#cuz hope in his case would make things even worse

[weirdcat1213]

Look I will forever shit on the fact that everything happened without a confirmation that the brother actually kicked the bucket BUT if you think about it there's nothing more relatable than going Full Panic Mode when you're an anxious person and many bad things happen at once

[lustlovehart]

Might've sent this already but I saw it in my notes while looking for something, so just ignore if you've already seen it.

Can you imagine the reader getting sick while they're with the monsters? I can imagine Riddle and Cater being utterly helpless trying to get to Trey, Ace or Deuce as soon as they realize it. Oh after getting us the proper care I can imagine Riddle inch his spectral hand close to our forehead to cool even a bit of our fever. I don't know how zombies work that much but I'm all for pathetic boys so I can imagine their limbs coming off while trying to carry us inside if they couldn't find Trey immediately.

Out of Octavinelle boys the only one who'd have much knowledge about humans would be Azul and if he is out to get whatever plants/medicine necessary in his limited human form, tweels would be a disaster let's be honest they don't see sick things in the sea cuz those creatures usually die so quickly from the harsh environment so they are out of their element, their cold skin might help with fever but too much would make it even worse. I can see Floyd trying to squeeze us to make it better but after seeing it made us nauseous he just stops. Jade is trying to remember his land facts with a serious face all the while.

Sickness Kills, Sickness no more

Another adorable idea!! I really don’t know what else to add on it as I could really see what you said about how they react!!! (≧◡≦) ♡. If it’s a simple cold, i’m sure you could just tough it out and they would never notice. Buut, if it’s genuinely something detrimental to your health, they begin to notice and panic. I thought this was cute and wrote something up! I really wanted to write Chenya in this post, but after those few Chenya asks in the past, current;t struggling on what to make him😭 Will it be kitsune or nekomata, a struggle indeed 😞

CW: (Heavy) Obsession, Jealousy, Rook is being a weirdo, Reader Has a high fever, They want to turn you into a monster too, They change your clothes for you, Implied/Wanting Murder and Actual murder (Fellow, Neige and Skully)

Featuring: Heartslaybul, Savanaclaw (Jack mentioned), Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Idia, Diasmonia, Rollo, Fellow, Skully, Neige

Heartslaybul might be the best location to fall ill actually! As all of them are formerly human, unlike the others. But… that just aids them in their guilt so it might have backfired for them. Riddles' experience as a Doctor has him feeling the most responsible for your well-being. How utterly careless… he let you get sick. What would his mother think of him? What will you think of him?

Ace and Deuce are practically rushing around to grab whatever Riddle orders for your health. When they find themself not fetching stuff and standing by your side, Ace is cursing you to stay alive, even without magic, he’ll find a way. Deuce is placing his forehead on yours, hoping his cool (dead) skin will calm down that fever. When your warmth reminds him of his failures, all he can do is sit by your side and hope you’ll say anything to him.

Trey stands next to you, being the one who moniters your body temperature when Riddle is incapable of taking human form. He’ll be silent attempting to calm everyone down, but he can’t be very useful in that regard when the bolts in his neck trickle electricity every now and then (he has shocked everyone else from stress) or even when his limbs fall out of place fromte pressure, though not nearly enough as Deuce’s; they continue to detach and crawl over to you, their own mind having them pat your head or hold your hand.

Cater… Is very scarce in this case. As you heave in your hot and cold body, you think he doesn’t care very much, which you don’t mind, everyone else is much too worried. Little do you know Cater was given the special mission of collecting life force if you end up falling to this disease. He’s determined to do just that. They’ll have everything prepared for your new afterlife. When he comes back, you can only quirk a brow at the smile he has on his false face.

It was only a backup plan… But your laugh, the way the sun hits you reminds them you’re just a frail human. Perhaps… It’d be better if you’d never have to suffer in that mortal body. Stay forever in the shadows of this hospital.

Savanaclaw is only a third qualified, as Ruggie has never been human, and Leona was cared for by other people whenever he was ill. Their biggest problem when you fall sick is they don’t really have the proper knowledge nor materials to deal with it, unlike Heartslaybul who consists of all humans, and quite literally reside in a hospital.

When your heaves grow heavier and heavier with each passing moment, Leona rests you on his tomb (if you were conscious you would’ve freaked out at him, but luckily, you’re not), taking whatever water they can salvage from Savanaclaw, they try their best to cool your fever down. The pale wraps Leona already has on your body increase in quantity, acting as makeshift blankets while he brushes your fevered face.

Meanwhile Ruggie is the one who makes mad dashes around people houses, stealing whatever possible fix there is for illnesses. When Leona is busy cooling you down within whatever his power gives, Ruggie takes his place by your side tending to your every need, albeit with confusion.

If even for a moment you cough a little too hard, or even breath too rough, their backup plan in case all fails comes closer. Though, this backup plan would be their first, if it wasn’t for a certain—hunter… Telling them you’d hate them for all time. But even then, what’s affection if a little hate isn’t there? In truth, they wouldn't mind if you despised them, as long as you’re safe.

Then again, the act of them taking the vitality of innocents for your survival, would no doubt put guilt in your heart.

When you get better, all they can think about when they look at you is how they won’t be there when you really need assistance… What better way than to leave you in this tomb with a mummy?? After all, those bandages are the only sliver of protection you have from being killed so easily… Perhaps they should ask him, how to make you stay for eternity.

Octavinelle is the exact opposite of Heartslaybul it’s actually kinda funny. (Not to them, oh goodness how do they help fevers?!?). You being sick is one of the few times Jade’s so serious, the lack of double-sided compliments scaring you more than your fever. While Floyd is desperately squeezing the cold from his body into your skin, Jade comes from behind and holds your face in his hands, cooling it down from the oceans temperature. Neither attempt works, but they don’t stop.

Azul is urgently collecting every form of marine medicinal herb there is in the sea, even going true form and grabbing ingredients the size of ships. He’ll even do the wretched ‘running’ on land if it means getting you what you need. Magic can only take him so far, those human books he read didn’t need to tell him, he already knows as much.

When Azul comes back he hurriedly tells them to lay you down for treatment, having the two diligently perform every task he asks them. Jade isn’t cracking back-handed jokes and Floyd is entirely focused and still, only time to time fidgeting as he waits. If you weren’t so dazed you’d question if they were really the sea monsters you know.

The sounds of splashing water, the feeling of hands, tentacles, and tails all simultaneously work on ridding that fever. Somehow, it lulls you to sleep.

Your body remains floating in the water as all of them have you wrapped up in their limbs. When you come to, you realize they must’ve stolen someone’s clothes as a new pair are on you, as your new wardrobe is no longer soaked in sea water. You didn’t notice at first, but as soon as you woke up, their eyes were staring deep into your skin, almost like they’re searing the memory of you well and breathing into their memory.

The longer they look at you, the more they think about you. The dangers on land are so horrible… They never get such scenarios like that in sea… that means you must stay where such illnesses can’t reach you.

When you get sick in Scarabia, Kalim will beg you to make a wish, telling you he can make you better if you just ask. It’s one of the few times you genuinely want to make one, but your voice is much too hoarse for it to come through. You open your mouth and any words are too quiet to be commanded, with each syllable replaced with a cough. While Kalim is fretting over your well-being, Jamil is staring from the side, forked tongue hissing everyone once in a while.

This Jamil is capable of being a proper servant towards other monsters, as he knows their makeup… but with you, it’s a bit of a harder case. You don’t eat humans (he thinks), neither do you have tough skin, or enhanced ability, you are a mortal through and through.

Surprisingly, it’s Kalim who pushes through and knows what to do, albeit only slightly. He’ll tell Jamil you need water, and… and…! He can name some of the materials, but sometimes he trails off. It’s been so long since…

Jamil pinches Kalims ear to recenter his attention before slithering over with the needed supplies. He’s dabbing your face with water, taking a cloth and repeatedly dunking it into the liquid. When he takes the rag to dip back into the pitcher, he halts when you weakly grab at his wrist. It’s a weak sight, a vulnerable one, yet it makes his heart race because of how… weak you look. He watches you take his hand and place it on your forehead, eyes fluttering shut as soon as that cold touch hits you.

Right… Cold blooded…

Kalim wraps you in a makeshift blanket to keep your body warm, yet not too warm, while Jamil continues to switch between both hands to keep you cool, his tail wrapped around you. The touch of your skin on his reminds him just how warm you are.

When you finally get over your ailment, Kalim has you wrapped around himself, hugging you tightly as if you’d disappear. While Jamil isn’t nearly as affectionate, every time you walk around the desert the underlying feeling of eyes following you, persists every second… A silent statement of the danger you face all alone, telling you to stay and never harm yourself again.

Pomefiore with another human, except while not as medically skilled as Riddle, much better than everyone else due to his upbringing. Though, this knowledge gets outshone by Vil and Rook, who somehow, do know how illnesses work.

“Rook, do not caress them so… Just feed them the necessary remedies.” Vil sits by your side, ridding your body of the heavy clothes you adorn, until you’re left in much thinner cloth. All while he glares at the way Rook serandes your sweating face. Even in your current state, you can’t help but judge Rooks poor timing of poetry.

“Ah, amour… Even in such a vulnerable condition... I can’t help but believe your glisten is just as beautiful as yesterdays...” you feel his wispy hand stroke your cheek, wiping away your sweat, whispering something under his breath. If you had the energy, your would’ve walked away, but alas, you don’t. You look back at the ceiling, focusing on a single crack in the flawless interior, hoping the beating in your head would leave.

A particularly hard ache in your head as you lift your hands to hit the pain out, but you’re hands are stopped by Vil and Rook taking hold of each of your limbs. Rook whispers a ‘non non’ while Vil continues dabbing cool water on your skin, reprimanding you for such a harmful action.

All this action has you wondering where Epel could be… Come to daytime, the only interval where all of them are essentially harmless unless in the shadows, Epel finally shows himself when they’re both gone. His face isn’t too visible, as the shadows inside the mansion block out all light. You open your mouth to say something, but it’s quickly covered by an apple, teeth grazing the skin. For a moment you hesitate, but your hunters has you crunch into the fruit. You watch him bring the apple to his eyes, examining the marks before smiling.

“They were so worried about the fever, they forgot about food.” he brings the apple to his own lips, fangs piercing the same place you bit, your bites unionized. You’re none the wiser to Vil and Rook in the shadows, realizing, you don’t deserve an illness like this… It’s simple, just like Epel realized, the fragility of human and deciding to rid himself of that… they shall show you the same ephiany.

Ignihydes Underworld isn’t exactly the type you can wander around in… Which is why when Idia sees you resting your fevered head on his shoulder, he panics at the sight flickering in and out of your body. No… You shouldn’t be dying yet—!

And then he comes to the realization, if you died, without any ties to reality, you and him… Would never be alone again. He’s eerily silent as you cough, eyes darting back and forth at the suggestions in his mind. When you lean into him, he stays quiet, draping part of his cloak around your body, both of you trapped in the warmth of the fabric. If you died peacefully, you wouldn't become a ghost and join Heartslaybul… You wouldn't have to worry about the fear of a brutal death and suffering through life, is this not a mercy for you?

He hugs you tighter the more you cough, an ongoing war in his mind. You would never see those guys again… He wouldn’t have to worry about them, or you preferring their company over his—

“Idia…” your voice is horarse as shivers peak through your speech, “Please…”

Are you asking to die? Are you asking for him to be the one who guides your soul? Are you… wanting to be with him? He’s already preparing a scythe in hand, but when you flip your head up to look him in the eyes, he stops all motion.

“I don’t want to…” … You don’t have to finish for him to know. He knows when a person is desperate to live, and you’re one of them. No matter how much envy consumes him when you’re with those fiends, he won’t take your life, not until you truly wish to pass on.

But, that doesn’t mean the vermin around you are spared from his dark occupation. If anything, Idia will see to it they’re sent to the next life sooner than intended.

Diasmonia is an interesting case… They all do care for your current state, and your health of course, yet there’s a lack of urgency somehow… They cater to your sickness yet do it as if they’re only fawning over you rather than saving your life.

Malleus will take a humanoid form, holding your hands as he hums a tune, retelling tales you’ve told him. Occasionally, he will place his palm on your forehead, humming when he sees it’s just as it was when he last checked. There’s no point in asking what he’s doing, he’ll only smile with a tilt of his head before returning to stone, an ominous ‘Don’t fear, you’ll feel better soon enough.’ If you let him walk out, the cycle will repeat a few hours later, furthering your worries. If you grab onto eroding stone, though, he’ll turn back and hear your whispers, not real words but vespers of some. He’ll take his other rough-edged palm, pulling your hands to his lips. For a moment, you see regret in his eyes, but it doesn’t seem to last long when he says ‘it’ll be over soon.’

Lilia feeds you his food, one that’s… particularly not consumable for humans or monsters, yet he beams as if you’ll accept it. You somehow escape from the quick end you would’ve met had you eaten it, Lilia telling you it’s better to get accustomed to their food if you’re going to stay with them… You remind him you’ll be leaving soon enough, and he laughs… you don’t know why.

Sebek… Is very confusing in his behaviors. One moment he’s asking you ways to slightly ease the pain if he spots you wincing, next he’s flinching like he suddenly remembered something and telling you to stay sick for the monster's well-being. It’s conflicting, especially in your current state, everything only seems dizzying. When you wake up from your rest, you don’t feel any better, but there’s a single flower laid on your chest. It’s not much, but the sweet scent helps you forget your headache for a little.

Silver is the only one who remotely seems worried about your human form withering away. When the others are gone he’s next to you actually performing duties to rid your fever, quickly hiding the materials whenever he senses their arrival. He’ll shush you when everything becomes too much, whispering for you to sleep; he’ll rid you of any bad dreams you could encounter, you’ll only dream of your desires. So please, sleep. You never expected such behavior from the other three at all… Until it dawns on you when they overhear their words.

“Yes, the others only seem to ponder the idea, never act on it.” You hold back a cough while you lean against the wall, listening intently to whatever Malleus tells the other. “I wish to care for them until they’re much too weak to walk anymore.” He doesn’t mean… “And then we’ll do what all of them are much to meek to do.” You feel your body crumple under your weight, built arms scooping you up.

Silver… There’s a sorrowed look in his eyes as he looks at you, mouthing a quiet ‘sorry’ under his breath.

“… When they’re not human, they’ll never wish to leave this castle again.”

In the following days they continue to act like it’s your last day in the living, like your fate is predetermined. Malleus and Lilia lavish you in affection, while Sebek instructs you on ways of the dark as if you’re marrying to his family, albeit with a very distancing tone.

Every time they appear and go, you cling to Silver like your last life line, your grip is weak yet the look in your eyes acts like a command to him, insisting he better you.

And fortunately for you, you’re cured. Unfortunately for them, you’re cured.

Sages Quarter

- Rollo goes about the fever like any other one you’ve had, simply because everytime you have had one, it’s him who diligently sits by your side and aids you. (nevermind Jack… And Neige… He’s your main, he thinks, he hopes.) He’ll calmly talk you through the fever as he dabs your forehead, changes your wear, and feeds you in bed. It’s nothing he's never done before. But that’s only if the fever is normal; if it’s the high type, his demeanor take a shift and he looks much deadlier than he did before, his eye bags only increasing in depth.

“Do not move, you will strain yourself.” He watches you open your mouth, the glint in your eyes the kind you make when you’re about to throw a joke at him. Your pretty voice doesn't come out to his disappointment, only a whisper. The occurrence has him panicking, chastising you for silently laughing at your failed retort. “Is it really that funny that you can’t even talk?” he watches you mouth words, placing his hand on your lips, halting anymore movement.

You must be delirious from the fever, as you don’t protest but rather, smile at him. His chest tightens but he’s not sure from what emotion.

