#but it’s an impossible situation regardless! i do hope they figure out a way to create a sustainable source of funding

[mossflower]

dude i don’t think watcher are evil capitalists i think there’s just no win situation when it comes to funding creative endeavours on the internet

[venusandsaturnsrings]

calling at the walls of my enclosure.... I HATE school... I have so much homework but my thoughts r filled with wolf dog wrio vs puppytaru or maybe foxtaru. They fight for your attention behind ur back <3 -chubby darling anon that's going a bit insane, particularly from the fem nurse geto pannel in the jjk manga

HAIII MY FAV ANON HAIIIII!!! linking this from like two weeks ago here bc… wolfwrio foxtaru :3 butttt… wolfwrio and puptaru is a VERY good combo bc that’s like… double dog moment… imagine urself as megumi, wrio and taru are ur demon dogs, terrible trouble makers both of them… also ignore my fiddling with the time line, taru gets more free prison time for the plot… anyways i hope ur doing well i miss u sm my dearest :(( reminder my dms r OPEN!! i have more thoughts that i think you’d like <3

wolf Wrio, as we’ve already established, is a territorial mess. when he decides something is his, it’s very difficult to get him to even let it leave his sight so when that thing is an entire other human being things only become more difficult. any meetings with him now have to come with the disclosure that you will be there regardless of what the other party has to say about that, he’s started furnishing his office with more things that you like (a big thing considering how protective he is over his spaces), and almost all of the inmates have been witness to wrio nibbling on you whenever he can. he’s a major biter, by the way, even an inch of skin has his teeth on display as he gently chomps onto you, tail swishing happily.

the little set up of you nearly never being without him was working flawlessly before a certain ginger man became the newest prisoner. suddenly, Wrios occasional bouts of irritability became more frequent and he was growling at even the quietest of sounds. you hadn’t seen him so… aggressive before so the behaviour was concerning, and given that you didn’t have such a sharp nose like him, it was impossible for you to figure out what exactly was getting on every last one of his nerves. brewing his tea yourself and making sure he got enough pats seemed to help to a degree but the moment you stopped his ears would be flat against his skull once more.

after a week of this nonsense, you peeling him off of you one afternoon to ask around and see if you could decipher what was going on. you figured there was a good chance it could be internal prison affairs or certain deadlines but upon finding all the other staff and inmates in perfect spirits with not the slightest bit of knowledge of the situation, you hung your head and prepared to scheme up a plan to visit Neuvillette and ask for his thoughts. that was until a pair of floppy orange ears came into your field view followed by a man who certainly looked like he should not have a disposition so cute; a well-built frame smattered with various scars. you briefly thought about how his appearance matched your dear Wriotheslys in a way but the man spoke up with a cheery voice, already knowing your name and introducing himself as ‘Tartaglia or Childe to most but you’re welcome to call me Ajax, cutie,’ and pulling you in for a hug rather than a handshake. it didn’t take a genius to figure out how odd of an interaction this was becoming or how dangerous the situation you’d gotten into was. alas, it would be more troublesome to ignore him and walk away so you entertained his slew of questions for awhile longer, desperately trying to avoid noticing the way he looked at you with something darker than mere curiosity.

when you finally managed to speed walk your way back to Wrios office, you were met with his nose at your throat and a prominent scowl on his face. gruffly and paired with numerous low growls, he demanded to know just why you thought it was okay to be around that harbinger for more than a second especially when he isn’t there. baffled and slightly afraid, the gears turned in your head and you realized that this is what had been bothering him; Ajax. slightly and patting his head lovingly, you assured him of your love and promised that you’d never even lay eyes on him again if that’s what he wanted, and Wrio was pleased with this. the rest of your day was spent wrapped in his arms at his desk, only escaping briefly to help Sigewenne reach a book off a shelf.

you didn’t need to know of the late night rounds the two men spent in the pankration ring, at each others throats between individual fascination with you.

[i-heart-hxh]

Did Gon say “it’s none of your business” or “it doesn’t matter to you” to Killua? I’m trying to figure out the nuance of this line and what Gon meant. Killua takes it as a rejection because he’s going through inner turmoil about his place at Gon’s side. But we as the audience know Gon was not rejecting Killua’s friendship here. Was it more a rejection of help? Or just simply lashing out? Or was it him basically saying since it wasn’t Killua’s fault that Kite got hurt Killua didn’t have to deal with the same burden?

@hunterxhell wrote this fantastic meta post on the topic, and also a follow-up post giving more context that I highly recommend. I wholeheartedly agree with both of these posts. (And apologies if I do any repeating of what was said in those posts but less eloquently--I'm trying to share my own thoughts here, but those posts are a basis for the way I see the scene so some repetition is inevitable!) I think "It's none of your business," or "This doesn't concern you," are translations that capture essentially what Gon was saying here, though his previous comment about Killua being able to stay calm/cool-headed does add that, "You don't care about this situation like I do," bite to it regardless.

Here's what Gon says in Japanese, just for reference:

キルアは......いいよね

冷静でいられて

関係ないからっ

What Gon was doing was essentially pushing Killua away--saying that this is his business, his situation, and Killua should stay out of it. His reaction was partly out of anger that Killua was trying to meddle and express his concerns about Gon's behavior and the situation, as Gon was not able to put the brakes on and think about this situation in a more objective way at all (putting it mildly). But it's also partly Gon seeing what happened to Kite as his fault, and Kite as primarily his connection, and in his fog of extreme emotion, it was impossible for him to deal with Killua's (seeming) calmness and analytical way of seeing the situation.

I definitely think this scene connects to Gon's earlier statement in Yorknew about it being okay for him to talk about dying, but not okay for Killua to say the same thing, however:

But, this is just one contributing factor to the situation, as, in that scene we're talking about, Gon is clearly, certainly not acting purely out of a selfless desire for Killua to leave the situation. But, it's telling about his overall attitude--that if something is wrong, he's willing to suffer the consequences and shoulder the burden and even die to rectify it if the situation calls for it, but his feelings about Killua are different.

I don't think Gon sees Killua as having any responsibility for what happened to Kite (even though I do think Killua believes otherwise), and so Gon sees this situation as something he needs to deal with solely, to assuage his overwhelming guilt, and he'll deal with it by any means necessary without letting anyone else get in his way. Killua, on the other hand, is not someone Gon sees as needing to pay this penance, because it's not his business and Kite is not someone who has the same meaning to Killua. It's something Gon wants to deal with alone, in his own way, at his own costs, to make up for how he thinks he failed Kite.

Of course, this all goes completely against how Killua expresses his love for Gon--by helping and supporting him, and wanting to be there with him to the bitter end and beyond if that's what it comes down to.

So, I'd say it's ultimately a combination of him lashing out at Killua due to being unable to cope with the emotional state he was in, and him pushing Killua away because, in Gon's view, Killua didn't have the same level of emotional investment OR blame in the situation. It's hard to summarize--it's emotionally complex, and the way their characters are written throughout the whole series leads up to this point--so you can't consider it in a vacuum, without looking at all their prior tendencies and the ways they see themselves.

I hope this is helpful!

[hutahuta]

Desparate to get away from a creep that been harassing you, you rush to pavia despite not knowing each other yet saying he is your boyfriend what will he do? Plsss?

P.AGE OO.4 — 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌 & NOBILITY : 交 ✦ ⏱

GN ! Reader — <3

this is probably gonna be long, who knows. i'm writing before i even started LMAO <3

edit; i dont like the way i wrote this idk,, maybe i'm getting a little self conscious of my writing and jdskkdkdkd i'm so sorry.. ;;

thank you sweetie, ilysm for requesting (๑´ ˘ `๑)

Running to safety hasn't always been your only option. Mostly because your friends encouraged you to carry weapons for your own safety, especially in these streets where you can competently get snatched, stabbed, mugged or any of the sort. In this era? Please. You think people could afford low quality security cameras, with a high price?

Weak hands trembled as you kept insisting that your time was not worth being spent on someone who was firm on the decision that you must simply travel with them to see the city's night scenery.

It's been at least 15 minutes at most with you trying to brush aside him or trying to speed walk out of the way, hoping he wouldn't go bother someone else but at least spare you the chance to get away.

Infuriating.

Fortunately, you were not the gullible sort. Whether you've encountered this for the first time, or you've experienced such shuddersome and nightmarish situations for god knows how long, it doesn't matter. None of this is fucking okay.

And you knew that.

Loathsome hands traced the outer space around your bare back, and much to your disgust, it was unbearable to not break their hand as of this second. You had to wait, just so you could still walk with said person and hopefully get the chance to outrun them when you see a nearby crowd flocking up to the nearest street.

' Come, I insist. '

' You've ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout. '

' Aren't you being stubborn? This is what I get for being a nice guy.. What's so bad 'bout someone tryna' treat you out? '

The same shit you'd hear time n' time again. It isn't always the easiest, especially when you'd think he'd carry a weapon on him just in case.

Think, be smart.

Ah, up just ahead, a crossroad catered towards the corner of your eye. Your head didn't turn around too quick, but you'd have seen the elderly couple steadily cross the walk just then. Following suit, a flock of crowds parked themselves up just ahead to watch the physical activities boarded up for their enjoyment.

Fuck.. Okay. Pace yourself.. Three, two, -

Before you knew it, you dashed immediately.

Wind blew and slashed against your face as you carried your burning legs as fast as you could. You didn't know what the hell this freak carried on him and you weren't planning on finding out either.

The crowd proved no use, as he could manoeuvre his way around, shouldering past people aggressively with the occasional loud grunt you can surely figure out that it etched from him.

Dammit, alright. It's fine. It's totally fucking fine, right? You couldn't tell where you were going. You crossed and turned at every corner, and just beyond your reach —..

Stood a man near the corner shop that sold the usual cigarettes and loaded beverages. Stuff that you'd only resort to having when your shift at work really sucked.

White to black hair, black sunglasses with a lavender shirt that had intricate patterns, but not interesting enough to pay too much attention to as of this time.

Please, for whatever God is out there. Offer you some strength. Fortunately, he was quick to stop you in your tracks by halting his hand in front of you, like how one would halt a nearby bus to indicate you're about to get on. However, he essentially demanded your entire body be impacted against his hand. Regardless, it made you panic in a hurry but your uneven breathing made it impossible to speak coherent sentences.

Pretty sure if you saw someone crying and running away like your life depended on it, wouldn't you stop by to help? Pavia was a mercenary, and a merciless one at that, but he wasn't entirely soulless.

' Now, where are you running off to in such a hurry? ' He had an accent. A lollipop stuck between his lips. What is it? Cherry? Strawberry?

Words. Just use words.

' Help, please.. Creep. Following. Behind me. ' Behind your uneven breaths, and horrid panting that caused a crack in the tone of your voice, he seemed to understand.

Or, somewhat get it. If it's anything staining this world, it's filth like this random person trying to inflict damage on innocent people like you who are just trying to get by their day. You look innocent to him. Exhausted, but innocent. Like a little lamb fleeing the slaughterhouse.

If it's one thing he hates, it's seeing the poor souls who resemble the innocence he once had. The chance that they could have to flee themselves from trauma, is the chance I believe Pavia would be willing to give. He must despise seeing the fear inside eyes that used to resemble his own when he was tucked away from the rest of society, forced to grumble under nothing but the deafening silence within the basement of his aunt's home after wailing out apologies and horrid voice cracks just to plead for his own freedom.

So. Seeing yours is no different.

Regardless, you do know the impact of you being outside.. especially during the evenings where it's dark and the sky turned into a murky ocean blue haze, gradients shifting darker by the hour and minute..

Gripping onto his shirt, your pleas to beg him to act as someone you might be familiar with, or perhaps even wear the stalker off with claiming that he is your temporary boyfriend, might strike something within Pavia..

Standing still, you rested yourself against his steady arm, holding you in place. Swiftly, he moved you against the wall, whispering a soft 'Then forgive me.' And yet, here were the thudding footsteps of your attacker. With a quiet look on your face, he stepped out of the shadow, amidst his hounds that surrounded his feet by seconds.

You couldn't believe it??

' Problem, amico? ' Resonated that voice of his, something to admire. Glistening under such beautiful moonlight, you could tell how the silver lining had outlined the steel plate of the metal cutting into the familiar shape of a pistol embedded within his pocket.. Huh- Shit— was he dangerous too? You only needed protection, not some bloodied out battle to settle for your freedom?? You're not looking to go to jail this early, anyways.

' I sincerely hope that you aren't getting aquatinted with my.. beloved? Huh? Lest I take that pretty little tie of yours to add into my collection. Divertente~ '

You didn't ask for his name, but your slender hands placed itself on his shoulder, still unable to catch your breath beneath these minutes that were unbearably silent to surpass.

Behind him, your body rested upon his, one hand eagerly coiled warmly against his waist like vines on a old pillar.

The stranger didn't wish to be aquatinted with you in any sort at first, but he was a playful hound of a man. With eyes that looked at you, then back at your stalker. Maybe talking with you a little more after this wouldn't hurt, right?

' You know, amico. ' He approached.

' There is something quite thrilling to have the echoes of thuds of dead bodies fall flat against the surface when you hear that deadly gunshot linger in the back of your head, huh.. You know, my boss tried the same thing. '

And yet, it feared him in some way. Your eyes replicated that of a lost puppy. Those puffy cheeks, reddened and exhausted from running ever so much, oh my.. Something sparked inside of him.

Compared to his gaze, that had his pupils dilated so small, it reflected insanity upon them. He whispered a quiet ; ' I suggest you surrender before it gets ugly? aha.. '

All it took—; was the slow movement of his slender, yet ringed hands to reach into his lower pocket-

And by the second.

They left. You heard grumbled apologies.. and shuffling. But that was mostly it.

The stranger dressed in purple didn't bother to turn to look back around at you to see if you're alright or not, but there was a smirk on his face. A smile on it that he could only turn his head to the side which he could witness your breathing slowly starting to become tolerable; that lollipop twirled itself around his fingers.

Maybe a factor of it played into it because he just saved you, but some part of you could tell a fraction of him enjoyed teasing you with his playful gaze. As if you knew what he were to already say.

The public here avoid trouble but when they see terrible news on the media, they flock together like birds to ready themselves into war. It's nearly impossible to fight against society's norms, but you suspect that's why nobody but him offered such help.

And you were lucky.

Seems like it won't be the only time you'd meet this stranger by the looks of it. He said nothing more than patting your shoulder softly, then moving back inside the building.

Pavia wouldn't be the best at trying to offer comfort but he knows better than anybody else on how events like these tend to fuck you over. The shit people put up with on a daily basis makes him want to spit on lowly people for even thinking they have the right to breathe the same air as you.

Pavia merely reached his hand towards your trembling figure. He seemed to contemplate whether it was a good choice to get to know you, but under these circumstances, that stalker could still be lingering about. What better to do than to have him offered to sit beside you until you feel safe to go on your own again.

After all, maybe it's the safest option..

And who knows? You'll become acquainted with this stranger soon enough with time.

[estro-gem]

Ragatha x Pomni (Platonic): Charting the Landscape

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis

Author's note:

I'm not dead! I'm sorry for not posting as much; life has me in a chokehold and you all know how things can get this time of the year.

