#WAIT I JUST REALISED IT SAID MICE

[soft-likethesunset]

i tried to start a story idea last night

and this is all i got

[exceptional-z]

zed necrodopolis x reader

this is an au where zombies were never allowed to go to human high school. so zed is aged up (though age is never mentioned so you can imagine whatever) but has never been on the other side of the barrier. i attempted not to use gendered language but i tend to write with fem!reader in mind.

also please ignore any inconsistent verb tenses. english is not my first language and verb tenses are literally the bane of my existence. + i wrote this in like an hour

your family didn’t have much money growing up, hence why you lived so close to the gate. real estate was cheap since no one wanted to live near the zombies. but it also meant you learnt how to save money in as many ways as you could.

seabrook was all about perfection. if a mattress was two years old, it was time to throw it out and buy a new one. if a bike had a single scratch, it was thrown into the dumpster. all of the old items deemed as ‘garbage’ were brought to a warehouse that was emptied around every two weeks. and this was your favourite place to be.

you sneak into the warehouse. it’s late at night and there’s never any security around. you’re immediately greeted with piles of furniture and clothing and trinkets that are too unique to fit into the seabrook aesthetic.

you start to rummage through with the plastic gloves you always wear just in case any bugs or mice decide that this is a perfect place to burrow. lost in thought, you don’t hear the creaky door open, but you do hear the sudden shout that erupted from behind you.

your heart nearly stops beating at the sudden noise and your head swivels around. the lighting isn’t great, and you can only make out the vague shape of the person blocking your only exit. he looks fairly lanky, and if you squint you could make out some of his features. he doesn’t look much older than you and he certainly doesn’t scream “imposing”. he’s taller than you, but maybe if you caught him off guard you could knock him out with one of the many heavy objects splayed around you.

“i was told no one ever came in here,” the boy says. fuck, his voice is attractive.

“they don’t. in the three years i’ve been doing this i’ve never run into anyone else.” you answer, obviously suspicious.

“i’m uh- i’m just looking for a gift for my little sister,” he explains, “it’s her birthday soon and she said she wanted a new bike but we can’t really afford it.”

you relax a little at his explanation, sharing that you’d gotten into the habit of coming here to rummage for things since your family also doesn’t have much money. “i could help you look if you’d like? and even if we can’t find a bike, there’s a ton of cool stuff you can find if you’re willing to dig.” you offer.

you can’t be sure, but you think he smiles as he answers. “i’ll take any help i can get. my friend eliza told me to try coming here to look, but honestly, i’m a bit overwhelmed.”

you talk and laugh together for what must be at least two hours. you don’t end up finding a bike, but you find an old cheerleader outfit that looks to be in perfect condition. you can’t imagine why anyone would throw it out unless it just didn’t fit anymore. the boy -who still doesn’t have a name- literally jumped up in joy when he saw you holding the skirt from the set, doing a little celebratory dance that should have been embarrassing but was somehow endearing. (that’s how you figured out his little sister was obsessed with cheer).

eventually you have to part ways; it’s getting into the early hours of the morning and you both need to be getting home. he’s halfway down the street when you realise you never shared names and you yell out, “wait!”

he stops and turns around, and you jog to catch up to him.

“what’s your name, stranger?” you ask, “just in case we run into each other again.”

he tells you his name is zed, and you tell him your name in return. for a few seconds the both of you just stand in the street, memorising each other’s faces until you look away, shaking off the thoughts of how attractive he is under the starlight.

(bonus: when zed gets home, all he can think about is you. he wonders if eliza would recognise your name, or if he would possibly run into you if he chose to go to school for once instead of always skipping. he wonders where you live in zombietown, since he doesn’t recognise you and is sure he would remember seeing someone as gorgeous are you. he spends the next few days wondering, and then is in for the shock of his life when he sees you through the fence that blocks off zombietown from seabrook and learns that you’re human.)

[cheegu3]

Hi! Love your writing! I wondered, do you take requests? Because it's so hard to find any yandere P1Harmony fanfic, I'd love for you to do one with Theo! Thank you ❤️❤️

hi, thank you <3 I do take requests for p1harmony :) here's a small one-shot I randomly came up with - I hope you like it!

tw / trigger warning; yandere themes, abuse, bullying/harassment, swearing, blood, dead animals (mice and crows)

wc; 1k

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼 - 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝘆

You were already late to school, running while hauling the heavy backpack filled with books behind you. By the time you reached the school gates you were panting. Sweat beads decorated your forehead and your arm felt heavy from the weight you had carried.

Luck was certainly not on your side as you quickly realised that the gate was locked. Groaning frustratedly you kicked it, letting it feel the temper that came from you having a bad day.

'' Stupid piece of sh- ''

You kicked it extra hard and was thrown back by the force, crashing right into a hard chest before you plummeted to the ground. Horrified, apologies started spilling out of your mouth at a rapid speed. But when the person hadn't spoken yet, you finally dared to raise your eyes and see who it was.

Of course it was him - Theo. The golden child of the school. Rich and popular, which was often accompanied by being an entitled asshole. He was quite influential at school due to his dad's money, and therefor he was the teachers' favourite.

As soon as you met those eyes narrowing while inspecting you, you knew by that action alone that you had fucked up.

'' Do you know who I am? '' he spat out, hands in his pockets while stepping closer so you were forced to be pressed up against the gate.

The way he said it made your blood boil. Like you were supposed to know who he was by his appearance alone, because he was that important. When in reality he had gotten the placement at this prestigious school handed to him without having to lift a finger; not even close to needing to fight tooth and nail for it like you had. It felt incredibly unfair, and you were reminded of it any time you saw him in the halls.

The distaste must've shown on your face because he raised his brow.

'' Well? '' he taunted, knowing you were on the verge of exploding.

You exhaled sharply through your nose like an angered bull and loosened the shaking clenched fists that were hanging to your sides; finally fixing your expression because you didn't want to upset the golden boy.

'' Yes. '' you answered flatly.

The boy in front of you scoffed and then brought a keycard out from his pocket, brushing against you as he put it against a sensor to the side of your head. A click could be heard before it was replaced by the sound of scraping metal as the gate slowly opened.

You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at the newfound information that Theo - of course had his very own keycard just like the teachers.

You quickly darted in between the gate even though it was only halfway open. You couldn't wait to get away from him.

'' Aren't you gonna say thank you? ''

Unfortunately you didn't notice the warning in his low voice, mistaking it for petty and childish need for admiration. So you kept walking without looking back. You'd come to know very soon however, that you were not on the golden boy's good side now.

As the first class of the day had finished you headed to your locker like you always did. The books needed to be swapped out for new ones, which was easy to do since you kept it organised and clean - but when you opened it this time, it was anything but that.

Fresh, crimson blood was splashed on your notebooks and textbooks, some smeared on the top of the locker, and it seemed to come from a dead mouse laying in the center of it.

You gasped, slamming it shut immediately. A few students passed by and gave you weird looks while you struggled to breathe, backing away from the locker.

It was best not to react or tell anyone; you didn't want any rich kids spreading rumours of you. After all, that would lessen your chances of getting friends.

All you could do now was to read off of your seatmate's textbook and then clean it out late in the afternoon, when the school had cleared out. You spent the whole day pondering of who the perpetrator could be, but by the end of it you still didn't have the slightest of idea of who could've done such a horrific thing, not yet at least.

While walking home that evening you felt eyes on you. It was an eerie feeling you couldn't shake off. At first you suspected it was because of the locker incident, but your intuition was almost never wrong. Someone was definitely following you.

Thankfully you made it home, but even then you didn't feel safe. Anxiety occupied your brain, making it hard to study or focus on anything but the paranoid thoughts.

BANG

A sudden loud noise interrupted you. You pushed yourself off your bed, cautiously nearing the window where it seemed to have come from.

Below it laid a crow that wasn't moving, and yet again you saw smeared blood in front of you; all over the glass.

You suppressed the urge to scream, as shock was written all over your face.

This time you didn't shy away from it. A part of you gnawing inside told you that this wasn't a coincidence. So you took a deep breath and then confidently marched outside, only the small flashlight from your phone glowing in the darkness.

First you didn't see anything. The poor crow laid alone with no sign of the culprit around. But then you turned the flashlight so it could shine towards the bushes near the road, and you got eye-contact yet again with those same eyes. The ones that had carried so much arrogance and hatred, only just this morning.

'' Theo? ''

He hummed while casually standing up from his crouched position, brushing off the leaves on his pants before strolling over to you. His usual perfectly styled pink hair was messy, ruffled with leaves and had some sticks stuck in it. Why was he so bothered by you that he was willing to mess up his picture-perfect appearance to hurt you?

You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to look confident and perhaps a bit intimidating. But you were sure it was failing by the look of pure amusement on his face.

'' Why are you doing this? ''

A painfully slow smirk spread across Theo's face, sending alarm bells ringing inside your entire body.

'' Because - '' he stepped closer, reminding you of his domineering aura he had during the morning when he had invaded your space so casually. Towering over you he leaned down, and said almost mockingly.

'' I fucking hate bad manners. ''

He laughed haughtily.

'' You should've just said thank you. ''

[idolsummons]

same: 036. a decrepit mine located out in the hills, believed by locals to have a powerful curse cast upon it .

and... scene!

'I heard some guy tried to go down into the abandoned mine a couple of months ago.' 'What? As if. That place is, like, a total hazard. If you don't get crushed by rocks, then whatever else that lives down there is gonna get you.' 'You believe those stories? It's probably just some rats or something, and anyone who tries to go down there is too scared by some little animals to keep going.' 'Hmm... I'll believe someone went down there when I see some evidence.'

Although it had not been a challenge issued to her personally nor even a conversation she had been a part of, having merely overheard the two girls while awaiting her coffee order, Alice could not turn the challenge down - not only might she get some really cool shots down there, but imagine the fame she could garner if she proved she had gone all the way down! It was just some stupid mine shaft, after all, and she thought herself to not scare so easily that the local fauna would have her running the other direction. Alice stood outside the old mine, balancing as best she could on the rocky ground. Beyond the wooden entrance adorned with a big sign that said DANGER! and adorned with a skull and crossbones was the blackest darkness she had ever seen. Thank goodness for modern lighting, her weapon of choice a heavy torch she had found among her step-mother's belongings from when she used to go camping. Alice held her phone in one hand and, with a tap of a button began recording, the view focused on her face and outfit, on that day a black coat, beneath it a crop top with the shape of a crescent moon cut out about the chest area, and looser than usual pants. When they heard of the journey she was about to embark upon, her followers would surely be understanding of her not dressing in her usual style. 'Good morning, everyone,' she said in her usual gentle voice. 'I just wished to post an update and let you know the type of content you might see from me when next I post. There is this -' she turned the camera to face the mine shaft - 'abandoned mine shaft that everyone says is haunted. Nobody has been down in its depths... well, since it was abandoned.' She didn't know that for sure, but nobody would be able to dispute her claims. 'I will be venturing down to see what is there, and if it is haunted, well -' she turned the camera back towards herself - 'it will be exciting to share with you all, yes? Until then, au revoir, my lovelies.' Alice stopped the recording and waited for it to post to her account before taking her first steps into the pitch black.

Perhaps foolishly, Alice realised, she had done very little research into the mine other than as to its location. How far into the depths it reached she did not know, nor of any potential safety concerns or why it had even been abandoned in the first place. Well, if the stories were anything to go by, she knew exactly why it had been abandoned, give or take a few of the details. Every so often she saw something crawl or heard something chatter away in the darkness and she would flash her light over it, discovering only the local fauna - something boring, just as expected. She walked 10 minutes, then 20, then 30, and she was grateful that her debate with herself on choice of footwear had led her to a basic pair of sneakers, though they were slightly worn and needed replacing, and Alice could feel if she walked over a particularly loose rock, wincing at some of the jagged edges. Forty-five minutes. The mine somehow seemed to get darker and darker, the worn flashlight beginning to flicker. Don't die on me, she thought, fingers gripping the handle even harder. Don't you dare. And she heard something, something which was not the spiders or the mice or the other creatures which lived at such depths, but rather a whisper in her ear, as though someone was standing nearby. Further. Alice whipped around, shining her torch on every nook and cranny. 'Hello?' Her voice echoed through the hollow shaft. There was nowhere for anyone to hide. Ha, the pressure must be getting to me. And so she kept walking, down, down, deeper into the mine - but of her own volition, and not thanks to anyone whispering such suggestions into her ear.

One hour. Two. The only reason Alice had any concept of the time was thanks to her phone, which she seemed to pull out of her pocket with increasing rarity, while her torch flickered with increasing frequency. She had heard that voice again, too, on multiple occasions, like it was getting closer and closer to her ear until the voice's owner was whispering right over her shoulder. Further. Come. Closer. But she began to ignore such words, and continued down the mine shaft of her own choice. She did not know how deep mine shafts were meant to be, but it stood to reason that rocks and minerals found deeper in the ground required a deeper mine shaft. The rocks in the walls, she had noticed, gleamed underneath the light of her torch, a green glow which only revealed itself once she had shone her light on it and continued to persist, seeming to infect even the rocks closest to it with its luminescence without the need for further light. This was probably for the best, as it was not too long after that Alice's torch died out. 'Damn it,' she growled. It would certainly make getting out of the mine more difficult than it had to be, given these luminescent rocks had not lined the walls the whole way down, but Alice was thankful she had charged her phone that morning; with some luck, its charge would hold out for as long as she needed to see the sun again. You are almost here, whispered the voice again. Now that she had no torch to light her way, Alice felt she had no choice but to listen to the voice rather than looking around at all she could see; the luminescent rocks only provided enough light so that she knew which way the path led. Keep coming. Closer, closer. 'Be quiet,' she said through gritted teeth. It won't be long. 'Shut up!' She came to a stop. Her voice echoed through the empty mine, reverberating off the walls numerous times. 'I don't know who the hell you are, but I don't need you trying to... to egg me on the whole time! I'm walking down your damn mine, okay? I don't need your persuasion!' Silence, other than the echo. Was anyone else around, she would think such an outburst unbecoming of a lady such as herself. To be entirely honest, she didn't care what this voice heard, nor what it thought of her. Alice continued walking. Give me your name. 'Not if you talk to me like that.' Your name. Now. 'Alice,' she replied as though compelled to. 'Alice Delecroix.' Alice. Do you want to know who I am? 'No, but I'm sure I'll find out once I reach the end of this mine.' You're so close now. Just a little further. 'I know. You won't stop telling me.' And so she kept walking entirely of her own volition, but she couldn't help but feel as though her feet were moving as if they had their own mind.

Whatever the voice thought of as a little more, as it kept reminding her, was not Alice's perception of just a little more. She had walked for another hour or so, the rocks beneath her feet becoming frequently pointy and jagged to the point where it felt as though she was walking on spikes, piercing the soles of her sneakers, before the shaft began opening up into a cavern, lit by the luminescent rocks. You made it. The voice sounded as though it was in her head, though it boomed around the cavern. 'So then you will fulfill your end of the agreement, yes?' Alice's heart beat rapidly in her chest. She pulled her phone from her pocket, readying the camera. 'If you are the curse that was spoken about, then I would like to see you with my own eyes.' Are you sure, Alice? The voice sounded amused. 'Yes,' Alice replied through gritted teeth. 'You wanted me to come down all this way, so it is the least you could do.' Very well, foolish child of Vh'thra. Alice froze. If that is your wish. The glow of the rocks became brighter and brighter until there was a flash of light, blinding Alice periodically, and before her, frozen, suspended over a pit that surely went to the Earth's core, was... Well, she would not have been able to describe such a thing even a second after taking her gaze away from it. Alice dropped her phone. The screen smashed against the jagged rocks that made up the cavern floor. 'Yi'xrderihm,' she whispered. It was a name she had only ever heard in passing, a name she had forgotten until it forced its way from her throat and out of her mouth. 'Lives. He is... already here.' Do not speak that name! the disembodied voice shouted. Alice kneeled down. You must be punished for uttering the name of the one true deity. You, like all others in all these pitiful universes who do not revere Him as He deserves, share in the crimes of those who had sealed him away. She picked up one of the jagged rocks from the ground. You must be punished, child of Vh'thra. Entirely and utterly compelled, Alice began stabbing at any part of her body which she could find. Legs. Torso. Arms. Eyes. Crying out all the while. And if your revered god truly cares for you, she will save your soul. Until the jagged point pierced her heart and she fell to the ground. He will be released from his shackles and, if she loves her child enough to return her from the grave, you and all others will be punished again. And again. And again.

