#everyone else: who could have seen this coming he was such a nice intelligent guy respected by all his colleagues a pillar of the community

[gravitasmalfunction]

Shen Yurong (guy who killed her to pave the way for his secret torrid affair with the highest ranked princess in the country): duke-fucker

Xue Fangfei (woman who married this guy when he was nobody, source of inspiration for all the ideas he used to build his academic reputation): wHAT

Shen Yurong (wife murderer): I don't understand why you won't marry me

Shen Yurong (to his ex-wife, the one he tried to murder): if we get married again I can protect you from my lover and boss, your biggest enemy, the princess, the woman who got me to murder you, who's still out for your blood

Shen Yurong (top imperial scholar and did we also mention, wife murderer?): I guess you don't want to marry me because I'm just a humble scholar and you only date dukes now, huh

[jellybeanium124]

don't think too hard about fang. don't think too had about fang. don't think too hard about this intelligent, sweet, wise man on a boat for 20 years watching his boss get yanked around by the middle manager. and also getting yanked around by the middle manager himself. don't think about fang watching his boss, a once energetic and enthusiastic man, slowly becoming more and more a shell of himself because of said middle manager. who he refuses to fire. for some reason. maybe fang has some theories, but he doesn't know for sure. he doesn't see the boss as much anymore. any interaction with him is mediated by the middle manger, who's just gotten crueler as the years go by too. he keeps his head down and does what he's told. he's been doing this for a very, very long time, and knows what he has to do to live. and he enjoys the work, more or less, don't get me wrong. but, you know... maybe not as much as he could. and then they invade some crazy guy's boat, and then the boss is happier than fang's seen him in literal years. and this boat is cool! the people are nice! he doesn't have to be aggro all the time.

and then the middle manager blows a fuse and gets the british navy. and fang resigns himself back to business as usual. because that's how he's gonna survive. but then the boss comes back!! without the lunatic man. and for a second everything might be okay, but then something goes wrong, and again, fang doesn't know what, and then things are worse than they ever were before in the 20 years he'd been working for this man. and he keeps his head down and does what he's told because that's how he's gonna survive. and then his buddy dies. and his boss, who fang knows by this point can be very sensitive, doesn't cry a single tear. fang breaks down a little after a while. they can't keep going like this.

but it's okay!! the lunatic comes back and so does everyone else. and things are good, the middle manager mellows out, he and the boss have a talk and sort things out. life is good. he has a goat!

and then the middle manager dies. and that's weird, you know? and the boss decides he's done, so he hangs back on land while everyone else sails off into the sunset. and fang's happy, but it's irrevocably different. two men he spent at least a decade with are dead. one man, who he sometimes felt like an older brother to despite the other man being the boss, is now on land, and no longer part of his day-to-day life. he's the most experienced guy on this boat. well, it's possible a few others, like zheng, have been doing this for over 20 years, but chances are he's been in this world the longest. and a chapter just ended and a new one's beginning. and he'll keep doing his thing, following captain's orders. maybe give a gentle suggestion from time to time.

he was in this world before ivan, before izzy, before ed. and now they're retired or dead and he's still here. why is he still here? why did he outlive them? why did ivan and izzy have to die? why did... well, he understands why ed retired. but still.

now he has inside jokes and no one to share them with. memories and no one around to share in the bizarre nostalgia. but on this boat, this silly boat that breaks all the rules, he can make new memories and create a million more inside jokes, and be around people who really truly like him. love him, even.

[twstreverie]

soft headcanons, (dorm leaders)

requests are open!

riddle rosehearts

he is literally so inexperienced with relationships let alone even being in love with someone, he’s afraid sometimes he goes over the top or just does too little for you. this guy will literally be scouring old romance love stories and try to replicate what the guy in the story would do. cater poked fun once and said to look at the internet instead but… riddle has an acquired taste.

your room is hardly seen without some sort of flowers — usually roses of course from riddle. he just loves the look on you’re face whenever he presents some he had gotten for you. he has told you that he believes they’re as beautiful as you. :)

you’re always treated the best whenever you’re over at his dorm — he wants to make sure everyone is treating you nicely and special. he’ll make sure you’re favorite sweet is saved for whenever you stop by, so he can offer you some with him. everyone usually enjoys it whenever you’re there because he’s in such an elated mood that their chances of getting scolded or in trouble by him are less haha.

leona kingscholar

leona is a man that has a hard time trying to convey the fact that he does love you — frankly he hasn’t quite admitted to himself that he really does. but here me out, he always listens to you, like you could be sooo chatty and talk and talk — it’ll seem like he’s not listening, maybe even had fallen asleep but nope! you’ve got his attention almost always. he is extremely good at reading you and your body language.

he’ll remember basically every detail, he is very intelligent anyway. something you mentioned wanting or needing, you’ll have it trust me — he can have his hands on practically anything as a prince hehe. even if you want him to take it back he’ll stubbornly deny and insist that you just take it because it’s “useless to return it.” hes not saying it but please just take it.

he respects you — he values your opinions and concerns definitely much above anyone else. and that’s a very special thing coming from him. he wouldn’t necessarily tell you but trust me he respects you greatly.

leona has a “don’t go wandering into savanaclaw to find me” attitude but then he kinda noticed that after like 1 incident of someone from there messing with you…. they would be to nervous to, knowing leona.

azul ashengrotto

I don’t care what anyone says he is so smitten with you… like he’s just always thinking about you and things he wants to treat you with he can’t help it. he could be in the middle of making a scheme-y contract with some distraught student and he’s just thinking about some necklace he saw in a magazine that would look pretty on you.

number 1 rule for his employees (mostly ppl working under contract lol) is that you are treated as a priority when at the mostro lounge — even when he’s busy they know about you. jade or floyd are usually there to give you something special along with your meal haha, they’ll tell you it’s courtesy of azul.

but he really enjoys time with you, he could be dealing with work but he loves knowing that you’re there by him in the vip room. you could be talking about anything or just reading, doing school work in silent. he just loves being with you.

kalim al-asim

kalim talks about you so… much. like he just can’t help it, he doesn’t even try most of the time — he’s got a lot of positive things to say about you and everything basically reminds you of him. he can go on and on, jamil is the one who hears this the most. but he’s literally done this with his teachers before. when I say he thinks the world of you, he does.

he wants to bring you to his homeland so so badly — he’s always telling you great things and stories, stories about the land of hot sands or stories from his childhood there. he gets quite excited being able to share about that place.

speaking of which he buys you clothing and accessories from there — love is an understatement when it comes to seeing you wear them!! he is obsessed.

carpet rides>>> okay minus the fact that he has crashed it multiple times and it gets jamil pretty pissed off at him he promises to be careful and begs him to let him share them with you more often.

vil schoenheit

I don’t care about whether or not it’s ooc to make him a lovey dovey man with you but can we just think back and remember how he was and acted throughout chapter 6?? like?

with that being said, he makes sure to look out for you, not even just for your looks and stuff he genuinely does care about whether or not you’re taking care of yourself. it may come off in a lightly scolding way but he can’t bring himself to actually be upset at you. like if he figures out you haven’t eaten or have been sleeping right he’ll get this stern look on his face but that doesn’t stick for long.

you get access to like any major and fancy brand when it comes to basically anything but especially facial products, but he prefers just giving you his own. and he also loves doing your facials for you before bed. it is so sweet, I can just picture him rubbing in lotion on your cheeks as he’s softly humming… just yes. once he’s done he likes to kiss you on the face, both of your cheeks.

vil tends to ask for your opinion a lot when it comes to something he should where, a shade of lipstick, perfume scent, etc because it helps him figure out what you like more so he can use it more around you.

will invite you to the film research club he’s in and in charge of, mostly because he wants an opportunity to act out a scene with you but even if you don’t want to there’s always some way you could help him and assist him that he’d love if you could do. writing scripts, video editing, making costumes or props.

he is embarrassed about it whenever he kisses you (or you kiss him haha) but his lips are scarred and almost raw and chapped because he bites them so much. if you put balm on them with your finger to help heal them he would die. please do it for him he loves it.

while he’s no picasso, I can see him being very pretty talented when it comes to drawing. he totally has a habit of doodling and even full on sketching you on papers and such. he wouldn’t saw no to you if you asked to see them, but he’d be hiding and shoving his face into a pillow the whole time while you look through.

he would honestly do like anything for you, he loves being able to show that he’s useful — especially with his talents, he can fix things for you — like if you have a device or item not working he’s got you. you better believe he got rid of that phone Crowley gave you thats probably like older than crowley himself and have something WAY better he made.

would melt if you got along well with ortho (well honestly who couldn’t?) you’re literally the two most important things in his life — seeing you two happily converse and chat with each other would make him on cloud nine. also ortho definitely was a major assist when it came to getting you and idia together, he was rooting for the two of you since the beginning.

malleus draconia

it’s so funny, especially to lilia seeing malleus become lovesick by you, his behavior is definitely noticeable towards you. bystanders, students whether in his dorm or not that fear him and know him as an extremely powerful prince melt within your vicinity… it’s a habit he’s gained ever since he’s caught feelings for you — it’s a bit odd but he can’t help but stare and watch you lot of the time.

you’re with him, you’re apart of his “family”. basically lilia, silver, and begrudgingly Sebek who takes a while to warm up to you. still, nevertheless, they treat you as one of them!! lilia would simply adore you by the way. like ortho with idia he would be a proud supporter of the two of you.

he loves to wow you with his magic and shamelessly show off a bit. you could show the tiniest bit of like being cold and rubbing your arms and boom he’ll just bring out the sun with a smug smile like wasn’t that cool of him? or if you enjoy the rain he could just make it happen hehe.

malleus enjoys bringing you gifts a lot its mostly because of well a dragon thing but he will have a habit of just randomly gifting and adorning you some priceless jewel he can’t help it, he thinks you look so lovely in them.

[f0point5]

You know, I love Seb (he’s the person who got me into F1) and I respect Lewis and his accomplishments but one thing I’ll never forgive them (and a lot of the older drivers, most already retired now) for is how they treated Max when he came into F1.

Yes, he might have been their rival but he was also a teenager, a literal child and gosh… I know Max probably doesn’t really care anymore but I still hurt for him sometimes.

Especially when you consider that he was the one paving the way for his generation. When Charles and Lando and George and everyone else came up a few years later they were welcomed as the youth, the future of the sport. Older drivers talking about their talent and how great it is to see them come up.

Max didn’t get that. He got shouts of “too young”, “too reckless”, “too… too much”.

So no, to me the only real grid dad (or maybe grid uncle is more fitting, idk) will be Fernando Alonso who said that some people are simply ready earlier than others and that Max should be judged on his performance in the races, not his age (paraphrased).

Fernando who has been an idol a lot of the younger generation growing up but also exchanged helmets with Oscar and Zhou, joked with Lando on instagram, talks Le Mans with Max and probably many more moments I’m forgetting about rn.

THIS.

Honestly, I don’t really get the Seb hype. He just has never given me good vibes. I didn’t watch during the RB days so maybe if I’d seen his golden era I’d have gotten attached but he has just always seemed…not likeable. Clearly a very driven, straightforward, intelligent guy, but something about him doesn’t sit well with me. Anyway rant over.

I’m not even going to talk about LH because…par for the course.

Yes, they were all mean to him. As grown men, too, how are you not absolutely embarrassed?! I get that he’s a kid and maybe you don’t want to hang out with him or confront the fact that you’re not the hotshots anymore but omg it’s a CHILD. (And Seb who made a bit of a meal out of being a bullying victim as a kid…I see you.)

No one else of Max’s generation would have survived the way they treated him, I stand by that. They all needed the support they got, and Max had none of it from his peers. I can’t see Max being the type who cared per se, because he was probably already used to being…not ostracised, but like…observed? And also because of how he grew up I don’t think anyone’s words could rattle him. But even if he didn’t care the grown men should have known better.

If I were Max I’d still be laughing about how bitter I made men in their 30s. Like “I couldn’t grow facial hair and y’all were running scared”. But I still think it must have been a pretty lonely few years until others his age started catching up.

I think Max was really lucky to have such a tight team (Christian, Helmut, Jos, Ray, GP) around him to insulate him a bit and stop him getting pushed around but the way these men tried it. (Toto I’m looking at your for the Jos phonecall.)

Yeah Fernando is the only one who I think was ready to embrace the new frontier as it were. But he is just kind of like that. I feel like he doesn’t feel his age is the disadvantage that most do, and that’s why he’s not so afraid of younger drivers. Like, his relationship with Max, Carlos, lando, George (nye buddies lol) and Zhou (literally just today saw a quote of him talking about how nice Alonso was to him, even Lance, he treats them as much as peers as he does his own generation, it’s cute.

Also, this is kinda random but I swear Nico and Max were kind of friendly in the early years? Max has known Nico a long time, despite the age difference (he said he remembered glasses Nico used to wear at like 7, and Nico once went out with his mum?), Nico was on the jet with Max on his birthday in…2017? And I think there’s a picture of Max having flown with some guys (including both Nicos in 2016) and for some reason I’ve always had the idea that Hulkenberg was his link to that whole crew? (Idk if this whole friendship is a headcanon but for some reason I feel like these two are/were kinda connected)

But yeah, agree. Grown men acting like little bitches. That generation I think was the last generation with real bitterness between the drivers, though. Idk you wouldn’t catch me being a jerk to a kid but I’ve never been terrified of a kid before so 🤷‍♀️

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for joining my girlfriend’s cult & killing my friends?

I know this sounds bad, but I swear I can explain.

I (18F) go to a high school for gifted students; I was accepted for my talents in the medical field. I come from an abusive home and have been bullied and sexually harassed most of my life so because of that I’m kind of a people-pleaser & have some really bad self-image issues, but my new school was actually pretty nice & I ended up making a lot of friends while I was there. Apart from my friends from my old school who joined with me (except this one girl who bullied me, I still tried to be nice to her though), our class president was genuinely one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met, and we also had a really nice teacher; for once, it felt like I was actually being treated like a human being. In particular, though, later on I met these two guys from my class; one was sick & needed me to take care of him, & the other was assuming his identity so he could focus on his work. No one had ever treated me so nicely before, so I became friends with them, but one of them went missing so I went to look for him and ended up getting kidnapped.

I found my friend, and it turns out he was working on a secret project with this girl from another class; the one who kidnapped me was her sister. They showed me the project, and at the time it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I started hanging around this girl more often, and ended up falling in love with her. It felt like she was the only one who truly understood me and accepted me for who I was…but looking back on it now, she was almost definitely a cult leader, because later on she showed me another video that I’m pretty sure was meant to brainwash me. Our relationship was toxic, too; she abused me physically and verbally, but to be honest I was kinda into it because at least she was paying attention to me.

While I was under her influence, I did a lot of things I’m not proud of; I tried to seduce my friend when he was clearly not into it, and I led the rest of my class into a trap that got our class president killed (I actually pushed her into the trap, I apologized for it though) and everyone else brainwashed as well while they were forced to watch. I didn’t want to do it; I think the video didn’t work quite as well as she wanted it to because the whole time it still felt like I had this little voice in my head telling me to stop, but when I tried to listen to it I just heard my beloved’s voice overpowering it. Everything after that is kind of a blur, but we basically ended up bringing about the apocalypse; all you need to know is that I did a LOT of illegal stuff and a lot more people died. After about a year of this, though, my girlfriend’s crimes came back to bite her and she got herself killed. We all took this pretty badly; a lot of the other cult members killed themselves, and I’m about 90% sure I surgically implanted her uterus inside of me so I could bear her children. It’s all still kind of hazy right now.

After that, the rest of us were rounded up and sent to a rehab facility in the hopes that we could be deprogrammed, and as part of the process our memories were erased. What they didn’t know was that my ex had preserved her consciousness in an artificial intelligence and before we were detained we planned to let her possess our bodies so she could continue her agenda, so she hijacked the rehab program and tried to encourage us to kill each other. I managed to avoid killing anyone for a while, but then a few of us got sick and while I was tending to them I ended up contracting it as well. Whatever disease I got, it caused me to remember everything and go back to being brainwashed. While I was in this state, I ended up strangling my best friend to death (she was infected and her strain of the disease made her more susceptible to suggestion) and later slit my bully’s throat after she walked in on me during the first kill. I covered my tracks the best I could, but the rest of my class was still able to find out what happened. I felt really cornered in the moment, so I kinda lashed out at everyone and blamed them all for everything that had happened to me and I also went on this weird rant about how my ex was the only one who truly loved me and “forgave my existence.” That didn’t really help my case, so I was voted out of the program and executed.

Except not really; it turns out the program was just a really immersive VR simulation & no one actually died (except for our class president, it turns out they also placed an AI modeled after her into the program but she got executed too; long story). The ones who made it to the end were able to defeat my ex’s AI self and rehabilitate the rest of us, so now we’re all living on the island the program was modeled after since we’re all technically fugitives. But now that I have my memories back, I feel so horrible about everything I’ve done, both in the program and out of it. My friends have been pretty understanding since they also did a lot of terrible things in the cult, but I still can’t help but feel like it was all my fault since I was the first one to get brainwashed and got everyone else brainwashed in the first place. Maybe if I wasn’t such a people-pleaser, or if I had fought harder against it, or if I had just minded my own business and not gone looking for my friend…oh, there’s so much I could have done…maybe it could have been different. I could have prevented all this from ever happening. I should have.

Please, forgive me…

AITA?

[litcityblues]

Ask Chat GPT About This Movie, I Dare You

This movie had been on my 'to watch' list for a while but going in, I had no idea what to expect and by the end, I would happily say that this was the best movie that I have seen in a long, long time and it wasn't just interesting: it made some thought-provoking choices as well.

Set in 2065, ten years after an artificial intelligence detonated a nuclear warhead over Los Angeles, most of the world is at war with a collection of republics in Asia that have formed the country of New Asia. The United States and the West is intent on hunting down AI and eradicating it from the face of the globe (which struck me as almost too real but also exactly what the American response would be if AI did detonate a nuke over LA) and New Asia is resisting, still embracing AI.

The US Government is convinced that the key to ending this war is finding the mysterious Nirmata and at the beginning of the movie, US Army Sergeant Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) is undercover with his pregnant wife, Maya (Gemma Chan) who is believed to be the daughter of Nirmata. He is close to finding the truth when his superiors pull the plug, blowing his cover and sending in the North American Orbital Mobile Aerospace Command (NOMAD) to blow the place up and kill everyone. Maya is presumed dead in the aftermath and Taylor is exfiltrated.

Five years after that, Taylor is working with the ground zero clean-up crew (one of the most chilling and excellent moments is when a defunct AI comes back alive looking for the child it is supposed to be nannying- whose corpse is in the seat next to it) when he is approached by the military again- this time by Colonel Howell (Allison Janney) and General Andrews (Ralph Ineson) who has been tasked with tracking down a reported new weapon that could destroy NOMAD, the mysterious Alpha-O. They show Taylor evidence that Maya survived and he is all in for the mission.

Only when they find Alphie in a New Asia compound, it is revealed to be a young girl, who can control technology. Realizing the importance of this ability and being unable or unwilling to murder a child in cold blood, Taylor abandons Howell and goes to seek out his ex-commander, Drew. (Sturgill Simpson- yes, that Sturgill Simpson. I did a double-take as well.) An attack kills Drew's simulant girlfriend and leaves him fatally wounded and Taylor and Alphie are captured by New Asia forces led by Harun (Ken Watanabe) who is a former ally of Taylor's. He gets Taylor to Maya, who turns out to be Nirmata- Alphie is modeled after her unborn child. Maya has also been stranded-- since AI is unable to harm Nirmata (their creator), she has been on life-support and unable to die. Taylor removes her from life support.

Eventually, he and Alphie are captured again and escape to do what must be done: destroy NOMAD which changes the course of the war against AI forever.

Overall: This could have been very cringe, but turned out to be a really smart, fun science fiction movie. I loved the fact that it put America in a kind of weird, morally grey place because I think that we would absolutely start a war to eradicate AI if we thought one of them had nuked LA and I also think Americans would have a big problem being asked to murder a child in cold blood. So it's not afraid to pose interesting questions either... The cast was excellent-- I'm a big fan of Allison Janney from The West Wing and pretty much everything else she's ever been in and she was awesome in this role- really leaned into the 'bad guy' of it all-- providing another little morally grey moment where she downloads the memories of a fallen soldier/asset and gets accused of 'playing God'. I like a movie that makes you think in intelligent ways and this one fits the bill-- it kind of slots into that District 9 territory quite nicely. My Grade: **** out of ****

[natty1730]

Chapter 2: The Girl From Ipanema

“Margarita.”From the bottom of the steps, her father called her, "Yes, father?" Y/n answered as she hurriedly descended the wide stairway. "I have found you a fantastic piano teacher, but she won't have a permanent opening until next week," I said. The young woman looked at her father while smiling politely. "Yes, sir." "I also want to talk to you about a tiny issue. You have several piercings, as I have seen. If you remove them all during piano lessons, I will let you have your piercings. Additionally, you must dye your blue hair back to its natural color. Is that clear? He questioned with a stern look in his eyes. "Good. Your meal is currently being served in the dining room. Since your textbooks will be coming today, please prepare for tomorrow's first day of class. Her father walked out of the room and into his study. God, he's so stern. She pondered as she walked to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why do I feel so anxious? It's only for school. It won't harm me, I promise. As she walked to her new school, Daisy had a thought. Except for the fact that her father has become even more strict, the previous several days have blended into one. As Daisy came across a small alleyway, she thought, "Shit, I need to calm down." Lau, against the wall, put out of her Sashal a pack of cigarettes, and she smoked it a few times and then put it on the floor and up it out. She got out of the small alleyway and started to walk to school. Daisy entered the building and went directly to the principal's office to collect her timetable. When she opened the door, she saw a young man seated at the desk. "Privet, ya novyy student," Daisy commented as she regarded the boy. Do you speak Russian fluently, too? I must say that your father was correct when he claimed you were intelligent. He started with a heavy accent before standing up and giving her a paper. You can find all the information you require in this paper. Your lunch code, timetable, and other factors. You should have no trouble finding your classes because the school isn't that big. As he made an effort to exit, he said. After accepting the memo, Daisy hurriedly muttered her thanks. Okay, let's see here... the first class is history and doesn't start until 20 minutes, so I have time to chill in the bathroom and walk around the school.' Daisy thought as she walked into the nearest restroom. When she entered the bathroom, there were girls near the sink and putting on lipstick. One of the girls had pink hair, and the other was blonde and Brunette. The girls give Daisy a side-eye. They thought ‘they had never seen her before, she was probably new, she was different than everyone, this new girl had caramel skin, and everyone in this school had pale skin color and blue hair. “You must be new here,” the girl with Pink hair said. “Yes, I’m new here. I just moved here,” Daisy said, “Well, we welcome you, I’m Diana, and this is Catalina and Sasha.” Daisy shakes Diana’s hand. “I’ m Margarita, but you guys can call me Daisy.” She said, “Nice to meet you, Daisy, "What class do you have first?" Diana asked. "I have a history with Mr. Volkov." Diana gasped and led her out of the bathroom. "No way I have him too! Though he hates like everyone in the class, except for Dee." She said, walking with Daisy to go to history presumably.

Who's Dee?" Daisy asked Diana, noticing how Diana blushed a bit at the name. "He's just this cool guy. But don't let him fool you. He is a complete dick. He's hot but a dick." The bell chimed as they stood in front of the class. "Hey, just so you know, I can't sit with you because someone else is already sitting with me. The only open seat is with Dee, so could you try to get in a good word for me?" Diana asked hopefully with a little sparkle in her eyes. "Yeah, don't worry, I will," Daisy said. She cleared his throat to get his attention, and the teacher looked up from his grading assignments. "Kto ty?" The teacher asked with suspicion in his voice. "Margarita novyy student, ya takzhe mogu govorit' po-angliyski." Daisy responded, quite proud of her Russian. "Ah, yes, very well. Take a seat next to Dee. Dee, please raise your hand!" The teacher yelled out. Daisy turned and saw the boy with fluffy hair and eyeliner raise his hand. "Thanks." She told the teacher as she walked over to the desk and sat. Dee was completely ignoring her, just staring out the window. She cleared her throat to get his attention, which did not work. "Vy govorite po-angliyski?" Daisy asked Dee. He glanced at her and rolled his eyes before returning to the window. "Yes, I do. Fluent." He spoke before ignoring her once again. "Well, my name is Daisy, and I suppose yours is Dee?” Dee thought in his mind that she was that bad-looker. She wasn’t ugly as he thought. She was different from anyone he’s met in school. She wore this hippie grunge aesthetic clothing and had piercings, and her hair was fairy-like, with her natural hair color mixed with aqua blue color. She had tan skin like his uncle Ches but was more of a Carmel color. Her eyes were the most beautiful things that he ever saw. He could get lost in the dark pools of her eyes, so he returned from his headspace and replied to her, " Yeah." Before Daisy could utter anything else, the teacher began to talk and prepare for today's lecture. “Shit, I forgot to bring a pencil,” Daisy mumbled. A pencil slid on the desk in front of her. "Just use mine. I already know all the material." Dee said, still looking out the window. Daisy was surprised but still thankful nonetheless. "Thanks, Dee," Daisy whispered before she used the pencil to take notes.

“Thanks again for letting me use your pencil ." Daisy tried to hand Dee the pencil, but he refused. "Just use that one for now. I have an extra at home," Dee said before picking his backpack up and walking out of the classroom. "Daisy! Did you talk to him for me ?" Diana asked before picking her bag from the floor and walking to the new girl. "No, sorry, he barely even talked to me. I'll get in a good word. Eventually, I promise." Daisy said, leaving the class with Diana. "Yeah, don't worry about it. He's a pretty cold person.

What class do you have next?" She asked before grabbing the schedule from Daisy's hands. "Oh, dammit, we have different classes. I have chemistry, and you have English. Don't worry; I'll show you where your class is, though!" Diana said in seemingly one breath. The two walked in a comfortable silence, except for Diana waving to certain people she saw walk past her every so often, and some people looked at Daisy, and so guys catcalled her. Diana stopped in front of the class and motioned for Daisy to enter. "We don't have any more classes together, and I'm pretty sure, so I'll see you after school!" Diana waved and left Daisy, walking towards her group of friends.'Ouch. I should have known we wouldn't be friends right away, though.' She thought, walking to her teacher's desk. The teacher looked up at her and smiled. "So you must be Margarita, the new student! The principal told me everything, so there is no need to worry. You can take a seat in the back." She said, motioning towards the empty desk in the back row. This was how the entire day went. Just Daisy was talking with teachers and sitting at new desks. That was until she walked home after school and stopped in that same alleyway for a quick smoke.

