#holy FUCK sol you gave me so much for this

[gcldenchild]

Eyes to the floor. Shame in his expression. Hurt....depression. It's radiating in his heart. He's chewing on his bottom lip before he speaks. There's tears threatening to fall but it's them and only them. No one is around to hear from the safety of what has become their room and their bed.

"I...wanna know...Sol....why ya....left m'."

@alchemic-elric | what do you want to know? | accepting.

tangled limbs and hushed words. the twins are buried deep in their safe place, sun and moon hidden away where no one dare threaten them, never again.  this room is their HAVEN. this nest is their HOME.

there’s a pull on his heart, though. it is home only because luna has allowed it to be. it is home because he, by some miracle, never lost nest privileges after his utterly stupid action - one that they still hadn’t talked about, be it out of fear or pain. so when that tug on their bond happens, when those tears start welling up - oh, god, he knows. it is the only thing to prepare him for this conversation that they’ve avoided for weeks - no, months now.

he said he’d never leave. he promised he wouldn’t. and then he did anyways. there’s not much he can remember from that hellish week. he’s attributing that to getting beaten senseless, of course, but ... even despite how much damage he sustained, the promise still rings true.

he remembers the argument with verna that made his little balancing board break in half. he remembers the uncontrollable spiral that threatened to kill not just himself, but luna, alphonse, and humility, too.  it’s always after a meltdown that he does stupid things. he’s self-destructive, ignorant to the world around him. ignorant to how he makes others hurt until he’s driven all of them away or until it’s TOO LATE.

luna wants to know why he left. why he would break his promise.  and though it’s not said ... he can just feel it. he can just read it. 

as gently as he could possibly be, the sun goes to hold his moon’s hand, his metal thumb rubbing into the palm of his other half. his other hand goes to hold his own precious item - the necklace that glows a faint blue above his heart.  it’s time to make it all clear.

“ ... i was bein’ stupid.  there was a lotta shit goin’ through my brain then. i know y’ don’ ... go numb - y’ can’t, really - so y’ probably won’ be able t’ fully get what ‘m sayin’. ‘ll try m’ best t’ explain it. after i got - turned back int’ m’ again. an’ i rushed t’ help y’. i know y’ felt it lun’ - m’ heart ... everythin’ was fuzzy f’ me. it didn’ feel right. tha’s how i am after a meltdown. m’ emotions, m’ will t’ care ‘bout things that should matter an’ i KNOW should matter ...

it all goes away for a while. i ... usually ... takes me ‘bout two weeks t’ fully come outta it. at minimum. if - i f i rush it, or someone rushes m’, i ...  i get selfish. i get stupid. i get dumber than a bag’a rocks an’ think everythin’ would be better ‘f i wasn’ around ‘cause ’m a fuckin’ suicidal bastard, lun’.

i hate gettin’ like that. but - all those voices, everythin’ pushin y’ because y’ took m’ in, everythin’ that happened t’ y’ with humility ‘cause i managed t’ run int’ y’ ...  all th’ pain y’ were feelin’ ‘cause’a shit that wouldn’t have happened ‘f i wasn’ ‘round ... an’ the pushin’ of those grey bastards ... it was pushin’ me int’ “recovery” faster than i should’a been. i - i couldn’ handle it.  i don’ think i even remembered where i was anymore. all i could remember was that - i was the one causin’ problems. m’ existence is what brought all those fuckers there. in some dumb fuckin’ move i thought - i thought goin’ away would make them go ‘way too. my dumbass decided t’ make an assumption about how y’ would feel when i was in a state i COULDN’ feel shit in. ”

“ there ... there’re no excuses f’ what i did, lun’. only explanations. this shit - ‘s MY FAULT, utterly an’ completely. ‘m the one who asked th’ general t’ “go home” which killed y’ an’ nearly killed m’ several times. ‘m the one who let th’ general tell vern’ on his own and didn’ think t’ ask vern if he told y’ where we were goin’ at all. they were complicit but i was th’ fuckin’ source.

‘s not your fault. ‘s mine. it wasn’ because y’ had one’a your bad days that i left - it was ‘cause th’ depressed n’ damaged part’a me that leads after a meltdown couldn’ cope with all of m’ own stupid guilt. 

i broke m’ promise t’ y’ and i don’ expect forgiveness f’ it.

i hurt y’ an’ there’s no goin’ back from that. y’ did everythin’ y’ could t’ help m’ after reachin’ out and findin’ that fuckin’ mess’a emotions n’ i went an’ broke that promise that i KNEW the weight of. ‘ve got NO EXCUSE.

... bein’ separated from y’, nearly dyin’ ... feelin’ y’ respond t’ m’ calls even after what i did. tha’s ... tha’s what helped m’ break through. feelin’ our bond again.  i didn’ know how serious it was until then when it was so fuckin’ obvious.  tha’s ... tha’s why i started workin’ on that bracelet. why i kept it hidden until i finished it. i didn’ want it t’ be an apology.  i wanted it t’ be somethin’ special f’ y’ after i went through everythin’ i needed t’ in order t’ be able t’ hold y’ ‘gain like we do now every night. 

i was drownin’ in guilt but i wasn’ gonna subject y’ t’ that. not after i already did it once. it was m’ fault this shit happened but leavin’ was a dumb fuckin’ impulsive decision made without considerin’ anythin’ in th’ world ‘round me. 

i love y’ so much, lun’. more than ‘ve ever loved a’yone n’ m’ life. y’ mean everythin’ t’ me.  so i don’ want y’ t’ ever think that y’ deserved th’ hurt i caused y’, alright ? it wasn’ your fault. ”

[tamcitrus]

Fire and moon.

pairing: Benimaru Shinmon x fem. reader

genre: nsfw

words: 3,5 k.

warnings: a bit of degradation, public sexy time, orgasm denial, overstimulation, dom/sub undertones.

tam’s notes: Hi miss @writeiolite​ ! I’m you HQC secret santa! ♥ I was so nervous when I got you omg sjkdhas because I admire your writing so much, you’re so talented and an amazing person so I was a little afraid my writing wouldn’t be good enough. I’m so thankful for meeting you and all the beautiful people in the server. Thanks for being so welcoming, thanks for letting me help you and be a part of the staff and most of all thanks for being my friend. I hope you like this ♥

I CANT BELIVE IT’S YOUR GIF BUT HEY YOU HAVE A CLUE WHAT THIS IS ABOUT NOW dsjfhksldjf

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

When you left the Holy Sol Temple and chose to move to Asakusa, you never expected to find a man that attracted you there. The proto-nationalist land wasn't a place where you expected to have fun. You just wanted to keep a low profile and be in peace.

But then you saw this man, flying through the sky and destroying everything on his way down to finally land in front of an infernal and punch right through his chest. And something sparked inside you. It wasn't your pyrokinesis or a fight or flight response. It was something else.

Shinmon Benimaru. That was his name. Fire Force Seventh Company’s Captain. Asakusa’s King of Destruction. The #1 enemy of the Holy Sol Temple, or so they said.

After that destruction scene, you walked through the city trying to get more information on him. But also, just socialicing. It would be weird for a new citizen to ask too much about the same person. More so if that person was the head of the city.

This “king” wasn’t like others you could imagine. He wasn’t unapproachable, living in a castle surrounded of gold and extravagant stuff. He was there, among his people, walking through the streets and greeting everyone by their name. He received gifts, food, and talked to those that stopped him. You could say just by looking that he was recognized as a leader. Even when he didn’t acknowledge that himself.

The stars were on your side because soon after that you met him in the thermal waters. He was there, sitting with his arms stretched by his sides and with his eyes closed. You felt like a sparkle inside you, almost like tickles. You walked in silence to the other end of the pool, going in and sitting very slowly.

Benimaru felt another presence behind him and then felt the water moving as you submerged your body in the warm waters. He opened his eyes for a second to look at you and then closed them again. He preferred to be alone but as long as you wouldn’t talk to him he didn’t mind the company.

You were quiet the whole time you were there. It wasn’t an unpleasant silence. But you were expectant. You tried to not look at him. You really tried but you allowed yourself to observe what was on your eye level.

He was handsome. Not that you didn’t know that, but it was a whole different experience having him in front of your eyes, not even a meter away from your body. And naked. He was naked.

Of course he’s naked, these are thermal waters, you thought.

You were naked too. Suddenly you were self conscious, even when he wasn’t looking. You crossed your arms over your chest to cover yourself and closed your eyes to submerge your whole body underwater and came up again. You sat there in silence again, looking at the moon, the house behind the man, the rocks and everything but him.

Eventually he left. You looked aside but still you noticed he stopped to look at you for a second too long.

You left a bit later, after you were sure he was long gone. You said goodbye to the nice lady in the reception and went home.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

Later that week, you were alone having dinner in a bar and he appeared.

"I don't know you, you're new here," he said as he nonchalantly sat on your table.

"Do you know everyone in this town?" you asked him. 

He sighed. That wasn't the answer he was waiting for.

"I do, actually," he said. 

The waitress silently approached and left him a glass full of something.

"Welcome, Benimaru-san. If there's something else you need you can tell us, the house invites you today," she said and walked away.

"Benimaru-san, nice to meet you," you said, playing fool. You knew who he was.

"And you are…?"

"New in town. I really like Asakusa," you smiled. His face looked more irritated than just a minute before. "You can call me y/n."

"No last name, uh?" he chugged the drink the girl left for him.

"I got rid of it," you said. And that was true.

"That's not a lot of information."

"You'll have to buy me a drink and I'll tell you more about me," you winked at him.

He clicked his tongue and you laughed.

“Just don’t cause troubles in my town,” he said and left.

“I’ll try!” you said as he walked out.

All the people at the bar were looking at you but you didn’t care, you had fun and he came to you.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

Would it be worth it to cause some trouble just to see his pissed face again? As you were thinking of some options for “trouble” you went to the thermal house again. And he was there.

“You again?” he said without even opening his eyes.

“It’s a small town,” you casually said.

“Are you following me?”

“Says the guy who showed up on my table out of nowhere,” you answered as you rushed to get into the hot water.

He remained silent again. It was the same as the last time, you sitting in front of him under the moonlight in a comfortable silence.

Even if you were comfortable, you were itching to bug him some more. Still, you just chose to keep your mouth closed. You rested your back on the rocks behind you and found a comfortable position to rest your head too, so you had to do the minimum effort to hold your body. You opened your eyes again when you heard Benimaru getting out of water, you felt drowsy and rubbed your eyes to force yourself to be fully conscious again.