[silverwings-stories]

🌼DaisyClan: Moon 15-16🌼

Moon 15

Daisystar had been watching the nest for hours, but there had been no sign of twolegs. It must truly be abandoned, They thought, creeping forward. A perfect place for mice to hide!

A patrol had found the place earlier, and had said the air was heavy with prey-scent. Daisystar had come to check it out themself, and realised the patrol hadn’t been exaggerating. But despite the enticing smells, Daisystar had forced themselves to wait, to be sure no twolegs were around. Now, they were sure it was empty.

Cautiously, Daisystar circled the nest, and found a single, small opening on one side. The musky scent of mice drifted out, making Daisystar’s mouth water. They stepped inside, their tail twitched excitedly. Imagine all the prey I could bring back to camp! They thought, Perhaps I should’ve brought a warrior with me.

But as Daisystar entered the nest, they heard an echoing thunk from behind, and they whirled around, pelt bristling. The opening had slammed shut. “Fox dung!” Daisystar hissed, looking around the empty nest. There must be a way out . . .

Daisytstar froze as a rhythmic thumping sounded outside, approaching the now-closed entrance. Their dread built as they realised the noise was pawsteps. Clumsy, heavy pawsteps. Oh no! Daisystar thought, pacing the room, frantically searching for an exit. I’m such a mouse-brain! I’ve fallen right into their trap!

>>>

Notable Events

Fawnpaw is made an apprentice.

Daisystar and Fawnfire have been disagreeing a lot.

Daisystar goes on a hunt by themselves. They are captured by twolegs. 

Moon 16

Gazing up at the glistening white branches of the Moontree, Minkstalk couldn’t help the squeeze of despair in her heart. Daisystar should’ve been leader for many more moons. It was cruel that they were taken from their clanmates so soon. I hope they are okay, somewhere out there, Minkstalk thought. But we can’t spend any more time searching. The Clan needs a leader. With DaisyClan still finding their place in the forest, they couldn’t afford to show weakness. The other Clans seemed neutral at the moment, but there was no telling what they might do if they had an opportunity to strike.

“What’s wrong, Minkstalk?” Woodpelt’s mew jolted the deputy out of her thoughts. “You look troubled.”

“It’s nothing,” Minkstalk replied. “Just thinking about how smart Fawnfire was to retire to the elders’ den”

“Nonsense! Your Clan needs you,” Woodpelt said. “And I know you’ll be a great leader.”

Minkstalk’s pelt prickled as she felt the weight of responsibility fall over her. Yes, she had happily accepted Daisystar’s offer to make her deputy, but she never expected to succeed them. Minkstalk was still in good health, but she’d been around for nearly seven winters, and lately she could feel the strain of all that time in the ache of her bones. “Daisystar was supposed to be our leader,” she murmured, “Now, and for many moons to come.”

“Yes. Such a shame they had to leave us so soon,” Woodpelt commented with a flick of her tail, clearly dismissing the subject. Minkstalk sighed. She knew Woodpelt had never been fond of Daisystar - the medicine cat didn’t like taking orders from someone so young - but she must’ve seen how much good Daisystar had done for the Clan. They founded the Clan, for StarClan’s sake!

But, despite the unfairness of it all, Minkstalk knew she had to push on. She let Woodpelt lead her to the tangled roots of the Moontree. Settling herself down, she looked up at the stars glittering in the gaps between the clouds. Please, StarClan, she prayed silently, let Daisystar be safe, wherever they may be.

>>>

Mite padded into the medicine den, his tail dropping with exhaustion. With so many kits in the camp, he’d been kept on his paws all day, dashing from kit to kit and giving out herbs for every cough, bellyache and sore paw they whined about. Those kits complain more than Fawnfire! Mite thought grouchily. Thank StarClan I never had any of my own.

Reaching his nest, Mite was ready to plop down and let sleep take him. But he noticed his nest was looking uninvitingly flat. Oh no, this won’t do! Mite was planning on having the best nap of his life, and he couldn’t do that on a nest that looked like it had been run over by a monster. He started pawing at the moss, trying to fluff it up. But suddenly, Mite pulled back with a hiss of pain. Looking at his paw, he saw a large thorn embedded between his toes. “Fox dung!” He cursed.

Mite’s ears pricked as a high pitched giggle came from somewhere near the den entrance, followed by a shushing noise. Mite growled, whirling around and limping toward the sounds. “Accursed kits!” He spat. “Come out here so I can claw your ears off!” There was a squeak and Mite made it to the den entrance just in time to see Brushkit, Bubblingkit and Hopkit barreling across the camp. They disappeared into the nursery before Mite could even take a step. “StarClan help me,” he muttered, his tail twitching. “Haven’t they tortured me enough!?”

>>>

Notable Events

Minkstalk is promoted to leader. She chooses Echofall as her deputy.

Fawnpaw went missing for a few days. No one is sure where he went.

The kits prank Mite by putting a thorn in his nest.

Daisystar's disappearance throws their Clan into uncertain times . . .

If you want to see more of my work, I also have an alt account where I post non-clangen art and a YouTube channel.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day!

[vorpalbun]

Witch Machines part 8

In this part, Deryn learns about two important things: indoor plumbing and blackmail

The next day, Heffy rushed Deryn to the bar room for the breakfast Porthra had left out, leaving some for Zirria. Heffy explained that while breakfast was usually provided, it varied in quality and sometimes did not appear at all. Porthra only put something out if there was food left over from the day before and, if not, Heffy and Zirria were left to fend for themselves.

They passed uniform two-storey stone buildings. Some had decorated window and door frames like Midnight Oil, but most were solidly grey. Still, attempts had been made to brighten the otherwise dreary street with pots of plants, although they were mostly still waiting to flower. There were no trees on the street, which was paved with uneven flagstones. There was also little to see outside the town, only straight grey streets leading to more straight grey streets and bare hills beyond. Being so new to him, it was difficult for Deryn to form an opinion, but the lack of trees made him nervous. He tried to focus on what Heffy was saying about the buildings they passed.

“So, over there is the shop where Midnight Oil gets a lot of its food,” she said, pointing across the street. “And that place has really good tea, except they stopped stocking the kind I liked, so I wouldn’t actually recommend it,” she continued.

Deryn nodded along, watching the people who occasionally walked past. They were mostly esfas, but there were a couple of porries. He considered the esfas he had seen so far. They did not seem particularly different from anyone from Sign, and he had not even seen any of them make someone else disappear in a puff of smoke as he had been warned as a child. He wondered why the prospect that this might happen did not worry him more, and realised that he never really believed it was true. Either way, he would have something interesting to tell everyone back home.

“Lembry was originally an esfa town, but porries have been moving here recently,” Heffy continued. “It’s not the best town, but I just sort of ended up here after passing through other places. There isn’t really anywhere else after here. The people here are nice, although there are a lot of things that haven’t caught on here yet…”

“Like what?”

“You know how we have to go to to the yard to use the toilet at Midnight Oil? In a lot of places, there’s a toilet inside.”

"The fuck,” Deryn said quietly, letting Heffy list all of the things she missed in Lembry that she had been able to get in other, more technologically advanced places. He had never heard of most of them and let his thoughts wander as they turned a corner and he tried to find something of interest on the next grey street.

-----

“So, right, I didn’t know what was going on, but everyone seemed to think I did it!” Heffy had moved on to a more interesting topic and now held Deryn’s rapt attention. "The shopkeeper was livid. Anyway, it turned out that the delivery I made had been stolen and, after I left, the whole thing turned into mice. Hundreds of live mice, running everywhere! It was some kind of protection against theft, and I suppose it worked. I never went back to that shop though. Never really looked at Underwing the same way after that either, I assume they must have known it was stolen. Not to judge or anything.”

“So they were magic mice? Why have I never thought of that?”

“Don’t,” Heffy said. “People kept finding them for weeks afterwards, it was a serious problem!”

They turned down a narrow street on which the buildings were thickly covered with ivy. The blue door of one of them was just about visible, and Heffy brushed the trailing leaves away to open it.

A bell rang somewhere inside as they entered. Dozens of racks of clothing of every colour imaginable were mounted of every wall. Long strings of beads and bells were draped over a table in the corner, illuminated by the yellow light of an ornate lamp.

“Hi, Underwing,” Heffy said cheerily to no one. “Do you have anything new for me?”

A porry emerged from a dark doorway at the back of the room. Their feathers were slate grey, turning deep purple around the neck, but now somewhat faded with age. They seemed to frown and Heffy and then eyed Deryn suspiciously.

“Hmm,” Underwing croaked. “I have some new jewellery. And some new cloth just came in from Brol,” they bobbed their head and pointed to a rack near the front door.

“Aha,” Heffy said as she started pulling bolts of cloth from the rack and holding them up for inspection.

“And what can I do for you?” Underwing said, glancing at Deryn.

Deryn realised he was just standing in the middle of the shop. “I don’t think—” he started.

“Deryn, come look at this,” Heffy said, holding up a length of deep blue cloth embroidered with white leaves. “What do you think?”

“For you?”

“No, for you. Underwing can make you something with it.”

Deryn crossed the room as Underwing made a strained sound in their throat. Up close, Deryn saw that the fabric was thicker than what he was currently wearing and the thread shone as Heffy tilted it towards the scant light coming through the window.

“It’s nice,” he said, letting it run through his hands. Then, remembering something Heffy had explained to him the night before when he noticed money being exchanged at Midnight Oil, he added, “But don’t these things cost money?”

“Don’t worry, Underwing owes me a favour,” Heffy said, throwing a look over her shoulder. “They’ll make you something really nice.”

“That’s very kind,” Deryn said, furtively following her gaze.

“Great!” Heffy grabbed the cloth back and strode past Underwing to slap it on the counter. Underwing’s feathers ruffled.

“And now, something for me,” Heffy went to a different rack and started pulling out more cloth. Deryn tried to avoid eye contact with Underwing, who had moved to the other side of the counter and was carefully unfolding the cloth, and shuffled closer to Heffy. After a few awkward minutes to which Heffy was oblivious, she picked out another bolt of cloth, this time lilac with a geometric pattern.

“Come back for them next week,” Underwing said after wresting the cloth from Heffy like a kitten from a clumsy child.

“Next week?”

“I’m very busy at the moment. And I’ve been struggling to get more buttons,” Underwing’s eyes flashed.

-----

Zirria was already behind the bar when Deryn and Heffy returned to Midnight Oil.

“Where have you been? I thought you were going to fix the hinge on the door,” Zirria pointed to the door behind him. “So that’s been pissing me off all day—”

“Alright, calm down, we were only gone for a couple of hours. And I think you’re capable of fixing the hinge yourself,” Heffy said.

Zirria huffed and left through the door, creaking loudly.

Heffy sighed and took a seat at the bar. The door creaked again as Zirria came back in. The smell of cooking onions followed from the kitchen. It was too early for the bar to be busy, and Porthra was preparing whatever food she had chosen to serve that day.

“We just got back from Underwing’s,” Heffy said.

“Oh, really? You haven’t been there since—”

“Since I told them that I knew that they knew—”

“So what happened?” Zirria said, briefly looking over his shoulder towards the door and deciding if he needed to respond to any of Porthra’s demands immediately or could gossip instead.

“They’re making us some nice outfits,” Heffy said, resting her beak on a hand.

“Well, as long as you’re getting something out of this. Even if it’s by blackmail.”

“It’s not like that.”

“It literally is.”

“Are you working tonight?” Heffy changed the subject after a moment of silence.

“Obviously.”

“Porthra doesn’t give you a break, does she?”

“I know, she’s a right pushover with you.”

“I can talk to her if you want.”

“Or you could help out a bit more,” Zirria said, glancing towards Deryn.

“I just got here,” Deryn snapped back without thinking.

“I know, I wasn’t talking to you,” Zirria replied, equally confused and annoyed and trying to look anywhere else.

“Me and Deryn have plenty of work to get on with tomorrow,” Heffy interrupted as calmly as possible. “Is there anything I can help with now?”

“No, you’re alright,” Zirria said as he left with a creak.

[theretirementstory]

17/11/24. Bonjour à tous goodness me we are midway through November and the temperatures are certainly falling quickly.

It has been a bit of a topsy turvy week for me. Monday and Tuesday, along with the dull days, I started feeling a bit down. No word from Paris and I started to ask myself why. I felt “cut off” no treatment other than transfusions for platelets, no correspondence except via the doctor in Troyes which had only been from the doctor who returned to Italy on 31 October. I had jobs I wanted to do but had no enthusiasm to do them. I guess it’s normal really, I am not the only patient but everything before has been pretty pronto.

So getting away from the beginning of the week, I woke on Wednesday bright and cheery and boy did I achieve a lot! I even went for a walk which lifted my spirits, not just because it was a lovely day. I brought the car out of the garage, checked lights and indicators before giving it a spin around the estate and putting it back into the garage.

A lovely little wren has moved into a shrub close to the house, (maybe it has been there a while) I was so pleased to see it, as I have said before I don’t put out bread, fat balls or bags of nuts as I don’t want to encourage more wildlife 🐀 or 🐁. In the garden at my home in the UK I also had a wren living there. As you may know I have birds aplenty residing in the shrubs, great tits, robin, sparrows, usually Mr and Mrs Blackbird but maybe they are on vacation as I haven’t seen them for a while, now this little wren too. I try to protect them from any marauding 🐈‍⬛ 🐈!

Anie messaged to say she had tested positive for Covid, oh what a blow but as I said last week she really didn’t look so well when I last saw her. Anyway she has now had the negative results and came to see me yesterday afternoon. I was telling her about the wren and she joked it had maybe arrived from the UK looking for me. She was also telling me about something “orange on our estate” she kept saying “soucis” although I know this word I kept thinking “souris” 🐁. Then she used another word and I realised it wasn’t two orange mice” but two orange calendulas which look as if they have been discarded from a garden and taken root on the bank to the field. I had seen them previously when in the taxi for hospital. We did laugh when she said “no not Mickey Mouse”.

When Monique was here last week, she was amazed that the iris leaves were coming through already. I had previously told friends that the remaining hellebore plant had buds on it. They were amazed. I moan about the state of my garden (sometimes) but I really do believe that I am doing something good out there. I pruned my roses back by a third in August (had read to do that) they have grown that third back and I have had a flower in October and there is a bud waiting to open in November. Houseplants, however, are a different subject although my Xmas cactus is flowering and a cactus Marie-Therese bought me, years ago, seems very happy. It has produced other cacti, one of those now has four or five babies on it. Goodness me, poor plant only gets watered when I remember. I am waiting to see if I can keep the orchid, I have never had much success with them. Going back to Monique (sorry I am easily side tracked) she has been looking after her twin granddaughters as both have been ill. Let’s hope that they are in the mend now.

On Thursday when I went shopping, I spotted a friend’s car in the car park. I saw her even before I opened the door. She stands and looks at the food, must be deciding what she will make with it before she puts it in her basket. Anyway I spoke to her and was telling her about myself and asked about her and the family, her poor mother is in a home (she lives in Finland) consequently she tries to visit as often as she can but she also understands that her children (5 and 10) find it hard to see their grandmother like that. Plus Liisa’s husband carries a gene which his sister also had and she passed away earlier in the year aged 40. So I guess she has a lot on her plate. I said I would have her pop down for a coffee and a chat soon.

Oh yes talking about people “popping down to see me”, “The Photographer” and his children are coming over to see me (oh wow)! More on that later.

Everywhere is gearing up for Xmas and I got into the “festive spirit” by finding my Xmas cards and starting to write them. Got some done then stopped.