For a moment, your eyes go blank, and he’s swift to remove his palm, leaning into you with urgency. It was only for a moment, anyone else would’ve missed it, but not him; he remembers your eyes. He sighs when he sees the light reappear, taking his spot at your side once more.

“Do you take enjoyment in watching me worry?” you don’t have to do much for him to know you’re laughing at him, the look in your pupils tells him all he needs to know. Your hand hesitantly reaches for his cheek, brushing the back of your hand against pale skin. He takes possession of your palm, inhaling before letting the limb go again.

“M… Maybe… I do…” he can tell the effort it took to say just those few words. He watches you close your eyes before taking his handkerchief from his pocket, neatly folding the fabric on your chest.

“You… Truly—I can’t leave you like this…” … A wonderful thought. Maybe he just shouldn’t leave you, ever.

- Skully is quite literally screaming in panic, what exactly is he meant to do?!?! He basically webs you an entire luxury bedroom in your ail, gently coaxing you to lay down on the swindles of web. He smiles at your acceptance, ready to care for you with diligence! But then he remembers, that the entirety of this forest is dead. Any sign of life is quickly caught by him for consumption, any water has disappeared from streams, and plants have been desecrated for so long.

… How is he supposed to help you?!?

He can’t just wait for a wandering traveler to appear! That takes weeks or even months, he can’t wait that long! And even then, he can’t resort to feeding you the human…! It’s barbaric! For you at least... He does it all the time, but that’s because he’s a monster!! He doesn’t do it in front of you… you already seem so disappointed in him when you spy anyone just caught in his webs, the thought of you only looking at him with more fear in those eyes is unbearable—!

“Skully…—” he jumps at the feeling of you leaning on his shoulder, sweat glistening. He panics at the sight, picking you up with four of his arms while the other two set up your bed again.

“Please stay right here dear! I’ll find a way for you—” You pull his head down, close to your face, staring into all his eyes. You huff a single breath into his ear, the word ‘town’ the only audible thing. He knows himself, he stands out way too much to blend into society, so he really shouldn’t… But he can’t stop himself when he lifts you off the bed, a torn blanket he stole wrapped around him like a cloak.

He really shouldn’t… But for you he would break all manner of rules. Even, if he must be ungentlemanly, and leave a trail of webs and red in his wake, he’ll do it all, for you.

- Fellow turns his haunted head, his false joints bending to walk towards you. Thing strings begin to surround you like snakes, not touching, only moving around you.

“Fellow…? What are you…?”

“Shhhh, I thought sick people like you need sleep? My, don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe in my care!” the strings quickly push you towards him, Fellow’s false body and intricately designed clothes sound from the force you bump into him. Your head slowly turns up to look at the puppet, his face only a mere inches away from you. If he was a human, there’s no doubt he would be infected by now.

With each step he takes your hand weakly grabs his neck, the fox-themed marionette humming as the strings behind him follow close behind. You open your mouth to question what exactly he’s doing, but only a cough comes out. For a split second, Fellow looks down at you with pain, remembrance of something, something you don’t know. He’s back to the cunning showman persona just a moment later. With the opening of his fake mouth, words come from him.

“As I said, my valued hunter, I will make sure your visit to my stage…” your eyes flutter shut from exhaustion, your last feeling being hard lips placing a chaste kiss on your temple. “You will never feel fear in your life again, dear puppeteer, for the rest of this stage is yours.”

A puppeteer… One that controls the doll on stage… Is that really the case here?

You wake up to the instant feeling of rejuvenation. Just what happened?

The sight of Fellow cleaning his strings bloodied with crimson, tells you It might be better to not know just how you’ve been cured.

- Neige lets you rest your head on his chest as his ivory wings envelop you in a warm embrace, telling you you’ll get better soon, he promises.

It’s not like you can deny his oath, not without a voice. Even then, if you did have one, you don’t think you would’ve anyway, it would be too cruel to tell Neige you don’t trust him to fix you. He’ll lay pristine white covers over you as he flies out the window, a sense of urgency in the angel that he never feels very often unless it’s about the dear human he’s meant for.

When he gets back, he’ll tend to you with tenderness and a gentle touch. Each dab of a towel is soft yet effective, and every spoon of remedy kind as it goes down. He’s certain it’ll work, especially with each blessing he gives you, it must, it has to.

But it doesn’t. You still lay in bed coughing, your speech disappearing with each passing moment. It doesn’t do good for his heart, and he’s not even a human yet it hurts, it hurts seeing you frail like this. But, then his breathing hitches when he realizes a certain feeling swelling inside him.

Wrath. He’s angry that the world won’t let him help you, even more so that the earth feels to do this to you in the first place. He puts on a smile for you as he sits at your bedside, but the way he clenches his fist tells you there’s something else.

“Neige…—”

“It’s okay! I’m going to fulfill my promise, okay?” his eyes sparkle with determination, and all you can do is nod.

The next time he flies over, word of an all-healing elixir reaches his ears, and so, he finds the seller, giving them the kindest of greetings in disguise. He offers up the price everyone spoke of, telling the vendor about your condition. He's hopeful this will work when he gives it—!

“No.” … What? Any other words the seller had to go out one ear and the other, only the way they looked at him seared into his brain. The next moment is a blur for Neige, only the repeated word of ‘Greed’ repeating in his mind.

… When you get better, he folds his wings far away from you, hopeful that you won’t see the black scattered amongst the ivory. Even then, he will commit all manner of sin, even fall from grace, to make sure you stay so heavenly.

A/n: If MH!Reader got a high fever when Crowley is around, you can bet money they’re coughing into a napkin and shoving it in his face to get him sick. If their illness ends up being something really bad, plague? Even better (for them, not everyone else cuz now you have the worst illness ever??? For Crowley too cuz wtf why’d you try giving him the plague?!?)

[theyluvlyss]

hi! i was wondering if you could write dating hc's for duncan and courtney (separate) please?

𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐝𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 !

but unfortunately, I do not currently write for courtney :(. although, I hope you like what I do have written and that it doesn't discourage you from requesting in the future :).

𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

《 ♡ 》 headcannons

───────── 《 .°•♡•°. 》 ──────────

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 :

you went on this stupid, island, reality show to win $100,000, which could've most definitely changed your life for the better. but instead, you got a delinquent meat-head who had... somehow, earned your heart faster than the cash. "how" and "why" is beyond you. but at least you could come up with a list of some semi-convincing reasons as to such...

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 :

fem!reader x duncan - she/her/hers pronouns

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞 :

season one (total drama island)

𝐓𝐖/𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 :

harsh language/cursing - dangerous elements/themes mentioned - duncan being himself lmao (possibly a little ooc? I apologize if so) - established romantic relationship - casual dominance (cuz ik that can irk some people) - possessive terms (my, his, etc).

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ...𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

───────── 《 .°•♡•°. 》 ──────────

When you applied/auditioned to be on the show, you didn't actually think they'd pick you. It was a stupid dare amongst friends back home! No way would they pick some random girl with no experience or even a resume from (home/town/city).

And then, they did😃.

Next thing you know, you're being flown out to Canada and then dropped off from a yacht on some random, deserted island. Just your luck to apply for a scammy and sketchy reality show rather than what you were promised...

And, to top it all off, your host might as well have been a sociopath, your chef, a psychopath, and you were now forced to spend your time with twenty-two other lunatic teenagers for eight weeks. Eight. Weeks. To be fully and completely clear, you did not want to be here.

How could this get any worse?

Duncan. That's how.

He irked you at first. No, you didn't hate him. He actually had his moments where you found him quite funny with a sarcastic quip he had said or entertaining with some random stunt he pulled.

But other than that...

"I'm not jumping. I miss the safe zone and get eaten alive by sharks, and then what?"

"Oh'ho, you're jumping, sweetheart. I'll be damned if you lose this challenge for us because you're not a strong swimmer."

"That's not what I said. And what're you gonna do? Make me?"

...you were firm on your dislike for him.

Not that the feelings weren't reciprocated, of course. Though he wasn't exactly opposed to eying any pretty girls he happened to come across, he didn't intend to date. He came to win $100,000, just like the rest of them. And though he had grown used to the way your attitude struck any and everyone who tried to manipulate you into doing something you didn't want to do, at least you weren't Courtney, stick shoved up your butt.

Onto the more headcanon-y portion of this list...

I feel like Duncan actually wouldn't be opposed to random hookups or anything like that. But, once he has specific eyes for someone, he treats things as if he's already bagged them (manifesting king😻✨️). And in this case, them is you. He didn't get the hots right away, but after a couple of weeks or so of spending basically all of his time around you (being on the same team and all), he wasn't too surprised upon coming to terms with those feelings.

Not that you could exactly tell, with him running around calling you "sweetheart" and "angel-face" and whatever other petnames he could come up with on the fly. You figured it was just him being...well... Duncan! Not to mention, you weren't exactly all that fond of him.

Did he know that? Yes. Did he care? Ehh. You'd warm up. He'd actually make sure of it because even if the show didn't end with him either winning the money or getting you as a girlfriend, the least he'd accomplish is wooing you.

He's not gonna sacrifice his reputation for that, so he'd have to play it cool. And during the seventh challenge, an opportunity came to light; he'd help you concor your fear! Not only would it win your team the challenge, but it'd be a huge step into winning over your heart. With peering eyes (and cameras around), he was there to be your tough-love.

"Get over it, toots, it's just (your/fear)!!"

"Do not mess this up for us, or I'll guarantee you go home tonight."

"I've been in juvie with worse than this...!"

But, without any evidence to prove it besides your word and a blushing face, he was totally sweet on you.

"C'mere, sweetheart, it ain't that bad. You just need a little warming up to the idea, that's all~."

"The worst that could happen is you'll be called a chicken. It's not like you'll get voted off. Not while I'm here."

"Babe, you are entirely too cool to be skeezed out by (your/fear). We're gonna have to work on that, yeah?"

Him sling-shotting you through such emotions and behavior was intense. But not as much as the way it kept you hooked. And every time you would start to grow fed up, want nothing to do with him, even cuss him out...

Life (Chris McLean) would manage to thrust you two back together. Until, eventually, you got together. I mean, no official labels or anything yet, but god forbid another guy on either team just breathed sultry in your direction (coughCodyprobablycough). Or if you got hurt during a challenge. Or whenever anyone (butmostlikelyHeather) had it out for you.

And in those moments, I think Duncan wouldn't be as good as hiding his infatuation with you. Not that anyone actually had the gall to tease him for it. Besides, he had managed to make his admiration for you look cool. Always muttering a slick, "She wants me." to his guy friends, or smirking at any intimate reaction you'd give him in front of your peers.

All in all, he's a cocky shit. But he made it work in a charming way that you couldn't quite place, and made you wonder why you were even attracted to it/him at all.

And, surprisingly, he could be quite the gentlemen. Rough around the edges, sure, but see if you ever have to hold a door open for yourself or climb down from something without his hand being offered to you ever again.

He even makes sure to censor himself around you! Er- well, tries. If he deems a curse word too heavy for you to hear come flying out of his mouth, it goes a little something like this:

" ...So I rush 'im, right? And then can you believe the motherfucker-...! Sorry, babe. Can you believe this idiot actually tries to shank me?! Wild stuff, man..."

As if he's not already sitting around the campfire telling the most gorey juvie/jail story ever. But nope, the extra heavy cuss words are the stuff that's impolite for your ears🙄✋🏽.

#it'sthethoughtthatcounts♡.

OH!! And casual dominance? Definitely a thing in the relationship. Mainly from him, with a simple, "C'mere, doll." or a motion of the hand/finger over towards him. But let's not lie and say this dude isn't a sucker for the moments you boss him around...

"Duncan, go grab that for me, please?"

"I'm busy-"

"Now."

. . .

No further protest, your item retrieved and dropped into your hands with swiftness, and a light red dust on his face badly hidden under a scowl.

Things would get serious/official if one of you two got voted off of the island, though. If you got voted off, he'd be sure to give you the most profound goodbye he can in the very limited amount of time he has to actually say it. Make it very clear you're his girl, "...for anyone thinkin' about trying to make a move while I'm not around." And, he promises that if he wins, he's coming for you, and you'll run off together with the money. Cliche, but how could you say no?

If he gets voted off, he sticks on a brave face and basically threatens you to win lmao😭. Think of it as very intense encouragement coming from a deep down place of love.

"Babe, you better win this whole shit, 'cuz I'm gonna be rooting for you back home. Need these losers to see that my girl is the shit."

I could probably go on forever, but I don't want to make this too long :')...

𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 !!

this is my first post (as in writing/content) ever, so yay me :D ! and for the person that requested, again, I hope you enjoyed this 'cuz it was fun to write ! although I really don't like the title, but I couldn't think of anything better😭...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ...𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ...𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

none :(

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 :

anon <3

𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 :

[ferg0s]

Kunigami with a bookworm reader who he meet by accident but kinda starts to like after a while.

Pre wild card Kunigami cuz he’s bbygrl

Canonically has an older sister, I imagine her being an English major. Someone who got him into comic books In hopes of getting him into literature and that’s how he got his dream of being a hero-esque figure.

You’re her friend. A lil younger than her but the two of you met a book store and became friends after going for the same book, paid half and half and decided to take turns reading it and eventually made a lil book club to talk about said book.

Came back after practice to see you in the living room having tea with his sister, deep in conversation about the book in question.

Initially thought you were cute but out of respect for his sister he kept his distance.

Would say a polite hello and go to his room. Maybe come down to get some food, but even then, let the two of you talk without interruption.

You and his sister began to become closer, mostly due to your love for books. Coming together at their house to talk about the recent books you’ve read, but it slowly just began the two of you hanging out.

Kunigami knew of you; if he saw you at the house, in the living room or kitchen he wouldn’t blink twice. Initially thought you were his sisters classmate. but after talking to you when his sister asked him to walk you to the busstop cuz she didnt want you walk alone, he found out you were his age. you told him how you and his sister met, exchanged some friendly conversation and found out he was on the soccer team.

"yeah im a striker-" he said, looking at the path ahead. “Oh- that’s cool!” You reply. He knew that tone, the one his sister had - where they didn’t know what that meant but they were supportive. “It means I’m the guy who’s in charge of scoring the points-“ he adds. You nod. “I guess that’s very important,” you chuckle, looking at the ground.

Did you find his hot? Yes! Oh my god when he first walked in - you saw the resemblance right away - but the way his sister had described him you thought he was a toddler. I guess all older siblings do that, and they seemed to have a very close relationship. She still saw him as a child despite the fact that he was almost an adult. So when he walked in, holding his gym bag and greeted you, you tried to remain cool.

You weren’t the most social. So it was like fighting a life or death battle when he would come down to the kitchen while you and his sister were baking or making a quick snack. He was polite, always kept the conversation to a minimum before retreating to his room.

You wouldn’t dare let your cooler older friend know that you thought her brother was hot. But you figured that she had figured it out, she was very observant. So when you were getting ready to leave, saying your goodbyes, you froze up when you heard her call Kunigami to walk you to the stop.

You had walked there plenty of times, even later in the night in some cases. But she insisted that it would be safer for you to have someone to walk with. “There’s been an increase of muggings-“ she said. Conveniently leaving out the part that she was talking about the city and not their neighbour hood. Technically she wasn’t wrong?

Despite only talking to him a hand full of times, you felt pretty comfortable around him. He was polite. Asking the small talk questions that didn’t steer into anything awkward. Telling you about his games and such. He was a sweetie, which made your crush on him even more worse.

He was a gentleman. Waiting with you until your bus came, waving you goodbye as it departed. The one off thing soon became a regular occurrence, due to the insistence of his sister. He thought you were cute, but then again, he thought a lot of girls were cute. It was a given for guys his age. But the more he talked to you the more interested and invested he became. He was used to his sister going on tangents about books, passionately talking about every aspect of it - so he figured he’d do the same with you. Given you two had the same interests. It seemed to break you out of your quiet shell.