"Don't drown here, this is my favorite place," he said as he walked away.

You looked at him and were about to give some sarcastic answer but then you saw his bare back and his ass and ate your words.

Holy Sol, that body. It had to be illegal to be so built and so handsome.

Before you fell asleep in the water again you got up and left too.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

"So you did cause trouble."

Same bar, same table, same man appearing out of nowhere in front of you. You huffed.

"I defended myself," you explained.

"That's why you beated up some guy?"

"If someone fights me I'll fight back," you explained.

"Which company sent you here?" Benimaru asked.

You laughed out loud.

"I'm not a fire force member."

"You have powers. The Holy Sol Temple sent you here?" he insisted.

"I left the Temple a long time ago," you smiled.

He stared at you, you supposed he was processing the information you just gave him.

"Well, have a nice day, Captain. I might see you later," you said and left him there.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

That night you were the first one in the thermal house. It was weird to be there without Benimaru's big chest in front of you, distracting you from the beautiful full moon that shone over your heads. You positioned yourself again in that way that let you just be sitting without any effort and closed your eyes.

"You again?" you said when you felt the water moving. You knew it was Benimaru.

"This is my town," he answered, ignoring your teasing.

"Right, I'm sorry, your highness."

He clicked his tongue. He thought about what Konro said earlier. Maybe she just wants to provoke you, Waka.

"Are you trying to provoke me?" he inquired.

"Who knows," you smiled.

"I wanna know," he said and closed a little the distance between your bodies.

"I told you you had to take me out first if you wanna know more about me," you licked your lips.

"I could just make you tell me in some other way," he threatened.

"Maybe if you fuck my brains out…" you battled your eyelashes as sweetly and innocently as you could.

He was over you the next second, his hand pulling your hair and making you throw your head back. His body felt warm against yours, even inside the hot water.

"I know you want it too, Captain~" you chirped. "Just stop thinking for a second and let your body take control…"

Yes, he did want it. It was weird to find someone that didn't fear him or admire him as if he was a royalty member. Then you appeared and you gave him all these contradictory signals. It was frustrating. He wanted to erase that cocky smile from your glossy lips… 

He kissed you. His mouth was demanding and the hand holding your hair guided your movements at will. You locked your legs around his hips, holding him close to you, and tangled your hands on his long hair. His hands went underwater to squeeze your ass and thighs and you moaned inside his mouth. You felt his leg under your body next and with little effort he walked out of the water with you clinging to him. He walked to the changing room and let you down over the bench that was there. You were about to sit and take his erection on your mouth but he pushed you back down.

"Who told you you could move?" he asked. The answer was implied in his voice. The atmosphere changed, he was in control now. Your teasing wouldn't affect him anymore. You rubbed your thighs in expectation.

You observed him as he slowly walked to close the doors -the one that gave you access to the reception and the back door you just crossed- and then he kneeled between your legs. The fact that you two were already naked saved some time.

He started circling your clit with his still wet fingers. You started whimpering after a minute, his calloused hand was doing wonders on your body. He pushed his middle finger inside you and kept rubbing your clit with his thumb. He moved his finger in circles inside you, enjoying your moans and your walls clenching his digit. He added his point finger in and sucked your clit on his mouth one time after another until you were almost screaming.

"Fuck, that feels so good," you whined.

If he just moved his fingers a bit faster you would…

He stopped and pulled his fingers out to stand up. When you looked at him he took his fingers to his mouth and sucked your juices from them slowly and pumped his dick with his other hand, putting on a show for you.

"Suck," he said as he pushed his fingers with precum on your mouth.

You obliged. You hollowed your cheeks and suck his fingers, moving your tongue around so you cleaned them perfectly.

"You'll have to do much better than this if you wanna cum," he said like he was disappointed.

He was over you kissing you again, his tongue took your breath away. You could feel his dick against your belly, it was so hot and leaking a bit. Your mouth watered at the thought of having it on your mouth. Subconsciously your hand moved to grab his dick but he stopped you.

"It seems you don't understand you can't move unless I say so," he said. He took a belt from a bathrobe and tied your hands together with it. You whined at the restriction and pouted at him.

"Bad girls don't deserve a nice treatment," he said. "And you're a bad girl."

"I'll do better next time," you said with a pout still on your mouth.

He pulled from the belt to make you sit. Your mouth was an inch away from his cock but you stood still. You had to be a good girl.

"Suck me off," he ordered.

It was almost a relief to have his dick on your mouth. You felt the bitterness of precum at the end of your throat and the salty taste of the waters you were in minutes ago. You could barely fit it in -it was logical that such a big man had a big dick- but you still tried. You bobbed your head back and forward and twirled your tongue around his length. He cupped your breasts and pinched your nipples, your muffled moans caused a nice tickling sensation on his penis.

"This is what it takes for you to shut up, uh?" he thrusted into your mouth a few times, going deeper each time.

He growled when he pushed just a bit further than the back of your throat. You resisted your gag reflex and deepthroated him as tiny tears formed in the corner of your eyes. It wasn't unpleasant, it felt good and despite his size he was being careful, which only added to your overwhelming sensation of arousal.

You needed some kind of relief. You needed to be touched or to have Benimaru inside you, but considering his dick was still on your mouth that wasn't an option. So you touched yourself, lucky you had your hands tied in front of your body. It didn't take long for him to realize and take a step back. He sighed and looked down to you, his long hair covering most of his face. You froze as soon as he looked at you.

"On your hands and knees," he whispered.

You obeyed and smiled to yourself at his bored tone. Because his eyes were lit up, he was having fun.

You positioned yourself as you could in the little bench and waited. His big hand was over your ass just rubbing it and squeezing. Then he raised his hand and slapped you.

"Fuck," you moaned.

"I thought you would be able to take orders given your past," he said as he rubbed your skin again. "I guess not."

He slapped your ass again and you moaned. He used one hand to rub your abused skin and the other to tease your entrance. You cried at his touch, your walls were clamping around nothing.

"Ple-please," you cried when he slapped you again.

His fingers were on your clit now, circling it and his thumb was going up and down on your pussy but not inside.

"Do you think you're in position to ask something, you slut?" he bent down to talk to your ear and you got chills.

He slapped your ass again and he could see his palm marked on your skin on a little prominence. He used his fingers again to stretch your pussy and you moaned, his fingers felt good but you weren't full, you needed more.

"More, please," you asked for it. You could talk now that you didn't have his huge dick on your mouth.

He made you turn around again so he could look at your face as he finally gave you what you wanted: his dick inside you. Your face and moans were a mixture between pleasure and relief. And he was having fun. Real fun and enjoyment, not like other times he met someone to satisfy his needs.

He felt your legs trembling and your hips were moving frantically, not matching his movements anymore. So he stopped. You whined and wiggle your hips to get him to move again.

"If you don't stay still I'll walk out through that door right now," he warned.

You sighed, tears threatened to fall from your eyes again. He traced patterns on your thighs with his fingers and observed how you put your tied hands over your eyes. It was taking all of your will to not move. He was stretching you so nicely, you swear you could even feel the shape of his veins on your walls, you felt full and almost satisfied. When he no longer felt the insistent clenching of your walls on his dick, he bent down and took one of your nipples on his mouth. You cursed out loud when he took your bud gently between his teeth. You never expected a tough man like him to be so gentle. Your climax was gone again but it wouldn't take much to build it back up. Benimaru put his mouth to work on your other nipple and gave a gentle thrust that caused you to moan again. How could he stay still being balls deep into you? How could he resist the urge to just chase his climax?

He thrusted again and you felt tight, like your pussy was accustomed to him not moving. It felt good, you fit on him like a glove, just like the right amount of pressure to not fall off. He circled your clit with his fingers again and you locked your legs embracing his hips again to have him deeper inside. He kissed you again and put his arm around your waist to hold you up against him and then your back hit a wall. You throw your hands behind his head to use his shoulders for support and adjust your hold on his hips before he started to thrust again. But this time he wasn't so gentle. He was going fast and strong, his tip touched your g spot every few times and you bit his neck to muffle your moans.

"It will take more than that to mark me," he said in an arrogant tone.

You huffed. You would be all marked up tomorrow with shapes of fingers and hands: on your waist, on your thighs, your ass. You heated your wrists enough to burn the belt restricting your movements and scratched his back with force. Your walls clenched when you heard him growl. That much will do to mark him, so you'll do it again.

His thrusts were reckless and he changed his angle from time to time. He held your waist with one arm and the other was on your leg, spreading it apart for him to get liberty with his movements.

"I'm so so close," you cried in his ear.

He knew it, he could feel it. His dick was being pressed hard in your pussy and it felt better than ever. It wouldn't take much for him to cum either. He kneeled and let your body down on the floor in front of him to take your legs and put in on his shoulders so he could thrust in a different position. Your back arched out of sheer pleasure and you moaned his name again. You couldn’t even warn him that you were on your climax before it happened, you just took his arm and scratched him even harder than before. Fucks and oh-s left your mouth each time his dick rubbed your cervix. You notice he was slowing down and you knew what he was thinking.

“Fill me up,” you said in a lustful voice. “Fill me up, please,” you used your heels to push him back to you.

He didn’t doubt anymore. He was back with his merciless thrusts, balls deep into you again. His dick was a bit harder to take after your orgasm but you couldn’t complain. You just wanted him to cum inside you and you even might be able to cum again just from the thought of if it. He found an angle in which both were moaning and he kept going strong. Your legs were trembling again and he felt tiredness on his muscles too. So he buried his cock on you a few more times and the little hold he had on his body snapped. He cummed inside you and you had another orgasm when you felt his semen filling you up.

After a minute he pulled out and collapsed by your side, both of you were struggling to catch your breath. You could just fall asleep there, or maybe in the warm water? As you weighed your options, Benimaru got up and walked outside and back. He kneeled by your side and cleaned you up.

"Oh, aren't you a gentleman?" you teased him. But you were grateful he wasn't a jerk as he looked he could be.

"Shut up," he said.

He cleaned himself and got dressed. You heard him talk with the old lady manager, asking for water and something to eat.

"There's a private room, you can stay here tonight if you're tired," he said as he observed you get dressed.

"Will you stay with me?" you smiled.

"Who knows," he answered and left.

