#as ive said before we know the owner

[aku-zone]

I'm really hoping this works out because i think it would actually be a good place for me

[bas-rouge]

My toxic trait is that all of the breeds I'm interested in are rare breeds that are impossible to find

[blackdollette]

ive never made a request before im a bit nervy omg

but could u maybe do smth about like a sweet innocent little y/n meeting euro (or maybe even kappa) and he just wants to ruin her innocence and make her a total whore for him (maybe slight undertones of cnc IF youre comfortable with that)

K IM NERVOUS TY

don't be nervous, anon! thank you so much for reaching out & sharing your ideas!

"said i was flawless, true perfection." | euronymous

ridin'. - lana del rey

✮⋆˙ [tags] @faesucksass @lustkillers @mayathepsychic1999 @josibunn @si1nful-symph0ny @vanlisbon @livingdead-reilly @oliviah-25 @lankysimp@auggiethecreator @livingdead-materialgirl @monkeyfart@imoonkiss @nom-nommmm1 @xxbl00d-cl0txx @k1ll3rh0rr0r @wildathevrt @mommymilkers0526 @greenxgloss @wild-rose-35

female!reader x r!euronymous

word count: 1.7k

contents: blowjob, public sex, masturbation

who the hell thought it would be a good idea to sell lana del rey vinyls in a black metal record store?

business at the shop had been slow. euronymous sat behind the cashier, lighting himself a cigarette as the clock neared noon. he sighed deeply, putting his feet on the desk as he took the tv remote, flipping through channels mindlessly. he’d figured to take his break a little early. it didn’t seem like anyone was planning on showing up anyway.

the sun outside shone just a little too bright. euronymous groaned, standing up and making his way to the window to close the blinds. he peeked outside through the glass, the streets nearly empty with the exception of the occasion person strolling by. he grumbled, closing the shutters and rubbing a stressed hand over his face. he needed to make a sale, even if it was only one. all he needed was an angel from heaven to stroll by…

the bell above the door chimed, snapping euronymous out of his train of thoughts. “we’re off for break, man. come back in an hour.” he muttered. you froze in your tracks, raising an eyebrow. you cleared your throat and he glanced over at you. “i said get los-” he finally locked eyes with you, seeing a woman instead of his usual audience.

his eyes were wide with shock as they travelled down your body. you were just about the furthest thing from death metal he’d ever seen walk into the shop. it’s not like you were adorned in pastel rainbows, but he’d never expect someone like you to show up at a store like this.

he cleared his throat, walking back behind the desk as you began to stroll through the shop. “i don’t think we have the type of music you listen to, lady?” already at the section for the artist you were looking for, you looked at him. “you sure? cuz i think i see what i need right here.” you rolled your eyes, starting to flip through different albums as euronymous glared at you.

this new sale was already attracting all the wrong types of people. you looked like a doll, one meant to be used and destroyed by a ruthless owner. not wandering through a black metal store like it was your second home. silence filled the environment, much to your comfort but it made euronymous very uncomfortable. he’d been used to cracking conversations with whoever walked through the door, but he didn’t know how to go about that with you.

after taking a deep breath, he spoke. “everything going okay over there?” his words were forced, but you looked back at him with a smile. “going just fine, thanks.” your sweet words had a bite to them, like you were mocking him for something. he found himself getting intrigued about a person he had met less than a minute ago.

after what felt like an eternity, you picked 5 vinyls and took them to the cashier. you set them down in front of him, you two now less than a foot apart. he glanced at you as he rang up your items. “you come to places like this often, doll?” you swallowed hard, shaking your head. he added up the total before reading it out to you. “your total will be $401.59.” your eyes widened to the size of saucers. “400 dollars?! i don’t have that kind of money on me!” you bent over to read the total off his screen, your tight dress slipping down your chest slowly and revealing your cleavage to him.

your breasts waved right in front of his eyes and his breath grew shallow. your arousing scent filled his nostrils. he squirmed slightly in his seat, heart hammering in his chest. you were almost completely revealing your tits to him compeltely by accident. he had only know you for a few minutes and was already getting a taste of how naive you were.

his gaze bored into your chest until you stood upright again, picking at your fingernails. “i-i had no idea that these would be so expensive…” euronymous clasped his hands over his lap, a boner already sprouting underneath. “well you’ve gotta pay for them one way or another, lady.” he paused, a sinister idea brewing in his mind. “i’d hate to get the cops involved in our business.”

your heart stopped for a second as you frantically shook your hea.d “n-no, of course not…” you sighed deeply, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. you looked right into his cold eyes, speaking so softly that he could barely hear you. “p-please, find it in your heart to help me out. i’ll… i’ll do anything…” that line alone was the perfect telltale of how much porn you watched, but maybe euronymous was the clueless one for not picking up on your obvious hints.

you fiddled with the thin chain aorund your neck, pouting slightly as his pupils dilated. he stood up from his seat with a small grin, extending his hand to you. “let’s step into my office, sweetheart. then we can talk business.” you nodded, taking his cold, pasty hand in yours as he walked you into the small room behind him, locking the door.

he looked at you right in your cartoon eyes, your face resembling one of a make-believe character that was too good to be true. he leaned against his personal desk, beckoning you to come closer to him. ou stood right infront of him, his arm slowly slithering around your waist. he spoke in a whisper, eyes locked on your nipples that barely poked out through your dress.

“you want those records real bad, don’t you?” you nodded, chest rising and falling slowly as you took deep reaths. his smile turned slightly sadistic as he pulled you into him, his breath hitting the cave of your ear. “then i’m going to make you work for it, whore…” you almost choked as euronymous grabbed the neck of your dress, tugging it down and making your tits pop out.

your gasped, your pierced nipples painfully erect. he kneaded your bugs between his fingers, making your knees go weak, much to his pleasure. the boner he had been fighting all this while was roaring to be let out, a mess of precum already spilling in his black jeans. “get on your knees, bitch.” you went down without protest, your face an inch away from his bulge. he grabbed the back of your head, bringing your lips to it and making you kiss him through the fabric, a low groan escaping his lips.

his dick throbbed and tiwtched through the denim, his body instantly reacting to your indirect touch. “tell me you want this cock, doll… say it.” you swallowed hard, gazing up at him trough your eyelashes as you spoke hoarsely. “i-i want your cock, sir…” you didn’t know what to address him as, so you went with the best choice. he smiled, his hand moving to unbuckled the weapon of a belt that was around his thin waist.

the metal clanged to the ground. he unbuttoned his jeans, biting his lip as his cock sprung out and slapping the base of his stomach, nearly hitting you in the face. you flinched, mouth gaping open. “i-it’s so big…” you whispered, making him chuckle. “and you’re gonna take every inch of it, you hear me?” you nodded, feeling a soaking sensation spreading in your panties.

he gave himself a few lazy pumps, connecting the tip with your lips. you opened you mouth slightly, not enough for him to fit himself in. he grabbed your jaw, forcing it open all the way before shoving himself all the way in. you gagged eyes welling with tears as he grabbed the side of your head.

he put on a fake pout. “aw, too big for you, angel?” his arrogance was unlike anything you’d ever seen before, but you let him have it. a deal was a deal. one you adjusted to his size, you slowly began to bob your head up and down his shaft, gazing up at him with shiny eyes. his core heated up as he listened to your lewd gagging and gurgling.

“you’re a natural, you nasty bitch…” his eyes shaded like a lust-filled haze, as if you were the only thing in the world right now. your hands felt completely useless in this whole ordeal, so you reach one underneath your dress, starting to touch yourself through your panties. you moaned softly, the vibrations feeling like pure bliss to him.

his hair feel into his face as profanities slurred out from him. he slammed his cock into your throat, not even lettinig you get a breath of air. but the pleasure outweighed the discomfort for you, your fingers coating in your liquids as you slipped your panties to the side. he noticed this in an instant, his voice growing shaky. “y-yeah… touch yourself for me, you slut…”

you used your other hand to fondle his balls as they slapped against your chin. his tip repeatedly rammed into your uvula, the slaty taste of his precum making your throat convulse around him. he used his thumbs to gently wipe the tears rolling down your cheeks. he forcefully fucked your face as you fingered yourself even quicker. his cock abosrbed your moans like a sponge, the feeling being better than anything he’d ever felt.

his moans becamemore intense and more frequent as the warmth of your throat took him in like a blanket. time began to go elastic as euronymous felt the pleasure getting to his head. the sound of your gurgling was intoxicating. you swirled your tongue around his girth, finally pushing him to the edge. he bit his lip, drawing blod as he whipped himself out of your mouth and shot his cum onto your tits like he was frositng a cake.

you panted as he the string s his you, a smile growing on your face. “such a dirty girl…” you licked his tip, cleaning off the last bit of cum and finishing him off. his breath was heavy like he just ran a marathon. you stood back up, tucking your tits back into your dress and trying not to ruin it with his cum.

euronymous slowly tucked his cock back into his pants, fixing up his hair as the sound of customers reminded him of where he was. he cleared his throat, looking at you deeply. “it was a pleasure doing business with you ma’am. enjoy the records, completely free of charge.”

author's note: back to shcool tomorrow :((

[squerlly]

flames of desire chapter 1: welcome to hell

-sfw/nsfw- Alastor x (f! bunny reader)

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

your POV:

its so dark...why is it dark?, were am I? all I remember was running...running from someone until everything went dark. gasping for air I wake up my body aching like I just got hit by a bus, holding my head I look around seeing a red sky with a pentagram? and people no....creatures like people. looking down at my body I see my legs...they looked so different were they paws, my clothes were torn almost burned. standing up I walk around seeing the streets filled with people of all shaped and sizes, walking past a window I turn back looking at my reflection through the glass, I had ears...long ears, bunny ears, my skin was a light warm brown, my eyes were golden yellow and my hair was long a mixture of brown and white. feeling something fluffy I look back seeing a little tail wiggling it a little "iv officially lost my damn mind..." I say before turning around to continue walking before I run into something or someone... "Hay watch were your- going...woah babes you look like shit, ya new here?" looking up I see a person, a very...tall person, he had four arms and was Wearing a pink and white suit, his skin or fur? was as white as snow, hesitantly I nod "hmm usually I charge for favors but I'm feelin nice~ if ya don't gotta place to stay I know some were ya could go, if you want, follow me" as he walks down the street I follow not far behind "what's ya name babes?" "uhm...im y/n", "I'm angel dust remember the name~" he said with a wink as we walk up to this building with a big sign that said hazbin hotel, opening the door we walk in, the inside was not the...best condition but it was still nice, it had a bar with a couch and a Tv. a woman stormed over holding a spear, she had an X over her eye wearing red and black with pale grey skin and long hair "angel!!! were the hell have you been" she pointed the spear at him as he held his arms up "relax I was out doing some work when I stumbled across cotton tail here" cotton tail?, putting the spear down she looks at me "whos this?" "just a newbie I ran into on the way, thought Charlie could check her in" I waved a little awkward hi "I'm y/n" "hi I'm-" "Vaggieeee!!!!" a girl yelled from across the room, rushing over she spotted me "there you are I-" she gasps "hi I'm Charlie!!! I'm the owner of this hotel are you looking to join!?" she said excitingly as she shakes my hand "I would but I don't have any money-" "no need, you can stay here for free, this is a hotel for rehabilitating sinners!" "sinners?...what do you mean sinners, and what is this place?" "ya don't know? your in hell babes" hell? did I die- did he...kill me, so many thoughts were rolling through my head before Charlie snapped me out of my thoughts "well it seems that you already met angel dust and vaggie! but there's three more people you should meet, uhh vaggie were is Alastor and niffty?" "alastors in his radio tower and nifftys...doing niffty things, ill go get alastor" she said walking off before Charlie grabbed my hand dragging me to the bar "this is our bar and this is husk our bartender!" it was a cat like person with red wings grey fur and a beer bottle in his hand, he was wearing a red bow tie and a top hat, he gave me a quick glance "sup kid" before taking a chug at his bottle. vaggie soon came down with a man behind her. he was wearing a red pinstripe suit with black pants and red hair, he had deer ears and antlers? With a very unsettling smile across his face, "that's alastor he is our facility manager" he walk up to me to shake my hand "Alastor pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure, and who might you be my dear?" something felt off about him I feel like running but yet I cant, "i-im y/n..." I said looking up at him, he was very tall and his hands were like claws, how can an animal such as a deer look so...terrifying. "quite a lovely name you have dear" he said, his smile seeming to get even wider, his voice was like that of an old radio....

chapter two is on its way, feel free to design your bunny how ever you like and stay tuned for future chapter

-squerlly

@pooplyface1423 @strippezzz

for more stories and chapters please click this masterlist

[tiramisuucakeee]

1. BADGE AND SCRUBS

( crossfire , yang jungwon )

walking quickly through the cold hospital hallway toward the busy main desk, you caught the attention of a frantic nurse. she kept glancing at her stethoscope and the patient through the glass window. "doctor! thank god you're here. the patient just woke up and won’t let anyone check on him. we need you, he keeps pushing the nurses away," she gasped as you nodded and followed her into the room.

the man sat comfortably on the blue hospital bed with his arms crossed, his iv ripped out of one of them. when he saw you enter through his peripheral vision, his expression shifted slightly to a more nicer one. "so they called you."

"they did," you replied with a smile, putting on plastic gloves to dispose of the iv needle in the biological hazards bin. he shrugged at your actions and simply said, "i don't like not moving my arm."

you began your examination, shining a light into his eyes, checking his heartbeat, and assessing his mobility. he seemed surprisingly well for someone who had just undergone brain surgery, but then again, some people reacted differently. and with your level of experience, you had seen all kinds of cases, from the very best outcomes, to the unfortunately bad ones.

"yes, i wouldn’t like not being able to move my arm either," you uttered, stepping back. "i’ll be back later tonight to check on you, but in the meantime, please let the nurses do their jobs, alright?" you raised your brows, tucking your hands into your scrub pockets

he rolled his eyes but muttered his agreement, which made you smile again. "great, i’ll let your family know you’re out of surgery, they’ve been very worried and are still at the hospital," you added.

his family had been nonstop asking every resident and nurse they saw in the lobby if he had woken up, even staying as late in the night to make sure they would be here as soon as he did.

his expression brightened. "they have? well, bring them here! i want to see them," he said, straightening up in bed. this was a sight you couldn’t grow tired of seeing, patients coming out of successful surgeries and being glad to spend the rest of their days alive with their loved ones.

"right away," you replied, nodding slightly as you prepared to leave. passing by the nurse, you leaned in to say, "page me if anything happens. i just got off, but i’ll be nearby." your serious tone underscored the urgency of the situation.

she agreed and bid you goodbye as you headed to the locker room to change. upon arrival, you greeted a few doctors and started preparing for the evening ahead. after a long day filled with surgeries, you were finally free from the hospital, even if it was late at night. some procedures had stretched on for up to five hours, but that was nothing compared to the marathon shifts you’d been in the past.

stepping outside, you walked to your car, parked neatly in your own space, and pulled onto the road. as you drove carefully, you gazed at the dark sky, soon approaching a familiar spot in the city you often visited with your friends of coworkers. the karaoke bar.

opening the door, you were welcomed by the warm ambiance of healthcare and other high-stress workers enjoying their time off here. the owner appreciated this crowd, knowing that those jobs contributed significantly to his business, and plus, he always had either a cop, doctor or firefighter a few feet away in case of an emergency.

you took a seat at the bar and greeted the bartender, who quickly took your order for a sparkling cold water and some chips. you opted for a non-alcoholic drink, knowing you needed to stay alert in case you received a page.

your drink and chips soon arrived, and you thanked the bartender before turning your attention to the karaoke stage, who was occupied like always. a group of friends was enthusiastically singing a song, their voices blending with laughter and cheers from the crowd. the energy in the room was infectious, and you found yourself tapping your foot along to the beat.

then, one of the singers caught your eye, a guy in the middle with charming dimples that deepened with every smile and word. his brown hair remained messy on top of his head, his brown eyes brightening with the colorful lights.

as if sensing your gaze, he glanced over and locked eyes with you, throwing a playful wink your way through the music and laughter.

you shook your head, and smiled back, but thought nothing of it. he continued to sing a few lines of the song, his gaze still locked on you. but just as you were about to raise your glass to cheer at him, your phone rang in your purse.

you glanced at the screen and sighed, knowing you had to answer. “hello?” you said, trying to keep your disappointment at bay.