For my family it’s been “that weekend of the year”, the time when Aunt and Uncle from London arrive for about 10 days to stay in “not so sunny Scarborough” and expect all the family to come along and stay at the weekend. It would be ok if Uncle wasn’t so maudlin, and they weren’t both a couple of old soaks. “The Photographer” took his children with him for the two nights he was staying. It was lovely because being a seaside resort, Father Christmas arrived by boat and that was on Saturday so the children saw him. “The Solicitor” and “The Recovery Coordinator” stayed over Friday night, went home Saturday afternoon and are making another flying visit today.

It’s the music section of the blog, I wonder if it’s too early for Xmas songs, well I guess it’s never too early for this one! It’s by Bruce Springfield, “Santa Claus Is Coming’ To Town” this was released as a promo disc in 1981.

I guess it is appropriate as Santa Claus did come to Scarborough Town this weekend.

The second song is by Mike Oldfield ft Maggie Reilly, It’s “Moonlight Shadow” released in 1983. However a version by Sound of Legend was released in 2024 (wow how up to date am I).

It is currently 4c and I really must have my breakfast. I am hoping that my pork chops defrost so that I can have my main meal about 2pm as my American friend is due to be coming down sometime this afternoon. Oh I was just going to go to the shop as well but as the highest temperature for the day is 7c I think I will remain at home where I am nice and warm.

Jusqu’à la semaine prochaine.

[cloudninetonine]

Okay I’d kill for some four x player stuff… like part 2 to the minis four thing pls

Please

Pls

or just player lovingly caressing fours ears …both are good very good

(I gotcha Honey! I'm sorry if it's different to what you expected tho!)

“(Name)”

Silence.

“(Name)”

Silence once again.

“(Name)!”

Your eyes snapped open to reveal the darkness of the bedroom with the smallest hero’s home. His grandfather had let you all stay within the space when you had been transported to Four’s Hyrule. You’d already been here for about a week, relaxing safely in the comfort of your friend’s home area but you had overheard the other day that there were possible black-blood sightings in a village out West, so the boys had already prepared for departure and this was the last night here.

It saddened you, it really did. After all, you had gotten to meet Four’s Zelda (Dot) and had bonded off so well. The Princess had happily shown you around her castle and the surrounding town, so it was sad that you had to leave when you had only really just met. You were promised that you’d all return, but it was important to first investigate this incident and who were you to argue with that?

You hummed, your voice deadly quiet within the room. “Yeah?”

It was Four’s voice that reached your ears “Come on, I want to show you something”

A small whine fell from your lips “Can it wait till morning?”

“Not quite” You turned over in your bedroll to look at the man leaning over you, the colours within his eyes dancing under the light of the moon from the window nearby “Will you be so kind as to accompany me?”

His hand was held out, a small, nervous smile on his lips that made you grin back sleepily, grabbing his outheld palm gently “Of course, hero”

The others lay sleeping nearby, some practically dead to the world while others snored their heads off, tossing and turning in their sleep rolls from what you could see thanks to the moonlight, the both of you carefully hopping over multiple bodies with the gracefulness of a pig with its arse on fire before practically bolting down the stairs and out the front door, your giggles catching the wind as you ran into the forest closeby with your hands still intertwined.

“Where are we going!?”

“You’ll see!”

It was a few minutes later, you finally stopped. You leaned over to catch your breath while your friend pulled out a lantern from one of his pouch pockets (damn that magic was cool-) and lit it with a small spell, grabbing your hand once again and tugging it in the direction he wanted to go.

It only took you a few seconds to realise exactly what was happening when it came into view.

Your mouth dropped “No way”

Four looked surprised but it melted away into an excited grin “So you know what this is?”

“Of course I do! Wait- are we gonna…?”

“We sure are”

The Hero of the Four Sword stepped up, pulling you gently to join him to stand upon the Minish Portal Gateway then glancing up at your excited face, you bouncing on the tips of your toes as you waited patiently for what happened next.

Four bit his lip “That Minish you saw a few days ago was actually me”

You blinked “Huh?”

“It was me that you saw, not a Minish.” He looked down at his shoes “You…you sounded really excited when it happened- you even gave me some food! Most people would try to shoo a Minish away thinking they were mere mice- I’m getting ahead of myself….I’m sorry for getting your hopes up that day”

Silence fell between you and a nervous feeling churned in the smallest Hero’s gut. Were you upset? Disappointed? He hadn’t meant to make you feel that way, he simply felt the need to be honest with you. You deserved the truth after all but now that he said it he felt pained. Why couldn’t you live the beautiful lie? Why did he need to give you the ugly truth? Why-

“Four, you’re thinking too much again”

“Huh?”

You smiled something sweet and the man tried to keep his heart from bursting in his chest “You know when you and the boys are thinking a little too hard you look like your whole brain crashes! Relax! I’m not upset- I mean, why would I be upset, now, when you’re about to introduce me to a whole bunch of Minish?! I’m pumped!”

The colours swam. Blue, Red, Green, Vio, Blue, Red, Green, Vio, Blue, Red, Green, Vio- then a smile burst onto his face.

“Really?”

“Of course! Now, let’s drop this little angst hour and get to the shrinking!”

With an understanding nod, Four muttered a few words under his breath.

And the world around you grew.

Oh, what a wonderful night this would be, once you’ll always remember.

[fodenswhore]

🌱Stargazing

{In which you sneak out to go stargazing and Jerry stumbles across you}

masterlist

Stargazing was one of your favourite pastimes. Nearly every night when everyone in your household had fallen asleep, you would sneak out of your bedroom window - via the cherry tree that sat precariously outside your window - and make your way down to the small secluded stream in the woods where you'd lie on your back in your nightgown and stare at the stars.

Tonight was no exception, you were lay in your bed waiting until you could hear the soft snores of your mother and father. And as soon as the snores sounded, you were up out of bed, slipping on your slippers and then softly sneaking across your room to the window where you unlocked it and slid it open.

Perching half out the window you grabbed one of the sturdier tree branches and swung yourself onto the ground with a small thump. You brushed yourself off and grinned to yourself, there was something so exciting about sneaking out at night. You knew your parents would be incredibly vexed if they ever found out about your late night antics but you simply didn’t care, you weren’t causing any harm you were just simply going to admire nature. Avonlea, a small town where you lived, was a very safe town where everyone knew everyone and nothing bad ever happened so you were never afraid to walk around late at night.

You made your way through the woods, listening for the sound of the stream and noting that it was a rather pleasant night; the air was cool, a light breeze swept through the trees and the sky was clear - perfect conditions for admiring the stars. You could hear the soft hoot of an owl from the trees above and you could feel mice and other small creatures scuttling around your feet.

The sound of water trickling caught your attention and you knew you had arrived at your secluded spot. You found a place to lay on the grass, a few feet away from the stream and stared up at the sky. You allowed yourself to indulge in the perfection of the stars, a smile gracing your lips at how lucky you were to be able to see this incredible sight.

However, your comfort was cut short when a sharp crack cut through the air and diminished the calm and peaceful atmosphere.

You shot up from your position on the ground and paused, wondering if the noise had come from someone hiding in the dark or an animal exploring the woodland. You quickly grabbed a stick from a nearby bush and held it protectively in front of you, not caring that it wouldn't help much if you were attacked. You kept your mouth firmly clamped shut, you figured drawing attention to yourself would be a rather ridiculous thing to do.

A figure appeared in the darkness causing your grip on the stick to tighten. You could feel your heart pounding from within your chest and you were about to turn and flee when a voice suddenly spoke.

"Y/N? Salut. It is just me."

The voice was tinged with a french accent and you immediately realised who it belonged to - a scrawny boy named Jerry Baynard, who you spoke to frequently when you visited your good friend Anne on the Cuthbert’s farm. “Jerry?" You lowered the stick in your hand as the boy emerged from the trees. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could not sleep so I was just talking a walk. I saw you lying on the ground. You were watching the stars no?" The boy nodded to the spot on the ground where you were previously lying.

"Yes, that's right, the stars are ever so lovely out here. But you shouldn't sneak up on people, especially at night, you gave me such a fright." You said, throwing away the stick and placing your hands on your hips.

Jerry lowered his head. "Pardon, many apologies."

"It's quite alright Jerry." You gave him a small smile. "Would you like to join me?" You asked, gesturing to the spot where you were lying previously.

"I wouldn't want to intrude." He said, shaking his head lightly.

"You already have." You pointed out, laughing slightly. You lay back down in the same spot you were before you were interrupted and tilted your head so you could look at Jerry, "Come lie down," You said, patting the ground next to you, "You're missing the view."

"Y/N-" The boy started, but was cut off when you interrupted him.

"Honestly Jerry, I don't mind. You’re out here in the woods anyway, so you might as well join me."

Jerry heaved a sigh, "D'accord, okay." He walked over to where you were lying and lowered himself onto the ground, once he was in a comfortable position you spoke up, "See, it's not so bad down here."

"I suppose not?"

You started pointing out all the animals and shapes that you could make with the stars, Jerry eventually joined in with you - much to your amusement. You both talked for hours; about your favourite things, Jerry learning the alphabet and your progress in school, but it was when Jerry was - attempting - to teach you some very basic french, that it started lightly raining.

You pushed it aside at first, convinced that the rain would eventually clear up, but when you were nearly soaked to the bone, cold and shivering, Jerry insisted that he escort you home. You tried to tell him that you could make it back home yourself, like you had done plenty of times before, but Jerry shyly admitted that he wanted to talk to you more so you agreed and led the way.

When you finally reached your home (much to your dismay) it had stopped raining and the sky was beginning to lighten. You thanked Jerry for being your escort and gave him a light kiss on the cheek causing his cheeks to flush red.

"We could do this again no?"Jerry asked, gesturing to the stars.

You gave him a cheeky grin and began to climb the cherry tree outside your window, "We'll see."

[kudouusagi]

SK8 Morning event summary

Alright! Here we go! Here's a summary of the first event. It's really long I did my best lol...

While people were being seated, we hear Reki and Langa talking. Reki says that a capman handed him a piece of paper and told him to read it. "But I feel like I've seen him somewhere before..." Then Reki realises that the people in the theater can hear him talking and Langa says he's already miced.

Reki starts reading what he was given, welcoming everyone to the event, and giving instructions about corona virus safety. Langa says "You know when you say it, it's pretty unique, Reki." and Reki is like "You shut up! You read it then!" Langa's like fine I'll do it and starts reading it but he has a lot of trouble because there's a lot of kanji and he can't read it and so Reki keeps having to tell him how to pronounce words. As Langa reads it says you can't eat in the theater and he says "Reki! It says we can't eat here! I'm probably going to get hungry..." and Reki tells him to just hold out! After they finish reading, Reki wonders what Adam is planning, that he couldn't even read some of the kanji that they used, Langa mentions that there was furinaga written and apparently Reki couldn't read his own handwriting. Langa says he's excited anyway because Reki is with him. They then realize the mics are still on.

There is a bit more of a wait as people get settled and then the event starts!

It starts with a video from ADAM! He welcomes everyone to the event

"All you fools who had their heart stolen by sk8! Tonight I've gathered all the skaters who competed in the tournament here to congratulate them! It seems that Langa and the others were trying to have an after party on their own, but it's not good when they leave out me who made it all happen. Since I didn't like it I started from scratch! This passionate stage is present from me! Everyone is excited aren't they? Now enter, Langa-kun, and those 5 others."

All the actors come out onto the stage and say a line from the characters.

Reki: "There's only one reason to skate, isn't there? Because it's fun!"

Langa: "I'm Hasegawa Langa, I'm from Canada"

Miya: "hey mister, skate in a beef with me at the S"

Shadow "I'm the dynamite flower that bloomed at crazy rock, Shadow-sama"

Cherry: "the rule is when you get on a board here, you have to skate"

Joe: "Skating is something you should do by how you feel"

There's also a stage announcer that is announcing the event. Adam pops back up on the screen and says "well, everyone is here, I'm the host of this event and asks the skaters to introduce themselves on stage. The announcer then says that he will make it happen because tonight he's ADAM's dog. Hatanaka is then like "is it okay for you to become a dog so easily?" and the announcer says it's fine.

The actors introduce themselves and the people in the audience change their penlights to change to the character's colors as the different actors introduce themselves. Midorikawa joked that the pink light made him feel younger lol. Matsumoto said that when he was getting ready his manager told him that yeah he said that they could see his nipples through his shirt and he was like I'm joe so it's fine. But then he says seriously that he is wearing a jacket over the shirt and he will try not to show people lol.

They say it's been 3 months since the series ended, but they feel like it hasn't been that long because people have been so passionate about SK8, and that it's like they just finished recording last week.

Everyone at the event was given ADAM masks and they ask people to put them on and they joke that it's scary because everyone in the audience is wearing masks.

ADAM comes back on the screen and says they should start with some light chatting since the ball has just begun. "Love that burns fast, cools fast as well. Take your time and build the heat slowly"

This is the segment where they answer questions from people. But before it starts there's another message from ADAM asking if everyone is enjoying the event? He says "You are, aren't you? if not... maybe I'll do a full swing kiss" They then switch to a video of ADAM's mask sitting on a heart and Koyasu talking over it. He's not at the event so he just made a video for the event. The camera moves back and forth at the mask, it's pretty weird and all the voice actors comment on it lol.

The first question he gives is "since it's an original story, what is something you didn't know about before, but were shocked to realise as you were recording?" (this was a question from Producer Uryuu)

Koyasu says for him it was that he never imagined that he'd be someone so amazing and he really ended up loving ADAM.

Because the camera moving around was so weird all the other voice actors are like "we don't even remember the question"

They got answers from the cast before so they put up an answer on the screen.

The first one is "Langa is too strong" and it was submitted by Miya's voice actor. He says he knew beforehand that langa was strong but he never thought he would be so strong. He thought that Langa and Reki would be more like equals but he surpassed Reki by a lot. Hatanaka says that in the first episode Reki skates pretty well but then Kobayashi says that even then Reki lost to shadow in the first episode and he won. Hatanaka is like "Umm... I know. You don't have to remind me! You're going to reopen my wounds"

The second answer is Hiromi-chan's fate.

Three people answered this, Hatanaka, Kobayashi, and Miyake.

Hatanaka says that he was surprised that he even was in the show as much as he was, and by the end he ended up loving him. Miyake jokes that he might have had to leave after the first episode because he was saying such bad things to girls.

Kobayashi says the same and says that shadow gained the "mom" position. And then in the final episode he doesn't get the girl and he felt sad for him.

Miyake says normally in other shows you'd be fine with him just getting left out and getting rejected by his manager but that's not how it went. Matsumoto jokes that it would be funny if the manager fell in love with shadow and now Hiromi.

Hatanaka says we don't really know if it's her boyfriend at the end it could have just been a relative or something!! He could still have a chance!

Next they have ono (Tadashi's voice actor) answer the question over video. But first he says, "Ainosuke-sama, I'm sorry to say, but using the full swing kiss on normal people will end up in the newspapers... I have no opinion." He says that he didn't know that Tadashi knew ADAM from such a young age, and he didn't know that Tadashi was older than ADAM, he thought ADAM would be older. He felt weird playing someone older than Koyasu Takehito.

The next question is kind of similar to the first one, it's "what is the thing that surprised you most in SK8" (this is a question from Director Utsumi)

The first answer they show is "the S itself, and the beef scenes" three people gave this answer. Matsumoto, Nagatsuku, and midorikawa.

Matsumoto answers first and says he's going to hide his face because he's going to say something not actually in the show, and covers his face with his mask and changes his voice lol. He says that when he was told about the show he thought since it would be around the time of the olympics it would be a skateboard show to go along with the olympics and then it ended up being about hitting people with skateboards and stuff lol He then says, "is the director here??" everyone else says "no she probably won't find out" and he's like "I was seriously wondering what the hell she was thinking"

Nagatsuku says that what surprised him the most was when ADAM got off the board, because he didn't think that would be allowed. When he saw him get off the board and hit someone with it he was like "oh, so that sort of thing is allowed? Even when joe was riding with his hands he was still on the board. So I was like, oh... so you can get off the board too? I had never even imagined that you could get off the board during a race." He was also shocked by him hitting someone with it. Kobayashi says "everything is allowed!" Hatanaka says that's the more shocking thing, since when they were doing it everyone said "oh... he hit him!" but other people seem to be surprisingly okay with that and think that's obviously allowed. Midorikawa says, "when I filmed that scene I had never been on a board, but after having been on one I was like you obviously can't do that!! It hurts! And it's heavy!"