You followed him to the private room where he was already sitting and eating. You took a seat in front of him and ate too. With a bit of teasing and other bit of luck maybe you could get a second round.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪  

[millllenniawrites]

warmth (Poe Dameron x Reader)

words: 5.6k yes it is the longest thing on this blog shush

summary: The Resistance’s victory celebration quickly turns sour when their trusted Commander, Poe Dameron, recognizes a toxin in the air. This favourite doctor is the only one he trusts with the information he has. You’re the only one you trust to look after him.

warnings: smut (this is 18+ people); afab!reader; porn with plot; sex pollen so that automatically makes it dubcon; doctor!reader; swearing, drugs, dirty talk, Poe Dameron is so whiny when he’s horny holy fuck; bondage; oral (f receiving); unprotected sex (wrap it up folks); pet names (good girl, honey, sweetheart, baby); this relies on Poe’s spice runner past (the one I use in Helix, not the gross canon one) but it’s not directly dealt with and it’s super vague 

a/n: I was trying to find a place to feature Kade Sol who is my baby sunshine light of my life from the Helix series and I snuck him in here! also this was a worldbuilding writing exercise that somehow turned into the filthiest smut I’ve ever written so there’s that 

__

As the last First Order ship disappeared from the sky, a victory cry sounded through the Resistance fighters. Poe Dameron landed on the tarmac of Cida’s Travel Station, popping the hood of his X-Wing. He grinned, watching the rest of Black and Blue squadron land around him, all hopping out of their ships and rejoicing on the deck.

They didn’t lose anyone in the air today. That alone was cause for celebration.

It had been three weeks of trying to break the First Order’s blockade on the Cida system. King Caran had graciously accepted the help of the Resistance, backed by the New Republic’s ships, and allowed them to set up a temporary base on Cida Prime. In exchange for liberating their system, His Majesty had granted the Resistance usage of their hyperspace lanes, which would cut the transport time from the Hosnian system to D’Qar in half. An easy trade, if anyone had bothered to ask Poe.

Which no one did, these days. But he was doing his best. 

Kade, his captain, shook him from his thoughts as he called from the ground, “The King is asking for you, Dameron.”

He dropped out of his ship, quickly hugging Kade, grateful as always to have his best friend by his side, before jogging into the command centre of the makeshift air base, where King Caran and Admiral Ackbar were waiting.

“Commander Dameron,” the King’s booming voice sounded through the small room as Poe entered.

Poe bowed low, nearly folding himself completely in half. “Your Majesty.” 

A pair of Cidan guards’ in navy uniforms flanked him as he trailed behind the King and Ackbar. Poe found himself tuning out the negotiations, agreeing with Ackbar on instinct as the two men spoke. They took more twists and turns than Poe could count. He began marking various basins, leaking different coloured smoke as landmarks, in case he needed to find his way out. 

Not that he thought the King wasn’t deserving of their trust. This was a war. He just wasn’t going to risk it. 

As they entered what appeared to be the King’s office, Poe felt almost out of place. Like he was floating, a gentle burning feeling in his gut the only thing grounding him. 

In a turn of events Poe was not expecting, he found himself missing you.

He loved Kade. Of course, he loved Kade. His second. His partner in crime. But the flight home was sure to be a boring one without you.

It wasn’t tradition, necessarily. But each time the two of you had taken a mission together, it had been a resounding success. And on your way home, he’d celebrated between your legs. 

And you’d taken care of him after, like the good girl he knew you were. 

The burning moved lower, a sweet smell settling in his nose. One Poe recognized, from a time before the New Republic Navy. 

Fuck.

Voice panicked, “King Caran,” Poe stood, realizing he had interrupted the King. Breathing heavily, he scanned the room, eyes locking on a small stone in the corner. It sat on a warming plate, small tendrils of yellow smoke disappearing into the air.

Caran laughed, following Poe’s gaze. “You know your therapies, my boy.” The man seemed… pleased. Proud. “A gift, from us to you.”

“With all due respect, your Majesty,” Poe coughed, a phantom of the sensation he had only felt once before aching deep in his lungs. “Most organisms outside of the Cidan’s can’t handle Stiima the way your graciousness can.”

“My apologies, my friend. We thought that it would help to calm things. For negotiations, of course.” Caran met Ackbar’s eyes, anxiety evident. “Please understand it is simply the way we celebrate such a great success as we have seen today.”

“I understand, your Majesty.” Ackbar side-eyed Poe, concern evident. “Are you alright, Commander?” 

The ringing in Poe’s ears drowned out the last of their conversation. The next thing he knew, he was back on the tarmac, shouting, “Kade. Get everyone in the air. Now.”

He beelined for his shuttle, locking himself in the cockpit. Hand clenching as he felt himself relax into the passenger seat, the pain of his nails digging into his palm grounding him. 

“Poe, you good?” Kade banged on the door.

He didn’t answer, focusing on the 

Kade finally got the door open. “Poe, what the fuck?” 

“Fly.” Poe said through gritted teeth. “I need you to fly.” 

So Kade did. 

They didn’t dock to the main carrier, flying above it. They would wait until it jumped to hyperspace before they followed. 

Poe watched as fighter after fighter flew into the large ship. Ears filled with cotton, he barely heard Ackbar’s order over the comms for anyone in a shuttle to stay away from the ship.

Code Orange.

Quarantine protocol.

Poe couldn’t stop his mind from going back to you. The last time you were on mission together. The way your mouth felt.

Your eyes. 

The innocent way you would smile, naked and spread out under him… 

“Poe?” Kade asked, sitting forward in his seat. “Are you alright?” 

Poe hit a comm button on his dash, connecting him directly to command. 

“Commander Dameron, are you alright?” A young man’s voice came through his headset. 

“I need you to connect me to med.” 

“Is someone—” 

“Connect me to med, officer. I need to speak with the doctor.” 

*

You opened the hull door of Poe Dameron’s shuttle, a small case of bacta and other various medications tucked under your arm. Coughing into your mask as you entered the dark ship, you quickly located the panel to seal the door behind you, saluting the mech on the ground that would lock you in after the door eased shut.

The convoy had landed hours ago. The medic team had been slowly working through shuttles, administering antidotes to those that could take them.  

It wasn’t poison. You’d ruled that out early. But the obvious effects of dehydration were evident. Poe seemed to know what it was, from the way he sounded in the recording Ackbar had passed off to med, but no one else was familiar with the symptoms everyone seemed to be presenting. 

Looking around, you stayed still for a moment, letting your eyes adjust to the dark. You had been in his shuttle before; you knew you were in the cargo bay, and if you followed the wall to your right, you would find the ladder that would lead you to the cockpit. Your mission. The plan. Assessing Poe and Captain Kade Sol’s symptoms. 

But if you went to the left and pushed the thin black curtain aside, you would find the small closet that served as his bed on long missions.

Your bed, when you joined him. 

It was hard not to smile, remembering the long nights in hyperspace with the famous Commander. The way his curls tangled around your fingers. How his stubble felt against the inside of your thighs…

Taking a deep breath to steady yourself, you shook your head with a small embarrassed laugh and began to work your way to the ladder.

Even with the grey cloth pulled tight across your mouth and nose, you could still smell the musk of the air, heavy in your lungs. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it had a true weight to it, like slightly overripe fruit or warm spices, much worse than the three shuttles you had cleared before this. The rungs of the ladder were warm like the air, slick with moisture, a telltale sign that Poe and Kade had done as asked. There had been no air circulating in the ship since they landed. If any of the airborne toxins had gotten into the ship, it wouldn’t have had the chance to escape outside. 

You smiled as your hands brushed their oxygen canisters, hearing the slow leak of fluid. Always thorough, Dameron…

Your hands grazed the small railing that guarded the catwalk to the cockpit as you made your way down to the sealed door.

“Commander Dameron? Captain Sol?” you called, hoping they could hear you through the dense metal. “It’s Doctor--”

The hiss of the door caused you to jump and you stepped back, taking in the form of the Captain. The large man nearly filled the doorway, dark clothes making it difficult to see him in the blackness of the ship. “I know who you are. Command came through a little while ago.” His voice as gruff as always, but he said it with a smile. “I’ve had no symptoms, but I figure you still need to check me out?”

“Yes, Captain.” You nod, “If you wouldn’t mind going back into the cockpit for me…”

He grumbled something you couldn’t make out but did what you asked, sitting in the only passenger seat in the small room, empty save for them.

“Where’s Commander Dameron?” you asked as you knelt in beside Kade, fingers on his wrist.

You ran through the basics of your training as he talked. 

“Poe didn’t get so lucky. Got hit worse than most people, from what we’ve heard. He was in the King’s office. Said something about a… diffuser?” When you nodded, he seemed to relax. “That’s why he made the call. Asked me to lock him up until a medic got here. He was specifically asking for you, so I guess we got lucky.”

You were grateful for the dark, hiding the way you flushed. “Guess so.” Unable to hide the warmth in your voice, you gave Kade a small smile. “There isn’t a brig on this ship. Where—"

“His quarters. Stun cuffs magnetized to the wall.” He seemed almost embarrassed, ducking his head. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with him, exactly. Just that he hasn’t really stopped making noise since about twenty minutes after we landed.”

You hesitated. Generally careful about the information you give out to patients, you weren’t sure it would be appropriate to explain, but Kade and Poe were a package deal. Rarely did you see one without the other. They’d been joined at the hip since long before they had defected to the Resistance together.

“It’s a potent aphrodisiac.” You murmured, standing behind him and tilting his head to check for discolouration on his neck, “Most people got hit with… well, let’s call it Level 1 symptoms. Loose tongue. Unable to really control what they’re saying, or at least not thinking it through. Level 2 are action: making choices you wouldn’t ordinarily make. The… aphrodisiac part. If you get to level two, we’ve found they wear off in about three hours. No antidote needed. Just fluids and rest, after it all. But you’ve been in here almost a whole day…” and Poe’s condition hadn’t improved.

“Which means what? He’s at level 3?”

There wasn’t a level 3. 

Coming around in front of Kade, you nodded slowly. “Was he complaining of… pain?” you flinched as you said the word, knowing the man had no idea what you were truly asking.

“Right before he asked me to gag him. He had moments he was lucid… basically told me to leave him locked up, no matter what he said.” 

There was only one other person that had said the drug hurt, and she had been fine for a few hours now. 

Kade chewed idly on his bottom lip, seemingly lost in thought. “Not easy being locked in while your best friend is raving like a madman.”