The walks began to consist of you describing your favourite books and stories to him. He was used to tuning it out and nodding his head. But something about you made him want to listen. “So he turns into a bug? Like a bug bit him? Like Spiderman?” He asked. You came to find out he liked spider man a lot. “No- he just woke up. It’s supposed to be a metaphor…”

But he really couldn’t keep up with the nuances of your literary likes, so he tried a different approach

“Do you like comics? Like marvel and stuff?” “Oh yeah- who doesn’t?”

His eyes lit up. Finally something he could relate too.

“Who’s your favourite super hero?” “Hmm… that’s a hard one.” You say as you look at him. “I like super man to be honest. It’s corny and lame but I like how he’s just this beacon of hope and just… nice? I don’t know how to say it. He could be evil but he just chooses to help people instead of like world domination-“ you explain. He smiled. “You know - i completely agree.”

Super heros became the things you talked about on your walks together. To a point where he genuinely waited for the sound of his sister door opening so he could rush out and get ready to walk with you. You looked forward to it too. He liked how you added a different perspective to it - digging in deep, finding the deeper meaning to each thing you two talked about. He felt a little embarrassed for saying he liked the hero’s cuz of their powers. But you didn’t seem to mind, smiling and telling him “me too,”.

For a while it seemed that the only thing the two of you talked about was that. He was happy - until he realized how rude it must seem. So he tried his best to steer the conversation to something that you might like.

Que him borrowing his sisters copy of the books you mentioned and trying to read them. It was the first time anytime anyone in his family saw him deeply invested in a book since… well… ever.

“So I read that book you talked about-“ he said as the two of you got out the house. “Oh? Which one?” You ask. When he told you the name of your favourite book, your stomach did a flip. “Y-you read that?” You asked uncertain. “Yeah - honestly I liked it.”

Que the whole walk being about said book, you talking with more passion than he had ever seen. To a point where the two of you watched the bus leave infront of you without caring, too engrossed in the conversation. Did you wait for the next bus - a full hour - on the steps of the nearby convenience store while sharing a bag of chips? Yes.

It seemed like the conversation had no end. Books, then his soccer, then back to books, somehow spider man, back to soccer. It was this chemistry that didn’t have an end.

Leading him to trying to slyly ask his sister if there was any bookstore cafes near by - and her happily giving an answer.

She didn’t question when you came over to visit, despite not making plans with her.

She didn’t question why he came up to her asking her if hard covers were better or soft covers.

______

Kunigami is a spider man fan. Thats not my head cannon, thats literally cannon. Argue with a wall.

[yjcorefourenjoyer]

Photo evidence part 6

Tim’s life is officially over!

So apparently, the new Robin is not, in fact, fine! He’s dead! Gone! Went BOOM, if you will! And now, without Tim being able to grieve AT ALL for the Robin he had bonded with and probably spent more time with than his actual parents,

Tim had to pick up the pieces of the mess Jason left behind. (He’ll have a breakdown later)

Batman has been going off the rails, beating criminals to near death (they would’ve been dead if he hadn’t called the ambulance), hurting civilians, breaking more laws than ever, pushing everyone away, and letting injuries get worse and worse and worse…

To put it simply, he was killing himself! 

It was like he wasn’t even the same person, especially after Jason’s funeral, and Tim had a front row seat to the destruction.

Some villains thought that Batman being in this state would make it harder to enact their plans and went into hiding. While the others (the more powerful or the idiotic) decided it would be easier! 

Almost all The Cameras either stopped taking photos or would only send pictures about Batman. All of them had horrible content. Just bloody alleyways, or people running away in fear. They were sent in with the hope of Photo evidence doing something about it.

That is what he does, right? Take corrupt people and either blackmail them or report them to the police…

There was no way that he could get the police to arrest Batman, that would do more harm than good. And the only meaningful thing he has against Batman is his identity. Either way, he can’t go after The Batman! Photo evidence doesn’t fight the good guys!

But... Batman isn’t really a good guy now, is he? It’s like Robin took all the good with him when he died. 

And even if he did blackmail Batman, B might just let it happen! He’s already shown that he doesn’t care what happens to himself now that Jason’s gone.

Which is really surprising, considering he has a perfectly good, alive son and friends!! Like, shouldn’t Superman or Nightwing be showing up to try and stop this?

Oh wait that’s right, Nightwing is mad at B for not telling him that Jason died and that he missed the funeral…

Like okay… Tim understands that not being alerted to your brother’s death while you’re in space can make you mad enough that you don’t want to talk with the person who was supposed to tell you that info to the point where you don’t want to be in the same city as them.

And in Superman’s case he stopped B from killing Joker, which probably started this whole “I’m gonna go punch out my anger cuz I can’t kill the guy who murdered my son,” thing.

Superman also probably thinks that he’ll get killed in Gotham for preventing Joker’s death in the first place, whether by Batman or a Metropolis-hating Gothamite who somehow sensed that Superman stopped Joker from dying, and that probably makes him not want to be in Gotham. 

However, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be helping!!

Seriously, Tim doesn’t understand why out of every. single. person. who actually KNOWS Batman, HE has to be the only one to actually do something.

Aren’t heroes supposed to help? Why does he, a child, have to be the only one who cares? The only one to step up? The only one willing to try and help?

Doesn’t anyone realize if Batman dies on patrol, Gotham is going to go up in flames!?

Oh come on! This was supposed to be his debut! To show the world that he could protect Gotham! But not in a vigilante way… He was supposed to go after the people outside of Gotham. The bats do the actual fighting, not him!

Ok ok, that’s it. He has to plan! Maybe contact a few people before he (or Batman) does something rash… after all he’s The Photo evidence! Timothy Jackson Drake! He doesn’t put himself in danger, that isn’t how a Drake works! So If he’s gonna have to save Batman on his own he’s gonna make sure that it’s the last option before he does.

But like what could he even do?? He can’t just bring back Batman’s hope and light, he can’t just bring Robin back! (Photo evidence blackmails people not resurrect them!), The only way to do that is to have someone become Robin, But the only options for that role are Jason, Dick, or well..… Tim.

And since Jason is dead and Tim really doesn’t want to be stuck in a life that’s gonna kill him (cuz it would kill him eventually), he’s just gonna have to find a way to get Dick back into the Robin role…

Maybe visit him in Blüdhaven? Maybe he could tell him what’s going on with Batman in Gotham? How is he even gonna get there? He honestly has no idea. But if this is the only way to help Bruce, he’ll do it.

He just really hopes that Dick will agree so he doesn’t have to save Batman alone…

[httpvomitello]

Hey so how do you think the tmnt boys would deal with having a crush where they text each other frequently and also do hang out a lot. But what they do when for once their crush texts them “I hate everything right now. I’m so angry. >:(“. Behind the scenes Their crush just came on their time of the month and now they’re like angry with everything hormonally? If the boys come over cuz crush isn’t answering, hours later, crush seeming better, “sorry about that. I just came on my time of the month earlier, this ones bad this month and my emotions are crazy. I now just feel depressed :(”?

Hello again! I hope you like it! ♡♡♡♡

Leonardo

Leo gets a text from his crush that reads, “I’m so over everything right now. I’m mad and don’t even know why.”

He’s used to keeping joking his way out of awkward situations, so he responds

“Yikes, sounds rough! Want me to come over and cheer you up with some cool ninja moves or bad jokes?”

When there’s no reply for hours, Leo’s anxiety spikes (even if he won't admit it)

He grabs his katanas (just in case) and heads out to check on them

When he arrives, his crush finally explains, “Sorry about that. I just came on my time of the month earlier. This one’s bad, and my emotions are crazy.”

He might be a little awkward at first, but he quickly adapts, flashing his signature grin

“Ah, no worries. Your favorite turtle has arrived!So, what’s the plan? Do you want to grab us some snacks and watch some movies?”

They decide to watch Twilight

It's a good thing they ended up sleeping next to Leo, because that way they didn't have to witness him start crying at the end

He’s happy to be a distraction, whether it’s watching a movie or just hanging out

He’ll probably pull out a few tricks, magic or otherwise, to get a smile out of them before the day’s done.

Raphael

Raph gets a message from his crush that says, “I’m so frustrated. Everything’s making me mad for no reason, and I’m trying to keep it together.”

He doesn't take long to send a message asking if everything is okay

When he doesn’t get a reply after a while, Raph starts pacing

He debates texting again but doesn’t want to seem pushy, so instead, he heads out

When Raph gets there, his crush doesn't take long to explain

“Hey, sorry I didn’t respond earlier. My period just started, and it’s hitting hard this time. I feel like a mess right now,”

Raph softens immediately, his face full of understanding

He knows how overwhelming emotions can be, and he doesn’t want to make things worse by crowding them

He’ll stay close, maybe put on a show they both like or offer up his shoulder if they need a comforting presence.

Donatello

Donnie receives a text from hos crush at a random time while he was finishing one of his projects

“Today’s been a mess, and I’m so angry. I don’t know how to shake this mood.”

His immediate reaction is to problem-solve, so he texts back

“I’ve read that mood swings can sometimes be helped by balancing serotonin levels. Do you want me to come over and help you troubleshoot?”

He’s serious about wanting to help, though his methods may seem a bit... clinical

When he doesn’t get a response for hours, Donnie’s curiosity gets the best of him

It doesn't take long to get to their house

“Sorry I didn’t get back to you. My period started earlier, and it’s really messing with my emotions. I just feel so out of it,”

Donnie immediately understands and goes into helpful mode

“While I can’t stop that, I can help with the physical discomfort or even keep you company to distract you from the emotional side effects.”

He might offer up some tech-based solutions, like a supercharged heating pad or an app he coded to track moods and help regulate them

If they’re feeling down, he’ll switch from science talk to a more personal approach, asking what they need and offering to help with whatever would make them more comfortable

Even if his methods are a little unconventional, Donnie genuinely wants to make things better for them.

Michelangelo

Mikey got the text from his crush while he was watching his favorite cartoon

“I’m just in such a bad mood today. I feel off, and I hate it.”

His heart sinks because he’s all about making people feel happy and loved, especially his crush. He responds immediately

“Aw, that’s the worst! You want me to come over and bring snacks and some good vibes? I’ll cheer you up, promise!”

When there’s no reply for a while, Mikey’s concern turns into action. He grabs a bunch of their favorite snacks and his skateboard, determined to turn their day around

When they finally explain, “Sorry for not responding. My period started, and it’s been a rough one. My emotions are just all over the place,”

Mikey is quick to jump into comfort mode, his empathy showing immediately

“I’m here to make you feel better, no worries. Snacks? Cartoons? Blanket fort? You name it, and we’ll do it!”

Mikey’s goal is to lift their spirits, no matter what

His energy is contagious, and he’ll stick around for as long as they need

By the end of the day, Mikey will make sure they’re at least smiling, even if just a little

[changbinsboobs]

Can you do skz as husbands next ??

Skz as Husbands series : Chan

Ohhhh boy...ya'll are not going to like this. Idk if i myself am shocked or not surprised...but literary ALL of the cards are BAD, and i kept on drawing and drawing more hoping at least one good will come out but...🥲 sadly all of them are pretty weird.

That being said i am reading current energy not current energy, and im not getting AT ALL vibes from chan for wanting to get settled down anytime soon. All of his focus is on his career and goals and ambitions etc and theres just no place left for a family.

So i guess it makes sense that all of the cards are really negative as it's just not his time now. I do feel potential in him tho (after some therapy and probably retirement).

Im just gonna go ahead and start with the 9oS which tells me that being a husband and the head of the family will put IMMENSE pressure on him with which he cannot deal with. I think he makes it much bigger in his mind and lets doubts, paranoia, stress etc get the best of him and im seeing him actually having pretty hesitant thoughts on marriage for that time being just for that same reason. I think he's a guy that sees this as a very serious job (can imagine him picking that up from his dad) and its nothing to be taken lightly and as i said it gets very twisted and exaggerated in his head and takes the best of him. If he were to get married right now, he would change very quickly from what his s/o has seen from him and take a huge turn for the worse and put forward his shadow side. Im seeing lots of toxic coping mechanisms too which very conveniently leads me to the next card.

The 3oC usually a nice card but not in this case, especially because of the heavy display of alcohol - im seeing him wanting to escape the crushing weight of his responsibilities and looking for that escape in the face of alcohol & shady friends that may be just too immature and bachelory-mindseted and have a bad influence on him. I can see him missing for nights on end, which also relates to the 5oP as well and him giving...no having to be forced to give the bare minimum, and him even struggling to do that, and twisting it all to look like the victim. But more on that card at the end. So as i was saying im seeing him being very absent a lot of the time, not only because of work but because he's out and about with his friends. Im not really getting cheating from the cards - but im getting heavy vibes of a similar setting where temptation is just around the corner and him just living as if he had no family back at home waiting for him. This - once again very conveniently ties to the next card😂

Which is the 5oW. Im seeing lots of fight, probably initially starting because of his prolonged missing and eventually moving on to different things. Im seeing fights escalating very quickly, starting very quickly, being very exhausting and very damaging. To the relationship, to both their mental health and to some random objects nearby👀

With The Fool im seeing him being way too immature for something like this at this current point and it shows pretty well on the card - he's just not in the right state of mind for this chapter of his life and if it were to happen it will bring out his unreadiness and immaturity forth even more - to show where he has to work on to be ready for that next stage.

And back to the 5oP again, aside from him having to be forced to give the bare minimum and him even failing at that - he very skillfuly turns it out to look as if he's the attacked one, as if he's the bullied one, as if his wife's the one who's starving him and making him out to be the bad guy and he just feels really bullied by the whole situation and behaves that way and expresses himself that way so i would say - a huge victim complex.

Overall i would say this reading was more of a "chans toxic defence and cooing mechanisms if he were put into the corner" reading, which is kinda sad cuz that doesn't really give much insight as to what he would be like as a husband cuz what we just saw wasn't really chan but his "alter ego" that protects him in a way. Yk we all have that one side of us that takes over as if on autopilot when we feel threatened in any way. I think that would be the same for chan, and if he were to feel comfortable with the idea of marriage and feel ready for that, the reading would be way way different. But i find future readings to not be much of my thing cuz thats way to unreliable cuz energy can change in so many ways, theres so many different outcomes... but we'll see how the other readings turn out and if all the guys have weird current energies that don't really answer what they'll be like as proper husband i may try a future reading.

[taddymason]

Ok so i need to consult a much bigger jay fan ab this because yes. So I came to u.

How do you think Jays memory loss (and shattering but I think his memory loss might be more relevant. Might) is gonna tie to his larger character arc. Because from I seen doc has said that there IS a reason as to why they chose Jay to lose his memories out of all the ninja to give him quality character development and I’m wondering how him not remembering his previous life will specifically connect to his character and how they’ll use this aspect to better build on it.

What u been thinking is that maybe it ties to him relearning his loyalty to his family as a whole, relearning or reinforcing his values. Like, even if he forgot everything he’s still gonna have the spirit he has and the sense to protect those he allies himself with. I say allies because if he DOESNT get his memories back, he might just see the ninja as that at the beggining, before eventually getting the trust again, uk what I mean? But honesty I’m rlly not sure and I haven’t analyze jays character as much as other ppl like u so I wanna know what u think cuz im like, a little lost tbh

ty for ask!! I love talking about this so:

First of all, I think that out of all the ninjas to lose their memories, Jay was an obvious choice. Not only because they wanted to subvert Jaya's tragedy with Nya being the one in the grieving process this time, but because Jay's character needed SOMETHING, a long arc that would polish and redefine who he is, in a literal sense.

