#dunno what to do if I try to do willy cause more than half his fucking face is obscured by hair

[missinglaterals]

Some sketchy 3D busts of my favorite hags

(Both are butch lesbians)

Turnaround video under the cut

[trashboatprince]

Since I’m still in a sci-fi mood (along with, like, monsters and romance stuff too, but that’s always there), and I haven’t been able to really... make any new written content recently, I decided to rework an old one-shot I wrote for the space pirate au with how my Henry, Hugo, met Bendy in it.

I honestly don’t remember if I ever posted it here, I know I posted it on discord for my friends to read, but I’m posting up a better version here. Plus, rewriting an old drabble might help me get back into the swing of things when it comes to writing! Especially since I’ve got a zine entry to work on. 

As always, Hugo is a half human/half alien (Asterian), and he’s fourteen in this. Bendy is a being from another universe or dimension, it’s unclear where Bendy’s from, but he’s a demon.

Asterians are a race of aliens that have the ability to travel through the vacuum of space with no need to breathe and have bioluminescent skin, but because Hugo is part human, he can’t last as long in space as he should.

On with the fic!

--

Hugo had lost count of how long he had been left on this stupid hunk of space rock, but he knew that he would probably be dead in due time. 

He considered that he’s probably got about an hour or two left, and knowing the Butcher Gang, they’ll either show up last minute to watch him suffer before putting him back on the ship, or they’ll just let him perish. They’re real jackasses like that.

At least he took his sketchbook with him after they threw him off the ship for their own enjoyment, but still, not much to draw when all around him was just inky darkness and a weak light source from a distant star. 

He sighed, soundless, his skin gently flashing a neon green, starting from his face down to his fingertips.

“Dat’s a real fancy trick ya can do, kid.”

Hugo’s eyes widened and he turned, shocked to have heard a voice, when he normally couldn’t hear anything in the vacuum of space. He was surprised to see something moving in the darkness of space around him. Something shifted, specks of lights moving around in front of him, before something formed. It looked like a wide, cartoon-ish smile, and from there a whiteness started to spread, forming an odd shape. Then two black, nearly full ovals, with little cuts in them, appeared in the white. It was a face!

“Hiya!” The face greeted in a childish voice, though clearly accented. The shape got closer and as it stepped onto the rock with Hugo, the half-human saw a shape form.

The darkness of space took on legs, oddly shaped, along with a long tail, them a small body that was sorta shaped like a bean. Arms with clawed hands followed, and the face seemed to have more of a head shape to it, though clearly shaped like a strange crescent form. The blackness of the body was covered in what looked like stars, twinkling and flashing, a variety of colors.

“What?” The strange creature asked. “Ya not gonna greet me?”

Hugo frowned, gesturing to his throat and then opened his mouth before shaking his head, his skin flashing involuntarily.

“Ah, right,” The creature nodded, frowning, “ya guys in dis universe can’t talk in da vacuum of space. Hold on.” 

He snapped his fingers, the snap actually made a sound, and a bubble surrounded the whole rock. Hugo let out a surprised laugh, before slapping a hand over his mouth, blinking. “W-what?”

“Just a li’l trick, super easy to do!” A grin formed on the other’s face. “It’s made outta natural gases dat drift around us, can’t just make it all, ya know, willy-nilly, but it’s super simple! So, what’s yours dat mine’s Bendy!”

Hugo had to take a moment to register what this guy, Bendy, has said. “It’s, uh, it’s Hugo.” He replied, coughing, trying to sound deeper than he naturally was. 

“Hugo, huh?” Bendy grinned brightly. “Nice to meet’cha! So, whatcha doin’ out here in an asteroid belt? Not really a social spot fer ya... what are you?”

“I dunno.” Hugo shrugged. “Human and somethin’ else, I reckon. What exactly are you?”

“Demon!”

“Demon? You mean, like, those human monsters?”

Bendy snorted loudly at this. “Pah-lease! Nonononononono- weeeellll... yes? No? Maybe so! Hard to tell, I mean, demons an’ angels aren’t technically natural to dis dimension, but we exist! We’ve been to Earth! I’ve been there, a number of times, really nice, an’ kinda bad, but it’s got lots of fun stuff there! Ya ever been?”

Hugo shook his head. “No, never really been in that area of the galaxy. Been, uh, stuck in situations were I don’t get to pick where I go.”

The grin slipped on Bendy’s face, as if he was reading the situation and figured out what Hugo was referring to. “Ah, I getcha. Still, maybe you’ll get to see it! It’s pretty neat!” The grin returned and cosmic eyes glanced to the sketchbook resting next to Hugo. “Oh! Ya draw?”

There was a nod, and Bendy asked to see. Hugo let him and Bendy started to look at the sketches and drawings Hugo’s done over the past few months. He seemed rather excited and giddy about them, chatting and pointing out what he loved, or pointed out what was good but could use some improvement.

It was... kinda nice, Hugo thought as he sat there, listening to Bendy ramble on and on. He hadn’t really had anyone to talk to in ages, not since his escape from his previous life and being cabin boy on the Butcher Gang’s ship didn’t give him much respect from anyone onboard, so having a strange being this excited to talk to him was like a breath of fresh air.

“So, why are ya sittin’ on this floatin’ rock, Hugo?” Bendy asked after a while, when their conversation had turned into small talk and such.

“I got left behind for no good reason by the Butcher Gang, they’re the pirates I ‘work’ for.” Hugo stuck out his tongue, making a face. “They’re a bunch of lowlife bastards, is what they are! I bet I could be a better pirate than them any day!” 

“You wanna be a pirate?”

“Yeah!” Hugo got to his feet, grinning. “I wanted to be a ranger when I was a kid, but I think a pirate would be cooler! Better! I can make a name for myself, I can rule the skies in my own ship! One day, I’ll have my name known across the galaxy! People will fear the name Hugo, no more lookin’ down on me and thinkin’ I’m just some freak or useless mutt!”

Bendy stared at him for a moment, quietly, and Hugo suddenly felt self conscious, before Bendy’s grin grew even bigger than it had before, nearly face splitting. His eyes sparkled with stars, brightly, it was so strange. “That... SOUNDS AMAZIN’! Can I join!? Can I be part of yer crew, Hugo!?”

Hugo was a bit caught off-guard by this. “You... you wanna be part of my crew? Why?”

“Cause dat sounds like so much fun! Look, I’m a drifter, I explore wherever I drift to, but dat gets so borin’ after so long! An’ bein’ a space pirate sounds like a blast! I’ll help you escape, an’ you an’ I can go on a bajillion adventures together!”

Bendy shoved his hand out at Hugo, smiling. “I’ll make yer dreams come true, Hugo. If ya want mah help.”

“...” Hugo looked at the offered hand. “What do you get outta this? No offense, but from what I know about demons, they like to make deals.”

“None taken.” Bendy shrugged, casually. “I getcha, not easy to trust a demon, we do have a rep fer deals an’ da like, kinda ruins it fer the honest demons like me. But listen, all I want outta this is a fun life! An’ I think yer just da guy to make dat happen.” He winked and Hugo chuckled.

“Alright, you’ve got a deal, Bendy!” Hugo took the offered hand with manic glee.

--

“Wait, you just... took the deal? Just like that?” Harrison asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did you not consider that it could have been a trick?”

“Honestly?” Hugo shrugged. “I considered that, yeah, but Bendy sounded honest, and somethin’ about him screamed ‘he’ll be the most important friend you’ll ever have’. And I was right.”

Hugo chuckled, rubbing at his right palm, where black mark was in his skin, like a tattoo. It was Bendy’s mark, meant for protection and connection. Harrison had asked about it, had asked how Hugo had even met Bendy, and the pirate decided to tell him.

“Do you regret it?” Harrison asked as he looked at the mark.

“Nope, never have, never will. Bendy and I are friends till the end.”

“I see... wait, how the heck did you two become father and son then?”

“Oh, see, now that’s a really funny story! So, when I was fifteen...”

--

It had been a slip from Bendy, by the way, he has accidentally called Hugo ‘dad’ and then it sorta just stuck around. Hugo has embraced the role of dad with his whole being, especially since he can get away with dad jokes now.

But yeah, here’s how these two met in this au! 

Harrison is my friend inkspottie’s Henry, by the way. 

[this-is-lightning]

Supercorp FicRec P.23

The next part in my ongoing ficrec series. I go through my bookmarks on AO3 and select the ones I like the best and add a little commentary on why. 5 fics per part. 

Masterpost

Paper Cranes by ClaraZorEl

Supergirl has fallen. What if after the redK incident, Supergirl never had the chance to redeem herself? Forced to live as a human again, she moves back to Midvale. What if after Lex Luthor had gone bananas in Metropolis, Lena chose to flee and started a life for herself on the other side of the country, let's say, in Midvale ? And so Kara and Lena meet in this little coastal city where they have no choice but to carry their secrets alone and try not to fall in love.

w: 121,209

r: mature

Her fics are always so good and endlessly tragic and sad, but with a happy ending. This one is the first one of her I read and it blew me away. The characterization is top, the feelings, dialogue and internal stuff are just so well written. The story and characters feel more real and set into the world than even in the show. Realistic trauma. Epic ending. Must read for all her storys. 

When the world is on your shoulders and you're falling to your knees, you know love will set you free by A_Dinsy

When she peeked her head out of the cart, what she saw was like nothing she'd ever seen before. Rows of people were jumping off the train, shouting and laughing, making their way to the big expanse of grass ahead. Kara was filled with curiousity and jumped down herself, taking in the view, but turned back towards the train when something caught her eye.

Daxam Bros, the most spectacular show on earth, CIRCUS.

She laughed, shaking her head, how'd I manage to jump on a circus train.

OR

When a tragic event causes Kara to lose everything she's ever known, she happens to fall in with a travelling circus. There she meets Lena Daxam, a beautiful performer she knows will surely bring trouble to her heart.

OR

The Water for Elephants AU no one asked for but me.

w: 37,493 

r: mature

This one is so very real and so very magical at the same time. Dunno how that works but it does. Love it. tw/domestic violence and violence against animals.

Winter Song by CursedEstlin

Lex is dead but his trail of destruction lives on.

Supergirl doesn’t worry about saving the world anymore.

After a bitter feud, Lena and Kara haven’t spoken in three years but that’s all about to change.

Post season 5 dumpster fire compliant with not a Willy in sight.

w: 66,325

r: mature

Kid fic in a way. Dealing with forgiveness and mental health and aaaall the feelings with no-one there to distract them. Loved how this was done, especially the mental health stuff. Loved how their relationship was rebuild, how the whole stronger together finally got the gravitas it deserved. Angst, domestic fluff, little bit of smut. MUST read.

if i loved you less, i might be able to talk about it more by C_AND_B

sometimes love is too raw to express. sometimes one language isn’t enough. sometimes you don’t even realise you’re speaking a love language from half the globe away. or kara and lena fall, and be, in love through a series of untranslatable words

w: 9,236

r: mature

Poetry in 10k words. Don’t know what to say except read it for yourself and be amazed. Not a word out of place. Literary perfection. You actually want to sit down and do a literary analysis like in high-school, that’s how well this is written. 

The Fifth Wall by Black_Tea_and_Bones

Kara goes to bed with Mon-El, and wakes up with Lena Luthor.

But it isn't Kara’s bed, and they’re not in Lena’s apartment, and that is definitely not their baby... Right?

w: 109,273

r: mature

Spoiler, it totally is their baby and it is their bed and it will stay that way if they want or not. They are both too repressed or afraid to get anywhere with their relationship, till a little help(er) from the 5th dimension arrives. Domestic fluff, angst, family fluff, action and a happy ending.

[funtimebunnyblog]

Diamante d’Italia: Chapter 5

(Chapter 5: Another day in paradise)

Josuke grit his teeth, his chin resting in his hand as he held the phone slightly away from his ear, though the guffaw that continued to ring out from the speaker could still be very much heard.

He had already called his Mom to check in with her when he first woke up this morning and since he had the whole day ahead of him he waited until after a much needed shower to call his best friend.

That now seemed like a mistake after listening to him howl with laughter for almost five minutes now.

He winced as Crazy Diamonds hands ghosted over the mottled flesh of his back, sharp pinging following their careful movements as the stand dutifully patched him up.

He was just glad the bed made it easier to sit down with that one.

From what he saw in the bathroom mirror, where those junkies had kicked him in the back had left a bruise that was the size of a basket ball and it was as black and green as Rohans signature hair.

Spots of the same colours along with splotches of an ugly purple were also sprouting on his upper left arm and shoulder. Not to mention the particularly ugly one that was currently taking up residence on his thigh and.... a more unsavory place just slightly north of there.

He had definitely been right about hurting in the morning that's for sure because he practically yelped when rolling over, causing him to fall out of bed and onto the carpeted floor to add to it all.

Staring up into the face of Crazy Diamond looking down at him from where he laid half-whimpering and aching all over was not a way he would recommend starting your day.

The fan of the hotel room spun slowly above him from where he sat on the huge marshmallowy bed in only a towel, his damp pale skin starting to dry and chill beneath the breeze.

"--so-so... lemme get this straight-... you..." Josuke rolled his eyes as Okuyasu struggled to keep his giggles in check over the phone. "You get there..... and-... hehehe.... and- not even like 2 hours.... -and you get beat up?"

"Yes." He sighed.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"--oh Josuke!" He wheezed into the receiver, dying down into giggles again. "--I'm so sorry buddy- but that's.... -that's funny.... oww... owww my stomach..."

Josuke grunted, pulling the phone away from his head to avoid going deaf in his right ear as more barking laughter rang out.

He could practically feel Crazy Diamonds own eyeroll as they continued their ministrations on his back.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." He groaned. "Just don't tell Mom, I don't want her to worry about me."

"So what happened after? You must've gotten away somehow right? Did CD put them in their place?" His words were almost drowned out by the obnoxious crinkling of a bag in the background, followed by the unmistakable crunch of potato chips drilling into his eardrum.

"No. I didn't even think about it. It was all happening so fast all I could think of was to grab hold of my suitcase and not let go."

"Oh man, you didn't lose your luggage did you?" Okuyasu questioned after swallowing his mouthful of junkfood very quickly. "Your Mom would have a fit!"

A smile found its way to Josukes face, "No actually. Someone helped me, oh man you should've seen him! He put a run to them and he was really cool too!"

Josuke proceeded to tell Okuyasu all about the one and only Abbacchio and their time together along with meeting Bucciarati.

He spared no details in telling him all about the scrumptious meal he had devoured that night, he could practically hear the other teenager drooling all over the phone as he described the juicy details of prosciutto stuffed chicken breast.

Bruno looked very anxious and warned him it was very dangerous to wander the streets at night, most especially when he was a tourist carrying all his possessions that didn't know where to go.

After Josuke had eaten last night, Bruno asked him if he was staying somewhere and the teenager realized he had completely forgotten about finding a Hotel!

The streets by then were dark and it was late, they had talked for so long but the time had just flew right bye. Jouske had grabbed his bag and thanked the two men graciously for the food and their company, making sure he bowed deeply in respect as he done so, about to head out to find one before he was stopped.

More importantly, he wouldn't even be able to read any signs leading to a Hotel.

Josuke realized he had gotten ahead of himself and accepted the mans proposal to take him to the Hotel a few blocks away, which he did and Josuke had to say, the place was like paradise on Earth.

The building itself was huge! Not to mention high-class. The lobby had a chandelier that was the size of his Livingroom back home! And the fountain in the center of it was bigger than the one outside his School!

Bruno chuckled seeing the owlish expression on his face as they entered through the glass sliding doors, the reflection of the golden lights above them on the polished white marble floor made his baby blue eyes sparkle. Abbacchio simply opted for staying outside and smoking a much needed cigarette while his partner helped Josuke arrange a room.

"Oh man!" Okuyasu said through another mouthful of chips. "That sounds A-B-C-Delicious! I wanna eat that!"

"You'll have to bug Tonio about it if you're that eager." Josuke laughed. "Speaking of food, you've eaten a full meal today right?"

The crunching came to a sudden stop.

"Define--"

"As in you've eaten something cooked and not just junkfood." He interrupted, drumming his fingers on his knee, he already knew his answer however.

Silence... he could actually hear the sounds of Stray Cat (whom both boys had taken to aptly nicknaming 'Guns and Roses') purring along with the feint sound of the TV playing in the background.

"Okuyasu!"

"Sorry! I'll eat real food tomorrow!" He whined. "I just forgot is all!"

"I've actually just been binge watching this goofy tv series. I've heard about it for a while but I finally decided to get into it. Man, I'm gonna be so sore tomorrow, I've been sitting on my ass for so long!" He cackled.

Josuke huffed, however deciding to not press him further on the matter and take his word.

Okuyasu needed to take better care of himself and Josuke usually had to remind him of the importance of it, along with helping his friend pilot through all his emotional troubles.

"It's this Anime thing called 'Dodo's Wacky Quest'. It's pretty good!" There was a pause as a indignant 'meow' sounded close to the phone, followed by more rustling of the chip bag. Okuyasu grunted, the phone crackling  as he moved to hand the living plant a chip. "The series is pretty long though. But hopefully I'll have most of it done by the time you get back."

'Speak for yourself...' Josuke thought, shifting slightly on the bed to try and inevitably get more comfortable.

Crazy Diamond was almost finished with his back, the worst one was next.

"What series is it?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Huh," Josuke rubbed his chin, smiling. "I'll have to watch some of it with you."

"That'd be cool! Dodo kinda reminds me of you actually. I dunno if I've met any Jio in my life though, dude gives me the willies..."

Crazy Diamond leaned over him and tapped his leg, shooting him a look.

"I'd better go man. I'll try to talk to you tomorrow, remember your promise!" He said into the phone, turning away from his stand.