“The gag was a good call. He’ll thank you once he’s back to himself.” You tried for another smile. “You seem okay. Vitals are normal. Rosa is just outside. I’ll let her know that she can open the door. She’ll give you a mask and escort you to showers, and then back to your quarters. They’ll send a medical droid to check you out fully before you’re allowed to intermix with the base. Just in case.”

“Thank you, doc.” Kade stood, heading out the door to the rest of the shuttle. “Poe is—”

“I know.” You nodded, not really thinking through your words. “Closet. Curtain.”

Kade paused, turning to look at you for a moment. His eyebrow twitched, just slightly, before he dropped down the ladder. You appreciated that he hadn’t said anything, having a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t know you only off your medical reputation.

Your excursions with Poe were a relative secret, not wanting command to restrict you going on missions together because of your… you weren’t really sure what to call it. Enough people had stories about him that you knew you weren’t exclusive, but being with him was different. It had always been different. 

Though you supposed all the people he took to bed could say the same thing. 

You pushed the heavy curtain aside.

He was laid back on his cot, only one of his boots on. Poe struggled against his cuffs, attached to the wall above his head, and whined through the gag in his mouth. The bed squeaked and shook. It was a significantly less pleasant sound when you were standing there, not on top of him…

You shook your head quickly, a reminder that you were working, before you knelt on the ground next to Poe’s head. His eyes widened as he focused on you. Reaching for the fabric cutting into his cheeks, your fingertips grazed his jaw. “I’m gonna remove this, okay?” you murmured before eased the gag out of his mouth, letting the loop of dark cloth hanging around his neck.

“Sweetheart…” he whined the moment his mouth was free to move, his voice cracking around the dryness of his throat. You set your med case on the floor and opened it quickly, digging through bandages and bacta patches before finding what you needed. You lifted a small canteen to his lips, letting the water trickle into his mouth. He coughed, spluttering a little before he was tilting his head away, gasping, “Please, sweetheart. I need…”

You shushed him gently, swiping a cloth over his lips. Trying to distract him, you softened your voice, “You got everyone out before it could get bad, Poe. Everyone else is safe.” 

He turned his head to look up at the ceiling, seeming to relax a little. Your eyes found his throat. Watching him breathe, swallow, reminded you of the way his skin tasted… 

Fuck. 

You coughed again into your mask, murmuring, “I’ll be right back.” and ignoring the way Poe whined as you let the curtain fall behind you. 

Once you were a few steps away from him, you could breathe a little easier. The air was hot, fucking scalding through your mask, and you tilted your head back a bit to force yourself to breathe deeply. Slowly. Calmingly. 

You reached up, touching the pad of the in-ear to firmly press it into your head, “Rosa? You copy?” 

The woman’s high voice came through, louder than before. Her voice seemed to be directed straight into your skull. “Everything alright in there, doc?” 

“Everything’s fine. Commander Dameron has symptoms we haven’t seen before and I think I’m contaminated. It’s not bad. I can work through it. But I’m going to take my comm out just in case.” You really didn’t need command hearing your unfiltered thoughts.

She grumbled, “Maker. You sure you’re alright?” You swore you could almost see the way her eyebrows furrowed. 

“Yeah, Rosa. I’m good. Level 1 or less. Just make sure those doors stay locked until we come off it. Don’t open them for anyone. Even the General.” 

She turned on the link long enough that you heard her laugh before she said, “Sounds good. If we need you, we’ll come through the cockpit.” A brief pause, “Stay safe, doc.” 

“You too, Rosa.” 

Pulling the plastic out of your ear, you double checked that you had it turned it off before returning to Poe’s side. 

He relaxed the moment you were back in view, hips stilling on the bed. You tried not to stare at the obvious tent in his pants. 

His eyes seemed to focus better than before, saying quietly, “I heard you. Talking to Rosa. You shouldn’t have touched me.” 

He was right. It was probably your proximity to him that did it. But you had to do your job. That was your only priority, of course. Of course…

“Like I’ve ever been good at keeping my hands to myself with you around.” You froze as the words slipped past your lips, unable to stop them. 

He didn’t seem bothered by the sudden accidental honesty, but his eyes glazed over again, trailing over you. “I miss your hands…” he groaned, biting his lip and sending a wave of heat through you. 

“Careful, or I’m gonna put that gag back in.” Voice sounding forced even to your own ears, you sat down on the floor, your back resting against the bed. 

He mumbled something you couldn’t quite understand, until he repeated himself. “Take yours off. The… the mask. If you’ve got it…” 

He was right. If you’d already been exposed, there wasn’t any point in keeping it on. It was hot. There was no one in there but you. You weren’t hurting anyone. You could take the mask off. It would be fine. You—

“Sweetheart…” Poe groaned, rattling the cuffs. 

You ripped the mask off your face, tossing it near your medical kit. 

“G-good. Can you… can you please take my arms down, honey?” he tugged at the cuffs again. If you had turned to look at him, you would have seen the desperation you knew was painted across his features. “It hurts.”  

His whine sent a pang of guilt through you. “Why did you know what the drug was?” you asked, hoping it would distract him.

“It’s used in party drugs. The way it burns… it’s not like anything else I’ve ever—” He shifted, trying to get more comfortable, despite the way his pants were twisted around his legs from hours of struggling. The fabric stuck against him and pulled, and he moaned, guttural and sweet and chipping away at the wall of self-control you had haphazardly built against him. 

“Poe,” Meant to be chastising, the word landed somewhere in the realm of yearning and breathless. 

“Anything, sweetheart. Please.” Rolling his head back and forth on the bedroll under his head, he sounded close to tears as he whined, “I think my dick is going to fall off if you don’t touch it.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, helping to break the cloud of arousal circling your head. “I don’t think that’s a medically sound diagnosis, Commander.” 

“Say that again…” he breathed. 

“Medically—”

“No.” 

Your sharp intake of breath was the only sound in the shuttle. 

“Commander?” 

He tilted his head back, groaning, “You say my title and I can’t stop thinking about being inside you.” 

“It’s just the drugs.” 

“You know it’s not just the drugs.” You could have sworn it was a growl with the way the low sound of his voice tore through you. “I need you to touch me, honey.” 

“Will you stop talking if I do?” 

“Come lay with me and give me one hand back. Then I’ll stop talking.” 

Negotiating meant he was lucid, if only partially. 

“I thought you said it makes it worse if I touch you.” You squeezed your eyes shut, like that could block out the image that his soft gasps conjured in your mind. 

“It’ll get worse before it gets better.” 

“Always got a fucking answer for everything…” You grumbled, but it worked. Carefully, you eased yourself up off the floor and onto his small cot and leaned over him. One ring of the cuffs released with the click of a few buttons. 

After freeing the gag from around his neck and tossing it to the floor, Poe’s free hand immediately reached for you, gripping your thigh. Even though the thick fabric of your pants, you could feel how warm he was. “Sweetheart…” 

“You said you’d stop talking.” 

“Lay down. Lay down and I’ll stop talking.” 

You had agreed to it. And when his fingers dug into your thigh and the wave of relief washed over you at his touch, you weren’t about to argue. 

So you laid down, back to him, letting his free hand roam up and down your side. Under your shirt. Down under the top of your pants that he didn’t bother to undo. There wasn’t any focus to his movements. Where he touched you, you relaxed, and as his touch moved on, your skin burned. 

You didn’t notice the high-pitched whine leaving your parted lips until Poe’s hand came to rest on your throat. 

“Does it hurt?” He traced from your jaw to your collarbone, over and over, putting just enough pressure on your neck that you were gasping. 

“N-no… Are you…? Does it hurt for you?” 

“This is better. You being close makes it better.” 

“It’s just warm.” That was the only way to describe it. It was like he had set you on fire. Everywhere he had touched ached. 

He groaned, breath hot against your ear as he rutted his hips against you. “Let me help, sweetheart…” No amount of squirming was going to make the heat go away and you couldn’t figure out how he could be so slow about all of this. “I can make you feel good. I can make it go away. Please…” His fingers trailed across the exposed skin of your stomach, soothing the burning feeling that wracked your body. 

You gripped his wrist, bringing his hand up under the hem of your shirt, needing his cooling touch. Arching your back, your ass grazed him and you groaned together.  

“Please sweetheart.” he begged, voice low and sending vibrations through your back where he pressed against you. “Let my other hand down. I promise I’ll make it worth it.” He rattled the cuff still glued to the wall for good measure. 

He didn’t have to ask you twice. Rolling over, you shoved him onto his back and swung a leg over his hips. Grinding down as you reached over him, you released his hands, leaving the cuffs on the wall, up and out of the way. He was quick to flip you onto your back, hand cradling the back of your head as his lips met your neck. 

“Pretty girl…” Poe murmured as his hand tangled in your hair, wrenching your head back to expose your neck. “Such a pretty girl for me… so fucking sweet…” 

“Poe… Poe, please.” The whine left you before you could fully decide what you were begging for. Just more. More of him. His hands on your body. His lips on your skin. 

The heaviness of the air weighed you to the cot, your knees down to the thin mattress as he slotted himself between your legs – still fully clothed – and you fell apart in his arms. Gasping into his mouth, body convulsing, you could barely move with the way he was positioned above you. You couldn’t open your eyes. You could barely breathe with the way every small movement sent searing heat straight to your core. 

“Fuck.” His dark eyes focused on your heaving chest. “Do that again.” 

He fought with the ties on your pants, tearing the sides as he forced them down your legs, taking your underwear with them.

 It was all you could do to keep from screaming as he sunk two fingers into you. 

Each movement of his fingers battled the heat coursing through you and let you come back to yourself, if only for a moment. His other hand splayed out on your stomach to keep you still. He pushed your shirt up and you ripped it over your head. 

Your head spun as you realized he was still completely clothed. 

Leaning down, he sunk his teeth into the inside of your thigh. Where you expected pain, pleasure ran down your legs. Following his trail of bite marks with soft kisses, up closer to where you needed him, he blew softly on your folds and you cried out, bucking off the cot. 

You could hear the squeaking of the bed as you squirmed. Each laboured breath Poe took as he nestled himself between your trembling legs. The rasp in his voice as he murmured, “...wettest fucking cunt I’ve ever seen...” before he lowered his face to meet the apex of your thighs. 

His mouth on you didn’t offer the relief you were so desperately searching for. It somehow made it worse, every swipe of his tongue followed by a trail of fire. 

You pushed at his head but he barely responded. “Poe… Poe please… I need your cock…” 

He hummed lightly against you, his tongue working you slowly, like you weren’t threatening to burn up underneath him. 

