#he's such a fascinating little bug for me i want to break him down piece by piece and study him under a microscope

[splitinfish]

thinking fondly of Belphegor but shaking my head whenever he's misogynistic or leading a kid to a suicide pact so the people in my head know I do not agree with his line of thought

[sl-walker]

Ooh, can I have a snippet of Stardust please?

You can! From the next yet-unposted chapter (May 14th, 2017), something of a reunion of the Justice League International, though none of them remember that they were the JLI orignally:

--

“C’mon, watch your flank!”

“¡Por el amor de Dios!  I’m trying, Lantern!”

“Not hard enough!”

“Ease off, Old Bay, it’s just training.”

“Hey, Deep Dish, I’ll ease off when you get off your high bug and join the rest of us out here.  Until then, your mini-beetle needs practice in fuckin’ teamwork, you hear me kid?!”

“Ouve, palhaço--!”

“Oh, Bea, please--”

“I got no idea what that was, Beatriz, but I’m guessin’ it was very impolite and would just wreck my sweet virgin ears.”

“Virgin my ass.”

“Who said that?!”

“Are they always like this?” Booster asked, flying backwards until he was just outside of the Bug’s viewports; the proximity didn’t matter since they were on comms, but he had to admit that he felt a little safer with Ted and Ted’s airship at his back.  Even though there were only ostensibly good-guys around.

Ted was flying support in costume; he held a finger up, then hit some button or another on the console before saying, “Yeah, they kind of are.  I mean-- well, you heard them introduce themselves.”

Booster had indeed heard it, since it had been for his benefit; Guy had gone, “This is my girl Tora and her girl Bea,” which he got a snicker out of, especially since Bea openly disliked Guy and it was mutual.  How Tora managed to survive between those two sticks of dynamite was a big mystery that Booster was sure he’d find out someday.  Unlike both Guy and Bea, Tora was so sweet that even just meeting her for the first time, Booster wanted to protect her from any possible threat.

And that feeling persisted all the way up until she dropped an ice pyramid on him, apologizing the whole time.  Most of it was still down there in pieces.  Booster’s forcefield protected him, but the sensation of being battered to the ground under several tons of ice despite that was one he wasn’t gonna forget anytime soon.  He’d been about three feet below the surface by the time he could stand back up and then had to contend with Guy cackling and pointing at him.

Point well made and taken.

“I don’t know how Tora can stand it,” he said, shaking his head as Guy and Bea argued mid-air, Tora stood on the ground pinching the bridge of her nose, and Jaime took advantage of the break and flew over to join them.

His armor was pretty amazing-looking; it didn’t exactly make Jaime intimidating, but it did make him look like he was a force to be reckoned with.  Especially when he fired up his arm cannons, which were much larger and flashier than Booster’s gauntlet blasters.

Ted snorted. “I have my theories, but they aren’t polite enough to share with subadults.”

“Excuse me?” Jaime asked, the armor peeling back from his head while he gave Ted stink-eye through the viewport. “Only for one more year, oh glorious mentor.”

Ted leaned forward intently. “Jaime.  Have you decided what you wanna do with your future?”

Jaime made an inarticulate noise of frustration and flew away from them, but not before flipping Ted the double-bird, which made Ted cackle like a hyena.

--

It really is basically just what it says on the tin. LOL! I had a ton of fun writing them, though; I've loved that incarnation of the Justice League for a helluva long time. And seeing who they are in this latest 'reboot' always makes for a fascinating study. When you know the characters and their dynamics across two prior timelines, seeing who they are on this third reboot means understanding the layers going on under the surface while having to remember that none of them remember any of it.

Thanks! ^^;

[sl33pyfr0gt33th]

Crack theory:

What if Kinger is a npc?

So that’s a weird thing to say right? The rest of the cast we’d have to assume is real since pomni’s real right? But there is something interesting mentioned, Caine can create npcs we know this because Jax says "is this another one of your npcs?" When pomni shows up, that mixed with the fact he had to ask also shows that these npcs look like regular characters

Now I don’t know exactly what these npcs could do but it’s likely that they would help around the circus for example, bubble cleans up everything that needs cleaning, now where does this tie in with kinger? Well if we look at his interests something he repeatedly brings up is his fascination in insect collecting, or in another word, bug collecting you see digital games usually have people look through them and test for bugs or things that could go wrong and so kinger is always on the look out for bugs or if somethings not right, for example noticing kaufmo’s decent and also noticing that pomni might not be doing that well either

He also has glitched out on camera which we know probably is not a normal thing due to how others react to glitches (pomni backs around from a flower pot in the ground and gangle looks worried when kinger glitches) i think caines the only one we see glitch or pause suddenly with out anything causing it (like a abstraction or some other bug) because he’s a Ai

Also another thing to mention is kingers paranoia is incredibly useful if he’s a npc, because not only will he think to test out more bugs but is also more prone to repeating those bug checks which is really helpful (code can break after a update so double testing helps a lot) also just the fact he can get scared of someone who he literally knows is right besides him is interesting, yeah it’s probably a joke but a npc will still show a prompted reaction if needed, you’d just have to trigger it (like standing in a blind spot)

ALSO HE COULDNT HELP ZOOBLE-? We know he can grab stuff and can carry zooble so that’s not the issue, but here where the theory kinda explains some stuff, npcs likely can’t help on adventures they can only guide them to where they need to go, which kinger technically does since he and gangle find the nest of the gloinks, now you could argue he couldn’t help zooble because his hands were stolen, which would make sense but wouldn’t they get stolen along with his pillow fort? Wouldn’t they get stolen when zooble was? These things steal literally anything that isn’t pinned down to the ground yet they don’t take kingers hands until he tries to help zooble? It doesn’t make much sense to me-

Next thing to mention he hasn’t abstracted and has been here the longest out of our cast, he’s clearly not sane being glitchy and incredibly paranoid constantly but he’s fine not signs of abstracting since he hasn’t shown any symptoms of talking about a exit or actually doing anything too bad a npc wouldn’t want to exit because there’s no reason to unless it’s in their script, he doesn’t have a life to return to so he’s not looking for a way out therefore he can’t abstract

Extra details I’m adding in just for the heck of it:

The floor matches kinger since it is a chessboard pattern

His eyes are realistic like caines

Introduces himself as a Royal as if he’s always been a king chess piece "as a royal myself"

He pauses like Caine when he needs to process a event-

He has repeating gestures! (Not evidence, I just love the fact he has little things he repeats and I just want to mention it)

So in conclusion:

Caine made a Ai to keep track of bugs and abstractions if anything went wrong, forgot to tell the others that kingers a Ai and just went: "Welp! Might as well keep him here!" And hasn’t told the cast since he saw no reason to

(Please feel free to mock or joke about this theory, it’s a crack theory for a reason it’s meant to be the most chaotic but least possible theory-)

[stufftippywrote]

not an astronaut

This is based off a personal experience. Tw for fat-shaming, homophobia, and general assholery from an asshole kid.

The bell rings cheerfully as Bitty steps through the doorway. This was one of his favorite places when he was younger. The eclectic curios, every shape and size and color, packing the shelves were an endless source of fascination for young Eric Bittle, and the owners were friends of the family, so they knew Bitty well and didn't freak out when he picked up a ceramic pepper shaker or glass figurine and held it in his hands like an ancient treasure.

He walks through the store with that same sense of wonder now, 30 years later, and brushes his hand reverently over the shelves. They’re not looking for anything in particular today, but Bitty has told Jack about this place so many times, he simply couldn’t help but visit. Besides, you never know when you might find the perfect accent piece for the new home.

Chicken-shaped serving bowls, a porcelain figurine of a girl dancing, a set of silverware in a dusty wooden case. Bitty is spoiled for choice. As he browses, there’s a movement at the back of the store, and he catches a glimpse of someone hauling boxes through a door. He wonders who runs the place now. The sign still says Thompson’s Antiques, but he knows Mrs. Thompson passed and Mr. Thompson is getting on in years. Could it be that…

A prickle of fear runs through him.

The figure in the back drags the box to a nearby aisle and starts unpacking it, placing items on a low shelf. Bitty’s curiosity overflows. He moseys into that aisle and begins to speak, but the man raises his head before he can get a word out. He has to catch his breath all over again.

The man’s face goes slack. “I know you,” he blurts.

Eric puts his hands on his hips and gives a bright smile. “Davey Thompson. So you’re here after all!”

~~~

“Davey, this is Eric. Eric, this is our little boy Davey.” Mrs. Thompson’s smile is bright as she urges her son forward. “Why don’t you two go play at the playground while Mommy and her friend talk?”

The kid is tough-looking, with ruddy cheeks and a thick build. Eric reaches out his hand to lead Davey along the way. The minute they’re out of earshot, Davey snatches his hand back like he’s just touched a hot stove. Eric turns, surprised.

“You’re fat,” Davey says.

Eric blinks.

“You look dumb,” Davey adds on. And thus a quote-unquote “friendship” was born.

~~~

Davey stands up. He still has the same tinted cheeks and stocky build that Bitty remembers, but his face is sunken somehow, and he’s built up muscle where baby fat used to linger on his arms and shoulders. He’s got a tattoo on one arm – a Japanese koi fish, mid-splash.

“Nice ink,” Bitty comments.

And Davey Thompson, for possibly the first time in his life, smiles at Bitty. “Thanks.”

“The shop looks nice,” Bitty says, surveying the shelf like it’s his domain. “Hasn’t changed much since I used to come here.”

“You’re – you’re Eric Bittle, right?” Davey says, sounding almost scared of the answer. “From school?”

“From way before school,” Bitty responds. “You’re looking good.”

“Uh. Thanks. Same to you.” Davey looks uncertain, almost sheepish. There’s a moment of awkward silence. Davey tries to break it. “Um. So. What are you –”

He doesn’t seem to have the strength, or the will, to come up with the rest of the sentence. Bitty picks it up. “I’m a pastry chef,” he says. “I have a bakery and I cater, and I’ve put out three cookbooks. Can you imagine that?”

Davey looks kind of stunned. “Wow,” he says slowly. “Good for you. Where’s the bakery?”

“Up in New England. Providence, Rhode Island, to be exact.”

Davey snaps his fingers. “That’s right, you went to college up there. For hockey, wasn’t it?”

~~~

Bitty takes a swing at the ball. He misses, and it goes tumbling behind him into the net.

“Hah, you’re the worst goalie,” Davey says.

Somehow, Bitty finds the courage to say, “Let me play forward.” But his words are swallowed by the passing of a car on the cross street.

“What?”

“You be goalie.” Bitty gives the phrase all the menace he’s got in an eight-year-old body.

Davey laughs, a cruel laugh that sounds like ripping paper in Bitty’s ears. “Why? I can score on you all I want. That’s why we made you goalie.”

Resentment simmers like a low sun in Bitty’s gut. He wants to challenge Davey to play him on actual ice. He knows Davey can’t skate. As bad as he is, Bitty can’t possibly lose to him there. But the words stay stuck inside, plastered to the inside of his stomach, making him feel sick.

“Worst goalie ever,” Kevin chimes in.

“The worst, the wooooorst,” all four of them sing to him.

Bitty crouches low and is glad they can’t see much through the oversized goalie mask. Someday, he thinks, someday I’m gonna get them.

~~~

“Something like that,” Bitty answers easily. “And you’ve been here running the store?”

“Pretty much.” He doesn’t look very proud of that fact.

“I remember you used to say you were going to be an astronaut.”

“Ah, well –” The rose tint on Davey’s cheeks grows a shade deeper. “We were kids. I figure I missed my shot to make something of myself.”

All of Bitty’s nurturing instincts come alive. “Don’t say that. You’re doing well. Doing good, honest work. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Nah, man. It was just the easiest thing to do, once Mom got sick. I had to be here for her, and I … just stayed.”

Bitty gazes at him. This isn’t the attitude he expected from Davey Thompson, not in the slightest. He seems so defeated, as though Bitty’s arrival has reminded him of everything he isn’t. Bitty doesn’t want to be that for him, but he doesn’t think he has a choice in the matter. He quashes the small, self-satisfied demon that’s cackling in the back of his head. He’s not that kid anymore, either.

Just then, the chimes jingle at the front of the store. The babbling voice of a young child brightens the room. “Ah,” Bitty says, “there they are. He had to keep them outside a while before they calmed down. Little kids just work themselves up into a dither sometimes.” He offers an apologetic smile to Davey and retreats down the aisle toward the front of the store.

Suze is quiet, but it’s clear she was crying her eyes out earlier. She hangs on to her Papa with a fierce fist. Robby’s eyes are bugging out at the sight of the store. “What’s that?” he keeps asking, tugging on Jack’s slacks. Jack himself looks a little the worse for wear, but happy. That kind of tired-happy that they see in each other’s faces every night once the kids are in bed.

“Come on, Rob,” Bitty says, holding out his hands. “Want to see Daddy’s favorite store?”

Robby holds out his hands to be picked up. Bitty obliges, despite the warning creak of his back. He turns to take Robby further into the store and sees Davey standing there, staring them down.

He points. “I know you, too.”

“Ah, here we go,” Bitty says with a laugh.

“Were you in school with us? I don’t think that’s right, but—”

Jack holds out his hand for a shake. “Jack Zimmermann,” he says. “And you are?”

“My old friend Davey,” Bitty fills in. He can’t help but put a pointed emphasis on the friend part.

Davey clasps Jack’s hand but doesn’t seem to want to let go. “You’re Jack Zimmermann? The hockey player?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

Davey pumps Jack’s hand about four more times before finally letting go. “It’s – it’s good to meet you.” He looks at Suze, still curled up in Jack’s other arm. “And these are your kids? Or—” He turns to Bitty, face contorted in confusion. “Are they your kids?”

“Both,” Bitty answers cheerily. “Davey, meet my husband.”

Davey Thompson very nearly has a coronary right there.

~~~

“Hah, you’re just small all over, aren’t you?” Davey says with a pointed glance at Bitty’s crotch.

“You can’t help how you’re born,” Bitty retorts, but he pulls up his boxers right quick.

“Yeah, some people are just born stupid,” Davey agrees. Bitty instantly regrets replying at all.

Kyle whispers something in Davey’s ear. They both laugh.

“You’re right,” Davey says. He turns back to Bitty. “He’s right. They do say things about you.”

Bitty’s heart drops to his stomach. “W-what things?”

“You know! That you’re—” Davey flaps his wrist.

He doesn’t seem to have the nerve to say the word, but he doesn’t have to say it. The others in the locker room laugh.

For not the first time, Bitty is tempted to just ask, “So what if I am?” But he can’t. Not to these people. This isn’t how he wants his coming out to happen. So he just turns away and pulls on his sweatpants, ignoring the rills of laughter that echo against the lockers, and feels small. Small all over.

~~~

Davey recovers from his shock and nods his head rapidly. “Oh, I get it. Uh, congratulations. Uh, Bittle, could I talk to you a sec?”

He has that sheepish look again. Bitty watches as he retreats into one of the side aisles. “Gimme a sec,” he tells Jack, setting Robby down, and follows Davey.

When they're isolated, Davey turns to him sorrowfully. “I, uh—” Davey looks at the floor. “I was pretty mean to you in school.”

It isn’t what Bitty expected, not at all. To be honest, demons in the back of his head aside, this sort of thing doesn’t bother him so much anymore. Why should it? He’s married with two kids and a brand new home. He doesn’t spare a lot of time thinking about the distant past. “Um,” he starts, suddenly terribly embarrassed.

“No, let me—” Davey raises a hand. “Just let me. I said a lot of nasty things to you back then. I’m really sorry about it. I think about it a lot, and I’m just – I’m really sorry.”

There is a piece of Bitty that’s happy, even smug, at hearing this apology. But mostly he just pities Davey at this point. What a thing to carry around your whole life. “We were kids,” Bitty says. “Kids say dumb things. It’s all water under the bridge.”

“Still.” Davey says.

“I can’t say it didn’t hurt me,” Bitty goes on. “But I turned out okay, don’t you think?”

Davey laughs grimly “Yeah, look at you … and look at me.” He shrugs.

“You seem to be doing all right,” Bitty says charitably.

“I’m not an astronaut,” Davey says.

Bitty laughs. “Neither am I. We’re all good.” He pats Davey on the shoulder. A moment passes between them, silent, as they both listen to the sound of the past giving way to a new, kinder present.

After the moment passes, Bitty grins “Come on, I’m going to introduce you to my kids. Do you have kids?”

Davey flushes. “Yeah, I got a teenager. A real smartass. I wonder where he learned it.”

“Pictures!” Bitty declares. “Get that phone out, I demand pictures.”

Davey struggles to pull his phone out of his jeans pocket. This time, he flushes with pride. He narrates the story of each photo as they walk back toward the front.

[weelittleweasley]

guitar lesson (f.w.)

prompt: the band that the weasley siblings had formed brought new excitement to hogwarts. new music, new 

pairing: guitarist!fred weasley x fem! reader

warnings: language, allusions to sex (for like one second)

word count: 4.7k

a/n: this is literally just pure fluff. pure cute musical fluff.

George groaned and halted his drumming, “Bloody hell, Ronald, it’s not that hard to get the chord progression right after the third time drilling the song!” he cried out before tucking a drumstick behind his ear. “We go from G to B minor to E minor back to B minor. What is so hard about that?” he scolds his brother who just rolls his eyes. “Do we want to get this right or not?” George looks to the rest of the band comprised of his other siblings.

Ron just retorted simply, “It’s the first time we’ve ran this song in weeks, George. Everyone is rusty. Just give it a rest. We’ll get it right next go. Besides, aren’t we due for a five?” he looks to his sister who gives him eager eyes and a nod, signaling they were in desperate need of a break. 

George scoffs at his younger brother and says, “No, you’ll get it right the next go. Which starts now. Ginny, from the chorus. Fred, keep the chords crunchy, it sounds better that way. Ron, don’t fuck it up. Ready?” George directs the band as they all sigh. 

They had only been in band practice for an hour and a half and George was already making it a living hell. Sure, it was his idea to form a band and it seemed like a great idea. It was a way to spend more time together, to make music, to meet new people, and blow off some steam. If anything, Fred was the first one to jump on the offer. He knew that it would be a way for his family to bond, but also a way for him to show off his guitar skills that he had been honing for the past few years. Fred had once said, “Ladies love musicians. Especially the guitarists.”

But now it seemed like the band, which once was a low-key, stress free environment has changed wildly. Almost overnight things took a rapid 360. George had managed to book a gig for their band, The Burrow Bangers, at Three Broomsticks for the next weekend. George had convinced Madam Rosmerta to let them have the whole building for the evening for the gig if they promised to bring in the people. Which would not be a problem. Students were itching to see the band of siblings play. But this meant high stakes for the Weasleys. A real gig, paying them real money, to play real music. All they had ever done before was fuck around and play random music that they thought was funny. But this? This was all very new and very different than what they were used to.

With a few strikes of his drumsticks, George yelled out, “A 1, 2, 3, 4!” And the band swelled with music, George keeping rhythm on the drum kit, Fred wailing on his guitar, Ron strumming on the bass, and Ginny belting into the mic.

“She’s a Killer Queen, gunpowder, gelatine, Dynamite with a laser beam. Guaranteed to blow your mind; anytime...” Ginny belted into the mic, her alto voice resonating throughout the room of requirement as Ron and Fred stared at each other, wondering when they would get a break. Fred looked concerned at Ginny who's voice was obviously getting tired from belting for an hour and a half with no water or bathroom break.

Fred drops his guitar and speaks, “Hold on, hold on!” The band fades slowly before George throws up his hands in protest, asking why they stopped. “Do you not hear Ginny’s voice? She’s tired. We’re all tired, Georgie. We’ve been working non-stop for next week’s gig. I don’t think a ten minute break is gonna kill us,” he protests.

George rolls his eyes, “None of you are taking this seriously. We are getting paid for this. People are coming to watch us. Don’t you wanna be decent?” George rises from his seat, searching the eyes of his siblings for some agreement. 

Instead, he’s met with concerned eyes and tired expressions. Ginny looked absolutely exhausted, Fred looked exasperated, and Ron was flat out fed up. But all were equally concerned as to why their brother was so gassed up over this gig. George sighs, “I-” Fred gives him a sympathetic smile. “Of course, we wanna be good, Georgie. But we need to balance things out. Let’s all take a break for a while. Reconvene tonight after some much needed rest and we’ll talk details of rehearsals then. Good?”

Ron eagerly nods his head before slipping the bass off from around his body. Ginny turns off the mic and starts out with Ron, talks of what was for dinner in the Great Hall. Fred approaches his twin and places a hand on his shoulder. “What’s bugging you?” he asks, knowing that this behavior wasn’t typical for George. It wasn’t like George to get serious all of a sudden and push everyone to work without a break. Something was up and Fred could read it all over his brother’s face. 

Defeated, George sighs. “I don’t know, Fred. I guess I’m getting myself all worked up because I invited Angelina to the show and I wanted to ask to be my girlfriend and I guess I just want things to be perfect for her in a way.” Fred gives his brother a knowing look, wiggling his eyebrows. “Oh, shut it, you dickhead,” George laughs, pushing his brother’s shoulder. “You’d do the same if you fancied someone,” he teases Fred as his twin shrugs. “Freddie...you don’t mean to tell me no girl has walked up to you and has told you how hot it was that you played lead guitar in Hogwarts’ premiere band?” he teases.

Fred laughs, “Can’t say anyone has...yet.”

This makes George laugh and shake his brother’s shoulders. “That’s the spirit,” George slings his arm over Fred’s shoulder. The two twins carry back their band equipment as they make their way to the Gryffindor common room. “Seriously, Freddie, I bet I can set you up with one of Angie’s friends. I’ll tell Angie to bring her to the show and she can see just how sexy you look fingering those strings,” George alludes as Fred chuckles. 

“Nah, mate, I don’t wanna just have a set up of a date. I want to naturally meet a girl, you know?” Fred tells his twin as George rolls his eyes. Fred was always a hopeless romantic deep down. Although he had some flings in the past and had his fun with shagging a few girls casually here and there, Fred was looking for something more serious now. Someone he could connect with. “I’m not expecting for the perfect girl to be right around the corner, Georgie, but I’m not expecting her to be a-”

Fred stops mid sentence as he feels his body collide with another body as they walk around the corner of the hallway, making Fred and the person he had bumped into stumble back a bit. “Godric, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t pay attention to where I was going,” Fred looks around at the sheet music that was now cast about the floor. “Did I make you drop anything?” Fred asks, now looking up at a pair of eyes that made his heart skip a beat.

There you stood, a little flustered, in a hurry on your way to the library. You were late for a study group with some of your friends from your Charms class and it would be your third time late this week. If you were late again, they would surely give you shit for it. But as you took in who was causing you to run late, you suddenly didn’t mind. “Uh,” you gulp, “I’m alright, don’t worry. I should have watched where I was going. Now I’ve made quite the mess, haven’t I?” you lightly laugh as you crouch down to help him pick up the miscellaneous pieces of sheet music.

Fred joins you on the floor, picking up the scattered sheets. “It’s equally our mess,” Fred gives you a soft smile as you blush lightly. 

Fred looks up at George who wiggles his brows as if to say Oh La-La! before he winks at his brother. “Oh, hey (Y/N),” George speaks before continuing to walk down the hallway, giving his dear twin some privacy. Fred shoot his brother a look to say, Mate, what the fuck? 

“Hey, Georgie,” you laugh. The two of you continue to pick up the pieces of parchment as you inspect the scribbling on them to be the treble clef. “You’re a musician?” you ask him, referring to the sheets. Fred nods. “What instrument?”

“Guitar,” Fred beams as you widen your eyes and nod. “I’m actually in a band with George and my other siblings,” he tells you. “I didn’t know you were friends with George.”

You hand him a small pile of sheet music before you both rise to your feet. “Yeah, George and I have been friends for a little while. I helped tutor him in Divinations class,” you tell Fred who nods. Fred mentally yells that he wishes George would have told him that he was friends with an absolute stunner of a girl. “I didn’t know that you and George were in a band. That’s really cool,” you tell Fred with a smile.

As you stand before Fred Weasley, you hope he doesn’t know how flustered you were. You had always seen him in the halls with George and admired how charming and handsome he was from a far, but never said anything to him. You could have easily told George that you had a thing for his twin, but you were far too nervous to act on your little crush. You clutched your textbooks closer to your chest as Fred fixed the strap of his guitar on his chest, muscles flexing underneath his shirt as your eyes darting to watch them tug against the thin shirt material. 

Fred spoke, “We started the band a couple of months ago. So it’s a pretty recent development.”

You nod your head and awkwardly stand before him before realizing that you were just staring at Fred’s face, admiring how his lips curled into a little smirk when he looked at you. Clearing your throat, you breathe, “Wicked.” Fred chuckles. “I’ve always been fascinated by musicians. I wanted to teach myself how to play guitar, but I’ve never gotten around to it,” you word vomit, instantly regretting the words coming out of your mouth. Damn it, (Y/N), you might as well just tell him your life story, you think to yourself. 

With a cheeky smile, you watch Fred’s face light up. “I could teach you,” he suggest as your eyes widen. Fred immediately back pedals. “If you want! I mean, Godric knows that you are probably very busy, but if you ever wanted an instructor, I wouldn’t mind giving you lessons,” he retorts as you can’t help but have a lazy smile appear on your lips. Fred’s heart skips another beat as he gulps. “That’s only if you’d like me to teach you, (Y/N).”

The way he spoke your name made your stomach erupt with butterflies. His voice was like honey as words parted from his lips, the sweetest sounds you have ever heard. You watched his eyes as they looked into yours, monitoring how you reacted to his proposal. 

Guitar lessons with Fred Weasley? You would have to be mental if you said no. With a meek smile and you reply, “You really don’t have to, Fred.”

“I want to,” he jumps before clearing his throat, realizing how quickly he answered, making you giggle as Fred blushes a deep red that matched his hair. “I would like to teach you, (Y/N).”

With a nod, you say, “I’d like you to teach me.” 

Fred smiles widely. “Wicked,” he breathes out as you look away from his gaze to hide your rosy cheeks. “Just one catch,” he smirks as you furrow your brows. “You have to come to our show next week. At Three Broomsticks. And bring friends.”

Extending your hand, you tease him, “You’ve got a deal.” Fred shakes your hand firmly as you laugh. “I’ll see you around, Fred.”

You start down the opposite direction before Fred calls out. “First lesson is on Thursday! 4pm sharp,” Fred says as you flip around to look at him. “Tardiness is not tolerated,” he winks at you as you roll your eyes before walking away to the library.

As you walked down the corridors, you could help but smile to yourself. Your cheeks tingled from your large grin as you toyed with the edges of your books. The thought of Fred Weasley’s hands guiding yours as he taught you how to play guitar made your heart giddy. You nibbled on your bottom lip at the thought that danced around your head. Suddenly, you didn’t care how late you were to this study group.

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

Thursday rolled around slowly, but surely and Fred was checking himself out in the mirror, combing his fingers through his red hair, brushing the pieces out of his face. He nervously looked at himself in the mirror. Should he have shaved? Was he wearing too much cologne? Should he brush his teeth for a third time?

He frantically ran around his dormitory room, thinking he should change his shirt again. Maybe you liked the color green better than blue. As if the color of his shirt would determine the outcome of this lesson/date. Fred didn’t even know if he could count this as a date. 

George tapped out rhythms on his bed frame, watching Fred change his shirt for the fourth time as he shook his head. “Freddie, mate, are you really sweating that much?” he laughed.

Fred shot his twin a dirty look. “No,” he spat. “I just...I like the green better than the blue,” he lied, pulling the green shirt over his head and down his torso. Fred darted to his bed and grabbed his guitar and checked the time on his watch. He had ten minutes. “Good Godric,” he huffed.

“You alright? Haven’t seen you this shaken up since the time you thought you ate puking pastilles before your O.W.L.s,” George laughed as he tapped away on his bed frame. 

Fred nervously tapped on his thighs, “I’m fine, George. I, uh, I’m giving (Y/N) a guitar lesson today,” he reveals to his twin who's eyes widen and chuckles, “It’s just a lesson. Nothing else. But I’m bloody nervous about it.”

Sitting up, George speaks, “You got nothing to worry about, mate.” He walks over to Fred and places reassuring hands on Fred’s shoulders. “(Y/N)s a great girl. She’s sweet and funny and proper fit,” George raises his brows as Fred groans. “I’m teasing you, Freddie, calm down. You’ve got nothing to lose. Now get down there and make her swoon.”

Fred was never nervous for dates or flirting with girls. All of that stuff came naturally to him. But for some reason the thought of you was enough to make his stomach do somersaults. The palms of his hands got sweaty when your name was spoken. There was something about you that made Fred Weasley lose his senses and that was hard to do. 

Shaking it off, Fred huffs and leaves the dormitory making his way down to the common room. With each step he descended, his heart beat harder and faster against his rib cage. As he came down the stairs, your figure came into view which only made Fred’s mouth dry with anxiousness and excitement. He took a deep breath in and exhaled in attempt to calm himself down. I got this, she’s just a girl, he thought to himself. “4:00 on the dot,” Fred speaks, getting your attention, causing you to turn around to face him with a smile on your lips. “Very punctual, (Y/L/N).”

You take a good look at Fred and think about how effortlessly good he looked. Hunter green t-shirt hung on his tall frame perfectly as he walked over to where you sat on the couch, acoustic guitar in his hands. “Not to toot my own horn, but I was here at 3:55, Weasley,” you joke as he smiles. “Early is on time and on time is late.”

Fred chuckles, “In that case, pardon me for my tardiness. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive someone as foolish as me.”

His smile made your heart flutter and you couldn’t help but smile back at him. His joy was infectious. How could someone be so addictive? “Hmmm,” you pretend to think, “You’re lucky I’m such a kind and forgiving person.”

Fred places a hand over his heart and feigns relief. “Thank Merlin,” he fans himself as you chuckle. “Alright. You ready to get started?” he asks as you nod your head. “Brilliant, let’s start with the basics...”

After an hour of trial and error, you had managed to learned some chord progressions and strumming techniques from Fred. You had to give it to him; he was a great teacher. He was patient and smart and knowledgable. Not to mention, you loved listening to him talk about music and how passionate he was about playing. When he talked, he spoke with so much heart and life, it made you gently smile as you watched how animated he became. Fred Weasley really was one of a kind. 

You were nearing the end of your lesson as Fred showed you how to play an F chord on the guitar. “Best chord,” he spoke as you looked at him quizzically. “F is for Fred, keep up (Y/N),” he teases making you scoff. 

He explained the finger placements as you struggled to get it just right. “Wait, my second finger goes where?” you ask again as Fred points to the third string. You adjust and strum as an off-key chord resonates. “Now, that can’t be right,” you laugh as Fred shakes his head.

Fred gets up and moves from the chair in front of you to the seat next to you on the couch. He looks at you and asks, “May I?” He gestures to placing his hand on yours as you shake your head.

Gently, Fred places his hand on yours that holds the neck of the guitar as the other hand rests on your other elbow. Having his body is such close proximity to yours made your breath hitch in your throat as you felt his chest press against your back. Fred’s fingers adjust your placement carefully as if you were made of glass, trying his hardest not to make you break into a thousand bits. “This finger goes on the third string and this one stays on the second,” he lowly instructs. “And now, strum,” he speaks, a smile in his voice.

And so you do, a soft F chord playing as the strings underneath your fingertips hum sweetly. You two let the sound ring a little bit, either one of you not daring to breathe, scared to say or do anything. Just the position that you were in, his hands on yours, his chin resting near your shoulder, your back pressed against his chest. You gulped and exhaled softly. “Pretty,” you smiled.

Fred chuckled softly. “Yes, you are,” he spoke making your heart stop, wondering if he had just spoken those words. 

You turn to face him, a questioning look in your eyes as Fred allows a small smirk to dance on his lips. Cheeky bastard, you think to yourself as you smile at him. 

The two of you remain in this position, looking into each other’s eyes for a moment. Fred’s eyes were a rich brown, like pools of chocolate melting under the summer sun. His eyes were full of playfulness and cheer which made joy course through your veins. Fred Weasley was special. 

You didn’t even realize that he was leaning in until his forehead was pressed against yours and you connected the gap between you two, connecting your lips in a gentle kiss. As you kissed, he inhaled deeply, cupping your cheek with his hand, bringing you closer to him. His hands were calloused from the guitar strings as they pressed against your soft cheek. You pressed your lips onto his harder as Fred smiled gently into the kiss, enjoying every moment. You were first to pull away, but it didn’t last long, Fred’s lips following yours for another kiss as you giggled lightly. His lips were soft and tasted of sweet cinnamon and you wanted more, like your own drug. 

Fred gently pulled away before speaking, “I have a confession.” You hum in response. “I was planning on kissing you this whole time. I was just trying to find a good excuse to sit next to you,” he confessed.

You smiled involuntarily and laughed. “I believe that,” you speak before placing another kiss to his lips quickly. “I also have a confession,” you bite your lip as Fred looks at you confused. 

Scooting back a little, you cradle the guitar in your grasp before skillfully strumming a combination of chords that could be recognized as the beginning chords of I’m Looking Through You by The Beatles. Fred’s mouth goes agape and eyes wide as you play better than he could ever. “I lied about not knowing how to play the guitar,” you laughed. “I’ve known how to play since I was ten. I just wanted an excuse to see you again.”

Fred shakes his head in disbelief. “You sneak!” he exclaims. “A woman after my own heart,” he jokes as you laugh before he kisses your cheek. “Well, I guess you don’t need anymore lesson from a git like me. But I still think you should hold up your end of the deal,” he squeezes your hand.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Weasley,” you smile. “Although, I will be coyly judging your skills from the audience.”

Fred laughs, “I’m sure you will be, darling.”

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

After days of rehearsing and planning and scheduling and rehearsing some more, the gig at the Three Broomsticks rolled around. Ginny had managed to convinced the entirety of the Hogwarts quidditch league to come out which already filled the Three Broomsticks at half capacity. But getting more people to come wasn’t a problem. The promise of good music and Butterbeer was enough to have swarms of students flow into the small building. 

The Three Broomsticks was soon teeming with people, chatting and drinking and laughing. The energy was high and the Weasleys could feel it from their make shift backstage (which was quite literally a curtain that Ron managed to pin up). 

However, this meant that expectations were high which in turn made the band exceptionally nervous. Ginny nervously danced around, doing lip trills to warm up her voice as Ron tuned the bass. George sat at his drumming seat and ran over rhythms in his head, Fred pacing back and forth, biting on his nails.

You shuffled through the audience and found Harry and Hermione sitting at a table in the front as you approached them. You could hear Hermione gush about how hard Ron has been practicing for the gig, a rosy hue forming on her cheeks as Harry poked at her crush. As you approach, Hermione notices you and beams, “(Y/N)! Hi! Are you excited for the concert? You know Ron is playing bass?”

Harry rolls his eyes, “Did you know Hermione has a big, fat cru-”

“Shut it, Harry,” Hermione quickly snaps as you laugh. “Anyway, what’s up?”

You smile, “Do you know if Fred is with the others still? I know he was nervous about tonight and I just wanna make sure he’s doing alright.”

Harry looks at Hermione and then back at you. “Yeah, he’s back with the others,” he says as you nod, leaving. But before you can leave, Harry stops you, “Wait, hold on, I didn’t know that you and Fred were....” he looks for the words.

“We’re not officially together, but we’ve been seeing each other,” you confess with a smile. Hermione gives you a teasing glance as she sips on her Butterbeer and Harry nudges her with an ooh. “Oh please. You think you two are slick? Everyone knows Harry fancies Ginny and Hermione is practically head over heels for Ronald,” you teases as they both wear bright red cheeks. “Mhm, that’s what I thought,” you laugh. “I’ll see you both in a minute.” You make your way to the back of the Three Broomsticks, behind the curtain to find a nervous band of siblings. Ginny catches your glances first and a smirk comes onto her lips. “Oh, Freddie,” she sing songs. “You have a guest.”

Fred turns around to face you and relief washes over his face as your heart skips a beat. Fred looked good sporting dark wash jeans and a black henley. Simple, but Godric, it was enough to make you swoon. Fred grabbed your hand and walked you over to the corner for a little more privacy. “I’m glad to see your face,” he spoke before bending down to press a sweet kiss to your lips.

“I told you I wouldn’t miss it,” you squeeze his hand. “How are you feeling?”

He shrugs and gives you an awkward smile as you blurt out a laugh. “I don’t know,” he joins in. “Nervous? Excited? Weird? All three?” 

You reach up and brush his hair out of his face as he relaxes under your touch. Just the simple gesture was enough to calm him down instantly. “It’s alright to feel like that. You are gonna be bloody brilliant. All of you,” you tell him sincerely. “You’ve been working so hard and you are all so talented. You’re gonna knock the audience’s socks off. I have no doubt in my mind,” you encourage him.

Fred smiles and without another word, he pulls you in by your waist to press your lips to his. You wrap your arms around his neck as you kiss him sweetly. His lips are pressed against yours firmly, but sweetly with passion. His touch was enough to make your head reel. Fred pulls away and presses his forehead against yours, “I’m playing for you tonight. And only you.”

Your heart skips a beat as you smile, staring into his eyes with so much adoration. It had only been a week and a half since you had started seeing each other, but you couldn’t help but have the overwhelming feeling that Fred was the one for you. He was everything you could ever ask for. Charming, kind, handsome, funny, witty. Fred Weasley was it. 

“And I’ll be cheering you on the whole time,” you tell him, extending your pinky finger to him as he loops his with yours. The two of you press kisses to your thumbs, making it a pinky promise. “Now, go get ‘em, tiger,” you encourage him. As you walk away, Fred taps you bum playfully as you scurry away, back into the audience with Harry and Hermione. 

