#and sometimes it leads to him saying things 'out of nowhere' to shake off some heavy expectations that don't represent him

[joons]

Such a great point, that we are all dynamic and change constantly. And honestly? A lot of people around him were dedicated to the idea of Elvis remaining the same and staying as their immature chum that could make everything fun. So many instances of him saying, "I don't want any more parties. I want to talk about serious things. I want to prepare to start a family," and everyone was all mad about this and dragging their feet and getting jealous about his time. I do think he sort of is someone his buddies use to explain themselves at times, because he reaffirmed their views once and they treated it like gospel instead of an off-hand comment because he was talking to them on their level. If he stayed the same, they wouldn't feel like they had to mature either.

okay no wait, I'm so curious your thoughts on the elvis mythology! I'm trying to think of an example haha. anyway, thank you for that food for thought. your takes on elvis are so interesting and kind of a different perspective than I normally see

Thank you! That means a lot because I do love going into his psychology and thinking about how he thought about things. And I love being able to engage with Elvis stuff from all different angles!

I can think of a few - like there will be people who were close to him who make such absolute statements about him: he refused to wear blue jeans, he hated eating fish, he loved eating peanut butter/banana/bacon sandwiches, he was afraid of germs, he wouldn't sleep with women who were mothers. But not all of those are true for him 100% of the time, or they seem to be big outliers where no one else has reported anything like that. And as you read more, you can see moments where he behaves differently than these big eccentricities that people pin on him, and you have to think about why that might be. You pick up little clues that you can put together to figure out what he meant. Did he have an almost pathological dislike of blue jeans because they reminded him of his childhood poverty, or did he just tell one of his band members that because he had made a brusque joke about the guy wearing blue jeans in front of a bunch of people and wanted to find a way to apologize without apologizing? Was he covering up behavior he was ashamed of, or was he revealing the real shame that drove him to look his best and make sure his entourage looked their best too? Did he actually have an aversion to women after they had given birth (unlikely, since he had relationships with several mothers), or did he want to give Priscilla a reason for avoiding her that she couldn't work around, knowing that she always went overboard trying to change herself to get his attention and getting rid of things she thought were coming between them (his spiritual books/Larry Geller/etc.)? Was this just one of a long line of excuses he made for not truly being in love with her and not wanting to try anymore? Did he actually eat the same sandwich every day, or did he just make a big deal about it one time because it was Lisa's birthday and he wanted to fly her somewhere special? And the other stuff he did eat every day, did he do it because it was one of the few things in his life he had control over, and could extract comfort from, or did he do it because, as he told Larry, he wanted to make himself sick of it so that it would no longer be a temptation? And how much of these conversations are either hearsay or someone putting words in his mouth to absolve themselves of something that bothered them?

The long and short of it is that people have sometimes reported things he said or did without any surrounding context, or it gets stripped away when it's reported elsewhere, and we are left with these moments that don't make sense or tell us anything about him unless we see how he dealt with them throughout his life, around different people, and see him as a whole person and not the Elvis Image that he tended to embrace when it suited him and resent when it hurt him. A really great moment that I think shows how Elvis tended to approach things is reported by Steve Binder, where he said Parker was telling Elvis absolutely not to do something, and Steve felt like Elvis just kind of shut down and mumbled "yes" until Parker left, and then Elvis' eyes flashed and he turned to Steve and said, "Fuck him," and did what he wanted to do. He was a people pleaser! A huge one! He valued loyalty above honesty. He was willing to lie to people he cared about if he felt that it would avoid a confrontation, and sometimes that tipped into a selfish "I want to do things my way," and sometimes that tipped into a selfless "I want them to have everything I can give them." And he waffled between those extremes because of his own low self-esteem and loneliness. I'm! Screaming! About this! At all times! He is an unreliable narrator, he's such a bubble of emotions that pops with the slightly scratch, he's so complex that you are not sure if he wants the bubble to be an opaque shield or a transparent boundary that you can slip through. He was testing people all the time to know if he could trust them with his heart without expecting him to be the Elvis Image, telling them things that were an invitation and a challenge and an insult and a declaration of love all at once, and so much of the problem we deal with now is that people are still completely uninterested in these depths. I???? Love him??? And the things he can help us learn about ourselves??? Just by trying to see him as he really was????

I don't know, I just get very overwhelmed!!!!

[s-coquette]

principles (2/?)

word count: 2.8k

summary: your new college roommate simon riley is a hardcore stoner who thinks he can get his way with you easily, to his suprise you don’t bend to his will.

Classes had started a week ago, things were going smoothly and you were adapting to your new environment pretty quickly.

Simon was… Unusal to say the least. He had his bouts of perverse comments and snarky remarks but he mainly stayed out of your hair. You found him attractive, who wouldn’t. I mean damn, he was a six foot something, blonde hunk that lived with you! You considered yourself lucky sometimes if it weren’t for how lazy he was. Simon was weirdly possessive, not in a worried boyfriend way, but he’d constantly ask why you were smiling at your phone, who is that guys name on your instagram notification, on and on. It was strange but you guessed he was just teasing. One day you had Jordan over to see your room and reconnect with him a little, Simon wouldn’t talk to you for a day and called you a whore for bringing a man into his house. What a hypocrite! Literally the first day you moved in he said it was your apartment too. When you told him that he only shrugged you off with a pissed off glare and something mumbled about how he was the man in the house. Jerk.

All of those signs pointed to him being interested in you, in some way at least. I mean what friend would slap your ass when you’re loading up the washing machine? Or call you at 4am, coming home from some random house party drunk off his ass, telling you how much he appreciates having a woman in the house and how he loves it when you cook for him, and that your sleepy voice is cute.

You thought about that a bit too much, the way he was slurring his words, his dumb hot voice making your toes curl even in your sleep filled state. You smiled widely when he hung up, feeling like the only woman in the world. You thought it was kind of pathetic but getting even a small compliment from him was an achievement. God, you hated yourself for it. You never experienced a true relationship, maybe something that lasted around 3 months in high school but that barely counted, you only kissed a couple times, both extremely inexperienced. You broke it off after realising it lead nowhere.

You had crushes, of course, like any other girl your age. But being this close to a man and living with one was extremely different. He was an asshole, but he was bearable. He sometimes came into your room just to piss you off so you’d throw a pillow at him, it made him laugh. And God was his laugh infectious, it was so deep and genuine. It made you flustered, made you forget why he made you mad in the first place.

He agreed to help you set your desk up today.

You hauled the thin cardboard box that contained the parts to make your desk, you’d chosen a simple white one with a big sliding drawer. It wasn’t too heavy but your legs still buckled when you made it to your apartment, too embarrassed to call for Simon’s help.

Unlocking the front door and closing it behind you, reminding yourself to lock it later, you push the big cardboard box into your bedroom.

It was about 3 pm and Simon should be coming home from the gym right about now. The only downside of that is that he hated to shower right after coming home, saying “he was too tired right now”. But you thought he was just being a lazy prick and agitating you on purpose.

The worst part was seeing his disheveled state, his short blonde hair messed up and wet, arms bulging with veins, that goddamn sleeveless loose gray shirt he wore.

You shake your head at the thought and tidy up your room, he is your roommate but you still didn’t want him coming into this mess, throwing out some cans of energy drinks you chugged to keep yourself awake. Spreading your blanket over your bed neatly and fixing your rumpled pillow. Making sure to adjust the new fluffy carpet you bought yesterday.

He was running a little late so you decided to fix up something to eat, he’d probably appreciate it coming home all worn out. You decided that dino nuggets were the way to go, it was your guilty pleasure and he loved them too, but wouldn’t admit it. Putting some fries in the oven next to them.

By the time they were done you assumed that he’d be home by now. You gnawed at your lower lip, looking at your phone and contemplating texting him. You didn’t want to seem clingy so you just sent a pic of the food laid out on the plate with “if u don’t come home in an hour they r going extinct”.

You smile and wait for a response, not even looking at your food.

seen✓

Oh. He was probably just busy.

You waited, and waited, and waited some more. Glancing at your phone while munching on a cold nugget, the clock read 5pm. You gingerly set it down and put the food in the fridge so you could reheat it later.

You’ve been wanting to deep clean the place for a while but now you were just not in the mood for it. You don’t know why you were pissed off, maybe it was just because you expected something only for it to be turned down. You liked Simon, you thought that you were just starting to develop some sort of bond. The seen only made your frown deepen.

It was already 9pm and you decided to go to bed early, you had classes tomorrow. Throwing on an old hoodie and some longer pyjamas since the weather has gotten a bit worse, you climbed into bed, foregoing your usual skincare routine.

The squeaky frames and old mattress annoyed you to no end, the first thing you’re buying once you get a job and save up enough money is a new bed.

Throwing the blanket over yourself and letting out a sigh, you barely fall asleep.

“You have a girlfriend?”

“Nah, she’s just my roommate,”

“Good, wouldn’t want anyone taking my place,”

You furrowed your brows at the womanly voice that invaded your apartment, raising yourself up on your elbows to better hear what was happening. Simon usually only had his guy friends over, barely even that. You only met this one named Kyle, and he was surprisingly much nicer than him.

“She’s probably asleep,”

You hear his deep voice ring out and some annoying giggles following behind, before the sound of his bedroom door opening was heard.

You groaned, you couldn’t believe it. Why did you think so highly of him? Of course he’d just waited until you got cozy so he could start bringing random girls in. The dejected sigh that left you was almost heartbreaking. Even worse was that you’ve never actually been in his bedroom, only ever gotten a glance at it. So he’d rather let some random woman he picked up, probably from a party, into his room rather than his roommate?

You just turned to face the wall and covered your ears with a pillow, trying to block out the noises.

“Ah! Fuck- Simon~“

“Yeah? You like it when I pound this tight little cunt?”

That made you shiver a little. It also made an ugly jealousy curl in your gut. You couldn’t block out the noise even if you tried.

Loud girly moans, she was either faking them like a pornstar or he was actually that good. You listened to his bed creak and her loud whorish moans for what felt like an eternity, when the sounds ceased, you felt a wave of relief wash over you. Then followed her loud giggling at everything he said, you could hear her whining when he pushed her off for being too clingy, the pout in her voice.

You let a out a breath of relief once they actually fell asleep, the loud thumping of your heart and your furrowed brows making it hard to fall asleep yourself, but you managed.

You woke up to your alarm, letting out a groan and trying to fish your lost phone out of the bed to turn off the blaring noise.

Sitting up blearily, you rub your eyes from sleep, sitting up and putting on your fuzzy pink slippers to go to the bathroom. As you were about to reach for the handle, Simon opened it for the inside, wanting to come out.

You raised a brow at him, annoyed to see him look so smug so early in the morning. Looks like he had just taken a shower, a towel around his lower half with hickeys staining his whole neck and some of his chest in dark purple splotches, almost like watercolors.

“Had fun last night?”

The grin that graced his face was so pretty that you wanted to slap it off.

“No, bet you’d be tighter than her,”

Your drowsy eyes widen, all sleep seeping out of you at the words he just uttered. He just nudges you out of the doorway and continues on with his day.

What the fuck is wrong with him? He keeps giving you mixed signals, now you just think he’s fucking with you. Finishing with your business, you make it to the kitchen to find him slurping down some cereal, now dressed in a simple T-shirt and blue jeans.

“Where’d your girlfriend go?”

You poke at him, opening the cupboards to fish out a bowl and scanning the drawer for a clean spoon.

“What? She’s not my girlfriend.”

He snorts, that dumb smile on his face making you want to rip his throat out.

“Sure sounded like it- Oh my God, Simon you ass, did you eat all of the cereal?”

He only grins at you and shrugs his shoulders.

You groan out and slam the cupboard shut, grabbing last nights food and plopping it into the microwave to reheat it.

“Why’d you make so much of those?”

His deep voice startles you yet again, the stoic tone of his every sentence making you stan on edge sometimes.

“Thought you’d come home to have some.”

You mumble, taking it out of the microwave and sitting across from him, avoiding eye contact while playing with something on your phone.

You see his giant hand reach out and grab a nugget from the plate before you could slap it away.

“Simon!”

You whine, mouth full with food, making him snicker.

“You had your chance to eat these last night but I guess eating some random chicks pussy is better.”

You snap at him, a glare directed his way.

“Yeah? It would’ve been yours if you weren’t such a stuck up little brat.”

You stare at him with wide eyes yet again, mouth open to reprimand him.

“What? You a virgin or somethin’?”

You shut your mouth and swallow your food, not so confident in looking at him now.

“Well… Yeah?”

He grins and crosses his arms over his chest, chewing his food slowly.

“That explains it.”

He abruptly gets up and leaves the kitchen, not before knocking his hands on the top of the doorway like a little kid, leaving you stunned yet again.

You grumble and finish your food, getting ready for your first class. Wearing a simple gray hoodie and some pretty baggy jeans, doing your everyday makeup and hooking some earrings in.

You met a girl the first period, she had long brown pin straight hair, thin figure, nice face shape with bright green eyes, her name was Alexis. She introduced herself to you first, she was extremely extroverted by the looks of it since she knew almost everyone in your class.

You exchanged numbers by the end of it, her smiling attitude and energy making you have a positive outlook. She did kind of seem overbearing with her giggles and smiles, especially when waving to her guy friends, but you guessed she was just like that. It was nice having a friend here, she even seemed pretty popular which meant you could probably meet more people! Awesome.

You dreaded coming home to your shared apartment. You were so done with Simon’s attitude, when Alexis offered you to go to the mall after your classes, you agreed without a second thought.

��So- As I was saying, the Lash Sensational is way better than Skyhigh, I don’t get the hype to be honest.”

You smiled at her so passionately defending her favourite mascara.

“Yeah, I use the Falsies one? I’m not sure what the full name is.. But the next one I’m gonna try is definitely Sensational.”

I acknowledge her happy grin, her gold hoops swinging with every motion of her head, taking a sip of her overly sugary coffee.

“You know- There’s this party on Sunday, I was told to bring anyone and everyone I knew. It’s basically just everyone from campus so you don’t have to worry about some forty year old creeps-“

She giggles, scrunching her nose.

“You live off campus, right?”

You give a tentative nod,

“Yeah, it’s a pain in the ass to be honest,”

She chuckles at your dramatic groan,

“I’m sure you could come,”

“Wait you’re inviting me?”

She furrows her perfectly done eyebrows and purses her glossed lips,

“Duh? You’re like, really chill. I think the girls would appreciate a new face.”

She smiles as the inside of your head rears with panic.

“Oh- I’ve never actually been to a party..”

She just smiles thoughtfully and grabs your hand, her nicely manicured fingers feeling so soft to the touch.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you the whole time, you don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable.”

The sincere look in her eyes made you sigh and agree fearfully, she just gave you a pat on the shoulder and explained some basic details, saying she’d come pick you up with her friends and that she’ll text you more details later.

Over the days you’ve been texting Alexis all the time, talking to her on campus and meeting some of her friends. They had a nice little friend group that consisted of extremely beautiful girls, it kind of made you insecure to even be standing next to them. But they welcomed you with open arms.

You barged into the apartment with full shopping bags on Friday, Simon was in his room probably playing video games or whatever it is he does in his free time. The excitement in your stomach was bubbling as you unpacked a bunch of new clothes, your favourite being the black mini dress covered in small sparkles that almost looked like glitter, the straps were thin and black. You put it on and grinned at your reflection in the small mirror you kept on your desk.

You wanted to send Alexis a pic but it was too uncomfortable to do in your room without a bigger mirror. You had a bright idea and stormed to Simon’s door, knocking loudly and asking if you could come in.

As expected, he showed up at the door, and you pushed past him before he could protest to use the giant mirror he had on his closet door. You pushed the light switch as you were coming in and he let out a dramatic hiss at the light.

“What’re you getting so dressed up for?”

He grunts out, falling back into his gaming chair and spinning from left to right while checking you out.

“My friend invited me to a party on Sunday,”

You grin and take out your phone while twirling around and checking yourself out in the mirror, trying to find an alright angle to snap the pic and hide the mess that his Simon’s room.

“A party? Huh.”

He snorts, rubbing his face before ruffling his blonde hair.

“Yeah? It’s my first one too!”

You giggle and snap a pic, cropping out the socks and old cans that filled his messy room. You were too busy fiddling with the pic to notice that he was standing behind you, his brooding presence too hard not to notice, his breath on your ear paired with the extreme height difference made you shiver.

“You know, you should really learn to dress yourself before deciding you’re a big girl that should go to a party.”

You yelp when he girps your half exposed ass cheek and push at his chest, his cocky laugh filling the room. You push down the back of the dress to cover yourself with a furious blush on your face.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything, you jerk!”

His grin only widens.

“Why would I? I was enjoying the view. Cute pink panties too.”

You flush and storm out of his room to hear his loud cackle following behind.

Guys i have no idea what im talking about don’t kill me btw if you want to be added into the taglist just reply to this post :) or any part of the fic

taglist:

@jupiternighties

[tommarvoloriddlesdiary]

It became an odd habit.

“Will you accompany me, Harry?”