Finally, you grabbed onto a handful of his curls and pulled. 

He only looked up in mild annoyance. Gripping your wrist tight, he forced your hand to the cot. “I’ve got you. I’ll take care of you.” Though the words were soft, his tone was gruff. 

Poe slowed his soft circles on your clit and you whined again, pushing up into his mouth. “Stay still.” He mumbled against you. 

Each of his motions were so methodical, you could have sworn you were the only one dealing with symptoms. Until he glanced up at you with his almost-black eyes. 

You stopped breathing.

You weren’t afraid. You could never be afraid of Poe. But you’d never seen him so unhinged. Like he was going to jump, and you were coming with him. 

He snatched up both your wrists, leaning over you. Tipping your head back, you tried to kiss him but he moved further, up above your head. 

In one quick motion, he locked both your hands in the cuffs on the wall. 

“I need it. Please. I need--” He didn’t finish the sentence, hooking his hands under your knees and spreading you out for him. His tongue found your clit again and you couldn’t hear your own scream over the rush of blood in your head. 

He’d always been accommodating. He took constructive criticism well and was determined to get you off, no matter what he had to relearn, when the two of you had fucked before. 

Now, he took each of those little pieces and, like he’d been given the code to your body, he took you apart. 

Every stroke of his tongue would have seemed planned if not for the way he moaned into your skin, the way he grinded his hips into the cot beneath him. You gave up fighting against the cuffs, instead focusing on rolling your hips against his face. 

He held still, letting you move the way you wanted. Letting you use his tongue. Guiding your hips. It wasn’t until he set you down and you opened your eyes that you realized that he was dripping with you.

His chin glistened as he sat up and yanked his shirt over his head. His eyes didn't leave yours as he undid his pants, shucking them off and tossing them somewhere with his shirt. You didn't care. You didn’t care where his clothes were or where yours had disappeared to. 

“My-- the cuffs. Poe, I need to touch you…” 

Your hands were in his hair the moment he released you, pulling his mouth to yours. He tasted of you, and the heaviness in the air, and the familiarity of him that you’d grown so intoxicated by. 

Ordinarily, he’d tease you. Just like this, your legs spread for him. He’d drag the head of his cock over you until you stopped threatening him, until you melted and became putty in his hands and your begging became wordless. 

But he didn’t have the patience. You could see it in his face. He angled his hips, sliding into you slowly. 

With this, there was relief. But it came as quick as it went and you were again whining under him, your cunt clenched tight around him. 

He pushed deeper, his face tucked into your neck. “Relax, baby. Relax. You’re so-- so fucking…”

You didn’t know how he was going so slow. You didn’t know how he managed to stop, only halfway inside you. 

All you knew was that you needed him. 

You pulled his hips into yours. After two orgasms, there was no resistance. He bottomed out, gasping into your mouth. “Pretty girl…” 

“Fu… Fuck me. Poe please please fuck me--” You pulled at his shoulders, his hair, grinding up into him as much as you could with him fully on top of you. “It hurts. Please…” 

Whatever well of self control he’d been drawing from seemed to have dried up. Snapping his hips into yours, he kissed you. 

His tongue dominated your mouth, not giving you space to breathe. Or think. Or do anything other than take what he was giving you. Your nails dug into his upper arms, leaving little crescent moons behind. His soft gasps of encouragement had you writhing beneath him. 

“Perfect little… You take me so well, honey. Like you were fucking made for me…” 

His words alone threatened to take you over the edge. 

The burning came to a throbbing head in your core and you arched up into him, trying to pull him closer. Deeper. Anything to quell the fire inside you. 

“Poe… Commander… P-please let me cum…” You weren’t in control of your words anymore. You weren’t in control of anything. “I need you.” 

You wrapped your legs more tightly around him and his hips stuttered but he wasn’t stopping. Not for fucking anything.

“Let me feel you, pretty girl.” He growled against your neck. 

And you unraveled. 

The relief washed over you in waves as you lay beneath him. Between each peak, you could hear your own panting, feel the way your body fluttered around him. 

You floated in the bliss.

Vaguely, you felt yourself roll over. Something cold dug into your side, but you couldn’t figure out how to move. Or figure out how to want to. 

Your chest was still heaving as he traced along your ribs. A warm body came flush with your back. Fire trailed his dancing fingers. 

“Sweetheart…” A soft moan at your ear. Breath, warm on your neck, sending a ripple through you. He pressed his hips forward, his hard cock sliding against your ass. “I need more. Please?” 

You shifted your aching hips back towards him. “Please.” 

*

You weren’t sure how long passed before you returned to normal – sated and thoroughly exhausted, but normal. Your skin no longer burned at the gentlest of touches. You could stand to look at him, to draw over the planes of his chest as he laid beside you without feeling the unyielding need for his cock inside you. 

Your fingertips traced gently over the straining cords of muscle in his neck and he shuddered. 

“You bit me.” He finally whispered. 

You dissolved into a fit of giggles, curled up against his side. His arm wrapped around you, pulling you onto his chest. 

“I’m sorry.” You laughed against his neck, kissing over the hickies you’d left behind. 

“Don’t be. It was hot.” 

“Where’d I bite you?” You propped yourself up on an elbow, looking down at him. 

He tapped his upper arm, right underneath a series of bite marks. Ducking your head, you kissed over them, murmuring soft ‘I’m sorry’s between pecks. 

“It’s okay. Really.” He tapped under your chin and you met his gaze. “Was that okay? We’ve never used cuffs or anything before and I’m really sorry--” 

You kissed him to cut him off. “I’m okay. I trust you. You know that, right?” 

He didn’t answer. Instead, he rolled on top of you, an intensity in his eyes that would have scared you if you didn’t know him. 

“I’m glad it was you.” Forehead pressed to yours, you shuddered as his soft breaths fanned across your lips. “I was hoping it would be you.” 

Your breath caught. Gently, you brushed away the curls that fell in his face, tilting your face up and bringing your lips to his again. 

He mumbled between kisses, “Can I take you for dinner?” You were too stunned to say anything, letting him kiss your bottom lip gently. He lingered at the corners of your mouth, leaving light kisses behind. “Hm? Will you let me take you out, sweetheart?” 

“On a date?” 

“If you don’t want it to be a date, it can just be a thank-you dinner--” 

“It can be a date. Can it be a date?” 

Giggling against your mouth, he said, “It can. I’d like it to be.” 

“We should probably get out of this shuttle first.” 

“Maybe put some clothes on before that?” 

“Maybe.” Your nose brushed his. “Maybe I’d like to kiss you first.” 

“Maybe I’ll let you.” 

[nissanmaxima]

Split Personalities

(Y/N) lifted her head from her laptop to the sound of her door unlocking and opening. Coming from the other side was her lover, Levi Ackerman, with a brown satchel over his chest that he didn't leave with this morning. Placing her laptop down, she walked up to him while he was taking off his shoes and hugged him. Leaning in for a kiss, she baited him and yanked the satchel off of him

"What's this?"

Opening the satchel, a giant crystal was in her hands once she brought it out. Her eyes shined in the reflection of said jewel. Levi snarled and snatched the crystal away, being careful not to drop it,

"Careful, moron."

"Well what is it, asshole?"

"I haven't figured that out yet. Hanje couldn't examine it 'cause she's going to go fuck her boyfriend's brains out."

"Jesus Levi..."

"What?"

"Your language!"

"And?"

"Watch your tone."

"Wait what?"

"Don't get all worked up."

"I'm... Not worked up."

"Oh it's hard to tell with your delivery sometimes, babe."

"Tch, whatever.  Just don't touch that. I have to go clean up."

"Yeah yeah, I'll cook dinner."

Placing the crystal back in the satchel, Levi left it on the table near the door and walked to go get ready for dinner, leaving (Y/N) to control her curiosity.

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

While cooking she stared at the satchel, almost letting the food burn. She heard a voice for the back of the apartment,

"Oi! I smell burnt potatoes!"

"Boy hush! I swear they're not burned!"

Soon the food was done and ready to serve. Levi came in with semi casual clothes and damp hair, waiting for his significant other to stop being extra. She lifted the cloche and spoke with enthusiasm,

"And now! For today's dinner, I have butter-poached lobster with sautéed potatoes and asparagus!"

"Holy shit that actually sounds good."

"Why'd you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"So boring like... I slaved over that food..."

Levi sighed and sat down, getting ready to eat while his girlfriend tried to hide her tears while she ate with him.

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

Cleaning the dishes, (Y/N) took glances at the satchel minding it's business. She let her mind wander while washing,

'I wonder what that thing does?'

'I wonder how much I could get for selling it?'

'Oh but Levi told me not to touch it...'

'Who the fuck cares about what Levi thinks?'

'I do, I'm his woman after all...'

'You wanna know what else you are to him?'

Her personalities clashed as she stared at the satchel now, having completely forgotten about the dishes and the rest of the kitchen being cleaned. She stayed quiet and listened to her personalities clash before exhaling and walking up to the table the satchel was resting on. Picking up the satchel and taking out the giant crystal, she admired it before,

"I told you not to touch it-"

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST LEVI YOU CAN'T DO THAT! I ALMOST SWUNG OFF YOU,"

"NO DON'T DROP THE CRYSTA-"

Too late. The giant crystal slipped from her hands and it fell to the floor, making it shatter. (Y/N) covered her mouth to hide a whimper. Levi snarled and went down to pick up a shard. But once he touched a sharp, in a flash, he was sucked into a sharp and was spit back out. (Y/N) uncovered her mouth but nothing came out. She noticed there were 6 of Levi but they were wearing different colored cravats. One looked angry, one looked bored, one looked... Aroused... One looked around with disgust, one looked extremely tired, and the last one looked invested in the remains of the crystal.

The one who looked angry had a red cravat and screamed at her,

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH THE DAMN CRYSTAL BUT WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"BOY DON'T GET LOUD WITH ME I PAY HALF THE BILLS HERE-"

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE PROBLEM?!"

"LOWER THE TONE OR WE'LL BOTH BE FIST FIGHTING AT 10 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT-"

The bored looking Levi had a green cravat and was still looking around,

"This place is lame, there's no explosions, no guns or anything fun related..."

(Y/N) pushed red Levi to the side and answered back to Green,

"Weren't you the one who wanted this place to be 'habitable'?"