Excuses, excuses, right?

This is exposition of the 'Oasis Lore.' Although this is an event in which Pomni and Ragatha tries to figure each other out, this is centered around Pomni's slow start to working her way into fitting into the Oasis. These two are having 'the talk,' as it's loosely mentioned by Jax in the story 'Anywhere the wind blows.'

Unfortunately, this is not really a ship-fic, but there are more of those coming in the future, though!

I don't think this one will do so well, but eh, I'll keep writing regardless...

I'm keen to bring in some more angst into this AU. Things are too happy in these works for my liking. I want to go into just how messed up Oasis can be, since it's a very unhealthy system they've got going on.

Warnings: Nothing too serious.

Little angst and very little fluff (like, a literal speck)

Frustration (For the characters involved, as well as you poor readers)

Unhealthy coping mechanisms

SUMMARY:

After Pomni had a strange encounter with Kinger, she was struck with the need to work about developing her status to something more positive among the other Circus members. She decides to start by approaching Ragatha, who ends up giving her the friendliest reality-check she could ask for. Pomni was in more trouble than she thought.

CHARTING THE LANDSCAPE

Pushing on.

That was what drove the jester this far.

That was the only thing that she was certain of. It didn’t matter that she didn’t see what the future held or what size and difficulty the obstacle was. It didn’t matter how impossible it seemed and it didn't matter how far she was forced to push herself.

She was a wreck, but she was just as stubborn.

The past few weeks have been tough. Her first day in the Digital Circus was apparently one of the worst that Kinger had ever witnessed for a newcomer to brave through. Her effort to push her mind through Caine’s demented joke of an exit – an unfinished, never-ending maze of a project (as his unfinished work usually was), was ‘admirable,’ as the chess piece called it.

He said she reminded him of his younger self.

Kinger glanced at Pomni to briefly meet her eyes, as if he was checking that she was still paying attention, before falling into a trans-like state. Disappointment tugged at her thoughts upon the realization that the most comforting moment that the little jester had had since she got damned to this digital plain, slipped away with the mere echo of the King’s words. When he suddenly jolted into animation again, she saw the sobriety reigned back and her heart lifted at the chess piece’s effort to force away the fog from his mind.

The fool witnessed the tug of war in Kinger's eyes; the clouded haze of nothingness as empty as death was straining to smother the powerful, but saddened twinkle of clarity. Despite the struggle, he spoke with ease – saying that the digital circus was not a fate to be faced by one alone, but instead, to be experienced by many in collaboration.

“You need to share you use.” He said, blinking rapidly as if looking through fog, “If you share, you are safe. If you are selfish, you will be left-”

Silence.

The king piece was frozen in place and his eyes fogged over. Whatever he was trying to say, died with the ember of hope that the girl had built up for his encouragement. He was gone.

Sudden hysterical laughter ripped the little’s fool’s thoughts from her head as she jumped in fright. After catching her breath, Pomni spotted Jax crawling on the floor as he wheezed with laughter, while she heard Ragatha’s bright voice chime in with near-manic cackles. She had half the mind to pursue the curiosity of knowing the context of their situation, but Kinger’s words haunted her mind.

Pomni was still starstruck by the white king’s clear, sober words. She didn’t think to interrupt him or break the apparent spell that was befell upon the one she first thought of, as the group’s loon. At the time, she was silent and eager to just listen to Kinger’s praise, but ever since she had some time to digest his words, they brought an icy sting of fear with their implication.

If she was like him, did that mean that they shared the same fate?

On that day, from then on, Kinger was the epitome of the loon she that grown to recognize, ever since she was casted into The Amazing Digital Circus. Despite her hopes of having another special moment with the King, she was only met with vague commentary and silly ramblings.

At least it was nothing she wasn’t familiar with.

'You need to share your use.'

Kinger said she had use… and that she needed to share it. Pomni didn’t know what use she had, but that wasn’t the part that she was concerned about. Sharing would imply that she had to have someone that would be willing to accept something from her. While Pomni wasn’t familiar with her new prison, she was far from stupid. Stubborn, yes, but not stupid.

She knew that she had no one.

The unfortunate aftermath of her first day and her decisions she made at the time, labelled her as a reckless, cowardly renegade. No loyalty. No sense of dignity.

Selfish.

Something Kinger warned her against.

Although it was never spoken aloud, Pomni was made aware that she was cast aside. She ran for an exit instead of helping a possible friend. She was ignored by Jax for a reason unknown to her. She was avoided by Zooble for making their partner uncomfortable. She was estranged by Gangle for being too eager – too interested – in the beauty that was the strange, sentient ribbon. She was abandoned by Kinger’s unreliable state of sanity.

She left Ragatha for dead.

And yet...

The ragdoll was Pomni’s only chance. If she was going to get her foot in the door, she was going to have to do everything in her power to get through to that doll. Ragatha was the only one who spared her a glance, aside from Kinger. She even stood aside the jester after she was abandoned by Pomni. It was a clear as day that Ragatha was either crazy, or too good for this world… and the fool was going to bet on the latter. It had to be the latter.

The doll was kind, sweet and reassuring. She constantly provided the little fool with a calm, cool image that Pomni couldn’t help but mirror; like the doll was a surface of a still pool in the dry earth. Ragatha acted like a human. Ragatha also looked mostly like a human. It was something the jester clung to on her first day – someone was still human in the digital world.

After the events of this previous day, she counted Kinger as a weird technicality.

Presently, Pomni was slowly creeping towards a lone, plush couch in the main area with a doll seated comfortably onto it. She was engrossed in the needle and thread piercing though the blue fabric that matched the colour of her dress. From what Pomni could tell, Ragatha was working on something smaller and finer than an article of clothing, but the jester didn’t bother to focus on it too much.

How was she going to start this conversation?

“Hi, it’s me again! You know, the girl who ditched you at the first sight of an amalgamation, came back to give you false hope, then ditched you again, when I saw the first thing resembling an exit. Wanna be friends?”

No, that wasn’t going to cut it.

Pomni didn’t have much to offer aside from her will to make this work, but if that was what she had, she would use it. She wouldn’t make it through another day alone – she wouldn’t! She wasn’t driven to insanity just yet; and be as it may – this digital realm would have to swallow her whole as she fought, thrashed, clawed, and screeched all the way down in her decent.

Pushing. On.

“Oh, hello Pomni!” Ragatha’s voice seeped through her mind from very close by.

That was sudden…

“Hey! Um- what are you making there?” Pomni stumbled through her words. She silently cursed herself for dissociating to the point where she forgot that she was approaching the doll with purpose.

“This?” Ragatha made a lack-luster attempt to gesture to the blue cloth on her lap, “I was just making a little dress for the ragdoll I made. I always find it so awkward to make these tiny clothes. There’s not much room to work with!”

The jester fixed her eyes on the sowing project, using it as an excuse to only glance in attempt to meet the doll’s eyes every now and again. She saw Ragatha scoot herself against one side of the couch before patting the space beside her in invitation for Pomni to take a seat. The ragdoll looked unbothered by her presence, but Pomni didn’t trust the performance.

Gangle wasn’t the only one in the Circus who wore a mask – the ribbon’s mask just happened to be physical.

“I saw you chatting with Kinger the other day.” The doll spoke again, nonchalantly, “Interesting choice in friends you have! But who am I to judge? I’d like to think I’m friends with everyone here, but between you and me, I’m pretty sure that we are all one minor inconvenience away from losing it. Power to Kinger for holding out for so long!”

The gentle easiness of Ragatha’s chatter, while undeniably comforting, felt… well… off – in a sense. It was senseless chatter, but hardly babbling, like small talk. Very well done and maintained by the Ragdoll, who was idly sowing the little dress skirt to the waist of the dress top.

But Pomni realized that that was just it.

The Ragdoll’s words felt like they were rehearsed… and Pomni was just part of a play that she wasn’t aware of. It wouldn’t make sense for Ragatha to be acting so unbothered and calm unless this was staged or practiced. While Pomni wanted to melt into the seemingly normal conversation that Ragatha was trying to coax her into, a deep, primal instinct was screaming for her to remain wary.

She wished for it to just quiet down for once.

“He’s quite the character.” Pomni said with a nervous cackle, to which the doll seemed to beam at. Taking it as a chance to keep the conversation alive, Pomni opted to find answers, “He was acting weird on that day.” That was too vague, Kinger always acted weird, “But like, weirder than normal. But not because he was weirder than normal – it was because he was acting normal.” What was she even saying…? “Well, I mean… normal for Kinger’s standard, which is weird because that is not normal. For him.” She wasn’t making sense! “I MEAN-”

“Whoa! Whoa, easy girl!” Ragatha flagged Pomni down with a easy chuckle, “I understand what you are saying, don’t worry.”

The jester felt the burn of desire to explain herself in the back of her throat, but obliged to the doll’s clear attempt to quiet her down. Instead, she reluctantly awaited Ragatha’s response.

“It sounds like you were describing one of his little ‘resets’ as we like to call them.” The doll explained, calmly and inviting as ever, “It’s like a moment of clarity that he gets occasionally. You’re lucky to have been there for it!”

Pomni decided to let her self-explanation die in her throat, even though she still felt the urge to do so. The doll’s description was good enough for Pomni to push on, “So he’s not completely insane?”

“What? No! None of us are – I think…” Ragatha reassured, while admittedly fading off into her own thoughts as she ended her sentence.

Pomni would think about those things later.

“So… what he told me wasn’t just crazy rambling, then?” she hesitantly asked, looking up to the doll with a fixed gaze for the first time since their encounter had started.

“Likely not!” Ragatha almost cheered, before glancing around and leaning closer to whisper to Pomni, “What exactly did he say?”

The jester paused, wondering what to do and what she could share. From how Ragatha was acting, the things Kinger shared during his ‘resets’ wasn’t something spoken about so casually. If Pomni had an advantaged by knowing something that no one else did, wouldn’t that mean that she had the upper hand in this scenario?

“Come on, Pomni!” Ragatha asked, leaning in even closer, now seeming eager as ever to hear what had the little fool so hesitant to speak, “What did he say?”

Kinger’s warning of selfishness rang in her mind again, causing the ideology of lying to appear less attractive than it was before, but stubbornly, the jester settled on a half-truth instead, “He just told me that I basically need friends.” She laughed in a bitter tone, “A bit of a slap in the face, but I guess he’s right in a sense.”

“Oh!” Ragatha, leaned back to resume her position as she huffed a little laugh, “Well, having friends is healthy! And lucky for you, we are not going anywhere, so you can take your time when warming up to us. No rush – we’ve all been where you are now.”

“That’s a bit hard to believe.” Pomni sighed, causing the doll to look at her in pity as she continued, “You all seem so… happy? No. Adjusted? Everyone is just doing their own thing and minding their own business like it’s nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say that we 'keep to ourselves' and 'mind our own business' as much as you think.” Ragatha spoke, taking the calm and cool, but hardly uninviting demeanor, “We are actually all up in each other’s business. We look out for each other…”

“You call Jax being the spawn of Satan to everyone around him, as him just ‘looking out for you?’ I don’t think that’s a ‘healthy’ relationship, Ragatha.”

“Oh, Jax shows that he cares in his own special little ways.” Ragatha dismissed too easily for Pomni’s liking, “It’s when he ignores you, that you should be worried. It usually means that he couldn’t care less – that he considers you… well… for a lack of a better way to say this; he maybe considers you… kind of… a bit of a, um, waste of his time��?”

Pomni allowed the poor attempt of the doll trying to soften the delivery of the news, to sink in. She reflected on the fact that Jax barely spared her a glance and even acted like she didn’t exist at times. As much as she despised the person that he chose to be towards his fellow Circus-members, it disturbed her just how much he was avoiding her, while he practically tormented the others. If his sick pranks, harmful jokes, and twisted taunting really was more than him just satiating some sadistic fantasy… and if what Ragatha said about him ignoring someone held any form of truth…

Then Ragatha’s words were a warning.

Ice clawed its way up Pomni’s spine. She wasn’t ready to consider that she was already a lost cause – deserted by everyone and only humored by the ragdoll out of common curtesy or pity. Logical reason cried out for the little fool to remember that Jax was still a bad person and that it may be a blessing not to be involved with someone as harmful as he was, but the fact that he looked right through her, while deliberately being a menace to everyone else, had the jester beginning to believe that there was a method to Jax’s madness after all.

The others had been trapped in the Digital Circus for years. Years. If he was really that bad of a person, would the others have made it this far? Clearly there was something that she was missing. Clearly there was something bigger than the bunny being a borderline sadist and the ragdoll being an unconditional saint.

If only she could figure out what it was.

“You drift into your own head a lot.” Ragatha commented with no real thought behind her words, “I can tell that by now. You go quiet when you start thinking. I suggest for you to be careful though – thinking too much is dangerous here.”

“Oh, uh, noted!” Pomni smiled sheepishly, “Thanks, I guess.”

“It’s nothing, maybe I spoke too soon, right?” the doll huffed brightly, “Maybe you are like Gangle… I swear that girl hosts entire conferences in her head. She might be the only one I know of, that’s able to do that without losing it. Trust me, I would know! I’ve been here long enough, second to Kinger, of course.”

Pomni struggled to keep up with the load of information that was being poured onto her.

Jax was a menace, but apparently there was a good reason for it, and he only acted that way with those he regarded. Pomni was being shunned by him, evident by the fact that he ignored her. Kinger was here the longest, followed by Ragatha. Pomni should refrain from thinking too much. Gangle was known for being the thinker or the group.

Her gut was screaming at her mind: everything said, was important – even if she didn’t know why.

But things needed to slow down.

“Gangle is the thinker, huh?” Pomni jumped in before Ragatha could speak again, “So that means she isn’t avoiding me too, right? At least there’s that-”

Ragatha cut her short, although it didn’t seem to be malicious, “What makes you think Gangle is avoiding you?”

“Oh! The other day, she came to talk to me… but things got weird – I made things weird.” Pomni nervously fidgeted as she briefly weighed her limited options to embarrass herself or leave the statement as it was.

She decided on the former, as embarrassment is a small price to pay for survival, “I think I came on too strong? We’re all human, but our bodies are not. She looks so weird, but strangely… I think she’s beautiful. I tried to tell her that, but she backed away very quickly. Her excuse was something about checking in on Zooble and Jax. She’s been walking wide circles to avoid me ever since…”

Pomni looked over to the doll with the intention of seeing just how much she made her cringe with second-hand embarrassment, but she was surprised to find something different.

Something unsettling.

Ragatha was staring ahead with an unfocused expression. Her face was struck with something akin to dread... and although she didn’t have a human body, she appeared as pale and a sheet. Pomni had half the mind to ask if the ragdoll had seen a ghost, but Ragatha’s slow movement to turn her head towards the jester, caused the words to die in her throat.

“Gangle and Zooble are romantically involved.” Ragatha said, any previous cheer from her voice vaporized to nothing but cut-throat, blunt indifference. From what the jester could tell, the doll was done playing coy and dancing around the elephant in the room.

No more games.