The three of you buzz about the band and the atmosphere, sipping on Butterbeer before suddenly the audience starts wildly cheering. You turn your attention to the make-shift stage and see the Weasleys all enter. You immediately start clapping and cheering for the band as Ginny speaks into the mic. “Hello, Hogsmeade!” she laughs as the crowd cheers louder. “We are the Burrow Bangers and tonight we’ve got quite the show for you all!” she exclaims as the audience claps and shouts out. You look over at Harry and a wide grin is plastered on his face. “So, without further ado...”

“1, 2, 3, 4!” George bangs on his drumsticks before 80s rock blares through the small inn, the crowd immediately cheering and dancing the sound of the music.

And you had to admit it. They were damn good. They were all in synch with each other and blended so well together. The Weasleys were performers no matter how much they may hate it admit it. Not to mention, Fred looked hot wailing away on his cherry red electric guitar. His fingers skillfully strummed out chords and he musically added riffs when needed which made the crowd roar. 

You were overwhelmed with pride at the boy you had taken such a keen liking to you and it was palpable. Fred would catch your eyes every now and then and drop his left eye into a wink, making you blush and cheer louder for him.

Tonight, and every night following, he played for you and you only.

[thefledglingdm]

tsukishima meta..... 2!!

so a little bit ago i went off in this post about tsukishima and why i think he is the way he is and how his horrendous attitude during the show is a sign of his horrendous self-esteem and his fear of caring too much. and now i want to talk about how that feeds into the infamous but iconic running gag/character beat of “shut up yamaguchi”/”sorry, tsukki!”

this post got super long, so everything is below the cut!!! a lot of what i say in this post is based on the previous one, so def read that first. 

at first this whole interaction and dynamic bugged me. how could someone as sweet and hardworking as yamaguchi stay friends with standoffish, mean, lazy tsukishima? tadashi deserves better!

and then i thought about it more. how we know the behavior we see of kei throughout the first few seasons of haikyuu is unusual for him. how kei gradually grows more and more sullen, moody, and withdrawn throughout the first and second seasons. how yamaguchi is concerned and worried for him.

we know tsukishima’s self-esteem sucks. it’s bad. we see that established in how he thinks about himself and volleyball. but i think we truly see how low he’s sunk in his interactions with yamaguchi. that’s where we realize what an internal wreck he’s become.

so to start, we know tsukishima isn’t just walking around telling yamaguchi to shut up every time he talks. we see plenty of examples of that.

or

and there are other examples! they’re friends!!!! equally snide and kinda little shits. tsukishima is definitely the meaner of the two, but yamaguchi is down with that. he plays along. tsukishima isn’t telling him to shut up all the time. so when does that start? and how?

at the start of the season, he’s moody and a little dismissive, sure. i’m not saying this is a good character trait, or that he’s not a bit of a jerk. he’s 15.

but as time goes by, we start to see the rise of the “shut up, yamaguchi”/”sorry, tsukki” interaction as it plays out time and again. and i started to realize that tsukishima doesn’t just say that whenever he wants to.

or

or

or

tsukishima doesn’t tell yamaguchi to shut up willy-nilly. he says it specifically whenever yamaguchi is saying something nice about him. whenever yamaguchi is proud of him, is excited for him, is sticking up for him, is happy to see him and spend time with him. it’s a fascinating verbal expression of his own low self-esteem.

don’t be happy for me, tsukishima is telling yamaguchi when he tells him to shut up. don’t be proud of me. don’t encourage me or cheer me on. i don’t matter. i’m not a good player. i’m nothing special. i’m not, i’m not, i’m not.

i had a lot of thoughts about the tsukishima/yamaguchi fight scene the first time i watched it. i thought it was abrupt and kind of out-of-character. but on my second watch, i realized it was actually a confrontation a long time coming.

like. please watch the full scene again because the build-up is fascinating. screenshots will have to suffice.

that little “and” is what really did it for yamaguchi, i think. the final straw.

that? that is the face of a man and a friend who has had just about enough of this. which is why he really lets tsukishima have it.

and again here

i think it’s really telling that this fight isn’t yamaguchi calling tsukishima a massive tool after he’s been a snide, mean little prick for the entire series up to that point. which, frankly, i think he would have the right to do a little, since he has not been fun to be friends with lately. but yamaguchi doesn’t do that. he doesn’t call tsukishima out beyond calling him lame a few times.

he calls tsukishima tall. he says he has brains. he has instinct. he is a good player, naturally gifted in mind and body, and he could be so much better if he let himself try. if he opened himself up to caring, to the possibility of being hurt.

yamaguchi screams because he won’t let tsukishima tell him to shut up. he shakes him so he will listen and maybe have some sense knocked into him. he grasps onto tsukishima and when he knows there is nowhere for him to run, no way to deflect, no way to tell him to shut up, he tells him:

you are incredible. you are gifted. you are capable. i believe in you. you are worth the effort. this is worth the effort. i care about you.

and you are going to listen to me. 

and that is what breaks tsukishima of this funk. that is what convinces him to get off his ass and try. to do something. it’s by no means a smooth, linear process. but it’s yamaguchi’s words that finally break this pattern and give tsukishima a path forward.

(also, that scene with yamaguchi yelling at tsukishima takes place right after we see the moon covered by clouds. and since “moon” in Japanese is “tsuki,” we see all the running analogies of him and the moon, and having yamaguchi run up on tsukishima to scream the sense back into him when the moon is covered....  and then it came back out after yamaguchi said his piece.... poetic cinema. the animators of this show were geniuses.)

and it’s once tsukishima has had the sense screamed back into him that we see his self esteem start to improve. he learns to take a freaking compliment, for starters:

(feat. hinata rolling on the floor screaming, which was such a good character moment.)

and he, in turn, can finally support yamaguchi.

it’s a long and difficult journey. but together, they forge a path forward - as people, as friends - and continue to bring out the best in each other.

(screenshots are pulled from here and here.)

[aka-indulgence]

This is a birthday present for @bigoltrashpile!! Happy birthday and sorry this was posted late >u<;; here’s a HT!Papyrus/Reader!

The bell has rung and Papyrus is standing by the class doorway, recipe book clutched to his chest, watching all the other students walk by. In the crowd he spots you, standing in the hall and looking through your phone.

His soul thumps, and he takes a deep breath.

“ya promise bro? ya gonna talk to them today?”

“Y… YES, I PROMISE, SANS!”

“heh.. remember, promises are serious stuff. i’m expecting you to come home a bit later than usual.”

Papyrus wasn’t one to expect Sans to get invested in this, or to become his hype man (WHEN IS SANS EVER EXCITED FOR ANYTHING?) but in his own Sansy way, showed that he really wanted him to work with you.

His brother had been teasing him ever since Papyrus told him that he had a human crush… and when he looks back, Papyrus realized that Sans has been teasing even before that. Sans always knew… that stupid!! Smart!! Big brother who knew how to read people’s faces!

Papyrus always saw himself as the matchmaker. Never in a million years he’d guess that his brother was one too.

When Papyrus said aloud that he’d go and ask you out, Sans had been the one to make him commit to it. Kept asking “what’re you gonna do, paps?” until Papyrus had a whole plan laid out.

Yes, he was going to do it today!

He’s… not sure what it is that got him so nervous in the first place. He’s sure in the past, he’d be able to walk up to you without worrying so much. Even now Papyrus wasn’t one to be shy around people.

But…

His bones rattle thinking about you.

And just earlier… he held your hands in class! Of course, he was doing it to guide you because he saw how you almost cut yourself with the knife but… you were there! In front of him! You were so small… so close to him… your back even brushed against him occasionally... And stars, your hands! They were so soft and warm, Papyrus had to stop himself from squealing from how happy he was, pulling back the magic from his cheekbones to focus on helping you cut.

… Even now just remembering it he’s starting to glow red!

NO PAPYRUS, NO! FOCUS ON THE PRESENT!

His crush is right in front of him now!

He takes a deep breath, puffing out his chest, and starts making his way towards you.

----- You walked out of the restroom, scrolling through Tumblr on your phone, generally distracting yourself because while you were ready to go home, your body just… decided it didn’t want to move. And there’s a really interesting story on your phone right now.

But really… what has your mind occupied right now was Papyrus. He… was an odd one. And not because he’s one of the few monster students in your school!

You were fascinated by monsters ever since they broke out of the Underground a few years ago. Of course, the… famine was an awful thing to fall on them and you hoped nothing but their happiness now that they’re free. They deserve only the best after an experience like that, which is one reason why you’re never shy to come up to them to say hi, and you did the same thing with Papyrus!

… Which brings you to why you think he’s a bit odd. Papyrus is a sweet monster, shy and polite, yet loud when he speaks. He’s a tall- very tall- skeleton monster, like if you were to stretch a human skeleton. He looks like a thin stick at a distance, but when you look closer, you can see that his bones were thicker than yours. He had glasses and braces that made him just look adorable, especially with the comfortable clothes he always has on, with the warm colors and how loose they were.

You’ve tried to say hello to him a couple of times, but you found that… around you specifically, he’d tumble over his words, almost like he’s… intimidated by you? You catch him glancing in your direction while in class when the teacher’s talking, always looking away when you’ve noticed him. Sometimes, he’d follow you, looking down at the floor with a serious face like he’s trying to ask you something… but whenever you ask him what he needs, he’d always wave his hands about, and say that it’s nothing.

You’ve seen Papyrus talk with the other students, monsters, and humans, much more comfortably. He’s hardly the shy, lonely kid. But… he always seemed reluctant to talk with you, so you try not to push him.

… But then today, you were able to speak a lot with him.

You were learning how to fillet a fish today. You guessed you weren’t focusing so much, because apparently, you got your knife too close to your hand and… “WAIT HUMAN, BE CAREFUL!”

Papyrus had rushed over to you and grabbed your hands.

He had such a look of concern on his face while he looked you over, as if you were profusely bleeding or something.

“YOU MUST EXERCISE MORE CAUTION HUMAN… DON’T WANT YOU TO LOSE A FINGER!” He’d cheerfully said… and then he offered to help you. When you asked if he was alright with helping you (he had his fish too didn’t he?), you looked over and saw how he was done… having a practically perfect portion of cut fish on his table.

He told you he had experience in deboning, and as Papyrus helped you cut, your knife slicing through the fish like butter with his help… you don’t need further proof to believe that he’s mastered it.

His hands were so much bigger than yours and he was always careful not to squeeze you too hard… refreshing you on knife grips so you won’t hurt yourself… it made you feel special.

When eventually you had ten pieces of fish in front of you and Papyrus let go of your hands, you thanked him for saving you from a cut, and for helping you. You finished faster than you thought, even with that little hiccup in the beginning, more than half the class were still cutting their fish.

Papyrus was silent for a while, before it seemed like… his sockets(???) got smaller, and a deep blush settled over his cheekbones. Like he just realized what happened.

“O-OH…. I’M SORRY HUMAN, I DIDN’T LET YOU DO THAT ON YOUR OWN DID I? OH, I’M… I DIDN’T MEAN TO…”

“Oh no it’s ok! You helped me a lot, thanks.”

“...”

Then Papyrus smiled.

“ANY TIME HUMAN. IT WAS MY PLEASURE.”

… You couldn’t stop thinking about how cute you think he looks.

…

You shake your head off your thoughts of him. You look up from your phone, and you see him there in the doorway, your eyes meeting. You were expecting him to break eye contact but… he holds it for a while before he looks at the floor.

You guess… maybe he’s still a bit shy?

You give him a little wave anyway, and start walking towards the entrance fo your school… hoping you’d be able to talk with him more. He has that look like he wants to say something to you, but you won’t bug him for it. You see him out of the corner of your eye, walking to the entrance too…

Only this time, he speaks to you.

“H… HELLO HUMAN! I WANTED TO SPEAK TO YOU!”

You smile even before you turn around.

“Hey!”

“S-SO! …. I UM... IT’S ME, THE ONE WHO HELPED YOU WITH THE FISH EARLIER!” Papyrus is beaming, but you can see his grin’s a little too strained, nervous.

You giggle. “Yes, I know who you are, Papyrus.”

He was in the middle of opening his mouth but he suddenly stops at that. “WAIT… YOU REMEMBER MY NAME?”

You actually snort at that. “Pff… what kind of question is that? Of course I remember you. It’s kinda hard to forget you, yknow?”

Papyrus made a small happy ‘NYEH!’ at that before he regained his composure. “WHY YES, OF COURSE! EVERYONE REMEMBERS THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NYEH HEH! SEE HUMAN, I STAND HERE BEFORE YOU BECAUSE, I UM. I WANTED TO ASK IF YOU’D LIKE TO WALK HOME TOGETHER TODAY! IF YOU UH… WALK HOME, HMM…”

He taps his chin.

“WELL I HAVE A CAR AND, I THINK I SAW YOU DRIVING HOME WITH A CAR TOO! I JUST UM… IF NOT WALKING HOME TOGETHER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO SOMEWHERE WITH ME? I QUITE… ENJOYED OUR LITTLE TALK…” Papyrus squints (how does a skeleton do that?) “... WHAT I MEAN TO SAY IS, I’D LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU BETTER, AND I BELIEVE A LITTLE TRAVELING AND PERHAPS A VISIT TO SOME OF THE LOCAL SHOPS WOULD BE AN ENJOYABLE THING TO DO! THAT IS. IF YOU’D LIKE…?”

Papyrus looks extra nervous now, his smile falling a bit as it seems like a thousand thoughts were crossing through his sockets before he shook his skull and crinkled his sockets.

Hahah… you wish you could tell him you weren’t anyone to be intimidated by, but that might put him in the spot! You give Papyrus an encouraging smile.

“Sure!”

“... SURE?”

“Yeah! That sounds like fun! Take me wherever.”

Maybe Papyrus couldn’t see it, but you were barely holding in your excitement that the mysterious shy skeleton from class is finally talking to you! You watch as Papyrus’ expression goes from completely blank… to having sparkly eyes(?).

He jumps and makes a little whoop in the air, before he quickly stifles himself with his phalanges, which… isn’t the most effective, probably.

“DO… SHOPS BY THE LAKE SOUND GOOD TO YOU?”

“Yeah!”

The both of you start walking towards the entrance. And when you see Papyrus hesitate to take your hand, you take it for him.

He doesn’t let go.

… It’s far from your last outing with Papyrus.

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Ghost Wedding: The Remix

So, uh, here’s the first actual fanfic I’ve written, and the first full length piece I’ve written in literal years. I wrote it for my own amusement, after weeks of eating up various bits of TWST lore and scenes and going “But, how would the whole Ghost marriage story have gone with a Yuu who was more like me a goth bisexual disaster?

What follows is a series of vignnetes, starring a Yuu who’s the only girl in NRC, with deeply questionable taste, told in the second person. Please let me know if you enjoyed it, I crave positive feedback and like when other people enjoy the things I like.

Contend warnings for blood, body horror, emeto, coarse language and pretentious word choices.

You've been here a while. En-Arr-See wasn't precisely a safe place, what with your dorm being a condemned hellpit of tetanus and black mold, and powerful magicians having mutagenic psychotic breaks only curable by kicking their ass so hard it flies out their mouth. But certainly, it wasn't boring, and you'd made friends. You had your scrappy ginger Ace in the hole; your serious mamas-boy Deuce; your funny little not-a-cat Grim. Hell, you even have your Horned Boy, he of the poison-coloured eyes that never seem to leave your face when you talk about fun things like books and music and the moral imperative of dissolving the monarchy. And, you were on speaking terms with a good chunk of others. So, when your favourite little robot came up to Crowley, yelling something about ghosts kidnapping his brother, you took his hand and said, "Ortho, show me what's going on." After all, you won't let anything happen to Idia. You have plans for him yet.

~*~*~*~

Some beauties might launch a thousand ships, and in your (objectively correct) opinion, while Idia's beauty wouldn't lead to a ten year siege of Troy, he'd certainly convince everyone attending Whitby Goth Weekend to haul off into the sea with a beat of his lashes. The first time you'd seen him, you'd simply stared in slack-jawed awe. He was luminescent; even leaving behind the fiery hair that flashed and swelled behind him, his eyes were a bright clear amber, and his skin translucent, with his own blue veins serving as the detailing in the marble. Add in the deeply circled eyes and the bluish discolouration of the lips, and the figure he presented was arresting, astounding, more beautiful and unreal than anything you'd conjured up after staying up all night reading ghost stories. "Magnificent," you'd said to yourself, and if your friends gave you a strange look, well, fuck 'em. They have no sense of beauty or taste.

Unfortunately, the intensity of your gaze proved too much for him, and he'd fled. You'd had no time to pursue the object of your infatuation either, class would soon begin, and Grim was yelling. Later, then. There's all the time in the world to ask after the fine young man with the lamplight eyes.

~*~*~*~ "Oh no," you said when Ortho showed you the video. "She's really hot."

Grim gawked and Crowley raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you take from this?"

"You're the one with an all-boys school. What's a girl like me to do when a pretty girl pops up?"

"She's a ghost, Yuu."

"That's the best part."

"My brother-"

"I'll help you, dear." You set a hand on Ortho's shoulder. "He must be so frightened, right? I'll do what you need." 

Before anyone could say anything else, a racket started up outside, and things got a little busy.

~*~*~*~ "Do you mind if I sit?"

Idia looked up at you. starting at the intrusion. His face was awash in blue from the conjured screens around him, his lips gone black. "...Why?"

"Tables are full. I'd rather not eat standing." He didn't explicitly say no, so you settled across the table, a few chairs down. He made a fascinating tableau as you picked at your lunch, flicking through and typing at the screen. Lines of code, schematics for all sorts of tech, occasional comics all flit across the pane of light in a million shades of blue. Until...

"Could you pretend I'm a bug?"

You squinted. "What." What the actual hell did he mean by that.

"Pretend I'm not here. I'm beneath notice."

You stop for a moment and smile, faint enough that he can't see the devil in it. "You want me to treat you like an insect."

"Yes." Hard to see in the light, there was a small twitch by his temple, a barely perceptible shake in his long fingered hands.

"Alright." With that, you slide down the table to directly across from him, settle you chin in your hands, and stare at him unblinkingly.

"?!?!?" The squawk he made was undignified and deeply, deeply endearing. "What are you doing?"

"You asked me to treat you like an insect." You smile at him, full of mischief and good cheer. "So I'm looking at you very closely. I'm taking in every sweet action, and delighting that the day has conspired to put something so wonderful in front of me."

Oh, who would have thought that this blue boy could turn so pink! As he pulled his hood up, you chuckle and move back to your tray. "I'll let you be," you say, and did indeed, for the amount of time it took him to close up shop and flee back to the depths of Ignihyde. When you waved at him as he went by, he nearly tripped in his haste.

~*~*~*~ "Stop laughing."

The boys did not listen.

"May others show you the kindness you've shown Idia if you're in a bind."

"You're just mad because she's gonna kill your-"

"Grim? Shut the fuck up. Now; who's helping."

After a chorus of 'no's, you drag your fingers through your hair. "I hate all of you so fucking much right now... Ortho, your ideas?"

Ortho's idea was deeply enticing but Crowley would not have the school leveled, and thankfully, the two of them threatened and guilted the others into helping. You'd have to say thank you later, but god, then Crowley might think you actually liked him instead of just finding him funny, and who needed that in their life?

"Alright, so... A plan?"

~*~*~*~ As badly as he might've liked to have escaped, there was only one empty seat in the class, and it was by him. So, Idia threw his hood up, along with his headphones, and started blatantly ignoring you.

"Idia." Silence.

"Idia." A faint grunt and he turned away from you.

"Shroud," you intoned in the most sepulchral tone you could, setting you hand in his field of vision. He whipped his head at you, the fire in his eyes nothing compared to the changing colours on his head.

"WHAT."

You raise your hands in supplication, trying to still your racing heart. "I'm sorry dude. I wanted to ask where you got your screens?"

"My screens?" His eyes flicked back to his schoolwork, hovering in the air. "I made them myself."

Your face lit up in awe. "That's amazing dude, holy shit. How'd you do that? It's a damn miracle."

"Ah... well..." Two sides warred within him - pride that someone recognized his tech genius, and his deep seated anxiety that anyone trying to be nice was just fucking with him. Fortunately for both of you, pride won out. "It's certainly something complicated for a magicless normie like you to understand." He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Do you really want to hear?"

You fixed him with a level look. "Never call me that again. Now, start like I'm five and go from there."

He stared back at you, and you stared right back. "Indulge me, Idia."

He gave you a smile full of sharp, crooked teeth, and while you tried to still the palpitations the sight of them gave you, he started with very basic theory, and went from there.

~*~*~*~ "You are not going to seduce the ghost bride, Yuu."

"Why the hell not?"

"You're a girl?"

"You're kinda plain."

"You're fat."

"She's probably straight?"

You point in turn at Leona, Azul, Vil, and Kalim. "So?, no I'm plenty hot actually, get fucked, and... Okay, That is a good point. But Kal, you have no idea how many straight girls I've managed to kiss."

"I think you'd die, Shrimpie," Floyd said as he flopped heavily over your shoulders, giggling as you attempted to untangle yourself. "And you're short."

"Yeah, but you have no idea how hot I am when I'm actually try- Shut up, Vil - Like, I clean up so good you guys. I even made a suit a couple weeks ago -"

"That's convenient? Weirdly so?"

"I found suiting that wasn't moth eaten and decided to have fun, at least-" You finally escape from the noodly arms of Leech the Wild One. "Let me suit up and show you? I can be so sexy, you guys. Come on."

In answer to the confused silence, you took your keys out of your pocket and chucked them at Deuce's confused face. "Adeuce! Grim! It's on the vanity in my room!"

"But ghosts?"

"Say you're clearing out things so that we won't bother... No, actually just go the balcony way."

"You can't unlock the balcony from the outside without a lockpick, it only locks from the inside."

A moment of silence. "Lilia, what the fuck?"

He shrugged. "I moved everything two inches to the left once to see if you noticed."

"I wasn't imagining things?!?"

This'll take a moment to sort out, and the clock is ticking...

~*~*~*~ You truly liked the woods! Green and quiet. Full of things that crawled and scurried, little friends that squeaked and croaked and hissed. The occasional precious treasure of a small bone or edible mushroom. So, you were quite surprised when you found Idia, miserable, crouched beside a fallen log.

"... Skipping gym?" Going by the uniform, the most likely answer. "Or did you finally realize that outside doesn't always bite?"

He scowled at you, and you stifled a giggle when you realized that yes, he was actually covered in bug bites. "They should replace this with a mall."

"You hate malls. Too many people." You reached out a hand, and pulled him to his feet. Idly, you wondered if he'd let you try and fit your hands around his waist, but thought better of asking.

"Game stores are alright. No one bothers you in one, or in arcades. And." He stopped, as he brushed the dirt from his legs, before continuing in a mumble you only got the gist of.

"Me and Ortho will be your big, scary guard dogs?"

"... Who'll notice me with both of you?"

"Everyone." Because he's the most beautiful person in the room, and they'd be mad not to look. "Because you show up so rarely. It makes it all the more noticeable when you are out, so everyone pays attention." You held out a hand. "I'll take you out the back way so you don't get in trouble."

No dice. He held his hands in close. "I'll just follow."

"Alright. Why'd you go out this far in the woods with no map, anyways?"

"There's no cell service..."

"Clearly, we need to turn your blood into a wi-fi signal, instead of liquid sugar."

He huffed, but he did follow you, and was actually approaching a good mood once you escorted him through the Ramshackle gates.

~*~*~*~ "Hey, what did I miss?" It took entirely too long to get a single lock of hair to to a perfect insouciant flip over your forehead, even with the eternally stylish Sam's help.

"She's slapped everyone who went to propose, and when she does you're paralyzed for 500 years."

"Christ," You say as you adjust a pin on your lapel. "We have to get Idia back, he'll get what? A week before he gets the hand."

"She's so fussy!" yelled Grim. "You have to sing and have a dog and she hates poison flowers."

"Clearly, she has no taste." Honestly,you thought her taste was just fine, what with thinking Idia was the finest of the bunch. He was very princely, if your tastes ran to exquisite corpses with the personality of a neurotic goblin. "Who wouldn't want poison blossoms?" Tie? No tie? Tie? No tie? No tie. And unbutton. Leona wishes he had this chest.

"We know she has no taste because she chose Idia."

You chose to ignore that, and clapped. "Okay, Round Two!"

~*~*~*~ The truest tragedy of this school was that it was all boys. Not that boys were bad by any means, you certainly enjoyed them, but... girls. Tall girls! Short girls! Busty girls! Petite girls! Butch girls! Femme girls! Fat girls! Girls!

So many kinds of girls, and you, in all of your plump and handsome glory, were the only girl in an entire high school. Welcome to hell.

You accepted no gifts that came unvetted. You had friends ward the everloving bajeezus out of your dorm room. Grim was more than happy to test your food and drink for tampering, but it was exhausting. You at least knew that any food you ate at the Mostro Lounge was clear, but that was only because everyone was too damn scared of the eternally hovering Floyd to try anything while there.

 So, you eat a lot of vending machine snacks.

You've been standing there for fifteen minutes, trying to figure out the best combo with your limited funds, when someone coughed behind you.

"??? Oh, hey Idia." You stepped aside while he shuffled up to the glass and peered in. "Anything to recommend? I got this." You waved your bill in the air.

He only looked at you a moment before looking back at the machine. "That won't get you much."

"Ah, don't I know it. But it's all I got."

He still wasn't looking directly at you, but a smile started to creep across his face. "Get your bag."

"Wha-" He was already tapping out a beat with the keypad, blue sparks flying from his fingertips, the machine starting to groan and shiver. With a final note, the snack machine gave a final heaving shudder - and every single snack fell to the bottom of the machine.

He was so proud as he smiled at you, reaching down and pulling a single bag of gummies from the spilled mess. "You first."

And, as you stuffed your schoolbag and pockets full of thieved goods, praising his genius, his cleverness, his skills, he just glowed.

~*~*~*~ "I guess you were ahead of the game, Yuu. She hates that no one's dressed up properly. And..."

"And? You raised an eyebrow at Ace.

"You do look stylish. But you need backup."

"Of course. You'll all rescue people while I distract her!”

"But what if she slaps you?"

"You'll step in if that happens. But we have to dress you all up."

"Did you makes spares?"

"No." Tragic, everyone would look so cute in summerweight green wool. "Let's ask Sam, he's got everything."

~*~*~*~ "Okay, Ortho, you see?" You held his back to your chest, and raised your hand in front of his face, palm away from him. As you wiggled your fingers, you could see movement on the back of your hand. "Those are tendons. Those, and the muscles, are what move the bones, make your hands move. If you put your fingers here," you say as you place his fingertips over the moving lines, "you should be able to feel it."

"I do! They go up and down. What's the popping?"

"That's my faulty joints, we'll cover those another day. Now," you flipped your hand over, and moved his fingers to your wrist. "You feel that?"

"That is your pulse! It's not as string as it should be."

"I'm not always in the best of health. So, Ortho. My hand moves by muscles and tendons when I think of it. My blood moves through my body, one beat at a time, and you can feel it. Right?"

"Right."

"You," you say, as you take Ortho's other hand. "Your hand moves by motors and servos, when you think about it. Electricity and magic moves through your body, in beats so fast we can't perceive it, and it's as measurable as my pulse."

"... Because I am a robot."

"Because you are a bit different. But we're both alive, we're both real, just in different ways." You turn to look at Ortho directly, and he looks back at you with yellow eyes that are actual, real lamps. "Don't let anyone ever say you're not real, or alive, or good enough, just because you're different."

And though you can't see it, you can feel Idia smiling from the corner of his room.

~*~*~*~ Alright. No more time for memories, only the here and now. You've got a heart full of love, a pocket full of ring, and a head full of stupid. You're as prepared as anyone else who went in. Start on your left foot, and...

"Hello? Excuse me?" You make a cursory knock at the doorframe before stepping in. "I heard there was a wedding."

The bride - Eliza - whirled on you, and stopped. She was even more of a vision in person, airy translucence and fine, sweet features currently arranged in confusion. "Ah- Yes! I'm getting married to my darling Prince Idia! Right away, so-"

Not if I have my way about it, you thought to yourself as you arranged yourself in a perfect bow, one hand behind your back. You pretended not to notice Idia trussed up with rope, but you filed the sight away for later. "How wonderful. I wish you only happiness. But it must wait."

Before she could get her hand ready, you straightened and fixed her with your best smile. "My dearest princess, I cannot let this happen until I dance with the most beautiful person in this room. It would be improper to do so with a newlywed, and I cannot know peace until I dance. Would you be so kind, my fair princess?"

She was still baffled. "Aren't you a girl?"

You keyed up the brightness. "I am, and I dance very well. Would you indulge me, my dear?"

You could see her considering it. "You... are rather princely. Can you lead?"

"Of course. May I?" Again with the bow, and to your delight, she returned with a flawless curtsy. Hand in hand, you began.

~*~*~*~ It was delightful, to dance with this silly ghost girl. Everywhere your bodies touched, from her hand in yours to what would have been a fine chest, but was instead a clean and elegant ribcage festooned with pearls, heat seeped away and left only a chill as cold as clay. Her footwork was flawless, considering she no longer had feet, and she was so easy to chat with. She asked you about your dog (none currently, but you'd love to have one, and there was Grim in the meantime), your singing, (little voice to speak of, but that was what vocal coaches were for), and why you wanted to dance with her (because when would the chance ever come again? Unless fairest Eliza considered her for forever and a day.)

"But what of dear Idia?" She'd almost looked towards where Idia no longer was, having been unknotted long ago, but you drew her back in before she could notice the chaos around her.

" 'Dear Idia', though as beautiful as the moon in the sky, has cold feet, my love. He's afraid of dying. But I? I'd cherish you for all of eternity." You leaned in closer. "I am not afraid of dying, beloved. To journey with you through realms beyond mortal reach. I can think of nothing more exciting than to cross the barrier to the other side, hand in hand with you. In the words of a fine sir from my home, 'to die by your side/the pleasure, the privilege is mine'. Please, please consider me, please..."

Here's how it should have gone: She said yes, and you put the ring on her finger, and all was well. But you'd awakened such a sweet hunger in her, she could not wait for propriety. Instead, she grasped your face and kissed you with the passion of five hundred years search, found.

~*~*~*~ It was so pleasant at first, that you couldn't help but return it. When had anyone ever kissed you with such passion? But quickly, the chill began to overtake you. It could have been bearable, but after that was pain. You started to shake, uncontrollably, as every nerve in your body was scraped away with a rusty blade, and as you weakly tried to push away, as blood began to flow from your eyes, your mouth, every pore and orifice, she still would not let go. All you could think was it hurts it hurts it hurts hurts hurts hurts hurts and, as you slipped to a grey place beyond where pain could touch you, you barely noticed the cacophony around you, or something hurtling towards the two of you from the corner of your eye.

Something blue.

~*~*~*~ When you finally woke up, through a drugged and painful haze, you couldn't tell where you were. When you jolted up, the pain of it sending you into a nauseated fit of blood-flecked coughing, a familiar yelp sounded, and you turned to see Idia, little the worse for wear.

"You're up, uh..." He fumbled something onto the table, behind his back. "I."

You just looked. At him, at the surroundings. A hospital bed, with gifts and flowers (most filched from the wedding venue, but someone had stuck Jade's poison blossom into a vase and set it in the far corner). Idia was the only one present, seeing as it was the middle of the night.

"Ortho's getting things you might need. I... I hate hospital scenes..."

"Hurt's over.” You tried to settle yourself more comfortably, failing miserably. “Here comes the comfort." You reached out a hand, as he looked anywhere in the room but you.

"Idia." Silence.

"Idia." More silence.

"Shroud." He hesitantly placed his hand in yours, tinting pink as you pulled the sleeve up. The sight of it made you gasp. His fine wrist, so small even you could put your fingers around it, was mottled with deep bruising, blacks and purples set so deep into the skin that there was crusted blood on the surface, despite being unbroken. It was so, deeply, incredibly...

Beautiful. It was all you could do, not to press your lips to his wrist and taste his pulse as it flitted under his skin. To clean the blood away with your own tongue and cover the marks that your hungry ghost princess had made with your own teeth. Not hers. Yours.

Really, no wonder you'd been so enchanted with Eliza. You're cut of the same cloth.

"It must hurt."

He jerked his hand away, making you both wince. "What the hell is wrong with you? They only reason you're not dead is everyone pouring so much healing magic into you that it exhausted almost everyone. I." You could see flickers and flashes of orange sparking along the full length of his hair. "I'm not worth dying for. Why?"

What do you tell him? That it was the right thing to do? That you wanted to prove that you could woo a pretty girl? That you didn't want him dead? That you were a possessive bitch that couldn't stand the idea of someone else having him, even if unwilling on his part? All were true, but what do you say?

It proved a moot point, as when you opened your mouth to say something, anything, something shifted within you, and the only thing Idia received was a gout of blood square in his face.

~*~*~*~ After you'd slept, you reached for your phone in the thin morning light. Your friends where texting well wishes and condolences, and explanations of what happened after you went down (It seemed Idia had tackled Eliza clean off of you, and after some chaos she ran off with her retainer, rending this entire day moot). Even more interestingly, you found a text from an unknown number:

- I'm still mad at you.

You huffed to yourself, and after a bit of thought, start to text back.

- Dude I'm so sorry about the uh. blood puke. - I'll pay for cleaning - Also you know, you could have just asked for my number a long time ago? - Like a normal person? - Who doesn't break into phones to steal said numbers while I was unconscious next to you, what the fuck dude - That's not what this is about though. - You've got every right to be mad - That whole day was traumatizing, and you didn't deserve any of it - I'd rather sort this out in person but if text is easier for you right now we can do that - One last thing though

You stopped, and thought Do I actually do this? and went what the hell.

- I still need that dance I went in to get from you

[sepublic]

Ant-Watching

           Y’all ever watch ants?

           That’s what I just did. I came back from running an errand for someone else, and I decided to go visit my local gas station, right near where I live, just to see if there was anything I wanted to pick up. But, my attention was quickly piqued by a long line of ants, strewn across the sidewalk surrounding the gas station. I was of course intrigued, and tracked them from one end up the brick wall of the gas station, and into the tiniest possible hole there. I’m not sure where the hole led, it seemed so tiny, and I’m not sure how such a small, precise little tunnel could form in the seams between the bricks, leading all the way into wherever it was, within the gas station.

           Tracing the other end of the line, I saw the familiarly-textured dirt of an ant colony, nestled within beneath the local, obligatory bush placed next to the parking spaces. I’ve gotta admit, I have to hand it to whichever Queen Ant established this colony, she chose the perfect spot… Or not. Being directly next to a gas station, in the patch of dirt and shrubbery as close as possible to it, that’s an amazing source of endless, reliable food right for this colony, so close and convenient!

           On the other hand, I could see the proximity to the gas station leading to the colony having an exterminator called upon it. I’d be sad to see it go, but alas, such is life. Ants keep making do regardless. I wonder what happens to ants who survive the destruction of their colony, the eradication of their queen- Do they just blindly wander until they starve to death? If you introduced an ant to a new colony, would that colony accept, or instead reject and kill, the poor little creature?

           I went inside the gas station, did some snooping. I couldn’t find where the ants were, but if I had to guess, directly on the other side of the wall they were crawling into; There was a countertop with a trash area underneath. Is this where the ants were getting their loot- Some small tunnel outside, leading directly into the inside of this dark cubby where all of the trash and food was dumped? Either way, it was such a jackpot for them, I felt weirdly proud of them despite having nothing to do with it.

           I went back outside, and I noticed on my way back to the line, bristling and bustling with ants crossing by one another in opposite directions, that there was a dead bug. Quite a bit away from the line of ants, it was the dessicated corpse of… A cockroach? A beetle? I wasn’t sure what. Regardless, I wondered if the ants could make use of it; Or if they already had, the corpse seemed not much more than empty, chitinous shell, which might’ve been too hardy for the ants to break apart. Or, maybe they hadn’t bothered because it was too far away…

           To test my theory –because I honestly didn’t care if people were watching, I was allowed to do what I wanted, and as corny as it may sound, I think Dana Terrace and The Owl House helped me develop the bravery to be as weird as I wanted in public, and it’s enriched my day greatly for it- I skidded and lightly kicked the dead bug, all the way to the ant line. And, success! They seemed attracted to it, and next thing I knew the bug was bristling with shiny little ants; I’d accidentally overturned it while moving the dead bug, and exposed its much softer underbelly, ripe for the taking and picking! Now I felt proud, and this time it felt earned because I DID contribute, I did help with something the ants couldn’t have done on their own! I did good.

           So, I’m getting a bit existential about the life of ants. How it’s all long, thankless, endless work, as they drag food back, go on an arduous trek that for us giants, is just a few steps. Rinse, repeat, help feed the young, and so forth; Survive, but for what purpose? There is no downtime. Such is life, it’s interesting how we developed from just basic propagation, to really enjoying the fruit of existence; But only after we ensured it’d last, that we had reliable stuff to keep going on through. In the meantime, I decided to go back to the brick wall. There was another, tiny little hole, and I could see what looked like the tiniest little… egg shell? It was a shell of some sorts, gradually being dragged through, as if unclogging this second hole.

           I was half-tempted to help the ants with it, but I decided not to interfere, in case I did something wrong, or if I misunderstood what they were getting at. But, I later checked, and indeed they had dislodged it, and were now moving down the length of the wall with it! It was a roly-poly shell, I wonder what killed it- The ants, its own natural lifespan? But as I checked, I noticed this one particular ant, hauling a crumb of food bigger than the others I’d seen. While other ants returned from the gas station with tiny little beadlets of food, this ant had a larger, misshapen, yellow-ish grain of something. I wasn’t sure what, but it seemed an arduous and difficult task to handle it, to get it down the side of a vertical brick face.

