. But their behavior...her eyes narrowed as she noticed a particular creature standing around, not running or attacking. ‘Wait a minute, why’s that one not doing anything...? Maybe...!’ Without another word she shoved herself through the fray, ignoring the bumbling blue hands that tried to hold her back and their arcane magic that left painful burns through her clothes. Those could be healed up, but not if they couldn’t stem the flow...

“Tell! Adam! I think I’ve got it!” The two men turned towards her shouts, as Sio’s spear sank into the blue creature. “Over here!” Although this particular creature hadn’t been attacking, now that she was effectively ripping it to shreds, it too started to become hostile. The more she struck, the larger it seemed to grow; until suddenly there was a burst of light and the creature instantly swelled in size, now with additional tentacles sprouting from its head. “Uh oh!”

“Sio!” Adam tackled the girl down just in time before both of them got hit with an arcane blast. “You hurt? Damn, th’ thing’s huge now!”

“True, but at least we finally have a target!” Her face was pulled back in a wide-eyed grin, Adam feeling a little uneasy about her battle lust but at least she seemed to be resisting their frenzy. “Come on, let’s take it out!” And without even waiting for a response she tore back into the alien, firing a shot to disable the tentacles as she tore out its guts in another visceral attack as Adam attacked its flank. 

With their combined efforts and Tell’s arrows, soon enough the creature toppled over, the smaller underlings vanishing in an instant and all was silent in the gardens again. Adam took a quick glance over at Sio, who was panting with exhaustion but otherwise seemed none worse for wear. The dangerous grin she wore during battle had faded, replaced with a tired grimace. “Oy, you all right? Here, we should patch up your burns...”

“Oh, it’s not a big deal—yeeoow!” Sio couldn’t help but jump from the pain as Adam swabbed her burned skin with an antiseptic, all the while giving her a look. “O-Okay, maybe I should take care of these...ow, don’t press so hard!” She winced as he went over a particularly deep wound.

“Sorry, my bad...” He was no Hunter when it came to the gentle dexterity needed to not unintentionally hurt patients, but sometimes the basics had to be enough. “Apologies; this better now?”

“Y-Yeah...thanks.” He nodded and then stood up, using his body as a curtain to give her some privacy while she quickly changed into a spare shirt, the breeze chilling against her bare skin.

“So what, is this friend of yours ever goin’ to show his face? Or was this all for nothing?” Adam eyed Tell with a wary glance as the archer came trotting up. “Unless there’s more...”

Adam didn’t even finish his sentence before they all heard the slow clap, clap, clap, footsteps now approaching the trio from seemingly nowhere. He was a young man, with orange-red hair and slightly shorter in stature compared to Tell, dressed in the classic uniform of The Choir: billowing white robes, long black glove and their signature blindfold cap, signaling their desire to commune with the heavens and their debt to Master Willem.

“My, my...you did not inform me you were bringing guests, dear friend? Let’s see...two additional hunters, one male and one female...one who is on the verge of succumbing to the blood sickness, and both...ah, I understand now, Tell. I understand all too well, why it is they came with you...”

“Muirhead, Ogura. My contact from The Choir, Michel de Nostradamus.” Tell nodded towards the man, who bowed slightly in return. “Do not be afraid; I can promise he does not mean any harm towards you.”

Sio found his words hard to believe, instead shrinking back towards Adam who subtly wound a hand around her shoulder in a protective manner. Despite the blindfold, Nostradamus had identified them with an astonishing degree of accuracy; not only who they were, but her affliction, which she didn’t even think Tell knew.

“Oh dear, perhaps I’ve frightened them?” Nostradamus gave a tinkling laugh. “Come come, there’s no need to stand around like strangers. Please, come this way, and I shall explain everything. He continued beckoning them towards the other building, able to navigate the hallways as if he didn’t have a blindfold at all. 

Part of her wanted to just forget about this wild goose chase and return to the dream, but another part was burning with curiosity. That, and the fact they’d already fought their way through this entire Cathedral and then the gardens, meant they might as well go through with whatever secrets this Nostradamus held. There was an encouraging pat on her shoulder and she turned to see Adam giving her a small smile, Sio nodding silently as both of them followed the other two inside.