You look young to be smoking something like that!" A boy said from behind Daisy, causing her to jump and drop her cigarette. She turned to see a youngish boy with red hair and a black shirt. "Jesus, don't you know, never scare a lady, especially in an alleyway?!" Dash yelled, picking up her cigarette and clutching her rapidly beating heart. "Sorry! My brother and I usually cut through here as a shortcut, but he's doing something important at school, so he sent me home instead." The redhead said, clutching onto his backpack. "My name is Heavy!" He said, watching Daisy take a hit from her cigarette. "Yeah, I'm Daisy. I just moved here." They both stared at each other briefly until Heavy blushed and broke the silence. "Can I walk home with you? I have nothing else to do except wait for Dee." Daisy coughed uncontrollably at the smoke she inhaled when she heard that name. "Dee? As in blonde hair in a ponytail, eyeliner, and piercings?" Heavy smiled even brighter and laughed. "Yes, that's him! You know him?" Daisy threw her cigarette, stomped on it to put it out, and walked out of the alleyway with Heavy. "Yeah, sort of. I sit next to him in history." Heavy oohed as he walked down the sidewalk with Daisy.

"Heavy, can I ask you a question?" She asked, looking at the boy and noting a significant size difference. He looked at her and nodded."So then you're fifteen like Dee, right?" She glanced at Heavy and shook her head. "Oh well, I'm thirteen. Why do you smoke?" Heavy asked, still smiling. "Why do you ask a lot of questions?" "Fair point. While they were walking, they heard footsteps behind them, and it was Dee. “Oh hey, Dee, I was waiting for you at our shortcut when I ran into Daisy.” Dee looks at Heavy with embarrassment and annoyance. “Hi, Dee,” said Daisy with a smile. Dee blushed so hard when she smiled that he turned red like a cherry. Heavy walked next to Dee and whispered, "Your girlfriend, really pretty, Dee.” Dee turned even more red than ever and said, “She is not my girlfriend!!” Daisy and Heavy both laughed . Dee pulled Heavy from his Backpack and dragged him. “Come on Heavy we should go Dad is going to get worried about and Mom is going to be pissed if we’re not at home on time.” Dee let go of Heavy and then started to walk home “Bye it was nice to meet you Daisy. I hope I’ll see you again. Bye” yelled Heavy. “Bye Dee, Bye Heavy it was nice meeting you too.” said Daisy as she waved her hand goodbye. As Daisy walked home, she looked at the scenery of the street and how different it was from Brazil. She missed the smell of the fresh fruit for the fruit cart and the smell of the salty ocean. She missed the hustle and bustle of the streets of the city. Now here in Russia was the sound of silence and the smell of frost and cigarette smoke in the air. When she arrived at the apartment at the doorstep. Her Father opened the door and welcomed her. “So, I made dinner for use would you like some?,""Sure” Daisy said The both set up the table for dinner and her father came back from the kitchen with their food. “So how was school? Did you make any friends?” he said in a happy tone in his voice, obviously Daisy thought he was faking to be kind to her because he was just a responsible to him. Daisy was looking at her dad with a fake cheery tone. “Yay, I made a friend. Her name is Diana and she has Pink hair, well I think she is some sort of popular girl in school.”she chuckled a little bit. “Really, I remember when I was in high school there was a popular kids a school and they were kinda jerks.” he chuckled as well

“Well she’s not like that, like she is popular but not in the mean way.” Daisy. As they talked and ate their food, her father brought up her mom and how she was this free spirit and wild and how her father and mom met each other. “You look so much like your mother.”he said and one tear slipped out of his eye. Daisy tears spill from her eyes too, “I know, I miss your mom too.” Her father said as he hugged her with a warm embrace. “Well look at the time, we should be heading to bed , you have school in the morning. She walked up the stairs to her new bedroom and getting ready for bed. Y/n plopped back onto her bed and started at the ceiling for a while, before plugging her headphones into her phone and shuffling her playlist. Daisy wiped away some of her tears before they fell, and turned onto her side.

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Hey you guys thank you for supporting me with my fanfic and I just wanted to let you know that most of my titles are going to be base on songs from my playlist and all so I am going to give you images of what most of Daisy’s outfits just in case you guys need a reference . Also if you’re willing to give me ideas for upcoming chapters, but your ideas in the comments section. Thank you

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Little Favors

Title: Little Favors

Word Count: I lost count

Warnings: !EXTREME FLUFF AHEAD! Y'all don't even get it. So much fluff. The only warning I can come up with is a use of the slut word and a couple innuendos because Kol. Oh, also, canon is whatever I want it to be.

Summary: You know what? Adventures in Babysitting. That's all you need to know. Let's see if you guys can spot all the places where the reader almost becomes aware of the supernatural! || Kol Mikaelson x reader || Here lies my Masterlist ||

A/N: This idea wouldn't leave me alone so here's this surprise fic in celebration of this account reaching 300 followers. Thanks to everyone who's supported me!

✨STORY BEGINS BELOW✨

"Hey, do you wanna come over for a bit?"

You sent the text and bit your lip, hoping against hope that he'd say yes. Seconds later, your phone chirped with a reply. 

"Do you even have to ask?"

A relieved smile spread across your lips.

"Yeah, still do. Thanks tho."

"See you soon, love."

You raised a brow at that.

"How soon exactly?"

His response was almost instant.

"Very."

Your head snapped up as the doorbell rang through your house. How was he always doing that? If you didn't know better, you'd think your friend was the Flash or something. Peeling yourself off the couch, you wandered over to the front door and threw it open. There, standing on your front porch, putting away his earbuds was the most handsome boy alive - or at least within the tiny town of Mystic Falls. You leaned your head on the door and lifted a brow.

"So what's your excuse this time?" You asked, suppressing a smirk. Kol just chuckled, dragging a hand through his slightly damp hair. Good heavens, he was hot when he did that. The sight set off a round of butterflies in your stomach. 

Kol Mikaelson had moved into town with his family about two months earlier. He was a senior at your high school, along with his younger sister, Rebekah. They were Irish twins or something - you didn't quite know the specifics. Of course, in a town as tiny as yours, Kol and his family quickly became the talk of the town and despite not being one for drama, even you could admit that there was plenty to talk about. The family was English, and wealthy and all of them were outrageously attractive. Honestly, your first thought about them had been something along the lines of: "What kind of wacky Twilight crap is this?" It was so weird and, as ashamed as you were to admit it, you had avoided the new kids at first.

Such a course of action had been extremely difficult, primarily because you shared four classes with Kol and he'd been seated next to you in all of them. What are the odds, right? But, wait, it gets worse! Every day, when you say down, Kol would greet you with a smile and attempt to start a conversation. With dark hair, amber eyes, and a square jaw - not to mention that crooked smirk - the guy was so gorgeous, you didn't even know what to do. Intimidated by his status, his good looks, and his excellent sense of humor, you just tried your best to pretend he didn't exist.

Well, it hadn't taken him long to get fed up with that act. So one day you'd walked in to see a note sitting on your desk. It was addressed to you and written in perfect cursive, because of course his handwriting had to be impeccable too. The note read: "Dearest Y/N, I'm sorry I exist. If there's anything else I've done to offend you, then you have my sincerest apologies. Now, will you please stop acting like you've seen me commit murder? I'd really appreciate it. Your neighbor, Kol." Unable to contain your laughter, you'd started a timid conversation with Kol and the two of you had hit it off pretty quickly after that.

You'd learned that Kol and his sister were simply two really nice kids just doing their best to fit in at a new school, nothing more than that. As you got to know him a little better, it surprised you that Kol desired you to be his friend. He was intelligent, talented, and beyond attractive - one of those instant popular kid types - he could have been friends with anyone, yet he chose you. No one ever chose you. Ever. You had spent your high school carrier being invisible, and you were good at it! So when the most attractive guy in the twelfth grade started hanging out with you, people started paying attention and rumors got rolling pretty quickly.

Were you dating Kol Mikaelson? That was the question everyone at school was trying to answer. To be perfectly honest, you had no idea. He'd asked you to hang out a few times at different places around town, but he'd never labeled it as an actual date. And sure, he flirted with you quite a bit but that boy flirted with just about everything with a heartbeat! As far as you were aware, he only liked you as a friend which was exactly why you were trying hard to hide your nerves right now.

"I know it's crazy, but I swear I was right around the corner when you texted," He said.

You narrowed your eyes. "Doing what, exactly?"

"Just walking." He shrugged, burying his hands in his pockets. "Trying to clear my head."

"Really?" You scoffed. "In the snow?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's barely snowing, but yes."

You hummed. "Right…"

"It's the truth, love," Kol said. He rubbed his eyes.

"Uh, huh."

"I'm being completely honest!"

"You better be," You said, grinning. "Otherwise, the only sane conclusion I can come up with is that you're stalking me."

"As gorgeous as you are darling, that's not the case." Kol snickered and stepped forward, leaning his weight against the door frame. He crossed his arms, looking down at you with those droopy, amber puppy-dog eyes that you'd been in love with for as long as you'd known him.

You swallowed thickly. That position perfectly accentuated his lithe body, for a high schooler, the guy was insanely well built. Ugh! And those eyes! Those eyes made you want to throw yourself at him or disappear and you didn't know which one.

"Well, good. 'Cuz that would be creepy," You replied a little quietly. Kol hummed and nodded.

"So…" He trailed off and leaned closer almost conspiratorially. "Do I get to ask why you invited me over to your house on a Friday night?"

You tugged on a loose strand of hair, twisting it around your finger. "I mean, you are kinda the only friend I've got…" The only other person you'd consider a friend was Matt Donovan and the two of you really weren't close.

"I know." He smirked. Oh, he really wasn't making this easy on you.

"So I thought I might ask for your help?"

Kol wet his lips and tilted his head innocently. Geez, he was so much taller than you. "With what, exactly?" He asked.

You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and cleared your throat. "W-well my parents aren't home and-"

His brows shot up and he blinked. "I don't believe this…" A slow impish grin spread across Kol's face and he leaned closer, eyes raking your body as he loomed over you. "Y/N, are you propositioning me?"

If you had been drinking water, you would have done a spit take. You felt like your whole body was blushing and you might as well have looked at Medusa for how still your limbs became. "N-no! Uh… I-I-I… um…" What were you even supposed to say to that? Why did he have to be so attractive?! It really wasn't fair!

"Are you sure?" He asked, stepping that much closer. "Because I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it." You thought you saw Kol glance down at your lips, but you must have been imagining things. 

You twisted the fabric of your shirt between your fingers, struggling to find something intelligent to say. "That-that's not… I mean, that's not what I-" You sighed. "This would be a lot easier to explain if you came inside." You opened the door wide so he could come in, but he hesitated.

Kol raised a brow, almost surprised. "You want me to come in?" 

"Yeah," You mumbled. "Is that a problem?"

"Not at all." He shoved himself off the door frame and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. You stepped back a good four feet, trying to dispel some of the tension. He glanced over his shoulder, gesturing at the coat rack behind him. "Mind if I-"

"Yeah, sure."

He shot you a little smile and stripped his jacket off before hanging it on the coat rack. He must have noticed your bare feet because he took off his shoes too, kicking them next to the door. Then he turned back to you and cocked his head. 

"So, your parents aren't home…" He started.

"Nope." You shook your head. You couldn't seem to stop blushing. What was your problem?

Kol nodded, rubbing his lower lip with his thumb. "It's just you and me then?" He asked, taking a step closer to you again. His eyes were slightly hooded and there was something in them that you'd never seen before. It was… admiring, bordering on hungry. 

You shot him a nervous smile. "Well… not exactly…"

His brows drew together and he lifted his head a little. "What do you mean? Who else is here?" His voice was calm enough but he seemed almost suspicious. You didn't have time to wonder why.

"Meow, Meow!" 

The high-pitched whine came from just behind you and his eyes flew wide. You smiled sheepishly and slid one step to the side. The boy dropped his gaze down to your feet. Sitting on the floor, poised exactly like a little kitten, was your baby sister. The two stared at each other for a moment before Kol threw his head back and laughed. It was a vibrant, sincere sound, full of light-hearted mirth. He doubled over, bracing his hands on his knees. Clearly, he found this situation rather humorous. 

"I'm sorry…" You hissed, biting your lip.

Kol waved a hand. "Don't be! It's completely fine." He tilted his head and knelt to be closer to the little girl's height. "Hey there, little one! How are you?"

"Meow! Meow!" Your baby sister responded. 

You nodded and shrugged. "This is my baby sister. Her name's Nora and she's a two and a half year old menace to society."

Kol snorted. "I don't know about that, darling. She looks pretty harmless to me." He waved at the little girl and she recoiled, hiding behind your leg.

"Meow, meow! Meow, meow!" She said, pretending to tremble. This was her newest little game. 

You sighed. "She's also a cat."

"Ah! I see," The boy hummed, keeping his eyes fixed on the little girl. He must have known she wanted the attention. "Is your big sister right? Are you a kitten?"

Nora nodded. "Meow, meow!"

"Oh, alright then. So, if you're a little kitten, then you'll probably want to sniff my hand so we can become best friends. Isn't that right?" He held his hand out as one does for a cat or dog. You raised a brow as you watched your baby sister crawl over to him. She sat up when she reached his hand and grabbed it, bumping her nose against his knuckle. Then she flipped it over and rubbed his palm against her cheek. He chuckled. "Hello, Nora."

"Purrr. Purrr." She said.

Kol grinned. "Awww! You're a cute little kitty-cat! Aren't you?" He scratched her chin a little bit before scooping her up so he could stand. 

"Careful," You warned. "She'll lick you too."

The instant you spoke, Nora stuck her little tongue out and licked his cheek. He blinked and you pinched the bridge of your nose, groaning. Much to your surprise, Kol didn't so much as frown. He just laughed, shrugging.

"Still better than, Henrik!" He concluded, wiping his face with the edge of his sleeve. You regarded him questioningly and he nodded, explaining. "Henrik was my youngest sibling. When he was this young, he was convinced he was a wolf cub. He would bite your legs, he would bite your fingers, and he would bite your face - it stopped being cute rather quickly."

You snickered, relaxing a bit. "Is Henrik much younger than you?" You wondered.

Kol's face fell and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, no, actually… Henrik, um… He-he passed away some time ago," He said.

"Oh." You whispered, fixing your eyes on your feet. You were such an idiot! "I-I'm really sorry, Kol. That was a stupid thing to ask."

He shook his head. "No, it wasn't. I wouldn't have raised the topic if I couldn't handle the questions it was bound to insight."

Wow... He was really well spoken… His voice sounded like a snowfall: gentle, playful, and pure.

You blinked. "O-oh, okay. Um, well I'm sorry I asked you over here then."

The boy sent you a quizzical look. "Why?"

"I mean, it's not for fun," You pointed out, scuffing your toe against the floor. "My parents left me in charge but this time I just need a little bit of help entertaining and wrangling them…"

Kol tilted his head as Nora cuddled up against his shoulder. "Them?" He asked. Your sheepish smile doubled in intensity and you let go of a nervous chuckle. 

"Y/N! WHY ARE YOU FLIRTING WITH THE PIZZA GUY?!" A shrill voice pierced the air from one of the upstairs rooms. You flinched and Kol's face filled with understanding.

"Ah…" He nodded. "So, there's two of them…"

"Unfortunately…" You sighed, then took a deep breath. "I'M NOT FLIRTING AND HE'S NOT THE PIZZA GUY! NOW, GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!" The boy in front of you flinched and you sent him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Kol. She's eleven and I swear this is the only way to communicate with her."

"YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME, Y/N!" Your sister screamed down.

Kol glanced up there and huffed a laugh.

You sighed again. "I am so, so sorry."

"No, no, darling, it's fine. Seriously, stop apologizing!" He said. "You just shocked me is all. I guess I figured that screaming at one another was only the default language in dysfunctional families like mine."

The relief that flooded your body was palpable. "Really?"

"Of course," He assured you. "In fact, watch this." He shifted a hand to cover Nora's ear - the one that wasn't tucked into his shoulder - and looked up. "ACTUALLY, SHE IS THE BOSS OF YOU, UNTIL YOUR PARENTS GET HOME! SUCKS TO BE YOU, LOVE!  SO WHY DON'T YOU QUIT WAILING LIKE A BANSHEE AND COME SAY HI!" He finished shouting and shot you a wink.

You smirked, crossing your arms. "That was impressive." 

"Thank you."

A moment later a petite H/C girl came bounding down the stairs. She swung her weight around the banister and stopped right in front of Kol, staring up at him with scrutiny. She put her hands on her hips and spun to face you.

"Is this the boyfriend you wish you had?" She demanded.

You slid your tongue over your teeth, reminding yourself of all the reasons you shouldn't deck a child. "Ainsley," You addressed with a razor-sharp smile. "This is my friend Kol. He's gonna help me take care of you and Nora tonight."

Ainsley shot him a dirty look and turned to you. "I don't need another babysitter, I've already got you."

"Well that's a shame, because I'm not leaving for the whole night," Kol said, smirking. "And I'm afraid you got it wrong, sweetheart." He gestured to you. "See, she's the girlfriend I wish I had."

You flushed and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear - it was a nervous tick. Ainsley spun back to face him.

"You talk funny," She declared. 

"Ég get talað fyndnara," He told her with a smug smile. The foreign syllables rolled off his tongue effortlessly - almost like he'd been born speaking them. What language was that? The rough sound of it made your stomach attempt gymnastics.

Whatever it was, it made Ainsley giggle. "You're weird!" She said.

"Why thank you, love." He held onto Nora and dipped into a flourishing bow for her and she laughed again, clapping.

"Wanna come see my dinosaurs?" She asked him, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "They're in my room!"

The enthusiastic gasp he made for her was very convincing as he placed a hand over his heart. "Oh, wow. I would love to come see your dinosaurs, Ainsley. But is it okay if I talk to your sister for just a second first?"

"Okay." She shrugged. "I'll go get 'em ready!" 

"Alright! You go do that and I'll be right up," He said. Ainsley squealed with glee and rushed back upstairs again. You watched her go for a moment before turning back to Kol.

"That was actually amazing," You marveled, staring at him with wide eyes.

He shrugged. "That was nothing, I-"

"No, no. You don't understand," You cut him off. "Ainsley hates everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone!" You stressed. "She's at that stage where she knows everything about everything all the time so when she doesn't know someone she hates them and if they're in on her act, she hates them. In other words-"

"She hates everyone," He finished, nodding. "Bekah did the same thing, except she never grew out of it."

"I pity you."

"You should." Kol flashed you a grin and adjusted Nora in his arms. She made that little purr noise of hers and nuzzled him. He shrugged. "What can I say? The ladies love me."

You huffed a laugh and shook your head, focusing on the floor. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to," You said quietly.

The boy frowned. "What are you talking about, darling?"

"Well, I just-" You'd definitely made this seem like something it wasn't. Would he be mad? "I-I mean, you're not like… disappointed, are you?"

"Disappointed?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Darling, I get to avoid my family and spend time with a beautiful girl. Why on earth would I be disappointed?"

Because for a second there you acted like you wanted me…

You pushed that thought away and shrugged, rubbing your arm. "I don't know… I-I thought-

"Woah, woah, sorry to cut you off, love. But what happened to your hand?" He demanded. You hardly blinked and Kol had somehow crossed the room. He was standing right in front of you, only inches away. You jumped as he reached to take your hand. "Easy! Easy now! I just want to look at it," He said. You bit your lip as Kol gently took your hand.

He trailed his fingertips over the reddened, burned skin, just barely skimming over the marks. Pain flared up in each one despite his best efforts and you hissed, snatching your hand away. 

"Darling, what happened?" He pressed, a little more urgently. "Did someone do this to you?" Something flashed in his eyes, something more than the usual mirth or amusement he offered you. It was intense yet soft.

"No, I, uh… I burned myself making muffins," You admitted. "It's fine. I'll be fine."

"This is why you wanted my help, isn't it?" He asked, the way he regarded you made you pretty sure he doubted your tough facade. "Because it hurts more than you let on?"

You sighed. "I didn't treat it right originally and now it's coming back to haunt me," You confirmed.

"I see." Kol raised your injured hand to his lips and pressed a feather-light kiss to one of the few unburned areas. "Tell you what, I'll help you with your sisters - entertain them, and get them to bed - then I'll help you dress and wrap that properly, alright?" He offered.

You shook your head, trying to laugh his kindness off. "You don't have to do that."

"I know," He responded. "But I'm going to anyway." Then he leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on your forehead, shooting you a smug and very knowing smirk before turning and climbing the stairs after Ainsley. "Alright! Let's see those dinosaurs!"

You followed him up and pointed the way to Ainsley's room. She sat there on the floor surrounded by dozens of tiny dinosaur figurines no bigger than an inch. Kol knelt next to her, carefully avoiding crushing any of them. 

"Wow, these are exquisite, darling," He said, picking one up to examine it. "The details are stunning. Where did you get them?"

Ainsley beamed. "I made them!"

Kol shook his head. "Nah."

The girl frowned. "I made them out of clay," She insisted. 

"No, you didn't."

"I did so!"

"You did not! There's no way you made these, they're just too fantastic," He teased, shooting you a wink while your sister wasn't looking. You chuckled and rolled your eyes at his antics. 

"I'm not lying!" Your sister rounded on you. "Y/N, tell Kol I'm not lying!" She demanded.

He turned to you expectantly and you shrugged. "She's not lying."

Kol's surprise was extremely convincing, even to you. "I can't believe this! Ainsley, darling, your work is fantastic!"

The little girl smirked and glanced back at you, waggling her brows as if she'd won some sort of competition. You took a deep breath, running your tongue over your teeth.

"Ainsley, are you gonna tell him all their names?" You prompted. You didn't miss the grimace that flashed across Kol's face at your words. There were so many little dinosaurs, that naming all of them would take a while. 

"Not all of 'em." Ainsley shook her head. "Just my faves."

"You do that," You encouraged with mock enthusiasm. Kol shot you a look that reminded you a bit of a captive being made to walk the plank and you just smirked.

The girl picked up each one to introduce them individually. "This one's Diplodocus, this one's Deinonychus, this one's Ankylosaurus, this one's Baryonyx, this one's Compsognathus, this one's Archaeopteryx, this one's Dilophosaurus, this one's Coelophysis, and this one's a T-Rex!" She announced with pride.

"Ah, I see." Kol took that last figurine from her, inspecting it. "Now, I can't say that I'm familiar with most of those names you listed, but I do know this one. In fact, I went to go see the first skeleton of one ever found in a museum a while back!"

"Wow!" Ainsley gasped. "How big was it?"

"Colossal!" He exclaimed. "I think one could eat you in one bite. Om nom nom!" He reached up and chased Ainsley with the figurine she'd given him.

"Ah no! I don't wanna be eaten!"

"Too bad, love. The T-Rex has other plans."

"Oh." She dropped to the ground and started twitching. "Bleh! I'm dead."

Kol laughed and glanced back at you, grinning wide. "So, now that this one's dead, Y/N, when do I get to see your bedroom?" His tone was perfectly innocent but the expression he wore was anything but. His eyes skimmed over your figure and you realized you were wearing your slightly revealing pajama shorts. You knew you were blushing and he seemed excessively pleased with himself as you struggled to find something to say.

"Hey! I'm not really dead," Ainsley complained. "I was just pretending!"

Kol winked at you and turned back with an incredulous expression. "Really? Oh wow, that was extremely convincing. You should become an actor."

"Maybe I will!" Ainsley grinned, picking herself up off the floor. "Oh, and you can keep that by the way."

"I can keep this?" He affirmed, holding the T-Rex figure. Ainsley nodded. "Thank you! What an honor, lovely. I will cherish this gift for all my days." He stood and ruffled the little girl's hair in a casual gesture, but Ainsley didn't seem to like it very much. She recoiled from his touch like she'd been burned, jumping back and slapping his hand away with a yelp. She drew away from him, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Y-you're cold," She hissed, regarding him with a suddenly distrustful glare. 

Kol was quick to back off. His brows drew together and he raised his hands non-threateningly. Confusion swam in his deep brown eyes. "Am I?" He wondered. He held his hand out to you.

You didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. His hands were soft and you supposed they were a little cool, but not cold. Not odd. A thin scar bisected his palm diagonally and you wondered where he'd gotten it. You shook your head. "Ainsley, what's wrong?"

"He's cold!" She insisted. "Don't you feel it?"

You shrugged. "He feels fine to me and Nora seems pretty chill." The toddler was still sitting cozy in Kol's arms, meowing happily. "Maybe you're coming down with something?" You suggested. 

She just crossed her arms and huffed, glaring at Kol. You glanced at him and he shrugged, scratching his neck. The atmosphere in that room was incredibly awkward for a solid minute before you cleared your throat. 

"Who wants to play a game?" You asked, desperate to clear the tension. One could have cut it with a knife. 

Kol raised his hand. "I'm up for it! Ainsley?"

She scowled. "Do I have to?"

You sent her another sharp, forceful smile. "Heck yeah, you do, sunshine."

The little girl lifted a brow in challenge, putting her hands on her hips. "What's in it for me?" She demanded.

"Ah yes, the negotiator," Kol snickered. You sent him a scathing look and he quickly tried to cover his laughter with a cough.

"We can watch a movie after," You decided, turning your attention back to your sister. She hummed and pretended to inspect her fingernails - you were pretty sure she'd seen that on TV somewhere. Annoying as she was, that little brat was going places. "I'll let you pick?" You offered.

She flicked her eyes up to yours. "Emperor's New Groove?"

"Whatever you want," You sighed, rubbing your temple with your good hand. Kol was still trying ridiculously hard not to laugh.

"What about your hand, Y/N?" Ainsley asked, grinning like a satisfied Cheshire cat. "How will you play with us?"

You glanced down at the flaming red and pink marks that crisscrossed your fingers and palm, stretching up to your wrist. They stung and burned on their own, moving just made them worse. You frowned. "I guess I'll just have to watch you guys play."

"Oh, that's too bad." She didn't mean that one bit and you had to lean back against the door frame to keep yourself from throttling her. Ainsley shot you one last devilish smirk before rounding on Kol. "Do you know how to play Gin?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," He said, smiling amusedly. "Is that what you'd like to play?"