           But, when I checked on the ant again- It succeeded! It was on the ground, scooting the grain, one gradual, agonizing millimeter at a time. I turned back to the dead bug, thought about helping the ants by pushing it all the way, right next to their nest; I grabbed a dead stick nearby that seemed sufficient, and for a moment I reveled in the power I had. I was no longer a child who’d be grabbed along by my parent and told not to mess around- I had the freedom and autonomy to observe insects, however I wanted! So I used the dead chip of wood to try and scoot the dead bug along…

           Alas, the wind came and it scooted it past the ant line, back upright. I tried again to scoot the dead bug back to its trajectory, but then some ants crawled up the stick, and onto my hand! I panicked for a bit, I think one might’ve bit me… But I brushed them aside. Eventually I settled for righting my previous wrong, by overturning the bug and returning it back to the line; I’d just settle for that, for now. No time for ambitious projects on behalf of the ants…

           Though, I DID consider buying just a little bit of food, and maybe scattering a piece or two by their nest, to see what the ants did with it! Ant feeding… Imagine that, like throwing bread crumbs to the pigeons, except I’m throwing tiny scraps of food to ants, diligently tearing apart and working, hauling, etc. Breaking it down bit by bit to divide the work, the power of infinitesimal hands amounting to something huge! I ultimately didn’t buy anything, alas, but it’s a fun thought, and I might try it another day and opportunity.

           Anyhow, I watched the ant struggle with its lone yellow grain; Somehow, likely because of the wind, it had gotten separated from the line, its grain moved away. I felt some compassion, and I grabbed another tiny dead stick-chip, and pushed it back to the line; This was much more successful, and the ant began moving the grain along the line, once more. I kept watching, and got tired of crouching upon the balls of my feet, so I just went F it, and sat down onto the concrete.

          THAT was much more relaxing, and for a while I enjoyed and watched and marveled, mesmerized at the coordination and moving patterns of it all, the shiny ants, how some had tiny little beads in their mandibles, etc. At one point I looked back along the line, closer to the nest, and I saw a tiny roly-poly, a living one; Nearby, stumbling across. In morbid fascination, I checked to see what would happen; Would the ants pursue and harass it, or was the reliable source of inanimate food, more preferable than taking on live prey?

           Thankfully, despite bumping into the ants at the line, the roly-poly was unscathed and ignored. It departed from the line, and headed elsewhere along the patch of dirt where the shrubs grew, the patch where on the edge dwelled the ant colony. I turned my attention back to the ant with its large grain. By this point, I was used to the hot sun beating down on me, but it wasn’t unbearable, and I felt gratitude for the brief periods of cloudiness and shade. Agonizingly, I watched the ant make its progress…

           At one point, it actually veered off-course, as these ants seem wanton to do, for some reason. I couldn’t let that happen again, so I grabbed another of my dead, discarded sticks –the ants ignored the cellulose they seemed unable to work with- and pushed it back on course. To my delight, the ant kept working, and I internally cheered as it pushed the grain up the slope of the driveway, surprisingly more easily than I’d anticipated, and much faster too! At one point, a kind passerby asked if I had a flat tire; To him, it must’ve looked like I was staring at the tire of the car parked in the space right next to the colony, as the ant line passed nearby. I said no, and he went on his way.

           The whole time, some other people went on their way, passing near me. Nobody stopped to look or notice, at least as far as I could tell; I was much too engrossed in these ants. I’m glad nobody stopped to bother or harass me for it. Eventually, the lone ant began transporting the grain into the final stretch, in the seams between the blocks of concrete, right before the colony itself! There were points where it seemed like other ants were helping with the burden, perhaps other ants took over for the original. I thought about how this lone ant likely went through all of this effort, took it upon itself without any thought, and would get no recognition for it.

           It didn’t think about it, it just did it; It saw something to be carried and worked with it, no thought about how hard it was, no consideration of letting someone else do it. It found something and grabbed it and moved! Marvelous. The ants kept moving the grain, at one point I lost it beneath a wood chip wedged in the concrete, but the ants succeeded in moving the grain past the chip, beneath and over as needed. Finally, right before the grain reached the colony, right before it arrived at the entrance to be dropped down, I hastily took a photo;

           And at the last possible second! I’d fumbled with the perspective, zoomed in, tried to figure out where my camera was looking at, before re-orienting and focusing on where the ant and its grain were, and finding it. I’d planned this for a while, a victory photo for when the grain had reached the colony, and I’d barely snapped my picture before the grain dropped in, out of view! I felt oddly triumphant; But then again, I HAD contributed, hadn’t I? I felt proud of these ants, of the ant- They’d finally done it! This long, agonizing work… The grain would make good feeding for the young and everyone else.

           And then, likely- The ants just went on! They went right back to work, always focused in the now. Never wondering, never questioning, such a simple existence. No higher thought nor reason besides doing what needed to be done, no particular selfishness, no shirking of the work, they just did it. It was almost robotic, although I knew that ants didn’t have any actual hive minds; They merely coordinated well. As one person said, if a giant watched us humans work and collaborate together, WE’d look like the hive mind! I’d sat and watched for a while, taking different positions, sitting and crouching and kneeling in various ways; But after faithfully, diligently watching this one particular task and its undertaking, more or less the whole way through, until it was finally finished…

           Well, I felt finished myself! And so I headed inside the nearby dollar store to cool down with its AC, near the frozen section, before getting back into my car, and heading home- Where I’ve since sat down to type this all out. I dunno, something about watching the ants in nature… It just gets to me, I think I ended up kinning a couple of ants along the way. Very wondrous stuff, and time really passed by; It was so much more fun, engaging, and unique, than what I usually did to pass the day along, whenever I drove out. 10/10, would do it again, Ants are wonderful and would recommend!

[nosferatvpussy]

distorted lullabies [chapter XI]

Word count: 5,131 

Warnings: vulgar language

Pairing: Dracula x female reader

AO3 link

Author’s note: My beta reader gave me a few suggestions and it's truly something that's been bugging me, so I decided it would be better to check with you guys, my readers. I'm writing this story purely for fun so I don't mind changing things. I'm not well versed in writing Character x reader stories and I'll admit the whole concept sometimes escapes me (ahem, fully does) and my beta pointed out that it's become an OC x Dracula fic. This chapter in particular touches into something that may upset some people if they're really invested into the reader POV, which is religion. You may not agree with the reader's thoughts regarding christianity, and I don't want to needle anyone's beliefs because this is a reader insert. My question is: would you guys prefer if I gave the reader a name, in which case she becomes a fully realised character? I'll still avoid describing her because then you can picture her however you like. Longwinded question, I know, but I thought it deserved some explanation. On a more positive note, I made two spotify playlists; one is oriented towards alternative songs (mostly) and the other one is purely made up of classical pieces.

Regardless, ENJOYYY

________________________________________________________

The rest of the trip would have been completely silent if it wasn’t for Portishead’s music. 

I barely looked at Dracula as he dropped me off at the Airbnb I had rented. He parted with a promise to meet me at the wedding tomorrow and an indifferent goodbye, although when I made it all the way to the flat’s second floor, his car was still parked at the front door. When I turned around to throw my backpack on the bed and looked out the window again, the black BMW was gone.

Not even the wide array of DVD stacks inside the Airbnb managed to keep my mind off of Dracula.

After settling in and having a shower, I occupied myself with sitting in front of the TV in the living room and analysing the owner’s collection – an impressive one at that – however, when I picked up a copy of The Rocky Horror Picture Show I could almost hear Count Dracula laughing as I sang along to Frank N Furter and immediately put the disc back to where it belonged. So I chose something harmless to watch.

As Mulder and Scully bickered about aliens on the television in another episode of The X-Files – really, props to the Airbnb owner for supplying his entire collection to guests – I glanced at my phone for the hundredth time. 

Would Count Dracula be a Scully or a Mulder? Such a silly thing to wonder about, nevertheless I was curious about it. Perhaps if he was here with me, watching TV and making his remarks about what was going on, I would manage to concentrate on the episode playing. 

It had worked out fine last time. Well, for the most part. As long as we didn’t watch anything with sexual undertones such as Interview with the Vampire, I would be fine. For how long, was the question.

I frowned as I rewinded the last 10 minutes on the DVD player. Scully was lying in a hospital bed while Mulder screamed at a doctor when just two minutes ago Mulder had been talking to their boss. Obviously, I had missed more than two minutes, too stuck in my thoughts about the Count.

I glanced at my phone again. 

He’d be gone tomorrow. And I needed to know if he would like Scully or Mulder better.

I took my phone between shaky fingers.

A small part of me, one that was still thinking straight, suggested that maybe I shouldn’t do this on account of that kiss earlier. But nothing of what had happened during that trip mattered anymore, not when I would never see him again. Whatever I did today would have no consequences.

 Are you there?

Count Dracula replied just as Mulder screamed at the doctor, and I still had no idea why.

 Yes.

I typed a message as quickly as I could before I regretted this.

 I can’t sleep. 

I chewed on my lip as I waited for a response but when none came, I started typing another text and then erased it. Inviting him over might develop into less innocent things than simply watching TV. 

I curled my toes. I came this far. I resisted him this long. There was no reason to jump ship at the last second. 

Tomorrow he’d be carted away by the Foundation and while I would very much like to do more than kiss Count Dracula, the idea of giving myself to him and then never feeling his touch again seemed unbearable. 

 Do you want to take a stroll through Gloucester?

I’ll be there in a few minutes.

His reply came so quick that he must have been staring at his phone, waiting for me to send another text.

I rushed to change from pyjamas into jeans, jacket and boots. I had just finished fixing up how I looked when my phone buzzed. Without bothering to read the text, I left the flat, heart beating like a hummingbird’s as I went down the stairs to the building’s front door. 

Count Dracula wore the same leather jacket as earlier, waiting for me just as he had waited hours ago in London.

“Did you walk all the way here?” I asked as soon as I noticed the BMW’s absence.

“I was in the neighbourhood.” He smiled.

“Exploring?”

He smirked but said nothing.

“Eating, then,” I concluded. “Drinking, sorry. I forgot you get stuck in the technicalities.”

“You get used to it,” he said, extending a hand for me. 

I gasped when I placed my hand on his. Someone else’s blood had made his temperature rise from cadaveric cold to match my own but I was too fascinated by how plump his flesh felt to care about an unknown person’s death. 

“You don’t feel like a statue,” I said, squeezing his hand to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.

“You get used to it,” he repeated. “Come. I found a lovely place to break into.”

He pulled me to him so fast that my stomach lurched. I almost lost balance but he wrapped an arm around my shoulders to steady me. 

“May I remind you that I’m human and next time you do this I might throw up in your shoes?” 

My vision was still swimming and I had to lean my body on his until I could see properly. 

“I’ll warn you next time.”

I craned my neck to look up at him, noticing absently that I had my arms around him in a hug. Light coming from a neighbouring house glowed behind his head likening a saint’s halo. Horns would be more suitable, and more alluring. 

“Will I like this place you intend to take me?” 

“More than I will,” he said, securing me in an inescapable hold, one I had no desire to fight. “It’s a cathedral.”

“Gloucester Cathedral?” I loosened my arms around him. “It’s a holy place,” I said and he cocked an eyebrow. “Can you even set foot in there?”

He snorted.

“I can waltz with you in there while reciting biblical verses as long as I don’t look upon the cross.” 

“I’d like to see that. A healthy dose of blasphemy is always fun.”

A slow smile spread on his lips.

“Then you’ll love it.”

To my dismay, he untangled himself from me but still kept an arm around my shoulders in a half embrace. Instead of avoiding him, I circled his waist with my arm, basking on how uncharacteristically warm he felt in comparison to the chilly night. 

Dracula looked at me with furrowed eyebrows, though a grin creeped on his mouth. For the first time, we had exchanged roles – he, doubtful that I was so willing to touch him, and I, sure of what I was doing ever since I struck that deal. 

Pity it wouldn’t last long.

“Lead the way,” I told him. 

  _______________________________________________________

Except for a couple of stray cats and a dog, Count Dracula and I were the only ones wandering through Gloucester’s narrow streets and quaint façades. The moon was hidden but with how bright it glowed, even beneath a swath of cotton clouds, I would guess it was full. 

I relied more on Count Dracula’s eyes than on the unsteady old street lights that seemed to hail from the 18th century, but I didn’t need his vampire eyes to catch a glimpse of a towering Gothic building, concealed behind a row of modern restaurants and stores, all closed now that it was closer to dawn than to dusk, wedged inside small houses stylised in Tudor architecture. 

“Here we are,” said Dracula just as we rounded the corner and faced Gloucester Cathedral.

It was an enormous and monstrous thing yet beautiful all the same in all its complicated detail of spiking roofs and pointed narrow glass that composed huge windows amongst blocks of stone. Sculptures of saints and kings stood watch at the front, arching above the intricately woven entrance. 

“Is there an alarm this time?” I asked as we approached the door. 

“What for? Christians trust their god to keep it safe. There is someone sleeping inside, though. A priest if I had to guess, so we’ll have to be very quiet.”

“There goes my plan,” I said, although I had none. No space for calculated words and carefully measured tone there. All I had left was impulsivity, and saying things without really meaning them provided me with a rush unlike any other. 

“What plan is that?” Dracula questioned, side-eyeing me.

I shrugged.

“What does it matter if I can’t be noisy now?” I snickered. I would have tried being reckless more often if I’d known I would earn so many bewildered looks from Count Dracula. “Open the door.” I bidded, staring at him. “Please?”

Something crossed his gaze, something that made me wish that he would press me against a wall and demand that I tell him about my sordid plan. But he did no such thing.

“Since you asked nicely,” he said, just as he had done earlier during our trip.

Dracula forced the door open with the same ease I would have opened an unlocked door.

My mouth was a little dry but the thrill of doing something forbidden still made my heart thud, despite the fear of being caught. Perhaps I’d been developing a new habit of doing dangerous things such as making deals with vampires, and getting excited at the prospect of desecrating a church with one. I would have to find a substitute to that after he was gone but I couldn’t think of anything that could compare. 

I followed Count Dracula into the cathedral’s nave. 

The massive round pillars surrounding the aisle took away some of the simplicity of the ribbed vaulting, which derived from early Gothic architecture if I remembered my art classes correctly. There weren’t any pews positioned in usual rows as most churches did, and from where I stood I couldn’t spot an altar. The place seemed bare without them but it was still imposing, as most religious things were, I supposed.

The ground's yellowed stone, that one day may have been white, was dappled with a luminescence of blue, red and purple. I whirled around, looking up to find out where that variety of colours came from, and grinned upon finding a stained glass window that extended all the way up to the ceiling. 

“I never liked churches as a child,” I whispered to Dracula, ignoring that he probably knew it. “They creeped me out. I couldn’t understand how some people felt love inside them, when all I felt was judgement. And like I was being watched by saints, angels and Jesus.” I grimaced as I admired the pictures on the glass. Saints looked back at me with their saintly stare. Jesus Christ was pictured at the centre pane. “My parents weren’t very religious but my grandmother was one of those fervent catholics, full of guilt and fear. She used to take me to mass every other Sunday at Westminster Abbey until one time when I started arguing with the priest during his sermon about how illogical the bible is at some points.” I glanced at Dracula and saw him chuckling soundlessly. “I was 13. My grandmother was so humiliated and angry at me that she never took me to mass again.”

“And you were relieved to never have to go back again,” Dracula supplied. “How do you like churches now?”

“I like them as long as I’m just visiting. And I’m not scared of them anymore, not since I won that argument with the priest.” I looked at him. He was making a point of observing the rest of the church instead of gazing at the stained glass as I was. “You were raised christian, too. And if Wikipedia is right, you fought in the name of God.”

“In another life.” He bobbed his head, lacing his hands behind his back as he wandered down the aisle. “Not the foolish, gullible and fearful catholic as Justina was.” Dracula cast a brief glance at me. “My late wife.” He explained but I had already surmised as much. 

Since he had mentioned her without my needing to ask, I felt the urge to goad him with more questions. The urge to see that odd semblance of grief in his face as I had seen weeks ago. The reminder that he was capable of emotion, still. But I left it alone. It was possible he would shut down and assume that distant and impenetrable façade, and then our last date would be over much faster than I was ready for it to be.

“No, you were more the type to rip people to shreds when they didn’t condone your faith.” I lowered my voice mid sentence when my words echoed. 

Following him down the aisle, I noticed that a big apparatus was raised up in a wooden structure ahead of us and it looked like an organ. Had we been alone at the church, I would have climbed up the stairs to knead a few keys just to hear the resounding, spine-chilling noise it would make. 

“Precisely.” Dracula laughed.

“Did you ever do it for fun?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you did.”

He turned around, stopping at the centre of the aisle a few metres away from me. 

“For fun, for boredom, but most of all to instill fear into my enemies’ hearts. Does it still bother you?”

I stopped.

It had when I first found out about it. And although he had just admitted torturing people simply for the fun of it, it didn’t bother me nearly as much as before. I ought to have been disgusted or disapproving, at the very least. It was a little worrying that I didn’t feel any of those things, like I had just discovered a part of me that was capable of terrible cruelty.

“No,” I said. “Not anymore.”

Dracula’s grin was all teeth as if that answer was everything he had been longing to hear. 

“You’re not nervous tonight.” He was still grinning. “You’re usually nervous around me.”

“Usually,” I agreed, smirking. 

Was this how it felt? Not having to worry, not caring about what could happen, not being cautious about every little thing, not minding that he had done horrible deeds and I still wanted his lips on mine?

This foreign feeling swelled inside my chest and my smirk became a grin. 

“Let’s see the rest of the place,” I said, beckoning him with my hand. “There is a door back there and I think I saw something interesting.”

I didn’t wait to see if he would follow and simply turned around, heading to my right where I had seen a long corridor dappled with more colourful light from stained glass. Through an arched portal, I could see the extent of the corridor but it still didn’t prepare me when I crossed the threshold. 

What I thought was only one corridor, was actually two positioned in an L-shape and I stood at the cusp of both. Elaborate lines composed patterns on the vaulted ceiling and walls, fanning into long and curved designs etched in stone and ending in what resembled flowers. Light poured from a collection of stained glass windows and with the way each corridor bent at their ends, I supposed the structure continued until it formed a rectangular. I squinted past a clear glass on a windowpane, and smiled. I could make out shapes of trees and what looked to be a fountain outside. These weren’t corridors but covered walks surrounding a square. Westminster Abbey had something similar.

“Gorgeous,” whispered Dracula.

I turned around to see what he was admiring. His stare was fixed on me, and I had a feeling it had been the same way when he spoke. He moved towards me and the stained glass bathed his face in red. Dracula placed one of my hands on his shoulder and took the other one into his own, extending our joined hands up in a dancing stance.

“I’ll step on your feet,” I warned as he splayed a hand on my back. “I’m not a good dancer.”

“I’ll teach you. Waltzing is easy, and I told you we would waltz.”

In a hushed voice as to not wake whoever slept inside the cathedral, Count Dracula instructed me how, his knees touching mine ever so slightly to point me in the correct direction as I stared down at our feet rasping on the floor, his hands pushing and tugging gently as we swayed to silence. 

After a little while, I felt confident enough not to step on his feet, although I had done it a few times during his lesson, and looked up at his face. We were both a mess of colours and blurry features clouded in darkness as we danced out and into the stained glass light. The air was so chilly that my lungs burned with the effort of dancing, his hand so unrealistically warm on mine as we danced pointlessly – it was surreal, and filled me with an unusual melancholy that I wouldn’t experience something like that again and happiness because I had let myself experience it.

“I dare not ask for love–” Dracula’s words cut through the silence and I drew a sharp intake of breath for what he was about to say. His next words were accompanied by the cadence people used to recite something, which removed some of the impact of what he had first said and I relaxed. 

“ I dare not ask for love – with all

My many sins, both great and small,

I am perhaps of love unworthy!

But if feigned love, if you would

Pretend, you’d easily deceive me,

For happily would I, believe me,

Deceive myself if but I could. ”

I held my breath halfway throughout but continued to dance. The mention of love completely escaped me when he spoke of deceit and I could not help but wonder if he suspected me of it. Did he know I was leading him on and did not care? Or did he know about me and Zoe and this was just a fancy way of telling me so? My heart raced. I hoped he took it not as panic but exhilaration instead.

“Is that in the bible?” I asked in a shaky voice.

“It’s Pushkin. I’ve been reading Russian literature again, old and new and it’s stuck in my head. Pushkin remains a favourite of mine and Anna Akhmatova is a close second from the new generation. Well, old generation, for you.” He chuckled. “The Pushkin stanza sounds better in Russian. Most things sound better in Russian,” he said in an even voice. I raised my eyebrows at him, and he recited the verses in Russian, and although I understood none of it, it did sound better. “This, however, is from the bible. I don’t remember from which book but I remember that I liked it when I was human. I’m translating directly from Latin, though, because that’s how I studied the bible, so I’m taking a few liberties here to make it sound better, and less ridiculously holy. It goes like this:  Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.”

“It could very well be Pushkin,” I offered. 

“It could. Ironically, I prefer these verses more than Pushkin’s.” He laughed lightly and I fully relaxed. He sounded like himself, not at all as if he knew something he wasn’t supposed to. 

I did wonder, though, why he chose those verses out of anything else to declaim. Pushkin was a hopeless romantic through and through from what I had read of him. Of Anna I knew little but what I did know spoke of bitterness, death and failed, tragic love. Why suddenly speak of love? He could’ve quoted something else from the bible. Perhaps something to do with Samson and Delilah, since we had joked about it in the past. Anything else would have made more sense, even the parts that made no sense at all and had driven me to argue with a priest years ago.

Was Count Dracula attempting to tell me something? No. Couldn’t be. He was as forward as one could be. And the idea of him feeling anything remotely close to love seemed a little silly. 

He had loved Justina; more than he thought he was capable of, he’d said. But that had been centuries ago in another life. 

For a moment my determination in being reckless faltered and I felt at loss for what to say. 

Dracula let go of me briefly to spin me around in a move I wasn’t as deftly trained in as he was, causing me to squeal at the velocity and trip over my feet. I thought I would fall but he caught me and started moving again in the waltz pattern he had taught me. Laughter bubbled up to my throat in my hurry to catch up with him and the sound of it was amplified by the long walls. Dracula’s laughter joined mine until it became a song for which we danced.

It doesn’t matter, nothing matters.  I thought as I gazed up at him.  He’ll be gone and whatever I say doesn’t matter anymore. I can entertain even the wildest of things because they’ll never happen. Nothing will happen, for the rest of time.

“I’ve got one for you,” I breathed as we spun in a dizzying pace. “The Devil’s hands directs our every move; the things we loathed become the things we love.” It didn’t come out nearly as expertly as his declamation but I was out of breath, spinning and spinning as he commanded. Like a ballerina in a music box. Dracula simply stared at me, the corners of his lips in their own fight of tugging upwards or downwards. “It’s Baudelaire. Have you read it?” I wasn’t sure if I saw him shake his head. Suddenly, we were dancing so fast that I could barely see my surroundings, much less his face. “I know Baudelaire as you know the bible, only the parts that matter, but I know them from heart. There’s one phrase that I particularly relate to, especially now.” I gulped as if I was looking down a cliff. “What can an eternity –”

Dracula stopped abruptly and I gasped, strands of my hair landing on my face as my head reeled at suddenly being motionless. The world still whirled around and I swayed on my feet as if I had forgotten how to keep myself standing up still, but the Count’s grasp kept me in place. 

Interrupting our dance, I realised not a second later, was for the best. I’d been about to quote something very dangerous, something that could land me with both feet on a grave for all eternity with Count Dracula. And I would’ve said it out of sheer wickedness, just because I was tempted about what could happen if I broke a few rules. 

I looked up at his face, heart teetering on the verge of stopping in fear of what I would find in his expression. But Dracula wasn’t paying attention to me. His eyes were focusing past my head. And then I heard it. Footsteps.

Our laughter must have woken up whoever had been sleeping inside the cathedral.

“What -?” A male voice drifted from behind me, sounding panicked and angry. “You can’t be here at this hour!”

“Shit,” I whispered to Dracula. “What now?”

He gave me a lopsided grin.

“This is your warning,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice now that we had been caught. I had time to frown at his reply before both of Dracula’s arms pulled me into an embrace, my feet swinging beneath me. I emitted a sound of surprise but didn’t struggle. “Hold on and please try not to throw up on my shoes, they’re rather expensive.”

I had one valuable second to wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest before we moved faster than I thought was possible. My insides tossed inside of me, suddenly demanding for a way out of my body’s cage. I kept my eyes closed the entire time, too frightened of opening them. I had never gone on a roller coaster ride but I supposed the feeling was similar. 

Gusts of wind assailed my hair and threatened to steal the breath out of my lungs. I was afraid the feeling would last forever until we finally stopped and I landed on safe ground.

“You can let go now, Y/N.”

“Can you give me a second?” I mumbled, eyes still shut. “I think my soul is still trying to find a way back into my body.”

Dracula’s laughter tickled my ear and I tightened my hold on him. He did, too, his fingers pressing gently on the flesh of my back. Slowly, as if in a limp, my senses caught up with me and my stomach settled on what felt like an appropriate position. 

I opened my eyes tentatively and turned my head to the side. Startled, I realised he had brought me all the way from Gloucester Cathedral to the street where my Airbnb rental was located. And he’d done it in a span of two minutes, if not less. 

I tipped my head to look at him, resting my cheek on the cold of his leather jacket. Dracula’s eyes were closed, sets of black eyelashes casting soft shadows on his face, and he was breathing steadily. Not because he needed to, I presumed, but because he was taking in my scent. My lips tugged up automatically; it was odd perceiving that as something sweet but I did.  

His throat moved, drawing my attention. A most devilish thought occurred to me and before I gave myself too much time to dwell on it, I stretched up and nibbled at the skin of his neck. It lasted no more than five seconds but the sound that came out of Dracula would be seared into my memory forever. Raw, rapturous, and chilling at the same time. Satisfied, I let go of him, but he didn’t let go of me. Too fast for me to react, he took my hands and placed them where they had been, and then trapped me into his embrace again.

I had just blurred some very important lines with what I had just done, and yet part of me only cared about the thrill of it.

“Your scar has faded,” he said, and my heart hammered madly. A hand delved into my hair, grabbing a mass of it to expose my neck. “You didn’t really think you could get away with what you just did, did you?”

“Not really. But if you bite me without my consent, then the deal is off.”

“And I have no intention of breaking my word. Don’t think of this as reprisal. It’s more of a gift, such as you’ve just given me.”

Dracula bent his head slowly towards my bare neck, like he was giving me time to protest. I remained silent. It was imprudent, this need to know what he would do, but I wanted to garner every possibility of my time with him to cherish in my heart, forever. And the uncertainty of it made me all the more excited. I stared up at the sky and then his lips touched my throat where he had bitten me, softly, so very softly. And then again, not softly at all. Riveting pleasure sparked to life as if the scar was still fresh and I choked on my breath. Dull teeth nibbled the skin there and a flash of pulsating warmth coursed down my chest and back, spreading gradually in the same way spilled blood spread on the ground: trying to encompass everything in its wake, tainting it with inevitable appeal and fear of what it meant. I held on to Dracula forcefully, more forcefully than one would judge to be adequate, and he laughed against my skin before giving it a long lick. 

“Careful,” he whispered in my ear. “I may interpret your willingness as consent. And I know you well enough to know you won’t give it to me easily. Will you?”

“No.” The word was automatic and I thanked the part of me that still harboured a sense of self-preservation above my heedless desire for him. However, I still leaned all of my weight on him and made no attempt to put distance between us, as I should’ve. “Not easily at all.”

Dracula, showing way more restraint than I had all night, disentangled my hair from his fingers and stepped back. It took everything in me not to launch myself into his arms again but I let my hands drop to my sides.

“You’re dangerous,” he accused.

“Not as much as you are.”

“A different kind of dangerous.” He licked his lips. Could he taste my skin in his mouth? 

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is one.”

I smiled. Being called dangerous filled me with power. Power over him. I was delighted for only a second before wondering if he would think the same thing tomorrow when I stuck a needle with sickly blood in him.

“The cathedral was a good idea,” I said. “Defiling a church has always been in my to-do list, plus I learned how to waltz. So thank you for that.” I sighed. “I should really go to bed now, and so should you. Isn’t the sun almost coming up?”

He nodded. 

“Before you go–” he looked behind me with obvious disdain at the building I was staying at and then back at me “–what were you quoting before the priest came upon us?”

I gulped.

“I don’t remember.”

He narrowed his eyes, shifting closer.

“You’re lying. I thought we had established that you don’t lie to me.”

“You established that.” I stepped back, conjuring a cheeky smile. “I didn’t.”

“Tell me.”

“I’ll regret it,” I admitted. “And I prize my sleep. I prefer not to go to bed with a heavy heart.”

He stared at me for a long moment and I waited under his scrutiny, doing my very best to keep it together.

“Tomorrow, then,” he finally said. “Tell me tomorrow.”

But I wouldn’t tell him tomorrow. I would tell him nothing at all. 

“Okay. Goodnight, Dracula.”

“Goodnight, dear.”

As I laid my head on the pillow that night, I realised I still didn’t know if Dracula would like Scully or Mulder better. And would never know.

 .

.

.

Taglist: @rheabalaur​ @festering-queen​ @feralstare​ @deborahlazaroff​ @mr-kisskiss-bangbang​ @girlonfireice​ @thorin-smokin-shield​ @a-dorky-book-keeper​ @dreamer2381​ @apocalypsenowish​ @saint-hardy​

[bunnylouisegrimes]

Unusual Thanksgiving (NOS4A2 Longish-Drabble Fic)

(A/N: As of writing this, it’s the weekend. I’ve noticed at least every weekend for a few weeks now I post some short little Drabble to help let out my emotions. Here’s another one that’s a little bit longer. With Thanksgiving coming up and my ass having little time to think of something and cook it up (pun intended), I thought I’d take the approach of having whatever come to my mind and writing it out. It’s a unique one, as you don’t usually associate horror and angst alongside the family fluffiness of Thanksgiving, but... here we are! I remember a while back I wrote how Rose’s parents would react to her having a relationship with Charlie, and that was one of my inspirations, alongside how rough things are this year. I’d like to wish you all Happy Thanksgiving ahead of time. Stay safe and enjoy a good ass feast. It’s been tough, and it’s had some highlights, but now’s the time we can all put aside our differences and whatever else bullshit and be thankful about what we do have this year; whether it be supplies or each other, we’ll get through this. 🧡🍂🍁🦃)

(Apologize for no Read More, posting this from mobile, and I found the image randomly, so if you want credit, let me know).

November is a beautiful and calming time of the year, but under certain circumstances, it can be oddly scary. This is most likely due to how dead the world is. There’s usually no snow, and what leaves remain are brown, have decayed from the trees, and collapsed to the ground to crumble and rot. I noticed this when I was younger, and part of me thought November was spookier than Halloween in some cases.

Of course, to me, any time of the year could be scary. Horror doesn’t stop and end at one point; it is an infinite occurrence that follows humanity wherever we go.

From the time I was a little kid, I would find horror in the most obscure of places. Scary movies never bothered me, and in fact, I was always excited when I watched them. What should’ve terrified me brought me nothing but adrenaline and fascination. Instead, odd things scared me, things most people would poke fun at if they saw my reaction to them, things most would shrug off. Call me Freudian, but perhaps my fears, just as yours are, are based in our differing subconscious minds, so there is no true definition of “stupid” horror.

The one thing that I know for certain that’s frightened me since I was younger are bees, wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets. Why these little yellow and black bugs terrify me, I will never truly know the answer as to why. Is it because they’re so small, yet they can hurt you so badly? Is it because of their appearance? I don’t want bees to die out, as I know of their importance, and bumbles don’t bother me because they usually leave you alone (and they’re oddly cute), but any other bee or wasp can stay away from me. I’ve never even been stung by one, yet one buzz or sight of one near me makes my body react instantaneously. I get away as much as I can and even scream sometimes. Not wise to scream or move a lot when you’re in their presence, I know. But when your body reacts the way it does, what are you to do?

When I was a little bit older, I would say roughly 8 or 9 years old, a new type of fear spawned its way into my mind: the fear of shadow people.

I don’t know what it is about those things either that scare me so much. When I first discovered I had this fear, I believe I was watching an episode of Ghost Adventures, and I saw them capture a really clear shadow figure on camera. It chilled me to the bone, and from then on, just the thought of one creeped me out. One particular episode where the crew went to an old, abandoned and haunted Tuberculosis sanitarium got to me because shadow figures were prominent there, and they actually captured two on camera going down a long hallway.

Shadow people, from what I’ve seen online, are very mysterious. They could come from another dimension, they could be demonic; some are harmless, others are harmful, and it’s all dependent on what experience you have with them. Zak Bagans and his crew have come across quite a few demonic ones, and their guests have usually described them as tall, thin, 6-7 foot tall entities that are dark both in physicality and energy. They look like an individual spray painted with pitch black aerosol, and darker than a room if it were void of all light. Sometimes they have red or white eyes, and sometimes they can have differing appearances that are just as terrifying as the blank appearances they often have. They can stand there and look over you while you’re sleeping at night, they can stand in a corner and stare at you, maybe rocking a bit, they could dart down a hallway, hiding from you, they can crawl on the floor, they can crawl on the ceiling... whatever it is they do, it’s all bone chilling to me, and I hate it all with a burning passion. I don’t care even if they were harmless: If I were to ever see one in real life, I would have a heart attack.

That is why I am thankful I’ve only seen them either when I’m paranoid for whatever reason before I go to sleep (but they’re not really there, my mind’s just playing tricks on me), or if I have a nightmare and they’re present. This story will focus on the latter.

*************************************************

Halloween, Charlie’s birthday on November 1st, the Election... it all came and left sooner than expected, and we needed to plan what we were doing about Thanksgiving. I know, a vampire who’s all about Christmas celebrating other holidays. It seems unreal, but I assure you, he has respect for other holidays as well. Christmas just happens to be his favorite and one that brings him and the kids lots of comfort and joy. They say Christmas is a state of mind and is never truly over, so... I suppose Charlie is just a living embodiment of that saying.

With COVID still in full swing, and cases breaking records everyday, people were stocking up on supplies yet again alongside their Turkey Day feasts. We knew we had to hurry up and order stuff the week before Thanksgiving at most.

Living in Gunbarrel, Colorado, away from everyone except for each other and the kids when we spent quite a few days in Christmasland each week, it was relieving to know we weren’t around tons of people. The virus wouldn’t affect Charlie or the kids, but me being the only human, and one with asthma, it would, so it was calming to not have to worry as much as many other folks about exposure. Not to mention, the town was small, and everybody knew everybody. Whenever we did enter town, which took 10 minutes to get to, we would see everyone keeping their distance and respecting each other. It was nice to see our small and (just about) off-the-grid community helping each other during these times.

The only two local stores were an Acme that everyone went to, and the Gunbarrel General Store, owned by a kindly old man who looked like Santa Clause named Sam. Before everyone rushed to Acme, we decided on doing a curbside pickup order, and picking up anything else that was not available at Sam’s, as he was sure to provide lots of Thanksgiving food.

It was going to certainly be an interesting Thanksgiving without my usual family, and not being back home, but I was going to call them on that fateful Thursday and talk to them for a few hours. Charlie and I would have a small dinner together, and we would spend most of the day in Christmasland with our children, dining on delicious food and laughing together. The thought warmed my heart and made me feel better about this Thanksgiving. We would be okay, and everything would be fine, despite my horrible dreams...

For whatever reason, over these past few weeks, my dreams were plagued with shadow people haunting me. No explanation was given, and no explanation would need to be given for it to still occur and damn near break me. Maybe it was some sort of unresolved issue going through the back of my mind, maybe it was fueled by my stresses of being busy lately, but regardless of whatever the issue was, I was haunted by them. The day after Charlie’s birthday, we watched the original Nosferatu together, and I fell asleep near the end, experiencing the first of these dreams.

I was walking down a dark and cold hallway. I was 8 years old again. I don’t know how I knew this, but it was one of those instances where you know a random piece of information in a dream. I was holding two small plastic My Little Pony figurines I got from Happy Meals at that time, a small Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. I hadn’t seen those toys in years, yet there they were in my hands. When I looked up, a shadow person was standing near the end of the pathway. It stood tall and authoritative, looming over me as if it wanted to grab me and drag me down the corridor straight into Hell, or wherever it came from.

I took off running, and it crawled on all fours after me. I screamed and kept running until I came across a goofy, tall, and lanky figure: Count Orlock, or the actual Nosferatu himself, was standing there. I hid behind him and begged him to protect me. He smiled his stupid smile and looked down at the shadowy behemoth. It seemed to back down a bit once he snarled at it. It backed up behind a corner, peaking at us once before vanishing.

My relief was short lived for only a few moments because Orlock wandered off into the darkness.

“Where are you going? Come back here!” I tried to call after him, but I was cut off by the shadow figure crawling on the ceiling and grabbing me. I gave a scream and found myself awake on the couch, springing to life and hearing the opening music to Downton Abbey greeting me. Charlie had tuned in after the movie. He looked at me with a confused and concerned look. I explained everything to him and he comforted me, laughing at the thought of the original Nosferatu visiting me.

The dreams afterward were more terrifying than the first. One dream featured a shadow person staring over me as I slept, another featured one standing in the corner of the room twisting and contorting its head violently. The third had a shadow figure hunched over near a window within an abandoned building. I was walking through the woods in another nightmare when a whole group of them were peaking at me through the trees. I ran down another hallway and one was behind me. I was in an unknown house and down the hall near the steps, one was charging towards me. Each time, I would wake up and feel unsettled. Charlie would comfort me, but it was always hard to fall back asleep, for I feared I’d be terrorized by the evil onyx creatures wanting nothing more than to consume me in their shadowy force and make my soul rot.

Despite all of my terror and the tiredness that accompanied my days, the focus for today would have to be Thanksgiving dinner.

“My mom mailed me the recipe to her sweet potatoes last week, and let me tell you, they are actually sweet and delicious,” I told Charlie. “So you can put down all the ingredients for that. We already got turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes written down... Oh! Green bean casserole, put that down... and we need apple and pumpkin pie. We already have whip cream and gravy in the fridge, and cider is in the cabinet. I think that’s everything.”