Zane and Nya are out of the question because they've already done this arc with them (s11 and s15), Cole has essentially completed his character development, Lloyd is obviously not an option, and with Kai it really wouldn't be that impactful. This is a chance to reinvent Jay's character after so many seasons of him being just the comic relief who lost a lot of the aspects that made him an interesting character. It was a good oportunity to give him more development considering this will probably be about a reformation, redemption, and self-discovery arc (I mean, considering they don't rewind it all in one episode, which I doubt.)

Whether the buildup has been good or not is another question, but yes, there is a lot more you can do with Jay and all the building up of his identity tied to his past that hasn't been done with the rest and I think that was the reason they did it.

There's also a good reason they chose the Administration for him to end up there, and that's because according to Doc it's based on Kafka's "The Trial": a meaningless world where nothing matters and the protagonist is essentially lost in a labyrinth. The worst place for Jay to end up, because his most important themes have always been about family and if you take that away, well; he's completely alone and has nothing to hold on to.

So I want to believe that Jay's arc will be about discovering who he is, what his powers mean, what his role is on the team if he ever wants to come back, what his reason for fighting for is, what his greatest strengths are as a person (loyalty, resilience, his wit, which is why I hope we get Inventor Jay back). We haven't seen much of him as a character so far, but I WANT to believe that in s3 we will see these traits. That even without memory, Jay is still himself, only he has changed because of all the things that have happened to him since the Merge.

I don't want to confuse my hopes with what's most likely to happen, but if I had to guess, between getting Jay's memory back and saving his soul, I think the ninjas will go with the second option first. Assuming both things don't happen at the same time. Considering having his soul shattered is way worse and makes him vulnerable to rox, etc, I really don't think they'll get his memory back first before healing his soul.

In any case, I really think if jay is going to get his memories back it'll be after starting over with the others because I really feel like they're going to go the route of having him have to relearn a lot of things from scratch, with the ninjas having to deal with all these new changes and the possibility that: Jay may never get his memory back... But that should not stop them from starting over from scratch and for him to be loyal to them again as before.

With Jay always being the most morally questionable of the team, I'd say there's a chance we might see him learn to put others' needs before his own, in the same way I think Nya's arc will be to be more selfish than always choosing her duty but thats off topic.

[ukranianacearo]

Hi it's me again, the 𓆣 anon! I saw you answered my first request and to say the least I was ENCHANTED with your writing style! And your English is so fluent I could hardly tell it wasn't your first language! Anyways, I have another idea for you😈😈😈

Kid with a girl who is his polar opposite! Positive, friendly, optimistic, the sweetest bundle of sunshine you'd ever meet! She's always cracking jokes and she's always trying to see the good in people! That's what drew Kid to her in the first place, she's so sweet she's /stupid/. She's too friendly and trusting, like a grandma getting scammed on phone calls. Kid doesn't exactly want to put a damper on that sunshine of hers, but he also doesn't want her getting hurt! So he sticks around her. All. The. Time. Dragging her away from creeps on the street trying to kidnap her cuz they told her they had a puppy in their car. He's like scary dog privileges.

Make sure you drink good water and eat something tasty! Maybe treat yourself to a cookie if you can!

- 𓆣

Just like magnets

Tw: a creepy guy

Pairing: Death, the kid x Opposite!Reader

Synopsis: So different, yet together?

Genre: fluff

Author's note: Thank you sm, anon😭 I'm happy that you liked my style and sorry for the late post😔 Anyway, there may be grammatical errors (as always) and more under the cut!!

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

✤ | I don't even know how the two of you got together

✤ | I suppose you were a friend of Maka and Soul or maybe Black Star, since you both are pretty energetic, tho you do get good grades and he's not that dense (?)

✤ | Kid was really surprised when he first met you

✤ | Even if you weren't close friends yet, he was worried about you

✤ | He started to hang out more with you, just in case someone tries something funny

✤ | In that time, he also became closer to you

✤ | Each time someone tried something bad on you and he was in the vicinity, they wouldn't be left alone after doing such crime in his words

✤ | With time, people of the Akademi understood that it's better not to be a creep, or Death, the kid will come after them

✤ | The group would probably tease him about this

✤ | Actually, it's just Black star and Soul

✤ | Maybe, once in a full moon, Liz and Patty will also tease him

✤ | Maybe his "protection instincts" got slightly worse once you started dating

✤ | He comes from a good place, but he can get a little over the top sometimes

✤ | It may or may not have caused some argument of sorts

✤ | But he still loves you with the way you are

✤ | Liz says that he fell for someone who couldn't be more different from him

✤ | She's not meaning to say something bad about you

✤ | She's just trying to tease him

✤ | You match his father's energy a lot of times (when things aren't getting serious)

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

I'm sorry I didn't write it sooner, school is killing me😭 and yesterday I was busy all day, so I couldn't write either😔 anyway, I hope you like it and that's it for now, bye bye!!

[kacchanrawr]

mha final volume spoilers

For the past few months I've kinda just come to accept MHA's ending to be whatever. Not the best, but not the worst I've seen it's fine whatever. But seeing the final volume extra content honestly just has me genuinely hating the ending. I'm trying to keep an open mind cuz it's not officially out yet and leaks can be kinda dubious, but I'm genuinely so upset.

Ig the main feeling I have is: genuinely what's the point??? I mean there's a lot of things going on in mha and depending on what you care about ig you could feel like everything's fine and resolved, but personally? Just no. My main problem a few months ago was with Toga's death, but now I'm just even more pissed.

As so many people have probably already discussed: killing the villains off after all this stuff about saving them is a fucking problem right?? With Toga's case specifically (cuz she's my fave and I care the most about her), it's her just dying after she finally found the love and acceptance she's always wanted from Ochako. Like why? Even if you can technically make sense of it with her explanation of "I want to live life as I please", it's just stupid and distasteful. It would be one thing if she said that cuz she was just running away to be free, but to kill her? Of bloodloss of all things? Idc abt people going oh thats sooo poetic, no i think it's stupid. So many other characters have lived after going through worse like for fuck's sake, Edgeshot's still around.

What's the point of that emotional resolution if you don't show the aftermath, of her being able to live happily, or at least how she'll go on with life from then on? She didn't have to die, she could've just escaped or whatever (I was hoping that was the case when there was no mention of Toga's body). But by killing her, the only message I got from mha's whole saving the villains thing is: "sooo maybe having empathy for the deviances of society is important actually, but it's kinda inconvenient to deal with them." And even if that wasn't Hori's exact intention, that's what his story seems to be saying by killing off the villains.

And then the fucking nail in the coffin is the fact that Hori used Toga's death to drive Izuocha. It was one thing when he did it with the cliff talk when Ochako was mourning Toga (I always found it distasteful okay), but it's so much worse to write Toga literally pushing Ochako to Deku. So not only did Hori kill off the queer character who finally had her resolution and romance so he won't have to deal with her, but he's really following through with the Bury the Gays trope by using her o push the girl she loves to a man? Ew.

The worst part is that even if Izuocha got together and they're canon or whatever cuz of that last part, the way Hori did it is so fucking mid. Like seriously, if you were gonna do my girl dirty like that for that het romance, at least make it good?? But noooo. I mean they don't have to be like kissing and getting married and having babies or whatever (that'd just be shit), but at least have them properly get together. What is that "implied romance" ass handshake?? There's no fucking reason to make it implied, they're not queer or forbidden or complicated or anything. Bro just didn't wanna commit to actually fleshing out their romance. And you used Toga and her death for that, for absolutely fucking nothing?? The funniest part is that everything Togachako did is infinitely more romantic than that handshake, so how am I supposed to be convinced by this "implied romance"? (anyone who says implications enough for izuocha I'd say the bar's just on the floor for you cuz they're het)

And then there's Bakugo. I mean I was fine and whatever with the original epilogue, but what the fuck? So you're telling me bro lead Project Deku Hero Suit or whatever for 8 years, only for Deku to reject him when asked to be a part of his agency? It may or may not have been explicitly stated that they'd be in a hero agency together whatever, but I feel like it was a natural conclusion that they'd end up working together/closely as a hero duo? Win to save and save to win, wonder duo defeating ShigAFO together, that hospital talk about competing together for the rest of their lives, him being the one to reach out to Deku at the epilogue chapter, hello? DEKU REJECTED THAT AND FOR WHAT. Also ok fine this may sound stupid to be upset over, but why the fuck is Bakugo rank 15. Like we do just be writing whatever I guess

I'm still holding on to some hope that the leaks were ass and inaccurate. Or maybe even completely fake cuz the chapter's been getting a lot of AI art allegations? Though it's also probable that's just the leaker who used AI to get high res pictures of the leaks. IDK MAN JUST PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE COMPLETELY ACCURATE PLEASE LET ME STAND CORRECTED

[gatorbites-imagines]

I recently started reading about werewolf stiles and I was wondering if you could do a werewolf stiles x male reader, please and thank you

Werewolf Stiles Stilinski x male reader

Headcanon

Ive never read too many werewolf Stiles fics, as I mainly read Spark Stiles stuff, but its an interesting idea, so I hope you enjoy this.

It’s been a while since I watched the show, so there might be parts about werewolf culture I forgot.

There are many ways Stiles could have been bitten, but lets assume its later on after everything with the Nogitsune and the chimeras. Its most likely Scott that bites him to save his life or something like that.

Because he killed people as the Nogitsune, and maybe other times I can’t remember, he would have blue eyes instead of yellow. Since he has so much experience with other people being bitten, he’s probably more on top of his own transformation.

If it was in the show, there would probably be a whole plot about Stiles becoming something else when he was bitten, because its Stiles, why wouldn’t he. But let’s just say the transformation went as it was meant to go.

Hes still is loud sassy self, but with a lot more wolf and dog jokes. You have to expect to hear the joke about you putting him in a collar at least once a week, or making him sleep in the doghouse.

Stiles struggles with his new urges and senses for a while, especially how much how loves your scent and can’t seem to get enough of you. Even before his bite, Stiles was a clingy lover, but afterwards it gets even worse.

He doesn’t even seem to notice he does it. Stiles will hang out at your place and splay across your bed, burying his face into your sheets and pillow and roll around. Or you go to his place, where he absentmindedly makes you wear his clothes to get his scent on you.

Stiles notices how he wants you provide for you more, it starts out small like bringing you small snacks or letting you borrow his jacket, but it becomes bringing you a whole ass deer after a full moon, much to the pack’s entertainment.

You are his person, if that makes sense. If he’s losing himself during a shift, he thinks about you to get himself back under control. Just the idea of hurting you makes his entire body and soul ache, and it’s the last thing he would ever want to do.

That might also result in Stiles hiding away from you the days before a full moon, just in case, as his needs and urges get stronger and stronger. Let’s just say he’s had to buy a lot of new pants as his claws keep tearing holes in his usual ones, as he has to grip his thigh from doing anything.

Has caught himself almost biting you on multiple occasions, like if you guys are cuddling or getting a little more intimate and Stiles finds himself scraping his teeth across your neck. His instincts howl for him to bite and mark you, but he’s so terrified of the idea that he almost falls out of the bed.

Stiles being Stiles would bury himself in research to try and understand why his urges are so God damn strong, as other wolves he’s met haven’t been so bad when it comes to their lover.

He ends up having to tuck his tail between his legs and go to other members of the pack with more experience, most likely Derek, or Peter, as his research doesn’t end up with much.

Peter would have a good laugh at his situation, and Derek would just raise a brow with a small “huh, makes sense” much to Stiles’s annoyance.  He ends up getting the werewolf version of the birds and the bees, and the whole talk about true mates, and he ends up sitting in his car just thinking this all sounds like one of those trashy werewolf romance books.

Assuming you are an average human, it would take a bit for Stiles to tell you, and you probably have to force it out of him cuz he’s avoiding you. Stiles again being Stiles, would feel like he doesn’t deserve you or that you can do so much better, so he doesn’t wanna force a bond on you.

He needs reassurance that you still love him, especially after he’s become a werewolf. After a long talk, Stiles returns to his lovable clingy self, but he won’t allow himself to bond you until you guys get older, even though he truly wants too.

I can imagine it gets so bad that he wears something like a tooth guard so he can’t accidentally bite your neck in the heat of the moment, cuz he wants you both to build your careers or educations before you get “wolf married” as he calls it.

During a full moon, he also always finds himself by your place, be it crawling in through your window or just hovering in the shadows nearby. You gets used to the feeling of him watching you when he’s wolfed out, and you’ll easily find his glowing blue eyes when you learn where to look.

Like I said earlier, a scent beast. You’ll cat him snuffling and sniffing you on the regular, and it probably reaches the point he can smell the changes in your hormones, so if you ever feel a little hot under the collar you just know he’s gonna smell it too.

After being bitten he also gets more comfortable with his body and appearance, since running around during the full moon ends with him naked more times than he doesn’t. The bite also made him muscle up, at least somewhat, which he appreciates too.

When his old flannels don’t fit on him anymore cuz of the sudden growth spurt, he gives them all to you to wear or do with as you please. If they fit, that’s the easiest way to make him buckle for you.

All in all, he’s still as much of a sweetheart as if he wasn’t a werewolf, now he just has a lot of new urges and instincts that catch him off guard every now and then. Stiles would always carry some guilt for mixing you deeper into the supernatural world, even if you were already part of it, but he also can’t ever imagine living without you.

So, make sure to reassure him that you love him and will stay by his side. If you end up some kind of supernatural being too, the guilt lessens, but its Stiles were talking about, he’s always got some kind of thing going on.

[sanzy4]

Arcane spoilers ahead-

The way I see hate for Vi and Jinx for being the cause of each others misfortunes is absolutely crazy. They were both victims and products of a corrupt society. One was just raised to be a hero and the other was raised to be a weapon.

I had an argument with someone the other day who said and I quote , “the sole reason powder became jinx was powders fault alone. She was always a psychotic and mentally ill person. She should’ve just listened to her sister and cuz of her every one is dead. Tbh she deserved what she got” . It annoys me first off cuz Powder was never psychotic for wanting to help out. Yes we all hope she could’ve stayed home like her sister said cuz that could’ve prevented a lot but powder never knew the severity of the hexcore just like how Jayce and Viktor didn’t either and she didn’t know what was at play at Silcos little hideout near the bridge. Vi is 15 years old and Powder is 11. Both have been raised in very terrible circumstances that they keep getting exposed to no matter how much Vander tried to prevent it. Their parents were killed by enforcers and they had to witness violence from the very start. It does terrible things to your mental health. Silco ended up using all her trauma as a fuel to make her a weapon for his cause rather than giving her the help she needed. Without any form of therapy or a support system her situation got even more worse. With the “oh Powder should’ve stayed home” argument you can easily also say “oh well vi should’ve listened to Vander instead of turning herself over to the enforcers because that ultimately killed Benzo and left Vander defenseless which is what got him captured in the first place”. But it doesn’t work that way. Vi is a very brave minded individual who doesn’t really like being told what to do. She will do what she believes is right for the right cause even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. Powder has always looked up to her sister. In the process she did a very similar thing fueled by the desire to finally prove to her friends and family that she wasn’t a jinx like many had teased her. That decision of hers ultimately ended up negatively impacting the ppl around her but to say she was psychotic at that point of her life is wild.

It’s the same for the people who say Vi was a terrible sister. I think Vi is an amazing older sister who really did the best she could in the circumstances she was provided. She even spent 7 years in the prison thinking about her sister every day hoping she was ok, doing everything she could she save her. And in the case of the alternative universe, it wasn’t perfect because Vi was dead but it was perfect because hextech was never invented and Silco read that damn letter.

