#Sometimes I start writing those things and I seriously black the fuck out and then come back and it’s written

[ssreeder]

oh my god. oh my goodness fucking gracious me.

so I just have to tell you that I found your fic this morning and I fucking SPEEDED through that shit (even though it was SO long--IM NOT COMPLAINING I LOVE LONG FICS) but oh my god. oh my god

you're so talented??? first of all, like I'm on my knees wondering where all this came from. like you came up with this?? it was in your head?? and you wrote it by yourself? oh my god reSPECT

also it's so beautifully written‼️‼️ I went back and looked at the character development and the everything because good lord it was so well paced. like I was on the edge of my bed seat during every single chapter. good lord

zukka + all of ATLA is my current hyperfixation and your fic has soothed me so completely

jesus christ on a cracker do you understand how talented you are?? do you *grabs you aggressively by the shoulders and stares deeply into your eyes* DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW INCREDIBLE AND SKILLFUL AND GORGEOUS THIS IS??? PLEASE

okay but in all seriousness, here are some of my favorite lines(mostly from the last chapter because jesus fuck I do nOT have time to scroll back through everything your wrote):

"And here he was, all these years later… not used to it. He knew he would never get used to the blood curdling scream a person made when the fire stripped their body clean and their bones were reduced to nothing but a pile of ash and a terrible smell.

No wonder the world referred to them as ash-makers."

Jesus fucking fuck. CHILLS BBY I HAD CHILLS

"Watch out for your little brother" OHOHOHO HEHEEEE

"'Your teacher will be someone who has mastered Neutral Jing. You need to find someone who waits and listens before striking. Do not worry about your old friend Aang, he isn’t buried in the ground yet!' Bumi cackled the way that he had since they were just kids.

...

'The white lotus Pai Sho piece? I don’t have a set, no one else knows how to play.'"

AHAHAH THE TOPH AND UNCLE IROH DROP IM GOING TO BE SICK

"I'll go wherever you go." KILLING MYSELF WHY ARE THEY SO SWEET

anyway that's enough from me (I feel like you should know I typed all of this while either rolling around on the floor screaming or sitting very still with a DEEPLY disturbing (so I'm told) and very somber expression on my face).

i hope you have a lovely day you gorgeous beautiful perfect human being

This is me reading your ask… dude wtf this is so nice!!!!

I AM BEING SHOULDER GRABBED WITH LOVE AND I REALLY LIKE IT AHHHHH!!! its so funny because its been so long since i wrote the first book you sent me those quotes and im like uhhhuhhh ohhh yeah mhmmmm wait i wrote that?? Haha (except the “watch out for your little brother”) cause that was twisted in a way that made me smirk.. haha that sentence meant so much!!! (I do think the bumi quote was directly from canon though so I take zero credit for that just trying to keep it canon haha)

I’m glad you like my writing enough to come scream at me. I love when people scream kind words at me I WANT TO BE SHOULDER GRABBED WITH PRAISE MORE AHHHHH!!!

thanks for this epic ask you’re fucking amazing never change

[gremlingottoosilly]

Hostess!Reader X König?

(I assume you mean like a Japanese Hostess and not a regular restaurant one, although I would have written about Konig getting his dick so hard he blacks out over a pretty woman asking him if he has a reservation at the nearest restaurant) Konig is...tired. Extremely. A man of his position and money shouldn't spend so much of both resources on women in those clubs, but he just doesn't give a fuck anymore. Dating is hopeless - he can get a quick fuck, but then he gets attached, then he starts to message and ask them about their day, wish them good morning and get ghosted by yet another lady who just wanted a ride to big dick town for tonight. He can get past one date, and then he will ruin everything as soon as he starts talking more than a few sentences. He is yearning for love with the demeanor and outlook of a guy who would murder you in the alley and steal loot from your corpse. Que you. Charming, elegant, pretty. You might not be the most popular woman at your club - Konig wouldn't come for the lady of the night, of course, he needs to be more confident, but he will find himself some pretty underappreciated woman who might need a bit of a company. You're bored, not basking in attention from every guy in the room - so your world is just a bit brighter when Konig is around. He doesn't make you drink - already a green flag for the clients. He does order things so you could eat with him, and he sometimes asks for you to pour the shot in his mouth - a weird task, but you would take it over surviving through another night of alcohol poisoning. You light cigarettes for him, you hug him and ask him about his day. He is reluctant, that much is obvious. Your normal hostess demeanor isn't working because this guy doesn't just want a polite and well-mannered lady, he wants either an innocent angel who can't pronounce the word cock or a housewife who will get rid of his mommy issues once and for all. He practically eats out of the palm of your hand - which is enticing, seriously, you love that about him, but you also do feel kinda weird whenever he writes. You exchanged numbers because this is a good way of making him go to the club over and over, but you start regret the decision once he is bombarding you with money transfers(which is nice) and virtual postcards(which reminds you of exactly how weird the guy is)

[abbyslvrrr]

Fade into you pt.2

Boxer!sevika x topside!reader

Finally done part 2! (it literally took me a whole month) I kept losing motivation to write BUT I FINALLY FINISHED TODAY!! Hope y’all like it! (I don’t think I’ll continue this tbh) I feel like this kinda sucks ass can’t lie.

WC: 1167

The following day, you couldn't stop thinking about Sevika and the interaction you had with her. The way she got so close to you, the way she looked as she was sitting there and smoking her cigarette. Ugh, you needed to stop thinking of her seriously! Are you actually considering going back? She told you she had a fight next week and you were off next week. 

"Just stop it!” You knew your parents would freak out if they ever found out you went to the undercity, let alone thinking about going back there, but why was the thought of not seeing Sevika making you feel so down? As the next week started approaching, you finally made your decision to go and see Sevika again; you couldn't shake her out of your head. The problem was, you didn't want to tell Sam about it, but you also didn't know your way around the undercity. God, this was going to be a mission. 

You decide to wear something cute this time around—a long-sleeve low-cut shirt and a cute black skirt. For shoes, you went with black combat boots. You do your hair and makeup, grabbing your phone and bag ready to head out, when all of a sudden your mother walks in. 

“Where do you think you're going, young lady?” She questioned you. Shit, what would you say?

"Um, im going to Sams, yeah. She's having a little girls night!” praying that she believed you, sometimes it blew your mind that as an adult your mother was still so stuck with you. You actually hated it, but you didn't say anything about it. Your mother nodded her head.

"Okay, be safe honey. Text me when you get home, okay?” she said as she hugged you and left you be. You sighed and went out. You kind of felt bad for lying to your mother, but it was whatever at this point. Stepping out of your house, you try your best to remember the way Sam took you, and you find yourself where she took you last time. 

As you walk your way over to the fighting ring, you can't help but feel eyes all on you. ‘Of course they'd stare; you literally look like you're from the topside.’ you say to yourself. You get there and see Sevika already in the ring fighting her opponent. You manage to get yours close enough to see her. 

The guy she is fighting is like 2x bigger than her, and yet she's so unfazed by it. He lands a hit on Sevika and knocks her back, but only for a second because she's right back and hits him back so hard he goes flying back. There's a small break that was called; Sevika looks into the crowd and manages to spot you. She thought you were so easily spottable; you see her and smile at her. You see the blood on her face, probably a bloody nose. She sends a wink your way, and you swear you passed out there. After the break, Sevika and the guy were at it again. He goes to hit him, but Sevika has him figured out this time and blocks his punch, and she knocks him to the ground; he stays there, probably passed out. 

Sevika is declared winner once again, and everyone goes crazy like last week. Sevika motions to the back, where the little room is. You make your way through the busy crowd and step into the room.

“You came, doll.” Her voice boomed; god, her voice was like fucking music to your ears. Why is she making you feel this way? You could listen to her voice all day.

"Yeah, I did come back; I don’t really know why.” Suddenly, your shoes became the most interesting thing in the world. A part of you wanted to get to know Sevika, possibly befriend her, maybe something more. But knowing that Sevika was from the undercity and a boxer, you knew it could never happen. Feeling a warm hand grab your chin gently and lift it up broke you out of your little trance. You are met with Sevika's eyes; god, you could get lost in those eyes of hers. She leans in a bit closer.

"Oh, you know why, doll, don't play stupid with me. You wanted to come see me; that's why you're here.” You hated how right she was. She pulled away from you and backed away. 

“Lets celebrate my win doll." She opened the door for you, and you walked out. The bar was crowded, and so was the dance floor; you felt a bit nervous about this not really being your scene. She grabbed your hand and dragged you to a table where a couple other guys were seated. She pulled you to that table sitting down; you sat beside her. 

Everyone looked a bit intimidating to you. Someone approaches the table and hands Sevika a drink; of course they would know what she liked. She fights here and celebrates here. Sevika chugs down her drink before looking at you. 

“So what do you usually drink? Something fancy?” The truth was you never really drank; when you did drink, it was just a small bit of wine or a little champagne. You didn't even know if you should drink anything tonight; I mean, how would you even go home? 

"Oh, I usually have a bit of wine, but I don't think I'll drink tonight.” You explain to her; she lets out a small chuckle. God,  she was perfect. No! You can't be thinking of her like that. Her voice brought you out of your thoughts.

“I figured as much; I don't think you'd find the best kind around here.” Sevika says as she starts on her second drink of the night. Hours go by and you have amazing conversations with Sevika; she tells you all about the undercity, and you tell her about Piltover. You knew that conditions down in the undercity were not great at all, and she was so passionate talking about her place here. You admired that about her. Hours pass, and before you know it, the time is 2330 and you have to leave. Sevika offers to take you at least halfway. 

Staying close to Sevika, you two begin the journey back. As you get closer and closer to where you need to go, Sevika asks you a question. “Would you want to come down again next week? "Uh, don’t have a fight, so we can maybe just spend the day together.” 

You put a hand on her bicep, smiling up at her, “Of course, Sevika. I’ll see you here again next week.” She pulls her phone out and gives it to you, typing in your number and saving it into her phone. You reach up and give Sevika a kiss on her cheek. “See you sev!" With that, you run off.

Sevika makes it her goal to get with you no matter what.

 

[tvgals]

Do you think you'd be able to write a hurt/comfort for aran x influencer reader who's got a backhanded compliment thrown at her during an interview she did? Ending can be a smut or fluff it's up to you <33

‘ MY KIND OF WOMAN. ‘

— aran has a problem when one of the reporters says something about you.

you sat at the table with an interviewer in one of those large white rooms with a camera crew and two chairs. you sit next to a woman wearing all black — you in stark contrast with pink and white attire. you were told this interview would be about your personal life and experiences growing up who you were, and you were beyond excited.

“so y/n, glad to have you here!” the camera panned to you, you waved at the camera and gave a sweet smile, turning back to the interviewer. “i’m your host, jeanie, and today we’ll be interviewing miss. y/n about her trials and victories as an influencer!” she smiles. as the interview goes on, she asks you questions about your life and how you see your future. things were going well until she asked you about aran.

“i know things must be hard having a boyfriend like aran. i mean, look at him and look at you!” jeanie giggles, putting her palm face up and jutting it in your direction. your eyebrows crease in confusion. “what do you mean by that?” you ask, starting to get up from your seat. “oh no, i just mean that he’s so good looking you must feel insecure sometimes!” you heave a sigh and walk out with a “y’all got me fucked up.” you take your phone out your purse and call aran.

‘hey baby.’

‘aran, they got me fucked up. come get me.’

‘what happened? i’m on my way.’

you hung up the phone and waited for aran to get there — while waiting you decided to post a tweet about your current situation.

y/n’sinterlude

these reporters got me fucked up if they think they finna talk shit then have me sit there and take it 🤡

aran pulls up in his hellcat and you get in the car — throwing you purse on the floor. “woah, baby, i paid almost four hunnid for that purse.” aran chuckles, immediately shutting up when he sees your glare at him. “but seriously, what’s wrong, baby?” aran asks, putting his hand on your thigh and driving away. you scroll on twitter for a minute before answering. “baby, they in there playing with my time.” you said, turning your phone off and throwing it on your lap. “tell me what happened.” aran says, turning the corner.

“so ole’ girl was in there talking to me about my life or whatever, then she asked be about our relationship. at first i’m like ‘okay?’ but then she started speaking about how insecure i must be ‘cause i’m with you. so i left they ass.” you explained, smearing fenty lipgloss on your lips. “damn. i gotchu, mama.” aran says, pulling into the driveway of your house. “whatchu mean?” you ask, getting out the car and opening the front door — aran trailing behind you. “i mean i gotchu. don’t worry ‘bout it.” he says, pulling you into you twos bedroom and pushing you onto the bed. you giggle and pull aran down into a kiss.

“i’m gon’ get you right, mama.” aran says in your ear, trailing down to your cunt. “aran..” you whine, arching your back. “jus’ let me take care of you, okay?” he says, his hot breath ghosting on your clit. “okay…” you mumble. aran licks a strip along your pussy, earning a moan from you, and delves his tongue inside of you. aran nudges his nose against your clit as your hand flys to the back of his head, forcing him deeper into your warm cunt. “right there, baby! i’m finna cum!” you warned him before you eventually gushed onto the bottom half of his face. aran slurped up the cum and rose above you, a dopey grin on his face. “taste so good.” aran laughed airily while pulling his dick out his boxers — hitting just in the middle of his belly button with a soft thud.

“y’know what to do, baby. on yo stomach, make sure you arch real good.” aran says. you flip over and arch your back, your hands under the pillow that your faced was shoved in. aran ran his tip along the slit of your pussy for a minute before slowly pushing in, letting out low grunts. “ah shit…just fucked you on tuesday, why you not lettin’ me in?” he asks, holding your hips. “‘m sorry, papa..” you whined, pushing your hips back. “aht, i gotchu.” he hushed you, finally bottoming out. you noticed aran didn’t move for a while, you looked back to see aran on his phone, the flashlight on presumably taking a video. “aran!” you groaned in annoyance. he chuckled and hushed you — finally fucking you like you deserved. “my baby so pretty.” aran mumbled, caressing your plush ass. “you so deep, papa…” you groaned, drool rolling down your chin and into the pillow. “i know. you real close, too. i can feel yo pretty pussy getting tighter.” aran laughs. you eventually came so hard your eyesight started getting splotchy and you heard ringing in your ears. “mhm..” aran hummed, his dick shooting cum into your womb. aran ends the video and opens twitter — his dick still inside of you — and he posts the video with a caption of “she don’t seem too insecure to me.” and he watched as the video blew up.

“aran, baby, whatchu doin’?” you ask, looking back at him. “nun.”

[dirtylittlefairytales]

Don't play with fire | - Part 1 - |

Authors Note: Hey. This is my first try ever writing in English, since it's not my first language. I read it over several times, hopefully to correct all mistakes. Also this is the first try of fanfiction since 2016. Sooo I appreciate feedback and let me know what you think.. Please be kind. 🙏🥹

Originally I wanted to write a short backstory, but I think it’s just going to be multiple parts if you want to read it. So see this as a kind of introduction. In further chapters I wanted to try myself to write my smut fantasies out. I'm also going to upload this later to Ao3 under the username Lorily96.

-> Writing in 'italic' is supposed to be the your thoughts

Warnings: Describing of a Panic attack, Age Gap (Legal)

Word count: 8k

Tagging: @a-movie-that-youve-never-seen, @amethystblackkchaos, @hereforthehitsbaby

Some people say life is a cruel joke. Unexpected twists and pain waiting around every corner. Some people say the glass is never empty and everything happens for a reason. You can learn from anything.  Everyone you meet is either there for a reason, for a season or... for ever. However the world is not black and white, sometimes there is no reason at all. You know how you sometimes laugh when something bad happens to a stranger or friend. Like their ice cream falling to the ground, seeing a cop writing a ticket for somebody else. I think ‘Life’ itself is bored just like us. That's why sometimes you feel like it’s only getting worse. Doesn’t matter what you do, there is no luck to be found. That's exactly how you felt that day. Just strings of bad luck and to this day you still question yourself. Why? Why didn’t you say something? Why did you do it? Why didn’t you walk away? How did all of this happen in the first place? The events of that day living rent-free in your head, keeping you up at night.