“doctor l/n, we need you back in about an hour. a patient is being transferred from another hospital, they don’t have a neurosurgeon available,” the nurse informed you, her tone urgent.

you nodded, even though she couldn’t see you. “i’ll be there in half, make sure the o.r is ready when i get there, and wake my assisting doctors up,” you replied, reluctantly tearing your eyes away from the stage. the lively atmosphere faded into the background as you pushed around your food in the plate.

“they’re not answering the pages doctor, their cellphones are off too, should we get other assisting?” she asked, making you roll your eyes.

“i don’t care if they are not answering, they are still at the hospital, and i know they don’t have any surgeries right now, so go wake them up from the dorms and let them know that if they don’t show up ready by the time i step into that hospital, i’ll personally make sure they never assist anyone in a surgery again,” you spoke, and hung up.

“what is wrong with these people? they can’t just chose not to operate on a patient,” you scoffed, not believing what you heard about them declining the calls. they should be worried and anxious to receive calls, not happy to ignore them.

sometimes you just wished you’d never become a surgeon in first place, it was hard to have the lives of peoples on your hand while you dealt with some incompetent doctors and nurses that thought they could just sit all day, check on a single patient, hand out bandaids and make money. but the feeling of seeing patients healthy after a surgery you performed was something you wouldn’t get anywhere, even if you had to deal with some seriously mad people who believed they were king’s of the worlds with a speciality.

though it was difficult to have time for others than patients in your job, you still managed to have close friends, one who was a pediatrician and another who was in emergencies. two wasn’t much, but it was all you thought you needed.

they didn’t think it though, they were obsessed with the idea of making you go on blind dates and meet guys so you could get a boyfriend and ‘chill out’, but you disliked wasting your time in that, instead, you preferred being out by yourself, and occasionally with them.

you barely had time for yourself, and they thought you’d have time for a guy. though, deep down, you knew they were right about you settling down.

on the other hand, at the opposite side of the bar, the group of friends finally settled down at their table, exhausted from all the singing and jumping around. it had been a wild night filled with laughter, off-key notes, and spontaneous dance moves that left them breathless. despite their serious jobs as special agents, they had a knack for letting loose and embracing the chaos of life.

“sunoo, why are you wasting your life being a crime investigator? you could’ve been a member of a boyband,” jay said, chugging down his drink, the alcohol leaving a slight sting in his dry throat. he leaned back in his chair, eyeing sunoo.

the one he referred to only deadpanned, leaning back in his chair too but with an air of indifference. “sure,” he replied, barely masking his amusement. sunoo shook his head, a playful smirk creeping onto his face as he turned to the other of the trio. “you know, jungwon, i thought you flirted better. i really did. what was that wink you just did to that girl?” he teased, mimicking the exaggerated gesture with a dramatic flair that had him cracking up.

jungwon froze, having been caught off guard, and offered a nervous smile. “oh, it was nothing,” he dismissed, though his eyes darted over to you, who were furiously typing in your phone. the way you focused, eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed together in concentration, made him momentarily forget the teasing.

“yeah, nothing,” sunoo snorted, covering his smile with his hand. he leaned closer, clearly enjoying jungwon's nervousness.

“wait, what happened?” jay blinked, clearly lost in the conversation. he glanced between sunoo and jungwon, trying to piece together the unfolding drama. “did he actually try to flirt with someone, or are you just messing with him?” his curiosity was evident, and the playful energy in the room only grew as sunoo leaned in closer, ready to spill the details. jungwon, caught off guard, shot him a pleading look, but it was too late, the moment was too ripe for sunoo to resist, as jungwon had never tried anything like this before.

sunoo started explaining how he saw jungwon trying to flirt with a girl while they sang and even pointed at her in the middle of the song, but jay didn’t believe it.

jungwon just kept looking away, his eyes often traveling back to your figure, and left quickly, as he could not figure out if he’d seen you before or not.

“you need to get her name so we can search her up and see her profile,” jay nodded at his friends, a teasing grin on his face. “we can’t have you dating anyone with criminal records.” he laughed, but there was a hint of seriousness in his tone.

“what? i am not doing that!” jungwon defended himself, a hint of indignation in his voice. “also, she doesn’t look like a criminal,” he added, motioning to you with a slight smile, as if that was all the evidence he needed.

both turned in your direction and were completely taken aback by jungwon’s choice of women. they hadn’t expected you to be so different from what they thought his type was, but in a good way. you had an effortless charm and a vibe that radiated confidence, completely contrasting with the image of the old bar.

sunoo raised an eyebrow, a teasing grin spreading across his face. “okay, maybe we need to reconsider our assumptions,” he said, nudging jay, who was equally surprised.

“still, i am not going over there to interrogate her,” jungwon sighed. the idea of checking you out felt both ridiculous and oddly appealing. he shifted in his seat, feeling a mix of embarrassment and intrigue as he tried to focus on anything but the lingering thought of how to approach you normally.

“well if you aren’t, then i am,” jay declared, standing up and pressing his hands on the table with determination. but just as he started to stride over, sunoo yanked him back down by his jacket. “don’t embarrass yourself, that’s dumb” he said, laughter in his voice.

jay fell back in his chair, grumbling, “i’m not dumb, i’m cautious. now, jungwon,” he started, shifting his focus and getting jungwon’s attention, “you go over there, place a hand on her shoulder, and greet her. then, offer to get her something to drink.” he nodded firmly, as if this was the key to success.

jungwon blinked, confusion etched on his face. “i am not actually going to talk to her, i thought it was a joke,” he laughed nervously, adjusting his loose tie as if it might somehow give him more confidence. the laughter around the table faded for a moment as his friends exchanged knowing glances.

sunoo audibly groaned at jungwon’s comment, standing up and pulling his friend to his feet. “come on, enough of this!” he exclaimed, barely giving jungwon a chance to protest before pushing him away from the table. “you’re overthinking it!”

jungwon stumbled slightly, a mix of surprise and reluctance on his face. “wait, sunoo-” he started, but jungwon was too far away to just back down, plus, it wouldn’t hurt talking to you. if you had a boyfriend, you could just reject him, and if you didn’t, we’ll, he’d have to think of an escape plan.

he cautiously walked through the crowd, each step filled with uncertainty, until he finally reached the bar where you were sitting. as soon as he saw your face up close, jay’s little speech went out the window. the nervousness he’d felt moments ago melted away, replaced by an unexpected sense of ease. maybe he didn’t need an escape plan after all.

truthfully, he wasn’t the best at speaking with women. the only ones he’d really talked to were family and coworkers, all older and married. sometimes he wished for that connection, to feel loved and cared for like he did with others all the time with a job like his. though, it felt complicated, like he was always balancing responsibilities with the desire for something more. this was a chance to be genuine, to take a step toward what he truly wanted.

he mustered up all the courage he had and walked up to you, clearing his throat with a slightly awkward fake cough to get your attention. when you turned to look at him, a hint of surprise in your eyes, he felt his heart race.

"may i sit here?" he asked, mentally cursing himself for sounding like a nervous high schooler asking to join someone at lunch. he felt a flush creeping up his neck as he waited for your response.

instead of giving him a weird look, you smiled warmly. "of course." that simple response made jungwon feel a rush of relief, but the nerves still bubbled inside him, threatening to overwhelm. unsure of what to do next, he fumbled with his words, searching for something clever or interesting to say.

but luckily, you saved the awkwardness that would follow if either of you stayed silent. “so, what’s your name, karaoke guy?” you asked, taking a sip from your drink, a playful glint in your eyes.

jungwon looked down and smiled, letting his dimples poke his cheeks. “yang jungwon, and you?” he asked, looking back up at you, his nervousness slowly fading.

“y/n l/n,” you replied, meeting his gaze with a friendly smile.

“you come to this bar often?” he leaned on his hand, his curiosity piqued. he genuinely wanted to know more about you and what drew you here.

you squinted your eyes at him, pursing your lips playfully. “why? do i look like an alcoholic?” you teased, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. to this, he immediately panicked, stuttering out a response. “no, i never said that! i mean, i come here too, and i’m not an alcoholic!” he laughed shyly, the embarrassment creeping in. he was worried he’d said something completely wrong.

you looked away, a smirk forming. "i do come here often. it’s the only place near the hospital that’s open at night."

“wait, you’re a doctor?” jungwon’s eyes widened, genuine surprise lighting up his face. the realization made him even more intrigued by you. it was great that you were all so captivating, and also probably had a lot of determination.

“doctor l/n to you, head of neurosurgery, one of the best in the country,” you said, a mix of pride and seriousness in your voice. you met his eyes again, noticing how captivated he seemed. "what about you?" you asked.

“i’m kind of working with the police,” jungwon said, still in shock at being in the presence of such an important person. the idea of your worlds intertwining intrigued him, and he couldn’t help but wonder how your paths might cross in more ways than one.

“kind of?” you frowned.

“not kind of, sorry, i am,” he corrected himself. “but, talking about you again, as a doctor, i imagine you have very little time for anything right?” he asked nicely.

"my life is at stake for others' lives," you said, pressing your lips together, suddenly reminded that you had promised to be back at the hospital soon. "listen, jungwon, it was really nice meeting you, but i have to go back-" you started, but he cut you off.

"of course, do you have a ride? i can take you if you’d like," he offered, his concern evident as he inched a bit closer.

you shook your head gently. "i brought my car, and i wouldn’t want to pull you away from your friends." you nodded toward them, who were watching you intently but quickly averted their gazes when they caught your eye.

jungwon chuckled, a soft smile playing on his lips. “it’s okay, they’ll live without me for a bit.” there was a sincerity in his voice that made your heart beat. his relaxed demeanor was infectious, and you found yourself drawn to the genuine warmth he exuded.

he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. “honestly, i’d rather be here with you than over there.”.

“really?” you asked. “what’s so special about this conversation?” the playful glint in your eyes encouraged him to say something.

jungwon’s breath caught in his throat for a moment. "well, we’d have to meet again for you to find out," he mustered out a reply, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he looked down at you. something about him made you feel like he was actually interested, but you couldn’t risk it, not now, not when you had a lot of things going on.

“looking forward to it,” you challenged lightly, your voice barely above a whisper, and you leaned back, not realizing the weigh of your words on him.

he helped you down from the tall stool, his hand brushing against yours, sending a thrill through you. "i just mean it. it was great meeting you, y/n."

you met his intense gaze. "thanks, jungwon. you too."

turning to leave, you took a last good look at him before probably not seeing him again after this night, his brown hair slightly toloused, his warm demeanor, and those two dimples that poked his cheeks every time he smiled your way, it made you want to not go back to the hospital ever and stay the whole night talking to him. but that was something that was simply never going to happen, even if you did enjoy being there more than anything.

as you made your way to your sports car, thoughts of yang jungwon flooded your mind, you had just met this man and somehow he had made his presence known to you, and it would be undeniably difficult to make him leave.

BTW: i h8 this chapter and first meetings with a burning passion. somehow i can write fight scenes perfectly fine but not even a good paragraph of first meetings. like, let me cook guys, the other chapters r gonna be good because they alr met and went through the awkward phase. also, pls have mercy on me if i get anything wrong, i am not a doctor nor a cop so i’m just basing this on shows.

EXTRA:

masterlist.

next chapter.

all chapters.

[gigisdoll]

Cw: dubcon, dacryphillia, somnophillia, breeding,pet and owner dynamic, overstim

Parings: ive x reader

It was absolutely heartless how they treated you at the shelter.. Absolutely ruthless! Unsurprisingly with your bratty attitude, arrogant stance, but your rare breed was extremely demanded so of course that just inflated your ego, the fact that despite your brattiness people still wanna buy you.

"A new potential buyer has come.. Or should I say buyers..?" The shelter owner announced to all of you, "They say they want the rarest we have....Y/n please just be on your best behavior" the owner pleaded with you, hands almost in a praying position as if to praise you even more "Fine.. " you rolled your eyes in feigned obligation.

You sat on the chair the shelter owner provided for all the candidates for the potential new buyers. Once they walked in they immediately looked at all of you, and then straightly stared at you specifically, the owner took notice of their.. Interest in you, getting excited to finally get someone to buy you "This is y/n... One if not the rarest breed we have, she luckily has not been bought yet" A girl who has the cutest doe eyes spoke up " Unnie! We have to get her! She's so pretty!" The girl squealed pointing at you looking at another girl who looked just as mesmerized as the others "H-how much is she?" Another girl said reaching into her pocket to get her wallet "About.. Let's say 50 thousand? How does that sound?" The girls took the deal eagerly paying in all cash! Boy are you gonna enjoy living with them..

The tallest picked you up, scooping you into her arms excitedly "Unnie.. Look at how she looks at us! She's so cute! " She said smiling "Hi y/n...my name is Yujin.. " Another girl said, you hissed as she tried to touch you "Must be a bratty one huh Wonyoung?" The girl... Yujin said to the one carrying you "Aww... No... She's so cute though! I refuse to let her go!" Wonyoung says as she hugs you tighter.

Whining as she hugs you tighter, and huffing as she puts you into your seat... Sad that they know they have to fuck that attitude right out of you sooner or later

-

Whining as who ever she was buries herself deep inside of you, it's been so long,you can't tell who was kissing you, whispering in your ear, sucking on your breasts, or who the hell's dick was melting into you. All you knew is that you felt good by being fucked stupid "Now where's that bratty girl huh?" Yujin asked condescendingly as Rei pushed in and out of your abused hole, all you can muster up was a high pitched whimper as Rei's tip kissed your cervix as she filled you to the brim of her.

She pulls out giving your overstimulated cunt a breath of fresh air- before it's immediately getting filled again "Hah- you're still so tight Y/nnie.." Whining once again as the pleasure settles in and your surroundings do too.. Gaeul was asleep, Yujin degraded you, while Wonyoung praised how well you were taking her cock. Sleep taking over you might as well let them use your body till they grow tired of it... It's the least you can do after they treated you so well this morning...

-

Waking up so so sore :(( Gauel's cock was still deep inside you to plug all that cum up! Can't let that go to waste! Whining and whimpering cause you are still super sensitive, this for sure won't be the last time you'll wake up like this...