Charlie nodded and wrote these things down. Once he was done, he looked over the list and showed me.

“Yup, that’s everything! Alright, let’s look up to see what Acme has.”

As I pulled up the site on my phone, he spoke up.

“Rosie, are you bothered by not seeing your family? If so, we can visit them on Thanksgiving Day or I could go the extra mile and bring them here if you’d like.”

I sighed and rubbed my temple. “I’m alright, baby. I know they’ll be alright too. Things seem to be... okay between us, even if we did get into arguments since last we spoke in person.”

He looked down and felt guilty.

“Hey, don’t you feel guilty,” I reassured him. “It’s their fault, not yours. They see you in whatever light they want to, but I know who you really are, and I love you. I don’t care what they say or think about you, hence why I’m sticking by you and left with you to come here.”

He nodded and pulled me close to him, resting his chin on my head. “I admit, my darling, I am constantly bothered by this thought that I have destroyed the relationship you have with your family.”

“Like I said, they’re the ones that can’t accept that you and I truly love each other. I’ve been patient and offered them every chance to accept you. I’ve explained and talked to them, but they don’t want to listen to my reasoning. I don’t know what else to do.”

He kissed me on the cheek and said, “I’m glad that you at least still talk to each other.”

“Me too. At least we have that... but let’s not worry about that. We got food to focus on.”

We ordered everything that we could (the only things not available until the week of Thanksgiving were the two pies, but we knew Sam would have them). When the time came, we loaded into the Wraith and the trunk was packed with our dinner. We stopped by the General Store and Sam happily gave “Father Christmas” (as Charlie was known as) the pies. Since it was still light out, we decided to go for a drive to enjoy the autumn weather. As I mentioned before, November is usually dead and brown, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t peaceful and calm. We observed the soothing and cold weather as Fleetwood Mac and The Doors sang along on the old radio.

While gazing at the brown leaves and bare trees rocking their branches above us, I drifted off to sleep without even thinking about it. Stevie Nicks and Jim Morrison’s voices melted into oblivion as I found myself walking through a tranquil forest of dead trees. Cold, I wrapped my arms around myself until I felt a bit warmer, and I saw a grove of orange trees. It was as if I teleported back in time to October, and the trees were still alive with vibrant color.

I ran over to them, taken aback by their beauty. The leaves that were on the ground were still orange, and I tossed them up into the air with childish carelessness. At last! For once, I was having a good dream!

However, that enjoyment would be cut short when I looked into the distance in between the trees. The world and my joy winded down like a dying record player.

From somewhere beyond the misty horizon, a pair of white eyes were watching me.

Dread hit me and I ran away. The trees began to rot again, and the orange faded into brown. The sunlight morphed into fog, and the warmth dissipated from my body. I fell to the ground, tripping over my own clumsy feet.

Now I was somewhere entirely different. I was in a dark, unfamiliar bedroom. I couldn’t move except for my eyes, like I was suffering from sleep paralysis. I looked up to see the shadow figure that was hiding behind the trees. Its white eyes were dimmer than before, and its solid black body cast lighter shadows behind it. I tried to scream, but I could only choke out vocalizations as it covered my mouth.

It lifted its ice cold hand from my mouth and pointed to the left. My eyes glanced in that direction and a scream broke from my throat.

A pointy eared demon with beady eyes, a close together face, and a sickening smile was on top of my chest. Its body was too dark to make out any notable features, but it was lighter than the shadow next to me. The pressure on top of me crushed the life from my lungs. It continued to smile, as if nothing in the world bothered it at all.

Before my scream ran out of air, it wrapped its cold hands around my neck and tightened to the point it was strangling me. The rest of my scream died out, my eye sight was fading until it was only a pinhole...

Air rushed into my lungs as I jolted into a conscience state once again. My eyes darted rapidly and my body clung to the leather seat of the Wraith. We were no longer driving, and instead parked in the garage. A wave of nausea flooded my head and stomach, and I pressed my hand to my eyes. My mind finally registered Charlie’s soft voice.

“Rose! My sweet Rose! Whatever is the matter?”

“I... Jesus Christ... I... had another nightmare... this was... Good God, how else could I describe it?!”

While we gathered the groceries into the house, I detailed my horrifying dream to him. He was immensely disturbed and decided enough was enough.

“I know you believe in ghosts and demons and the sort,” said he, “and I know such things exist, since I’ve seen spirits and souls before. Because of this, you and I can pray before you go to sleep tonight. Unlike other vampires, holy things do not bother me, unless I were to drink or touch holy salt or holy water, in which case I would feel some discomfort thanks to the darker side of my being. I have an old angel doll that my daughters used to play with and hold whenever they felt uncomfortable or scared. That could help you too. I will hypnotize you and make you have sweet dreams. If any dark entity is going to mess with you, I will protect you. I don’t think you have an attachment, but these dreams are certainly unusual.”

I agreed to all of this. That night, we said a prayer together, I snuggled with the angel doll, and he hypnotized me to sleep. I had a dream I couldn’t remember, but it was certainly the most peaceful I had in a while, and it was even better then the beginning of that nightmare I had that evening.

A sense of purity filled my heart, and I knew nothing dark would ever hurt me or anyone I loved, as whatever God that may be out there as my witness.

*************************************************

Thanksgiving arrived at an unbelievably fast rate. No other bad dreams tormented me, and I couldn’t have felt more happy. Charlie and I worked together to prep dinner. When I finished making sure the turkey was good and putting it in the oven, Charlie presented me with a package.

“It’s from your home,” he observed.

I opened it up at the dining room table and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

It was the Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash figurines from my childhood. Underneath them, was a heartfelt letter from my family, detailing how they had recently found these toys and thought of me. They missed me, and they even apologized for all of their harsh words against me and Charlie. They gave it some thought, and they came to the conclusion that as long as I was happy and in love, and as long as Charlie truly loved me and treated me well, then all was perfectly fine. They wished us a very happy Thanksgiving from 2 hours ahead and many miles away.

Tears fell from my cheeks. I was crying of joy for more than the obvious reason being that my family and I were rekindling together.

I realized now why I had such horrible dreams. It was either my worries and fears of my family not being together haunting me, or maybe even some dark force, but Twily and Dashie here weren’t random parts of that first dream at all; they served as symbolism. They represented hope and familial innocence long lost, now brought back to light. Maybe they sent a message out in the universe to my family that Charlie was a good man. That could also be why Orlock was protecting me in that same dream, but him leaving symbolized my family keeping Charlie away from me, therefore causing bad things to happen to me. And perhaps when Charlie helped me and cleansed all darkness (regardless of it being real or not), those ponies knew ahead of time he was going to do that, and reassured my family he was always going to protect me. It sounded bizarre, but it was the best reasoning I could come up with to explain these odd coincidences.

I immediately called my family afterwards and told them everything. They were chilled themselves because my mother had a dream the night before about Charlie bringing forth bouts of light to protect me from a wave of darkness, and she thought it was her brain processing her acceptance of him, but now that my story was told, it made things even clearer.

We concluded talking by coming up with a date to have dinner together and to see each other again back home. We exchanged I love yous and Happy Thanksgivings, and I hung up feeling thankful. As Charlie and I ate a bit of dinner, as we went to Christmasland, and as we ate lots of food with our children, warmth and light abundant, I was grateful that I had the family I did, the boyfriend and children that I did, and the light that still shined in the universe, even on the most darkest of days. This year has been hard, but gratitude for all the good, hope, and love, even when we’re distant figuratively, literally, or both, makes this holiday season a brighter one.

[jowritesthingss]

Excuse Me Sir This Is My Emotional Support Eldritch Being

Fandom: The Magnus Archives

Pairing(s): n/a

Rating: Teen (for swearing)

Content Warning(s): rabbits, food/drink, mild(ish) swearing, not!Sasha, eldritch beings, spoilers through early s3-ish

Length: 2,190 words

Brief Summary: The archival team adopts a rabbit. (Part one of the Emotional Support Eldritch AU!)

AO3 link in reblogs bc Tumblr is a biatch!

*

“What is it?”

Jon levels a suspicious glare down at the fluffy blob comfortably stretched out in the middle of the overstuffed break room couch.

Tim blinks owlishly at him from behind his mug of tea. “A...rabbit?”

“Yes, but are you sure it’s a rabbit?” Jon asks insistently. “Not a—a spirit, or...an animated doll, or a clown in disguise or something?”

Sighing, Tim sets his tea down on the counter. “Look, I get the whole ‘suspicious of us being murderers’ thing—no I don’t, actually, but that’s beside the point—it. is. a rabbit.” For a good measure, he walks over to sit on one side of the rabbit, reaching a hand out to the little guy’s fluffy head. If a rabbit could smile, he suspects this one would be doing so as it leans up into his hand.

“No fleas or ticks...or worms, so it’s not some Jane Prentiss Pet Sematary crossover, I promise—” Tim rolls his eyes, “—the veterinarian confirmed as much when I brought the poor thing in. Out of the mud and the rain of the gutter,” he adds, not even attempting to hide the guilt-trip. He wishes Martin were here, with his ridiculously effective puppy-dog eyes.

Tim knows this is Jon he’s talking to, but surely even he can’t be that cold-hearted. He rather thinks that Jon will enjoy not being alone anymore down here during all his late nights. If he’d let himself, surely Jon would enjoy having company in the form of a teeny tiny creature that can’t and won’t harm him—which, uh, certainly is not why he’s lying about his current flat not permitting pets, no siree.

“...Fine. Whatever.” Jon points an accusing finger at him. “But we’re not keeping it,” he stresses. “The moment you find it a different home, it goes. The moment.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Tim chirps, although as he begins a staring contest with the rabbit’s curious red eyes, he has no intention of actually doing as Jon says.

Martin chooses this moment to walk through the door. His eyes light up. “Aw, is that a rabbit?”

“No, this does not mean you’re allowed to bring in more strays,” Jon snaps.

The light in Martin’s eyes fades. “Okay,” he says mournfully as he crouches to pet the rabbit, sulking.

-

“So what should we name him?” Tim asks Jon when the Head Archivist comes into the break room the next morning.

“Oh—my—” Jon startles where he stands by the counter, attempting to make himself some toast with the Archive’s horrible fifteen-year-old toaster—toast that now splatters across the floor. Somehow in his sleep-deprived stupor he must’ve missed Tim sitting on the couch with a white rabbit on his head. He never seems to really notice Tim, but at this point it’s fine enough; Tim has accepted that the guy has impossibly poor taste.

The rabbit clambers down from Tim’s shoulders, jumping off of the couch and padding over to investigate the new human(?) and the mess he made.

“How about Thumper?” Tim puzzles aloud, stretching leisurely and acting as if he doesn’t notice Jon frantically scrubbing up raspberry jam and trying to avoid the rabbit’s investigative snuffles all in one. “No, no...that’s too cliché.”

“I really don’t see the point in naming it when it shouldn’t be here more than a few weeks,” Jon comments, shooing the animal in question away before it can try to lick up any jam.

“Maybe Joe?” Tim continues loudly, as if he hadn’t heard the other. When the rabbit ambles back over to him, he scoops them up, pressing their noses together. “Ligma?” He shakes his head at the rabbit. “No, no. We need to have more sophistication as we go about this.”

“You could do with applying that sophistication to your work,” comes the grumbled retort.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Jon abruptly turns to burn another piece of bread in the toaster.

-

“How about Marshmallow?”

“What on Earth—” Jon shrieks, jumping in his desk chair, and a sheaf of papers is sent flying around the office.

“The rabbit. Should we call him ‘Marshmallow’?” Tim smiles as innocently as he can manage, standing out in the hall with his head peeping into his boss’ office. “Marshie for short?”

“I am in the middle of a statement!” Jon sputters. “Get out!”

“Okay, okay....” Tim fluidly shrugs his shoulders. “What about ‘Bob’?”

“Out!”

But Tim continues to pop into Jon’s office unannounced throughout the day, tossing out name suggestions. He even manages to rope Martin into doing it too, and notes with savage delight that between the two of them and his work, Jon doesn’t get much more than a moment to wallow rest for the remainder of the day.

Between the two of them Tim and Martin manage to compile a surprisingly long list of names:

Snowball,

Posy (Martin is partial to this one because he thinks it’s cute),

Bungen Leitner,

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt (“is that too American of a reference for a fanfic taking place in the UK?” “what?” “what?”),

the Bunholding,

Michael (Jon is especially averse to that one for some reason),

Cottonball,

Fluffy Bastard (Tim’s own favorite),

Bugs Bunny,

Eldritch Horror (Tim tosses that one in as a joke; no way the rabbit that eats his own shit is some kind of otherworldly being),

Big Bungus (“it’s a play off Big Chungus!” “d’you seriously think anyone else here even knows what memes are”), and

the Vampiric Count Sir Maximillianus-Who-Is-Also-A-Werebun

(Despite badgering Sasha multiple times in an attempt to get her thoughts on the matter, the only name she offers up is “Dinner”, which makes Martin cry, so that one is out.)

None of the names quite seem to fit the little white puffball that has now taken over the realm of their break room, however—so Tim and Martin find themselves going back to the drawing board. They reluctantly leave the Institute at the end of the day, still without having decided upon a name.

-

“JON JUNIOR!” Martin screeches excitedly the next morning as they’re congregating once more in the break room, zombie-like before their tea and mid-morning snack time (primary schools don’t get all the fun, okay).

Jon and Sasha startle, and for once even Tim himself jumps. The rabbit doesn’t seem to care much where he is, nibbling at some hay in his corner litter box.

“I—what?” Jon asks, flabbergasted, although he manages to not drop his toast this time. Character development.

“We should name him Jon Jr! After you!” Martin explains eagerly.

“Absolutely not,” Jon tries to say, but before he can finish, Tim is jumping in.

“I think that is an excellent idea,” he says, grinning broadly. “Thoughts, Sasha?”

“I’m not emotionally invested in this.” Sasha shrugs, uncaring. “I’m going back to my desk.” She takes her drink and walks out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.

“All right, since Sasha doesn’t care, I’ll decide her vote for her,” Tim says, carefully containing his glee. “So that’s three votes for and one against, then. Majority rules.”

“What? No!” John protests, but Tim is too busy looking at the rabbit for confirmation.

“What do you think, little guy?” He walks over, bends down, and lightly boops the rabbit’s nose. “Are you a Jon Jr?”

The rabbit twitches his nose in agreement and poops.

“Well then!” Tim stands, clapping his hands together. “That’s been decided upon.”

No, it hasn’t,” Jon insists, but Tim cares little for his boss’ objections. He’ll accept his fate as Jon Senior eventually.

-

To Tim’s utter surprise and fascination, it happens sooner than later.

Jon, Tim quickly realizes, is a lot like the one dad who says “no dog” and then ends up loving the dog more than he loves his own children.

Despite his initial objections, the daft fool ends up getting caught up in Jon Jr’s big, innocent, rabbit-y gaze (worse than even Martin’s puppy-dog eyes, they conclude gravely), and by the end of the day Friday Jon has announced that he supposes the rabbit can stay with him over weekends and holidays.

“We’re still not keeping him,” Jon reminds them all, even as the rabbit gathered in his arms, giving his nose kisses and knocking his glasses askew, says otherwise.

He gets caught trying to sneak the rabbit into his office on more than one occasion, but Martin raises a fuss about it.

(“He’s all of ours! Jon Jr is our department’s mascot now,” Martin protests defiantly. “You can’t take him away from the rest of us.”

“Yeah,” Tim adds, mostly just to stir up drama—he doesn’t particularly care one way or another. “You can’t just swoop him up and file him away like one of your statements.”

“Just don’t let it get out and chew at my electronics,” Sasha says, distractedly typing something on her phone, probably to that weird new boyfriend.)

To stave off the imminent coup, Jon Jr becomes an officially-declared resident of the break room. He slowly amasses chub around his middle and a cardboard kingdom of bunny toys, houses, blankets, and treats. A rabbit could want for nothing more.

And perhaps—perhaps a human could want for nothing more, too, Tim thinks as he looks down at the figure curled up on the sofa, rabbit nestled against his chest.

He doesn’t love the man, not by a long, long shot—doesn’t even particularly like him half the time—but Tim can’t deny that the scene is adorable. And, regardless of his very vocal protests, Jon Jr may very well be what Jon Sr needs to finally process things and move the hell on with life.

Tim smiles grimly. It’s about damn time.

He quietly closes the door to the room and heads back towards the Archives. He’ll leave Jon to wake himself up.

(And to discover for himself that Jon Jr has peed on his pants leg.)

-

Of course, this is the Archive we’re talking about, so naturally the peace is abruptly shattered, and everything goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Tim isn’t entirely certain what happens or why, but all of a sudden Sasha isn’t really Sasha, and he and Jon have gotten backed up and cornered in the tunnels as this not-really-Sasha stalks towards them, predictably with the intent to kill, just like the rest of the spooks they are so lucky to deal with.

Tim and Jon Sr slowly back away until they hit a dead end. Meanwhile, Jon Jr licks at Tim’s arm—he’d been scooped up as they ran into the tunnels, Tim doesn’t entirely know why—and despite the fact that they are most probably about to, y’know, die, the little kisses almost feel strangely reassuring.

The thing-that-is-not-Sasha cackles, her—their?—its?—voice distorted and echoing throughout the tunnels. It stalks towards them.

All of a sudden, Jon Jr wriggles loose and leaps smoothly down onto the ground. He scampers in front of Tim and Jon, heading towards bitch-give-me-my-Sasha-back.

“No! Get back here!” Tim hisses at the rabbit, even though he knows it’s pointless. He hates to admit it, but he’s becoming rather fond of Jon Jr, even if Tim mostly brought him in to piss off and totally not help Jon. Jon—who, speaking of, seems to be equally fond now, judging by the deflating tire of a terrified squeak he makes, and the adorable immature grabby arms he makes at the little bugger.

“Junior,” Jon calls out, sounding like a toddler who’d just been told Santa wasn’t real (he is, they have the statements to prove it, he is). And Tim wants to laugh, albeit hysterically. The first time he sees his brick wall of a superior cry and it’s over a rabbit, and he’s not even going to have time to gloat over it because they’re about to die. “No! You’re going to—”

Jon Jr stops and sits in front of wholly-absolutely-totally-not-Sasha-what-the-fuck, who looks down at him, bemused through its murderous bloodlust.

The rabbit lifts a dainty paw up to his mouth, and suddenly—suddenly it’s twisting and huge, towering up to the ceiling of the tunnel, its skin hairless and tinted a sickly, glowing gray, with five, six, seven...a whole lot more limbs than a rabbit is supposed to have.

The not-rabbit unhinges its now meters-long jaw and snaps up the creature.

Tim and Jon stare at each other, wide-eyed.

There is a loud gulping sound, then a deafening crack, and suddenly there is a very normal white rabbit sitting in front of them again, carefully cleaning one paw with a very normal pink tongue.

“Wh—” Tim chokes on his own words.

The holy-shit-it-really-is-an-eldritch-horror-after-all stretches, yawns, and flops over in a dead sleep.

“...We’re keeping the rabbit,” Jon says faintly.

“I—yeah.” Tim nods, light-headed. “We’re keeping the rabbit.”

-

Jon Jr the rabbit-slash-eldritch-abomination gets a very hearty dinner of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber peels that night.

-

(Tune in next time* for the terrible, terrible realization—“Jon Jr is a girl?!” (Also why is there another dead body again, dammit, can’t we go one week))

Fin

First || Next

*

(There may or may not actually be a next time. It depends. )

Behold. What very well may be the stupidest thing I have ever written. Ahem. Did I say stupidest? I meant most brilliant. Clearly I meant it’s the most brilliant thing I have ever written. Obviously.

Let me know if you enjoyed this! I have a bunch of ideas to continue this ridiculously silly AU of sorts, but idk if I’m going to quite yet and am not certain that I’ll be continuing to write for TMA. atm I’m focused on a different fandom, and I’m only on s3, so the really big idea I had has to wait, anyway.

Want to chat or be added onto any of my taglists? Shoot me an ask or a message here or via my other social media!

[little-lily-w]

Asa Emory x Eve (their story)

A/N: After two days I managed to put all the pieces together. This is a story we’ve been creating with @asa-emory-the-collector (mun is @vannahhere or @slassher-addict) It tells how their lives met and how their relationship grew. Eve is my muse. You can find her on @hisbluemonarch. 

Warnings: the ones you can expect in a world ruled by a sadist and a person who fell in love with her kidnapper. 

Words: 30k+ (and we will continue writing it). Give the story some time cuz at first we were figuring out our muses functioning together but then they become clearly defined. 

My parts are marked with “E” and Vann Vann’s parts are marked with “A”. 

Enjoy!

Eve:

You know one of my attributes as an angel is living to please you, right? Even if what you're thinking involves some sort of... knife to my disgrace.

 Asa:

Fascinating little pet…

---

*Episode visiting Jesse*

---

Eve:

*Comes running to you* Asa, one of the Shepherds is chasing me to bite me 😭

Asa:

What exactly did you do? Or did they just see you?

Eve:

 Ummm... 👉👈 I saw them and I thought it'd be nice to pet them so I went to one of them and released him from his chain... 👉👈 He seemed nice when I was doing that but as soon as he was free he started growling. Oh no, here he comes

 Asa:

You’re fine now, just stand behind me a little. Don’t do it again, they’re chained for a reason. They aren’t your average dogs.

Eve:

Thank you and... I'm sorry 👉👈 I won't do that again. Promise.

Asa:

Unless you want to get torn to pieces.

---

Eve:

Sometimes, when I spy your work on the down floor I understand why you enjoy silence. If you try to turn low the sound of the new victims' screams, you look like a paintor or an orchestra conductor

Asa:

A conductor? That’s interesting..

The story starts to have shape from here (Eve realizes she likes Asa but Asa doesn’t trust her yet):

Eve:

Can I borrow your black garment? I appreciate not having to sleep in a box anymore but I feel a bit alone in this room. 😔

Asa:

Do you want to join me? You’ll be on the other side of the room though.

Eve:

You mean me sleeping outside your room? It'd be nice. Since this place is so quiet I'd dream that I hear your heartbeat from the distance

A:

No, you’ll be inside of the room, chained to the wall by the couch.

E:

Oh my god, having a comfy place to sleep and being in your presence is such a privilege. I don't know how I could be grateful enough but I'll behave so good you'll think you have me better trained than the Shepherds.

A:

I’m not so sure about that, but sure.

E:

*sleeps quietly all night. Wakes up at the sound of Asa getting up but pretends to be asleep so she can look at him from the corner of her eye*

A:

Do you know, that your breathing changes once you wake up? 

*leans down to look closely at your face*

 E:

*Yelps at the sudden image of his aracnid eyes* S-sorry *the chain clanks with her tiny whimper*

 A:

*stares a bit long* *walks away without saying a word*

E:

*Hours pass by. From that room, nothing is audible, not even the horrible screams of the "zombies". She looks around. The chain is clean but old. She doesn't even try to pull from it knowing it's well secured, nor that she wants to go anywhere. Was it true? She spent the night in his room? Thirst and hunger start to have their effects on her but even if she is dizzy and her members become weak, she doesn't complain. The image of him sleeping so close was enough nourishment.*

A:

*walks into the room to observe your state*

Would my little bug like to eat? I’m sure you’re hungry.

 E:

*nods exaggeratedly* please *tries to move closer unconciously but the chain pulls her back and she falls on her butt*

 A:

*smirks before leaving back out of the room. Shortly comes back in with a sandwich and water*

*places it in from of you. Then watch you eat*

E:

She eats ravenously. Food always has a moist taste but it's not particularly disgusting since by now she doesn't have taste buds anymore. In her head it could be like dinner at a fancy restaurante. After all, he is there watching her and she is there watching him, his eyes, his parted lips, his knife hanging from his hips... Sometimes its shine makes her have a flash of her old life but it gets lost when she notices the butterfly design he's been carving in her forearm.

A:

He just watches her until she finish, he grabbed the plate and leaves out of the room.

He comes back in to take her out of the room, leading her to another room. He throws her in, closing the door, locking it.

E:

She sighs and sits right in the corner, hugging her legs. What did she do wrong? Is he never inviting her back to his room? At least she still has the chain attached to her neck as a reminder. Suddenly, a loud noise comes from outside and then the sound of a key. Was it him? To her surprise it's a blonde guy who locks the door back and approaches her in a heartbeat. "Who are you?!" He shushes her violently and starts pulling from the chain (1/2)

 “No, what are you doing?!” She screams at him. “Come on, we need to find a way out”. “No! Stop!” She screams again, and this time the struggle ends up breaking the chain and it comes off of her collar. “WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!” The guy then decides to step back and hide behind an old armchair. She stays there screaming babbling noes trying uselessly to connect the chain again. (2/2)

 A

Asa watches through one of the peep holes, already setting the traps in the hall and vents. They weren’t getting out of the room. He watches the boy hide behind the chair, it’s useless, and he knows that.

Tired of waiting around, Asa opens the door but remains out of sight. Hearing the movement inside of the room, he saw the two emerge from the room.

Running through the halls, the boy triggers the trap. Lucky enough, the girl trips and falls, avoiding the spears coming out of the wall. She needs to move carefully, or else she’ll trigger another trap.

Asa watches as the girl looks around, trying to make her way back to her given room.

 E:

"Asshole", she yells once again in her room. Her heart beats like she's on a rollercoaster. What if Asa saw that guy dragging her and thought she was trying to escape? She was lucky enough to avoid the trapps, mostly because he taught her about them some time ago but of course he could have set new ones and that was a high risk she wasn't enthusiastic about. (1/2)

 What’s worse is that she is now back in the room looking at the broken chain like she has lost a treasure, not even realizing she is covered in the blood that has splashed all over her face and right side from the destroyed body of that man. Her angelic features still manage to peek from that filth but they’re nowhere as attractive as they were just a moment before. “Fucking asshole” she yells again and starts kicking madly the armchair with an anger she hasn’t felt in a very long time (2/2)

A:

Asa stands in the doorway, watching the fit of anger with amusement. He waits until she feels his presence, before he motions her closer to him.

E:

The image of him surprises her like a cold shower. Stopping all action, she takes a deep breath and walks to him at his motion. ´He is going to stab me´, she thinks so she moves like she knows best: slowly and with her head down but preparing for the worst.

A:

Once she’s close enough, he circles behind her. Moving her hair, he looked at the now broken chain on the collar. Deeming it useless, he takes it off, observing the bruise.

He leaves her in the room, walking into the hall and into another room. This room looked way better than the rest, excluding Asa’s. He went to the bathroom and ran some water.

Going back to the trembling girl, he threw her over his shoulder. Weaving his way through the hall, avoiding the traps.

He sets her down in the bathroom. He waits for her reaction….

 E:

Even after he removed the item from her neck, she still didn't know what to expect but when she threw her over his shoulder, her anger has vanished; it's impossible to be angry in such a pathetic position. She always has to resist the urge to squirm, it has earned her harsh spanks in the past, not the ones you see in the movies but the ones behind the knee that make the joint burn inside the flesh. It isn't the first time she is inside the tidy bathroom. (1/2)

 Things have evolved from him throwing buckets with iced water and bleach at her to earn his trust and be left alone in this big room of the hotel. Despite that, Asa is still there watching her trembling being. She wants to scream at him that she didn’t had to do with what happened but it’s not wise to break silence at this point so she goes to the tub and puts her fingers in the water: it’s warm, and it’s then when she realizes about the blood covering her. She looks at him waiting a command

A:

Get undressed, get into the tub.

E:

A deep breath and a shaky exhalation come after that. In her lost mind, this moment of her getting naked in front of him was always a nice fantasy but god, the real situation was different, she was so fucking small before him, and the bathroom was also enormous to make her feel like an actual bug. Slowly, her fingers fidget with the fabric of her shirt before removing it, hands covering poorly her breasts not knowing if she was supposed to do that. (1/2)

 When the turn of her wasted skirt comes, she can’t stand the shame and turns her back at him. Then she gets into the tub, still on her feet and facing the wall.

A:

Sit down, look towards the faucet.

E:

She obeys, taking advantage of the position to hug her legs and cover more surface although the water is actually pretty relaxing.

A:

Asa grabs the sponge, dipping it in the water. Slowly washing the blood off, the water started to turn pink.

Instructing her to tilt her head back, he rinsed off her hair as well.

He leaves the bathroom for a minute, shortly returning, draining the water. Holding a towel out for her to step into, effectively covering her body.

Both of you leave the bathroom, but Asa is a few paces ahead. Leaving the girl in the locked room, clothes lying on the bed.

A black, long sleeved dressed and a pair of normal black, cotton underwear.

 E:

It looks like she's finally able to breathe, out of a moment that felt like eternity. Back in the bedroom alone, she notices the clothes. 'Such a classy taste'. She removes the towel, taking a moment to caress the soft fresh skin of her arms as a way to treasure the path that the sponge has created. Then she changes into the underwear and dress, the long sleeve covering the scars of the butterfly design. Too lost in adoration, she never wonders where the clothes come from (1/2)

although the sudden pain in her neck delivers her quickly to reality. The bruise is already purple and makes her unable to move her head too much. At least if she has long sleeves, he may not continue with the knife. Because even if they weren’t deep cuts, they were still as painful as the bloodish mark on her neck. ‘Am I going to sleep alone today?’ She looks down. The dress suits her almost perfectly but soon it gets a bit wrinkled due to her starting to fall asleep on the bed.(2/2)

A:

Asa enters the room to find the girl sleep, so he leaves the jug of water at the end of the table. He sits in the chair in the corner of the room, a little out of site.

Watching her sleep….

 The story evolves (Eve muse has a name and a more defined personality. Asa slowly gets closer to her)

E:

A few hours later, Eve wakes up. Hissing a little at the touch of the sheets against the bruise on her neck, she scrubs her eyes and steps out of the bed, fixing the elegant dress. As she walks a few steps, she notices Asa in the corner and jumps. ´Breathing changes when you're awake but he must not breathe at all', she thinks to herself. "What happened before... I don't even know what happened, he came here and and...", she starts.

A:

He stood up, making her go quiet, walking towards her. Putting his finger to his lips, then putting his hands through her hair.

He pulled her hair back slightly, looking at the bruise on her neck.

“Hmm, too bad.” He thought to himself.

Releasing her hair, he walked towards the door.

“Relax while you can, I have something for you later.”

He left out, closing the door, locking it.

 E:

As soon as he has his finger on her lips she shuts up, opposing no resistance when he tilts her head back. His hot breath near her neck sends shivers down her spine and she would have no problem to be bitten even if that meant an even harsher amount of pain on that spot. When Asa leaves, she stays there, trembling at his phrase; even after all this time she still doesn't know what to expect from him. Noticing the jug of water but no glass, she rapidly picks it and gulps it down her throat.

 A:

Asa returns to the room 2 hours later. Putting a blind fold on her, he throws her over his shoulder once more.

Quickly walking through the halls, he got to one of his favorite rooms. Laying her down on the freshly changed bed, he cuffs her wrist and ankles to the bed post.

“I did say I’d let you lay down the next time.” He whispered in her ear.

He walked around the room, purposely getting her nervous.

Grabbing the riding crop, he ran it down her arms.

Her stomach.

Her thighs.

Slapping it across her chest.

Then across her legs.

Right above her pubic bone.

Prepping her for what was to come next….

E:

Eve is used to being carried like a rag doll but the blindfold is something new, something that makes her feel even more vulnerable, if that is possible, with her senses hyper aware of her surroundings. When she's left on the bed, she is grateful for the soft mattress but then the cuffs come and all of a sudden she's like a gift presented with a beautiful black ribbon, unable to move and unable to speak, not because she's gagged but because she knows better. (1/2)

 Asa’s steps already make her breathing unsteady although when the crop touches her skin, a loud yelp comes out. It’s a cold sensation that quickly gets warmed with the first smacks. Painful but tingly, harsh but delicious, to the point where she doesn’t know if to writhe or curl her toes. Most likely she does both at the same time, especially when he whispers in her ear. By the time the crop stops, she’s unable to think straight and breaks silence. “Pl- please…”, she gasps agitated like a mess

—————-

A:

Grabbing a knife, Asa made very, very shallow cuts across her skin. Enough to sting, but heals easier and quicker, no pain. The crop helped her blood rise to the surface. The cuts have small dots of blood peaking through.

He wanted to mess with her. So he stood completely still next to her. After a moment, he blew inside her ear, chuckling silently.

He grabbed some ice and a candle that was burning. Dripping the wax, then dripping the cold water onto her skin. Repeating this action over and over.

He didn’t want to be too mean to his favorite pet. He grabbed the aloe gel, rubbing it all over the shallow cut marks, as well as on her neck. Uncuffing her, he picked her back up, taking her back to her room. Leaving her neck bare, he left the bucket of ice. He then left to go get her a juice with another sandwich. Leaving her once again, locking the door.

E:

When she's back on her room, her whole body is shaking and aching, not out of pain but out of the heaven she has just experienced. That's why, by the time Asa comes with the food, she has already collapsed asleep on bed, all energy she could have left was drained out of her. After a long peaceful sleep, the first thing she notices is the ice bucket although it's already melted but she picks it up and drinks it anyways. Then she notices that there's actually juice waiting for her and chuckles(1/2

She looks in the mirror of the corner. The bruise on her neck is still there although less painful by now thanks to the aloe. But what catches her attention the most are some tiny pieces of wax still adorning her pale skin. She leaves them there, not only because they make her glow but because that was the most exquisite night she could have never dreamed about. If Eve was devoted to him, now she was burning too. He could ask her anything and she would have no moral left.

A:

Asa wasn’t sure what he wanted his next game to be. For once, he had no plans, although after all of that cleaning, he was exhausted. Coffee couldn’t save him this time.

He checked in on his favorite pet, finding her asleep. He scooped her out of the bed, she stirred a little, but her breathing evened back out. He carried her to his room, laying her on the bed. Taking his mask off, he used her stomach as a pillow and was out like a light.

E:

Eve squirms a little bit before waking up. When her foggy vision finally allows her to see what the weight on her stomach is about, she has to suppress a loud yelp. Asa looks so beautiful and relaxed that at first she bites her nails to not do it but then ends up surrendering to temptation and moves her hand down to caress his hair. Luckily, he seems still asleep. After a few seconds, something on the night table catches her attention. It's a newspaper. She carefully goes through the pages,(1/2)

mostly out of boredom, but ends up stopping on one that has her face printed on it. ‘Eve case: the unsolved disappearence’ says the title. She keeps reading a bit more: 'The family doesn’t lose hope. Police has settled a team to resume the searching after some found evidence of her being alive’. Eve’s breathing becomes shaky. Her brain seems split in two: one rational part that remembers slight moments from her past and one irrational part that wants to scream. 'Which fucking evidence?!’ (2/3)

She thinks to herself. Heartbeat pounding in her head. 'Was it when I went to Jesse’s? Someone saw me? But I was covered!’. A big wave of fear appears in her stomach, contracting it and making Asa’s pillow a bit hard. “Fuck this!”,she says out loud and throws the newspaper away on the floor. (End)

———

 A:

Asa instantly woke up and wrapped his hand around the girl’s neck. The other hand pining both of her arms above her head. Studying her face, watching her intentions….

E:

The grip on her neck is so strong that she's barely able to breathe. But she doesn't care at the moment. She is scared and her eyes start watering not because of the man above her but because of the possibility of being taken away from the same man she looks up in adoration. "Please don't let them take me away" she tries to articulate with poor sound, sobbing like a mess.

A:

He knew that she saw the newspaper, she was just worried. Releasing her neck and laying back down on her. What she didn’t know is that their sources were wrong. Whether they saw her or not, it was in another state on the other side of the country. They didn’t even think that he, The Collector, had her.

He reached up and pet her head a bit, before getting frustrated. He was comfortable and didn’t want to get up. He growled a loudly before snatching his mask off the nightstand. He put it on, making sure he had everything he needed.

He doubled back to his pet and picked her up, taking her to he designated room for during the day. Making a mental note to feed her.

E:

The early hours of afternoon find Eve walking from side to side of her designated room. Heavy, nervous steps that match her worry. Family is by now, thanks to Asa's mind manipulation, a word associated with negative things. After all, if she is his property, she doesn't want to lose her owner. What would a lost puppy like her do? (1/2)

That’s why, when the door is open again and Asa is in front of her, Eve falls on her knees like a beautiful bowing with gold locks of hair covering her face. “Tell me”, she begs, “Tell me what I have to do to stay here and I’ll do it. It doesn’t matter what it is. I will”. (2/2)

—–

A:

Asa smirked at her worrying little head. He decided that he’d let her know the truth anyway since they’ve updated the case she saw.

Under the slice of pizza ((not actually on the pizza, under the plate)) was an article.

‘Missing Girl from California FOUND ALIVE’

He just watches her as she read the article.

“Just keep being my good little butterfly.” He tilted her chin up, so he could look her in the eyes.

E:

"I will", she says with a smile from ear to ear. Eve was so happy, so so happy that even if she had someone to talk profoundly about it, she wouldn't have the words to express that much joy. By the time Asa laves her there, all she can do is dance around but taking care of singing with a very low voice. The excercise suits her well after being so quiet and almost motionless in her given room. She wasn't exactly a dancer but her movements weren't clumsy. (1/2)

She moved delicately, almost like a flying butterfly. She was, instead, a very good cooker but she never had the chance to show him so. In fact, being constantly fed by him was an honor, but at some point she would like to gift him some of all that attention back. (2/2)

—————

A:

After being gone for a few days, he’s been making repairs to the hotel, which has been time consuming.

It’s been very hot the last few days as well as having severe thunderstorms.

Asa looked in the room and watched his pet sleep. Sitting down in the corner, his usual seat. He noticed the bruise on her neck was looking better, and the shallow cuts very practically invisible on her skin. She would soon be ready again for the next play session.

Soon she woke up, but she didn’t notice his maskless face in the corner….