She nodded vigorously and swiped a deck of cards off her bedside table. "I'm gonna kick your butt!" She giggled.

"Is that so?" He hummed, shooting you a grin. You sent him a thankful one in return.

Nora sat up against his shoulder. "What about me? I wanna play!" She whined.

"But if course!" Kol exclaimed. "You're going to be on my team and help me beat your sister." 

Nora gasped and nodded. "Meow! Meow!" She chirped. Kol chuckled and kissed her forehead lightly. 

"There's a sweet little kitten."

"Why don't we go downstairs so you guys can play at the table?" You offered before they got anything started.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," He agreed. You shoved off the door frame and started for the stairs, glancing back to see Kol reach for your sister's hand. "Come on, Ainsley. I won't bite." She hesitantly took it and you turned back before he could see the smile that spread across your face.

Thirty minutes and eight rounds of Gin later and Kol seemed to be regretting his decision to play with your little sister.

"How?!" He demanded after her eighth consecutive win. "How is this possible? How are you rigging the deck when I'm the one shuffling?"

"Told you I was gonna kick your butt," Ainsley said smugly, leaning back in her chair.

"This shouldn't be statistically possible," He muttered. In his lap, Nora stood up and "pawed" at his chest, meowing in pity.

"Statistic probability does not apply when Ainsley desires to win a card game," You supplied, ruffling your sister's hair as you stood.

"It's uncanny," He agreed, nodding. You weren't aware of Kol's eyes lingering on you as you stretched, reaching your arms over your head. Wandering over to the pantry, you opted to search for a snack the four of you could enjoy during the movie.

"Say, Ainsley darling, have you ever played Poker?" Kol asked as soon as your back was turned.

"Kol!" You warned.

"Sorry, darling!" He called back. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Wanna learn?"

You snorted and spun around on your heel. "Kol Mikaelson, you are not going to teach my little sister to play Poker!" You lectured, trying your best to contain your laughter.

"She'd be a bloody prodigy, love!" He defended. He too was struggling to keep a straight face.

"Uh, huh. A prodigy with a gambling addiction."

"A gambling addiction? With me as her mentor? Inconceivable."

"The image of you mentoring anyone terrifies me to my very core," You deadpanned. "Ainsley, go put something on and if Kol ever tries to teach you anything, run for the hills."

"Got it," She replied, hopping out of her seat and running off towards the living room.

Kol leaned against the counter, folding his arms as he watched you search for some junk food. You selected ice cream - holding the frozen tub felt glorious on your burns. His eyes never left you for a second and the faint smile he wore never faltered. You stood on your toes to reach for some bowls off the top shelf and felt your cheeks burn under his undivided attention. Setting the bowls on the counter, you took a breath in an attempt to settle the butterflies that were using your stomach as a bloody airport. If you turned to face him, you knew you'd lose your ability to speak, so you feigned nonchalance.

"You're staring," You pointed out in hardly more than a whisper. 

Kol hummed. "Am I?" 

"You are." You nodded, trying to keep your pitch from rising. "What is it back there that's got you so interested?"

You could hear the smirk in his voice. "Definitely not your legs."

His comment lit your cheeks on fire and you buried your face in your hands. Why did he have to be such a cheeky bastard?! 

You turned back to face him, biting your lip and crossing your arms over your chest. "You just can't stop yourself from making those sorts of comments, can you?" 

Kol grinned. "I don't exactly try," He said.

"Of course, you don't." You sighed, tucking a strand of hair away from your face. "And I assume you just shamelessly flirt with all your friends."

He shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Good policy." 

Especially if your intention is to keep this socially awkward bundle of anxiety guessing every second of the day…

You smiled thinly and turned back to start scooping ice cream into the bowls. You gripped the ice cream scoop in your good hand and tried to transfer some of the surgery goodness but only succeeded in pushing the tub around on the counter. The burns on your left hand flared with pain as you absentmindedly attempted to use it and you whimpered, biting your lip to keep from crying. A frustrated growl escaped you as you glared at the frozen treat. 

Kol's hand wrapped around yours, gently lifting the scoop from your grasp. "Let me help you out, love," He coaxed. His voice was as soft as snow - the kind you make angels in. 

You sighed. "I can scoop ice cream, Kol. I'm not a complete invalid," You insisted.

"I know," Kol hummed. He swept your hair over your shoulder and ran a hand down your arm. His touch felt like lightning across your skin. "But you are in a lot of pain."

You glanced at the burns covering your hand. They stung and seared constantly. "Yeah…"

"Then move over and let me help you," He pressed, leaning on the counter next to you. He stared you down and you tried your best to stay strong but those soft amber eyes drilled into yours and you lost.

"Fine!" You relented, backing off. He smirked and took over. 

"So how's the hand holding up?" Kol asked. He paused and cleared his throat. "Still the same or getting-" He cut himself off with another cough. "- getting worse?"

Your brows pulled together and you frowned. "Pretty much the same," You answered. He nodded, coughing into his sleeve a few more times. You blinked, starting to worry. "You good?" Kol sent you a thumbs up but kept on coughing. You reached up to touch his shoulder and he flinched away from you. "Kol?" You moved around to face him but he doubled over, coughing more frantically. You couldn't see his face. Was he in pain? What were you supposed to do? 

"I-I'm fine." He waved you off, straightening back up after a moment. His voice was strained and he looked extremely uncomfortable. "I'm alright."

"You don't look fine," You said.

"I-I just…" He trailed off.

"Kol?" He didn't respond.

For a moment, he just stood there, watching you. Kol tilted his head to the side slowly. His brows were furrowed but his eyes were far away and there was something in them. You didn't know exactly what it was, but it made your skin crawl. You didn't like it. He swallowed thickly, wetting his lips. His hands were wrapped around the counter's edge and his knuckles were white. Was he having a seizure or something? What was his problem? He took a shuffling step backward, blinking rapidly. 

"KOL!" You snapped your fingers in front of his face and he jumped.

"Yeah? What-what is it?" He shook his head as if trying to clear something away.

You stared at him with wide eyes. "Do I need to call 911?" You demanded, voice rising. 

"No." He shook his head. "No, it's just a-a dry throat… I'm fine. I-I can handle it."

Why did he sound like he was trying to convince himself?

You raised a brow. "You sure? 'Cuz I did not pass my CPR class…"

Kol huffed a laugh, smiling wryly though you didn't get the joke. "Yeah, I'm fine. Can we just… Can we open a window or something?"

"Uh, huh… sure." You nodded slowly, giving him a last once over to be safe. You edged over to the window above the kitchen sink and shoved it open. The air outside was freezing from the snowstorm but you could hear Kol's sigh of relief. He muttered something under his breath.

"Heilagt helvíti, ég er of svangur í þetta…"

It was that language again, the same one he'd spoken earlier. You weren't sure how you knew but you were positive of it. The way it rolled off his tongue was too natural to be something learned. It had to be a native language… But wasn't he from England?

You wandered back over to him again, more than a little worried. "You're absolutely positive you're okay?" You asked, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

He nodded and maybe you were reading too much into it but his smile seemed oddly tight, almost forced. "Of course, I am."

You bit your lip, rocking back and forth on your heels for a moment. "Do you want something to drink?" You offered.

His eyes flicked towards you for a split second. He clenched his jaw, nodding. "That would be nice. Thank you." He cleared his throat again, rubbing at his eyes.

You drummed your fingers on the countertop before grabbing a cup from the cabinet and moving to the fridge. You opened it up and glanced over the contents. "So, we got milk, orange juice, grape juice that tastes like wine, grape juice that tastes like grape juice, apple juice that Nora may or may not have attempted to chug out out the bottle, or - the good ole' family favorite - water," You listed. "What do you wanna have?"

You weren't prepared for his response. It was so quiet - hardly a whisper - and you were certain you weren't meant to hear it.

"You."

Your whole body tensed and you blushed like mad. 

"W-what was that?" You called over your shoulder. Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around.

"I said milk is fine," He spoke up a little louder.

He lies…

Or maybe you were just going insane.

You ran your tongue over your teeth, trying in vain to calm your rapid heart rate. "Okay." You pulled the gallon of milk out of the fridge and kicked the door shut with your foot. 

"I'll put this away," Kol said once he was done with the ice cream. 

"Thanks." Yeah, your heart rate wasn't slowing down any time soon.

"Not a problem, darling." He brushed past you to tuck the ice cream away.

Once you finished pouring the milk, you turned to pass it to him. "Here's some-" The words got caught in your throat. He was standing a lot closer than you'd expected, watching you with a smirk that set your cheeks on fire. You snapped your mouth shut and just shoved the glass towards him.

"Thank you, darling." Kol took it from you, which was a relief because your hands were trembling so viciously you might have dropped it at any second. He leaned back against the counter, looking as perfect as ever and you dropped your eyes to your feet. "Are you alright, love?"

You shrugged. "Yeah, I'm okay. Why?"

"You seem rather agitated tonight - stressed," He observed.

"Well, I did burn my hand."

Kol frowned. "No, I don't think that's it."

You swallowed, your throat was suddenly as dry as a desert. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the hottest boy in a one-hundred-mile radius is standing in my kitchen drinking milk. You thought. Perhaps it would be best to tell the truth, he always seemed to know when you were lying.

"I mean, it's just that you're the best friend I've had since kindergarten," You blurted out. 

Kol raised a brow. "I am?"

You nodded. "You are. A-and I'm kinda freaking out, because we don't even know each other crazy super well and yet, here you are, at my house, helping me take care of my borderline insane sisters." You let go of a breathy laugh, though it sounded rather forced. "I know you'd probably rather be, like, anyplace else but I didn't have anybody else to call and I just want you to know how grateful I am that you came."

You hadn't realized before that exact moment that you'd never really seen Kol smile. You'd thought you'd seen it, but those glimpses had never been the real thing. When Kol smiled - really smiled - it took your breath away. It was bright and warm, the kind of smile that makes everyone else smile too.

"You don't have to thank me," He claimed with a slight shake of his head. "But I do think I know how you can repay me…"

You crossed your arms over your chest. "And how is that?"

He shrugged. "Say it again."

"Say what again?"

"That I'm your best friend."

"Really?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "I've never been anybody's best friend before."

You rolled your eyes. "I don't believe that for a second. You must have had loads of friends before you moved here."

"Not really, actually. I annoy people."

"Well, you don't annoy me. Most times."

"So that makes me your best friend?" He pressed.

You opened your mouth to say the words he so desperately wanted to hear but someone cut you off.

"WHAT'S TAKING YOU GUYS SO LONG?" Ainsley shouted from the living room.

Kol's response was immediate - premeditated even - as if he'd been waiting for her to say those words. "LEAVE US ALONE! WE'RE MAKING OUT!" He yelled back, grinning like a maniac when Ainsley started gagging obnoxiously.

You smacked your forehead and sighed. "You're gonna get me in so much trouble… and we didn't even do anything!"

"What are friends for?" He shrugged. 

"Best friends," You corrected.

"Right." He smirked. Placing a hand on the small of your back, he guided you towards the living room. You stiffened at his touch. Oy vey, you were so obvious, but you couldn't help it! Kol leaned down to your ear as you reached the living room. "Relax, darling. It's just me."

That was the problem.

"Ooh! Ice cream!" Ainsley cheered. Nora, who had been sitting on the floor, looked up from pretending to lick her arm… at least you hoped she was pretending. Both girls hopped up to take the treat.

Kol held the bowls out of their reach. "Ah! What do we say?" He asked.

"Please?" Ainsley begged with her best doe-eyes.

"Very good, darling." He passed her the ice cream. "Nora?"

The little girl reached up. "Gimmie!" She demanded.

Kol glanced at you out of the corner of his eye and you just shrugged. "I don't know where she learned that, but it wasn't me!"

He looked back down at the toddler. "I'm sort of tempted to give it to her, because that's a very assertive attitude."

"And that's bad parenting."

"He's not my dad!" Nora said. "Now gimmie!"

"You have to say please, kitten," Kol insisted.

"Gimmie it please!"

"There it is," He said.

"Now!" She commanded.

"Alright, alright!" He lowered the bowl into her greedy little hands and she squealed in delight. His gaze shifted from the toddler to you and back again. "That one's going places," He announced.

You rolled your eyes. "Tell me about it." You sat down on the couch as Ainsley started the movie and Kol moved to sit beside you. Stretching his arms and legs as he settled in, his arm just so happened to wrap around your shoulders. You smirked.

"Smooth."

"I know." He winked.

About halfway through the movie, the doorbell rang. You had no clue who it could have been as your parents weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow. Both you and Kol got up to answer it and you waved a hand.

"It's okay, I've got it," You said.

"Well I'm coming with you." You shot him a questioning look. He shrugged easily. "There are some serious creeps out there, darling. I just want you to be safe."

“Takes one to know one,” You teased, walking backward towards the door.

“Exactly,” He replied. Then his expression sobered just a little bit under the dim light of your foyer. Kol’s humor was usually arrogant or self-deprecating in one way or another but that expression told you that there was something underneath that. That boy was by no means insecure, but ego and pride aren't the same as self-esteem. His honest opinion of himself wasn’t a positive one. You didn’t like seeing that.

“I don’t know how you do it.” You rolled your eyes, chuckling. Your tone was easy because you’d never been too great with people. You always said the wrong thing when you tried to be genuine, so you favored humor instead. "How can you manage to be so egotistical while also being self-loathing, and yet secretly kind all at the same time? You’re like some wacky combination of Emperor Kuzco and Shrek."

“Oh is that what you think?” He said, shoving your shoulder playfully. Kol scrunched up his face. "I was a perfectly nice guy and they ruined my life for no reason!" He quoted in a perfect imitation of Kuzco's American accent from the movie. That sound made you uncomfortable for some odd reason.

You squirmed a little. “Okay, first that was excellent. Second, never do that again please."

“Aww! Thank you, Y/N/N. It’s always good to be appreciated,” He continued in that American accent. 

“Ewww. Staaaahhhp!” You complained with a feigned gag.

“Stop what?” He poked you in the ribs.

You jumped out of his reach, smacking his hand away. "That!"

"I have no clue what you're talking about." He cheekily grinned. Ugh! It was so cute… but the accent was still terrifying.

"That voice!"

"What? Does my impression of a stupid American bother you?" It was even more unsettling when he was insulting Americans while talking like one. He skipped ahead of you, blocking your way to the door and you laughed.

"Yes! It's gross, you're not meant to be American."

"Would you prefer Français?" He asked, switching accents. "May I offer you a baguette? Perhaps a croissant?"

You snorted. "That's worse, and culturally insensitive!" You pointed out.

"Italiano?" He waggled his eyebrows, smirking as he swapped accents again. "Rome is an impressive city."

"Ugh! No!" You cringed. The doorbell rang a second time followed by a few incessant knocks. "I know! I'm coming, keep your pants on!" You called at the door. It was only a few feet away, but Kol was blocking you.

"Wha' 'bout Sco'ish?" The boy swapped again. "Sco'ish is a'plen'y o' fun. When a true bloody Scott gets a'talkin', ya' can't even tell what them's a sayin'. I mean, is moose loose in the hoose or are ya' wantin' to go'in grabb'a bagg'a chips, pal?"

You blinked, completely clueless as to what he'd just said. "What?" You cackled, shaking your head. He spoke so rapidly, and none of his words even sounded like words. "How are you doing that?"

Kol shrugged. "Eh, I've traveled. Picking up accents is a… hobby of sorts,” He said, reverting back to his natural silk-like speech.

You narrowed your eyes, quirking a brow. "Kol?"

He hummed, tilting his head innocently. "Yes?"

"Are you stalling?"

"Nah...'Course not." His smile thinned almost invisibly. 

"Cool. Now, will you let me get to the door please?" You asked, crossing your arms.

Kol swept his tongue over his lower lip, watching you for just a moment. His expression was something soft with a twinge of fear - or at least you thought that’s what you saw, He replaced it with a smirk before you had a chance to remember it. “As you wish,” He muttered, finally moving out of your way.

“Thanks,” You said as you moved past him. You couldn't see why he was trying to stall you. Maybe this was a byproduct of having lived in such big cities as he had. Crime rates were high in places like London, Moscow, Paris, or New Orleans. You'd never had to worry about that, nothing bad ever happened in Mystic Falls. You found it sort of sweet that he was so worried though, standing directly behind you like a bodyguard as you looked through the window at who was outside. You smiled. "You can relax, man. It's just Matt."

Yet, he didn't relax. When you twisted the knob, Kol quickly wound his arm around your waist, swiftly pulling you into his side. You blushed furiously, cracking the door open just slightly to keep the warmth inside. The snowstorm had gotten significantly worse.

Matt Donovan stood on the doorstep, hands shoved in his pockets against the cold as he shivered. He didn't have the money to afford a good coat to keep him warm, but he smiled at you with more warmth than anyone else in town ever had - aside from Kol of course. He was friendly but the two of you just weren't close. The blond had only ever been your friend out of proximity. In a town as small as Mystic Falls, it's a little hard not to get to know your neighbors from across the street.

"Hey, Y/N!" His teeth were chattering violently.

"Hey, Matt! Move it or lose it 'cuz I'm closing this door," You stated dryly. Opening the front door just wide enough for him to slip inside, you slammed it shut again as soon as he was in the clear.  Kol's grip on your waist tightened as Matt stepped over the threshold and you bit your lip, pretending not to notice.

“Oh, hallelujah, it’s warm in here!” The blond-haired quarterback relaxed almost immediately once inside, closing his eyes and sighing. "You're an actual angel, Y/N/N," He said.

"Naturally, but what's the reason this time?" You smirked.

He groaned. "My payment was late by one day and the electric company shut my heat off."

You hissed in genuine sympathy. "Geez, sorry dude. That sucks."

"Tell me about it," He huffed. Matt opened his eyes and smiled at you. Then his gaze shifted to Kol and he startled, taking a step back as his eyes flew wide. "What the- Kol?" He sputtered.

Kol waved. "Hey there, mate."

Matt's face drained of color and you blinked, glancing between them. Weird.

"Y/N, what's he doing here?" Matt questioned. His tone was icier than the storm outside.

"Indentured servitude," Kol replied easily. You huffed a laugh.

"I lured him here under false pretenses and roped into doing my bidding," You explained, smirking. "Why?"

Matt's eyes remained glued to Kol. "No reason." Yeah, there was definitely a reason all right. A tense silence lingered in the air for a moment.

"So… Did you need something, Matty?" You wondered, rocking back and forth on your heels.

He blinked and shifted his attention back to you. "Yeah, no, um… yeah." He shrugged, gesturing vaguely. "I was just wondering if I could borrow your, uh, phone charger. Mine kinda… broke."

"Of course!" You chirped. "I'll go get it while you wait here, yeah?" 

"Yeah." Matt's eyes drifted back to Kol as you were speaking. You glanced back at Kol but his expression was carefully, perfectly, unreadable. What was that about?

"Okay… Right." 

Kol's arm around your waist was rigid but you tapped his hand twice and he let go. His fingers traced along your back as you moved away, pressing firmly into your skin. His hands were still cool.

You tried to shake the odd behavior off but couldn't help listening in on their conversation as you climbed the stairs.

"Speaking of things that break, how's the hand doing?" Kol asked casually. "I heard that was quite the injury you had a while back. Multiple contusions, eh? Nasty business that. Especially for a… quarterback was it?"

"Nah, I'm fine." Matt waved his hand, though his voice was oddly tense. "It wasn't as bad as it looked. Actually, I'm more interested in Y/N's hand. What happened there?"

Kol laughed, but you knew it wasn't genuine. "Ah, yes. That was a little misadventure in the noble profession that is baking, believe it or not."

"Wow, that's crazy," Matt said flatly. 'Yeah, I-I don't believe it."

"Don't you?"

"Nah."

Satisfied that their conversation seemed somewhat normal - aside from the obviously forced civility of it - you ducked into your room and retrieved your extra phone charger. You also grabbed a blanket from your hall closet because you knew Matt didn't have enough. Then you went back down the stairs. 

Your two friends were right where you'd left them. Matt was glaring daggers and Kol's smile looked a bit more like a jaguar bearing its teeth than it did an actual human expression of happiness. The animosity simmering between them was thick enough to warrant a Dr. Suess book.

"Here ya' go, Matty," You said, dropping the items into his arms. "Phone charger and a blanket because Virginia law is stupid!"

There was relief that he didn't want to show when he smiled at you. "No, no. Y/N you don't have to give me this, just the charger is more than enough."

"Well, you might as well save your breath 'cuz I'm not taking it back." You smirked.

"You're a lifesaver." He chuckled.

You winked. "I know."

He sent you a grateful smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Well, uh, thanks. Have a - have a nice night." 

"We will," Kol chimed in.

You almost missed the scowl that flickered across Matt's face, it was there for a second and gone the next. Then he turned and opened the door. You held it open as he stepped out, Kol trailing your steps like a shadow. His arm wound itself securely around your waist again, squeezing lightly for a moment. The gentle pressure made you dizzy, but it was gone just as quickly - you must have imagined it. 

"I guess I'll see you later," Matt said with a small wave. You flashed him a smile.

"See ya." You expected him to just go, and he moved to leave, but he stopped. Just as you were closing the door.

"Y/N!" He called out at the last second. 

You cracked the door open just enough to enable conversation. Kol's fingertips pressed in at your waist just slightly more - almost possessively… but that was just ridiculous. Right? You shook the thought away.

"Yeah?"

The blond's eyes flicked to Kol one last time before landing on yours. There was something in them, it was desperate but reserved. Like there was something he was begging you to understand. But he didn't tell you what it was. He just said:

"Stay safe." 

You nodded. "O'course." 

Then he turned his collar up against the wind and stalked away through the snow. You thought you saw him shake his head as you closed the door. How odd.

You hadn't realized you were holding your breath until the door clicked shut and you released it, leaning your head against the wood. 

"That was so weird," You mused, just trying to make sense of it. "What's his problem, am I right?" You huffed breathily. Kol just shrugged.

"I haven't the faintest," He replied, shaking his head. "Vicious small town paranoia perhaps?"

"Maybe, I guess." You shook your head, baffled. "But Matt's usually just nice to everyone." You stood there, worrying your lip as you tried to puzzle it out to no avail. Your friend pulled you away from the door and your thoughts a moment later.

"Really?" Kol's arm around your waist dropped lower, his hand resting like a ghost's on your hip as he accompanied you back towards the living room. "That's the strangest thing. He's always just seemed to hate me. I don't even know what I did!"

"Huh. Weird." You gave up on trying to figure it out and shrugged. Returning to your place on the couch to continue the movie, Kol once again took up the spot next to you but he didn't let go. He leaned back and took you with him, holding you close as he guided you to lay across his chest. You were hesitant to curl up with him. What if you were misinterpreting this? Your fears were quickly swept away, however, when you felt him tug your body closer.

"What are you, a stiff?" He chuckled, tucking your head under his chin. "I want you to lay down, love. Now, come here." He dragged you closer and this time you went with him, letting yourself get comfortable. Kol pressed a sweet kiss to the crown of your hair and you shivered.

Holy crap, this was a cuddle.

Kol was cuddling you. 

Your cheeks flared unreasonably warm and you prayed for him not to notice your heart racing faster than a rabbit's. He probably would, you could certainly feel it. 

"What's this for?" You wondered, trying not to let your voice tremble. You thought you did rather well.

"Mmm. You're warm," Kol mumbled into your hair blissfully, curling himself around you a little. 

"Well I have other blankets, you know," You pointed out, snickering. The boy's hand found your good one and tangled your fingers together.

"True," He acknowledged. "But none of them would be near as effective."

"How do you figure?" 

He shrugged a little, rubbing circles into the back of your hand with his thumb. "Well, the average human's standard body temperature is ninety-eight degrees and there's two of us. Add that together and that makes one hundred and ninety-six degrees. Simple!"

You snorted. "Yeah, well I'm ninety-eight percent sure that's not how that works."

"Of course that's how it works!" He scoffed. 

"You guys are gross," Ainsley muttered, shaking her head.

"Meow, meow!" Nora climbed up onto Kol's lap and curled up into a little ball, clearly not at all bothered.

"Plus a cat," Kol added. "That makes two hundred and ninety-four degrees."

"You're full of it," You sighed.

"Oh absolutely."

By the time the movie was over, Nora was fast asleep and Ainsley was well on her way there. Kol, you were pretty sure, was two and a half sheets to the wind himself and, if you were being completely honest, you too could feel the figurative wall approaching fast. Yet, you didn't want to move. You were beyond comfortable just where you were. Too bad your absolutely platonic cuddle puddle couldn’t last.

You knew this crush on him was stupid. You knew that.

You weren't a fool. Kol was your closest friend and you knew his reputation better than anyone. The boy was a troublemaker and a notorious flirt - a well-warranted reputation. The number of girls you knew he'd slept with was too high to count, not to mention all the others you had no clue about because you weren't exactly what one might call in the loop. Sure, all those other girls were complete sluts anyway, but that wasn't the point.

The point was, that wasn't you.

You may have been a nobody, but at least you had no delusions about becoming something more - someone popular. You didn't want attention and you didn't need it. Especially not from a hundred or so underage wannabes with self-esteem issues. No thanks! 

You weren't going to throw your dignity away just because Kol or any other boy wanted something. You were worth more than that and you knew it. You weren’t going to lower your boundaries for anyone and you knew Kol knew that already.

So why did he put up with you at all?

See, that was the question that had you doubting. You meant nothing to anyone. No one would care if he screwed you over - doing so wouldn't bring him any sort of sick praise or status, though he didn’t seem to crave those things like every other high schooler did. So why make the effort to talk to you? Why would he go out of his way to help you tonight if he didn't care at least a little bit?

This was all so confusing. You didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Look at that, bedtime," You announced quietly. Kol stirred underneath you and you sat up, raising a brow as he rubbed at his eyes.

"I wasn't sleeping," He claimed, jabbing a finger at you. 

You snickered. "Yeah, yeah… just resting your eyes, right?"

"Exactly." He grinned. You rolled your eyes and detangled yourself from the boy's arms, much to his disappointment.

"You know who's not resting her eyes though…" You trailed off, tapping Ainsley on the shoulder. She slapped your hand away drowsily. 

"Iss' not bedtime… I’m-I'm not tired," She protested, slurring.

"Liar." You smirked. "Come on, you gotta get up so you can go to bed."

"I'll sleep here," She argued.

"No, you'll sleep in your bed."

"Too late."

You grimaced and Kol spoke up from behind you, tapping Ainsley's leg.