[pokemonshelterstories]

hello! i'm not sure if you've ever had to care for any, but do you know how to care for solrock? ive recently had to take one in and i'm at a loss on how to care for it since it's so different from the pokemon ive grown up with (purrloin and herdier). sources online suggest that it only needs sunlight for energy and nutrients but i'm nervous that this isn't enough, and given that its expression doesn't change much, it's difficult to tell if it's comfortable or not. if you can, please help!

solrock are definitely really interesting pokemon...we don't know a whole lot about them, since their discovery was very recent!

it's true that they absorb sunlight as their singular source of energy, so making sure they have regular access to unfiltered sunlight is really important. you can also provide an indoor sunlamp for your solrock to bask under inside. as far as enrichment....they're really tough. we don't know a lot about their need for mental stimulation. in the wild, they spend most of their time basking or spinning together with other solrock. this spinning movement seems to be the most important aspect to focus on for their enrichment, and a single study on stress levels in solrock indicated that there were fewer signs of stress in solrock immediately after performing this behavior than before it.

i've actually seen videos from one solrock owner who taught her solrock to manipulate tops and spin them, and she said that her solrock spent almost all of its awake time doing that when it wasn't basking. she also said that it spends more time spinning when she participates in the behavior than when she doesn't join in. so getting some objects for your solrock to manipulate that way and also joining in on spin time when you can are good places to start for enriching your solrock!

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

ive never understood why, when making the deal with griphook for the sword of gryffindor, harry had to lie about returning the sword later. like they KNOW griphook and goblins arent happy under voldemorts rule either which is why he offered to help, so why not just tell him hey, we need the sword to kill voldemort/its instrumental to his downfall, then you can have it back. like whether or not griphook believes it is another matter but why didnt they at least try instead of lying bruh

Because it was obvious Griphook would not have said yes to that bargain.

The bargain Harry makes, omitting the small detail where they'll get the sword back to Griphook eventually, is made in part so that Harry feels that he is not breaking his promise and merely taking advantage of a loophole in a well-meaning way. He'll get the sword to him eventually, right? Even if it's years later (or god forbid never because they never find all the Horcruxes) then it still counts, doesn't it?

However, it's very clearly explained that to Griphook/the goblins, no, it does not count. It's explained by Bill that goblins view their items as being leased to their owners for a lifetime but that wizards... kind of... never return these goods when the original patron dies. Gryffindor's sword is a thousand years overdue (and that's if you don't believe the part where Griphook notes it was stolen/a spoil of war that Gryffindor or someone else took for themselves). Griphook wants that sword yesterday and he made this quite clear to Harry. It's why it was the only item he was willing to bargain for at all.

And the thing about the goblins and Voldemort is yes, they think this guy is a lunatic and don't like him, but to them he's just one in a long line of wizards who's not too different from every other wizard they've had to deal with. Thinking that they'll want to get rid of Voldemort no matter what is actually the great folly of wizards/Harry when dealing with other creatures. Harry assumes Voldemort is the worst thing that's ever happened to anyone because it's really bad for Muggle-borns and wizards, for goblins Voldemort's only slightly worse than normal bad in that he breaks people's legs. The goblins didn't have wands before Voldemort, and they don't have wands afterwards either.

Add onto this that they're a people used to being stabbed in the back by wizards all the time, with wizards justifying how great they are while doing the stabbing (see Ron's 'well, goblins don't teach us how to be blacksmiths either') and Harry's wriggling out of his agreement would look like the first step on a long road of "maybe I'll just keep the sword for myself". Griphook would have 0 guarantee that sword is ever coming to him and Harry... sensed this would not be a popular suggestion and would simply be rejected.

Basically, as Harry knew bringing this up would be rejected... he chose not to bring it up. It's not for Griphook's benefit but so that Harry can keep the sword and gain Griphook's help while not feeling like a shit person for going back on his word. It's solely for Harry's benefit, not Griphook's.

[cherry-pop-elf]

Newly Made Man

Draco Malfoy x Professor!Reader

Inspired by this post, which is originally drawn by Antenna

Summary: Ivy, Daniel, and Olive (Weasley) have asked for you help catching a ferret. You needed an excuse to not do some paper work. Who knew helping a gaggle of kids could lead to a date

“Professor! Professor Professor Professor-!” You would hear the gaggle of students call for you. They always seem to find you whenever you weren’t busy. A mysterious talent they held. As if you would complain. You were once a Hogwarts student as well. You liked the adventure.

“Yes? Ah, you three.” You chuckled, as you saw the trio show up. A pair of red heads, and that silvery violet, right in front of you. The trio looked rather excited. Daniel seemed more so frustrated, Ivy curious, and Miss Olive had that look in her eyes that reminded you so much of the twins. You could only assume something will blow up soon.

“There’s a ferret, and it stole Daniel’s bag-!” Olive would inform you. That had Ivy giggle, as Daniel was getting more and more frustrated. The boy didn’t have the best family life. That bag was nearly all he had to call to his name, after all.

“Oh dear. We can’t have that, can we? Where was it last-“ Before you could even finish the sentence, something skittered between your legs. A clinking bag was being dragged in its mouth, as it ran. The clinking sounds had to be potions, which meant it was Daniel’s. Such a white blur.

“AFTER THAT RAT-!” The red heads screamed, as Ivy tried to clarify it was actually more closely related to a dog or cat than a rat. Jeez, whoever could be the Hermione of that trio?

With a fond smile, you were soon chasing after them. It was rather nostalgic. It reminded you so much of your days as a student. Having Hermione, Ron, and Harry chase after the likes of Malfoy. How often times many a fellow student would tag along, and it was almost a big game between everyone. Almost like capture the flag if you will. Never thought you would miss something like that.

“WATCH OUT-!” Was soon shouted by you, but they were moving too fast. The trio crashed right into a gaggle of other students. They were all in a clump, and groaning. You wanted to assign, but you didn’t want that ferret out of sight.

“IVE GOT IT-!” You reassured, as you kept chasing the creature. You wanted to try and fast a spell, but it seemed to zig zag infront of you. As if aware that you would attempt such actions. Might not be the first time this little devil caused some mayhem. Perhaps it was a students pet? Would explain why it seemed to know where it was going. Managing to avoid dead ends, and not go where there were stairs to slow it down.

“Will you get back here?!” You huffed, as it finally found a place to hide with the bag. Nice and cozy in a tree, at a familiar courtyard. Just snuggled into the branch. Taking a little yawn. As if bored, and ready to slip. Such a mocking thing. Having the bag just out of your reach.

“I swear, every white haired creature I deal with is a pain in the butt. One way, or another.” You huffed, as you just swore the ferret rolled its eyes at you. Seeming to not take your comment too lightly.

“What would you even need a potion bag for? Gonna make some potions?” You would say to the ferret. Wand in hand, and sass on full dial. Sure had the students in the court yard giggle at you.

“Where is your owner?” You asked, as if expecting an answer back. That’s when you looked around. Hufflepuff’s! They should know! Or at least know someone who would.

“Do you know who this ferret belongs to?” You would ask the students around you. After a few thoughts, and whispers, they all shook their heads. No one knew. How strange. White ferret’s aren’t uncommon, so you figured that someone would.

“This school certainly isn’t showing itself to have a good track record with ferrets. Huh? Hope you aren’t another turned student, who played dirty with the wrong crowd.” The knowing tone made said ferret stick its tiny tongue out at you.

“Sassy like the last one too.” A wag of your wand was given, as you were ready to try and cast a spell to get the bag back. Maybe it was something in your tone, but it seemed the ferret had enough play for one day. With its tiny nose, it would nudge the bag off the branch. Narrowly managed to understand what it was doing, and grabbed said bag. As if you needed potions to explode.

“Thank you.” You would give a dramatic bow, as if with a Hippogriff. Another stick of its tongue, before it took its chance to jump on you. Ran right all over your body, before curling around your neck. As if a little scarf. Wet little nose nuzzled your cheek, before it was ready for its nap.

“Cuter than the one I knew to.” You would give it a gentle pet, before going to try and hunt down those students. Quit the sporting look you held now. A pretty little neck piece, that was as blinding white as the clouds in the sky.

Was a rather peaceful walk, you couldn’t deny it. Just enjoying the fresh air. Along with having a companion to snuggle with. Tiny scratches to its little chin. Gave you happy chirps in return.

“Adorable thing. You remind me a lot of a companion I had in school. His name was Draco. Draco Malfoy. Prettiest man I had ever seen. So handsome, and sly. I wonder what life would have been like, if there was no war. So many confusing emotions at the time. Can’t love the enemy, as they say.” You sighed, as the ferret gave your cheek a little lick. As if to comfort you. It was accepted, as you gently brushed your finger down its spine.

“My bag-!” Daniel was quick to point out, and hardly gave you time to register he found you. It was in his hands again. Left to be hugged tightly. Certainly gave him a scare. Ivy was quick to pat his back, while Olive gave the ferret a suspicious stare.

“…….You look familiar-“ She muttered, only for the ferret to quickly hide itself in your robes. Made you giggle, as its little paws ran around your body. Poor thing seemed startled. Olive did have that effect. She was the daughter of George Weasley. That certainly made her friends of peeves. That alone says it all.

“Coward.” Another mumble was tossed, before she would give Daniel’s head a ruffle. The poor boys, pun intended, bag was returned. One of the few things he could call his own. A relief it was. That’s for sure.

“Thank you Professor…” Daniel sighed, as you nodded. Anything for the students.

“Does the ferret belong to anyone?” Ivy would ask, as you would get said rascal into your hands. Just dangling him around, as he looked at you with big silvery eyes.

“None of the Hufflepuffs I asked knew. Seems far too intelligent to just be a wild stray either. Seems well aware of the Hogwarts grounds as well-“ Before you finished, Olive stared daggers at the white furred menace. You heard of the story about the family rat, so you don’t blame her being anxious around creatures. Yet, that was a Weasley stare. A stare that could pull the truth out of you like any Veritaserum.

“Animagus…..And one that I know. Come on, Uncle D-!” She would poke at the ferrets little tushy. Made the small thing give a chirp of annoyance, as you blinked. Uncle D-? Uncle….No. White fur, silver eyes, knowing the Hogwarts layout….

The moment you dropped him, it was a whisper of black and white. As if a swirling mist. All the thematics, to show a slender figure in its wake. With long bleached hair, a tight black attire, with a silvery under bust to ever keep him tall and slender. If it wasn’t for that playful smile you would think it was Lucius.

“For a Weasley, you certainly know how to ruin the fun.” He scoffed at Olive, as she stuck her tongue out at him. Left you all a fluster. Given said ferret had been nuzzling and licking you, and the little secret you spilled.

“Woah…..Draco Malfoy….” Daniel was wide eyed. Of course he would. He himself was a potion prodigy. Much like the Weasley twins, and Draco, were when his age. It can’t help being admire. Sure fueled the man’s ego.

“And why is a Malfoy stealing random children’s bags?” You would puzzle, as he seemed to cringe at such a name. Lucius did make sure it was tainted. That was for certain.

“It’s Black, actually. Draco Black. Took on my mother’s maiden name, for obvious reasons.” He would grit. “-And as for the bag. Well, I was curious. Is curiosity a crime?” Ever the sassy one. Had you roll your eyes, as you jabbed him with your wand.

“Ow ow-! Ok, I did it because….I…Well-“ He swallowed, as the trio were wondering why a grown man would do such a thing. That is, until Olive started to giggle.

“You thought it was funny, huh? That’s something dad would do!” She kept giggling, as he was pink on the face. Guess Draco wanted to be a little bit normal, for once. Actually do pranks, and be childish. Least, that’s what you are getting. Olive did call him Uncle D. It had been so long since you last saw him. You swore he was sentence to Azkaban. Suppose it’s time to catch up.

“Tell him, and you are dead-“ He threatened, as Ivy soon had her wand drawn. Taking the threat rather literal. Had the older man throw his hands in mock defeat, at such a gesture.

“I’ll deal with him, you three hurry off now. It’s almost lunch. Go on-!” You would shoo, as they ran off. Daniel holding his bag tighter, Ivy with a scowl to the older man, and Olive with a two finger salute.

“So……Seems like you finally got along with those red heads…..” You said, as you started walking. He didn’t refuse the motion, and walked with you.

“It’s complicated…..I rather avoid the details. Potter was able to make sure my mother and I avoided Azkaban, and community service was applied instead. Thanks to Po….Harry-“ He would begin to explain his story to you, as you both walked.

A case of laying low, and rebuilding himself. A hard thing to do, given where his father was position in the death eater group. Regardless, you were happy for him. Suppose some exposure therapy to Harry’s family and friends was what he needed.

“Welcome back, than……It’s lunch time, so…..” You trailed off, as he stared at you with shock. Were you asking him out? Why? His name isn’t exactly clean, but well….You missed him. You knew that, deep down, he wasn’t truly a death eater. You do what you can to survive, and sometimes who you survive from is your own family.

“You are insane….Fortunately that was always something I admired about you, back then…..I’ll cover the meal. We-…George pays his employees rather well.” He admits, as you giggled. A smile was returned, as the two of you would make a right instead of a left. Not heading to that great hall, but that rebuilt wooden bridge. To go give Madam Rosemerta a friendly hello.

He’s a new man, after all, so why not allow for a new first impression?

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

Brand New

A/N- This is my very first fully written fic for Bill and i couldn’t be more excited to post it 🤭 i’ve struggled a little bit with writing something in full for him, I’m still trying to get a grasp on his character, but i hope that my interpretation goes along with how others interpret him too 🥰 i personally have a little bit of experience with nerd culture, horror movies specifically, so i used some of my knowledge to help this one go along a little more smoothly 😅 i’m trying to get the comics read through, but for now all ive watched for the last month is the Eltingville Club pilot and i’m OBSESSED

Summary- Bill isn’t too enthusiastic about the new neighbors moving in, but his mind changes as he watches the movers bringing in a few pieces of memorabilia he recognizes. He gets confused, however, when he sees just one pretty girl wander in after the owners.

Genre- Fluff (?)

Warnings- Normal vulgar thoughts of super nerdy guys who have never felt the touch of a woman

Tag List- No tag list yet! Please let me know if you’d like to be added 🖤

Word Count- 3.1k

Bill yawned at the breakfast table in the kitchen, picking at the leftover scraps of scrambled eggs on his plate.

The night before was a long one, as always. Another club meeting, another series of arguments over who actually won during their game of Street Fighter, another rewatch of Return of the Jedi just to see Carrie Fisher in that metal bikini they can never get out of their heads. It was always how he spent his Friday nights, he just wished the Saturday mornings would be a bit more interesting.

They were always the same. He’d wake up, do his normal morning routine, and sit at the breakfast table waiting for a call from one of the guys to see if they were still up for going out after nearly killing each other the night before.

Bill enjoyed how routine everything was, but every now and then he’d hope that something, anything, could interrupt their normal schedule and give them something else to sneak into their routine. And when he heard the loud screeching of a moving truck stopping outside, he perked up almost immediately.

“Bill!” His mother called from the living room, “I’m taking Jane to the mall with her friends, keep the noise down and don’t bother the new people next door!” She shouted, just before the front door slammed shut.

At least he’d be able to watch the new people move in by himself and get a good read on them.

He tossed his plate into the sink and ran upstairs, ignoring the phone ringing downstairs and waiting to finally pick it up until he made it to his room.

“Hello?” He said as he picked up the phone from the handset on his nightstand, shutting his bedroom door and watching out the window for whoever could be moving in next door.

“Hey, are we still up for today?” It was Pete, calling to confirm wether or not Josh threatening to burn Bills comic collection was a deal breaker for them going to the movies to see whatever sci-fi flick came out that week.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Bill said, half listening as he watched the movers lift up the back of the truck.

“You sure?” Pete asked on the other end, “You sound a little distracted.”