"Ok. Ok. I will. Jeeze..." the eyeroll he was getting was evident in the others voice. "Be safe JoJo!"

"I will. Bye."

He put the phone back in its cradle on the bedside stand and sighed, swatting away the phantom hands that pulled on the towel covering him and ignoring the exasperated 'Dora' as he shunted it aside himself.

'Lay on your stomach.' Came the telepathic order from Crazy Diamond. 'I can give you a massage after I'm done with the last bruise to help relax you further.'

He was just glad he didn't decide to tell Okuyasu about his last bruise, otherwise he would've probably passed out from laughter, resulting in Josuke to have to end the call promptly.

He'd never be able to live this down from his stand alone....

☆☆☆

There was so much he wanted to do, and so much he wanted to see. He decided to leave his suitcase behind within the safety of his room (not wanting a repeat of yesterday) carrying just his wallet, a disposable camera his Mom had given him to take pictures and his handy dandy comb of course.

Finally walking again and not shuffling along uncomfortably like an old man (as he had been doing earlier), Josuke strutted downstairs to the lobby without a hair out of place.

His precious mane had been properly lathered, rinsed, gelled, combed and hairsprayed and he was ready to tackle the day!

The golden charms adorning his uniform gleamed like his eyes and he walked with pep in his step, shoes shined and clicking on the polished marble floor.

He needed to tackle business first before he went about to getting some breakfast. He had already had a cup of strong instant coffee after the massage given to him by his stand, using the machine inside of his room (this Hotel really had everything).

"Hello." He greeted the lady at the desk in the lobby, a woman in her sixties with greying hair pulled back into a bun, maroon lipstick and matchig rectangular spectacles. "I was just wondering if I could pay for my nightly stay now and maybe pay for tomorrow too?"

"Can I have your name, dear?" She asked, already typing away on the keyboard of the large white box computer before her.

"Josuke Higashikata. J-O-S-U-K-E."

Her long black nails clicked and clacked away loudly on the keyboard, he watched in silence as her dark red lips pursed, her eyes scanning the screen.

"It says here you're already covered for your full stay."

'Embarrassing' wouldn't be a word he would use to describe a situation where he had to call his Nephew and demurely ask if he could get a lift home like a drunk teenager calling a half-alseep Parent in the middle of the night.

He blinked at her, raising both his eyebrows.

"Umm... I don't think that's right. I only booked the room last night..." he trailed off, feeling his heart starting to pound in his chest.

He prayed to God this somehow wouldn't end with him being in debt with no way home.

She hummed, "It says you're fully covered. You just need to inform the Hotel of the date you're departing and a direct deposit is already in order." She explained.

That answered absolutely none of his questions.

"How is that possible?" He asked, doing his best to keep his voice calm as he rubbed the back of his neck idly.

More typing and clicking.

"It says here that your stay has been covered by..... a Mr. Bruno Bucciarati. He arranged for the bill to be footed to him." Came her reply at last, turning in her chair to look at him.

It took the Highschooler a moment to process that, blinking like an idiot as she stared at him.

What.... when.... how did..... why did....?

"Oh.... uh.... I-I see. Thank you." He told the older woman at last, with a half-hearted wave goodbye as he left the lobby, out into the world of golden sunshine awaiting him outside.

Each question seemed to short-circuit in his brain, he couldn't decide on what to ask first.

Josuke finally realized he was lingering and staring as the old woman addressed him again, before averting his eyes, his face tinging a little pink.

Why on Earth would the man put himself through so much trouble? Paying out of his pocket for him at a Hotel where people who looked like they wiped their asses with dollar bills stayed there no less! It didn't make sense!

This Hotel seemed a little one the pricy side, he had actually been wary about staying here the night but didn't want to be rude and ask Bucciarati to take him to another Hotel, so he decided to risk it and see how much it was the next day (silently praying he wouldn't be dialing Jotaro Kujo afterwards with a speech prepared of course).

This however changed everything.

He was still a virtual stranger to Bruno and his partner, and he didn't feel like he had earned such a kind gesture. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that both men were wealthy but this just felt akin to stealing in Josukes eyes.

It was the least he could do. It's what he wanted to do. It's what he was raised to do.

Josuke leaned up against the stone wall of the Hotel, considering his options. He could tell the Hotel that wasn't necessary and to cancel that previous order and allow him to pay.

Or he could find Bucciarati again (it couldn't be that hard) and offer to pay him back, if not in money maybe he could do something in return for him.

That did it.

He took one last look at the Hotel to remember the name as he prepared to cross the street (he needed something to go off of if he was gonna find a way back afterall).

He had a new mission added onto today.

He was going to do some sight seeing, eat some more damn delicious food and keep his eyes open for either one of the men he dined with last night.

"Albergo brillante Diamante..." he murmured, absentmindedly scratching his cheek as he did his best to pronounce the words (in what he hoped was the correct manor).

"Hmm... wonder what that means."

All he truly knew was that he Josuke Higashikata, had a mission he was going to see through today.

...

He mentally added 'buying a dictionary' to his list today as he narrowly avoided a car coming in the street, yelling out a "Sorry!" To the driver laying on his horn (who wasn't supposed to have the right away).

[To be coninued... 》

[queen-scribbles]

Of Paranoia

Happy Birthday @errantgoat! <3 Have our babies somewhere on the road between Redcliffe/Haven etc and Orzammar. ;D

                                                       ---

It was just a village, no different at first--or second--glance than a dozen others they’d passed through on this quest of theirs. The small, rundown houses huddling together in clumps, as if in solidarity against an uncaring world. The larger buildings--likely a chantry, blacksmith, general store, among others--that formed an approximation of a main square. The varying browns and dull greys broken occasionally by a scrap of red or blue or green clothing from an individual who refused to surrender to the drab color palette, mud everywhere. It was, in every way, a typical Fereldan village.

So why was it making her skin crawl?

Trinne hunched her shoulders as if that would ward off the paranoia and fought the urge to pull her cloak further around her, lose herself in the folds of her hood, as she stepped ever-so-slightly closer to her companion. 

Harvey glanced at her with a raised brow and grim half-smile. “You too?”

Of course he’d picked up on her unease; the man hardly missed anything. It was good to have her instincts validated, though. She wasn’t just imagining things.  “Yeah, feels like we’re bein’ watched. And not by someone friendly.”

He nodded, rubbed the back of his neck as he muttered, “At least it’s not more darkspawn.”

“I dunno; might be better to have a threat we can sense coming,” she tried to joke, but the tension in her voice made it more than a little flat. 

“As opposed to one we can potentially talk our way out of?”

Trinne snorted. “Good point.” She’d left her staff back at camp to avoid drawing attention; better to not undercut that by clashing with... whatever was giving her goosebumps. “Let’s just get what we need and leave. Maybe whoever it is’ll be happy to just watch creepily.” Assuming there’s actually someone watching and this isn’t something else... The archdemon nightmares had been worse--for her, at least--recently. 

Harvey nodded, leaving unsaid that their lucky was rarely that good.

She curled her fingers, feather light, around the inside of his wrist, tugging surreptitiously toward what looked like the general store. “What did we need, again?” She really had been paying attention when Alistair rattled off the list of supplies--both mage-y and mundane--back at camp. She definitely hadn’t been distracted by the hawk flying circles over the nearby woods, and she absolutely was just making small talk to blend in.

He raised an eyebrow at her again but played along. “Bandages, some of the rarer herbs for potions we haven’t been able to find ourselves, conditioning oil...” a dry smile tugged his lips. “Food.”

Trinne snorted an equally dry laugh. “Of course, food.” Three sodding Warden appetites--not to mention the qunari--meant they always, always needed food. She squeezed the coin purse hanging from her belt. “We might hafta prioritize; that last trip to Denerim kinda wiped us out, necessary as it was...” Damn ogres and their ability to dent plate armor.

“Right,” Harvey sighed, holding the door open so she could enter first. “Also,” he murmured, barely audible, as they strolled through the otherwise unoccupied store. “Jowan mentioned we’re almost out of lyrium potions.”

She had noticed that, but, “That’ll be kinda tricky in a village this size,” she murmured back just as quietly. “Not like they’ll have a Wonders of Thedas or anything, we might hafta hold off an’ pray we can manage.” She smirked. “’Less you feel like raidin’ the chantry...”

“Sure, what’s one more warrant or bounty on our head?” he deadpanned, reaching for a set of neatly rolled bandages.

Trinne looked over at him, barely biting back  a surprised burst of laughter.  “Really?”

“No.” Harvey sighed, running one hand through his hair. “...We’ll think of something.”

“Oh, c’mon, you don’t think it’ll be fun to add ‘wanted for breaking, entering, and theft of chantry property in a backwater village on the edge of the Hinterlands’ to our list of glorious accomplishments?”

“Trinne.” He rolled his eyes but she still caught the corners of his mouth twitching toward a smile.

“Harvey.” She grinned.

He gave a small shake of his head. “Go see if they have the herbs we need, I have a feeling that’ll be easier than us trying to find it ourselves.”

Given the unorthodox arrangement and scarcity of various products on the shelves, she was inclined to agree. “Right. Which do we need again?”

“Embrium and crystal grace.” He frowned slightly. “If we don’t have enough for both with money left for food, the embrium’s more important.”

“Got it.” Trinne headed for the counter, waited for the blonde behind it to look up from her ledgers, and made her request.

The blonde wrinkled her nose. “Hasn’t been a good year for embrium, I’m afraid, but you can check.” She pointed toward the far end of the counter, where Trinne could see a chest-high bank of small drawers. “They should all be labeled.”

“Thanks.” Trinne nodded and drifted down to look. ‘Labeled’ turned out to mean crude drawings of the respective herb tacked to each drawer, and half of them she couldn’t figure out what they were supposed to be, so she just started peeking in every drawer til she found what she sought. There was plenty of crystal grace, but--as warned--hardly any embrium. Still, something was better than nothing, and they needed it, so Trinne gathered every last scrap she could out of the drawer.

“Any luck?”

She flinched and spun to cock a brow at Harvey. “D’you always have to be so quiet?”

His lips curved in a brief, bemused smile even as he shrugged. “I’m not doing it on purpose.”

Trinne just rolled her eyes. “They do have both, just not a lot of embrium.” She held up the pitiful quantity. “Apparently this isn’t a good year for it.”

Harvey pinched the bridge of his nose. “Would explain why we’ve had trouble finding it ourselves. We’ll get it; Morrigan and Zevran can fight over who needs it more.”

She smirked. “That’ll be a fun conversation to overhear. Didja find the rest of what we need?”

He nodded. “Everything besides food, at least; apparently the grocer is across the way.”

“Wait, they’re separate?” She shook her head. “Never mind, not important. What’s one more stop?” Besides longer in a place that gives both of us the willies.

They made their purchases--which took over half the remaining coin--and exited just as a breeze whisked through. Trinne shivered, not just from the brisk wind, and glanced around. Still nothing out of the ordinary. She sighed as her gaze slid over the surrounding foothills, taking in the view.

“Shame this place gives me the heebie-jeebies,” she commented, rubbing her arms as if that would banish the gooseflesh. “It’s really pretty, and all cosy nestled against the mountain....”

Harvey gave an absent nod, searching the buildings across the way. “I think that one’s the grocer.” He pointed. “Whenever you’re done admiring the view.”

“Right.” Trinne bit her lip and tugged the strap of the satchel she carried. “Dunno how much we’ll be able to afford after gettin’ all this.”

His brow furrowed in thought. “Should we see if they have a chanter’s board? I know neither of us is keen to be here longer than we have to, but if there’s a couple quick jobs we could do...”

“Might be worth looking,” Trinne muttered. “Before or after buyin’ food?”

“Can’t hurt to look now,” he shrugged. “While we have less to carry....”

“Yeah, and on that note, how come I’m carryin’ this stuff an’ you get the food?” she needled playfully as they headed toward the chantry.

Harvey raised an eyebrow at her, biting back a smile. “Should I trust you with the food?”

“Harvey Cousland, I am offended,” she gasped in mock-indignation, dramatically pressing both hands over her heart. An incredibly ill-timed growl from her stomach undercut her playacting and she frowned at it. “Traitor.” She looked back to Harvey. “I wouldn’t eat food meant for other people” --her stomach rumbled again and she pressed one hand to it-- “tempting as the damn appetite might make things. You’re so lucky it didn’t hit you this hard.”

He flashed an apologetic half-smile. “Sorry?”

“Eh, not like you had any say in how bad we got all the side effects...” Her words trailed off as they drew close enough to see the fluttering scraps of parchment nailed or tacked to the chanter-s board--and the larger sheet strategically hung so it covered almost half of them and was impossible to miss. “Harvey.”

“I see it, Trinne.”

All the levity of their banter shriveled and vanished as the two of them stared at the WANTED poster. For them. In a backwater village on the edge of Hinterlands. There were descriptions rather than sketches--Thank the Maker--but it was still a jarring reminder of the non-darkspawn problems they faced. Especially when they reached the bottom.

“Thirty sovereigns?!” Trinne hissed, nails scraping wood as she tore the poster down.

“Each,” Harvey added, deadpan. “Dead or alive, he’s getting serious...”

She snorted. “Yeah, ‘cause the men who attacked us in Lothering were just kidding.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant.”

“Guess we’re not stickin’ around to run errands,” she muttered as she crumpled the poster and sparked lightning across her palm to set it on fire.

“Probably not wise,” Harvey agreed. “But we still need food.”

“This badly?” Trinne hissed sotto voce, dropping the poster remnants to smother with her boot.

“Yes,” he hissed back, just as quiet and forceful. “The hunting around here’s thin, remember? Zevran and I have tried. It could be days to the next village, do you really want to chance that with the supplies we have left?”

She hesitated. He was right, she knew that much, but the thought of fighting off desperate civilians was unpleasant, to say the least.

“Trinne, we don’t really have much choice,” Harvey insisted softly,shooting her a curious look. “And why am I having to talk you into taking a risk?”

“Maybe b’cause you an’ me, no armor, no staff, against potentially an entire village of desperate people seems like it could be a bit uglier than a risk,” she shot back.

“No one said we have to fight them,” he said pointedly. “And that’s assuming someone even notices; it didn’t look like that had been up long, it’s possible not many people had a chance to see it.”

He made a good case, she had to give him that. Sneaking away was always an option, and this was a fairly pragmatic risk as things went. “How d’you know it hadn’t been up long?”

“I don’t know, but it rained night before last; anything posted then would be all weather-beaten.” Harvey pointed to some of the other notices as examples. “It looked fresh, until you lit it on fire. So it’d most likely only been up a day or two.”

“Place this small, that’s plenty of time for everyone to see it,” she said dubiously.

“Only if they care,” he countered. “Look, we’re going in circles. If it makes you uneasy, you can head back to camp and I’ll-”

“No way, Cousland, I’m not leavin’ you with no back up and a thirty sovereign bounty on your head, don’t be ridiculous.” She sighed. “Let’s just... get it over with so we can leave.”

He nodded and the two of them headed for the grocer’s. Trinne couldn’t help wondering if that was behind the scratchy, tense feeling of eyes on them; someone had seen the notice, seen them, and was just waiting for a vulnerable moment to make their move. She tugged on her hood again, as if it could shield her from unfriendly eyes, and fought down paranoia. Harvey was probably right; it was safe enough to take the time buying food, even more so with the scarcity of things to hunt.

Unlike the general store, there were a few other customers in here, and Trinne tensed. Harvey nudged her with his elbow. Don’t be suspicious. She knew, and she tried, but it was hard when any of the others present might be a threat. Especially when they’d only made it halfway through before the word Wardens surfaced in small talk between the proprietor and one of the other customers as he paid.

“...hear what they did?!”

A snort. “Reg, I’ve heard three different versions of what they did, but I don’t see why it matters to us; your cow’s more likely t’ sprout wings’n we are t’ see a Warden come through here.”

Harvey and Trinne shared a wordless look.

The customer scoffed at his dismissal. “Th’ teyrn feels different, one a’ his men came through couple days back, slapped up a flyer with the bounty an’ ev’rything.” His voice dropped slightly in volume, though what he was sharing was supposedly common knowledge. “Thirty bleedin’ sovereigns a head, if you can believe.”

Trinne shot Harvey another look. Maybe we should hurry.

“They killed the king, what’d you expect? The teyrn’s serious about seein’ ‘em face justice, ‘course he’s gonna offer a lot, an’ tell even people who’ll like as not never see ‘em.”

“Y’never know,” the customer pressed. “An’ imagine what someone round here could do with that kind of money.”

Trinne’s nails dug into the apple she’d picked up hard enough to break the skin.  “I think what we have’s enough,” she murmured. It wasn’t, not nearly, but the uneasy feeling was growing, and her stomach twisted at the risk of having to fend off desperate people.

Harvey nodded agreement or understanding or both and reached for the share of provisions she’d collected. “I’ll pay, you can wait outside.”

She bit back the instinctive protest; one person would draw less attention, and of the descriptions on that damned poster, the one of him had been the most vague. “Alright, but if it takes too long, I’m comin’ back in.”

“Trinne-”

“I’m. Coming. Back,” she insisted.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Just don’t put too low a threshold on what you consider ‘too long’.”

“Can’t promise anything,” Trinne muttered as Harvey headed for the counter and she for the door.

The previous customer was on his way out just ahead of her and held the door with a smile. She willed herself to stay relaxed as she flashed a mildly awkward answering smile and mumbled thanks as she followed him out. He kept walking and Trinne leaned against the store wall, arms crossed and counting heartbeats as she waited. She’d never been good at waiting, but this was worse than usual. She half-watched the man amble down the way, mostly from idle curiosity, but part of her couldn’t shake suspicion, given his side of the conversation they’d overheard. She wasn’t normally this paranoid, and it was an uncomfortable feeling that did nothing for her mood. It’s the sensation of being watched, she told herself. That’s enough to put anyone on edge. Being hungry and sleep-deprived couldn’t be helping, either.