~ Sometimes Life has a dark and twisted humor. ~

All those overprotective dads, who only want the best for their daughter. Your dad was one of them. He always told you: "Be wary of strangers", "Never tell someone your name if you feel something is off", “Go with your gut feeling” and "don't go near the car of a stranger". Seriously, he had good points.

Unfortunately, he didn’t tell you what to do, when you suspect someone is a serial killer. Maybe running or keeping your nose out of the situation would have been a great option. Well, since daddy had been out of the picture since you were 12, maybe he would have some kind of advice for that. Your mom had found out he was cheating, and after the divorce, he cared more about his new girlfriend and son than you. Why care about the daughter you raised for 12 years, your beloved wife, when you can just throw it away and play happy family with the next woman you find.

At times, you wonder if that's the reason you had some kind of daddy issues. Perhaps you liked older men like him because of that. Even today, his face still haunts and excites you at the same time. Remembering how drawn you were to him. He was so charming and devilishly handsome. You felt sick and appalled at yourself for feeling this way. Everything he did, seemed to play into his hands. Who would suspect the nice and charming dad next door? How many times did you lay awake in bed at night, the events of that day replaying themselves over and over. Like a continuous loop with no escape… 

It felt like yesterday. The only reason you were at the concert in the first place was because one of the other guys quit a week before. You couldn’t even blame him, since your boss was a total dick. Ever since you started working in the company a year ago he was just looking for a reason to fire you. Always criticizing you, commenting when your bathroom break was too long. Wore a skirt? Too provocative. Wore a sweater? Be more professional. You could make a whole list of the things he pulled off. You fucking hated working in that place and even more to work outside or around many people. You chose to work in IT because you could work alone and in peace. 

Outside of work, you were a relatively social person. Many friends and people seemed to like you. Despite preferring to rather stay home alone, with your cat and books, you were surprisingly good at making conversations. It felt strange, kind of ironic. Life had a stupid sense of humor. Sometimes you even felt like you were good at reading people. Your mom called it your sixth sense.

Working at the arena for the concert was a real hassle. It was so stressful. Over a week before the actual concert there was already a meeting. Everybody working in the stadium that night was there. They didn’t reveal too much that day. Apparently the whole concert was also a trap for this serial killer? 

They called him - The Butcher 

You remember hearing and reading about him in the news. He had killed 12 people till now and the FBI was sure he was going to show up there. Everything was top secret, everyone had an extra card for controls during that day and a code word. On the day of the concert you arrived extra early to get the last directions for the day. They even told you what he potentially could look like.

Work was boring. The company you were working for was responsible for ensuring that all the screens, cameras were working, both on the outside and on the stage, that the wifi was stable and so on… not the hardest task. There also were others who ensured the overall technology and speakers worked, but that wasn’t your job. Most of the time you and your colleague were sitting backstage, talking shit about your boss and listening to the show, at least you were, because lovely colleague Eric would do most of the stuff alone. What a sweetheart, right?

It felt a bit bad taking advantage of him. You knew he had a big crush on you, he wasn’t exactly hiding it. Relaxing backstage appealed more to you. Therefore it was totally fine with your conscience. This job was a pain in the ass and you already started applying for new jobs. You just had to hang on for a few more weeks. Hoping you could quit soon and work in a non toxic environment.

The first half of the concert remained uneventful. Fortunately, because your room was in the backstage area, you even talked to Lady Raven for a bit on her break. She was so nice and friendly. On and off stage, her whole personality was the same. Which you found truly great, a person like that was hard to find nowadays. The thinker for example seemed like a total dick from what you saw. Lady Raven and you also had some similar interests, it was so easy to talk to her.After asking about it, she told you that they hadn’t found the Butcher yet. She even told you a few more details on how the police got the information of him being there. Before she left you wished her good luck with the rest of her show and went back to work for a bit. 

Later on during the second half of the show, you stepped near the stage. The atmosphere felt incredible. The lights, the performance on stage and the fans screaming and singing the songs of Lady Raven. How you wished to be standing in the crowd just vibing and dancing to the music instead of working. If it weren’t for all the extra police and security in the arena, it would be a normal concert. 

Slowly you started making your way backstage as you saw people approaching from the audience room. Honestly you weren’t keen on talking to many people. Lady Raven started talking and announcing her dreamer girl, Riley. That must be why the people came in from the audience. At the end of the stage you turned around again. On your former spot stood a man. He was tall, with a nice backside, no doubt the father of the dreamer girl, looking at the stage.  Though he seemed to take a quick look around every now and then. Looking at him, he didn’t look like he was having much fun being here. He looked rather stiff. As you started walking back in his direction to get a better look, Eric called you. Sighing, you turned around. As you were making your way backstage, you felt like someone was watching you. 

“Hey, somewhere outside, a monitor has a bluescreen. I'll quickly go fix it. The show is nearly over. After that, we can start with cleaning things up.” Eric told you, as you walked down the stairs towards him.

“Okay, do you need my help?” You asked him, pushing a blonde strand of hair behind your ear, batting your eyes at him, hoping he would say no. 

“No of course not! I can do it alone. The problem is not that hard.” he answered, trying to show off.

You smiled. “Okay great! Then, see you later.” 

You walked past him into the backstage area. It wasn't that you disliked him, he was nice for a work colleague. However, nothing more. For one you had not much in common besides work, and he was a pushover. You could not imagine being with a man who had no opinion and just waited for you say anything until he stated his opinion. 

‘Like have an opinion, Boy?’ Rolling your eyes at the mere thought of his personality, you grabbed yourself a drink and went back to your little break room.

There you waited for the concert to finish, which you knew shouldn’t take too long now. When you heard the last song finished you decided to grab your purse and go into the hallway. Considering it was too good of an opportunity to pass by. When would you ever see celebrities up so close again? Maybe you could ask Lady Raven for a selfie? Or an autograph? You weren’t the biggest fan, but there was a possibility you could sell that autograph later on.

Uncertain where to go, you stood in the hallway. Dancers ran past you. Nobody seemed to take much notice of you. Coming from the left, you saw the thinker walking towards you, and kind of flirting with someone behind him. ‘Spicy.’ A light chuckle escaped you. Curiosity filled your brain and you decided to head in the direction he came from.

In the middle of the hallway, where several corridors met, stood Riley, the dreamer girl and her dad. If you remembered her name correctly that is. You stopped walking and observed them quietly from a little further away. 

‘Did the Thinker flirt with him?’ Now that you got a better view of him, you found that theory pretty reasonable. It felt almost unfair how attractive he looked. 

‘Was he married? Presumably.’ Not that you would consider making a move, besides his daughter was standing right next to him. That would be so awkward. Also remembering, the last time you let someone in, things unraveled in ways that left you a bit guarded. Despite your people skills, your mom and you apparently both had a thing for cheaters. After a year of being single, you told yourself it was for the best. Except for your job, life was good– At least that's what you tried to tell yourself.

Nevertheless you would never have considered being attracted to older men. He was at least 10 years older than you, maybe more. You were 25, and he could easily be in his 30s or even early 40s. All of a sudden the profiler’s description came back into your head: tall, strong, dark hair... 

Even though you've never been overly spiritual, you did believe in a sixth sense. The longer you thought about it, him standing in that hallway backstage. The way he subtly kept looking around for a second. Nobody noticed. ‘Wait… Did he notice you watching them?’ 

Pulling out your phone, you started swiping and typing randomly. Trying to look busy. Your thoughts were racing. He matched the description perfectly, and here he was, casually joking with his daughter like he didn’t have a care in the world. Despite his friendly smile and demeanor, there was something unsettling about him—a bit too friendly, almost fake? 

After looking at him a bit more, it just clicked into place. You couldn’t shake off the feeling that that may be him, the Butcher. Until now they hadn't found him, not that you knew of. So they were still searching for him. People backstage were rarely searched, except when they wanted to leave the arena.

‘God, you should think rationally. Could that really be him? Still he seemed normal…’

Except the look in his eyes. That look gave you unpleasant goosebumps. You grew anxious, you knew where the camera room was. Police officers were definitely going to be there and maybe the profiler was there. Then you could ask her if the man had been checked by security or talk to her about your uneasy feeling. 

Unfortunately you would have to pass him to get to the camera office. If he hadn't noticed you before, he certainly would then. Could you keep your cool? It didn’t matter. You knew you would overthink it in the evening, you had to do it. Your heart was starting to pound audibly in your chest. 

‘Deep breaths–

Breathe in, breathe out. 

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and go. Don't panic.’ Grabbing your phone tightly in your hand, you started walking. 

As you approached them, Lady Raven emerged from her dressing room and started talking to Riley. She was so happy, grinning from ear to ear. As they chatted happily, the dad leaned forward and whispered something to Lady Raven that you couldn't make out. 

As soon as you heard her tell his daughter that they would talk shortly, alarm bells were going off in your head. Your brain stopped working, and your legs and mouth moved on their own. You felt a certain hero complex activating within you. ‘What if he was the Butcher? There was a possibility’

You felt uncomfortable leaving her alone with him. Something felt off. Before they could leave, you sprinted the last few meters towards them. Trying to cry on arrival. 

“Lady Raven, hay… I eh.. I.. I don't... Could I.. could I talk to you for a second? Please, I don't know what to do.. I–” you sniffled. You tried your best to cry. ‘Come one, you could lie better than that’, you thought angrily at yourself. ‘Who would believe you like this?’ This wasn’t going to be the first lie you ever told. You even lied on your last résumé. 

She immediately turned around her face full of concern and worry. For a second you thought you saw his jaw tensing and left eye twitch. ‘Did you imagine it? ‘

“Oh no. Hey, what's going on? You’re Y/N, right? We met earlier.” You nodded your head, keeping the hand over your lower face, while trying to remain in tears. For once, you were glad that you chose to wear your hair open today. Your long blond locks shielded your face even more from the prying eyes around you. 

“What's going on? Are you alright? Did something happen?” She asked more and more questions, putting her hand on your shoulder, trying to comfort you.

“There was an accident, I...“ You just kept mumbling incomprehensible nonsense. Still shaking, sobbing, trying not to look up. You didn't even know what to do, what to say. 

“Hay, ehm… I’m so sorry. Could you give us a second? I will be right back. It won’t take long.." she said, apologizing to the two of them. 

“Of course, no problem. This seems serious! Take your time.”, said the man, his voice laced with concern.

‘Why did he sound so genuine, like he is truly concerned? Maybe I judged him too fast?‘

Gently Lady Raven took one of your hands and started to lead you away. It didn’t matter anyway, there was no going back. Now you need to play your outburst to the end and come up with a plausible story. While she brought you into her dressing room, it felt as if someone was staring holes into your back. 

After the door closed, you immediately felt more at ease. Bit by bit you tried to calm yourself. At least that was what it seemed on the outside. You don’t remember much of what you told her, some kind of sob story. The first idea that came into your mind. About your dad having a car accident. The whole car crashed... With your car being parked further away from the arena and you were so afraid your dad could die. That you at worst wouldn't make it to the hospital in time with all the police controls going on in and outside the arena. 

You cried, trying to think your story would be about your mom and not your dad. Which did the trick and made you sad. Being the kind person she is, Lady Raven suggested that you could drive with her in her limo, so you didn't have to go through the queues or security, and she would take you to the hospital or your car. You thanked her over and over again, as you wiped your tears away. 

How high was the possibility that the dad would like to briefly speak to Lady Raven again, when you went in the hallway again? Then everything would have been in vain. However you could’t pressure her. Something came over you, so you suggested that perhaps the other two could join them. Maybe they could also drive in the car? You tried explaining your suggestion somewhat rationally. That way she can still talk with the dad,

you would feel extremely bad if you kept her from talking to her fans. You didn’t want to cause any more trouble. 

Surprisingly, that seemed to work? No further persuasion was necessary. Which left you very surprised and perplexed. Was she truly such a kind person? Who was so trusting? Especially with everything that was going on here today. ‘Did she have such a shielded and good life, that she blindly believed you?’ You wondered.

‘Unimaginable…that could not be the case. You didn’t believe there were any truly good people left in this world.’

After another minute of collecting yourself, you went after Lady Raven. She had already gone ahead and had already told them the short version of what was going on, when you arrived. Asking them if they wanted to come too, so she and the dad could have their talk. She was way too kind and somewhat naive to even suspect you’d be lying. You almost felt ashamed of yourself, even stupid. What were you even doing?

The daughter gasped and tried not to jump up and down in joy, the way she gripped her dad's arm. She seemed to be torn between worrying about you and happiness. By being asked to drive with Lady Raven, her seemingly favorite artist in the world. She was honored and extremely happy for a few seconds, then she stopped and looked at you sympathetically. 

“I’m so sorry about the thing with your dad...” Nodding weakly at her, trying to keep your act up, you gave her a half smile. Unknowingly to you, you had started twisting the ring on your middle finger. A Tic. Something you always did when you're stressed out or nervous. 

The ring was nothing special. A plain black ring with some Greek numbers on it. A gift from your mom; from the only holiday you ever had taken outside the USA and since you were eighteen, there was hardly a day you didn’t wear it. 

“Why don’t we lead the way? That way, we can talk.” said Lady Raven and gestured to the man. 

“Yes of course... I mean, the circumstances are not the best, but thank you for considering Riley and me. We appreciate it.” He replied, looking concerned but with something unreadable in his eyes that made you want to look anywhere but at him. 

“It is no problem at all. Actually it was Y/N here suggesting it. She would have felt bad if we hadn't been able to have our conversation because of her.”

He raised a brow at you. “That is so thoughtful and kind of you to still think of others. Something really rare these days”

As he walked past you, he briefly touched your shoulder, making you nearly jump out of your skin. “And I’m really sorry about your dad. I hope he pulls through. Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help” he smiled kindly at you.. 

“Yes, I hope so too. Thank you…” You trailed off, realizing you didn’t know his name. 

“Oh I didn’t even introduce myself. I'm Cooper, just call me Cooper.” holding out his hand.

“Well, thank you Cooper. Also, for your offer, maybe I will come back to that." you shook his hand. He had a firm, but not to strong grip. 'so he was married'

"Let’s get going, please.” Somewhere in between Cooper coming close to you, you almost forgot that you had a mission to get to the hospital fast. Daddy dearest was waiting.

He nodded and as he passed you, walking ahead, you suddenly realized just how big that man was. You hadn't even noticed it before. However, standing right next to him you realized it. He was at least 6′2″, not overly muscular, but also not skinny either. Lady Raven seemed tiny next to him, and you weren’t tall yourself—maybe around 5′5″ on a good day. 

Still, something about his vibe felt off. He seemed caring, yet on the other hand, almost relieved—or amused? 

Riley and you walked a bit behind the two to the cat, nobody had to go through any controls. Riley was such a sweet girl, asking you questions or talking about the concert to ‘take your mind off of your situation’. She was so nice. You kind of wish that you had a little sister like her, but no, you only had a half brother. The only reason he ever contacted you was for money from our grandparents' inheritance.

It was only when you reached the end of the corridor, you noticed Cooper looking over his shoulder. One corner of his mouth pulled upwards and his expression changed. Something sinister in his eyes for a split second. So fast that you were doubting yourself again.

Near the limousine, you felt your phone vibrating, probably Eric wanting to ask where you were. You had no time for that now. Shaking your head, you declined the call and started to write to him, saying that an emergency had come up and you would be back later. You didn’t notice that you arrived at the car until someone cleared their throat in front of you.  

Fuck, you almost ran directly into Cooper. Lady Raven and Riley had already gone inside. He looked at me expectantly, a small smile at his lips. You quickly locked your phone and held it up. “Sorry, my… Sister. She gave me the latest updates on our dad.." you explained, the lies just kept rolling off your tongue, and you just hoped they sounded believable. With that you went straight to the car, without waiting for a response. 