“Yeah…” Bill trailed off as the movers began lifting out the boxes to one another and bringing them into the house next door, doing his best to read the sharpie labels written on the sides, “Yeah, sure. Just uhh…” He glanced over at the clock, 11:57 am, “Why don’t you guys get here in an hour and we’ll go, alright?” Bill kept watching the boxes get lugged inside and his attention was grabbed by the car that pulled into the driveway. He saw the two front doors open and an older couple stepped out, the new owners he figured. He was just about to finish his spying until you caught his attention.

He watched as the back drivers side door opened, and as you stepped out of the car to stretch, Bills eyes widened.

You were breathtaking.

Even in your comfies, no doubt from the long drive, and with your hair done messily, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. He’d be forever grateful to finally live next to someone of your beauty. Stuck under your trance, he had completely forgotten about the phone in his hand.

“Bill!” Pete shouted, finally grabbing his attention back.

“Yes?! What?!” Bill shouted back as he kept watching you, gasping and reeling back from his window as his shouts caught your attention. Your eyes met for a nanosecond, but it was longer than he wanted. If he could manage to go the entire length of you living in that house without so much as a wave to one another he’d be in bliss. Watching you from afar and admiring everything you did from the confines of his bedroom or basement. But now you knew he was there. And he was fucked.

“We’ll be there in an hour, alright? See you then.” Pete hung up the phone, but Bill didn’t even notice.

He was too caught up in the fact that this was probably the closest he’ll get to a girl as pretty as you, and that’s only because you’d be living right next door. His mind was wandering to all those same places it would go to any time he had a new muse.

So far this month it had been Jade from Mortal Kombat, Terri from Anaconda, and now you. And he knew you’d be the one on his mind the longest.

He couldn’t help himself.

Hell, he didn’t even know your name, but he wanted to so badly. He knew he could never let himself get that close to you.

Bill sighed to himself, setting the phone onto the floor next to him as he thought of you. Being on of his beautiful ensigns in his Captain Kirk fantasies, dressed up in Leia’s metal bikini as you begged him to rescue you from Jabba, trapped in the chains of an evil sorcerer with a tattered and revealing princess dress while he and the rest of his D&D party came to your aid. He couldn’t stop.

Bill shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his head, but the sudden sound of a few boxes dropping and your shouts were definitely able to help. He turned his head back to carefully peek out the window and saw you next to what looked like a dropped box, a few of the contents fallen out, still wrapped up on bubble wrap.

“Be careful!” You shouted to the movers, “This stuff was expensive…”

Bills eyes widened as he saw what he thought was a few recognizable slasher masks, mint condition, wrapped up in vintage plastic packaging as you unwrapped the bubble wrap to see if they had broken.

Bill watched closer, his hands up on his windowsill to prop himself up as he watched you put the last of the called objects into the box and pick it up, carrying it inside the house yourself. As he watched you walk inside, he tried to make out the name on the side of the box,

“(y/n)‘s room…” He whispered to himself as he stared out at the spot you walked from, hoping to see you once more.

Bill was caught off guard at the sound of footsteps making their way inside the room across from his, and when he saw you enter with the box he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Even with getting a closer look at you, he knew it would be hard to not keep his eyes on that window to get a peek at you every chance he could.

He watched as you set the box down onto the floor, a few movers following in behind you, lugging in bigger and heavier boxes and setting them hard onto the floor. Bill could hear your frustrated groans and did his best to keep himself hidden, but the stack of comics next to him had other plans.

As Bill leaned himself up further to get a quick peek inside your room, they had fallen over onto the floor, knocking down the plastic bin filled with various half painted mini figurines for their D&D board. He dove to the ground to keep the sound from grabbing your attention, but when he heard your shouts he knew he was done for.

“Hey!” You shouted to him from outside your window, “I know you’re there, don’t ignore me.”

Bill cursed at himself for his stupidity before slowly standing up, his cheeks flushed knowing he was caught.

“You know,” You said as you stepped back from the open window, “If you’re going to spy, you can at least try to not get yourself caught. I could see you watching us in the driveway.”

Bill wasn’t sure what to say.

He was caught red handed, and he had never had someone call him out on his behavior so quickly. He felt compelled to apologize but it felt so foreign to him. He managed to muster out a quick and quiet,

“Sorry…” as he stood there before his open window.

“It’s fine…” You said, an audible eye roll in your tone, “Don’t do it too often, ok? You’re not going to be one of those perverts that tries to watch me change through the window, are you?” You crossed your arms over your chest, and though the thought definitely had crossed Bill’s mind, he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance now. It was almost like you knew his every move.

All he could do was stand there quietly, shaking his head.

“Good.” You closed your window halfway, going back to the boxes on your floor to begin unpacking as a few more of the movers bought in a couple more boxes.

Bill couldn’t help himself from watching you carefully unpack the boxes after slamming the bedroom door behind the movers.

One of them was flatter than the others, and he watched you place it on top of one of the bigger boxes before peeling the tape off and opening the top flaps. It was full of posters and prints of various sizes, each one of them had a different horror movie monster or scene on it.

Bill sat at the edge of his bed, watching you take out one of the rolls of tape the movers left with the boxes and begin placing them all over the walls.

He couldn’t believe a few of the ones he saw you put up.

A vintage Jaws poster with black sharpie scribbled over the title, no doubt the autographs of Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw. The one next to it was a printed scene from Night of The Living Dead, Barbara being chased through the cemetery by Johnny. The last one he watched you put up was unmistakable, and he was shocked such a pretty girl would be into something like it…

It was a black light poster for Cannibal Holocaust, and it was more graphic than the movie poster itself. He could see the scene of the impaled girl in his head as he looked at the poster, shaking his head to get his thoughts together, but not before blurting out,

“Is that Cannibal Holocaust?” Out the window to you.

it was loud enough to catch your attention, and just as you had found the perfect spot for your Toxic Avenger poster. You wandered back over towards the window, lifting it up the rest of the way and poking your head out,

“What did you say?”

“Is that…” Bill asked, his voice quiet as he pointed out the poster behind you, “Is that from Cannibal Holocaust?”

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, quickly looking back at the poster behind you to confirm his suspicions,

“Oh. Yeah, it is.” You nod to him, “Why?”

Bill shrugged, not expecting his sudden outburst to turn into a conversation with you,

“I just… recognized it.” He said with a nervous quiver, “Didn’t know girls liked that stuff…”

“Yeah, well, I like that stuff.” You said with a shrug, keeping the window open as you went back to hanging up your posters and prints.

Bill nodded to himself, trying so hard to take his eyes off of you, but the revelation that this gorgeous girl next door could be into the same cheesy gory horror movies as him was too interesting for him to not want to know more.

He kept his distance, sensing a bit of hostility in your tone, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. He tried to get a decent look at the other things you had been unpacking.

Clothes, books, a few VHS tapes, but what really caught his eye was when you opened up the box that had been dropped outside.

He watched you carefully unwrap each piece of memorabilia from its bubble wrap, and he was surprised to see a few of the things that were inside.

A few vintage halloween masks still in their plastic packaging, along with Jason’s hockey mask, Freddy’s finger knives, and what looked to be an exact replica of the Book of the Dead from The Evil Dead. So many things from so many different movies and he was still so surprised that such a pretty girl would be interested in things like that. Things that are dark and grotesque, things that are terrifying to most people, things that he figured only him and the guys liked until you came along. Bill was so used to having girls turn the other way at the sight of these kinds of things, and yet you embraced them. It only made him more and more interested in seeing what else you had hidden away in those boxes. Wether it was more memorabilia, or hopefully you’d stumble upon a box filled with intimates for him to fantasize about later. Either way, he was intrigued.

“You stare a lot, you know that?” You said as you kept unpacking in your bedroom.

Bill realized that he hadn’t even noticed how long he had been peering into your room,

“Oh. Sorry.” He reeled back slightly as he felt the blood rush to his face.

Why was he acting this way?

He had never felt so intrigued by a girl without even knowing her name. He had his fair share of crushes before, not being able to stop himself from staring whoever he saw them out and about and he tried so hard to make himself seem confident in front of them and it never worked. He knew he would scare them off without as much as a ‘Hi’ from them, and yet you were still talking to him. He was hoping it wasn’t just from the forced proximity.

“I don’t mean to stare. I just don’t think i’ve seen that much horror memorabilia in one place…” He stepped further to the window for a closer peek into your room, excited to see some clothes starting to be laid out onto the mattress of your bed, but seeing a wide variety of movies, books and merchandise scattered around as you unpacked caught his attention in a way that nothing else could. It felt as if he was being drawn to it by a force he could only describe as ‘want’.

“Oh…” You turned and looked around your still somewhat empty room, seeing all the different pieces of your personality from a different perspective, “I guess i do have a lot of stuff. I’ve been collecting for a while, I guess i just didn’t notice.”

“Not that it’s a bad thing!” Bill said quickly, almost shouting as he finally found common ground to explore. It wasn’t something huge, but it was better than nothing, “I’ve been building a collection of my own for quite a while.” Bill chuckled nervously before stepping back from the window to give you a better view of the inside of his room.

You slowly stepped up to the glass, lifting it back up all the way as you peeked inside of his bedroom. And it was a lot more than you were expecting.

Walls completely covered with video game and comic book posters, a few older horror movie prints alongside them, shelves covered in comics and action figures still in their packaging from god knows how long ago, and you could see the boxes of mini D&D figurines and various VHS tapes all strewn along the floor of his room. Even the tossed aside bedding that was halfway on the floor was themed. You’ve met some super-fan nerds back at home but this was like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

“Wow.” You said with wide eyes, “I don’t think i’ve seen so much stuff in one place before. That’s pretty cool.” You said with a kind smile.

Bills heart was beating faster than it ever had before. Not only was he have a conversation with a girl, a face to face conversation, but you didn’t think it was weird for his room to be completely covered in trinkets and memorabilia.

“Thanks.” He said with a trembling smile, “I’ve got shelves of stuff down in the basement too!”

“You’ve got more of that stuff?” You asked with a giggle, “You must be pretty committed to collecting all that stuff.”

Just as Bill opened his mouth to respond, his attention was pulled to the rapid loud banging on his front door,

“Bill!” He glanced over at his clock and hadn’t noticed that the last hour had passed by so quickly, his anger growing as he heard Josh’s shouts from outside, “We don’t have all day! Hurry up!”

Bill growled, and quickly changed his demeanor as he turned back to you,

“Sorry,” He nervously chuckled, “I didn’t mean to distract you.” His hands reached up to finally shut the window and lock it, but stopped just before closed as he heard your voice.

“Bill?” You asked curiously, “That’s your name?” He nodded as he lifted the window halfway, eager to hear what would come next. He had never once heard a girl other than his mother say his name, and it was so soothing to hear your voice finally say it. “I’m (y/n).” You said with a smile, “I’ll see you around.”

Your kindness was almost overwhelming. Never in his life had he gotten to being on a first name basis with a girl, and yet somehow it felt like it came so easily. You gave him a little wave as you closed your window, flipping the little lock at the top as you went down to grab a few more boxes to bring inside the new empty home.

You were lucky enough to catch Bill running out his front door and into a car filled with three other boys, each of them seeming like they’d probably he just the same as him.

You watched as he climbed inside the back passenger seat, and for just a moment his eyes caught yours. You picked up a box from the movers and gave him a quick smile, your fingers waving from where they were holding the box as you lifted it. You thought you saw him wave back as the car quickly sped out of the driveway.

You smiled to yourself as you made your way back into the house, placing the box onto the kitchen counter as your parents were putting away the various things they could gather from the boxes into their respective rooms. As unenthusiastic as you were to make the move, it was nice to know that at least there was someone to talk to.

Maybe once everything was unpacked, you’d let Bill see the rest of your collection.

Just maybe.

[movingmusically]

Caught Feeling - Chapter 11

Synopsis:

A sleepless night leaves Y/N grappling with the growing distance between her and Hank. As her day unfolds, the weight of uncertainty and loss settles in. When Hank finally reaches out, Y/N realises that things between them may be more complicated than she thought.

Word count: 4,690

Masterlist

The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, but it did nothing to chase away the heaviness that had settled in my chest. I hadn’t slept well, if I’d slept at all. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Hank—stumbling, drunk, and so far from the man I thought I knew. I’d never seen him like that before, it felt like something had cracked inside him, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reach him.

I knew something had shifted recently, ever since that night at the bar with Natalie. But we’d only been together for a little over a month, and I’d brushed off the little things—his hesitation, the way he’d seemed distant when Natalie called him a “total catch.” He’d laughed it off at the time, but I’d seen it, that flicker of something behind his eyes. Doubt.

Last night had been a disaster. I’d managed to get him home, barely. He was so drunk, I couldn’t even get a coherent sentence out of him. And now, I was left wondering what the hell had gone wrong.

I glanced at my phone. Still nothing. No messages, no missed calls. Just silence.

I felt the ache of uncertainty, twisting tighter with each passing hour. I kept asking myself if this was just his way of pulling back, of deciding he didn’t want things to go any further. We hadn’t been together long, so maybe I didn’t know him as well as I thought. Maybe I’d read too much into the connection we had. But it didn’t feel that way. This felt different—special, even if it was still new. I wasn’t ready to give up on that, not yet. But what if he was?

Pushing the thought away, I forced myself out of bed. I had a shift at the clinic, and if there was one thing that could distract me from the mess in my personal life, it was work. I threw on my scrubs, grabbed my bag, and headed out, the dread still lingering at the edges of my mind.

The clinic was already busy when I arrived, the usual bustle of appointments and emergencies filling the air. I threw myself into the work, trying to push away the thoughts of Hank, but it was hard. My mind kept drifting back to last night, to the image of him barely able to stand, his words slurring together.

I moved through the motions—checking charts, giving medications, talking to worried pet owners—but none of it felt real. It was like I was operating on autopilot, my body going through the motions while my mind was somewhere else entirely.

Then, just after lunch, the shelter brought in a dog. The moment I saw him, my heart sank. He was emaciated, ribs visible through his matted fur, his breathing shallow and weak.

“He was abandoned,” the shelter volunteer said, her voice tight with worry. “We found him in a yard. He’s barely hanging on.”

I nodded, my throat tightening as I knelt beside the dog. His eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, I saw something there—a spark, a fight still left in him. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Maybe we can save him.

The next few hours were a blur of frantic activity. IV fluids, oxygen, medications—I threw everything I had at him, desperate to pull him back from the brink. Every time his vitals dipped, I felt my heart race, my chest tightening with the fear that we were losing him.

For a while, it seemed like we might have a chance. His breathing steadied, his heart rate picked up, and I started to believe we could save him. I clung to that hope, trying to convince myself that we were turning a corner. That he might pull through.

But just as quickly as it had come, that hope slipped away.

His body gave out, collapsing under the weight of too much neglect. I could see it in his eyes—the spark that had been there before was gone. He had nothing left to fight with.

I stood there, my hands trembling as I watched him slip away. We’d done everything we could, but it hadn’t been enough. It never felt like enough.

I don’t know how long I stood there, staring at the lifeless body on the table. My throat felt tight, my chest heavy with the familiar ache of loss.

I’d seen animals die before—it was part of the job. But today, it hit harder than usual. Maybe it was because I’d let myself believe he had a chance. Or maybe it was because, deep down, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was losing something else too.

Hank.

I tried to push the thought away, but it stuck to me like a shadow. No matter what I did, I couldn’t escape the gnawing fear that I was watching something slip away, something I couldn’t save.