“I figured that one out after Jax’s comments about being grossed out by them making out in public.” Pomni shrugged, hoping to ease the atmosphere.

Ragatha refused to deflate, “He was making it clear for you to back off. You- y- you’re in a worse position than I thought, Pomni. No wonder Kinger took pity on you…”

“What do you mean? What are you saying?”

Ragatha finally tore her gaze away from Pomni with a huffed sigh, looking as stressed as she was on the day of Pomni’s arrival, “You need to get your foot in the door. If you don’t get you act together, it will only be a matter of time before they refuse to let me talk to you. Heaven knows how protective they can be at times-”

“Ragatha, I don’t know what you are trying to tell me. Who’re ‘they?’ Why do ‘they’ force you to do anything you don’t want to do?” Pomni asked as confused as she was becoming frantic.

“Pomni, listen. Focus. This is important, okay?” Ragatha turned her whole body to face Pomni, reaching out to rest her hands onto the little fool’s shoulders, only to pull away upon seeing a very familiar look of discomfort in anticipation to the doll’s touch – something she recognized in Jax.

That was something to unpack later.

“Pomni, you have Jax AND Gangle against you now. And you are well on your way to having Zooble reject you too. Do you understand that?”

Pomni nodded, hesitant, but silent.

“If it was just Jax, you could’ve had Gangle to get through to him, but now Gangle is avoiding you too, only leaving Zooble open – and that’s a very generous statement, considering that you were practically flirting with their partner.

“If you can get to Zooble, you’ll get to Gangle. Don’t worry about Jax for now, I’ll handle him. You need to win Zooble over. This is the only way you can win Gangle over. If Gangle shuns you, you are done for. Do you understand?”

Pomni’s head was spinning, but she got the gist of it down.

For some reason, it was important to be in Gangle’s good books. Apparently, the only way to do that, was to befriend the abomination she came to know as Zooble, Gangle’s partner. It made sense that someone would choose to get along with your partner’s friends rather than to resent them, but what didn’t make sense was why it was so important.

And what was that about being shunned?

“Listen, I get it – the ‘getting along with Zooble’ thing, but honestly, what does it matter? There’s people who doesn’t like me and that’s all there is to it, isn’t it?” Pomni desperately pried.

“Not here it’s not.” Ragatha shut her down, “Things are different around here… and here we all need each other. Especially when it comes to Gangle and the role she plays; the roles we all need to play to survive here. I can’t explain everything now, but please… do whatever you have to do to befriend Zooble. It’s the only chance you have for you to be accepted.”

“Fine, I’ll do it! Just calm down!” Pomni exclaimed as she was disturbed, “I don’t get it, but if this cult-thing will make things easier, then so be it. I’ll get Zooble to like me or whatever.”

Ragatha looked defeated as she flopped back to rest her back to the couch, “I know it hard to understand it now, but you will in time. Just focus on Zooble for now.”

“Ok! Ok! I got it, ok?”

Finally… silence…

There was a moment of silence for Pomni to digest the whole encounter. She didn’t understand what she was getting herself into, but she would just play along for the time being. It wasn’t until now that the jester realized how much she craved to have a normal conversation, an argument… hell, she craved to just be mad for a reason other than for things she couldn’t control.

While it was cathartic to engage in the encounter with Ragatha, she couldn’t help but feel hopeless and frustrated with her lack of understanding.

The doll’s voice was soft as it beckoned for Pomni’s attention yet again.

“About Zooble... They like fashion and abstract art. They also prefer to be alone most of the time, so try to catch them when they venture out to start a conversation with someone like me or Kinger. That way, you won’t be a bother.”

Pomni listened keenly as Ragatha continued to give her pointers, “Try to keep anything about you and your thoughts or feelings under wraps to maintain that factor of mystery. Believe it or not, everyone here is still very curious about you, even if they don’t show it – they are just trying to protect themselves from getting involved with someone who might cause them harm. Trust me, you are the talk of the town – use that. Not even Zooble is immune to gossip, as aloof and unbothered as they might seem.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” the jester affirmed.

Pomni slowly stood from her seat and stretched briefly, “Thank you. You actually… might have helped me a lot.”

“Honey, as it stands, you need all the help you can get.” Ragatha quipped without missing a beat. It earned a little chuckle from the fool.

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks for the reminder.”

Pomni missed the little, tired smile that crept up the ragdoll’s face as she turned away. Pomni wanted to walk around outside. She wanted to clear her head and regain her strength before she braved an encounter with the Zolo-being. Just before Pomni could walk a few steps too far, she stopped in thought, turning around to face the doll once again.

“Hey Ragatha, why exactly are you helping me? Even after everything I put you through?”

“Don’t sweat it, New Stuff.” Ragatha scoffed with no real bite.

Pomni felt a real smile creep its way up her face for the first time since she was trapped in the Circus, “You really are too good for this place... you know that, right?”

Looking over to the doll once again, Pomni saw Ragatha’s face sporting an unreadable expression. It was almost as devoid of emotion and robotic as her voice was, when she spoke words with far too much weight for Pomni’s liking;

“I just do what I have to do.”

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

[shimmerbeasts]

//Drow is interesting for Bhaal, as he was a mortal human man and seems to still like his old form a lot. Not that he can't, he is a god, but what would be the motivation for it? Does he have a reason to choose this specifically for Jinx? (Comment made by @steel-and-fire)

I hope you do not mind me posting your comment in a separate post as I have a bit to talk about, and that way, I have the advantage of no sudden word limits cutting me off.

First of all, people have to remember, that I am still fairly early in my playthrough, and while I know certain things already about the Dark Urge storyline, I only know bits and pieces. I do not yet have the full picture. However, even if I had the full picture, there may be a chance that I am doing this regardless. I like giving canonical characters and sometimes even the world or their relationships my own flavour. Seriously, look at my worldbuilding for Zaun and you get what I mean.

Anyhow, onto the whole drow and Bhaal stuff. To understand what my idea was here, you have to understand that when I chose to make Jinx's BG3 verse and designed her as my avatar for my playthrough, I tried to draw as much from who she is in Arcane. I did not even try to make Jinx look exactly like Arcane Jinx because that is just impossible.

As you can clearly see here, Jinx's original aesthetic would hardly map completely onto BG3's aesthetic. So, I decided that while I gave clear nods towards Jinx's appearance like her blue hair or her demonic purple and demonic blue eyes, what was more important was capturing the spirit of her character in her design. Ergo more, who is she as a person versus what does she look like.

This is for instance why Jinx is a thiefling instead of a human or elf. From what I heard of the race, they are outcast, but also associated with evil and trickery. And in my opinion, Jinx is an almost tragic spin on a trickster and malevolent character. Other things, I included are nods to the people, she canonically holds dear, wherever I could. Everybody with two working brain cells, who saw Arcane, can tell that Jinx's heterochromatic eyes are a nod towards Silco as is her tattoo, which in my brain is almost like Shimmer leaking out of her eyes. Her horn's red tips are a nod towards Vi.

Anyway, back to your question: How the heck does any of this tie to Bhaal appearing as a drow for Jinx instead of his apparent human shape?

The short answer is: I decided to give Jinx pre-brain damage and tadpole situation a dynamic with Bhaal which is very similar to Silco and her in canon. So I was like "If I go with the whole Silco = Bhaal analogy, why not go all out?" And well, if you look at Silco's appearance, I felt a drow would make the most sense for Bhaal's chosen form.

You see my point, right?

I also thought a lot about how Jinx interprets what "Father of Murder" means or more specifically what murder is. And well, if you look at the definition of the word murder, the topic of intention is very crucial to differentiate it from manslaughter. So, I felt that for Jinx, intention would be a very important element in how she unleashed her dark urge in the past. It is about setting up a kill and the whole chase element of it. Girly ain't a hound, in this case, she is a hunter.

And I was like Okay, what would be easier for a god. Trying to brute force her into a completely different path or you know, taking the path she already is on, and speeding it up. I chose to interpret Bhaal as taking the shape of a drow for Jinx as a nod to Silco, but also because she is very receptive to wanting to make a parental figure proud in her own unique ways. In a way, Bhaal is fitting himself around Jinx's interpretation of who he is. Is he still the quote-on-quote "Father of Murder"? Yes. Did Jinx choose to take that more literally? Also, yes. Does Bhaal choose to play into this because it enables him to control Jinx more easily? Yes.

In my eyes, Bhaal would be scarier if he could accommodate multiple interpretations of the word murder and not just one. And that is exactly what he is doing with Jinx.

[riiwriting]

Pastry Possibilities | Barbatos (Obey Me)

Summary - After months of living in the Devildom, there were some things that you just accepted as a part of life, such as it being impossible to steal a moment of the royal butler's time.

Notes - First time I've ever written anything for this fandom. I don't have any idea why Barbatos is who came to mind first, but whatever works.

Warnings - N/A

Pronouns - GN (no pronouns used at all)

It didn’t take long at all for you to understand the unspoken routines of the Devildom. There were some things you just simply didn’t ask about, like Satan’s opinion on Lucifer, or that time that Levi summoned Lotan. And then there were some things that everybody simply just accepted as parts of life; no matter how seemingly unfair or odd to you they were.

Honestly, the longer you stayed there, the more that those kinds of things began to arise. You had to grown into understanding Lucifer and Satan’s relationship, just as it took time for you to understand why Mammon chose only to be a decent person when it came to you or his younger brothers. But there were also things that were quite apparent to you from day one, like the fact that it was eternally night, or Barbatos’s unwavering devotion to Lord Diavolo.

The latter, of course, made the most sense out of any of them. When you were introduced to the teal-haired demon, Lord Diavolo seemed to almost make a point to add his title of “butler.” Though you felt it to be a bit condescending, Barbatos had seemed to take pride in his position at the young lord’s side. To each their own, you supposed.

However, as your stay in the Devildom extended, this simple fact of existence seemed to bother you more and more. Something about the butler had caught your intrigue, and though you couldn’t quite figure out what it was, it created an ache in the pit of your stomach.

You knew everyone else. You knew what made the brothers tick, just as you knew what Luke and Simeon’s favorite desserts were. Hell, you had even come to know Lord Diavolo himself quite well, thanks to a desperate need for a breath of fresh air during the exchange retreat, and his willingness to accompany you.

There had been virtually no opportunities to really converse with Barbatos. In the few that there were, Diavolo was always present —and if he wasn’t, Mammon was. You learned very quickly that if you wanted a chance to actually talk to the butler, you’d have to create the situation yourself.

That was when you decided to pick baking back up as a hobby. You were quite familiar with a collection of human-world pastry recipes, but it had admittedly been a few years before you spent much time in front of an oven. Partially out of fear of embarrassing yourself in front of the brothers (though mostly due to a desire for peace and quiet), you asked Simeon if they would mind sharing the Purgatory Hall kitchen with you.

“Of course not! You know you’re more than welcome at Purgatory Hall for any reason,” Simeon said, a bright smile on his face.

You returned his smile in full. “Thank you,” you beamed gratefully. “I know this sounds silly, but it’s been a while since I’ve tried to bake anything. If anyone is going to have to tell me that my cookies taste like ass, I’d prefer it be you.”

Simeon laughed, “Well, I’ve never known you to be bad at anything, so I’m sure they’ll be quite fine. I do have to ask though, is there a reason why you’re deciding to pick an apron up all of a sudden?”

Though you knew there was quite literally no way Simeon could REALLY know your intentions, the mischievous glint in his eye made you shift your feet. He always seemed to know when you had some kind of plot, regardless of how hard you tried to disguise it. You had been foolish to think that this time would be any different.

“Oh, nothing in particular,” you lied seamlessly, hoping that Simeon didn’t catch the way you wiped your sweaty palm on the bottom of your RAD uniform jacket. You thought up a new line of reasoning as quickly as possible. “I just feel like my entire personality down here has revolved around Lucifer and his brothers. I miss doing things just for myself.”

Your heart panged at your own words as you realized how true they were. Though a conscious awakening wasn’t exactly what you was going for, it apparently placated Simeon’s curiosities, as he tapped his chin and nodded thoughtfully along with your words. “Well, that’s certainly understandable. I’ll say again, any time you need somewhere to go, you’re welcome at Putgatory Hall.”

You thanked him again before giving your friend a tight hug and announcing you’d stop by a little while after school. Simeon simply nodded and agreed to your plans before the two of you parted ways.

You turned away from Simeon and nearly right into Lucifer, who was eyeing you with suspicious curiosity. You jumped a bit at the sight of him, before letting out a small sigh. “Geez, Lucifer, haven’t you learned in the hundreds of years you’ve been alive not to sneak up on people like that?”

“I was simply standing here,” he noted stoically. “You were just in a hurry and didn’t watch where you were going.”

You felt your face burn under his gaze. Maybe he had a point. Breathing another sigh, you apologized, “Okay, I’m sorry. I just realized I had been talking to Simeon for longer than I anticipated, and I didn’t want to be late to class.”

Lucifer drew out a short, disbelieving, “I see,” before an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. When it became painfully clear that you didn’t know what he was expecting of you, he asked, “I presumed you and Simeon were making plans of some sort?”

“Oh!” you said in surprise, having been expecting some sort of reprimand, as Lucifer seemed to love handing those out when they weren’t warranted. “Well, I suppose. I asked if I could bake cookies at Purgatory Hall later tonight.”

One of Lucifer’s eyebrows rose. “Is there a reason you can’t use the House of Lamentation’s kitchen?” he asked, somewhat offended.

You quickly shook your head. “Of course not! I just figured I could use Luke and Simeon’s help. It’s been a while since I baked anything.”

Lucifer didn’t appear convinced, though you supposed his expression always carried some sort of suspicion, but he didn’t press you any further. Instead, he said, “You’d be better off asking Barbatos for help.”

A lump formed in your throat. You wanted to tell him he was an idiot, and ask him how exactly he thought you would be able to simply steal Barbatos’ attention from Diavolo. However, the last thing you needed to do was actually give Lucifer a reason to punish you, so you simply waved a passive hand. “Oh, he’s too busy for that.”

Lucifer shrugged, though apparently seemed to agree with what you said. “In that case, if your cookies turn out to be palatable, you should take some to the castle. I’m sure Diavolo would appreciate you sharing human culture with him, and Barbatos might be able to offer you feedback.”

You had to fight to keep yourself from bouncing on your feet, a sudden anxious rush running through you. You jumped at the opportunity your friend – used loosely – laid in front of you. “That’s a nice idea, thank you. Would you do me a favor, then, and tell Diavolo about it the next to you see him? That way a visit wouldn’t be completely unexpected.”

Your thoughtfulness seemed to impress Lucifer, who allowed his lips to quirk into the faintest of smiles. Just as quickly as it had come, the expression disappeared. The demon gave a curt nod, “I’ll let them know.“

Though you felt the conversation had ended, Lucifer lingered in front of you. You then realized the one thing you had forgotten to cover. “And of course I’ll bring some back to the house for you guys,” you promised.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, acting as if he hadn’t been waiting all this time for you to confirm exactly that. “I would expect you to bring some to me, at least, considering we’ve had this conversation. Thought I don’t think Beel would forgive you if he found out you didn’t save any for him,” he teased.