Maybe you should have started an acting career… 

You quickly sat down in the car, with Cooper following shortly after you. Keeping your phone in your hand to secretly keep twisting your ring behind it.

This guy was making you so nervous, not only him but also the lies. You even thought you heard a small deep chuckle from behind you, maybe it was just your nerves? The car started moving. You wondered what they talked about… What did he want to talk about to her? 

Lady Raven's voice brought you out of your thoughts. “Y/N, where should I let you out? You remember where you parked your car? Or should we drive directly to the hospital?” 

Car yeah… you almost laughed. You knew exactly where your car was, a few miles away at the mechanic, because your lights weren’t working. Why hadn’t you thought of that. 

“Eh no, no! Just let me know where my car is. It’s a few blocks away. At this free parking space. There’s my car; let me look up the street real quick…” That wasn't a complete lie. Normally, you would park your car there, because it was just cheaper than parking near or in the stadium. Now just your bike was parked there, well, if nobody had stolen it.

You started to unlock your phone to look up the address. A large hand grabbed your hand with your phone to stop you. Before you could even protest or say something, Cooper started talking in his chipper, happy voice. 

“Really? What a coincidence! I think that should be the same parking lot where Riley and I parked my car earlier. I do know the address, it’s just around the corner.  You don't have to look it up.” Lady Raven pressed a button and Cooper told the chauffeur where to go. The address did sound somewhat familiar. You pulled your phone and hand out of his grip. There wasn't much resistance and he put his hands back into his lap. 

You looked back at Riley and Lady Raven, they were deeply engaged in a conversation with each other. Noticing nothing around the. The phone in your hand started ringing again, and you quickly looked at the screen. This time, it was your boss; should you just accept the call? You did not get much time to think about it. 

“Have you heard anything yet?”, came Riley’s question towards you. 

You started twisting your ring again. 

“Ah yes, yes… My brother texted me..” your breath caught in your throat. Realizing you messed up. ‘Didn’t you just say to Cooper that it was your sister? Maybe he didn't notice. Good thing you hadn’t pursued your acting career…‘

“...and the doctor said it doesn’t look critical. Our dad seems stable at the moment… but he needs to be operated on quickly.. I'm sure I will get more information as soon as…” 

All of a sudden the whole car jolted to a stop, followed by wild car honking. You tried to find your footing, unintentionally gripping onto Cooper's thigh. Right before you could fall off your seat a hand pressed against your shoulder and pushed you back into the seat. You dug your nails even more into his thigh. Riley's bags tipped forward and many of the contents scattered a little on the floor. “Sorry, Lady Raven. The car in front of us braked abruptly." The driver apologized. 

“Everyone alright?” Cooper asked, concern dripping in his voice. 

“All good” said Riley and Lady Raven nodded. 

“Yes, I think so..” you  breathed. He came closer pushing a loose strand behind your ear. A blush crept on your face. After another second, you noticed your hand was still on his thigh, and you blushed even more. 

“Oh I’m sorry!” You exclaimed in a panic. He smiled kindly. 

“No problem. I’m glad nobody got hurt.” Then he got up from his seat to help Riley pick her things back up and put them back into the bags. 

Your phone began to ring again. ‘It’s now or never; it would only get worse.’

With a sigh, you picked up the phone and immediately held the phone as far away as possible from your ear. A loud voice screaming through the speaker. Seemed like your boss just started screaming at you at the top of his lungs. 

You mouthed a quick ‘Sorry’ to the others in front of you. He kept on screaming, ranting about how you were not at work and how he always knew you were a lazy piece of shit. He should have fired me months ago… The list goes on.

As Cooper sat back down. You tried to move your body back in the direction of your phone. Seeing as you didn't want to be too close to Cooper. He didn't seem to mind and put a calming hand on your knee this time. Your mind seemed to go fuzzy when you got near him.

Overall this was not your day, your nerves were all over the place. Your feelings felt like they were on a rollercoaster. You still weren't sure if your gut feeling was right… but you also didn't want to find out. All the lies you told today and now your boss is screaming at you? It was just too much. Clenching your fist and putting the phone near your ear again. 

“I quit.” were the only words you said, dry of any emotion. 

“What did you say?” came the angry reply. 

“I quit” Hot tears were forming in your eyes, Cooper gently started to caress your knee. “i’m so fucking done. You don't know what I am going through right now! Someone could die, and you don't even let me explain myself. So go to hell, and I fucking quit.” Enraged, you ended the call and immediately blocked his number. 

You put your head in your hands and sigh. 

“I'm sorry… Sorry, you had to hear that. Everything goes wrong…” And with that, a sob escapes you. 

‘Nobody can see my face, right? So maybe act even more sad? ‘

This whole day was a curse, why were you even here? Because you felt bad vibes from the dilf next to you? You just wanted to laugh over the whole situation. 

‘You were fucking stupid and now jobless. Great work. Just because you wanted to play the hero, because of a stupid gut feeling. He was a normal dad. Not the Butcher. ‘ 

“Don't think like that. You said it yourself; your dad is stable, so that's a good thing. Maybe I can help you get a new job!” Lady Raven is really trying to cheer you up. 

Someone rubbed your back gently, and there was only one person who could do that. You tried your hardest to ignore his comforting touch. 

“Hay Y/N, I know you just met us, and you don't know me. But I bet a girl like you will easily find a new job. You seem like a good person. If you tell me in which field you work, I'm sure I could help. See if someone I know is hiring. How does that sound?” Cooper really tried to comfort you. He was so sympathetic and strangely charming. 

A small laugh escapes you. "Yes, I probably will..” You wipe away your angry tears’. 

“I mean… I already sent out job applications. I wanted to leave anyway, maybe I will get a job here in Philly or maybe where my mom lives. She lives more in the suburbs, like an hour away I think…” you paused. 

‘Why did you suddenly decide to tell him so much about yourself? Didn't you want to keep a low profile and not give too much real information?‘

This guy certainly knew how to make people talk. About everything, even things they may not want to share and then do without even realizing it. ‘Fuck’

“See! Now you're even smiling again. You just need to see the positive things.” With that, he squeezed your shoulder lightly and withdrew his hand from your back. Making you almost miss the comfort and warmth they had brought you. 

Stop crushing on the hot dad next to you! You tried to remind yourself and also remember all the things you thought were off with him.

“We're here,” the chauffeur announced. Great, finally. This car ride felt like an eternity. 

Cooper and Riley got out of the car first, and they said their goodbyes. Riley, of course, needed one last hug, and Cooper simply thanked her again for what she did for Riley. Before you got out of the car, Lady Raven pulled you in for a hug. 

“Please keep me updated on how things are at the hospital and if you need something. Just text me.” She pulled out her phone and pulled up Instagram. 

“Just search for your username, and I'll add you. That way, we can keep in touch.” 

You nodded and put in your name, and handed the phone back to her. 

“Thank you.. so much. Again. I'm so sorry for any inconvenience I caused. I won't forget this. Thank you! Next time, I’ll be in the front row singing your songs.” 

She laughed at that and nodded. While stepping outside the car, you crossed both fingers that the other two were gone.

Unfortunately, Cooper and his daughter waited for you. You had thought that by staying longer in the car, they would be gone already. No lucky day for you

You scanned the parking lot, and of course, your bike was stolen. The universe was just being cruel now. 

“So let us walk you to your car!” Cooper was way too happy, waving the limousine of Lady Raven goodbye. “Sure..” You started walking towards the cars. 

You were clueless on how to get out of this situation. Abruptly stopping, you looked around. 

“I don't see my car..” you say while looking around again. You sigh extra loudly. 

“Fuck me..”

“Your car got towed?” Cooper 

“Maybe” a dry laugh escapes you. 

“Or maybe with everything going on and all the things that were going on at the concert, I… just forgot where I parked my car.” You ran your fingers through your hair. 

"Well, if you tell me which hospital you need to go to, I'm certain Riley and I can make a little detour on our way home. Right Riley?” Riley nodded. 

“Of course, I’d be happy if we could help you out” she said, hopeful.

Right… the hospital. You should get better at remembering your lies. You were torn between keeping your lie up or simply turning around and walking away. 

You didn’t know what to do. Cooper seemed a bit strange at times, but he could not be the Butcher, right? Still while looking at him you felt like something didn't add up. Sometimes… you didn’t know how to describe it… He felt too perfect, too caring or too sweet. Maybe that was just who he was? You were lost in thought.. The look in his eyes was making you feel a bit uneasy. 

All of a sudden, Cooper's hand was behind your back, and he slowly pushed you forward. “If you can't decide, I will decide for you. Going to the hospital should be the most important thing. So we'll drive you and then you can worry about your car later. Okay?” 

You nodded your head at his idea, simply because you didn't trust your words at the moment. His hand wandered up to your shoulder, where he kept a firm grip and pushed you in the direction of his car. 

Riley was already running in front of you. You winced under his touch, did he know his own strength? You wondered. He certainly didn't look that strong. He opened the car a few meters away so Riley could already put her bags in the trunk. 

A black van

You suddenly remembered what Eric told you about the profiler, she suspected the Butcher to drive a car like this? 

Your body tensed up, and you felt like the pressure on your shoulder increased, which was almost painful. Surely that was going to bruise . Cooper opened the back door for you like you were a child being escorted home. You tried to muster your best friendly face before you sat down inside. 

“Thank you... Have you had this car for a long time?” You asked before you could stop yourself. Cooper raised an eyebrow, clearly pondering the question before answering. 

“Yes, I have had it for quite a few years now. Why are you asking?” Should you just tell him? 

It was just the trip to the hospital.. then you would never have to see them again. You could not fuck up even more than you already had, and until now, it was just an uneasy gut feeling. Also, you were trying to move back to your mom, who was at least an hour away. 

“No real reason.. Just that profiler from the concert. She talked so much, about everything and also about cars... especially mentioning a car like this, which could potentially be the car of a-… killer.” 

He only stared at you. 

‘Did you say something wrong? Maybe you’re the weird one now.’ Nervously rubbing your neck, you tried to lighten the mood with a laugh. 

Thankfully, Riley was just on her way to the passenger seat. She didn't hear her, no need to scare her. You didn’t think she knew about what was going on behind the scenes of the concert. 

“So maybe you should switch it up? But maybe she was just talking nonsense..” you tried to diffuse the situation, massaging your sore shoulder. 

Cooper smiled and laughed softly. "Well, thanks for the tip. I thought about getting a new car. Maybe I should finally get one. More family friendly, any ‘smart’ suggestions perhaps?” - 

“Hmm..maybe just something smaller, maybe in white, silver, or another color? Definitiv not black..” you smile. 

“Great. I will keep that in mind when I buy a new car.” he smiled back at you and closed the door, and got in the driver's seat. He seemed like he wanted to ask more questions, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. 

Quickly, you got your phone out and searched for a hospital near you. You found one which was 15 minutes away. When Cooper started the car you leaned forward, so much that your head nearly reached his shoulder and you could smell his aftershave. ‘He even smelled good.’ You showed him your phone. 

“Here, that's the hospital where I need to go.” He slightly turned around to get a better look at the screen. 

“Can I?” He gestured to the phone. “Just to get a better look.” 

You gulped, a nervous feeling growing in your stomach. “Yeah sure..” 

He didn’t even wait for your reply and grabbed the phone. 

“You got some kind of privacy screen on here?” he asked with a raised brow. 

Oh yeah, how could you forget, and here you thought he wanted to take your phone from you. When he couldn’t even see the screen. 

“Yeah! Sorry, I totally forgot. My boss had cameras everywhere in the building, I got a bit paranoid, so I bought one of those..” you laughed. 

“He doesn’t sound very nice. Maybe it’s a good thing you don’t have to work there anymore!” replied Riley. 

“Yeah.. maybe”

“You could just work at my school, our teacher for IT sucks..” 

Cooper glanced at her disapprovingly, slowly shaking his head.  “Riley…”- 

"Sorry, dad, it's the truth. He lives in the past. No one uses Windows XP anymore." Riley grumbled. 

Cooper started the car, and Lady Raven's music was playing loudly over the speakers before he turned the volume down. After a few minutes of driving and Riley vibing to the music, Cooper cleared his throat. 

"Here, you can have your phone back. Oh and I took the liberty of saving my number on your phone. That way, if you ever need anything or some help finding your car later, you can just give me a quick call.” 

What the fuck. He did what now?

He smiled at you through the rearview mirror, his eyes watching you closely. Carefully, you grabbed your phone out of his hands. 

“That's so… thoughtful. Thank you” You tried to put a smile on your face. 

"So, Riley, how did you like the concert?” You tried changing the topic. Oh boy, that worked. Riley started rambling about everything, including how cool it was to be on stage with Lady Raven. Unconsciously, you found yourself smiling a real smile, she was just so cute. Your eyes flickered to the rearview mirror every so often, and as soon as you met Cooper's eyes, you looked back at Riley. Let’s not get lost because of his good looks. You still felt uneasy.  

You tried telling yourself in your head. Somehow, you felt like a prey being watched by his predator. Once in a while you felt like his expression would flicker for a split second, his eyes becoming way darker, but it was gone so soon. You weren’t even sure if you saw it correctly or if it was your imagination. Even though the feeling was only there for a split second, He looked so friendly, encouraging Riley to talk more. 

Finally, you could make out the hospital in the distance. About time, you thought. 

“Hey Y/N?” Riley asked. 

“Yes?”- 

“Maybe when your dad is better again, you can visit us? I feel so bad for you. Today should have been a great day. _You seem really cool… I mean, your dad and family can come too..Right dad?” Cooper smiled and nodded. 

“Great, Like a family dinner, my mom is a great cook.” So he was married. “I just would like to do something nice for you.” Oh god, the world didn’t deserve her kindness. 

“Of course, you don't have to feel compelled to do so. Think about it, you don’t have to decide now..” Cooper interjected. 

“The two of you are too kind. I can't,” more like won't, “give you an answer right now, but I promise to think about it. Okay?” You fake-gushed at the two, your face hurting from keeping the smile on your face. 

Both Cooper and Riley seemed satisfied with the answer. You felt like you were in the wrong movie, was there a hidden camera somewhere? You arrived within the next minute. Cooper parked his car near the emergency exit. One moment away from freedom, away from this lie. 

“I can’t really thank you enough. Thanks for driving me here. I hope you had a great day. Have a safe drive home.” You tried opening the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Oh, child safety must be on. I’m sorry, I forgot.” apologized to Copper and exited the van to open your door. You didn’t believe him, it just matched too well. 

“I hope you get good news inside. Dad acted really strange today, but I’m happy everything is normal again.” she smiled, before you could answer, and your door opened. 

Daddy is acting strange today. You don’t say…  

“Well, bye, Riley.” You waved at her and got out and barely got your hand out of the doof before Cooper shut it close. 

“I’m so glad we could help you.” he said with that charming voice of his. He started to walk with you towards the building. “With all the extra police force, because of the Butcher, it could have taken you at least an hour to get here.”

“That's true. Well maybe next time he shouldn't let his recipes laying around in his hideouts. What does he even want at a pop concert?” you snorted. 

“Did he now?” Cooper asked intrigued.

“At least that's what I overheard from a few higher up people today.”, no way you were saying that it was Lady Raven who told you.

“Seems like he needs to be cleaner and more careful.”

“If not, they might just catch him next time,” you joked.

“I don't think that will happen, sweetheart.” His mouth twitched in amusement.

That was a weird response. He must have seen the frown on your face, as he quickly started to explain himself.

“I mean if they didn't catch him today, while they knew he was going to be there. I think the chances of the police finding him again are relatively close to zero.” His reply sounded reasonable. 

“Well yes, but he fucked up once. Maybe he is getting sloppy with time. Nobody knows.” 

His jaw clenched. “You think so? Maybe you're misinterpreting the situation. I would imagine someone like him to be very calculated.  Otherwise the police would have found him already, if he was being sloppy.”

“True…” You shrugged your shoulders. Maybe you were wrong, but why did he sound somewhat angry at your statement?

He was honestly acting strange now. 