"Come now, love," He urged. "Don't make me carry you."

She shook her head. "You can't carry me, I'm a big girl."

"I can and I will," He warned.

You sighed. "Kol, don't. You'll hurt yourself."

"Oh, how wrong you are, darling," He whispered into your ear. You blinked, startled by his sudden proximity.

He settled his hand on your back and rubbed a few comforting circles before slowly, experimentally, sliding it lower. His fingertips danced along your spine, down to the base where he stopped.

Kol lifted his hand away and adjusted his grip on Nora who he had already scooped up. Holding her in one arm, he bent down and used his shoulder to hoist Ainsley up too. She naturally wrapped her arms and legs around him like a little Koala so that probably made things easier. Though it made it no less surprising to you as he began climbing the stairs a minute later with little to no effort. Together, Ainsley and Nora must have weighed about a hundred pounds and Kol wasn’t an athlete as far as you knew. So where the hell was he pulling that kind of strength from? You shut your gaping mouth and followed after them.

You arrived on the second floor just in time to watch Kol tuck Ainsley into her bed, covering her with a few extra blankets in light of the winter storm. Nora hadn't woken despite being moved and she was quickly tucked in a well. 

"Meow, meow," She mumbled.

You offered Kol a smile from your position in the hallway and he just rolled his eyes, turning out their lights as he shut their bedroom door.

"That was adorable," You voiced under your breath. 

"I bet," He hummed. "Your turn, darling. Let's go fix that hand."

You groaned. You'd been dreading this the whole night. What if treating your burns made them hurt worse? Wouldn't they just go away on their own after a while?

"What if I changed my mind about that?" You tried, lamely attempting to hide your burned mess of a hand behind your back. 

He shot you a very pointed smile. "Not an option, sweet thing. Now, where do you keep your first aid kit?"

"My bathroom," You sighed, pointing. 

"Thank you." He placed his hands on your shoulders and pushed you along though you didn't exactly fight him. You just complained more than anything.

"My body, my choice right?" You huffed, walking through your bedroom doorway and immediately turning to enter the bathroom. 

"In any other scenario, absolutely." The boy smirked, closing the door. "Unfortunately this is not any other scenario and you will take care of your body even if I have to do it for you."  

You huffed and rolled your eyes. Using your good hand, you hoisted yourself up to sit on the counter. "This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" You asked wearily, watching him search for the first aid kit.

"Just a little bit," He assured, pulling the kit out of the towel closet. He opened it up and started rummaging through the thing.

“You lie.” You deadpanned.

“Indeed,” He hissed, offering you a sympathetic smile. “Just trying to ease your nerves, love.”

"I think this is a violation," You grumbled.

“Well, in that case, shame on me," He replied cheerfully. The boy grabbed a spray of some kind out of the kit and held it in one hand, offering the other to you. "Might want to hold onto something for this next bit."

You were in no way prepared for the pain that came next. Kol sprayed the chemical solution on your arm and you bit back a scream. The burns stung. Your eyes welled with tears and you kicked your legs out, nearly crushing the poor guy's hand in your grip. He tried his best to keep you calm, muttering encouragement the whole time while you verged on hysteria.

"Kol? Kol, that hurts! Please don't do that, it hurts!" You hated letting anyone see you cry, but this was the most pain you'd endured in years. "Kol, please? Please, it hurts so bad. Just stop. Kol please stop!" You sobbed quietly. 

From the expression on your friend's face, you would have thought that hearing your pleas hurt him as much as your burns hurt you. He looked guiltier than you'd ever felt.

"Shhhhhh, shhhhhh. Darling, it's alright," He soothed. "I'm almost done. Just a few more seconds, love. You're doing so well." His voice was shaking. You blinked away tears but they seemed incessant on falling. "There, that part's finished," He breathed what felt like an eternity later.

You choked down another sob and focused on your breathing. The scorching sting in your arm began to fade bit by bit as Kol pulled out bottles of aloe and antibiotics. He sighed deeply, unable to meet your eyes.

"I'm just trying to help you," He said quietly. "I'm sorry I caused you so much pain."

You nodded, slightly more rational now. "If not you then it would have been someone else later and that probably would have hurt worse," You reasoned. Your smile was tight but genuine. "I'm kinda glad it was you. I probably would have Spartan kicked anyone else."

"I'm honored," He snickered. Kol grew quiet as he shifted his attention to gently applying the aloe and antibiotic onto each of the burn marks. He was very careful and extraordinarily gentle as he wrapped the area in bandages. 

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" You wondered, watching him with fascination.

The boy smirked, shrugging. "I was a dumb kid," He admitted. "Got hurt a lot." He secured the outermost layer with a few hooks and sighed. "There, almost as beautiful as you."

You rolled your eyes. "Kol Mikaelson, are you flirting with me or yourself?" You demanded, feeling uncharacteristically bold.

"Definitely you." The boy's lips twitched up into a crooked smile, as he leaned against the counter next to you. “I have been for quite awhile. Would’ve thought you’d notice.”

You blushed, bowing your head to avoid his amber eyes. "Believe me, I’ve noticed…” You hesitated, forcing a laugh. “I’ve watched you flirt with everyone."

"I know; yet, no matter what I try, I just keep on running back to you. It’s the strangest thing. Anyone else and I’ve never looked back or looked twice. But when it’s you, I can’t seem to stop myself… and I don’t think I want to.”

Your lips pressed into a thin line and you shook your head. “Kol, d-don’t do that. Please? Don’t make me sound like… like…”

He tilted his head. “Like what?”

“Like…I-I don’t know!  Like something I’m not!” You scowled.

“Like special?”

You froze. Suddenly you didn't feel so bold anymore. He was so close to you, hardly an inch away. Your throat felt too dry to talk. 

“Yeah.” You looked up, nodding. “I don’t like liars, I-I can’t stand a liar, Kol. So just-just stop, okay? This here, w-what you’re doing right now, it-it isn’t funny.”

The boy frowned. “No, darling, I’m not-”

“Not what?” You interrupted. “Not trying to chat me up? Make me feel all special just because my parents aren’t home and you think that means I’ll make some sort of exception for you? Well, the answer is no. I guess this is what I get for choosing the wrong friends.” You tried to hop off the counter, but Kol stepped closer to you, positioning himself to stand between your legs.

“That’s not what this is,” He said. Kol leaned closer, resting his hands atop the counter on either side of you. “Darling, I’m not trying to hurt you.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to fight off the blush invading your cheeks. “Right. As if there’s any other reason someone like you would ever acknowlage someone like me. I’ve never qualified as special in my entire life.”

"I don't think that's true," He murmured, sweeping your hair over to one shoulder. "I tend to avoid ordinary people." 

"Then why are you here?" You demanded in a dry, derelict whisper. 

His brows pulled together and he frowned slightly, but it wasn't directed at you. "There's… a lot of reasons, I think," He said. "I-I'm not all that good at telling the truth, especially when that truth envolves… well… me. But-" His voice trailed off and he swallowed thickly, seeming almost pained.

"What?"

His lips twitched up into a nervous smile as he glanced away. “You mean more to me than anyone else becasue when I’m around you I don’t feel alone. I feel at peace. My world has been crashing down around me for as long as I can remember and I’ve always been running, or hiding, or fighting for my life. But when I’m around you and you’re happy, you-you smile at me and I can pretend that-that I’m normal and that everything’s alright.” He bowed his head, smiling thinly. “I’ve always hated depending on anyone for anything, but when I’m holding you, things calm down. Its quiet wherever you are and I can just live in that moment, where the only thing you ask of me is the very thing I want.” Kol looked up at you through his lashes and you could never resist those soft amber eyes. “Why would I seek the company of anyone else when I know you’re the only one who’s ever sought mine? Darling, it’s not your body that I want… well, it is but-” He cut himself off with a sigh and a slight laugh. “What I’m trying to say is, I want you. I want you because you’re my best friend and I want more.”

You blinked. You hadn't been prepared for a full blown confession… and that one didn't sound very platonic. He had you trapped between his arms and you couldn't run even if you wanted to. But why would you? You would never run from him.

You bit your lip, there was no going back to anything if you asked what your heart wanted to know. "So, y-you really like me? As, you know, more than a friend?" Your command of the English language was legendary.

Kol grinned. "What more would you have me do? Propose?" He laughed. "Or would you prefer I just make out with you right this very second?" 

Blushing deeply, you cleared your throat and twisted your fingers together nervously. "It's not my fault… I mean, when you're a senior in highschool who's never been asked on a date, you learn to ignore anything that might be considered a hint," You admitted. "'Cuz it just never is."

"I see…" His voice trailed off. Kol paused for a moment and you felt your cheeks color as his eyes skimmed down your figure. He made a slight movement towards you but stopped and met your eyes. "May I?" He asked in a much softer tone. The playful gleam you usually found in his eyes was replaced by something much softer. It was soft like cotton; yet there was something hungry there too.

"What?" Your voice was hardly more than a whisper. 

"May I touch you?" He clarified. 

Maybe he was lying. Maybe he only wanted you for your body. Maybe he would throw you away once he realized you wouldn't give in to him like any other girl. Maybe he just wanted to use you.

But if any of that were true, he wouldn't have been there for you when you needed him. 

You smiled softly. "Yeah." He smiled.

Keeping his eyes on your face to watch for the first sign of your discomfort, he settled his hands on your waist. When he moved them, he did so slowly - achingly slowly - smoothing them tentatively, hesitantly, over your hips then lower to your bare upper thighs. You should have worn longer shorts, but you didn't object. You didn't do anything. You didn't know what to do. 

Your heart was racing and you couldn't breathe properly. 

"Do you like that?" He hummed. His lips were at your ear and you were hyper-focused on him but your brain refused to believe it.

In one swift movement, he dragged you in close - dizzyingly close - pulling you into his chest. The boy leaned down and rested his head on your shoulder, nudging his nose against your throat lightly, almost teasingly but you got the feeling that there was more to it than that. His touch felt like snow before the cold sinks in. The pressure of his fingers on your skin set your senses on fire as Kol squeezed your thighs in a gentle, precise grip. Your eyes fluttered closed. He traced his hands over your sides - up and then back down - and then Kol squeezed again. The boy's fingertips dug into the flesh of your thighs and you couldn't help the soft moan that escaped your lips. His touch felt… good. Like aloe on a burn. Yet, addicting like the rush of adrenaline. 

You nodded. "Is this real?"

His grip on your thighs tightened and he leaned in closer, skimming his lips over your throat. "Exactly how obvious do I have to make my intentions before you believe them to be genuine?" He whispered, almost pained.

"Pretty freaking obvious, apparently," You laughed. 

Then you felt it - a tiny feather-like pressure, soft and sweet against your pulse. Your breath hitched and Kol pressed his lips against your throat again - his kiss was sweeter than candy and you wanted more. You shivered and felt his lips twist into a smirk at your reaction. His nose nudged at your throat he took a deep breath, humming contentedly as he pushed a stray lock of hair out of your face.

He pulled back and captured your lips in a soft, adoring kiss. His hand slipped beneath your shirt, setting fire to your skin though his hands seemed colder than they had been a few hours ago - almost unnaturally cold. Kol broke away from your lips, smiling blissfully for a moment. When he came back again, he slid his tongue along your lower lip, asking sweetly. You granted him his request and holy criminy that boy was an insanely good kisser. Every time you flinched at something he did, he would squeeze your waist tenderly, reassuring you that he would never hurt you.

He didn't stop. With each kiss, the boy's lips lingered on your neck, savoring the sensation. "You, darling, smell divine," Kol whispered the words between kisses as though they were something he wasn't meant to tell you. After a few more sweet pecks, Kol opened his mouth and kissed you a little harder. The boy moaned a little and his mouth moved against your neck, harsher, needier. He tugged on your waist, drawing you deliciously against him and you couldn't help but gasp when you felt the tentative sweep of that boy's tongue glide along your skin. Kol shuddered and clinched your thighs; you took it he liked what he tasted.

Never.

"How's that for a hint?" He asked smugly. 

"Pretty good," You laughed, taking a moment to catch your breath. Kol pressed a kiss to your temple and pulled away. "Wait-"

"Nora's crying," He informed you.

Your face fell.

"Of course she is."

Tagging: @yn-ymn-yln @r13mar @rootbeerfaygo @iiskittles16ii @fandomrulesall-blog @dark-night-sky-99 @railingsofsorrow @apolloroid @thatweirdoleigh @misswe03 @eat-cake @felinegrate Hey, if your name isn't on here and you requested to be tagged, send me a DM to let me know! Tumblr wouldn't let me tag some people and I'm really sorry about that...

[fatteningfreakshow]

George, The Feeder

Part 1

George was always an outcast, an intelligent boy always getting straight A’s in all his classes, but always challenged the social norms. This didn’t help his popularity, refusing to conform to the stereotypes of high school and avoiding any and all cliques. He had 2 best friends who were also classed as the outcasts for their own reasons, their connection made no sense with having nothing in common other than that they were all outcasts. Jenny and Karina were the only people George treasured and no one else mattered.

The fact that George was gay was just another reason why he was different, being in a school that was 99% religiously straight kids. The only other gay lad, Ben, was definitely not his type, he was the typical pretty boy, looking after his toned, golden body and his dark flowing hair. But Ben was accepted into the “it” crowd long before anyone knew he was gay, his bitchy beauty obsessed friends always saw him as one of them. No, George loved his guys chunky, bearded, mature looking… and behaving!

George’s life couldn’t get started until he was out of that hellhole, his plans of abandoning his parent-pressured future as a lawyer couldn’t come quick enough! He had his heart set on a simple life as a plumber, much to his parents’ protests, he was just counting down the days until he left and started his plumbing course at college. Maybe he might just find himself his ideal man being in that industry, every plumber he’d seen had been heavy set with at least 2” of butt crack on show.

On his last day of high school it was non-uniform day, a small 50p donation and you could come to school wearing whatever you liked. George arrived looking like a young biker; Dr. Martin boots with ripped jeans tucked inside, a studded belt around his 30” waist, a T-shirt celebrating Slipknot and his favourite leather jacket. His stunning blue eyes were framed with black liner, smudged in a “can’t be arsed” way, sat at the centre of his gorgeous face, and his long dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. He stomped through the school with a smug satisfaction that he’d never need to set foot back here again.

Something unexpected happened on his final day; while ploughing through his lunch with Karina and Jenny, Ben stood awkwardly at his side holding his one arm across his chest staring at George… “can I help you?” George said with his slightly commanding voice, Ben simply stuttered and walked off as quickly as he could. The girls burst out laughing while George sat in confusion at the very short interaction with the only other gay guy he knew. 3:00 came and the bell rang out… that was it, he was free!

George had about 10 weeks before he was due to start his college course and had plans to get ahead of the game reading through the course books long before he touched the subjects in his classes as well as trying to find someone to take him on to get some work experience while he learnt at college. A date or 2 could be nice but it would never happen in a million years, not in such a small village and not even at the larger town where he’d be going to college.

2 weeks into his break and he was having a great time meeting up with the girls and reading through his books, his phone made a ping and a glance showed that Ben had sent him a friend request on Facebook to which George denied straight away. He sat chatting to Karina on the phone telling her about the random friend request, they both remembered back a couple of weeks to their last day at school when Ben came up to them at lunch, “I think he fancies you, you know?” Karina said without laughing, “nah, he’s probably just reaching out to everyone now he’s not part of the “it” crowd and he’s in the real world” he laughed.

The next morning he set about getting a work placement to go with his college course, phoning around as many plumbing companies he could find, being turned down by each one. His last hope rested with ‘Berty Plumbing Solutions’. A chirpy man answered the phone stating the name of his business, George started reeling off the same speech he had given to 20+ companies before his asking for work experience to go with his course. Berty began go laugh “sounds like you’ve been rehearsing that!”, a little awkwardly now George confessed he had explained the situation multiple times now and it just rolls off the tongue. “Of course I’d be glad to help you out, I can only pay you minimum wage though, it’s only me and I could definitely do with a hand. Shall we book a meeting to go through everything? Maybe grab some lunch or something?” George was absolutely elated! Not that his parents would be but it’s not their life.

George decided to find out what he could about his potential new boss; he found many reviews from very happy customers, all of them giving no less than 4 stars, and as he fell upon the Berty Plumbing Solutions Facebook page he felt a shift in his pants as he saw a photo of Berty. He was in his mid-thirties by the look of him with a soft, round face decorated with a stubbly beard and big brown eyes, his body was incredible curvy, sporting a nice size ball gut with perky moobs and a rather sizeable bubble butt. This guy was sculpted by angels! By the time George had finished ogling at this guy his dick was rock hard so he took it in his hand, stroking back and forth, not taking his eyes of the photos of Berty, within seconds he had shot over his smooth torso.

A couple of days later and George was sat in the local cafe waiting for the stunning plumber to enter. He had tried to keep himself casual looking without being too “out there”, he still had his iconic Dr. Martins and leather jacket, but wore clean blue jeans and a black polo shirt. He was vacant as he started imagining the meeting with this super sexy guy, just as he had done every available minute since he came off the phone; the conversations they’d have, the cheeky fitting back and forth, and the official business when Berty offers for George to work along side him.

“Are you George?” the familiar chirpy voice snapped him back to reality. There he was, stood a foot away from him with that beautiful round belly pointed straight at his face. “Erm, yeah, it’s so good to meet you!” Standing and offering his hand to shake. “I’m Robert but everyone calls me Berty”, he confidently took George’s hand and gave it a firm shake. Just as he took his seat the waitress appeared, “can I get you a drink or anything sweety?” asked the helpful looking woman, “I’m ready to order if you are kiddo, I know this menu like the back of my hand” Berty said laying a hand across his spherical gut. “Yeah, I’ll get the bacon, sausage and egg sandwich please and a large strawberry milkshake, thank you” George didn’t want to be stuffing his face with his normal amount of food while they were talking. Berty started reeling off the food, sides, snack and drinks he wanted, George’s jaw dropped and his dick rose. “Actually, can I get 2 of those sandwiches please?… and a large curly fries” George added, like it was now a competition.

The conversation flowed quite nicely while they tucked into their masses of food, Berty was telling George all about his business and his journey into the industry as well as how he met his wife and bought their house thanks to his career. George returned with his story of his over baring parents who wanted him to do everything that he didn’t want to do plus the disappointment of him doing plumbing. “So how about we give you a start date?” Berty offered as the bowls and plates now sat empty. “Oh wow, really?!” George was genuinely surprised, even with getting this close to getting a job he still thought he wasn’t going to get it. Berty chuckled “yeah, kiddo. You’ve got yourself a job! Now do you want to start ASAP or are you hanging on a few weeks until you start your course?” George couldn’t stand the thought of 7 weeks without seeing this Adonis… “ASAP for sure!”

George couldn’t contain his excitement, he phoned Jenny and Karina straight away to tell them about his new job and his gorgeous new boss. “I don’t get how you can be into big lads, surely all that fat’s just gonna get in the way” Jenny shot back, more for her own amusement than picking fault with George . “Plus… he’s married! You can’t go falling in love with a straight, married man, you’re only going to break your own heart” Karina added, trying to protect her friend. This was the first time George had found someone that was “perfect” despite the major imperfections of being straight and married. At least he had the beginnings of a good start to his career, with or without falling in love with a beautiful tank of a man.

The conversation with his parents fell on deaf ears, his excitement was very apparent but they just wasn’t joining in. “You’re worth so much more than that, George” his father spat. “The thought of my boy driving around in a dirty van with a dirty man all day doing dirty labour… no, just no” his mother whaled. “Well it’s my life, and it’s what I want to do! Surely you could be just a little bit happy for me instead of being the constant nay sayers!” George shot back as he stormed up to his room.

2 days later he was starting his new job, ‘a whole day with a gorgeous man getting to do what I want to do’ George’s mind was whirling with excitement. He stood by the front window waiting for Berty’s van to pull up, it seemed like an eternity waiting there like a dog waiting for it’s owner to come home. As soon as he saw the van he bombed out the house not bothering to say bye to his parents. He hopped into the van and took in the beautiful sight before him; Berty sat there in his tight uniform, his round gut stretching towards the wheel, spilling over his huge thighs, and those thick arms going right up to his beautiful, soft, round face, the extra crease that appeared in his neck as he turned to greet George. He had to shake himself out of his daydream to say good morning back to him then off they went.

“This is probably the most important piece of advice I could give you, kid; a big breakfast will get you set up for the day and give you the energy to do what you need to do. Have you eaten yet?” Berty said a bit sternly towards George. “I had a bacon sandwich and some toast” “good God! That’s not a breakfast! Right, we’re going to McDonald’s up the road”.

George sat and let Berty order for him, he obviously knew what energy he was going to need for the day. He sat there with a lap filled with food items, Berty put his on the dashboard as his lap was filled already with that delicious belly. I’m near silence the two of them tore through each item of their feast, glancing at each other’s remaining food like it was a competition. George could eat but he was no match for Berty; with only 2 McMuffins left, Berty had finished his leaving George to catch up… he was stuffed and struggling to finish his second breakfast of the day but a few minutes later, with a little encouragement from Berty, he had finished. “Let’s get to our first job then! I like to book an easy one or two in a morning after a big breakfast” Berty said with a wink, and off they went!

A few incredible weeks had passed in the blink of an eye and things had become a flirtatious between Berty and George, usually just commenting on each other’s bodies. George felt a bit bad trying to reel in a married man but this was no ordinary man, he was stunning! His wife had no appreciation for him or his beautiful body, she’d always tell him to go on a diet and hit the gym, always reminding him of how they looked when they first met; a sportsman’s physique, sturdy and manly. But George completely disagreed with her, to him Berty’s body was more manly and sturdy now he was much bigger!

George had started to encourage his overeating, pushing him to order more food on their breakfast run or their lunch break. It had only been a few weeks and George could see him growing; his big belly inflating, his moobs swelling out and pushing his chubby arms out further, and that bulging ass threatening to destroy his trousers and always visible with the slightest bend. George would catch himself staring, almost drooling over his expanding body, and Berty would catch him sometimes too but never said a word, occasionally giving a confident smirk.

The day came that he’d been waiting for; the day he was to start college! Berty had been teaching George so much over the last 7 weeks, more than what his books could teach him, but he still impressed his expanding boss with his knowledge. His mind whirled with thoughts of how his day was going to go, who was he going to meet, would he get on with everyone, would his teacher be laid back or not. There was one overpowering thought that kept a smile on his face; this would be nothing like high school!

George found his classroom and entered, the room was empty so he must’ve been earlier than he thought. He wandered around looking at the various material around the edge of the room; detailed diagrams, samples of materials, tools, piping that ran around the entire room that bent, twisted and turned. He heard the door open and a heavy step into the room, George was gobsmacked when he turned and say his new plumbing educator “good morning George”, now stood at the front of the room was Berty!

“How are you my teacher? How have you not said anything for the last 7 weeks? How… what… eh?” Berty just laughed in response “I knew you was one of my students from the moment you phoned me, I’d just been handed my student list and gathered you was the George that was on my list. No other student has ever reached out for a job before, nobody’s ever showed that much passion so I knew I had to take you on and see just how passionate you was. Don’t think for a second that ‘cause you’re my employee that I’ll take it easy on you, if anything I’ll be harder on you.”

George watched as his new classmates entered the room, one by one, all strangers to each other. This was his chance for a fresh start, he already had one big thing in common with everyone in the room, and with only 6 people it could be difficult for everyone to split into different friendship groups. Berty started with an introduction of himself and his back story in the industry and a few words of wisdom for the coming years.

Each student was asked to stand up and introduce themselves and tell the class a few things about them. George was asked to stand first “hi… erm… I’m George… I… erm… live in the next village and couldn’t wait to start a new life after high school” we was building in confidence looking at the friendly faces looking back at him and his sexy teacher nodding for him to continue. “I always wanted to do plumbing but my parents don’t agree with me doing it.” “Tell us something about your personal life, George, hobbies? Interests? Relationships?” Berty encouraged him to open up to the class as he had done with Berty. “Erm… I like food; going out for food, trying new foods, especially with my two besties, Jenny and Karina and… as for relationships… I’m single… always have been” George looked down almost ashamed of what he said but when the applause came he looked up and smiled at his proud classmates. In turn everyone stood and gave their little facts and stories, he realised that they were all there against the wishes of friends or family, accept Richard, he was going into the “family business”, fourth generation plumber by all accounts.

As lunch break came, George headed out into the town with his new friends, making a B-line for KFC. Sitting at the long table they each came with their trays of food and sat willingly by George with his family bucket and many sides. “Bloody hell, George! You really do love your food, don’t you?!” Emily shouted in shock from the other end of the table. Even as the only girl in the class she definitely fitted in with everyone. “Erm… yeah” George replied digging into his family Bucket wedging chips into his mouth at the same time, drenched in gravy.

“Is that a friend of yours George?” Asked an unknown voice somewhere on the table. George lifted his eyes and looked over to where Richard was pointing with his eyes “he’s been staring at you from the moment we walked in” he said in a quiet mumble. It took a second but there was no doubting it… it was Ben, George just gave him an upward nod of acknowledgement before Ben smiled and returned to his salad. “Who the hell comes to KFC and orders a salad?” George laughed back towards Richard, seemingly mocking the pretty boy sat across the room.

5:00 came so fast! It was the end of his first day at college and George had a smile from ear to ear, “George, can I see you for a second please?” Asked Berty over the rustling noise of everyone grabbing their things to leave. “You guys carry on, don’t worry about me” George bid farewell to his new buddies. “So how have you enjoyed your first day then?” Asked Berty, pausing in anticipation of the answer, “it was genuinely the second best day of my life!” With another pause Berty asked “so what was the first?” The colour drained from George’s face before being replaced with a hot pink “erm… actually Berty… it was the day I started on the job with you” Berty laughed in response to George’s shyness around his answer. “Of course that would be the best day kiddo!! Surely every day with me has got to be the best day” he said with a comical wink.

A few weeks had passed by, George’s skills had grown as a junior plumber, his knowledge was surpassing all of his classmates and his time with the ever-expanding Berty was just as magical as ever. He met up with Jenny and Karina for the first time since he started at college, although they spoke every day. “So… have you moved on from your straight, married boss and teacher yet George?” Karina asked the question that her and Jenny was so desperate to ask. “Erm… not really” George replied with a cringe to his face ready for the barrage that was to come back at him. “He’s only gonna break your heart” Jenny said with a sigh. A pause signalled the end of their comments, had he really got off that lightly? “But on a more serious not…” Jenny continued “we need to talk about that gut you’ve grown”

[cinnamonest]

Yandere Profile - Link (Legend of Zelda)

ABSOLUTELY YES. MY BOY. LOVE OF MY LIFE.