Midorikawa says that he also assumed that it was going to be more of a normal sports show instead of a battle show. He also says that even though he's seen videos of people really stating it's hard to believe that people can actually do those things. Matsumoto says that he tried to do Joe's skateboard plank trick on the ground and it was impossible. You need a lot of muscles and balance.

The next answer is "Confusion! ADAM's happy dancing", answered by hatanaka. He says that the way ADAM moves is so crazy that you wouldn't think it would be done by animators and they were all really amazing. Midorikawa says his tap dancing is really weird because he's never seen anyone do it.

The next answer is from Utsumi and it's that ookouchi had Tadashi say woof in the screenplay for the last episode. But she safely stopped it from happening. They then show that video clip just to show it. After words Matsumoto says "I'm sorry but all I hear is woof" and all the voice actors agree.

The fan question from twitter is "if you could use Carla for just 1 day, what would you ask her to do?"

Hatanaka says he normally can't relax so he'd get Carla to tell him to relax. He wants her to get angry at him. Nagatsuku tells him not to use Carla like that and Kobayashi says Cherry will get angry at him for it. Hatanaka says he wants her to correct him and they all call him on his word choice because it sounds pretty kinky but he says that he wants Carla to balance him out.

Kobayashi wants to ask Carla the best way to get to places because he always waits till the last minute and everyone else tells him to use his phone.

Midorikawa wants to use Carla as a voice acting director lol. Have her count down till when his next line should be and tell him what kind of emotions to use for scenes and such.

The next question is "who are characters who you were surprised appeared more or less after having seen their designs" (question asked by the character designer chiba)

Kobayashi says the girl with the glasses voiced by Hayami Saori. She only said a few words and when Reki wanted to hit on her he thought, "oh this might be something... but it wasn't" he then says maybe she'll be used for something later.

Nagatsuku says Harry, the guy that gets knocked out of the tournament really early.

Hatanaka's answer is that reki doesn't skate much. As the show went on he wasn't sure if Reki would even keep skating. Kobayashi says that while they were recording, Miyake said that maybe Reki would quit and become a mechanic. They say that since it's an original series, even the voice actors are wondering what will happen to these characters.

That is all for the talk section.

ADAM comes back to introduce the next section. He says they should watch clips, but just showing clips is boring so they should do live performances of the scenes. "Make me feel that excitement again. I'm expecting you to satisfy me."

Hatanaka says he's really anxious about doing well for everyone, he asks if everyone else is too but no one responds. He then says that he feels like Modorikawa is judging him. Midorikawa says he should think of it as if he makes a mistake, "it's like a rare treat for the people watching" so he should relax because it's nice for the audience.

They then read scenes from the series.

Joe and Cherry showing up at S in episode 2.

Reki and Langa talking about boards from episode 2.

The scene when they first get to miyakojima in episode 6.

The tournament race from episode 8.

Reki and Langa's fight from episode 7.

Reki showing up at the hospital from episode 10.

Reki and Langa's make up scene from episode 10.

They have a short skit with Reki and Langa where reki says it's so peaceful when ADAM's not around and Langa says he would have liked to have heard some of the scenes of ADAM. Reki says all he does is swing his board around and make everyone run away. What he would have liked to have heard scenes of the guy from the love hotel. "Oh, reki you never told me what a love hotel is?" Reki ignores the question. Reki then suggests they have a beef where they imitate ADAM. He does a really bad impression of ADAM saying "Langa-kun, love hug!" and langa corrects his pronunciation of love hug. Next Langa tries but is a very subdued imitation of ADAM. Reki says it's all wrong and then says "wait, can you hear something?"

They then have performances by Ash the hero and Yusuke of Reki and Langa's character songs.

They announce that the drama cd coming with the 5th volume of the BD and DVD is a host club theme and that the cd with episode 6 will have an ADAM version of the song behind the mask.

They take a picture with the audience wearing their ADAM masks and then the voice actors give a goodbye message.

Matsumoto says that he recorded for the last episode alone so it was nice to be with everyone again.

Midorikawa says "I'm sure there's a lot of people who started skating because of this series, but I have one request, don't hit anyone with a board"

Miyake says that to get over his manager he will be everyone's dog.

Takanaga just says he enjoyed the event lol.

Kobayashi says "We still have a lot of stuff that is unclear.... So you all want to see a second season don't you!? You have to tell them!"

Hatanaka says, he had a lot of fun making it and is happy that everyone enjoys it and hopes everyone will continue to like the series "so please wait until a day we can meet again"

Then there is another video from ADAM, "fun times go by so fast! How was the love masquerade? This time spent together is like a fragile, ephemeral love. But sk8 will be with you for infinity... so until we can meet again" and then he stops talking and everyone is like wait I thought he was going to say more lol.

After the curtain closes we hear Reki and Langa talking once again, Langa says "it was fun having a masquerade with everyone, wasn't it, Reki." "yeah! It was so fun! it was the best day just being able to get everyone together!" "yeah! It was the best!" They tell everyone to be careful going home and to watch the event in the archive while it's up.

"Hey, Reki, let's go get something to eat on the way home." "Oh! That's a good idea what do you want to eat?" "Oh well, poutine and ramen and cake and ice cream and poutine and" "hey that's way too much!! Just eat poutine" "Just poutine isn't enough!"

"Wait our mics are still on"

[userlando]

I dunno if you do requests, but if you did a possessive/jealous Tom Hardy (or Eddie, or Alfie.... I dunno, they all give off the vibe) I would I've you like my soul or something......,........

oh god, inspiration strikes again..

Alfie wasn’t a soft man, both physically and mentally. He didn’t grow up in the warmest household and his mother, bless her heart, did everything to raise her boys to be great men when their father failed in that department.

Not to say that she’d failed, considering where Alfie had ended up, but it provided him with enough resources and money to take care of her the way she’d struggled to put food on the table and provide for him and his siblings during his childhood.

Alfie wasn’t soft when he’d done unspeakable things during the war, and he certainly wasn’t soft when he’d taken his place as the king of London. His hard exterior and the amount of blood on his hands was enough for people to fear him. And that’s all he would ever ask for. Because fear was respect, and Alfie would pry out anyone’s teeth with pliers if anyone dared to show him anything else.

Alfie wasn’t soft, but that’s the word he’d describe himself feeling when he heard you laugh for the first time. It had been five years but he remembered it so vividly that it still - to this day - made his hands shake in a way he’d never admit out loud. God forbid someone would hear him spew soppy shit that only you found endearing and romantic.

It was a rainy afternoon and Alfie was craving an evening at the pub after a long day at the distillery. A drink was all he’d come for, but then he’d heard you laugh and his ears had immediately perked at the sound.

It wasn’t difficult for him to locate where that sound came from. Because as he suspected, your face was just as radiating as your laugh and it sounded silly, but he knew from the moment he laid eyes on you, that he had to have you.

You were tough at first, your boundaries and lack of interest unlike any other woman’s he’d usually pick up. The way you seemed so unattainable only seemed to pull unwanted male attention, but the more he tried to pursue you, the more word got around. You were his woman, and only his. It infuriated you at first because you were no one else’s but yours, though Alfie knew you’d secretly loved it. Even though you refused to admit it even years later when the topic arose in conversation.

So, Alfie wasn’t soft. But he was soft for you, and he was soft for your laugh. Which was why his ears - much like that day at the pub - perked when he heard your giggle echo in the distillery. A frown immediately cast over his face as he placed his pen down on the surface of his desk.

He glanced around in confusion at first, wondering who the fuck you were speaking to that made you giggle like that. And his stomach churned when he thought of all the greasy men who were working under the roof of his distillery, who’d been instructed to not speak to you if not absolutely necessary. Everybody knew this. No one was foolish enough to risk losing their ball sack to a rusty shank.

Or so, that’s what Alfie thought.

The chair squeaked in protest as he rose from it, rough hands flat on the table to heave himself up as he grunted in annoyance. Annoyance because someone was clearly not doing their job, and annoyance because you knew better than to prance around at the distillery when there was work to be done. And chances are, you looked absolutely gorgeous doing it.

Alfie’s suspicions were correct, he realised, as he walked down the creaky stairs to the base floor. He found you a few yards away, legs that he loved so much clad in stockings he knew he’d be ripping off later. You had the same green dress on he’d seen you dress in before he left for work that morning.

He would’ve stood there and appreciated the way your dress flared where your back met your bottom, or the way you’d prettily pinned your hair back just far enough to reveal your neck. The very same neck he’d buried his face into the night before and just this morning.

Alfie couldn’t appreciate it though, mostly because of the two dimwits standing in front of you, greased up faces smiling as they spoke to you. As if Alfie paid them to slack off. Fucking idiots.

As Alfie moved closer, he could hear your soft voice ask ‘How’s Claire doing? What a strong woman she is for birthing your lovely twins!’ It admittedly made Alfie soften for a second, because of course you’d take interest in everyone’s life and show genuine concern. That was the major difference between you two. Where Alfie lacked, you made up for.

“Right, last time I checked, I paid you fucking idiots to do your jobs,” Alfie startled the two men as he approached, voice booming as usual. “So, tell me what you’re bloody standing around here for.”

You turned around with ease, having been with him long enough to not bat an eyelash at his vulgar words and flaring anger. His face was scrunched up in an expression that would make any sensible man and woman in London cower in fear, and you placed a hand on his meaty arm in a poor effort to calm him down. And to silently tell him to shut up and behave.

“Alfie.” You greeted him like he wasn’t shooting daggers at the two men who now looked like they wanted nothing more than to bolt. You couldn’t blame them. “Hi sweetheart. I was just talking to Christopher and William here about their families. Did you know Will had twins?”

Alfie only managed a grunt because why did you know their names? And Will?

He didn’t know if he wanted to drag the bastard into his office by his cock and beat his face into three different shades or to toss them out on their sorry arses. He knew the first option would send him into the doghouse for God knows how long, and the other option would cause more problems between the two of you than he dared to think about.

“Two girls.” The one he assumed was named William said, albeit a little shakily. The man next to him elbowed him and they both went quiet.

“Right, I must’ve missed the part where I fucking asked.” Alfie was livid, and there were so many factors playing into that reason.

These animals who worked under him knew to never lay their eyes on you, nevertheless talk to you. And he wanted to be angry at how good you looked, at the audacity to walk into the distillery when he knew he disliked you hanging around here during office hours.

Mostly, he wanted to spank your stubborn arse black and blue.

“Alfie, why don’t we go to your office, hm?” You asked softly, feeling the way he was shaking as you squeezed his bicep gently.

He knew what it was though. Your way of telling him to simmer down and behave.

You didn’t wait for him to answer, turning on your pretty polished heels to walk around and past him toward his office. He didn’t miss the way your legs wobbled, and he knew you were well aware of what you were to expect once the fragile door of the office closed behind the two of you. Alfie knew that the wobble of your legs derived from excitement and not from fear. You could scowl and reprimand him all you wanted, but you both knew that you loved his possessiveness at the end of the day.

He watched you walk away, his anger simmering down just a wee bit before he turned his head to the two men standing in front of him. He sucked his teeth, smacked his lips and contemplated beating them with his cane before thinking twice of it.

“What the fuck are you two still doing ‘ere?” His roar was enough to have them scatter like mice.

Alfie huffed and turned around, following in your footsteps to his office where you were waiting.

“How many times have I told you, right, to not fuckin’ walk in here when I’m working, woman?” He walked in and closed the door behind him.

He struggled to contain his anger when he saw you sitting on his desk, legs crossed over each other and his eyes immediately went to the sliver of skin where the hem of your dress had ridden up on your thigh. Alfie’s first instinct was to march up and grab the delicate skin until you squirmed, but he stopped himself.

He gripped his cane tighter in his right hand and rubbed his forehead with the other one. “You’re fuckin’ impossible.”

You frowned. “I can’t help it if you’re possessive, Alf. That’s your problem, not mine.”

“You know how these men are.” He gritted out, gesturing behind him to the distillery. “You cannot be this dim.”

“Alfie Solomons, I know you didn’t just call me dim.” You said and Alfie paused at the tone of your voice.

You sounded annoyed but he could detect the hurt in your voice and it was enough for him to let out a grumbling sigh, stepping up to the desk where you sat. He silently admired the frown lines on your pretty face and prayed that he hadn’t shoved his foot in his mouth.

Alfie got his answer when you parted your legs enough for him to step between them, and he struggled to breathe properly when you circled them around his behind to pull him closer.

“You’re my girl, yeah?” He muttered, bringing a hand up to cradle your cheek.

“Woman.” You protested softly, welcoming the touch as his silent apology.

You watched as his eyes appraised you and held back from preening when he grunted in appreciation and what you knew were hunger as his eyes trailed your body before landing on your face.

“And what a fucking woman you are.” He said lowly, using his hand on your cheek to pull you in for a kiss.

The clatter of the cane falling to the floor didn’t deter you as he let go of it in order to grab you by the waist, pulling you in closer as he deepened the kiss. You moaned into his mouth, not caring if anyone heard you. Alfie pinched the top of your arse in retaliation and you squealed.

“Alfie!” You sounded scandalised but the enormous smile on your lipstick smeared lips said otherwise.

Alfie admired his artwork with a smug smile, knowing that his mouth probably looked a mess too.

“Don’t Alfie me, woman.” He pressed an open mouthed kiss to your lips that tasted a lot like a promise. “This is just a preview of what I’ll be doing to you tonight.”

* * * * *

Welp, that turned sexual. But hello! Hi! Surprise, here’s me answering to an ask five hundred years later. I was in a writing mood so.. hope you enjoy x

[bestiesenpai]

Recess - Nanami Kento

Don’t mind if i do~ femme reader no content warnings, it’s just a little fluff :) 2.1k words

"Papa, do you like Miss (Y/N)?" The young voice of Kento's son sounded next to him as he walked the young boy to his second grade class.

"What do you mean?" A blush tinged Kento's ears; it was embarrassing his son could figure it out so easily.

"Well I always catch you lookin' at her when you drop me off...and you talk to her a lot sometimes..." The child didn't really have a lot to go off of and he squeezed his fathers hand as they came to an intersection.

"I like her a normal amount, Yuji." Just a few more blocks and Kento would be free from this.

"What's that mean?"

"We're just acquaintances." Kento picked up his pace just a little, eager to drop him off and staunchly avoid eye contact with you.

"What's that mean?" Yuji echoed again, looking up at Kento curiously.

"I don't like Miss (Y/N) like how you say I do.” Finally they were at the school and Kento could ease up the hold he had on his son's hand. There was a swarm of other kids all in their little uniforms, matching tops and shorts for the upcoming summer weather.

“Miss (Y/N)!” Letting go of his hand, Yuji ran to you, latching onto the fabric of your sundress as you stood outside the school and made sure the kids were going to the right places.

“Hello!” Rubbing the back of Yuji’s head, you smiled down at him. “Are you ready for school today?”

“Yeah!” Today was a special day, after lunch they got to watch a movie about dinosaurs. Opening his mouth to speak again, Yuji saw something else that caught his eye. “Megumi! Nobara!” And off he ran to say hello to his friends.

Kento stood awkwardly where Yuji had left him, clenching and unclenching his fists. Should he talk to you? It wasn’t like Yuji dictated what he could and couldn’t do, but he didn’t want the kid to get any more impressions. Or would not talking to you make it even more obvious?

“Have a good day at work, Nanami.” You called out to him, waving and smiling at him with such ease it made his heart swell.

“Y-you too.” Clearing his throat, Kento waved back and scanned the crowd to see where Yuji was one last time. Spotting his son walking into the building with his friends, Kento nodded toward you and started to walk away. “See you after school.”

“Bye!” Waving again, you turned your attention to another student, and Kento went about his way.

Except he didn’t see you after school, he saw you much earlier than that. Yuji had forgotten his lunch despite swearing up and down that he’d packed it all by himself, so Kento was tasked with delivering it.