“Well I think this is where I leave you.” Cooper announced after a few seconds of silence. His behavior over the last meters made you feel unsettled again. He seemed strange. ‘Why was he like that?’ 

“Okay…”, should you with your gut feeling, you wondered? Fuck it, it was just a guess, a wild guess. You always knew your big mouth would get you into trouble someday. Maybe he was just a normal dad and you were overthinking the situation. If that was the case, he wouldn’t think anything of it.

“By the way B-...Cooper” you began, and Cooper turned around in a second, looking at you expectantly, one of his brows raised. His face was unreadable. “You're welcome.. You know that? For getting to drive with Lady Raven"—for  getting out of there without the security controls - was what you wanted to say. Even if he were the Butcher his facial expressions and body language didn't betray him. He smiled and stepped back toward you. Every bone in your body wanted to run. ‘Fuck, did this creep you out.’ You felt like you were pushing your luck today 

“Yes.. of course. I am very grateful for that…” Before he could say anymore, Riley pulled down the window. 

“Dad! Let's go home! Y/N needs to go to the hospital! And I want to tell mom all about the concert!” 

“She's right. I don't want to keep you from your father any longer. I bet your sister is waiting for you. Better go inside.” ‘He knew, he knew you lied when you fucked up with the sister and brother thing.’ Panic started to set in, you swallowed hard, your throat dry.

He came even closer and engulfed you in a tight hug. You stood there, frozen in place. He leaned his head down to your ear, his hands holding you even tighter. One of them slowly wandered to your lower back while he talked.

“Thank you, sweetheart. You sure made it easier. I’m sure Spencer will be soo grateful. I’ll let you know…” a dark chuckle escaped him.

“It's a small world. I'm sure we will see each other again.” His deep voice whispered in your ear, which sent shivers down your spine. You felt trapped. Like a tiny mouse next to him, holding your breath unintentionally. He patted you on the back. Smiling, he stepped away. 

‘Breathe– mask your emotions. Get a grip.’ Many different thoughts running through your head.

Tilting your head to your side you looked at him. Moreover you were confused. Even a tiny bit scared.

‘Please don’t let him notice. Who was Spencer? Did you know Spencer?’

Furrowing your brows you asked “Spencer?” your voice slightly quivering.

He grinned even more— it looked unnerving. It was replaced by a much friendlier smile after another second. “Don’t worry about it.” 

‘Were you imagining things? Now you knew why people said “don't play with fire.” Why had you said anything at all...’

His voice became louder, having that charming undertone again “and make sure to call sweetheart. Riley would be very happy if you came over.” Winking at you he turned around and walked back to his car. 

You felt like your chest was about to explode.

“Yes! Once your dad's out of the hospital and things settle down, Make sure to call my dad. Then we can have a fun dinner.” giggling Riley's voice went even higher. She was practically shifting in her seat, unable to sit still. 

‘Fun dinner? Yeah.. sureeee kid..’

You mustered your best smile and gave her a thumbs up. 

“I will kiddo. See you around.” trying to steady your voice. You needed to get away fast. turned around and walked towards the hospital, near the end you were almost running. 

Once inside, you had the feeling that it was getting harder and harder to breathe. As if you weren't getting enough air. Your breathing became more and more rapid. Your vision was blurred. 

‘Was this hyperventilation? What was going on? Was he really the Butcher? Were you right? Would you die next? Maybe he would keep you alive because you unintentionally helped him?’

Anxiety welled up inside you. You barely noticed the loud voices around you. 

‘Did you hear someone calling for help?’

You had the feeling that the world was spinning around you. ‘Were you still walking?’ It felt like your legs were made out of jelly.

Someone was talking to you, holding you by the shoulders. Shaking you. Waving something in front of your face. However, you couldn’t make out the words. You couldn't recognise the face in front of you. Everything sounded dull, like it was far far away. The world became increasingly blurred before your eyes, spinning more and more– 

until you finally gave in and everything went dark. 

[bahrtofane]

bruised knuckles

 Jude x gender neutral!reader 

While it’s not that surprising that a last minute party invite leads to a fight, Jude carrying you out was a little bit of an overkill 

Word count - 1.5K+ 

Watch it - physical fight, pretentious male character, bruised knuckles mentioned like once. i am so unserious for writing this yall

—————

“That doesn’t make any sense though. “ You scoff idly playing with the rings adorning your fingers. Most gifts from Jude. 

Speaking of, He sits next to you on a sleek black couch. The both of you got dragged away to some party by his teammates on what could’ve been a lazy weekend at home. He got a call way too early than what was socially acceptable on a weekend, (it was 10 am), and was begged to come along. You were already getting up groaning at the whining coming from his phone. Blame it on being half asleep or unaware but you both mumbled a promise to be there and went back to bed. 

So here you are at a party hosted by god knows who in a now packed hotel, god knows where.

You know Jude doesn't like going to these. He calls them a poor excuse to show off and boost egos. You agree, it's all a ruse to see who can drop the most on champagne or bring the model with the most followers home. All just to have pixelated pictures of yourself blasted on social media 

You couldn’t even call it a party to be honest, there’s a crowd jumbling together in an attempt to dance and music blaring from somewhere. It's more of a bad linkedin meetup. Dim lighting flickering poorly and cups strewn carelessly on the floor. It’s lame and you can’t wait to leave. His teammates that dragged the two of you here have long since abandoned the two of you to do.., actually you have no idea what any of them are here for, nor do you care. 

You just continue to sip on your water and try to keep yourself entertained. It's not going very well. 

The guy you're in conversation with sits on an identical couch across from you rolls his eyes, “Of course you don’t understand. I don’t expect you to understand the complexity of such a topic. “

Judes been pretty silent this whole time, watching the exchange. He understands you prefer to handle things yourself and respects that fully. He won’t take that away just to tell someone off. Though the second you ask he doesn't have a problem getting in anyone's face. 

Now his hand moves to your thigh gently squeezing it, a warning to keep things in check for the night. He knows that you can get into more trouble than you care for sometimes. Spurring into action faster than you can actually process what you're doing. 

You dont want to give him anymore bad press but holy fuck is this guy youre talking to an ass hole. You don't even know how he spotted you in the almost pitch black room. He smiled and asked for a picture with the two of you, and had gotten agitated when you declined. 

“At least give me conversation.” He pleaded.

And so here you are. You regretted the choice about 20 minutes ago. 

Your eyes narrow as you clench your teeth. “Listen I don't care for pretty arguments on topics that are in my jurisdiction ”

The man, who’s name you long forgot, just shakes his head and takes a long drink from his red solo cup. 

“I seriously doubt that. You dress like that and expect anyone to take you seriously like come on. “ He snickers. 

Jude tenses next to you and you try your best to calm the both of you down. Jude isn't one to start fights per say but he's not 6’1 (give or take) for nothing. Reputation be damned. 

You breathe deeply trying to resist the urge to beat his ass right then and there. The cheap laser lights only make your head hurt. Jude rubs circles on your thigh, you settle for a quick response instead. 

“What I wear doesn’t mean shit. I look good. What the fuck you have going for you? “ 

“A diploma ?? I don’t think you have one of those do you.”

Your patience is wearing thin, knee bobbing up and down harshly as you try and focus your attention away from him.

Jude stands, gently nudging your shoulder. It's time to leave. And you agree. No worth entertaining this any longer.

Just as you stand, taking Judes outstretched arm with a smile, setting your cup down on the table.  You get one last retort that truly sends you reeling. 

“Oh yeah walk away,” he begins, using his cup to point at you both. When you dont reply he chooses to get up, following you around the table and back into the dance floor. 

“Let the money maker drag you away,” He yells, grabbing into your arm and yanking it back it almost knocks you off your feet“ So worthless compared to him you don't-”

You don’t let the man finish, rushing from your seat to slam him onto the floor. His drink splashes on your chest as you meet the slippery brown hardwood with a loud thud. Your body jerks with heavy force, ears ringing, but you don’t let up. Trapping his legs under your weight, one arm forcing his hands down while the other lands blows into his face. A crowd has gathered, you know that much, the bass that’s been shaking the floor has stopped as people are clamoring around to get a better look. 

That all fades in the next few moments, passing in a blur as the man under you tries desperately to get up with no avail. You're clawing at whatever you can reach, tufts of his hair in between your fists while he yells so harshly you think his voice is about to give out. 

He manages to land a kick haphazardly to your lower stomach, which makes you groan just enough for your grip to loosen and for him to begin to slip away.

Just as you get a good grip on him again you're lifted on the ground watching him skimper away, heaving deep breaths as he grips a couch arm rest. You thrash trying to slip away from the arms but you're caught all too soon. You're yelling at the man, spitting venom. Though the exact words are less clear at this point. 

When you walk out from the blaring lights, you have half the mind to realize you're in a familiar set of arms. Wrapped around to keep you steady, swinging you over their shoulders. Jude. 

The adrenaline rushes through you, blurring the party and its noise out of focus. You do realize you're heading down stairs and outside, the cool night air like a hotel AC on summer vacation, a little bit of an overkill. But it does good to bring you back to reality. 

“You're going to get quite the reputation if you keep this up. “ He sighs, amusement in his voice. 

You have half the mind to respond with a slap to his back. “Yeah well next time bitches need to know not to try me. A reputation wouldn’t even be that bad for me. Might be bad for you“ 

He pats your back gently and continues down the curb, softly setting you down when you reach your car. You lean against the passenger door, wiping the sweat off your face and checking for any major damage across your body. There are none, just bruising on your knuckles. Dude couldn’t even get one proper hit in. The aftermath of your actions sets in and you groan, rubbing your temples. 

Jude gives you a small smile, gently taking your hand in his. You look at him fondly, if it weren’t for him you really don’t know what you would do at this point.

“I'm sorry. This is going to be all over twitter in an hour fuck.” You apologize. 

“He deserved it. Doesn't matter what they say they weren't there.”

You shake your head, “i need to do better, this is just gonna come back to you. I guarantee you everyone was recording.”

“They can think and do what they want.”

“Jude…”

“No more talk of that. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” taking your hands and giving then a once over.

“No baby. Im fine.”

“Thank god.”

“I'm really really sorry, love.” you mutter.

He fixes your outfit, gentle tucking and rearranging the fabric back into place. “I told you baby, it's really fine. He was disrespectful and passed the limit.”

“Do you think he'll press charges?”

“I'm not sure. But for now dont worry okay? I got you. He touches you first anyway”

“Okay,” you breath out. 

“Eduardo’s getting your stuff, he’s gonna be here in a sec. “ He tells you softly. 

You nod your head and lean onto his shoulder, “The carrying me out was a little bit of an overkill babe.” you play with the buttons on his shirt. Trying to find at least a little light in the situation. 

He snorts, “if I didn’t you would’ve mauled the guy.” 

You shrug in response. Maybe you should lay off parties for a while if they keep ending like this. 

[poppitron360]

Wait. I wanna hear you Will Solace headcanons

Okay so be prepared for these to be wildly inaccurate because all I know about this guy is from fannon. Most of this is also me projecting.

1. Bass player. Yes that is 100% biased, as I am also a bass player (and I hc myself as a legacy of Apollo). No I have no basis on this claim other than Basses Are Just Cooler Than Guitars.

2. OR he’s the guitarist, Nico is the Bassist.

3. If there is a piano in the house, he WILL play it. For hours. Gods forbid you take him anywhere with a public piano.

4. Hates learning Music Theory, learns by ear and by feel. As an Apollo kid, he can instantly read both tab and sheet music, but uses neither.

5. Also has perfect pitch (can name any chord just by hearing it).

6. He’s a Star Wars fan, right? Can talk for hours about John William’s use of Lydian Mode in the score to convey a sense of majesty, and don’t get him started on the expert use of Vagnarian methods of leitmotif-

7. Okay, so maybe he knows a little music theory.

8. Writes terrible poetry that’s low-key kinda good.

9. Founder of the chb LGBTQ+ club.

10. Bisexual flags everywhere. He always at least one pink, purple, and blue pen on hand, doodles exclusively in those colours. His doctors notes are colour-coded pink, purple, blue.

11. BIG supporter of Trans rights- is qualified to help with Gender Affirming Healthcare for anyone at Camp.

12. Apollo is also god of prophecies. Will has the power of foresight ONLY for TV show/Film/Book endings. He is able to predict how a character would die with incredible accuracy after one episode. Morbid as fuck, so naturally Nico thinks it’s the hottest thing ever.

13. SWIFTIE!!!!!

14. Friendship bracelets. VERY swiftie-coded, he has a million of them on both arms, cutting off his circulation.

15. Paints Nico’s nails. Nico insists on all black, but gave in and let Will paint ONE nail fun colours, bedazzled with charms and shit. As long as it’s the middle finger.

Now, specifically my Will x Leo (Platonic) headcannons:

16. Will and Leo become very close at camp simply because Leo has absolutely zero sense of self-preservation. Like that kid does not value his life in any way at all, and so always ends up doing the most reckless shit ever, and, naturally, ends up spending a lot of time in the infirmary, usually only after being dragged there by Jason (“What’s the big deal? It’s just a broken arm. I’m ambidextrous! Besides, I’ve survived worse.”)

17. Will loves him because he’s never there longer than he has to be.

18. Except sometimes he does have to force Leo back into bed while Leo’s yelling loudly about how he needs to get back to his work, the Argo II won’t build itself, and to let go of him or he’ll burn you.

19. Will makes him wear enchanted plasters (band aids) that he can’t take off without doctor’s permission, to stop him absent-mindedly picking at old scabs and bits of skin. He also keeps fidget toys and stress balls to give to his patients. Leo has stolen ALL of them.

20. Like seriously, it is a problem. Leo has had to make them a whole bunch more fidgets because he’s taken and then overworked them until they all broke.

21. Both their southern accents come out more when they talk to each other. If a conversation goes on too long, they evolve into using so much fast-paced Texan slang that no-one else can understand them- it’s practically its own language.

22. BOTH SWIFTIES!!!!!

23. Leo helps out in the infirmary a lot- he’s useful if you need to sterilise equipment or cauterise any wounds.

24. It works sort of like an exchange of favours, where Leo also calls on Will anytime he needs a human flashlight to work on a project.

25. Leo has a lot of scars from his rough childhood. Will is one of the few people (aside from Jason) who’s actually seen them all. They never talk about it, and, as his doctor, he’s sworn to secrecy, but some of them are really disturbing. It will never not shock him that demigods can get hurt by things in the mortal world.

26. Leo makes sure Will uses accurate engineering jargon when writing Star Wars fanfiction.

27. Aside from Leo, Nico is the only one who reads his fanfiction

[guardkeywolf]

Cod boys reacting to black!male reader having a fucking stash of full on expensive liquor and cigars and when they question male reader he just says "well when your life is boring you decide to collect things"

Hello @gamersansblog !!! I AM SO SO SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!

I was so unsure of it and kinda went back and forth on if I should re-write or just scrap and start over but it's here now!

It's much shorter than I'd like but I do hope you enjoy!

°

°

°

Cigars and Liquor

"Where the hell did you get all this stuff, Y/n?"

Y/n was a man who enjoyed finding value in the little things in life. Thus, that came hand in hand with being a collector of many, many, many bottles of liquor and a hefty stock of cigars.

Since joining the military, he's been able to go around the world quite often and visit some of the shops that were filled with a great deal of items.

Most were filled with simple trinkets and souvenirs that were meant for the tourists but for Y/n, he wanted something different. He went to the shops that offered more than just that. He went to the places that offered something that peaked his interest. Those stores were filled top to bottom with the best alcoholic beverages and cigars that the country could offer.

Some were good, some just straight dogshit that sometimes made Y/n regret spending so much on such a ludicrous purchase, but overall, he got what he paid for and that was it.

So when the 141 had seen his collection, he wasn't surprised by the mere reaction of the others.

"When your life is boring, you decide to collect things, MacTavish. I find value in cigars and liquor... Got a problem with it?" Y/n grabbed one of the cigars he managed to snag on one of his tours and lit it as he eyed the Scotsman.