"Psh, not me, that one does-"

Green pointed to the Levi who had a grey cravat with a disgusted look on his face. (Y/N) walked up to him,

"And who're you supposed to be?"

"Everything has to be clean. This place is filthy-"

Walking past her, he walked into the semi-cleaned kitchen and began cleaning,

"Okay? That was rude..."

Another Levi wearing a faded purple came up behind her and purred in her ear,

"Would you like to know who I am?"

Before she could answer, he nibbled at her neck and pulled her closer to his body and she could feel something poking her rear. She struggled in his hold before he ultimately let her go. She looked at the other 2 Levi's standing there and completely gave up,

"Lemme guess. You're his intelligence and you're his... bluntness?"

"Fuckin' right,"

The orange cravat shined with this one,

"That is correct."

A bright yellow cravat glowed when this one spoke,

(Y/N) sighed and walked into their shared bedroom and closed the door,

"The fucking crystal split him into the main parts of his personality..."

She ran to a desk and grabbed a pencil as well as some paper. Remembering each cravat color so she could match it with each personality she engaged with,

Red = Anger/Rage

Green = Bravery/Activeness

Grey = Clean Freak

Purple = Horniness/Passion

Orange = Bluntness/Rudeness

Yellow = Intelligence

Folding the paper and putting it into her bra, she inhaled and exhaled for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight before leaving the bedroom The first thing that she noticed was the strong smell of bleach and pine sol with a faint... Ajax? She groaned and continued on, looking for Yellow, he seems to be the more analytical and intelligent one. She walked past a workout room and saw Red basically destroying a punching bag before going to a treadmill, putting it on the highest setting, she heard him snarl as he started on the highest level.

Sneaking past, she exhaled a breath she didn't even know she was holding, being thankful Red never heard her. Heading for the kitchen, she noticed a door was closed and walked up to it. Placing her ear on the door, she heard soft moans and her face burned coming from her blush. Obviously Purple was in there handling himself, she thought. Running along, she finally got to the kitchen and saw Yellow still inspecting the shard that was broken. She approached him cautiously,

"Did you find anything?"

"No. And it'd be wise to not sneak up on someone when dealing with something this fragile. I would ask Hanji for help, but I do believe she stated she's... 'Preoccupied' now, yes?"

"Uhh yeah that's right..."

"Now I know I'm intelligence, but don't think I know for sure what would happen if we so happen to touch the shards again."

"Let's try it-"

Grabbing a shard she screamed at the top of her lungs-

"FIRE!"

Green came out of nowhere and panted like a beast,

"WHERE'S THE FIRE?!"

"Here-"

Poking the point of the shard into the side of Green, a bright green light shined and he was sucked into the shard, making it emit a dark green color. (Y/N) looked at yellow,

"Yeah I think it works-"

"See if you can gather the rest of them. They won't listen to me if I tried to. You know how people treat nerds. Plus if I touch it, I'll get sucked into a shard,"

(Y/N) nodded and went around the house to look for the rest of the Levi's.

———————————————————————- Walking down the hall inspecting the different rooms in their shared apartment, she peeked through each one until she found the same Levi still in the training room going at it on the punching bag again. She stepped away from the room and did something she constantly does already.

Make herself angry.

'Yo who the fuck this white man think he is?'

'Right? He talks like he pays bills!'

'I pay 5 cents more therefore I pay more'

'Talm' bout' "you always fussin' every 5 seconds" now it's every 2 seconds'

She took a deep breath and ran in guns blazing, not caring what happened-

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

He screamed back,

"WHO'RE YOU YELLING AT?"

"YOU. LEVI FUCKING ACKERMAN."

"DON'T SAY MY NAME LIKE THAT!"

"I CAN SAY WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANNA SAY."

"COME AT ME-"

With the shard in her right hand, she raised her hand to slap him with her left hand, making him catching it with a stupid smirk on his face,

"Missed."

She innocently smiled back,

"Did I?"

She threw the shard and it poked him in the eye, making him let go of her hand. She watched him get sucked into the shard. The shard shined a powerful red as she picked it up and placed it in her pocket.

2 down, 4 to go. ———————————————————————- The apartment was eerily quiet, so quiet she could hear footsteps. Following them, (Y/N) stumbled upon Purple in the bathroom making kissy faces in the mirror. The face you make when someone says something stupid appeared on your face. Purple realized you were behind him in the mirror and turned to face you,

"Hello love!"

"Hey..."

"Babe, I just wanna say, I really appreciate you cooking dinner for you and I and I do appreciate you. It's just really hard cause y'know... My past..."

Her heart melted hearing his words and Purple could tell. He hugged her, his hands on her lower back. She felt his... 'rolling pin' poking her and she sighed.

"Come on, (Y/N), let me make it up to you..."

"Mmm... Okay..."

He lead her towards their bedroom and locked the door once they entered. Leading her to the bed, he made her feel... 'protected'. Like there was nothing that could get in between them to hurt them. Once on the bed, he kissed her while his hands warmed her sides, warming her. She slowly melted away and let go of everything...

The anger...

The tension...

The sadness...

The shard-

(Y/N)'s eyes shot open and pushed Purple off of her, making him land on the floor. Grabbing the shard out of her pocket, she chucked it at him and he caught it, making a bright purple light as he was sucked in the shard. The shard emitted a beautiful passionate purple. (Y/N), exhausted this point, sighed and spoke aloud,

"Well, at least you care..."

3 down, 3 to go.

———————————————————————-

(Y/N) wandered the house until she found herself back into the kitchen where she was bombarded with the strong scent of cleaning liquids. Bleach, Pinesol, Fabuloso, etc. It was all just swirling together. Covering her nose she walked farther into the kitchen where she could see Grey cleaning the walls of the kitchen without breaking a sweat.

She groaned and took out a shard. Walking up to him from behind, she poked the shard into his back, sucking him into it and emitting a grey color.

"Damn house is a toxic gas at this point..."

4 down, 2 to g-

"Just fucking put me in the fucking shard already."

(Y/N) turned around to find Orange and Yellow just standing next to each other-

"Uhh... Okay?"

Taking the last 2 shards out of her pocket, she tossed them to the two colors and watched as they were sucked into the shard and their shards emitted both bright yellow in one and a bright orange in the other.

The shard from her pocket started to glow as well. Taking them out, she ran to the other two and placed them in the center of the room and watched as the shards came together in a bright flash, making (Y/N) cover her eyes.

When she opened them again, she saw her Levi had returned. She ran to him and hugged him tightly, tears flowing from them,

"What happened?"

"Nothing! I'm just glad your back..."

"Oh... Okay?"

"Just know that I know it's difficult for you to show emotion but I do know you mean well for me okay?"

Levi hugged her back even tighter. Not knowing what exactly happened, he assumed for the worst but never pressed her. They just sat in silence as they hugged each other. ————————————————————————

[ficforce]

Little Wound Part 1

Joker x Little Lady Reader SFW There will be mentions of noncon and other abuse in this and the coming chapters

Joker stared up at the steel ceiling, his eye was unfocused as his mind drifted back to the rooftop nearly three months before. He wasn’t sure how he had survived because he had been pretty far gone; it was a miracle he had even been able to get a signal out to Licht. He loved her. He loved her so much and he had ruined her life because of his selfish desire to be free. He tried to recall her happy smiles and the way she would tell him off but the images kept morphing into her dead stare and her cruel words. She didn’t love him back, it had all been a lie to get close to him and slip a knife between his ribs. “I changed your IV drip - ya know I’m not this kinda doctor, right? I’m the experimenting kind.” Licht tapped on the rail of the hospital bed they had acquired, “The actual doctor did say you should start getting up and about… start eating more.” It didn’t take a genius - even though he was one - to realise the Joker was depressed. He had to be. Joker hadn’t left the hideout once since they had set up the bed, borrowed some simple hospital monitoring equipment, they also acquired blood and medicine for him. They had other allies working with them, all of them trying to work out why people kept catching fire - one of those people was a surgeon and he had barely saved the man’s life. “You can’t find the truth laying on your back.” “This word sucks, the truth just makes it suck more…” “But you wanted to find out why it sucked, remember?” This wasn’t his friend, this wasn’t the awkward, dangerous man he knew, “So you’re gonna just wait for the world to burn? Become a different kind of shadow that disappears into the dark all alone?” Nothing. Not a twitch. Joker turned his head away from Licht, figuring he’d disappear if he hoped long enough. “Damn it, Joker!” his fist hit the rail and the metal hinges of the bed squeaked, “Get up and do something - every second you waste in that bed is another second Y/N is trapped.” A sharp inhale followed by a shaky breath out was the only reaction he gave outwardly. The words stung but they did start a wheel turning in his head, one that hadn’t turned in three months, Y/N was trapped. She was likely back with the shadows under the Holy Sol Temple. Going through the hell he had run away from and damned her to. “Get outta here… I’m tired.”

x - -

‘You never belonged to the shadows’ Sometimes those words echoed around his head. Some of her parting words to him and he didn’t know if she was rejecting him or comforting him. Joker relived the night over and over, every word, every detail until he started to realise the minuscule things. Like the fact she had stabbed him in a way that deliberately missed his heart. She would have known exactly where to land a killing blow but she didn’t; she had nearly killed him. She hadn’t finished the job either. She had told him that she wanted him to remember her being different and special - not part of the collective. She didn’t want to be with the Shadows. She wanted to be free just like him and he wished he had recognised the pain in her eyes - the tension in her jaw. ‘The Captain always finds fault with me’ Joker knew what she meant because he had experienced it. He should have stormed tin there a year earlier and saved her, instead, he had felt sorry for himself whilst the Captain did Sol only knew what to her. Because she was his replacement, because he had tainted the Five-Two name.

Breaking into the Holy Sol Temple with Benimaru had been to seek the truth but it was also a partial rescue mission. However, when Joker saw those dead green eyes of the man who beat and violated him day in and day out, who had ordered the murder of the family who had taken him in and forced him out of the sun again… He forgot all about Y/N and set Benimaru loose on the Shadows. The very idea of finally ripping out the bastard’s heart gave him the edge, his hatred of the Captain and what he had done - not only to him - gave Joker an odd kind of joy.