All of a sudden your little cookie experiment was turning into a bake sale, but you couldn’t do much other than nod and escape from the hallway. Once you reached your next class, you retrieved your D.D.D from your bag to text Luke about the situation. Your tension eased when he responded enthusiastically, saying he would help however you needed him to, and that he couldn’t wait to hang out with you.

Tossing your device back into your bag, you relaxed in your seat and decided to be optimistic. Lucifer and Simeon both had been more helpful than you anticipated. While part of you almost wanted to thank them, you thought you might die of embarrassment if anyone found out how desperately you were trying to retrieve Barbatos’ attention.

You still hadn’t figured out what it was that drew you to him. You were half-convinced that it was simply the mystery of it all – that you just couldn’t stand not knowing everything. However, the more you felt butterflies arise at the thought of the demon butler, the more you lost faith in your innocent act.

You were drawn to Barbatos the same way that everyone else seemed to be drawn to you. And while quite literally anyone else would have been an easier route for your heart to take, you had begun noticing your brain circling back to him.

You genuinely hoped that once you got a chance to see a bit of his true character, that sensation would fade. Maybe then you could actually get on with your life.

x

“There we go!” You declared with a slight wince as you tossed the last pan of cookies onto the kitchen counter. Simeon and Luke, who were each sitting at the kitchen table, munching on cookies from your first batch, gave you a small round of applause at hearing you were finally done, 7 trays later.

Luke smiled happily from around his cookie, crumbs falling from the corner of his mouth. “These are really good MC! You didn’t need our help at all,” he said happily.

Simeon nodded at his sentiment. “You’re very right Luke. Though I’m definitely not complaining about getting first dibs over Beel.”

You felt your cheeks redden at their compliments. Dipping your chin to focus on removing the cookies from the tray to a plate, you responded to their praise, “Well, I’m glad that they taste okay.” It was one of the most basic cookie recipes you could remember, so you didn’t think you’d forgive yourself if you messed them up.

After finishing his cookie, Simeon joined you at the counter, watching curiously as you distributed the cookies evenly between a few different plates. Feeling his gaze, you look up at him. “Do you guys have notecards? And a marker?” you asked politely.

With a small nod, Simeon disappeared up to his room, returning moments later with exactly what you had asked for. You thanked him, before scrawling everyone’s names on individual notecards. This would at least help you remember who you had already given some to.

Simeon continued to watch your actions, laughing quietly when you tucked the card with Beel’s name onto the fullest plate. You then decided to make two plates for the house in general, hoping that with Beel removed from the equation, no fighting would ensue.

Of course, to save your own ass, you separated a few and bundled them up in parchment paper, attaching a notecard with Lucifer’s name to the top. You didn’t bother labeling Purgatory Hall’s cookies, as you would just leave them here.

You seemed to hesitate at the last plate, debating whether it was improper to write Diavolo and Barbatos’ names, or if you should simply address the castle, or possibly just Diavolo. You wanted Barbatos to know that you had him in mind, but you also didn’t want to break some unbeknownst to you status quo.

Simeon noticed your hesitance, and asked, “You aren’t taking any to the castle?”

Your head snapped up, directly meeting your friend’s blue eyes. Your face reddened, “I am. I just didn’t know the proper way to address them.”

A humored smile spread onto Simeon’s lips. “I’m sure Diavolo will be pleased regardless of what the label says,” he placated.

You bit the inside of your cheek, wondering if asking a simple question would give away your intentions too much. After a short study of Simeon’s expression, you figured if there was anyone you didn’t mind knowing your thoughts, it was him and Luke.

“You don’t think it’s improper to address them to both him and Barbatos, do you?” You asked, glancing up at the taller angel through your eyelashes.

Simeon was quick to shake his head, “Not at all. I’m under the impression that Diavolo sees Barbatos as more of a very helpful friend than a servant. And I’m sure Barbatos would love the idea of someone baking something for him for a change.”

You let his words sit in the air for a moment, your eyes focused on what was left of the cookies in front of you. With a small frown on your lips, you divided what you had left between two plates rather than one, making individual labels for each.

Once you had tucked both of the cards into their proper places, you looked back up at Simeon. “Do you mind if I run to the castle and then swing back by on my way home?” you asked. It was a shorter walk to the castle from there, and you were mildly afraid of questioning from both Mammon and Beel if they noticed you had sweets for other people.

Simeon and Luke both announced that they wouldn’t mind your coming and going at all, though with a knowing look, Simeon asked if you wished for him to accompany you to calm your nerves. You shook your head, knowing that as much as you would enjoy his company, it would defeat the whole purpose of your cookie scheme.

After short promises of being right back to retrieve the rest of your pastries, you stacked the two plates of cookies in your arms and headed out into the stuffy evening air. You tried not to let your nerves bubble to the surface on your walk, but the moment the castle’s grand doors were in front of you, you had to take a second to collect yourself. After swallowing your pride, you knocked on the door.

Momentarily, the door was pulled open, revealing a pleasant-looking Barbatos. “MC,” he greeted with a warm smile, “My Lord was just asking if I had seen you yet this afternoon.”

You returned his smile gently, anxious butterflies bouncing around your stomach. “Well, I apologize for keeping you both in anticipation. I suppose I didn’t think about how many cookies I had to make for everyone, and how long it would take.”

A knowing look shone in the butler’s eyes, and he gave a thoughtful nod before stepping aside and inviting you in. You shifted anxiously on your feet as you stood in the entryway of the Demon Lord’s castle.

“Give me one moment, I’ll go retrieve Lord Diavolo,” Barbatos announced quickly.

Before you could think better of it, you stretched a hand in his direction to stop him. Fingertips grazing his jacket sleeve, your face burned when he turned to you with an unreadable look. You swallowed the lump in your throat, “Before you do, I just wanted to give you these, is all.”

You handed the butler the bottom plate of cookies, watching meekly as his eyes drifted across his name scrawled in your handwriting. His expression seemed to change, but when he looked over at you, his eyes still seemed to hold their normal humored curiosity. Clearing your throat, you explained, “They’re nothing special, but I figured it would be nice to eat something you didn’t have to make for a change.”

This time, you were certain that his expression changed, as his mouth quirked into a tiny smile. You had grown accustomed to the polite smiles he sent you while you conversed with Lucifer or Diavolo, but you had to admit that it was nice to be the reason for even the tiniest bit of his contentment.

However, when he didn’t say anything for a prolonged moment, your anxiety worked double time. “Sorry, I’m know you’re used to higher quality sweets, but–“

“I’m sure these will be wonderful,” Barbatos spoke thoughtfully, his words silencing your rambling. When you met his gaze again, his smile had grown, most likely to put you at ease. You allowed yourself to return his smile, and relished in the way his cheeks dusted with a shade of pink. “Thank you, MC. It’s admittedly been a while since I received any sort of gift for myself.”

Your heart thumped against your rib cage as you successfully fought the urge to tell him that he was the sole reason behind you getting in the kitchen in the first place. You instead settled for, “I figured as much, which is why I wanted to make sure to bring you your own.”

You watched as the butler’s chin tilted away from you, undeniably hiding a flustered expression. His reaction made your chest swell with pride, even as he hurriedly excused himself to go retrieve Diavolo.

When the young lord arrived in the entryway to greet you, Barbatos was notably absent from his side. You chose not to inquire, but Diavolo seemed to notice your gaze traveling around the room, and voiced an internal thought. “I admit, I’m not sure where Barbatos disappeared to,” he said with a small frown. After a moment of studying your demeanor, his expression melted into a curious smile. “Though I will say he was quite red in the face while letting me know of your arrival.”

Your intention had certainly not been to fluster him – in fact, you didn’t think that was possible – but you took that as a sign that maybe you were getting somewhere.

“It’s later than I anticipated, but I know Lucifer told you I’d be by, and I didn’t want to disappoint,” you explained as you handed the red-haired demon the remaining plate of cookies.

Diavolo let out a deep laugh, “You have yet to disappoint in any way, MC.” He paused for a moment as his eyes drifted over the parchment covered plate. Seeing the notecard with his name, his expression faltered, “I don’t mean to question your thought process, but I don’t suppose you’d mind if I shared with Barbatos?”

You felt yourself smile at his consideration, and supposed Simeon had a point about the two of them being friends. “You can share with anyone you’d like! Though I have already given Barbatos a plate for himself.”

Immediately upon hearing your words, Diavolo’s goofy smile returned. Things apparently seemed to click into place, as he let out an understanding, “Ah.” After a moment of suggestive silence, he declared, “Well, I’ll have to have him invite you over to use the kitchen here sometime. I’m sure the two of you would work quite well together.”

You felt your face flush once more as you smiled at the offer. “Well, I’d certainly appreciate the opportunity,” you responded politely. There was a glint in Diavolo’s eyes that told you he had you entirely figured out, but you excused yourself before giving him the chance to say much else.

Diavolo himself saw you out, thanking you again at the door. When you asked him to tell Barbatos you said goodbye, he all but smirked, promising to pass the sentiment along.

[burning-fcols]

"So you're saying this is my fault?" ( -yeets a Travis over for Angel- ) - ✧ ˖ ˙ 「 @Qᴜᴇꜱᴛɪᴏɴᴀʙʟᴇᴍᴜꜱᴇꜱ 」 ˙ ˖ ✧

「 ☆ 」 Ever since his stalker-turned-director showed up, Angel's been even more on-edge in the studio than usual. A feat he had previously thought impossible. But lo-and-behold, Travis managed to add an extra layer of complication to an already uncomfortable situation. By some marvel, he's avoided Valentino learning about his... previous connection with the crewmember ( Angel vowing to never again try to earn some quick cash that Val can't snatch out of his hands by merit of ❛ owner's fee ❜ ... or at least hope for a less intense John ) but that's of little comfort right now.

If they can't get this stupid shoot back on track, the moth is going to want everyone's head on a silver platter. Regardless of who is to blame, ANYONE is free game when he's throwing one of his fits. Is that concern a bit melodramatic? Perhaps... But so is Val. With everything going wrong from extras messing up their cues, to technical issues, to wardrobe malfunctions— the star's maid outfit torn too early thanks to snagging on some prop furniture —it'll be a miracle if the movie gets filmed by the end of the night, let alone within the timeframe Valentino request... and he's not one for running behind schedule.

Normally, Angel wouldn't cause waves with the Director, no matter how poorly things are going. Refraining from pissing off the guy in charge is one of the few things that can help a day go by faster. But this isn't a ❛ Director ❜ yet. This is fucking Travis. Angel just hopes the other doesn't realize the power he technically yields. Not until Angel has gotten a few more days of ❛ brattiness ❜ in before he starts actually being reprimanded for it. Bitching at Travis is proving to be a good source of stress relief.

❝ Uh— Yeah. I am. ❞ Angel snappily responds, a hand sharply motioning at the shit-show behind him as crew-mates run around to try and figure out the latest electrical mishap. Lights flashing and sound distorted, it looks more like a rave than the spicy scenario meant to be implied. ❝ This set is a fuckin' joke an' when Val gets here, he ain't gonna be laughin'. ❞ Flinching at the sound of a nearby crash, Angel doesn't bother to look and see what it was. He doesn't want to know.

Growling as he shuts his eyes, fur bristles and lip upturns in an annoyed snarl. Fists clenched at his sides to keep from trembling with unease, he abruptly leans into Travis's space. Jabbing a finger into the shorter man's chest, he emphasizes his words, ❝ You wanted ta be th' Directa'. So start Directin'. 'Cause if these clowns can't get their act togetha', it's gonna ber YER ASS gettin' heat fer it. ❞

Praying the other buys the semi-bluff— Angel more concerned about what methods of relieving his frustrations Val might indulge in if things aren't straightened out —he moves even closer, face inches away from the others ( taking the opportunity to intrude upon someone's space rather than the other way around ) ❝ So how 'bout you stop dickin' around an' do yer job so I can do MINE. ❞

And Travis can watch to his heart's content... the sick fuck. 「 ☆ 」

[kellanved-ammanas]

Not sure if I’m doing this correctly but can you do a Drabble/continuation of the broken promise thing or the engie and pyro series I commented on please?

I did both. Here's the continuation of 'Broken Promise', next week's drabble will be a continuation of the Engie/Pyro one.

TF2 Drabbles: Heavy/Medic - Delayed But Promise Kept

[A/N] Context for other people this is a continuation of a thing I wrote for a Valentine's Week Angst Event (fic is called Valentine's Week Angst, chapter five: Broken Promise) in which Heavy had promised to come home to Medic but is instead revealed to have died in a plane crash. So this is a continuation of how he might've survived to keep that promise after all, squished down into a drabble because I take drabble requests, so obviously it had to be one.

~

There wasn’t much flotsam left from the plane crash but for every bit of it there was Heavy got a survivor onto it. How they were going to stay together, he left up them while he got more survivors. Of which there weren’t many, the crash killed a lot of them, the roiling waves, most of the rest, making the lack of floating debris not much of an issue.

What was an issue though was that even once they were all clinging to bits of wreckage, they were still stranded in the middle of the ocean. The storm was dying down but the waves were still tossing them about. It was cold too, nothing Heavy couldn’t fight through but it still made the situation that much more dire, even he would eventually succumb to it and the waves fighting to pull him under.

He wasn’t about to give up though or let his little group of survivors do so either. If he was going to die, he was going to die fighting.

~

If the island was inhabited none of its inhabitants left any sign of themselves on the beach so it might not be true salvation. Even if so, it was still far better than continuing to tread water.

Once on land and safely out of the tide’s reach, everyone flopped over to rest, too tired to do anything else. Except for Heavy. He forced himself up and set to tending to any injuries that needed tending to and prodding people into taking their wet clothing off and drying themselves as much as they could to prevent hypothermia. Without medical supplies he was limited on how much help he could actually offer but he’d spent enough time with Medic, listening to him talk medicine and assisting him in various ways, to be more than competent enough to handle this. Especially since anyone who’d sustained serious injuries hadn’t made it this far.

Once he was sure he’d done as much as he could do – and hopefully hadn’t forgotten anything important – Heavy finally sat down to rest himself. They needed to explore the island and hope civilization existed on it somewhere that would allow them to call for rescue. If such wasn’t the case they’d have to figure out what to do about food, shelter, and getting off some other way. That was for later though after at least a nap. Hopefully Heavy would be back home with Medic soon regardless.

~

The island was indeed uninhabited. Making Heavy’s hope of returning home soon far more difficult, maybe even impossible. He was going was going to get there eventually though because he was not going to slowly wither away on a deserted island. He’d survive for however long it took to get off and he was going to drag as many of the people with him as he could.

Other than that though, they were in luck. There was plenty of fresh water and even some fruit and wild animals to eat while they figured out how they were going to start catching fish to eat. So as bad as it was, it could’ve been far worse. Hopefully it would be enough.

~

It couldn’t have been much more than a week before someone floated the idea of creating a raft and rowing back to the mainland. As appealing of an idea as it was on the surface, that kind of thing was the stuff of fiction. In reality, they’d all die of dehydration long before they got anywhere. As the unquestioned leader – even if it wasn’t a role he’d asked for but had instead inadvertently taken on – everyone eventually acquiesced to Heavy’s insistence against that plan.