Going into the school and walking past brightly decorated classrooms, he quickly found the class Yuji was in. Peeking in through the window to see them all still sitting down, Kento leaned against the wall until the bell rang and they were let out.

“Yuji.” The rich timbre of Kento’s voice cut through the shrill sounds of children, easily reaching the intended recipient.

“Papa, you came!” Setting his sights on the lunch box in Kento’s hands, the little seven year old leapt to grab it. “Sorry I forgot my lunch!”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad I caught it in time.”

“Thanks papa!” Once he got his hands on it, Yuji gave Kento a quick hug and scampered down the hall.

“Hello again, Nanami.” Turning his head, Kento saw you leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed as children filtered out of the classroom.

“Yuji forgot his lunch.” Kento felt a little silly already trying to justify why he was there. You’d probably seen the whole interaction take place and knew exactly what transpired.

“Mhmm, he mentioned that at the start of class today.” Nodding to yourself, you flicked your head behind you. “He told me not to call you, said he ‘for sure’ had a feeling you would come and bring it.” You grinned and pushed yourself away from the door, slyly giving Kento a once over in his business attire. Despite working from home most days, he still chose to get dressed up like this.

Kento could only nod in agreement as he watched you walk back into the room and to your desk in the corner of the room. Letting his eyes roam over the room, Kento could see clearly where his son was sitting, in the middle of the room with a bunch of stickers on his desk.

“Ah, Nanami?” Your shy voice cut through the internal dilemma Kento was having about how to smoothly exit the room.

“Yes?” Taking a slow step into the room, Kento could see you were looking at your computer screen in apprehension.

“Are you good with technology?” A sheepish laugh accompanied your question and Kento thought it was cute you were embarrassed. “I can’t seem to get any video playing on the projector and we’re supposed to watch a movie today.” Gesturing to the device on the ceiling, you worried your lip and looked at him.

“I know a thing or two, I can try.” Committing to coming into the room, Kento walked briskly over to your desk. There weren’t a lot of things that Kento couldn’t do and fixing a computer was surely not one of them.

“Thank you so much! I tried some stuff but it was no use!” Pushing your chair away from the desk and to the side, you let Kento take up the space you were previously in.

Grabbing the mice and beginning to click through applications, Kento wasn’t sure he could fix your problem. Not because he didn’t know what was wrong, he knew exactly what was wrong, but this was the first time he was alone with you and this close. He could smell the light perfume you put on and feel the heat radiating from your body. It was harder to focus than he thought it was.

“I clicked that one before and it didn’t work.” Your arm shot out to point at a few icons, making sure Kento didn’t waste his time on them.

“Really?” He mumbled, clicking on it anyway and chuckling when you grunted in mock annoyance.

“Yes really.” Sticking your tongue out at him, you watched him work intently, eager to know how to fix the problem should it ever come up again.

“Miss (Y/N), I think your computer is opening the wrong application to play the video.” You’d told him before to just call you (Y/N) when no kids were around, but Kento couldn’t bear to drop the formality; he didn’t want to get too comfortable with saying your name like that, it would only spur on the daydreams he had of you.

Mumbling something about how simple the fix was, you stood up and grabbed a remote off the desk, turning the projector on and watching as the opening credits to the movie played on the classroom wall.

“Thank you so much, Nanami!” Clapping your hands together excitedly, you turned to him. Your back was to the large windows, warming you up and casting the sun all around you.

“Happy to help.” Kento nodded, fighting to remain his stoic self and not take notice of how easy it would be to push you against said windows and kiss you. Your class was on the first floor of the building, anyone could walk by and see it if he did it, and that kind of risk had Kento’s heart beating a little faster.

“Yuji is so lucky to have a dad like you, I bet you’re great around the house!” Setting the remote down, you pat Kento on the arm. He really had no choice in the matter, his wife running off shortly after Yuji was born and leaving him with sole custody. Feeling the touch of your hand reminded him how long it had been since he’d had any physical contact with a member of the opposite sex.

“Mi- (Y/N).” Turning sharply to you, Kento took a deep breath through his nose, nostrils flaring as he drank in your form. Summer really suited you, breezy clothes and longer days, the warmth in the air meshing well with the warmth in your personality.

“Yes?” Blinking owlishly at him, you shuffled just the tiniest bit back out of surprise.

“I want to show you how good I am around the house.” The line, coming out stilted and spoken with uncertainty, had your brows coming together a little.

“W-what do you mean?” Your breathing was coming out shorter now, nerves beginning to prickle your skin the longer you and Kento stood looking at each other.

“I want…” Licking his lips nervously, Kento knew this could be a reach. He could be ruining the good relationship the two of you had, the professional relationship you had. He could make you uncomfortable, and while that was the last thing he wanted to do, he couldn’t stop himself from taking a step forward and making you back up into the windows.

“I want to take you out. On a date.” Saying the words all in one big rush, Kento watched your face closely. Your lower lip trembled and your fingers curled into your dress as you thought of a response.

“I’d like that.” Your cheeks were burning intensely and turning your head to look at the wall beside you was the only saving grace you had. The silly little crush you had on Kento, the one you tried to stamp out and ignore, was finally allowed to take shape.

“Really?” Smiling loosely like an idiot, Kento put his hand on the window panes, leaning forward and almost touching you as he exhaled in relief. “I’m glad.” Peeking at you through his lashes, Kento tried to ignore the fact he could see right down your dress and to your breasts.

The longer he looked at you though, the more he realised how close he actually was to you. Your breath reached his face, if he wanted to Kento could drop his arm and easily envelop you in a hug, or perhaps-

“May I…?” He started to ask as he leaned in to kiss you. Hovering over your lips, he brushed the tip of your nose with his as he waited for you to squeak out a yes and nod before proceeding.

Touching your lips gently, Kento forced himself to go slow. There wasn’t any need to rush, he told himself, but the excitement of finally getting to kiss you was threatening to steamroll the control he had over himself.

Reaching a hand out, you rest it on his shoulder, your fingers slowly curling into his collar and holding it tightly. Tilting your head and deepening the kiss slightly, you breathed a little harder through your nose as Kento shuffled closer.

“I knew it!” The overjoyed shriek of Yuji surprised both of you, enough so that you pushed Kento as hard as you could away from you in shock. He was standing at the door to the classroom, his fellow classmates behind him staring in awe and confusion.

“Damn, lunchtime is over already?” Running past Kento’s dazed form, you wiped your lips off furiously as you collected the kids and ushered them into the room.

“I was right, papa! I was right! I was right! You do like Miss (Y/N)! You don’t like her a normal amount, you like her a lot! You were kiss-” Yuji was shouting at the top of his lungs, silenced only by Kento sliding a hand over his mouth.

“Be quiet, don’t yell like that inside the classroom.” Kento groaned, already feeling a headache form at having to explain himself to Yuji later. When he asked you out, he already had a vague plan in the back of his head on how he was going to hide it from the young boy, but that was completely out the window now. “Go sit down, we’ll talk later.” Nudging him toward his desk, Kento tried to ignore the whispers from the other students about what they’d seen.

“Yuji, is Miss (Y/N) your new mom?” Nobara whispered loudly, looking obviously between you and Kento.

“Not yet, they have to get married first.” Megumi whispered back, pointing at his ring finger.

“Married?! I wanna come!”

“I think it’s best I leave.” Straightening his tie, Kento nodded curtly at you before giving Yuji a lingering look. “Don’t make any trouble.”

“Yeah, okay.” Yuji was definitely going to save all the questions he had, saving them for the most opportune time. “Bye papa.”

“See you after school.” He was talking to you just as much as he was talking to Yuji, taking a sneaky glance at you before turning on his heel and walking out of the classroom.

“Miss (Y/N), are you going to live with us now?”

Dinner time was going to be pretty awkward tonight.

[sleeping-on-cracking-ice]

Y/N gets attacked and Chishiya is sure she will handle everything but when he sees her later there's blood everywhere, later he finds out that attackers actually cut her cheek really deepy and she will probably have a scar. He feels guilty and try to make it up by bringing something special (like cute pictures of cats bc he remembers when she quietly told Kuina that she loves cats) and from that day he is always trying to make sure that Y/N is doing fine. (2/2)

Of course! Here you go!

A Ginger Cat | Shuntaro Chishiya

{Alice In Borderland Masterlist}

Characters(s): Chishiya (ft. Kuina, OC, Ann)

Summary: You get hurt during a game, but Chishiya thinks that you can handle it yourself. Later when he discovers that you were injured more worse than he thought, he brings you something to cheer you up

Warnings: swearing, blood

Word Count: 4.6k

*reader is female

The registration room had an eerie aura, you swore you could’ve heard a pin drop in there. Nothing was moving except the occasional piece of dust flying past in the breeze. You stood with your back to the wall, glaring up into the bright florescent light that had seemed to become an all too familiar ongoing theme of these homicidal games.

The wall was cold and rigid along your spine, but you put up with the small sharp pain. There was nowhere else to wait, besides on the disgustingly dirty floor. You had to gain as much rest and strength before beginning the game.

Kuina sighed heavily to the right of you, glancing at the game phone she had picked up a few minutes prior and rolling her head back against the wall in boredom. Chishiya stood next along from her, earbuds lodged in his ears and blasting loud music while he held his gaze strictly on the ground in front of him.

“Come on,” Kuina groaned, stretching her hands above her head. “When is this game starting? We’ve been here for a solid half an hour.”

She walked to the entrance of the registration room and peeked her head out the door. “I’m surprised no one else has come. Maybe it’ll be just us,” she suggested, turning back to you and Chishiya.

“That sounds great, until it’s a game of hearts,” you bluntly stated, fiddling with the fabric of your shirt. Chishiya and Kuina both turned to you, sudden concern on their faces at your accusation.

The room fell quiet once more, until a familiar voice echoed through the room from all your phones simultaneously.

“Registration is now closed,” it spoke. “Game: Mice, Cats and A Dog.”

You frowned at the strange game name, having heard nothing like it before. You felt a feeling of relief wash over you as a five of clubs card conveyed itself on your screen. You were anxious you had accidentally manifested it to be a hearts game with your sly comment earlier.

“Rules: Players are the Cats. There are three live Mice to catch, each hiding in different areas around the building. Once found, the Mice must be killed using your own preference of weapon that is available on the table in the registration room.”

All three of you glanced towards the small table positioned next to the phone table that was scattered with small weapons that would hardly be enough to hurt a human. You had been wondering why they had offered such shitty weapons.

“Although, you must avoid the Dog’s gaze, for it will kill the Cats on sight.”

Your heart dropped at that last statement. You were to be hunted.

“You have an hour to kill all three Mice and return to the lobby with the bodies. If you fail to do so, all exits around the building will be closed and several more Dogs will be released and finish off the remaining players. You have ten minutes to position yourself in the building before the Dog is released.”

The list of rules on your phone screen shifted to a timer for ten minutes, already beginning to count down. You turned to Chishiya and Kuina.

“Any strategies?” Kuina asked, looking between you and Chishiya.

You pursed your lips in thought. “Split up. That seems like the most logical option. It will be quicker to find the Mice then,” you proposed, crossing your arms over your chest and scanning over the small map nearby that disclosed the layout of the deserted hotel the game was taking place in.

“But then the “Dog” will have more of a chance to find us if we split up,” Kuina argued. Kuina always focused on the safer route to ensure everyone’s survival rather than the easiest.

“No, it will be worse if we’re together, cause it can kill us all at once,” you retorted, walking over to the weapon table and starting to scan your options.

“I agree with Y/N,” Chishiya spoke up, pushing himself off the wall and strutting over to stand next to you and help pick a weapon. “I played a game very similar to this one. The best option is that we separate. Only then do we have a chance of finding the Mice in the time limit.”

Just as he said it, the phones all announced you had nine minutes left until the hunter began searching for you.

“One mouse each, and if you find yours early, keep searching so we can speed up time.”

You nodded at Chishiya’s command, snatching a small hammer and a pocket knife from the table for your weapons. You all walked out of the registration area (the front desk of the hotel) and into the empty lobby, watching as the hanging chandeliers glistening against the moonlight shining through from the obnoxiously big windows.

If anything could have gotten worse, you had to find tiny mice in a huge hotel in the complete darkness of night.

***************

You took to the upper bar.

The area in itself didn’t seem that big. But when you found it, you realised that it would be incredibly hard to find a single mouse in the cracks and small spaces between all the furniture. The eerie aura didn’t help much.

You sighed in frustration after searching underneath yet another couch. “What the fuck is this game? How the fuck am I supposed to find a rodent in a huge place like this?” you whispered angrily, flopping down on the couch dramatically.

It had been around forty-five minutes since the “Dog” had been released, but you have always been quite confident in your escaping and hiding strategies, so you weren’t too worried. The only thing you were concerned about was finding a mouse. Chishiya and Kuina had to have caught theirs by now.

A small scuttling noise cut you from your thoughts. You snapped your head towards the bar, where the sound was emitting from. A wave of excitement filled you, becoming hopeful that the noise was the mouse you were searching for.

You stood from the couch and quickly walked towards the bar, making sure not to make too much noise in case you alerted the rodent. The noise seemed to have come from behind some bottles beneath the counter. You crouched down on your knees and looked along the shelves, scanning for any sign of movement.

“Come on little mouse,” you taunted, becoming frustrated. When you noticed the flash of illuminated eyes staring holes into you through the glass of a tequila bottle, you quickly snatched the neck of the bottle and pulled it from the shelf, locking eyes with a desperate mouse with it’s back half stuck in a mouse trap.

The mouse shook violently against the trap, letting out small squeaks of pain and glaring at you with fear in it’s eyes. Although, it’s most noticeable feature was a large cross that almost seemed burned into it’s lower back. The cross had no fur or skin along it.

“This has to be one of them,” you reassured yourself, reaching to pull out the small pocket knife.

You picked up the mouse trap and hissed as the mouse managed to nip a part of your finger in defence. “Little shit,” you muttered, before pressing the point of your knife against the mouse’s back and pushing in harshly to kill it.

You hoped that you would just end it’s life and that would be that. But of course, the game had to throw in some sort of twist.

As you stabbed the small rodent, a impossibly loud screeching sound emitted from it’s tiny throat, making you drop the creature in shock and cover your ears.

The animal screeched and screeched, pain dripping from it’s cries that echoed across the room angrily. You began to panic, realising that there’s a chance the hunter could hear you. But maybe that was the point.

“Shut up!” you yelled over the mouse’s cries. You pulled the knife swiftly from the mouse’s fur and continued to repetitively penetrate it’s skin, mercilessly making it shut up while blood splattered across your angered face.

You breathed heavily once the room had fallen silent once again, staring down at the mutilated dead rodent. For a short moment, you felt bad for ending it’s life so unpeacefully.

Your head snapped up to look over the bar when sudden heavy footsteps made their way down the hall outside the bar. Your heart leapt to your throat and you turned to press your back against the bar, keeping your head down so whoever it was couldn’t see you.

You cringed as you picked up the remains of the mouse, holding it tight in your hand so you wouldn’t drop it. If Chishiya and Kuina had finished their halves, all you had to do was get to the lobby and you would be fine.

You placed your spare hand over your mouth to quieten your breathing, listening to the footsteps of the stranger who brought themselves into the room. The rapid movement of their feet made you anxious. You had never encountered a hunter that could run as fast as that.

You heard them flip a few tables over, hearing glasses smash against the walls aggressively. You closed your eyes tightly in realisation. The attacker was trying to make it harder for you to leave quietly if you were in there.

When the room fell quiet, you slowly peeked your head over the top of the bar. You managed to catch sight of the hunter themselves.

They seemed to have resembled the body of an older male, fit and tall. They had long, baggy pants, a black t-shirt while holding a machete that easily was as long as your arm. But most oddly, they wore a mask that conveyed a snarling German Shepherd.

The hunter was preoccupied over by the lounged area, looking behind the back rests of the couches and underneath coffee tables.

‘If I stay here any longer, they’re guaranteed to find me,’ you thought to yourself.

You decided you were going to attempt to leave. You had more of a chance of surviving by running than hiding.