Harry was well past the point of complaining. Whenever Riddle appeared out of nowhere and knocked on his door, there was little he could say or do to get him to leave.

“Oh, do I have a choice this time?”

He didn’t laugh, per se, but the slight tilt of Riddle’s head and the suspicious gleam in his eyes were as loud as one. He held out his hand, palm up, in answer.

Harry refused the offer with a shake of his head and sighed, “Lead the way, I guess.”

They never apparated to the same place twice. Their surroundings were always unfamiliar and remote and never inspired much confidence in the possibility of Harry returning home safely. But he always did. Riddle made sure of that.

Sometimes Harry wondered if this was his weird way of letting off steam, as though their time together somehow relaxed and revitalised him. It was an insane thought, but the fact remained that Riddle would show up tense and barely controlled and one careless word away from a fight, and he would leave loose-limbed and satisfied. Usually at the expense of Harry. 

This time was no different. Riddle’s fist was white-knuckle tight, and the location was a drab and dreary abandoned manor of some kind. Walls of crumbling stone and floorboards rotted nearly through, making each step taken a delicate dance. The dust in the air was enough to make Harry cough once or twice; the building had clearly been neglected for a long while.

“What is it today,” Harry asked. “Another potion? More rune work? If you try to teach me a dead language again, I will kick you in the shin and finally make good on my threats of moving to a different country.”

Riddle glanced back over his shoulder and raised a single brow. “Do you truly think distance will stop me?” He asked.

No. Harry didn’t even think being universes apart would stop Riddle.

Still, he scoffed and said, “Creep.”

Riddle simply smiled. “I will not subject myself to that again. You are surprisingly ungrateful for having the honour to learn from a being as powerful as I.”

Harry wanted to roll his eyes, “Yeah. So sorry for not appreciating everything you do for me. Oh, wait—I never asked.��

Riddle hummed, not agreeingly. Never agreeingly. “We will be attempting a discipline you’ve shown great promise in but one we’ve never indulged upon.” 

For the life of him, Harry couldn’t think of a single thing in which he showed great promise. He also couldn’t think of a time when Riddle didn’t indulge whenever he damn well pleased. “As vague as ever today,” Harry prodded. “Don’t hold back; share with the class.”

Riddle stopped so suddenly that Harry almost ran straight into him. With a careless wave of his hand, the double doors to their left opened.

And inside was a pristine duelling arena. 

Harry’s mouth parted, but he couldn’t find the words. This was damn impressive. 

The stone walls were just as decrepit here as they were throughout the manor, but their ruin spoke of wide-cast spellfire and magic dark enough to leave its mark. Of a frazzled mind with enough wherewithal to make it to the duelling room but not enough to cast a protective barrier. It had ample light from shattered windows, but not a single shard of glass could be found across the decorative tiled floor, its pattern still polished to a dull shine.

They walked in - or, rather, Riddle walked in, and Harry followed behind him, content in his rapture. He wouldn’t truly ever get used to wizarding homes and their larger-than-life rooms. Harry would have been none the wiser passing by those double doors; they didn’t look nearly grand enough to hide such a gorgeous arena. But that was magic, he supposed.

It was clear they’d stopped. Harry wasn’t sure how long it had been with as taken as he was by the stage next, admiring its long dark floorboards that came together in a sort of v pattern that repeated. Harry was so hung up on trying to remember the name of it (Houndstooth? Plaid? No, it was something with a C-) that he hadn’t realised just how close Riddle had gotten.

He felt a chill travel up his throat before he processed the movement. Riddle’s hand was just beneath his chin, ice-cold fingers a hair’s breadth away from Harry’s skin. With a muted gasp, he froze and locked eyes with him, which wasn’t very hard to do. Riddle’s were already fixated on him. 

Their silence was thick enough to suffocate. 

Riddle curled his fingers into his palm slowly and brought his hand to hover just before the round of Harry’s face. He could sense that creeping cold reaching out again with the phantom feeling of Riddle’s knuckles pulling a slow line down his cheek, stopping at the corner of his lips. Riddle moved back then and gestured at them, “Close your mouth, or you’ll catch flies, Harry.”

His teeth made an audible click, the sound making Harry wince when it echoed in the hollow space. To save himself from further embarrassment, he grimaced and blessed Riddle with one of his rarely used meaner smiles, “Come that close to me again, and I’ll bite that finger off.”

Riddle pulled back even slower and tilted his head to the side. He raked his gaze over Harry’s face, down his body, and on his pass back up, he shrugged and said, “Now, now. That’s no way to handle your disputes, is it?”

Like a static shock, Harry finally realised what was happening. 

All that anger brewing like a potion in his gut dissipated. His shoulders fell - he wasn’t sure when they’d hiked so far up in the first place - and he huffed out a laugh. “I know what you’re doing,” Harry said.

Riddle looked at him with all the innocence of a Nundu. “Oh? Am I doing something, Harry?” He asked.

Harry breathed through the kindling trying to catch a new spark. “You know what you’re doing,” he started backing away. Riddle’s eyes followed him keenly as his steps took him up the middle of the duelling stage and back down to the other side. He wasn’t running away, just trying to get some distance. “You always know what you’re doing. And I am not falling for it—you won’t manipulate me into this.”

“Surely I’ve no understanding of what you’re implying.” Riddle’s polished shoes tap-tap-tapped their way right after Harry, but he stopped on the stage. He looked down on him from above. “But if I did,” Riddle continued, “I’d tell you you’re only prolonging the inevitable.”

Harry shook his head, this man… “You can’t be serious?”

Riddle folded his hands behind his back. His smile was sharp. “When have I ever been anything but?” He asked, and Harry scoffed. 

He wavered for a moment, maybe two, and finally climbed back up the steps to the duelling stage. Riddle, the asshole, looked far too pleased. He turned to face Harry, and they were so close that he only had to look down ever so slightly.

They hadn’t been this close in a long, long time. It was just Harry’s luck that it was happening twice in one day. Fourth Year came to mind as the last time Harry was forced into this proximity. Forced because, unlike now, he hadn’t ever chosen to be in Riddle’s space. Or company. Or attention. 

They stood in silence. Riddle’s grin grew teeth with each passing second. Harry knew what he wanted, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to instigate it—invite it any more than he already was. 

Then, Harry heard an echo of words, a lost encounter in the back of his memories. It pulled a smile on his lips, smaller than Riddle’s but no less there. “A wizard’s duel, then?” Harry teased. “Wands only — no contact?”

At the sight of Harry’s smile and the sound of his teasing, Riddle’s face fell flat. His eyes narrowed. “Your focus should be here, Harry.” He paused and said, “We wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of some minor distraction. Would we?”

Harry smiled a little wider, “Jealous? How very like you.”

Riddle sneered, “Do not speak of me as though I am predictable.”

Now Harry gave in to the temptation to roll his eyes. They, unfortunately, knew each other very well. Riddle was the most predictable person Harry had ever met, and he knew it—if only because Harry was the most predictable person he had ever met. 

“Fine,” Harry conceded. “Ten paces, right?” He turned to begin his count, but Riddle stopped him by the scruff of his shirt. 

Non too gently, he yanked Harry back. Cold breath puffed against his ear in semblance of a laugh. “And we bow, Harry,” Riddle murmured, causing a wave of shivers down Harry’s spine. 

Harry glared over his shoulder and spat, “Make me.”

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook: Lacrymaria olor 3

In which Jungkook shows you more of his world, while you grow all the more closer to him.

Tags/Warnings: Alien AU, Alien!Jungkook, Human!Reader, Angst, Blood and Violence, Strangers to I don't know?

Additional Chapter Warnings: Fluff, minor injury and mention of blood

Length: Short

<- Previous | Next ->

♥━━━━━━━━━━━♡━━━━━━━━━━━━♥

Incense sticks are burned in golden holders all around the palace, it seems.

When you woke up a few hours ago, Jungkook was nowhere to be seen, so you took it upon yourself to find him. However, curiosity certainly has gotten the best of you by now as you don't even notice you've gotten horribly lost. You don't really mind. Everyone you soot seems occupied and well aware of who you are to the king.

It feels like something is happening today. A festival of some sorts, maids all eager to decorate and chatter a lot more to their fellow workers.

"There you are." Jungkooks voice rings out, the maids you've been looking at bowing immediately and keeping their heads down in trained behavior while the king is present. He's dressed in different clothing today, looking festive in a way you're not sure how to describe, satin garments hiding his physique underneath. "I leave you out of my sight, and you're gone like startled prey." He chuckles, running a hand through your hair.

"What's going on around here?" You wonder, walking next to him as his hand stays on the small of your back, gently leading. "Is something special happening?"

"We're celebrating the planet's turning point." He explains. "The day a new cycle starts, we offer food and dance to the planet, so she grants us another cycle on her lands."

"Oh, so like new year's?" You mumble to yourself, making Jungkook chuckle amused. "No, more like the planet's birthday.." you seem to think. He laughs.

"In a way, that's true." He nods. "We don't own the ground we walk on truly, after all. It's hers, and we're simply living on it. I believe it is why the Temian kind is still thriving, while humans have done nothing but take from the earth." He mercilessly says, no hesitation at all.

"Yeah, we really messed up our planet.." you say a bit sadly, making him shake his head.

"Earth is no longer your home. You belong here now, right at my side." He grins, eyes closing happily for a second before he leads you to a lavishly decorated spot near the throne room. "Come, I'll show you how to make an offering. It's not hard, you'll learn it quickly I'm sure." He nods, sitting down onto the floor with you.

You copy what he's doing next to you; taking one of the wooden sticks that's covered in floral smelling paste before lighting it in the tiny flame provided. He sticks it in what looks like flour maybe, before he brakes off a piece of dark looking bread, placing it in the large bowl in the middle underneath a statue of a beast that looks like something between a dragon and a bear. Then, he takes a silver knife, metal decorated in swirls and symbols, and cuts the end of one of his fingers, the drop of almost black looking blood dripping into the bowl.

This part intimidates you.

"Do you want me to help?" He asks, eyes unreadable as he looks over at you. Without any resistance, you place your hand into his, where he effortlessly does the same to your finger as he did to himself - your own, bright red blood slowly falling into the bowl. He seems mesmerized at the sight, eyes never leaving the wound before he brings it to his lips, licking the excess off before he lets it go from between his lips, an almost sensual smile on then as he watches you.

"Even your blood is sweet, little thing." He tells you, chuckles before he stands up with you. "Lets go sneak into the kitchens. Maybe they have something to eat already for us to steal?" He impishly suggests, before pulling you along with him.

Jungkook is an odd guy sometimes.

He switches from the almost childish young man to the ruthless king in a matter of seconds in front of your eyes, never seems to lose control of himself at any cost, while also appearing untamed in the way he acts. Like a tiger in captivity he maybe appear to be calm and docile, but he's still ready to strike and kill at any chance given to him.

It shows when later that night, when he's offered a sword made by the local weapons union of his kingdom, the first thing he does is inspect its delicate decorated metal before he raises it at the man that gifted it to him, very tip barely touching his throat. It makes you flinch, but nobody else. It seems to amuse and entertain everyone present, if anything.

It reminds you that this is no human culture, no matter how often you compare it.

And slowly, you're coming to terms with it. You yourself will never fully understand any of it, but you have become a lot calmer by now. Jungkook doesn't like violence, no Temian does. But it's part of their culture, their way of showing pride and strength.

Behind closed doors, he easily grows soft, however.

Like now, with his big round red eyes staring at you after you'd asked him if you could sleep next to him tonight. He nods eagerly, throws back the covers, and pulls you close to him before he kills the lights. You've got your head on his chest, and oddly, accompanying his slow heartbeat is a deep rumbling, like a large cat purring.

It's odd. Reminds you he's not the same as you. But at the same time, it calms you down a lot. Makes you feel sleepy and safe, as if nothing could ever hurt you.

You've got your protector right at your side after all.

[animatorweirdo]

Rough Weekend with Mom

(Another fic for the being the local therapist for the elves. Hope you enjoy)

Imagine being the local therapist but opening up to them about your recent troubles, traumatizing them in return. 

Warnings: Mentions of blood, violence and murder. This takes a dark turn. Poor Maedhros is gonna wish he didn’t ask. 

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

Maedhros: And then they just get kicked out, and we lost one of our possible allies and get Thingol even more mad at us, killing the chances of ever getting along. Then they also dare to walk back to me, begging me to let them stay after their stunt. 

You: Man… that’s rough. I don’t know much about politics, but even I would consider that as a bad move. 

Maedhros: tell me about it. sometimes I consider murdering them myself. 

Maedhros: Anyway, sorry about ranting. You have listened to me rant and talk about these things far too many times. 

You: It’s fine. Whatever helps you relieve stress. 

Maedhros: Well, I don’t consider it fair that I only get to talk, so tell me – how have you been doing these past few days? 

You: Nah – it's fine. 

Maedhros: No, I insist. I would really like to know how you have been doing. 

You: Uhmm… Well, I must say I had a rough weekend. 

Maedhros: Really? What happened? 

You: Okay…so…uhh… my mother came to visit me for the weekend. All was fine, and we spent some time together. 

Maedhros: That sounds nice. What then?

You: Well…one night, when my mom was visiting my sister and her family, I heard crying coming from my basement. I went to investigate and found a baby beneath a pile of bloodied clothes. 

Maedhros: …what?

You: Yeah, I found baby… then I found my father’s bracelet. The thing about this bracelet is that he never takes it off. It’s like a family heirloom to him, so that’s when I knew something was off and my mother had something to do with it. 

Maedhros: Oh, no. 

You: So, I left the baby at my brother’s house and asked him to keep it a secret from our mother. Then, I went to visit our father. He lived in the next town, so it wasn't too far from where we lived.

You: My father and mother were divorced by the way. They had a pretty bad falling out and had not been in contact ever since. 

You: *Release a heavy sigh*

You: I arrived at my father's house and found it in a terrible mess. All the furniture had been either tossed or broken, and there was blood all over the place.

Maedhros: Was your father okay? 

You: *Shaking your head* No. He was nowhere in sight. 

Maedhros: *Fall silent* 

You: I investigated the house, trying to find leads of him and his assailant, but then a friend came over and told me there was a crazy woman harassing my siblings, claiming to be the baby’s mother and demanding to see our mother brought to justice. 

You: My siblings were scared, so they didn't dare to give the baby back to her. Also, because They weren't certain if the woman was telling the truth.

You: I got back to my town, and things escalated. It turns out, my father had been seeing this woman and had a child with her - the baby I found in my basement. My mother did not like that, even though they had been divorced for many years.

You: So… my mother murdered my father, tried to hide the baby, my half-sibling, in my basement, and turns out she was not visiting my sister, but trying to hide my father’s body somewhere in the forest. And not only that, when she found out that we knew what she had done, she tried to convince us to get rid of our half-sibling. Obviously, we refused then our half-sibling’s mother came back and stabbed our mother in the back several times, killing her on the spot– likely as revenge for killing our father. 

You: And… well… she then killed herself out of despair and sorrow because our father was dead, leaving us… with her infant baby, right in front of us. 

Maedhros: *Staring at you in horror*

You: So... we kinda lost our parents and got left with a baby and… I don’t know. It all happened so fast and… I really don’t know how to feel about the whole thing. 

You: I got to keep the bracelet since me and my father were pretty close and… we decided to name our sibling Anna since she was a girl. So… I guess that’s fine. 

*Dead silence between you and in the tavern*

Maedhros: *Grabs a whole bottle of wine over the counter and hands it to you* Here—  you need this more than me. 

[steddiealltheway]

Part Eight of Alone Together :)))))))) Part One. Part Seven. AO3 Link.

Steve doesn’t want to get out of bed. It’s dumb because it’s not like he and Eddie broke up since they were never dating but... it feels like a break up.  

He didn’t think it would go so poorly. Even with all the denying, Steve thought that maybe Eddie really did like him. Maybe he had just liked not being alone. Maybe Steve was the issue. 

Maybe maybe maybe. That’s all that’s going through his head. 

He still doesn’t understand why Eddie was so offended about his feelings. It’s not like Steve can help it. God, it just doesn’t make sense. 

He needs to talk to Robin. 

Steve begrudgingly gets out of bed and makes his way to the phone. Shit, it’s already well past noon. He dials a number he’s dialed a hundred times before and hears the line ring. 

“Hello?” A female voice answers, but it’s not Robin. 

“Hi Mrs. Buckley is Robin there?” 

“Oh, Steve! Hi! No, she’s not here, but I think she said she was going to Nancy’s house.” Of course. 

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Buckley. I’ll talk to you soon.” 

“Always a pleasure, Steve,” Mrs. Buckley replies and hangs up. Sometimes Steve feels bad about how much Robin’s mother is convinced that he and Robin are secretly dating. But it helps in times like this. 

Steve rushes to get ready and drives to the Wheeler’s house in record time. He parks in front of the house and runs to the front door. He knocks rapidly five times, hoping Robin is close enough to the door to hear his panic signal. Maybe he should try to climb up the siding and get to Nancy’s window... 