E:

God, Eve hated thunders. She was okay with the suffocating temperatures but the loud sounds always managed to get through the majestic hotel and they made her jump every time. But what she hated the most was his absence. She enjoyed his company, his calmness, his quietude. Eve woke up, stil a bit sleepy from the poor rest she had and, scrubbing her eyes, she went to take her dress from the chair. Long sleeves with hot weather wasn't comfortable but it had been his gift and she loved it (1/2)

A moment later a thunder was heard again and, within her jump, she found Asa seating in the corner. After her yelp, she smiled from ear to ear. “Master!”, she gasped, her big black eyes widening in joy. “You’re back”. She had to resist the urge to run towards him. Instead, she stayed there, fingers dancing happily behind her back while she bowed her head slightly in respect. (2/2. - @hisbluemonarch [Eve])

—————–

A:

He had a smirk of amusement plastered on his face. Watching the girl move around the room without noticing him. Jumping at the lightening outside, he realized you were scared of the weather. But not him.

The hotel was going to be cold again in a few hours, but he was a little tired of seeing you in that dress. He’ll have to look out for something else.

He grabbed her wrist, leading her out to the hall, taking her to his room. He had some steaks delivered and we was waiting to eat. He tapped the chair across from him, telling the girl to sit. It was only one steak, but he fed her himself.

Once he finished eating he got up to go take a shower. Not really caring that she’s there. Purposely leaving the door open…

E:

Eve sat obediently on the chair. The smell of steak was appetizing enough to make her stomach growl since she had not eaten sufficiently in the past days, mostly because she was worried about him. About Asa, who could even fight death with a stare but yet he was the focus of her adoration. When he went into the bathroom, she looked around. The dishes were empty but she still felt that urge to gift him something back. She found a pen and, not wanting to mess with his papers, (1/2)

she wrote on a napkin: “May I cook for you one day?”, leaving it on the table. Then she heard the sound of the shower, steam coming out of the bathroom more appetizing than the food was. She got up and walked a pair of circles in her place, completely nervous. Oh, Eve was so tempted after how much she had missed him. But he didn’t exactly give her permission to do so and, being an enthusiastic about his rules, she couldn’t make a proper decission. Eventually, her primal instincts woke up (2/3) and she couldn’t resist it anymore. She walked to the bathroom door, covering her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her shaky and clearly agitated breathing and made a pair of steps in. The closer she got, the more shaking her members became and at one point, she thought she would explode in a million flames. The curtain was almost covering the whole picture but there was a little bit clear from where she spied. The vision was foggy because of the steam, but the skin of one arm was visible. (¾)

And Eve looked and licked her lips while her jaw fell a little open like watching a dream come true. From the distance she looked like an adorable little sheep who never thought she could be so close to the wolf. And something was certain: she didn’t care anymore if she got in trouble. In fact, she wanted to see more. (4/4) 

A:

Asa knew she wouldn’t be able to resist, and he’ll have to punish her later for it. For now though, he just pulled the curtain back, grabbing her by her dress. He pulled her forward, ripping the dress off of her, leaving her bare. 

He pulled her in the shower, bringing her in front of him, letting the stream fall on the both of them. He grabbed the soap, lathering it in his hands, washing her body with his bare hands. He felt her shaking, and smirked at the thought. 

He stood, letting the suds rinse off of her body. He then just wrapped his arms around her torso, resting his head on top of hers. Enjoying the skin-to-skin contact with someone. 

That moment was shortly lived, he turned the water off stepping out wrapping a towel around himself. He went to his room, and quickly got dressed in his typical black long sleeve. 

He sat himself on the bed, waiting for the girl to come out of the bathroom, to give her the well deserved punishment…

E:

 A second. All it took was a second and Eve's world was upside down. She was tempted but she wasn't preared to be actually dragged into temptation all of a sudden and she was left only with the possibility of whimpering while her dress was ripped off of her. She was there but she couldn't understand what was happening at first. Explanations were futile and when she felt his hands taking care of washing her whole body, she came back to reality and wondered what she could do first (1/2)

If to treasure the image of his body, if to close her eyes to retain in her memory the sensation of mixed skin and soap or if to faint right there because her legs were shaking so much she thought she’d fall. Then Eve was able to look him in the eyes and babble something similar to “I’m sorry” with poor articulation. When he wrapped his arms around her, she knew that whatever was going to come next, it didn’t matter at the moment. She was, in a way, safe, and that allowed her (2/3)

to let the weight of her legs rest, bending the knees a bit, knowing Asa’s arms were strong enough to support her. After he left the bathroom, the story was a bit different. Wrapped in the towel, she slowly walked out, looking at her toes like they were the most interesting thing in the world. My god, what did she just do…? (3/3)

A:

He beckoned her forward with his hand, letting her get close. Once she was on arms distance, he pulled her forward harshly across his knee. Pinning her hands down with one hand, he looked at the water that still glistened on her skin.

He leaned down and said one word in her ear.

“Count.”  He felt her shiver, he wasn’t sure if it was because she was still wet or because of her soon to be punishment.

Rubbing her backside, then coming down with a harsh slap. “One!” she yelped out.

By the time she got to 8 she was sobbing, but Asa spoke up that she needed to count or he’ll start over. She had to count to 30, she was red and almost blistered.

Asa laid her down on the bed, stomach down, and cuffed her wrist to the post. He left out of the room to get the riding crop again. He hit her all over her back, making her arch her back. 

This was a punishment after all..

He then grabbed some ice, putting it all over her backside, then going back over with the riding crop.

“My little pet has been forgetting her place. Did you ask if you could join me?” Asa pulled her head back by her hair.

“No!” She cried out.

“No, what?” He growled in her ear.

“No Master!” She corrected herself.

He let her head fall back to the bed, pulling the sheet over her naked form. He left her in the room stomach down, wrist still tied to the post.

E:

The nice sensation of Asa's hand on her skin vanished in a second with the first smacks. His hands were so heavy that it felt like being spanked with a hard solid material, and the fact that they were enormous didn't help either. In a minute Eve's whole backside was burning. She begged, she cried, she screamed, but he kept going. Even when the ice was there, letting her think that everything was over, he continued. By the time he had actually finished and left the room, (1/2)

she truly was a sobbing mess. Having to lay on her stomach, she was grateful for not having anything else than the sheet covering her but the grattitude was meaningless in comparison to her pain. Not only physical pain (by now she couldn’t even feel the rough cuff on her wrist) but also emotional because even if she had had the possibility of seeing him naked for the very first time, she failed him. That was a test for her and she was silly enough to spoil it (2/3)

Being obsessed with his rules, she stayed there babbling “I’m sorry” again, eyes watering and wetting the pillow. Another thunder made her jump once more; the delicate muscle lines of her back contracting in fear. Eve was about to break in tears, she pressed her forehead against the pillow to prevent it but a new thunder came in and that was the point of no return. (3/3)

————–

A:

Asa didn’t return to the room for hours, but when he got back. His pet was lying on the bed, hiccuping, no longer crying. He sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking her hair.

“Did my little butterfly learn her lesson?” He said very lowly.

She spoke as if she regretted even thinking about doing it. Apologizes spilling from her mouth, he put a finger to her lips, silencing her. He took another quick shower then released her wrists. In exchange he cuffed one of her ankles. 

He laid on the other side of the bed, still punishing her, but not quite being too harsh for now. He still was allowing her to be in his room and in his bed. 

The rain outside lulling him to sleep, the thunder never bothered him…

E:

The thunders went along all night. Eve kept shaking in a poor sleep state, wishing she could get closer to him, in need for his body heat. But something told her that wouldn't be a smart move, especially when she knew he was focused on reinforcing discipline. By the time morning came, the storm had stopped and Eve's black eyes were open and reedish.

She took a look at him but then turned her head to the other side, watching the wall. Her regret was beating his head in an unforgivable way and she couldn’t do anything but to get frustrated at herself, even angry. But this time she had nothing to kick and didn’t even want to make an abrupt move in case she got in more trouble. God, how she wished she could fix that mistake. Eve had put something clear in her mind: today she’d treat him like a king. (2/2)

A:

Asa woke up to the feeling of the cold AC, satisfied because it was supposed to reach the 90s. He looked over to his pet, seeing that she was already awake. Yet not noticing that he woke up now, she seemed in a daze.

He reached out grabbing her arm, tracing his finger over the butterfly he craved in her arm. It was healing nicely, but still had scabs.

He got up and uncuffed her from the bed. He blindfolded her, so she won’t see the path they were taking. He sat her down and took her blindfold off.

“Cook us breakfast.” He sat back in the chair to watch her.

E:

Eve walked all the way to the kitchen. She trusted Asa enough to not hesitate anymore about her path. Just grabbing his thumb (big enough for her whole hand) or laying her fingers on his elbow was what's needed to serve as guidance. With the warm sheet around her body, only a few shivers from the AC were visible on her. As soon as Asa commanded her, she felt that fulfillment in her chest again although wondering what food she could prepare to satisfy him with the ingredients that could be(1/2)

 ‘Not too sweet for sure’ she though 'but not salty either’. Eve walked around a little opening the cupboards and the fridge seeking permission with her gaze for every action. 'He’s a strong man. Most likely he enjoys a bit of a challenge. I bet spicy would be right". Eve wanted it to be the most satisfying meal he could have tasted but knew that she was limítated by the options so she went for originality. Taking a pair of carrots, flour, some sugar and, of course, ginger, she mixed it all(2/3)

together to cook a carrot pie. Once it came out of the oven, its smell was subtle but its appearance was appetizing enough. She was sure Asa had never tasted something like that and, although nervous, she had confidence in her abilities (3/3)

A:

Asa looked as she placed the dish in front of him. Eyeing the pie, he pushed it towards her.

“Eat” was all he told her.

E:

When he pushed the pie, at first Eve thought he was rejecting it so she swallowed a lump in her throat but not wanting to disobey him, she still managed to cut a portion and eat it with a shaky fork. She looked at him shyly with glowy pitiful eyes. "It was a bad idea, I'm sorry you didn't like it". She looked down again at the crumbs biting the inner part of her bottom lip.

 A:

“Grab it and follow me.” Asa said standing up. He walked towards a doorway, but turned around to wait for her.

She had to gather the sheet up, so she won’t trip over it. She followed behind him until they reached another room. He closed the door and locked it. It was pitch black in the room, she could barley see. He snatched the sheet off of her body, enjoying the gasp coming from her lips.

He turned the lights on then went into a closet. Grabbing one of his turtlenecks, he threw it at her. He took the food from her hands as she put on the turtleneck.

It stopped in the middle of her thighs, completely dwarfing her in size. He beckoned her forward, to sit next to him.

His next command was completely unexpected.

“Feed me.”

As he grabbed the newspaper…

 E:

Eve took a seat where he indicated. At first she couldn't process the order well but since Asa didn't say anything else, she didn't question it. She took the fork and got a little piece. It was still warm from the oven, she could feel it in the metal. Blowing gently on it, she moved it to his mouth with poor balance but with clear determination on not spoiling his clothes with any crumbs. The action was repeated over and over again, it was almost a maternal act, sweet, dedicated, caring. (1/2)

And there was something magical at the light brush of her fingers against his cheek every time she delivered the pie, something as warm and nurturing like the food itself. When she finished, there was a long silence filling the room. It made her a little nervous, not knowing if she did good, and her feet started to dance very slightly on the floor. It was then when she noticed his boots weren’t as shiny and black as always. She cleared her throat with innocence: “may I take care of them?”(2/2)

A:

At first Asa didn’t know what she was referring to, but he noticed her gaze. Looking down at his boots, he didn’t really care because they were going to be dirty again. He was going to let her, but he didn’t want to be barefoot in the hotel. He could leave them on, and have her sit on the floor. With her sitting on the floor and the state of her ass would be uncomfortable. He ended up just putting his feet on the couch they were on, and let her do whatever it is she was trying to do. Still reading his newspaper, glancing at her every now and then.

 E:

After asking him for a rag to use, the idea of having offered to do that task for him wasn't as nice as when it crossed her mind. As soon as the still red skin touched the floor, a little whine escape her lips. She looked up at Asa to see if she could move to a more comfortable place but finding him too focused on the newspaper was clear enough to make her understand that she was supposed to deal with her situation. She swallowed all the whining, only tiny whimpers coming out (1/2)

and with each minute that passed, she had to squirm on the floor to balance her weight trying to let some skin area rest. Eve rubbed the leather with a surprising strength coming out of her. Despite that, it didn’t result in a professional job but at least it was decent. She thought, for a moment, that the gift had been more for her to be able to have in her hands some part of him, especially the part which he made every path with. “I think it’s done, Master” she said with that familiar tiny voice, begging with his gaze to be allowed to stand up.

A:

Asa moved the newspaper so he could see her, not even paying his shoes any mind. He smirked at her and tilted his head.

“Why are you sitting on the floor?” You could hear the amusement in his voice.

Before she could explain herself, he picked her up, placing her in his lap.

“I have my next game ready for you, do you think you can handle it? Or should I wait another day for you to recover? It’s something different, you may enjoy it actually.” he whispered in her ear..

He had everything set up, he was going to show her sooner. If it weren’t for her acting out a bit the day before.

E:

A whole wave of electricity ran through Eve's body. God, the effects his voice had on her when he was that close, that low, that manly. She curled her toes slightly, fingers fidgeting with the bottom of the turtleneck as she seated on his lap. Again, another new thing she hadn't experienced before and had her heart on a rollercoaster, yet Asa was calm and determined. "I'm ready for whatever you wish, Master, it doesn't matter if it pleases me or not".

 A:

First and foremost, if you succeed I have something for you. If you don’t I’ll have a punishment for you. You have 30 minutes to stay hidden from me, if I catch you, you lose. If you set off any traps, you’re dead, so don’t hit any traps. My dogs are caged up so you don’t have to worry about them.

Once again, if I catch you, you lose, understand?

I’ll give you a two minute head start, starting….

Now!

E:

Eve was astonished at the game proposal. All she could hear was the sound of her hearbeat galloping in her ears and it took him counting till 15 for her to react and start running. Yes, she had to run because he was going to be unforgivable if he caught her and she couldn't handle another punishment like that. Maybe she should have asked for him to wait but it was too late. Too late and actually she couldn't run as fast as she wanted because she had to be alert for traps. (1/2)

The ones on that floor were easy to sort, mostly because she had observed Asa avoiding to go to certain places. But the ones after that were new because of the blindfold he always used on her. She used the best of her ability, though, and one little thing she had in her advantage was that adoration she had for him because from observing him with dedication for so long, she may have guessed where he liked to place the threads. But still, Eve prayed for luck to be on her side. Eventually, she ended up in the main hall. Tall recipients with bodies standing majestic in the centre. Only the blue from the water they contained was lightening the space. She looked everywhere; by now, Asa had fininshed his count for sure. Then something on the wall caught her attention. Lots of thick large kind of nails were half way fixed through the wall and then she saw a scroll of a thick material, most likely the onde that hided the body of a redhead that was killed a long time ago and she hadn’t met(3

She did what she could to climb to the nails, helping herself with a near furniture and stepped on them praying for them to support her. As there were four, the other two on the upper part were used by his hands gripping them tightly before she decided to pull from the scroll to be covered with the thick plastic. Then it all was controlling her breathing, hoping that for the first time he didn’t hear it with his hunter ears.

———–

A:

Asa watched as she scurried out of his lap and into the hall. Once he stopped hearing her footsteps, he stopped counting. He fixed his clothes and put on his mask, making sure to take his time. He went into the hallway and followed the path of her footsteps… He looked in different rooms, hoping she wasn’t that stupid. He went up stairs, wondering if that’s where she went.

15 minutes wasted, maybe she could win after all…

E:

Eve didn't know how much time had passed. Since she didn't hear his footsteps, she took advantage to inhale deeply a few times, the plastic over her body suffocating enough to start sweating. It was so uncomfortable. Her hands were also sweaty and she wondered how long she would last with a strong grip on the rough nails. Her feet weren't in better condition either. There soil hurt from the thin base they were on. She started to count herself "1...10...60" to have an estimated idea in her mind,

A:

Asa decided to go to the main hall where his encased specimens were. As he looked around, he noticed something was off. So he stood still and listened, he did hear something. Coming closer to the noise, it sounded like labored breathing…

E:

As soon as Eve heard him coming, she held her breath. Not sure for how long she could stand it, but her body was absolutely frozen under under the plastic. She prayed for any sort of entity to help her. Asa was there. Asa was right there, mere inches away from her and managed to dig her nails into her palms to keep still. "1..2...10...40...60... We have to be on twenty or twenty five, hopefully more", she thought.

A:

As Asa got closer to the noise, he pulled the covering back to reveal that one of his new ‘dogs’ got loose. 

Knowing he had to take care of this first instead of Eve.

Growling while grabbing the man by his collar, he drug him upstairs and strapped him to the table. He quickly went downstairs to see where Eve had hidden herself on the cameras.

Smirking at how close he was to finding her, he did applaud her for her effort. He just wish it wasn’t interrupted. 

He walked to the plastic she was underneath and scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder…

E:

When the "dog" appeared in sight, she had to repress a loud yelp but Asa walking away was a relief at that moment. She took advantage to recover her breath and waited and waited. She started to think about surrendering, limbs getting weaker with every minute. But all of a sudden, Asa had uncovered her. With no time to react, Eve was thrown over his shoulder as she wondered if she actually won or if she would have to face the consequences...

A:

Carrying her back to his room, he threw her on the bed, cuffing her ankle.

Just staring at her…

E:

Once in the bed, she kept gasping a little more. Asa's eyes shined in the dim light, his whole appeareance in black was dangerously intimidating. Unconciously, she attempted to pull from the cuff on her ankle but after a second she did her best to remain still. Now it was her the one studying him, trying to see any expression under the mask that could tell her if she did right... or not. Her stomach was contracted in adrenaline and her tiny fingers were gripping the sheets, (1/2)

preparing for what was to come. But Asa was taking his time and she knew he wanted to make her like this, to bring her to the edge of nervousness. He enjoyed that. Being the hunter for that little sheep. And, oh boy, despite her situation, she enjoyed being his prey too. (2/2)

———-

A:

After a minute of staring at Eve, he took his mask off. A deep chuckle leaving his chest as he ran his ringers through his hair. 

Damn dog, he thought. 

His eyes landed back on the confused girl in the bed… wondering if he should torture her a little longer before he blindfold her…

E:

Eve looked at his face, trying to beg for mercy with her glowy eyes. "Please...", she whimpered after his chuckle, trying to end the mental torture. His fingers so close to her, so tender and so dangerous at the same time. He could caress her or spank her. He could tickle every spot or get her black and blue at this point. "Please", she whimpered once more like a lost little bird under the storm.

A:

Asa laughed at her words, which caught her off guard. Once he stopped laughing, he gave her a smirk. He saw the color drain from her face, and he pulled her towards the edge of the bed.

 He blindfolded her as he said he would. Uncuffing her, he made sure she couldn’t see. Thinking over it again, because why not, he gagged her as well, then placed her back over his shoulder. 

He left out of the room, going down a path he rarely takes. Overall, it takes about 5 minutes to get to the destination, it was a little bright from the light, but that’s what makes this all the more fun. He took the gag out of her mouth, but left the blindfold on.. 

Leaving her guessing as he walked away from her, looking at his new project that he need her to help him finish. It was almost complete…..

E:

And the little dolly went along over his shoulder, already dizzy from so many sensations of nervousness and shakiness and then the restrained senses. Her standing on her feet in this new place was something new. She didn't have cuffs but didn't dare to take off her blindfold. Asa was right there. She could feel him by his body heat but the place seemed somehow unfamiliar.

A:

Standing back up, Asa walked over to Eve taking her blindfold off.

When she opened her eyes all she saw was…

…

…

Butterflies and colorful flowers, thats when she realized she was outside, on a rooftop.

“I need some help planting the rest of these and placing rocks down in the bird bath, so they have water.” Asa had a butterfly on his finger.

“Do anything stupid, and I’ll throw you off the roof.” His eyes were dark as he spoke.

Tempted to do such act, but not to her…

E:

When the blindfold was taken off, Eve had to blink fastly to accomodate her sight to the sun rays. It had been so long since she last saw the light of day that it hurt to watch directly at it. But then she looked around. It wasn't possible. No, it wasn't. Not only marvelous orange monarchs were dancing around and surrounding them but also those were flowers. Jazmines, yellow roses, daisies and were those... violets? (1/2)

 She had to move a bit closer to believe her favourite kind was there. First thing she did was smelling, letting the perfumed aroma fill her lungs. It felt like rebirth, memories from her own garden flying in her head. She missed it. She missed it so much. And then there was Asa standing there. Eve had to look twice at him to fight the urges to go back to her garden, not because she wanted to leave him but because she wanted to do what she did best. (2/3)

Asa’s threat called her back to reality It hurt when he talked like that to her. She has proved herself many times except for that bathroom scene), yet he didn’t trust her. And Eve was a another sensitive butterfly at the moment, surrounded with colours and fragances. ´Okay´, she thought, ´I’ll do this. This is my passion. Maybe I won’t miss my home anymore´. She walked closer to him. “I’ll need some sticks or solid brunches, or something to keep that bonsai straight or it’ll bend looking (¾)

for the sun. As for that one, it’s a pothos. It doesn’t belong here. If you want it to live, bring it back inside”. Eve talked, confidence coming up her ankles. It felt good. She was, at last, back again in her sea… and with the man she wanted. (4/4)

———

A:

“You can move them if you want, I didn’t feel like it, nor care about those. Everything else you should need should be over there. If you need anything else, I’ll be back in a hour.”

E:

By the time Asa came back, the sky was getting orange and gold, typical from summer sunsets, especially after the storm of the day before. Eve's hands were full of dirt but she didn't care. Pretty proud of her work, not only she was done with what needed to be planted, she also managed to splash the leaves from the other flowers with water to help them improve and the rocks on the bird bath were also shiny from how clean she left them. Perfectly placed, ready for birds to enjoy in the (1/2)

near future. She saw Asa and tried to scrub her nose with the back of her hand since she was holding a small shovel and left a cute dirt spot on the tip of her nose. “Master”, she smiled, wishing he would find her work attractive and needing some water but Eve was not going to ask at the moment. (2/2)

A:

Lets go get you cleaned up, how much more do you need to do?

E:

"I'm pretty sure, unless you want me to move those plants inside, that my work is done, Master", she smiled.

A:

It doesn’t matter, those plants. But come on, it’s more traps up here than you think…

E:

Eve walked all the way to the bathroom, scrubbing the sweat out of her forehead and leaving more dirt on her skin in the process. She opened the door and carefully got inside: Asa was apparently not going to join her. She swallowed. Was he still mad? And, most important, did she really want to be all nervous and shaky when naked in front of him again? Yes, she wanted, but was not going to ask. In fact, that shyness was what got her in trouble the day before. Eve let the door half closed, (1/2)

hoping he’d decide to come in, but a minute later, just when she was about to undress, she got distracted with the mirror. Seeing the patterns of dirt all over her, she had a good laugh. It didn’t mind her after having had the possibility of doing what she loved but his turtleneck she was wearing was already spoiled. “He’ll get mad”, she said in a very low tone, chuckling again. After all, he had lots of the same type. “Eve what did you do?”, she imitated him, straightening her posture. (2/3)

“Wash it”, she continued, contracting her tiny bicep muscle to create a more similar pose. Eve was having so much fun that she was about to crack up but repressed herself to not be loud. “Bad pet. Disobeying Master…” she went along and lost herself in the game.

—————

A:

The giggles didn’t go unnoticed to Asa’s ears as he listened to his pet. He looked through the crack she left open. Chuckling silently at her different poses and how she tried to make her voice deeper. Opening the door more, that’s when he spoke.

“Is that what you think of me, little pet?”

E:

Eve jumped abruptly, turning around and almost losing balance. Her eyes were wide open and her legs started to tremble. She walked surreptitiously backwards, moving her hands a bit to her bum without even realizing, fearing another punishment. "I'm... I'm...", she babbled still doing small steps away, soon to reach the wall with her back.

A:

Watching her take steps back made Asa predator instincts kick in.

Slowly, Asa walked towards her, eyes getting darker with each step he took…

E:

The poor sheep didn't know what was crossing Asa's mind so since she wasn't grabbing her, she unconciously kept walking away, using her hand to lightly tap the wall for guidance, circling half of the bathroom. "S-s-sorry...", she whimpered in anticipation.

A:

Asa kept stalking towards her, until she couldn’t make it any further, so he trapped her with his arms.

“What did I tell you to come in here and do?”

E:

"T-to-to come here a-and and have a bath... and get clean ", she corrected herself.

A:

And what were you actually doing?

E:

"I was... loking in the mirror and...I was about to do it... The tub is filled, see?", she attempted to turn his attention away.

A:

So, ‘bad pet, disobeying Master’, that was a figment of my imagination? You flexing in the mirror? Deepening your voice?

E:

"No...", she looked down, unable to stand his gaze. "I'm sorry... won't happen again, I promise", she whimpered.

A:

Asa leaned in closer, making her look him in the eye.

“Get in the tub…” Asa says very lowly..

E:

Eve walked to the tub trying to recover her breath now that Asa wasn't trapping here but his presence was dangerous. She knew that. She crossed the line again having fun and she was already regretting everything. Stepping into the tub, she didn't even take off the turtleneck without permission. Just staying on her feet with a pale face.

A:

Take off the shirt…

E:

Eve did what she was told. Leaving the turtleneck perfectly folded on the floor as if it wasn't already wasted. She looked at Asa. Now she wasn't sure if having him there was a nice thing after what she did.

A:

Is there something you want to ask me, little butterfly?

Asa tilted his head…

E:

Eve thought her words wisely. "Forgiveness, Master? Please?" She whimpered again.

A:

Is that your only question?

E:

Eve looked to the floor, exhaling with a shaky breathing. A beautiful color red was blooming in her cheeks. She couldn't do it the day before and now was maybe not the context because of her mischief but she couldn't. It was too much for her to bare Asa so majestic, so intimidating, That mix of fear and burning desires. It was pure adrenaline. So she let out in a barely audible voice: "may I have the privilege of you joining me, Master?"

A:

Asa grasped her jaw, not painfully but forcefully. He pulled her closer to him, looking her in the eyes, then whispering in her ear.

“Was that so hard?”

He released her and made her look forward. Getting out of her sight, he took his clothes off and stepped in the tub behind her.

Grasping her waist, he made the both of them sit down in the water. It spilled over the side of the tub a bit, but Asa didn’t care.

“Wash me…”

Was all he said before he leaned back in the tub…

E:

Eve was astonished. She couldn't believe the scenario. Grabbing water with shaky hands, she wet her face to understand the fact that Asa was actually entering the tub naked again. She delayed a bit in responding to his order. How was she supposed to do that? How would he like it? And most importantly, how would she survive it when her body temperature had escalated to the roof? Taking the sponge and rubbing it against the soap, she managed to reach Asa's chest. (1/2)

She tried to remain calm but it was too much and she dropped the sponge many times, excusing herself every time before she actually reached braveness and started washing him properly. It was more of a caress than an act of cleaning skin but it was peaceful and she was sure it provided a warm sensation. Continuing with the rest of his body, washing with dedication even the spaces between his fingers, then the inner part of his thighs… By the time she finished, her whole face was boling.

 ————-

A:

What else do you want, little pet?

Asa finally opened his eyes, making eye contact with her.

E:

Eve looked at the man in front of her. She felt like a child in a candy store where she could ask freely although not knowing if it was going to be responded. She was tempted with everything in sight, even the slow up and down motion seemed like something she could ask for to lay her head there. But there was something else, something she was craving all those days but never had the courage to ask. "A kiss, please?" and her little black eyes shined more than ever.

 A:

Asa grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on her palm. Pulling her closer, placing a kiss on her neck. On her forehead. And lastly on her temple.

“Sit back..”

E:

Eve breathed every kiss, melting in his touch, but then it stopped and the kiss she wanted the most never came. She couldn't understand him. If this was a game or not, it didn't matter. He was there, naked in front of her, allowing her to touch him but he just wouldn't kiss her on her lips. Maybe it was too much of a tender act to ask for. And Eve sighed, enjoying what she coud get but with her heart hurting inside.

A:

Asa made quick work of cleaning her. He was getting tired and didn’t want to be in the tub much longer.

He got up once she was clean, dragging her with him. He put on some pants and laid in the bed, wondering how to toy with her next.

E:

Eve stayed there watching Asa half-naked on bed, trying to be dissembled. The few drops she still had on her were sending shivers through her spine. But this time it was new. She was concious he was enjoying having her there like a lost gazelle. once she realized that, she started looking around in an attempt to make the nervousness disappear.

A:

Go in the closet and pick something to wear… Don’t touch my mask, pretending to be me..

Asa smirked at the memory from moments ago…

E:

Eve walked to the closet, examining his clothes. Black, black... more black there, oh! black stuff in there too. She huffed, after all, she was a girl of colours, especially sky blue ones. She picked a long sleeved shirt and put it on, the big size making it go down to her thighs. But she wasn't satisfied, always having to use a manly style if he didn't bring her clothes. So she rolled the bottom part and make a knot at her waist, then picked a pair of black boxers that suited her like a short

She was pretty, actually sexy considering the context. So, with a very shy attitude, she turned around to face him and posed a little, one hand on her hip, the other resting against the closet door. Oh, well, if he wasn’t going to kiss her, he’d at least be as tempted as her.

A:

Are you trying to seduce me, little butterfly?

He smirked.

E:

"Why? Do you feel seduced, Master?", she smiled playfully, a cute crimson red on her cheeks.

A:

No, I feel tired. Come on, get in bed..

E:

Eve's smile was erased in a second, her shoulders coming down quickly with a notorious huff. She walked in big strides to the bed. At this point, she didn't care much about a punishment if that meant to have his hands running along her body. But Asa was "tired". ´Fuck that´, she thought, laying on the bed next to him and pulling the sheet up till it covered almost her entire head. But this time she didn't looked for a way to be closer to him. Eve just gave her back at The Collector and (1/2)

closed her eyes with clenched teeth. God…, she was in a hell of a mood. (2/2)

———–

A:

Asa hand quickly came to her throat, her attitude not going unnoticed. She opened her eyes to stare back at him. He squeezed his hand tighter around her throat until she started grabbing at his hands. He released her, but only so she can catch her breathe.

“My, my, someone has been really bold as of lately.”

Asa hand was still on her throat, but allowing her to breathe.

“I think someone needs to learn another lesson.”

Asa quickly pulled her up and over his knee. Giving her slaps on her already tender backside. He didn’t allow her time to recover before he cuffed her hands to the headboard.

His hands trailed all over her body, giving her slaps everywhere. He then ripped the boxers off of her, placing his hands on her thighs, exposing her. Placing his hands on her heat, she had a long night ahead of her. He edged her on until she was practically begging. Giving her what she wanted, he didn’t stop until she passed out. He got a rag to clean her up, and to clean off his hands. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to sleep, he uncuffed her. Putting the rest of his clothes on, he left the room to go punish the dog that got loose.

E:

At first the hand on her throat didn’t seem threatening enough, mostly because she was used to that action and it was more the abrupt of it than anything else. But when Asa started squeezing more, it got serious to the point she started scratching his hands. Luckily, he allowed her to breathe but Eve knew she was going to pay for her attitude.

 Before he pulled her over his knee, the idea wasn’t so bad, half of her had wanted him to react, even if it was that way, but soon her pain receptors made her well aware of how sore she still was and how sore she was going to be. His hand was something like pourring boiling water over her delicate skin over and over again till tears spilled from the corner of her eyes. Despite that, begging was just the beginning. She had a lot more to experience through the night. 

Eve cried, screamed, kept begging for mercy. She let out “Master” multiple times, whining and aching. And then, when she got what she wanted, the whole cycle started again to stop his actions. Overstimulated to the point of no return, her eyelids became heavier and heavier till all she saw was a confusing fog and then, darkness consuming her exhausted being. 

When the morning came, Eve’s members felt as heavy as a pile of rocks. She pressed her forehead into the pillow trying to wake herself up. She didn’t hear Asa? Eve turned her head to the side scanning the bed. Where was he? Had he left without saying anything after all that happened? She tapped lightly his side, her mind spinning around in questions. Why did it have to be a punishment? Was she greedy for questioning it? Wouldn’t it have been easier if he just took her when she was all nice and smiling? Why did he always have to be like that and play with her? Eve knew she wasn’t supposed to protest for her Master’s ways, after all, his will should be her most important command and Asa was never known for being loving or tender, but she still craved something, something that was easier and it didn’t cost any work. Well, at least not for her. Eve wanted to be kissed, Eve wanted to be special for him, and it wasn’t happening and she was hurt. She had had everything others would have paid for, but she just wanted his loving lips. 

 A:

Asa was in another part of the hotel, standing over a freshly made corpse. The dog that got loose, Asa just decided that he was no longer worth keeping.

Taking his time extracting each organ, placing them in a jar next to the table.

Being distracted with his pet, he’s been neglecting his other pets. Going to each of their rooms, making sure they have enough to survive. Disciplining each of them as he see fit….. 

E:

 With the next few days and his abscence, Eve was feeling more nostalgia and regret. She didn’t know if Asa was busy or if he was still mad at her, and in spite of the handprints adorning her body becoming less and less painful, they were disappearing and she started to crave him more and more picturing him in fantasies she never thought could have.

The afternoon of the third day found her eating a sandwich at her own room but suddenly the door was opened and the image of a tall muscular guy alarmed her.

“Who are you?”, she asked jumping out of bed.

 A:

Asa was tired from all of the repairs he had to do. He was ready to take a shower, and go to sleep.

First, he had to check on his pet, which he hasn’t seen for days.

Walking towards her room, he heard someone talking.

Staying out of sight, he listened…

 E:

“I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?”, the guy talked to Eve trying to calm her down.

“How did you get out? Did he let you out?”

“No, but we have to be quiet. He could surprise us”.

“Surprise us, what do you mean…? WHAT’S THAT?”, Eve’s voice went loud when she saw the thick blade the man was holding on his right hand.

“Keep quiet”, he responded with nervousness. “I’m planning to surprise him first. I could have a chance of killing him. Come with me, I’ll help you escape. If we find others in good condition, they could help us as well”.

Eve eyed him up and down. He had serious bloodish cuts all over his arms and she was sure there were more wounds underneath his clothes. But his frame scared her. He was almost as big as Asa and if he represented a danger in her mind, she had to make sure she kept an eye on him for the safety of her Master.

Taking his hand with liar fingers, they both left the room.

 A:

Watching the two leave the room, he made eye contact with Eve as she looked around.

Quiet yet quickly, Asa made his way over to them…

 E:

Both black eyes of Eve and her Master’s met each other. But the victim who escaped realized very quickly about The Collector’s presence and stood in guard position of fighting with knife on hand, pushing Eve behind him attempting to protect her. 

Eve look at both men with her heart about to explode from her chest thinking Asa could be hurt by this guy who seemed so confident and determined so she couldn’t repress her nervousness anymore and spoke up:

“No, Master, no! He has a knife!”. 

It all happened in a second: she located the thread of a trap in the wall and pushed the man towards it taking advantage of him not paying attention to her actions. But the person was heavier than she thought so she had to push with all her body, not having enough time to separate from him when the blade hidden on the wall came out. The weapon pierced the man’s stomach but got past her right side too. 

Eve managed to pull her body out of the blade, turning to look at The Collector with watery blurred eyes.

“Master… I-”

Her knees bent as blood came out of her mouth. Convulsing.

 A:

Asa came to her side, avoiding the follow up trap protruding from the ground. Putting pressure to her side, he gathered her in his arms.

Doing something he hope he didn’t regret… 

 The story evolves (Asa realizes he is liking Eve. Eve realizes she is in love with Asa).

E:  

When Eve opened her eyes, all she could see was a shiny white light. She attempted to stand up, struggling to understand her new reality but as soon as she moved her head to the left, the rest of her muscles failed her. They just didn't respond, frozen as solid ice. There was someone seating a meter away from her but it was all blurry. Her tiny fingers twitched, trying to speak without success. (~@hisbluemonarch)

A:

Asa noticed Eve trying to wake up, he slowly approached her. He noticed her eyes couldn’t focus on him.

He just spoke one word.

“Eve…”

E:

That deep raspy voice... Was it a reverie? She blinked a few times and found that slight curling up of his lips. She couldn't understand where she was or what had happened but that half-smile was something she would always be able to remember. She tried to say "Master"; in her head it came out with sound but in reality she only managed to smack her lips together with just a mere sound of an "M".

A:

He petted her hair back, away from her face. He grasped her chin, running his thumb on her lower lip. He leaned in slowly, pressing a soft yet firm kiss to her lips.

“Rest, little butterfly.” He whispered in her ear.

Asa put a necklace in her hand, the pendant was a blue butterfly.

E:

Eve woke up a few hours later, this time with clear comprehension about her surroundings. It was obvious she was at the hospital and that now she was able to remember the blade coming out of the wall. But there were two things that escaped her understanding: one, the fact that there had been a kiss with Asa that took plce right there and could have possibly been part of her imagination and the second one, that there were people watching her from the distance. 

She felt something heavy in her hand and, confused by the moment she experimented when her lips were burning in love, she hid it under the sheet covering her without looking at it, worried about the silouhettes coming closer. 

“Eve?!” a broken female voice approached her. “My sunlight”, she cried 

“Mother? Father?”, she asked, blinking to adapt her vision. 

“No, no, no, sunshine don’t move”, the older woman stopped her, taking the same seat Asa had taken hours before. “What happened to you?”, her mother inquired grabbing her hand and noticing the carved butterfly in her forearm too while the father hugged her. 

“I think I had an accident”. 

“We are not talking about this, mio caro”, the man said. “These four months without knowing anything about you? We searched for you everywhere!” 

“Yes, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I had an accident back then and I lost my memory”, Eve lied, biting the inner part of her cheek. “I had to adapt”. 

“You lost your memory? What are you talking about?”