As some of you may know, today is the release date of Skyward Sword HD for Switch!! So I decided to release this one now in honor of that :3

NOTES:

I went towards the idea of a Princess!reader because that just opens the gate for sooooo much potential. I'm leaning heavily towards the ZeLink interactions in BoTW and Skyward Sword just because those games have the most interaction between the two.

Also! This is great bc it gives me the opportunity to explore an idea I've actually had a long time! I've always thought about how many opportunities there have been across the games for Link and Zelda to be kinda like "haha well seeya later" and just... bolt, run away from everything, abandon their roles and responsibilities and all that. Like, if OoT kid Link got her before Ganon did and ran, if SS Link just decided to get her on the bird and bolt before everything went down, if botw Link was just like haha what if we ran away from everything together... jk... unless...?

And final note, Link is a great pick for the very traditional yandere -- sweet and : ) but can snap into darker personas. I really liked writing this bc I tend to have more self centered yans and less of the "worships the ground you walk on" type of yans like I think Link would be, so it's a nice change.

As usual now the nsfw section is divided by a ---- line.

TWs: fem reader, heavily implied Zelda!reader, stalking, murder, very brief mentions of gore/dismemberment of rivals, manipulation, very brief suicide mention, themes of reincarnation (I’ve been told this can be triggering to some people so just in case)

TWs (nsfw section): noncon, somnophilia

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Severity Scale

Intelligence/Perceptiveness: 4 Brutality: 8.5 Physical capability: 8 Mental/emotional instability: 7 Restrictiveness: 6 Sexual sadism: 5 Stubbornness: 8

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

The primary trait of Link that any darling -- any person, really -- would notice is that he is, well, quiet. He has always been a man of few words, and really, he often doesn't know exactly what to say. On his own, at a first glance, he really does seem like a gentle, humble spirit, someone who blends into the background pretty well, who isn't particularly prideful or reckless or aggressive.

Which is why, to be honest, he might sort of evade the gaze of most people -- he doesn't stand out. You remember him as the boy that smiled at you now and then, it's a soft, gentle sort of smile, one that you feel conveys nothing but the utmost innocence and contentment with the world. You know he's pretty good at fighting, but doesn't get into fights needlessly, he's accomplished and respected, but has never been the guy everyone is talking about -- he's in the background, against the wall. Never speaking, always looking out, sometimes at the sky, sometimes carefully watching people. Sometimes you see him, gaze blank and tranquil, and wonder what he's thinking about. Whether he's the village boy in the time of Twilight, the trained and honored warrior that slept for many years, the boy that came down from the sky -- you can't help but feel at ease around him, safe, you can't help but find him endearing and pleasant.

Yet, you always seem to notice him. Other people... forget he exists, sometimes, he's so quiet. You never do, for whatever reason.

When he needs to get something across, he prefers to express himself through actions, not words. If you lived in Skyloft, or Ordon village, you might find problems mysteriously solved, work suddenly done that you don't remember doing. That fencepost outside your home that broke has been replaced overnight. A village child went missing and he comes back a few hours later with them in tow. Always humble, never demanding or expecting thanks, he tells you in his quiet voice that he's happy to help you.

And should you ever ask him for anything, he'll drop whatever he's doing to help. Anything for you, he says with a smile, which makes you feel a bit guilty when, honestly, you're not even sure you're remembering his name right.

And yet, sometimes, you feel so at ease around him it seems unnatural. He seems so easy to trust. You feel like you've known him forever. And sometimes you feel... for just a split second, less at ease. You find yourself randomly stiffening at his calm, sweet voice. You find yourself looking around when you're alone, as if you feel someone is there, and for some reason, his face flashes through your mind. Sometimes when he looks at you, you feel sort of cold. It's almost like invoking a memory you don't have, like some kind of learned instinct you can't recall a reason for. But those moments are fleeting, they come and go before you can even process them, replaced by warmth and comfort.

If you do spend time with him, if you find yourself gazing out your window when he's training, the next thing you notice besides him being quiet and sweet is that he's strong. It's almost ironic, how all the other knights or village boys are so aggressive and rowdy all the time, many of them taller or bulkier, and yet, none of them could ever dream of defeating Link. Not one can match his agility, speed, prowess. Such a pleasant, calm person, with so much skill, strength, and power, but that power is so rarely seen exerted. People marvel at his talent, they say it's as if he has the experience of lifetimes and lifetimes of battle in his blood.

And it's why you feel at ease when he's assigned the task of guarding you. His capabilities are unmatched, and yet you'd never fear any harm to you from him. Both of those traits put together make him the best candidate to protect you.

Of course, you do find yourself doing most of the talking. Sometimes you find yourself rambling to fill the silence, and you fear you're annoying him, but when you stop he raises an eyebrow and asks why you got so quiet. Did he do something wrong? He seems to worry about that a lot -- has he done something bad? Has he made you upset? Are you mad? At first you think he's worried about his position security, but after a while you realize he genuinely worries about it.

And when you do continue your ramblings, you're surprised to find he remembers your words -- every little thing you say. Things you don't even remember telling him. He asks you about that relative you mentioned one time, his eyes light up and he walks a bit to the side because look, it's your favorite flower over there, he'll get it for you. It's impressive, really, how he manages to remember such things. He must take his job very seriously.

He does enjoy giving you such things -- he loves giving you gifts. It's usually things he finds, wholesome little things -- makes a crown out of the flowers you like so much, finds something interesting here or there, while he was off-duty he saw something in the markets he thought you'd like and got it for you. You almost feel guilty, it's so constant that he's giving you things.

Sometimes you ask him about himself, you realize he knows so much about you and you so little about him. He blushes, he rubs the back of his head, he insists there's nothing interesting about him, he wouldn't waste your time like that. It takes time to get him out of his shell, but eventually, he tells you this or that, little stories from his life.

Sometimes you take long walks, you like to get out of the stuffy walls and have fun outside, he accompanies you across Hyrule. Sometimes it feels familiar, you pass places you've never been that give you a feeling of nostalgia, deja vu, a sense that you've been here before.

He’s protectiveness incarnated. Insanely so. He can spring to his feet at a moment's notice and deals with anything that comes for you before they can even get close.

It makes you feel safe, but there's something else there. It's a ferocity that is so contrasting to his normal self, different even from the times you've seen him fight as he trains. It's a glint in the eyes, an aggression in his expression, that almost makes him seem like a different person. And it lingers for a moment, once the creature is dead and his sword hand falls to his side, he turns and glances at you to his side, a hand raised to wipe the blood off his face, and for that lingering second, it's still there, his blank expression and wide eyes -- a ferocity so intense it starts to look like bloodlust, chaos, destruction. And then, it's as if you imagined it. Smiling and telling you it's gone now, you're ok. You're glad he's so truly devoted.

In fact, he's so dedicated to his job that he starts... doing it... outside of his job hours...? Well, today he was given the day off, and you were told to stay inside because you didn't have to go out. He comes knocking on your door, says not to be startled if you hear someone outside your door move or shift or anything, but he just wanted to let you know in case. He'll be right here. Keeping watch. So don't worry. You're safe.

And likewise, he was supposed to have a day off when you were supposed to enter the town. You were assigned two other guards to watch you, since it's a special trip, so you're surprised to find just Link waiting for you. He took care of it, he says, he didn't feel right leaving your safety up to someone else, he doesn't trust them. So they agreed to let him take over for today.

All of this said, he doesn't have to grow alongside you, he doesn't have to be the childhood friend, the knight who guards you. He doesn't even have to have met you. Fate works in odd ways like that. There's a sort of inexplicable instant attachment he takes to you, almost as though it's some kind of destined, divinely inspired sort of thing. He would describe it as saying you feel familiar to him.

He's also, notably, prone to a more traditional trope of what you might call humility whiplash. For the most part, he's got that overly humble, worshipping, "I don't deserve to even stand in your presence" sort of mentality. However, although it's rare and requires a lot of wearing down his mental state, if pushed far enough, he can have brief moments where he snaps into more or less the complete opposite -- entitlement, arrogance, aggression, getting mad at you for the behavior he'd normally take with a smile on his face. Thankfully, unlike some yanderes that have a whole snapping episode towards their darling, his are very very brief, usually only a matter of seconds or a single snarled sentence before he snaps back to normal, wide-eyed and apologetic and telling you I don't know what came over me. It’s... a little frightening to say the least, but you blow it off, tell yourself that hey, everyone has moments like that... Right?

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

For the most part, he doesn't need it, he can pretty easily cling to your side well enough to be assured of your safety, and he manages to scare off the undesirables not with a glare, but a smile that's just a little too sweet and far too persistent -- it unnerves people. You hear a lot of people say that something about that guy rubs me the wrong way. Or that he gives me goosebumps for some reason. Even the people he scares away themselves can't pinpoint exactly what it is, all they know is that, despite being reputed as kind and quiet (and maybe a little dense), somehow a lot of people agree that something about him puts people at unease, and that's all he needs. Because they stay away from him, and if he’s by your side all the time, that means they stay away from you too. Why keep you trapped when you can just be isolated?

An aware Link is a a unique scenario. One scenario that's rather... interesting to imagine is a Link that defies fate itself, a Link that decides to be selfish in one of those rare snapping moments of his. Perhaps he makes a decision when everything starts going down, when the chaos is beginning, or perhaps he has somehow managed to gain knowledge of the bigger picture at work, the reality of the nature of your existence and his.

Perhaps he begins to think it's unfair. To suffer again and again. To prove himself again and again, and not always even to reap any benefits, to work so hard and yet still -- still -- you slip out of his grasp. He longs for a life with no tribulations, no struggle, no fights to be fought. He begins to feel like it's what he wants the most. He begins to feel like maybe it's what he deserves. So many lifetimes of struggles, if the higher powers won't give him a reward, he'll take it himself.

And perhaps, for all their higher power, not even the great goddesses themselves would have ever predicted it -- humans are ultimately creatures of will. To defy fate and to run away from destiny -- it wouldn't be the first time a human has tried such a thing. Sure, Hyrule may be destroyed. The people may all die. There may be nothing left. But you know what? He's stopped caring. If you're alive and he's alive, tucked away in your little corner of the world where you've found respite, well, that's all he needs. Even if you're on the run from forces that would want to find you, even if the threat of the final third of the triforce owner looms over your head. He'll ignore it, he'll look away.

You'll live a quiet little life together, a happy life without suffering, without quests and enemies, without strife, without worry. That's what he tells you when he steals you away, lifts you out of your bed one night. Says to be quiet, there's danger outside your door, he's rescuing you. You have no reason to not believe him. He waits until things go down, a castle under siege, but rather than taking you to where you're supposed to go, he climbs onto the horse and starts... riding away. It gets further and further into the distance, and you might ask why, what's going on? You have a job to do, he has a battle to be fought. But he says you're going far, far away, someplace you'll be safe.

But what about the divine beasts, the seals, the Twilight, whatever threat runs in this world in this time, what about the threat of Ganon, you ask? He says it doesn't matter anymore. You were doomed to fail, he thinks, it's either stay here and die, or run away. All that matters is you. And he'd like you to feel the same way for him. You will with enough time, don't worry.

He just wants this happy, quiet life with you that he’s been denied time and time again. It’s all he wants. If fate won’t give it to him, he’ll make it happen himself, and carve out the life he is determined to have, defying even the will of higher power.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

He gets it. Really, he does. "Stop following me!" You yell. Well, he understands why you might feel that way, but this is kinda his job. He thinks you're naive. Not that he would ever, ever have a thought that you're imperfect, of course! It's because you're so perfect and pure that you're... less aware of the dangers all around.

He'll let you think you're free, perhaps. He's more than capable of being quiet, quiet is kind of his thing. Watching you from a short distance is easy. Of course, his horse might make a noise, he can't really help that, or he might misstep on a branch or something. And then you turn around and get all mad again. Now you're even more angry. Well, he can also tell your guardians/father, who will encourage you to accept it. You can't help but feel a little bad -- he's just doing his job.

Now, our aware, runaway Link, well, does he really need to keep you restrained? What would you go back to? Certain death, a land destroyed? Sometimes you mention home, and he's quick to remind you that home doesn't exist anymore. His home is where you are. Can't you feel the same way? You found peace here in this little place -- a village far far away. Travelers, you call yourselves. What's the point in going elsewhere? How would you ever survive without him? He's not very good at being subtle or skillful about the psychological manipulation, it's obvious he's trying to scare you into not leaving, but... it still works, because really, he has a point.

He doesn't want to have to use physical restraint, in any case. And for the most part, it's not needed, because one important aspect of your relation is that his job kinda revolves around you (in some incarnations), or, perhaps you live in the same little village, but either way the thing is that his presence does the job well enough -- he's always there, perhaps more so than almost any other yandere. Even when you think you've managed to get away from him for a moment, somehow his face pops up out of nowhere. How he manages to pull it off is a mystery, you swear he manages to find you so well and predict your movements it's inhuman.

But if you really, really pose a problem, a smarter and sneakier darling that somehow manages to keep slipping out of his grasp and running off (you never get away for more than about 20 minutes or so, but nonetheless), you keep trying to run off when he's sleeping (he wakes up in approximately 25 seconds if your presence is absent from the bed, but that's still enough time to run out the front door), every time he turns his head (which isn't often) you're trying to disappear... well, in that case, he can reach a point of deciding more straightforward measures are necessary. He hates to do it, really, at least when he's not yet at a snapping point. But it's for your own good. And he says so, quite apologetically.

But it's not so bad, it's not like you're being chained to a wall or anything. For one, he got leather ties so you'd be more comfortable, but more importantly, as your guardian, he figured the best thing for you to be tied to would be... himself. Think of it like friendship bracelets! It's just... got a 5-foot chain connecting them. This way you can't sneak off at night, and you won't get too far when he's distracted. It's a safety measure.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

He's a learner. At first, it's easy. Honestly, he is a rather naive, gullible boy, sometimes he reminds you of a happy dog with his bright eyes. He likes to believe the best of people, give them the benefit of the doubt in all circumstances, and that goes double for you, who he believes can do no wrong.

And even when you do lie to him, it's still not wrong. You didn't do anything bad. Clearly there has simply been a misunderstanding, and you thought you had to lie. Or perhaps you simply forgot a detail or were confusing something with something else. It wasn't malicious on your end, he knows that.

He's actually significantly smarter than he lets on in practical knowledge, though. Those dungeon puzzles pay off, you know? He's got pattern recognition down. So over time he learns how to distinguish when you're lying to him or attempting to deceive him, and sees through it increasingly well.

And yet, he doesn't really... get mad over it, most of the time. Again, he's just capable of deluding himself into believing there's a reason. He believes so strongly in your goodness that he finds a way to interpret everything you do as out of benevolence. So you snuck out the window and didn't tell him you were going for a walk because you just wanted to get away from his suffocating presence for once? You were just thinking of him. You didn't want to burden him and wanted to give him a break. Well, that's thoughtful, but don't worry, he doesn't need a break. He thinks it's precious you're so considerate of him though!

You don't tell him you were talking to that person, and you lie and say no when he asks, because you don't want him to worry, and because you underestimate how dangerous others can be. He's told you a million times and you don't listen, but that's ok, it's because you're just so pure you see the best in everyone. Everything you do is good.

Because he perceives your lies, he will still work against and around it. He won't confront you on your lies, he'll just make sure to deal with the situation -- you lied about sneaking out, well, he'll just keep watch and be ready to meet you outside next time. You lied about talking to a person, well, he'll just have to make sure they stay away from you instead.

If you're trying to trick him, he just plays along until necessary. Smiles and nods. He gets the suspicion you're planning a break-out when he told you he was leaving to go get something from town... rather than saying so, he just decides, you know what? Why don't you come with him? Oh, you're feeling sick, you tell him it's ok, go without you? Well, he can't leave you alone then! Because you're clearly not and just trying to get him to leave... or, as he says, he can't just leave you alone. He'll go another day.

He's fairly manipulable when it comes to praise and affection. You can easily Pavlov him into certain behaviors or patterns with just the slightest words of praise and affection. He's not a very outwardly expressive person, tends to stay quiet, but you can tell how he feels inside when you give the slightest praise, a hug, a kiss on the cheek -- you can see that soft hint of a smile and tell that inside, he's basically melting, even if it's not obvious to most people. And, much like the lying, he’s honestly often aware of it, but he just can’t help it.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He tries to get you the things that he feels will make you happy. Your happiness is incredibly important to him, and he usually thinks about how any action he plans to take might affect you, spends a lot of time debating choices of things to do or say and try to determine how each one will affect you and choose accordingly.

As such, he goes out of his way to support the things you want to do. Have a hobby? He'll find the best materials available. Want a book or a food? He'll obtain it through some means. Even if procuring it involves a side-quest-y set of mundane tasks or scouring the world for 70 of this and 50 of that to exchange it for the item from an obscure specialist, it's all worth it.

The only thing he just doesn't give up on is the constant vigilance and insistence on being by your side more or less every waking second. And every sleeping second. And just every single moment you're alive. It's for your safety.

This is actually one of the things he can get a little nasty about when it comes to how he deals with it, because he quickly has the bright idea that if you don't get it, he'll make you understand. Of course, he can't actually risk you getting hurt, so he stages it. Allows you to sneak off, or at least think you have, and walk right into the path of those monsters he lured, or the people he hired to intimidate you. Of course, it's only natural that he shows up at the last possible second, right on time to save you. You should expect that, after all, it's his responsibility to protect you, of course fate works out perfectly like this. See, he was right, it's so dangerous, and without him you'd be dead. Hopefully you grasp that now.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

His is mostly related to vigilance. Where are you? Who have you been talking to? Who was that person you were talking with just now? What did they say? He's not nosy. He just cares about you. It’s in the job description. You ought to understand just how much certain bad people would love to find you and hurt you. That's why he has to know.

This isn't our modern world, so there's no phones or tracking devices to speak of, just himself, which, well, might as well be a tracking device since he never seems to have difficulty finding you. Sometimes you're not sure how he does it.

He tells you that you don't have to be with him 24/7, but you will be, even if you don't realize it. He's aware enough to know that you'll feel suffocated and get mad if you're aware of his presence all the time, so he gives you your "alone" time, aka, the "follow her quietly from a 20+ foot distance" time. It all feels the same to you. Well, sometimes you feel eyes on you, but you shake the feeling off as paranoia.

So it's not so much that he sets rules and reacts when they're broken, but rather, he works his way around anything you might do so well that he doesn't need you to follow his rules, or really, you take them more as suggestions. But honestly, that's kind of worse. It's enough to drive a darling to the brink of a mental breakdown very quickly. With Link you will inevitably become paranoid, nervous, you feel like you're going insane because he manages to pop up everywhere, he always knows what you did when you did it and you have no idea how it is even conceivably possible for him to know some of the things that he knows. He confronts you very plainly and quietly, often sweetly, asking why you did this or that or telling you it's ok, you don't have to hide anything, surely there’s a good reason, and if not, he forgives you anyway. In a way, it's worse than an angry confrontation. You begin to feel like he's omnipresent, like he can read your mind, and it truly takes a mental toll and affect you worse than any normal yandere's concept of punishment.

This ultimately works out well in his favor. The more you just do what he wants, the less it feels like a violation or intrusion that he knows these things, since he was there with you, it makes sense, and you continuously get bent to his will.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Ah, and thus we get to that brutality rating.

It would be unthinkable to think that any sort of scum would even dare. Even he isn't worthy of being with you, and someone else thinks they could be? So, he more or less views "rivals" as an offense. When they're threats, well, he's allowed to deal with them. When they're not, well... he has a wonderful reputation. If he says he overheard that person planning usurpation or assassination, that they realized he was listening in and wildly attacked him, everyone will believe him. Even if the death seems a little... non-immediate. And uh... frankly... overkill. How exactly... did those limbs get perfectly severed during equally armed combat? And was it... really necessary... to kinda spill entrails all over like that? He'll apologize, of course, he was just so outraged by the thought of someone hurting you or your family, you know? You notice his eye twitches a bit as he says it.

He has a lot of... bottled up frustrations, which we'll touch on in the nsfw section as well, but it tends to manifest in those two ways: sex and violence. Rather than exerting stress and anger and frustration as it comes, he lets it fester. He tries to maintain being the noble, humble, self-sacrificing person he feels he should be. That is... difficult to do for a long time. People expect a lot from him, even in timelines where he's not necessarily realized as the hero quite yet, he usually has a lot of responsibilities. But then you tack on the whole hero thing? The weight of the world is sometimes, quite literally, on his shoulders. Do you have any idea the kind of stress that comes with that knowledge? It's not pleasant. And it quickly bottles up, a very very fragile bottle set to eventually shatter in a matter of time.

On a longer sort of quest, he just kinda... leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. Enemies don't actually just poof out of existence the way they do on-screen, you know. Anyone coming across an area he's just been through is met with literal piles upon piles of corpses, sometimes monsters, but sometimes people. He takes a very scorched earth sort of policy when it comes to dealing with things.

He's able to easily get close to people, with that sweet face and puppy eyes and lithe body, people don't really feel on guard around him nor intimidated. That makes it significantly easier to infiltrate enemy hideouts, earn favors, and work his way in to be able to commit mass murder more easily. Granted, no one thinks too much of it because they *are* truly enemies, after all, they *did* need to be taken out and well, if the rulers can choose to either send a group of ten soldiers or just one guy and get the job done equally well either way, they'll go with the latter option. No one thinks anything of it, except the occasional person who laughs and says something to the effect of remind me to never get on your bad side, haha! He gives that sheepish, sweet little smile, and jokingly tells them that yeah, better not.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

For you, nearly impossible. For others, at a hair trigger.

For the most part, he conceals anger well until, as aforementioned, it bottles up and bursts. The truth is he gets irritated virtually all the time by other people. People who talk to you. Look at you. Smile at you. He’s actually rather easily annoyed even when you’re not involved, but again, he’s good at hiding it until it builds.

His rage has a commonality with his calm -- it's quiet. At least, at first. When it's directed at others, his eyes narrow. It's the telltale sign that someone has ignited his rage. It burns on the inside, it starts off as a spark that builds and builds and grows larger and larger until it's a blazing fire that consumes everything in his path. It's a loss of composure, a rare moment of complete loss of self-control. From his own perspective, it feels like he's not in control of his own body, it's all a blur happening in front of him and when it's over he's looking down at his own hands, unable to process his own actions, sometimes unable to remember them.

But it's violent, merciless, unforgiving. It does not yield to begging, it does not leave anything alive unless forced to. You remember the first time you realized how unnatural it was, how shocked you were at how he did something that certainly went against the code he was sworn to follow, the very first time you felt truly afraid of Link. It was a walk in town -- someone called out to you, spitting obscenities about you and your family, your lineage, threw something at you -- he caught it in his hand and crushed it, and quickly, without a word, advanced on the offender. And, to make a long story short, you had to prevent him from beating a man to death in public in broad daylight. He was forgiven by his superiors, but even they seemed shocked. You had to pull him off, and when he jerked his head around to look at whatever was stopping him -- before his face softened as he recognized your own face -- the split second you saw the burn of hatred and fury in eyes that were normally so soft and loving, was nothing short of unsettling, you still recall the chill that ran down your spine.

And honestly? It's terrifying. And the first time, it's shocking. Sure, you knew he could fight. You've seen him fight off monsters, bokoblins and lizalfos and the like. But something is different about seeing the blood of a human being run down his sword, dripping onto the ground, to see the bodies and the blank, numb gaze on his features he always has after it's over. The absolute lack of hesitancy he has to run human enemies through before they even have a chance to explain themselves, how unbothered he seems by the carnage left in his wake. The way he turns back to you, drenched in red and smiles, tells you it's ok, you're safe now. There's no need to look so scared.

And it changes how you view him, in the long run. Less of a guardian angel, more of a guardian dog, one that defends your name when you never asked him to. Pleads to tell him not to fall on deaf ears -- you just don't understand why it has to be this way, he says, you can't comprehend the threat they posed. From the sweet boy that leaves you flowers and repairs and instead leaves a wave of destruction in his path you would not have thought possible.

Directed towards you, though, it's entirely different. He tries his best to have patience with you, no matter what. He smiles, he tries to make excuses as to why you'd say this or do that, why you'd feel a certain way, and he's rather good at deluding himself to give you the benefit of the doubt.

But when it reaches an end, when he can no longer lie to himself, when you push it to a point that you truly make him mad, it's more of a snap. The times he'll lay hands on you in a truly violent way are rare, and as aforementioned, very brief. It's usually not so much of actually a blow, so much as a grab. He just can't get what he's trying to tell you through your thick head, so he stresses it, trying to make you understand as he grabs you by the upper arms, shaking you with each word, and he only stops when he sees the pain and fear in your eyes, drawing his hands back at lightning speed. He saves you from some danger very narrowly, one of the few times he lost track of you for a moment and had to frantically search before coming across you being attacked. What would I have done if something happened to you? Don't you understand that? He's so lost in the relief it takes him a moment to feel you beating on his arms in the embrace, choking and wheezing that you can't breathe, that his grip is so tight it feels like he'll snap you in half. He draws back again, and he apologizes, but it will certainly happen more than once.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

Above. Like, so, so, so far above. He feels like he doesn't even deserve to look at you. Of course, neither does anyone else, so he's just, you know, stepping up to bear the burden of wrongdoing to keep people even worse than him away from you.

So it's less that you're just above him so much as you're above everyone. He's actually, perhaps surprisingly, a little bit of a pessimist about the world. The world is full of so many terrible people and so many horrible things happen that he's borne witness to. It's a "world cold and hard, (y/n) soft and warm" sort of thing. You're the one good thing, the thing that makes him happy, the ultimate source of comfort he has, and he has to prevent you from being defiled by the evil of the world, keep you innocent and sweet (even if he's just deluding himself to think you are those things in the first place).

This ties into, again, how he interprets every action you take as good and benevolent -- he has the "you can do no wrong" mentality. Even very blatantly malicious things, he'll interpret in a way that makes you somehow still come out a perfect, innocent angel. If you do harm to others, well, they simply deserved it. You did something technically wrong, but you knew no better, or you were desperate. You can't be held responsible for any of it. And if you're mean to him, well, he probably did something to make you upset.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

Sort of a duality. Yes, he's very persistent. He thinks about it all the time. Every time you yell and try to run and hurl nasty insults at him, it hurts far more than you realize. He doesn't let it show on his face or in his voice, but it really does, and it gets to him sometimes. He's hyper observant of every little thing you do, your body language, your tone, the way you look at him, and the slightest of differences can change his mood internally, although it tends to look the same outwardly.