I pulled off my gloves, tossing them in the bin, and took a shaky breath. The clinic was still buzzing around me, but I felt disconnected from it all. Like I was moving through a fog, the noise and movement around me blurred into the background.

It wasn’t until I was finally heading out the door that I glanced at my phone. The screen lit up with a message, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Hank’s name.

I’m sorry about last night. I have the night off. Can we talk?

For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the words. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or terrified. Part of me had been dreading this conversation, but I knew we couldn’t avoid it. I needed to know where his head was at, why he’d been pulling away. Why he had let things get this bad.

I typed out a quick reply, my hands trembling as I hit send.

Yeah, come over when you can.

As I started walking home, the weight of the day pressed down on me. The loss of the rescue dog lingered at the edges of my mind, blending with my fear of losing Hank. I didn’t know if I could handle another loss, especially not him.

When I heard the knock at the door, my heart jumped into my throat. I stood there for a moment, staring at the door, trying to steady my breathing. This was it. The conversation I’d been dreading all day. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it, but I couldn’t avoid it any longer.

I opened the door to see Hank standing there, looking just as tired and worn down as I felt. He gave me a small, almost apologetic smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey,” I replied, stepping aside to let him in. The air between us felt thick, heavy with everything unsaid.

Hank walked into the living room, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced around. He looked uncomfortable, like he didn’t know where to start. I sat down on the couch, waiting for him to join me. He hesitated for a second, then sat across from me, leaving a noticeable gap between us.

The silence stretched out, neither of us wanting to break it. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“You wanted to talk?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.

Hank nodded, but he didn’t look at me right away. He stared at the floor, his hands resting on his knees as if he was trying to figure out how to explain himself. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “About last night. About… all of it. I know I messed up.”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my emotions in check. “Yeah, you did,” I said softly. “What happened, Hank? Why did you get like that?”

He ran a hand through his hair, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just… it’s been building up. Everything.”

“Since Natalie?” I asked, the question hanging in the air between us.

He nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the floor. “Yeah. I didn’t realise it at first, but when she said that stuff… called me a ‘total catch,’ I just… it hit me. I’m not a catch, Y/N. I’m a mess.”

I blinked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

He finally looked up, his eyes filled with a mix of guilt and frustration. “You don’t know everything about me. You don’t know the shit I’ve done, the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve been trying to hold it together, trying to be someone I’m not, but it’s getting harder.”

I felt my heart tighten in my chest. “Hank, you don’t have to be perfect. I never expected you to be. I just… I need you to talk to me. I need you to let me in.”

His jaw clenched, and he looked away again, his hands balling into fists on his knees. “I’m scared,” he said quietly. “I’m scared that once you know everything, you’ll leave. You’ll see what a screw-up I really am, and you’ll walk away. And I can’t… I can’t handle that.”

I shook my head, feeling the tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “You don’t get it, Hank. I’m already scared. I’ve been scared since the minute you started pulling away. You not talking to me, not letting me in… that’s what’s hurting me. Not your past.”

He let out a shaky breath, his eyes filled with so much pain, it made my heart ache. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to push you away.”

I reached out, placing my hand on his arm. “Then stop pushing. Let me help.”

For a moment, it seemed like he might. His eyes softened, and his shoulders relaxed slightly under my touch. But then, just as quickly, the walls went back up.

“I’m going back to San Francisco,” he said suddenly, his voice flat. “Just for a week or so. I need to clear my head.”

I pulled my hand back, shocked. “You’re leaving?”

He nodded, his expression pained. “Yeah. I need space. I need time to figure things out.”

I stared at him, my mind racing. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was just… leaving? After everything, after this conversation, he was still walking away?

“What about us?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. “What happens when you come back?”

He hesitated, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. “I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice thick. “I just… I need to get my head straight before I drag you down with me.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I had to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill over. “And you think leaving is going to fix that?”

“I don’t know what else to do,” he said, sounding defeated. “I’m a mess, Y/N. I don’t know how to fix it.”

I shook my head, the frustration bubbling up inside me. “You’re not a mess, Hank. You’re just scared. But you’re not going to fix anything by running away.”

He sighed, leaning back against the couch, his eyes closing for a moment. “I just need time.”

A part of me wanted to scream, to tell him that I needed him to stay, that I couldn’t handle him leaving. But another part—the one I hated admitting existed—whispered that maybe this was my fault. Maybe I wasn’t enough to keep him here. I’d always been too quiet, too reserved, not good enough at communicating. I’d been through this before. People left when they realised I wasn’t what they wanted, when I didn’t say the right things, or open up enough.

I took a shaky breath, my voice breaking slightly as I asked, “Is this because of me? Am I the reason you’re pulling away?”

Hank’s eyes snapped open, and he immediately shook his head. “No. God, no, Y/N, this isn’t about you. It’s me. It’s all the shit I’ve been carrying around for years. I just didn’t want you to see it.”

I bit my lip, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. “But that’s the problem, Hank. You’re not letting me in. And I keep wondering if I’m not enough. If I’m not saying the right things or being the person you need. Every time someone’s left before, it’s because I wasn’t enough.”

His expression softened, and he reached for my hand, his touch warm and gentle. “That’s not it. You’re more than enough. I’m the one who’s screwed up here. I’m the one who’s afraid you’ll figure out that I’m not good enough for you.”

He sighed, leaning back against the couch, his eyes closing for a moment. “I just need time.”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. “What about Bud? Do you want me to take care of him while you’re gone?”

His eyes opened, and for the first time since he’d arrived, he looked surprised. “You’d do that?”

“Of course,” I said softly. “I want to help, Hank. Even if you’re leaving.”

He gave me a small, tired smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know,” I replied, my voice firm. “But I want to.”

He nodded, his smile fading. “Thanks. I’ll figure out the rest when I get back.”

*

The next morning came faster than I expected. I woke up to the sound of a soft knock at my door. My heart skipped as I sat up, already knowing it was Hank. He’d messaged me late last night, saying he’d drop Bud off before heading to the airport.

I pulled on a hoodie and opened the door to see him standing there, holding Bud’s carrier. Hank looked as worn out as I felt, shadows under his eyes and an exhausted slump to his shoulders.

“Hey,” he said quietly, offering me a small, almost apologetic smile.

“Hey,” I replied, stepping aside to let him in.

Bud was quiet, peeking out from the carrier, and as Hank set it down, the silence between us felt thick, like everything from last night was hanging in the air. Neither of us knew how to navigate this. It wasn’t just Bud that was being left behind—it felt like pieces of Hank were too.

He ran a hand through his hair, looking around the room as if searching for something to say. “I’ll be back in a week or so�� depending.”

“Yeah,” I said softly, not knowing what else to add.

There was a long pause, both of us standing there, not quite able to say goodbye but knowing it was inevitable. I felt like I should reach for him, pull him into a hug or at least tell him it was okay—but the words wouldn’t come. I didn’t know how to offer comfort when I was just as lost.

Hank exhaled deeply, his eyes lingering on me before he picked up his bag. “Take care of Bud,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I will,” I promised, my throat tightening.

For a second, it seemed like he might say something else—something more—but then he just nodded and walked toward the door.

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Hank… I’m here, okay? Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here.”

He froze for a moment, his hand on the door handle, and without turning around, he said, “Thanks, Y/N. I’ll keep that in mind.”

And with that, he was gone.

I stood there for a long time after the door closed, the silence in the apartment feeling louder than it had ever been. Bud meowed softly from his carrier, pulling me out of my thoughts. I crouched down, opening the door to let him out, and he padded over to me, rubbing against my leg.

At least I wasn’t completely alone.

I needed air. I needed to move. Anything to clear my head from the suffocating fog that had settled over me. I pulled on my running shoes and grabbed my keys, hoping that maybe a run would help me process everything—or at least make me feel something other than the numbness that had taken root in my chest.

The morning was cool, the crisp air biting at my skin as I started down the street. I focused on the rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement, the steady thud-thud-thud that echoed in my ears. For a while, I let myself get lost in the movement, trying to outrun the thoughts swirling in my mind.

Was he really going to come back?

I didn’t know. And that terrified me.

It felt like he’d left more than just Bud behind—he’d left a part of himself. The part that had started to open up, the part I was falling for. I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe… maybe he wouldn’t come back. That this “week” was just a way to let things drift apart, to leave without saying it out loud.

I picked up my pace, pushing harder, the burn in my legs distracting me from the ache in my chest. But no matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t escape the fear that was gnawing at me.

Without realising it, I found myself slowing to a stop. My breath came in sharp bursts, my legs aching from the exertion. I leaned forward, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. It wasn’t until I straightened up and glanced around that I realised where I was.

Paul’s.

The faded neon sign hung above the door, the windows dark. I hadn’t even noticed I’d ended up here. Of all the places. I stared at the entrance for a moment, memories of the nights I’d spent with Hank at this bar flooding back. This was where we’d met, where everything had started.

And now, it felt like I was standing outside a closed chapter.

I let out a shaky breath, debating whether to keep running or just turn back. But before I could decide, a voice called out from behind me.

“You’re Y/N, right?”

I turned around to see a woman walking toward me, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a Paul’s T-shirt. Her eyes were curious, though there was something in her expression that I couldn’t quite place.

“Yeah,” I said cautiously. “That’s me.”

She gave a small smile, stopping a few steps away. “I thought so. I recognise you from the photo Hank showed me. I’m Yvonne.”

I froze for a second, trying to process the fact that this was her. Yvonne. She and Hank had a thing, though it was over long before I came into the picture. But meeting her in person? I hadn’t expected this.

“Right, yeah. I’ve heard about you too,” I said, shaking her hand.

She smiled again, but there was something unreadable in her expression—an understanding, maybe. “Don’t worry, it’s all good. Hank and I are friends now, just friends.”

I nodded, not entirely sure what to say. Standing here, in front of Hank’s work, talking to Yvonne of all people… it was surreal. “I didn’t think I’d run into you here.”

She laughed softly, a sound that felt surprisingly genuine. “Well, I work here sometimes too. So, you know, bound to happen eventually.” She paused, tilting her head slightly. “You okay? You seem a little… out of it.”

I forced a smile, feeling the weight of the last few days bearing down on me. “Just… a lot on my mind.”

Yvonne gave me a knowing look. “Hank?”

I hesitated but nodded. There was no point in denying it. “Yeah.”

She smiled knowingly, as if she understood. “Yeah, I get that.” She glanced back at Paul’s for a second before turning her attention back to me. “I’ve seen you with Hank a couple of times. He talks about you.”

I blinked, unsure of how to respond. I hadn’t expected her to mention Hank right away, especially given their history. “He does?”

“Yeah,” she said with a small shrug. “I mean, we’re friends now. We’ve been through our ups and downs, but we’ve stayed close.” There was a flicker of something in her expression—an old memory, perhaps. “He’s not exactly great at opening up to people, but… He’s been different since he met you.”

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by her honesty. “Different?”

Yvonne tilted her head slightly, studying me for a moment before she spoke again. “He’s been happier.”

I frowned, not sure if I believed her. “Happier? He hasn’t seemed that way lately.”

She let out a soft sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know he’s going through something right now, but trust me—he was. Ever since you came into his life, there’s been a change in him. I’ve known Hank for a long time, and I’ve never seen him talk about anyone the way he talks about you.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected. I hadn’t realised how much I needed to hear that—that Hank had talked about me, that I mattered to him in ways I hadn’t known.

“I don’t know what’s going on with him right now,” Yvonne continued, her voice gentler. “But I do know one thing: he cares about you. A lot. I don’t think he’s trying to push you away because he doesn’t want you. It’s just… Hank’s got his demons. He’s always been that way.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I knew Hank had been carrying something—something he hadn’t shared with me yet. But hearing it from Yvonne, someone who had known him for longer, made it feel more real. More urgent.

“He hasn’t opened up to me,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “Not fully. I don’t even know what it is.”

Yvonne looked at me, her gaze softening. “Don’t take it personally. Hank doesn’t open up to anyone, not really. He’s always been good at keeping things to himself. But whatever it is, it’s not about you. Trust me on that.”

I nodded slowly, appreciating her reassurance even if it didn’t make the ache in my chest any lighter. “It’s hard, though. Not knowing if he’s ever going to let me in.”

Yvonne shrugged. “That’s Hank. He’s complicated. But from what I’ve seen, he cares about you. A lot. More than I’ve seen him care about anyone in a long time.”

I swallowed, trying to push down the lump forming in my throat. “I just wish I could help him.”

She gave me a small, sympathetic smile. “You are helping him. He probably just doesn’t know how to let you see it yet.”

For a moment, we stood there in silence, the noise from the street filling the space between us. Then Yvonne glanced back at the bar, her expression softening. “Just… don’t give up on him, okay? Hank’s a good guy. Messed up, sure. But he’s good. He just needs time.”

I nodded, feeling a mix of gratitude and uncertainty. “I won’t. I mean, I don’t want to give up on him.”

Yvonne smiled, this time with more warmth. “Good. Because I think he’s finally met someone who can keep up with him. And that’s saying something.”

As she stepped back toward the door, she gave me one last look, her eyes filled with a quiet kind of understanding. “Take care of yourself too, though. It’s easy to lose yourself when you’re trying to help someone else.”

With that, she disappeared inside, leaving me standing there on the pavement, my mind buzzing with everything she’d said. I didn’t know what the future held for me and Hank, but for the first time in days, I felt like I wasn’t completely alone in this. Yvonne’s words lingered with me as I turned and continued down the street, the weight on my chest just a little bit lighter.

The apartment was quiet when I got back, the familiar space feeling both comforting and isolating at the same time. Bud padded over to greet me, his soft purring a small but welcome distraction. I knelt down, scratching behind his ears, grateful for the company, even if it wasn’t the one I truly wanted.

After my run and the unexpected conversation with Yvonne, my mind was still spinning. I’d hoped that being out in the fresh air, moving, would have cleared some of the fog, but instead, it felt like everything had only gotten more complicated. Yvonne’s words kept echoing in my head, offering a strange sense of comfort, but also bringing more questions.

Hank cares about you.

Did he? I knew that he did, but it was hard to hold onto that when he kept pulling away, closing off whenever I got too close. I thought about everything we’d shared in the past month—how easy it had been in the beginning, how natural we’d felt together. But now… now it felt like I was chasing after something that was always just out of reach.

I sighed, flopping onto the couch, still in my running leggings and hoodie. Bud jumped up beside me, curling up against my leg, his warmth seeping through the fabric. I absentmindedly ran my fingers through his fur, my thoughts drifting back to Hank again.

Yvonne had said not to give up on him. That he needed time. But how much time? How long was I supposed to wait for him to figure things out? It wasn’t like I expected him to have all the answers right away—God knows I didn’t. But the silence, the distance… it was suffocating.

I stared at my phone, my fingers hovering over the screen. I’d been checking it obsessively since this morning, half-expecting some kind of message from Hank. But there was nothing. And the longer it stayed that way, the more I wondered if maybe I should be the one to reach out. Let him know that I was still here, even if he wasn’t ready to be.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my messages. The blank text box stared back at me, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to push him, didn’t want to make him feel like I was waiting for an answer he couldn’t give yet. But I also didn’t want him to think that I was walking away. Because I wasn’t.

I typed slowly, choosing my words carefully, each one carrying the weight of everything I hadn’t been able to say in person.