The door opens up to reveal Jonathan standing in the doorway. What the hell is he doing here? Steve pushes past him. “Is Robin here?” his voice quiets down by the end of the question, noticing the large group in the living room. 

Robin shoots up from where she’s laying with her head in Nancy’s lap. “Hey, we thought you were with Eddie.” 

Steve’s eyes dart around the room, and he finds that everyone except Eddie is there. “Why would I be with him?” 

“He told us he was busy and couldn’t make it. We just assumed you two had plans,” Nancy answers for Robin. Everyone is staring at him. 

Robin gets up and makes her way to Steve, leading him away from everyone. “You guys continue the movie without me,” Robin says with a glance over her shoulder. She leads Steve upstairs and into Nancy’s bedroom. “What’s going on? You look like shit.” 

“Thanks,” Steve deadpans and sits on the edge of Nancy’s bed. He buries his head in his hands.  

“So... did you talk to Eddie last night?” Robin asks tentatively, sitting beside Steve. 

“Yeah,” Steve swallows hard. 

“What happened?” Robin runs a hand over Steve’s back. 

Steve sighs and pinches his nose. “Things are over. He doesn’t like me.” 

Robin freezes up next to him. “What?” 

“He told me that he heard me loud and clear, but no, he doesn’t feel the same.” Steve shakes his head. “And for some reason he got pissed off at me for mentioning it like really fucking pissed.” 

Robin reaches across Steve and grabs onto his shoulders. She turns him towards her to say, “Steve, I need you to tell me exactly what happened from the top.” 

So, Steve gives her the run down. He had replayed it in his head what felt like a million times, so it’s almost easy to recite it word for word. By the time he’s finished, Robin looks like he’s about to tear her hair out. “What?” 

Robin takes a deep breath and slowly says, “You’re lucky that I love you.” She stands up and starts pacing. “So, in your head, you think you’ve confessed your feelings for Eddie and he doesn’t feel the same, right?” 

“That’s what happened.” Robin stops her pacing to lean over and flick Steve on the forehead. “Ow! What was that for?” 

“Nowhere in that interaction did you tell Eddie how you felt! You almost got there a few times, yes, but never completely. You started out telling Eddie that you wanted to end the pact, and imagine how that made him feel!” 

“I was ending it clearly to make it real!” 

“You didn’t tell him that, dingus!” Robin yells back. “You told him you wanted to end it and that it was his fault. He’s probably thinking that he made you uncomfortable with his feelings. But the whole time you’re doing all this gushy stuff like kissing his hand and kissing him, so now – in his head – you've led him on!” 

“You saw the hand thing in the car?” Steve asks. 

“Everyone did. But that’s not the point. Steve, you’ve just had one of the worst miscommunications I’ve ever heard of in my life.” 

Steve pauses and thinks about what Robin says for a moment but argues, “I thought I was being clear.” 

“Clear as coal,” Robin says running both hands over her face. “You know what you need for Christmas?” Steve shakes her head, not seeing what this has to do with anything. “Better communication skills.” 

Steve snorts. Robin’s tight expression begins to fade into a smile. “Stop it, I’m supposed to be mad at you,” Robin says with a small smile. She groans and collapses back on Nancy’s bed. “If I had my whiteboard, you would get another tally under You Suck right now.” 

“I deserve it really,” Steve sighs. “You really think he likes me?” 

Robin shoves his side. “You need to talk to him about that, but not right now. I’m pretty sure he would punch you before you got a single word out. Just give him a little time, okay?” 

“What am I supposed to do in the mean time?” Steve asks because everything is telling him to go to Eddie’s new trailer and take all the punches he deserves just so he can tell Eddie how he feels. 

Robin tugs Steve up. “Come watch Christmas movies with us, and maybe take some time to plan out exactly what you’re going to say to Eddie next time.” 

“You’re the one that said ‘Go get him, Tiger!’” 

“You did the exact opposite of get him, Steve. I wouldn’t have said it if I had known you’d be so hopeless.” 

The pair continue to bicker on their way downstairs back to the group. Everyone looks up at them. “We heard yelling,” Mike says, nostrils flared and unimpressed. 

“Mind your business, worst Wheeler. Now who is scooting over so I can sit down?” Steve asks. Will whispers soothing words into Mike’s ear which seem to calm him down, but he’s not giving up his spot anytime soon.  

Steve notices Nancy shift over on the couch and raise up her blanket. “Come on you two.” 

Robin immediately runs over to cuddle her girlfriend, and Steve – being obnoxious as he can – sprawls across both of them and even props a foot on Dustin’s shoulder where he’s sitting in front of the couch. 

“What the hell, man?!” Dustin yells shoving his foot away.  

Yeah, Steve feels better already. 

Two movies in, Steve starts making a plan of the exact words he’s going to say to Eddie starting with stating how he feels. Just “Eddie, I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while: I like you.” It’s perfect and the rest... he’ll improv. 

The group starts singing along to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer while some of the boys pretend to play instruments. 

“There’s no guitar in that song, Lucas,” Mike argues. 

“It totally does!” Lucas argues back. 

The group gets in a quick discussion about what instruments are really used in the song when it suddenly hits Steve – the perfect Christmas present for Eddie. He has been complaining for months about his sweetheart being gone and... well, Steve has saved enough of the government’s ‘we’re sorry you got kidnapped by Russians’ apology money to splurge a bit on Eddie’s gift. 

He notices the conversation suddenly dying down.  

“I’m sorry sweetpie, but there’s no way,” Dustin tells Suzie. What did he miss? 

“Come on, I only have two days left here before I go back home for Christmas, and it’s tradition for me to go Christmas caroling the day before Christmas Eve,” Suzie begs.  

“There’s no way everyone will agree to that. Right guys?” Dustin turns and asks the group. Everyone kind of shrugs and looks around uncomfortably waiting for someone to answer.  

Steve gets another idea. “I’m in as long as I get to choose the first house we go to,” Steve says to Suzie but directs his next part at the group. “We’ve fought monsters from another dimension, but you guys draw the line at Christmas caroling? Where’s your holiday spirit?” 

This seems to get a stronger reaction from the group, but still, no one says anything. Until... 

“I’m in!” Robin yells with a giddy laugh. Yeah, that’s his best friend. 

“Let’s go brochachos!” 

“I guess it could be cool,” Mike says with a shrug. 

“What is Christmas caroling?” El asks. 

Everyone glances over at her. Max says, “Okay, we’re definitely doing this.” 

The group agrees with her. Suzie beams and asks Steve, “So, whose house are we going to first?” 

Steve smiles. “Eddie’s.” 

Part Nine.

Tag list for my lovelies:

@eddiesbabe95 @hagbaby420 @grtwdsmwhr @mightbeasleep @saramelaniemoon @bidisastersworld @spectrum-spectre @henderdads @wrenisflying @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @strangerthings1983fan @haluton @silversnaffles @thosemessyvibes @fandemonium-takes-its-toll

[glaivenoct]

🎃 trick or treat 🎃

Ask Box Trick or Treat - Fic Edition

Thank you for sending one in! Sorry I'm answering these so late too, but at least Halloween is still around the corner! (Its not the 31st for me quite yet)

Have a peek at a very old word dump that was always meant to be a part of a NyxNoct World of Ruin/fixit AU! It was directly inspired by the instance in FFXV Comrades when you pass by an NPC in Lestallum, who talks to another about how the search for Prince Noctis has been called off. I couldn't stop picturing this moment between Nyx and Cor the moment I heard it.

(Pls don't mind the way the first few paragraphs are written before the dialogue kicks in. I started this when I was having a writing slump, and sometimes I try writing a little differently just to get words unstuck. I haven't touched this in well over a year and just never bothered to fix it.)

(Pls also note I'd probably rewrite the hell out of this now, but it's not a bad start for just trying to get the words out.)

-

He will be returning to Lestallum from a mission. He will be bruised, sore and weary. He will overhear it in passing by chance - and it will drive him to the edge of hopelessness. 

“They called off the search for Prince Noctis! Without our King - ”

He will freeze in place, feeling suddenly hollow and as if a rug has been pulled from beneath his muddied boots. He will contemplate whether or not he is hearing things. If the phantoms in his nightmares have somehow found a way to haunt him the waking world. He will think that can’t be right. That the civilians don’t have a clue what they’re talking about, and it is nothing more than frivolous gossip to give the survivors of a dark, broken world something to do. 

He’ll know exactly who he needs to find to confirm the truth. Cor.

He’ll find Cor tucked away in a tent,  standing over a map and marking off areas on it. Cor will look up at Nyx, confused at the frantic manner he entered in. Nyx will be huffing both breathless and frustrated, dropping his backpack to the floor and looking at Cor in frustrated bewilderment.

“What the hell do you mean the search is off?”

Cor’s brows rise, eyes slightly widening in shock. Just as quickly, his jaw clenches and he glances off to the side, closing his eyes to sigh quietly. It’s all the confirmation Nyx needs. 

“You heard…” He says slowly, looking back up at Nyx.

“Not from you.” Nyx glares.

“I was going to tell you as soon as you returned.”

“And I’m here to tell you to call the search back on.” He shakes his head. “You can’t do this.”

“It’s been months and we’ve exhausted all traces of potential leads. The crystal is nowhere to be found. It brings me no comfort to do so, but we must move on.”

“He’s our King!” Nyx snaps, knowing Cor knows as well as he does that, for him, it’s more than that. Noctis might be everyone’s King, but he is solely Nyx’s whole heart. “We can’t just give up on him!”

“We’re not!” Cor snaps back, circling around the table to come toe to toe with Nyx. They both glare at each other, angry and frustrated with everything but each other. Angry and frustrated with the current state of the world and the choice it’s causing them to make. “You think I want to do this? You think I want to feel like I’m going to outlive another King after I failed the last one? I don’t! But take another look around you. We’re the last line of defense this world has. The last line of defense the people have. Noctis would want us to focus all our efforts and resources on protecting them. You know that as well as I do.”

Nyx knows. Really, he should know better than anyone, but he’s not ready. Not ready to take that step just yet. Not ready to put Noctis on a backburner and spend his days hoping he returns by some crystal given miracle or prophecy. There has to be another way. There must, but he won’t waste his time trying to convince the Marshal of it any longer. He doesn’t even necessarily fault him for this line of thinking. 

Cor, much like everyone else, is simply doing his best. Nyx knows he should respect that. 

Which is why the only thing he has left to say when he turns to swiftly leave the tent is, “I’m taking a walk.”

“Ulric –”

“I just need some time, alright? Don’t even think about sending Highwind after me.”

((p sure he's supposed to send Highwind after him eventually))

[awlfan]

So Soon?- Daryl

Daryl was finally taking some time off from his experiments to rest his brain… Well, he never truly rested his brain. He instead exercised it in another way. Getting out a notebook and a pen, he used a random number generator of his own design to decide what he could use in math problems and equations. Numbers were stable and unchanging, the ultimate comfort in its lack of change. Finally, he found himself relaxing. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Of course he’d be interrupted! Who dared to show up at his door? His last visitor was yesterday! Unless it was Melody, he would be sure to shoo them away. ...Wait… Why would he think to give Melody an exception?

Questioning himself, the scientist was surprised to see it was indeed Melody standing there. He did tell himself he wouldn’t shoo her away… “Hey, Daryl. Sorry to bug you again so soon. I just didn’t want to forget to lend these to you.” Melody held out a stack of books to him. “I made a list of the order I recommend and some interesting pages.” Daryl took the stack, noting the piece of paper on top. Hm. Her handwriting was quite legible. “I will try to read them when I have free time,” he informed. “No rush!” Melody chirped. “I’ll go ahead and get out of your hair now. I just didn’t want to forget to give those to you.” “You don’t have to leave!” Daryl replied with more urgency than he would have liked. Why did he say that?!?! “Oh?” Melody smiled, pleasantly surprised. “I wouldn’t mind visiting for a little bit,” Daryl stepped aside to let her into his home, gesturing to his little couch for her to sit on before taking a seat at his desk chair. “What did you want to talk about today?” the scientist found himself asking, The farmer’s brows rose as she realized Daryl wasn’t taking lead of the conversation today.

“Oh, well…” Melody scratched her head. “I don’t have any topics off the top of my head… but I have been making progress in training Russet, if that’s of any interest to you?” “You are training… a potato?” Daryl asked incredulously. “Oh, no,” Melody chuckled. “Russet is my puppy. Sorry I forgot to mention him. He was a stray who showed up on the farm the same day I arrived.” “Oh. Well, I do find the idea of training a living creature to be interesting. What are you training him to do? What methods are you utilizing?” “I’m not training him to do anything fantastic, really; just some basics. Sit, stay, lie down, fetch, that sort of thing. Also hold.” “Hold?” Daryl asked. “I want him to stop barking when I say so. Basically, I’m teaching him to pick something up in his mouth and keep it there. If he has something in his mouth, he can’t bark!” “It may be counter intuitive to discourage barking if you want a proper guard dog.” “Oh, I’m not keeping him as a guard dog,” Melody chuckled, “I don’t think I really need one and I doubt he’ll grow to be particularly large in the first place.” “If you don’t need a guard dog, why are you keeping him?” “Because he needed a home and I needed a new companion animal!” she chirped. “He’s such a cute and sweet little puppy! Would you like to meet him sometime? I’m trying to socialize him and Takakura isn’t a fan.” “That is to be expected. He seems to have mild cynophobia. I’m surprised he allowed you to keep the dog at all.” “Cynophobia?” “Fear of dogs.” “Oh no,” Melody frowned, her gaze falling to the floor “I wish I had known that before... Maybe I can help him with his fear somehow. Russet is still a puppy after all. He’s nowhere near threatening at this point.” “That makes sense. Such an endeavor sounds like it would be beneficial for all of you.” “Then I’ll definitely have some work to get to when I get home…” She let out a sigh before shaking her head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring the mood down. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?” Daryl asked. “Hm… Well, if we stick to animals as a subject… do you have a favorite kind of animal?” “I prefer rats,” he answered simply. “Because they’re good for testing and experiments?” “Shockingly, no. It was during my years in high school that I took a class that kept two rats as pets. I found them to be intelligent creatures and they proved kinder to me than the teachers and other students. I was able to find respite in their presence.” “Oh… I’m sorry others were less than kind to you.” The scientist bristled. “I do not need to be pitied,” he informed with a huff. “Sorry,” Melody held up her hands in a placating manner. “So, have you ever considered getting pet rats for yourself?” “I have not considered the notion since my youth. My mother always denied my request to have them. Now that I am an adult, I’ve found I have no time for such things.” “Ah, yeah. Then it’s probably best you don’t have them. Animals need love and attention and a good deal of your time.” “That is why I’ve decided against them.” Melody simply nodded and went quiet a moment. “...You know, while he may not be a rat, you may enjoy playing with Russet. He’s still an animal companion and I am looking to socialize him.” “You mentioned that before… I suppose I could, provided the dog doesn’t bite.” “The most he does is nip when he’s playing sometimes. You’ll be perfectly fine,” she assured. “Then I will visit when I have time.” “I look forward to it! Thanks!” Melody chirped. Daryl nodded and quietly wondered why Melody was so excited and why he’d agreed to this in the first place. He wasn’t overly fond of dogs… so why was he going to socialize one? Perhaps Melody was the reason. “Are you okay, Daryl?” the farmer asked. “”What do you mean?” “You just looked deep in thought there. If you need to get back to your research, I can leave.” While today was his day off, so to speak, he had some things he needed to think over now. “I would like to return to my research,” the scientist bluffed. “I will see you on the farm when I am ready.” “Okay. No problem. Thanks for talking to me today. I look forward to your visit. See you then!” With that, Melody returned to her farm and Daryl to his thoughts.

[writingmaidenwarrior]

Flash Fiction Friday: Can we Kiss?

I used this week's @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt for some backstory stuff for "Moon Daughter" and a silly little piece of how Connor and Danika became a couple, more or less. Both are in their early 20's in this piece, and it takes place about 6 years before the real story

Two months went by since Connor felt the mate connection come to live after Danika shifted for the first time. Two months he spent mostly afar from her because he wanted to give her time wrapping her head around the ins and outs of being a werewolf, but also to think about how to tackle the whole situation. “Still thinking about her?”, Neil teased over the campfire. A small embarrassed smile was the answer. Next to him, Ezra sighed. “I like to see you guys sorting this out before I leave for university, you know?” “I can’t help it. I don’t want to rush things or overwhelm her.” Thoughtful, Connor poked the fire with a stick. “Did you ask her?”, Ezra asked. “I needed to learn to control Silas around her first.”  Neil and Ezra shared an amused smile, but Connor didn’t care. Both haven’t shifted yet and don’t know how pushy the wolf inside you can be sometimes. “By now you should be able to and should get things in motion, or Danika may think you aren’t even interested in her. You know she is one strong-minded woman.” He clearly didn’t need Neil’s reminder, but on the other side, he was right. Danika was a strong-minded woman, and it wouldn’t surprise Connor if she was already close to strangle him, since she should have noticed by now the mate connection as well. Still lost in his thoughts, Connor looked over his shoulder to the settlement not far away. They made their little camp in this little nowhere land between houses and forest since no one was allowed into the forest after the last attack of the jackals. “I might be the nerd of us, but even I know you should walk up to her place and just ask her for a date, you big teddy.” Ezra’s chuckle brought Connor back. “Yeah, I guess you are right. I am afraid she might kill me if I wait any longer, even if I still have no idea how to tackle this.” “What’s your damn issue anyway?” Neil leaned back with his hands behind his head and an amused smile that appeared mischievous in the flickering fire.