The man trod up the steps of a building not far down what served as the main thoroughfare in a village this size, paused by the woman sitting on the front porch. A woman, Trinne noticed, who was staring straight at her. And not in a casual, people-watchy way, like Trinne had been doing; like a watchman or lookout. She grabbed the man’s arm, still staring at Trinne--who was trying not to be obvious about staring back--and said something. He nodded and his steps to the front door were far more purposeful.

You’re being paranoid, you’re being paranoid, you’re being paranoid, Trinne tried to tell herself. It didn’t work very well, cold unease clamping down in her chest. Her nails dug into her arms and her teeth scraped against her chapped lower lip. Where the blazes is Cousland?!

As if summoned by her restless fretting, the door swung open and Harvey stepped out, still adjusting the strap of the pack that held the food.

He frowned when he saw her expression. “Trinne, what’s wr-”

“We need to go.” She pushed away from the wall. “Now.”

His frown deepened but he didn’t argue as he followed her down the steps. “Any particular reason?” She told him and he raised a brow. “She might have just been curious why you were watching someone she knows,” he pointed out.

“I know, and normally that would be my thought, too,” Trinne sighed and ran one hand through her hair. “But that crawly feeling, like someone’s watchin’ me, is worse.” She adjusted her hood before letting her hand drop and adding quietly, “I know this isn’t a ‘Warden senses’ thing, but I just have a bad feeling, y’know?”

Harvey nodded. “Gut instinct’s just as important. And it can’t hurt to err on the side of caution.”

“For once in my life?” she added glibly, smirking, as a defense against the alarm bells tolling in her head. 

He shrugged.

Normally that would be where she made some sarcastic or pithy remark and he rolled his eyes at her, but she was currently too tense for sarcasm. So she rambled instead. “It’s not really once in my life anymore, is it? Between you an’ Jowan, I am starting to think things through, an’ occasionally....”

The words trailed off as they came in sight of the road out from the village. A small, loosely scattered cluster of figured loitered near the road. She couldn’t make out faces from this distance, but they didn’t look wary and braced for confrontation. More like lazy fishermen hoping for a bite they weren’t even sure would come.

Even as her steps started to falter at the thought of having to fight these people, Harvey grabbed her wrist and tugged her after him into the gap between two houses.

“I saw,” he said quietly before she could even open her mouth. “It just means leaving by a different route than we came in.”

Trinne gave a jerky nod, glad one of them wasn’t tripped up by dread and worst case scenarios, but, “How?” Nestled in the mountain foothills as it was, the road was the only real way in and out of the village.

Of course, they’d become quite adept at circumventing when the ‘only real way’ to places was blocked.

Harvey jerked his head in a sideways nod. “This way.” He started dodging between houses, headed for the outskirts of the village and the sloping mountainside beyond. Of course he'd figured an alternate route, just in case. Planning ahead had always been more his strength than hers. As was finding ways around problems rather than through them,

The village border was marked by a waist high stone wall, topped by a wooden rail that added another foot or so to its height. As it looked largely meant to deter wildlife, it was easy enough for them to slip through the gap between wood and stone after taking off their packs.

“We shouldn’t head straight back to camp,” Harvey said as they re-shouldered the packs. “Just to make sure no one’s following us or anything.”

“Good idea.” Trinne bounced on the balls of her feet slightly to settle her pack in a more comfortable position. “Lead the way.”

It was rough going at first; the slanted terrain made keeping their balance tricky, and they both slipped more than once, but once they were past the village proper and things flattened out it got much easier. Even with the occasional minutes-long stop so Harvey could check for any sign they were being followed. It made a return trip that would’ve taken half an hour at a leisurely stroll three times as long, but Trinne didn’t mind. Better safe than sorry, in this case, and the view and weather both made it a relatively pleasant walk.

And as it was, they were almost halfway into that circuitous route before she felt like it was safe to talk.

“So, Cousland,” she began, unable to keep the mischievous note entirely out of her casual tone, “I hate to say ‘I told you so’-”

Harvey snorted and sent her a look that was both dubious and amused. “No, you don’t.” A smile tugged the corners of his mouth as he swatted aside a low-hanging branch. “And if Jowan’s to be believed, you never have.”

“Okay, you got me there,” she laughed. “But who doesn’t like bein’ proven right?”

He raised a brow. “Depends on the topic. ‘The archdemon will destroy the world’ is not a claim I’d want proven right.”

“True. But you know what I meant.” Trinne ran a hand through her hair, no longer caring if she knocked back her hood. With the village so far behind them, the crawly feeling of someone watching had diminished significantly.

Harvey nodded. “I do.”

“Next time a village gives one of us the creeps, maybe we just give it a pass.” Her stomach rumbled again. “Even if it means goin’ hungry.”

“Maybe,” he shrugged. It would be an issue to deal with when--if--it arose, she knew that. Didn’t lessen her relief that this particular incident was behind them.

“‘Least now I can stop bein’ the cynical one,” she teased, which earned a quiet snort and another shrug. “Really, Harv, I appreciate the efforts to steer me away from blatant paranoia.”

Harvey chuckled. “Anytime.”

She smiled back, all playful sincerity, because she knew he meant it, and plucked a leaf to keep her fingers busy as they wound their way between the trees.

---                                ---                          ---

This is meant to be at a point where our kids are friends and there are no Feelings yet. HOWEVER. As it wound up 100% Trinne pov, who’s to say what Harvey’s thinking. :P 

also, dear Maker, why are closing sentences so hard??? I must’ve gone through about eight before finding one I like well enough.

[josiewinters1999]

Superwho x Avengers x OFC(Willie) in Tribal!AU

Summary:  Post Infinity War, the remaining Avengers need a safe place to regroup, what better place to do it than the ancient lost city hidden deep in the Gallifreyan forest?

Chapter 3: Day 1 pt 2

Words: 4226

Contains:  IW spoilers, mentions of death, angst, cursing

A/N: Thank you all so much for your continual support with this fic. I say it’s getting a ton of support but really I’m getting like 30 notes per chapter lol. Honestly, to me, that’s great, I couldn’t ask for more. I hope I continue to get this support from you guys and I really hope that you’re enjoying this!

After all her new citizens were issued their food, it was finally Willie’s turn. She begins to make her way to the people with bowls of food but is stopped by a Gallifreyan voice, a soft yet mature one. “Kheromoksyl, if you don’t mind,” Willie hears her name and turns back to the High Priestess.

“Yes?” she answers in her native tongue. Unveiling a hand from her bell sleeves, the High Priestess beckons one of her followers over. Reaching into the bowl and pulling out a bread wrap, she hands it to Willie, “It would do me the greatest honor if you would allow me to feed you.” Bowing, Willie accepts the food, “Thank you. Your hospitality is greatly appreciated amongst me and my people.”

Seeming almost offended by this, the High Priestess leans back slightly, “‘Your people?’ These beings of white and black skin are not yours.” She looks to the sky and then reaches a hand to the center of Willie’s chest, “The Goddess gave you life and she beats her drums within you,” her hazel eyes stare with great seriousness at Willie, “with us.”

The High Priestess retracts her hand and hides it once more in her robe. Noticing all her followers stirring behind her, she looks to Willie one last time before almost spitting at her, “Don’t forget where your loyalties lie.” With that statement, she turns to her people and wanders off ahead of them into the woods, disappearing through the treeline.

Standing motionless for a moment, Willie ponders the words of the High Priestess. Are the Gallifreyans truly her people? The answer, of course, is yes. At least, that’s what Willie tells herself. A small part of her feels tied to Earth, and to Asgard- two places she’s spent a much longer amount of time than she has in these woods.

A deeper, more masculine, English voice pulls Willie from her thoughts, “Willie!” Sam Winchester shouts, waving her over. She shakes her head and pushes her insecurities aside, walking over to her friend.

“What’s going on?” She asks in a friendly manner, trying to cover up the turmoil inside. Sam gives her an almost knowing look before continuing, “Well, where are we gonna sit?”

Sam looks out over the ground around the bonfire. The suns had completely set at this point and the fire was the only light. Like a high school cafeteria, the people in camp had separated themselves into groups, all sitting in small clusters around the fire’s light.

Willie hums, thinking about where a good place to seat herself would be. She scans the clusters in the golden glow and finally sees one on the far side of the crowd. In this particular cluster sits Thor, Steve, Tony, Pepper, Bruce, and Natasha. Unwilling to search further, she decides that sitting with Thor would be fine enough.

Extending a free hand, Willie points to Thor’s cluster, “There.”

Making their way through the crowd, Sam and Willie walk past the other groups of people. Most of them were exclusively Asgardian, others exclusively Wakandan, but some groups, mostly single, young adults, had integrated themselves, eating their shared food in the bonfire’s glow.

Upon approaching the group, Willie can tell there was a conversation she had stopped. All eyes are on her, Steve and Thor even turning their torsos to see her.

When met with nothing but silence and awkward glares, Willie meekly asks, “Got any space for two?” Sam stands over her shoulder, nervously smiling himself.

Willie scans the group, eventually locking eyes with Tony, “Yeah, sure, go ahead.” He gestures to the large empty spot between Thor and Steve.

Before Willie can step to her right and nab the space next to Thor, Sam is sitting there. She looks to her left, at Steve. He glances away from her and back down at the food in his hand. Willie reluctantly sits next to the super soldier, feeling already that it’s a bad decision.

There is a thick awkward tension in the air. It was no doubt caused by Willie’s presence, and she knows this. It feels just like it did all those years ago, during briefings in Avenger’s tower when she’d waltz in half drunk and making a fool of herself.

“So,” Bruce finally speaks, “what exactly are these things Willie?” He lifts up his wrap.

Willie looks at her own, opening it to check her suspicions, “Well,” she begins, examining each bit closely, “it’s a bread wrap, obviously. This is a type of flat bread we eat a lot of here. It’s made from this grass that can be found just outside the forest,” she points to her left at the south end of camp, “right where the forest meets the wasteland.”

Bruce pushes his glasses up on his head, pointing to the wrap again, “Yeah, but what’s in it?”

Willie chuckles, “Well, there’s some meat from a yakchu, a creature that’s a bit like a deer. It’s got the body of one, but it’s head is shaped more a bird. It’s got a beak,” she raises her hand to clamp her fingers in imitation of one. “Then on the inside we’ve also got some basically Gallifreyan lettuce, not much nutrition but it fills you up.”

She finally rewraps her food before taking a bite, “Pretty standard ration. I used to eat them all the time as a kid. When the other warriors and I would go on long journeys through the lands, we’d take these.”

“They’re small, filling, and give you enough energy to hunt,” Willie chews her mouthful, memories of her adolescence rushing back to her. In her mind’s eye she sees flashes of red and silver, mixed with the sound of rushing arrows and the wounded cries of the things she killed. The memory is neither comforting or traumatizing, it simply is. However, it does evoke a sense of nostalgia, simply for being some of Willie’s oldest memories.

Natasha swallows the bite in her mouth, “Well, it’s good. Kinda salty but good.” Willie nods thankfully, the awkward silence immediately falling once more.

All the members of the circle, excluding Willie and Sam, glance at each other, exchanging knowing looks. Willie silently wishes she could finish her food faster and leave in time to save some face.

“So Bruce,” Tony asks, leaning over Pepper to talk to him, “You gonna bunk with Pepper and I?”

The scientist sighs, “I dunno. I don’t want to, you know… intrude, on you guys. I th-think it’d be better if you guys had your own space.” Tony only waves a hand in dismissal, relieving it of its job picking at his food, “Nonsense, we have plenty of room.” The last bit held a certain cynicism that Willie knew in an instant was meant for her to hear.

Sam leans over to Willie, whispering to her in broken Gallifreyan, “You hear that?” clearly referencing what was said by the billionaire across the way. She only nods, not lifting her eyes from her hands and the task at hand.

Despite his best efforts to keep quiet, Steve perks at Sam’s voice, “Can you speak Gallifreyan?”

At those four words, all attention darts to Steve, then following his gaze to Willie and then ultimately to Sam Winchester. Sam’s eyes go wide, shock and fear filling his face. He wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot for something so small.

“W-what?” He only stutters, gently brushing a piece of his damp hair out of his eyes.

Steve stares Sam down, his features almost hurt and his voice demanding, “Did she teach you Gallifreyan?”

Willie looks between the two men. From Steve’s anger bubbling inside him and Sam’s fear and nerves taking him over, she realizes the answer won’t be a good one.

Sam swallows nervously, “Um… yes?” he slowly answers, “She’s been teaching me on and off for about a few years now.”

His body going tense, Steve sighs, “I think I’m done here.” He stands, brushing his knees off, clearing the red dust from them before turning to Natasha, “I’ll see you in our tent. Goodnight.”

She mutters a quick ‘Goodnight’ in return and Steve marches off, leaving the tension in the air even thicker.

The humiliation making Willie uncharacteristically lose her appetite, she too stands, shaking the dust from herself and wiping her hands on her hips, “Come on Sam, I think we should turn in too.” She averts her attention to Thor, still on the ground and nearly finished with his food, “You’re welcome to bunk with us if you’d like, unless you had someone else in mind.”

She doesn’t, however give him any time to respond, and is marching off to her and Sam’s shared tent at the head of camp, Sam trailing behind her. He knows better not to question her now, despite the burning want inside him to do so.

As they walk away from the bonfire, the heat and the light both decrease. The moon has not yet risen fully and the land is dark, barely light enough to see the way through the field. The red ground looks like blood and the trees look black in this lack of light.

The two walk in silence, passing the rock Willie was perched on earlier in the day to welcome the new group to her home. Willie gives it a sideways glance, not thinking much of it but remembering her words to the people.

Had it not moved, she never would have seen it. However it did move, and it makes Willie double take. Sitting lonely and slumped on the boulder is a furry creature in a jumpsuit, clutching a small piece of paper.

Willie takes a moment to recall the name of this creature before calling to him, “Rocket?” Her sudden voice startle both Sam and the raccoon in question.

He turns his head over his shoulder, already knowing who beckons him. “Oh hey, blondie,” he says meekly, turning his eyes back to his paws.

Taking a few cautious steps up to the boulder, Willie lowers her voice slightly, asking in the kindest tone she can muster, “What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

Rocket just shrugs, “I dunno, didn’t really want to mix in with the rest of them.” He pauses for a moment, “Not my kinda crowd…”

Sam and Willie exchange glances of pity. She steps up to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder and muttering into his ear in Gallifreyan, “Go on, I’ll be fine.” The Winchester nods and taps her arm lightly before walking along, leaving her alone with the raccoon.

In the dark, it was hard to climb onto the boulder, much harder than it had been earlier in the day. After her short struggle, she dusts off her knees, smoothing out her combat pants and adjusting her belt so that her large knife doesn’t dig into her side.

“So how are you fairing?” she asks after a sigh. “With being here I mean,” she gestures out into the dark field. Rocket just shrugs, “Fine I guess, nothing I can’t handle.” He keeps his head down, fondling the small, flimsy object in his hands.

Noticing this, Willie leans in, the leather on her belt and her shoulder holsters squeaking, “Whatcha got there?” The raccoon leans away slightly, but less than Willie anticipated. He instinctively folds the paper in his hands, “Just a photo,” he reaches a paw to push Willie away, “Give me some space, would ya?”

She willingly scoots back, eyeing him as he brings the photo back out, carefully examining it with a fond smile. “Is it a picture of them?” Willie asks in a low voice, afraid of the answer she might receive.

Rocket darts his head up. He stares her downer, her eyes sad and old. She bites her lip and swallows nervously. For a minute, Rocket pitties this woman. He remembers Willie from a few hours before the battle, she lay on the table next to Thor, on the brink of death. It’s hard to believe she’s already up and moving like she is.

He takes a moment before nodding sadly, “Yeah.” A pale hands reaches toward the raccoon. Its long fingers were calloused, the knuckles scabbed over, and the nails dirty with red ground. “May I see?” Willie almost chokes on her words.

The photo is passed to her and Willie lifts it to her face, the darkness making the photo’s contents hard to make out. It is clear what’s in the picture, however. It’s all of them. All six of them; Rocket, Groot, the blue man, the bug girl, the green woman, and him. Peter stood almost all the way to the right, smiling brighter than Willie could have possibly remembered.

The raccoon watches Willie look at the picture as fondly as he had before asking, “How did you know him again?”

Willie chuckles and then sighs, “We go way back, Peter and I.” She rubs her thumb over him in the photo, wiping dust from his torso, “I met him back when I still did bounty hunting jobs. Gotta make money somehow,” she laughs lightly, “he always was so fun to be around.”

“That doesn’t sound like Quill,” Rocket sits up on the rock, adjusting himself into a more bearable position.

She just shakes her head, “No, he was great.” There’s a brief pause before she continues, “I was in such a dark place when I met him. He really helped me through a lot.” Willie sighs once more, brushing a piece of hair that had fallen into her face, “You never really understand how much a smile can make things better until you need one.”

With one last look at Peter’s smile she mutters to herself in Gallifreyan, “I’m sorry my friend.” She passes the picture back to Rocket, who glances at Groot before folding it neatly and stuffing it back in his jumpsuit.

Holding back a sniffle, she leans a hand up and nudges him gently, “You should go on to sleep. You need your rest. Thought of who you’re gonna bunk with?”

Rocket struggles for a moment to stand but eventually does, brushing himself off and sighing, “Yeah, Thor and I are sharing one with some guy named Bruce maybe. He was still on the fence about it.” He looks down to see more dust still clinging to him, “Christ, this shit is everywhere, how do you live like this?”

Willie chuckles, rolling off the rock herself, “You learn to live with it.” She lands on the ground with a thud. She turns around and looks up at Rocket, “Goodnight Rocket, sleep well and come to my tent if you need anything.”