"W-Well, no- I just... I'm surprised is all..." the brunet shrugged.

Y/n let out a hefty laugh as he watched the 141 still look around in awe, Price especially.

"Take your pick...but only this once boys. If I find any missing, Laswell will concerned when all of don't show up for the next mission, okay?"

The black man sent them a closed eye smile while doing so to futher boost his seriousness of his collection.

They all nodded before running off through the collection.

Y/n sat down at the little bar he built for himself as he watched the 141 with lingering eyes. He couldn't help but chuckle at the scene that was before him. Watching the others go back and forth as they looked at each shelf with the expensive purchases with awe in their eyes warmed him, oddly in a way.

Maybe he'd bring them here again, when he felt like it of course...

[cruesuffix]

Mick anon here! I really loved the streamer au, could you do some general hc's and some for that au? I love how you portray Mick (and nikkimick 🤭)

woah I almost totally forgot that au tbh (if I could turn it into a fanfic I would but im not that good at writing lmaoo) i actually have a couple of ideas now thankfully, I hope this turns out good enough

General headcanons:

- first impressions: I think most ppl would be intimidated by mick when they first meet him. He’s all black hair, black clothes and piercing blue eyes so they automatically think he’s going to be mean as hell. unfortunately, because mick can be shy and awkward when meeting people for the first time, he actually lives up to his title. it takes a more understanding and unbiased person to really crack that shell he loves using as a shield. that’s where you’d come in. sure, when you first meet mick, you do feel a bit intimidated. it might be the way he glares at you with those eyes (you later learn that his eyes are just extremely sensitive to light and he wasn’t actually glaring), or his demeanour; quiet and closed off. still, you can’t help but feel drawn to him. you can tell he’s not as serious as he pretends to be. he just has the kind of vibe of a chill person, someone who avoids drama at all costs. you happen to make a joke that he can’t help but laugh at, and that’s where the mask comes off and he slowly starts to warm up to you. he’d like a good humoured person who doesn’t take themselves as seriously. also you soon learn that he’s actually a lot louder than he seems, he’s only real loud and rowdy when with people he’s comfortable with.

-gift giver: a blog I used to be obsessed with used to talk about how they were sure micks love language was gift giving and it made me think about how he’d give you the most beautiful gifts just because they made him think of you when he saw them. like you would never go out of your way to ask him for anything…probably because you don’t want to seem like you’re using him or whatever. doesn’t matter to mick though, because he’ll buy things without you even knowing (like yall could be in the same store and he’ll buy you something behind your back just cause he knows you’ll like it). it might get to the point where you have to tell him to stop giving you things cause you feel bad, but he’d just tell you you deserve it and not to worry about it.

ok now I’ve run out of ideas (I told yall I’m not good at this!!) so let’s just get into my streamer au real quick:

- I like to act like mick would have a set schedule for his streams but another part of me thinks he’d start streaming at like 3 in the morning just to play whatever game he wanted to

- he’s the type to ban someone for simply saying something he doesn’t like (guitxrherx: pineapples on pizza is actually good yall just haters!!! “yeah mods can you ban that guy for ten minutes please?”)

- also, the rotty streams really came out of nowhere. one day he was just hella wasted and for some reason turned on the camera and started streaming him just fucking around on his guitar (sounding real sloppy btw) and everyone was so confused, but also intrigued (“wait is bro wasted?”). he wouldn’t have remembered it if his audience didn’t pester him to do it again, thus starting the tradition. then it just evolved to him doing whatever came to his mind first (one time he sprayed fourteen layers of hairspray into his hair and had to get nikki to help him wash it out)

-nikki is like the first person mick calls in the middle of a stream. sometimes, if they’re both streaming at the same time, mick will call nikki to try to derail his stream. nikki could be doing an impromptu music review and all of a sudden his phones ringing and it’s the old man trying to act all innocent like he’s not trying to ruin nikkis stream. of course nikki would go along with it at first, trying to humour mick but then he’d realize he’s got a whole bunch of ppl in the chat making fun of him for letting the old man get to him for like the fifth time that week.

- also ok this is so silly but im just imagining mick trying to play dress to impress but he like never places on the podium and throws a little fit about it lmaooo. he’d complain that all the winners chose basic outfits (as if his isn’t also a bit basic) and then his chat would just cook him about how terrible he’s doing.

- adding onto the last one: imagine if vince was in the same server as him and kept placing first and mick didn’t know who it was. he keeps insulting him, but he’s under the guise that it’s a 12 year old girl so he can’t be entirely ruthless. somehow (maybe vince is also streaming that day) chat gets ahold that it’s vince and they start spamming mick about it. he takes a second to look at all the messages and starts dying of laughter.

(“are you fucking kidding me?! it’s fucking vince?! that little blonde shit and his trash ass outfits are throwing me in last place?! im going to kill him!”)

it just cuts to vince asking his chat if they also hear the screaming coming from the room next to his.

I think I should stop here…this has become quite the yap session! not the best, especially the general headcanons lmaoo if im being honest those aren’t my strong suit! still, I hope you enjoyed these!!

[dreadsuitsamus]

Anytime | Kensei Muguruma x Reader |

author's note: this hurt a little bit to write lmao and i apologize in advance if it hurts you too

pairing: kensei muguruma x fem!reader

warnings: reader and kensei are divorced, a little bit of angst and jealousy

"I'm on my way."

It rings in your head, over and over, as you sit on the side of the road and wait for your ex-husband to come save you. Stomach a pit and each and every nerve wired and frayed, tears nearly brim in your eyes at the anticipation of his arrival. Being stuck on the side of a road you're sure hasn't seen a single driver on it in at least a week is one thing, and it's another when you've got three flats and an ex-husband with a hefty I told you so locked and loaded.

Your divorce with Kensei was finalized over two years ago, but the sad fact remains that he's the most important person in your life, and vice versa— which is why you informed him of this last-minute road trip, only to be warned against it.

"I don't think your car can handle that trip. Put it off until I can make sure everything is functioning properly."

And like a fool, you neglected to take it seriously and off you went to the festival. Perhaps it's why you had as great of a time as you did— karma was evidently waiting with a dish best served cold.

Your heart jumps at the sight of a black Silverado truck pulling up. He hates that damn truck, much preferring his fuel-efficient Elantra, but you've left him with no choice today. You're so distraught you can't even take much time to appreciate those long legs of his as he steps out of the truck; sometimes you wonder how you could be divorced from the most handsome man you've ever known.

Dressed in jeans with the platinum chain you'd gotten him many moons ago attached, boots and a black button down shirt, your gut tells you he was busy when you called. Looking so fine… He was on a date, wasn't he?

It burns.

With a resounding sigh, you meet him in the halfway distance between your cars. Kensei's never been particularly talkative and mouthy unless angry, and though there's certainly some simmering beneath the surface, he's calmer than you initially expected. He passes you a bottle of water and a protein bar before going to inspect the damage, subsequently sighing and rubbing his temples with his long fingers. "I'm amazed that your luck is so shit that you only got three flats so your goddamn insurance wouldn't cover it."

"I'm still trying to figure out how I only got three."

"Divine intervention." Kensei mutters bitterly and starts to roll up his sleeves past the delicious forearms that once would hold you up against the inferno that is the rest of his body at night. "When's the last time you even got these rotated, let alone changed?"

"I don't even know what having them rotated means."

Kensei sucks in a sharp, irritated breath and steels himself; it'll do no good to get upset this early into the project. He just… Wishes you fucking listened to him. About anything, at this point. "New rule. Get it done every time you get an oil change." And thank God your car is one that will bug the hell out of you about your service interval— he doesn't want to consider what your oil and other fluids would be like otherwise.

"Okay." You mumble and crack open the water, taking a long pull from the cold drink. It's refreshing and perfect, pulling your spirits up just a tad as you start to feel a little bit better physically.

"Eat that protein bar." Your ex-husband demands, heading for the bed of his truck and lowering the tailgate. He's got everything he needs for the swap— including time. "I know you, you little shit. You're running on a refresher from six hours ago and had a hearty helping of hopes and dreams to eat, didn't you?"

You scowl as you chew the protein bar. It's terrible, like every protein bar you've ever tried, but at least he got one that doesn't make you want to vomit. "I didn't call you here so you could lay into me about my eating habits."

Kensei's brown eyes cut to you as he lowers a tire to the ground. "You rather me go off about the rest of the shit you got yourself into now, then? 'Cause I was saving it for later."

Rolling your eyes, you look away from the man you married six years ago. He huffs and resumes himself, setting up a workstation and prepping your car to start swapping the new tires on. You find a spot nearby him, settling down onto the lawn chair you took to the festival as he begins cracking off lugnuts. Sparing a glance your way, Kensei feels a bit of a tug at his heart despite his rage. You may be his ex-wife, but you've never been bad to him a day in his life. "How long did you sit here before you called me?"

"About two hours." You sigh, finishing the water after forcing the protein bar down. "I tried to get my insurance to help me. They wanted to charge even more because it's a Sunday and I just don't have the money for all that. I considered just camping out for a night and having them come out tomorrow, but…"

Kensei shakes his head. He was waiting for your call or text announcing you were back home; that plan would never fly as long as he's in your life. "We gotta get you a new insurance policy, babe. You're done paying for one that would leave a woman stranded like that."

"Yes sir."

Silence settles in for a while as you watch Kensei work. A light bead of sweat trickles from his temple to his neck, and then he tosses his tools down to carefully slip the buttons open and take off his shirt. If it's somehow possible, his biceps are bigger than they used to be. Leaving himself in a white tank top, he tosses the shirt your way. "Keep that clean for me, yeah?"

"Mhm." You slip into the oversized shirt, his handsome smelling cologne flooding your senses. He's not slick at all; it's chilly out in this wasteland, and rather than simply ask if you're cold, he'd rather ensure you won't be.

His unstoppable air of authority wraps you up, even now.

"Were you busy?" Tumbles out of your mouth after the beat of silence lasts too long. He's finished one tire already and it's really hit you how much you relied on him during your marriage.

It's no wonder he didn't fight to salvage it.

"No." He lies through his teeth and it's easy. Just a little too easy.

It's no wonder you served him divorce papers.

Huffing softly, your brow draws together. "Yeah, right. You got dressed all nice just to come bail me out? Bullshit. I'm smarter than you give me credit for, Ken."

"And yet, you went on this trip without getting your car checked out." Kensei snaps right back, irritation creeping up and warming his neck and ears. "If you didn't wanna wait for me, fine! Why not take it to Abarai's place?" He's got a point— You've known Renji for years now, and he'd always make time for a friend, his business needs be damned. He'd have it done in a day, easy.

Still, the embarrassment of being scolded like this lights your temper. "I told you, Ken, this trip was not planned. I had a friend up north mention the festival and we decided to go to it and meet up."

"Even if I accept that answer, which I don't, there's no reason for you to let your car get this bad! I don't even wanna look under the hood! Why do I always have to take care of your shit for you?? Time and time again, you fuck up and then you call me to bail you out!"

Your eyes widen with a series of blinks. He doesn't sound pissed as much as he's simply… Tired. Upset. Kensei being angry or frustrated is not foreign to you— on his surface, it's the only emotion he knows. But as his wife, you saw the softer side of his feelings. He does get sad, he does cry and he does have bad days like anyone else. And as you take in his tirade… The realization hits that those glimpses of his belly showing were almost entirely gone by the time of your separation.

That marriage was already doomed by the time you attempted to save it. Serving the papers to him wasn't supposed to do anything but show his true colors— he'd fight for you, or he'd give up. And Kensei chose the latter.

"Ken." You murmur carefully. "What were you doing when I called you?"

Kensei throws the tools down, rubbing his hands over his face. "I was on a date."

You'd rather have been left on the road to die than hear him say those words to you. The sinking feeling in your stomach threatens to send that protein bar back up just at the thought of him sitting at a restaurant with another woman, treating her in the same ways he'd treated you way back when. Kensei dating isn't unusual, per se. He's a single man, attractive and still quite young…

But he's yours.

"And you came for me?"

Kensei's hands drop to his lap. "For better or worse, babe: that's the promise I made you."

"The wedding vows don't particularly mean shit after the divorce." Tears of shock and hurt fill your eyes, though you refuse to blink and let them fall. He will not make you cry again, ever, but… The turn of your head to look away from him sure does accidentally force them out.

Kensei drops his head— he hates it when you cry, and hates himself for being the reason. He should've just lied again, brushed it off and moved onto the next flat. It wouldn't have worked though; the guilt he shoulders when he lies to you eats him alive, and it triples due to the look on your face when he does lie. You know he's not telling the truth, every time he tries it.

"I don't know why you think I'm the type of man to leave any woman stranded, much less you. You're the exception to every rule I have, always have been."

Your lip wobbles. It's true, you've always been the one to break Kensei's rules. He said he didn't date coworkers. But he dated you. He said he wasn't after a serious relationship. He married you. He said you shouldn't see each other after the divorce. Yet, he was calling and asking how you were doing not even a week later.

He's always loved you.

It's quiet for a while, and eventually Kensei gets back to the entire reason he's here. Clouds are rolling in, and he'll be damned if he gets caught in the middle of a rainstorm right now. His chest cavity feels empty and he wants nothing more than to crawl into his bed and sleep these horrible feelings away.

"Why?" You ask after a while, your few tears mostly faded now.

Stop, stop, stop! Stop asking questions, stop crying over your ex-husband moving on!!

"Why what?" Kensei mutters as he torques the lugnuts on the second tire.

You sigh to yourself, a beat of silence taking over again. Kensei's amber eyes flick over to you, snuggled into his shirt and avoiding his gaze as you curl into your chair. You're at war with yourself, that mental battle clear as day on what he can see of your face. His heartstrings tug, and next thing he knows he's wiping his hands and kneeling in front of you, cupping your cheek in his hand so you'll look at him.

His thumb swipes away a small tear. "Babe. Talk to me. You're not gonna feel better otherwise."

Your chest heaves at his touch, at his sincere eyes and warmth that keeps you so in love with him even now as a shudder wracks your entire body. "You keep your promises to me. You're always there when I need you. But why didn't you fight for our marriage?"

Kensei's silver brows raise before knitting together. "You wanted to leave. I wouldn't force you to stay if you weren't happy."

"I wanted you to care! I wanted my husband to tell me he still loved me and that we could work it out, but you didn't! You let me leave without so much as asking why!"

Kensei withdraws his hand. "Of course I cared! Does this—" He gestures back to your car. "Look like I don't care?? You had my whole heart in your palm, and you broke it! But I still come for you! All I want is for you to be safe and happy, and if it's not with me, so be it! You matter more to me than I ever have!"

"I've never wanted anybody else." Your eyes burn with fresh tears. You've never so much as entertained another guy for a potential date, let alone go out with someone after the divorce. There's nothing but your love for Kensei stopping you, but foolishly you hoped he would do the same; how unrealistic and unfair of you.

How many dates has he been on with this woman? Has he kissed her yet? The entire idea makes you want to scream and cry and cuss an innocent woman out for banging your husband. Ex or not, he's still so much of your heart that to lose him would ruin you.

"Then why divorce me?" He murmurs, standing and stepping back. The clouds are darkening, and he feels a hefty drop on his shoulder. "Why put me through a divorce if you wanted to stay together?!"

Anger boils inside your stomach, blood churning at an incredible pace as you rocket out of the lawn chair and fill the space he's created between you. "Why not fight?! If you love me as much as you keep saying, why didn't you fucking try?!"

"I already told you!" Kensei yells right back. "You wanted to go! So I let you go, because it's what you fucking said you wanted! You ended our marriage over a goddamn test, like the six years we spent together were some kinda fucking joke to you. You can't accuse me of not caring when you ended a four year marriage over petty shit!"

"I gave you a choice, Ken! I served the papers, but you signed them." You poke his chest harshly as two raindrops bounce against your forehead.

"I'm not having this argument with you; the shit's been said and done with for almost three years." Kensei turns his back to you as the rain starts a steady fall to swap out the last tire and get the hell away from you.