Hey. I just wanted to let you know that I’m giving you the space you need. But I’m still here, Hank. Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’m here.

I stared at the message for a long moment, my thumb hovering over the send button. Was this the right thing to say? Would it make things worse? I didn’t know. But I couldn’t keep waiting for something that might never come if I didn’t let him know where I stood.

With a deep breath, I hit send.

The message disappeared, and with it, a small weight lifted from my chest. I’d done all I could for now. The ball was in his court. I couldn’t control what he did next, couldn’t force him to open up if he wasn’t ready. But at least he knew I wasn’t giving up on him. Not yet.

Bud stirred beside me, stretching out before curling back into a tighter ball. I leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling, my mind still tangled in a mess of emotions. I didn’t know what would happen when Hank came back. I didn’t even know if he’d respond to my message. But for the first time in days, I felt a small sense of peace—like maybe, just maybe, things weren’t completely out of my control.

As the evening slipped into night, I found myself clinging to that small hope, trying to believe that giving him space didn’t mean losing him for good.

Masterlist

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

theres this german tv show i really like but they have one episode i despise because it is basically a pro prostitution propaganda piece.

in this episode, a brothel owner is murdered. during the investigation, the female detective goes to the brothel to talk to prostitutes and the other brothel owner who is still alive. the owner guarantees that all the women in the brothel are there completely voluntarily, „they fuck to afford an extra vacation“. he also tells the DETECTIVE she would make a great addition, he could use a blonde. this is treated as a joke and not like, sexual harrassment and highly inappropriate. while searching the rooms, the detective also interrupts the former chief of police in the middle of having sex with a prostitute. this again is treated as a joke and not as problematic. and you know who did in the end? a father whose daughter is prostituting herself in that brothel. we dont really get to hear his perspective by the way, the episode is almost entirely focussed on the brothel owner, with the prostitute whose father turns out to have murdered the dead brothel owner (because he thought he groomed his daughter) being a side character with like two lines where she emphasises she is there completely voluntarily and is treated well.

in the episode, the brothel owner is presented as a charming man while the critics of prostitution are represented only through the murderer, and thereby villainised. parents who worry about their daughters are portrayed as irrational. voluntary prostitution is presented as a neutral job choice where women can make some money on the side - the fact that only women „work“ in the brothel and both owners are men profiting from that remains completely unchallenged. the message could not be clearer: prostitution is normal and theres nothing to worry about but its critics.

coincidentally, this episode first aired in 2008 - the law liberating prostitution in germany started applying in 2002. the show is produced by german public broadcast, which means the german public pays for it. its symptomatic of the way our media has been corrupted by liberals. ive said this before when i talked about neo magazin royale.

an odd thing is that this show‘s target audience is like, german normies. the most normal people you can imagine. its not a hip young show or anything. its one example how powerful the prostitution lobby and their narratives are in germany, which some nickname „europe‘s biggest brothel“.

the show is called „mord mit aussicht“, episode „waldhaus amore“

[quartztwst]

QUARTZ

QUARTZZZZ

HAVE YOU SEEN JADE AND FLOYD'S DREAM YET

jade's one is pure hilarious

but floyd's one tbh is kinda sad; I feel bad for the boy, it's like he's in a nightmare instead of a sweet dream

Yeah I stood up until 7 am going through all of the chapters right before it was published which is my only flex but it's really pathetic HELP

IVE SEEN JADE AND FLOYD'S DREAM LMAOO

Floyd actually made so much more sense since Malleus' shallow perception of a happy ending is "no negative things" which Floyd doesn't really mind or actually wants. He likes being entertained and interesting things so negative things are part of that.

It was really sad but at the same time it was pretty silly since Floyd himself was acting pretty silly and bored. I was expecting Floyd's dream to be a bit more complicated but it was actually something that made much more sense once you put the Malleus magic explanation.

Jade's was pretty funny LMAOOO through the whole time I was thinking "Jeiazu. This is gay." But Jade's funny perception of Azul and Floyd in his dream was really interesting.

And the part where he says "They need me" or something similar to that takes a real good look at Jade's character too. When the Idia collection crew said something about Jade's self-importance and his stubbornness, I wasn't really surprised but at the same time intrigued? His character is genuinely so confusing but it keeps you wanting to learn more (but HE WON'T LET YOU.)

Azul's dream was actually shocking to expect but it makes sense. I was actually hoping for my "Azul with a fish tail" dream to win but UEGRGHSHERH it didn't happen. However, something similar happened with him being in a sports team where everyone adores him.

I know it's Malleus controlling his dream but I can't help but feel that Azul wants that adoration and acceptance deep down. But Azul's feelings are more complex than what Malleus thinks it is and that's why it isn't want Azul actually wants. He doesn't want to be like that and it isn't what he truly strives for. It might be what could've been but it isn't what he wants.

That's why Malleus' "always happy, no negative emotions" ideal of a happy ending is so shallow. And I'm not saying "well malleus is a heartless demon." He means well and it shows. The ideal is wrong but the intention is good. He wants everyone to have a happy ending but it's a bit controlling.. Okay. Not a "bit"..

A lot but he means well ok

And I also heard a lot of people say, "It's so sad that the octotrio don't really dream of eachother...."

I think it makes sense. I don't know about yall. They don't always stay together but I really like them when they do stick together. I mean like.. Floyd literally reminds us that they don't have to stick to eachother every time a character goes "Oh, you don't dream about eachother?"

And the scene where Floyd and Jade let Azul sink down makes even more sense because they say, "Azul can take care of it." That's how much they respect him and believe that he is strong because Azul can handle himself. It's not like they don't care. They do. That's why they fell in with him in his second "happy ending."

They only make up rules so they don't become attached because they claim they are just like co-owners of some business (they are in denial and don't wanna say that they care for eachother because that's cringe to them but they care for eachother.)

Jade and Floyd may act cold but that's because they believe Azul is strong. That's how much their trust is. If he can't handle it, oh well (they literally save him after).

And also it's not like they don't care. They literally yell for Azul when Azul gets pulled in again and try to pull him out. Then some people say "omg they don't actually care."

ARE WE READING THE SAME THING??

Anyways I think thats my thoughts for right now. I'll have to go through the all of the chapters again so I can understand more about them lmao

[comicglitterr0909]

As a community we NEED a fic where William actually gets arrested at the end, like imagine a romantic reader x Afton thing and he confesses his love and reveals his truths, and at the end it’s like, reader was actually a cop and your under arrest, and it ends w William saying I would have got away with it too if it wasn’t for you meddling- you get it. :)

I FELT REALLY BAD FOR NOT RESPONDING TO THIS FOR AWHILE, BUT IVE BEEN RLLY BUSY WITH WORK AND SCHOOL. SO THIS IS THE FIRST PART, IM MAKING THE SECOND PART RN AND I LEFT YOU ON A SMALL CLIFFHANGER RN ITS OKAY THOUGH. ALSO ITS ALREADY 2.9k+ WORDS SO I NEED A PART 2.

No because that's such a good idea though too and even though I’m a massive simp for William I think he definitely needs to be humbled. THE MANIPULATOR GETS MANIPULATED WHILE ALSO READER KINDA SIMPING FOR HIM IDK I COULDNT HELP IT it still ends the way u want though >:)

Also I'm naming this "Playing with Shadows" idk it feels right.

Stuff to know: Cursing, a lil obsessiveness, reader following “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss” mentality, reader is an fbi agent cuz idk felt like it, kind of a more creepy tone to it, this is taken place before Freddy’s is abandoned and before any of Williams kids die, but his wife is gone cause shes not important >:D

Being an FBI agent, you get your fair share or surprising things that you see. And when I got assigned to go to a small town in Utah, investigating a pizzeria, I’d say it was surprising, but that would be the least of my concerns. After arriving there, I was finally informed on what my entire job would be for the next 3 to 4 months. 

My boss takes me into a private room, I sit down in front of his desk, he grabs a file, his eyes graze over it until he sighs looking back at me. “Agent y/ln. Your job is complicated, I won't lie to you. It will be an extreme mental challenge, but you're the best to do this.”

“You must first get a job interview with a man named William Afton. He is the owner of a restaurant named Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. After you get the interview you must also get the job, as a waitress there. Simple enough, but then, you will have to seduce him. That's the tough part, we believe he is responsible for the murder of 6 or more kids. We chose you not only from your skill set, but also because you look very similar to his ex-wife. He has 3 children, if you start getting along with them it might seem more attractive to him, your main goal. Get him to fall so in love with you, that he confesses the murders.” 

And with that the case that would affect me more than any other, starts.

The day of the interview, it's pouring down rain outside, there are only a few cars parked outside of Freddy’s, the sound of music can be heard from outside. I walk up to the door, opening it, my eyes scanning the room. There isn’t much, it is a tuesday though, the first things I see are two parents trying to get one of their kids to leave, and the second is the giant ass animatronics on stage, well 3 of them are on stage, another fox looking one is playing with a kid. Well it would have been nice if they told me about some creepy animatronics but whatever. After looking around for a few seconds a man approaches me, he’s tall, probably 6 '4 or 6' 5, with glasses. “William Afton, you must be y/n y/ln, here for the interview?” He says to me, offering his hand for me to shake. My boss never told me what he looked like, they tried not to tell me anything about him, they thought that it would be too suspicious for the highly intelligent serial killer if I accidentally slipped up and said something about something I “didn’t” know. Either way I return the smile, shaking his hand firmly.

“Yes that's correct, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Y’know if you ignore the fact that he is probably a psychotic, narcissistic, serial killer, then he’s actually really hot. At least it wouldn’t be that repulsive seducing him. “Follow me then and we’ll get the interview started.” I take the chance to glance around the place once more, noticing his eldest son, Micheal, leaning against the wall rolling his eyes at his brother who was crying. The fbi showed me pictures of the children so I knew which ones to try and interact with. I followed him into his office, seeing only one family photo, it had his ex-wife in it, I do actually look a lot like her, huh. 

He motions me to sit in the chair in front of his desk, while walking to sit on his own. “So y/n, tell me what brings you here for the interview? Why here?” Oh right, what was I supposed to say, shit I forgot, good thing I was in theater as a kid, improvise. “Well, I really love the atmosphere of this place, even though being a waitress isn’t everyone's dream job, I think for now it would be a safe and fun job to have. I also am really good with kids so it's a plus to have them around.” Hell yeah theater kids for the win. He nods at my answer, thinking for a bit then writing something in a notepad he has, I see his gaze focus on the picture of his wife and kids then back at me, he narrows his eyes. Oh he definitely caught onto the similarities in our looks. 

“Y’know what y/n, I think I’m just getting a really good feeling about you, how soon can you start?” Either my improv is so good I should retire fbi and become an actor. Or the plan is working insanely well, and he misses his ex wife so much that having me around could take his mind off it. I really wish it was the first option, it's definitely the second. “Wow! Thank you so much sir! I can start tomorrow if that’d work?” He grins standing out of his chair, I do the same and shake his hand again. “Sounds perfect.” He walks me out of the building, his hand on my shoulder, to most it would be a friendly gesture. But when you know the blood that's been on his hands, you can’t help but have chills running down your spine. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, y/n” He says, his eyes looking straight at me, it was terrifying because when I looked back into his eyes I saw nothing, but it felt like he could see everything in my eyes. I force a smile, waving and quickly walking to my car, driving away to my little apartment. I could barely sleep, my mind kept returning to the same look in his eyes, the same way a lion looks at its prey. I’m an FBI agent, I shouldn’t be this shaken by another murderer, but it just felt different, almost out of this world in some weird way, I guess it just didn’t feel real. But it was. And that’s the scary part. The other scary part was the feeling of being watched, I knew that my FBI friends were watching on cameras, only checking on me with texts, just in case William was stalking me. And that's what it felt like, the feeling of someone watching me, but I couldn’t do anything about it, I was supposed to encourage it actually. This is my job anyways, I’m safe and I’m not going to let some ,oddly attractive now that i think about it, creep scare me. So after giving myself a pep talk I was finally able to get some needed sleep. 

I woke up to the annoying ass alarm going crazy, I immediately shut it off, it was a mental battle to not just go back to sleep. When I got out of bed, the feeling of being watched was gone, which told me that William was most likely watching me last night, never gonna get used to that. After I get ready, put on the mini mic that records any conversations I have, and make myself look like a potential murderers ex wife, I head out the door, ready to start my “new job” at a totally wholesome children's place.

When I get there and walk through the doors I notice William was waiting for me, he smiles welcomely and pats my back. “y/n! So great to see you, are you ready to start your new job?” I smile back at him, at least it seems like he's in a good mood today, not a creepy kill all mood. No wait, he’s still probably in that mood. “Yeah, I’m really excited, thank you again for hiring me, I appreciate so, so much Mr Afton.” “Ah, you're welcome! I think you’ll be a great addition to have around.” He leads me towards the kitchen where a sleep deprived male teen who looks like he’s high, (he is) is lazily defrosting pizza dough and another worker, some 60 year old Betty is cutting and putting ingredients into containers. Basic pizza prep. When I walk into the kitchen, Williams hands still on my back, the 60 year old looks up and HARD glares at me. Bitch. I think Wiliam saw how hard Betty or whatever was glaring at me, so he tries to lift the mood. “Bethenny, Aaron, this is y/n, they are our new waitress so you don’t have to keep bringing the food out yourselves!” Bethenny, I was close enough. She looks more like the child murderer. “Hey.” Aaron says, even though he’s high, he looks pretty nice, he’s smiling at me. I wave at him politely while Bitcheny is still glaring at me, not saying a word. “Alright team! Well get to know each other cause y/n’s gonna be here awhile!” That's condescending, oh well. I try to be nice and smile at Bigassbetty and she has no reaction besides looking away and going back to chopping up vegetables. William finally takes his hands off my back and says good luck while walking back to his office. “Hey… guess I should introduce myself, my name is Aaron, it's nice to meet you.” Aaron says coming up to me with a friendly (high) smile. I greet him, trying to be friendly, and trying not to be repulsed by the strong smell of vape coming off of him. “Hey, i’m y/n, it's nice to see a *friendly* face.” I say, glaring at Betty while saying friendly. “Oh haha yeah, don’t mind her, she's just some grumpy bitch.” I laugh with him and Bethenny rolls her eyes.  We keep talking for a bit while I try to help prep the kitchen before Freddy’s opens. Once it does, a surprising amount of kids come in, even more surprising because it's Wednesday. 

Food quickly starts getting made, along with kids screaming and laughing and running around. I bring my first pizza order over to a table, smiling nicely at anyone who looks at me, getting mostly smiles back. A few hours pass and I finally get to hang out . It's not that hard, it's just bringing food to people and trying not to kick children who get in your way. As I’m bringing food to a table I notice a woman who looks a lot like me walk in with three kids, pushing them in with an even more bitchy look than Bethenny and leaving. Oh shit, those are Aftons kids. I put the pizza down, checking my watch, perfect timing, I'm on break now, which means I need to try and interact with the kids. I got a little information on some of the kids, I know Micheal is the oldest, he's a punk and a rebel, and he’d probably follow me around like a lost puppy if I offered him a smoke and talked to him about star wars, easy enough. Evan hates Freddy’s, so I’d probably need to comfort him and try to calm him down, make him laugh and cheer him up. Then Elizabeth, I could probably act like I found a barbie and give it to her saying “I couldn’t find the owner.” All pretty easy, hopefully. 