The raccoon nods, still furiously dusting himself off, “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” The blond Gallifreyan only chuckles before marching off.

***

When Willie reaches her tent, she stands there for a moment, examining it. It feels so foreign to her and she doesn’t understand why. It was the same style of tent she slept in when she was in training to become a warrior as a child.

The thin red woolen fabric adorned with black patterns and fringe, the rope made from the same red fibers holding it down, it all brought back so many memories. The symbol of her tribe was plastered on the opening flaps; a black triangle with another, shaded in, triangle sitting inside it, nestled safely at the bottom. Two black lines stood up straight on both side of the triangles.

The symbol was one that represented so much of who Willie was. She isn’t sure if it represents who she is however. That is something that only time amongst her people will tell her. With a deep breath, she walks forward, pushing one of the flaps aside to enter the fabric structure.

Sam sits up straight. He was lying on the bed mats on the floor, staring up at nothing prior to Willie’s entrance and she can tell.

“Hey,” he says, unsure of how else to address her.

She comes in, taking off her belt and shoulder holsters to sleep, “Hey.”

Sam watches her, flicking his hair out of his face, “So…” he isn’t sure what to say but feels a need to fill the silence.

Willie grunts, “What?”

The Winchester crosses his legs, adjusting himself, “So how is everything? Alright?” Willie turns around, going to lay on her bed mat next to his, “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” Her voice is flat and Sam sighs, “Willie, look, this isn’t your-”

“Stop,” she interrupts, “No offense Sam, but I don’t want to hear it right now. I get it, you’re going to give me the old fashioned Winchester, ‘This isn’t your fault and we’re gonna fix it together’ speech. I get it.” She lays down, arms folded neatly on her stomach almost like a mummy, “Now just let me sleep.”

He watches her close her eyes, settling in for the night. Sam sighs before laying on his side, turned away from her, “Goodnight, Willie.”

“In Gallifreyan,” she demands. He only huffs, “Yaratov myul.”

***

The sun shines down brightly on the green lawn. The wet grass glistens in its light, sending a cool, humid air into Willie’s lungs. She takes in a large, deep breath.

All the colors of Earth never ceased to send her into a state of awe. The blue sky, yellow sun, green leaves, brown tree trunks, white clouds. Everything was just so alive. She smiles, feeling the coolness of the breeze blow through her hair.

It’s been a long time since she felt this. This happiness that came just from looking at Earth. She was such a beautiful planet, why anyone would wish to harm her is a concept Willie can’t quite grasp.

Being on Earth made her feel free. Freedom from her past, freedom from who she used to be and all the mistakes she made. A freedom she intends to never let go of.

“Hey Wills,” Dean calls behind her back, locking the door of his black impala, “are you coming or not?”

Willie whips around, smoothing out the fake FBI suit jacket she wore. “Of course, darling. Just was admiring the view.” She smirks and walks up to Dean. He pulls her in by the small of her back, muttering in her ear, “Which view would that be?”

She leans back to look him in his green eyes, “The woods, you idiot,” she chuckles, straightening his tie, “Why would I need to look at you when I wake up to you every morning?”

Dean smirks back at her, leaning forward, “You little-”

A loud sound of skin smacking something hollow pulls them from their trance. Sam takes his hand off the hood of the car and scolds them, “Guys, we’re in the middle of something.” He takes one last look at himself in the reflection of the impala’s window, “You two can make out or whatever it is you do later.”

“Really, Sammy?” Dean asks, aggravated, “Can I not have two seconds with my woman? Two?”

“No, Dean, people are dying, we have work…” Sam trails off, Dean interrupting him periodically as they argue. Willie just chuckles, her love for her boys swelling inside her.

“Kheromoksyl,” a voice whispers to Willie from somewhere beyond her view. A panic sets in, her hearts racing faster than she can comprehend. “Kheromoksyl,” it calls again. She’s panting now, wondering who could have known to say that.

“Who’s there? How do you know my name?” She calls to the emptiness. “Kheromoksyl,” the voice is getting louder, but still no one is in sight.

“Kheromoksyl,” the voice shouts in her ears and she shuts her eyes in pain, the world going dark.

***

Willie’s eyes go wide, her breathing heavy but slowing the more she is awake. When she observes her surroundings, she breathes a sigh of relief. She’s in her tent, with Sam, on Gallifrey.

The images in her dream flash back to her as she begins to fully remember it. The dark red and black of the tent and the ground beneath her is a stark contrast to her dream. Life is always a disappointment compared to dreams. Dreams are colorful and everything you want, but real life is often bleak and lacks the color of paradise.

It feels for a moment, that Willie has woken up in hell. That idea, however, might not be too far fetched.

Feeling hot for the first time in centuries, Willie takes off her long sleeved green top, leaving her in a black sports bra and her cargo pants. Sweat slickens her body and she suddenly feels choked in the small tent with Sam. Glancing at his body, she watches him rise and fall, sound asleep.

With a bit more difficulty than she was expecting, Willie stands. She quietly takes careful steps out of the tent, making sure not to let too much moonlight in while Sam sleeps.

Stepping back out into the camp, she pans her eyes around. The bonfire had died down, the field was deserted, and faint sounds of snoring could be heard if you really listened.

Willie looks to the west, toward the river. Since coming back to Gallifrey, she hasn’t seen the river once. The river that played such a huge part in her childhood had laid univisited. Feeling herself already walking to it, Willie slips into the treeline.

Walking a faint beaten path, the blond soaks up all the sounds of the forest. The northern breeze rolls through the trees, singing its song to Willie on her pilgrimage. She wanders deeper into the woods, the clearing becoming farther and farther away.

Up ahead the river presents itself. She was long and winding. Her water was a red, slightly murky, color. The slope of the mountain where she was born kept her running enough to be clear but she was still calm enough to not make too much noise.

The treeline ends where her banks begin, the ground sloping into her gradually and darkening with moisture. The river wasn’t too wide, either. She was only about 300 feet at her widest point.

Unlike the people that drink from her, the river is gentle and loving. Willie remembers taking solace in knowing she was there. Approaching her now is by far the easiest thing Willie’s done in a long time. There was no question or doubt in her mind this was right.

She steps towards the waters, hearing a squishing sound beneath her. Willie looks down to see her boots sinking ever so slightly in the mud close to the river. Willie walks back up to dry land, eagerly untying her laces, tucking her socks neatly inside the shoes once they’re off.

Practically running to the water, Willie feels a rush deep within her come back to life. It’s the rush of being someplace familiar, a place you know better than anything.

Upon reaching the ends of the banks, the blond takes a step into the river, allowing the water to cover her ankles. In that moment, she forgets everything, all is lost in her mind as she concentrates on only the feeling of the river, her river, hugging her softly.

The moment ends however, when Willie sits in the mud, feeling the buttons of the pockets on her pants dig into her thighs. This small thing is a big reminder of why she’s here. If only it were as simple as was in Willie’s small moment of clarity.

Picking up a small stone next to her, Willie turns it over in her fingers, swiping the mud from it. With her mind lost in thought, she continues turning it over.

Don’t forget where your loyalties lie. The words of the High Priestess ring in Willie’s ears. Of course now that she’s back where she belongs, things would go back to the way they used to be. Right? Why would she think any different? Just because she’s been away from home for 1300 years doesn’t mean that she is suddenly absolved from her duties to her home. She took an oath to protect the city and its people.

But what of Earth? What of Asgard? Does she not have a duty to them? Surely just because they aren’t ‘her kind,’ doesn’t mean they are less deserving of her protection or care.

The questions swim through Willie’s mind. A frustration begins to grow within her, and this time, she can’t punch her way out of it.

Squeezing the now clean stone in her fist, Willie reaches an arm back and throws it. The stone flys out over the river before jumping against its surface three times. On the fourth touch, it sinks into the current, surely being swept away by the river’s gentle hold.

With a sigh, Willie looks up into the sky. The first sun was just beginning to rise. She didn’t realize she had been sitting there so long. Birds tweet in the distance, the symbol of a new day dawning.

Lifting herself from the mud, Willie walks to the dry shore. She reaches down to grab her boots, hooking the laces onto her fingers. Reaching the treeline, she gives one last look to the river, her only childhood comfort. Her chest heaves with a sigh and Willie turns, beginning her trek back down the path to camp.

**TAG LIST**

[redselfships]

under the stars. under new light.

Summary: Jamie can’t sleep, so she goes to her best friend for help. At that same night, she has an epiphany.

Pairing: TWDG Mitch / Jamie (OC/Self-Insert)

Word Count: 1903

Note: just mitch and jamie being BROS(tm) under the starlit night.

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS WEREN’T RARE FOR JAMIE. Sometimes she worries herself silly; about the walkers finding themselves in the boarding school and picking off her friends one by one. Sometimes her mind just runs a bit too much and a bit too fast to fall asleep. Tonight, was one of those nights. Where the whole day felt like it was running on fast forward and unfortunately, her mind hasn’t had the time to calm down like the rest of the world.

She knocked quietly on the door. Two light taps with her knuckle against the hardwood door, so as to not wake the others. Jamie waited patiently on the other side as she heard shuffling before the door swings wide open. Revealing a sleepy Mitch; eyes barely opened and extremely prominent bed hair.

“...Jamie?” He blinks, hand rising up to lightly scrub the fatigue from his eyes.

For a second, she half-considers apologizing and going back to bed. It’s not the first time she’s come over during the late of night. It’s happened before—where Jamie’s mind wouldn’t let her rest and Mitch would keep her company and chat, until they were finally too tired to continue on. It was weird—hesitating now of all nights. She gulps down the imaginary weight in her throat.

“I, um, I can’t sleep.” Jamie smiles apologetically at the boy.

Mitch stares her down before opening the door wider to let her in. He yawns, which prompts her own following yawn as the two of them settle down on the floor beside his bed. Backs to the bed frame and knees pulled tight against their chest.

“So,” Mitch breathes out a sigh before he spreads his legs out in front of him. “What’s in your mind this time?”

She shrugs her shoulders. It was weirdly complicated; there was too much and not enough all at the same time. When she glances at the side, his head is lolled back, resting against the dirty mattress they call beds. She huffs out a breath.

There’s little space between the two of them; which was not much of a surprise. Best friends don’t worry about something as little as personal space. The two of them learned that earlier on in their friendship. It was all because they were best friends and she found comfort with him. His arm flush against her’s and Jamie leans over a bit more. Mitch was always good for comfort—even if the others thought the opposite. They’d certainly pick Aasim for comfort over Mitch at any time of day.

“I dunno. I just can’t sleep.”

“That’s not very helpful.” Mitch shuffles a bit to accommodate her weight on his side. Her head somehow ends up resting on his shoulder by the end of it. “...Is it about what happened earlier?”

She immediately shuddered at the thought. A chill ran down her spine at the resurface of the memory. The feeling of the walker grabbing onto her with it’s disgusting, rotten teeth just a few inches of biting the crook of her neck—it nauseates her to just think about it. She was grateful for Aasim’s talent with the bow and arrow. Any second later, her hands would have given out and she’d be dead. Another walking dead for the others to kill. Or would she have let them kill her before she turned? The thought scares her. “P-Probably? I...I don’t want to talk about it yet.”

“...Okay then.”

Silence envelopes the two teenagers. Just sharing space, sharing company. It was one of her favorite things about Mitch. Complete silence with him wasn’t uncomfortable—not like it was with Violet, where she feels the need to fill the space of silence between them. With Mitch, it was unnecessary. Her mind starts to slow down, as intended. The ongoing rave of thoughts in her mind slowly clearing with every second spent.

“...Let’s go outside.”

She peers at him with confusion. “Why?”

“You look like you need some fresh air. Plus, you always talk about stargazing but never actually do it.”

“Well, Vi said the best place to stargaze was at the watchtower.” Jamie felt herself pouting. “And the watchtower is high. I hate heights, Mitch.”

“S’not so bad on the ground.” He stands up, abruptly, and she nearly falls on her side at the action if it weren’t for her arm jutting out to catch herself. Mitch ignores the glare sent his way and holds his hand out to help her up on her feet. She takes his hand anyway, with a petulant huff.

With tiptoed footsteps and hushed chatter, the two finally found themselves out the courtyard. The air was definitely more fresh than the air inside of their dorms. Jamie takes a deep breath in and then out. The crisp air helps serve as comfort to her, as Mitch predicted. She follows him over to the makeshift benches from logs and the two sit beside each other. Backs leaned against the log, shoulders flush against each other. Like deja vu.

Jamie immediately looks up at the sky. Her childhood is a blurry mess, for the most part anyway, but she faintly remembers the night sky being more dim. Less stars twinkled during the night. Her mother said it was because of something pollution that kept the stars away from them. If there was one good thing that came out of the end of the world, it had to be this.

Before them was the night sky. Millions, maybe even billions of stars scattered about with no real pattern. It almost felt like the sky was a darker shade of purple too, if she stared long enough. She faintly remembers hearing about how stars could be connected and make pictures. But, with the amount of stars littered about, it was hard to tell what was what.

“...It’s pretty.” She commented, with a soft smile.

“Yeah, it...it is.”

Jamie takes her time to take in the view before her. A part of her heart breaks at the view—how could something awful have to happen for her to see such a view? She cranes her head to look at Mitch but he was already looking her way. The sudden closeness brings a nervous chuckle to bubble out of Jamie’s lips and she quickly turns away. It wasn’t before she can take note of the number of freckles dotting the bridge of his nose. It reminded her of the stars blanketing over them.

“A...anyway,” she clears her throat, trying to shove the unease settling under her skin away. It was a familiar feeling, nothing short of foreign, but towards Mitch—it was odd. “Thanks, Mitch. I needed this.”

“Just learn to be careful next time, idiot. Stop prancing around like a damsel in distress.” Mitch sighs, his hand reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. “I know how you feel about getting out the walls too—”

“I know, it’s just…” Jamie pulls her knees up against her chest and wraps her arm around her legs. The memory resurfaces again; seeing Louis busy with a walker while another one slowly crept up on him. It scared the hell out of her and before she knew it; she’d tackled Louis out of the way of the walker. She basically sacrificed herself out there—and it was stupid. There were other ways to tackle the problem that didn’t cause her near death experience. “The walker nearly k-killed Louis.”

“And you almost got killed too.”

She pouts. “...I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Good.” He chuckles, breaking the tension between the two by ruffling Jamie’s already-mused hair. His hand pushes her head down a bit as he does so, She grabbed Mitch’s wrist to stop him with her own laugh.

“Hey, hey—!” She laughs. “Leave my hair alone....”

Jamie looks up from her lap, a smile still lingering on her face as she does so. It’s the second time that night that they’ve met face to face; the space between them was practically nonexistent. They were close enough that Jamie could feel his breath on her cheek. Dark eyes flicker over to his lighter ones and she stares with bated breath.

It was weird. This was weird. Right?

Seeing him so close was normal. She could remember the countless of times that she’d pull Mitch’s face close during playful banter and vice versa. Not to mention the countless of times that they’ve sat in this same position from before. Jamie couldn’t place what was so different now. Maybe it was the stars—something about seeing the night sky for the first time made her heart soft. The pounding of her heart slowly filled her ears, until it was all that she can really hear. He has a weird expression on his face. She can’t quite pinpoint where she’s seen it before.

His eyes seem to brighten under the light of the stars; there’s a softer gleam to them too. It’s the expression that she sees on him whenever Willy is around. The sort of expression that no one else really sees because Mitch was the mean, rough boy. But Jamie doesn’t see that, she sees her best friend who cares too much for everybody.

Jamie is suddenly hyper aware of the space between them. Or, rather, the lack thereof. She swallows down the invisible lump in her throat. Her eyes flicker over to her hand wrapped around Mitch��s wrist and she lets go out of reflex. Her eyes meet Mitch’s once more and she takes in the way his eyes seem to brighten under the blanket of stars.

...Pretty.

“...’s that so? You’re not too bad yourself, Jay.” Mitch chuckles with a shy smile. Her heart skips a beat at the smile—who’d have thought Mitch could smile so bashfully? Not her. Not ever.

Warmth bloomed at her cheeks as her eyes widened. Her hands come up to cover her face, all too flustered to look at Mitch anymore. She bites at her bottom lip, mind racing what felt like 100 miles per hour. Too fast for her to grasp at any concrete thought. Instead, she keeps her eyes trained on the ground—it almost felt like she was stuck in a carousel. Spinning an endless loop.

“Does this mean I finally beat Louis as the prettiest boy?”

A sudden burst of laughter slipping past Jamie’s lips breaks the endless loop. And she playfully buffs Mitch on the arm. If Mitch was any level of embarrassed, at least he was better at hiding it. “V-very funny, Mitch.”

He grins. One of the shit-eating grins that he managed to perfect. And she buffs him once more. She was still uncomfortably hot on the cheeks but at the very least, her flustered mind began to calm down with his lighter teasing.

“I’m never letting this go, by the way.” He hums appreciatively in thought. “Me being the new resident pretty boy.”

“Shut up already! It was a slip of a tongue.” She protests with a weak glare. Whatever she was feeling—for Mitch, her best friend of all people, had to be some odd psychological trick. She’s exhausted and clearly still in shock from having almost died. Not to mention the stars—especially serving as backdrop to Mitch—was clearly doing something with her mind. That was it, she rationalized with a satisfied nod.

But then, Mitch smiles again and her heart skips a beat and all her rationalizing goes down the drain. She was fucked.

[true0neutral]

OC Interview Meme

Tagged by @lindira

Tagging @daddywarbats, @pixelblitzer, @bloodredrook, @malfyre, @hyperewok1, @fauxfire76, @miaaoi, and anyone else who would like to do this!

Witness, Hazel Hearthheart, my Life Domain Cleric of Pelor!