Which left them with nothing to do but to continue to survive and figure out a way to signal to any passing ships or planes to come rescue them. Easier said than done, especially with how much Heavy ached to be doing more, but if one plane had flown close enough for them to be able to swim here, eventually another one would too… hopefully.

~

Under Heavy’s directions, they eventually settled into a routine where three people at all times were watching for rescue. One with eyes on the sky for a plane, the other two patrolling either side of the island hoping to spot a passing ship.

For a long stretch of time nothing came of this. But then a ship passed, giving everyone hope right up until it became clear it was too far away to spot their signal fire. That meant there was traffic coming this way though and thus hope.

Hope that had almost dwindled out before another ship came by. This one turned towards them. Heavy didn’t dare let his hopes get too high though. Not until it became undeniable that the ship had not only seen their fire but was also responding to it. Rescue had come at last. He could finally go home to Medic. Hopefully Medic wouldn’t be too upset with him for taking so much longer than he’d promised it would.

[justahopelessaromantic]

Go away, come again another day (Ch. 3: "One stormy day!" by Monaca Komaeda)

Fandom: Danganronpa AU: Medieval/Fantasy AU Ships: Nagito/Monaca, Mahiru/Sato, and Soapies Links to Chapters 1 and 2 Summary: The kingdom's people do their best to get through the day. The storm rages on regardless.

Her mornings are spent outside with her brother.

Technically they’re spent with “the servant”, but his suggestion that she treat him as such triggered a tantrum so visceral it rattled the book on his nightstand, his mangled bones, and his weak heart. Poor Ms. Maki had to rip herself out of Miss. Painter lady’s warm sheets calm her down. Nagito, to absolutely no one’s surprise, said he'd be fine. She wasn't exactly keen on comforting adults, but she held him anyway.

Still. He usually had the whole morning to pepper her forehead with wake-up kisses. To get tugged back under the covers for drowsy cuddles because if Monaca wants it, it happens. To adore and be adored.

The rest of her day is spent with him supervising her and the rest of the “warriors of hope” (nicknamed by Masaru and him), big sis Junko (sometimes big sis Mukuro too, if his luck panned out in her favor), or the king and her loyal nanny.

And don’t say it's still their time, because the nuzzles against his cheek and the way he cards through her hair is different without all these subjects running around her. Ring around the Rosie is intimate, not private. Quit acting like the ate matters when they were all out of food!

Really though. His fingers don’t get tangled with Junko’s chin indented into his shoulder, her hair brushing critique advice jutting into his skin. She doesn’t turn to kiss his cheek with Masaru scrutinizing all eyes on him.

She can’t move up to his bitten-up, pale lips, crackling like the sparkling fireplace. Not with the lightning illuminating his pale face.

That’s peasant activity.

The flicker teases a halo outlining him. Monaca wishes she could be that angelic, but they’re not blood-related. Holiness doesn’t run in the family anyway.

(Monaca wishes on a lot of things, but the stars hid from her tonight. They must know of the luck she already relies on.)

Point being, it’s just not the same and she should still be having breakfast in bed right now and everything is stinky and horrible and utterly poopy! Has Monaca made herself clear? Good.

She buries her head into her brother’s arm and sighs, the hot breath making him shake with absent-minded giggles. He feels her grin in return. At least her favorite subjects are here. At least it’s not school.

I mean, it is school, if the building itself counts. Just not, like, school school. Monaca doesn’t have to know anything other than how to entertain herself and when dinner is. She’ll still take directions from Mr. Monokuma (yuck!) and Ms. Monami once everything clears up, but still. It’s miles better than being dragged to school.

Not that she didn't feel bad about all the destruction and death, mind you. What kind of hideous monster did you take her for (Probably not even one with cool teeth and an extra stomach, she bet)!

But that was outside. And everything outside is vague and abstract and outside. Not safe, kinda bland, cozy inside. Outside. And unless inside becomes outside, they should be safe.

Ms. Monami made it clear that that was impossible, anyway, even if the roof got ripped off or something like that! And her teacher had to be right because she was a teacher! Duh. Teachers just know these things, you know? They’re, like, geniuses or something. They have to be if she can’t figure out what they know without their personal help.

Though she assumes Miss. Momami meant that “inside” sorta just...quietly slipped away to somewhere else during all the commotion. Like how, in a few weeks, the memories of the hurricane would feel as far away as a balloon floating so high up you can barely see it after you let it go. Luckily though, this situation involves more than one crying child.

She’s twelve, anyway, so she isn’t supposed to worry about hurricanes or big scary stuff anyway. That’s for the adults to deal with (Though, with so many of them running around like chickens without heads, they seem to be doing a really bad job at it in her leaderly opinion)! Her responsibilities include keeping her room tidy whenever she felt bad about getting Nagito to do it via puppy dog eyes and being the line leader for the rest of the week. 

If someone added something like dealing with the aftermath of Masaru and his parents not making it or Miss. Toko closing her library to water damage, her five-year-old psych simply wouldn’t be able to handle it! Her head would swell up with all the age-inappropriate knowledge until the chandelier poked it, glistening from the natural strobe lights. Once it popped, all of her guts and puss and the chunks of her brain would fly everywhere, covering the whole classroom in bloody red.

At least, that's what Masaru says. He also says her dog would lick all of her up, but that part is just dumb. Probably only says that to freak her out anyway.

Jokes on him! It doesn’t even work, ‘cause she asked Mr. Monokuma and he says that dogs only do that if their owners die alone. And she’s gonna spend every sleeping moment with her brother, so there!

She still has a hard time wrapping her head around the concept though, even if it doesn’t apply to her. Especially with how gleefully he licked her hand before Nagito dropped him off at Mr. Dark Supreme Overlord of Icicles guy’s place. Poor thing probably had no idea how horrible everything was, having a hard time shivering and shaking at the crash of thunder with the “ancient protection spell cast over this realm” and all that.

Maybe he thought rushing over to the palace was some sort of mad dash to get to a family vacation spot before nightfall.

In a really dark, morbid way, it kinda was. She didn't think she would say that out loud, though. It sounded mean in her head and mean things always sound even meaner out loud. Especially after you’ve said them.

Monaca’s trying not to be so mean these days.

Moving her hand to pet Jarato’s surprisingly exposed tuft of hair (blonde, like her puppy), Monaca took one last wistful look at herself in the imaginary mirror before peering over at the startled boy’s work. She still couldn't figure out how he did it.

And what a shame, too! She was a smart kid. With a little bit of practice, she could even rival him. Could draw, like, a bazillion pictures of every little freaky image that came to her friend's mind! Kokichi could have sent her on that search mission with Ms. Saihara and Ms. Kirigiri to share her art with the world! She could even ask Mr. Dark Spooky Guy or that witch lady to bring her drawings to life!!!

Ah, well. Nagito still insisted on hanging up every bad doodle she made for him and cooing over what a sweet little beacon of hope she’s turned out to be in the end, so she’s probably not doing too bad for a twelve-year-old.

She audibly groans before dramatically plopping down, face flat on the floor, only barely lifting her head to see the “professional” laying down as well. Mahiru (That’s what Ms. Maki introduced her as, right?) gazed out the window through a sliver between the blinds. She looked bored. Even more than Emma.

For a dull heartbeat, Monaca narrows her eyes at the spare paintbrushes Jataro found before snatching them up and stumbling over to bask in the striped moonlight reflecting off the daydreamer. Maybe they could be bored together.

Or she could scare her into painting with her. That worked too.

[loveintechnicolor]

Wild Hope: Chapter 2

A month passed without any further correspondence from Brittany, and Santana had all but given up on hearing back from the blonde. In the end, she figured it was probably all for the best. Brittany was an intelligent, resourceful woman who knew how to take care of herself. She did not need the brunette’s help in keeping Pierce Automotive afloat. Santana was sure of it.

At least, that's what Santana told herself every time she remembered that day. The brunette could not help but kick herself for finally having an opportunity to talk to the woman she’d had a crush on since she was fifteen and then promptly blowing her chance to even simply befriend her. Regardless, she still preferred having offered help to Brittany and being turned down than to not and have her never know that Lopez Marketing Services was a viable option in the event that she actually ever needed them. Santana just hoped that Brittany did not feel as if she had overstepped or, at the very least, that the mechanic would not hold it against her.

Santana buried her face in her hands, realizing that she had once again found herself mulling over the memory of that day. Reflecting on that moment was something that had taken up the majority of her idle thoughts over the past several weeks, and she was still trying to figure out a way for her to hopefully move on and return to life before Brittany S. Pierce had stepped back into it. It wasn’t that Santana regretted seeing the blonde again after being away for college. It had just proven to be near impossible for her to get the other woman back out of her head after years of working to suppress the echoing thoughts of her woulda-coulda-shouldas. For the time being, she told herself there was nothing she could do to change the situation that caused her latest bout of mortification. Well, nothing outside of calling up the other woman and profusely apologizing, but she would never do that. Not after already embarrassing herself beyond belief.

Releasing a frustrated huff, Santana decided to put her thoughts of Brittany aside for the time being as she grabbed her wallet and car keys to once again pick-up her lunch for the day. On her way out, she stopped by her mother’s office and gave a knock against the open door to gain the older woman’s attention.

Maribel instantly snapped her gaze over to the younger brunette, giving her daughter a bright smile before greeting, “Hey, Sweetheart. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I am heading out to grab lunch. Do you want anything?”

“Depends. Where are you planning to go?”

“Well, there’s that new bistro that opened up across town. Rach keeps claiming that their Italian sub is to die for, so I figured I’d find go out for myself.”

“In that case, grab me one, too.”

“Will do. Be back in a bit.”

“Okay, take your time,” Maribel replied with a wave of her hand as she watched her daughter turn to leave.

Santana returned a half-hour later with a bag of takeout in hand. After saying hello to the receptionist, she made her way over to her mother’s office to deliver half the food only to find the woman no longer there. Suddenly, the somewhat distant sound of laughter caught her attention. Narrowing her eyes in confusion, Santana slowly spun around and started following the unexpected voices coming from her own office around the corner. As she approached the room, she looked through the opened doorway to find Maribel leaning back on her daughter’s desk as she spoke to the woman seated a few feet away in one of the office’s guest chairs. Santana nearly shrieked in surprise as she realized that it was the same woman who had unknowingly maintained a near constant claim on her thoughts over the course of the past few weeks.

Not realizing her presence, Maribel continued, “Yeah, my Santanita has always been a little spitfire, but that’s part of her charm. I remember this one time when she-“

“Um, hello?” Santana cut in, refusing to allow her mother to tell Brittany any other potentially embarrassing stories about her life. She watched on as the pair each turned their gazes over to the brunette standing at the office’s entrance, mainly maintaining a subtle glare in the direction of her mother.

“Oh, hey, Santana! We were just talking about you. Brittany came in requesting to speak with you while you were out, so I figured I’d just keep her company until my favorite daughter got back,” Maribel explains and Santana instantly noticed a glint of mischief dancing behind her mother’s eyes.

“I’m your only daughter, let alone child, Ma,” Santana grumbled with an exaggerated eyeroll. She knew what the woman was doing, and although she most likely had her daughter’s best interests in mind, Santana refused to let her mother continue to try to talk her up to the mechanic. Fishing out Maribel’s to-go container, she held it out to her and added, “Here’s your food, by the way. Rachel said it tastes best when it is still warm.”

Catching the hint, Maribel clutched the box with her hand and replied, “Okay, great. Can’t wait to try it.” Glancing between the two women, she continued, “I’ll leave you two to discuss whatever matters Miss Pierce needs to speak with you about. It was good to see you, Brittany. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Yes, ma’am. Have a good afternoon, Mrs. Lopez.”                            

“You, too, Honey,” Maribel returned as she moved to leave, subtly winking at her daughter. Santana instantly shot another thinly veiled displeased look at the older woman, but her mother had already moved past the brunette before she even had a chance to see. It didn’t matter anyway. Maribel knew her daughter well enough to know how she felt about the matter even without meeting her gaze.

Releasing a quiet sigh, Santana put her exasperation aside and addressed the blonde with a friendly smile, greeting, “Hi, Brittany.”

“Hey, Santana,” the woman chirped back in return.

“What can I do for you today?”

“Well,” Brittany began before her expression turned a bit uneasy. “I, um- I was hoping to maybe talk a little more about your offer from a few weeks ago. You know, the one regarding you potentially helping the shop with some marketing-related things?”

Suppressing her surprise, Santana replied, “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, I was hoping to maybe discuss my options if you had some time this afternoon. Sorry to just barge in like this, by the way. I thought about calling to schedule a formal appointment, but I was out on my lunch break and figured I’d stop by while I was in the area. Now, I’m starting to realize that you might have other meetings scheduled for this afternoon. If you are busy, I could just some back another time.”

“No, I’m free for the time being. You’re fine.”

“Oh, okay. Good, good,” Brittany hums out. Getting more visibly nervous, she adds, “I-I know I could have maybe talked to your mom about it just now, so I’m sorry about that. Like you said the other day, she’s been doing it for a long time now, which of course isn’t your fault because you have to start somewhere, just like she did at some point, but- I don’t know. This is something that is really important to me, and I just feel that I know you a bit better. I mean, we graduated together, and you’ve always been nothing but nice to me, and-“

“Britt-“

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come in here and immediately word vomit,” the blonde apologizes before taking a deep, shaky breath, tears visibly starting to well in her eyes. “Shit, I’m sorry. I-I thought I’d be able to keep it together. I-I’m just really terrified right now.”

"Hey, it’s completely understandable why you would feel scared. The shop is obviously very important to you,” Santana assures as she quietly shuts her office door to give them more privacy. “Please just take a deep breath for me, and we’ll talk everything through, okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Brittany complies as she sucks in another long, unsteady breath before breathing it slowly back out.

“There we go. Now, what’s going on?”

“Th-the auto shop hasn’t done much better since the last time we spoke, and I’m terrified that I’m going to lose everything. I-” she started to say before hesitating, almost thinking better of it before deciding to just speak her thoughts anyway. “To be honest, I’m starting to feel that e-everyone’s right, and I’m just an idiot who-“

“Okay, no. First of all, Brittz, you are absolutely the furthest thing from an idiot, and anyone with the nerve to insinuate that you’re dumb is the actual idiot, alright?” Waiting for Brittany to nod her head, Santana continues, “Good, I’m glad we can agree. Now second of all, you aren’t losing anything. Not over my dead body.” Placing her take out on top of her desk, the brunette slid into her office chair and pulled open her desk drawer to retrieve a folder that had Pierce Automotive written in neat cursive script before laying it on the desktop next to her keyboard. She then moved to log back into her PC as she adds, “I've actually given quite a bit of thought as to how we can maybe help you increase traffic to the shop on the off chance that you’d change your mind. Just give me a second to find the other document I have with my ideas."

While focusing on pulling up the file on her computer, Santana suddenly heard the sound of a loud stomach growl and looked over to find the mechanic with a deep blush blooming on her cheeks.