"Is she pretty?" It's beyond petty, so stupid and childish but you've got to know. If he likes this woman, or God forbid loves her, you'll never call him again. You'll die cold and alone before even considering reaching out to him, as an ex-wife to an ex-husband should.

Kensei stops in his tracks. "Yeah."

"Do you love her?"

"Never."

"Why?"

Kensei looks up at the sky, the gray clouds swirling as the rain descends. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, and it's the same as always every time he's left to gaze at the back of his eyelids— you and him on the night of your wedding, laying together in bed and giggling like teenagers at the prospect of your happy life together starting.

He turns, white tank top half soaked as he comes back to you and holds your face like porcelain. This beautiful face drives me crazy… "Nobody's ever gonna be able to be you."

You whimper and a fresh set of tears mixes in with the rain as Kensei leans down and kisses you, his passion so pent up that he's picking you up and pressing you to his truck before you can make heads or tails of anything. His shirt is swiftly bunched into your hand as the surprise subsides and the gratification fills you to the brim, your lips and tongue sliding with Kensei's in a messy reunification. Too long, it's been too long since you had this, since you felt his warmth on you and reveled in it.

His silver hair is silky between your fingers and he groans as you massage his scalp with your nails. He's always been a bit like a cat in that sense. Your legs around him and his arms around you tighten as you urge your bodies closer, leaving no room for even Jesus now. The rain pours around you, leaving you drenched by the time you've got no choice but to pull back, lest you die making out with your ex-husband.

All in all, not the worst way to go.

Kensei kisses your cheek gently, his lips lingering as he maneuvers to open the door to the passenger seat and shield you from the onslaught of rain. Peppering small kisses while he wipes the rain from your face, he turns the truck on and sets the heater up to keep you from getting sick.

He strips himself of his tank top once he's left you safely in the truck, tossing it in the truck bed before running to finish up the last tire change with this lucky break in the rain. Your fingers come to touch your tingling, smiling lips and you close your eyes as the space of Kensei's truck encompasses you.

By the time Kensei's back, his tools and your old tires all loaded up, you're beyond sleepy. Scooping you into his arms, your husband walks slowly and kisses your temple as he carries you to your car. "C'mon. Time to go home."

You steal a kiss off his lips, and by the time you're back in town, you weigh every option as you sit at a red light behind Kensei. Taking the next turn leads you home, but going straight will bring you right to Kensei's apartment building.

The light turns green.

[volfoss]

Leaving it up to Tumblr to choose my next comic chronology in like... 2 months when I'm free of green lantern (2 months is not very generous I fear)

Reasoning under the cut :3 (very long)

Duke- pretty short (less than 200 issues), I really like his character from what I've seen of him. I think it will also be hell (as is the nature of most batman adjacent chronologies) but it'll be worth it... Nice and short one and also swag character

Jefferson- 1. Black lightning is very fun early on and 2. I've already made the spreadsheet so I just have to read it. He's just like... A very cool character and I like him a lot so far. I just am gods scaredest soldier with long chronos (which his isn't too bad but it's ALSO batman adjacent and those are so scary)

Barbara - my best friend Babs but also if I have to reread the killing joke I AM killing Alan Moore ok. In theory I love her SOOOO much. In practice I think the fact I'm having to keep a "how bad is the disability rep" counter next to each issue says a lot. Unfortunately. Also already made this spreadsheet but I think it would be a very bad and good time.

Clint- again in theory would be fun. He seems right up my alley but alas if I have to see Tony Stark I do fly into a blind rage. And unfortunately I think he appears a lot... And also unfortunately I think I would suffer due to blonde man disorder ok (as I always do)

Silhouette+Aaron- package deal bc they're siblings. I've already started this one and then stopped because whoever is writing the early stuff SHOULD go to hell for what they're doing. For those unfamiliar, silhouette is one of the only heroes I've ever seen using forearm crutches (pretty awesome) and her power is that she can kind of travel via shadow iirc? Which would be really cool if they didn't like... Make her lose all her clothes and mobility aids when she's doing this. Which is why I quit. But she's very very cool minus that (and in my mind... I know she's written better later on) and her brother is his own can of worms (in... Definitely a way). In theory tho I rly gotta get through their stuff

Theodore - first off: I am a FIEND for marvel 70s horror comics. Second off: he is better than swamp thing. Third off: his big red eyes. But to be serious though like .. the Steve Gerber and Gerry Conway era of man thing is SO good and like .. political in an interesting way. I just need motivation to get around to it. Also he's cutesy ok!!!

Jason Blood- another consequence of the 70s horror era fan but this guy has CRAZY lore. He's a medieval knight who got possessed by a demon thanks to Merlin and then he's just lived through the centuries and become an occult guy. Reasons why I stopped this one - sometimes old horror comics are bad and horrible. And also a like 60 issue Garth Ennis written series. But I do really wanna finish his stuff bc he's like .. DC's version of Hellstrom (which. Genuinely awesome character, if you're interested in older horror comics def check his original run out <- my plug for my silly husband hellstrom who sucks so much or whatever. He's rly good tho seriously)

Jennifer - I've already made her spreadsheet and started it but the writers are soooo fucking bad most of the time. It's actually horrific. Pros for her- pretty good character when written well (her hellcat series stuff was REALLY nice for me. But I'll always hype up patsy walker aka hellcat at any chance) cons for her- the misogyny ... And my reward for finishing it is watching the she hulk show. So take that as you will

Dracula- I started his stuff bc I was PROMISED Gerry Conway (who is like.. one of my top 5 writers. He does amazing old horror comics and made a bunch of very cool characters). And then he left like 2 issues in and it went downhill. Some of the same authors who did some of the good (other marvel vampire who is redacted for my own safety ok) issues did stuff for drac. In theory this would be silly campy 70s horror comics fun. In practice oh my god I am gaining new authors to hate so bad...

[iviarellereads]

Nona the Ninth, John 8:1(1)

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For detail on The Locked Tomb coverage and the index, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(No icon) In which we learn why the fandom keeps making reference to cows.

The ash sometimes makes them black out together.(2) He doesn't like losing control. He can't be coaxed to sleep unless she stands in the doorway to guard him. In the dream she doesn't fear sleep, but she doesn't know how to do it, she just collapses to sleep and then wake wherever he puts her.(3)

They make multiple trips down and back up the hill, on the side the waters aren't rising, to bring their things to a concrete building he found.

When they were settled he said: We got some attention up-front, ’cause people thought we were trying to get media jobs with some excellent deepfakes. They thought we were playing a game or giving people a puzzle, maybe doing some branding. Branding, then?(4) Talk about late-late-stage capitalism, right? How far can consumption as praxis go?(5) But I mean, fair enough. It didn’t look real.

As a result, very few people even took them seriously enough to come see them. Out of the few, only five could be convinced to come in and help with tests, on tape. After, two of them walked away, one said nothing, one said he'd call the cops, and only one accepts what he saw as truth.

He said, Then we took off. Thread after thread on message board after message board. People wanting proof. People asking what the fuck it meant. People talking about the LUCIFER telescope and saying we were aliens. People calling me the Antichrist, which was a trip. People writing up these long posts on how the trick was done, how I got the meat into the pie. Was I fake? Was I real? If I was real, what did it mean? Suddenly there were hundreds of people, all there at our front door. They came in caravans, they were sleeping in their cars or putting up tents. A hell of a lot of them had flown out internationally.

Some of those who showed up wanted to witness a miracle. They asked him for help, for faith healing. The odd thing is, he could do it.(6) He could do a whole lot, though not regrowing limbs.

But I spent hours and hours a day playing Jesus. That was nice, those were some of the nicest hours I got to spend.

Eventually, though, he had to start turning people away. M- brought in her nun friend, and John worried he'd get the Antichrist talk from her too, but she pointed him back at the Bible and said, Jesus not being able to say no was his whole problem. He never said no, he never asked anyone to pay, he got too much attention and brought the system down on everyone near him.

After that, John limited "Jesus stuff" to just one hour a day, but some of the damage was already done.

He added, We knew it was going to be a big problem. You’ve got this guy with an army of upward of forty walking corpses that he acquired legally but was meant to bury a while back, it’s time for some hard conversations. He’s curing cancer, that’s great, but he’s bookended by two zombies that they’ve dressed in outfits, that’s bad. You’ve got a wizard out in the wop-wops(7) who’s now got blanket bans from nearly every video upload site(8) and a whole bunch of people have entered the country because of his YouTube channel, the government isn’t all, Love that small-business entrepreneur spirit. The government says, This is a cult.

As the pilgrims and the tourists and the CIA started to close in, it's the nun who saved them. She applied to the Vatican, to petition for John's acts to be considered a miracle because he'd been baptised. He says he'd "only gone to Parachute(9) ’cause of the underage drinking" but the nun was a lifesaver. Then A- brought in his little brother, a hedge fund manager, who was useless but beloved by the group. John knew they were gathering their loved ones, feeling the final confrontation coming.

He said, At that point the government asked us to come in quietly, with our hands up.

His friends didn't want to go, but stopping the cops was all on John. The others weren't an army, not even P- with her sharpshooting. He had the corpses, and a lot of tissue samples, but nothing he could think to really do with them.

Eventually, P- betrayed the police, calling ahead to say the riot squad was on the way.(10) John knew he needed to wall the place off, so he made huge walls, three foot thick, of what the necromancers now call perpetual bone. The cops couldn't get through with any of their tools, and John caught that he hadn't put in air holes before anyone suffocated.

He fell quiet. After a while she prompted, You made it from your bodies? He said, Nah. I decided I didn’t want to touch any of the bodies, not only Titania and Ulysses. They’d all been through a lot. It was at this point that he had the grace to look embarrassed. He said, I’m not proud of this. But, well—like, we were on farmland. With farm animals. Big things with mass to spare. The field just over the road from us had over eighty head of cattle, field over that had a lot of sheep, and the bush was full of old bones. I had to—get creative. We had to lock C— in the kitchen when she found out so she could throw up in private for a while, and we wouldn’t let her look at it. Thankfully it was dark, so there wasn’t too much to look at.

You could even see it on satellite images on Google Earth, and he thought it was kind of pretty.

And then the government agreed to talk. The world took them seriously after the cow and sheep wall, though they also treated him like some kind of evil, or like he'd done some crime. Which he acknowledges he had in fact done, turning several hundred animals inside-out and not complying with the cops, but, he had extenuating circumstances.

He said, I didn’t care what they thought, I wanted the attention.(11) I wanted to break my NDAs. I wanted to let them know about the cryo plans and how we got shut down. I wanted to talk about you. About how we’d been going to save the world and then the cash dried up for no reason. And now we had a platform, so maybe the cash could come back, somehow. But we’d scared a lot of people. We also had more enemies than we’d ever had before. He said, I guess you could say … we had beef. When she did not laugh he said, “I can’t believe nobody’s ever going to laugh at my jokes again. I can’t believe it. It’s all gone, I’m the only one left.(12) It’s just me and you and no more jokes.” She said, “I still love you.” And he laughed and said, “That was a good one.” Then he wept again.

=====

(1) John 8:1 is "And Jesus went unto mount Olivet." Which doesn't say much itself, but its context is much greater: John 8:1 begins (or, well, continues, as it began in the previous chapter) the sequence with the infamous bit about "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." (John 8:7) Mount Olivet, or the Mount of Olives, is where the Pharisees try to catch Jesus out in his faith, they test him with the adulterous woman, and he says, alright, she's done wrong, but whomst among us has not? Feels fairly relevant, for a chapter in which John is tempted to become Jesus, and is tempted to unleash wrath on his enemies, but instead he shows his power defensively. Not quite as biblical as responding in verse and parable but y'know, considering I think the point was the letter translation, it's not bad! In A1Z26, we have THETOWERHA. I got nothin' clever this time for that, we'll have to see where else it goes. (2) Everything that happens to one, happens to the other, at the same time. Inextricably linked. So, if we think John's talking to who we think he's talking to (hint: not Harrow, but someone he's known for somewhat longer than ten thousand years) how does that line up with this sort of link? What sort of dream logic is that? (3) John once admitted to Harrow that Alecto was never quite a normal human being. Mercy wasn't even convinced she'd ever had a genetic code to speak of. She and August referred to her in veiled and not-so-veiled terms as a monster, barely human in behaviour or composure. Like she didn't understand how to be a person. (Also, this paragraph includes the line "baby-soft skin hammocks" which is given a whole new dimension when you remember that his sign of office is a crown of baby finger bones. I'm not inserting it into the summary just to say this in a separate footnote, though, so it goes here.) (4) Five years ago the whole internet revolved around establishing branding, now it's far less firm of a concept, as far as I can tell. (5) References to some deep lefty beliefs held by John. How many people outside the leftmost quarter of the political compass call anything "praxis"? It's a very specific word to choose here, to say a lot about John. And, there's nothing inherently good about being a leftist, politically speaking. People have done immense harm in the name of communism and socialism. And Muir can invoke all this with a single word. (6) The same healing we see necromancers doing with thalergy. (7) NZ slang for the back-of-beyond, the more rural than rural spots. (8) At best, what he's doing at this point can be termed defilement of a corpse by anyone who's not a true believer. It's not even an unfair interpretation of the truth.

(9) Parachute: A Christian music festival that ended in 2014. (10) This is really important: Americans, and perhaps the rest of the non-NZ world, probably think of like, the big famous Christian cult raids when they read this, but my many thanks to the writer of this post who outlines that there's actually a really important context of colonial forces raiding Maori faith healers in NZ which is entirely different. (11) Attention, social influence, an addictive sort of power in its own right. (Not all attention-seeking is toxic, but I feel it's fair to look at the man who made himself emperor and say yeah, he might be toxic. That is, in fact, one of his most compelling character traits.) (12) He's the only one left... but what about her? Which is it? Of course, it's both. If this is Alecto, then she's no longer with him either, not really. All his friends have left him in one way or another. By his hand or their own or someone else's. He locked Alecto up, whoever and whatever she is or was or will be, in the Locked Tomb that gives the series its name, the tomb around which the whole trilogy quartet revolves. So of course, there's no one left, it's just him... and her, at the end of all things, because of their connection, whatever it means that he keeps calling her Harrow in these dreams of Nona's that she can't remember.

[artemophobias]

A Very Merry Signmas

Merry Christmas to @ancestoroos! I’m so sorry for this being late, I had gotten pretty ill when I had began my project. It isn’t the best thing in the world, but I tried as best as possible.

@homestuckss

Word Count: 2.4k

TWs: Some very light sexual references, lots of swearing

Characters: All of the Ancestors (primarily mentioned that they are there, but most do not have lines) except for Dualscar and Condesce. Focus character is the Psiioniic.

Notes: I’m really not amazing at writing the Ancestors. I pretty much never do it, but I wanted to characterize this version of the Ancestors slightly off of their Dancestor selves, but since they were in a completely different situation they do act differently from the Dancestors. - Handmaid speaks more. - Ironically, the Signless doesn’t talk too much. - Some parts make a little more sense italicized, but as this is copy-pasted from Docs some of it disappeared, Sorry!

Maybe out there, there is a dream bubble where life is good, and everyone is living in peace. No matter what happened, they, perhaps, banded together whenever the time had come.

This dream bubble did not have that luxury. Truly, quite the opposite.

No one liked working together, because of course they didn’t. There was arguing, constantly trying to kill one another, all those sorts of things. Everyone was used to it, though, and perhaps that was what made everyone like family.

Even relationships bloomed from the bickering. Redglare and Mindfang certainly had some ideas for what a ‘relationship’ was. The constant vacillation could get annoying, though, especially for the Psiioniic (who did not want to be dealing with that shit, but he supposed he had to be subjected to it the same way everyone else was).

He would say that the Summoner was, somewhat, the only normal one. Even the Psiioniic’s girlfriend was a bit much in the head, though he was able to accept it with ease. Sometimes, he wondered what life would be like if the Summoner was able to keep everyone in control.

Though, yes, peace was simply just… not a thing that any of them dealt with. No matter how loud it got, how chaotic everything got, no one could stop arguing and fighting and bickering, and fuck was it endearing.