I decided to try and talk to Micheal first. I figured if the other siblings saw him laughing and talking to me, it would make it easier to talk to them. I waited for Micheal to get tired of his crying brother, as he walked outside. I quickly grab a smoke from my bag and head outside, I see William watch me with an intimidating grin as I wave at him and go outside. Once I get out their Micheal is already side-eyeing me, obviously suspicious and wary if I would snitch on him for smoking, that's until I pull out my own and quickly light it, I glance at him seeing his suspicion fall and his face become more relaxed. I noticed he doesn’t his lighter isn’t working, great for me. “Need me to light it for ya?” I say smiling at him, offering my lighter. He grins and nods. “Yeah, thanks” I nod and cup my hands over his cigarette, quickly lighting it as we both stand outside silently smoking. “So you're the new waitress here right?” I’m glad he started the conversation, to be honest I had no clue what to say. “Yeah, just got here today, I’d say it's going pretty well.” He chuckles while taking a puff of his cigarette. “Hah, just wait till the weekend, it's like hell, way too many kids in one spot.” I grin, “It gets worse than this?!” I say jokingly as we both laugh a bit, I see he has a star wars shirt on. “Who’s your favorite star wars character?” He smiles wide, clearly excited to talk about it. “Oh definitely Anakin, what's your Princess Leia or something?” He jokes. “Hell no (your fav star wars character)  is where it's at.” (If it's Princess Leia, sorry lmao). We stay out there for 10 minutes until we walk back inside, discarding the smokes, and continuing to argue about star wars while inside, which is good because William sees me talking and laughing with him. After my break ends I go back to working, occasionally stopping to talk to Micheal, and like I said he’s basically following me around all day. At the end of the day, I help clean up the kitchen a bit, the only three kids left are Aftons. Micheal looks like he’s waiting for me, clearly already attached to me, guess I’m good at my job. I can’t help but feel bad though, if we do catch William, these kids will hate me. It's all a part of the job. I finish cleaning walking out where William greets me with a big smile, I kinda wanna see what he looks like when hes not smiling, because its really fucking creepy that I haven’t seen him do anything but smile. “Y/N! You did great today, I was right, you make a perfect fit!” I see Micheal nod in agreement, William also sees that, somehow he seems even more happy and smiley than just a moment ago. “Ah I see you have met my brilliant son Micheal! He’s quite the kid eh?” God he really is obsessed with trying to make me their new mom. “Yeah well he certainly knows way too much about star wars.” I joke, Micheals face heats up with embarrassment. “Hey! I can like things!” He laughs and I laugh with him, William doesn’t take his eyes off me, he looks like he’s thinking, deciding something, and whatever it is, is about me.

The smallest son then comes up to me, Evan, and just holds onto my leg, wrapping his arms and legs around my leg. I raise an eyebrow and awkwardly laugh, not knowing what to do. Micheal starts laughing really hard, and William is chuckling. “Evan, let's get off of y/n now eh kid, they’ve got places to be.” Evan pouts and holds tighter onto my leg. That's when I start laughing, Elizabeth grins evilly and takes the chance to run over and grab my other leg. William and Micheal start to try and pry them off of me, we are all laughing. Like a family. I lose my balance and stumble back, falling, the kids both instinctively let go so they don't get hurt, before I can fall on the floor William catches me.

Look I know he’s a child murder but with a 6 '4 sexy tumblrman catching me like that, I'm gonna blush a little. And he lifted me back up like it was nothing, I love a strong man. WOAH pause, I am not gonna fall for a killer. Wait, there is still a small chance this could be a misunderstanding, no, I have to remember how creepy he is, like I get bad vibes from him. Then again I get bad vibes from all men. “You alright y/n” Oh shit right, I forgot where I was for a moment. “Yeah haha, thanks, at least we got them off right?” I grin and laugh with them all. Evan tugs on William's pant leg, motioning for him to bend down so Evan can whisper something to him, William does so. He starts laughing and stands back up. “Evan was wondering if you wanted to come have dinner with us sometime.” I smile and nod. “I would love to!” The family lights up, all of them smiling. “How about tomorrow, can’t you just close Freddy’s a bit earlier Dad?” Micheal suggests. “That's a great idea kiddo, how does that sound to you y/n?” The plan is working perfectly. Well, almost perfectly, I’m getting attached to this family, even the guy who might be a murderer. I part of me is wishing, that its all a misunderstanding, that some other fucked up guy killed or took those kids, that this family is perfectly fine and I could fit right in. But the other part of me knows I need to stick to the job, and that fucking sucks. 

“That works perfectly, I will see you all tomorrow!”

And with that I wave goodbye to the Afton family, before driving back to my apartment, staring at the ceiling before somehow falling asleep. 

ALRIGHT GUYS ILL TRY AND GET PART 2 OUT ASAP 😭

[whatitsdecending]

Chokehold: Pt. VII

Vessel x Reader x Noah Sebastian

Word Count: 2.8k

Content warning: drinking, tense situations, brief mention of intense situation

—————————

The fire crackled to your right as you watched Vessel carefully unwrap his last present from you. It was the smallest out of the bunch you got for him, each gift earned some protest from him as he realized you’d gone out while you were bored and spent maybe a little too much on his presents.

But did you really care? No.

Not when he did the exact same thing and overwhelmed you with presents as well.

The pile was off to your side and was almost as big as his, but you did have two presents left to unwrap to decide who was more overwhelming.

You had no control over your gift giving especially for Christmas. Each year you would blow so much money on gifts for your parents and friends that sometimes they’d get mad and threaten to take away your credit card. But that never stopped you.

His eyes lit up when he opened the small box that revealed a beautiful silver chain necklace. It was simple, but he loved simpler things. “This is so nice, Y/N.” He says as he examines the necklace.

“The shop owner said if you need any adjustments you can take it back and she’ll fix it for free.” You explained as he moved to test the length of it around his neck.

“You know what,” he says as he finished adjusting it and felt where it rested just at his collarbones. “I think this is good. What do you think?” You stared at him, noticing the necklace but becoming distracted by how good he looks, like really good. The warm light of the fire danced across his skin, the shadows enhancing his already sharp features and making his eyes seem even more blue. He was devastatingly beautiful.

“Earth to Y/N, hello?” He waved his hand in front of you and you blinked, realizing you had spaced out. “Where did you go?” He laughed.

“Was busy admiring you.” You give him a crooked smile as his eyes glimmer at your words.

He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on your lips. “Now hurry up, open your last two so we can get to IV’s for his Christmas dinner.” You laughed at the slight worry wavering in his voice as he glanced at the time. Vessel did not like to be late to things, especially dinners where he was expected to help cook.

You delicately unlaced the ribbon that he’d tied on this present and tore away the wrapping paper. A gasp was the only way you could respond as you pulled out a book of all of Edgar Allen Poe’s greatest works, in fact this was the same book you grew up with back home.

“I-” you glanced at him and went back to the book. “How?” You frantically opened the book to the first page where that little note you loved so much still remained:

To our little love, the one we know will make such a big impact on the world some day. Our beautiful Y/N.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

A tear threatened to spill and drip onto the page as you smiled. “I may or may not have stolen your mum’s number from your phone and asked her if they still had it. It took her a little bit to find it, but when she did I had her ship it to II’s house to make sure you didn't find it.”

“I thought after all these years it was gone. I didn’t know they still had it.” You whispered as your fingers traced the book that began your love for reading. The poems in here were ones that you read at least one hundred times each, never being able to get enough of them. “Thank you, Ves.” You leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek, admiring the book once again before moving to the last present.

It was small and had the tiniest little bow on the top of it. You ripped the paper off and curiosity rippled through you as you stared at the small box. Jewelry box.

A smile tugged at your lips. “Did we have the same idea?”

“Open it to find out.” He watched patiently as you opened the box, revealing a beautiful bracelet that had a singular charm with the letter “V” on it.

“Ves..” Your words were so much as a gasp as you admired it. You went to clasp it around your wrist and it was the perfect fit, earning a nod of approval from Vessel. “I love it.”

He leans forward and pulls you effortlessly into his lap, wrapping his arms around your waist so his body is pressed against yours. You could not help but push the strands of hair that had fallen onto his face and covered his eyes. All you wanted to see were those damn eyes.

“Y/N?” He asked, his eyes sparkling with the firelight. You hummed a response. “I love you.”

You sat upright as the words processed in your head. “Y-You do?”

“Mmhm.” His fingers traced delicately along your back, mapping out figure 8s along the fabric of your sweater. “I think I knew it since that night at the club. Watching you dance… you were just so free and I found myself mesmerized by your smile. It lit up the entire room and I knew at that point I would do everything in my power for you to always have a smile on your face.”

A stray tear dropped from your eyes as the emotions ran rampant in your mind. You’d never seen such sincerity in his eyes before, the look that made you know he wasn’t bullshitting you and probably never will. You’ve known it for so long now but yet never had the proof you needed.

He gently wiped the tear away with his thumb. “You okay?”

“Mmhm.” You took a deep breath to control the tears that wanted to flow down your cheeks, the pressure of his hand against your lower back helping to distract you from the feeling. “This is just so new to me, that’s all.”

“What? What I just said?”

“Yeah…” you let out a shaky breath. “Nobody has ever confessed their love for me like that.” Your hands rested on his chest, the thumping of his heart grew stronger as the seconds ticked by. So many things you wanted to say but you just didn’t know how.

“Y/N.” His voice was soft, so soft you almost didn’t hear it above the crackling flames beside you. “Y/N…” He hooked his fingers beneath your chin and lifted it so your eyes were focused on his. “Don’t be pressured to tell me how you feel. I can see the wheels turning in your head.”

You let out a sigh and cupped his cheek with your hand. “I already know how I feel about you, Ves. I just don’t know how to say it.” He pushed his cheek more onto your palm and you embraced the warmth that circled through you.

“You could just show me rather than telling me.” His eyes lowered and focused on your lips, you smiled and closed the space between the two of you. It was gentle and warm as he kept one hand pressed against your back and the other holding the nape of your neck to deepen the kiss.

Your hands traveled along the hard grooves of his torso beneath his shirt, dragging the fabric up with your palms and pulling it off his body. He pushed himself off the floor and began adjusting the two of you to where you were laying on the floor, his body pressed to yours as you kissed.

His fingers were just hooking around the button of your jeans when his phone began to ring, sending you both jumping out of your skin at the sudden noise. You glanced at one another, breathless from the kisses that were being shared as he reached for his phone beside him. His brows furrowed as he read the caller ID and answered.

“What do you want?… No we were not-… Okay shut up III, I don’t need your commentary right now… Yes, yes we will be there Jesus Christ man.” Vessel sighed deeply after he hung up the call and tossed his phone onto the couch. You sat there with an amused expression on your face as he pushed his hair from his face.

“Did you forget about the dinner we have tonight? The one you were just rushing me ten minutes ago for?” You couldn’t help the smirk that was plastered on your face as he glared at you. You pushed yourself off the floor and offered a hand to him. “Just look on the bright side, Ves.” He grabbed your hand as he got off the floor. “We can just finish what we started later.” With a wink and a gentle pat on his chest you walked to where the bag of presents for all your friends were and grabbed your coat, watching as Vessel followed you after putting his shirt back on.

The drive to IV’s wasn’t long, especially at this time of day when most people were already at their destinations for the holiday. He wasn’t having many people over for dinner; just the band, you and some crew members who decided to stop by. The house wasn’t crowded and by the time you got settled in, the good wine had been brought out and the board games were being played.

You were tucked into the corner of the couch as you watched an intense uno match between II, III and Sam, the drum tech for II. Your cheeks were red from how hard you laughed every time III got hit with a “+4” card, his shock and muttering of many swear words is what got you each time.

You weren’t surprised when IV dragged Vessel into the kitchen when you both arrived, talking about how he had made the ham marinade exactly how the recipe called for but something was off… or whatever. When you walked in, III found you with a wine glass in his hand just for you and pulled you off to where the board games had been put. And now you were here, watching as Sam triumphantly won that round.

“I need another drink.” III said as he pushed himself off the couch and marched to the bar cart IV had set up.

“Someone’s a sore loser…” Sam laughed as he reshuffled the cards, earning a nod of agreement from II.

“I’m gonna get another one too. You boys want anything?” They both said no as you stood and walked to where III stood, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. “Not a fan of uno are you?”

He glanced over his shoulder to his former opponents. “Not when they’re playing against me.” You chuckled as you peered at the options on the cart, finally deciding to make yourself a simple vodka cran. “So… how are things with you and Mr. Muscles?” You stopped dead at the nickname and began pouring again as you laughed it off.

“We’re good.” Taking a sip to make sure you got the proportions of your drink just how you like it. “Why do you ask?”

III takes a long sip of his drink and glances around the room before settling his sight back on you. “Because I know how he feels about you. I mean, we all do, he’s good at spilling everything when he’s got a little alcohol in him. I’m only asking you how things are because I’m already aware of his perspective.”

“I feel like you’re interrogating me.”

“Do I need to be?” You felt the seriousness in his voice hit you like a brick, the look in his eyes gave it away as well.

You cocked your brow at him. “What are you implying, III?” He stared down at you and then glanced to the left where there was a clear view of Vessel and IV working in the kitchen, Ves laughing at something the other said while his hands worked on slicing the ham.

“I’m not implying anything, Y/N. I’m just looking out for my friend.” He paused and took another glance before leaning down so he was level with your ear, his voice a mere whisper. “And I remember the last time he’d felt the same way he does for you. The phone call I received was one that still haunts me to this day, so all I ask is for your intentions to be good ones.” He leaned back and gave you a small cheer with his drink, then walked back to where II and Sam still sat.

His words stunned you, leaving your feet glued to the floor as you stared at his back that faced you. He laughed at something II said and jokingly pushed the smaller man over.

Your attention was pulled away when IV came out from the kitchen to announce that dinner was served. Everyone muttered “finally” and filed into the dining room, where the aromas of food were overwhelmingly delicious. Vessel waved you over towards where he sat, pulling the chair out for you and pushing it in when you sat. You glanced to the right as II took the spot next to you, smiling as he patted your head as a way of saying hello.

IV gave a small toast to everyone, not really saying anything important, just a thanks to all of us being here and a major thanks to Vessel for saving his ass with dinner. He sat down and motioned for everyone to eat, which had already begun since we were all starving.

Dinner was full of laughter and stupid stories from the tour, which you listened to the ones involving Vessel thoroughly so you could tease him about it later. The party moved back into the front room where presents were stacked next to their rightful receiver. Somehow you ended up with a lot more gifts than you expected, quickly learning that II’s got the same spending issue as you do when it comes to Christmas.

It was fun to watch everyone’s reactions to each and every gift, especially when III had been chosen to receive the gag gift this year and blushed immensely when he pulled out a box for a blowup girlfriend.

After the conversation you and III had, it felt a little tense between the two of you and all you wanted was to be able to speak with him more clearly, rather than when the both of you had alcohol in your systems. And everything felt worse when he abruptly left before you could mention you'd like to speak about it again.

Eventually Vessel pulled you out of the house, literally having to drag you out because all you wanted to do was do your tenth round of Just Dance 2 with IV and not go home.

The drive home was filled with the two of you singing along to Christmas songs on the radio. Vessel sang beautifully while you screamed along like a banshee to each song, earning a laugh from him here and there. Then came the struggle of him attempting to lug your drunk ass out of the car and back into the house, making sure you didn't slip on any ice on the pathway.

As he has done a few times before, he carried you up the stairs to your bedroom and settled you down on the bed so he could remove the makeup from your face and help you change into something more comfortable.