“I don’t want to give her the feeling she has to accept me as mate just because of the connection. We all know it doesn’t necessarily mean a couple works out.” “Mostly because folks tend to think the connection does the hard work for them and don’t put any afford in their relationship”, Ezra mumbled more to himself than to the others. “You think?” “I mean… I guess so. It is kinda like with average humans and soulmates. Too many of them think the bond will justify everything and try to rationalize the shitty things away instead of putting their heels in the ground and saying, “This can’t go on like this, we have to change something”. Probably, it is easy to blame a mysterious force instead of yourself.” “Holy shit, where does this come from?” Neil burst out surprised as much as Connor, both staring at Ezra like he grew a second head. He shrugged with an aloof smile. “Guess I am the smartest of us nonetheless, right?” In response, Neil threw grass at him that Ezra failed to dodge. “I let you sort this out in peace”, Connor laughed and got up. From the corner of his eyes, he saw how Ezra tried to dodge another round of grass and fell off his camping chair, only for Neil to use the moment to jump on him to tickle him. Sometimes Neil really was like a little kid, but they all needed it once in a while, he the most. Connor’s steps lead him up to the houses and, without him realizing at first, down the road to Danika’s home. Shaking the head about himself, he walked up to her house. Unsure what to say, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you going to stand there all night?” Danika called from her room above with a smile on her face. “I am sorry. I am trying to find the right words.” “For asking me out?”, she inquired. “Yeah…” She vanished from the window, and for a moment Connor feared it ruined everything. He was about to turn around and go back to the others when the door opened and she stepped out. “I only have one question.” “For what?”, he spun back to the door. “If we go out, can we kiss?” A silly smile slowly crept on Connor’s face. With a leap, he was back in front of the door, only a step away from her. “I hope so.” “Good, because I was about to get my baseball bat and knock you out.” “She really was!”, her sister Candice called from behind. “That bad, huh?” “That bad”, Danika confirmed, “And I expect you to pay up for making me wait.” “Whatever the lady wishes.” Candice appeared behind Danika and rested her chin on Danika’s shoulder with a big grin that spoke of more things than a seventeen years old should know or think about. “At least you are a smart man who knows what is good for you.” “I’ll do what I can.”

[chatonyant]

I binged a ton of orca documentaries and ended up shaking this lady out of nowhere

(ideas/ramblings under cut)

I was looking up Orcus after a documentary mentioned that orca are named after him. Funny thing is that the scientific name is "Orcinus orca" and orcinus means "of the kingdom of the dead" according to wiki, which means both parts of the scientific name is related to Orcus.

Orcus himself is a Roman/Etruscan god of the underworld and broken oaths, and wiki says that originally he came from Etruscan religion and the Romans sometimes mixed him up with the gods of the underworld (Hades, Pluto, the broken oaths part came from the Greek daemon Horkos who is (sometimes?) the son of Eris).

Originally when I was thinking of this new oc I was considering doing a redesign of an old oc I had named Erebus, who was this ghost oc? I had some lore for him but I... can't remember too much of it except he suffered a lot? But as I was thinking further about designs it ended up very much different lMAO

I'm going to try and kind of add some details of Erebus into Orcus to kinda connect them some more.

Orca are matrilineal and I was considering this oc to be some sort of god or at least a leading, powerful figure of sorts so considering Erebus was a boy... with the power of "i fucking said so" Orcus is a trans lady :)

I was considering ways to add orca elements into her design and I was also thinking she hasn't medically transitioned. Orcas aren't too sexually dimorphic other than size and the shape of their dorsal fin, so I made Orcus's hair like a curved dorsal fin like female orcas :D

Orca are big and a bit chonky so i made her a big and a bit chonky too! it was so fun to draw, i used a pic of a wrestler as a reference on how to draw a big and muscular body in a way that isn't stereotypically ripped and chiseled.

Clothing wise I,,, couldn't get any spark of inspiration so I ended up going pretty simple with the clothes and predictably giving her a split side skirt dsffguohsdgug influence from drawing hanbok

Lotsa jewelry! because she deserves it

The lack of pupil does come from Erebus (and I'm gonna give her scars, also from erebus) (actually I'm considering reworking Erebus in a way that Erebus grows up and becomes Orcus haha)

Story wise, I'm considering that Orcus isn't a part of a "pod" for one reason or another, so despite the fact that she's sociable and friendly (albeit in an intimidating way), she's also pretty alone and lonely

Taking into consideration of the mythological Orcus, she might be some protector of an underworld who abides by personal rules of honesty. Maybe like Cerberus she's the guard to the entrance of the underworld and makes people play games in order to earn their entrance into the underworld. idk yet its still a work in progress

so she's friendly, loud, excitable, reckless, head-strong, honest, stubborn, sociable, lonely.

I also ended up throwing her into the multiverse story I have, so she's friends with Ki now, who pops in once in while to spar and chat

Ki: hiya Orcus: :D Ki: let's spar Orcus: >>:D

I gave orcus a fan as a weapon but i have no idea what kind of power she wie- wait no

so erebus had control over shadows so I'm thinking Orcus's power appears as dark, inky water. So similar power of shadows that manifests itself in a more watery way– thinking of the whale-people from lout of the count's family if that makes sense to anyone (being able to summon weapons made of water and manipulating the water to be like constructs to use in battle, whether that be a foothold or just straight up armor)(honestly yes orcus is also inspired off of Witiria, she's so cool)

[unseededtoast]

Antedate | Bucky Barnes

Part 7/13 | Part Six, Part Eight

Summary: Sometimes making the right decision feels like the wrong one. That decision can stick with you for years and leave you wondering what would happen if you had chosen something else. But the alternatives likely lead to a much darker path; you'll never know for sure though. One thing is for certain, the decisions I have made will have lasting consequences.

Prequel to Rectify

Series Warnings: Discussion of human trafficking, physical and mental abuse, mention and description of death

a/n: Hi everyone, thank you for checking this out, I appreciate any and all support! This series is also posted on Ao3 and Wattpad if you prefer those formats/platforms! This is a completed series, and it's going to take some time for me to transfer it to Tumblr, so please bear with me!

"You're mine. Remember that."

My mouth hands slightly agape. I knew this was coming but there was a small part of me that hoped my father would turn down Dane's plan. It doesn't make sense to me. Anger floods my body and I feel my face get hot,

"You can't be serious." Is all I can come up with. My eyes are trained on my father. He shakes his head and runs a hand over his face.

"I am deadly serious and you are not going to fight this. This alliance will solidify the power we have in this organization, Adalyn." My mind is running a million miles per minute. I know I don't have any say in this, I have to be subordinate to my father. I shake my head in disbelief, any sort of respect I had for my father has quickly died.

"Whatever you say." I reply to him. Who know what this means for me now. I know that all appearances will have to be made with Dane now. Surely he doesn't actually want me to follow through in a legitimate marriage with him, right? I turn on my heel to walk away, but am stopped by another voice,

"This means you are not only subordinate to me, but Dane as well now. Your sole responsibility is to tend the Soldier and help create contracts when needed. That is all, agent." My father speaks. It stings a little as he calls me agent, but all I can do is nod.

"Understood." I say in a monotonous tone. I leave the office and walk the halls. Hopefully Dane doesn't follow me.

I have no destination in particular, but I know if I go back to my room I can easily be found. I know for a fact if my mom were still alive this would not have happened. It's disgusting my father even considered Dane's proposition. He's easily in his mid twenties, and I'm not even eighteen yet. This isn't right but I know nobody can stop it.

I end up in the Soldier's room and see that I left the bloody knife on the desk. My mind flashes with different ideas and uses for the knife but I know I cannot follow through with any of them. I grab the cool metal handle and take it outside to the lab and clean it off. The rusty red blood wipes off the blade and swirls down the drain.

I return the blade to its place in the briefcase. I can't jeopardize my position here by trying to pull off some stupid attempt. Plus, if I were excommunicated from the organization I have nowhere else to go. However, I feel as though I would not be excommunicated, but executed. I take a seat at my desk and sigh, letting my head rest on my arms. Maybe things won't be as bad as I expect them to be.

I silently stand as agents buzz around all around me. Today another Winter Soldier contract is going to be completed. As I had predicted, after the success of the first one, we received several other contracts in the following days. However, I no longer have a hand in creating them. Meaning I have no control over the terms, the only thing I have control over is the man himself.

The Soldier stands on one side of me, and Dane the other. I've noticed that while Dane makes advances on me when we're together one on one, he doesn't dare try to touch me while the Soldier is near. It's ironic that the world's most elusive and elite assassin is the one person who makes me feel the safest.

In the weeks following the agreement, I've taken the backseat on most of the duties I used to be in charge of. Dane now speaks at all public events regarding the Soldier and he creates the contracts as well. In the eyes of the organization and Hydra's clients, Dane is the one in charge of the Winter Soldier.

"Sir are you good for transportation?" The Hydra agent asks Dane. Dane nods his head and the three of us load up in the armored vehicle.

The ride is brief, though I did zone out for more than half of the trip. I just haven't been able to feel like myself lately. It's like I don't have a personal identity anymore, I'm just here to serve others. I'm a tool for them, and not much more.

We reach the destination and the communications equipment is set up. I check the Soldier over once more to make sure he has all of his necessary equipment. I give him another short pep talk before he's whisked away to the hit point.

I stand with the others around the monitors and feel Dane's arm snake around my waist. I resist the urge to get sick all over the monitors and instead swallow the lump in my throat. His advances on me haven't been easier to handle, it gets harder each time.

I bite down on the inside of my cheek and do my best to focus on the monitor and mentally remove myself from the contact Dane is making with my body. I watch as the Soldier is put into position and the earpiece given to him. These contracts are almost routine at this point.

To make the hits easier to watch, I began picturing Dane as the one getting assassinated. In a way it's almost therapeutic to think of the target being him. The Soldier is creative sometimes in the way he chooses to dispatch the targets. I've noticed he seems to prefer using knives over guns if he can.

Watching the Soldier complete his missions is interesting. At first, it was difficult to watch but now it's become something so routine that the feeling has numbed itself. It still hurts if I think about it too much, so I quit thinking about it. I quit thinking about a lot of things lately.

The hit begins and I watch the Soldier cooly and calmly approach the targets. He throws a blade at one, hitting the man in the neck. The man falls to the ground and the Soldier rips the blade out of his neck as he walks past. The Soldier makes his way to the other target who is trying to open a door to escape, but can't seem to get the handle to move. Probably because we had an agent barricade it before the hit.

The soldier pulls a small gun from a side holster and shoots the man point blank. Another successful mission it seems. As usual, people celebrate. Every time a contract is carried out successfully people act like it's the first time all over against, it's becoming quite bland and boring.

"Another great day." Dane says and pulls me into him. I stare at the corpses on the monitor. At least now I know I'm about to get some time away from Dane. He never accompanies me to the Soldier's room after missions and I'm thankful for that.

Once we arrive back at the base I quickly excuse myself and the Soldier. I can tell Dane is upset I got away so quickly so I'll probably have to deal with that later. But for now, I need to focus on the Soldier and making sure he's taken care of. He is my only priority.

As usual, I take his weapons off and store them, keeping the bloody blades on the desk so they can be cleaned separately. I gather the rubbing alcohol, water, and cotton balls so I can clean his skin up. He closes his eyes as I remove the eye black and for a moment he almost looks relaxed. But I can tell from the tension in his shoulders that he's anything but.

I take my time to be sure that he's in good condition and that he's clean of all blood. I run a wet cotton ball over his hands, wiping away any dried flecks of blood that may have spattered on him.

I wish so badly that I could just take the Soldier and get away from here. He deserves a second shot at life, and I hate being here. But I know that's not a possibility. So instead, I try to make his life as comfortable as I can, to show him he's cared for. I know I'm the only one here who still views him as a human, and not just a killing machine.

I brush his hair like I do after every mission, and I hum the same song. I think doing this shows him he's cared for and in a way it makes me feel as if my mother is still here with me. I know my mom would be proud of me for showing as much mercy as I can to this poor man I'm responsible for.

I feel like the Soldier and I have some unexplainable bond to one another. We're both like caged animals in this place, unable to exercise our free will. We're under the rule of others here, but he has it much worse than I do.

I finish our routine and he gets into the cryogenesis chamber. I kiss his stubble-covered cheek and engage the cryogenesis cycle once more. I take my time in cleaning up the cotton balls and other supplies, I know nothing good waits for me once I'm done here.

I clean the blades in the sink and watch the brown water go down the drain. I dry the metal and look around the empty laboratory. My eyes linger on the spot where Leroy was shot years ago. He didn't deserve to die.

Eventually, I put the blades back in their cases and go to my room. As expected, Dane is already waiting for me in there, picking at some of the flaking paint on the wall. He hears me enter the room and he looks at me with nothing but disappointment on his face. I already know what's coming.

"Adalyn, dear. You and I both know your behavior today was unacceptable. What has gotten into you? You know how you are to act on these contract missions. If you don't keep up appearances people will begin to question us. They'll question how strong our bond is and then question how strong their leadership is. We both know we can't have that. Right?" He asks, a mad look in his eyes. This man is unhinged. I lick my lips and look up at him,

"I know, I'm sorry for my actions today. It won't happen again." I say, not really meaning any of it. Maybe people should question their leadership here. Dane stalks over to me,

"It better not happen again. Do you need reminded of your place?" He asks and I shake my head, not that it is going to deter him from doing what he already intends to.

"Speak." He demands, leaning in close to my face.

"No, sir." I say in a soft tone.

"I don't believe you." He says and I know I haven't done a good job convincing him I'm truly sorry.

I feel his hands start roaming my body, and I feel like I could pass out. His hands feel like fire on my skin. He lets himself touch me in any way and place that he desires. I close my eyes and fight back tears. I wish I could stop this but I know it's best to just let him do what he wants. He tends to get violent if I protest against him. The last time I tried to fight him off he violated me in the most abhorrent way possible. I'll do anything to keep that from happening again.

I feel his hot breath on my skin as he forces me to kiss him. I squeeze my eyes shut and dig my fingernails into the palm of my hand. It feels like he forces himself onto me for an eternity. He releases me from his grasp and puts his hand underneath my chin to force me to meet his eyes.

I feel my eyes watering but I fight them back. He caresses my cheek with his thumb and I clench my jaw tightly.

"Adalyn, honey. You're mine. Remember that." He says in a sickly sweet tone. He walks out of the room and as soon as he's gone I let the tears fall down my face. In some twisted way, I still think I got off quite easily that time, at least it was only a kiss this time.

I curl up into a ball on my bed and hold my pillow close to me. The tears won't stop falling from my eyes and I fight to keep my breath steady. I feel like I could hyperventilate and throw up. I hate Dane with every fiber of my being. I hate what he does to me.

[theorphaninthetardis]

Chapter Thirty-Four

The car slows to a stop, and Sophie stretches, checking the time. Her eyes widen, "Oh my gosh. It's half past midnight." She drops her head on the car's dash, "No use going home now," she shrugs.

"You're welcome to spend the night here."

She looks over at the immortal, and smiles, "Okay," she says, sounding sleepy.

Jack points his finger at her, "Hey, no sleeping until you're in my bed." He freezes, "That came out a lot more sexual than I intended."

Sophie opens the car door, and pats the side of Jack's face, "Everything sounds a lot more sexual coming out of your mouth."

He rolls his eyes, and wraps an arm around her shoulder, "Yeah, whatever, kiddo."

***

She wakes up the next morning, and yawns. Jack is nowhere to be found, and she simply shrugs. She wraps the blanket from the immortals bed around her shoulders, and trudges for the ladder.

Her head pops out of the ladder hole, and she looks around like a little meerkat. Jack watches as she squints against the light, and tugs the blanket over her head. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

She waves, and climbs the rest of the way into Jack's office. She trudges over, and wraps her arms around Jack. "I should really be going," she says, looking at the time displayed on the Captain's computer.

"I thought you were staying until the New Year."

"I was just going to get some breakfast," she mumbles, as she frees herself from the blanket.

Jack turns around in his seat, "You could just make something."

Sophie snorts, "Do you have anything in?" she asks, before hastily adding, "Besides cold pizza." Jack shakes his head. "That's what I thought. You live in the sewer and all you eat is pizza."

"Sometimes I don't eat anything at all!" he protests.

Sophie rolls her eyes, "That does not help your case. There's a little diner not far from here where I can go and grab some food." Jack sighs, and pulls a money clip out of his pocket. He removes a couple twenty pound notes, and hands them to her.

"Jack, you don't have too." she protests.

"I know, but I want to," he pushes the money to her once again. "And I figure you can pick me up something as well," he smirks.

"Yeah, alright," she smiles, and heads for the exit.