You lifted your legs and trudged towards the edge of the bar, ducking underneath the table that was placed at the end before slowly rising to your feet. A quick glance down at your hand was enough to reassure you that you hadn’t dropped your ticket to a few more days of staying alive.

You kept your eyes locked on the hunter, making sure they didn’t turn their back as you were trying to leave. You thought you had almost made it before you miscalculated your step and tripped over a shattered glass on the ground, making you stumble forward and a loud noise erupt from the impact from your shoe to the glass.

As soon as you regained your balance, you didn’t even bother checking if the hunter had heard, you knew they did. You immediately took off running, holding your pocket knife in one hand in fear. You weren’t even halfway down the hall running towards the lobby before you heard the Dog’s footsteps behind you, trailing close and fast.

“Chishiya! Kuina!” You screamed out, picking up your pace and holding the body of the dead mouse close to your chest to make sure you didn’t drop it.

There was no way they were going to help you now, especially against someone like that. You were on your own for now, so you put faith in your own legs to carry you all the way down to the lobby.

Your heart was racing as you almost fell down the flights of stairs, so desperate to get away. At some point, you glanced upwards and saw your pursuer on the flight above you, making you feel sick.

“Fuck,” you gasped out, quickly scrambling down the darkened stairs. The blood of the mouse’s corpse seeped through your fingers as you held it in a tense fist, dripping down your arm grotesquely.

As you neared the ground level of the hauntingly big hotel, you stumbled as you jumped the few remaining steps and saw a sign that had an arrow labeled “Main Lobby” pointed to the left. You took in that direction, glancing behind you to see the “Dog” hot on your tail.

But unfortunately, you took too long to look at the sign. The “Dog” quickly caught up, grabbing an aggressive fistful of the back of your shirt and yanking you backwards towards them. You were too scared to scream. The air was forced from your lungs as you were pulled back, landing on the ground with the “Dog” suddenly standing over you, feet planted on either side of you.

Before you could even think, their machete plummeted down towards your face, making you flinch your head to the right, narrowly avoiding the blade. Although, the edge of the sharp metal managed to graze your cheek, creating a long gash along the side of your face.

The “Dog” continued to attempt to stab you in the face, stumbling above you as you attempted to kick their legs out from underneath them. In a sudden desperate attack, you kicked with all your might at their locked knees and they let out a yelp of pain as their knee buckled harshly backwards. You took the opportunity to run, not even giving them a second glance. You knew they’d already be back on their feet, after you again.

As you neared the humongous room that was labeled the lobby, you saw Chishiya and Kuina by the big doors that led inside. They seemed to have been banging their fists against an invisible force, separating you from them. The game must have locked them in when they placed their dead mice in the box that was located in the centre of the huge hall.

Their faces changed their hopeful expressions when they saw your pursuer, the blood running from their cheeks, making them pale. As soon as you entered the lobby, passing through the invisible force with ease, they followed behind you quickly.

“Hurry! Throw it in!” you heard Chishiya cry to you desperately behind you. You glanced back to see him slowing down, holding out his taser towards the “Dog” in case they managed to reach you. The electric light of his taser lit up significantly in the darkened room.

Once you reached the small white box placed on the table in the centre of the room, you shoved the disgusting remains of your victim inside, watching as it landed on top of two other mice.

Everything froze. The “Dog” immediately stopped running, dropping to their knees and face-planting onto the ground in front of Chishiya. All three of you stopped in shock, heavy breaths filling the air. Had you done it?

“Game Clear. Congratulations.”

The collar around the “Dog’s” neck exploded, blood splattering the walls and coating the gorgeously patterned carpet with it’s own artwork. You had seen it many times before. Once more couldn’t hurt.

“Took you long enough,” you heard Chishiya smartly remark. You glanced towards him, raising an eyebrow. He looked smug, as always. Not a single scratch on him.

“Give me a break, I had to face someone three times the size of me,” you remarked, rubbing your face tiredly. Your adrenaline had calmed, and now the pain of your deep gash on your cheek settled in. You hissed as your palm grazed it, pulling back and looking at your hand to see blood across it.

“Shit,” you rasped out, wiping your hand on the material of your pants.

“You okay Y/N?” Kuina questioned, walking over to you. You shook your head, dismissing her. “Yeah I’m fine. Just a small gash. It’ll heal soon enough,” you reassured.

“Are you sure? That looks quite deep,” Chishiya commented, strutting over and using his hand to push your chin to the side so he could look more closely at it. The feeling of his hand placed so gently on your skin made your heart suddenly race, and you panicked and pulled your head away before he could even see your wound.

“No, it’s fine,” you insisted, attempting to hide your embarrassment. “Let’s go back. It’s getting late, and I’m tired and hungry.”

***************

You stood in your bathroom, attempting to wash your clothes that you wore at the game earlier. You were soaking and scrubbing them in the bathtub. No matter how much blood seeped from the fabrics, it never seemed to be clean enough.

You grunted, annoyed and tired. Kuina said she was going to spend some time out nearby the pool with Arisu and talk to him about his game. Chishiya didn’t say where he was going, but you assumed it would be the roof or something away from everyone else.

A wet feeling along the side of your neck made you suddenly flinch and hit your skin, worried it was a weird bug of some sort. But your eyes widened when you brought your hand back and saw the concerning amount of blood spread across your palm.

You stood up from the side of the bathtub and leant against the sink, looking to the large mirror. “For fucks sake,” you sighed out as you caught sight of your large gash again. “This has been bleeding for hours. How do I make this stop?”

You winced as the moist towel you used earlier was once again dabbing along the skin of your face, collecting up the annoyingly large amount of blood percolating from your cheek. You were becoming afraid that it wasn’t going to stop at all, but you were too stubborn to go to Ann for medical help.

You’ve seen her weird dissection obsession, so you felt uneasy putting the trust of your health into her hands.

The blood dripped quicker the more you attempted to clean it up. Soon, there were miniature blood puddles scattered around the sink as you kept trying to clean them.

*********** “Hey Usagi, have you seen Y/N?”

Chishiya was making his way around The Beach searching for you. He usually liked spending his late nights having a drink with you in a quiet corner of the ground floor pool. Although, he hadn’t been able to find you and he was getting worried. You usually were either down in the lobby or with Kuina after games.

“No, I haven’t. Sorry Chishiya.”

He huffed annoyed, thanking Usagi and walking away from the dance floor. He thought he should check in your room as a last resort, but if you weren’t there, that’s when he would really worry.

He slowly made his way up the multiple flights of stairs, passing by a few people on the way. During the walk, he zoned out in his own thoughts, his mind filing with you.

How would he ever tell you how he felt? He believed you only saw him as a friend, an annoying one at that. Especially since you happen to banter a lot with him. The thought made him smile, he loved that you didn’t take his bullshit seriously and treated it like a game.

‘How do I let her know that I truly do care for her?’ he asked himself, fiddling with the drawstrings of his white hoodie as he strolled down the brightly lit hall. He hadn’t ever been the best with emotions, so how could he show that he was genuine about his romantic feelings towards you?

When Chishiya reached your room, he lifted his fist to knock on the rotting wood, freezing suddenly. Why was he hesitating? He’s done this so many times before, why was he suddenly nervous? He shook his head, embarrassed for catching himself in these thoughts. He had worked himself up again.

He knocked on your door loudly three times before calling out to you. “Y/N? You in there?” The silence that followed his call made him anxious. He knocked again, this time more persistently.

“Coming!” he heard your muffled voice call through the door. He stood back from the door as you opened it, giving you a small smile. But it soon disappeared from your face when he locked eyes with the bloody tissue that you held to your cheek.

“Hey Chish,” you groaned out, lazy eyed and turning back into your room, leaving the door so he could come in. Chishiya rushed to you quickly. “Wait, Y/N. What’s going on? Why are you hurt?” he asked frantically, pulling on your shoulder to get you to look at him.

You brushed his hand off of you. “It’s fine. Just a small gash from the game earlier. It started bleeding again,” you said, giving him a stare.

Chishiya shook his head and cupped your face, avoiding your cut, to have a closer look. “No Y/N, that doesn’t look okay. It’s bleeding way too much.”

You stayed still as he replaced your hand holding the tissue on your face with his own, being as gentle as he could as he cleaned the blood gathering around the gash.

“Here, sit down on the bed,” he muttered, indicating towards the end of your bed. You both shuffled over and sat down, Chishiya still holding the tissue on your face.

You could feel his hot breath against your lips as he examined your wound. His dark eyes glistened in the dim light of your hotel room. He looked ethereal. But he took a quick glance towards your eyes, snapping you from your daze. You hissed as he caught a bit of the gash on the tissue. “Sorry,” he apologized, moving his hand to your chin to readjust your position.

He then sat up and walked towards the bathroom, walking quickly so the blood of your injury didn’t drip too much. As he was there, you heard a soft gasp. He probably had found the blood-covered sink and towels.

He returned back with a clean towel that he found in your bathroom cabinet. He held a somewhat annoyed expression on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me this? If I knew it was this bad, I would’ve helped you out.”

You shrugged your shoulders. To be honest, you weren’t too sure why you didn’t tell Chishiya or Kuina. It just didn’t seem that big of a deal.

“You’ll need some stitches,” he concluded, holding a clean towel underneath your cut. “Also, stop using tissues to clean the blood. They flake easily and can stick to your injury.”

You nodded, looking down in embarrassment. You wish Chishiya didn’t find you like this. You hated making anyone else worry about you when it wasn’t entirely necessary.

“Look at me,” he demanded, bringing your head up with a gentle hand on your neck. Your breath got caught in your throat as he wiped around your cheek, cleaning up any excess blood.

“Come on. Let’s get you to Ann,” he said, standing up and holding his hand out for you.

You took his hand and he pulled you up playfully, making you almost stumble into him. You glared at him. “Wow. Even when I’m injured you’re still a bully,” you teased. Chishiya smirked and winked at you, making you roll your eyes.

And yet, the whole way to Ann’s medical room, you didn’t let go of his hand.

***************

You woke as the sun hit your eyelids, illuminating your room with bright rays of light. The sun was strangely gorgeous that morning, so you woke up in a good mood.

You sat up and stretched, letting out a large groan as your bones popped in your back. Although a wince made its way onto your face as you yawned, making the skin of your treated gash stretch.

Chishiya had told Ann to place a protected medical patch on your cut, since he thought it would be better than just leaving it in case of it getting infected or worse during your next game. So for the time being, you had a flat piece of cotton taped on your face. Ann said to only leave it on until it had certainly stopped bleeding through, as well as to change it around two or three times a day.

When your eyes finally adjusted to your surroundings, your sight landed on a strange scene in front of you.

At the table on the end of your bed, there was a small plushie of a ginger kitten. The makeshift fur on the stuffed toy was slightly dirty and it was missing a bead for an eye, but it still remained strangely comforting.

You crawled to the end of your bed and reached out to grab the plushie, bringing it close to you and looking over it for anything. Who knows? Someone could have put it in your room as a trap.

But it was proven safe when you noticed the small, neat writing on the end of the kitten’s tail, which read ‘Chish’.

You chuckled at the childish toy, realising Chishiya must have snuck it into your room while you were asleep.

“Idiot,” you laughed, “Can’t tell me he likes me as his friend but he can put enough effort into finding a stuffed cat in the Borderland for me.”

It felt special, because you knew Chishiya would have had to go into deserted Tokyo to find such a gift for you. You looked on the table and saw a small piece of paper. You frowned and reached out for it and opened it.

‘Here’s a stupid plushie for your troubles. Kuina said you liked cats so I thought you’d feel better with this xx’

You laughed at his half-hearted message. Chishiya never was that good with words, but he didn’t have to be in order for you to understand how he felt towards you.

Although the plushie was a bit beaten and battered, it still brought such a sense of home to you.

***************

You sat in the lobby, watching everyone scuttle around. Your usual drunken party group passed through every now and then, which was always good entertainment.

You jumped as you felt a pair of hands suddenly grip onto your shoulders, quickly moving to your eyes and covering them.

“Guess who?” the stranger asked cheekily, making you relax when you recognised their familiar, cocky voice.

“Get your hands off me Chishiya,” you giggled, pulling on his hands and turning around so you would face him. His face held a big smile across it, which was so unlike his usual neutral expression.

“What’s got you so happy?” you questioned, raising your eyebrow. Chishiya pulled away from your face and jumped over the back of the couch so he was then sitting beside you.

“Nothing, I’m just happy to see you,” he admitted, laying his head on your shoulder comfortably. His boldness was rather prominent then more than you had ever seen.

“How’s your cut?” he asked, looking up to examine the patch on your cheek. You shrugged it off. “It’s fine, not too bad now.”

Chishiya smiled, and suddenly leaned forward and left a lingering kiss on your good cheek, making your eyes widen at his action. “That’s good,” he gushed and continued on like he didn’t do anything.

“Yeah. Um...” you muttered awkwardly while rubbing the spot on your face where he kissed. “I wanted to say... thanks for the gift earlier,” you said, placing an arm around his shoulder comfortably.

Chishiya beamed happily, but tried to hide his blush by turning away from you. “No problem,” he mumbled out, trying to sound like he didn’t care.

You laughed at his response. Chishiya may have not been that good with words, but he didn’t need to be for you to notice that he really loved you.

[castthy-nightedcolour]

One- Shot: A Different Side (written as part of my series ‘don’t worry about a thing’ on AO3, link can be found at the bottom of the post as it won’t let me embed it)

Fandom: Good Omens

Characters: GN Reader, Crowley, a very annoying mouse

Warnings and Tags: snakes, animal death/ harm, swearing, uh oh we have a pest control problem, snake crowley, comfort , are they aren’t they

Summary: mouse traps, a skip full of rubbish and a broken down bus. not exactly your dream day, but your favourite demonic entity has a trick up his sleeve and behind his glasses to help you.

Word Count: 2778

Link to original: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31055930/chapters/81050182

If there was one word to describe your mood, that word would be vile. Tiny little irritants throughout the day had built to a simmering anger:

-Firstly, your bus into town had broken down about ten minutes away from your stop, meaning that you were forced to trek your way to the shops.

-Secondly, your trip to said shops wasn’t for any kind of retail therapy, but was instead to buy mouse traps. Your usually serene flat had been taken over by a little grey rodent who despite any humane efforts, was refusing to leave. You weren’t usually one for violence towards any living thing, but the little shit was out staying its welcome and had most recently been seen taking a bite out of a loaf of bread.

-When you did eventually get into town, it seemed to be the day for the world’s slowest walkers to take to the streets. Everyone was moving at about two steps per minute and you, being naturally speedy, were constantly waiting for gaps on the pavement to overtake. When you did manage to do this, there would be a whole new couple walking side by side, plodding along at a snail’s pace. You weren’t getting anywhere quick.

All in all, not your finest hour. This all came to a head on Oxford Street, or as you liked to call it, hell.

Your brain felt as though it were made of jelly, your temperature was rising, and someone stopped right in the middle of the street to check their phone. Slamming right into the back of them, you immediately let out something resembling a howl before running to your side off down Old Cavendish Street, somewhere slightly quieter. You leaned against the nearest wall, hot anger bubbling within you for what at the time, seemed like a life or death scenario of you getting out of town with the mousetraps, but in retrospect was just the culmination of various shitty things.

The last thing which you wanted to hear was any sign that you were being perceived, but a teenage boy riding past you on a bike shouting an obnoxious ‘WAHEYYYY’ at you was enough to tip you over the edge. You bashed your head back on the wall, feeling acid tears of anger falling, pedalled down your face by your short temper. Then, another shout came towards you from across the street.

‘Y/N? Is that you?’

You were ready to push yourself off the wall to lunge at this person until your brain caught up with recognition. Tilting your head forwards, your suspicions were confirmed when you saw floppy, ginger hair bouncing over the street atop a leather-clad frame. The sunglasses perched on his nose brought you a feeling somewhere between relief and fear.

You and Crowley had a relationship which can only be described as ‘are they? Aren’t they?’