Sleep was busy luring you in as Vessel finally turned off one of the lamps and climbed into bed next to you, his strong arms wrapping around you and pulling you to his chest. The steady rise and fall of his chest against your cheek was already making your inevitable sleep hard to fight off, but a small part of you still felt extremely restless. You knew exactly what it was and why it was leaving you in this position, you knew you had to speak about it with someone at some point.

You slowly moved to look at Vessel’s face. His eyes were shut tight and you could tell he’d already fallen asleep. Last thing you wanted to do was wake him up and drunkenly ramble about your interaction with III earlier. So, you snuggled back in against his chest and pressed a gentle kiss to his collarbone before closing your eyes and letting sleep sweep you away.

[vermillionsails]

THE WANDERER part 1

Cooper Howard/ The Ghoul x Reader

synopsis: The reader aka Bullseye gets run out of her family settlement to find an old friend. what will happen when they finally see each other after 6 years?

WARNINGS ⚠️: Cooper Howard/ The ghoul x female reader afab reader, DNI IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 GO ON GIT. eventual smut, adult language, fallout show, and game cannon violence. age gap reader is 22 if you're not, pretend.

I try to keep the description of the reader neutral only things that are talked about are the reader's age, teeth, smaller hands, and eventually intimate parts. I do not own the rights to Lucy or Cooper Howard or the fallout setting. the plot and town characters are the only things I made up. Time skips are in this at least this first part anyway. dream sequence as well it will be in bold so you can tell and see the difference.

A/N: I've only seen the first episode and clips, and interviews of the characters cause Freevee only has the first episode but, the brain worms are still activated for this man! 😩

Update A/N ive managed to see the rest of the show. i also wanna give thanks to my bff @oppositeoflove-isindifference for helping me edit this brain rot and make it make sense. i love you bitch, i aint never gonna stop loveing you bitch!

I know it's not from the actual Fallout soundtrack but this song fits Cooper's vibe. A couple of 'I don't know how but they found me' songs do honestly but enjoy!!

The only thing you can do is hope. you've been hoping for two days now. All you have now is your pack, everything you've scavenged in the past two days, and Shroud. Your grandma said, before the bombs dropped, Shroud would’ve been called a rottweiler. To you though, he was your best friend. You were lucky to find armor for him, so you didn’t have to worry so much about him tagging along. You were thankful for it honestly, you wouldn't doubt that Reggie would shoot him.  So here you are in the wastes, with Shroud lying across your lap. You had set up camp against an old rusted-out van. You move Shroud, deciding to sleep in the van hidden away, instead of outside in the open. You put out the campfire and unroll the bed roll from your pack and lay down. Shroud splayed out next to you as your eyes start to drift closed. It couldn't have been more than a couple of hours before Shroud was lying on top of you, trying to nudge you awake, as gunfire and a creature roared outside. Grabbing the handle on his armor, you tapped his nose with your finger to signal to play dead. You listen as the gunfire continues. The sound of shouting rises above the gunfire. You could make out at least two voices, plus the creature. It lasts for about another 20 minutes before the noise dies down, and voices come down to a normal level. You can hear two people arguing as footsteps get closer to the van. Very slowly, you reach for the pistol strapped to your leathers. As your hand reaches the handle, you hear a gun cock and a man whistle. 

“Figured you were following us. Smart hiding.” You look up to the voice’s owner, standing in front of the van door with him pistol aimed at Shroud's back. You recognize the voice, his drawl and cowboy hat knocking the memory of Mr. Howard forward.  “Mr. Howard, it's me, Bullseye!” you shout, holding both your hands up in surrender. You silently pray that Shroud doesn't leap or make any sudden movements.  He cocks his head as he looks at you, lowering his gun somewhat.  “Bullseye, huh? That really you?”  You swallow and nod, replying, “Yes sir, it's me. Grandma sent me out to look for you. We’re in big trouble.”  He tuts, putting his gun away, seemingly disappointed he didn't get to shoot anything.  “Considering you're the only person who calls me ‘Mr. Howard’, I suppose that is you, Bullseye,” he chuckled.  He waits for a beat and scowls. He growls, “Well come on now, girly! We got some catching up to do, and I ain't got all night.” You give Shroud two pats, he gets off of you and sits at the van entrance, waiting. “Yes sir Mr. Howard,” you agree, scrambling to pick up your pack and bedroll. You make your way over to Howard and…a Vaultie?  You've never seen one before. The blue and gold suit hurt your eyes, even in the moonlight. She smiles and waves,“Hi, I'm Lucy! Nice to meet you.”  Giving an awkward wave back, you nod to her. “my actual name is y/n, but everyone calls me Bullseye” She smiles genuinely at you, a rare occurrence out here in the wastes.  “That's a nice name…why do they call you Bull-” 

Cooper cuts her off, “I only needed you to help me kill that fuckin’ thing. Don't make me tie you back up.” You give her a sorry half smile and turn to Cooper. “I'll make it as fast as I can Mr. Howard,” you say, ”Ray and Reggie have built up a coup against Grandma; they've already killed 5 people, and some of our Brahmin. I escaped about two days ago, and Grandma told me to come find you. I have a package she wanted me to give you, in case you needed incentive.”  The ghoul sits down next to you, sharpening a knife, and purses his lips. “Smart woman, what did she send with you?”  You turn to unzip your pack, spotting Lucy in the corner of your eye, She seems astonished that he’s being somewhat civil to you.  You pull out the package, a small foot locker-like box. The metal dings from the objects inside rattling as you hand it to him. “Ten different chems, two large Brahmin steaks, ammo, a couple of stimpacks, and all the caps she had left,” you list, recounting everything your grandma told you. He stares down into the box, taking a long look at the top of the lid. Finally, he closes it.  “I'll do it. This is a nice incentive, y'all must be in some real bad trouble darlin’.”  The fluttering feeling when he calls you darlin’ quickly dissipates, as you feel your worry set in. You feel your chest tighten as you look down at the dirt and sand.  “Yeah, it's bad Mr. Howard. Grandma might not….might not be alive when we go back.”  He hums as he goes back to sharpening his knife. “So what are you gonna do if we go back and she isn't?”  You look at him for a moment as you think. “Kill them, have someone else be mayor, and let Doe and Jericho be the new snipers,” you reply. He strikes the knife against the sharpening stone, sending sparks off to the ground. It makes the mix of sand and dirt pop and sizzle at your feet.  “You don’t wanna be mayor?”  You can feel the sadness wrap around your chest and squeeze again. “N-no I'm not- not as skilled as grandma. She could barter for a years worth of supplies then turn around and stop a fight in two seconds.”  He chuckles, finally looking at you with a smile tugging at the right side of his lips. “Yeah, Sue was always good at calming people down,” he muses. You chuckle at his sentiment. He points at you with him knife, saying, “Now that I know the situation, think you can help me dress that deathclaw over there?” You see it splayed out in the dirt, lifeless, the horns digging into the ground. It’s at least 6ft smaller than the adults you've seen.  “Is it a bounty?” 

Cooper grunts and nods, “Yup, it's the last a group a nearby farmer wanted gone.” He grabs the bounty paper from his duster pocket and hands it to you. “Fuckin’ things kept eating everything, including his wife.” You look over the bounty. 500 caps rewarded for the head. You nod, “That's a pretty good bounty.”  Lucy clears her throat and raises her hand, the pipboy light shining directly into your eyes. “I helped, do I get some of the caps?”  Cooper raises an eyebrow ridge at her and gripes, “Put your damn arm down, your’re blinding Bullseye! And I already told you, you're getting 20 and then you’re on your own. If I see you again, it’ll be too soon and I'll shoot you.”  You keep quiet, watching them argue with each other.  “I used ten lock-joint syringes on that thing.”  Cooper laughs, “Yeah those are cheap to make, trust me I know. You're getting 20 and I won't kill you, that's it.”  You see Lucy huff and sink back down in her spot.  After a couple of minutes, the ghoul looks back at you and asks, “Can you help me dress it?” You nod and grab the knife from your boot. “Yeah, I can help.” He gets up and walks over to it, his duster flowing in the breeze like in his old movies that your grandma used to tell you about. “Atta girl let's get to it.” You get up and join him. The bottom of your boots goes from crunching the dirt to thudding and squelching from the blood-soaked dirt pooling around its body.  You adjust the green baker's cap on your head and kneel next to its torso.  “Do you want me to start at the back of the neck or the tail?” you ask. Cooper grunts ,working to saw off the head, “Start at the tail, less tension while I do this.”  Nodding, you move further down. After a few minutes of making a deep enough incision, you get the muscle and start cutting towards the head. Its skin splits into two halves as you try to keep yourself steady. It smells like dust and blood.  Part of you wonders if the deathclaws think that you humans smell as strange as you think they do. Pulled from your thoughts, you hear Cooper clear his throat. You stop and look over at him. “You tune out too easily, could get you killed.”  You feel your cheeks heat up in embarrassment and stammer, “Sorry Mr. Howard, I'll be better in the morning. D-Did you say something?” His eyes scan you for a moment before he speaks again. “Yeah, I did, stop when you get to it’s sides. Need to cut off its hands.” You feel his gaze on you and your cheeks burn again.“Y-yes sir.”  He makes a low sound that you think may be a chuckle.  It's a couple of hours after you started dressing the deathclaw together. Lucy, Shroud, and the dog that Cooper has let follow him around have all fallen asleep. You wrap up the last piece of meat when a thought occurs to you. “So Mr. Howard, where is this bounty at?” 

He shoves most of the meat into his saddle bags, looking at you. “About a three days walk from here, you gonna tag along? Could use that eye of yours.”  Tossing him the last piece of meat, you nod. “Yeah, it'll give me time to think of a plan.”  He makes a heh sound, a smirk playing on his lips. “A plan, huh?”  You raise an eyebrow, more curious than anything. “Yeah I mean, plans are good right?” He nods and stuffs the last of the meat into his saddle bag. “They're good but…have you ever made one before sweetheart?”  Part of you knows the nickname is being used in a derogatory way, maybe even a bit patronizing, but it still makes your stomach flip. “Once,” you say, "we had to make a run to a Superduper Mart for supplies. I got us in and out.” You sit cross-legged on the dirt, adjusting your hat. Pulling out a cloth, you begin cleaning the gore off your knife.   Cooper moves closer to start sawing off the hands. “Well,” he starts,” this is different than a Superduper Mart. How many men are on their side?” You wipe the blade as you think. “About twenty… No one else is joining them, but they’re all trained by Ray,” you say quietly, knowing he’s gonna scoff at you. On cue, he stops and laughs, “Oh, sugar, you ain't gonna make it!” You feel your cheeks and ears heat up once again and stammer out, “I–I'm not going in guns blazing if that's what you think, I-I…”  He cuts you off, putting his hand up to you. You can see how the radiation burns swirl and carve into his skin, making a pattern. “The only possible way,” he says,” of you getting back in there and saving Sue is by sneaking in or…” He smiles. Your stomach flips. You can't tell if it's a good flip or not, but you have a feeling you know what he’s thinking.  “Or?” Your voice is small as you ask.  “I take you as hostage and barter to get you back in there. They want y'all for something, they'll come looking.”  You swallow, looking at him a bit apprehensive. “You're gonna take me as a bounty aren't you?”  He points his knife at you. “Bingo! Don't worry, I won't tie you up quite yet.” He shoots you a wink and goes back to sawing off the hand. You're not quite sure what to do with yourself after that. Your heart begins to beat a little faster, not sure if you like that or not. “O-okay, so we'll pretend I'm bounty and sneak in.”  He whistles, finally getting the hand off. “Yup, I'll bring you in and we’ll take it from there. But first we gotta wait till they come for you. When they do, I gotta be a little rough to sell it. You understand don’t ya?” 

You nod, feeling your core beating a bit as you imagine how rough he'll have to be. “Y-yeah I understand, Mr. Howard.”  He hums at you answer, “Good girl. Now go get some sleep like the others. We got a long walk, starting tomorrow.”  You finish wiping the knife off and put it back in its strap. “Yes, sir.” The ghoul waves you off towards the small fire Lucy had made earlier. “Night, Bullseye,” he says lowly in a gruff voice. You give him a slight smile. “Night Mr. Howard.” Reaching the fire, you unroll your bedroll again and get in. The two-day trek to find Cooper began setting into your bones as your eyes flutter shut.   A dream starts to play in your mind as you drift off.  Strange music plays to the beat of hooves against the ground. You see the figure of a man on a horse, riding into the red and orange of the sky as you try to move towards him. It's like you’re  moving in slow motion as you try to reach out to the figure. A cloud of raised dust swirls into the sky as it begins to storm around you and the rider.  His figure and the beast he's on get closer as they rush to you. Their features never clear up, staying smoke and shadow-like as they skid to a stop in front of you. His hand unfurls from the reigns and reaches out towards you. Like a switch going off, the orange and red becomes blue and purple as your stomach flips and you start to sink into the sand beneath your feet. Scrambling, you reach out to the figure's hand but it passes through him. The hand drifted and parted like fog on water after summer rain. As you sink, darkness falls over you and you feel murky and dusty blue water ripple around your waist.  You watch for a moment as the water starts to ripple faster, turning into wake waves that crash into your chest, the coldness washing over you. You look up as a roar shakes the world and a mirelurk queen rises out of the deepest part of the water. You try to run, but your eyelids start to flutter open as the dream fades.  Your eyesight is blurry as you sit up, kicking the blanket off of you. Shroud groans when he feels your legs move. He must have moved over to you during the night. He gives you a look over his shoulder and huffs, before laying his big head back on his paws.  “Sorry buddy, morning,” you say softly, give his head a scratch. You sit up, stretching and yawning. It's quiet for a moment, before you hear Cooper's voice out of nowhere, making you jump. “Morning sleeping beauty, ‘bout time you woke up.” 

You whirl to look at his smirking face, amusement in his eyes from seeing you jump. Putting a hand on your chest to soothe yourself, you mutter to yourself, a bit louder than you mean to,“God you scared me.” He chuckles, “Didn't think I could do that to you anymore darlin’, good to know.” Your heart starts to beat a little faster, no longer because of your fear. You laugh softly, trying to play it off, you look up seeing the sun just about to come up as orange and lavender painting the sky. “H-How long did I sleep for?”  He kisses his teeth and purses his lips as he thinks. “About six hours, give or take, but we gotta get goin’ before it gets too damn hot. So up and at 'em.”   Giving a nod, you get up and roll your bedroll back up and stuff it into your pack. You give Shroud some water and crack open a can of dog food, letting him chow down as you check and strap his armor on. You helped Lucy wake up  pack up as Cooper grumbled at her.  After a few more minutes,everyone is on the road. Both dogs and the 3 of you. It's hot and dry and the continuous crunch of sand and dirt under your boots quickly becomes repetetive. You can see heat waves ooze towards the sky and winds throw the sand around, dusting you and getting into your eyes.  Its monotony for hours on end, sending you into a haze that almost lulls you into a walking sleep. You’ll never know how the creatures here don’t die of heat exhaustion alone. Another hour goes by as Cooper stops, raising his fist in the air to stop you and Lucy.  His head cocks to the side as he listens. You stay still, waiting, trying to listen as well. You can't pick anything up, his senses are much more sensitive than yours. It takes only a few seconds before you hear something scrambling up a dune toward the three of you. The top of its head peeks up above the dune. Cooper's head snaps in its direction and he mutters, “You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me!”