Sophie glances down at her phone as she steps onto the Plass. Starting down toward the diner, she sees that Jack texted her, asking specifically for flapjacks. She's going to respond something about him sounding all American, but glances back up to find herself in the middle of nowhere. "Well Toto," she mutters to no one in particular, "I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

A normal person would freak out, scream, throw things, maybe call the police. Sophie is not a normal person. She starts off back in the direction she came from, keeping her head on a swivel. She nearly stops dead in her tracks, as a military facility appears in front of her.

She glances around, and sees nothing for miles, except for this facility. She starts up the long gravel drive. The woman spies the sign, which says U.N.I.T in big letters. Sighing, Sophie continues up the drive.

The door comes into view, she approaches. Knocking on the large metal door, a window slides open. A man in a soldier's uniform peers through, "Can I help you, Miss?"

Sophie gives him her best smile, "I sure hope so. I'm looking for the Doctor."

His eyes widen, and then narrow slightly, "We have a lot of doctors here, Miss."

"I know that, but I'm looking for the Doctor. Dr. John Smith, your scientific advisor."

"Can I have your name?"

She rolls her eyes, "Sophia Jaclyn McCoy."

"One moment," he says, and closes the window on the door.

She leans against the wall, waiting as the soldier contacts his superiors. A minute later the door creaks open, and the soldier nods, "Welcome, Miss McCoy. The Doctor is currently out right now, but he told me to escort you to his workshop."

She nods, smiling, "Right, thank you, Corporal..."

"Bates, ma'am."

"Thank you, Corporal Bates. Lead the way then."

They go through winding hallways, each looking exactly the same. They're stark white, soldiers marching through as well. They reach a garage, laboratory type room. The TARDIS pressed into the corner, with Bessie taking up a prominent position near the centre of the room. Various technology, and mechanical bits straggled across the table. There's a wheelie chair in front of the table, and she approaches it. Corporal Bates stands in the doorway, "Can I get you anything, ma'am?"

"Could you tell me the year? I know it seems like a strange request."

"1970, ma'am. The Doctor is always going on about time travel, so you don't need to explain."

She smiles, collapsing into the chair, "Could you maybe grab me a cuppa?"

"Course. The Doctor should be back any minute."

"Thank you, Corporal Bates. And it's been lovely to meet you."

He steps out of the room, and she starts to spin in the chair, waiting for the Time Lord. She pulls out her phone, pulling up Solitaire. She's not sure how long she's playing the game, Bates coming in and dropping off the tea, before promptly returning to his post. What Sophie assumes is a half an hour later, the Time Lord walking into the room, removing his cape, hanging it on the coat rack just inside the room. Sophie, who has her legs flung over the back of the chair, looks at the Doctor from her upside down position. She waves at him, smiling.

The Time Lord stops the chair from spinning by setting a hand on the chair. "It's nice of you to drop in, Miss McCoy." She grins at him, sliding down the chair. "How exactly are you here?" he asks, as she finally flops onto the floor.

Sophie rolls over, easily standing up, shrugging. "Don't know. Was just walking through Cardiff, next thing I know I'm in the middle of nowhere. Just started walking, till I found UNIT."

"Most people would have probably started having a mental breakdown," the Time Lord tells her, as he scans the tech on the table in front of him.

"I'm not most people," she tells him, with a raised eyebrow. "I figure it has something to do with the rift in time and space that runs through the middle of Cardiff, but it's just a thought," she shrugs.

He busies himself, rifling through the tech, "Yes, that is an idea."

Sophie blinks, "Sorry, am I interrupting something important?" she asks, as he grabs a strangely shaped object off the table.

"Unfortunately, yes," he responds.

"I'm sorry my quandary seems to be inconvenient to you."

The Time Lord rolls his eyes, "We'll figure out why you're here as soon as I fix the mess that UNIT has caused."

"Fine," Sophie grumbles. The Doctor breezes back out of the lab, and Sophie resumes her place in the wheelie chair.

[syllvane]

the lovers- kaz brekker x reader

a/n: this was requested by anon!

request something here

Kaz didn’t like to showcase his vulnerabilities.

It’s why he wore gloves- anything that could be interpreted as a possible weakness, he twisted into the image that he had created for himself, incorporated it into the legend that surrounded him.

You really weren’t that different.

Yes, he cared for you, more than he cared for most people, but there was nothing sacred to Kaz Brekker.

To the Barrel, you were just the Archer, just another spider that Dirtyhands had on his payroll, though your specialty was arrows rather than knives.

And you were fine with that- even within the Dregs, only a few knew of your relationship with Kaz.

If any of the others suspected, you would have genuinely been surprised.

Public displays of affection never occurred and even in private, the farthest you had gone was holding hands with him, not that you minded.

You would move at whatever speed was comfortable for him and not anything more.

Cue you and Kaz at some all too extravagant party, guarding the hallway that led to the Merchant’s office, the office which Jesper and Inej were currently in, stealing information from the Merchant’s ledgers.

You were wearing some all too tight dress while Kaz had been outfitted in a suit, his hair slicked back.

Although he looked nice, you still wanted nothing more than to run your hands through his hair and undo all the hard work that Nina had done.

You peeked around the corner before drawing back quickly, pulling Kaz into one of the enclaves of a doorway.

“Guards,” You told him and he glanced at his watch as you heard footsteps at the beginning of the hallway.

“They need more time,” He said, more to himself than anyone else.

“Kaz,” You said under your breath, growing increasingly aware of one of the guards approaching the small enclave.

“I know,” He said, almost annoyed, before taking a deep breath.

“What are you-”

Before you could finish your sentence, Kaz cut you off by pushing you against the wall and kissing you.

You stood there in shock, completely unresponsive before you realized what he was doing and played into it.

You barely even realized when the guard found the two of you, the sound of your heart hammering in your chest and the blood rushing in your ears distracting you from anything else.

The guard grunted and Kaz pulled away from you, looking at the ground.

“You shouldn’t be back here,” The guard said sheepishly and you tried your best to look flustered, though you didn’t have to do much acting.

“I’m- I’m so sorry, sir. Me and my boyfriend, we just wanted to find a… private spot, I’m sure you understand.”

He looked between the two of you, a blush appearing on the guard's face.

“R-right, I understand miss, but you can’t be back here.  I’ll escort the two of you back to the party.”

“Thank you so much, sir. I promise that it won’t happen again,” You said sincerely and the guard nodded, a sheepish smile on his face.

“Have a good night now,” He said after leading the two of you back to the main party.

You and Kaz made your way outside of the party, trying to find some privacy.

“You-”

“I did what I had to do to keep us safe,” He said, though you could tell from his voice that that wasn’t the whole story.

You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to keep your bare arms warm in the cool Ketterdam night.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” Kaz said sullenly, sliding out of his jacket and offering it to you.

You grabbed it from him hesitantly and put it on, reveling in the warmth that it provided.

“That was some quick thinking on your part.”

Kaz didn’t say anything for a couple of moments, flexing his gloved fingers over the top of his cane.

“Yes, well, it wasn’t a difficult choice to make. We did what we had to do in order to keep Inej and Jesper safe.”

You remembered the way his lips crashed into you, the way he had pushed you against the wall.

Your face warmed.

“What wasn’t a difficult choice?” Inej asked, appearing out of nowhere and causing you to jump. Her eyes narrowed as you jumped- usually, you were able to spot Inej before anyone else, but you weren’t exactly paying attention to your surroundings at the moment. Before she could question you, Kaz spoke.

“Do you have a copy of the ledger or not?”

“Of course. We’re not amateurs, you know,” Jesper said, holding out the journal to Kaz, who didn’t say anything else.

He looked at you, almost as if he expected to be looking at thin air before his gaze softened almost imperceptibly.

“You two go on without us. We’ll meet you back at the Slat.”

As if she had never been there at all, Inej simply vanished back into the darkness. Jesper groaned slightly but didn’t object, walking back towards the direction of the Slat.

You and Kaz walked slowly throughout the streets of Ketterdam, as if you were an old married couple strolling through a garden as opposed to whatever the two of you were strolling through an unforgiving city.

“Thought you would’ve disappeared the first chance you got after Inej and Jesper showed up,” He said nonchalantly, his voice even.

“I’m not doing much of anything in this dress, much less jumping from roof to roof,” You said pointedly, though your tone was easygoing.

“What happened earlier-”

“We don’t have to talk about it. If you want, what happened there can stay there,” You said, cutting him off.

“It wasn’t pleasant,” Kaz said shortly. “But it wasn’t horrible either.”

You stopped where you were walking, looking at him.

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Oh, hush,” He said, the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

“Careful, Brekker, you’re getting awfully close to looking like a human being.”

“What can I say? You’re a bad influence.”

You laughed and a small smile tugged at Kaz’s lips.

Maybe he should just drop the whole revenge thing, just try and make you laugh for the rest of your life’s. He thinks that maybe he can be happy with that.

You lead him to a restaurant, where someone was strumming a guitar, playing an unfamiliar, folksy tune.

In the streetlight, your face lit up and you outstretched a hand towards him.

“You owe me a dance from earlier.”

He pulled a face.

“I owe you no such thing.”

“If Jesper was here, he would dance with me,” You said to him and he frowned.

“Yes, well, good thing he isn’t here then. I won’t have to break his legs this way.”

You rolled your eyes.

“What do you have to lose, Kaz? Just this one dance. One dance and then we can go back to being all boring.”

“I was joking before, but you are an actual bad influence,” He grumbled, taking your hand.

The smile that appeared on your face almost made it all worth it.

What the two of you did was hardly dancing- it was more him standing and letting you guide him and letting him twirl you than anything rhythmic, but it made you happy and that was all that really mattered to Kaz.

Whatever he could do to make you smile like that, even if it meant embarrassment in front of drunk restaurant patrons, he supposed it was worth it.

After an appropriate amount of time passed, the two of you continued walking and you held onto his hand a little tighter than before.

“Happy now?” He asked and you smiled.

“It wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t horrible either,” You quoted and he shook his head, trying to get rid of the smile that was on his face.

“The kiss wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t be objected to trying again sometime.”

“Neither was the dancing,” You chided, though you were grinning. He rolled his eyes.

“You’re pushing your luck, Archer.”

You shrugged.

“Would you really have me any other way?” You asked, walking ahead of him.

You didn’t see him shake his head or the small smile that appeared on his face as he watched you.

“No,” He said quietly. “I wouldn’t.”

[spilledkauffie]

NSFW Alphabet • Zemo

List made by @caitlinpotter || whooooo boy

*xFemale!Reader || SFW Alphabet

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Super, super sweet!—he’s lovey dovey the moment you hit your final orgasm, rough kisses turn to gentle, featherlike, kisses across your quivering skin as you work through the final wave of ecstasy. He strokes his fingertips down your tense abdomen, feeling the subtle shake traveling through your body in the final moments of your orgasm.

Afterwards—he hoarsely asks if you’re okay, caressing your cheek, as you lay next to him breathless. There’s a soft smile across his lips, as you close your eyes, swallowing, to gather yourself, before smiling. He presses a kiss to your forehead as you snuggle up against his side, resting your head on his bicep.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Loves your legs and back— you wear anything that significantly reveals either and it’s already on his mind. He loves how the curve of your back fits perfectly against his palm when you arch it, especially when you’re straddling his lap. During foreplay, he always kisses a trail along the inside of your thigh, with his hand either caressing your calf or stroking along the outside of your leg. 

Lips— he loves your lips, sometimes when you’re talking or venting, on a roll about something, you’ll find him just staring at your lips. He is notorious for open mouth kisses, out of nowhere just kissing you, sometimes whilst you’re talking, but mostly when you just don’t expect it. 

As for himself, he’s probably say his hands, so he can feel you and mouth, cause he could kiss you all day long.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Together— you don’t know how but somehow he knows how to get you both there at the same time. Your breath starts to hitch as you squeeze your legs against him. You hear him whisper a few curses and feel him grip your hips a little rougher, keeping you in place, as you both cum.

On other occasions or positions— seeing it drip down the arch of your back is insanely attractive, as he dips to breathlessly kiss between your shoulder blades.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Loves being cuffed— there’s something about the metal, feel and sound. Plus he loves the challenge of feeling you up whilst in handcuffs, a lot of times he’ll bring his hands to the back of your neck, pulling the cuff links tight against the nape of your neck, bringing you and holding you deep into a kiss.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Obviously, yes, he’s had experience— he absolutely knows what he’s doing, in fact he’s the only one who’s been able to get you on a new level of pleasure via him just knowing what he was doing. When you asked him how he knew where to hit, he lifts an eyebrows and simply replies “I have experience.”

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying.)

He’s really game for it all— whatever you’re comfortable with, he’s comfortable with. That means if halfway through you want to switch, he’s good with that.

Anything with you beneath him, chest to chest; he really does love absolutely making out while fucking you, so a lot of face to face works best for that— your knees pressing against his sides, your nails slowly scratching across his back, him giving fresh hickeys to your neck, and hands exploring your body while he slips his tongue in your mouth.

Tabletop— could literally be on a table, counter, or just the edge of the bed. Either way, you’re clinging to the surface’s edge, trying to keep yourself positioned at the very edge for him, (in bed, the bed posts can help), his fingertips are leaving bruises against your hips or his hand is wrapped around the ankle you have resting up against his shoulder, he presses kisses against the inside of your ankle as he fucks you.

 Doggy style—he loves the beautiful curve of your back so what better than fully seeing it. He presses his thumbs against the small of your back, and typically has a hand stroking up and down your spine.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

It’s definitely more serious, but it’s also always fun and extremely satisfying— his charm allows him to swoon you, keeping it a heated and romantic setting, but he can’t help but chuckle in between kisses to your skin when your jaw drops and your take a breath staggering gasp, clinging onto him, feeling things you’ve never felt before.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Literally perfect— he’s surprisingly good at knowing how you want it based on your actions leading up to the moment. He knows if you want it more rough and kinky, or if you just want to feel adored like a princess, made to feel good.

Accent— you love hearing him say anything in that gorgeous accent and he knows it, thus he sweet talks you, getting you closer and closer to your orgasm.

He checks in on you— the occasional “doing okay, Darling?”, “use your words, tell me, princess,” and “I’ve got you, just ride it out,” make it very personal and sweet amidst it.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Not really a thing with him, if he wants it he’s going to wait, he loooves sexual tension/anticipation, it makes the sex 10x better. 

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Temperature play—ice. He loves watching your skin shiver as he trails a path across your body with an ice cube. Also, he’ll kiss you and have a sliver of ice in his mouth, sliding it against your bottom lip with his tongue.

Handcuffs— either way (see D), it’s the challenge for him, and the look of them and you that he loves so much. Also loves the feeling of them against him when you’re clinging on to him.

Has a bit of a kink for you being the only one undressed— this is where you just rolling your hips down on him hard, holding close with two fingers behind his belt buckle comes in. Also, thigh riding, he loves to see you get yourself there, only occasionally helping out, loving how desperate you are for his attention, physically.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

Bedroom— it’s the atmosphere of the room that’s amazing, it’s intimate, silk sheets, candles, old wooden bed frame posts that have bruised your back from being pushed against. He likes to see your skin glow in the candlelight with a slight shimmer from the sweat you’re breaking together

Cars— those classic cars have had a Titanic moment or two. It’s extremely intimate, and the sound of your breaths, moans, and screams sound great in a tightly contained area. 

Shower— warm water cascading down your body, keeping you nice and wet in every way. The shower’s obviously lavish and has plenty of room, plus glass walls.

↳ similarly, bathroom countertop sex— with the room still humid and hot, you’re set atop the cool counter’s surface, back pressing against the mirror as you hang on to the edge or the faucet head for some grounding.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Seeing you undress— watching you slip of out a dress, casually pull a sweatshirt over your head, shimmying out of your jeans, etc. he just loves seeing more and more of your skin slowly become exposed. Which makes changing in the morning a longer process than need be.

Kisses— making out with him enough will get him pretty turned on, French kisses, love bite kisses, soft and sweet, really enough of anything and you’ll find you finally have a little control when you pull back and he leans in, not wanting to break the kiss.

You in his clothes— dress shirts, sweatshirts, his jacket, you name it, he likes to see you wearing his things.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Nothing demeaning— he wants to make you feel worshiped, perfect, and on cloud nine, so it’s a no go to the exact opposite

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Giving— for starters he likes to have the leverage in situations and you at the mercy of his mouth counts. He’s phenomenal at completely and totally getting you all the way there with just his mouth. His hands are always either holding your hips down, or stroking along your legs, outside, inside, caressing your calf etc. 

↳ when you try to close your legs, he easily pushes the inside of your knee back out again, with a chuckle you can feel vibrating against your clit.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Two types: slow, sensual, and deep & hard, dominant, and passionate 

↳ slow, sensual, and deep: it’s extremely romantic and makes you feel adored, he takes time to get every sense awake in your body before giving you what, by that point, you desperately want. And when he does it’s almost instantly met by you softly sighing with a smile, “right there, baby,” as you flutter your eyes closed, lips parting.