You sure as hell couldn’t tell if he had any romantic feelings for you, and he gave off vibes so mixed that they were jumbled by this point. People always commented on the electricity between the two of you whenever you were together, but you tried not to get your hopes up and usually just put this down to his magnetising nature.

He’d told you about himself, and you thought that he must have trusted you somewhat to be able to disclose that he was a demon to you.

Then again, maybe he was just overly confident.

In the state you were currently in, you couldn’t decide whether to run into his arms to scream, or run as quickly away from him as was physically possible.

Your body chose neither and just stood there, open mouthed and gawking as the tears continued to fall with no effort from your eyelids. Crowley examined you, peering over the top of his sunglasses to try and decipher the scene before him.

‘Don’t tell me someone’s upset you, because I will find them for you, Y/N’ he started, rearing himself up as he spoke. You jumped in.

‘No, no. Not upset. I swear. Just… pissed off. Massively, massively pissed off. Short fuse today, y’see.’

‘Oh. Well, I know all about that. I’m quick to anger at any given moment but then again, ‘s in my nature. What exactly are you doing down here?’

You looked to your side at the gigantic skip full of building waste, then down to your feet where someone’s puke sat. You looked back up to the demon.

‘It was a quick escape, one that was made before I slapped someone in the face.’

Crowley looked slightly taken aback, not expecting any expression of violence from you considering your usually placid nature.

‘Ooookay. Well, I won’t ask for details but, here.’ He leaned over slightly and brushed away some of the tears which were still running down your face. You could swear that you both stopped breathing for a moment as he touched you but then again, you weren’t in a fit state for rational thinking.

‘Thank you,’ you breathed out. ‘I’m all good, I promise. Just need to breathe.’ You gave a reassuring smile to the demon and noticed him looking down to your hand, holding a flimsy plastic bag containing the mouse traps.

‘What you got there? Looks interesting.’ He said, tilting his head to try and get a closer look. You brought the bag up to your chest.

‘Oh, mouse traps. There’s a little shit thinking that he owns my flat who’s probably currently in my bread bin. Thought I’d stop the problem while I could, considering there’s that saying about seeing mice. Y’know, for every mouse you see, there’s always another one somewhere. Can’t wait to clean that up!’ Your words had somewhat of a bite, being spat like venom.

‘Woah. You really are pissed, aren’t you?’ Crowley responded, half smirking. For some reason, this set you off again.

‘Yes. Yes, actually I am. Because y’know what? This day has been fucking horrific! I genuinely don’t think that I’ve had two consecutive minutes of peace since the second I woke up. I can’t relax because of the mouse, then there was the bus, and the walking, and the pain in my feet, and the twat who decided to check his phone in the middle of Oxford Street. Sorry, who the hell does that? I just feel like I’ve been left out of any plans that the universe had to let people go about their day without a care in the world. So yes, I’m fuming.’ You gave a huff before realising that you were now crying again. Crowley stood slightly dumbstruck, shifting his weight between his feet. You glanced off to the side, watching the shoppers propel themselves down Oxford Street.

The demon then spoke, his voice low and sincere.

‘Can I give you a lift?’

—

After what felt like a windswept journey in the Bentley, Crowley screeched to a halt outside your flat. Jolting forwards slightly, the plastic bag containing the mouse traps crinkled between your legs.

You’d calmed down quite significantly, but now felt a combination of complete embarrassment that you’d had such an outburst in front of the being that you completely adored, and absolute excitement that he’d even offered you a lift. This wasn’t helped when you heard him say,

‘Let me walk you upstairs. Check that you’re okay.’

You felt fizzy, and as the two of you trudged up to your flat, you felt as though you could lift off any second. As you unlocked your front door, Crowley leaned on the doorframe, peering in to the hallway as you threw your bag on the floor. You suddenly regretted this as when the bag hit the floor, there was a scuttle from under your bedroom door, and the little mouse took one giant sprint off towards the kitchen. You screamed in shock as the little bastard took itself away, and Crowley grabbed onto your arm. This made you jump for a second time.

‘Woah woah there, calm down. It’s just a little mouse, we’ll sort this,’ Crowley sweetly spoke, lulling your heart back to a slightly normal rate. You looked down to his arm resting on yours and couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Crowley had a look on his face which would have read from ten miles away as one with a scheme brewing.

‘Look Y/N, I’m going to do something here which I don’t do very often, and all I’m asking is that you don’t freak out,’ the demon announced.

You couldn’t help but make a sarcastic joke.

‘What’s that then, the housework?’ Smirking, you looked up at Crowley who glared at you through his sunglasses.

‘Fine, you don’t need my help!’ He huffed, obviously taking the piss but you couldn’t help but tease him back into good spirits.

‘No no, sorry Crowley. What have you got for me?’

‘Snake.’

You stood there for a second, trying to make any sense of what he just said and burning up slightly as you wondered if this was perhaps his way of flirting.

‘A… a snake? You have a snake?’

‘Yes. Well, no. Well… yes. Look it’s complicated, can I just show you?’

Uh oh. Maybe this was him flirting.

You thought for a second before hearing an almighty crash from the kitchen, and from down the hallway you saw an entire loaf of bread fall to the ground, followed by a small army of mice. Again, you let out a scream as Crowley slammed the door shut behind the both of you.

‘How fucking many are there now?!’ You exclaimed, turning to face Crowley who was now quickly shifting between his feet. He suddenly grabbed your shoulders.

‘Look Y/N, tell me quick, do you have a phobia?’

‘Of mice? I think that’s pretty evident Crow-‘

‘No, of snakes. Are you scared of snakes?’

‘What is it with you and these snakes?’ You laughed. The demon then stood dead still and stared right at you.

‘Stay still. Don’t freak out please. I promise this will help.’

Before you knew it, Crowley’s hands had disappeared off your shoulders and he seemed to disappear entirely from before you. Confused, you looked down at the floor.

What you saw took your breath away for what felt like forever.

Rows and rows of black scales suddenly lined your hallway, flowing from side to side as the form made its way towards the kitchen. This didn’t take long, considering the snake’s body seemed to run on forever, there must have been at least 10 metres of the creature occupying your apartment.

You’d never really considered Crowley’s powers before. While you were aware that he was a demon, this thought didn’t control your every interaction with him. He was just Crowley- your friend Crowley- your possibly more than a friend Crowley- your Crowley. Shapeshifting had never been part of the picture.

But it was so, so beautiful.

Moving.

And snakes were never your favourite but this was just something else.

Squeals of mouse terror came from the kitchen as a massive shadow rose up throughout the whole apartment. Crowley was sitting up on his body, his head pointed towards any mouse that he could detect and a razor sharp stare in his luminescent eyes.

Your favourite part of this whole scenario was laying on the floor in front of you- Crowley’s sunglasses, sans Crowley for the first time ever. You smiled as you bent down to pick them up, your feet planted to the spot due to the inherently overwhelming nature of what was happening. You ran your fingers over the frames feeling the heat that was stored in them.

There was something so human about the lingering warmth to the metal, but that thing that made it so distinctively Crowley was the fact that the heat never seemed to fade.

The floor seemed to move as the scales once again shifted, with Crowley turning round to come back towards you. Cold fear seized your entire body, despite the oddly comforting and protective energy of this gigantic creature. His yellow eyes were right in front of your face before you’d even managed to properly react to him moving towards you.

You blinked and the Crowley that you knew and … ahem… was standing in front you, a live mouse swinging from his hand by the tail.

‘Consider those rodents dispatched.’

The mouse in his hand was thrashing wildly from side to side and while you hated the little shits, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. You went to protest but no words came out of your mouth.

You’d just witnessed something- something that couldn’t exactly be described as a miracle but to you- maybe?

Crowley noticed the panic in your eyes directed towards the mouse and realised what he needed to do. The mouse disappeared in another of your blinks.

There were so many pressing questions on your mind, but you only managed to actually articulate one of them.

‘Please tell me you didn’t eat those mice, Crowley?’ Your tone was somewhere between intrigue and massive concern.

The demon scoffed, ‘I prefer oysters normally, Y/N. No, I didn’t eat them. I can assure you though, they won’t be back any time soon.’

Palpable silence hung between the two of you. You naturally seemed to hold out Crowley’s sunglasses to him, staring directly into the eyes which served as a reminder of his other form as you did so.

Crowley went to slowly take the glasses off you, but in a snap decision, you snatched them back. Crowley wasn’t exactly thrilled by this.

‘Hey, don’t play games with those. They’re my-‘

He didn’t stand a chance of finishing his sentence before you jumped in, with your subconscious mind taking a grasp on your mouth. Maybe this was a trick of Crowley’s, but at least some of it came from your heart.

‘Do it again. Turn back.’

The two of you stared at each other as a smirk took over the demon’s face.

‘Really? It seemed to terrify you, dearest.’

The cockiness in his voice only persuaded you to carry on pushing.

‘Not at all! No no, it was just... well it was a shock at first. Obviously. Like who the hell else can do that? But no, not terror. It’s intrigue. I swear.’

You made sure to assert yourself in your voice as your brain convinced you that you would never rest again unless Crowley turned back into a snake. It was almost like the sheer shock had morphed into utter obsession in a matter of seconds.

And maybe you just adored every part of Crowley and him being vulnerable in showing a new side to you? Well...

Again, you blinked and he was gone for a moment, before the black reptile rose up to meet your gaze. He hadn’t continued to question you.

The presence was unexplainable, physically so big in the space but even just the idea of him just seemed to fill up every corner of the place. Moving the sunglasses into your right hand, you tentatively raised up your left.

‘Can... may I? Can I touch?’ You softly asked, mimicking a petting action in the air. Somehow, Crowley let you know that it was okay, pulling your hand towards him with some kind of magnetising energy.

Your fingers lightly brushed the scales on his head and you took a breath so deep you almost triggered hiccups. The texture was confusing, it almost seemed like it was shifting forms by the second- smooth then rough, hard then feather soft, but still always cool as marble. You fully rested your hand down as you glanced along the entire body, once again filling up the entire hallway.

‘Crowley, this is beautiful. I mean that.’ You whispered, transfixed on what you were seeing.

Then, the unimaginable happened. Your hand which had ended up resting on the snake’s head suddenly felt warm.

Was... was he blushing? You decided to test the water slightly more.

‘I didn’t even imagine that anything could be so magnificent but, well. Here you are. So gorgeous.’

Sure enough, another flush felt through your hand.

‘Crowley, are you blushing?’ You giggled. The heat on his face then took another rise, this time enough to hurt you slightly. You drew your hand away instinctually, but with a smile still on your face.

This was now a day worth noting. The day that started with a mouse in a bread bin and some unfortunately placed anger, and ended as the day that you made a snake blush.

And of course, he made you blush too.

A new side of Crowley. One that you couldn’t help but adore.

[emzywemzymemzyvonkenzy]

THE VICTORIOUS? (Part 1)

The screams finally started to fade as the knight continued to walk, back turned and sword clenched. ‘That’s one more to cross of the list’ she thought smugly to herself. It wasn’t always so easy for her to carry out this task: she started with merciful kills, quick, peaceful kills. They didn’t last long. As time passed their resentment grew. It grew big. She would find all the kings’ men, no matter where they hid.

People cheered in joy at the sight of the knight. ‘What a hero’ they would tell their children. Life was good and prosperous. The knight had successfully completed another task for the king and she couldn’t wait to inform him.

“My lord the scout was successful, we know the whereabouts of Villain and we’ll be able to rush his castle by the end of this week”

“Very good. If that’s all then you may be on your way.” He waved his hand towards the door and waited “Well? Is that all or not, why are you still stood here?”

“Um well I thought I should bring something up.” The knight started to fidget, it was getting awfully hot in her armour “Are we sure that Villain is actually… a villain?” It was suffocating now and the silence was filling the room like a plague ‘why wasn’t the king answering?’

“Of course! How dare you question me and me decisions!” The king stood and started to walk towards the knight. “Do you think I’m some sort of IDIOT?” The king was now looming over her.

“N-no my lord I’m sorry I-“ she was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Both the king and the knight turned to face the door, it was the queen. “I’d watch yourself” he whispered as he patted the knight on the shoulders.

“Why aren’t my troops storming the villain’s castle? If this is isn’t done by the end of the week then who knows what they’ll do next” the king threw his dish across the floor.

“The raid I-it was called of b-by you sir” the poor messenger was shaking before the king and could hardly stand.

“Why am I surrounded by complete MORONS!! Someone will be punished for this.”

The knight couldn’t help but to think back on her decisions. Her regrets. ‘Maybe if I had done things differently then my loved ones would- No that king is far too corrupt, this all would’ve happened one way or another. It was just a matter of time’ they cleaned their sword, arose from their bed and set off. The kings men all started to go into hiding, the once beloved knight became notorious in just a few days. Word spread fast about who the knight was targeting and it didn’t take them long to scatter like mice: hiding away in their little holes. The knight knew how to wriggle the little mice out with cheese so their long list quickly shortened -they made sure to save the king till last.

“You will be slain down for aiding the king with his villainous tasks!” She was tired and didn’t want to make this one a long and painful death.

“Y-yo-you used to work for the king didn’t you? So s-surely you too are an evil being who a-aided the king.” The knight stopped in their tracks and thought for a moment then dug her hands into her pocket.

“Ah good I didn’t leave it behind.” They pulled out some tape and placed it over their mouth“How many people do you think said the exact same thing in the hopes that I’ll spare their life because suddenly I realise that I’m just like them. I’m NOTHING like you d’you understand? If I was an evil being who aided the king then would I be here right now, trying to stop him?”

‘That’s one more to cross of the list’ she thought ‘only a few more to go before I finally make him suffer, he’ll be praying for the mercy of death. No such mercy shall be given to a man like him’.

[emospritelet]

Heatstroke - chapter 23/24

I was planning on this being the final chapter, but it got away from me, so it's the penultimate chapter instead :)

Last time, Gold and Lacey banged :D

Word count: 3,721

[AO3]

x

Gold made her dinner, fillet steak with a sauce made from beef stock, red wine and rosemary, alongside soft, creamy mashed potatoes and carrots glazed with butter. They drank wine with it, rich and red, and afterwards carried the dessert upstairs to bed, where they took turns spooning dark chocolate mousse and raspberries into their mouths until their lips were sticky and sweet. Gold watched as Lacey sucked the last of the chocolate mousse from her spoon and dropped it into the glass dish with a contented sigh.

“That,” she said. “Was pretty bloody amazing. You can definitely cook.”

“Thank you.”

He set the dish on the nightstand, handing her a glass of wine, and Lacey wriggled, sitting up against the pillows as she took it. Darcy had curled up at the end of the bed with his tail over his nose, and Lacey gestured at him with a foot.

“You do realise now he’s been up here, he’s probably gonna spend as much time sleeping in your bed as he does mine,” she said, and Gold grinned.

“I don’t mind that too much,” he said. “Maybe he’ll keep the mice away.”

“No sign of that so far,” she remarked. “Not that I’ve seen any mice. Only rats.”

“You’ve seen rats around here?” he asked, surprised, and she shrugged.

“I saw one the day I moved in,” she said. “Standing on his hind legs, bold as brass. Not the best welcome gift, to be honest.”

“I don’t suppose it was.”

“Yeah, Darcy came to get me to chase it off,” she said casually. “So if you’re hoping he’ll deal with any vermin that turn up, you’re out of luck. Turns out he’s a coward.”

Gold laughed.

“Well, he’s a very handsome coward,” he said. “If we get a rodent problem I can always deal with it another way. I can’t say I’ve seen any rats here, though.”

“I guess it might have wandered in from the forest,” she acknowledged. “I was worried there might be a nest of the little buggers, but I haven’t seen any since then. It was definitely male, though. All big balls and unimpressive cock.”

Gold blinked as a feeling of déjà vu washed over him.

“Really?” he asked neutrally.

“Yeah.” She wriggled onto her side, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Have you ever seen a rat’s balls? They’re huge!”

“I can’t say I’ve looked all that closely,” he said, and licked his lips. “Uh - you said his - other equipment - was somewhat lacking.”

“Yeah. Minuscule.” She held up her little finger. “Still, I guess they manage okay, right?”

“Right,” he said, and hesitated. “And this was the day you moved in?”