1. What is your name?

“Hazel. Hazel Hearthheart.”

2. What is your real name?

"It’s still Hazel. Only way that’s changing is if the bitch that originally had me came up with something and didn’t say anything.”

3. Do you know why you were called that?

"I’m called Hazel because Mom and Momma gave me that name when I was given to them by the stuck up elf-bitch that gave birth to me.”

4. Are you single or taken?

"Single, but interested in a certain someone. Possibly more than one someone now, I think?”

5. Have any abilities or powers?

“I’m a Cleric of Pelor in His Life Domain. I channel my faith into divine magic and I’m pretty handy with a warhammer. Also a spear, and a crossbow. Plus all that time running circles around the temple in increasingly heavier armors got me really used to it all and I think I can almost cartwheel in the clanky stuff!

6. Stop being a Mary Sue.

“A what?”

7. What’s your eye color?

“They’re a sorta amber-brown.”

8. How about your hair color?

“Dark brown. The bow Mom and Momma gave me compliments it really well!”

9. Have you any family members?

“My elf-mom was a massive stuck up bitch and didn’t even give me a name. I only got my name when I was 5 years old and she gave me to Twilly and Miranda Heartheart, Mom and Momma. They kinda adopt all sorts of kids so the family’s a bit big. There’s Conn; he’s half-orc, travels a lot ‘cause he’s a merchant, 25 years old. Andri; half-elf and VEEEERRRY pretty,  lives in the city of Belarys, 22 years old,. After that there’s me at 18 years, and then the younger kids starting with  Keth; half-orc like Conn, 15 years old. Ramas; half-elf like me, 14 years old. Mella; same as Ramas, 12 years old. Oskar Balderk; dwarf, 10 years old. Dawn; half-orc, 8 years old. Skylar; half-elf and looking to be a Paladin of Bahamut, 6 years old. Evan Deadeye; gnome and really really sneaky in the awesome way, 4 years old. Lissi Riverrun; human, 13 years old. Candor; tiefling 10 years old. Last but not least at all even though she’s really small is Geloe, she’s a pixie, no idea how old she is.

10. Oh? What about pets?

“Well, we’ve got Noop who’s this really big yellow cat. Then there’s Sunshine the yellow Fairie Dragon, he’s technically Lira’s but he took a shine to Evan so he’s moved in with Mom, Momma, and everyone else. Finally there’s Flitty, who’s a bl-well, green now, Fairie Dragon. He had the same liking for “poket ‘ventures!” as Sunshine but decided to follow me and Darvin and Froseth and Remi, and Nai, and Ava around instead of just staying at Hearthhome.

11. That’s cool I guess, now tell me about something you don’t like.

“Elves who are up themselves, gossipy twits, really really scary governers of Equitas when they’re mad, blasphemy, and asshats in general!”

12. Do you have any hobbies/activities you like doing?

“Being with my family, being with my friends, adventuring are the main ones. There’s also...um....a few I learned about more recently. It’s personal stuff!

13. Ever hurt anyone before?

“Yes, mostly self-defense and the usual adventuring things but sometimes by accident ‘cause I flail.”

14. Ever… killed anyone before?

“Yes. Again, self-defense and adventuring related. If someone’s attacking you you kinda have to hit them back.”

15. What kind of animal are you?

“I’m...a half-elf? Though I got turned into a bunny at least once.”

16. Name your worst habits.

“I flail. A lot. Mentally and physically. The people training me at the temple tried to solve that by having me carry really heavy things and run around in armor and stuff.”

17. Do you look up to anyone at all?

“To Mom, and Momma, and Conn, and Andri, and the group I’m adventuring with, and Clarity.”

18. Gay, straight, or bisexual?

“Lesbian.”

19. Do you go to school?

“Mostly learned what I know from Lira, the local Cleric of Pelor back home, then I spent some time trying to learn at the temple of Pelor on Mt. Pelor. Now I learn as I go. ”

20. Do you ever want to marry and have kids one day?

“Maybe, but probably the way Mom and Momma do, adopting them and keeping Hearthhome going.”

21. Do you have any fanboys/fangirls?

“I have really good friends. Does that count?”

22. What are you most afraid of?

“My family and friends and home getting hurt.”

23. What do you usually wear?

“I got some pretty basic amor, but the main piece is this chestplate made by Jenna, who’s a Forge Domain cleric and several kinds of awesome!”

24. Do you love someone?

“Yes. Several people. Some in one way, others another way.”

25. When was the last time you wet yourself?

"NOPE!”

26. Well, it’s not over yet!

“What?”

27. What class are you? (High class, middle class, low class)

“I’m a farm girl, so I think that’s low class? Buuuuut I’m also an adventurer so that’s got me a bit more all over the place and most of the money I make is gonna get sent home so I dunno.”

28. How many friends do you have?

“Clarity, Darvin, Froseth, Remi, Nai, Ava, Kezia, and a few people around the town Hearthhome sits near.”

29. What are your thoughts on pie?

“Pie is awesome! Just, eating too much at once does bad things.”

30. Favourite drink?

“Ale, Mead, anything Kezia picks, the awesome stuff I had in Belarys and this one drink Nai called a ‘Strawberry Occupied’.”

31. What’s your favourite place?

“Hearthhome!”

32. Are you interested in someone?

“Um...well...I like Clarity a lot, but there’s also Kezia aaaaaaand it’s complicated okay!”

33. What’s your bra cup size and/or how big is your willy?

“Nope! NOPENOPENOPE!

34. Would you rather swim in the lake or the ocean?

“Either works, swimming is awesome!”

35. What’s your type?

“People who are kind to others and willing to put up with my flail.”

36. Any fetishes?

“What?”

37. Seme or uke? Top or Bottom? Dominant or Submissive?

“Also what?”

38. Camping or indoors?

“I like indoors if I can have it but Mom and Momma gave the group this tent so outdoors is also cool!”

39. Are you wanting the interview to end?

“Why are you asking?”

40. Now it’s over!

"Oh, okay.”

[joonbird]

Fire & Desire | 1

➭ “Kim Seokjin is everything you don’t want in a man. Cocky, full of himself and oh so annoying. And that’s what makes him the perfect fuck buddy. Because it’s not like you could ever see him as anything more than a heartless player... right?”

pairing: seokjin x reader

genre: smut, fuckboy!jin, dom!Jin

wordcount: 10.1k

a/n: *that* shower scene → inspired by this picture!

part one | two | three

You have a crush. 

It seems a bit silly to use the word crush, but really – it’s the most fitting word to describe how you feel when you’re around him. Your chest squeezes when you think about how he smiles with his eyes first lips second, your heartbeat rutting at a rapid pace when imagine him directing one of those smiles at you. Yep, definitely a crush. You have a crush, a big, embarrassing, painful crush, on no other than Kim Namjoon.

Kim Namjoon. Kim Namjoon is known to most as the newly promoted junior partner of your firm, a man with a sharp brain and an even sharper tongue. You however, know him as the man who has you thinking ‘oh my god he’s looking at me don’t blush don’t you dare fucking blush’ on an all too regular basis.

Of course, it’s not like he notices you. He’s your type to a tee, the kind of man you always imagined yourself ending up with. But his gaze always scans right past you -  when all you want is for it to linger. 

That is, until now.

“Hey,” Namjoon hovers above your desk and his eyes meet yours. Your breath leaps in your throat and you immediately pin your shoulders back, hoping that you look poised, elegant. A blush colours your cheeks when you realize you’re overthinking your actions, as if good posture will somehow make him wildly attracted to you.

Still, you pull your shoulders back and smile at him.

“…” 

A long silence stretches between the two of you, he clears his throat with an embarrassed tilt of his head, and you realize that he doesn’t even remember your name.

“Y/N,” You stammer out quickly and Namjoon nods. 

“Of course. Y/N. I was wondering…” His voice dips and for a wild moment you fantasize about the words that are about to come out of his mouth.

“… Do you mind photocopying this file? I would ask that new intern, but he’s already left for the day.” He adds a little smile at the end of his words and you can’t help but melt, like butter over a stack of pancakes. 

You’ve been working at this firm for nearly a year and you didn’t suffer through the hellish ordeal of law school to merely photocopy... but still, you find yourself nodding. The file is well over 200 pages and going to take a year to photocopy, but you grab it like it’s a god damn golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. 

Namjoon doesn’t notice the blush spreading across your cheeks and he’s already glancing down at his phone, and with an absentminded ‘Thanks’, he strolls away.

You’re bent over the photocopier, trying to figure out how you’re supposed to change the ink cartridges when the machine doesn’t seem to have any clear instructions whatsoever, when you hear voices.

You recognize them immediately – Namjoon’s calm voice melodic against the deeper, huskier voice of Kang Minho. Minho is one of the associates in your firm, an older man whose default mode is one of condescension. Particularly towards the few women employed at your firm. Needless to say, you aren’t a fan. 

They’ve clearly stopped in your office’s large break room to grab a coffee, and you wave at them, but neither men notice.

“…So tonight’s the big night, huh?” Minho’s voice floats down and you pause, intrigued. 

You wonder if you should say something, reveal that you’re down here on the ground grappling with ink cartridges. However, a morbid curiosity shushes the words before they can leave your lips. You duck down so they cant spot you, feeling somewhat like a fugitive.

“Yeah,” You hear Namjoon answer, followed by a chuckle. “Man, I’m fucking rusty. I haven’t been laid in months. I haven’t even talked to a woman in months.” He laughs ruefully and your eyes widen. 

“I know what you mean,” Minho sighs. “When are we gonna get some better looking ladies in here? I could use a hot little PA, not an old fucking crone. Have you seen Beth? I wouldn’t fuck her if you paid me.” 

Namjoon just laughs in response and you wrinkle your nose at the crudeness the two men are exuding.

“Although,” Minho muses. “There’s Y/N, that new lawyer, right? She’s pretty hot.” 

Your eyes widen when you hear your name, and you realize you’re holding your breath when you hear Namjoon make a noise that can be best described as the vocalization of an ‘ehhhh’.

“She doesn’t count,” Namjoon says finally, and you blink. “She’s like another guy.” 

Minho laughs loudly in response. “True.”

Fuck! You’re squeezing the ink cartridge and it explodes in your hands, sending black ink all over your palms. The sound of the cartridge clattering to the floor causes you to jump, and cringing, you scrabble to duck lower behind the photocopy machine. 

“What was that?” You hear Namjoon question, and you pray to all the divinities out there to stop him from rounding the corner.

“Dunno man. It’s probably nothing. Come on, let’s bounce.” Minho responds, and you breathe out a sigh of relief when you hear the sound of their footsteps retreating. 

You stay still for a moment, crouched over, your hands covered in ink. 

You squeeze your eyes shut, suddenly all too aware of the horrible sensation in your your chest. You want to cry. And not just a few tears, a big, ugly, chest-pain cry.

She doesn’t count? Like another guy? 

You ball up your fists and will yourself to be strong. You hate this- the sharp whip of rejection swelling in your chest. He’s an asshole, you chant internally, who cares what he thinks, you add to the chant. The need to cry subsides, but the sting doesn’t.

You finally stand up and walk to the bathroom, you scrub your hands one, twice, three times, the routine calming you down. By the time your hands are relatively clean, you’re feeling better. 

You leave the bathroom and walk down the hallway of cubicles, past the symphony of clacking keyboards and tired sighs. It’s already late, the sun melting into the skyline, and yet half of your team is still hard at work. Any other night and you would be working away alongside them. 

It’s the price you have to pay if you want to climb up the career ladder in this profession. You have to give up any semblance of a life, let alone a love life. How long has it since you’ve gone on a date, had sex, or even interacted with a guy? Aside from photocopying files for a man like you’re a nameless, voiceless intern, you think to yourself bitterly. 

You reach your tiny cubicle and stare miserably at the stack of papers on your desk, the open laptop, the cup of coffee. It’s Friday night and your plans were to finish your work, go home, cuddle your cat and sleep. 

Some Friday night.

Maybe it’s the frustration blooming in your chest, or the wooden feeling from being reduced to ‘she’s pretty hot/she doesn’t count’ by two of your colleagues.

Whatever it is, it ignites in your chest as you slam your laptop closed and swipe your wallet off of your table. 

“It’s Friday fucking night,” You mutter to yourself. “And I need a drink.”

“He’s an ass.” Irene says, authority lacing her voice. “Truly. An ass.” 

You’re sitting at a dive bar around the corner from your house, a nearly empty bottle of wine sitting in front of you. It’s getting late, and you’ve been complaining to your best friend for hours. The more alcohol you consume the more you feel fired up, it feels like annoyance is running through your veins. Annoyance and red wine, that is.

“I’m the ass.” You mutter. “I’m done with men. I’m done with feelings. I’m done with being passive and not taking charge of my own life.” You end your sentence with emphasis, lifting your glass to your lips. Irene just laughs, pointing her glass at you. 

“Don’t be like that, you’ll meet the right guy. I did.” She punctuates her words with an angelic smile and you just shake your head at her words. 

“I don’t want to meet the right guy. Seriously,” You whine. “I’m done with feelings. I’m done with caring so much. What’s the point? You get invested and you get burned. Fuck that!” 

Irene just shrugs. “I mean-”

A loud laugh cuts through Irene’s voice- an obnoxious laugh, one that immediately annoys you. 

Your eyes fall straight on him, and to be completely honest- it’s hard not to, because he’s the kind of man the demands attention. He’s standing at the centre of the bar, leaning against the damn thing like he owns the place. 

He’s handsome- and you can tell he knows he’s handsome. You can see it in the way he carries himself, you can sense it in the lines of his shoulders- he is exuding the kind of easy confidence that only truly beautiful people have. 

He’s in conversation with a woman- she’s gorgeous, clad in a black dress that is molded to her curves like hot fudge dripping off a sundae. She’s simpering at him, her eyes wide and hopeful. 

Curiousity piqued, you watch as he laughs again –such an unattractive laugh for such an attractive man- and you’re amazed by how the woman continues to stare at him like he’s God’s gift to man. Complete and utter doe eyes. 

Even though he has most of his attention on her, he’s still glancing around the room, giving other women moments of eye contact, little smirks. He’s keeping his options open, you realize. He’s eyefucking half the room.

“Seokjin,” You hear her voice ring out, she pouts at him. “That’s such an amazing story. You’re so brave.”

He leans in closer to her and nods somberly. “I try to be,” You can hear him say in a serious tone. “I mean I have to be a brave guy, right? To talk to a woman as beautiful and out of my league as yourself?”

Ugh, what a fucking line. You roll your eyes, expecting the woman to see straight through him. Instead, her eyes light up and her cheeks blush pink.

You can’t believe she doesn’t spot how him he switches from spinning lines like a K-drama actor to being completely bored, the second she glances away. He’s a player, and a good one. A very good one. 

He’s charming, handsome, the textbook definition of princely. He works the sweet ‘I want to date you’ card to the right woman… and, you bet, he can flip it and become a complete asshole before that some woman can even blink.

“Pathetic,” You mumble under your breath. 

Almost as if he hears you, he glances up, his eyes meeting yours. 

Looking at him front on, you’re disarmed momentarily by how beautiful he is. Full lips, wavy hair, and piercing eyes… eyes that are staring right into yours, with no subtlety whatsoever. He’s trying to figure you out and when you give him absolutely nothing, his lips curl into a smirk. 

His gaze is focused and appreciative, as if he’s undressing you and he likes what he sees. You roll your eyes and tear your eyes away from him, forcing yourself to look at something else, anything else. 

“That guy won’t stop staring at you,” Irene hisses under her breath. 

You glance up at her with a deadpan expression. 

“Are you sure he isn’t staring at you?”

She sighs impatiently. “Yes I’m sure! Oh my god, he’s so hot. I’m wet just looking at him.”

You laugh, swatting your friend. “Too much information Irene… which guy?”

“The one who looks like a model!”

You glance up surreptitiously to see that same guy, still staring straight at you. The woman he was chatting up earlier is still by his side, batting her eyelashes at him, but he’s not even facing her. 

His eyes are on you.

“Please,” You roll your eyes. “He’s the kind of guy who’s too in love with himself to pay any attention to the girl he’s with. Probably gets off to his own photos.”

Irene sighs dreamily. “And I don’t blame him if he does. I would too. He’s seriously so- Oh my God, I think he’s walking over…”

You glance up in mild panic, seeing him sauntering over to you.

“Hi,” He says, stopping right in front of your table and offering you a smile. “I’m sorry for staring, it’s just… you’re the most beautiful woman here. Did you know that?”

You hear Irene let out a little sigh and you just purse your lips, unimpressed.

“And you’re the most obvious guy here, did you know that?” You retort icily. 

He’s unbothered by your comment, instead, he just lifts an eyebrow.

“You ladies out for some drinks?” He asks, glancing from you to your friend. 

“No, we’re here to raise sheep. What do you think we’re doing?” You snapback, holding up your glass of wine and waving it in his face. 

He just cocks his head to one side, a smile dancing on his lips. 

“You’re funny,” He comments. “I like that in a woman.” He gives you a slow, charming smile and you just stare at him with an uninterested expression.

“Sure you do,” You respond sarcastically. His grin widens.

“Kim Seokjin. My friends call me Jin.” He introduces, holding out his hand, and you ignore him.

“This is Y/N,” You hear Irene scrambling, you shoot her a death stare and she just grins innocently at you. “I should head home,” She announces, grabbing her purse and standing up. “Tae’s waiting for me.” 

Seokjin is still staring at you, he doesn’t even turn his head to look at Irene. 

You shoot her a warning glance and she just grins at you, mouthing, He’s cute! You give her a look that says, I’m going to kill you.

“Irene-” You begin but she just chirps out, “Bye!” And flounces off. 

Great.