A pained yelp went through Joker’s ear like an arrow and he felt a heated blade catch his leg. This wasn’t the time to get distracted but the sound had caught him off guard and his head whipped around to see Benimaru kick one of the masked assassins in the stomach to send them skidding along the floor. They weren’t supposed to make a sound, even if their bones were snapped. Joker lit up three cards to deflect his opponent’s whip sword, keeping his eye on the other whilst shouting over to the other man, “Oi, not that one, Mr Almighty - I got business with the Little Lady.” Maybe it would be considered cheating; the way he had used a hallucinogenic on the Captain. Scaring the shit out of the man before dicing him up into pieces. Dead was dead.

Joker took a deep breath and straightened out his clothing, the adrenaline was buzzing under his skin from finishing off his once Captain, a man who had been hard to erase from his scarred mind and nightmares. However, things just weren’t that easy, now he had to deal with Leonard Burns and he was out of drugged up cigarettes. “Really?” He turned to face his old acquaintance, “So to get the holy scriptures, I’ll have to defeat you…”

“For someone who has been hiding in the shadows, this is pretty daring of you.” Captain Burns wasn’t surprised to see who had been causing all the trouble, there were only a few people as dumb as Joker to attach the Church head-on.

The dark-haired man spread out his hands and called up his cards, “That’s because I don’t want the truth to stay hidden…”

Leonard took a breath and beckoned to him, “Come.”

They were at the ready to fight and then Benimaru’s voice broke the heavy tension, “Sounds like fun. Let me join the fight too.” There was a long pause, a three-man standoff that ended with Leonard turning his back on them and declining to fight - much to Joker’s surprise. It had been a strange turn of events but now Joker had a neutral ally in the church and more evidence that something stank in the Empire. That just left his other business… Y/N’s body shook uncontrollably in the corner Benimaru had forced her into, he had tied up her wrists and around her body to secure her arms to her sides, “Whatever it was that you used to send these bastards mad also affected her, figured I’d tie her up for her own safety.” The younger man crossed his arms and watched silently as Joker knelt beside the assassin to remove the faceless, white mask, he could see that the woman’s eyes were blown wide and tears streamed down her cheeks - he wondered what she was seeing in her head.

Joker’s voice was quiet, his tone soft as he started to undo the ties, noting that they were quite intricate knots that indicated Benimaru had certain hobbies with ropes, he smiled gently as he eyes tried to focus on his face, “Hey there, Little Lady. You’re a bit high but I promise it’ll wear off in a few minutes.” Her eyes widened all of a sudden and Joker flinched as she began to scream, Y/N’s legs kicked at him and began begging for her life. “Please, please don’t kill me! Not like that, don’t cut me up into pieces! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I- I’ll… I’ll do it myself but please -!” She had betrayed him, she had played his heart and his mind, poured her drink over him as he bled out; she deserved his punishment but she couldn’t stand being tortured anymore. “I’m begging you… Please…” Y/N’s voice began to break and she was sobbing too hard to be understood.

Joker stared at her in silence. Watching the woman he still loved fall to pieces and begging for a swift death. He pulled a playing card out of his breast pocket and lit it up - she had always liked his card tricks before but the sound of the burning card only seemed to terrify her more. Y/N cowered into herself, her freed hands covered her head as she buried it into her knees. “Tch!” Benimaru’s click was loud enough to be heard over Y/N’s whimpering and he stepped closer to them, the air rippling with heat as his crimson eyes lit up, “Revenge is fine but I’m not gonna let you fuck up some woman who’s already given up.”

“Relax, Mr Almighty, I’m not planning on hurting her…” The card went out and Joker sighed almost sadly as he watched her, “This was a rescue mission too.” Reaching out, he stroked her head lightly, pointedly ignoring her increased sobbing as the man tried to offer her some sort of comfort, “It’s just the hallucinogenic making everything worse.” Feeling Benimaru come off the offensive Joker began to hum some nonsense song to Y/N, picking her up into his arms once he realised she was paralysed with fear - it was time to leave the Shadows and monsters behind.

[consumedkings-archive]

WITCHING HOUR, a john seed/deputy fic.

chapter six: starving limbs

word count: 9.4k

rating: m for now, rating will change in later chapters as things develop, tags will be updated accordingly.

warnings: body horror, hallucinations (?), joseph spends .000000003 seconds about to go demon but manages to rein it in. uhhhhh LOTS of uncomfortably awkward dialogue. and allusions to past ~steaminess~. that should be it!

notes: this chapter is a tiny bit of an interlude! we get some new players introduced (please note the tags), some ssssssssslooooooooow development with john and elliot too, and just a bit more intrigue. sorry in advance that i can't write anything that doesn't have both body horror and horror-humor in it.

thank you to my beloved @starcrier​​ and @shallow-gravy​​ for putting their eyeballs on this for me, and @vasiktomis​​ for listening to me wax and wane poetic about my agonies; i would be nothing, no-one, without you, and i love you all so dearly!

“Who was that?”

Tall, short-cropped blonde hair. Lots of dark layers. A bolt-action rifle with a scope on it.

“Jacob.”

Not one of ours, he thought, turning the truck onto the highway. Not one of ours. Thought the fuckers were all dead or gone. Where the fuck did she come from?

“Why aren’t we going back to the compound?”

Did she set Fall’s End on fire?

“Jacob?”

“Holy shit.” He exhaled the words out of his mouth, billowing out of his chest in a sigh that only barely scratched the surface of his frustration at listening to Isolde pester him nonstop. Without looking at the brunette next to him, Jacob said, “You must be where John learned how not to shut the fuck up.”

He could feel Isolde’s eyes narrow more than he saw it happen. “I think that’s a Seed trait.”

“If I knew who that was,” Jacob continued, glossing over her little barb, “don’t you think I would have said?”

“Oh, please. You seem the type to get off on being withholding,” Sol snipped pointedly. He shot her a look.

“Don’t throw a tantrum, Isolde.”

“So why aren’t we going back to the compound?” She pressed, and Jacob’s mouth twisted into a grimace. It was a fair enough question—more fair than the initial one she’d posed, anyway—but even now, to a woman that was arguably close enough to a sister-in-law one way or another, he found himself reluctant to elaborate.

It had been over a year of refusing to expand upon questions his brothers posed, absences from family gatherings or an unwillingness to pursue people who had shown a clear romantic interest in him. There were some things that—well, that he had selfishly wanted to keep for himself.

“Gotta pick someone up,” is what he said after a moment, turning down the highway toward the Whitetails.

Isolde turned the heater up, and glanced behind them, as though their little guest might have taken to following them. “And who, pray tell, are we picking up?”

He exhaled out of his nose. “Stop asking questions.”

“Well, you Seed boys have a habit of leaving crucial information out!” Isolde snapped. “For example: John led me to believe that this encroaching cult was well and done, taken care of, extinguished, eliminated, exorcised—”

“You’re on a tangent.”

“There wasn’t supposed to be anymore,” she said after a moment. “Hunting. Killing. It was—you lot were supposed to be all done, now that you’ve run the folk out of their own home.”

Jacob glanced over at Isolde. Bundled up in thick fabrics, but still blushed from the cold, she looked quite small; for a woman clocking in at five-foot-eleven, he thought he’d never seen Isolde so swallowed-up, wallowing, despondent.

“You got an opinion on that?” Jacob asked dryly.

“You know that I don’t,” she muttered. “Just wish you’d have left the bloody fucking mess behind before I got here, is all.”

“I know it might offend those delicate sensibilities—”

“I’m tired of talking now, Jacob, if you’d like to let me lament the loss of my tranquility in peace.”

It took a lot of self-control to not bite out a response. Naturally, talking and conversation were only convenient when Isolde herself had something to say. It seemed she really hadn’t changed all that much, had she? Maybe it was good that she was here, after all. When John had first mentioned over the phone that she was coming down, he’d pictured that she’d mostly be a hindrance—unnecessary drama, despite the fact that he knew she had every capacity to act professionally—but as of late, Joseph had been...

Well. Out of sorts. Perhaps a slap of a reality check would be good for him.

They drove deep into the Whitetails, far enough out that the radio reception crackled and disappeared, leaving them in silence. The clouds were swollen and gray with unshed snow; threatening, looming with the potential to dump, but not quite there yet. All the snow as of late had been a bit heavier than what he would have anticipated, even for Montana.

“So are you going to tell me who our mystery guest is?” Isolde asked after a while, once he was turning up the long, familiar drive to a house that didn’t belong to him.

He flicked the lights of the truck on as the tree-cover turned the dim, overcast light darker. “Name’s Arden.”

“Very helpful.”

“‘S a vet,” he continued. “Worked in Fall’s End. Couple of years.”

“Like the animal kind?” Isolde pressed.

“Mhm.”

“Very fitting for your brood.”

“Ha-ha.”

Another stretch of silence, another turn up the drive, and then: “So?”

Jacob exhaled through his nose. It was either now, or later, and to be honest, he thought he might prefer delaying the inevitable over listening to Isolde complain, but he knew that he needed to just rip the bandaid off.

“She’s...” He searched for the word, shifting in the driver’s seat. “My...Partner.”

Isolde was silent for a moment, but he could feel her eyes on him—insistent. Impatient. Incredulous. A variety of other i-words that properly encapsulated whatever flurry of emotion she was feeling at that moment.

“As in—” Isolde stopped. “Romantic?”

“I guess,” he said.

“You guess?” She scoffed, but her voice was a bit lighter now, lifted by the curiosity. “Is she cute?”

Jacob stared ahead. That detail felt like it went without saying.

“Smart?” Sol prompted. “Funny? Makes you smile? Inspires in you the desire to procreate?”

“We have dogs,” he replied, “together.”

“Oh, if that’s all.”

He muttered, “This is worse,” under his breath, drawing her eyes back to him—as though she had ever stopped trying to pick him apart while this excruciating piece of conversation dragged on—and she cocked her head to the side.

“Worse than what?”

“You complaining,” Jacob said plainly. “You can go back to that, if you want.”

Isolde purred, “No, I think I’ll stick with interrogation.”

He shot her a dry side-glance, lips pressing into a thin line. This wasn’t supposed to be how this went—this whole...Interaction. Introduction. He certainly never pictured that Isolde would have been the first person to meet Arden as his partner, and not Hope County’s veterinarian, but. Well.

Nothing to be done about it now.

He put the truck in park as soon as they’d pulled in front of a small, tidy cabin, far enough out that you’d have to know where to go to find it—it wasn’t something that would just be stumbled across. By now, the late afternoon had started to turn murky; what little overcast light had been making it through the boughs was nearly strangled now by the approaching nightfall.

“Stay,” Jacob said, leaving the keys in.

“Do not speak to me like a dog, Jacob.”