I think a lot of the sisters relationship was based off misunderstanding and their insecurities and mental health overpowering their will to make amends. Not to mention Silco has isolated and manipulated Jinx but saying all she had and ever will have was him. He hid everything he could about Vi and everything else and fed lies about how she was being replaced and what not.

Either way neither sisters are to blame they were just raised in very unfortunate situations I would wish no one would have to experience at such a young age.

[aziraphales-library]

Lost Fic #206

1. Hello! Thank you for all the work that you do! I'm looking for a fic I read a while back that I seem to have lost. Honestly I think I found it through Tumblr and maybe even this blog but I can't find it again 😭 It's set post s2 while Azi is supreme archangel, and he comes down to Earth with Crowley to plot how to stop the second coming. For some reason I don't remember, Azi also has a hotel room where he rents + watches p*rn. There's lots of angst on Crowley's side, with him getting his hopes up every time Azi visits that this time he'll stay and lots of tension that ends up with smut, but also makes Crowley feel worse cuz he thinks Azi's just using him for booty calls. Sorry it's super specific 🥲 Thank you so much x - anon

2. hiya, I#m looking for a fic where Azi and Crowley are priests. The met when they were younger in training and were seperated across the country because they were caught being intimate. They later meet again at a priest meeting thingy and realise the other is still interested in them. Then there's nsfw stuff happening in the shower. I'm too stupid to figure out how to properly work the ao3 tags sooo i'd apreciate the help :)) - anon

3. Hello! Thank you for all the hard work that is put into finding these fics. I have been trying to find one where Crowley eats live animals like a snake but doesn’t want Aziraphale to know. He gets really hungry and they go to the ritz and he looks at a dog and wants to eat it and realizes that he needs to eat (it might have been a small child he was looking at). He goes to the bathroom and Aziraphale finds him eating ether a rat or a cat. Thanks :) - anon

4. hello! i'm looking for a fic that i haven't actually read. an artist i follow mentioned a scene from it in one of their posts, but they can't remember the title and recommended asking you. its a fic scene where aziraphale attempts his first temptation - tempting an apprentice at a bakery into taking home a few leftover loaves that otherwise would have to be thrown out. fics where aziraphale tempts people in general would also be greatly appreciated! it's a niche i'd love to see more of. - anon

5. Hello! First of all, you are wonderful and your blog is life saving! So, thank you. Second, I'm searching a fic and I hope it's still on ao3. It's a fic where Aziraphale hears 3 conversations the same day about the principe of giving back to your partner (and not being a pillow princess, in on case), and so he decide to do nice things for Crowley because he is scare that otherwise Crowley will leave him. So he try to find gifts and things to do that Crowley like, but it's not working very well and then he want to try to please Crowley in bed and that's when Crowley ask what's the problem is. After Aziraphale explain himself Crowley explain to him that doing things for Aziraphale and giving him gift make him happy. It finishes with a sex scene where Crowley pleasure Aziraphale. If you can find it that would be marvelous! - @myladycrow12

If you know any of these fics please include the number in your reply! Thank you :)

- Mod D

[murfpersonalblog]

Carol Cutshall better get an Emmy this year, I ain't playin!

"Cutshall and her team had to embrace a new reality, one initially devoid of the first season’s material pleasures..... Free of their maker, an austere Louis and Claudia flee New Orleans for Europe in search of a coven of vampires to call their own. There they find themselves in the ravaged wasteland of World War II, where sorrow pollutes even the blood they drink."

"It was such a drastic change going into season two. We went from the height of glamour, which we last saw during a Mardi Gras party, to the polar opposite in the premiere. When you look at Louis and Claudia in their shearling coats in Romania and the amount of mud and blood on them, those looks are built for surviving and searching and starting over."

This what I meant when I talked about AMC intensifying the horror for show!Claudia vs book!Claudia. They're starting over, runaway slaves free at last from Massa Lestat's domestic terrorism; following the Drinking Gourd north to the promised land of milk & honey--but their exodus isn't some glorious adventure--it's Hell on Earth!

I adore the juxtaposition Carol makes between the obscene opulence of Mardi Gras NOLA vs the Grimm realities of war-torn Europe. Book!Lou&Claud traveled across Europe in a lavish carriage Claudia picked out, and had the luxury of taking their fancy coffins with them in it.

NGL I was hoping Carol would talk about these outfits in particular:

AMC's Lou & Claud look like they've been sleeping underground/in a battlefield, dressed in animal skins/furs--not the fancy furs PETA jumps folks for, but nasty Caveman Couture rags. And I can't help but think about the furs they wore in the film, looking rich AF, even as Lou complained about how sad he was. 🙄😒

So I am SO IN LOVE with AMC sending Louis & Claudia to WWII Europe. They're in Ploiești/Romania in 1941--in the book they're in 1800s Varna/Germany. Romania was a major ally for the Nazis in WWII, and the LAST place Claud should be--let alone Louis (a gay Black African American man)--let alone because Romania was bombed TF up in the early 1940s.

They're running slow AF like regular humans--no super vamp speed at their disposal to flee from the bombs--cuz they've been STARVING. They're eating the dead like a bunch of ghoulish necrophages (come through, Witcher 3 folklore!).

Like, in the film the big idea was that drinking dead blood could kill a vampire. But in TVL & Blood Communion we know that's not the case when Lestat drinks the corpses Armand gave him, and when Lestat gives the Vampire Court Rhoshamandes' corpse--it's not deadly, but it's not great, either. Drinking blood should be PEAK sensory pleasure; but this just shows what they've been reduced to.

So to see Louis & Claudia tearing into pieces of the dead to suck up what's left is like cannibalism at its rawest, basest & most primitive--straight out of a dystopian zombie apocalypse. There's no transcendent power in the dead like what Maharet & Lestat described. Lou & Claud are scavengers in a battlefield, fighting for scraps just to survive and endure, but not really live.

And I feel so much worse for Claudia, cuz she LITERALLY didn't ask for this mess! Unlike Louis--and unlike book/film!Claudia--she was Born into Darkness w/out her awareness or consent. AMC puts this poor girl through HELL. The things she's seen & experienced made her "built for survival;" but she's also "built like a bird," and just as ignorant about vampires & the Old World as Louis--though they're both bookish intellectuals who THINK they're ready for Europe.

So they have no effing idea, cuz Lestat never told them WHY Europe was such bad news. They're blind and completely in the dark!

And then they FINALLY arrive in Paris--a breath of fresh air after the war.

But glamour returns to their lives as the pair forge ahead in Paris.... Seduced by their habit of living loudly and proudly — at least at night — Louis relaxes into his post-Lestat life, taking up photography and exploring his sexuality in subtle ways. “The look I landed on for him was that of artists and café society, and French workwear with a little bit of a blue-collar look,” Cutshall says. “It’s not the finery that we are used to for Louis, but his fastidiousness in how he wears it — tucked and belted — is still there.” There is a visual hierarchy among these old-world vampires. Louis wears the costume of the common man, placing him below the coven’s creative director, Armand, the so-called love of his life"

The "visual hierarchy" of Louis being "placed BELOW" the Old World vampires had me vibrating in my seat, especially wrt Armand, the biggest baddest boogeyman vs fledgling vampires in the books.

"We want to break away from the disguise he had in season one, because he is the mega predator,” Cutshall says. “He's not threatened by anyone. So, in everything he does and wears, he can be like an animal who is not afraid to lie on their back and bare their belly."

Which is precisely what I said about Lestat in his Mardi Gras dress & his Matador pajamas. Cuz Lou & Claud are constantly put on the exact same level--at the BOTTOM of the food chain & the gendered/social hierarchies of vampire covens in both NOLA & Europe.

But what's interesting's that AMC diversified the Theatre--there's Black & Asian vampires, not the all-white coven from the books.

The Theatre has truly become a microcosm of the entire world, highlighting just how sheltered Lou & Claud were in the New World. The history of America is very black and white--or rather: white versus black. After the Native Americans were wiped out, American racism molded & shaped centuries of slavery & oppression specifically designed to keep Black people at the bottom of barrel, even when they were "freed/emancipated." But in the Old World, power & conquest was continental--Africa & Asia & Europe were ALL major superpowers at one time or another, kicking each other's arses. Race & racism still plays a huge part in European imperialism, OF COURSE, but WWII showed how white folk are just as prone to killing & oppressing each other, let alone anyone else. 😂 Louis & Claudia's problems w/ Lestat are radically different from their problems w/ Armand (now a brown Asian, as Russia & Ukraine are also globalized; dispelling the myth about Russians only ever being white people).

But Santiago's an altogether different beast--but eerily familiar.

"Her thirst for attention is surpassed only by Santiago, the extravagant emcee of the theater troupe. For Santiago’s big onstage entrance in episode two, Cutshall took inspiration from performers like Peter O’Toole and Laurence Olivier. “I started with Fred Astaire, but with a bit of a bondage twist for Santiago’s curtain look,” she says. “Who were the top dogs of the time that he would want to emulate? You can feel him striving for that."

What is fundamentally wrong with Santiago (and Lestat) is that he's a HUGE showboat, desperate for attention & validity, specifically from LOUIS, a vampire older than Santiago, attractive & new & interesting, who's approval he actually wanted & expected. But Louis's too mature/smart for Santiago, and immediately clocked him as a clown and a BUFFOON.

AMC dyed Santiago's hair blonde on purpose, ISTG, cuz the parallels w/ Lestat are hilarious. Armand's the coven master & creative director, but Santiago's the emcee & "show pony," just like Lelio!Lestat was back in the day. Les' pony on meth meme is SO apt!

And just like Lestat pulled the rug under Armand at Les Innocents, taking on a leadership role for the Children of Satan and ushering in their new era as vampires who'd join society via the Theatre, Santiago usurps Armand's position as the ringleader against Claudia & Louis. Even though Armand wanted all that to happen, he's more passive than Les & Santiago, far more active & dominant despite being significantly weaker & younger in the Blood than Armand. Wolf Killer Lestat and "top dog" Santiago are cut from the same cloth, down to the pinstripes--which Carol already said were supposed to symbolize cage/jail bars--"back in your cage, sweetheart."

CAROL! I desire you CARNALLY! ❤️

[daughterofevil158]

“but i am forced to drag akiretsu's corpse with me like jesus did the crucifix” NO SAME AKIRETSU HAS BEEN MY OBSESSED FOR A WHILE LMAO

But I just realized like.. Lets be honest, Damon doesn’t give off the vibe that he makes a lot of friends, in fact I’m pretty sure it’s implied somewhere that he’s pretty lonely

So that means that Damon, who’s very socially awkward and probably has a lot of trouble socializing normally, is now forced to interact with all of his soulmates. This poor man is probably having the most awkward time ever

Combine that with who are probably the more clingy soulmates, he must be having a GREAT time

pjeg is gonna end with wolfgang getting resurrected easter-jesus-style and dipping damon into a kiss while tozu wipes a tear from his eye and says "this truly was our project: eden's garden" trust me tako told me themself

I imagine that for soulmate aus in general, they get hyped up for kids the way fairy-tale love is for kids irl, with the caveat of there being a literal bond from the soulmark. Like, from a young age people are told that "there are people out there who will truly understand you and you'll understand them" but without mentioning that you have to put the effort into it to get to that level. Something that's technically true but greatly oversimplified, if that makes sense.

And I see Damon in this au trying to makes friends in middle/high school because odds are, with that many soulmates, there are gonna be some who are completely different from him in terms of personality and the like. Part of his attempts failing is because of his naturally blunt demeanor and social unawareness (big maitsu=autism believer here), but it's also because kids would definitely be jealous over the soulmate thing. So much verbal bullying about how Damon's an asshole who doesn't deserve that many soulmates, and "I feel bad for the poor schmucks who have to deal with him." On top of any bullying he might've gotten for being an immigrant and a nerd in the debate club, to put it bluntly.

(Damon doesn't "complain" about it to his parents, teachers, or his writer soulmate tho. He's better than those who mock him and he's gonna prove it one day. But now there's a little snake in his head spewing venomous words that his soulmates will think the same upon meeting hm. In a few years, that snake is gonna bite Wolfgang in the ass hard lol)

So man's got trust issues, goes to EGA, finds out that somehow all of his soulmates are there at once and he has to deal with that instead of it being a situation where a few trickle into his life at a time like he though it would be. (Like, imagine being the only documented case of more than 6 soulmates, and you coincidentally meet all of them at once. His brain is crashing harder than a bethesda game with too many mods) Man definitely bluescreens a little the first few times he's given physical signs of affection because he's never received any from non-relatives before and isn't quite sure how to respond.

It's even worse in the KG variant cuz he's put in a situation where his head's saying no one can be trusted while his heart's pleading that you're supposed to be able to trust your soulmates (one could call this a logos vs pathos argument). Plus he and one of his soulmates were isolated because of another one (tho they didn't know at the time and it wasn't fully intentional) and- and-

And here comes Cassidy kicking his door in that night instead of the next morning with the rest of the publicly known soulmates (Ulysses, Toshiko, Diana) in tow. They're understandably a little disappointed about his words, but if soulmates were perfectly in sync from the start life would be pretty boring (and it's not the first time soulmates thought that the other's interests were boring at, let's be real).

(I'm not going back on Diana being an early reveal, but funny thought: Damon goes to sleep that night hoping a potential killer goes after "makeup girl," then the next morning they brush past each other at some point and realize. Cue Damon internally screaming)

[mojo-bro-tho]

Blood Sugar… Ch. 9

~I’m gonna start off by saying two things. One, I lowkey recommend reading this one on AO3 cuz some of the formatting makes way more sense there but I’ll do my best with this too. Second of all, this chapter is ridiculously long and is really a big excuse for me to have fun with drama and set up plot. I hope it’s still good though. If you even just skim this, I promise I would not be offended lol there’s also so much dialogue in this holy shit I’m sorry~

Tags: @my-queen-rhaenyra-targaryen

Word count: 10.5k

Content Warning: Suggestive language, disrespectful attitude towards SW (for the plot, this is a Pretty Woman AU), distressing themes, world building lore dump that you can skip if you want-

AO3 like!

Previous!

…Being…

To be, or not to be? That was the fucking question. Lichdom, Professor, Emmrich. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was meant to be doing these past few days. Much less what he was meant to be all together. It would be nobler to see her, to stop avoiding her. No, he’d done worse than avoid, he had gone so far as to try and ignore her existence. Scratching out a moniker ill-earned from black books with copious amounts of ink. Oh, how fortunate he had felt in the moment of triumph and how quickly it had melted into a foaming sea of troubles.

How swift had it been? Flesh giving way to its consumption, devouring all rationale as it pleased. To be, in this case, felt as though it could be nothing more than a dream. Yet he was, for those rapturous moments. To dream was often to desire, and there laid the jagged, frayed edges of the mind that gnawed like teeth against his morality. It would be kinder to see her.

But with Emmrich, to be, to dream, to desire almost always came with dread. In a stone carved cage for the two of them, where everything around them was scorned by time, even the air, even himself, aside from her and this toiling want between them, she had asked him something crucial. ‘Do I frighten you, Emmrich?’ And he answered truthfully, perhaps the most truthful thing he had ever uttered in his life. He was afraid, and he was a hypocrite for it.

Because in a finite gap in reality, the weight of his fears had balanced perfectly on the scale with her languishing on the opposite end. Within those seconds he felt relief. Put out of his misery from the injury of burdening loneliness. Before the gap closed.

The man had not forgotten her last words to him. ���See you next week, Lichdom.’ Not Emmrich, not even a playful Professor. With every step he took to get away from the mausoleum there came another bite of those ravorous teeth. It was spoken gently, some may have even seen reassurance laced into the phrase. But not Emmrich. The words lacked any sweetness. Tart enough to make his jaw clench and ache along the point she had pressed her lips into him.