"Oh, God. This is so embarrassing. I'm so sorry,” Brittany apologized, her mortification clearly shown on her face. “I came right over at the start of my lunchbreak, and I was so worried and distracted that I didn’t even think to eat beforehand."

“Hey, it’s alright. You are more than welcome to have some of my food if you want."

"No, I’ll be okay. I can wait until after we’re done. Let’s just move past it."

"Britt, I genuinely have the stomach of a small bird and hate leftovers, so you'd actually be doing me a favor by not letting this food go to waste," Santana encouraged with a small, soft smile has she nudged the to-go box towards the other woman. "Seriously, please feel free to take half of it."

Another moment of hesitation passed before the blonde tentatively asked, "Are-Are you sure?"

A small smirk pulled at the brunette's lips as she flipped open the container for the other woman, revealing the contents on the inside as she responded, "I’m positive. Now just to let you know, it is an Italian sub on a ciabatta roll with provolone, ham, salami, pepperoni, red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pepper relish, mustard, some type of Italian sauce, and-" Santana suddenly trailed off as she thought over the details of her order. After pausing for a brief moment to make sure she did not miss anything, she concluded, "Yeah, I think that's it."

"Sounds delicious,” Brittany chuckles as she reaches forward to grab half of the sandwich. “Thank you.”

"Anytime. Now, let me get back to pulling up that list of marketing ideas," Santana stated as she shifted her focus back to the computer screen in front of her. "Okay, so-"

"Wait, please eat your sandwich before worrying about the shop."

Glancing back at the other woman, Santana assured, "It's really no problem. I take working lunches all the time."

"Not this time, please. I really don't want my problems to cause you to get indigestion," Brittany pouted. "Lord Tubbington always gets super cranky when he has an upset tummy."

"Okay, fine. You win, but just know that I'm not aware of any time that working through lunch has caused me to have an adverse bodily reaction," Santana acquiesced with a teasing roll of her eyes as she reached for the other half of the sandwich. After taking the first bite, her eyes instantly widened in surprise before holding out the sandwich in front of her to take a good look at it. “Oh my God!” Motioning toward the sub still grasped in the mechanic’s hands, she encouraged, “Brittany, you have to try this.”

"Oh, okay,” Brittany quietly replied as she chomped into the sandwich. Giving a moment to process the taste, she suddenly released a long hum in contentment. "Wow, this is really good. The crunch of the toasted ciabatta with the melty provolone and spicy pepper relish work perfectly together. This was a fantastic choice."

"Right? I hate to say it, but Rachel has pretty good taste when it comes to food.”

“Apparently," Brittany agreed before glancing back down to take another bite. The pair continue eat in silence for a few minutes before the blonde asks, "So, how has your day been? At least, before I came in to ruin it."

“Oh, hush. You haven’t ruined anything,” Santana laughed. "It hasn’t been too bad for a Tuesday. I actually might even venture to say it’s better now that I get to see you."

Brittany’s face immediately narrowed her eyes at the woman as she teased, "You really don't have to sweettalk me, Santana. I'm already in your office with the intention of asking you for help."

"Oh, I know I don't have to say it. I'm telling the truth. You're a goddamn ray of sunshine, and it'd be extremely hard for anyone to not have their day brightened with you around."

"Aw, shucks. You must be really, really trying to butter me up."

Santana gave a little noncommittal shrug as a sly smirk pulled at her lips. Popping the final bite into her mouth, she dusted off the crumbs from her hands and returned her attention to the matter at hand. "Okay, so back to business. My initial thoughts involve three to five different ads across all local television, radio, and online ad services. I have also already scoped out a few potential billboard locations that we can go look at if you are interested." She then paused to look over at the mechanic, "Does the shop happen to have any social media pages?"

"No, not really."

"Okay, so there is room for expansion in that regard. We might actually be able to use that to our advantage. How do you feel about potentially holding giveaway packages to drive traffic to your social media pages and the shop, itself?"

"I don't see any problem with that. Honestly, I'm pretty much down for anything you think will help at this point."

"Great, but also feel free to veto any ideas that may not work for you or the shop. You are the expert here and will know better than anyone else what works for your line of work. I’m just an outside third-party who is trying to help.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know. Thanks, San.”

“Of course,” Santana replied with a wink. “So, I was also thinking about reaching out to the carwash located down the street from the shop to see if they'd be willing to try a mutually beneficial team-up. Basically, customers at the shop can have a free carwash after receiving routine maintenance services while people who purchase certain carwash packages can get discounts on oil changes."

“Oh, that’s a great idea.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too. Of course, we would still have to reach out to them, but I’ve been told that I can be pretty convincing when I want to be so I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting them to come to the table.”

For the first time that day, Brittany actually started to feel somewhat hopeful about her situation. That was, until she remembered that this kind of help came with a price. Getting a bit worried, she asked, "So just to clarify, are there various packages for these marketing options, or-?"

"All of this is typically included with our premium offer."

"Okay, so how much would all this set me back?"

"Absolutely nothing,” Santana answers in a matter-of-fact tone.

Brittany blankly stared at the woman for a long moment, looking at the brunette as if she just sprouted a second head. Slowly furrowing her brow with a clearly confused expression, as she hesitantly responded, “What do you mean nothing?"

Santana laced her fingers together as she leaned forward to rest her chin on top of her hands as she stated, "Brittany, I've already spoken to my mother about this, and I would like to personally pay for everything we help you with."

"What? Why?" Brittany questioned, her eyes wide with shock.

“Because I’ve caused a lot of bad throughout my life, and I would really like to use this opportunity to add a bit of good to the world.”

“But this would be a lot of money we’re talking about, right?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Brittany balked, “Of course I’m going to worry about it, San! Are you kidding me?”

“Britt, you literally just tried to do the exact same thing for me not that long ago.”

“Yeah, and last I checked, you refused to let me give you free service.”

“Well like we discussed last time, I’m hardheaded as hell, and I won’t stop until I get my way.”

The blonde gives her a slightly skeptical look, not really sure what to make of the situation. Thinking over her options, she tentatively asked, "Are you're sure about this?"

Placing her hands down onto the smooth desktop, Santana met the other woman’s gaze and swore, "I've never been more sure of anything in my life. You happen to employ several people I have actively terrorized in the past, so I would like nothing more than to hopefully help them maintain their livelihood while also ensuring you don’t lose the shop."

"And you really want nothing in return?"

“Nothing at all,” the brunette assured before her lips pulled into a teasing grin, adding, “but I also won’t stop you if you want to name-drop Lopez Marketing Services in idle conversations and such.”

Brittany gave a light laugh as she sat back in her seat, a look of slight disbelief on her face. “It almost feels like an offer I can’t refuse.”

“You definitely can. I’m not here to try to pressure you or anything. Feel free to take some time and think it over. Potentially even discuss it with Kurt and any legal representation you may have. I can even have some paperwork drawn up if you’d like. That way, it is legally binding and ensures that I am not going to swindle you.”

Taking a moment to think it over, Brittany suddenly seemed to come to a decision as she held up a pinky toward the other woman.

Santana could only stare at the gesture, not really sure of the other woman’s intentions as she questioned, “Um, what’s this?”

“It’s a pinky swear.”

“And what would you like me to swear to, exactly.”

“Do you swear that you are telling the truth about everything we’ve discussed today?”

Finally understanding, a wide grin spread across her face as Santana reached forward to lace her pinky with the other woman’s, swearing, “I promise that I genuinely aim to help and that I will do everything in my power to help your auto shop become as successful as possible. Everything will be paid for by myself, you can decline any idea that is pitched to you, and you will ultimately have the final say in any business Lopez Marketing Services conducts on behalf of Pierce Automotive.”

Seemingly pleased with their deal, Brittany briefly tightens her pinky’s grip around Santana’s before letting it slip from her grasp as she affirms, “Then, I think you have yourself a deal.”

Santana’s face lit up with elation at the news as she cheerily replied, “Good to hear. I’ll go ahead and arrange to start having the official paperwork drawn up. As binding as our pinky swear may be between us, I unfortunately don’t think it’ll hold up as well in a court of law, and I want to make sure we go about this the right way. That way you can have full confidence in our work with you.”

“I already do, with or without the paperwork.”

“Then, it’ll be for Kurt, who I can guarantee will be wanting to see it.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“I usually am,” Santana teased with a wink. “In the meantime, would you like to go check out the billboards I have in mind? That is, if you’re free.”

“Yeah, I think I can spare some time.”

“Awesome,” Santana states as she grabs her keys and opens her door for the other woman. “After you, milady.”

Read on AO3

Read on FF.Net

[casspurrjoybell-33]

Unlikely Places - Chapter 16 - Part 2

*Warning - Adult Content*

Chapter: 16 - One Track Mind

"If you don't want to, just say it, Jackson. I'm a big boy and it won't affect your job."

I floundered at the assumption he was making.

If he had just given me a chance to explain I would.

I open my mouth to try again but the sudden click and the deafening muffled silence that resulted told me had had disengaged our call.

Surprised by the unexpectedness of the call and the speed with which it had taken place, not to mention what had happened in between baffled me.

It frustrated me a bit as well.

Pierce hadn't given me a chance to talk.

His automatic inclination to jump to erroneous conclusions puzzled me even more?

It made me a bit angry, too.

Pierce was complex.

I didn't know if that quality would end up being a good thing or bad.

Right now, at this moment, I had no choice but to admit it wasn't pointing in his favor.

Even if he had baggage from his past that affected him now, I knew I couldn't continue to take the brunt of that person's wrong doings.

Pierce may be changed by what happened to him but I couldn't allow myself to be punished for the other person's sins.

I hoped Pierce figured things out soon.

My stomach sank at the thought that he might never be able to.

It had taken me twenty-six years to feel even a spark of interest in someone.

To me, Pierce wasn't just someone.

I knew not just anyone would do.

I thought back to yesterday and that tidal wave of feelings I had experienced by spending time with him.

I wanted to hold onto that a little longer.

I hoped Pierce could find a way inside himself to let me.

My computer monitor flashed an incoming email down in the bottom right corner of my screen.

I immediately caught sight of Mr. Johnston's email address.

I moved my mouse and clicked.

[Jackson, due to time sensitive issues, management has moved the deadline for project D2114-20 up to Tuesday 11:00 a.m.]

I frowned at the message.

It was simply impossible.

I immediately replied back feeling my stomach lurch.

My instinct was to always meet a deadline regardless of how impossible it seemed but this weekend made it impossible.

Archer and Percy's wedding had to be my priority.

Knowing I was doing the only thing I could, didn't make sending the email any easier.

I began to type.

[I cannot promise to have the complete project finished by this new deadline. I will gladly strive for Thursday at the same time, considering the previous allocated deadline was for the following Monday. This newest deadline simply does not give me enough time to assure complete accuracy or the thoroughness this information requires.]

I hit send and started drumming my thumb nervously on my desk.

I knew if we didn't get this resolved in the next couple of emails, I would have to call Mr. Johnstone and explain the situation.

I hoped it didn't come to that.

I wasn't the rebellious type.

Saying no was not easy.

Doing it by email had already been difficult.

Verbally, I knew would be tougher.

Ten minutes later I received a reply.

[Please clarify why you are unable to meet the new deadline.]

I frowned.

Hadn't I already explained?

I reread the previous emails.

I shrugged and began to type.

[My best friend is getting married this weekend. I am not only in the 'Wedding Party' but have other duties. I will be busy all-day Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday. I absolutely cannot cancel any of these plans. I will be able to give my attention back to the project once my 'best-man' wedding duties have been fulfilled.]

I quickly clicked send and then bent down to rub at Cicero who was still lazily sleeping at my feet.

Petting his sleek short coat, I let the soothing repetitive motion calm my unease.

He opened his soulful liquid brown eye and peaked up at me.

I blew him a kiss.

He blinked and then shut his eyes once again, going back to sleep.

I glanced back at my monitor and saw a new email appear.

I swiftly clicked on the message and read.

[That is acceptable. We will leave the original deadline in effect. Have a good time.]

I stared at the message and reread the short missive in bewilderment.

'That had been... odd.'

[thechthonicherbalist]

If you have childhood trauma you have an entire foundation to unlearn & figure out by yourself how to set it anew. You are in an adult body with the knowledge of an infant & no guidance, no safe space, no nourishment or care. Instead of learning by positive example, you have to learn by trial & error. Those are layers; things that work until something new makes you realize there's another thing you don't only not know yet; You were taught wrong. So you have to unlearn it, tear the scar open, tend to the wound, grow a limb from scratch that others are born with. Have you ever tried growing a leg? Sounds impossible? That's what growing up with trauma is like. Being born with no legs (no/dysfunctional support system), being taught or having to figure out your own way to move around & never knowing anything else. Then in your teens or 20s you are abandoned into the world & suddenly get kicked in the teeth by people who have legs, because the only way you learned how to move does not fit. You realize you HAVE to grow legs out of nowhere now, with no nourishing womb or genetics to give you the layout or material.

As a teenager or even older, you have to learn to walk, like a toddler. Childhood trauma survivors DO all that. We are impossible. We do the impossible 10x a day. I have done all that too. But I, like everyone else in this position don't walk so well & I stumble often & my legs aren't as strong as those of a person who had & used them for 20+ years. I only started to grow mine 8 years ago. But every time one of us stumbles and falls, there is nobody who says: "I see your legs aren't as strong yet, you've done a good job growing them all by yourself, take my hand, get back up, I'll help you & your legs will grow stronger, it's normal to fall down & get hurt, but you'll heal & learn to walk even better, even if you walk a bit differently from those who's legs were a given". No. There's almost ever only people who say: "You're broken, you're damaged. You're a burden. You're a problem. Stay down, you're not worth it." So the abandonment wound repeats. The wound every childhood trauma survivor inevitably experiences at the point where they part ways with their creators. One of many along the way to that point. Bc you're abandoned, hurt, without somebody by your side as you get back up, where you can learn a better way. No. All you can do, is to try & figure out why you stumbled & fell down & how to not do this again, how to not get left behind again, bc nobody will tell you. Even worse: When another person made you stumble & fall in one way or another, pulled your legs out from underneath you, you get the blame for falling, bc you are the "damaged" person. Nobody ever looks at who destabilized you. Nobody tries to break your fall or listen when you say that there's somebody trying to tip you over. No: "The person who pushed you is the problem". It's always: "You're the problem for letting them push you; for falling. You are too unstable." That's just another way to victim blame. Another way to tear our wounds back open. How many of us were not believed in the first place & survived regardless & did the impossible? Only to get blamed if someone comes along, uses our deficites to make us fall, knowing it will hurt the ones you care about & that you'll be blamed, all bc they hope to end up in your position? It's just another way to look away, to further the problem. I don't think it's an uncommon thing at all, for trauma survivors to experience this. Healing takes more than one. Health is a community effort where such things aren't ignored. Bc if they are, an entire community becomes poisoned. A safe space becomes a battle field. If you've ever been in the situation, where things were great with a survivor & then suddenly that person started to tumble & fall - don't look for the error in them. Look for the error in the environment. Bc a survivor gets back up. They will try to prevent destabilization & fix it. It's what we do. It's how we survive. If we are destabilized something happened that did that to us.