He makes little mental notes of it -- today she didn't flinch when I touched her shoulder. Today she didn't frown when she saw me coming. Little things like that will make his entire day. Likewise, the inverse kills him inside. He aims to make every day one of the former days, where the littlest signs of acceptance or even kindness and affection give him a sort of high that makes him feel like he's floating.

He tries his best to do things that he thinks will, well, earn love. Every opportunity to do something for you, he takes it. Everything he sees he'd think you'd like, he buys (or steals, or... loots from a dead body) for you. On and on that idea goes. And although he doesn't say too much, when he does speak to you, he usually has something nice to say. He views it in a formulaic way -- ironically, think about it like those collectibles in overworlds. You get enough of this or that thing, and once you have enough, you can go talk to this or that person and donate them all and get a reward, right? He's accustomed to viewing things that way. Love should be the same way. If he just completes enough tasks and gathers enough items, eventually he'll unlock your love.

That being said, even if it doesn't happen, much to your despair, he just... doesn't. Give. Up. He doesn't quit. No matter how many times you tell him, it doesn't make a difference. You can tell him you'll never love him, and it's like it goes in one ear and out the other. He keeps trying. And he never, ever, ever stops trying. What did you expect? The boy's been fighting the same enemy over and over across lifetimes, needless to say his spirit has build up some persistence.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

Bonus: Zelda/Triforce of Wisdom Darling

And don't worry. If it all goes wrong, when he fails, those divergences in time where the hero is vanquished and evil wins out -- it's not the end. Somehow, that's the feeling he gets, holding your little lifeless body up, running hands across your cold skin. Somehow, he feels oddly calm. Like it hurts, but it's ok. Like he'll see you again. Maybe not soon, but one day. This time didn't work out. But the next one will.

And that's the feeling you'll always have. Every time you meet him and you feel like you've met before, the lingering memories when you wake from your dreams -- flying through skies and sailing on oceans, a child, an adult, a boy you've never met, or one you've known all your life, but it's always the same face, the same voice, the one right beside you in the waking world. You sometimes wonder if he has the same feelings, the same dreams, the same sense of something greater than yourselves at work, the sense of being just smaller pieces in a much bigger picture.

The sense of permanency, that each other is all there will ever be -- regardless of how it makes you feel, regardless of how that scares you, sometimes you feel like you can never be free. Sometimes, when you think of running away, those dark moments when you think of even escaping from life itself, it feels futile. It's as if you know it would never hold him away forever. As if death is insignificant. Perhaps in this lifetime, you'll become aware of why that is, or perhaps not.

With other obsessive lovers, just the idea of til death do us part is a terrifying thought. But, for Link, not even death can keep him away from you. Your suffering is already determined by the will of higher power, for the sake of a greater good. 

In truth, it’s the goddesses who made him this way intentionally -- it’s designed to ensure your safety, even at the cost of your suffering. Again, for a greater good. Sure, you may live one lifetime to the next desperately locked in the same cycle in which your freedom and will is stripped from you, but in the end, it serves a purpose. 

Nor will he change -- perhaps this one this time is a bit more spirited, more calm, more pessimistic, more optimistic... but in the end, at their core, they're the same soul, with the same will deep, deep down. The same drive to find you and protect you. The same love for you, an all-consuming love that destroys everything in its path to you and leaves ruin in its wake.

And if fate should one day keep you apart, should things change, for whatever reason, it’s unable to change him. There's another force even more powerful than fate determined to keep you together. The only thing more unavoidable, inevitable, and unescapable than fate, is Link himself.

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

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

In moments of passion, he changes a bit, unlike other more submissive yans who stay consistent in their reverence and desire to please.

You see, after a while, being as lenient and tolerant and flexible and completely devoted as he is... constantly self-sacrificing in so many ways, to you, to Hyrule, to the world... some frustrations build up. It's a big, big bottle of emotion, all tucked away and festering, getting greater and greater and eventually it has to explode somehow.

His reservations and inhibitions fall away. Perhaps a darker, more selfish side comes out. Perhaps that's why he's so rough. He knows he'll regret it later, the bruises from how hard he grips, the marks from the bites, but the hormones and the heat takes over. He'll feel bad for defiling you. He'll apologize. And he'll do it again. And again. And again.

But once the resolve crumbles, it topples. That is, he can't partially maintain it -- if it's partially gone, it falls apart completely. He lets go, so to speak. And when he lets go, you find that underneath that carefully constructed resolve and willpower that holds him back, he can be a very, very rough and possessive lover. In his normal state, he wouldn't dare think of you as a possession, or as something he's even worthy of. He would like so, so much to think that, to feel like he's allowed to -- but he doesn't. He chastises himself for even having such a desire. But in those moments, when his resolve is gone and his brain isn't thinking quite too clearly, he might even have to audacity to say "mine." Even if it's not true, not now, maybe it will be. He would like that so much. His and his alone.

And in a moment of clarity, he might even throw away the inhibition on purpose. The more selfish side, the same Link that drags you away from your destiny -- he's already forsaken his responsibilities, hasn't he? Why care anymore about the structures that no longer exist, your status and his, if there's no kingdom left? He likes that it happened, even. This way, this time, you can throw off those titles, those roles. Without your status, your title, there's nothing stopping him from making you his. And you will be his, and nothing more. It's all you need to be. So he doesn't have to care anymore about any of that, he doesn't have to stop himself from going wild. Biting into every little spare patch of skin, covering your body with marks that make him feel comforted to see.

As far as drive it's a bit of a two-sided duality. Outwardly he's not a very sexual person at all, blushes and stutters and averts his gaze at the slightest mention of suggestive topics, tries his best to be Respectful(tm) by always looking away when you're in a compromising position, or your skirt flies up, etc etc. Given how constant his vigilance is, he has a tendency to accidentally walk in on your changing or bathing, except unlike with many yanderes, it's genuinely an accident. Not that the image doesn't stick in his mind, nor does he wish he hadn't gotten to see, but he does feel guilty, and it was genuinely unintentional. He kinda freezes up, so it takes a moment for him to actually snap out of it and run out.

That being said, he quickly develops something of a masturbation addiction when he's younger, it starts as more of a stress reliever than anything, He's so sweet and always feels bad about talking about his problems and feelings, so that and, well, violence are the only ways he can get it out. Thus he learns to channel stress and nerves into sexuality, and once he has a real living body and not just his hand, that dependency on cumming to relieve it doesn't change.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

Particularly so, yes, cares quite a bit. And it takes a while for him to feel comfortable. Even consensually, the first few times he touches you for several months, he's got trembling hands and stays quieter than ever, constantly freezes up every time you move or make a noise because he thinks he's done something wrong. He has to be coaxed into feeling more comfortable before he gets used to it, but he will build confidence over time.

As addressed before, though, if he's pushed and pushed and pushed long enough, you can get a darker side to come out. This is most likely something that would only occur post-kidnapping in a distant time, once he's far away from any possibility of consequence and destruction has set in to the world around you. He starts to get a little bitter, if you've been mean to him. It all builds up. Don't you get that he's literally saved your life? That he devoted every waking second to you? Isn't he kinda entitled to some thanks? The cycle of time never rewards him. Even the figures he helps over time rarely give him more than a verbal praise and thanks, maybe an item here or there, and then disappear. His role feels thankless. He starts to feel like he deserves something, something tangible, in return.

Surprisingly, though, he actually does not take the route of guilt-tripping or emotional manipulation or gaslighting his way into it like a lot of the sweeter yanderes when he does have that snap. His snaps/breakdowns are rather extreme in terms of how much of a polar opposite they are to his normal state, rather than just a slight bend of his normal personality. Rather than taking the route of most yanderes like himself, he just gets directly physically forceful. Still somewhat sweet, though, reminds you he loves you, he'd die for you, you're his entire world. You'd argue that doesn't really change the actions, but considering how frightening he is in that state, you're not dumb enough to vocalize that.

The guilt consumes him alive afterwards. Like, immediately afterwards. He's still panting and twitching and buried inside when it sets in. That being said, he doesn't get to stuttering and profusely apologizing, like he does over smaller offenses. It's all done and he can't take it back, so he just kinda collapses and says nothing. He's not the best with words, you know. It's an odd mixture of guilt and, honestly, a bit of satisfaction and relief. It feels like letting go of some self-imposed burden, that feeling of finally surrendering to some deep want, even if it comes with a lot of remorse, the relief of finally letting go does have a good feeling as well... and because of that, it’s another one of those barriers that, once broken, can’t be built up again.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

In all honesty the boy is, for the most part, a fairly gentle and vanilla lover. He doesn't really need anything special to get off -- he's easily excited and cums very very easily too. Just the prospect of getting to stick his dick in you in any capacity is enough to make him nearly burst at the thought honestly.

In general, as aforementioned, he's very very cautious and gentle to a point, but has a tendency to get actually kinda rough once he gets into it. The thing is, the roughness aspect is actually unintentional. He's one of those boys that is a little bit unaware of his own strength, doesn't process exactly how hard and fast he's going. He just gets lost in the feeling, kinda enters a dazed lusty haze where he's less aware of his actions. Doesn't realize he's literally got an iron grip pressing your head down on his dick or into the bed until you start flailing your hands because you can't breathe. Doesn't realize how hard he was gripping until he sees the bruises on your arms and hips later. That sort of deal -- poor thing is just unaware and doesn't have enough blood in his brain to think straight.

Biting

Surprisingly a really big one for him. (Remnants of a past life cycle with some lupine experiences perhaps?) In all seriousness, he could not explain exactly why if asked, it's one of those "I just like it" sort of things. It feels like yet another way to conjoin the two bodies, pulls you close. The marking aspect is also nice. Granted, he feels guilty afterwards, tries to help it heal. He has that same duality where moments ago he was this intimidating beast of a human being, rough and growly and jerking you like you were weightless, and now he's back to this bright eyed softie stuttering while he apologizes.

The guilt is mixed with a bit of enjoyment, though. It's constantly conflicting -- sure, part of him understands it's embarrassing and will help you cover up, but part of him doesn't want to, he wants people to see. Part of him looks at the marks and tells himself internally to never do that again, and part of him sees them and just wants to give you even more. It's a constant internal conflict, poor thing.

As far as a place, he likes the neck and shoulders best, simply because it's the most visible and it's the most passionate ones to create, when your bodies are tightly locked together. That being said, though, he also has a thing for biting at the insides of your thighs. It's another one of those I just like it sort of things.

Sometimes, when you're asleep, or pretending to be, you can feel him trace the bite marks with his fingers, softly running them over the circular pattern, just enough to barely ghost over your flesh.

Somnophilia

It puts him at ease. This one is particularly prevalent towards the beginning of your relationship, before you really know... how he is. He has this image of you as so pure and he couldn't bear the thought of defiling you with his horrible horrible thoughts. The guilt eats away at him for a while, but eventually he just can't hold back, but how could he ever do anything to you and risk consequence? So... the solution he comes up with is waiting until you sleep.

He tests the waters to see how heavy of a sleeper you are. Calls your name at increasing volume, lightly runs his fingers over your hair, pokes your face, whispers in your ear, runs his hands over your arms. Just to see what makes you rustle, if anything, so he knows the limits. If it turns out you're an incredibly light sleeper, well, unfortunately that means he's limited to just jerking off to your sleeping form, but that's ok. Just seeing your soft face and the cute way you breathe, the slightest way your lips open, that's enough for him.

If it turns out you're a heavier sleeper though, well, he tries to fight the temptation, but ends up going further. Slowly climbs onto your bed, careful to make the weight shift as gently as possible. Slowly pulls the covers back. Runs his hands up and down. It's a lot better when he can actually see your body as he jerks off, honestly. If he's feeling particularly risky, he might press your thighs together, feel how soft your skin is to his cock, how nice the squeezing pressure between them is.

He gets easily lost in a haze, though, so he inevitably ends up accidentally cumming on you and has to frantically find a way to lightly dab it up without waking you. He panics quite a bit, but that doesn't stop him from doing it again the very next night.

Overstimulation/Forced Orgasm

It just means he's doing a good job, really. Sure, you squeal and kick your feet back and forth and tug at his hair, but that's just because it feels good. Orgasms equate to love and feel good, right? Sure there's a little bit of pain when you go overboard, but then it just leads to feeling even better, right?

It's kind of an irrational compulsion rather than a logical goal, though. He just has an impulsive need to feel you quiver and spasm and clench, it basically gives him a chemical high hit and a wave of reassurance, makes him feel good in both the physical sense and the emotional sense. The first one sends him into this compulsive need to feel it over and over and over again, as many times as he can. It's another one of his internal conflict things -- sure, he knows it's hurting, but he just has to get one more. Just one more. But of course, every time turns into "just one more" when he's been saying that for half an hour now.

And, to be honest, it kind of gives him a pride boost to think he can make you cum against your will. How many people struggle to achieve that even when both parties are trying? It makes him feel good in an adequacy sort of way, he feels needed.

Size Kink/Distension

You know, there's a well-known thing among the male-lovers in this world when it comes to size. It's never the arrogant, loud guys, it's never the social butterflies, it's never the tall guys, it's never the beefy muscly guys. No, they're not the ones that end up somehow bestowed with absolute monster cocks. It's always the soft, lean boys who don't talk much. And they're always painfully unaware of it, too.

He's no exception. Not to the size or the complete lack of awareness. He hasn't spent a lot of time around guys his age too much, he's always been the one sent for some special task and ends up out in the wilderness by himself on journeys, or, in some lifetimes, accompanying you most of the time. He doesn't know what the average dick looks like, so he has no idea he's far above average.

This might sound like a plus, and of course in some ways it is, but also he doesn't think about the fact that the average body isn't properly equipped to handle it. You're supposed to just kinda put it in, that's how the sex works, right? Poor thing, especially if it's entirely consensual sex, he's just kinda ???? because why are you in pain? What is he doing wrong? You have to eventually explain it's literally just his body, not something he's doing.

That being said, naturally, he's a humble person, but hearing you say that does kinda... make him feel good inside. A little bit proud. He's not a person who takes a lot of pride in many things, so he likes having this one thing, and quickly notices you can visibly see it through the bulge it makes in your stomach. Especially if it's in a position where your back is pressed to his front, every little movement creates the bulge, so expect to get a lot of that.

He doesn't really bring it up much or talk about it when he's actually fucking you, it's more like, as with many things, something he's quietly aware of and silently enjoys a lot internally, even if it's not voiced.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

Yes and no. It has to do with his overactive protection instinct. What if something happened or went wrong? He couldn't take that. He couldn't lose you.

At the same time, he likes kids, and he's very good with them, very patient. And over time, realizes that a kid would be the perfect tool of manipulation, and besides that, isn't it a beautiful thing, an ultimate manifestation of love?

So how to work around that... Ultimately, what he decides to do is have a kid... Just not by blood. There are plenty of orphans in Hyrule, wandering the streets and the wilderness, picking one up is easy. ...You wouldn't leave this poor child to suffer out there, to fend for themselves, would you? Nor would you leave him to take care of it by himself... Right?

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

Oh, it's not like he thinks of it that way. He would call it... a reminder. You put yourself in danger again? You tried to go back again? You were gone and for ten whole minutes he didn't know where you were? What could the solution to this issue be? The only thing his brain can really come up with is making sure you need him. Making sure you're content and satisfied here with him so you don't go running off.

Thus we return to the forced orgasm thing -- see, you do need him. It feels good, right? You say it hurts, and maybe it does a little, but ultimately you wouldn't be cumming if it wasn't good. No one else can ever do that. No one else knows you like this. No one else was made for you like this. You can't replace him. You need him. And he can keep going as many times as it takes until you see that, too. Even if he gets milked dry, he has a mouth and hands for a reason.

And by "until you see that," I mean until you say it. In his more... emotionally intense moments, he gets a bit insistent. He needs to hear you say it. Admit it to yourself. And to him. That you need him, that you depend on him, that you'll never leave again. And don't think your patience and tolerance can stand a chance of outlasting his -- it will keep going until you say it.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

He's one of those wholesome type of boys who goes with something sweet. He says maybe your hair, your face, your skin, your eyes. It's all so comforting. So familiar. Of course, not to say that he doesn't like your less wholesome mentionable parts, but he wants to be chivalric about such a question, and feels answering that way would be too disrespectful.

In his unspoken thoughts, though, he likes the hips. It's a part of you he can grab onto and hold you close with. He puts his hands there a lot and holds tight, like he feels like at any moment you could slip out of his grasp. And, I mean, it's nice to look at, can't forget that.

[lipstickstainz]

mismatched socks - s. r.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Request: Spencer's girlfriend (reader, FBI agent too) always wears mismatched socks and when they have their first night together at his apartment he notices, and his brain goes to mush, and falls in love with her even more

Warnings: fluff, some talk about Spencer being insecure Word Count: 2.2k A/N: thanks for the request, love! I really enjoyed writing it! requests are open guys! hope you enjoy. gif not mine.

Spencer had always known he was different. He had always been the smartest in school, which could be attributed to his eidetic memory. He wasn't invited to birthday parties because he liked to tell facts that were funny to him, but that no one else found funny. And he had been rather an oddball in other ways, too.

All his life this fact had made him insecure. He thought of himself as too skinny, too unathletic-especially when he compared himself to Derek, which was pretty stupid, of course-and his hair always lay funny, no matter how hard he tried to tame it. He wore cardigans over shirts-the watch over the cardigan, of course-which was pretty weird, but he wore Converse with them and two different socks every day. He loved magic and physics jokes. Spencer couldn't talk about the latest episode of Greys Anatomy, and he wasn't sure what Team Stefan and Team Damon were. Spencer didn't fit in perfectly anywhere and it had taken him time to accept that. He also never imagined anyone would find in attractive, or even want to be with him.

Until you came along.

On your first day at BAU, he immediately noticed three things about you. First, you walked incredibly fast, actually too fast to just walk from one office to the next. It seemed to her as if you were flying. Second, you tucked your hair behind your ears every few minutes, even when it wasn't falling in your face. He wondered why you didn't use a pin or a scrunchie. But it was a habit that didn't bother him in the least. From the moment he first saw you, he found you irresistibly pretty, and he was glad your hair didn't cover your face. And third, you could write ambidextrously. As the team sat in the conference room and you scribbled something in your case file - also something he noticed, you seemed to prefer paper as much as he did - you reached for your coffee cup with your right hand and continued to write undisturbed with your left, until the entire team looked at you as if you were from another star. It was a look Spencer knew all too well.

He had never met anyone like you.

Spencer liked you from the first moment he saw you. He liked that you took your backpack on both shoulders and that you preferred cocoa to coffee. He liked the way you smiled at him when he brought you one from the office kitchen and set it on your desk. And he liked the way your skin felt on his when you reached under the desk for his hand when you noticed a change in his demeanor. You then squeezed his hand twice. Once for "It's all right" and once for "I'm here, with you."

In your presence, everything seemed as easy as breathing. You listened to him when he blathered on about a subject you didn't understand, because you liked his intelligence and the way he explained things without looking down on others. You even asked when he had to explain something to you, which had surprised him so much the first few times that he had completely forgotten what your conversation was about. He had stared at you and the blush had come to his face. One feature that didn't escape you, but made him even more attractive to you.

When you went to his table one morning and told him that you had seen Star Trek for the first time the previous night, and now wondered how realistic the physics in the movie were, he could hardly stand it. You were beautiful and intelligent and interested in Star Trek? And when you asked him if he could explain something from the movie to you, he was sure his dream girl was standing right in front of him.

"I need your help", he told Derek that very day as they stood together in the kitchen. "How do I ask a girl out?"

Derek nearly choked on his coffee before turning to Spencer. "Since when do you want to date?" He noticed Spencer's gaze, which wasn't on him, but slid past him and lingered on you.You sat at your desk and tucked your hair behind your ears before looking up and over at Spencer's desk.  Derek could see your gaze wander around the office and then linger on Spencer before you smiled and got back to work. With a grin, Derek looked at Spencer. "You're going to ask Y/N out on a date? Oh boy, it's about time you finally do. I already said to Penelope that -"

"Please, Morgan. I just want to know how to ask her out”, Spencer interrupted him, looking at his friend.

Derek's grin gave way to an honest, friendly smile. "Don't make a big deal out of it. Just ask her directly."

"And if she says no?", asked Spencer uncertainly, his mouth twisting into a thin line. He couldn't imagine you going on a date with him, but he couldn't stay in the dark any longer either. He had to at least try.

"She won't”, Derek assured him. The whole team felt that Spencer and you would be perfect for each other, but he didn't tell him that. Spencer should learn to walk before he starts running. "I can see the way she looks at you. And if she does say no, she's not as smart as I thought."

Spencer trusted Derek's words and took it upon himself to ask you out on a date that very day. He had phrased the question countless times in his head, even encouraging himself in the mirror in the men's room, but every time he stood in front of you and looked at your beautiful face, he couldn't get a single word out. They got stuck in his throat and he was so embarrassed that he fled from you several times. By the third time, he had red marks on his neck, which you noticed immediately, and you wondered how you had made him so uncomfortable without having really done anything. When he said nothing again, you put your hand on his forearm.

"Are you okay, Spencer?", you asked, and he just nodded. It's now or never.

"Wouldyougooutwithme?" He almost mumbled, but you had understood him perfectly. "If you don't want to, that's fine, and we'll pretend I never asked. We'll just keep being friends and -"

"Spencer," you interrupted, smiling up at him, "I'd love to go out with you," you replied, and he was able to breathe deeply again. The marks on his neck faded as you tucked your hair behind your ear.

He had done it. Spencer had asked you and you had agreed, but where was he going to take you? Nothing seemed good enough for him. Going out to eat was nice, but you didn't seem like someone who needed to talk the whole time. He thought movie theaters were dumb because you couldn't talk there at all. After two days he had thought of something and he wouldn't have minded if you thought the idea was stupid, but when he presented his idea to you, you smiled at him excitedly.

"I can't wait."

You spent your first date in Spencer's favorite library, surrounded by knowledge and stories. You walked the aisles together, telling stories of books you had read and found to be good, and books you had abandoned because they were so bad you couldn't finish them. As you walked through each aisle, which had actually taken an entire afternoon, Spencer didn't want the date to end. He was going to suggest something else, but you beat him to it.

"There's a couch over there. Shall we sit there? Then you can read me something from your favorite book."

You would be the death of him.

A few weeks later, you had arranged to go for a walk. The weather was nice, not too hot and not too cool, so you strolled hand in hand along the paths. He liked the fact that you worked together but couldn't just talk about the job. You were explaining to him why a certain Matt Donavan from a vampire series was incredibly annoying when someone stopped in front of you.

"Y/N! How nice to see you!", the young woman said, unceremoniously wrapping her arms around you. When she broke away from you, you looked at Spencer.

"Spencer, this is Lisa, my college roommate. Lisa, this is Spencer, my boyfriend”, you explained before you could think about what you had just said. You chatted briefly before going your separate ways again. You noticed a change in Spencer's behavior and feared you had misinterpreted everything. When you couldn't take it anymore, you stopped.

"Look, I'm sorry I called you my boyfriend”, you said, looking down at the ground in shame. "We've never talked about what exactly we are, but it feels like you're my boyfriend and I wish you were, so I -"

"Y/N”, he interrupted you and tenderly reached for your hand. A smile spread across his face. He couldn't believe himself that he would ask you that. "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

The bar was crowded and the later it got, the more crowded you felt. The team had been in the mood to celebrate after a difficult case, so everyone had gathered in the regular bar. Penelope was putting on some dance moves on the dance floor while Emily and JJ were bawling out the song, which neither Spencer nor you knew. He had his arm around your waist and pulled you tightly to his side, which you enjoyed very much. He didn't fit in here with his shirt and cardigan, but he fit you, you were one hundred percent sure of that.

As you stifled a yawn, he looked down at you. "Shall we go? You seem tired and I'm getting ready to go to bed too”, he suggested and you nodded. Outside, he hailed you a cab and as you got in, you gave the driver Spencer's address.

"We're going to my place?", asked Spencer, looking at you in confusion as you nestled into his side.

"Yeah, I hope that's okay”, you replied, "If it's too soon for you for us to sleep together, then you just have to say so. I won't be mad at you."

How could he be mad at you? You wanted to spend the night with him. You wanted to fall asleep next to him and wake up next to him. He had hit the jackpot.

"Would you like to drink something?", he asked as you sat down on the couch and kicked off your shoes. It wasn't the first time you'd been in his apartment, but you'd never entered his bedroom before and you didn't want to take the step without him. It was still his apartment and his privacy and you respected that.

"Just water, please”, you replied, pulling your legs up so he could sit next to you. He handed you the glass and you took a big gulp.

In your presence, Spencer had never felt like an oddball. You never made him feel like he was different or weird. You didn't laugh at him, you laughed with him, and you had assured him many times how incredibly attractive he was to you, even if he couldn't see it. He wasn't too skinny or too unathletic for you. He dressed askew, but it suited him like a glove and you had imagined more than once what he would look like without clothes. It didn't bother you in the least that he wasn't interested in the technology of today. For you, he was just right. For you, he was perfect.

Even though you often assured him how much you liked him and how happy you were with him, he was still insecure from time to time. But as you sat there together on the couch and you put your legs on his thighs, he was one hundred percent sure that he didn't need to be insecure. On your left foot was a green sock, while on your right dangled an orange sock.

You wore the socks like he did. Two different ones. Had you seen this on him and copied it or had you always worn socks like this? A question that could be answered later. His heart stopped for a second, his brain turned to mush, which is why he couldn't control his following words either. "I think I love you."

Surprised, you looked to him and noticed that his gaze lingered on your socks. "You see my socks and then say you love me? Maybe something isn't going right in that clever head of yours”, you grinned and leaned towards him. Blushes shot up his face. "I love you too, Spencer."

Gently, you placed your lips on his. The kiss was tender, hesitant, but Spencer saw his chance and gently pulled you onto his lap before wrapping his arms around you and holding you close. His heart threatened to overflow with love. As he placed his hands on your butt, you moaned softly into his mouth. He smiled.

In your presence, he didn't feel like he was different.