↳ hard, dominant, and passionate— he’s fucking you like he hasn’t seen you in years. It’s a little rough, sometimes kinky, very dominant sex. You have some seriously intense, pupils blown with pleasure, screaming orgasms that leave you shaking, not to mention unable to walk straight. Typically includes multiple orgasms for you.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

He’s not opposed to them at all, the amount of time doesn’t determine the quality with him.

For example: you’ve definitely fucked in a club bathroom before (these are nice, fancy clubs)— already making out you pull him into the room and he kicks the door shut, locking it. Setting you on top of the counter roughly, you get at it. Desperately holding onto the edge of the countertop as he fucks you, kissing your neck and holding your hips in place.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Not particularly— if there’s any shake up you want to try or add, you definitely talk about it first, having a comfortable atmosphere during sex is always important to him so you can feel safe and boundaries are set.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Not including teasing / oral, typically two— and those are two very intense rounds, it’s not a quickie. Proper sex with him lasts a good while, so brace yourself if you make it to a third round. 

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

A whole lot— it’s exactly that, unfair. With how much he teases you, you’ll be dripping wet before your clothes are even entirely off.

Playing hard to get— oh yes, he plays that game with you, if you’re trying to subtly come on to him, he’ll act like he has no idea what you’re trying to imply, making you more frustrated and him happier seeing you want it so bad but trying to counter his calmness.

Leaving you to think about it— he’ll start the foreplay, but then in the middle tell you that he’s needed elsewhere, leaving you to think about what he had started all day long, this usually results in you wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing him deeply the instant he walks back through the door

At events— typically well behaved, unless it’s completely boring. He’s had his hand under the table and up your skirt/dress more than once though, quickly pulling away when you were almost there. This is when sex when you’re barely through the front door happens.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He’s personally relatively quiet— usually it’s because his mouth his preoccupied with bruising and musing your skin, but in between there’s throaty breaths and sweet nothing whispered.

Prefers to hear you— seriously, he loves hearing every whine, moan, whimper, scream, breath, gasp, and giggle you make.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants)

Plenty to be satisfied by— above average, but he’s not the guy to talk about it. If you have the pleasure of knowing, then you know full good and well.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It’s pretty damn high— he just really really knows how to hide it until it’s the exact moment. He has a lot of sexual charisma without even trying, yet he typically remains totally calm about it until you’re the first one to take action, asking or physically.

HOWEVER— there are days where you’re headed out the door, and he catches a glimpse of your cute outfit. As you’re saying goodbye he catches you gently by the wrist and starts walking with you towards the bedroom “Baron,” you giggle, tossing your head back and following his lead, “I’m going to be late.” Catching up with him at the door, he wraps his arms around you, pulling you close, “you’re not going to be late,” he caressed your cheek, “you’re going to be altogether absent.”

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

You definitely fall asleep first— he likes watching you fall asleep afterwards, his fingertips still ghosting across your skin, as you make sure to keep yourself close to him. 

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Life Is Strange

Part 4- The Door To Secrets

(Steven Grant x powered (f)reader)

Summary: Your world is coming to a strange new turn when you realize keeping Steven in the dark about you could mean losing him forever. Can you kill the beasts who threaten his very existence and keep him away from the voices in his own head before they ensnare him completely?

Warning: angst, fluff, eyy the wild times continue

Word count: 8685

Masterlist- Life Is Strange masterlist here

You sit on a local park bench alone, hands stuffed inside your jacket pockets, appearing rather broody. The sky is overcast and rain clouds threaten to dampen your already dreary mood as the wind sends your hair into a beautiful mess yet again. You make a face, blowing a piece of hair out of your eyes just as a pigeon lands on your left shoulder from out of nowhere.

You blink, turning your head to face the purple bellied fellow, "Is there a reason for this intrusion?" It shoves its feathery head right into your cheek in a playful manner, "What? Are the little school children bulling you again?"

The pigeon taps your shoulder with its three pronged foot, you raise a brow, "Huh. Well buddy it seems we both need to get our shit together and face our fears. You start first, tell me how it goes." The pigeon chirps in your ear and you jump away, "What the fu...heck." A woman and her two children walk past you, she gives you an odd look as you give her a friendly wave, "Nice day, yeah."

She keeps walking, ignoring you and probably a little weirded out.

You take the pigeon off your shoulder and hold it in front of you with both hands like a burrito, "Yeah? I never say yeah.....anyways, you're making me look like a weirdo. Get out of here you hunky coward."

"I'm not the one making you look like a weirdo." Coos the pigeon.

You give the feathery burrito a gentle shake, "I'm dealing with some things right now give me a damn break! Go ask Tum Tum to poop on one of the kids heads."

"Tum Tum has egglets now."

"What?" You as, surprised.

"You didn't know this? Thought the bird lady would have known already."

"Bird lady?" You retort, "You guys aren't my children."

"Aren't you sworn by Horus to protect all of us?"

You scoff, "Right, like I listen to everything bird Jesus tells me to do." You do, every time he asks.

"Well you should. And I'm going to poop on a child!" Yells the pigeon right before it pecks your hand, causing you to drop it into your lap where it abruptly takes off, "Thank you for the talk!"

You quickly jump to you feet, pointing up at the flying pigeon before belting out, "You're welcome!" You watch as it goes, flapping its small wings as it rises into the sky and out of sight when it flies past a bunch of thick trees with branches heavy with leaves.

"Who were you talking to?" Asks a young boy you can tell has Down Syndrome, he's short and is a little chubby with a raincoat on and boots to match. He looks up at you with quite a palpable fascination, he's never met an adult who talks to birds.

"Just...just myself."

"Not the bird?" He questions, tilting his head up at you curiously.

You let out a breathy laugh, "Might have been the bird too. They can be good company sometimes."

The boy nods like he knows what you mean, "I like to feed them. My mom lets me feed them bread after we get rolls at the bakery. I like the fluffy round ones, they taste the best out of all of the breads." He rambles excitedly.

"Huh, I might have to try them then."

"They're really really good. But I don't like the ones with nuts on them, blah, its gross and feels weird even if my mum says they're good for you. Not for me."

"No?"

He shakes his head, "No."

You smile softly as his mother approaches with a dog on the lead, one that you can tell is a service animal, she gives you a small wave in greeting, "Hi there I'm Thomas' mum, sorry but it seems he's a bit faster then I am when we go to the park. Keeps gettin' away from me." Thomas smiles cheekily as he pets his dog. "Was he botherin' you?"

"Not at all. We were talking about bread and feeding pigeons."

"He loves feeding the pigeons." Thomas nods happily, his mother takes a step to the side, "Well nice meeting you, have a good day."

"You too." You give Thomas a wink, "Feed some pigeons for me." He smiles brightly as you turn to leave. As you're walking down the cement sidewalk in the park can you hear his mother comment on how nice of a young lady you are, then her laughter can be heard along with her telling Thomas they'll have to make a stop at the bakery.

You keep walking onward past more people out for a stroll in the overcast weather as every bird on a branch you pass by watches you go. They can feel the power of your aurora just as all animals with feathers tend to do, from the moment Horus turned you into his champion has this been apart of your life. You can understand birds and they you, and always do they watch out for your passing when you're near.

Soon have you found your way out of the park and en route for Steven's flat, this is the day you're going to tell him everything. No holding back, if you want to protect him, if you want him to trust you again. He needs to know why you've been holding things back from him, he needs to know that you're not lying for the wrong reasons, he needs to know you love him.

Finally you reach his apartment complex and enter through the back door where you don't have to buzz in nor be seen on any security cameras. You walk down the hallways and climb up the stairs until at last do you reach his door, you stand there and pause, you hadn't prepared what you wanted to start with. Nor how to say it, how to explain everything in the least overwhelming way possible.

You take a breath and reach up to knock, though you hesitate a moment, “Just knock, stupid." You mumble to yourself. Your knuckles make contact with the metal door, knock knock knock, three raps and you take a step back to wait for him to answer.

Seconds drawl on far longer then they should, you knock again, three raps to the door before standing back again. Nothing, again. You heart fills with worry, "No, stop it. Calm down he could be sleeping or out for something." You tell yourself, trying to calm your nerves.

Waiting another minute more, you can't take it any longer and pull out a spare key, the small metal object slides into the port hole, you turn it and the lock clicks. You turn the door handle and ever so slowly open the door as gently as you can, you peak inside but by the time the door is full open are you clouded with uncertainty. Steven's not here.

You take another breath and close the door behind you with a click. Your key slips inside your pocket as you enter the flat completely, its been about two and a half days since last you two spoke to one another. He called you on the phone that night after your argument and told you he would call back when he was ready, then almost three days later and nothing, that's never like him.

So now you're here. Your eyes survey the room full of mostly books stacked upon tables, all seems to be in relative order as it always tends to look, messy and clean in its own unique way. You wander on over to his goldfish and bend down to look at him properly, its big dark eyes stare up at you as its mouth moves like it's sucking in through an invisible straw. You sigh, "You know where he went?" The goldfish doesn't say anything.

"Hungry?" No reply. You snatch some fish food off the counter and dump some into the fish tank, the little fish sucks up the pellets as soon as they hit the water. You smile and stand back to watch, "Good fish, too bad I can't talk to you guys. That would help a lot actually. But unfortunately Horus isn't the god of the sea nor aquatic creatures with scales."

You catch the sight of something shiny in the corner of your eye from off to your right, you leave the fish to search for the whatever that's caught your attention. On a desk near a window, under some papers is the edge of a key, if the sun never captured your attention when it did you'd never have seen it. The key is silver and well hidden in the mess of books and papers and other nick nacks alike.

You pull it from the papers its hidden within and the book atop of that, the key looks fresh like it's just recently been crafted, on the side is a number, 43. Your brows furrow as you pocket the key and turn to snoop around Steven's apartment some more, you search through his drawers and then his bookshelf before realizing something.

You've never really looked around his flat, you've been here many times before but that was all for sex or to watch a movie on his laptop, or both. You've never actually taken the time to explore his area with him and see what he has hidden, you pull a book out, its French. He talked about this book at the museum but you never saw it before, you forgot he even had it.

You return the book back to its rightful place and walk over to pass round the fish tank though a piece of wrinkled paper falls to the floor from the wind of your quick movement. You stop and reach down to pick it up, you stand fully, observing the back of the paper that you turn to the front where it reads in someones handwriting...

Thur. 16 - fed fish Fri. 17 - fed fish Sat. 18 - fed fish Wed. 22 - fed fish

Your brows furrow at this, Saturday the eighteenth was the last time you saw him which was three days ago, what was he doing in that time? You bite your bottom lip as your mind wanders around for an answer that comes just as you'd been hoping for though you're not exactly thrilled about it. There's a possibility he might have forgotten, there's also a possibility Steven isn't Steven right now. And that thought you don't like one damn bit.

You bite the inside of your cheek, no that can't be, no way. You take a step backwards and try to steady your breathing, you feel weird all over. Like you've lost something incredibly valuable with no way of finding it ever again. You slap the piece of paper back onto the counter near the fish tank and bolt for the door.

Once in your own flat, relatively much cleaner now, you stand in the middle of your room on the old shaggy carpet with your phone in one hand. You stare down at it with a conflicted expression across your features, you glance at your crocodile plushie, "I just want to make sure he's okay, that's it. Then I'll let him be."

You scroll to his name and press down, you bring the phone to you ear and listen as it rings and rings and rings until his voicemail shows up. "Hello it's Steven Grant, sorry I can't talk to ya right now I'm a bit busy but leave a message and I'll get right back to ya. Cheers." You bring the phone away from your ear, hand falling to your side as you think of what to do.

He always answers, always. Especially when it's you.

You try again, no answer. Then again, no answer. Then a fourth time with the same exact results. You can't help but begin to grow with an anxious frustration, is he done with you for good or can he not get to the phone because of something else entirely? You have a feeling its the ladder, he can't reach the phone because he physically cannot. But where the hell is he?

You open up your phone once more and do a little digging around before you're able to pin point his location, its some storage unit place a couple blocks from where you live. Deeply puzzled by this do you grab your shoes and soon head out the door in search of Steven's actual whereabouts.

It doesn't take you long before you've reached the place and walk through the front door and into the small room, you saunter up to the young man at the front desk eating some Thai as he watches a movie on his phone. You place an elbow upon the desk and clear your throat, he slowly looks up to lock eyes with you.

Immediately does he scramble to set down his bowl of noodles and unplug his two earbuds, "Sorry ma'am, how can I help you?" Says a British accent you can't quite pinpoint from where, as you'd expected.

"I need into a unit."

He pushes his glasses up higher, "Yeah. Alright whot's the name and numba?"

"Spector. 43."

The young man looks surprised, "Oh neat, I didn't know Marc had a girlfriend. Yeah, cool.." You blink, not appearing amused in the slightest, "Right, so go down that hallway and take a right."

"Thanks." You mutter, removing your hand from the counter to begin heading for the other door leading into the storage facility, you stop with the door halfway open, "Hey, was he here recently?"

The man nods, "Yeah, said he needed som-fin for his hikin' trip to some place in Germany I dunno he talked pretty fast kinda like you. But he sounded a little different. Guess it was a boys trip, yeah."

You nod, "A boys trip, right." He watches as you walk out the door, returning to his noodles and movie as soon as you're gone.

You wander down the long hallway between orange storage units until finally reaching unit 43, you stand in front of the looming box of mystery. So Marc is in control just as you've feared, you can't prevent this when he's called by Khonshu. But you can figure out where he goes and why, anything to possibly aid in preventing him from doing this shit again.

You know Marc was only able to front because Steven had become so emotionally distressed by you, and now you pay the price for it. You take the heavy lock in one hand and fish out the key in your other, you press it in the key port and turn, the metal curve pops open. You take out the lock and hook it onto the opened door handle before opening the orange metal door.

You walk inside to a storage unit that looks more like a makeshift bunker then a place where things like old furniture or antiques should be held. In the corner is a cot, opposite to this is a bunch of boxed shelving made for easy transportation and near the side of the cot is a box with a small jaw-string bag on top of it. You walk over to pick this up and feel for what could be inside.

Its light but you can feel a phone, some clothing, and a book inside of it. Taking a seat on the cot, your curiosity takes the better of you and you can't help but open up the contents onto the bed by your side. What falls out is a phone with Egyptian hieroglyphics on the back case cover, a thin white sweatshirt, and a book on Romanian language and slang. You pick up the phone and turn it on.

The screen shows your missed calls with a battery life of 27% in the corner, you almost break the phone in your hand from how helpless you feel. Heart brewing with frustration as you force yourself to relax your tight grasp before you end up cracking his screen or breaking it altogether. You take a steady breath and stuff the phone, shirt, and book back into the small bag, setting it on the box near the cot just as you found it.

You stand and give the place a once over before heading out the door, you lock it up and pocket your key once again. You turn and let yourself make it a couple more feet before you stop, fists balled up until the knuckles turn white and the bones of your metacarpals protrude underneath the layer of skin. You wanted to destroy that room to ruin and send a blast of furious wind throughout the entire facility.

Instead, you kept walking, said good day to the worker, and left without another word.

Now three days later do you sit in the same park you began this journey in, completely alone this time, no little boy to distract you nor any pigeons to tell you their troubles. Completely alone. Just you, the wind, and the sky above. A sky with thick puffy clouds and a sun stretching high into the sky, you close your eyes and lean your head back into the hard wooden back of the bench.

You haven't seen Steven in six damn days and have been the most irritated and anxious mess of a person you've ever been. And there's not a fucking thing you can do about it, you couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. Not snooping around his flat again, not at his work, and not in the storage unit you couldn't help but go back to in case you missed something the first time. You didn't.

Suddenly your phone buzzes rapidly within your pocket, you sigh and slowly reach in to grab it, bringing it lazily up to your ear without even glancing to see who it is. There's a short list of people it could be and right now you don't care enough to look, you instinctively hit the green answer button, "Hello." You deadpan, sounding less then trilled to be taking this call.

"Y/N!" You bolt upright in your seat the second his voice hits your ears.

"Steven?" You urge, incredibly relieved to hear his adorably sweet accent again.

He lets out a breath on the other end, sounding just as relieved as you are, "Oh dears I'm so glad you answered, I think I've been through it now love..."

"What happened?" Did Marc somehow talk to him?

Steven lets out a nervous laugh, "Well, I really dunno Y/N. One moment I'm in bed ready to sleep and I wake up, go to work and Donna's tellin' me I've missed the past five days at the museum. I think I'm loosing it, love. I haven't been this bad in a long time, I'm so tired, I feel like I've climbed a bloody mountain and right back down again. I dunno what's going on, could you...could you come over?"

You take a steady breath, "I thought you didn't want to see me."

The other end goes quiet for a long moment, you bite your bottom lip really wishing you hadn't just said that, it wasn't spoken harshly at all. Quite solemnly in all truth, but Steven's back from his adventure with Marc he never knew he was even on and you threw another bout of added stress. Stupid. You open your mouth to say something when he cuts you off.

"That....no....uh, you don't have to tell me what you don't want to okay. I shouldn't have accused you of..."