“I remembered everything when I woke up a few hours ago. I’m still shocked”, Eve started to cry. 

“No, mia bella, don’t, it’s okay”, the father tried to comfort her so she didn’t move too much. “I can’t understand. What kind of life were you having that you had these sort of accidents?” 

“I guess it was just bad luck”, Eve sighed, flashes of Asa and the dead bodies, and the blood and the flesh and the dogs going through her mind, even the chlorine scent coming up her nostrils filling her in a twisted comfortable way. 

“There are some people here. They want to talk to you”. 

“Who?” Eve’s black eyes widened hoping innocently for Asa to be there. 

“Police”. 

“Why?”

“They want to know what happend, just like us.”

“How did they find me? How did YOU find me?”

“The nurse said that the person who brought you here told them your name and when they entered it in the system, it alarmed the police because we had made a case about a missing peson”. 

“My name? Eve Stewart?”

“Yes. But you don’t have to worry about that. You’ll come back to our home in just a few days”: 

“No, that’s not going to be possible”, Eve said, alarmed. “I… Like I said, I created a new life. There’s someone waiting for me”. 

“What do you mean?”, the mother asked, still with surprised watery eyes to have her daughter there.

“I’m… I have a… relationship with someone. He lives outside the city. I live outside the city too now, with him…” 

“But Eve…”

“I’m sorry, that’s how it is”. 

The next few days were lived just answering more questions and recieving doctos’ visits, Police closed her case and family finally accepted her decission of coming back to “her new home” not knowing much about it or about this new person although Eve tried to create a convincent story to make Asa seem like a boyfriend. 

She had a moment where she laughed about it, being alone, but it also turned quickly into sadness because Asa had not visited her nor once and she didn’t knew if he actually kissed her and gifted her that necklace or, even if that had been true, if he still remembered her. 

With the blue butterfly around her neck and a bandage that covered a large area under her ribs, she was finally told she could leave. So Eve kissed goodbye her parents, telling them she was going to catch a bus and them knowing she didn’t like goodbyes, they respected her decission of traveling alone, making her swear she was going to come back and visit them. 

Well, that was the version she gave. Reality was for Eve a totally different story. She started to walk in circles, around the main square that was a few streets away from the hotel not knowing what to do. She was a lost butterfly and for certainly, didn’t know how to manage freedom. In fact, she hated it, because the comfort she had been loking all those days was not the meds but his presence. She wanted to be held in his arms until the world disappeared but the only thing that had disappeared was The Collector. 

So, taking a seat in one of the benches, Eve put her elbows on her knees and hid her face in her palms while crying her heart out, not minding the pain of the after-surgery. 

A:

Asa was back at the hotel, fixing up a room. After a few days, he checked the tracker.

“She’s out of the hospital now.” Asa thought to himself.

Noticing her path, she was clearly down the street, walking in circles. Getting dressed in some normal clothes. Asa drove down the street to Eve, seeing her on a bench.

Getting out of the car, he walked up to her. Not saying anything until she looked up at him….

E:

Eve noticed the black boots first and then her eyes continued the way to Asa's face. She jumped off the bench, not because she was scared but because she couldn't believe it. In fact, she had to move slowly her hand to touch his face to feel it real, her eyes closing as a sigh left her chest. Then Eve brough her hand to her mouth, posing it over her lips to treasure the moment. "Is your collection complete?", she asked in a low voice.

A:

It will never be complete…

What are you doing walking in circles?

E:

"I'm uh...Honestly I didn't know what to do", she scrubbed her eyes to wipe the tears away. "I was lost... until now", she whispered.

A:

Well, are you coming with me?

 E:

"You still want me?", Eve smiled. "I'm technically a broken-wing butterfly now", she said looking down at her ribs.

A:

It’s easy to fix butterfly wings, Eve. Plus, I butterfly with no wings is still a butterfly.

E:

Eve yelped, looking to the side and biting her bottom lip hard to not keep crying. "I'm sorry, I'm a little... sensitive after everything that happened". She took a deep breath to face back at him. "If you are willing, I'll let you fix and mold every single part of me to your own taste, Master".

A:

You have to heal first, are you ready to go back to the hotel?

E:

"Absolutely yes", Eve said, a smile appearing in her face from ear to ear. "I'm a little scared about traps now, though. I know they're meant to be scary but... you know", she chuckles.

A:

Get in the car…

E:

Eve obeyed. Once at the hotel, she took a Deep breath. Everything seemed new, almost refreshing. Then she remembered her bedroom was upstairs. "Master, I asume you may like me to be in my room again although I'm still not able to walk the stairs". Eve sighed, she didn't want to start with the wrong foot but she was left with no option. And if Asa threw her over his shoulder again, her wound would be in trouble.

A:

Asa already pieced all of these small details together, which she didn’t realize. Asa picked her up, bridal style, then walking an different route, up many flights of stairs. Unlocking many different gates and doors on the way to the destinastion unknown to her. Placing her down, he opened the door to the room he’s been working on the days she has been in the hospital.

Opening the door to what would be the ‘presidential suite’. He showed her around, the 2 bathrooms, the fully stocked kitchen, the big balcony and even the Californian king sized bed in the master bedroom. The closet was full of clothes for her, mainly dark shades, with the occasional orange and blue. He also had some of his clothes in the closet.

“You should have no reason to leave this room unless I’m with you.” He turned to her.

“Each door way up here is full of traps, so don’t try to explore. No one else but me can get to you. It’s only one stair case leading to up here.” He went to the hallway, showing her the lethal traps.

“The floor above you is the garden I’ll show you how to get there once you’re healed enough. If you go to the balcony, you’ll see the butterflies.” He went to show her the balcony again.

“Try not to get on the balcony much during the day, unless you’re sitting down. At night is fine, as long as no one can see you.” He walked back into the living room area.

“The TV works, but that’s all you’ll be getting. Don’t have it too loud.” He looked at her to see if she had any questions…

E:

What Eve thought was one of the most beautiful moments of her life resting her head on Asa's shoulder while he carried upstairs, was overwhelmed once she entered the suite. She listened to every detail and instruction he gave her, looking around with her heart melting as soon as she saw the blue between the clothes. 'He selected all of this for me', she thought. The sunset was viisible from the distance through the balcony along with Aporia crotaegi butterflies enjoying the fresh daisies. (1/2)

Eve looked at the bed, comfy neat white sheets waiting for her. Seeking permission in Asa’s face, she took a sit on the mattress, soft and gentle to her body. She looked up at Asa again wanting to express gratittude but it was all too much and too new so she just whispered “Why?” (2/2)

——–

A:

“You willingly came back, that’s enough for me to know that..

I own your mind and body now.

You will be treated as such…

That can be good or bad, depends on you…”

 E:

"It's not as important to me what I recieve in exchange for my actions as what you recieve for them. If you are pleased to have me here, then what else could I ask for?, Eve said, leaning back onto the matress and trying to find a comfortable position; she couldn't rest on her right side but luckily Asa was at her left. "There's indeed something I'd like to ask you but first I have something to give you", Eve took out of her pocket a mobile phone. "I hope you can see it as another form (1/2)

of trust because this was given to me by my parents. I won’t use it if it displeases you but you have to know that they are expecting me to contact them from time to time. I had to lie to them and I know they represent trouble in your eyes but if you kill them, you’ll be taken away my soul and then I won’t mind dying because I know there’ll be no butterfly you could appreciate". (2/2)

————-

A:

Call them now, let them know you’re home safe but you can’t talk, you’re going to rest… Then give me the phone…

E:

Eve called her mum, the sweet voice of the woman was a caress to her ears. Eve tried to provide calm to them, reassuring them that she was safe and that she was going to take care of herself although it all was very brief since she knew Asa wouldn't like her talking too much. "Yes, mum, I'm home. Yes... I'm with that boy I love", she smiled looking askance at The Collector since the lie she told her parents was actually half-true. Then she handled the phone to Asa and her eyelids (1/2)

got heavier and heavier until she was consumed by a profound sleep state. (2/2)

———-

A:

Getting the phone back, Asa eyed the number, putting it in his memory. Letting her fall asleep on the bed, he looked at her.

Watching her sleep for a few minutes before he left the suite.

Letting the dogs out on the lower floor, making sure all the security defenses are still up. 

It took a minute to do his rounds throughout the hotel. When he got back, Eve was still sleeping. 

He got inside the shower, his muscles were sore from the heavy lifting inside the hotel. Getting out of the shower, forgetting the towel, he walked to the closet to put some sweat pants on…

E:

Eve squirmed a little, opening her eyes to see Asa walking in his glory naked state to the closet. She bit the sheets to not make any sound just so she could appreciate how the lines of his back muscles moved when he changed into his pants. Unwillingly, a sigh escaped her lips. That man was a Roman god, and she was sure not even the ancient authors could have described someone as him.

A:

“Whenever you are hungry, you’re free to cook.”

Asa turned his head, smirking at the girl under the sheets.

E:

"Thank you", Eve whispered blushing like strawberries. "I think...", she had to clear her throat to regain composure "I think I'll leave that for the morning if Master is not hungry". Eve stayed silent for moment, fidgeting with the butterfly pendant in her neck. " May I ask how you found me? You knew I was walking in circles..."

A:

I have my ways, little butterfly. Once again, you’re mines, always have been.

E:

Eve smiled. There was something twisted about him talking about her like property that felt almost charming. She kept quiet for a few more seconds, hesitating about expressing what was dancing around her mind. "You know? I had a dream when I was at the hospital. I don't if it was a dream because you gave me this necklace in it and then I had it in my palm but... before that I was... You were...You k...", Eve shook her head, (1/2)

“No, forget about it. It’s impossible. I think I was a little confused after surgery, it’s impossible that you…” she kept blabbering (2/2)

———–

A:

Asa got closer to her, grasping her chin.

“Impossible that I wouldn’t do what, little bug?”

Asa smirked at her..

E:

"...kiss me", Eve whimpered, melting at The Collector's touch

A:

If that’s the case, how’d you get the necklace?

E:

"I don't know...", she swallowed. "Maybe that part was created by my mind", she sighed. "Don't mind me, Master".

A:

"Hmmm.." Asa ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

He leaned in closer, his lips barely touching hers.

"Go get me some water, with ice." He whispered on her lips.

 E:

"Yes..., Master". Eve had to fight with all her strength to be able to separate from him. With a little more effort she managed to ignore the pain at flexing her belly to get up. She walked to the fridge and took some ice from the freezer, putting the cubes inside a glass with water.

Even though she was shaking like a leaf at his burning proximity, she managed to deliver the glass to him. "Do you want me to serve you some drink with this, Master?"

 A:

Just water, then come lay back down. Where are the medications that the hospital gave you?

E:

"I bought none..., I got out of the hospital and came here They said I could use pain meds if I needed them and that I had to change the bandages every day cleaning the area with antiseptic.", Eve went to the bed to lie down again. "I'm okay with the pain, it's not too much. As for the bandages..." Eve stopped talking, bringing her hand to cover them, ashamed of revealing the appearance underneath it.

A:

“You think I haven’t seen a wound before? I’ve decapitate people, this is nothing. Let me change it, and I’ll give you something for the pain that’ll help you sleep like a rock.”

E:

Slowly, Eve moved her fingers away, letting him do. She turned her head to the side, focusing on the pillow, not daring to look at it. "It's not what you saw on others. It's what you see in me. I'm hand in hand with vanity now but... this is not pretty anymore. I'm not...", Eve stopped talking again. She was never a ffriend of shallowness but there was an overwhelming feeling of shame inside.

A:

Asa continued to change the wrap on her side making sure to carefully clean it.

“You think, I never been stabbed.” Asa stood to show her the stab wound on his side. He showed her the ones on his back that already healed but you could still see.

“Yet you still marvel at me, you don’t notice all these scars. If you do, you don’t care.” Asa went to grab a shirt to put on, as well as the medicine he was going to give her.

“A butterfly with no wings, is still a butter fly. Now, open your mouth.”

Asa held the glass of water and the pill…

E:

Eve smiled. That was a refreshing confident air. It was all she needed. If he didn't care, she wouldn't either. Obediently, she opened her mouth to recieve the pill. At this point, Asa could give her anything and she wouldn't even mind watching what it was. "So... this will make me sleep like a rock?", she asked, getting comfortable under the sheets again. "I hope I'm able to wake up before you disappear", she whispered barely audible to herself.

A:

“Yes, you may sleep until the afternoon, so it’s a chance I won’t be here.” Asa sipped from the water.

He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers,letting the ice cube cool her lips, then fall into her mouth… 

E:

Eve's mouth fell open; she had to pay attention to not choke on the cube but at the same time the surprise seemed to have attacked all her senses. She looked at Asa while licking slightly her lips which by now felt all tingly. After a moment, sleep was coming to get her. "This is good for you. From now on, I'll always be speechless", was the last thing she said.

A:

Asa smirked at her comment, she did have a point. Although, Eve doesn’t talk a lot. Shortly after, Eve was sleep, and Asa laid down next to her. He didn’t grab her, or lay on her, due to her wound, so he let her be. It was a little hot anyway, due to the AC not being on in this room. It should be cold in here come morning.

E:

Eve woke up by the afternoon as Asa told her she would. Luckily, she felt rested eough, although still experimenting typical discomfort of the after surgery. She looked to the side, Asa was not there. Her stomach was grumbling. She got up and walked to the kitchen stopping for a moment to contemplate the glass with a bit water from the melted ice cubes.

FLASHBACK: It was a rainy night, with a similar temperature to the current one. Eve was running along the desert streets, escaping from Tomas, the man who used to be her boyfriend many months ago. He had called her to talk after stalking her with calls, leaving notes and rotten flowers at her door and even unexpected visits which used to turn violent quickly and required help from neighbours. Eve didn’t want to worry her parents so she always lied to them and this time, she thought innocently, if she talked to him and tried to be kind, he would stop. But he didn’t, and even when she gently told him to stop, that the relationship was over, he insisted and began to grab her arms to shake her. He even took her umbrella and threatened to hit her so by the time he let go of her for a second and she managed to run away, all of her clothes were spoiled by the rain. She kept running and running till she lost sense of where she was, looking everywhere for someone who seemed friendly to talk to or ask for help but find no one. Afraid that Tomas could be chasing her, she saw the abandoned hotel and decided to hide inside till the morning came. To her surprise the back door seemed lock but after pulling from it with all her strength, it complied and she got in. All of a sudden, an alarm went on so iimagining that there would actually be people inside she fearfully called out: “Hello? I-I don’t want any trouble. I’m just lost. Is anybody there? I just need a phone, please”, she kept walking along the corridor. (

 A:

*Flashback*

Asa heard the alarm going off, something he wasn’t expecting. Checking the cameras, he saw the girl looking around, poor thing don’t know what she just got herself into.

Asa went to her location, baiting her with noises. Eventually she turned around and saw the tall man wearing all black, including the black mask. She started to talk, but the words went unprocessed to the behemoth’s ears. Reaching up to one of his traps, he threw it at her ankle. It turning her upside down, she started to scream out. Asa pushed her to one of the rooms.

Asa looked at the cameras again, seeing a man running down the street, looking around, with a closed umbrella. Locking the doors up again, he went to go find the new part of his collection. Drugging her, Asa took her down, and threw her inside of a blue box….

 E:

End of flashback

Eve looked inside the cupboard for something to eat. There was some past and luckily, some tomatoes in the fridge so she decided to cook what she liked the most: italian food. Waiting for the sauce to be done, she lost herself in the aroma of the herbs, especially in the fragance of rosemary.

FLASHBACK: An hour later, she woke up inside the blue box and of course, all she noticed first was darkness as well as a suffocating heat from lack of oxygen. She started to cry hugging her knees to find comfort for her fear. What happened? Who was that man? Since she was already broken by Tomas, she didn’t scream again. She just stood there saying pitiful “Hello” and begging to be left out of the box with a tiny voice. “I just want to go back home”.

 A:

 It’s been 2 weeks since his newest piece came to his door.

Asa answered her cries with a kick to the box, effectively silencing her.

He had to track her down, to see where she came from.

After hacking the street cameras, Asa saw her running from the man with the umbrella. Looking into her address, Asa found out she lived alone. Yet a missing person report was made for someone of her description. 

The main suspect was Tomas Little, witnesses saw him chasing after her. Police has been looking for him, but he hasn’t been found yet.

Eve Stewart; born June 20th, 1994; lives alone; likes to garden; close to her parents…

Asa reviewed over the missing persons report and his own findings. Until a certain smell hit his nose.

Looking down at the box he was sitting on, had a mildew smell coming from it. Then it dawned on Asa, she was wet when she arrived. 

Gathering some bleach and water in a bucket, unlocking the box, he dragged her out of it, he threw the contents of the bucket on her. Not forcing her back in the box. He locked her in a room….

E:

End of flashback

Pasta and sauce were cooked so Eve took two plates and served the food. She turned around to look at the door. Was he not coming back? She was starving but didn't want to eat without him so she stayed there fixing the bay leaves to make it seem as a decent decoration.

A:

 Asa purposely let the time go by, and before he knew it, it was the afternoon. Heading up the flights of stairs, entering all the pass codes. He entered the room to the pleasant smell of food. It was perfect timing because Asa was hungry. Walking over to sit down, he looked at Eve standing over the two plates.

He started to wonder if she even heard him enter the room.

“How do you feel?”…

 E:

Eve smiled like her favourite person came in, well, he was actually that. "I'm... ̶m̶i̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ starving", she said, taking one of the plates and walking to him. She extended one arm but keeping her gaze down in respect to see if he accepted the offering.

A:

Asa grabbed the plate from her, waiting for her to sit down. He started to eat, but the look on Eve’s face was amusing to him at the moment.

“What is it, little butterfly?”

E:

"I'm...", Eve realized she was forgetting to eat while watching him so she picked up her fork and started playing with the pasta while trying to hide her smile. "I don't know, sometimes I can't believe I have you so close. It's like having Shakespeare in front of me", she giggled lightly and shook her head to avoid the blushing.

A:

“Ironic.” Asa said smirking at her, knowing she hasn’t looked through the room yet.

E:

Eve looked up at him, not wanting to question what he said to mantain the silence while they ate but with a clear intrigued expression.

A:

Asa waited, wanting her to find the little gift on her own. Asa continued to eat, but once he finished he asked her a question.

“Do you want to go to the garden today?”

E:

"Oh, that'd be lovely, Master", Eve's eyes widened with enthusiasm, eating the few bites of food that remained on her plate.

FLASHBACK: It's been an hour since she was locked in the room. She walked around it, trying to find a way out, pulling from the wooden boards fixed on the walls without avail . A moment later, the door was abruptly opened to reveal The Collector's image. Eve walked backwards, scared and intimidated at his presence. He looked like Mars itself even though she would have the god of war so close. Eve ended up in the corner of the room, hands behind her back, trying to disappear through the wall, unable to speak and with her heart about to explode from her chest.

—————

A:

Pushing the girl into the blue box, he pushed it to the lab. Setting up the lab table, making sure the straps were durable.

He snatched her out of the box, quickly putting her on the table. Strapping her in the spread eagle position. He wasn’t going to muffle her, he wanted to hear screams.

She was a special catch, mainly because he didn’t have to catch her at all.

Getting his knife, he started to carve into her forearm. Asa made sure not to cut any arteries. 

After screaming her lungs out, the girl eventually passed out. Asa finished the carving, wrapping it, so it didn’t get infected. This wasn’t a pet he wanted to kill right off… He put her back in the room from before, along with her blue box…

She was still passed out, but he left her stale bread and water for when she gets up….

E:

End of flashback

Once in the garden, Eve had to seat in a chair to be comfortable and avoid the pain from her wound but it was still enjoyable to have sunlight directly on her pace, its warming touch was a caress to her heart. She spent most of the time watching Asa working on some gardening stuff, wishing she could be working again or at least lean down to smell the violets. But her nostalgia went away when butterflies surrounded her, especially when a precious yellow one landed on the tip of her nose(1/2)

Eve stood up slowly to not scare it and, giggling slightly, she walked to Asa. “Master, look”, she showed him as an angelic painting that came to life. (2/2)

A:

Asa looked over at Eve, admiring the butterfly on her nose.

Yet those words stuck out to Asa….

FLASHBACK:

Asa brought Eve back to the lab, leaving her box behind. He was looking at her carving, seeing if he should add more detail to it. She probably would never notice the detail, but As decided to add some details to the wings. Putting a 3 on one and a E on the other, making it follow the outline of the wings. When he finished, Asa realized she wasn’t vocalizing her pain.

“Master, look! Behind you!” She whimpered weakly.

Asa looked over his shoulder to see the door opening up some. Someone was trying to crawl away while Eve as being tortured. 

Asa turned to look back at the girl, did she really just tell on someone. That’s a first, someone to actual do it, without him telling them to.

Abby was obedient, but she never cared if she saw someone out of their box. It’s been one too many times she has been caught lingering the halls with someone trying to escape.. ((RIP Abby, that bitch got on my nerves.. YoU’rE aLL gOnNa dIeE..))

Just when Asa thought Eve couldn’t get any more special…..  

E:

Eve was almost dozed by the pain. In a way it was better because she didn't have the energy to scream. At the same time, something started to intrigue her about The Collector. There was method In his craziness. He wasn't a mad sadist who wanted to see blood everywhere. Asa was selective with his designs, even with people. To each canvass, each drawing. She stayed for a while looking at him, examining his mask, his clothes, his knife by his hips. It was sinister, yet fascinating.

Eve didn’t even know when alerting him about the victim escaping crossed her mind but she diid and at that moment, something clicked inside her. Once The Collector was back to the butterfly, she tried to move her head closer to his arm, forehead touching slightly the fabric of his jumper. It was cold but fresh and clean and it suited perfectly her exhausted being.

End of flashback

The sunset was already visible in the sky, and the temperature became cooler. A slight breeze made her rub her arms wishing Asa was finished soon to go back inside. Her legs were cramped all the way up to her knee due to the lack of excercise and being seated all afternoon in a chair didn’t help either. Yet, she didn’t complain, she just tapped the floor lightly with her toes to see if the cramps disappeared and to warm up the rest of her body.

 A:

Asa just got finished with setting up the different water stations for the butterflies. Looking over to his pet, he noticed the goosebumps on her arms. Standing tall, he stretched his arms above his head. His back let out a loud but relieving pop.

“Come on, lets go. It’s getting late, and I need to change those bandages.”

E:

Once more comfortable inside, Eve went to the wardrobe to grab a black sweater Asa had left between the new clothes. She looked into the mirror, checking happily how this one was her perfect size although wearing her Master's shirts was still warmer. She lie down on the bed pulling up the bottom part of her garments to allow him to change the bandages. "Is your back sore, Master? I can massage it if you desire".

A:

I’m going to go take a hot shower, if it’s still tight, I’ll let you. Do you want me to run you a bath? It’ll have to be shallow because of your bandages.

E:

"Oh, yes, please, Master, that sounds lovely. I'd die for a bath", Eve smirked sweetly at Asa. "Well, not literally".

A:

Hmm, you’d die for one?

Asa smirked. Then turned to go to the bathroom, running the water in both the shower and the bathtub.

E:

Eve took off the sweater, now useless and replaced by the comfortable steam that came out of the bathroom. She walked closer to the door to watch Asa running the water but, lesson learned, didn't come in till invited to.

A:

Asa watched the girl stand in the doorway, he waved her inside. Carefully helping her into the large bathtub. Once she was situated, Asa took his clothes off and stepped into the shower…

E:

Eve already knew she wasn't supposed to run after surgery but when Asa took off his clothes, her heart felt like she was fighting to be the first place in a marathon. She still wasn't able to avoid blushing every time she saw him like that even though she already knew every detail of his nakedness. She tried to control her breathing to get back to a steady pace.

A:

Asa got in the shower and turned around. Looking through the glass to his pet. He only said one word.

‘Focus.’

E:

Eve blinked fastly and came back to reality. She took the sponge and started washing her body taking care to not wet the bandages. Then Eve continued with her hair and once finished, she was in trouble when attempted to stand up. Not wanting to bother him, she tried to push herself up gripping the sides of the tub but ended up sitting again and hissing at the pain.

A:

Asa heard the water splashing, hearing the sponge drip with water. Then he heard the rubbing of skin trying to get traction.

Turning around, he had to wipe the fog off the glass.

“Sit down.”

Asa squinted at her, but he doubt she could see it. He finished his shower and stepped out. He grabbed a towel wrapping it around his waist. He drained the water from the tub and grabbed a towel for Eve. Scooping Eve out of the water, he dried her off, then threw the towel on her head.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Asa got dresses in a black tank top and black sweats.

“Get dressed.” He told her when he noticed she was still standing there with wet hair.

E:

Eve went to the closet to pick one of the blue dresses and put on the black sweater she had left on the bed. She was frustrated, unable to move properly or do simple tasks such as walking stairs. She almost felt like a baby who didn't have to be fed because her two arms were still functioning, yet Asa wasn't complaining about doing everything she couldn't do on her own. Eve went to the bed to take a seat and let out a small sigh. She was owing him so much that she didn't know how to pay him.

A:

Asa grabbed the blow dryer from the bathroom. It was wireless, so he just lugged it out of the bathroom with no hassle. Turning it on, he blew the warm air directly into her face. 

Running his fingers through her hair, to get rid of the tangles. He blow dried her hair until it was flying all over the place and she looked like she’s been electrocuted. Asa was doing this on purpose, he thought it was funny. 

Eventually he handed her a brush and a rubber band, letting her do as she pleased with her hair.

“What else do you want to do tonight?”

E:

The warm air was so welcome on Eve's hair, not to mention The Collector's fingers running along it erasing her coldness. Eve furrowed her brows, looking up at his face to find out what he was actually doing when blowing air directly at her face. Once seeing in the mirror, she started laughing at the Tina Turner aesthetic he had created. It felt so good she forgot her recent past mood. Brushing it with dedication, she let the blonde locks fall down to her shoulders creating a sensuous wave at the side of her face, putting the band around her wrist to not lose it for later and, especially, to not look down on it coming from him. Then she heard his question. It was a dangerous ask, not for him but obviously for her. She had dreamed so much about kissing him again, even being bitten by him, that being honest with her answer was hard. “I… I’d like to alleviate your back if you still feel it sore, Master”.

A:

What I meant is, what do you want to do that don’t include me? But if you want, there is some oils in the bathroom.

E:

"Oh! Um...". This was new. All of her plans and wishes have always included him mostly because being part of this world he created made him her only company and her favourite one. "I've always wanted to read Romeo and Juliet for a hundredth time. But I don't think you have it here".

A:

I understand why you haven’t looked around, but it’s in this room. You find it in 1 minute, I’ll read it to you. If not, I’ll just go watch TV, not nothing to punishing, hmm? I’ll let you stand up first, then the timer will start…

E:

Another game. He always managed to come up with ideas even if she was in recovery. Yet Eve was fascinated by it, it was a form of adrenalinic recreation she had become addicted to. She scanned the room. Tempted to go to the book shelf but that would have been too predictable and what he was expecting her to do: to search in all the books to lose time. So no, she decided to look in the most unexpected places: the wardrobe, the fridge, but she already knew them till finally she found something peeking from the upper part of the kitchen cupboard. “I think I found it, Master, but I can’t reach it”, she chuckled. “It’s there and I can’t believe it’s actually there”, Eve pointed with her index finger smiling and anxiously waiting for him to grab she adored the most (2/2)

A:

Smirking at her reaching for a book, he went to the kitchen and pulled the book down. Only to reveal it to be ‘How to Kill a Mocking Bird’. 

Eve face fell once she realized it was a decoy.

Asa grabbed her hand, pulling her to the bed, where she once was standing. Opening the night stand draw, revealing the book she wanted. He handed her the book, and helped her get comfortable in the bed.

“Next time, I’ll read to you.” Asa patted her head.

Asa went to the TV, turning it on, watching the news, as always…

E:

Eve's jaw fell open, her smile was erased in a second. She got under the sheets pouting although Asa couldn't watch her since he was focused on the TV. At least she had Shakespeare's book so she first caressed its cover, glad that it was in her hands. After 20 minutes, she was already immerse in the reading and sighing silently at the way Romeo expressed himself.

A:

Asa was done watching the news, so he turned around to see what is pet was doing. 

Watching her eyes move across the pages, he took the opportunity to sneak up on her. Very slowly moving closer to the bed, he launched himself forward, letting a growl escape his lips. Effectively scaring the shit out of her. Smirking at her reaction, Asa offered to read to her. 

Although she was still recovering from the heart attack. Making Asa chuckle, he waited for her answer…

E:

Eve brought a hand to her chest feeling it bounce underneath it. Once she recovered her breath, although still shaky, she handled the book to him. "Y-yes, please", she gasped.

A:

Asa took the book from her, and began at the beginning of the page she left off on. Pulling her close to him his plan was to lull her to sleep. 

He wasn’t going to be sleeping long, he had to get up and tend to other things in the hotel. 

As soon as she was sleep, he pried her sleeping form off of him, and went to sleep himself…

E:

Eve woke up the next morning, the light of sun entering the room from the balcony. She scrubbed her eyes a little, noticing Asa was still asleep. She slowly moved her hand towards his pillow but stopped a milimeter away from his hair, not daring to touch him without his permission but wanting to be as close to him as she could. He wasn't soft while sleeping but his image was the one of a warrior who was taking a rest. Eve bit her bottom lip admiring it like a painting. All of a sudden, Asa opened his eyes and growled at her scaring even the last lock on her hair. “Nooo”, Eve whined in protest when she was able to speak and pulled the sheets up to cover her entire head, getting away from him to the edge of the bed.

—–

A:

Asa felt the hand lingering near his head. He wasn’t the one that wanted to be touched without permission. Rolling over to his back, he spoke to Eve.

“Make something simple to eat, I have to do some more repairs.”

E:

When the night came, Eve had hidden Giacomo, the snowball kitten she found in the balcony, inside the bathroom. She was worried. Although she had given some canned fish to it, she didn't want Asa to find out, unsure if he was going to let her keep it or... if he was going to harm it. Eve knew sooner or later he'd find out but till she was able to make a proper decision, she left him inside the tub and prayed for her Master not to see him when he came back and for the kitten to be quiet.

A:

Asa came into the room, knowing Eve was hiding the cat. Just to see how she would react, and respond to the situation.

“Go run me a bath, hot water.”

E:

"A... a bath?",Eve asked nervously but tried to avoid making it notorious. "Yes... sure, Master". She entered the bathroom and surreptitiously closed the door behind her. Taking the kitten out of the tub and looking around just to figure out what to do, she started shushing at the animal like he was a baby to make him remain silent. Eve turned the hot water on while she thought and finally decided to hide the kitten on the elastic band of her skirt, covering his head with the shirt she had on but of course when she came out of the bathroom, her body was rigid trying to hold the kitten in place. “It’s ready Master”, she smiled forcefully, a drop of sweat running down her forehead. (2/2)

A:

Asa ignored the lump in her shirt, to see where she’ll hide the cat next.

Asa stripped and got in the tub, but leaving the bathroom door open, so he could see Eve.

E:

While Asa was in the bathroom, Eve started hissing. The little kitten was scratching her belly in an attempt to come out. Worried about the animal could scratch her bandages, she looked around again and, coming out of bathroom sight, she hid the snowball inside the cupboard, leaving it a bit open so he could breathe and scrubbing her forehead in an attempt to calm down. Her plan was to hide the baby inside the tub again once Asa came out.

A:

Asa looked in amusement, watching Eve keep looking towards the bathroom. Asa heard the cabinet in the kitchen open. The thought made him chuckle.

He got out of the bath, wrapping a towel around his waist. Going to the closet, he put on his sweats and tank top. Watching Eve closely…

“Have you changed your bandage already?”

E:

Eve yelped at the sight of Asa surprising her but cleared her throat to keep composure. "Y-yes", she lied. If she had to remove her shirt, he'd find out she two scratches. "Are you going to stay here tonight, Master?", she asked, her head turning to the side to watch if any of the kitten's paws peeked out.

A:

“Where else would I go?”

Asa turned to see what she was looking at, he saw the cabinet slightly ajar. Smirking, knowing that’s where she put the kitten. He slowly walked to the kitchen to see if she’ll say anything.

E:

"Uh... Umm..." Eve babbled, getting in Asa's way till she ended with her back against the counter. "I-If you want to eat something, I-I can cook for you. You must be tired", she said, her voice quivering.

A:

Is there something I should know about, pet of mines?

E:

She giggled nervously. "N-no, Master...". Then Giacomo let out a tiny meow from inside the cupboard and Eve immediately sneezed in a poor attempt to cover the sound. But after a mere second she realized sooner or later he'd find out so she sighed and said "Wait, Master...", she took a deep breath. "Yes, there's something...". Eve opened the cabinet door and took Giacomo out embracing him towards her chest to protect him from any reaction Asa could have."I'm sorry, I just wanted to keep him safe"

A:

“Keep him save from what?” Asa tilted his head at Eve.

E:

"Just look at him", Eve replied with tenderness in her voice, petting the snowball's head. "I couldn't leave him out. He is a baby, he wouldn't survive the streets. If he came outside this room, he could have getting hurt and... I didn't know if you'd like him", she whispered that last part.

 A:

“If I wouldn’t like the cat that I picked out?”

Asa arched his eyebrows at the girl.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me before I make up my mind?”

E:

"What?", Eve said with wide eyes, astonished. "You picked this cat?", Eve chuckled relieved. "I can't believe it. So this means I can keep him?", she moved her head closer to Giacomo and planted a kiss on his head. Then remembered Asa's other question. "Oh..., yes, the bandages", Eve came back to reality in a second, gulping. "I-I... haven't changed them", she whispered again.

A:

Asa took the little kitten from her hands, placing it on the ground. Asa grabbed Eve’s neck, slowly apply pressure until he noticed her gasping for air. He waited purposely, waiting for her vision to start to fade from her, until he leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear.

“Don’t lie to me again.”

He released the pressure, but held her up so she won’t fall on the ground.

“Go change your bandages, unless you want to get an infection.”

E:

Eve coughed, inhaling air quickly to fill her lungs. Her life was in Asa's hands, a clear demonstration by his action, yet she had granted herself the privilege of lying to him. Once she recovered balance again, she started to change her bandages as he told her. Not saying a word, she got under the sheets. Giacomo followed her, climbing up the bed, and she embraced him in her hands although looking at Asa to see if he approved...

A:

Asa didn’t want the cat in the bed, the look on his face made that clear…

E:

Immediately, Eve put the cat on the floor, taking care of making him staying there. She pulled the sheets up and rubbed her neck slightly. Asa had left a bruise for sure but she didn't complain. She turned onto her left side avoiding to face him and closed tightly her eyes. She didn't have anything to say to him and she was sure that if she looked at him again, she'd cry. Once again, she misbehaved when he came back. She started to think if it wasn't an unwilling act of protest for missing him so much but there was nothing she could do.

——-

A:

Asa looked at Eve upset, but didn’t really care. He did not want fur all over the bed. He laid down, feeling his spine relax from being hunched over all day. It didn’t take him long to go to sleep, he was going to take advantage of it while he could. Considering he knew he would be up in a few hours.

E:

By the time Asa came back, Eve was smiling like always although with clear dark circles under her eyes from the sleep deprivation of the night before. "Master, good evening", she said, yawning a little.

A:

Movies again?

Asa smirked at her, hearing the infamous movie when checking in on her earlier that day.

E:

"Oh, I was looking for an old one but I came across The Conjuring. I'm not watching a modern movie again". Eve looked to the side at the sound of Giacomo meowing. The kitten started to pee in the corner of the room so Eve was quick to take a rag and bleach to clean it. She looked at Asa not wanting to be demanding but spoke anyways: "Master, I think he needs a litter box and some cat food".

A:

“I guess I should make it clear that you are free to move around the suite.”

Asa moved towards the pantry in the suite, opening the door. On the floor was a litter box with a big bag of litter inside of it. Next to it on the ground was the bottles and milk needed to feed the kitten. On the other side was cases of canned cat food.

There also was a little bin of small cat toys and a blue collar…

E:

"Oh!", Eve chuckled at the fact that she has ignored there was everything the cat needed so near. But what caught her attention the most was the blue collar. It was perfect, not only for the kitten, but for her personal taste too, "Come here, caro mio", she called the animal and put the item around his neck. "Now you are cute snowball blessed with a fragment of sky", she said in regards to the color blue. Then stood straight again, realizing she felt no pain lately while leaning down.

A:

Asa noticed her not wincing when bending down. Although it has been a little while from her injury, she still wasn’t completely healed.

“I’m hungry, once you finish tending to the cat, make us burgers and fries.”

E:

After placing the box in the corner and some proper food and water for Giacomo, Eve walked to the kitchen and washed her hands dedicately. Once the meat and the potatoes were being cooked, she turned her head to the side, watching the wardrobe in the distance. She wasn't as scared as yesterday now that Asa was there but she was still very sleepy and balancing in place to stay awake. A nice aroma of tasty food took over the suite. Eve served the fries and the burgers on two plates not minding the hot drop of oil that splashed on her hand because she was used to that happening when cooking. Walking to Asa, she delivered the plates to the table, grabbing two glasses with water for the meal to be complete.

——

A;

“Have you ever seen, As Above, So Below?”

Asa don’t remember how he came across the movie, but he found himself watching it. It was rather interesting, the concept of the movie.

E:

"No, I haven't", Eve answered shyly. "It sounds like a religious movie". Eve furrowed her brows. Asa didn't seem like the type who watched those type of movies but she was interested in him sharing something of his personal taste.

A:

I think you may like it, Asa managed to put it on the TV.. smirking knowing she may not like the movie at all..

E:

A while into the movie, Eve started to cover her face with the hamburguer bread, pretending she was eating. All those people underground awoke a claustrophobia she didn't know she had, not even when locked in a box. 'Another night awake', she guessed.