[luxwritesfanfic]

On Tap

Sherlock insists that it would work better with the reader on top and after the night they’ve had, there’s no point in arguing. Or, the one where reader plays superhero for poor Greg and her beloved detective. Thanks for reading!

Sherlock Holmes/Reader

You hadn’t even taken your shoes off when your phone started ringing in your purse. Sighing, you dug around for it with one hand and reached for the lightswitch with the other. Work had been incredibly stressful since you were working short during flu season and everyone in London had been feeling under the weather apparently. You had told your coworkers that if they really needed you that you would come back even though you had put a solid 16 hours in. Sherlock and John had gone out for John’s bachelor party so you didn’t mind working late, and Bucky was visiting his brother in the States so all your time was truly yours. You had thought about soaking in the bath or catching up on that show you always missed, but all of those thoughts were stopped in their tracks when the ringing persisted.

“Hey, what’s up?” You tried not to sound like you’d rather chew on glass than clock one more minute into the hospital but you weren’t sure you were so convincing.

“Come get him. Please, for the love of God, come get him.” At hearing Greg’s voice, you were both relieved yet confused. Sherlock must’ve invited him last minute to celebrate with them, you didn’t remember him saying that he was coming along.

“Oh, I didn’t know you went out with the boys! Where are you guys?” It was nice to know they were all having a good time. You liked Greg and thought he was a really good friend for Sherlock and John. You had plopped down on the couch and had started pulling one of your shoes off when he said, “No, I didn’t go with them. They were brought to me. Someone called the cops on them and now I’ve got tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum arguing about the solar system and taking turns puking in my waste bin. Please, I beg of you, come get him. Matter of fact, I can bring him home. If that makes the process quicker--- I mean easier.” You heard Sherlock trying to take Greg’s phone in the background, asking to talk to you and then quickly after arguing with John once more if it was really that important he knew they orbited the sun. Greg sounded just as exhausted as you felt and you could only imagine how annoyed he was by the drunk detective that he was already annoyed with most of the time sober.

“Yeah, yeah of course I’ll come get him. I’m actually at my flat though, so if you could meet me at his place that would be awesome. I’d just need a few minutes to finish up here...” You mourned the hot bath you were never going to get to take and worked on shoving the shoe you just took off back on, “did you call Mary for John?”

“Yes, she’ll be over soon. As soon as she gets here, I’ll bring Sherlock. You’re doing the Lord’s work, thank you.” With that, he hung up and you went to your room to pack an overnight bag. You were exhausted and if you had to go all the way to Sherlock’s, it would be easier for you to crash on the couch than to try to come back home late.

By the time you got to Sherlock’s, you were dragging your feet up the stairs and you could barely keep your eyes open. You had received a text from Mary when she picked John up saying “good luck” and you wished you knew what you were walking into. You had never seen Sherlock drunk, or heard any stories of him being drunk, but you were sure he was even more eccentric than he was sober. If you weren’t so tired, you’d be jumping with joy at the experience to see Sherlock so out of character. 

You went into Sherlock’s room and laid out some pajamas for him and went ahead and put a water bottle and some Advil on his nightstand because you were sure he would need it. After doing that, you changed into something more comfortable too and rummaged through his fridge to see if there was anything to eat. Thumbs, unsalted butter, and milk that shouldn’t look like blue cheese was what was on the menu and you had decided sleep for dinner sounded much more appetizing. You’d go shopping for him tomorrow.

Greg had texted that he was outside but Sherlock didn’t have his key so you made your way down the steps to meet them. Upon opening the door, Sherlock looked up at you like he hasn’t seen you in ages. He stumbled towards you and held you at arms length with a look of wonder on his face. “Finally! Y/N, I was thinking I’d die from being surrounded by total stupidity, and here you are. Ever the shining light and the beacon of hope.”

You felt the heat from his stare and turned to Greg to try and keep your composure under all his attention. “Uh.. I— thank you. For bringing him home.”

Still staring at Sherlock and shocked by his outburst, Greg met your eyes with a knowing smile. “It’s no trouble. He’s your problem now. Good luck, my dear.” He was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving you with a very drunk Sherlock Holmes and a dozen steps to climb.

“Okay,” you clapped your hands together, turning towards the door, “do you think you can get up the stairs? Or do you want me to help you?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” he started until his eyes widened like he forgot who he had been talking to. It had only been a second but he saw the look that flashed across your face. You hated when he made you feel dumb because you always tried so hard to keep up with him, and he knew that. You didn’t have a chance to react before he quickly interrupted. His previous statement was immediately followed by, “I’m sorry. Forgive me. Please help me.”

You just nodded, unsure of what made him have such a quick change of heart but you were happy he did. You hated him thinking you were dumb. In comparison to him, maybe, but you were intelligent in your own right and you did a better job of keeping up with him than most. He threw his arm around your shoulders to steady himself and allowed you to lead him carefully up the stairs. He started telling you about his night and it honestly sounded like he had a great time, and so did John. You were really happy that it all worked out even if they did end up with Greg at the end of it all.

As soon as the back of Sherlock’s legs hit his chair, he was down in a clean swoop and you took the opportunity to start untying his shoes. He seemed like he was lost in thought and was quiet for a few moments but you could tell from the way he was swaying that he was too far gone to sober up before the morning.

“I already put your clothes out for you and I’ll help you to the bathroom so you can brush your teeth. You’ll love me for that in the morning.” You smiled at him as you pulled off his loafers and moved to stand up so that you could figure out how you were going to get him out of his chair.

“Will I, though? Will I tomorrow once I’m in my right mind?” He asked, and while he didn’t say it in an ignorant tone, it sounded like Sherlock, and that was close enough.

You looked at him hoping he’d say something else. But he didn’t, and he looked back at you with a look of confusion as if he was really expecting you to answer that. It seemed like just last week he was in your bed trying to convince you that he didn’t have eyes for anyone besides you and now he’s reminding you that he’s not even sure of that. Sherlock could have you at the top of the poll and then have you kissing the ground in the same hour if he tried.

“It’s just a saying. I didn’t really mean...you know, let’s— let’s just get you to bed. It’s late and you have a date with a hangover in the morning.” You could tell he was on the verge of passing out which was good in the way of no more awkward conversations but horrible in that you’d never get him into bed as dead weight. So you pushed things along and eventually got him in bed before he was out like a light.

Draping the blanket over him, you watched as his eyes fluttered behind his lids and how his lips twitched as fell into a deeper sleep and you were sure then that you would never love anyone more. You would never understand how he didn’t realize how beautiful he made the ordinary and how easily he made everything extraordinary. Afraid that you’d turn to stone if you spent any more time staring at him, you turned off his light and made your way to the living room where the the couch had never looked more inviting. It didn’t take you long to get settled in and asleep seeing as the TV in the background ended up being the perfect thing to mask Sherlock’s drunk snores and you had never been more tired in your life.

—

“I thought you were staying over?”

It had only been a few hours since you  had put Sherlock to bed when he found himself looking over you on the couch, wrapped up in his bedsheet.

“M’right here.” You murmured into the pillow, body still turned away from Sherlock on the couch. He was probably still drunk and you were hoping if you laid still enough he’d wander back to bed.

He didn’t respond to you, instead he continued to stand and stare with his lips pursed and brows furrowed. You had drifted back off only to be nudged awake once more.

“I won’t fit like that.” He gestured with the hand not holding the sheet to the couch, sounding exasperated like he had been explaining this to you all night. “It’ll only work if you’re on top, so get up so I can lie down first.”

You didn’t process what he said really, you just knew that if he was being persistent and you didn’t do as he asked he’d never let you go back to bed. You squinted as your eyes adjusted to the light and swung your legs off the couch, standing on stiff bones. Sherlock immediately made to get comfortable on the couch while you stood dazed and confused and he cleared his throat expectantly when he had finally got settled. He was on his back with one arm holding the sheet up between himself and the back of the couch allowing room for you to climb over and snuggle right into him.

All you could do was blink and hold his stare as he waited expectantly, still holding the sheet for you. You didn’t think he was asking you to lay with him, especially with how close you’d two be. Sure, you shared your bed before, but there was always enough room for you both to have your own space. You could tell he was getting embarrassed by your reaction, or lack there of.

“I didn’t think this would be rocket science, even for someone like you.” His nervousness was showing as he yanked his arm back down and curled into to himself like a child. You jumped into action so you wouldn’t upset him any more and shook his shoulder as you whined, partially from exhaustion and from missing the chance to sleep next to him.

“I’m tired, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize what you were asking. Come on, open up. Let me in.” You continued to shake at his shoulder until he looked back at you. He looked wrecked from drinking all night and you knew this bout of sobriety wouldn’t be as easy on him in the morning but you were sure he looked holy.

Sherlock reluctantly brought his arm up again and you wasted no time sliding under the sheet and tucking yourself under the crook of his arm. He smelled like beer and mouthwash and Sherlock and you thought you were going to go into cardiac arrest when he brought his arm back down on you, subsequently pinning you down to him. It was definitely a tight fit especially since the couch barely fit Sherlock but you had decided that if you had the opportunity to sleep with him like this every night that you would. Back pain be damned.

The steadiness of his heartbeat was already working you back to sleep. Sighing content, you let your body fully relax and sink further into him.

“You never answered my question.” He shifted next to you and kept you close to him all the same, his head leaning to rest on yours.

“Hmm?” You made an incoherent sound, your breath evening out as you fell asleep.

“My question,” he whispered more so to himself as he worked it out in his head. The feelings he found himself harboring for you were ones he had never felt before. He thought  so highly of you in a way he couldn’t understand even if he wasn’t the best at expressing it. You were patient with him when he got on your last nerve and was amazed by him when other people would tell him to piss off. You were always kind and warm and made him feel human even after he spent so long separating himself from his feelings. He couldn’t stand the idea of you looking at anyone else the way you looked at him when you thought he wasn’t looking.

So yes, he thought. Yes, he would love you in the morning. He’d love you when you’re angry with him for putting himself at risk during a case and he’d love you when you were overly tired and petulant after he made you stay up all night to keep him company in the lab. He loved that you valued him regardless of what he offered you, and that you always showed him that even if he never reciprocated it. You were never embarrassed by him, you always tried to learn about what he was interested in, and you never doubted him even when he was wrong.

Girlfriends weren’t naturally his area... but he didn’t think he would mind if it was you. He liked being close to you and physical touch wasn’t something he had sought out often before. He found that he chased the opportunity to be near you at all times. He thought you looked lovely in scrubs and a lab coat and even lovelier in your everyday wear, even if you considered it plain. He had begun to notice the way other people stared at you when you walked by and it left him with the most unsettling feeling. But then you’d smile at him and despite himself he’d smile right back and he wondered if anything in the world mattered to you besides him. Because in those moments, nothing mattered to him besides you.

Sherlock woke up alone again the next morning with the worst headache he’d ever had. Light was shining through the curtains and he cursed the sun for rising another day as he covered his eyes and groaned. Peaking through his fingers, he saw that the Advil and water had been moved to the coffee table for him and when he reached out for it he noticed the note on the table. He sat up with one hand gingerly holding his head as he read it.

“Got called into work to help the girls. John and Mary are coming over for lunch, so text me what you want me to bring home. We can’t serve our best friends buttered thumbs for lunch. I’ll see you soon!

  -Y/N xx”

He held the note in his hand, contemplating what his next move would be. You were interested in him, that he knew for sure. He’d contemplated casually mentioning to everyone that you were dating, but he technically hadn’t asked you to be his girlfriend and you two had never talked about any mutual feelings. Maybe he’d kiss you when walking you to your taxi, but he knew he’d make you stay with him instead of letting you go home. Possibly tonight when you were laying in his bed he’d tell you it had to be you, it could only ever be you.

Leaning back against the couch, he rubbed at his eyes and decided he’d call John over early and he’d help him sort it out. John always helped him. Standing up was harder than it looked apparently, as Sherlock wobbled to the side and fought the urge to puke. Perhaps he should shower first, surely you wouldn’t say yes to being his if he didn’t look his best.

He remembered how he looked and acted last night and winced. On second thought, maybe you would. You had already given yourself to him for better or for worse and soon enough, he smiled, he would give you himself in return.

[erimeows]

Yellow Roses

The first time was a learning experience.

Bumblebee had been innocent to the ways of human gift-giving back then, unsure of what to get or where to get it, but after using the internet and looking up where to buy gifts for humans, he found that there was a gift shop down the street from where the Autobot base was, and he begged and pleaded with Sari for some of her allowance money “for something important”.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to get. What he was sure of, though, was that he was completely enamored with you and had been since day one- and he couldn’t bring himself to confess yet, but if he didn’t channel his feelings somehow, they were going to burst.

But as he approached the gift shop on that sunny day in Detroit, no other than Optimus Prime walked out and bumped into him. Thankfully, before he could fall back at the impact, Optimus reached out and caught him, placing him back on his feet with one strong servo. 

“P-Prime, hey!” Bumblebee grinned and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible. He knew he wasn’t guilty of anything nefarious, per say, but he had no idea how Optimus would feel about him being in love with a human and wanting to buy gifts for said human with money that wasn’t his. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, nothing much...” The other Autobot blatantly lied and hid a bouquet of blue and gold flowers that Bee didn’t know the name of behind his back, face burning the brightest shade of red the smaller bot had ever seen it. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

“I don’t know, I mean, what do humans even like?” Bumblebee muttered without thinking, and upon seeing Optimus’s optics widen, he raised his servos defensively and shook his head. “I mean, uh-! Never mind! What’s up with the flowers?”

“Ah,” Optimus gave an awkward grin and held the flowers in front of him instead of continuing to hide them, probably realizing that it was too late and Bumblebee had already seen them. The younger bot wondered if they were for Optimus or for someone else, but he didn’t dare ask, only listening to his leader talk. “I learned that unlike some other organic planets, on earth, it’s considered rude to pick plants if they’re in close proximity to someone’s home or in front of a public building or park unless they’re a specific type called weeds, which flowers aren’t, but I wanted to buy some for someone, so I came here to pick them up after asking Sari about it. Are you gift buying, too?”

“Well, yeah, I guess you could say that,” Bumblebee looked away and held his forearm in one servo, anxiously shifting his weight between his stabilizing servos. It felt like him and Optimus Prime had reached into the cookie jar and caught each other. 

Bumblebee didn’t dare ask who the flowers were for even though he was dying to know in fear that Optimus would ask who he was at the gift shop for in return. An uncomfortable silence fell onto them momentarily, both of them quiet and staring at each other with the noise of traffic and the bustling Detroit citizens walking on the pavement who kept passing by to keep them company.

“I’ve been doing some reading since Sari’s birthday is in a few months,” Optimus tried to continue the conversation and cleared his throat. “The customs for gift giving can involve about anything when it comes to human girls, but the most common are flowers, books, chocolates, jewelry, clothing, video games, or gifts of practicality, which just seem to be hygiene products and things they can use in their daily lives. Gift cards and vouchers with money on them are also common, but considered less personable, so I wouldn’t go that route if you’re close with the one you’re buying for unless they specifically ask for it.”

“Oh... I gotcha. Good ideas, bossbot!” Bumblebee smiled again, the corners of his lip-plates sore from how forced it was due to his nerves.

What if Optimus had figured it out? That would defeat the whole point of his plan; buy you nice things and leave them at your door in the middle of the night without his name attached. It was simple and easy, but if Optimus knew before he even got to try it?

Well. That made it a lot harder.

Thankfully, though, Optimus gave him a nod and bid him a good afternoon, then walked away.

Bumblebee found himself letting out a sigh of relief.

Thank Primus...

...Hours later, Bumblebee regretted all of his life decisions. He was sitting, holed up in his room with one audial pressed up against your wall. It was a terrible habit of his, but he eavesdropped on you pretty frequently when he heard bits and pieces of you talking through the wall, and he was doing it right now.

He wasn’t sure how he had expected it to go, but when he dropped the bouquet of yellow roses at your bedroom doorstep when you were out for lunch and no one was in the halls, he had hoped that you would simply take the flowers, appreciate them, and never say another word. However, you were currently telling Sari about it, which made sense considering that the young girl dropped by your room often and asked you to do her hair or makeup as an excuse to spend time with you- you were an adult, a lot older than Sari, but the two of you got along very well considering that you were the only one who actually knew how to take care of her properly when Isaac Sumdac wasn’t around.

“I have no idea!” You exclaimed, no doubt in reference to the flowers. Bumblebee cringed. What if Sari made the connection that the money he had borrowed from her was for that? What if she told everyone, or what if you told everyone, and Prime realized why he was at that gift shop and let his secret slip? “I can only assume it was you or one of the guys, but like... I don’t know who.”

“Yeah, I have no idea! It wasn’t me, I would’ve just given ‘em to you. We should dig deeper, (y/n)!”

Oh. Oh, Primus, no. 

“I’m not sure, Sari, whoever it was probably dropped it off like that for a reason,” Bumblebee heard you sigh, and at the same time, he let out a sigh of relief. Maybe you would just forget about it and-

“Wait! Do you have a secret admirer!?”

Dammit. Maybe not.

“I... Highly doubt that, the only one I’d be interested in anyways is-” You started, and then cut yourself off in a way that made Bumblebee’s spark shatter and crumble into little pieces inside his chassis. You were single, but you were already into someone? What if it wasn’t him? He’d understand, of course- Prime was stronger, Prowl was smooth, Bulkhead was talented, and Ratchet was intelligent. Compared to them, he felt like he didn’t have much to offer you. Everyone around him was amazing, and he was just there, but... He loved you, and he wanted you to know how loved you were. So, whether you’d love him back or not, he’d keep giving everything he had to you; even if the way in which he went about it was indirect. “Actually, never mind, but your braids are done-”

“No, wait, you can’t just gloss past that!” Sari whined. Bee almost didn’t want to hear the rest of your discussion, but he couldn’t keep himself from listening. “Who is it, who is it!?

“Let’s just go play Animal Crossing in the living room, we can talk about all of that at a later date, yeah?” You offered, voice laced with both your amusement and confusion. 

“Fine, fine, but you have to tell me soon! Pinky promise.”

“Fine, pinky promise. Now let’s go.”

Bumblebee heard your door open and close, followed by what he presumed to be you and Sari’s footsteps in the hallway. The sound eventually dissipated.

The Autobot was left to lay back on his berth and stare at the ceiling with a huff.

You were telling others about the gift he left, trying to get to the bottom of it, and you were into someone or somebot he didn’t even know about.

What had he gotten himself into?

-

The second time, he felt a little better about it. It was a week later and he hadn’t heard any discussion of the subject amongst the other Autobots, so he assumed nothing had come from it.

But, as he lounged on the living room couch, he jumped upon you sitting down on the couch’s arm- right by where his head was laid.

It made sense that he had been jumpier around you over the past few days. Part of it was the usual I’m-in-love-with-you-and-super-tense-about-it jumpiness that he had become accustomed to, but it was made worse by the fact that he was guilty; guilty of keeping a secret from you, of indirectly lying to you. He could’ve done it the one time with the roses and let it die down after, but when you’d talked about your old game controller breaking the night before at the dinner table, he hadn’t been able to help himself- he went and got it along with a new bouquet of yellow roses, left it in front of your room later that night, knocked, and ran away.

It was the next day, and understandably, he’d been anxious about it. It was better than the first time, but he was just hoping you wouldn’t talk about it.

Of course, he was never that lucky, and you looked at him with the controller literally in your hands. 

“Hey, Bee, do you know anything about this?” You asked.

Had he been caught? Did you know? Or were you just trying to get information from him in case he knew something? Unsure, he decided to play it safe and act oblivious. 

“Huh? What’s that?”

“I’m taking that as a no, but someone left this new controller on my doorstep with a bouquet of roses? I needed a new one, but I only mentioned it to you and the others, so I think it’s one of you guys... But this is the second time I’ve received a gift without any name on it and I’m really confused. I’ve done some asking around, but the only one who seems to know anything is Optimus, and he won’t give me any hints and insists that he has no idea what I’m talking about.”

Great. So, Optimus probably realized why Bumblebee had been at the gift shop last week. Well... From what you said, it sounded like Optimus was at least decent enough to stay out of his business and keep the secret for him- or try to, at least. 

“Yeah? That’s weird, I don’t really know why he’d be like that about it... Wanna play Streetfighter?”

“Sure, but I’m just super confused, man,” You muttered, turning on the playstation and giving a frustrated huff. The game quickly turned on, and while Bee took the old controller, you connected your brand new one and chose your stage, your character being Akuma. Bee chose Ken to fight with and listened to you continue as the game started. “I thought the first time might’ve just been a one-off thing, but it’s happened again, and the flowers were one thing, but now it’s flowers and a new controller. Anyone else would be creeped out, and I’m not creeped out- more flattered than anything since I know it’s from you or one of the other Autobots- but this is really expensive... I’d at least like to be able to say thank you!”

“That makes sense, I think I’d feel the same way,” The black and yellow bot mumbled. The game had hardly started and he was already losing due to his inability to focus- it was so bad that he couldn’t even combat you when you crowded his character into the corner and kicked him over and over and over again. His health bar dropped to zero, signaling that you’d won round one.

Round two started, and he did a little better; actually jumping away from your cornering attempts and offering some blasts and punches, but by the time it ended, he’d only gotten you down to half health, and you were delivering your final blow. Ken fell to the ground, Akuma still standing. 

You didn’t even press replay despite being player one. No, instead, you let out a huff and stared at the ceiling. Bumblebee found himself resting his helm against your thigh without thinking, enjoying the warmth against his faceplates. You two were best friends, very comfortable with each other and with physical affection, so you didn’t mind it, only running a gentle hand over one of his audials in return. 

Both of you set your controllers down. It was obvious that both of you were so focused on the subject of your anonymous gifts that the game didn’t catch either of your interests like it usually would. 

“I might try to ask Optimus about it again tomorrow... Information extraction,” You joked, but Bumblebee quickly sat up and objected. 

“Wait, I don’t think that’s such a good idea!”

“Huh? Why not? He’s the only one who’s given me so much as a reaction,” You argued and stood up to turn the game system off, then started pacing around the room. “And I guess his eyes getting all wide ‘n stuff may have just been something else, but like... It’s all I’ve got to go on.”

“Yeah, but you know how the bossbot is,” Bee stood as well, trying his hardest not to look like he was in the midst of blowing a circuit from the panic that was currently taking over his processor. “He shuts down when you push him too hard. If he knows anything about it, you gotta wait for him to come to you with that sweet info.”

“You’re probably right, Bee, thanks for the advice,” You smiled, and then walked to him to put a hand on his shoulder plate. “I’m gonna go to bed, ‘kay? Goodnight.”

You looked into his optics, and oh Primus, he was gone; your eyes were such a beautiful shade of (e/c), and your smile was so beautiful, and you were so beautiful, and he was so in love-

Quickly, he realized that he was taking too long to respond, so he quickly stammered something out.

“G-Goodnight...” 

And then, you left, swiftly turning and walking out of the living room.

Bumblebee found himself letting out a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he missed you desperately.

He wished he’d given you a hug goodnight.

And, as he stood alone in the dark living room, he thought back to how exactly he’d ended up in his current predicament; painfully in love with a human, giving them things without having the courage to do it face-to-face, life feeling like it was falling apart with every hour that passed without him being able to kiss you and tell you how much he loved you like he so desperately wanted to. 

He’d loved you from the very start, and as bold as he was, he couldn’t bring himself to tell you- he was just too scared, but...

What if this was what finally gave it away...?

-

The third time was what ended up blowing his cover. He should’ve left it alone, and he had told himself that after the last time- it was far too close of a call when you talked about Optimus knowing something, and he was so obvious with his own emotions during that, too... He wouldn’t do it again.

But then, he was shopping with Sari that day and saw a (f/c) hoodie that was just your size and style, and he decided you had to had it. So, when Sari was distracted at a different store, he got the hoodie, along with a new notebook, some pens, and a stuffed bee. He bought the gifts for you and put them in a nice gift bag with some paper, then left them by your door and disappeared before anyone could see him. 

He was sitting in the living room yet again. It was late at night, and though him and his team had spent most of that night playing board games and catching up with a movie playing in the background, they’d all went to bed hours ago, leaving him to think by himself.

He’d lost at every game; Uno, Monopoly, Candyland, Sorry, Cards Against Humanity, and Scrabble, all because he was staring at you the entire time. 

Why couldn’t he just get over himself and confess already? It was selfish to keep hiding from you, because what if the one you’d mentioned being interested in was actually him? And even if it wasn’t him, was it fair for you to think that he saw you as a friend when he was secretly in love with you? Was it fair for you to keep receiving gifts and never knowing who they were from? 

Speak of the devil, though- the second Bumblebee looked up from where he was standing in the middle of the room, you were leaning against the doorway, wearing the hoodie he’d bought you and a pair of pajama shorts. You looked sleepy with your (h/l) (h/c) hair a mess and your soft hands rubbing the bleariness out of your (e/c) eyes. 

“Bee?” You mumbled.

“(y/n), where’d you just come from? You look tired! You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m tired, but I’m fine. I was in the hallway, kinda waiting for everyone else to go to bed so I could talk to you, but... It took me a minute to come in here.” Bumblebee walked towards you and raised his optical ridge. His spark sank to the floor because oh Primus, was this it? Was it finally happening?

“Oh, uh... Why do you need to talk to me alone? What’s up?”

You averted your gaze and gently grabbed one of his servos with your hand, holding it tightly. Bumblebee took a sharp intake. You were about to start talking, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for it. 

“I know it’s you,” You confessed with a guilty smile. Bumblebee froze in place and cringed. “I feel bad, but my curiosity was killing me, so I asked around some more and did a lot of prying- Optimus seemed like he was hiding something when I talked to him about it, so I pried until he gave up and told me that he suspected it was you; that he’d seen you at a gift shop the day I got the first bouquet, that he’d seen you lingering in the hallways the past few times I’ve gotten something, etcetera. He gave me enough details that I pieced it together, so... Yeah.”

“Well, at least it’s out of the way,” Bumblebee laughed out loud, and surprisingly, you smiled back at him. This wasn’t how he wanted it to come out, but he wasn’t sure it would have come out at all if not for this. “Getting human money without a real job is hard! Glad I could at least confess without having to do it so much that I went bankrupt.”

“Bee...” You started again, peering up at him, but he felt like he wasn’t ready for what was going to happen next. Were you about to reject him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. 