Maybe after everything that had happened with Alternia, with all of that past everyone, they simply rested on the choice of being enemies without being enemies. Again, something that the Psiioniic could live with.

Signmas was the worst, though. Almost every year, to no avail, Signmas was going to be the worst.

Signmas only became a thing when the Signless died, in which everyone would want to celebrate the cause that the Signless fought for on the day of his birth (though, no one was truly sure when he was born. It was only a vague guess). Yet, they all had to celebrate it, despite them having the Signless there! That was pretty crazy, right?

Not only that, the Psiioniic was hosting the party this year (to much of his discontent, but he had to for everyone else, he guessed).

He wasn’t good at decorations or everything, so he had to get the Handmaid to help, because, obviously. Mindfang would simply make fun of him, or something of the sort. The Summoner also, likely, could help, but he wouldn’t bother, since the Handmaid was his vacillatory partner.

“Why didn’t you get it started days before?” she asked. The very first thing she asked, in fact. Her tone wasn’t scolding, though, it was much more of making fun of him. “You don’t just start decorating for Signmas the day of. Even Signmas Eve would’ve been a damn better choice.”

The Psiioniic just scoffed at her, crossing his arms. They had both shed their old clothes from back in the days. The Psiioniic, though, supposed he had to be in the spirit, and was wearing a black shirt with red fluff and the Signless’ sign (ha) on it, and the Handmaid was wearing a black kimono with various black-colored designs, a red kanzashi in her hair. How fitting for the holiday.

“Seriously, ha! You couldn’t have chosen to do anything better than all this?”

Now that she said it though, the cardboard decorations were pretty drab. Shittily drawn fake .jpeg artifacts were pretty funny, though. A certain Knight of Time would agree with that.

“Look, I didn’t have anything on hand.”

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and then laughing drily. “I can’t believe I’m partnered with an idiot. You’re lucky, though.” She then waved her hand, and with a Variety of Time Bullshit, a bunch of Signmas decorations dropped in front of him. “Well? Learn how to decorate your damn hive.”

He let out a bit of a huff, red and blue eyes glaring at her white. “What if I don’t want to? What if you have to do it, huh?”

The Psiioniic always considered himself quite the fight-y type, even if some disagreed. He did know how to hold on his own, and he certainly didn’t want to decorate for Signmas! He knew the Signless, he was pretty sure that the guy would know how much he cared and loved for him or whatever the fuck he could be thinking about.

“Nawh, you have to,” she said. “How do you think he’d feel if his best friend didn’t even try and commemorate him?” She barked out laughter.

“Have you been thpending time with Mindfang or thomething?” he bit back, though, not out of any sort of malice or anger. It was just slight bantering.

“Maybe a little,” she snickered. “It’s okay though, right? Or, what, you’re getting jealous?” She walked over, bumping his hip with hers and walking to his meal block, grabbing a block of cheese and biting into it. He couldn’t remember why it was there. “Tell me when you’re done, yeah?”

“Thtupidathh,” the Psiioniic muttered, grabbing the Weird Time Bullshit Signmas decorations and starting to try and put them up.

The tree wasn’t even well-decorated, and that was easy to note. Honestly? It was just a pine tree with some video game bullshit thrown on it, plus some red and blue paint. He didn’t think he’d have to be hosting this year! What was he gonna do, plan ahead? No way.

“You should really have decorated the tree better!” the Handmaid laughed out, taking another bite out of the block of cheese.

The Psiioniic could only bring himself to scoff again, trying to put up all the window decor, the various lights, stuff like that. For someone who was well-versed in How Things Work, he was doing very badly at Making Things Work. Isn’t that funny?

“Stop whining!”

“Thhut up!” He put more of the decorations up, until his hive looked like a windstorm blew through it and ate everything, then barfing it up and throwing some red and blue on it.

“You know, thtuff thomething down your chitinouth windhole and live with it.”

She laughed slightly, finishing off the cheese (she was slowly eating it, mostly just preoccupying herself with watching the Psiioniic). “There’s many things I can imagine stuffing down there.”

His lip curled up in dissatisfaction.

…but, then, some of the decorations fell down from their place, and he groaned, checking the time. “Thhit! They’ll be here in like, ten fucking minuteth!”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be taking so long to decorate, what about that? Ever thought of it, Psi, honey?” Her tone had become mean and condescending, just to fuck with him.

He groaned. “You’re the one with the weirdathh time powers, not me! Can’t you just turn it back?”

“It’s gonna fall down anyway.”

His groan rang out once more, this time louder, before he fumbled his way to the decorations and put them back up. Yet, suddenly, his door was thrown open.

“Weee’reee heeeeeeeere, losers!”

He could almost hear those stupid eights in the exclamatory statement. Oh, how he hated the holidays. It was so tiring.

Suddenly, the hoard of people pushed through. Mindfang, Summoner, Redglare, and Signless (obviously), barged into the Psiioniic’s house, in which he gave them an expression of pure dread. In the back, he also noticed Darkleer, the Discipline, and Dolorosa. There were too many fucking people in the house, but he guessed he would just have to live with it for the most part.

Yet, Redglare suddenly pushed through them all, running up to the Psiioniic and giving him a large hug. And fucking tight. The Psiioniic would never get a true understanding as to why Redglare’s hugs were so damn tight, but he would just have to live with that too.

Ugh, he hated having to live with it.

Plus, he was sure that everyone would get a damn kick out of the strange, gurgled noise that came out of his throat when he was practically lifted from the ground by her. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that lawyers were weak.

“Psiiiiii!!!!” she laughed, then pulling away from him and practically dropping him back onto the ground. “Oh, it’s been so long!”

“He’s been secluding his damn self again!” the Handmaid shouted from the meal block, seeming to be eating something else.

“Don’t eat all the food!”

“What are they going to do, eat a few morsels?”

He grimaced, then sneering at her. “You know, I thought that moirails were thuppothed to be thupportive,” he bit, his nose scrunching up.

“You’re forgetting the kismesis part, dear.”

He scoffed, stumbling away from everyone else before gesturing to all the decorations. “Look at all the thhit that I had to go through for this!”

Mindfang snorted, covering her mouth. “Mhmmmmmmmm, I bet the Handmaid got all that for you.”

Even after all the years of them knowing each other, it didn’t seem like any of them could call each other by their real names. The Psiioniic liked it better like this, though. No need to be called by a species of gillbeast. Fucking Tuna. They all even knew each others’ names.

“Okay, well, fuck all of you! Go put the prethentth under the tree.”

The barely decorated tree, that is.

“We’ll be opening prethentth fucking… uh, later. Remind me. Actually, thetting a timer might be good for thith too.”

He ran off to his respiteblock to get some freedom from the rest of the Ancestors, leaving them alone in the main block of the hive.

“Well, shit!!!!!!!! You know, we all might as well ransack the place,” Mindfang joked as they all put their presents near the tree. There was a whole fucking lot of presents, actually. No Condesce, though, so no one had to be too grand to appease the past queen.

“Why would we do that?” Darkleer asked, his voice sounding deeper than usual. It mostly sounded like he had just got dumped outside of the recuperacoon and got ready to come.

Yet, his simple inquiry had quickly triggered a large amount of bickering. An insurmountable bout of noise had flourished in the hive, enough to actually force the Psiioniic to come out with his timer.

Gog fucking dammit.

He glanced at Redglare, who was sitting near two wrapped presents which were suspiciously both long and large.

He quickly looked away.

The Handmaid seemed to only be witnessing, not partaking, a large grin on her face. She seemed to like all the bickering, and the Psiioniic didn’t want to say anything, so he just slid over to her.

“Too bad we can’t just leave them here to rot,” he said, leaning on the counter and squinting at all of them. Why did he have to be friends with his worst enemies? Why did he have to be close friends with them?

“Aww, wouldn’t that be fun? But don’t you think this is more fun?”

“Not particularly,” he said, huffing. Despite the two of them lacking similar interests in social discourse, they still were able to work in tandem. That is, they both could shittalk to Earth and back about some of the people in their group.

Out of love, of course.

He set his timer for about an hour and continued to let them argue for the time being. He supposed they weren’t going to be doing any activities (thank gog), and both him and the Handmaid could just sit and watch. Even if after an hour, it might get boring… and also really confusing. Everyone else was always very confusing.

…

Not everyone fit around the Signmas tree, which was unfortunate mostly for them, but gifts were sorted and gave to everyone. There was one of the Suspiciously Large Long Thing near both the Psiioniic and Darkleer, and other various shapes around everyone else.

What a merry bunch the Ancestors were. The Psiioniic was melting with fear on what could possibly be in the wrapped gift.

Yet, everyone dug in. Darkleer definitely seemed to be saving ‘best for last’ when it came to sizes, leaving the Suspiciously Large Long Thing wrapped and ready.

The Psiioniic himself got various gizmos from everyone else. Some new coding things, other machinations, the such. Mindfang got some, ugh, what was the stupid thing… oh, yeah, she got a new FLARP kit. Redglare got new glasses, as well as various clothes from Mindfang (with a very nicely written, “I h8 your t8ste in clothing,” written on it). Summoner got a multitude of stuffed animals, much to his surprise, but all of the presents were unmarked, only saying “TO SUMMONER” in various different handwritings….

….It was definitely a gag.

When Darkleer had gotten to his Suspiciously Large Long Thing, he practically screamed with glee. It was a sudden change from the usually stoic expression he had.

Yet, when the Psiioniic looked over….

….Oh no.

“PUT THAT OUTTHIDE!” the Psiioniic had to shout, quickly, and Darkleer was sad to comply.

He put his head on the table, though, as Redglare and Handmaid cackled together, the two of them fistbumping.

Actually, what was it that the Handmaid got?

He looked over from his place on the table. So, she also got some trinkets. Lighters, some new kanzashi, etc. How pleasant.

He had to open his Suspiciously Large Long Thing.

Though, when he did, he almost felt like Darkleer. He honestly might’ve reacted in the same way. Pure, unadulterated glee.

It was a new skateboard, black with red and blue highlights with his sign on it. And all of its parts seemed to be very high-quality.

Redglare grinned at him. “I knew you might like it.”

The Psiioniic could only stare and nod, though his lack of an expression told everyone how happy he was about this arrangement now.

Gog fucking dammit, he sure did love his group. Not that he’d tell them or anything.

…

They had spent most of the night simply talking amongst each other. He realized that some of them might have to just pass out at his hive— it was getting late, and despite them technically being allowed to go outside to the sun in the dream bubble, they still were all kind of scared to do so. He guess he wouldn’t mind having them.

Still, it was getting pretty late… the Psiioniic hadn’t noticed that he was starving. So, when a loud, loud grumble came from him, everyone paused in their discussions (and bickering).

“Psii,” Dolorosa said slowly, “did you prepare dinner?”

He paused.

“Fuck.”

[storiesofsvu]

Hey hey, another Thursday!

Starting off with OC, ive seen the promo pics and tbh, im excited.

Jet looking amazing in green.

That was the WOOORST job putting a necklace on EVER. Like, not only was it over the hair, but it was not properly lined up for the reveal…

Just casually walking around the streets of nyc with a severed hand.. nbd

Are you seriously telling me that dog devoured that hand in that little time, bones and all?

How and why is it that these hardened career criminals always fall so fucking hard and fast for the UC cop!?? Like, you should have your guard up a little bit shouldn’t you??

Okay, so…. Can we talk about ayanna’s nails for a hot second? She clearly a pillow princess with those claws… LOL

 THANK YOU JET. THANK YOU for fucking calling out that stabler has done SO much worse than KISS someone while UC.

Man this whole sending an agent cop into the field UC to be the romantic interest of a perp/mob/mafia and the cop ends up crossing a line or two, fucking things up and falling for said perp… all while the guy playing Doyle is the main mob boss?? Hmm… this is a little too familiar, like even jet’s wig…

Is she faking this?? Okay, yes, she is. Called that.

This ep is super Ayanna jet heavy and im LOVING it thank fucking god

Also loving ayanna’s apt

Okay the wig coming off would not be that big of a deal in today’s day and age, tons of girls wear wigs all the fucking time. ALSO, why was it not wigcapped, pinned down and secured??

Welp. Cant say im not surprised by the ending. But I am glad that jet’s getting to do more.

As of right now I am paying ZERO attention to mothership. We’ll see if that changes when sam pops up or not.

Okay, the black & tan number Samantha has on close to the end? It looks like it’s a two piece outfit with her midriff hanging out… good job wardrobe…

Ooo..od’d… yeah… called that…, also Nolan that was some of the worst cpr compressions ive ever seen on tv.. cmon

OKAY. Paying attention now!

We REALLY had to watch that machete attack again!?? WHY

Jfc that opening…did we have to go that graphic?? Is this gonna continue to be a new thing?

I cant figure out if they’re trying to test out muncy/Velasco with the fandom and see what way we go, or of they’re teasing the relationship, or if they’re just playing on the brother/sister vibes, because all im getting is muncy being a brat, which is accurate. Also that scene would’ve been a lot less awkward if there was any kind of background noises/music, like when there’s elevator dings on grey’s, you know what im saying?

Loving the purple on Velasco tho

“you wanna keep a stray puppy?” “you got to keep one!” LOL

So bruno’s here to stay?

#1: wtf is this bucket hat.

#2: why is it pulled down so far over her eyes?

Bro those crutches are way too short for this dude

“A funk?” carisi then gives the “who’s this guy” look to liv. LOL.

Man the writing this ep is great.

I appreciate that we’re getting more into muncy’s personality aside from being a lil teasing brat, like, there’s gotta be a lot of grief in there, knowing that her mom died and im pretty sure it was when grace was young, so she’s probably been bottling shit up since then. Also still and always really hoping that they don’t push her & Velasco, let the brother sister bestie vibes win please.

Glad we’re getting lots of muncy this week

Bruno is growing on me….

“sometimes though it’s hard to make a u-turn” IS THAT THE ONLY FOLLOW UP WERE GONNA GET?! (I say that as someone who is 100000000% NOT an eo shipper, but I do think it’s strange that *that* happened last week and like, fin didn’t even ask how noah’s drive back to the city was kinda thing. Yeah, sure there was enough going on in both episodes, but like, there was literally ZERO follow up to everything. Jeeze.)

 Joe looking hella cute in that toque

Man this just keeps getting worse…

Okay… hold up.. grace says “a great one” about Velasco being a liar and liv just flies right passed it AS IF THEY ALL DIDN’T FIRST MEET HIM WHEN HE WAS UC AND NONE OF THEM BELIEVED HIM. Like homeboy WAS working majorly UC for how long??

Though we DO know a tidbit about his previous gang involvement… so I honestly don’t know what direction theyre taking this… it’ll be interesting to see.

[percontaion-points]

Lost Boys chapters 27 & 28

Click here for the rest of the series!

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 27

I would tease, and flirt and provoke Tristan in every possible way, until he cracked and caved, and confessed he was crazy about me!

It’s really difficult to take this book seriously when it doesn’t even care about the Joe/Tristan plotline!

“Guys, you should at least take turns who to strip! Picking on Harry all the time isn’t fair!” I berated them.

“So, maybe we should take a turn with you, then, Joe! You look good in those clothes, but I’ll bet you’ll look even better without them!” Sam hinted, smirking at me.

 “Hey, you are all free to try to strip me!” I said, shrugging. They all stopped and stared at me. 

“No way! Are you serious? You should’ve mentioned this before!” Josh said from behind his drums. They were all smirking evilly and walking closer to me. Except Harry and Tristan; they just stood still and watched. 

You can write literally anything, so why the hell did you write this?

Saturday was going to be knock-out day!

Chapter 27 summary: Joe begins her plan to mercilessly flirt with anything and everything, including Tristan… In order to goad him into a reaction. However, as I said, the author seems so bored with her own work… Either that, or she never listened to the “show don’t tell” advice, because most of this is simply told to us. We don’t get to experience it, we’re sat down and told what happened. It’s boring. I don’t fucking care about any of it because the author doesn’t care!