A:

Asa almost laughed at her attempt to hide her face. The movie wasn’t that bad, he could’ve shown her Terrifier, the movie that catered to his sadistic side on another level.

E:

When the movie ended, Eve was more than ready to stand up and walk away from the television. "May I take your plate to wash it, Master?", she asked.

A:

Sure.

Asa smirked at his spooked pet.

E:

Once Eve finished with the dishes, she checked on Giacomo. The baby was already sleeping on a cushion on the floor. She petted her head for a second before changing her bandages for the last time of the day. Then she walked to the bed and got under the blankets, silently pulling the sheets up to cover her entire head praying for the light to stay on.

A:

Asa purposely turned the lights off…

“What are you so afraid of?”

How Eve answered his question determined his actions for the night….

E:

"It's pretty ridiculous considering they don't exist but... I can't get that witch from The Conjuring out of my head...", Eve talked against the sheets, still hidden. "Will you make fun of me for it, Master?", she whispered.

A:

Asa nodded at her reply, but not for an answer.

“No I won’t make fun of you. But I will question your logic about it….

You share a bed with a sadistic, serial killer, and won’t lose any sleep.

Yet, you let a movie keep you up at night?

I must not be a threat to you, hmm. Is that it?”

Asa was in close proximity to her face, he could practically feel her breathe, but he got no closer….

E:

Eve let out a shaky breath. She knew Asa was close but that was not the reason behind it. Taking account of what he asked, she realized her own words could have been percieved as lack of respect for him even though it wasn't her intention. "I'm... It's different", Eve answered, moving the sheets down to look him in the eyes. "I know you are dangerous. As lethal as a venomous scorpion, but I can't help but melt for you", she whispered shyly managing to keep her gaze on him.

A:

I think you just need some sleep…

Asa saw the panic in her eyes, yet the adoration…

E:

"That's easier said than done", she chuckled nervously, her eyes redish, open like two big plates in the darkness.

A:

I know all too well butterfly…

Asa scooped her up in his arms, allowing her to lay on his chest. Since he couldn’t lay on her due to her wound…

E:

As soon as Asa had her between his arms, Eve sighed relieved. It almost felt like a heavy bag was taken off of her shoulders and in spite of her wanting to stay awake just to keep feeling her Master's chest going up and down with each breath, she fell asleep almost a minute later.

A:

Asa slowly moved Eve off of his chest due to her slobbing. He took his shirt off, going without it because he didn’t feel like getting another one.

Being careful of her side, he draped an arm around her. Eventually Asa eyes grew tired, and he went to sleep.

E:

Eve woke up the next day but unfortunately, Asa wasn't by her side. Despite that, she felt really rested and somehow, the image of Batsheeba witch was quickly replaced by her Master's strong arms. After feeding Giacomo, she went to the bathroom to have a shower. She had picked one of the orange dresses Asa had left in the wardrobe, this time wanting to take a break from blue. It looked almost vintage on her, with delicate tiny buttons at the side and for that, she loved it, So Eve was getting dressed when suddenly, a black moving item next to the tub caught her attention. She leaned down, grateful for being painless, and noticed it was a tarantula, possibly looking for a way out. She took it in her hand, already knowing it wasn’t venomous since Asa’s books were full of aracnids information and brought it close to her face to examine if it wasn’t hurt. “How did you get in here?”, she started talking. “You are not supposed to be here. You are going to be in trouble”.

A:

Asa heard the water running when he entered the suite, so he went to to kitchen. Getting something to drink, he heard Eve speak, but not towards him. He slowly stalked to the bathroom, knife in hand…

Pushing the door open slowly, once he saw no person. He was disappointed yet relieved….

“What are you talking to?”

E:

Eve yelped at the sudden sound of Asa. She turned around, the tarantula was now on the crook of her neck and its little frontal legs were resting on her cheek. "I'm sorry, Master. It was this little guy. I think he was looking for you", she smiled pointing at the spider she had on with her eyes.

A:

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, it may not be lethal, but it leave you paralyzed for a few little while…”

Asa got the spider off of Eve, looking to see how it got out of it’s encasing. Going back to the study area of the suite, he put the spider away.

“You may want to make sure your kitten hasn’t gotten bit. Something that little could go into cardiac arrest from such bite.”

E:

Eve yelped. How did that information escaped her mind?! As soon as Asa mentioned him, she ran out of the bathroom, merely avoiding to push Asa by accident when passing by. Giacomo was all happy finishing his meal but Eve picked him up anyway to examine him. After checking every single bit of white fur, she hugged him close to her chest, kissing the top of his head many times, relieved.

A:

Hmm, either way, do you think you can manage a little things on the garden? Few weeds that needs to be pulled, but nothing too big.

E:

"Of course, whatever you wish", Eve replied excited about working in the garden again.

A:

“Don’t overwork yourself.”

Asa lead Eve upstairs to the rooftop garden.

E:

Eve walked upstairs slowly but steady. She felt no pain but without the possibility to do excercise, she was already tired when they reached the garden. Luckily, what she needed to do was not that hard. Seated on the floor, she was able to pull all the weeds, leaving the plants all clean again. Eve appreciated the time alone. Although Asa was her favourite company, she had time to talk to the violets, something she may not have done if he was present out of shame.

A:

Asa watched Eve talk to the plants. Supposedly, it helps the plants but Asa still found it amusing. He remembered why he came up in the first place. Placing the kitten down, it clumsily made it’s way over to Eve….

E:

Eve felt the soft hairs on her ankle and looked down finding Giacomo there. She saw her hands dirty but couldn't resist the little kitten so she picked him up, kissing his nose many times. "You missed me, mio angelo?", she talked sweetly to him but then remembered the animal was in the suite before. "How did you get here?", she got alarmed at the thought of the kitten getting hurt in his way to there.

A:

Asa slightly chuckled at the thought that Eve didn’t notice him. Eve was often clueless…

E:

Eve was so lost petting the cat and talking sweetly to him that when she finally saw Asa a few meters away, she got confused for a second: "Bab... Master", she corrected herself immediately, yelping at her mistake.

A:

Asa raised an eyebrow at Eve, debating if he should let that slide or warn her.

Not feeling like disciplining her, he leaned down, holding the back side of his hand to the ground.

The kitten made its way out of Eve’s grasp and into Asa’s palm.

“Let’s go, you need to clean yourself up..”

E:

Eve followed Asa back to the suite, watching Giacomo so calm in his hands and, for a moment, she saw a bit of resemblance with herself. There was something charming about him, almost hypnotic. She went to the bathroom to run a warm bath, noticing the orange dress was of no longer use, at least for the moment.

A:

Asa sat the cat down in the bed Eve failed to realize was there. He then turned to the kitchen, not really minding what Eve did in the moment.

Asa put a pizza in the oven due to simplicity.

Eve emerged from the bathroom as Asa laid on the bed, face down….

E:

Eve got out of the bathroom changed into a simple black dress. The smell of pizza was enticing and she knew it was already cooked so she took it out of the oven. She was about to serve it in two plates but the picture of Asa caught her attention. "Master", she whispered. "Are you okay?"

A:

“Yes”

That’s all he said, exhausted from moving people filled boxes throughout the hotel that day. His muscles ached, but he was used to it by now.

Getting off the bed, he turned around, kicking his boots off, he saw Eve had the pizza ready, so he got up to sit at the table…

E:

Eve was delivering the food when she saw Giacomo sleeping on a new pet bed next to their bed. It was impossible to repress a smile from ear to ear so she left the plates on the table and taking a seat in front of Asa, she genuinely said "Thank you".

A:

“No need to thank me, you just didn’t see it.”

Asa ate his pizza in silence, once he finished he ran some bath water. Going to the cabinet in the bathroom, he located the Epsom salt, and put some in the hot water.

Stripping off his clothes, the hot water felt soothing… He made sure he got all of his work done today because he knew he had to plan something else……

E:

Eve heard the water running but she took a deep breath to avoid temptation. She didn't want to end up sore again at least if being painless was the only thing she could granted for herself as a birthday present for the next day. Eve chuckled a little sad and walked to Giacomo. "He is not going to remember, is he?", she talked to the kitten, petting his head.

A:

Asa heard Eve talking to the kitten, but not really caring to listen to what she said. That’s when he summoned her to the bathroom.

“Eve…”

E:

Eve gulped. She turned her head to the side to look into the bathroom direction, her hand failing to keep petting Giacomo. Walking to it, she stopped at the half-open door, moving her foot precisely for it to be considered outside. She turned to the side too, not wanting to look inside remembering past punishments and with a shaky voice, she asked "What do you wish, Master?"

A:

Put a sheet and a towel on the bed, and light a candle, you can pick which one…

E:

"Um..., sure Master". Eve walked away of the bathroom to put the items on bed. Giacomo was curious about her movements but Eve was even more intrigued about the request. She went to kitchen to look inside one of the drawers for a candle. Long ones, colored, aromatics... She ended up picking a small one with flowery scent, sure that it was rose fragance, and left it on the night table, nervously trying to find a proper position for it.

A:

Asa got out of the bath, wrapping a towel around his waist. Watching Eve fumble with the candle.

“If you can’t decide where to put the candle, you really won’t be able to decide what to massage first… ”

Asa smirked at he got in the bed, laying down on his stomach. Towel still wrapped around his waist….

E:

"It's perfect there" Eve let out, leaving the candle in a second with no more interest in it. She bit her lip watching Asa's back still with a few drops of water running down his spine. Rubbing her hands together to make sure they were warm, she placed them on each scapula, properly letting both skins connect. Then she started doing soft circles with her palm but quickly using her knuckles to apply pressure. Asa's back muscles were so contracted that she was amused at him not complaining in a daily basis. Eve moved down using her thumbs at both sides of his spine careful not to press any disc and then ended up at his sacrum, kneeling at his side to be able to apply harder pressure. After that, she stopped although not abruptly. She gently moved her fingers to his head, finishing with a soft circling to his temples.

A:

Asa wanted to fall asleep while Eve rubbed his back, but the neat freak in him wouldn’t let that happen.

Once she finished, he put on some shorts and put away the sheet and towel. Making sure it wasn’t nothing else that needed to be done. He went back to the bed, wrapping an arm around Eve, going to sleep.

E:

Eve woke up at the sound of "O mio babbino caro" playing in the distance but the song sounded almost robotic. She wanted to get up to inspect but Asa's arm was keeping her in place by its weight and by its hypnotizing effect. The song lasted around 20 seconds and then she turned to the other side to see if he had noticed, realizing the pressure on the wound was no longer as painful as before. She wanted to check if he had woken up, his eyes were close but Eve knew sometimes he liked teasing her. Despite that, once she looked at him, she forgot about the song. “Oh god”, she whispered at the beautiful picture of him holding her. What a way to start her birthday.

A:

Asa was still tired, but his body wouldn’t let him sleep any longer…

“Go put another dress on, I need you to do something today, but you have to look presentable.”

Asa didn’t have to open his eyes to know that she was awake. Probably sensed the confusion on her face as well….

E:

Eve was more than intrigued at the request. She got up, already missing being by his side, and went to the wardrobe to pick something. If it was a special day, at least for her, she'd make it special so she obviously chose a blue dress with sort of long sleeves. She brushed her hair, fixing the necklace around her neck and put on a pair of black shoes. Smiling, she stood by the wardrobe door wanting to ask him if he liked the look but the song started playing again for another 20 seconds.

A:

“I’m going to throw your phone off that balcony.”

Asa groaned, as he got up himself. He got dressed not paying any attention to Eve much I until he was ready.

He blindfolded her, then picked her up.. it’s been a while since she left the suite…..

E:

Eve giggled nervously. "It's because today is...", she said while he was carrying her downstairs but stopped before ending the phrase. If he didn't mind or remembered it, it wouldn't do any difference if she told him.

A:

Asa kept Eve blindfolded when placed her in the back of the van. Closing the doors, he got in the driver’s seat. Driving to the nearest McDonald’s he picked up breakfast for the both of them.

Driving to his destination, he handed Eve the bag with food. Taking her out of the back of the van he took the blindfold off.

“Call your phone when you’re ready, if not. I’m getting you at 9 tonight.” Was all Asa said.

He got back in the van and drove away….

E:

The kidnapping

Eve was silent all the way. She quickly realized she was in the van but never dared to remove her blindfold. She didn’t mind it either. The fact that Asa was driving to an unknown place with her awoke her curiosity but she enjoyed it like she could: smelling the chlorine impregnated in the vehicle, hearing the noise of the city and being grateful for the AC.

After Asa took the blindfold off of her and let her get out of the van, she looked at the bag in her hands and smiled. She thought they were going to have breakfast right there, which was a bit strange, but then realized the surroundings were familiar. She looked past him and the bag almost slipped off of her hands at the sight of her parents’ house. 

Asa’s words were very clear in her mind, though. If she didn’t call before 9…, she didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt or murdered. Eve watched him leave. What does this mean? He clearly has to remember my birthday. But he didn’t say anything. Well, he never does.

Meeting her parents was an emotional moment. They both missed her and neither of them were expecting to see each other. They shared a tasty meal and asked lots of questions, which she had to lie to their replies in the majority of cases. 

Once the reunion was over, Eve called Asa to pick her up, arranging that he was going to do so a few streets away. She convinced her parents to not accompany her, not wanting Asa to be seen to avoid more questions and trouble. She walked the streets and waited like he told her. Suddenly, a white van, similar to Asa’s one stopped by. Confidently, and wanting to be quick, she opened the back door and got inside. 

She didn’t had time to get out before the van accelerated and unluckily, the scenario inside the vehicle was not what she expected. Tomas Little and four other men were there and her ex-boyfriend was fast to grab her and pin her down. 

“You really keep being a distracted little sheep”, he commented, covering her mouth to muffle her screams and holding her struggles with his own weight. “You put it easier than I thought. What the fuck were you thinking when you opened this door? You little little dumb sheep”, he continued, gesturing one of the other men to bring the tape, putting it on her mouth and around her wrists and feet. “I’m not complaining, though. I love it when I don’t have to work”, he started palpating her body. “Hm… no phone. What? I can’t understand you with that thing on your mouth. How did I find you? It’s your birthday sweetheart. Of course you were going to be visiting your parents. Don’t worry, the party has just started. Happy birthday, my little sheep”, Tomas said, kissing her forehead.  

 A:

Asa was just a block down when he saw Eve disappear into the van. He already knew what to expect. So slowly he followed behind the van, yet staying a good distance behind.

Typing on his phone, he looked up the car information. To which he came to the conclusion he already had.

Tomas Little was a very stupid boy.

 E:

The van stopped and Tomas tried to throw Eve over his shoulder but failed. One of his “friends” helped him took her inside and carried her to the basement. Eve kept trying to scream through the tape but Tomas took out a knife and brought it close to her face. 

“I’m going to take this off. Don’t make me hurt you. But if you scream, I will”. 

Eve nodded yes with her head, taking a big mouthful of air when the tape was off and looked at Tomas with watery eyes. 

“Wow”, he commented, tilting his head to the side. “I thought you were going to scream”.

“It’s not productive now that we are in here but I don’t think you know the value of silence”, she replied. “Besides, where are we, Tomas? In your own house?”, she chuckled. 

“What’s so funny about it? No one is going to hear you here”. 

“You are so dead. You don’t even know”. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Nothing”, Eve said looking to the side, not wanting to bring up Asa into the conversation. 

“Leave us alone”, Tomas ordered to the men. 

 A:

Asa watched as Tomas pulled up to his home. He remembered the location, going back to his hotel. Gathering all the equipment he needed, he headed back towards Tomas house. Making sure to bring a box as well…

E:

“Why you look so upset?”, Tomas asked, leaning down to be close to Eve’s face. “We are together again”. 

“That’s what’s upsetting me. How many times do I have to tell you that what we had is over?”.

“I can have you again”.

“Like this?”, Eve sobbed. “It’s my birthday for God’s sake. You are ruining it”.

“Ruining it? What were you panning to do?”, he inquired but Eve didn’t respond. “Ohh, that’s it then. Someone was waiting for you. That’s why you don’t live at your pretty little house anymore.”, Tomas clenched his teeth and grasped her chin forcing her to look at him. “Who is the moron expecting you to come home to?”

Eve’s chest was bouncing with anger too at his lack of respect. 

“That moron is the one who is going to gut you and your friends when he finds me, you fucking idiot”

Eve spat his face for him to release her. Her terms were surprising too because she was never the one to insult other person. Unluckily, Tomas didn’t take that well and hit her face with the back of his knuckles, violently throwing her to the floor at the impact. He moved on top of her, pulling from the neck part of her dress to rip it to the side. 

“You think I’m scared of your stupid boyfriend? I’ll take care of him too. He is no one, you little dumb sheep. I am your boyfriend and I will always be”, he kissed her mouth and grasped her breast while Eve squirmed. “I just have to remind you of it”. 

Tomas was about to rip her dress in half when he saw the butterfly scars peeking through out the fabric of the sleeve. 

“What is that?”

 A:

Asa approached the house, and amusingly enough, the back door was open. He closed it, making sure to lock it.

Leaning down, Asa took the leashes off the dogs. He followed their lead, until one stopped and stared. Asa gripped the knife in his hand, turning the corner to see two of them sitting on the couch.

They were talking, but the words went unnoticed to Asa’s ears. Tapping the dog on it’s back, it charged at the two men. Effectively going for the throat. Asa waited for another one to come, to see what was happening.

The boy shouted, but was shortly lived when Asa pierced his throat.

Asa finished the two men on the couch before he let the dogs lead him to the basement door…..

 E:

“Who did that to you?”, Tomas had asked, moving the sleeve upwards, disgusted at the sight. Eve couldn’t cover it because of her tied wrists but kept struggling to be released. “WHO?!”, Tomas yelled. 

“Him. And it’s part of our intimacy”. 

“INTIMACY?!”, he yelled again, his face horrified. “Do you call this intimacy? What the fuck is going on?”

“It’s a design because I’m special for him.”

“Oh, so you let this idiot cut you? Is that it?”

“I never criticized the lion you got tattoed in your hip bone even though you made it striped like a tiger because you don’t have a single idea about wild fauna”. 

Tomas repressed his wish to hit her again. 

“Okay. So you like being cut as a form of love”, he turned his head to the basement stairs. “Mario, come here”, he called the man who was watching the basement cover. 

Once the man came downstairs, Tomas instructed him to hold Eve down while he used the knife to cut her dress. Eve couldn’t move even if she wanted but the purpose of Tomas was to cut her skin too, perfectly carving his two letters, “TL”, under her right collarbone.

Eve screamed in agony while he broke her flesh, blood appearing quickly on the cut lines. 

“This is fucked up”, Mario commented.

“You shut up. I don’t pay you for your opinion”. 

Once Tomas finished, both men released her. She was sobbing like a mess, lost in the contemplation of the wall, with the right side of her blue dress now stained in red.  

“Now you are loved. Loved by me”, Tomas said. And he was about to make Mario go look for a bandage when they heard noise outside. Paying attention, they realized there was a fight upstairs and that the other men were screaming. 

“What the fuck?”

The noise made Eve blinked and come back to reality with a tiny smile. Tomas noticed it and leaned down again towards her. 

“What the fuck is going on?”

“He came for me”, she replied, tears running down her cheeks. 

“Who’s your fucking boyfriend?” 

Eve smiled showing her teeth. 

“The Collector”. 

Tomas walked away of her.

“FUCK, FUCK!!!!”, he started gasping. “Mario, how many bullets do you have there?”

“Five”. 

“You better use them well or we are going to be fucked”. 

Eve started laughing. 

“You, come here”, Tomas said making her stand on her feet still with her limbs tied together. Using her as protection, he moved the knife to her neck, waiting for Asa to find them, realizing he had made his own trap. 

 A:

Asa heard the panicked voices coming from the basement and knew they’re in there. He smirked, but knowing he had to be precise for his next move.

Asa grabbed his bag, pulling out his infamous trigger wire. Attaching it to a knife thrower he made for impromptu break-ins.

Opening the door to the basement, he listened to their reaction.

“Go check it out.” A hushed voice said.

“No way, I’m not going up there.” The other one said.

Asa peaked around the corner and he saw their feet. Noticing how Eve was close to one of them, it’s a chance he was holding her, that had to be Tomas.

Asa whistled but held his hand up, the dogs came to him but stopped.

“Shit did you hear that?” Mario said.

Asa liked creating suspense, so he got up, jumping out of a back window. He turned the power to the house off. It would only stay off for 5 minutes. Then entered once again, quickly yet silently.

He listened out for them, Asa eyes were used to seeing in the dark, it wasn’t completely dark though.

Asa made some more noise to lure Mario out of the basement.

“Okay all of us are going up. She’s going first, move it!” That was Tomas.

Asa saw them coming up the stairs, he was right in front of them, but they didn’t see him. Asa saw that Eve had some blood on her, which made him growl a bit.

Mario fired a shot right in front of them, but missed.

4 shots.

As they approached the doorway, Eve movement halted.

She felt the wire on her leg.

Carefully she stepped over it without Tomas noticing.

“Go in front of us.” Tomas said.

As Mario got in front of them, Eve felt him trigger the trap, so she fucked, managing to get out of Tomas trap.

The knife was lodged in Mario’s head, coincidentally the lights came back on, on impact.

Asa was right in front of them, Eve being ducked, Asa pushed Tomas down the stairs…

 E:

Eve kept laughing at their desperation, not matter how angrily Tomas gripped her arm. Once she heard Asa’s whistle, she took a deep breath. They didn’t know but it was obvious for her that the dogs were waiting and she prayed for them to differ between her body and the rest. 

When the lights went off, Eve calmed down. It was the opposite of their reaction but it meant that Asa was determined to get her and god, how she loved his suspense. Despite that, she stayed alert, sure that the Collector had designed one trap nearby if not more. Somehow, it was like playing Hide and Seek, so her mind switched into a calculated one. 

She felt the wire and silently chuckled, a mannerism she got from her Master. Stepping over it with confidence while the two men were shitting in their pants and Mario was shooting to the air, it didnt take long for the last one to activate the trap. 

Once Tomas was pushed. his knife flying off downstairs too, Eve looked at Asa with the lights back on. He was so powerful in his black clothes that she smirked relieved and attracted to him. 

She stood there, wanting to hug him, but looking at the floor in respect. 

 A:

Asa looked over towards Eve, noticing hey hands tied together. He grabbed her hands, slicing through the rope, he set her arms free.

Turning his attention to the man getting up in the basement. Asa matched down the stairs, reaching a hand out towards Eve. Letting her know that he wants her down there too.

Tomas stood with the knife in his hand, he was spitting words at Asa, but Asa wasn’t paying attention. When Tomas went to swing, Asa swiftly dodged it. Smirking at the small man.

When Tomas swung the next time, Asa grabbed his wrist twisting and pulling him forwards. Taking his forearm in both hands, he smashed it with his knee. His arm made a loud popping noise, music to Asa’s ears.

Tomas held his arm in agony, Asa leaned over him, watching his face.

Asa stood and whistled for the dogs to come to the basement. They say, both on each side of Eve, watching Tomas.

Knowing he could walk out, Asa went through the front door so he could get the box. Bringing it back to the basement, he didn’t put Tomas in it just yet.

He kicked him around the floor, and made him stand. Tomas tried to swing, but he was too weak to do so. Asa shoved him in the box, before he got the chance to close it, he heard Eve speak.

“Master, may I do it?” She asked.

Something Asa wasn’t expecting, so he stood back and gestured for Eve to do so…..

 E:

It was the first time Eve felt confident next to Asa’s dogs. They were there, watching, making sure Tomas remained still and, in a sense, that Eve was protected. 

The boy stood whining on the floor, talking to Eve, begging her to stop what was happening. But she moved her index finger to her lips, commanding silence. 

Once Asa was back, of course she couldn’t resist locking that bastard inside the red box. She had been gentle many times in her life before. He had abuse her kindness and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She wasn’t going to be gentle anymore.

With The Collector’s permission, and seeing that Tomas’ hand was trying to peek out the box, she smashed the cover against his fingers two times, breaking a few tiny bones before Tomas screamed and brought his fingers inside. 

With the boy locked properly, she looked at Asa taking a deep breath. She wasnt healed properly yet but at least, she felt satisfied. 

A:

“Don’t over work yourself, butterfly.” Asa smirked at her.

Asa pushed and manage to get the box up the stairs. He placed the box in the trunk, and helped Eve inside the van as well. Handing Eve the blindfold, she did it herself.

Asa drove to the hotel, going through the underground garage. He put the box in an empty room, wanting to deal with Tomas tomorrow, when they both would have more energy….

 E:

Eve was left by Asa inside the suite while he went to take care of Tomas. What had happened? She had been so tense that now all the adrenaline accumulated was starting to have its effects on her. Yet, she tried to remain calm. She went to run a bath for herself, using the sponge many times to scrub her skin. Tomas' kiss and his hands on her coming like violent flashes to her mind. She shook her head, not wanting to pay attention to the disgust she felt. The cuts were not bleeding anymore but they still hurt. She took time to wet her face, letting the shower wash everything away and she felt sure enough that she was recovered. But when she got out of the tub and her reflection in the mirror caught her glance, she started to tremble. Walking closer to the glass, she moved the wet hair out of her collar bone, revealing the scars. They were horrible. Bloodish lines forming the letters of the man’s name she hated by now. If the surgery scar worried her when it came to Asa’s opinion, the meaning of these letter was three times worse. Tears started to fill her eyes, running down the slight bruises on her cheek. Eve had to touch the wall to support her weight for a moment but eventually sat down in the corner, hugging her knees. She brought her forehead to them too, trying to muffle the sound of her crying, not wanting Asa to come in and hear her. 3/3

A:

Asa made his way up to the suite, ready to take a shower, eat, then sleep.

When he entered the bathroom, he saw Eve in the ground. He already knew what was happening. He kneeled down beside her, stroking the top of her head.

Asa got up and turned the shower on, stripping out of all his clothes. He got in and washed himself quickly. Stepping out wrapping a towel around him. He scooped Eve up of the floor, taking her to the room. He put some food out for the cat, while he made the two of them something light to eat.

Giacomo joined him on his journey to the room. He handed Eve the grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Asa looked at her collar bone, noticing the pinkish lines. Indicating they weren’t deep, so Asa grabbed the aloe.

He also grabbed the property bandages to place in her side as well.

“I have good news and bad news.” Asa spoke.

Eve turned her attention to Asa.

“Good news is that, those lines won’t be there long. Bad news, I had to reschedule our dinner reservations for tomorrow. Unless you don’t want to go anymore….”

E:

Asa handled her the soup but Eve wasn't eating; instead she was playing with the spoon. Then his words caught her attention. Bad news weren't bad news at all. She was so happy at what she heard, yet so surprised too, that she started crying again, bringing her hands to her face to hide her puffy cheeks. "Yes..., I...", she babbled, unable to articulate properly. "I just wanted to spend time with you.", she let out very sweetly.

A:

“Well first we have to take care of your ‘boyfriend’. Then we’d have until 8:30 tomorrow… Or do you have other plans?” Asa teased.

He took their bowls to the kitchen then climbed into the bed. Grabbing Eve, tucking her head underneath his chin, he held her with both arms.

As Asa relaxed, he realized his arms were a little sore. Ignoring it, he went to sleep…

E:

Despite her concerns, Eve was quick to close her eyes. Asa's chest always had that effect of putting her to sleep in just a few minutes, his warmth like a shelter for the storm. The next morning found them both still in bed. Eve woke up and squirmed a little in his arms, pressing her forehead tighter to his chest. She didn't want to get up. She was still tired and most important, she felt comfortable and safe. The idea of Tomas being still alive in the hotel moved different emotions in her.

There was fear but there was also a big curiosity. At least she wanted to be present when Asa dealt with him. Eve looked up, finding Asa’s face with eyes closed. She observed him for a few seconds, with loving eyes lost in his features, and she spoke with a very low voice: “Do you know, that your breathing changes when you wake up?”, she smiled at the slight joke of repeating his own words, realizing how much fullness he represented for her heart.

——

A:

“Well of course I’m awake, you’ve been tossing and turning for the last 13 minutes.” Asa kept his eyes closed.

After a minute of debating, Asa got out of the bed. Getting dressed in his normal ‘Collector’ attire.

“Do you want to go now, or come get you on 10 minutes?”

E:

Eve got up, walking a bit around the room to stretch her muscles, especially her arms after the events. Once The Collector was dressed in his attire, she had already changed into a classy sleeveless black dress. Then he spoke. Go where?, she thought, but of course if it meant going with him, the place didn't matter. "I'm ready", she replied intrigued and fiixing the blonde locks of hair.

A:

“You want to torture Tomas in that?” Asa arched his eyebrow at Eve.

E:

Eve yelped, delaying a moment to react. What did he just say? She was supposed to torture Tomas? Eve's brain process her ethics on one side: she always considered herself a good person yet the day before, it felt like poetic justice when she broke his fingers. The ex who stalked her, hit her, humiliated her, ruined her birthday, cut her... Eve smirked at Asa in slow motion. "You are right, there's something missing, Master", she moved the butterfly pendant out of her dress, letting it show over the fabric. “Now I feel absolutely gorgeous for the occasion”.

——

A:

“You’re insane.”

“Let’s go, and be careful. I put new traps out, throughout the whole building.

 E:

Eve followed Asa all the way down to the lab, paying special attention to follow each and every one of his steps at the idea of new traps nearby. It was a glorious thing in her mind that she wasn't blindfolded although she would have wished for it to hold his thumb as guidance. When the scenario of the lab was in front her, the smell of chlorine products was much stronger than the one in his van. The memories of her being tied in that same steel stretcher were cut by the red box in the corner.

She looked at Asa to see what he was planning on doing, sure that Tomas was inside of it.

——-

A:

Asa went over to the wall of hanging instruments used for his sadistic torture. Making sure Eve was next to him, telling her to pick out what she wanted. Asa was yet to get Tomas from the room. He was going to once Eve was ready….

E:

Eve's jaw fell a bit open when she saw the hanging instruments. They were so neat, so shiny that the handles of many of them reflected the lab. She raised her tempted to touch them, imagining how good the cold metal would feel, but refrained herself. Being a woman of classy taste, she went for the small delicate ones. "I like that one", she pointed at one particular silver scalpel in the corner. "And this one too", she pointed at some pilers. "But what is this one for?"

A:

“It’s for pulling off small parts.”

“Do you want me to go get him?”

E:

"Oh"; Eve smiled, she loved learning new things. "Yes, please, Master".

A:

Asa left the room, pushing the box to the lab they were in. Kicking it, Tomas made a startled sound. Opening the box quickly, Asa drug him out and punched him in the face.

Effectively dazing him, Asa strapped him to the lab table. Stepping back, Asa looked at Eve.

E:

At first, Eve breathing became agitated at the sight of her ex. It was real. He was strapped to the table at her mercy and somehow all the fear she could have about seeing him again was vanished by Asa's presence by her side. She seeked permission in his face to take the instruments she mentioned and then stopped for a second to look at The Collector. "Master, do you have one of your recorders here?"

A:

Asa pointed to a corner in the ceiling, but then tilted his head.

“Do you want something hand held?”

E:

"Yes, please", Eve replied watching Asa leave the room a moment later. She looked at Tomas, he was clearly dazed, not only by his punch but also with clear dehydration signs. "Eve...", he murmured the best he could. "Eve what is this?". "The end of the birthday party you started", she answered still keeping distance from the stretcher he was on. "Eve, please, don't do this. You were a nice person. I made a mistake. Please.. I'm sorry!", he sobbed. But Eve's eyes were of a darker shade.

“Shut up. You talk too much and it annoys me”

—-

A:

Asa entered the room, already knowing Tomas said something. Handing Eve the camera, he walked to Tomas. Grabbing his throat, Asa choked him.

Not letting him pass out, Asa smirked at his poor attempt of a threat. Asa then gestured to Eve, she could take over while Asa watched.

Torture and restaurant scenes not narrated.

Isolated red riding hood scene

E:

*waits behind the suite door with her home made custome* "Boo!" (~Eve)

A:

“You’ve been busy I see.” Asa smirked.

E:

Eve smiles: "But grandmother! What big eyes you have!"

A:

Asa snarls, but only to better help her set up for the next line.

E:

Seeing he didn't object anything, she continued: "But grandmother, what big ears you have!"

A:

“You can’t even see them, butterfly.”

Asa broke character briefly, before continuing to walk inside the suite.

E:

Eve giggled at his comment, seeing he was being nice in his own way. She posed again in character. "But grandmother! What big teeth you have!"

A:

Asa turned towards Eve, slowly stalking towards her…

E:

She removed the hood, letting the rest of the blanket rest on her shoulders. "And that's the end, I think. I don't have any more lines". She giggled a bit nervous at Asa walking towards her.

A:

Asa grabbed Eve’s throat, but not in a threatening manner. He tilted her head up to look her in the eye.

“I’ll show you a big, bad wolf.” Asa said lowly.

E:

Eve yelped, swallowing against his hand. "I-I... um... This is the part were she called for help, right?"

A:

“No, this is the part where you feed the big, bad wolf.” Asa released her, taking his mask off.

The story evolves (First fight.  First time together. Eve is completely healed from surgery. Asa starts to train her)

E:

"Master, I'm forced to notify you that you have a big debt. I've done the maths and it turns out you owe me 120 kisses"

A:

Oh really? How did I accumulate such debt?

E:

"Oh, you see, I estimate that you give me one kiss a month but I need one kiss a day. I've been here for 6 months but let's say I'm generous and only count 4 of them. That leaves us a total of 120 not given kisses."

A:

And how many of those days did you have a bed?

E:

"So no kisses for Eve.

But if someone else kissed me, you'd get mad. That's what I don't understand", Eve sighs.

A:

Did I say that?

Don't test me, butterfly.

E:

"Well, let's say I've been in the suite for a month and a half, that's 45 days. And there weren't any kisses here", Eve stops for a second. Is she really putting up a tantrum towards something like that? "It doesn't matter. You're still not going to do it because you know I want that. So I understand. I'm going to try to not want that anymore ".

A:

Asa approached Eve slowly, not appreciating her tone. Grabbing her jaw, and part of her neck, tilting her head back. He leaned down, giving her one of the 45 kisses she requested.

He leaned towards her ear and spoke with a very calm voice.

“Lay on the bed, stomach down…”

E:

 The charming feeling of the kiss ended sooner than expected. At his command, Eve gulped.

"Umm...", she hesitated for a second but obeyed anyways. "I can't be sorry for speaking the truth. When I start hating your kisses, that's when you are going to kiss me. But you know what? That's never going to happen. I'm never going to hate them. So... I guess, punish me", she said very lowly, a bit of resignation in her voice.

A:

“What else have I done that you hate besides punishment? Because from the way you talk, you think I want you miserable. It sounds as if you are being a bit ungrateful to me. I suppose you’re fine with being back in the old room. Your first room, with your box. As long as you get your 44 kisses…. Is that what you want? Trust me, I’m willing to oblige in a pet that’s obedient. ”

Asa pushed her head down into the mattress, speaking viciously in her ear.. waiting for her response…

E:

In a way it was a good thing that Asa pushed her head into the mattress because Eve closed her eyes tightly and despite that, a few tears spilled from their corners. "I...", she felt dizzy, confused, not knowing what to say. Asa didn't want to kiss her and at the same time he had brought her all these facilities and offered her good moments so she couldn't understand. She didn't want to go back to a box yet she didn't want to wait for eternity for him to be inspired and kiss her. And also he was getting angry and that wasn't even the point of what started as a joke. "I don't know!", she exclaimed breaking in tears. "What do you want from me? I'm giving you everything that I am, that I have, and I enjoy doing so. But I too feel that it's not enough for you. You don't know how much that hurts. I lov... I-I...", she turned her head to look at him with a puffy face. "Do whatever you want with me. I'm always going to feel yours even if you put me back in that box, even if you ignore me for the rest of your life. Or even if you kill me right now".

 A:

Asa grabbed her head, planting his lips to hers once again.

43...

He released her with a slight push on the bed, leaving the room. If he had punished her, her last option she stated may not have been to far, from how he was feeling.

 E:

He left. He always leaves. Nothing was ever going to change.

Eve pulled the sheets up, covering her whole head, turning into a phetal position. She was so sad that she didn't even have strength to keep crying. Remembering what brought her comfort when she was a child, she started to sing very low.

'Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo chiaro

Lì anche la notte meno oscura

Io sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere

Come le nuvole che volano

Pien d'umanità'

After half an hour tears have dried on her cheeks and she was already falling asleep.

A:

Asa came back to the suite, at who knows what time. He was covered in blood from head to toe. The slam of the door jolted Eve awake. He took his boots and mask of by the door, considering they are dripping in blood.

"Clean this up.."

Asa didn't even spare a glance at her as he walked to the bathroom.

Taking the blood soaked clothes off he took a long shower. After 45 minutes, Asa left the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

Grabbing her jaw, like always, he just stared at Eve's face.

"Don't make me mad again, Eve..."

E:

When Asa came out of the bathroom, Eve had already washed his clothes. God, they were a bloody mess and she knew he had taken out his anger on someone else but at this point, her head was too dizzy to really care.

When he spoke to her and she felt his touch again... that was another story. Her brain became fully awake again.

"I'm sorry, Master. I'm being sincere here, I feel really ungrateful. I just wanted... it doesn't matter now. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm really sorr-"

A:

Asa got tired of her rambling, giving her another kiss to shut her up.

42..

"Why don't you show me how sorry you are?" Asa said against her lips.

E:

A little yelp escaped Eve's mouth. Was he meaning what she was thinking? She looked at him with curious black eyes but after a few seconds she couldn't resist it anymore. This time Eve was the one kissing him, her shaky fingers coming up to caress his hair. She was already fascinated because she had never had the possibility to appreciate how good his features felt to the touch of her palm. She barely stopped kissing him to gasp for air but, as a moth to the fire, Eve moved onto his lap, hands coming down to his bare back, grateful for him not complaining. His sore muscles, the rough texture of his skin, the scars... it was all like a map in braille.