Not to be seemed like the answer. In the wake of what they had done, sewn into that look of disappointment on her face, and uttered in the nonchalance that her voice mellowed to, somewhere between it all lied… anguish. He was meant to be Lichdom only, but he wasn’t anymore, or was he? Becoming Emmrich to her, the more curiosity took root.

And when he had called the number during the evening hours of Sunday, it had not been to cancel. He had to check something, had to know what it meant, or try to decipher that question that had yet to take shape in his mind. The balance taken by The Crows was exactly as they told him it would be. Which could only mean one thing, he had not been charged for what happened.

Rook hadn’t told them.

Why hadn’t she? Surely she was supposed to, right? It may have been a mistake but he couldn’t be sure and when the panic struck- He told them he wouldn’t be able to keep the appointment for Monday. The receptionist did not ask why, simply made a note of his absence and wished him a good rest of his evening. Because he wasn’t Emmrich to them, he was Lichdom. And even though she had called him Lichdom when they parted, she hadn’t told them. Emmrich still? Being and not being.

He was impossibly confused. And having a bedridden 6 year old didn’t exactly give him the chance to think clearly. So yes, he was afraid to admit it but the first cancellation had been nothing more than a reflex. A good reflex in retrospect, Manfred hadn’t been well enough yet to go to school, let alone The Belfry. The following two calls he’d made had been more purposeful, as well as each check of his accounts to see if the error had been remedied. It never was.

They needed to speak to each other about what happened. But there was an amount of… cruelty there. Rook had given him no real reason to discredit anything she had said or done, no indication that she was after something with malicious intent. Nor had she taken any action that overtly told him that she was being anything but genuine with him. But it would be ridiculous to not doubt. Only a besotted or naive fool would take all of this at face value.

Several days of nail biting anxiety. Several days of him staring at Miss Ingellvar’s work and considering setting it all on fire in his home office. Considering just how selfish he was being for allowing it all to get this far. Even more so for wasting the already borrowed time he had been afforded. He needed to focus on the Hand of Glory but he couldn’t, not with this torrent keeping his mind split at the seams.

Thursday morning, and Emmrich still felt conflicted. Still drowsy from the nearly closed curtain of a dream where he heard a woman laughing on the other side. Never seen, never known, and thereby making him uneasy. Being came with fear, not being came with suffering. So, for now, he would be between the two. A little shaken with a bit of an ache but neither too powerful that he couldn’t continue. Ignorance that was not quite bliss.

The air was cold… soberingly cold. He stood outside beneath his umbrella and let the chill settle into his hands and gold. It was a fight to not lean his shoulders against the soaked stone wall behind him. Heard the splashing footsteps of students rushing into the building to his left and knew he’d have no back in soon. Just another moment longer. If he were at home, he may have smoked while being swaddled by the petrichor dense air. Perhaps later.

It wasn’t a perfect solution, but the rain did make him feel better. It was enough to put a smile back on his face, a somewhat somber one but a smile nonetheless. More grounded now, the professor made his way inside. Chatter coated the halls and the greetings of students was a considerable aid to his weariness. He loved his job. He passed by Johanna’s room, even the familiar sound of her chastising had a way of making him feel some normalcy. Better now.

Emmrich sauntered back into his classroom, umbrella now at his side and being slipped into the caddy he kept by the door that rarely anyone used these days. “Good morning, everyone!” He called out jovially and received mostly incoherent muttering in response. “Yes, yes, I see the weather has claimed a few of you already.” Dreary days in Nevarra were commonplace, but they held the same effect regardless. And in a way, that too gave him some peace. A handful of chuckles came his way.

“Please take your seats so that we may begin, and I’m sure everyone’s essays have made their way to the podium?” Another series of mumblings. He took a glance at the stand that typically housed the projector, a fair amount of papers sat atop it. And a couple of his students shuffled towards it to add to the stack. Emmrich found himself approaching his own desk, readjusting the sleeves of his pinstripe button-up shirt, smoothing the front of his knitted vest. He had popped in earlier to drop off his things, not bothering with his office yet, before feeling the urge to melt away into the rain outside. A little disrepair he’d had over himself this week that no one could really glean.

His satchel was soon opened, quietly pulling the case that held his glasses from within and wordlessly slipping the frames on. A circle of blue weighed in his peripherals. Why wouldn’t he just throw it away? He looked back to the desk as if to pretend he still hadn't seen it, when something else captured his attention. It took him a second to notice but… one of his handkerchiefs sat beside the bag.

He had no recollection of taking it out that day. Did he leave one behind yesterday? No, that couldn’t be it. And the handkerchief was certainly his, the small embroidery on the corner of the neatly folded fabric confirmed that. As he went to pick it up, he noticed something poking out from one of the edges. A scrap of notebook paper. With his thumb and pointer finger, he pinched the page and slowly slid it away from the fabric.

‘The Crows send their regards from the back of the room.’

Maker, don’t do this to him now. His gaze flicked up to the top rows, trying to keep his expression neutral while frantically searching the faces there. Sure enough, in the middle section, taking an end seat to his right, was a woman he had been fighting to not think about for the last five days. Ignoring, avoiding, seen for the first time and known. Rook. Even from a distance he was certain it was her.

He watched her gather the back of her softly dampened hair into her hand, securing it with a claw and allowing the front ends to remain free. With the desk obscuring her body, he could only make out the fact that her arms were bare from a thin strapped top the color of slightly withered violets. And when she saw him take in her visage, she smiled.

Full of condemnation or arrogance, he couldn’t be sure. But it was not kind. Not that he believed he actually deserved the kindness if it had been there. The smallest peek of teeth, and the slanting of sharply lined eyes were meant to cut into him. She leaned forward, resting her cheek against a propped arm. His lungs felt heavy, while his intensities wished to float and have all his insides meet in the middle of his torso. Hovering like a fog. He couldn’t stare long. And with her out of his sights his mind had the room to form thousands of questions.

Why was she here? How did she get in? Was she allowed to do this? Did her job send her? Should he call her down and send her away? Endless questions that didn’t show on his face but Rook noticed them dripping off his bangles. Anxious little twinkles from motions he didn’t need to make. She got Bellara’s notebook ready, along with all the highlighters she insisted on Rook using. Gave her a little diagram to follow, which honestly Rook thought was pretty cute.

Emmrich chose not to say anything, which she clearly had expected him to do. Because saying anything would be acknowledging that he noticed her and so asking her to leave would just draw attention. That was the absolute last thing he wanted right now. Just pretend like she’s not there. That was all he had to do.

This was just a normal Thursday for one of his sociocultural classes. Same groups of students he’d had so far this year, no one new. No one he had an entirely ill-advised and inappropriate rendezvous with in a bloody cemetery for Maker’s sake. Pretend as if he hadn’t ever heard her say his name like it was a mercy in need of acting. The thought of those manicured nails dragging down his neck didn’t keep him finding sleep Saturday night. He hadn’t run a finger over the spot on his jaw where her lip gloss was left behind like a wound and considered tasting it in lieu of tasting her.

How was he supposed to focus like this? Just follow the lesson plan. Try not to look in the top row.

The first few minutes were fine. Maybe ten or so had passed before he looked back up at her again to find her taking notes. What was she writing about? It was making him nervous. And then she looked up form her page and he-

He turned back around. Focus. “Now, I’m sure you all recall our discussions on how the Palansene were paramount to the establishment of ancient Nevarra, and I’m sure you remember from prior courses on the Known Histories of Elvhenan that they were not the only ones to have settled there. It was that very cultural exchange that drastically shifted the landscape of our ancient society. Which eventually led to a few points of interest that we can witness the effects of as recently as the last 500 years. Does anyone recall any of those points?” He asked. About five hands raised. “Miss Verulus.”

“Nevarra was the first of the former Imperium territories to abolish slavery after the Exalted Marches, and that is largely credited towards their shared history with the Elvhenan Empire.”

“Correct you are, Miss. The Palansene were once part of a larger collective of human migrants that had broken down into multiple fragments from there. In particular, the Palansene tribe settled across both Nevarra and the Free Marches. Yet, there are some glaring cultural differences between the two. And I promise you, class, this does lead to something of great importance. Is anyone able to pinpoint what is currently believed to be the first important cultural exchange between the Palansene and the Elvhenan?”

Hesitation. Disquiet. Reluctant hands start to raise again. He points at random. “Gold. Nevarra has always been a gold mining nation. But it was the ancient Elvhenan that taught early Nevarrans how to utilize it, before the Dispersion, and you can see at a lot of sites with gold designs that were influenced by the Elvhen people.”

“Well done, Miss Ablinger. But that fact is rooted within a different exchange. Can we get another?” Emmrich finds another hand.

“Burial rituals? A lot of human societies, prior to the Imperium, that were isolated from Elvhen settlements would burn their dead rather than bury them. That practice spread prior the the Exalted Marches as a result of Nevarra incorporating burial rituals from Elvhenan. And the earliest golden artifacts we have all come from those sites.”

“Excellent work, Mr. Barkhausen! But again, there was more to it. Would anyone else like to try their hand at guessing?”

No hands in his direct eye-line. Dare he look up? It wasn’t fair to his students in the top row to avoid them just because of Rook… But he was afraid to. A quick glance and confoundingly he saw that indeed one person had a hand raised. A well manicured hand sporting a smartwatch on her wrist. Maker help him- Emmrich pointed towards her rather than saying her name. It would be best if he didn’t, and to be entirely honest the idea of calling out to her right now made his head spin. The look on his face must have been amusing as Rook grinned impishly.

“Philosophy.” She replied simply. A fact he was incredibly relieved by but drew a crease in his brow all the same.

“Expand on that, if you would.”

“The Vir Tanadhal, consisting of three leading principles. Vir Assan, Vir Bor’Assan, and Vir Adahlen. Vir Adahlen in particular speaks to a lot of the originating practices that the Palansene carried prior to their settling and hosts some similarities to their belief in animism. Then there’s geography to consider after that.” The way she spoke was in a lackadaisical drawl. As though the answer ought to have been fairly obvious. The wetted strands of her hair were starting to curl close to her chin.

That was not something they covered in full with their lessons, which meant it was either information she already knew or had learned in his absence. Emmrich wasn’t sure if either would be more encouraging. “Quite. It is believed that a trading of ideologies was what first sparked the cultural blend of the Palansene and the Elvhenan Empire that entirely birthed many of the foundational customs of early Nevarra.” He turned back around, putting his attention back towards the blackboard. Teeth bit at the inside of his cheek, he wanted to ask where she’d learned that from but he couldn’t. Not now. “In the Free Marches we can find in their history a lack of this immersion. And as we just heard, their geographical location plays a pivotal role in that. Specifically to do with their proximity to the Amaranthine Ocean and the modern nation of Antiva.”

Something crinkled far behind him, recognizable enough to make his finger twitch. Was she seriously eating candy right now? In his class? Leave it be. “Arlathan once stretched across the entirety of modern Tevinter, Antiva, and Rivain. But it was the Neromenians and the Qarinus Tribes that invaded these segments, not the Palansene. Because of these factors, along with an entire ocean to the east, the Palansene who had settled towards The Free Marches were also being imbued with the cultural exchange of these tribes at greater expectancy…” Rook is Antivan, but she has a Dalish name. There aren’t too many official clans in Antiva proper, is she from The Free Marches then? Enough! Of course, she just had to insist on making her presence known. As if he could have forgotten. As if he could successfully ignore her at all. This week had done nothing but incessantly prove that fact.

Class continued. Emmrich half anticipated Rook to continuously raise her hand to answer his questions, but he was thankful to see that she chose to remain silent for the duration. He couldn’t be entirely sure if it was because she had truly nothing to say or if because she chose to focus on other ways to prod at him. First it was the candy wrapper, then the sound of a chiming notification came through from the back. Could have been someone else but he doubted it. To his credit, he was right, Rook had gotten a message from Viago. She silenced it though, not wanting to be interrupted again.

Then something clattered to the floor. He turned around to find her hopping down to the row below. Her bag had flipped off the edge, and Mr. Zimmerman was swiftly on his feet to help her. He flashed her a sheepish grin, and Rook returned it with a soft upturn of her lips. Sweet and gentle… but something didn’t feel right about it. Emmrich couldn’t place exactly what it was about it that seemed off putting to him. But that smile was more like the one she’d flashed him at The Lighthouse, not while they were in the garden. And some part of him was horrified that he could easily tell the difference.

It seemed as if checking the time was an impulse he couldn’t stop when she was around. The wall clock, his watch, even his phone once. How much longer? Each minute seemed longer than the last, and the more time passed the more time it seemed he was lacking any. And when he finally reached the end of his lesson plan, turning towards the class to give them their assignments, he nearly lost all sensation in his nervous system.

She was looking at him, with the same expression she’d had the day he found her listening to music outside Blackthorn. Unfettered, earnest, nothing like the way she had damn near sneered at him earlier. Bursting with life and energy despite the silence. Looking towards the bottom of the desk, he could slightly make out movement. As if she was slowly tapping her feet while looking at him. Dreamy, clouded over eyes that didn’t waver from him, even when their gazes met.

“I shall have your essays graded before the end of Monday. Next week, we’ll be covering more material from the early integration of the Palansene and the Elvhenan Empire. Along with how the eastern and western divisions of the tribe began to shift as a result. So please, do come prepared with the reading as listed in the monthly syllabus. I hope to see all of you bright and early on Tuesday!” He projected to the room, finding it difficult to look away from the top row.

Emmrich tore himself away and went back to his own desk by the blackboard. He leaned against the edge of it, watching students shamble towards the door with a passive expression. The more of them left the room, the more coherent the chattering that remained became. “I’m sure I’ve never seen you in here before. I think I’d remember you.”

“Oh, would you now?” So familiar, yet so hollow comparatively. Brittle and painless like sugar glass.

”If not then I must have short term memory loss. Nicolas.”

“You can call me Rook.” Emmrich’s hand gripped the edge of the wood.

“Rook… cool name. What are you majoring in?”

“Hmmmm. Haven’t decided yet, actually. I know that probably sounds stupid but I’ve always been kind of indecisive about this stuff. I like too many things, you know?”

“Yeah, I hear you. And I totally get that vibe from you.”

“That obvious, huh?” Rook chuckled. Artificial. Had she ever humored him that way before? Would she still?

“You also seem like the party girl type too.”

“Do I? And here I thought I was hiding it pretty well. Damn.” Please, stop talking.

“If you’re up for it, some of us are meeting up at the ReLight tomorrow. You should come too.”

“Tomorrow? Well… normally I hang out with my boyfriend on Fridays.” What? “But he’s been acting super weird recently. Like avoiding me and stuff... Ah, shit, sorry! Probably shouldn’t talk about that.” She must know he’s listening. Once again, he was correct.

“It’s all good! I wouldn’t want to overstep but… Well, if your boyfriend is ignoring you then maybe you should go out, you know? Take your mind off of things.”

“Mr. Zimmerman.” Emmrich called out, finally snapping his gaze towards the pair slowly approaching down the steps. He watched Rook slide her sucker back into her mouth. “Apologies, but if this conversation could be taken elsewhere, that would be ideal.” Usually, he wasn’t one to scold too superficially. But in all frankness, he simply was not in the mood today.

“Right! Yeah! Sorry, Teach. Do you wanna-” He turned to Rook, who gave him a sympathetic look and interrupted him.

“I actually have a couple questions for Professor Volkarin.” It was strange hearing her say his last name. “Maybe I can catch you later?”

In response to her question, Nicolas tore out a corner from his notes and scratched something out on it. Muttering something about if she were to change her mind. He slipped the pencil behind his ear and handed the scrap to Rook. One more quick smile and he was rushing out the door, leaving the room devoid of anyone aside from him and Rook. It made the space feel strangely claustrophobia inducing, despite the two of them being a good distance apart.