“As I was carrying my stuff in.”

“Uh-huh.” He sucked his teeth, nodding slowly. “You - didn’t happen to mention this to Miss Lucas in the bar that night, did you?”

“Huh.” Lacey pursed her lips, a vague expression on her face. “Yeah, I did. Why?”

Gold sighed heavily.

“Because I might have thought you were talking about me.”

Lacey stared at him for a moment, mouth slightly open, then burst out laughing. It bubbled out of her, washing over him as her eyes sparkled with mirth, and he felt a little of his awkwardness melt away.

“You thought I was telling Ruby about what you were packing?” she giggled, and he shrugged.

“Let’s just say I overheard your conversation and made some assumptions.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what you get for eavesdropping,” she said, and pushed up on her elbow. “Wish you hadn’t?”

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Good.” She planted a kiss on his cheek. “Because your assumptions were shit.”

“That happens more often than you might think,” he said, and she giggled again.

“Oh, but I’m definitely telling Ruby about your junk now,” she said, and winked at him. “She did ask for a blow by blow description if you and I ever got up to anything.”

“In that case.” Gold put down his wine. “I’d better give you lots to talk about.”

-

Lacey stretched, eyes closed, mouth widening in a grin as she felt the press of hot flesh against her own. She was nestled in soft sheets, Gold’s arm around her waist and his cool breath on the back of her neck, making her shudder in pleasure. Morning light was shining through a tiny gap in the curtains, sending a shaft of golden dawn across the bed and making the pink walls glow. The bed smelled of musk and sex and the faintest hint of his cologne, and she wriggled, turning in his arms to kiss his chest. At the touch of her lips he inhaled sharply, body stiffening as he woke, and she heard a contented rumble from deep in his chest as his arms went around her.

“Morning,” she said, and sucked at his nipple.

Gold jerked, snickering, and tugged her close against him so that she had to kiss back up his chest to get some air. He pushed her onto her back, one hand sliding down over her hip to squeeze her rear as his mouth found her ear.

“Morning,” he murmured, and Lacey moaned as he sucked at her throat. His hand strayed to her hip again, sliding along the crease at the top of her thigh, and she caught his fingers in hers before he could reach between her legs.

“Really interested in where your mind’s going,” she said. “But I need the bathroom. And coffee, to be honest.”

Gold pulled back immediately, rolling onto his side, and she slipped from the bed, drawing on his discarded shirt. He was watching her with a sleepy-eyed grin, his hair dishevelled and a day’s growth of stubble on his cheeks. It made her want to crawl straight back in bed with him.

“I guess I’ll make the coffee, then,” he said. “You want some breakfast?”

Lacey sighed.

“Does that mean getting up?”

“Doesn’t have to.”

“Well, alright then.”

She winked at him, making his grin widen, and trotted off to the bathroom.

When she returned he had already gone downstairs, and she poked around on his dresser for a hairbrush, dragging it through her curls and teasing out the knots that had formed over several hours of the best sex she’d ever had. Gold had stamina. He was also extremely generous, and wanted to please her, which was a first in her experience. She could see herself falling deeply in love with the guy if she wasn’t too careful, and was surprised to find that the idea didn’t bother her. Glancing in the mirror she shook out her hair and set down the hairbrush, sending her reflection a satisfied grin. Apparently Ruby was right. I do want more than hot crazy sex. Although the hot crazy sex is amazing.

She padded downstairs, following the sound of him clattering around in the kitchen. The scent of coffee was drifting towards her, and she took a seat at the kitchen table, watching Gold in his silk robe as he made scrambled eggs and spooned it onto hot buttered toast.

“Hot sex, great coffee and a delicious breakfast,” she remarked, as he set a plate in front of her. “How is it you’ve been single for so long?”

Gold chuckled, sliding into the chair opposite.

“My son would say it’s because I’m completely dense and have no idea when someone is interested,” he said.

“Well, he’s not wrong about that,” said Lacey, making him grin. “Although I guess I shouldn’t really tease you about it. Pot, kettle, and all that.”

He grinned at her, eyes gleaming, and she felt herself fall in love with him a little more. She turned to her breakfast to stop herself blushing with the thrill of it. The eggs were soft and buttery, seasoned to perfection, and she made a noise of approval and cut a piece of toast, pushing it into the growing pool of melted butter and popping it into her mouth. Gold was watching her over the rim of his coffee cup, and she took a sip of her own and set down her cup.

“Any chance we can finish that interview today?” she asked. “I had other questions to ask and you kind of distracted me with orgasms.”

He smirked.

“I have to open the shop at some point,” he said. “Can it wait until later?”

Lacey pursed her lips, trying to hide her smile.

“You want me to come over tonight, is that what you’re saying?”

“You’re the one that wants to interview me,” he said, one eyebrow flicking. “Maybe I’d be more inclined to open up if we were more - intimate.”

His voice had dropped to a low purr, and Lacey squeezed her thighs together.

“Okay, but no distracting me this time!” she ordered, gesturing with a fork. “I have to get some stuff on tape I can actually use! I don’t want Sidney weaselling out of this pay rise he promised.”

Gold pressed a hand to his heart with a wounded expression, and she wrinkled her nose at him. He turned back to his breakfast, a tiny grin on his face.

“I suppose he’ll have you covering the mayoral election,” he said, and Lacey nodded, chewing and swallowing.

“There’s gonna be a debate next week.”

“Really?” Gold pulled a face. “So maybe that’s why I’m starting to hear whispers against Regina.”

“Whispers?” Lacey sat up. “What are they saying?”

Gold took a drink of coffee, setting the cup back down and sucking at his teeth a little.

“The rumour,” he said, “is that money has gone missing from the accounts. Not a huge amount, perhaps a few thousand dollars, but enough to trigger an investigation. The whispering I’ve heard is that it’s the Mayor herself getting greedy. Trying to maintain a lifestyle she can’t afford on the back of hard-working townsfolk.”

“That can’t be true,” she said in disbelief. “It’s election year. There’s no way the Mayor would risk her position, right?”

“Regina and I have certainly had our differences,” he agreed, “but I don’t believe for one second that she’s been stealing town funds.”

“Me neither,” said Lacey. “I think it’s Zelena stirring shit.”

Gold gave her a slanted grin, cutting a piece of toast.

“And where’s your proof of that?”

“Don’t have it yet,” she admitted. “But a friend of mine gave me some info on her New York dealings that makes all this sound kind of familiar. Given what you told me last night, I think we can guess that there’s a personal element as far as Zelena’s concerned.”

“So what’s your plan?” he asked.

“I guess we could tell Regina what she’s up to,” said Lacey. “Give her a chance to stop Zelena.”

“It’ll just look like dirty politics if it’s Regina against her rival,” he said, and she nodded in agreement.

“Okay, how about this?” she said. “We tell Zelena what we know. Maybe it’ll make her stop scheming and leave town.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we go to the town,” said Lacey. “Let them all know what she’s up to.”

“Difficult to do that without evidence,” he said, and she shrugged.

“Maybe we’ll get a confession.”

“You think she’s going to reveal her diabolical plan to you in some sort of tell-all interview?” he asked, with a grin, and she sent him a flat look, reaching for her coffee.

“Not in a million years,” she said. “She can’t stand me.”

She took a sip of her coffee, setting down her cup.

“But she might tell you,” she added.

-

Gold drummed his fingers slowly on the counter top, eyes fixed on the shop door. The clock on the wall opposite showed that it was nine-thirty, and he was expecting a visitor. Right on time, the door opened, the bell above jingling as Zelena stepped into the shop, a predatory smile on her face. She strode towards him with purpose, and Gold eyed her with a flat stare as she leaned on the counter, pushing her face towards him as though hoping for a kiss of greeting.

“Mr Gold,” she said, in a breathy voice. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when you said you wanted to discuss my election campaign.”

“Well, before you get too excited,” he said. “I want to talk to you about these rumours against the Mayor.”

“Rumours?” She tried to look puzzled, but it was unconvincing.

“The ridiculous talk of her embezzling town funds.”

Zelena gasped, hand to heart.

“She’s been stealing from the town?” she said, in a hushed voice. “Well. About time someone else took over, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Don’t play games with me,” said Gold, in a bored tone. “You know she didn’t do it.”

“That’ll be for the investigation to determine,” she said smoothly.

“Which you’re hoping will overshadow the campaign and leave you the victor.”

“If the people of this town decide they want me rather than her, who am I to deny them?”

Gold sighed heavily, pushing back from the counter and walking around it. Zelena turned to face him, and he grounded the cane between his feet.

“I know what you’re doing,” he said. “I’m a little unclear as to why.”

“I’m running for Mayor,” she said, showing her teeth in a somewhat manic smile. “As I said, it’s all about wanting to help the town. Family values, that sort of thing.”

“Really?” said Gold. “That’s interesting. Especially as the current Mayor is your half-sister. Perhaps those family values only stretch so far, hmm?”

Zelena’s mouth fell open, eyes wide with shock, and he bit back a smirk.

“Interesting how differently your lives turned out, isn’t it?” he went on. “You raised in England by your adoptive parents, Regina over here with your birth mother. I suppose that must sting, being abandoned. As I understand it, she left you at the kids’ home in Boston with a note saying she had to give herself her best life and she couldn’t do that with a baby.”

Zelena’s eyes widened further, her jaw tightening.

“How the hell do you know that?” she demanded. “Who told you?”

“I have my sources,” he said. “Which I obviously won’t reveal.”

“That slut of a reporter’s been poking her nose in where it doesn’t belong and then selling to the highest bidder, I suppose,” she said bitterly, and he felt his fist clench around the handle of his cane.

“If you mean Miss French,” he said evenly. “Then no. My information predates her arrival in Storybrooke.”

Zelena drew herself up, brushing her hands against her skirts as though ridding herself of something unpleasant.

“Well,” she said. “My tragic history is none of anyone’s business.”

“It’s my business when you try to use it to take over my town.”

“Your town?” she said, letting out a humourless laugh. “Did you become Mayor when I wasn’t looking?”

Gold smiled coldly.

“Regina may have the title of Mayor,” he said. “But I’m the one with the power around here, and I’d prefer to keep it that way. Disruption, disputes – family drama – it hurts the bottom line.”

Zelena took a step closer, licking her lips. It was repellent, but he made himself meet her eyes.

“Well, if you could see your way to supporting my campaign,” she said throatily. “I’m sure we could - work something out. Help each other, so to speak. Perhaps we can discuss it over dinner.”

She reached out to touch his chest, and Gold stepped back smoothly, resisting the urge to swat her hand away.

“I try not to get involved in politics.”

Zelena looked as though she’d bitten a lemon.

“And yet,” she said. “Here you are. Getting in my way.”

“I know where I am with Regina,” he said. “She may be a little hard-headed at times, but she has fairly good judgement, and a genuine concern for her citizens. You have neither.”

“Perhaps I’m just untested.”

“Perhaps you’re unstable.”

She clenched her jaw, her eyes flashing.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re incredibly rude?”

“Usually I get ‘heartless’,” said Gold. “I like to think I’m merely a good judge of character.”

“And you judge the Mayor’s character to be better than mine?”

“I imagine most of this town does,” he said calmly, and Zelena sniffed.

“In case you haven’t noticed, most of the residents of this town are incredibly stupid,” she said. “Small-minded. Stuck in the past and terrified of change. It didn’t take much effort on my part to find bad feelings towards the Mayor.”

“Which you’ve no doubt been exploiting.”

“Well, that’s politics,” she said airily. “Can I help it if the townsfolk have had a difficult year and I remind them that while they struggle to pay their bills, Regina Mills and that wife of hers are lounging around doing heaven knows what on the taxpayer dime?”

“What is it you think they’re doing?” asked Gold, puzzled. “Mallory is a lawyer. Regina is the Mayor. They both earn a respectable living and I’m fairly sure neither one of them is lounging around.”

“Respectable?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Well, that’s not the concern I’ve heard from some of the townsfolk. There’s talk of some seedy club that’s been approved by the Mayor to open next month. Queens of Darkness, or something?”

“Yes,” said Gold patiently. “It’s a gay bar. So?”

“From what I hear there is deep concern amongst the townsfolk about the image of Storybrooke,” she said. “I’m told it could attract all kinds of perverts to the town. Think of the poor children.”

Gold stared at her, then burst out laughing.

“Are you expecting to challenge Regina on some sort of morality grounds?” he asked. “Good luck with that. No one but a tiny, bigoted minority cares that she’s a lesbian. If you think you can win with their votes alone, you’re wasting your time.”

“I think the family values crowd is more numerous than you might believe,” she said. “Something tells me I’m on the right track. Outrage is so easily manipulated and weaponized, don’t you agree?”

Gold stared at her for a moment.

“So you don’t care about being Mayor at all,” he said. “You just want to take it away from Regina.”

Zelena smirked

“Can you imagine the look on her face?” she asked. “Because I have a little scene in my head that I’m hoping will play out on election day. I’m announced as the winner in a landslide victory, the simpletons that voted for me erupt with cheers, and she runs out of the town hall crying.”

“Clearly you don’t know her very well,” remarked Gold. “Why do this? You don’t want this position, you clearly don’t give a flying fuck about any of the townsfolk, why go to so much trouble to take it from Regina?”

Zelena rounded on him, nostrils flaring.

“Because she deserves it!” she hissed. “Because she had everything that was supposed to be mine! Because she was given the world on a silver platter and even that’s not enough for her!”

Gold shook his head.

“You’re saying that like any of this is Regina’s fault,” he said. “She can’t help it if your mother abandoned you. If you have to take your anger out on someone, surely your mother is the place to start?”

“Well, I can’t very well talk to her about it, she’s dead!”

“Then let it go,” said Gold patiently. “Stop blaming your sister for the two of you having a terrible parent.”

“This life should have been mine!” said Zelena, eyes flashing. “She doesn’t deserve any of this!”

“My thoughts exactly,” he said dryly. “You won’t beat her, you know. The town has supported Regina for years because she does a good job. They won’t simply choose you because you bat your eyelashes at them.”

“Well, maybe they’d prefer a Mayor who isn’t corrupt,” she said. “I think you’ll be surprised at what the townsfolk might want, when the truth is presented to them.”

Perhaps so, he thought. Aloud he said: “You know as well as I do that there’s no truth to the corruption rumours.”

Zelena smiled brightly.

“Do I?”

“Yes,” he said evenly. “So unless you’ve planted a bunch of phoney evidence, this vendetta of yours is doomed.”

Zelena had pursed her lips at his words, and he wanted to shake her.

“You’re telling me you have planted evidence?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Gold sighed heavily.

“I don’t even know why I’m trying to help you,” he said, almost to himself. “Why don’t you just leave town? Go and live your life and stop worrying about what you think you’re entitled to.”

“I will destroy her happiness!” spat Zelena. “If it’s the last thing I do!”

She whirled away, red curls tossing, and stomped towards the door.

“If you try to bring her down,” he called, making her pause. “I’ll stop you.”

Zelena swivelled slowly on her toes to face him, a smirk twisting her lips.

“Oh, really?”

“Really,” he said. “I’ve taken time out of my busy day to try to make you see sense, but I can just as easily talk to the entire town.”

She laughed at that, eyes gleaming with mirth.

“The reclusive Mr Gold, whom the entire town distrusts, is going to convince them that their beloved charity queen is really a fraudster with an axe to grind?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

She looked him up and down briefly, pursing her lips, and took a step forward.

“Go ahead and try, then,” she said. “You’ve no proof.”

Gold held her gaze for a moment, then nodded.

“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t.”

Zelena nodded in satisfaction.

“In that case, I think we’re done, don’t you?” she said. “Unless you want to take me up on that offer of dinner, of course.”

“I think not,” he said coldly, and she sniffed.

“Your loss,” she said, and flounced off, the bell above the door jingling on her way out.

Gold stared after her, shaking his head, and heard the click of heels on the floor behind him.

“Well.” Lacey’s voice made him turn. “That was interesting.”

She was leaning in the doorway, the curtain to the back room draping the curve of her hip, and he smiled.

“Did you get it?” he asked, and she held up her camera.

“Every word.”