“Well, now that that’s done, I’m gonna go ahead and go to bed! I could use a really good recharge right about now-”

“Bee-” You cut him off with a pout and gripped his servo, obviously not done, but he only continued in hopes that you would give it up and let him escape the situation. 

“Goodnight, (y/n)-”

“Bee!” You yelled and pulled him towards you by his wrist so you could get in his face. “For God’s sake, man, stop and listen to me talk for a second!”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry! I just-” He tossed his hands up defensively, ready to spill his circuits out, only for you to cut him off.

“You don’t think I love you back, right? You’re such a dolt!” You exclaimed. 

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Bumblebee yelled back at you, processor only catching the insult before he thought back on ‘I love you back’ and froze. “...Oh. Sorry.”

“I mean I’ve loved you for months now! Even before I realized it, I think I would’ve been more than open to dating you at any point in time, I mean... You’re pretty great. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Well, uh-” Bumblebee stopped and took in a deep intake, then sighed and linked your fingers with his digits so he could hold your hand properly. The anxiety that had been building up over you for so long now was finally leaving his body and being replaced by relief.“I don’t know. I feel kinda stupid now.”

“C’mere,” You mumbled and wrapped an arm around him. He hugged you back, taking you into his arms and resting his chin on top of your head... He could get used to that. You were warm and soft as you relaxed your body against his and allowed yourself to be held. You let go of his servo in favor of curling your hands and arms up by his chest. “Thank you for the gifts. They were really sweet and I loved them all, so... I’ll be sure to return the favor.”

“Return the favor? This is more than enough to return the favor!” He grinned, only hugging you tighter. “I’ve always wanted to just, like, hug you like this-”

“You can kiss me, too, if you want,” You offered, which had him pulling back to look down at you, spark lit aflame. 

“Really?” Bumblebee asked, just to be sure.

“Of course.”

There was a moment of silence; hesitance from both ends. It was true that, while both of you had been physically affectionate as friends, you’d never kissed, and Bumblebee had certainly never kissed a human. He’d been waiting for this moment for so long, but he had no idea what to do now that it was actually happening. 

Thankfully, you took the initiative and wrapped your arms over his shoulders, hands on the back of his neck. You looked up at him one more time before standing on your tip-toes so you could gently press your lips against his. Bumblebee was frozen still for a moment as he processed your warm, soft lips against his cool metal plating, but after the tension faded, he found himself resting his servos on your hips and melted into it. 

One kiss turned into many; again, again, and again, you moved your lips against his in a manner so intoxicating that he couldn’t get enough of it.

Eventually, though, you pulled away and smiled up at him, but now that he had gotten to kiss you like that, he couldn’t help but want more. 

“I, uh... I’m not sure the favor has been returned yet,” Bumblebee averted his optics from your eyes, able to feel his spark beating faster. “I might need one more kiss just to be sure-”

You chuckled, cutting him off by leaning up again and sloppily pushing your lips against his- and, with that, he was gone.

[koravelliumavast]

Well that’s a new one: Amazon Cosmere reviews Mistborn edition. (Snippets of two reviews)

Breeze, Dox, Ham, Clubs, most of Kelsier, and most of Marsh could be deleted from the book and you wouldn't be missing out on anything. You can skip most of the chapters of Kells and his "crew" bantering, and you won't miss a thing. That's the biggest problem with this book. Beyond that, the book actually has some above-average qualities that make the book a worthwhile read - IF you've already read all the better books in the same vein - (Wheel of time, {does op know that Brandon finished wot???}the first few Sword of Truth books, and I'd also recommend the Foundryside series) If you're going to read this book, I recommend you skip any text that features dialogue coming from Dox, Breeze, Ham, and Clubs. Oh, and also skip every passage where the characters are reading the Lord Ruler's journal, or where they're reading the history books. What an insulting waste of time. And none of it matters in the end. Oh, and skip all the first-person text at the beginning of every chapter because none of that crap has any bearing on the story either.

•••

Okay, Allomancy as an explanation for super-powers is new as a concept but so what? It turns the cast of very paper-cut out characters into the typical super heroes with one special magic trick or, rarely, into the super-super special hero with all the abilities roled into one stomach lining. The novel was also trying to be a slick super-crime such as Oceans 11's in its plot but obviously Sanderson doesn't have much insight into the sort of brilliance required for the supreme criminal mind nor much knowledge of the intelligence methods used by a totalitarian government. The meetings of the supposedly super-thieves were as dull as dishwater to read, a gloss-over of basic facts and illustrative of such shallow thinking that I was as bored as if it was a meeting with a low-level accountant. The conversations were as completely uninspired as the characters, their "plotting" so empty of sophistication or subtlety, and so full of holes, that I was unconvinced that these guys were really as slick as they were described; it certainly wasn't demonstrated.

Then the actual action had them doing things that even the most amateur of subversive criminals would never consider. One of my pet peeves, Sanderson either doesn't think about what the "opposing" forces might be doing in reaction or he succumbed to the "stupid enemy" contrivance. For example, the entire core of the elite team visit together the site of a hit by the dread Inquisitors, a place that was hit because they'd met there or because Vin, now a part of the team, had lived there; and they all show up to expose themselves in a world where, supposedly, everyone will rat out everyone else at the drop of a dime! But, not to fear, the totalitarian regime that made the hit has neglected to stake it out to watch who turned up to check out the mess afterward! And none of the crowd of spectators actually informs on them, either. It was juvenile mistake and I couldn't help but think that, trying to write this sort of plot, Sanderson was completely out of his depth. He should at least have read a few espionage and crime novels and gotten a clue before trying to write one himself. This team wouldn't have lasted five minutes in fiction, never mind real life...

•••

That said, I find it nice to read somebody acknowledge the fact that if you mistreat your comrades, they'll leave you. Granted, one of the 'heroes' said that. However, that was the only sensible "nugget of wisdom" aside from Slazed speaking about religion, or Ham trying to find a conversation. Speaking of Slazed, his name changes from time to time. {??? No it doesn’t}

On the other hand, there are several flaws. First off, for someone who's supposed to be insane, Keelsier sure does admit that a lot. Yeah, it should go without saying that unhinged people DON't do that. (That's coming from someone who's seen a stranger start squeezing her finger. So, his friend had to explain that the man thought her knew her.) Also, glares and flat stares don't even begin to look the same. That's unless you have some reason for being able to discern facial expressions.

[myopinionhi]

A Will Solace Character Analysis: the Underappreciated Soft Side

I've noticed many fanfictions have Will Solace OOC. So I’ve been thinking about aspects of Will’s personality fans seem to either gloss over or exaggerate. Here, this post is me doing an in-depth analysis explaining Will Solace’s canon personality in the books, and how it can sometimes differ from fanfictions. Sprinkled in this analysis are tips to fanfiction writers on how they write Will as more in-character.

There is one major aspect of Will that people seem to ignore or underemphasize. Nico best explains it when describing Will in this quote

Jason was a fighter. You could tell from the intensity of his stare, his constant alertness, the coiled-up energy in his frame. Will Solace was more like a lanky cat stretched out in sunshine. His movements were relaxed and nonthreatening, his gaze soft and far away. In his faded SURF BARBADOS T-shirt, his cutoff shorts and flip-flops, he looked about as aggressive as a demigod could get, but Nico knew he was brave under fire. During the Battle of Manhattan, Nico had seen him in action - the camp's best combat medic, risking his life to save wounded campers.

To sum it up, Will Solace is a very chill and calm character. A lot of writers make Will more irrational, impulsive, overbearing, and emotional than he actually is. Will is not the type of character to create drama unless he's, as Nico puts it, "under fire." In other words, the intense side of his personality doesn't come out unless the situation is urgent or dire.

Fans remember during the Second Giant War how he gets angry and argues with Nico over Nico's health and shadow-traveling, so many assume Will is going to be this fiery over a lot of other things regarding their relationship. For example, fanfic writers may make Will controlling or overly sensitive with Nico. However, keep in mind, Will gets heated with Nico during the Second Giant War because Nico's shadow-traveling is killing him. This is how Will describes Nico's dire state.

"Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow-travel. You can’t try that again."

"I just did try it again, Solace. I’m fine."

"No, you’re not. I’m a healer. I could feel the darkness in your hand as soon as I touched it. Even if you made it to that tent, you’d be in no shape to fight. But you wouldn’t make it. One more slip, and you won’t come back. You are not shadow-travelling. Doctor’s orders."

Will is a healer. When he touches Nico's hand, he can sense how little sleep and food Nico has been getting and how Nico's being taken over by darkness. Nico is on the verge of death and hasn't cared about his health for a long time. Nico is also stubborn about it, so Will has to be aggressive in order to save Nico's life. This aggressive behavior is not the norm for Will, but it can sometimes come out when he has to assert control in a life-or-death situation.

Will is a calming prescence. He's a diplomat. He stops violence on multiple occassions.

He's one of the few people who's able to calm Clarisse's violent rage, and he does so in a gentle manner.

Clarisse pointed her dagger at Rachel. "What about their allies, huh? Did you see that tribe of two-headed men that arrived yesterday? Or the glowing red dog-headed guys with the big poleaxes? They look pretty barbaric to me. It would’ve been nice if you’d foreseen any of that, if your Oracle power didn’t break down when we needed it most!"

Rachel’s face turned as red as her hair. "That’s hardly my fault. Something is wrong with Apollo’s gifts of prophecy. If I knew how to fix it –"

"She’s right." Will Solace, head counsellor for the Apollo cabin, put his hand gently on Clarisse’s wrist. Not many campers could’ve done that without getting stabbed, but Will had a way of defusing people’s anger. He got her to lower her dagger. "Everyone in our cabin has been affected. It’s not just Rachel."

One of the most underrated Will Solace moments is when he stops a bloody battle from happening between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.  

But he knew it wouldn’t do any good. After weeks of waiting, agonizing and steaming, the Greeks and Romans wanted blood. Trying to stop the battle now would be like trying to push back a flood after the dam broke.

Will Solace saved the day.

He put his fingers in his mouth and did a taxicab whistle even more horrible than the last. Several Greeks dropped their swords. A ripple went through the Roman line like the entire First Cohort was shuddering.

"DON’T BE STUPID!" Will yelled. "LOOK!"

People are so used to seeing demigods, especially male demigods, being aggressive fighters that they can't wrap their heads around a brave and strong demigod who actively tries to avoid unnecessary conflict and destruction as much as he can.

And that's Will Solace's strength: he has the ability to prevent as much harm as possible.

Will is a difficult character to write. There's a lot of dueling factors with his personality. He's calm and pacifying while also being brave and assertive. He's fun and lighthearted while also being intelligent, logical, and grounded. He's laidback while also being responsible and hardworking. He's insecure but not melodramatic. He's very caring and protective but not pushy.

Will's personality confuses Nico sometimes too.

He’d always thought of Will as easygoing and laid back. Apparently he could also be stubborn and aggravating.

The trick to writing Will is to keep in mind his default personality is a soft and lighthearted character. Writers tend to overemphasize the hard side of his personality when his default personality is actually the soft side.

Think of the relaxing, lanky cat metaphor Nico uses for him. He and Nico bicker often, and it works for Will because he rolls with everything and doesn't take things too seriously. He's able to alleviate Nico's moodiness with humor, wittiness, groundedness, and patience. Nico affectionately calls Will a "dork" because Will usually keeps things light. Interestingly enough, he's able to be lighthearted without coming across as insensitive or an airheaded goofball, the latter of which is something Nico dislikes about Percy's personality. On a related sidenote, another way writers make Will OOC is they make him too dumb or too immature. I know I mentioned to focus on Will's soft side, but be careful to avoid that too. He's a SENSIBLE, lanky cat.

The way Will keeps his composure during a stressful situation by using laughter while still being mature is expressed well in this exchange with Apollo. (Yes, Will has a lot to manage.)

It was difficult to think of this young man as my son. He was so poised, so unassuming, so free of acne. He also didn’t appear to be awestruck in my presence. In fact, the corner of his mouth had started twitching.

“Are—are you amused?” I demanded.

Will shrugged. “Well, it’s either find this funny or freak out. My dad, the god Apollo, is a fifteen-year-old—”

“Sixteen,” I corrected. “Let’s go with sixteen.”

“A sixteen-year-old mortal, lying in a cot in my cabin, and with all my healing arts—which I got from you—I still can’t figure out how to fix you.”

“There is no fixing this,” I said miserably. “I am cast out of Olympus. My fate is tied to a girl named Meg. It could not be worse!”

Will laughed, which I thought took a great deal of gall. “Meg seems cool. She’s already poked Connor Stoll in the eyes and kicked Sherman Yang in the crotch.”

The fiercer side of Will's personality comes out only when the situation calls for it; this happens sometimes when he has to be a caring family member, a responsible healer, or a warrior in a dire situation. Even when he gets more forceful, he doesn't get more forceful than he has to.

Since Will has such a balanced and lighthearted personality, what are his flaws? What are the dark sides of his personality? There are four main things that stick out.

1. He's insecure about his self-perceived lack of abilities.

"I agree," Will said. "I wish I was a better archer … I wouldn’t mind shooting my Roman relative off his high horse. Actually, I wish I could use any of my father’s gifts to stop this war." He looked down at his own hands with distaste. "Unfortunately, I’m just a healer."

2. He sometimes struggles to endure the heavy responsibilities he has as a healer and as a protector to his family.

“I got it reattached,” Will told me, his voice shaky with exhaustion. His scrubs were speckled with blood. “I need somebody to keep him stable.”

I pointed to the woods. “But—”

“I know!” Will snapped. “Don’t you think I want to be out there searching too? We’re shorthanded for healers. There’s some salve and nectar in that pack. Go!”

I was stunned by his tone. I realized he was just as concerned about Kayla and Austin as I was. The only difference: Will knew his duty. He had to heal the injured first. And he needed my help.

3. He forces himself to bottle his emotions to keep his composure.

Will laughed under his breath. “I’m terrified. But one thing you learn as head counselor: you have to keep it together for everyone else. Let’s get you on your feet."

Here's a second example.

I rested my hand on Will’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back by dawn.”

His mouth trembled ever so slightly. “How can you be sure?”

4. He constantly worries about his loved ones.

Nico rested his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Apollo, we were worried. Will was especially.”

In conclusion, Will Solace's personality is difficult to get correct. But don't worry, if you write Will as a laidback, witty cat in your fanfics, I guarantee he'll be more in-character than many other fanfics with Will Solace.

(Note: I am only human. If you believe I'm misinterpreting some aspects of Will's personality, feel free to express it. What I say isn't 100 percent the right interpretation.)

[lovelybarnes]

god- l. laufeyson (part 2)

pairings: loki laufeyson x reader, platonic!tony stark x reader, mentions of nick fury warnings: language and minor angst about: part 2 to god a/n: i apologize for taking so long to post it, i was having trouble coming up with the little details and honestly just writing overall but it’s up!! and another bucky fic will be up tomorrow or saturday!!

loki is suspicious after you leave. in the- admittedly short- time he’s been shoved away and locked in a cage to rot, he had seen you all of two times, and he was enthralled. flabbergasted, too, surprised that a simple mortal managed to stay hidden in the deep parts of his brain and refuse to leave. you were… interesting, just as you had described him: not as a villain, or evil, or horrendous, but captivating; unbelieving that he would do anything for no good reason.

whether that was true or not was still up for debate, so he had yet to decide if you were incredibly intelligent or the simple, stupid mortal he thought you all to be. nevertheless, he found himself slightly disappointed when you left, waving goodbye to him and tucking your book under your arm. while he tried to dissolve the sensation, tony stark came bounding in, standing as close as he could to the glass barrier. stark barked words that loki didn’t care much for, ignoring the man. he could see you wince from inside the elevator, a sliver of your face still available from the closing doors.

“hey, hey!” stark barked, snapping his fingers at loki. the god tilted his head at him, “yes?” he asks, voice dripped in more annoyance than usual. “that girl who just came out of here?” stark started, while loki took a minute to examine his words, “girl,” was she not an accomplished avenger? he thought tony of all people would show the respect that loki thought none of them deserved. “if you even think about doing anything to her, i will bring in the big guy to slam you around some more. you remember him? or do you need a refresher?”

loki nearly scowls at the mention of hulk, body reminding the strange ache that was left after the oaf slammed him into the floor. he only chuckles lowly, though, “how much do you distrust a fellow avenger to believe they cannot handle themselves?” loki muses. tony scoffs, shaking his head, “i really don’t think you’re in a position to question me.”

“i’m a god. i am always in the position i wish to be in,” loki reminds, making tony roll his eyes, “you’ll never see her again if i can help it. and i can,” he says. “oh, but i like her!” loki rebuts, riling tony up, “so sweet, don’t you think?” tony freezes, abruptly turning around and slamming a hand against the glass, “you will not lay a hand on her. i’ll make sure of it.”

“i seem to remember midgardians can usually do as they please,” loki replies smoothly. “and you really think she’ll want to spend time with a monster?” tony questions. loki smirks, “i suppose i simply have a feeling.”

-

tony is seething when he comes to your lab, having switched with steve to come talk to you. you’re humming along to a song he doesn’t bother to recognize. “you’re in a good mood,” tony observes. at the sound of his voice, you turn, taking your earbuds out and grinning at him. you press what he assumes is the pause button on your phone, “tony! i’ve actually been meaning to ask you something,” you begin. tony raises an eyebrow to tell you to continue. “it’s about loki,” you continue, anxious about his reaction. the man pauses, exhaling softly, “oh. i know what you want to- i’m so sorry for doing that to you, y/n. i promised that i wouldn’t put you with him and we should’ve been more prepared. it won’t happen again.”

the confusion is clear on your face, vocally affirming it with a “huh?”

“that’s what you wanted to talk about, right? babysitting loki?”

“well, yes, but no, it actually wasn’t bad, i wanted to bring up the idea of maybe allowing him books? or maybe music or something, i can’t imagine going from having any book at your fingertips to none at all. also, he’s not getting enough food and i wanted to talk to you abou-” tony stops you with a raised hand, “what?” you recognize the conversation won’t end too well, so you try to phrase your words in a way that tony won’t get too angry at. “i just- when i was watching him, i thought we could be a little less… cruel.”

“with the guy who tried to take over earth?” tony retorts, you sigh softly, already beginning to feel resigned. “he still deserves to eat,” you defend weakly, “come on, tony, please? i’ll watch over him myself when he’s listening to music or reading or eating and i’ll take it back when i have to leave.” tony shakes his head, “someone will always be watching, and it won’t be you.” you frown, “why? don’t you trust me? i’m an avenger, tony. i’m not weak or useless, it’s just watching over someone who is literally in a cage. he can’t even escape.” tony’s about to say no again, so you press, “how come nick fury- man who doesn’t trust- trusts me enough to do that but you don’t?”

tony’s fingers squeeze the space between his eyebrows, eyes closed. he contemplates the effects if he refuses, no doubt ending in the thinning-by-the-minute thread that is your trust in him completely snapping.

“fine,” he finally agrees, and your frustrated frown melts back into a relieved small smile, “but everything you give him has to go through someone else first. i don’t care if it’s fury or hill or romanoff or me, but it has to be approved.” you nod quickly, “yes, of course.” tony raises a finger, “and, you will watch him the whole time. you got yourself into this, kid. i trust you can protect yourself from him if you ever need to.” you agree, “absolutely, and, uh-” you reach into your bag, pulling out the book finnegan’s wake, and your old ipod, equipped with a single downloaded song and earbuds plugged in. “i actually have already chosen a book and a song that i think he would appreciate during the time he tells me himself what he would like and while it gets approved, and um,” you push the objects toward tony, a surprised look lining his features, “since you have time now… the ipod has only that one song and i doubt he can do anything with either of the items, although i’ll be here if he does.”

“you picked these out for him?” tony questions, and you nod again, “i don’t really know him, i doubt anybody does, but i thought james joyce was a good guess considering.” tony looks from the objects in your hand back to you, before sighing and grabbing them. “i want to break free?” he asks, holding up the ipod. you feel your cheeks heat, “music is hard, i went for the obvious.”

tony exhales, looking down at the book, “fine, both are approved.”

“what, you’re not gonna check to see if i carved out a hole into the book and put the tesseract in there so he could escape?” you ask sarcastically, taking back the items while he rolls his eyes. “no, i trust you.” you grin, “you better. there’s no reason for you to not,” tony agrees with you softly, genuinely feeling bad while he kisses your cheek in goodbye. “steve was just called on a mission and needs a replacement, so you better get down there. bowser isn’t in a good mood today.”

you huff out a light laugh at the nickname, cradling your dear books and tangling your fingers in the cords of the earbuds while you walk to the elevator. you catch your bottom lip between your teeth while you watch the numbers blink above the elevator doors, nerves from your choices finally making a home in the pit of your stomach and making your grip tighten on the items. you really don’t know him, and one of the few things that you do know about him is that he isn’t the nicest- although you think it probable that it was warranted- which begins the inkling of regret of your carefully-picked choice to form. you try your best to push past it though, attempting to reassure yourself through the fact that loki’s reading options are limited, and as evil as everyone (including him) claims he is, you suspect (hope) that there is something in him that can’t simply disregard kind gestures. you suppose that theory is from what thor has told you about frigga. you hope it’s correct.

the elevator dings, knocking your thoughts off their destructive railroad and your attention to the shield guard wearily eyeing you and what you carry. “hey, wally,” you greet, shooting him a smile as you walk over to him, pulling your id card from your pocket. “what’cha got there?” he asks, sitting up straighter in his chair to look closer at you. “a- already approved by tony stark- book and song for loki. you know how much he had access to in asgard?” you question. he shakes his head, and you sigh, “me neither. but i imagine it’s a lot, and i don’t think he’s been introduced to our books yet.”

wally stares at you for a few seconds, before pursing his lips, “already approved by stark?” he checks, “already approved by tony,” you repeat. “just no ear things. don’t want him to choke somebody,” he instructs, holding out his hand. you oh quietly, hurriedly pulling off the headphones and putting them in his hand. wally only nods then, trusting you enough to not ask for any more reassurance, and pressing a button next to him to allow you into another elevator. the ride is much shorter, and you bounce on your heels, fidgeting with the edge of the book.

you barely recognize when the doors part, the slick-haired god already examining you. “in asgard, it is strongly discouraged to damage books like you are doing,” loki states. you stop your picking, dropping your hand and walking inside. “hello to you too, loki.” the god ignores you, instead focused on what is in your arms. “i thought any pleasantries for you weren’t allowed down here,” he says, eyes focused on your ipod. “ah, not if you ask nicely,” you reply, standing next to the chair, “and, these aren’t for me.”

you set your own book down on the floor- a very cliche wuthering heights, but it was either that or romeo and juliet, and you’d prefer not get caught reading about a forbidden romance while watching a villain- and hold up the one for him, grinning. “so i don’t know much about asgard or its books because thor hasn’t budged yet on taking me, but from what i can gather, you have little to no media from here, right?” loki ducks his chin suspiciously in response. “so i can imagine you haven’t read shakespeare, or james joyce, which reminds me a lot of you, so…”

you offer no more explanation, putting the book on your chair and showing him the ipod, walking closer to the glass. “this is an ipod. it’s used to play songs offline, and i picked one out for you. i don’t know if you’ll like it because i don’t really know what type of music you like or if you like it at all-” you pause, finally recognizing how long it had been since he’d talked. “but, uh, i hope you do.”

you look up at him then, unsurprised to find him already staring back at you. “you did this for me… why?” he queries skeptically. “i told you before; i imagine it’s difficult to go from everything to nothing in a day. and i think it must be boring to be trapped in there all day with nothing to do.”

loki still looks distrustful, but you grab the book, pulling out the key card to open his food slot. “i can’t leave these in here after i leave, but i’ll stay until you finish both,” you assure, pushing the book through the small gap. your ipod is still in your hands as you walk back near him. he looks at you for a few moments longer before his eyes flick to the book. “and there are no… explosives? poison of some kind in that?”

you shake your head, “no, of course not.”

loki narrows his eyes at the paperback anyways, walking towards it apprehensively. “when you want me to, i can teach you how the ipod works and you can listen to the song. it’s by a rock band called queen,” you babble, watching as he slowly observes the book before picking it up at an even more leisurely pace.

“i’m going to go sit over there now. just let me know if you need something,” you can’t seem to stop talking, so you focus instead on your legs moving you back to your seat, picking up your novel before sitting. you’re about to ramble on about something else again, until you notice the publication in loki’s hands, slightly panicking at the immediate rush of satisfaction and happiness it gives you when he opens the first page.

you try to avoid the sound of turning pages when you stay stuck on the same sentence, too concerned about why your neck decided to warm when the god accepted your favor.

“you can play it,” loki voices suddenly, almost as if reading the loud thoughts about your decision on the song. he looks up at you, “reading is usually accompanied by light music, but i suppose i could listen to rock.”

you nod, pressing a button on the small device that makes the beginning notes bounce off the walls of the room. your fingers gently tap along to the beat on the edge of your page without your noticing, too used to the melody to not react. you try not to look too hard at loki to watch for his reaction, too interested if he’ll like it or not.

after the first minute passes by and he doesn’t object to the sound, you count this as a win, allowing yourself to relax into your chair and actually read the words lined on the page, discovering them to make a lovely combination. you only notice when the song ends when loki speaks up, “it is okay,” he compliments, “i enjoyed it. i think i’d enjoy your so called queen.” you chuckle softly, “i thought you would. do you have any favorites here so i can add them for next time?”

“no,” loki responds, not taking his eyes off the page. “i’ll find some for you, then,” you promise, then press play on the ipod again, not missing the tiny quirk of loki’s lips, making you way too giddy than you should be.

-

after it has been over six hours and loki has barely finished finnegans wake, you’re completely sure he took extra time to read it; whether it be to absorb it better or simply have more time with it in his hands, you don’t care, pride swelling up in your chest because you did something right for him. he hadn’t complained about the repeated song, and you can’t blame him. the sounds are a lot more entertaining than the cold silence that usually occupies the space where he resides.

you ask loki more about what he thought, attempting to coerce him into telling you his preferences, until tony is calling you up.

you’re about to leave, both books and ipod in hand when you pause.

“y/n,” loki starts, and you realize it is the first time you’d hear your name out of his mouth. you decide you like how it sounds in his voice, not disregarding how you shouldn’t. “yes?” you answer instead, meeting his eyes. “thank you.”

you swallow, surprised at the genuinity in his voice while you nod, “it was no problem.”

loki finds it disturbing how much he dislikes seeing you walk away.