The moment the door closed, Emmrich saw something flicker behind her eyes. She sighed, crumbling the paper into her palm. Entirely merciless. It was things like that that engulfed him with worry. And then she’d look at him and-

“Fancy seeing you here, Professor Volkarin.” It was like the rest of the world disappeared, singling him out the way a marksman might hone in on a stationary target. Easy pickings. “You’ve saved me once again. However shall I pay you back this time?” She teased, nearly skipping towards the waste bin to throw the paper away. Hadn’t even looked at it.

For the first time since he had noticed her, he was able to examine her up close. The clothing was much more like what he usually anticipated, though a bit more relaxed. Black pants that swayed comfortably but hung off her hips to reveal most of her abdomen. The purple top just barely covered her ribs. There was a chain wrapped around her waist, silvery with the shapes of hearts scattered around it. And a dense, black cardigan rested across her forearm.

The tattered messenger bag carelessly teetering off the edge of her shoulder. Perhaps it was because he needed something to look at that wasn’t her, or maybe it had something to do with it lightly swinging from side to side and bumping against her upper thigh. But either way, he stared at the bag for far longer than he’d ever cared to before. It had clearly been used for many years, full of tears where some stitches were done with, in polite terms, a lack of finesse while others were well practiced. Pins, buttons, and patches scattered across it. One in particular stood out, the only spot of green across the menagerie of black, silver, and white. Shaped like an eye within the center of the sun and large letters beneath labeling it as ‘Seeker’. It was strangely familiar.

For a few moments, Emmrich did not respond to her. Simply watched, taking her in. Watched the way her earrings rattled against one another. How the sides and front of her shoes peeked out from the curtain of her pants to reveal various doodles marked into the rubber. Her mouth, the white candy stick rolling from one cheek to the other at the behest of her tongue. Never staying still. Never a pond, always a river. Not tranquil.

“Why are you here, Rook?” Perhaps he shouldn’t have said it so coldly. She tilted her head, feeling something needle in her intestines.

“That should be Miss de Riva to you, Professor Volkarin.” She rolled his name like it was something to savor. He wished she wouldn’t say it anymore. Made it harder to think.

“We are not in a session right now.”

“No, but I did just attend one of your classes. That makes me a student, at least for today.” Arguing over semantics would get him nowhere.

“You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“True. But, in all fairness, you haven’t been where you’re supposed to be either. I think I’m allotted a pass on this one.” Rook’s movements were fluid. Slowly approaching the heightened platform of the desk. Not straight on but passively shifting to and fro while encroaching.

“This is not the same. This is my work place, so aside from you being an indomitable distraction from my lesson plan, you being here could be seen as a safety risk if the wrong person notices. You don’t even have a visitor's badge!” He chastised. “Rook, they could have called security-”

“Miss de Riva.”

The correction came again, completely ignoring his concerns. This time spoken more seriously and made Emmrich’s heart leap to his throat. It hadn’t even been a week since she was insisting that he not refer to her as Miss if he could help it. With furrowed brows she observed him, almost a scowl. And again, he felt both conflicted and perplexed. “Have… Have I upset you?” To his question, she scoffed.

“Oh, you’re putting that fancy degree of yours to excellent use, Professor! However could you guess?” The chuckle she released was exasperated and entirely irritated. Deepened thanks to the confection obstruction in her cheek. Bare arms crossed at the center of her ribcage.

“It was never my intention to do so. Forgive me.” Emmrich sighed.

“I wouldn’t need to forgive you if you just didn’t do that.”

“Do what, exactly?” He questioned. “Is it not within my ability in this contract to cancel if I am unavailable? You said so yourself, we both reserve the right to not hold a session for whatever reason we deem appropriate.” He watched Rook pull the sucker out of her mouth and heard it clink against the back of her teeth in her rush.

“Yeah. We do. But that’s a once in a while thing. Your contract has you listed as three times a week unless you update it to less. You’ve canceled three times now without updating. If you cancel again, they’re going to assume you’re cheating us out of money and cut you off altogether.” She explained pointedly, dragging her free hand over the top of her head. That was not something he was aware of, and perhaps he would have apologized again had Rook not continued. “And this is suddenly about the contract now, of all things! Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Has it not been about the contract every time before now?” Emmrich felt no need to raise his voice. He rarely ever did. But the calmness of it set the roots of Rook’s hair on end. A tingle meandering down her scalp like ants trying to crawl into her brain.

“This isn’t ‘before’ anymore. I think you know that too.” Quiet, pained, a wound left open to pick at. He couldn’t help but feel gutted over the look on her face. Not quite looking him in the eyes and instead fervently fixed on his collar.

Emmrich stepped down from the small stage with a small push. He had tried not to approach her before, worried of what would happen if he got too close again. Closeness is what led them to this predicament. Closeness with her always brought a smell that made his mouth water. And in wanting to touch her, to hold her jaw with spread fingers and her chin against his palm to hold her gaze to his, instead he shoved his hands into his pockets. Pesky things had to be kept away.

“Rook.” This time, she did not correct him. “Look at me.” He instructed and she complied. Rook looked hurt. He felt disgusted by it. “You must understand. I would never, ever, under any circumstances purposefully cause you distress. But there is… there’s so much to sift through, questions and I couldn’t-” How should he phrase this? “There are vital circumstances that must be considered. So, I am sorry for having done so. It was never my intention.” Circumstances, huh?

Admittedly, it hadn’t been something he considered. How this must have made her feel. Maybe he assumed she wouldn’t care. That… wasn’t like him. When it came to matters of these sorts, he had always been keen on intently looking upon his partners. Another reason to feel terrible and out of sorts. Of course she was upset, how could she not be? He had left her in a garden after taking her in such an abrupt and entirely ungentlemanly manner. And he ran. He would be angry in her position as well. But that didn’t clear up any of his confusion over this, frankly, absurd scenario he’d found himself in. Still, her expression softened.

Outside the lecture hall, a group of students passed through, with voices far louder he cared to hear right now. A body slammed into his door, causing them both to flinch and look towards it. Laughter ensued, conversation continued, and soon quieted with distance. But it had made him horribly aware of where they were.

“I… guess we have things to talk about.” Rook breathed out, lightly frustrated.

“It would seem so.” Emmrich smiled tiredly. “My office is on the floor below. Perhaps there would be more suitable? At the very least it would be quieter.” Private. He still wasn’t sure if that was a wise decision or not. Rook nodded, rolling back and forth on her feet from heel to toe.

“Yeah. Quiet would be nice.” Something twisted at her insides. Coiling up like a venomous snake.

Rook hadn’t gone into this conversation fully realizing that she was upset. Well, she knew she was but not really why or to what extent. And an attempt had been made to mask it, hide it away having felt at ease while taking notes, if not a little mischievous. But the moment he’d asked why she was there, it had seemed far too uncaring. Callous. It made her stomach hurt. His current demeanor was preferable, though obviously uncertain. Yes, quiet would be preferred.

“I can meet you down there. I have to make a call real quick.” Really she had to send some texts that she couldn’t let him look at. Emmrich went back to the desk, taking considerable effort to step away from her. Gathering up his satchel and coat into his arms.

“Of course. Take your time.” He replied reassuringly. “Down the stairs, to your left, I’m close to the end of the hall. My name is on the door as well.”

Aspects of this conversation felt too similar to the last time they were together, in Emmrich’s opinion. Although his heart hammered in his chest, his muscles relaxed at least in knowing this wasn’t the end of the conversation. A stark difference from Saturday. He wanted to press his lips into the top of her head again despite that. Trying to remedy the awkwardness that settled with the dust. Not now though. Later, if she would allow it. If they were allowed to at all.

Rook crunched down on the candy, its stick flicked into the waste bin to sit alongside the phone number she didn’t want. Emmrich opened the door first to step out into the hallway with his umbrella quickly tucked under his arm. He held it open and allowed Rook to pass through into the busy hallway. Her eyes were on her watch, in need of something else to keep her grounded with all the formless noise around her.

The professor spared her once glance at her scrunched expression as she peered at her watch before parting ways. It wasn’t usually like Viago to message her on her days off, and she ignored it before and set her watch to silent. Figured he was asking if she wanted a call-in appointment, which was the last thing she needed at the moment. But now she had three messages.

‘Where is Dareth meant to be working today?’

‘Do you know where Dareth is? Yes or no.”

‘Merda, if you don’t answer this in the next hour, I swear to the Maker that I will become your worst nightmare.’

Rook stared down at the words with a heavy crease in her brow. The last text was from ten minutes ago. She redirected the texts to her phone to type.

‘I don’t know? He normally works deliveries on weekdays.’

‘He might be at TL today though.’

‘If not there, you can check with D.’

It was odd for him to ask her. But she supposed that came with the drawback of being his reference. Even stranger though was the fact that Vi needed to contact her at all. Dareth wasn’t one to skip a shift without warning. She went through her texts, nothing new from him. So instead, she went to his parole officer.

‘Yo, Jac, Vi is having a piss fit over Dareth being late?? I guess??’

‘Sick???’

‘Phone broke again? Let me know, I can pay.’

‘Just have him call in and apologize, k?’

Now it was time for the original person she was planning on texting. Recent texts, bell and orange heart emoji. Last text Rook had gotten was from early this morning saying she landed and Rook liked the message in response.

‘Your school smells like dust lol’

‘But I dropped off your essay and your notes are perfect’

‘Thanks, Rook. I owe you.’ Instant response, heart emoji.

‘I take payments of halla cakes.’

‘At your earliest convenience.’ Heart emoji, halla emoji.

Rook turned the screen off, tossing her phone back into her bag with a groan. She would like to ask how Cyrian is doing but… It would be better to wait. Probably. Give Bels a chance to process whatever was happening. As for Dareth, Jacobus would straighten his cousin out. Kid or not, he basically ran their place so if all else fails then he’ll straighten him out.

She had stayed close to the Lecture Hall, peering at the door one more time to ready herself for the walk downstairs. Disquiet was beginning to inch up her back. Circumstances, he says… The sharp click of heels stabbed into her thoughts, forcing Rook’s head to snap in the direction it was coming from. Despite the hallway still having a fair amount of people in it, the students parted ways for the person approaching with a heavy step.

The woman was taller than Rook, but was likely only a bit over average in height for a human woman. Her hair was grey but peppered with streaks of dull black, tied back into a full bun. Upper lip thinner than the bottom, painted a flat, deep shade of red. She wore a white blouse with gold buttons up the front and a draped skirt clung to her waist, nearly mistakable for a pencil skirt, in a similar wine tone. The shape of her proved to be rather curvaceous. Without looking at Rook directly, the woman’s head turned to look towards the lecture hall as well and tsked.

“Blasted old cretin. Not in his office this morning and not here now? Where the bloody-” The woman’s eyes were icy, but shifted to a lake green in the filmy glare of her blue light glasses against the fluorescents. “You. Half-wit. Are you lost?” The woman asked, may as well have been pointing directly at Rook’s face while doing so. The gold bracelets on the woman’s arms did not move, cuffed tight in geometric shapes and fully revealed by her rolled sleeves.

“I don’t think so.” Rook replied in a placid tone.

“Then why are you standing outside of Volkarin’s room like a lost puppy?” Ok, damn. Mommy, chill.

“Um-”

”Ugh, are you looking for him too?” She asked with a roll of her eyes.

“Yes?” In a manner of speaking.

“Well, come on then. The fool is probably in his office now because he’s out to irritate me, specifically.” Oh, she hates him then. The woman turned on her heel, not bothering to check if Rook was actually following. She was, but that's besides the point. “I don’t recognize you.” She commented, and Rook thought it was strange how the students always seemed to move around her rather than having to navigate the flow. Not even Rook herself could command a space that much. It was honestly impressive.

“I don’t take your class.” She responded.

The woman regarded that with a ‘hmph’ sound. Not quite arrogantly but certainly dumbfounded. “Almost everyone who takes one of Volkarin’s classes takes mine as well. And I don’t recognize you at all.” Does Bellara take her class too? “Which means one of two things. You either are a half-wit or you don’t even belong to this department.” The woman glanced back over her shoulder. “You certainly don’t dress like you’re meant to be here. Language Arts? Fine Arts? One of those.”

To be completely honest, Rook couldn’t get a real read on this woman. Everything about her was fast paced and stinging as a result of it. Like every word she spoke was a slap to the temple. “Neither, actually.”

“I hope you’re not some hussy.” She sighed. “I can save you the time and let you know that prattling fool hasn’t hit that stage of his midlife crisis yet.”

“Shoot, was it the bare midriff that gave me away? Drat.” Rook tsked. The woman chuckled lowly. “But I suppose I missed the bit in the student handbook that stated teachers are allowed to accuse you of being a trollop.” She continued as the two trotted down the stairs.

“They aren’t, I just don’t care.” That much was incredibly obvious. “In that case though, do yourself a favor and start looking into the forensics courses for next year. It’ll at least give you a reason to put on a real fucking shirt.”

“I’ll get right on that, Ma’am.”

There was something about this woman that strangely reminded Rook of her mother. A very blunt, far less passive aggressive version of her mother. Profoundly intense. Yet, impossibly charismatic at the same time. Or maybe that was just the mommy issues talking, who’s to say? Either way, Rook found her to be quite entertaining despite the antagonism. Partially because it came off as sort of a steel edged flattery.

The pair were brisk in moving down the hall in the direction Emmrich had given her earlier. “Now, Volkarin has been acting like a complete milksop this week. Absolutely insufferable. So I suggest you ask him whatever you’re needing and make it fast so that you’re spared from the weepy look on his face.”

“He seemed fine in class.”

“Thank the Maker for small mercies then that it’s just me who has to suffer his whining. And curse that bastard too while I’m at it for the same reason.” This woman was a fucking riot. Oh, Rook wished she had been here a couple hours ago before she realized how pissed off she was. This would have made her feel better. It still kind of was, but she imagined it would have been even better before his class.

“Or maybe the Maker was cursing you by making you deal with it.”

“Hah! Must have. Glad to see that not every nitwit in this infernal place is incapable of falling for his amenable drivel. Makes me irritated every time I have to hear a complaint.”

“Nothing wrong with a firmer hand from time to time. If you go too easy on someone then they don’t always have the drive to push themselves.” And in reality, Rook missed pushing herself. The woman did not reply, but she did hum approvingly.

As the two walked further into the hall, the quieter it became. Echoes of conversation dampening against linoleum. Blanketing it all with a spell-like quality. This area smelled stronger of cleaning solution and lacked the lingering wafts of sweat, deodorant, and copious amount of dry shampoo that she had caught while checking her phone. Although she couldn’t say either was particularly pleasant. Too sterile made her think of hospitals so maybe the musk and dust was better.

They were soon approaching the end of the hall. A gold lettered plate came into view with his name impressively inlaid upon the dark, wooden door. What little nerves Rook had while alone had been successfully remedied by the brash woman’s presence.

“Did you want me to wait for you two to finish?” Rook asked. Whatever she was needing was obviously important, so she didn’t want to intrude.

“Pah! Please! If how long finishing takes is what you’re worried about then you might as well walk right in.” That ashamedly made Rook sputter more of a laugh than she should have.

She reached for the door, nails short but near immaculate, and didn’t bother with knocking once she found that it was in fact unlocked. The woman cracked the door open and motioned for Rook to enter first. She intended to take a moment to take in the scenery but the following few phrases took priority.

Emmrich stepped back from a rather impressive bookcase and his gaze quickly found hers. Far more relaxed than it had been earlier in the classroom. “Rook-” Then up, eyes widen, a single twitch of his upper lip. “Johanna!” Ah, she must be the woman’s name.