At one point, they play another song in front of the teacher. But it’s a break-up song Tristan himself wrote, so it’s kind of awkward for Joe. She has to pretend like it doesn’t bother her, and says that she’s going to have to work on her part to make it better. 

Later, they all go into the nearby town to celebrate the “release” of that song. Since they’re celebrating, Seth brings Tiffany, Tristan brings Caroline, and one of the other two boys brings a random girl as his date. However, the entire time that they’re in town, Tristan will not stop being a sourpuss, much to Caroline’s dismay. 

When they get back to the room, Joe asks Tristan to help him unzip her dress, which obviously affects him immensely. Joe thinks that he’s close to breaking. 

Chapter 28

Now, the special thing about our night was that we were going to play strip poker.

CAN WE NOT. 

I don’t remember when we ended up in my bed, or how we were both naked when we got there – or when it was that Tristan went and got protection from his bedside drawer

Why do you casually have that? 

Don’t get me wrong, because I’m glad that he does have a condom and everything. Let’s not promote unsafe sex to the literal children who are supposed to be the target demographic for this series. “Supposed to be” being the key phrase here. 

But the fact that they did this is… kind of rubbing me the wrong way. 

Like yeah, Joe is supposed to be 18 and everything. But come on. 

Before I could reach out to him or say anything, he stood up and put his black sweat pants on. And then he left the room, without saying a word.

Chapter 28 summary: Joe decides that since Brad has a boys only poker event sometimes, that the Lost Boys (and Tiffany) are going to have their own poker night. Except that it’s going to be strip poker. Because of trying to get back at Tristan. Yeah, clearly a winning move here.

They play. I usually don’t care whenever games start being played, but this is so much worse than usual. Joe had planned to tap out when she was down to her underwear, but the other boys convinced her to keep playing. This enrages Tristan, who drags her from the room. 

The two of them start to bicker out in the hall. But the next thing Joe knows, Tristan is kissing her. They then go back to their room, where the rest of their clothes come off, and Tristan gets a condom. When they’re done, Tristan seems even more upset, and is quick to leave. 

[bisexual-horror-fan]

Through The Heart Is The Only Way. Chapter One: "Another Average Night." Poly!Chiffany X FEM! AFAB! Reader.

OH MY GOD! OHMIGOD YOU GUYS! So! Finally! After so long, I am finally at long last starting up another long fic! I have been talking and teasing this for a fucking while and here it is! I am so excited to be starting this, the concept and idea is actually really important to me. I am bisexual and polyamous and most of the poly stuff I have written has had two male presenting people at least, my faveorite kind of poly shit has two women in it though, it is my perfered poly dynamic. Not to mention my writing as well as this fandom has been lacking in WLW content for a long ass while, this is part of me doing my part to correct it and contribute and give me more of the kind of shit I want to see. I can’t wait to see where this project takes me! I hope you all like it. No smut yet but this is me, trust me, we will get there! I can’t wait to delve into Tiffany and Chucky’s characters and explore how I think they would be in a poly relationship, I hope you all dig the ride! Big thanks to @darkestamralime and @hersweetrevenge for some help on what they think about Tiffany’s music taste. Anway, no more slacking, let’s get into it!

—

Rating. SFW. Length. 3K. Charles Lee Ray X Tiffany Ray Valentine X FEM! AFAB! Reader. She/Her Pronouns. Poly!Chiffany. Warnings. Basically None. Alcohol Consumption. Swearing. Smoking. That’s It.

—

You’d been living in Chicago for a few years. You weren’t born here but once you came here on vacation you kind of fell in love with the place. It was so much bigger than where you lived and grew up, so much more to do, always something going on, nearly endless ways to entertain yourself, way more options for food too. You made the call to move here a few years ago and didn’t look back, very pleased with your decision.

Sometimes you can’t sleep and you don’t have to just stay locked up inside. You can go out and find something to distract you and take up your attention until you get weary enough to trek home and pass out.

In short you felt like moving here is one of the best things you’ve ever done. You have a decent apartment, a good little group of friends, hobbies, your life felt pretty full and complete, and had a job too that worked well with your needs.

As for what that job was, you worked at a nightclub doing some waitressing, you loved that it kept your days mostly free, enjoyed the overall atmosphere, the people you would meet, and the tips were fucking ridiculous. You were damn good at what you did and you looked good doing it too. You could strike up conversation easily, were approachable on the job and a hard worker. The point is that you would go to work and do the damn thing and do it to the best of your ability.

Your hard work was recognized too, you could get shifts easily and weren’t hard up for work or money.

Speaking of, that is what you were gearing up for right now. You were finishing up having dinner, made some pasta, were eating it in front of your tv as you sat on the couch, magazine spread out on the table in front of you that you had been half flipping through. You had a decent day today, a good sleep in, some shopping, cleaning, getting coffee with a friend. If asked you’d describe it as inoffensive and average if not overall pleasant.

You have the news on but aren’t watching it seriously, you think you catch something about the crime rate rising again but you pay it no heed, your attention turning to the clock and you see you need to get a move on to be one time for work. You finish those last few bites before flipping the magazine closed and picking up your remote, you turn off the tv and stand up to bring your bowl to the kitchen. You leave in the sink and set to prepare for work, striding to the bathroom.

Did your make-up, fucked around with your hair, you actually really loved this part. Your work didn’t explicitly have a set dress code other than usually wearing black, you could usually have fun with and play around with different styles and looks. You were in the mood for a glittery metallic kind of moment, the radio you kept in your bathroom on the counter turned on, just enjoying the music as you took your time getting ready.

As soon as your make-up was done and your hair to your liking was pulled up and out of the way, worn in an unmistakably casual kind of fashion, this wasn’t exactly an upscale club that you worked at after all, you headed to your bedroom. You had a section in your closet dedicated to clothes you’d normally wore to work, you pulled out a favoured black dress, some torn tights and heeled boots, the height wasn’t insane but they made your legs look great, it was January in Chicago and there was still a lot of snow and ice to contend with.

You find your way out about five minutes later, jacket and gloves on, purse you used for work slung over your shoulder, taking the stairs quickly before crossing the lobby of your apartment building and out into the cold night air. You suppress a shiver and shove your hands in your pockets, you lived close enough that you didn’t need to take the train and on nice nights you would make the walk but on nights like this where it was so bitter and with the wind chill you’d say fuck it and take the nearest L train to your job.

The train ride is normal, the one home later on a Friday night like this would be different, much rowdier with the party crowd leaving clubs and bars.

By the time you were walking into the club you had been out of the house for only a half hour, you made great time on the commute tonight. You made your way to the back, took off your coat and hung up your bags, started prepping for your shift, greeting co-workers and the like.

The place was a busy club and soon you were waist deep in work.

Running from here to there, doing what you did, playful smiles, easy conversation, flirting a little, naturally, taking orders, serving drinks and of course, racking up those tips.

It was a few hours in and you were really in the swing of it, a tray of empty glasses you had collected from around tables while making another round taking orders, when you see someone you hadn’t previously, he must have just gotten here.

You changed course and walked over, figured you could get his order in and save some time. You came up beside his table and asked with a glance at him, “Hey, could I get you a drink?”

You were surveying the area but his laughing made you turn and get a serious eyeful. Taller than you, long hair, grey suit, black tie and a tan trench coat along with black sunglasses. He turns to look you over as he takes off those sunglasses, “Been here less than ten minutes and someone is already flirting’ with me.”

You laugh a little yourself, you are used to guys like this, attractive, confident and self assured and so you responded easily, “Mmm yeah, I am just dying to get you outta here, but how about that drink first?”

He looked you over as he hummed in consideration, arms crossed casually as he asked, “You got anythin’ really special on right now?”

“Cocktail man, eh? You want me to surprise you?” You ask with a smile and a cock of your head and he confirms as he pocketed those sunglasses, “Sounds good, just make it strong.” He said with a point and you smiled wider in response.

“On it.” You said with a nod before heading off, you could feel him looking at you but you were again used to this, the line of work you did combined with the fact that, hello, you were very attractive, meant that it was standard practice.

You stopped by the bar and put in your orders until you got to him, “Got a guy who wants something strong and special, you think you can handle that?”

The bartender, Logan, nodded and told you, a gesture to himself as he said, “Look who you’re talking to.”

“You’re the man.” You said as you took off to drop off your dirty glasses and wipe your tray down, “You know it!” He called after you.

You had a few minutes before all those drinks would be ready and took the opportunity to hit the bathroom. One thing about this job meant you had to share the same bathroom the customers used, thank God there wasn’t a line at the moment.

After washing your hands in your rush to get back outside you almost crashed into someone about to come into the bathroom. You just managed to stop yourself, hands out and immediately apologising, “Oh my God, I am so sorry-”

“No worries hon, accidents happen.” That voice, you hadn’t heard anything like that before, very husky. One word came to mind to describe it, that word being sultry.

You looked her over, tall heels, fishnet tights, an insanely short and tight skirt and matching top, chunky gothic looking jewellery and a more than an ample amount of cleavage on display. She had her nails done,sharp looking and a deep shade of purple, nice looking makeup too. Clearly skillfully applied, dark lipstick and loose almost messy blonde hair, to sum up, she was hot and well put together and if the way she was standing was any indication, she knew it.

“Right, still, sorry-” She cut you off, an apology for interrupting you as she said, “Sorry, but you work here, right?”

You nodded as you told her, “Yeah I do.”

“Great, can you tell me if the DJ is accepting requests tonight?” She asked and you told her, “Oh of course, yeah we are always taking song requests.”

She shifted her weight from one heel to the other, “Really? Cuz I’ve been here a couple of times and he never takes my requests.” She almost pouted and you wanted to fix that. And not just on an employee wanting to help a customer kind of way.

You had to admit it, she was very attractive and very much your type. Thing was you weren’t exactly out at work and tried to make a point of not getting involved with customers, especially regular ones and she mentioned she’d been here before, you should forget it. She was fucking goregous but you’ve known her for all of two seconds for crying out loud.

You were intent on helping her however.

“He can be a bit funny about that, but you tell me what you want and I will make sure he plays it.” By be a bit funny you meant that he was totally gay, you might have caught him with a busboy after closing one night and were sworn to secrecy. She was a total fucking smokeshow but she wouldn’t have much effect on him if she made an attempt to flirt to get her song played.

The image of her leaning against his DJ booth with her arms under her tits, pushing them out as he coyly asked with that sweet smile for her song to get played flooded your mind.

You quickly push it out,

She brightened at what you had said considerably, she had a great smile, “Thank you so much.”

She gave you the song she wanted and you complimented her on the choice, “Not the usual fare but we all need a good shake up now and then, seriously it’s a good pick. I kinda hate that we only play stuff from this or last year, a throw back is always welcome.”

You meant what you said, it was kind of a deep cut, in comparison to what people usually asked for here anyway, and you were honestly impressed.

She thanked you again and you returned that smile and told her, “No problem.” And you broke away, leaving her behind and going on your way back to work. Before you were out of earshot she called out, “Cute outfit by the way.”

You glanced over your shoulder and saw her looking you over and you almost stopped from the way her eyes were dragging over you. The thought that maybe-

No! No way it was like that, you shook it off and called back, “Thanks! Yours too!”

You kept on your way and sighed before muttering to yourself, “Yours too, fucking be lamer.” Pushing your less than stellar response out of your mind you stop by the DJ booth on your way to the bar and pass along your request to which, Jackson tells you, “Anything for you babe.”

You were practically work best friends, had bonded really heavily after you caught him in the act, nothing brings people together like secrets you don't want getting out.

You thanked him and then made a beeline for the bar, your drinks were ready and you needed to get them out, your little run in at the bathroom put you a bit behind and you needed to play catch up.

This is you we are talking about though, of course you could handle it. Less than ten later your tray was nearly empty again, one last drink to drop off. You come back up to him on the opposite side as you did previously. He had his coat off now, thrown over his arm as he was leaning on the standing table he was at, you set the glass down as you said, “Here you go.”

“I was starting to worry you ran off on me.” He was leaning on one elbow as he scooped up the drink with his other hand.

He was looking at you again and even in the low and flashing lights you could tell he had quite the intense stare, you wished you could tell what colour his eyes were.

Weird. You didn’t normally think that kind of thing about customers. There was something about this guy’s vibe and energy that was clicking with you.

Between the blonde bombshell at the bathrooms and this guy you had no idea what was going on with you tonight, maybe it had been too long since you’ve gotten laid?

You were pulled out of your thoughts when he all but groaned, “Oh fuck.”

A questioning look until you realised that he had tried that drink you had brought him, “Good?” You asked as you rested your drink tray on your hip and he stole another sip before confirming with a nod, “Yeah it is. I have to give it up, you didn’t disappoint.”

You asked, “You a hard guy to impress?” He shrugged with a smile, “Something like that.”

You watched as he started to fish something out of his coat, pack of smokes and a lighter, you watched as he brought one up to his lips and the lighter came up to, a click and nothing. He tries again, nothing, a few more clicks in rapid succession and you see him curse in frustration before you say, “I got you.”

He sees you holding out a lighter of your own, he takes it with a muffled, “Thanks.” spoken around the smoke in his mouth. He lights it on the first try this time and inhales deeply, hand through his hair before removing the cigarette from between his lips, you watch the tension melt out of him as he exhales out the smoke.

“You smoke?” He asked, offering up the pack and you shake your head, he asked with a gesture of his hand, “But you have a lighter?”

“I sure do.” He passes the lighter back and you slip it away into the belt you wore that held your change, pens, notepad and the rest of stuff you’d need on the job. “Never know when a customer will need a light unexpectedly.”

“Fair enough. Prepared, I like that.” He said easily before taking another sip of his drink, you could tell he genuinely liked it and that made you feel good. You took pride in your work even though most wouldn’t. Any job worth doing was worth doing well to you. “Yeah, I take the boy scouts motto to heart.”

He gave a small chuckle to that with a shake of his head, he had a good smile, one of those smiles where he didn’t hide his teeth, unashamed.

You made the decision that you liked him. Hopefully you’d see him around more.

“Anyway, you need anything else, I’m around, enjoy your night.” You said with a small wave as you headed back off to your next task.

He watched you go as he took another drag from his cig.

He felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, a familiar warm weight pressing into his back, and the song playing changed, he recognized it immediately, Monitor by Siouxsie And The Banshees. He didn’t even need to look over his shoulder to know it was her, he asked, “They finally take one of your requests?”

She rested her chin on his shoulder. “Yeah, I ran into this little sweet thing at the bathrooms who works here, she offered to put it in for me.”

“Sweet thing hmm?” He teased and she confirmed as she reached over and picked up his glass, “Very sweet.” She stole a sip from his cocktail and said in shock, “Oh my God, that is so good.”

“A sweet little thing of my own who works here might have gotten it for me.” He took the glass back from her, there was a smudge of her lip colour on the rim of the glass now, he took a drink from the same place, the lipstick she wore tonight added to the flavour, hard to place, blackberry maybe? He wasn’t sure.

She asked, “Ooo, who? Point her out.” She was squeezing his shoulders and he scanned the room. He found you easily in the crowd taking orders from another table and pointed, she looked where he gestured and she laughed, “No fucking way!”

“What?” He looked at her as she finally let go of him and moved from behind him to be up next to him. “She’s the same one who I met.”

“Really?” He was actually interested and she nodded.

A moment of silence fell over them both. Music pounding from the dance floor across the club, he threw an arm around her shoulders and they both got the same thought although he vocalised it first. “Think we should get the name of that sweet little thing?”

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before saying, “You read my mind.”

“I’m good at that.” He teased and she wrapped a hand around his tie asking as she pulled on it, “You sure are. Dance with me, Chucky?”

He finished his smoke and stamped it out in the ashtray in the middle of the table before putting his drink down and saying, “Sure, Tiff.”

It was a totally average night by all accounts. You finished work a few hours later, purse full of tips, tired but content on your commute home, and totally unaware that those two entering your life were about to change absolutely everything.