"No Steven it's fine. I owe you some truth and we both know it so don't worry about it alright, I'll be there soon." You add, pausing a moment, "Laters gators."

He smiles wearily on the other end, "Laters gators."

----

You've never walked anywhere so fast in your entire life, if anyone saw you at the park they'd probably have seen a woman jogging in boots and a jacket faster then the average park runner. You swiftly navigated through the streets until at last did you make it to his apartment building, slipping through the doors one of the residents was just about to close. Then right up the stairs and down the hall to his door.

Where you stand right now as nervous as a teen on a date for the first time, though these butterflies in your stomach are for something far different then meeting a cute guy you're really into. You're terrified to tell him the full truth of who you are, scared he'll be afraid of you, even more terrified he'll lose enough control that Marc or even fucking Khonshu may make an unexpected appearance.

You gather your courage and shove down your nerves to knock at the door, when you attempt to knock a second rap does the door swing open. Steven greets you with dark fearful eyes, he looks lost and out of it, and rather quite tired if you're being honest. However he cannot help but give you a small meek little grin when he sees you standing there as his rock and honest savior.

"Come in please." Urges Steven as you walk into the room without delay, he closes the door and locks it from behind you while you turn around to face him. He turns from the door to face you, the two of you look to one another like a pair of shy teenagers as you begin to feel a bit awkward until he rushes forward to envelope you into a tight hug.

His arms just about crush you while he buries his head into the crook of your neck, you immediately relax into him, wrapping your arms around your frightened lover like its the last time you may ever meet again. He feels good, warm as the summer sun and solid as a great stone though Steven hugging you is much more then a stone could ever give.

The two of you hold this embrace for a long time, just feeling one another so close after days apart. You can tell he's deeply troubled about something, this something you have a pretty solid clue as to what it could be, you know him far more then he truly understands. After another minute without a word spoken do you turn your head to press your cheek to his, "What's wrong Steven?" You gently ask.

He gives your body a last squeeze before pulling away though his hands still hold your forearms, he frowns, "I wish I knew love, I really do. And uh, guess that's my problem huh." He laughs nervously, "I think I'm missin' some days and before you say anythin' I know that sounds bonkers but it's true."

"Why do you think that?"

Steven purses his lips together, "I saw you called my phone but the days seemed all wrong, I know I wouldn't have waited that long to answer you. And I'm really tired and I missed my work and I dunno what's happenin' to me love I just feel really really weird again like before I met you and I could sleep a good night." He rambles as you listen intently, "I dunno what's wrong with me....I don't, I don't know what's happenin' again."

You give him a soft look, "What do you remember before you woke up this morning?"

He thinks for a short moment, "I remember uh...I remember you and me after the tea shop." He looks sad, "I said some mean things to you, I know I did. I was bein' a real twat about it too and I'm sorry for that."

You shake your head, "It's done with." You gift him a gentle smile, "What else do you remember?"

"Uh...comin' here, I went to sleep and I was really having the weirdest dreams ever in my life. I was in this place with these people but I couldn't understand them, I think one was yelling at me but I dunno things get blurry. Then I wake up here and I've missed your messages and it's not the next day its another day Y/N. It's a whole six other days away and I've missed work and everythin' and I don't bloody know what to think." oh, Steven.

"That's it? Nothing else?"

He sighs heavily, dark eyes staring deeply into yours, "That's it. Honest."

"Alright, good." You bring your hand up to cup his cheek, beyond glad to have him with you once again, "Are you hungry?"

"A little." He leans into your touch, "I don't wanna go anywhere though."

"We don't have to. I'll order us something alright, whatever you want and we can watch a movie while we're at it, sound good?"

Steven smiles, "Yeah, sounds good."

You had chosen then to hold onto the truth for a little longer, you couldn't just rip off a freshly given band-aid to someone who really needs it. And Steven really needs it, you let him lay in bed as you ordered his favorite, then you snatched his laptop from the table and fell into bed with him. He found a movie you had to laugh at when he chose it, Night at the Museum, he thought it was funny too.

In fact, he chose it just to make you laugh. He'd felt bad about how the tea shop date had ended, how he spoke to you and everything. He was accusatory and put you on the spot, and after that when he was alone in his bed with the ankle brace on and you not with him. He'd realized your personal business was yours and your own to keep until you chose otherwise to speak of it.

But he felt too terrible to call you and talk after he called the first time to tell you he'd speak when he was ready, he was assuming you'd be too angry with him to want to talk again. So he went to sleep and had the strangest dreams before waking up more tired then he started, with a body that felt like lead, muscles sore and weary. Then he looked at his phone and things never felt more off, he even went to work only to be told it was his day off and he'd missed the past few days altogether.

They luckily pitied his confusion, blaming it all on his sleep walking and that was that, he went home. He quickly remembered what you two talked about last and feeling completely overwhelmed by his lapse in memory did he call you. Hoping to God you'd answer him and agree to come see him, maybe help him understand what's been happening too.

And though he wanted you to tell him what was wrong with him, he knew you hadn't had a clue either. And when you offered him food and a cuddle movie session as the cherry on top, well how could he push you and ask if you'd finally tell him more about yourself? So he didn't, he ate and held you close until the movie ended.

Then he kissed you and the two of you fell asleep and that was that. ——

You suck in a deep breath, rousing away from your heavy slumber as the bed moves with the weight of Steven slipping away from you. You open your eyes to watch as he walks into the bathroom to begin his morning routine. You close your eyes for what seems a couple of seconds. But when you're opening them again he's seated on a chair near the table trying to put his other shoe on.

He ties it and stands, you blink lazily as he walks over to you, he steps over the sand ring before leaning into the mattress. He places a gentle hand upon your hair before leaning down to press a kiss to your temple. You reach up to place your hand over his and he smiles down fondly at your sleepy form.

"I gotta go to work love, I'll see you later." Whispers Steven as he kisses the back of your hand before placing another kiss upon your cheek. He chuckles to himself when you start to smile even with your eyes closed.

You slowly slide your hand off of his, letting it lay upon the softness of the bed sheets, "Laters gators." You softly mumble, somewhere halfway between dreamland and the land of the living.

Steven kisses your cheek one last time, "Laters gators."

You feel his presence retract away from you and the mattress of the bed bounce back into its original form with his weight gone. And through your tiredness do you still yearn to have him with you, a hand over your torso, his body pressed impossibly close to yours. His cheek pressing against your forehead as his soft breaths fan across your face.

You love waking up to that more then anything else in the entire world, there's truly nothing better. But his damn job keeps him from these blissful mornings with you more often then not, you only hope that after today he still wants to see you again. After you finally tell him about everything, holding nothing back. But first you're going to let him work, then you'll visit him at closing hours and take him to get something to eat.

Then after all that do you plan on telling him about the thing with Horus and you being his champion and whatnot. He'll probably still like you, right?

Right? ——

A man and his dog just narrowly run into you on the street when you cross with the small crowd of women heading off to start their night for some bachelorette party. You slip past them and keep heading forward for the sight of the museum in your nearing proximity. The day is turning to dusk and all you can say that you've done is feed Steven's goldfish and take a walk in the park to pass the time while he's gone.

But something inside you hasn't let you rest since the moment you stepped outside into the mid-morning air, it was almost as though you walked into a whiff of wet dog scent. A gnarly smell that just about caused your eyes to water, you had checked all around the area and even the whole entire block. But in the end of your search there was nothing to give for it, the scent was gone.

You'd been suspicious of mischievous activity ever since, the smell was still a mystery to you as you headed down the street, mulling it over with yourself. You couldn't tell what had given you that prominent smell, it wasn't a jackal and it certainly wasn't a vampire, but it also didn't smell like a being of the Underworld either. Creatures of the Underworld always smell vaguely of sulfur and rotten eggs, and vampires for that matter smell of a strange mix of flowers too sweet to smell nice.

But still, you knew this smell was something you've encountered before, however it must have been a long long time ago. Because whatever odd odor that caught your scent this morning, whatever it was, whoever it was, you've met their kind before. Well, at least you think you have, maybe....you're still not so sure.

You jog up the stone steps and past the pillars before passing through the glass doors and into the museum you go, security gives you a surprised look as you walk past. Its been a short while since you've been here after all, you notice Donna at the gift shop and slip behind an Egyptian statue right before she's able to see you. You slyly walk around behind the gift shop as you trek onward in search of Steven.

You catch a glimpse of him walking past a large wall with Egyptian relics propped up on small stands encased behind glass, the part of the room here is shadowed to allow the exhibits to shine brighter in their small piece of light. He heads for the door at the far end, the one leading into the employees only area as you take notice of the ceramic pot in his arms. The mystery of how they let him hold let alone transport such a thing brings a smile to your face.

As you gain closer to him can you hear him muttering to himself "don't drop it Stevie, don't drop it, just keep walking concentrate concentrate" and you force yourself to hold in your laughter. However, you're a trickster at heart after all and slyly wander up to him from behind, when he's just about made it to the door do you tap him on the shoulder.

Steven jumps as he whips around to face his gentle assailant, though his hands shake and open when he does this causing the beautiful Egyptian pot to fly out of his hands and take a quick dive for the tiled flooring. He yelps for the pot and in fright, already seeing FIRED in his near future, shutting his eyes tight as he embraces for the sounds of shattering ceramic pot upon hard museum tile. He never hears a thing but your stifled laughter.

Ever so carefully does he open one eye and then the other, there you are, a smile upon your radiant face and the Egyptian pot in your one hand. Balanced so perfectly like you've done this a thousand times before, Steven lets out a sigh of relief, "Y/N you blessed woman." He breaths out, "Oh my dears I thought I was nearly about to be fired."

"It would have been my fault if you were."

He snorts, waving you off, "Eh. So, whot you doin' here love?"

"Well your shift is almost done and I did promise you something to eat afterwards, and I might just really like looking at your face. So yunno, there's that too." Steven breaks out into a beaming grin at your words.

"I got ten more minutes. Wait for me by the pillar?"

You hold out the pot for him to take, "Ten minutes. Anything can happen in ten minutes." You add with a wiggle of your brows.

He takes the pot from you, holding it tight with both arms wrapped around it like a child with his favorite stuffed animal, "I'm not gonna drop it yeah?" You tilt you head at him and he gives you a playfully offended look, "I'm not. See, all held nice and tight and safe okay? We're gonna make it to storage in one piece."

"Or a couple hundred."

He sends you a comical glare, "Y/N." Warns Steven.

You hold up your hands and take a step backwards, "Alright, alright. If you say so, see you outside butterfingers." You turn on your heal and start swiftly walking away from him.

"Hey!" Shouts Steven in protest as he watches you fast walk away, "I'll get you for that one love!"

You look at him from over your shoulder, "With what? A pool noodle, you'd drop it before you even had a chance." Steven smiles, snickering to himself as you send him a wink, turning to find your way out of the cavernous room and into the main room of the museum. And he thinks then to himself, how'd he get so lucky? What a true marvel you are, no matter how mysterious.

You lean against the stone pillar out front as the sky turns from day to night, the clouds are coated in the last bits of oranges and pinks while a great moon takes its place in the sky of stars and vast darkness. The night is cool but comfortable as you wait for Steven to find his freedom from within the confinements of that old museum of stolen artifacts.

After about fifteen minutes does he finally walk out and make a beeline directly for you, you push off the pillar and walk over to meet him. He smiles brightly and pulls you in for a brief hug, "Sorry I had you waitin' so long, it was Donna again."

You take his arm and begin to walk towards the steps, "No worries, but remember I could do something about that if you wanted. Make it look like an accident."

"No, no, none of that. Can't have you goin' to jail, I fear I'd never sleep well again." Worries Steven as the two of you walk down the steps, making it to the sidewalk and turning right, "My time after work is something I look forward too you know? Cause well..." His cheeks dust a light shade of pink in the glow of a streetlamp overhead, "...I have you."

You give his hand a light squeeze, "And I have you. Even if you are clumsy at times."

"I'm not clumsy." He protests before giving you a questioning look, "Am I?"

"A little." You make an almost pinching motion with your free hand, "A tiny bit." He waves you off as you laugh, "So what stolen item were you moving around this time?"

"Oh here we go again with the stolen museum artifacts, they're not technically stolen Y/N."

You hold up a finger, "Uh, if you have to say technically, you've already got a problem. And yes Steven, they are stolen, every single thing in that museum shouldn't you know....be there." You reason, just egging him on for good fun.

"True, true. But then no one would be able to see it and what about the people who found the stuff?"

"You mean the thieves and grave robbers?"

He shakes his head at you, "I hear your point, I really do. I get it. But as an employee of that museum we were just in, yunno where I work, I don't think they'd like me agreeing with you love."

"But you do agree with me?" You tilt your head at him, "Right?"

Steven rolls his dark eyes before looking at you, "Yeah." He whispers, looking around as though Donna could possibly hear him, "Yeah....so, where we goin' tonight?"

"Somewhere."

"Somewhere? Where is this somewhere?"

"A place near a place near another place in a big place."

Steven looks at you curiously, "Very descriptive."

"I never miss the details."

"No.." Grins Steven as he glances from your lips to your eyes again, "..no you don't."

Your walk under the stars had been a pleasant one that lead you to a small restaurant a short ways away from the museum. You two sat inside for a long time and talked about all the places Steven had ever wanted to visit, all the animals he'd ever seen, all the cool objects from the museum that have been his favorite.

Within his explanations had you felt that weird feeling in your heart again that you felt a week ago when you two had your argument. He was talking, telling you stories of his life and what he liked and dreamed of seeing and doing and here you were. Sitting, listening to him speak without saying anything about yourself once. Keeping it all in, all your history and memories from the most terrible things you've seen or done to the bravest and beyond that.

Your heart sours and seeps its poison of the cowardly, you can't tell him here, you can't bring his world to a crashing halt and make him think you're truly mad as a hatter. Steven is your sunshine on a stormy day, a voice in the darkness to make you laugh and find the light, he's sweet and gentle and kind. You don't want to hurt him, but you also don't want Marc or Khonshu to end up getting him killed either.

Steven tells you about his favorite bird as he wolfs down something vegetarian and you try to listen, but your mind is wandering a thousand miles away from you. You nod and smile but all you can see is Steven with his handsome face and adorable little grin that causes the corners of his eyes to crinkle when he's truly happy. All because he's talking to you, his favorite person in the entire world besides his mum.

His mother who does not exist to him in reality.

That you'd figured out pretty quickly after Horus sent you to protect Steven, you'd snooped around and realized his alter must have been leaving him cards in his mother's name. And that did make you sad, but also surprised with Marc. You blink, your vision clears, focusing onto Steven as he talks and eats. You pray he doesn't notice your absentmindedness, how distracted you feel hopefully doesn't present itself physically on your face.

Luckily for you, Steven looks engaged enough with his own story and what he's fixed on eating to notice anything else for the most part. But just then your eyes meet, "And like I told the bloke what it meant and he was quite impressed about it, really. I never thought such a burly man would be so into flamingos it was the wildest thing." He takes a last bite of his sandwich, "Yeah, it was a time I'll tell yah, should've been there Y/N you'd have gone nuts."

"Nuts?" You add with a humored tilt of your brow, not sure what the hell he's going on about now.

"Nuts, yeah. All the flamingos, and you like birds so, you'd have loved the zoo I went too." The zoo, oh right the zoo. You have no idea how he started talking about the zoo nor when.

You pretend to look as though you know exactly what he's been talking about for the past twenty minutes, "Ah yeah, right, right. I do love birds but its been years since I've been to a zoo. I don't think I've been to one since I was a kid actually, so damn, yeah it's been awhile."

"Well guess I'm just gonna have'ta take ya." States Steven as he wipes his mouth off with a napkin, "I know one 'round here, when I'm free and we catch a nicer day we'll go."

You give him a small smile, "Sounds like a plan."

He smiles back as the waitress comes to your table asking if you're all done and want the check, you tell her yes and she sets it onto the table of your booth. She takes Steven and yours empty plates before leaving you to it, "I got it this time." You start just as he reaches in his pocket for his wallet.

Steven freezes, "Really?"

You hold up a crisp forty, "On me tonight." This cash is in part from a wallet you snatched off a dead vampire before he turned to dust in the moonlight. Of course you'd never tell Steven that, at least not right now.

Steven removes his hand from his pocket and sits back in his seat, "Alright, cool. But it's on me next, I'll take us somewhere real real nice."

You hand the waitress the forty, attention back to him as she leaves to make change, "You tryna one up me?"

He shrugs, trying to play off a casual demeanor, "Might be."

You laugh, crossing your arms over your chest as you lean back into your seat, "You sure you want to start this game? I can take it pretty far if you want."

"How far?" He raises an intrigued brow.

"I'll take you to the moon and back if you'd like."

The corners of his eyes crinkle as he smiles, "Me first."

"Deal."

The waitress says her good-nights as you walk out the door Steven holds open for you on the other side, you say goodnight and slip through the entrance and out into the glow of the milky moonlight. The door closes and Steven finds his hand intertwined with yours as you two begin walking down the long sidewalk, "Nice night for once." He adds, looking up at the stars and a full moon above.