“Healing is layers. Healing is time. Healing is excruciating. Once you think it’s done, it’s not.”

— Mary DeMuth

[ddarker-dreams]

Hello! This is my first time asking but um what how you think the genshin yans would react if they kidnapped someone only to find out their darling actually liked them back up until they were kidnapped?

that's definitely a moment where darling might start to reflect on their taste ...

Childe 

“Oh... is that so? Well, if I could do it once, then I can do it again.” 

Half glass full approach. Childe somewhat tunes out that whole killjoy part about ‘not liking them anymore’ and really laser focuses in on the fact you used to. That’s the main takeaway here. It’s natural for relationships to have their ups and downs, this is no different. Some seasons are spent in valleys and others up on the mountain tops. If you were hoping for this admission to deter him, you’ll be sorely disappointed. He’s more fired up than ever to rekindle the affection you used to feel. 

Diluc 

“I see. You really...? Ah... I won’t ask for your forgiveness. I only ask that you’ll allow me to take care of you.” 

Don’t be fooled by his aloof response, he’s definitely disheartened over it. This would genuinely catch him off guard because out of all the forms of resistance he was expecting from you, this hits closest to home. Doubts are a poison he absolutely cannot allow to take root. Still, he is still human, and in vulnerable moments he can’t help but wonder if he could’ve gone about this better. The worst questions always start with what if. He does his best to purge this knowledge from his memory, for the worst ghosts that haunt his subconscious are those he can recognize. 

Kaeya

“I promise I won’t bite if you still want to get close to me.” 

Kaeya most definitely noticed, he just weighed out the pros and cons. He decided this was the path he wanted to take regardless. He can be confident in knowing where you are at all times and always has access to you. Your belligerence doesn’t come as a surprise, he didn’t imagine you’d be too thrilled about losing your autonomy. He tries to ‘ease you into it’ using the same charms that made you fall for him in the first place. And well... he did warn you what might happen if you kept pursuing him, not that you ever could’ve imagined what he meant by that. 

Zhongli

“Dearest, there’s no need to jump to conclusions. You’re free to go wherever you please. I’m merely suggesting that I accompany you during these turbulent times. That is all.” 

Zhongli’s ability to deescalate cannot be overstated. Semantics can be a fickle thing, he likes to consider your current situation as a change in housing rather than outright imprisonment. There are no chains on your ankles or locks fastened tight to the door. He feels an intimate relationship can still be maintained in this environment. Arguing with Zhongli is impossible, he’s engaged in so much verbal discourse throughout his thousands of years of life. You won’t make any progress toward convincing him he’s done something wrong. 

Albedo

“Formed attachments can’t be dismissed so easily.” 

Albedo figures that this is a temporary roadblock that he’ll work through with you soon enough. It makes perfect sense that you’re not used to this new, frightening situation; all the more reason for you to cling to what’s familiar (aka him). He thinks that the bond you’ll form due to the extremity of the situation will be stronger than if he courted you the ‘normal’ way. There’s also the added benefit that he needn’t concern himself over outside variables any longer, such as losing you to a romantic rival or the like. He’s unshaken in his decision and will make that obvious to you. 

Xiao

“... I know what you’re trying to do.” 

He doesn’t really, but it seems like the thing to say given the circumstances. He won’t speak any more on the subject yet it frequently occupies his thoughts. Introspection isn’t his forte, so though learning this bothers him, he doesn’t know why it does. Shouldn’t he just be content with how things are? While you do successfully rile him up for a bit, he’s learned not to dwell whenever possible. To do so would welcome unnecessary stress, hindering him in his work of dispatching restless spirits throughout Liyue. Xiao ends up distracting himself to take his mind off things. 

Scaramouche

“Did you think your measly attempts at manipulation would get you anywhere?” 

(It’s getting you somewhere). Internally, he’s panicking, not wanting his face to betray just how upset this revelation makes him. He’s a walking bag of contradictions. On one hand, he thinks he’s entitled to both your love and admiration. On the other, if his own creator saw fit to cast him aside, how much value can he actually possess? The fact you saw value in him despite his many glaring flaws (mostly owing to his cruel personality), and overlooked them... he’s not sure what to make of it. He doesn’t feel guilty so much as he feels disappointment, knowing that he’s missing out on something that could’ve been better. 

Kazuha

“Kidnapping... is a bit of a strong word, wouldn’t you say?” 

Kazuha doesn’t like the “k” word because he’s convinced himself that isn’t what he’s doing. You’re outside! Enjoying the great outdoors! There’s nature, there’s freedom, and he’s sharing the joy of traveling with you. He knows it’s a bit of an adjustment compared to your previous stationary life, but if it’s true you held romantic feelings for him, he thinks that should aid in your adjustment. He’s still the same Kazuha that stirred up passion inside your heart, he’ll reassure. You just get to spend even more time together. He’s actively choosing to look at it this way so that he doesn’t get too dejected about it. 

[cherryo]

Honestly I’m surprised no one has requested anything with Future Leo, smut or otherwise

But uh..if you’re ok with writing that then maybe some flirty future Leo, with smut if you’re comfortable with that

hi hi love!!! thank you so so much for requesting!! i honestly wasn't that big of a Leo fan before this,,,, but!! the more I wrote and had to look up a love for him like opened up,,,, like big tall man,,, but I digress. im so glad I could write this for you!! i really hope you like it sweetheart <33 pairing: Future!Flirty!Leonardo x fem! reader genre: angst(sorta not really lol) to smut w/ a fluff ending pronouns: fem reader (gn pronouns but mentions of female genitalia and pet names such as "pretty girl") word count: 1.7k warnings: Explicit themes, cursing, movie spoilers, a little bit of angst at the beginning? reader and Casey jr are just worried about Leo, mentions of crying, creampie (wear protection kiddos), mentions of bruises (Leos too strong for his own good <33), raw dogging this shit (wear protection, again, kiddos), leo's mean and goes for it in one thrust with no prep!! teasing, overall Leo is Leo, regardless of how old he is and he will always be a flirty bastard <333 sort of proofread, anyways I hope you like it darling!!

The kraang invasion had messed everything up, but the one thing that didn't really change was Leonardo. He was still that positive leader type (and impossibly funny), even after losing his family. He stayed that beacon of hope, for you and Casey, he might've lost everyone he loved but he gained two people he would die for. Literally, he's tried multiple times to save both of you in life-or-death situations, also meaning he got a lot of lectures. 

There you stood with Casey behind you giving Leon the biggest glare he could muster up. You were pacing back an' forth just trying to calm down while giving Leo a lecture and rambling. "I don't why you thought that was smart, Leon. Just because you're the "greatest ninja alive" "making quotation marks, rolling your eyes when Leo gasped at you making fun of his title " god, I hate that Casey calls you that, or that anyone calls you it for that matter. It always goes to your head" flicking his head at the same time "it inflates your ego and makes you think you're invincible and invulnerable and you're not. Plain and simple youre not, do you know how much you make us worry?" At this point, you became more serious in your lecture. 

Leo sat up straighter, you only got serious when you were hurting. It was clear his acts of "kindness" were doing more harm than good, he didn't want that, he just didn't know how else to show that he cared for you both. To be honest, he was scared of having to take care of Casey by himself, so when you came along it was almost like a perfect little family. 

Casey, realizing how serious this conversation had turned, slowly made his way of the train car and into a different one. He wanted to give his parental figures their space, hoping that that was okay with them. 

"And I understand you don't want to lose us or you're simply trying to save us, but why put yourself in that situation when we have it handled? Why jump in front of a train when no ones there? " you were crying now, not loudly just tears streaming down your face. Leo stood up, covering you in a shadow, he grabbed you up into a hug. 

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be risking my life, especially in the time we live in now. I just, I can't lose more of my family" he was petting your hair, the other arm wrapped around your shoulder. Your silent tears started getting louder, letting everything you've been holding in, out. 

his petting slowly helped you to calm down, realizing all you needed was him to acknowledge his stupid hero complex. "I swear I'll try to let you guys fight your own battles but, if you need help, okay?" 

Letting out a feeble 'mhm' letting yourself melt Into his arms. His deep chuckle startled you, forgetting where you were during your little meltdown, realizing that you had snuggled deeper in his arms. "Wow, if I knew getting lectured gets me into this predicament, I would misbehave more often" he squeezed his arm that was around you tighter and lifted your face so you both were looking at each other. 

Your face grew red, not just from the crying but now from Leos flirts. even in serious and emotional situations, he was a flirt, most times it made the air lighter. This time though, it made the air tighter, just not with seriousness. 

You held his gaze, it had a glint of mischievousness and something you couldn't quite pinpoint. Breaking away from the strong gaze, not able to move your head out of his gasp. You decided the wall beside his head was more interesting than the growing smirk on the handsome turtle's face. Your hands grabbed his wrists, your hand doesn't even for around his right one. 

Releasing his grip from your face only for his hands to make their way down to your hips, squeezing to let you know they're staying there. Your face got even redder, if that was possible, just from him grabbing your hips. "Aww, are you feeling okay baby?" He cooed at you, a teasing tone highly noticeable in his 'concern.' You just looked away and pouted, simply ignoring his teasing. 

He pulled you closer to him by the hips, making you gasp and place your hands on his plastron. one of his hands started rubbing up and down your side, obviously deciding to stay quiet just spurred him on to get a noise out of you. Good thing you're stubborn, still staying quiet you held his gaze, eyes locked once again. "You're so hot when you're stubborn, you know that? There's nothing I wouldn't do to get you to unravel a bit" he leaned down to whisper that last part in your ear, he lingered in that spot for a minute. 

"Why don't you do it?" You rubbed your hands over his plastron, hearing him let out little whimpers here and there. "Excuse me?" At this point he had returned to his full height, hands still roaming your body, "I said, why don't you make me unravel?" You didn't have to say it a third time before you're brought in for a kiss. 

He kissed you hard and passionately, trying to put everything he can't say into it. He looped his hands around your lower back to drag you closer, wanting you as close as he could get you at this moment. He brought one hand up to your cheek to direct your face and deepen the kiss. Being tall meant he towered over you, so he leaned down quite a bit to kiss you, but he didn't care he'd do anything to know what you tasted like. 

His grip tightens on your back, basically scratching and clawing at you showing his desperation to get you. You tilted your head to deepen the kiss, moaning into it just from how hot it was, the noise made him whimper. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a change. 

He spun you around and laid you on his bed, crawling over you so he could be face-to-face with you again. "Is this okay?" He rested his left hand on your hip, the other holding him up. "Of course it is," you pulled him down into another kiss to give him more reassurance. 

He started gripping your hips harder, hard enough to leave a bruise of his fingertips. Making a groaning noise into your mouth, he pulled back and flipped you over onto your stomach. Pulling you hips so your ass was up in the air, the sight of you in this position makes him moan. Him pulling your pants and undies down in one swift movement had you gasping at the rush of cold air and the stare that Leo was looking at you with. 

He went back to crawling over you, covering your whole body. He had his plastron right up against your back, making sure you could feel him right there. He reached back to make sure he was aligned before thrusting all the way in, making you cry out in the pain and the sudden stretch. He moaned at the tight feeling of your slick cunt, his hips shaking at the pleasure trying to stay still. He cooed at you, petting your head and going back to rub your hips for comfort. 

Giving you enough time to adjust to his size, you slowly moved your hips back towards his. Taking the hint, he pulled just so the tip was in and thrust back in again, slowly thrusting to get a nice rhythmic pace. Keeping the slow pace was almost torturous for you, wanting for him to just let go and go as hard as he wanted. 

"Mm harder" you moaned out, he slowed his pace making a 'hm' noise to make you repeat yourself. "Harder please! Please Leon,,,, I wan-nt nhhg,,,you to fuck me as hard as you can!" moaning out the words, you could practically feel his smirk growing as you struggled. 

"How could I resist such a request, pretty girl? Especially since you said please" he whispered into your ear, thrusting harder as soon as he was finished talking. His brutal pace was making you moan like a whore, having a hard time even speaking. 

He pulled you up so you two were chest to back, he reached down and started making circles on your nub. You were crying at this point, the pleasure was too much for you. "Awww, is this too much for you, baby? You can't even handle what you asked for huh?" Even through his teasing you could hear him straining to keep his moans and whimpers at bay. 

" 'm close,," you whimpered out, you could feel his breath on your neck, hearing that you were close made him go even harder. Before you could even warn him, you came, your legs started trembling. Your cunt tightening around his cock was what pushed him over the edge, moaning and grunting right into your ear. Feeling him fill you up made your orgasm over-stimulated, making you even more sensitive. 

He fucked you through his orgasm, making you cry out and moan, the feeling sending you into a hazy state. He held you up, you basically went limp in his arms, your orgasm making you have numb legs. Gently pulling out and laying you down, Leo went off to grab a towel and some water. 

He came back to find you in the same position he left you, letting out a low whistle, he came over to look over you. "That good huh?" You could practically feel his ego rising, the smirk on his face ever so present. 

"The best I've ever had, that's for sure" you made eye contact with him as he laid beside you, the smirk replaced by a soft and loving smile. His fingers tracing your thighs up to your stomach and down back again, he pulled you to where you were resting in the crease of his body. 

"I love you"

"I love you too"

[rcksmith]

Desire — Kaz Brekker

(Photo not mine)

Requests: “Hello there! I've been around this blog for a bit now and you are an amazing writer! I was wondering if you would be ok with doing something with 21 28 & 29 from the smut prompts and kaz brekker? If you are uncomfortable please just ignore this!”

“Kaz brekker Smut prompts 28 66?? Love you💖!!”

“I can request Kaz smut prompts 29?❤️”

Smut prompts:

21. “Look at you, I’ve only started using my fingers and you’re already shaking.”

28. “Such a needy little thing, aren’t you?”

29. “I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”

66. “You know I don’t like to be teased.”

Couple: Kaz Brekker/ Fem!Reader

Warnings: swearing, mention of shot, mention of desire, desire, mention of smut, explicit smut, NSFW.

Word count: 3k

A/N: All smut requests for Kaz must follow these rules.

I hope you like💕 English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are open. Love you ❤️

— — — —

There was something about you. Something impossible to decipher, with a glow hovering around you like a electrical energy. Wrapping your whole body in a cloak of magnetism. There was something about the way you spoke, walked, laugh. Something about what it was like to be you, in your beauty and mysteries like a sphinx.

Something that made Kaz Brekker completely furious.

You couldn't be more distorted from the image, in Kaz's mind, than what was to be a peaceful woman. Calm, controled, with steel emotions and wit in eyes. Someone who, like him, knew how to dance the waltz of negotiation, manipulation, who could blend in with the shadows and know the best time to listen more than speak.

You were not like Inej, you were not like Jesper. Hell, you were like nobody Kaz has known in all of his 28 years.

Nothing reminiscent of calm and control would be used to describe what it meant to be you.