“Y/N,” Seokjin says thoughtfully. “Pretty name.”

You put your wine glass down and glare at him. “Please. Stop. I know what you’re trying to do. You’re painfully obvious. I’m not interested.”

Surprise darts over his face.

“I’m not trying to do-”

“Like I said! Cut it,” You interrupt him, you hold his gaze for a long moment before he shakes his head, laughing. 

“Bad day?” He answers simply, you give him a withering stare in response.

“What, you think the only reason for me not falling all over you could be that I’m having a bad day?”

Seokjin just grins. “No, I can just read you like a book. Tell me I’m wrong then. That you’re not having a bad day.”

You let out a little huff. Seokjin just smirks at you. 

“You’re so tense,” He comments lightly, carelessly. “I can see it in your shoulders.” His eyes linger on your body and you let out a scoff.

“I’m tense because you’re here.” You snap at him, and Seokjin leans in closer.

He’s so brash and so confident that you’re momentarily taken aback.

“I can help you get rid of some of that tension, if you like.”

“Not a chance in hell,” You growl, shaking your head at him. Seokjin pauses, surveying you thoughtfully.

“Look, I meant what I said. You’re the hottest woman here. And I’m the hottest guy here.” He finishes his sentence with a nonchalant grin and a wink.

Your jaw drops a little at the sheer audacity of what he’s suggesting, narrowing your eyes. 

“You’re so-” You begin, irritation prickling over your skin, and he just grins, cutting you off smoothly. 

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re attracted to me, right?” He leans in closer as he speaks and you feel your breath catch in your throat. He smells good, he’s wearing cologne but he also smells like something else, like fresh linen.

This close, you’re practically swimming in his eyes and you can’t help but feel a buzz of heat in your body.

“I…” Your voice stammers out and a confident smirk settles over Seokijn’s face. You stare at him up and down. He’s confident, so damn confident, like you’ve already said yes, and you suppose for a moment that maybe you have. He’s attractive. Really, really attractive.

You grab your wine glass in an attempt to down it all in one gulp. Instead, your hand collides with the glass and sends it flying... straight on Jin’s lap.

He lets out a small yelp and jumps in surprise as the dark burgundy liquid soaks straight through his cream coloured jumper. 

“Oh my God!” Your hands fly to your mouth and you feel your cheeks burn scarlet as you fumble around on your table for a napkin. You twist your body around and your elbow collides with Jin’s drink.

The second drink topples onto Jin and then onto the floor with a loud crash, the glass splintering into crystalline pieces. 

Your jaw drops and you see Jin grimace. 

“I’m sorry, that was an accident, I swear,” You babble and Jin just lifts his eyes to meet yours. 

“I have to say, I’ve had women throw drinks at me before but never like that.” He says drily. 

“It wasn’t-” You begin but Jin just shoots you a look of faint irritation. 

“Next time just say ‘no thanks’ and leave it at that.” He mutters. 

Your jaw drops and you feel a spike of annoyance flare up inside of you, but before you can bite back a retort, one of the bartenders marches over, irritation creasing his face.

“Time to go,” He says bluntly. Both you and Jin’s heads snap to look at the man, whose arms are folded, lips pressed in a firm line.

“I’m sorry, it was an accident-”

“I don’t care,” He interrupts in a short, tight voice. “We’re nearly at a full capacity and you just broke two glasses. Now I’ve gotta vacuum and sweep this entire area. Out.” 

The protest dies from your lips when you see all of the broken glass littering the floor. You nod meekly, turning and slinking out of the bar, Jin following suit. 

“Ugh,” Jin mutters in annoyance as you step outside. He looks down at himself pointedly. “I’m all wet and sticky now. Thanks a lot.”

“Sticky?” You echo. “What the hell were you drinking?”

Jin lifts his chin defiantly. “Peach mojito.” He says in a pert voice and you can’t help the giggle that spills out of your mouth. He narrows his eyes at you.

“A peach mojito?” You repeat, giggling. 

“They’re delicious and high in alcohol content, for your information.”

You laugh again, once again slightly taken aback by how upfront he is. He wears everything on his sleeve, you realize- not his heart, because you’re pretty sure he doesn’t have one. But he’s not hiding anything. He may be an A-grade player, but he owns it, at least. Oddly enough you appreciate it. 

“Whatever you say, Seokjin.”

Jin narrows his eyes at you. “Hey! I’ve been kicked out of a bar and my clothes are ruined. I should be getting laid right now. Instead… I’m here. It’s just great.” He’s speaking with a hint of sarcasm and you watch as he runs a hand through his hair, letting out a sulky sigh.

“Sorry,” You try again. “Really.” 

Seokjin eyes you suspiciously for a moment before he shrugs. “S’alright. I’ll live. I’d just kill for a shower or something God, I feel gross.” He shudders and you feel a twinge of guilt.

“If you want,” You begin with a sigh. “My place is right around the corner. You can shower there and try get some of that out of your clothes.” You eye the humongous red stain on the front of his jumper and he glances at you.

“Your place?” He repeats, and you cut him off before that now familiar smirk makes another appearance.

“Just because I feel bad for you.” You clarify. “There’s no chance in hell. I’m honestly not that attracted to you. You don’t affect me.”

He just smiles at you. “That’s called denial, babe.”

“Nope,” You fire back. “It’s called honesty.”

Jin just laughs and shakes his head. “Okay okay,” He shrugs. “If you say I don’t affect you then I won’t try anything, promise. I’m a man of my word.” He raises his hand solemnly at you, like he’s reciting an oath, and you roll your eyes.

“Please stop talking. Are you coming or not?” 

“Alright,” He sighs. “Lead the way.”

You arrive at your place in five minutes. As you switch the light on and close the front door, Jin steps inside, gazing around gingerly.

You gesture at the door up on your right. “Bathroom’s over there.”

Seokjin nods at you and walks over as you check your phone. 1AM. 

“Hey,” Jin calls out from inside the bathroom, “What’s with your shower?”

You pad down the hallway and into the bathroom. Your eyes widen as you realize he’s standing there shirtless, in just his jeans.

“Uh,” You stammer, averting your eyes and coughing. Jin, unfazed by your awkward reaction to his half naked body, gazes around your bathroom. 

“So fancy,” He comments. “There’s a seat and everything.” 

He nods at the small bench tucked against one wall of the shower and you shrug, still not making eye contact with his torso.

“Yeah, the old owners were big time into new age renovations, and I guess a bench in the shower was one of them,” You clear your throat after you speak and Jin just nods slowly. He’s still looking around your spacious bathroom, an intrigued expression on his face.

“What the hell do you do for a living?” He asks in curiosity, and you flush.

“Lawyer,” You mumble. “You?” 

Seokjin just smirks at you. “Wouldn’t you like to know. Anyway. How do I turn on the tap in this fancy-ass shower?” He eyes the huge chrome tap in the centre of your shower dubiously. 

“Ah,” You start, leaning against the shower door. “Yeah it’s a bit different, you’ve gotta press the tap inwards with pressure and then turn it to the left.” 

Jin nods, frowning at the tap, for a moment before he leans in past you to grasp the tap. He’s close, his face pinched slightly in concentration. You draw in your breath involuntarily as he steps closer, but luckily the sharp intake of your breath is lost in the sound of the water hitting the shower floor. 

His shoulders flex as he adjusts the water pressure, and your eyes fall on the slopes of his shoulders, your stare lingering on his neck. You’ve never been a neck person but God, he has a nice neck.

“Huh.” Jin says lightly, but you barely register what he’s saying. The glass walls of your shower are slowly starting to mist up with steam and you’re still staring at Jin’s back. He has such a broad back, with a trim waist and strong shoulders. His skin is smooth, and you suddenly wonder what his shoulder blades would feel like if you dug your fingernails into them.

Jin turns his head to glance at you, catching your dumbfounded stare.

“What?” He huffs, and you open your mouth to say something, anything... but words evade you. 

You’re suddenly hyperaware of the fact that he’s nearly naked, and your eyes fall from his eyes down to his chest. 

He raises an eyebrow and smirks to himself when he notices your stare. It’s getting hot in the room, and you draw in your breath with a shuddery gasp as he dips his head down to you. 

His lips are mere inches away from yours, but he pauses. His eyes darken as his gaze trickles down from your eyes to your neck, skimming over your breasts. His eyes rake over your entire body, and his stare is pure heat. 

It’s like you can feel him lingering over every inch of you, and you swallow, absorbed in the way his neck tenses with arousal, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. Like earlier, isn’t subtle, and he’s not gazing at you with adoration. Quite the contrary – he’s looking at you with hungry, lust filled eyes. He’s blatant, and you can’t help but glance down, seeing the tent in his pants. You tilt your chin up, staring into his eyes. Willing him to kiss you.

Like he can read your mind, his lips inch closer to yours, and you don’t know whether it’s him or you who closes the distance first. Either way, you meet his lips in a fevered kiss. 

There’s nothing gentle about it, it isn’t tender, his lips slam into yours with an urgency that immediately gratifies you. You gasp into his mouth and feel your body tense, but he’s like liquid, smooth, assured, his hand reaching up to cup the back of your head, his other palm sliding down past your shoulder blades to settle on your lower back. 

The gratification doesn’t last long, because you want more, and you let out a low moan as his tongue licks your bottom lip. You tilt your head back, feeling your heart start to jackhammer in your chest as he kisses you long and deep.

He’s good at this- at kissing, he kisses with just as much confidence as you would expect, his hand cupping the back of your head, his tongue is deep and demanding. Your mind is racing, and just when you think you can’t feel more full of want, red hot, unadulterated want… Seokjin lets out a low, sweet moan into your mouth.

Jin steps away from you and his fingers grasp the metallic zipper of his jeans, and he pulls them off and steps out of them. Your eyes glide over his thighs, thick and strong, at the small V lines that slope inward to his dick. His dick, which is big, thicker than you anticipated, and completely erect. Your breath catches in your throat as he straightens, a smirk on his face.

“Join me?” He asks and he turns, stepping into the shower. Your breath locks in your throat and comes out as a strangled sound as your eyes land straight on his ass, he has a great ass. Scratch that, he has a great everything.

Your body is moving before your mind has fully registered what is going on, your fingers gripping at the bottom of your dress and yanking it over your head, your hands frantically curving around your back to unclip your bra. Heat and desperation is throbbing through you, your eyes locked on Jin, who is standing under the pouring water. 

He turns his head and his eyes meet yours, his eyes linger over the curve of your breasts and on your legs and he bites his lip, and you feel yourself start to unravel with desire. 

Your underwear are off, flung to the floor with the kind of carelessness that would normally make you cringe but to be quite honest you couldn’t care less.

You step into your shower and Jin is staring down at you with a smirk on his lips.

“Y/N,” He says your name and it rolls of his tongue and you feel a quiver of hunger deep in your core.

“Seokjin.” You say his name, you attempt to say it confidently but it comes out as a breathy groan. At the sound of your voice, Seokjin moves closer.

He doesn’t kiss you. Instead, he turns you around in one smooth movement so that your palms are flat against the shower wall. The tiles are cold against your skin, the steam swirling around the air, and you let out a shuddery gasp.

“You’re so annoying,” He leans in and murmurs in your ear, you feel his lips brushing teasingly against your earlobe and a shiver runs through your body.

“You are,” You breathe back, and his fingers latch firmly around your wrist. He has your arms pinned against the wall, and his neck crooked as his body locks yours in place. You feel weak from arousal, at feeling his body, so much larger than yours, curved around you like this. 

Jin lets go of one of your wrists, his hand trails over your arm and then down your spine. Your toes curl and you can’t help but arch your body back into his, the way he’s touching you has you entirely on edge. His fingers work quick patterns on your lower waist, right by the fleshy part of your hip. 

“I thought you said I don’t affect you,” He continues, his voice low.

“You don’t,” You reply, but your legs tremble and your words come out as a moan. Jin just hums, massaging his thumb into your hip. You’re aware of how you’re pushing off of the wall with your hands, it’s unlike you to be this needy, this desperate so fast but you can’t help yourself. 

Jin’s palm skims over your ass before he cups it in his hand, squeezing you.

“I think I do. As much as you don’t want to admit it…” He punctuates his words, massaging your ass in his hands before both of his hands are at your waist, spinning you around. You gasp again as you come face to face with him, he has an easy, confident smile on his face. 

“I think you are affected by me.”

You feel momentarily taken aback, this close he’s so handsome that it hurts, his eyes piercing into yours. And the confidence! He’s oozing with it, and as much as it annoyed you back in the bar, you can’t help but feel turned on by it body now. He skims the pad of his thumb over your pussy, right over your now throbbing slit, and you hiss in a breath. He pulls his hand away.

“And there’s my answer,” He murmurs in satisfaction. You feel a flash of sexual frustration, mingled with irritation. Your core is aching for him, a heavy thud between your legs, and you’re annoyed that he’s right. You are affected by him.

“Yeah, you’re hot. Is that what you wanted to hear, you ass?” You mutter, but the irritation drains out of your body when he presses his body against you. You can feel his erection against your ass and his hands grip your hips, pulling them against him. 

He lets out a small moan and you’re filled with a stirring of confidence from the fact that he seems to be just as turned on as you are.

“I’m so hard right now.” Jin mutters, and your feel a rush of arousal and pride at his words. 

“Good,” You respond, it’s all you can manage to say. Jin pushes you firmly against the shower wall, and once again the cool slick of the tile makes you gasp aloud. You see Jin’s eyes flash as he smirks, one hand pinning your hips down in place. 

He reaches up and runs his fingers through your hair, wrapping some strands in his hand before he tugs. It’s a firm tug and you let out an involuntary moan. He has you immobilized, locked against the wall, and you are completely in his grip. 

“Fuck,” You grit out, staring up at him from under your eyelashes. “Please,” The word comes out before you can stop it. You’re desperate for him, your entire body is buzzing with need.  

The shower is full of steam now, the air thick, and you have to crane your neck back to meet Jin’s gaze. You’re trembling in arousal, the heavy weight of his hand in your hair, and that arousal only heightens when you see the look in Jin’s eyes. The easy confidence is still there, he looks pleased with himself, cocky as ever. And it turns you on so much you can hardly stand it.

“I told you,” Jin says in a low, teasing voice. “I’m good.”

“You haven’t even touched me yet, stop thinking so highly of yourself.” You pant out in retaliation, Jin growls, and you let out a gasp, enjoying the way Jin tightens his grip on your hair. 

He lets go, his hand curls around the base of your neck near your jawline, his fingers gripping your chin. He stares directly into your eyes and you can’t help the small moan that rips from your throat. His smirk grows at the sound.

“You’re so needy,” He observes with a cock of his head. “In such a rush.”

Before you can respond, he slips a hand between your thighs and brushes a finger against your clit. 

You hiss in for breath, his fingertips are damp from the steam in the shower and his hand is still keeping your face forward, locked on his. His touch lasts only a moment on your soaking wet, needy slit, and you feel a spike of desperation when he pulls away. 

You’re faintly aware of how your breath is becoming erratic, and that the more out of control you get, the more Jin’s smirk grows. The thought occurs to you that Jin is right… he is good. You don’t know how but he seems to read your body and touch you in spots that have you practically mewling out his name.

“Please Jin,” You beg. Your pride is starting to give way to your neediness for his touch and frankly, you couldn’t care less.

His eyes flash and his fingers dart against your pussy again, this you can’t help but tip your head back against the tile and let out a cry. Jin lets out a little groan and you feel his fingers push inside of you. He slips his long slender finger inside of you, working up into your wet walls and arching.

Fuck, when he crooks his finger your entire lower back stiffens and your eyes widen. You let out a choked breath, Jin’s eyes are on you the whole time, his dark eyes hypnotic and amused as he slides another finger in. 

The second one he slips in slowly, teasingly, before the full length of his fingers are inside of you.

He makes slow, agonizing thrusts inside of you and you’re filled to the brim with lust. It feels like you’re spinning, the air in the shower is thick with steam and the water is still running behind you, but all you can concentrate on is Jin fucking you out with his fingers.

“Oh my God,” You whimper and Jin’s eyes flash in satisfaction, as he slowly pulls his fingers out of you and brings them to his full lips. You watch as he sucks both fingers clean, his eyes locked on you, catching the way your mouth falls open. Fuck, he’s dirty, but he’s good, so damn good. 

“You taste pretty good.” Jin says in an offhand way and with a shrug of his broad shoulders, and you’re filled with a flash of annoyance. 

“Asshole,” You mutter and the irritation you feel fuels your arousal, your lips finding his in a frenzied kiss.

Jin’s lips are full and his tongue darts into your mouth with a dominance that you’re not used to. His kisses are rushed and intense in a way that has your whole body keening into him. 

He’s so good at this. It’s the one thought that slips through your hazy state at arousal. Perhaps too good at this. Jin doesn’t just kiss- his hands are roaming over your body, his fingers massaging at a sensitive spot on your inner thigh and making you moan. 

You’re barely aware of what you’re doing in response to his touches. While everything he is doing is full of intent and purpose, your hands are fluttering in his hair, roaming down his back, cupping his ass in your hands. 

You’re a mess, and at one point you stagger under the streaming water of the showerhead. The water pours over you and makes you gasp, before he pulls you back out of the stream, your wet skin gliding against his.

“Fuck,” You mumble in between his kisses. “You have a great ass.”

He just smirks. “I know.” 

He reaches down and grabs your ass, smacking one of your cheeks playfully. “You have a great ass too.” He murmurs sweetly, and before you can say anything he’s captured your lips in another hungry kiss. 

You respond eagerly, and he’s pulling you by your waist, you’re following. He sits down on the ledge in your shower with his legs apart and pulls you down on top of him. Immediately you oblige, swinging your legs into a straddling position. 