“Rook?” Johanna followed close behind, closing the door with her. Then the two women shared a look. One where Johanna’s held a sudden realization while Rook was… well, just sort of there. “You’re Rook?”

“Last time I checked, yes.” Now she was a bit confused, was she meant to know this person? Looking back to Emmrich, she saw a well of worry.

“Ah! That explains it!” Johanna exclaimed. “You’re the woman standing in for Franziska. No wonder I didn’t recognize you.” Emmrich’s thoughts were on fire. This was the worst case scenario.

“I didn’t realize other people knew what the plan was.” Rook admitted. She had been under the impression that Emmrich was keeping this on the downlow. But she supposed if this was a department issue, then it likely made sense at least one other teacher was involved.

“Johanna, was there something you needed from me?” Emmrich interjected, hands clasped together in front of his stomach. Rook couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at him.

“You never gave me the new key to the Necropolis. You said to pick it up from you yesterday but you left in a tizzy and then you were Maker knows where this morning.” Johanna complained, waving a single hand dismissively.

“Yes, my apologies. Let me retrieve that for you.” Emmrich quickly stepped towards his desk, dotted with picture frames that she couldn’t peak at from this angle. But this gave Rook a moment to examine the space as a whole. One might call it cozy, as it was far from spacious. But the slim furnishing did well to compensate for the abject lack of space. The set of windows on the opposite wall were covered with white roller shades, blocking her view of the rain. And an impressive amount of potted plants decorated the windowsill.

“Dr. Hezzonkoss, by the way. I imagine we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of each other.” Johanna stretched out a hand towards Rook. And she took it, hiding the surprise at how cold her fingers were.

“Oh? Why is that?” Rook questioned earnestly. Johanna scowled, though her eyes darted towards the tall man at the desk rather than at Rook herself.

“He hasn’t even told you yet? I’ve been trying to set up some time with you ever since things became official. Franziska was majoring with my side of the department. So I’ve been wanting to offer my assistance as well.”

“This is the first I’m hearing about it.”

“Now where did I put that blasted key?” Emmrich asked too loudly to be natural.

He was definitely nervous about something, that much was clear. But Rook couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was. “You know, it was actually my idea to hire you for this. Not even my students had the damn backbone for it, and we can’t exactly solicit them for obvious reasons. Though, I figured he’d pick someone more mousy.” Johanna praised her and simultaneously complained.

Ah, so that’s what it was. Rook should’ve guessed Johanna was a patron of her business, a busy woman with that sort of steel-wool attitude would fit right in. That at least explained where the professor had gotten their number from, it had been something she was a bit curious about given his obvious inexperience. Crows don’t really ask those sorts of questions though, it usually leads to rather uncomfortable places. And it seemed just like Emmrich to try and cover for his friends extracurricular activities. There wasn’t a need to be embarrassed though, they were all adults here.

“If I had known another one of our customers worked here, I would’ve dressed up a bit nicer!” Rook jested, hearing the sound of drawers closing too loudly. “Would it be rude of me to ask who your regular specialist is? My first guess was either Wren or Crane. They usually go for the Dommy-Mommy types like you.”

“Aha! There it is!” Emmrich closed the gap between him and the doctor. Holding out the key to her expectantly, almost pleadingly. “Will that be all?”

She eyed him suspiciously, taking the new, gold colored key by slipping her pinky through the ring and plucking it away. “I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Wren or Crane. Do you recommend them?” She asked.

“I don’t think Rook is allowed to answer things like that.”

“It’s fine, Emmrich.” She reassured. “We aren’t exactly competitive like that, sharing clients is fairly common. Variety is the spice of life. But to answer your question, Dr. Hezzonkoss, yes I do. If your tastes are more inclined towards those of feminine variety, then Wren might be the better choice for you.”

Johanna Hezzonkoss paused… A rather tumultuous one at that. Rook’s expression remained pleasant despite it, albeit a tad confused. Curiosity turned into realization. Then to rampant titulation. Fuck. And then his colleague laughed. A real, deep in the belly laugh that filled what little gaps of space the room had left to give. Tear pricking, unbridled amusement, pointed directly at Emmrich but knowing it was entirely at the expense of the young woman beside her.

“Oh- Oh, wait, you’re fucking serious?” Her head snapped in Emmrich’s direction with the widest grin he’d ever seen her sport in his life. “I thought you picked up some hack actor for this! Volkarin, when I said you couldn’t even pay a two-bit hooker to take lessons from you after you probably ran Franziska off, I didn’t think you’d take it so literally! Maker preserve me!” The sentence was clear, though partially broken up between spurts of puttering chuckles. “This is too perfect.

Immediately, Emmrich’s sights darted towards Rook. Still smiling calmly, but her shoulders were straighter, and whatever hopeful glimmer he had seen behind her eyes when she first came in was thoroughly stamped down. He felt like he couldn’t breathe but his mouth started to form something regardless.

“That’s not-”

“Well, to the professor’s credit and yours, I’m far more expensive than ‘two-bits’. Though, if you wanted my opinion, I’d say the only difference between them and myself is marketing.” Rook jabbed. Quick to pivot from the mistake of showing her hand too much. And she scolded herself for making an assumption she normally wouldn’t.

Johanna raised a brow. “Oh? How much do you cost then?” She asked with an uncharacteristic softness that set Emmrich on edge.

“You don’t have to answer that, Rook.”

“For this task or my usual gigs?” She continued, ignoring his intervention. It was too late anyway. Acting shy and secretive about it now would just make it worse, speaking unfortunately from experience. Just not usually Rook’s.

“The usual.” The doctor clarified. Rook showed a bit more teeth.

“Depends. My standard package costs 1,000 Kings an hour. But if you had more… specific tastes, I could put you in contact with my Handler to work out a good price for you.”

Johanna looked back to Emmrich with nothing short of glee. “Oh, you got the real deal, Volkarin! She’s even got a pimp! And she’s expensive.”

“Handler, not a pimp. But I guess that’s just a matter of semantics to the laypeople. I actually work for an agency.” To Rook’s correction, Johanna clicked her tongue.

“I suppose this explains why we haven't been introduced yet. Good thing I’m no prude. And I actually think I quite like you, Rook.” Her voice came out practically buzzing with excitement. “You’ve got bite. You’ll do nicely against those pricks on the board… but you will need some better training.” She seized Rook’s jaw in a tight grasp, turning her head sharply from side to side, examining her. She did not flinch. Eyes clouded and unwavering. But Emmrich did, fist clenching at his side. “A few classes with me should set you on the right path. Perhaps some etiquette lessons too while we’re at it. You could stand to be a bit more polite.” Emmrich stepped forward again, ready to intervene, even succeeded in grasping Johanna’s shoulder. But Rook-

“Of course, Ma’am. It’d be my pleasure to be molded by your capable hands.” She mused, tilting her head affectionately into Johanna’s harsh thumb. Emmrich tugged at the doctor’s shoulder, pulling her a pace away from Rook and drawing her attention back to him.

“You’re being incredibly rude right now, you realize that, right?” He questioned. Johanna raised a brow, noting the annoyance in his voice that he did not normally harbor. He hesitated, taking in a sobering breath. “Rook has taken to the studies very well so far, and she's providing us a great service that we desperately needed. Be nice. Please?” He implored. Johanna looked towards Rook with a raised brow.

“He hasn’t fucked you yet, has he?”

“Johanna!”

“Afraid not. A roll in the hay with me is about ten times more than our projected budget for every session.” Rook shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m well worth every bit.”

Again, he felt that ripple of unease. There was nothing about Rook’s demeanor that read as cold, or upset, but the air around her seemed to be colder than death to Emmrich. Face frozen into one that almost reflected back a mixture of Johanna’s own dismissal and her unique flavor of artificial sweetener. Rigor mortis in the expression but nowhere else, early in its death. She had not really looked at him at all during this interaction, she had no desire to. What would be the point?

Johanna sighed in relief. “Probably for the best. If you think he’s bad now, you should see him whenever someone is stupid enough to give him attention. It’s like his brain gets replaced by a wounded puppy’s.” She brushed off Emmrich’s hand without care.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Rook chuckled dully. Johana twirled the key around her finger.

“Next time you skulk around in here, come find me first. And wear some half decent clothes. I won’t have one of my pupils dress like a lazy tramp.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Rook replied with a grin. Johanna turned, heels clacking loudly in the short distance it took for her to return to the door. With a hand on the door knob, she turned her head to glance back at Emmrich.

“Oh, and Volkarin.” He could only make out the side of her mouth, but the jeering nature of her expression reached her eyes. Sharp, taunting, and hot like a fire poker fresh from the embers. “Try not to bankrupt us before the Eluvian Foundation gets the chance to.”

With that, she left. A flitting yet jagged chuckle quelled behind the door she closed. All the air in the room left with her, leaving them both without the means to have sound travel in a voided vacuum. Until Emmrich’s held breath was released.

He found Rook still standing near the small sofa, still staring in the direction Johanna had been standing. One of the straps from her top threatened to slip off her shoulder. In her mind, she searched. No notes, no chords. Peace at last, at the price of reduction of self. Circumstances, indeed. The beginnings of a spiny headache was starting to creep up with the debate on if she should tell Teia about this. His eyes were on her, burning holes into her skin as they too searched for something.

“Rook, please, let me explain.” There was a desperation there, a wavering. But she just… smiled. Again but not quite. The distinction of which she was beginning to regret allowing him to know. Whatever.

“Don’t worry about it. No explanation needed for that, I think.” She said plainly, reaching into her bag to root around and grab her phone. More messages from Viago.

He approached with a suddenness that even surprised him.“There very much is a need for it.” Hands cupped both sides of her face, craning her neck up and taking her sights away from the screen. It was an intimacy he felt entirely undeserving of but he couldn’t stop his arms from reaching for her. “Johanna can be… a lot, most of the time. But that doesn’t excuse what she said, at all. I’m so sorry.”

“You know, I always hated when people apologize for shit other people did.” Rook groaned. “Unless, of course, if what you’re actually apologizing for is you considering me a ‘two-bit hooker’ as well, when I am in fact a more expensive one. Then I’m afraid I don’t need an apology for that either. Though, I would suggest not using that word choice with other people. Not exactly the polite terminology.”

“I wouldn't say that about anyone! Including you. There’s nothing wrong with-”

”Actually, I don’t need you to reassure me about the value of the service I provide. It’s just making you sound really condescending. It would’ve been nice for you to let me know ahead of time that other people are aware that I’m involved in this, though. Including how much they do and don’t know.” There’s no way she can tell Teia about this, Viago would just pull her from the contract. Emmrich felt the guilt bubbling.

“I promise, everyone else has been led to believe Miss Ingellvar is still accompanying me for the Eluvian events. Johanna and another teacher in my department, Myrna are the only ones who knew I’d hired someone. But they don’t know who you work for.”

“Who’d you get our contact information from?” She asked.

“A friend. Old customer, from my understanding. He gave me a number to call after I explained Johanna’s…”

“Challenge?”

Emmrich breathed in deep through the nose. He wanted to deny it, but he didn’t want to lie either. Perhaps challenge wasn’t the most accurate way to describe it. Because it was true that Johanna’s taunts had goaded him into seeking someone of her background out. But unlike Johanna, Emmrich had found her implications distasteful from the beginning. Which… really only spurred him on further to commit to it before he lost his nerve at The Lighthouse.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated. And this time, Rook knew perfectly well it was coming from him. Somehow that stung worse.

A part of her felt a bit silly for expecting something different. It wasn’t like she had put a whole lot of thought into why he came to The Crows with his request and not some ‘hack actor’ as Dr. Hezzonkoss put it. The Crows were more committed to success, more discreet, and had better connections. So, perhaps subconsciously she assumed he had valued that part of her job. Respected it.

“Rook, please say something.” His voice traveled softly, felt like cotton against burns. She hadn’t realized she’d gone quiet.

“Let’s focus on the job, yeah? I’m guessing your colleague isn’t going to go around talking about where I work, right?”

“Certainly not!” Emmrich replied earnestly. No, Johanna would not be foolish enough to do that. But she would more definitely use this against him personally later. But that was an issue for whoever he was then.

Rain pattered against the window, unseen behind the shades. “Good.” Rook relaxed a little. It was still quiet in her mind. Too quiet, it made her uncomfortable. Bitterness leached from the back of her throat and strangely made her mouth taste acrid. “I should head out soon. Before it gets too quiet to sneak out.”

She stepped around him, stopping only when she felt a pressure around her elbow. Skin meeting skin and rings. Heart racing, lungs stilling, and something hummed in her skull against her will. “Don’t go.” The hold was gentle. Barely there at all. But it felt like cinder blocks dragging her under cold water. “Not yet, please.”

If they could have just a few more minutes. Clearly, she wasn’t in the mood for apologies. They wouldn’t help. But she couldn’t leave like this either. Too many things had to be said. It didn’t matter how well crafted the expression was, he could see it now. There was a hurt behind her eyes shaped like betrayal.

“I don’t know if I have the energy for staying right now. Like you said, there are circumstances to think about.”

“Yes, but not this. Not you. So much has transpired.” Emmrich’s thoughts were bounding faster than he could truly comprehend. “The very reason I sought you out, needing you for this, it’s of an incredibly sensitive nature. But this, all of this, I don’t even know where to begin with it.”

She thought to herself for a moment, lavender eyes searching for any sign of malintent, and found none. “ Let's start with what I need to know for my contract and work our way up. One thing at a time. But later. When our heads are clear enough to unpack it.” Surprisingly, Rook didn’t feel the amalgamous anger she had been trying to decipher yesterday. And this wasn’t quite sadness either. Her fingers ran across his knuckles, avoiding his jewelry in favor of following the path of his veins. “Monday. Are you going to cancel again?” And the response came immediately, stated as a fact of existence itself.

“So long as you’ll be the one there.”

Rook’s mouth upturned, more honestly this time. “Of course I’ll be there. I’m a professional.” The joke came out more somber than she meant it. Emmrich fought the urge to wrap his arms around her… He let go, letting his hand fall back to his side. Monday seemed like centuries away. But he could wait. Perhaps he needed to take the time to set everything straight too. Because he knew she was right, and being reasonable. If they were meant to figure out what was being stitched between them, and she seemed equally as unsure as him for once, then first they’d need to make the room stop spinning. He needed that.

She began stuffing her cardigan into her bag, phone still in hand and begging for her attention. Another candy came out with her hand and she sheepishly tried to hide it. Emmrich saw it anyway, choosing not to point out how she had just finished one because now he understood that better as well.

“Promise?” Rook repeated as she made her way to the door.

“I swear on my life.” After all, he hadn’t planned on cancelling after tomorrow. But he especially wouldn’t be able to now.

Emmrich wanted to follow. He found that there were a lot of things he wanted to do while around her, and he never could seem to find the right time to do so. Not yet, but maybe soon. “The roads were slippery, try to be careful on the way home.” One last glance to the room, not at him but at the windows.

Then out the door, wood thudding softly behind her. Even while in a rush, it was easy to blend into the weavings of people. A lot of times it was better to go unnoticed, not every crowd needed to be parted. If she were allowed the opportunity to lie, she’d say the frazzled rhythm she stepped to was to look like everyone else.

High tops hit linoleum, thumped on the damp entryway rug that had a mud caked scarab logo designed into it, then out onto soaked stone. The sharp inhale of cold air and droplets hitting her scalp helped to wake her back up. On the way to her car, Rook kept her head angled low to cover her phone screen. Five messages from Viago now.

‘Didn’t show up for deliveries this morning.’

‘Checked with LT, not there either.’

‘D hasn’t seen him since doing a pick up on Monday.’

‘Can’t get ahold of Jacobus either. It’s been 4 days.’

‘Call me. Now.’

He answered, not even letting it ring twice.