Your soul are stormy, loud, obstinate, too stubborn and too talkative. You needed to speak loudly, laugh, move, expose your opinions to the seven winds and to whoever listened the most. You needed to question, inquire, doubt and test the limits of any situation. A direct order for you would be an affront to your free and independent spirit. A command that would curtail your freedom or tame your strong genius was almost like an invitation for you to do exactly the opposite of what they had ordered you to do.

So, for a man of trained reasoning, subtly balanced world, and who was used to his every command being followed vehemently and promptly in blind obedience, such a personality like you was like introducing a disturbing factor capable of shaking all his judgments. Sand in a watch, or stone in a shoe, would be no more a nuisance than a strong nature like your.

The extraordinary stubbornness and mania to counter his orders - when, in your words, they were unreasonable - had made you different from all the women Brekker had ever met. Kaz liked challenges and responsibilities, a good puzzle, but you were on a level far beyond that.

You were a danger to his peace of mind. And you knew that. All his aversion to your indomitable spirit only served as fuel for your own mission in to piss him off. Few men were like Kaz Brekker, you knew that, with a strength of character too powerful to be ignored. He was not just comfortable in his position of authority as he was obviously unable to act in any other way than as a leader. His stoic figure and always so contained in a wall of indifference made you want to ruffle his hair to see if you could remove any emotion. And being a girl who hasn't always liked leaders, Kaz Brekker was a huge temptation. Few moments had been better than those that you managed to piss him off beyond what he could handle.

However, all the reasons why the two of you were so exasperating for each other, did not explain why the air crackled in ambiguity when your eyes met. The hemisphere was adorned in a thought-provoking, poignant veil, like a warm honey flowing down its throat, and there was something else in the way blood flowed like flames of fire through veins of you two.

Jesper said that the sexual tension between you was so tangible that it could be cut by one of Inej's knives, but you refused to think of Kaz that way. At least until that moment.

Not pure images of what the infamous Brekker could do to you between four walls swept you like the strong Arabian wind. Making you be surprisingly breathless. Kaz was not a man whose private life was exposed, nor was he involved with many women, but you have heard two or three of them when they were drunk saying that Kaz Brekker in the room could be incendiary.

Everyone knew that his touch reserve didn't limit him to anything, but that his job was at the top of the priority list and that sexual encounters were almost never on that list.

"It was not my fault!” Jesper defended himself one night, slightly drunk, sitting at the club's round table next to the other crows “I didn't know he was married to another man! That damn pretty face seduced me!”

"Did he seduce you?" You asked, skeptical and playful.

"I swear to God! And it had been a long time since I had sex with anyone, and I went… ”

“But you did sex last week." Inej laughed, chocked.

"Exactly!" Jesper said, as if he were obvious.

You laughed with your beer glass in your hand, taking another sip.

“Is a week a long time to not sleep with anyone?" Matthias retorted, trying not to laugh.

“Are you going to tell me that is not?” Jesper and Nina spoke at the same time.

“If a man has time for sex more than once a week, he clearly doesn't have much to do. And I'm sure I gave Jesper a lot of tasks that would keep him busy.” Kaz narrowed his eyes at his friend, and Jesper hid his guilt behind the rim of his beer glass, looking to the side.

"So you are saying that you are a very busy man?" You teased, trying not to laugh at the scathing look Kaz sent you.

"I disagree. The values ​​of hard work and discipline cannot match the hot body of a woman in bed.” Matthias said, exchanging a brief conspiratorial look with Nina, who winked at him.

"There are more important things." Said Kaz.

"Like what?" You rested your chin on the back of the hand whose elbow was on the table, the playful look of a rebellious student.

"Progress." Kaz held your gaze.

He wasn't going to take your bait. But you didn't give up easy.

"Tell me, if God gave you a deal: all the hunger in the world would be extinguished in exchange for you never being able to have sex again, what would you choose?" your eyes had a teasing feline glow.

At that moment, Kaz felt a shiver up the back of his neck, like a warm breath of autumn. Something crawled, like a snake, across his rib cage and down to his groin, pumping blood like fire through his veins.

He held your gaze, but the feline glow in your eyes promised to contain the most ardent sins. Suddenly, Kaz's mind was flooded by the wave of obscene images of you, on his bed; moaning, squirming, shouting his name and being very obedient with every order he gave you.

He would make you such a good girl...

"I don't believe in God." He replied succinctly, the predator's eyes still in your eyes audacious feline's.

A big, satisfied smile spread across your face, and you said: "As I thought. Bad luck for hungry people.”

Realizing that he had fallen right into your cunning trap, Kaz got rid of your diabolical magnetism and cursed.

“I didn't say…” he stopped, impatient “It doesn't matter. I have more important things to do than waste time here.”

But the smile you hid behind the glass was noticeable to Kaz.

After that night, the crackling, gasping flame that circled the two of you intensified to alarming levels. Kaz could feel you holding your breath when he was too close, and you could see him squeezing his cane harder when you sweetened your voice for him.

However, regardless of Kaz's wanted to fold you at a table and put an end to your brat girl pose, enjoying the groans he was sure you would let out, the two of you still fought like dog and cat.

Just as it was now.

“What do you mean, I'm not going?!” You looked at Kaz, amazed, when he told you that you would not participate in the robbery that week “I know that security system like the back of my hand!”

It was true, what you had of stubbornness, you had of technological intelligence. There was no computer that you would not hack, a program that you would not hack, and a system that you would not unlock. Your genius with technology made up for all your lack of obedience.

But Kaz ignored. “I've already told you. It's a more dangerous mission than you're used to and we don't have time for the plans you come up with right away.” He needled you.

“Are you referring to Switzerland?” You were never anything short of direct and inquiring. It was logical that you would question every orden. “But I already told you that when the alarm went off your plan didn't work anymore! I was more useful inside to deactivate the alarm than waiting outside.”

And stubborn. Holy God, how stubborn you were!

"And it cost you to get shot."

"But it was just a shot!"

Kaz looked at you, puzzled. “Just?! And wasn't it enough ?! You put the whole team at risk!”

“But if I hadn't deactivated the alarm, we would all be arrested! And only I knew how to do that!”

"My fucking God, isn't there a speck of common sense in you?!"

But you answered boldly: "Not when you impose clueless plans on me."

Mortified would be an understatement to describe how he was now. What an unbearable creature! Kaz felt the anger spread from his neck to his face, igniting his breath and squinting his eyes in annoyance.

Why was it so difficult for you to follow a simple goddamn rule?!

“Besides, your initial plan was flawed and there was no reason for me to be out when it was necessary inside and...” And you kept talking!

If you had noticed Kaz's completely enraged state in front of you, you would have been scared, shut up and ran. But, truth be told, Kaz suspected that even if you knew how to read the murderous humor in his eyes, you wouldn't have left that office. Much less be afraid. You could argue with the demon. And you would probably beat him out of tiredness.

However, regardless of the desire to shake you up, to see if that put any good sense in you, in that second, watching you gesture with your hands, defending your point of view as if it were the england queen's crown, something swept Kaz's body from the top of his head with dark hair to the tips of his illustrated boots.

The sound of the world was drowned out by the flow of blood itself in his veins. His heart hammered hard in his chest and, in that instant, a sharp sting in his groin and the pit of his stomach set him on fire.

His gaze went down to your mouth, which kept moving. And when it came up to your eyes, your stubborn and defiant gaze sent Kaz's rationality into space. He dropped the cane abruptly, which toppled to the floor with a hollow crack, and advanced towards you in firm and determined steps.

Gluing his gloved hands to your face, Kaz silenced all your protests with a strong kiss. Hot, fiery, domineering. The kind of kiss that held years of camouflaged desire, years of irritability, years of an unnerving desire to make you shut up with all the perverse forms that existed.

You weren't afraid of him. But you should. You should if you knew everything he wanted to do with you.

However, as if you have been burning in the same desire for years, you responded to that kiss with the same urgency. The same hunger. Kaz slipped his hands into your hair, closing his fingers there and deepening the kiss with ferocity. He felt beside himself, like a hungry wild animal that had been denied food for years and that only now had its teeth set on its prey. You moaned against his lips, bringing your hands to his lean, strong biceps, squeezing your fingers there.

You both needed air, but neither seemed to give a damn about that. Misted of desire that burned like a fire in their bodies, Kaz pushed the two of you backwards, slamming your back against the wall and swinging a frame beside. You gasped, and the gesture made it possible for Kaz to invade your mouth with his tongue, hunting every piece of hot meat. You two fought the same battle in that kiss: invade, dominate, conquer.

They both wanted to take the waltz, but Kaz would never let you conduct the show.

He pulled your wrists up, pinning them with one hand against the wall, leaving you immobile while sinking his mouth further into yours. Kaz felt you try to get rid of his tight grip, but he was stronger than you. And much more when he have a objective.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He murmured against your mouth, the tip of his tongue playing with your bottom lip. “You know I don’t like to be teased.”

Was impossible for you to control the loud moan that escaped. Your body trembling with desire, your legs wobbly, your wet core vibrating with his words. Kaz Brekker was a fallen angel. With a beauty and charm you've never been immune to.

How can you think you'd win the dominance game with him?

And, like the fallen angel he was, his smug and arrogant smile painted the corner of his lips when he saw what his lines did to you.

“I didn’t know you were so sensitive.” Kaz mocked “If I knew it was only necessary to do this for you to shut up...” he brought his lips closer, his voice hitting yours “I would have fucked you like the naughty brat you have been a long time.”

If his caustic and maddening kisses hadn't been enough to break you in half, that statement would have done all the work.

In that second, you hoisted your white flag, biting your lip in a needy moan and closing your eyes for a second by the overwhelming vibration of your core. God, you needed more. Whatever he gave you. Anything he wanted to give you. You just needed more.

"Are you going to be good?" He played with the dough you were in his hands, his devilish mouth going down your neck, leaving a trail of fire and debris wherever he went.

You agreed, desperately. “Yes, Sir."

That title seemed to do things with Kaz. Because in the next second, his mouth was back on your. More urgent, more needy, more dominating. You shifted your hips for more friction with his, and Kaz rewarded your obedience by pulling one of your thighs forward, making your skirt go up, aligning your thigh on his hips and giving access for his member to fit perfectly against your pulsating core.

You moaned louder this time. Fingers clenching, heart pumping frantically. Kaz pulled his lips away from you for a second, taking his hand off your thigh and bringing it to your mouth.

“Pull.” He ordered, referring to the glove.

You murmured a low, excited moan, bringing your mouth to the glove and clenching your teeth on the cloth at the top of his middle finger. Satisfied, Kaz pulled his hand back, watching the alabaster skin peel away from the leather fabric. As soon as he was free, he removed the glove from your mouth, replacing it with his own and stealing all your breath in that fiery kiss.

His free hand wandered over your thigh, touching you for the first time with a touch that promised to show you all the most delicious and secret sins in the world. His tongue wrapped around your again, and the moan you let out was even greater when his long fingers brushed against your wet, throbbing core.

"S-sir!" You sobbed, your hips rocking against his hand, desperate for more.

"Look at you." His fire voice beat against your lips, the tightness against your wrists getting stronger, more possessive "I’ ve only started using my fingers and you ’re already shaking"

Your body cried out in unbridled desire, sobs mingling with loud moans and heavy sighs as Kaz tormented you with his fingers. He touched you, slid, opened and sank, increasing the volume of your pleas.

“P-please" You begged, the body in need, the urge too urgent.

Kaz looked you in the eye, a dark, malicious gleam burning in his Egyptian blue irises. "Such a needy little thing, aren't you?" He teased you.

But you no longer cared about his teasing. With your lips swollen and red, your heart racing and the core pulsing in despair on his experienced fingers, you were already surrendered.

"Please. I n-need." You mumbled submissively, rummaging your hips in his hand.

"I bet if I wanted to fuck you against my desk, here and now, you would be very happy to do it, wouldn't you?"

He was foisting all of his dominance on you, bending you to your knees for him. And you knew that. You knew he was taking years of anger out on you. But you couldn't care less. You wanted him. Ardently. Desperately. And if it was a good girl Kaz wanted, damn it, you would be a good girl for him.

You readily agreed, your eyes shining in supplication.

“Good.” Kaz pulled you brutally off the wall, turning you over to the table and pushing your chest against the icy wood, pulling your hips at him. “Because that's exactly what is going to happen.”

Suddenly, desire and hunger roared like a wild beast. Kaz watched you, bent over his desk, obedient, surrendered, offering every inch of your body to him.

His breath was burning in his throat and it was no longer possible to order his thoughts, contain his euphoria. He would fuck you so hard that it would make that memory the only thought when you remembered him. When you dare to rebut his orders.

Kaz pulled you skirt up and your panties down, letting out a groan that sounded more like a growl as he saw your wet core. Pulsing and desperate for him. For anything he wanted to give you. It sparked a fervent desire that Brekker had never felt in his life, devastating any possibility of thinking about anything other than fucking you.

Playing with your fingers in your slick, wet folds, you whimpered again, the core pulsing whenever he teased you inside, pressing his fingertips there but never entering.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" His voice came over the top of your shoulder, hoarse, animalistic, full of profane desires.

"Please." You were quick to beg “I do what you want! But just...please, please… ”

You already felt your eyes watering from over-stimulation, your heart burning so hard it was beating, your core aching from emptiness.

You sealed the end of the game between you. Kaz had won. In a triumphant checkmate.

And you didn't have to beg again. Barely seeing when he unbuttoned his pants, you just reasoned his hard, hot, pulsating member by opening your from the inside. Claiming everything that was yours as his in a strong, desperate, hungry lunge.

"S-sir!" You screamed, your nails scraping the wood from the table, the core pulsing overwhelmingly around his rigid member.

In a more badly lunge, Kaz sank completely into you, moaning loudly as he hit rock bottom. The gloved hand slid over your shoulder, propelled you to him while the bare hand tightened on your waist, hitting you at a steady, raw, animalistic rhythm.

The sounds were pornographic, dirty and loud, echoing off the walls. The air was hot like molten lava, pungent and muffled, driving you two lost breath. Their bodies clashed as if the world was going to end tomorrow, in aggressive, rough thrusts. These were thrusts that made half of his things on the table fall to the floor, mixing in a mess that would serve as a reminder later about the sinful activities you two did.

You screamed when Kaz took on more force, his fingers squeezing you so hard that they would leave you with marks on your shoulder and waist the next day.

"Fucking hell!" Kaz snarled between his teeth, feeling your flesh throb around him, squeezing he with such desperation that he knew you were close.

You sobbed, tears streaming down the corners of your eyes as you pushed your ass towards him, trying to bring him as deep as possible, as deep inside you as possible. But every time his pelvis smashed into your ass, a loud moan and the feeling of being completely full drowned you.

You begged, pleaded, for something you didn't know. But Kaz seemed to know. Taking both hands to your hips, your pace became even more unperturbed, pushing you to the limit until you cum in a scream in his name, your lungs on fire. Kaz came close behind, sinking as deep as possible and pouring all the hot liquid into you. Almost like a brand.

The air was filled with sex, lust and desire, filled only by the sound of their ragged breaths that struggled to stabilize.

You were still panting when Kaz's voice came after you: "Whatever I want, don't I?"

A deal with the devil.