His cock is hard, you glance down at it and swallow, he’s bigger than what you’re used to. He has a nice cock too, straight, long, and thick. You wonder if it will be able to even fit inside of you. Judging by the smirk on Jin’s face, he can read the brief uncertainty that crosses over your face from taking in his size.

You take his length in your hands, wrapping your fingers around his shaft and enjoying the way his Adams apple bobs in his throat from your touch. Carefully, you pump your hand up and down his cock, your eyes flickering up to catch the way his tongue darts out over his lips. 

His lips are unfairly pillowy, you think to yourself, so full, like a pornstar’s lips. And with that thought, you’re suddenly struck with inspiration. 

You push yourself off of him, bending down so that you’re on your knees. Jin’s eyes widen a little before he smiles, stretching his arms out and interlacing his palms behind his head.

The shower floor is hard and painful on your knees, but it just turns you on more. This whole encounter is turning you on like crazy, you on your knees in your shower with a guy you met at a bar. A guy unlike anyone you would normally ever go for. 

With that thought in mind, you run your palms along his thighs and glance up at him. Seokjin’s lips are parted slightly and he cranes his neck forward, you can see the arousal written all over his face as his gaze trails over your waist, taking in the way your feet are tucked under your ass. 

You continue working his cock with your hand and slowly bend forward, keeping your eyes on him. 

“Tease,” Jin groans out. You can see it on his face- utter anticipation, and seeing the oh-so cocky Jin waiting impatiently for you to put your lips around his cock floods you with heat.

You run your tongue slowly down his shaft, toying with him before you dart the your tongue over his tip. His legs tense under your palms and he lets out a barely decipherable grunt of approval. You smile to yourself before you swirl your tongue over his tip again. Jin lets out an even louder groan.

“Stop teasing,” He mutters, but you ignore him, enjoying the loss of control on his face as he clenches his jaw. 

Finally, you take his cock into your mouth. You take a moment to adjust, to wetten his dick with your mouth, before you slowly take him in deeper. Jin moans and you see his fingers clench at the bench. 

His hands hover forward and entangle in your hair. You take him in until his cock hits the back of your throat. Jin is moaning louder, your eyes spring with tears but you’re so turned on by the noises. He’s vocal, surprisingly vocal- he’s letting out dark growls and moans, as you start fucking him with your mouth.

“God I never would’ve thought that you’d be this good with your mouth,” Jin sighs out and his words have your chest swelling with an odd sense of pride.

“You look so hot, your pretty mouth around my cock… fuck, how do you, oh Jesus, how do you do that?” His voice is strained as you take him even deeper, ignoring the will to gag. You lift your eyes to see his face, contorted in pleasure.

You hum against his dick, his full length in your mouth and your throat. His eyes open and he glances down at you and you give a tiny nod. A smile dissolves over Jin’s face before lifts his hips up with his palms against the bench, and begins to carefully thrust into you. 

“God, you’re deepthroating me like a fucking slut, it’s so fucking hot!” Jin groans as he bucks his hips, your eyes fill with tears. 

You take each thrust, his moans filling the air, before he pulls out of your mouth, hoisting you up. Before you can say anything he’s pulling you on top of him, his fingers grabbing at your thighs and pulling them around his waist so that you’re straddling him again.

“I want to fuck your brains out, princess,” He tells you in a husky voice. “Have you got a…?” He raises and eyebrow and you nod. 

“One sec,” You stammer out and you hop off him, the bottoms of your feet leaving wet footprints on your bathroom floor as you yank open one of your drawers and rip open a condom. 

Jin grins as you return, rolling the condom onto his length. 

“C’mere,” He murmurs when you’re done, pulling you firmly on top of him. His fingers are finding their way between your legs, he’s not slow and teasing like before but desperate. His fingers work against your clit and you let out a loud whimper. He looks so good- his damp hair is pushed off his forehead, lips are full and red from him biting them while you were fucking him with your mouth.

“You’re already so wet for me aren’t you?” He mutters. “God, you’re so hot… my lucky day.” He smirks at you and you feel his cock twitch between your legs. He pulls his fingers out of you and gazes at you, you answer his unspoken question as you wrap your fingers around his cock.

You lift your hips and ease yourself onto him. You’re careful, knowing that he’s thicker and bigger than what you’re used to, but you’re so wet and so aching for him that you sink down around him easily. 

The feeling of him stretching you out is immense and overwhelming, your eyes roll back and you let out a choked cry. 

“Fuuuuuuck. Your pussy feels even better than your mouth,” Jin half laughs, his fingers gripping around your hips. 

As you adjust, you feel satisfaction and relief wash over you. You have been craving this from the moment he slammed you against the shower wall. You begin rocking against him, his fingers curve around from your hip to your ass.

He cups your ass and squeezes you. He’s leaned back against the wall of the shower, and you tip your head back. There’s something about Seokjin, you’ve realized- perhaps the way his eyes rake over yours hungrily while you ride him. Or maybe it’s the cocky smirk that seems to always be on his lips. Whatever it is, it drives you God damn crazy. 

“You sure can take my dick well,” He murmurs into your mouth right before he kisses you, another wet hungry kiss. He keeps his hands on your ass, guiding your motions as you rock into him deeper, harder. 

You’re reaching your climax, it feels like you’ve been on edge ever since the water started running in the shower, and seeing Jin like this- swallowing heavily, his jaw clenching, it’s almost enough to take you to the edge. It’s the shower too, you think, the thick steam and the sound of the water running behind you as you sit on his cock.

“I’m going to cum soon,” You hiss and Jin reaches up with one hand and grips your hair again. 

“You have nice hair,” He comments, completely ignoring you. His voice is strained with lust. “Next time I’m going to fuck you from behind, like this.” His other hand flutters up and he tugs firmly on your hair with both hands, and the burn on your scalp has you moaning out. 

“Next time?” You pant out and Jin nods, his jaw clenching. 

“Yes. I’m going to have you on your pretty stomach with your ass in the air. And then I’m going to cum all over your back.” He says his words with his usual confidence and it pushes you over the edge. 

“Fuck!” You collapse forward slightly and your eyes squeeze shut as you feel your orgasm sweep over you in shuddery, desperate waves. 

Seokjin doesn’t stop- he just lets go of your hair and rests his palms flat on the bench beside him so he can tilt his hips up. He keeps fucking into you. 

Your palms fall forward on his chest to support yourself, and your orgasm has already started to ebb away, it was intense and quick. But the feeling of him still fucking into you, harder, has your walls clenching again. 

Seokjin thrusts up into you with rapid, sloppy, desperate movements, and you let out a cry as your second orgasm chases the first. 

The second is more languid, a slow, intense one that seems to grip around you like a vice. The tension drains out of your body and you moan out his name incoherently, it feels like your entire core is about to melt in bliss. 

Jin lets go and wraps his palms around your lower back to support you, your body is weak, your fingernails digging into his chest.

“Fuck,” He mutters at the feeling of your walls tightening around him, and he lets out a guttural grunt, pressing his face against your chest as he moans out against your skin. 

His orgasm is akin to your first, desperate and frenzied, his body shakes under yours. Jin moans out your name and the sound of hearing him cum like that, so vocally, has you shivering in pleasure.

You stay there for a moment, his forehead pressed against your chest before he moves, leaning his head back against the shower wall. 

The only sound is the water still hitting the shower floor. 

Your whole body is numb, euphoric.

“That was…” Jin’s voice trails off and his eyes meet yours, and you know what he’s thinking. Insane. 

Carefully, you ease yourself off of his dick and wince. You’re going to be sore tomorrow, you think. 

Seokjin is still leaned back against the wall watching you, a lazy, slow smile spreading over his face. 

You sway a little as you stand up, you hover for a moment as the throb in your body slowly starts to fade. 

Finally, you step into the stream of water, letting it wash away the sweat and his cum. You stand there for a moment before you grab your shampoo from where it sits on the floor, squeezing a small amount into your palm and massaging it into your scalp.

After a beat Jin stands up and his thighs tremble, he leans against the wall for support.  He takes the condom off of his length and opens the shower door, tossing it into the bin before stepping back under the water. 

“Pass the shampoo,” He says, holding out his hand and you turn, nodding mutely and passing him the bottle. You quickly rinse the shampoo from your hair, suddenly feeling uncertain. Jin doesn’t notice, he’s too busy showering beside you and his eyes are still closed. 

You figure he’s in post-orgasm bliss like you are. Gingerly, you step out of the shower, grabbing a fresh towel and wrapping it around you.

“Thank you,” Jin says suddenly, you glance at him. He’s smirking at you, and you admit to yourself that he looks good. The curve of his back, his tight ass, his wet hair. 

“You too,” You respond honestly. “It’s late, you can stay here tonight if you want, there’s a blanket on the couch.” You say lightly.

“Cool, thanks.” He responds and you nod, turning and letting yourself out of the bathroom.

Once you’re out of the steam filled room, the cool fresh air hitting you, you lean against the wall. 

You’re surprised at the feeling in your chest. You had a great, no, a spectacular fuck, and you feel no lingering attachment after. 

You feel nothing but euphoria from your orgasm. 

No feelings, no doubts, just a warm, satisfied ache throughout your body.

You wake up feeling relaxed for the first time in weeks. 

You let out a yawn, your body curling in a lazy stretch. You smile when you realize you can feel the afterglow from your two consecutive orgasms still simmering in the pit of your stomach, and you allow yourself a moment to bask in that feeling. 

Finally, you force yourself out of bed. It isn’t that it hits you exactly how tired your body is – your thighs are sore, your core is aching, your head a little woozy. Still, your mind flashes back to how good it felt to have Seokjin’s hips slamming into you, and a flutter stirs in your belly.

Wincing a little, you get up and head to the bathroom, wriggling into an old tee.

Your cat Kale meows a hello at you as you shuffle down your hallway, and you pause to bend down and give him a cuddle.

“I got laid last night,” You tell your cat in a serious voice. He just stares up at you and then meows loudly, like he’s cheering you on. You laugh. 

Your house is silent, that nice calm that only the weekend can bring. You haven’t felt this relaxed in weeks. In fact, most weekends you can’t even sleep in properly, feeling too highly strung to sleep past 8am. But this morning… your eyes flicker to the clock hanging in your hallway and a tiny, giddy smile settles on your lips. It’s 11AM. 

You push open your bathroom door, still smiling. 

“Oh my GOD!” 

The exclamation spills out of your mouth when you spot Seokjin standing at your sink. He’s shirtless, dressed in just his tight black Calvin Klein briefs, rummaging through your drawer with a determined look on his face.

“You’re still here?” You ask in disbelief. “Are you going through my skincare? What the hell?” 

Seokjin glances up when he hears the commotion, not at all fazed.

“Yeah, do you have any facial cleanser? A better brand than this, preferably.” He gazes down in distaste at your drugstore brand cleanser. You’re momentarily shocked before you walk towards him, snatching the cleanser out of his hand.

“Not for you I don’t!” You snap, and Seokjin shrugs, unbothered. 

“Whatever. I’ll just cleanse at home then.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Speaking of home,” You begin, putting your cleanser back in its place. “When are you going to you know, go home? It’s nearly midday!”

Jin stares at you, his face serious. “What are you talking about?” he says. “This is my home now.”

Your jaw drops and Jin bursts out into a loud laugh- that same windshield wiper laugh that you first heard in the bar.  

“You should’ve seen your face,” He sighs, pleased with himself before he returns his attention back to your skincare drawer, rifling through it.

“Stop! Going through my skincare,” You mutter, closing the drawer shut. “And you’re not funny, not even in the slightest.”

“Please,” Jin sniffs. “I’m hilarious.”

You give him a withering stare. “Quite the contrary,” You mutter. “You’re disgusting.” You eye him up and down critically, irritated that even after waking up he looks this good. He’s practically naked in your bathroom, his hair a ruffled mess from his sleep, a pillow crease marring one cheek, but he still manages to look good. It’s unfair.

Jin just shoots you an angelic smile. “You didn’t seem to find me quite so disgusting when I was fucking you right there last night.” He nods over at your shower and smirks triumphantly at the pink flush that spreads across your cheeks.

“Yeah well you didn’t seem like such a know it all hotshot when I had your dick in my mouth.”

Jin just smirks, you seethe. 

“Yeah you were pretty good with that actually. It’s nice to meet a woman who can handle all of this.” He nods down at his package.

“Did you just refer to your dick as ‘all of this’?” You ask scathingly, scrunching your nose in distaste. Jin just shrugs nonchalantly and you roll your eyes. 

Kale wanders into the bathroom, winding around Seokjin’s legs, meowing loudly. 

“Kale likes you,” You comment in surprise. Seokjin glances up, smirking. “What can I say, I attract all kinds of puss-”

“Do not even think about finishing that sentence.” You interrupt, shooting Jin a withering stare. Kale meows again, rubbing his head against Jin’s calf affectionately.

“Why am I not surprised that you’re a cat person,” Jin mutters. “Dogs are much superior to cats. My dog Adam can-”

“Wait,” You cut him off. “You named your dog Adam?”

Jin just folds his arms stubbornly. “Yes. He’s British.” 

You stare at him in disbelief before you laugh. “That’s such a weird name for a dog.”

Jin’s jaw drops, an offended look flashing across his face.

“How can you make fun of my dog’s name when you named your cat after the worst vegetable ever?”

You open your mouth to retort when you suddenly realize how close you’re standing to him. The tension is crackling off your body in waves, and before you can help yourself, your eyes fall on his lips. 

A long, heavy beat hangs between the two of you, and you realize that your entire body is humming in anticipation. Kale is still sitting by Jin’s legs. The bizarreness of the situation has you suddenly suppressing a giggle.

“… So do you wanna go for round two-”

“NO!” You yell stubbornly, whirling around. “Get out, I need to use the bathroom, and for God’s sake put on some clothes!” 

You shove him out of the bathroom and turn to face your reflection, letting out a sigh. 

The last thing you expected was for him to actually stick around.

After you’re finished in the bathroom, you walk outside only to see a fully dressed Jin waiting for you.

“Look,” Jin says hastily, stepping towards you. “I was thinking last night. We were good.” He says the words with a completely serious expression. “Really good. Like, I’m probably gonna get off to the thought of you over the next few days good.” 

You wrinkle your nose at him. “Ew.”

“Seriously,” Jin continues. “I have needs. I get horny. And to be completely honest with you, not a lot of girls know how to handle me and my cock.”

You glare at him. “You are so full of yourself.”

Jin shrugs. “It’s true. I mean, that was the best blowjob of my life,” He grins at you. “And honestly? I wanted you from the second I saw you last night. You looked damn good,” His voice lowers into a murmur, his eyes intent on yours. You feel your resolve tremble. “And you are damn good.” 

A little tingle of pride eases its way up your spine from his words, causing your ego to flare. You attempt to suppress it, giving Seokjin a hard look.  

“Your point is?” 

“I was thinking… we should make this a thing. We can sleep with each other if we’re in need of a good fuck. We don’t have to call each other, we don’t even have to pretend that we care about each other… we’ll just you know. Help each other out when we need it.” He grins. You just raise an eyebrow at him. 

“What, friends with benefits?”

Jin just gives you a dry look. “That requires us to be friends, and…”

“No chance I’d ever be friends with someone like you.” You finish bluntly. Jin nods. “And vice versa.”

You stare at him suspiciously, biting your lip. “You’re serious,” You say slowly. “We call each other up when we need sex. Just sex… and…” 

“No obligations. It doesn’t even have to be regular if you don’t want it to be. Fuck buddies. Minus the buddies. I mean… it was good. Right?” He leans in a little closer and you breathe in sharply. Your mind flashes back to him, how it felt to have his hands and his mouth on your lips, on your skin. Your eyes fall on his full lips, the sincerity in his eyes… and you can’t help but wonder what that handsome face would look like between your thighs. 

“Yep,” You admit, swallowing. Jin’s face stretches out into a smile, his gaze unwavering.

“Okay,” You mutter, grabbing his wrist. “C’mere.” You drag him to your kitchen, ignoring Jin’s yelps of protest. You stop in front of your kitchen bench, grabbing the notepad and pen you keep there. Jin’s rubbing his wrist and muttering to himself but you ignore him, scribbling on the yellow lined paper.

“Alright.” You say, shoving the notepad at him and propping your hands on your hips. “Read that.”

Jin raises an eyebrow. “What’s this?” He glances down at the paper. “Hereby is the contract for Kim Seokjin and Y/N.” He recites, pausing. 

“That’s your last name?” His nose wrinkles. “It’s weird.”

Your jaw drops. “Weird – it’s a name!”

Jin shrugs. “It’s weird.” 

You force yourself to calm down and you sigh. “That is not the point. Keep reading it.”

Jin shrugs and continues. “…Jin and Y/N will have a purely physically relationship. They will not get involved with one another beyond the act of sex. They have no obligations to one another and can withdraw from the agreement at any given time.” He glances up and looks at you with disbelief. “Did you make a fuck buddy contract? Are you serious?”

You nod. “Yep. Keep reading.”

He sighs and continues.

“They can sleep with other people and do what they want. Protection is to be used at all times. No cuddling, no pet names, no dates, just sex. Y/N did you really write this whole thing in third person-” 

“Yes! That is not the point!”

“God, you are such a lawyer. Can I add a bit of my own?” 

You shrug, and he grabs the pen, scribbling something on the bottom of the pad.

“Okay…” You nibble your lip as you read what he’s written. “God you have messy handwriting… ‘no texting, no calling’.” You look up at him questioningly.

“I hate all that stuff,” He explains with a shrug. “How’s your day been? All that shit. No thank you. No texts, no calls. Unless they’re of the booty call variety.”

You think it over and nod. 

“No texting or calling sounds good to me. In fact, let’s just minimize the contact as much as possible. If we want to have sex, we should send each other like one word, and it’s either a thumbs up or thumbs down response. That’s it.”