You give the sky a glance before your sights are set to the world in front of you, "It is. Better if all these damn lampposts would turn off, then, then you could really see the sky."

"More stars yeah?"

"Like the darkness is spotted in diamonds. A night like this one, you'd be able to see the ground without a light."

Steven glances up at the moon, "Interestin' huh? Don't think I've ever been outside on a full moon without a light, like from my phone or a street lamp."

You give his hand a light squeeze, "I have a feeling you'll know what I mean someday." His lips curl into a small smile when his focus returns back down to you.

Then you feel it, that sinking feeling in your chest right before something terrible is about to happen. Your grip on his hand grows tighter and your eyes flicker from right to left on the vacant sidewalk leading down a side street. The scent of something awful wafts into your nostrils as your heartbeat picks up.

Steven makes a face as he look at you, "Oh bloody hell, you smell that Y/N? It's like wet dog out here, who'd be giving their mutt a damn bath right now?" He chuckles, "It's almost the middle of the night."

You take notice of the river through a thin alley between buildings that you quickly pass. The next lamppost is nearing and you're starting to feel deeply on edge, you know something isn't right. Not right at all. Then you hear it, a low deep gravely growl omitting it's warning from within the darkness. You turn your head to the right and look up to see nothing on the roof.

Steven's brows furrow as he looks at you, "What was that about?" Guess he didn't hear it.

You narrow your eyes at the vacant roof, "Just thought I saw something." You mutter, pulling him faster across the pavement, past closed business' and a dead street lamp.

"See what? It's dark out."

"Uh...a bird."

"A bird?" Repeats Steven, giving you a questionable glance, "You thought you saw a bird?"

"Yeah." You pass under the glowing lamppost and keep the two of you swiftly walking towards the next main road where there should be enough people to keep this new problem away. "Just a bird."

Steven shakes his head at you, "Y/N, I don't think..." He suddenly stops and you almost lose your footing at the abrupt halt, "Y/N." Says Steven more seriously this time, the lighthearted tone gone.

Shit.

You look at him like you have not a clue what he might be on about, "Yeah what's up?" Smooth Y/N, smooth.

"You're acting strange again."

Your brows furrow in puzzlement, "What do you mean I'm acting....strange?"

"Well..." He sighs, thinking of where to start, "...I didn't wanna bring it up at dinner or anythin' but you looked sort of...out of it."

"How....how so?" You slowly ask.

Steven purses his lips together, "Well I was talkin' and you looked sort of...kinda of looked lost. Like you were there but not really."

"oh." Not as smooth as you think you are, you're in for it now dumbass.

"And now you're seeing non existent birds at night and acting all suspicious."

You'd have laughed if not for the current circumstance, instead you slowly nod, "Right, right....sorry about that." You halfheartedly mutter.

Steven shakes his head at you, clearly not believing it, "Y/N whot's goin' on? Really? I know I've let it slide and I did say some mean things the other day and I shouldn't have but I was frustrated and now I'm frustrated again. And I just need you to tell me why I shouldn't be feeling like this, I don't think you're doin' anythin' with anyone. It's just I don't know...I don't know whot to think about you sometimes!"

He removes his hand from yours to stuff them in his pockets out of irritation and childish protest. You don't blame him. But it does hurt you, and you can't help but frown, "Steven...it's....this is complicated. Can we just get out of here first?" You urge, taking a step away though you stop when he doesn't show any indication of following.

"Whot? No." His vexation with you falters only slightly until he gets a heated look upon his face showing real annoyance, "I'd like some solid answers right now. Are you....are you some sort of secret agent?"

You blink back bewilderment, "Uh what?"

"That's right, you some secret agent or somthin' sent here to infiltrate the museum?" He accuses, though a bit unsure of himself, "Is that why you're always lingerin' around and talkin' about things that are stolen?"

Again you could have laughed, instead your brows furrow as you look at him, "Steven that was a joke."

"Yeah?" He says, raising his brows expectantly.

You sigh, "And no, I'm not a secret agent. Where the hell did you get that from anyways?"

"Well because...because you never tell me about your family or where you're from, you never really talk about yourself. I've never been to your flat either so I just thought, maybe you were like a secret agent or som'fin." He mutters, still eyeing you up suspiciously though he looks a little embarrassed about it at the same time.

"No. No this is something different."

"How different?"

You rest your hands upon your hips, "The kind of different where you might think I'm mad after I tell you."

He glances from the ground to you, "I wouldn't....I'd never think you mad."

Suddenly a screaming howl erupts from the top of a roof to Steven's back left, the damn bastard must have moved when you were talking to Steven. Now it's between you two and the main street-way with people, cabs, and double-decker buses. Fuck. You grab onto Steven's shoulder as he looks at you, frightened, "Whot's that?" He quickly whispers, turning his head towards the recent noise, eyes darting all over that direction though he can't quite see it.

You glare at the beast staring down at you from the nearby roof with two glimmering eyes, "You don't wanna know."

"No I really do."

You grab his shoulder tight and he's forced to look at you, "Steven, you really don't."

"I do!" He weakly snaps, "You betta' tell me right now or so help me Y/N."

Your eyes return to the roof that refrain from leaving the looming figure hunched on upon it, it's whole body silhouetted, "Fine. Fine!" You lock eyes with Steven, "Don't freak out. Promise?"

He nods, "Promise."

You grab him by both his shoulders, getting right in his face, "You better not fucking freak out." You halfheartedly seethe through clenched teeth, nerves spiking with the crowing tension of the situation. Steven shakes his head, afraid of whatever the hell is on the roof and a little at how sharp you've just gotten all of a sudden.

He's never seen your face with such an intensive expression over it, "I'm not gonna freak out." He whispers, shaking his head again, trying to look as convincing as possible.

"You look like you're about to."

"I'm not!" He says way too loudly which causes you to send him a glare, "I'm not." Squeaks Steven, quieter this time.

"You can't run when I tell you what it is."

He rolls his eyes, "I'm not gunna run."

"If you run you die."

His brows furrow, eyes going wide in surprise, "Then why'd I run? I dunno about you but that does not sound like a good option."

"Because I know you Steven."

Steven opens his mouth to protest but knows better then to fight that logic when you've been able to scare him so many times. Instead he gives you an agreeable nod, "Fine. Would you just tell me what it is so I kno...." He trails off when the creature jumps down from its post on the roof, landing in the shadow of a small tree, one that the street lamps can't reach through the thick leaves.

His breath catches in his throat as two eyes of pale silver shine in the darkness, a shadow of a tall hairy man with pointy cat-like ears lets him know whatever this monster is. It's not a natural nor friendly one; it stands on two legs with arms much too long for its body, and the legs that it has just don't bend right. Steven's hand immediately clamps tightly around your wrist.

"Whot the fuck is that?" He whisper yells, looking at you desperately.

Eyes set hard to the creature in shadow, you don't look at him when you say, "Who the fuck is that." You correct.

Steven's breathing increases as he glances from the glowing eyed whatever to you again, "Which is?"

"A werewolf."

-

Hello all my Steven Grant lovers! Thank you all for reading and following my wild story I’m taking you all on with me, I hope at least most of you are enjoying it. Since we have no more episodes of Moon Knight to look forward to till whenever we see him again, this is something to suffice lol

-

Tagged: @halerune @idkjj04 @my-tearsdryontheirown @bekkarific  @lvonhart @nicepeony @jay-alison @ahookedheroespureheart @saturdaynightzemo​ @brujaporfavor​

[yaomomvs]

TAKE OUR HAND

seijoh x manager!reader

in which aoba johsai vbc just wants you to take their hand, just as the many times they have reached for yours when they needed it

pls i’m sorry i just wrote this for comfort, in having a terrible week and so, i just really need my seijoh boys to comfort me even if it’s just in my head and just so you know, and as i’ve been trying to convince myself, things always get better

tuesday, [15:56 pm]

“nice kill yahaba senpai!” kindaichi congratulates his upperclassman.

his voice makes you react, it scared you. still holding your pen and the notebook you always carry around even on normal practice days, your hand threatens you in the most scary way possible.

fuck no, just... breathe.

you are quick to leave aside the notes, and so, you look around to the boys, who just after the coach’s whistle sounds they are quick to approach your spot.

you take the water bottles as quickly as you can.

“oh y/n-san, i know we are irresistible but you can’t just slack off admiring us!” makki teases you laughing.

“if our dear manager is admiring someone is obviously me” oikawa says, before taking a sip of his bottle, slightly making you blush even more.

“i don’t think she likes idiots who still watch youtube conspiracy videos at 3am”

“iwa!”

“weren’t you the one with a secret obsession for romance manga, iwaizumi?” it’s mattsun time to expose his friend. iwai mi doesn’t hesitate and he runs directly to matsukawa, while kunimi brings out his phone to start recording the chaos in the gym.

you don’t listen.

your head hurts, and then, you once again feel this weird thing in you stomach. you have been feeling like this for the past week, and you try to ignore it . but sometimes, you just want the world to stop.

you can’-

“y/n senpai?” watari calls your name, and you notice his furrowed brows looking at you, worried. you blink and correct your posture. you had just zooned out. “is everything ok?”

“ah yes watari kun!” you force your self to sound relaxed because you feel the sudden gaze of the entire team “i was just thinking in a smart way to insult oikawa, but i’m worried he won’t understand tho”

“hey! you said i was your favorite”

you fake laugh once again assuring everyone that you were just fine. the day goes on, and somehow is becomes more difficult to just stay down not worrying about anything.

and they notice.

you don’t walk home with the guys today. instead you run to the bus not before excusing yourself with an ‘urgent family thing’

“just please don’t let makki eat so much ramen today!” you giggle as you run to the bus “i’m not in the mood to dealing with diarrea!”

“that was a secret between us darling!” the pink haired guy screams cheeks blushing.

and maybe you were just too distracted, but before you face them away some of them notice how quick your smile fades.

“you know guys” yahaba is quick to say “call me crazy but, why did she lie?”

—

wednesday, [10:22 am]

when was the last time you actually enjoyed school? not practice, but school itself. seeing numbers everyday in the board that you don’t understand is frustrating. your throat hurts, there’s has been a not there since the begging of the day.

swallow it, y/n, dammit

you decided to take this class, don’t blame the world, blame yourself. isn’t it supposed to be simple? why isn’t it being simple? is that... 

"Square root of 57 is equal to Xo, miss" 

"alright!" 

it is not like it’s a race, you want to say. why was the teacher obsessed with speed?, it’s unfair. your time is not the same as that of others. 

you drop the pencil and you recline in your chair, why couldn’t you do operations and analysis as fast as they could? you take a look around and the eyes of others look frightening. you see ambition, you see security, you see admiration.

the bell rings and you just want to run, and well in a way you end up doing it. leaving your homeroom, you tell your friends that for today you want to be alone, the halls of aoba johsai are big, for your fortune or misfortune. you go to the vending machine and when your drink falls, the minimum noise makes you startle, lately it’s like that, small noises or actions affect you way too much.

and iwaizumi notices it.

you don’t make a single move, it’s just the cold drink resting on your hands. and before iwaizumi could stop mattsun, he was already putting his hand on your shoulder.

“y/n!”

the orange juice spills and once again fear takes hold of you.

you see them both, you’re not stupid and you know hajime stares at you weirdly, and now mattsun, you hide your fear it a bit worse than yesterday, but you do anyways.

"someday, Matsukawa-san, YOU’RE GOING TO KILL ME! and what will you do without me?" you try to say cheerful, wanting to take away the suspicion, for a moment it works.

"flunk history, that leads me to..." 

"no, sweeheart, i won’t give you my homework" 

you walk and both guys follow you, one faster than another, very naive of the situation. "I begin to believe you hate me," says Mattsun, as the three sit on a bench near the school cafeteria casually encountering kunimi who quickly joins you, patting the folds of your skirt as you sit down, you rest on the table and admire his needy expression and as the tantrum of mattsun grows.

minutes go by, your chest pain grows, but somehow you know how to let it go.

 with your hands supporting your face, lunch passes between you and kunimi, you try to talk, you really try. 

but still, your eyes just glow, and kunimi notices how it’s not the glow you always have.

—

thursday [12:03]

your head is spinning, you can feel the cold sweat. will this be the time? why do you feel so small? why can’t you say it?

it’s familiar, you recognize this feeling, an ocean, you’re floating, you know you can swim, but, you’re in the middle of nowhere, you look down. Out of nowhere the intimidating depth of the ocean is beneath you. And then, you sink. You feel like you’re drowning, you feel like you’re fighting the tide, but you just can’t do it.

i just need...

no, it’s not time yet, it’s still training. the boys... you’re the one who should take care of them, you’re the one who has to be be fine. they had no time to lose, they had a goal and for the moment that was the most important thing.

On that bench, your gaze is absent, you know it is so.

and through the window that overlooks your classroom, oikawa notices it too

“y/n...” he mumbled.

of course he’d noticed. at first it was not so clear, but now he remembers.

when kindaichi pinned your dark circles to him, while admiring you by fitting volleyballs in a way not of your own.

makki watches oikawa from your side, you don’t even know the pink-haired guy is there, unaware that he’s sitting next to you. but he notices. he’s been noticing for days that your eyes are threatening to close in the middle of class.

hanamaki catches your attention and instantly that mask you’ve been wearing for weeks appears again.

"hanamaki, i’m fine"

it doesn’t convince them. they both look out the window and nod.

oikawa notices, and god, he wished he had no reason to.

—

friday [14:00 pm]

breathe.

please just... breathe.

you’re fed up. the feeling of guilt and discomfort is still there, can’t you be calm? people don’t need to know, but why do you want to shout it?

the dressing room is alone, the girls from the soccer team are out and it’s your only chance.

the team needs you, hold on a little.

your footsteps are heard in the hallway once again, a symphony you’re tired of listening to.

your chest hurts, your heart is aching, but you just need a little more. hands are shaking, the cold in your body, you need to stop.

you have to make them stop.

but when you walk into the gym, even with your eyes down, all you feel is warm. and it’s because, the boys were standing, aligned begging for you.

no, they beg for your sake.

and everything stops.

one hand from him on your neck, and one hand around your shoulders.

because oikawa, without warning, now has you in his arms.

and then, only then, you break.

tears don’t take long to come out, along with desperate sobs. your legs fail and out of nowhere, you and oikawa are on your knees.

with an alarmed look, the whole club runs towards both, surrounding you as sensibly as possible.

"i’m sorry, i’m sorry I’M SORRY" is heard from you, between hiccups.

“love, listen...” iwaizumi approaches you,somehow he managed to catch up with you, somehow he managed to hold your hand.

"i promise i didn’t want to, but i can’t, i can’t anymore, why can’t i? i try and i try and i keep trying but it’s never enough! IM TIRED OF SEEING SOMETHING AND NOT BEING ABLE TO PROCESS IT LIKE THE OTHERS. I’M TIREDD OF NEVER FULFILLING WHAT I SHOULD”

yahaba’s heart aches, and just as most of the team, is shocked.

your hands, oh your adorable hands, those hands that bandage his in the middle of an important game, he sees them shaking horribly between iwaizumi’s.

“AND I’M SCARED, WHAT IF I LOSE YOU BECAUSE OF THAT BECAUSE OF ME? BECAUSE OF HOW I AM I-“

watari is quick to place your hair gently behind your ear, a kunimi covers you with his jacket.

“I LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND I DONT RECOGNIZE MYSELF” you lower your voice, its cracked now “oikawa I don’t recognize myself, I want to be me again" you whisper, and a knot appears in the captain’s throat, and he puts a hand on your cheek "please... just let me be me again" your throat burns, your eyes get redder.

the gym goes silent, your words still echoing in everyone’s head.

“why didn’t you-“

“i just couldn’t” you blame yourself cutting oikawa off “look at us! we are waisting time on me when we should be- i’m the one who has to- im you support not-“

“hey hey, love...” iwaizumi whispers his voice is filled with sweetness, letting you sit correctly and softly rubbing his thumb in your hands “how many times have you been there for us? y/n your hand is always there”

“that’s true” kyotani says, finally saying something, emotions overwhelmed him a lot, but he genuinely wanted to help you.

“there’s something about you, there’s light” kindaichi follows up.

“no matter where, or how bad we are, somehow you always are helping us stand up” mattsun also tries to carefully approach you, he wants nothing more for you to feel safe.

and oikawa’s arms were still around you. he never stopped.

“we have reached your hand so many times, so now it’s time for you to please take ours” oikawa holds you face, and you see the sincerity and kindness behind his brown eyes, it feels like home.

mattsun does a sign asking the coach for a day off, both of them smile tenderly at you and give the green flag. iwa and makki are next to hold you carefully helping you stand up. they help you stop shaking but it’s mad dog the one who wipes your tears away with a tissue watari handled him. still not knowing if he did it the right way. you still feel kunimi’s scent. you still see kindaichi holding your school bag making sure nothing is missing. yahaba is the one bringing you water. and oikawa still refuses to let you go.

all of them feel like home.

“thank you”

and that’s how you know everything is going to feel fine.

because this club was yours and you were theirs.

this was home.