Soon her own body betrayed what remained of her shyness and her hips started to move for touch. She only had the time to let out a little moan before she was pinned to the mattress...

A:

Asa lost count for how many times she came undone, but there was one thing he did know.

"27.." he whispered on a tired Eve's lips.

Hating how the room looked, Asa cleaned up a bit before he put some clothes on.

Looking at Giacomo, he was starting to get bigger and may need another bed soon. As well as a scratching post...

Asa wasn't a cat person....

 E:

Eve woke up the next day after a profound sleep. She was exhausted and full of energy at the same time. She was used to fights when it came to Tomas but this time she was the one claiming something. Despite that, her ex-boyfriend could never be as fascinating as a lover as Asa was and she felt that in every inch of her skin.

She got up, alone once again, and hold Giacomo in her arms. He was notoriously heavier but as fluffy as always. She kissed the top of his head many times. There was happiness but there was also a big feeling of guilt, somehow familiar now, that came every time she displeased him.

Leaving Giacomo on the floor, she started to cook, noticing how hungry she was. Oatmeal cookies. That was a good idea. She knew he loved them and thought it was a way to start the day with the right foot. Once they were ready, she placed them on the table and went to the bathroom to wash her teeth, taking time to practice lip pressing against lip to inspire her to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the week.

A:

Asa came back to the room, he needed to grab some salt. Only to see Eve in the mirror…

“What are you doing?” He said.

Before Eve could even say anything, he just put his hand up to stop her from talking. It didn’t matter why she was doing it.

“Take Giacomo to the roof with you whenever you’re done with whatever you’re doing. The traps are deactivated. To the roof, not to this floor so don’t go exploring. I need to go do something in a few, and I’ll be gone for a while.”

 E:

Eve spent the afternoon in the garden, taking care of leaving the flowers as possible, watching Giacomo every time he got too close to a plant to avoid damage... and more trouble. "Little snowball angel", she said lovingly to him while petting his back. She sighed, inhaling back the fresh sweet air of the garden. "What a day, caro mio".

A:

Asa spent the day cleaning the lower levels and the fumes from the chemicals tend to get throughout the vents.

Seeing the redness to Eve’s face, he frowned a bit.

“Why didn’t you use sunscreen, or at least go back inside?”

 E:

"Um... I just wanted to obey you and stay here. I'm sorry...", Eve touched her nose, it burned a bit. "It'll be okay", she said a little distant and went inside, passing by him, to come back to the suite.

A:

“Don’t touch your face, and go to the bathroom.”

Asa grabbed Giacomo because he was still trying to get in the dirt.

 E:

Eve opened the bathroom door, leaving it open while she cleaned her hands. She stayed there, though, looking at Asa leaving Giacomo on the floor. "What do you wish me to do here, Master?", she said with low enthusiasm.

A:

“Just stay right there.” Asa told her.

He went to the kitchen to get the aloe out of the refrigerator. Cutting it up and open, he went to the bathroom with it. Slathering the cool substance on her face, especially her nose.

“Run us a bath..”

E:

Eve let him do, controlling her breathing in the process. Then she turned both taps on, taking care of the water temperature being nice to the touch and after the tub was filled, she looked at him back again, making a step backwards to allow him space. "Ready, Master..."

A:

Asa came back to the bathroom and stripped his clothes. Climbing into the tub…

E:

For the first time, Eve turned around when he undressed, placing her hand at both sides of the sink to repress the urge to look at him. She stood there, silent and nervous...

A:

“Are you going to stand there until the water get cold, or are you going to get in?”

E:

Eve took a deep breath and turned around. She walked to the tub, stepping in, realizing she had not taken her dress off. "Sorry", she whispered, flustered for being so clumsy and took the wet garment off, leaving it on the floor. She looked down at the water, suddenly the most interesting thing in the room.

A:

Asa looked at her amused, wondering how long she’s going to keep this up.

He picked her up, turning her around, so her back was towards his chest. Grabbing the loofah, he started to wash her back…

E:

Eve let out a shaky breath, not realizing it became a moan. She was already burning, Asa was like an unforgivable fire, yet she tried to keep still, not a single word escaping her mouth, playing with the water with her fingers in a very subtle way to not focus on how he was melting her

A:

Asa smirked behind her, she was slowly breaking. Placing a kiss on the back of the her neck.

“Turn around..”

E:

Eve didn't know where she got the strength to turn around. Her limbs felt weak, shaky. It was like being in hell and heaven at the same time. But she did although not looking at him. "Should I... grab a towel, Master?"

A:

Go ahead…

E:

Eve was as quick as a plane to get out the tub and wrap herself in a towel. She grabbed the dress twisting it and washing it carelessly with a bit of water and left it hanging there before almost running out of the bathroom.

A:

Asa watched Eve move frantically…

Asa got out of the tub and got dressed. Asa was starving, so he went to the kitchen. Cooking some chicken Alfredo.

“Come over and eat..”

E:

Dinner was silent for Eve. She regained some of her composure and was again quick to take the dishes and do them in the kitchen sink. In a way, it was a great activity because she was giving her back at him and she could get her attention into scrubbing with the sponge.

A:

Asa came from behind her, trapping her between him and the sink.

“You can’t act like this forever…” Asa whispered in her ear.

He then moved to the bed, laying down, getting ready for bed…

E:

Eve almost jumped when Asa trapped her. He was always so unexpected, honoring his spider-nature. She sighed after he released her, knowing all too well that she couldn't keep up his game for too long but that was more exasperating. She gave Giacomo some food, trying to buy time, but she knew she had to sleep sooner or later. Eve walked to the bed, placing herself unnder the sheets but stood right in the edge of the mattress.

A:

Asa waited for Eve to fall asleep before he for so himself. He just laid still in bed waiting….

E:

After a little while, Eve softly turned her head to the side. He seemed asleep and his breathing was very quiet so she surreptitiously moved the sheets down and get up to lie down again but this time on he floor. Not that it was a very appetizing option but her head was still spinning around in circles and she felt unworthy of sharing his bed after how mad he got the other day and she thought that was the place pets should use to sleep. Because she was just that in his eyes, just a pet.

A:

Asa felt the bed move, it sounded as if she settled on the floor. Shifting his weight carefully, he looked over the side of the bed. Staring at her laying on the floor.

“You want to know something?”

E:

Eve let out a little scream at the sudden picture of Asa, bringing her hands to her mouth as she jumped. She stood lying down, though, calming down after a few seconds and looked at him. "What, Master?"

A:

Guess how I got the idea for my collection?

E:

"I have no idea, Master", she whispered.

A:

Well, let’s just say, one day. A little boy’s father decided to murder the whole family, all except for one.

The little boy..

E:

Eve yelped and her eyes went watery. Gulping down, she moved her nails to the mouth, nervously scratching her lip. "And what... what did the little boy do?"

A:

The little boy grew up and decided to take after his father, study Entomology. Also have a hobby of killing everyone but one person. That one person becoming apart of his collection. With a few exceptions of course…

E:

"Why are you telling me this, Master?", Eve asked with a low voice at the fatality of the story; now sitting on the floor, goosebumps visible along her arms from its coldness.

A:

Why not? Now get off of the floor, even your cat doesn’t sleep on the floor.

E:

Eve got up and moved again to the bed, covering herself again with the sheets letting out a little trembling till her body temperature went back to normal. She looked at him with soft inquiring eyes. "Can I tell you something now?"

A:

What?

E:

"I'm never going to harm you. Not only because you are much bigger and stronger but because even if one day I had the possibility, I'm not going to do it", she paused, love was shining through her black eyes. "And I'm sorry for making you mad yesterday. I just wish you'd give me the chance to make you happy as a woman and not just as a pet from your collection. I'd still call you Master, though. I know you like that", Eve let out a tiny chuckle shrugging her shoulders in a shy way.

 A:

I already know that, you’ve been given multiple chances to kill me. You just haven’t realized it because that’s not your intensions.

And I’m also aware of that, but what you want is asking a lot from me.. You’ve asked me things before, not demand, now 32, kisses..

I feel offended that you’d rather sleep on the floor, but I’ll choose to ignore that for now..

Regardless, you know how to ask for things in the right way,

E:

"You don't owe me anything. You never did but honestly the kisses demand is over. If you ever wish to do so, then you know I'll be happy about it. If not... I'll just have to press lip with lip together like you saw me doing in the mirror. As for the floor matter.... I felt sort of unworthy. I'm actually relieved that you stil allow me to sleep here”.

A:

I’ll consider it….

If I didn’t want you sleeping here, you’d be back in your old room.

E:

Eve let out a tiny smile before she closed her eyes, ready to sleep. The next day she woke up with The Collector not there so she had breakfast with the oatmeal cookies she did the day before before deciding to throw the rest away since they weren't too tasty by now. A few hours passed by and she started to get bored so she chose to play with Giacomo, motivating him to learn a new trick of standing on his two paws. She was surprised at him learning so fast (mostly because the cat was interested in the piece of food she was raising in the air). Then she looked around and accidentally found a tiny camera she hadn't noticed on the roof.

Not knowing if he was watching, she still moved Giacomo to that angle and like a circus introducer, she did a funny mimic, making the cat stand on his paws a few times and clapping before blowing a tender kiss to the camera.

A:

Asa was indeed looking at Eve through the camera although, the one she was looking at was a decoy camera. Either way, it was amusing looking at her trying to train Giacomo.

Little did she know, Giacomo knows how to bite and scratch at someone’s eyes and throat. You’d be surprised how many times Asa took Giacomo without Eve noticing. But he’ll let her have her innocent moment.

 E:

By the time Asa came back to the room, Eve was already waiting in her circus compere position. "Welcome to Catland, the place where cats walk like men!", she said funny. "Today's entertainment: the amazing Giacomo". She called the cat towards her and grabbing a piece of his food, she moved it up in the air for the cat to stand on his two paws. "Applause, please, the beast has conquered mankind". She said and did a little jumping to celebrate the animal.

A:

Asa gave her and the cat a little applause, but soon after Asa squatted down.

He held his arm out in front of him and muttered a simple word.

“Go.”

Giacomo ran towards Asa, quickly running up his arm. Giacomo started to claw at Asa’s face, as well as trying to bite.

“Down.” Asa said.

Giacomo hopped down from Asa, then made his way back over to Eve. Rubbing his fur against her legs.

“You know it was fairly easy to train him. I could train you, if you want.. it shouldn’t be no harder than Giacomo. Considering you’ll have a weapon and can understand me. ”

E:

What was Eve being happy and proud at her Master's applause, soon changed into a giant surprise. When did he train Giacomo? And more intriguing: HOW did he do it? "Master, you always have an az up your sleeve", she complimented him but then realized about his offering. "Umm...", Eve looked at Asa not understanding. "W-what do you mean? You training me to... to fight?", she giggled, feeling herself ridiculous, fighiting was never proper of her. "Well, it could be interesting".

A:

Well, it could be more so defending yourself, but yes you could say it that way. It’ll take time, but as long as you stick to it, you’ll be fine.

E:

"Oh...", Eve replied. She was always a woman of constancy so she was intrigued. "And when are we starting?"

A:

Whenever you’re ready, but not today, I’ve been doing a lot today.

[rubyredsundae]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag!

I was not tagged by anyone, I just really wanted to join in. If you see this and want to as well, please do! I've been loving reading through everyone's :)

I am a fan since… 2011ish? Definitely at least a year before ME3 came out. I remember watching my brother play ME2 and thinking it was so cool. While he was away it was a huge comfort for me to play it in his room, kind of like a bonding or cathartic experience for someone who wasn't there at the time.

When ME3 came out, me and him went to the midnight release at a gamestop like 40 minutes away or something, wearing clothes we threw together to kind of fit the N7 color scheme. Even though we don't talk anymore, those memories are still really precious to me. Also, the nostalgia of playing ME1 after-school or on the weekend, running to get my easy mac from the microwave during a cutscene, stuffing too hot mouthfuls while speeding the Mako towards the conduit on Ilos.

Favorite game of the series: It's a tough call between ME1 and ME2, but I'd say ME2. It's the game I get the urge to replay the most.

MaleShep or FemShep? Femshep all the way. I only play MShep when I want to do his exclusive romances. No offense to BroShep, but ME was the first game I ever played that let me not just be a girl, but customizable. Not just to be the already generated token girl character in a pack of boys. And not only can you play Femshep, but every game you are surrounded by smart, funny, tough women as squadmates. It was such a huge deal to me, and still is. Femshep represents so much. As Jennifer Hale put it, FemShep was a military grade boot to the video game industry glass ceiling.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer? I personally tend to lean spacer in-game, but I tend to use Earthborn when I'm writing fics.

Paragon or Renegade? Usually Paragon, but Renegade playthroughs can be really interesting, especially if I have a detailed background about why Shep is the way they are. My first Renegade, Krystle, is pretty bigoted and anti-alien until she meets Liara. Krystle is naturally guarded and quick to anger, so meeting someone who seemed to accept her and listen to her without judgment really opens her mind.

By the 2nd game, she wakes up in the cerberus lab with new biotic powers, having previously been a regular foot soldier. This makes her seeth, having someone completely take her agency, agreeing with the illusive man on the surface but plotting against him the entire time. She starts to lean more Paragon, if only to piss him off. She has the biggest smirk on her face when she blows up the collector base.

Biotics or Tech? Oooh, this is hard. Maybe biotics just the tiniest smidge because of Jack/Samara biotic bubble throw during the suicide mission. I don't know if we'll ever get a screen adaptation but THAT is a moment I would pay to see done with a big SFX budget behind it.

Favorite class: Sentinel! I don't know how much this reflects on my class preference in gaming in general, but I love the 'jack of all trades'ness of it. By the time I get an assault rifle, I don't really feel the need for anyone else to make up for something I lack. Also, tech armor in ME2? Where your shields regenerate automatically when it breaks, and the cool down is when you initially active it, instead of when you detonate it? Chef's kiss. I understand why it was nerfed in 3 but I'm still mad.

Favorite companion: Ho boy. This is obviously very difficult to choose but I'm gonna say Miranda. I've always loved and identified with her character, I love the accent, and she's always useful on missions. I was so happy when I learned she could be a squadmate in the armax arena.

Honorable mention to Ashley in ME1. Her character is rarely used to exposition lore, so she just gets to have her personality fleshed out. I don't always agree with her but she does seem genuinely willing to listen. ME3 tosses her out the airlock though; partially because her content was bugged and never restored, leaving her inclusion feel half-baked, and partly because Ash and Kaidan have to be able to serve the same plot function as each other and it negatively affects her character more than his. This could also be intentional on bioware's part, to try to flesh out kaidan's personality and tone down Ashley's as a response to criticisms of them from ME1.

Least favorite companion: Also difficult, because I don't really hate anyone as much as I am just less interested in some. I didn't like Zaeed for a long time, but I think he's much better and really funny in ME3. James was pushed on me too much at the beginning and it made me really dislike him, but I think he's greatly improved and also pretty funny in Citadel DLC. I'm also pretty indifferent to Jacob; I don't think he's a bad character, just disappointing because there was a lot of potential.

Not that every character has to go on and do some grand quest to be interesting, but I don't feel like Jacob every really got a big hero moment like everyone else. He is a very calm and introverted person (imo) who doesn't really share his feelings, so it's always been hard for to to connect with him on anything.

My squad selection: Depends on the game, but it usually involves Garrus lol. Typically it's Liara/Garrus in ME1, Miranda/Garrus for ME2, and Liara/Garrus again in ME3. I am very boring and predictable! If you have any suggestions for me to try out and mix things up, let me know!

Favorite in-game romance: Also depends on the game. ME1 it's Liara, hands down. It was the first game, really the first piece of media, where I was told two women could fall in love and be happy and that was okay. The amount of enlightenment and comfort in figuring out that I was bi these games brought me is kind of wild to look back on.

ME2 is a toss-up between Garrus and Thane. They are both wonderful but in completely different ways. I tend to now romance Thane on characters I don't plan on importing to ME3, or if I do, to just have a really depressed fucking Shepard lol. I hate how much Thane was brushed off, especially if you romanced him.

Other pairings I like: l love Miranda so much, but I'm a gay girl so I ship her and Femshep. Same goes for Tali, Jack, Ashley... damn I'm just really gay for straight girls huh :/

I don't really have any other ships for non-Shep related pairings.

Favorite NPC: Shiala is really cool to me, I wish we got to see her in 3. Emily Wong is also cool, also wish we saw her in 3. There's probably a lot more that when I come across them next I'll be like, "you! I love you! You're my favorite."

Oh also Joker! And EDI! But not together. Idk I feel like ME3 threw a curveball at me with "do you support organic/non-organic relationships?" Like m'am please don't ask me, I accidentally drank turian liquor last year, I'm not qualified to be an expert on this.

Favorite antagonist: Tbh I really dig Saren. I think his reasoning is super fascinating, both to set up how someone who's indoctrinated can rationalize to themselves that they are still in control; and as a foil to Shepard, to show what can happen when you become too isolated and the ends justify the means. I think his VA does a great job of walking the line between desperate survivor and madman. He's also the only antagonist in the trilogy that we ever fight 1 on 1 (ignoring squadmates) and it feels more personal. I think he's such a fantastic foe for the first entry in a trilogy and I don't think he gets enough credit.

Favorite mission: Is it cliche to say the suicide mission? It's honestly close to perfect. The stakes, the sequencing, the cinematics, the score. Everything works so well.

Favorite loyalty mission: Kasumi's and Tali's are really cool, as we all know. Samara's is also cool because it is entirely non-combat based. Shepard has to prove they can accomplish what seems impossible without a gun or biotics.

The confrontation at the end with Morinth always haunts me a little, because they are both right in their own way. Morinth's final line, "and they say I'm the monster", as you let Samara kill her, watch her scrambling backwards in fear... I know that she's a remorseless killer, but it gets me every time.

Favorite DLC: It's Citadel, obviously. Turns out what I really wanted was quality time and a party with all my friends. I love mass effect for many reasons, but simulating friends and affection when I had none has always made me bond to this series like other games don't. Is it sad? Sure! But I don't think love and affection for fictional characters should ever be shameful until it makes you hurt other people.

Control, Synthesis or Destroy? I'd say destroy. If the other options were presented earlier and we had time to stew with it, maybe I'd be more split. But all of this in 5 minutes? It's not like the collector base where the implications are obvious and the choice is just down to what Shepard believes. The 3 choices all seem like space magic out of nowhere, and none of them seem to really offer any insight on what Shepard should believe. So I say destroy, just because it's what Shep has intended and is most consistent with their character and their admiration of Anderson.

Favorite weapon: The spectre level assault rifle in ME1. Never have I felt more powerful.

Favorite place: Idk why but I just thought of the creepy lab with all the scientists during the leviathan DLC. I really love when Mass Effect leans into the Lovecraftian horror aspect of things. Talking to Sovereign and Vigil in ME1 gave me goosebumps my first few playthroughs.

A quote I like: I have hundreds, but the one off the top of my head is, "After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began." I have a poster of it up on my wall right now!

[shadowofthelamp]

Year in Review: Writing

So, I can’t do the ‘year in review’ for art because... yeah, I didn’t really draw that much this year. So I decided to trawl through my writing tag for one favorite piece per month, and a pulled few paragraphs from each! Basically everything here is Zim except for the one tendershipping week thing, lmao, oops.

Some months had slim pickings but I still do like every one of these and it was a nice reflection.

January: Arrival

Her skin was tinted a sickly green, more like decomposing flesh than irken or human. Dib swallowed, but her breathing seemed to be even when he placed a hand to her kind of chubby chest, so that was probably just how their skin colors mixed, right? Besides, the lighting in the lab was always weird. Her mouth was gummy with no teeth yet, but her vocal cords were functioning perfectly. He was going to need hearing aids by his twenties, between her and Zim.

She had four fingers and three toes, which he kind of expected, as well as a nose but no ears. That made sense, if she had antennae, but it was still strange to run his fingers along the sides of her head and just feel smooth skin.

Her eyes… they were Zim’s through and through, deep ruby with the color filling the sclera. Did irkens even have sclera if they only had one color? Under the lab’s lights and mixed with the way everything on her slightly shimmered from the sticky goo she'd been coated in, she was like a section of space stolen into the little room and it took his breath away. The water blurring his vision didn’t help as he wiped it away with his sleeve, shifting her to one arm. She was so small...

__________

February: WLOD Dib meets Twix, alt version

It’s fascinating, to see what could have gone right. The 1001 here had gangly, underdeveloped limbs, and wispy hair that never quite got clean from the showers. This version wasn’t fat or anything, but definitely had more meat on its bones.

He examined the goggles- peering through them, they altered its vision because they made the lab beyond the ‘glass’ blurry. Curious, very curious. He was about to pop the lens out when it began to stir, tugging at the metal restraints with a clatter.

_________

March: Zibvoid

He talked to himself.

He talked to himself.

He talked to Zim, who hadn’t said a word since he’d died, but maybe he was just giving him the silent treatment.

Round and round, the generator buzzed like a bee and a hospital and a bug zapper that would draw in prey like flies to a web, except he was the spider now and the Zims were the moths.

Dib. Dib Dib Dib Dib Zim Dibdibdibdibzimdibdibzimdib. The names popped off his tongue as he rolled them both in his mouth, over and over until they didn’t seem like names at all anymore.

__________

April: Sturdy Branches (I know the date’s different on ao3 but it was first posted April)

Her dad is either singing or talking to himself as he vacuumed inside the house with a sway in his hips. At least you’re pretty sure it’s her dad? You haven’t seen a picture of him or anything, but he’s about the same age as your dad, so he’s too old to be a brother and too young to be a grandpa, and she hasn’t mentioned any uncles. A babysitter, maybe, but that doesn’t really make sense since Tulip isn’t home yet- ah!

She’s talking to someone as she turns the corner, bouncing her backpack. It’s lilac and circular, as well as covered in buttons. The Ranger helmet is in her backpack or still in her locker, but either way, she’s not wearing it anymore. She’s got the boots on, though. You adjust the binoculars a bit, but you aren’t good enough at lip-reading yet to tell what she’s saying. Whatever it is, it’s making the girl she’s talking to laugh. Maybe she’ll tell you tomorrow in class or at lunch if you pull her to sit at your table again. She has more friends at the middle table, but they don’t like sitting next to you after the beetle incident, and she doesn’t seem to mind. She always has a big smile when you start talking, and she’d say something if she didn’t like you, right? Pretty much everybody else does.

_________

May: Do Something For You (TD spoilers!)

Dib had never really thought ahead to having a family, but she was pretty much everything she’d want in one. She was an assistant and a partner, she was invested in the paranormal, she hated Zim- but on the other hand, she didn’t want him hurt? She seemed weirdly invested in making sure he didn’t get caught, actually. Eh, she’d hit him pretty hard, so it wasn’t like she was opposed to him getting his rightful dues for being an evil space monster.

It was relatively simple- she was just worried if he died then her timeline would be destabilized, which was a decent enough concern. Zim had to be important to his life for years to come, in one way or another. But whatever they were dealing with in the future, it had to be better with Zim out of the way earlier, right?

__________

June: Unnamed capture au drabble

“Why do you even give me these stupid scripts if you don’t like me doing them?” Dib folded his arms, kneading the ball in his palm. “Just get a robot or something.” He snorted. “I mean, it’d probably break, like half the stuff you touch.”

Zim’s hands curled into fists. “Take that back, you- you- worm!”

Dib quirked an eyebrow. “What, touched a nerve? When I was a kid, half the stuff you made broke, it’s just a fact. You only conquered Earth because this place is a trash heap and your garbage is slightly better than ours.” Over a year in Zim’s presence without too many galling injuries and a lifetime of not being able to keep his mouth shut made him bold. “Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re probably broken yoursel-” He was cut off with a Pak leg aimed directly at his throat, prodding in just deep enough to draw a drop of blood down the alien metal.

Zim’s eyes were narrowed, but something was watering on the edges, and Dib swallowed, adam’s apple bobbing just below the leg’s tip.

“Zim. Is. Not. Broken.”

___________

July: Laughter

Ryou couldn't stand the lights on one minute and then hated having them off the next. The shadows bled from the way the light reflected off the couch, how it seemed to devour the wall behind it, and he swore he could still hear the voice in his mind. (Was that himself? Had he started thinking of himself as a separate voice? It had been ages since he'd really been alone, even though anyone outside him would have wondered about the boy who talked to his reflection like it was an old friend.)

He wished he could talk to Ryou. Ryou who had seemed so pliable as a child but had proved entertaining, a match for the fire, (heh, fire, even though it wasn't that funny, in fact, it wasn't funny at all, but what did he have but jokes? it wasn't like he could cry anymore) who carved out rules for use of the body with gritted teeth and tugged at the rope of the Ring so hard it had chafed his neck. He'd respected him. From a soft child, he'd hardened and grown firm, grown powerful, grown to be worthy. What were the odds fate had given him a chance at the same time someone had handed a young Yugi the box with the Puzzle? A roll of the dice. (The Gods having a last laugh, perhaps..)

Ryou dug his nails into the wood of the desk so hard that it made crescents, tiny moons in the umber that dug splinters into his pale fingers. The little model of the Thief King sat, as he always did, half-hidden on his shelf behind the pieces of Zorc. He'd never bothered to glue the monster back together but felt oddly reluctant to just incinerate the figures and be done with them. Both of them. Either of them. Maybe he just didn't want to pretend it had never happened. (Maybe he was worried he'd forget, thoughts and memories swept away by the sands of time, trickling down the hourglass, minute by minute, day by day, as he aged the way the Spirit had never been allowed to.)

___________

August: New Mission

It had been a month.

Nebula Twix had survived. She’d had to be popped into the healing pod when she had an allergic reaction to the oatmeal Dib had tried to feed her when it had inflamed her spooch, and Gir had tried to eat her head the one second Zim’s back had been turned, and she made goo from both ends a lot, but otherwise, she was perfectly fine!

And with that, Zim had come to a crossroads. It seemed that he was, indeed, in this for the long heel. (He was pretty sure that was the phrase. Humans liked large feet and large boots, so it made sense.) He could either continue to keep her a secret, or he could pass on his success to the Tallests.

Creating slaves out of the species marked for invasion was pretty common- something like 85% of invaders did it. But creating hybrids? That number was much lower. (Besides, they were usually disposed of as soon as the invasion was complete.) And irkens having those hybrids from their own bodies, and not just mixing them out of genetic slurry and quickly aging them up in time-fields? Almost completely unheard of. Zim was the pioneer in that area.

Also, having smeets from one’s body may have been a tad illegal, considering how hard it had been to find good information and judging from the fact that all irkens found to do it were brought in for experimentation. But no matter! Zim was nothing if not very, very good at things few other irkens dared to do, ready to drive the Empire forward by any means possible. They would have to appreciate that!

__________

September: Twix finds out she’s pregnant

Secondary life-form detected, the chamber chimed.

“Oh, gross, I’ve got a tapeworm? Well, flush it out.” Twix rolled her eyes, going back to the computer.

Lifeform has elements of Pak user.

Her finger froze on the ‘b’ key. “It… what? Analyze species origin.”

The chamber hummed around Twix as sweat dripped down the skin of her neck. There was a tiny 'ding!’ like a kitchen timer.

Lifeform is too underdeveloped to make more than approximations, but is roughly 25% irken and 75% Dominant Earth Species.

Her scream rattled the walls.

__________

October: Best-Laid Plans

“Of course, Number One.” Two turned his head slightly, and Dib jolted- he hadn’t directly commanded him to do that. “Your plan is perfect.” He blinked slowly- much slower than most Zims. Most Zims were utterly manic, back and forth and back and forth, loud and brutal and dangerous, but Two- Two had always worshiped him. Maybe even more than the rest. It had been nice, to be admired so heavily. Two had adored the personal attention when he was turned into an errand boy.

Dib might miss him.

He shook that thought out of his head, gripping both sides of Two’s face with his index finger and thumb, nails (not claws, they weren’t claws) digging into the cheeks.

“You belong to me.” Two didn’t respond, and Dib dug in a little further.  Irken skin was thicker than a human’s, with a single drop of pink blood oozing over Dib’s fingernail and leaving a barely-perceptible damp trail. “Respond. Who do you belong to?”

“I belong to you, Number One.”

___________

November: Desperation (warning if you click through for impalement)

Dib’s lips were on Zim’s before he even knew what he was doing. “You’re not dying on me, you little bastard,” he hissed, fumbling to hold up the body as Zim nearly coughed blood directly into Dib’s mouth. It was salty and sweet all in one, but Dib couldn’t linger on the taste. Zim’s fingers grasped at his shirt, and Dib took that as a sign that it was working, pressing their lips together hard enough to bruise the capillaries.  

There was a click. Dib breathed in blood and out carbon dioxide, sputtering and swallowing it down so Zim wouldn’t die like this-

Something red-hot and metallic climbed over his arm before digging into his spine, and he realized that the body had gone entirely limp before there was electricity and then there was nothing.

____________

December: Freak

Twix grit her teeth. “How am I supposed to trust you if you’ll just- just do that?”

“How am I supposed to drop my whole social life because you can’t help being the weirdest person in school?” Tulip shot back. “I do care about you, but it’s so, so hard sometimes, because you just don’t know how to act, and sometimes I’m sick of waiting for you to play catchup just because your parents are the town freaks!” She slapped her hands over her mouth and took a step back.

Twix’s eye twitched under her goggles. “At least they’re freaks that love me. I’ll see you tomorrow, third period.”

“Twix-”

“I said,” Twix said through gritted teeth, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get out before I reactivate the security.”

Tulip got out, and Twix buried her face in a couch pillow and screamed.

[kadavernagh]

Avulsion Pt. 2 || Solo

TIMING: This morning, following Avulsion Pt. 1 LOCATION: The Common

Nudge.

Tap.

Push.

There was pressure against her back, against her wings, and they rustled in complaint. Regan stretched out, the pain of her tired muscles rousing her. Just a little.

“Abel, stop. We talked about this. Don’t touch the--” Wait. Abel? No. The horror of reality came rubberbanding back, and she was fully awake. She was five inches tall. And had just spent the night sleeping in the grass under a park bench. So who was-- Regan shot up, straining against the pain as her wings snapped tightly against her back. She stared up at an enormous hand, fingers crowding her, trying to nudge and poke at her again. They were dirty, with a sticky sheen to them, and Regan’s slow heart hammered frantically in her chest. Adrenaline surged. Her lungs filled. She scrambled backwards, further under the bench, and the hand tapped around in exploration, seeking her out. “Get back!” Regan yelled, because that had worked so effectively with the squirrel. “I scream impossibly loud!”

Hands. Hands were attached to people. Well, usually. She’d found plenty of hands that weren’t, over the years, but this one clearly was. Regan sidestepped the fingers and tried to peek out past the digits to see who they were attached to. 

A child. Kneeling, with eyes as bright as new pennies as she got a better view of Regan. Her giant mouth widened, and Regan stared up at teeth that seemed as big as her head -- with a dark gap where a deciduous tooth had been recently lost. The child had a spatter of freckles across the bridge of her nose and both cheeks, and Regan could smell her shampoo. She aimed her bright saucer eyes at Regan and the smile didn’t leave her face as the hand reached back out to grab her. Regan jumped away again, crawling back under the bench where even tiny fingers couldn’t reach. “I told you to stay away,” Regan said, voice shaky to her own ears, “I’m not a bug. Or a doll. Or whatever you think I--” 

The hand retreated. Regan watched the kneeling girl stand up and run over somewhere. Not far. She could still see the girl’s feet as she bounced on them in excitement.

“MOM!” The child shouted in a tone so loud that Regan thought she might have sustained hearing damage. “Mom, come look, there’s a fairy!”

Regan’s chest thumped again, and she pushed herself as close to the far leg of the bench as she could.

“Ashlee, there’s no such thing. Do you want your cookie?”

“No, mom, I wanna show you the fairy.”

“Here’s your cookie.”

That was close. Too close. She’d almost been grabbed by some child and--

The hand was back. Regan clung to the leg of the chair, trying to shrink into herself. If needed, she could make a run for it past the back of the bench, but she wasn’t convinced she could get very far, not right now. But instead of patting around for her, the hand -- there was something in the fingers. Regan gave it a hard look, and her nose answered the question: it was a small piece of cookie. “Fairy, where are you?” The shrill voice asked, as Regan caught those huge, shiny eyes peeking under the bench. They lit up when they landed on Regan, and the fingers pushed the cookie closer to her. She couldn’t help it; her stomach grumbled again, irritated at not being fed in… well, two days, she thought.

“My momma doesn’t believe in fairies, you know, but I dressed up as Tinkerbell for Halloween and I have TWO fairy shirts. One has glitter.”

Slowly, cautiously, Regan approached the hand. She reached out. Hesitated. She decided to make a grab for it, and used all of her might to break off a smaller piece of the cookie, devouring it greedily. Not exactly the nutrition her body probably needed right now, but it filled her stomach, made it stop chewing through itself. 

“What’s your name, fairy? I’m Ashlee. With two e’s, ‘cause e is better than y. That’s what mom says.”

Regan moved back toward the leg of the bench, staying back. Not answering. Not moving. She bit back the instinct to respond, that same discomfort on her tongue that forced the truth out of her mouth. She was never good with children, or even adolescents and subadults, and now this one had taken a keen interest in her. And was massive. 

“Do you talk, fairy? Most people can’t hear Tinkerbell ‘cause she’s so tiny, but Peter Pan understands her and they’re best best friends, like me and Maddy. Do you have a best friend? Do you wanna be friends?” Ashlee pushed another small bit of cookie closer to Regan, and her stomach lurched when she remembered just how grimy the child’s hands were. She had eaten out of them. But the thought of Nadia was worse. She was probably right there with Kaden, searching frantically. Regan wasn’t sure what she had done to earn Nadia’s friendship, but she was certainly the closest Regan had ever had to be a best friend. Queenie had always been a best… something else.

She sighed and looked up at Ashlee’s bright eyes. There was no way out of this without saying anything, was there? She didn’t suppose the girl’s mom would come hollering after her right now. 

Regan stayed toward the back, but called out. “I’m not a fairy, first of all.” Bishop’s voice rang through her head. Crush that little girl’s dreams, why don’t you, Doc? Ashlee’s eyes grew wide. 

“Your mother is right; fairies do not exist. I’m human, like you, and I’m a doctor. A doctor who is... unsure about a lot of things right now, and doesn’t know whether to question her education or her sanity. But I’ve sustained some injuries. Can you text someone for me?” She looked up, hopeful. 

But Ashlee glanced around, like she was about to whisper a secret. “My mom says I can’t have a phone until I’m as old as Max, but that’s never gonna happen ‘cause he has a birthday every year too. She thinks I don’t know that ‘cause I’m six and a half.”

Regan pressed her hand to her forehead and groaned, both at the situation and the flare of pain as her palm made contact with the burn. Pressure filled her lungs, which caused a crest of pain, and the scream seemed to slink back, as if it knew Regan’s body couldn’t handle it right now. “Then can you-- I need help. Please. Can I talk to your mother?”

As if on cue, her mom’s voice shouted in an annoyed whiplash.

“Come on, Ashlee. Leave whatever bug is down there alone. Don’t make me say it again.”

“But mom, it’s a fairy! A real life fairy! A doctor fairy, like in--”

“Ashlee, we’re leaving.”

“Sorry. My mom says I gotta go.” Ashlee whispered to her, leaving the rest of her cookie under the bench, before abandoning the bench, too.

“Not a fairy,” Regan grumbled, even as she was alone again. 

She stared at the cookie, covered in child-hand-grime and dirt. A six -- no, six and a half year old -- child just left her a cookie under a bench. Because she was five inches tall and mistaken for a fairy. Because impossible things upon impossible things kept happening. 

I would be fascinated to hear your expert medical opinion on this, Bishop had said. Regan didn’t have one, not this time. Her medical opinions had failed her, her expertise had failed her, and somehow, like a shared secret, others in town seemed less disturbed and surprised by all of this. They always did. All of them. Kaden, Nadia, Bishop. Even her old boss, who’d ousted her from Augusta after likely being involved in an attempt on her life, all to stifle information, part of this big secret, this language she didn’t understand. Things were accepted without question, hand waved with supernatural non-explanations, and everyone thought she was the insane one for relying on facts and medical expertise. 

But she was the one who was five inches tall, under a bench, torn up, with wings. Whether it was denial that got her here or her righteous, stubborn, but ultimately often correct nature, this was the result.

Desperation made you blind, she thought once more. 

Maybe that was a good thing for her.

She was about to break off a piece -- at least a piece not contacting the ground -- when she heard a shout. 

The word sent a shockwave through her tiny system.

“Poutine! Hot poutine! Get your Canadian snacks!”

Regan perked up, and her wings gave a small flutter. Kaden. He wasn’t selling poutine in the Common, of course (probably), but she imagined him scouring every inch of grass looking for her and getting in an argument with this Poutine Man. Maybe he was nearby. And maybe the poutine would draw his attention. He would be out searching. All night and day, he would be out. Probably with Bishop. And Blanche. And Nadia. They were all looking for her, and here she was, giving up. 

She peered out from underneath the bench and saw cart wheels rolling down the path, heard the voice shouting from even closer. “Poutine! Come and get your poutine!” 

It wasn’t some sign from the universe, and certainly not from some greater power, but she would take the reminder for what it was. 

She steeled herself for the pulsing pain as she stretched out, wings spread as a test. Everything still throbbed, but the Poutine Man, of all the damn things in this horrible town, so prone to misery, tightened her focus. Or, at least made her not want to lie in the dirt waiting to die. 

“Okay,” Regan said aloud, a hard edge of determination crystallizing in her voice, “Find Kaden. Or fly home. Whichever comes first. All without being eaten by a bird, chased by a squirrel, or mistaken for a toy.” Her feet left the ground as the wings whirred behind her; it hurt, but not as much as staying here. Find Kaden. Fly home. No more things will break. But first, the raccoon carcass.