“What, like an emoji as a code for a booty call?”

You shrug. “Yeah, whatever.”

Jin nods slowly, his eyebrows creased in thought before he grabs at the paper again, writing something. You glance over his shoulder.

“No texting, no calling. Except for texting the eggplant emoji, which will mean, do you want to bang- Oh my god!” You glare at Jin. “You’re. So. Gross.”

“The eggplant makes sense, I mean…” Jin glances down at his crotch and you make an impatient noise and grab the notepad.

“Okay, okay, whatever. Let’s move on. Eggplant emoji it is. Does this sound good to you?” You wave the paper in the air and he nods. 

“Well I mean it all sounds good to me.” Jin says confidently, snatching the paper and signing it. 

He passes it back to you.

“Your move.” 

You’re a little taken aback, a small part of you you hadn’t really expected him to go ahead and sign it. 

You stare at him for a beat, wondering if you can really go through with this. Have an arrangement like this with a guy like him. 

But then again, what else have you got to lose? It’s so easy- the promise of sending one emoji and getting laid, easy as that. You still have freedom, and he has his. No feelings, no risk of getting burned by a guy. No secondguessing all his words and actions, no getting hurt by aforementioned words and actions.

Just lots of nights like yesterday’s- great sex, a deep sleep, and absolutely no emotions.

You glance at Jin uncertainly. 

It’s not like you could ever fall for him. You don’t even like him. 

And so, you put pen to paper, signing your name with a flourish. You whirl around and whack the makeshift contract on your fridge, pinning it in place with a magnet. 

Jin’s watching you, a mildly amused expression on his face.

“Done.” You say, turning and outstretching your hand confidently.

Jin gives you that familiar, easy smirk, before he grips your hand.

“Done.”

A/N: pls anticipate more Kale in future chapters

[inklingleesquidly]

THE WISDOM OF LEE SQUIDLY

CHAPTER 1

Lee Squidly has been called into  action. Callie has gone missing and according to Marie he’s her only hope in finding her. There is a lot more going on in Octo Canyon than Lee truly knows but Is he up to the task when he is uncertain of even his own feelings?

A new journey of discovery awaits our hero as he comes to realize what the true meaning of the relationship between the Squid Sisters is, and what they mean to others..

Lee, Things are worse than I could imagine, and only you’ve got what I need. Put the nice kid act on hold for five minutes and climb the fence of Inkopolis Plaza. There’s no one there from 6:00 to 6:05 so no one will see you. Go into the sewer at the far end and follow these instructions to get here. I’ll tell you more when you arrive. Marie Calamari Octo Valley was the homeland of the Octarians but the subterranean world was only part of the lands belonging to the Octopus race. Further relegated to the badlands of the world for losing a war they’re still paying for to this day, they made settlements within a deep gorge they dubbed Octo Canyon. Entering via the world’s sophisticated system of interconnected piping, a lone Inkling boy by the name of Lee Squidly arrived in Octo Canyon. He found himself in a small settlement with a solitary individual to greet him. “Well look what the catfish dragged in,” she said, her back turned to him. Clad in traditional robes and clutching a rather fetching looking paper parasol in her hands, she spun around to face him. “I’m glad to see you got my message. I know you’re a little star struck right now but your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you.” She struck a pose that was all too familiar to the youngster and proclaimed, “I am in fact Marie, yeah, that Marie of the Squid Sisters.” Her introduction was met with silence. “You’ve never heard of me, for eel?” Her special guest could only answer her theatrical dismay with a quiet sigh and a noticeable drop of his shoulders. Lee replied, “Marie, we’ve known each other for 2 years, we beat an alien invasion together, along with other things.” “Actually,” a cute, childish voice began. Unclasping himself from a magnet attached to a pair of shoulder straps secured to Lee, a pint sized, blocky robot balanced itself on Lee’s back and shoulders as he faced the idol. “To be more specific Miss Marie, you and Master Lee have actually been acquainted 1 year, 11 months, 13 days, 7 hours, and approaching 44 minutes.” Dryly clicking her tongue, Marie closed her umbrella and queried, “Just as annoyingly levelheaded as ever, and I see you brought your robot along?” Lee didn’t know where that came from but he gave a nod as the robot waved his tiny clamp hand in greeting. The Inkling answered, “Yeah, when I got your message Mooky insisted on coming along.” Mooky explained, “There was a great level of urgency evident in the words of your request Miss Marie, and to call Master Lee so far away to Octo Canyon it must be something of great importance.” “You don’t know the half of it,” Marie commented, “I guess that means now’s as good a time as ever to tell you what’s up.” She opened her mouth to speak but then stopped herself, hesitating, taking a moment to recollect her thoughts before trying to speak again “Where do I even start,” she finally managed to blurt out. It was surprising to Lee to see her let out frustrated groans and fidget with her parasol; he knew Marie as someone who always knew exactly what to say. The beginning ended up being the best place; “The Octarians have become super aggressive lately, they’ve even stolen the Great Zapfish.” Lee replied with a gasp only for a thought to quickly don on him, “Wait a minute, doesn’t the Great Zapfish get stolen every other week? I mean, you told me he just kind of wanders off on his own sometimes to.” He remembered a detail that stuck with him all throughout the last two years. “Wait a minute, is your grandfather having you do that whole thing with DJ Octavio of scaring Inklings and Octarians from fighting each other?” He could never forget their bizarre partnership of making an anti-indoctrination scheme in hopes of preventing another catastrophe like the Great Turf War. “Because if you brought me here for that, you know I don’t like fighting at all.” “It’s not that at all, Lee,” she grimly replied, “I don’t know for sure just yet but I think they intend to keep him this time, no backsies.” Even though she expressed genuine worry Lee contemplated if that really was a bad thing. He had read a news article for a Current Events assignment that scientists in Inkopolis were researching development for alternative forms of energy. The hope was that they would no longer have to cruelly rely on Zapfish for all of their power needs. Maybe this could be the catalyst to push for that? He then considered if even just for a little while, The Zapfish could be left in the care of the Octarians. Maybe that would help with their crippling social and industrial problems—maybe. He didn’t have long to think of this as Marie proclaimed, “And I have a suspicion that DJ Octavio might be involved in this too.” “His majesty,” Lee’s jaw fell open. “For real, h-how,” was all he could think to say. “For real,” Marie confirmed. He was unable to believe the Octarian monarch would truly do something this sinister to provoke an actual conflict. Even Mooky couldn’t believe it, he calculated, “That is absurd; the odds of DJ Octavio genuinely inciting such a crime are 955 to 1.” Lee silently concurred, being able to testify to the good character of the king. Unfortunately, Marie hadn’t the answer to that question either, “I don’t know.” The look on her face gave away how equally troubled she was by the thought of his betrayal. “The last time I saw him wasn’t acting like his crazy old self anymore, he’s acting… crazy.” The situation was immensely perplexing. Hoping to find some sort of answer, Lee looked over his shoulder at Mooky. The butler robot could only offer an uncertain shrug of his free arm. Even he was unable to process this. Marie interrupted their wordless exchange of confused glances, “But that’s all far out of my mind right now.” That was definitely most confounding yet; considering there could very well be an international crisis at hand. Whatever was troubling her had to be catastrophic. “It’s why I called you here, Lee,” her eyes remorsefully closed as she took a deep breath then let it out, finally revealing, “It’s about Callie.” His heart grew heavy at the mention of her and he grew wearier still as Marie relayed the story to him. “We were going home to visit family but when Callie didn’t show up I rushed back and found our apartment totally ransacked and covered in Octarian ink.” Lee peered down at his feet with a grimace as his insides did a wet flip, unable to forget the memories of being in that same situation himself years ago. “The ink was different though; I knew it came from those native to Octo Canyon as opposed to Octo Valley.” She cleared her throat and finished, “And that’s why I need you. I need you to search for Callie.” “M-Me,” Lee gasped, taken aback by her proposition. Before he could question her decision, Marie placed her hand on her hip in exasperation, wondering, “Yes you, what, do you don’t want to do it?” Lee quickly shot back, “No I do, I do, I do, I really do.” His doubtful mind plagued him with questions though, causing him to ask, “But what can I do? I dunno much about Octo Canyon except it’s a big place, wouldn’t you rather call the whole Agency to come look for her?” Mooky interjected, “Is it not obvious Master Lee?” It really wasn’t to him, and was even less so as he listened, “Your unique bond with Miss Callie makes you more knowledgeable and understanding of her various traits and behaviors better than anyone. If anyone is qualified to find Miss Callie lost in a crowd it is you!” “I- I can,” Lee stammered unsurely, unaware that he even had that trait or if it was true at all. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Marie couldn’t help but hold her hand over her mouth as she let out a quiet laugh. “Hekhek, your robot knows you better than you do.” He was certainly caught between a rock and a hard place; who was what was up for debate. This faith they both had in him to find Callie though– Lee stuttered, bit his teeth, and his eyes shifted from side to side, trying with all he had to think of how to explain to them what he was feeling. He couldn’t so in the end he sighed, “If that’s true than all right, I’ll do whatever I can to help find Callie.” She let out a sigh of relief, “Good, good,” the troubled squid sister breathed. Lee was curious about the state of her own health but wasn’t able to hold onto that thought as Marie said something that left him aghast. “It’s dangerous to be going around Octo Canyon so you’re gonna need a weapon, especially when you find the ink stains that kidnapped Callie. Do me a favor when you do and tear them limb from limb—from limb from limb!” Lee’s look of disbelief was only matched by Mooky’s. Confused, the boy muttered, “E-excuse me?” Marie said nothing in response so Lee firmly returned, “Marie— we don’t even know what’s going on here; we can’t just go around splatting Octarians willy-nilly.” Marie still didn’t answer, only offering a stern look while crossing her arms. He couldn’t believe it; he didn’t want to believe it, especially since he always knew her and Callie as such strong advocates for Octarian rights. The two just glared at each other until Marie finally answered, “Really?” She tapped her parasol against the ground, “What if you find the terrorists that kidnapped Callie, what are you gonna do then? Just wave your little finger at them?” Using the word terrorist was pretty extreme and considering the involvement of the kidnapping of The Great Zapfish that was quite a strong likelihood. Lee knew this but he kept in mind that more needed to be known. With that, he reiterated, strong and firm, “I’m. Not. Going. To. Fight. Anyone. Especially not any Octarians.” Marie could only give in to his desires, “Suit yourself then,” she said with a disapproving shake of her head. “You know, Lee, I figured if anyone would jump at the chance to be Callie’s knight in shin-ink armor it’d be you but I guess I was wrong about that to.” Lee pulled his head back when she said that. Her words were quite harsh, even for her, but he said nothing in response. Meanwhile, Mooky detached himself from the magnet on Lee’s back and slid onto the ground. He said, “Master Lee, while I am fully supportive of your aversion to violence I must remind you that we are not aware of the very real dangers that may lay ahead. We must have self-defense and that is why I was sure to bring this!” The boy let out the sharpest gasp as he watched the knee-high butler unveil his .96 Gal Buster. It was always his favorite weapon to bring into Turf Battles; both in Ranked Squad matches, and in regular everyday Turf Wars. It looked so immaculately maintained despite the fact he hadn’t so much as looked at it in months since his accident occurred. His stomach ended up in knots and his throat went dry as the last memories he had of using it flooded his brain. He really wished he could’ve gone without seeing it ever again. Ruefully though, he took the weapon from Mooky and secured it to his arm. With a grumble, he muttered, “I’ll take it, but I won’t use it.” Approaching them, Marie handed Lee a two-way radio and a wireless earpiece. “Here, take this, don’t expect to hear much from me, and if you find something important keep it short and sweet because who knows who’s listening.” As he affixed the earpiece over his ear and Mooky jumped up onto his back, she presented a slip of paper to him. “Also, I need you to look for these three people; I’ve got them looking for Callie to. I want you to meet up with them and use whatever they’ve found for the search” The names on the list were familiar to Lee, “No way, they’re here to,” he gasped. “That’s right,” Marie confirmed, “Now, time is of the essence so get going already; scat, scoot, skedaddle and all that.” The uncertainty in his heart wouldn’t leave him though, especially when he thought of his last encounter with Callie. “I don’t know what I would do or say if I found her though.” “What,” Marie wondered. “We kinda talked a little bit ago, and she said I should be doing other things for myself and not doing things others tell me to do.” That talk they had really stuck in his mind. All Marie had to offer in response was a bewildered twist of her face as she asked, “Huh, what are you babbling about?” She then let out a huff and tapped her finger against his chest, “Look, I don’t care what kind of lover’s quarrel you two had! Callie is in danger, and right now you’re the only squid I have hope in that can help!” “L-lovers’ quarrel,” Lee repeated in embarrassment, shying away to palm at his chest. To drive the urgency home, she stomped her foot and said, “I need you to stop worrying and over thinking things– basically not be you for once and just get out there and find her!” Lee pursed his lips and raised his brow. He knew full well how blunt she was and how comfortable she was saying whatever she had to say but he really didn’t like the way she callously insulted him again and again. This was for Callie, he reminded himself, not for Marie. Sure they may have had their talk but this was a matter of Callie’s wellbeing, he couldn’t and wouldn’t just abandon his best friend. He held up his hands to show his compliance, “Okay, okay, I’m going, I’m going.” He turned around and set off with Mooky in tow and his .96 Gal Buster strapped to his arm. In the silence of the trek away from Marie’s encampment the true weight of the worries in his mind and heart began to set in. He wondered to himself what could’ve happened to Callie. He only saw her mere days ago. What became of her in that time? Is she all right? Is she safe? Is she scared? What would she say when she saw him? What would he say? Whatever it was, he was on his way to find out. Callie, I promise I’ll find you.

[strawberrybel]

weekly book review #4

We Are Where the Nightmares Go, by C. Robert Cargill

Let’s just start this one out with a big oof. 

This book is a collection of short stories, all fantasy/horror. Well, that’s what they’re supposed to be, I guess. 

They, uh, weren’t particularly good or horrifying. Now, I’m a big ol’ crybaby, and I especially cry at scary things. In my opinion, the mark of a decent horror story is if it makes me cry, and my eyes were bone dry reading this book. TBH, I almost quit reading 20 pages in, which was halfway through one of the most boring stories I’ve ever read. The rest of the stories aren’t as terrible as the first one, but I am seriously disappointed that I spent half of a gift card buying this awful book. I don’t think I’ve ever considered a book purchase to be a waste before, but this one’s done it. 

I will say that this dude can write gore pretty well, but gore does not a horror story make. 

I’ll go through and rate each of the stories individually though, because there were two or three that didn’t fucking suck, and they deserve recognition for that at least.

The Town That Wasn’t Anymore: First of all, bad title. 0 points. The worst published story I’ve ever read. I’ve read worse, but in high school, and from amateur writers. This story is about a handful of boring dudes in a haunted town, basically. Now, I love a good haunted town, I love a gate to Hell opening up and angry souls coming out and terrorizing the living. But this story made all of these things seem boring. I was never scared because Cargill (sorry Bro but it has to be said) is Very Bad at creating atmosphere. He just told me it was scary, like I was supposed to believe that without proof. No tension, no suspense, no stakes. I gave zero shits about anyone in this town, let alone the generic heroes. Honestly, the premise was pretty stupid, too. So you’re living in a mining town, right? and there’s an accident in the mines that kills a bunch of workers, and also opens up a pit to Hell. You find this out when spirits of the dead start brutally killing people. If you have at least one brain cell, you move away. You leave the fucking Hell town. But if you exist in this story, you stay because no one will buy your house. 

What?????? no! I own a house, and you can bet your ass that if a Hell gate spawned in my neighborhood I wouldn’t wait for a buyer before leaving. Just, leave??? Obviously you have to worry about money, but that’s better than dying???????

-10/10

We Are Where the Nightmares Go: also boring. has an interesting premise about the nature of nightmares, but flawed and unsubtle execution. 2/10

As They Continue to Fall: this was one of the not terrible ones. It’s about a guy who kills fallen angels, which I guess turn into terrible monsters on Earth. Pretty cool. 7/10

Hell Creek: Dinosaur zombie apocalypse. It is what it sounds like. 5/10

Jake and Willy at the End of the World: Do you think that if a giant, apocalyptic comet hit China and started the end of the world, you would join a mob that was just kinda wandering around, destroying things and killing people? No? Me either, but what do I know. 2/10

The Last Job is Always the Hardest: Honestly, this story was frustrating for me. The idea of it could have been interesting, if Cargill hadn’t bopped me over the head with the themes and meaning a million goddamn times. This dude does not know how to be subtle at all, and he ruins good potential with his refusal to believe that I, the reader, Get It. I promise you, bud, I Got It. I Got It a while ago. 4/10

Hell They Call Him, the Screamers: Gory, short, and pretty good. 6/10

I Am the Night You Never Speak Of: basically a monster that feeds off of people’s sins. also gory. Maybe if I’d read the novella the world is based on, I would care more? I don’t care, though. A lot of thinking, a lot of complaining, not a lot of story for 15 pages. 4/10

A Clean White Room: Another good one. Coincidentally, it was written with another person. I’m not saying that’s why it’s good, but.....¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Former soldier turned...Hell Guardian? I dunno, but I like the Superintendent, who is about the only character in these stories that was compelling to me at all. He’s trying his best to keep evil out of the world, even if it’s hard, and causes his death. Bad ending though. 7/10

The Soul Thief’s Son: again, maybe I would have cared about this if I’d read Cargill’s other books, which this was based off of. As it is, it seemed like it could be part of an entertaining series, but with this book as my first taste of the author, I think I’m gonna pass. 5/10

That’s it. That’s all of them. I can’t wrap my head around that fact that several people read the first story, decided it was good enough to be published, and made it the very first thing you read in the collection. No offense, but what the fuck was wrong with Y’all?