He turned his head to look at her, expression pulling tight. She sniffed.

“Fine.”

“Thank you.”

He got out of the truck, slamming the driver’s side door and trudging through the snow—only half-shoveled—up to the front door. Through the window and the curtains, he saw the cut of amber light from the reading lamp he knew was by the door, the tangle of warm limbs barely kept under a knit throw blanket. It was a bit too comfortable, in there; too easy to remember the times he’d come to this house just like this, skim his hands under the blanket as he sank into that couch. The last few months had been a bit more demanding than he’d anticipated.

Just as he reached for the door, it swung open with a happy creak, and he was greeted by a familiar face. Just not the one he wanted.

“Well, if it isn’t the big man himself!” the dark-haired man greeted, chirping happily. “Good evening, captain. We were anticipating your arrival.”

“Santiago,” Jacob replied flatly. He gestured with one hand, an indication he was ready to come inside. Santiago flashed a charming grin and made a sweeping motion as he stepped to one side. It had been two months of having John’s favorite lapdog watching after Arden, and two months of hearing the Faithful’s infuriating voice over the radio every time he tried to touch base.

It was all easily forgotten, even as Santiago chattered in the background, saying something elaborate and useless as he made his way into the living room and spotted her; just like he’d glimpsed through the window, Arden was curled up on the couch, book in hand, reading lamp on and dogs asleep on the floor.

The beasts—glossy, long-haired Belgian Shepherds named Castor and Pollux—lifted their heads almost simultaneously, regarded Jacob, and then wagged tufted tails against the floor. They only looked at him for a second before their pointed snouts turned expectantly toward Arden.

She said something, quick and soft and foreign, and they leaped to their feet immediately to crowd him, large enough that their heads tilted to gaze at him reached past his hip bones even while they obediently remained on all-fours.

“Boys are sleeping on the job,” Jacob said gruffly as he gave them each two quick pets, lifting his gaze from the dogs to Arden. The corners of her mouth ticked upward, amused.

“They’re on break. State-mandated.” Her head tilted, loose curls framing her face where they’d fallen out of her bun. “Santi and I heard some chatter on the radio. Fifteen, huh?”

He grimaced, just for a second. His hands itched—to card through her hair, to tilt her face up—but he stayed where he was and instead watched as she came to a stand, tossing her book onto the couch. There were a lot of things that he thought about saying; questions beyond what their brief conversations had been, things that had been sitting on his mind.

Are you happy? Are you happy with this world I’m preparing us for?

“I’m taking you to the compound,” is what he said instead.

Arden laughed, reaching up to cup his jaw. “I figured you wouldn’t be rolling up to my house near-dark after two months of forcing me to cohabitate with Santiago just for fun.”

“In preparation,” Santiago intoned dutifully from the kitchen, sounding like his mouth was full, “for our rapidly impending marriage, cariña.”

“Enough,” Jacob interjected, “out of you, Vidal. Arden, is your stuff ready?”

“Yes, I packed.” She moved to the window, hoisting a bag off of the ground and glancing out through the glass. “Who’d you bring?”

Jacob took in a breath. Too much was going on, and not enough was happening in the way that he wanted it to. The stranger with a precise shot was still hungering in the back of his mind for his attention. When he’d dropped John’s little attack dog here two months ago, he’d intended his next stop-by to be taking Arden to the bunker. Elliot’s killing spree had only made that time longer, and then the Family had rolled into town, and now—

Well, now he was tired of looking for reasons to delay bringing her home, and just needed the one to do so.

As Santiago began gathering his things—decidedly less ready than Arden was—he crossed the room to where she was, turning her face from the window and back toward him.

“Oh,” she said, pleasantly. “Hello.”

“You get whatever you want,” he murmured, “for putting up with that incessant chatter.”

“One thing? Or many things?”

“Negotiable.” He grimaced. “Depending.”

She flashed a smile, tilted her head, and kissed the palm of his hand. “Hm. Brave of you.”

“Dr. Hale,” he rumbled, voice pitching low, watching the way her lashes fluttered prettily and her chin tilted. Expectant. But not yet, Jacob thinks. Not yet. “Are you plotting to extort me?”

Arden’s chin tilted out of his grasp, and she squirmed out from between him and the window, slick as can be despite her height. The woman was all wiry muscle, quick and precise movements, nothing wasted and nothing tossed aside. “Perhaps,” she replied over her shoulder, “but it wouldn’t be plotting if I told you, now would it?”

“What’s the word for ‘here’?” Santi asked from the hallway. “You know, for the hounds?”

Arden’s attention turned back to the brunette, and she patted his shoulder. “If I told you what it was,” she said, “they wouldn’t be very effective protection dogs, would they?”

“I think you mean attack dogs.”

“Interchangeable,” she acquiesced. “Are you packed, Santi?”

He grinned, glancing at Jacob. “Is just stuff, no? I am not interested in the material.”

Her gaze flickered to Jacob, a look of, oh, is that so? before she told Santiago, “Well, out into the truck with you, then. Dogs.”

She didn’t say the command, but whistled, sending them racing out the door excitedly around Santiago. When he’d followed suit and Arden had turned the lights off in the house, making her own way to the front door, Jacob reached for her and snagged her hand to turn her back around.

A second passed. She waited expectantly.

“I haven’t told them,” Jacob said after a minute. Arden’s wrist slipped through his grip, catching at the base of her hand.

“About the fifteen dead men?” she asked. “Don’t you think that’s important?”

His eyes flickered over the shape of her face; in the dark, he could still pick out the planes of her cheekbones, the dip of her nose, the cupid’s bow of her lips. He’d traced just those things with his hands and mouth plenty of times before. “About you.”

Arden said, “Oh.”

Jacob waited for a second longer, but when he couldn’t pick out any emotion besides, perhaps, confusion on her face, he prompted, “Oh?”

“Well, I just don’t see how that’s pertinent right now,” Arden replied plainly. “People are getting killed.”

Per usual, even after over a year of being together, she somehow managed to completely unseat him. Trying not to sound frustrated, he elaborated, “I just thought you should know, Joseph and John and Faith don’t...”

Jacob felt his voice trail off; Arden tilted her head inquisitively, like she didn’t quite see the point in the conversation being dragged on. He never felt like he was dragging on a conversation, except with her—the woman trimmed the fat out of every interaction down to the barebones, if she could.

“They don’t know,” he finished. “Also, Isolde’s in the car. John’s old business partner.”

“Damage control,” Arden said.

“Damage control,” Jacob agreed.

The blonde gave his hand a quick squeeze, tugging him forward and, as though they hadn’t been apart for two months, as though he had not admitted to keeping her his very own special secret for this long, she kissed him. It was quick—a brush of their lips, fast and easy and not at all wanting, as though he’d never been gone at all—before she turned away and stepped out the door, waving in the headlights.

Jacob locked the door behind him, out of habit rather than necessity. As Arden loaded the dogs into the back and then her bag as well, he opened the back door of the truck to where Santiago had already climbed in.

“Hurry in, guapa, you’ll catch cold,” the brunette said, beckoning Arden in as though she weren’t in the process of climbing in already.

She smiled wryly, puffing the air out as she hoisted herself inside and kicked the snow off of her boots. “Thank you, Santi, for your concern.”

Jacob rolled his eyes, closing the door behind Arden and then settling himself back into the driver’s seat. There were about forty-five seconds of blissful silence as he navigated back down the driver before Santiago cleared his throat.

“So, Jacob, who is your friend?” he asked. His voice was sly, but Jacob stifled the urge to tell him to shut up. He’d probably go whining to John that he’d done Jacob a favor only to get bullied for it.

“This is Isolde,” Jacob said, gesturing at the woman in the passenger seat. “John’s mommy.”

Santi let out a low, little whistle, and said wistfully, “Ah, I have always wanted to meet the woman who raised our John.”

Isolde’s expression twisted something vicious. “I’d kill myself if I had to bear that fucker in my womb.”

“You took care of him while he was in Atlanta,” Jacob pointed out. “Cleaned up his messes in the courtroom. Set him on the straight and narrow. Sounds like a mother to me.”

“Ugh,” was her reply. He knew the kinds of things that John had been up to in Atlanta—post-grad, the youngest brother had been in poor shape. Looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. If Isolde hadn’t nipped that shit in the bud, who knew where John would have been when they’d rounded him up? He’d never heard John say anything more than he’d said “I have to ask Isolde...” back when they’d been going to school and working together, but he imagined that once they had opened the firm together, spending weekends high out of his fucking mind wasn’t much of an option anymore.

Not, at least, for someone who was going to be doing business with Isolde’s name attached. She was a tidy little control freak like that.

“Oh,” Arden said, her face lighting up with curiosity, “you’re Joseph’s Isolde too?”

“Ugh.”

Jacob flashed Arden a grin through the rearview mirror, carefully turning the truck back onto a road that was more....Well, road than what they had been going on, not quite to the highway yet but close. He’d just have to get back to the compound. Get back to the compound, get Arden and Isolde settled in, and then he could go on the hunt.

It was becoming, unfortunately, more and more of a chore to keep things under control as time went on. Joseph wasn’t helping, and while John’s energy was not typically the “calm and efficient” kind, he at least had been propelled to take action. Of course, that action had ended up being more trouble than it was worth, and—

His brain was turning in circles, over and over again, a snake latched on to its own tail. It was almost deafening, to try and listen to Arden asking Isolde questions—what Joseph was like “back then”, about what it was like to work with John, how was her flight from Georgia—was she liking Montana? You know, aside from the killing and whatnot?—while his brain replayed the same loop. Would be easier if John was here, it said, would be easier if John was here to cause more problems and then try to clean them up. At least someone would be doing something, right?

Get back to the compound. Get everyone settled. Then he could make a plan.

And boy, was he going to fucking need one.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

By the time they had gotten back to the compound, Isolde felt like she was in a pretty good mood. Pretty good, at least, for getting shot at and realizing you’d been duped by someone who shouldn’t have had the audacity to try and dupe you at all.

The fact of the matter was that John knew better—he knew better than to lie by omission to her, because she was always going to find out that he’d done it one way or another, and yet he’d done it anyway. Their time apart had made John bold in his disrespect of her, and that was something that just was going to have to get immediately remedied.

Well, as immediate as possible, given that she was in the middle of bumfuck-nowhere-Montana with only a lick of cell service.

“It’s been really fun,” Isolde announced, climbing out of the truck’s passenger side as everyone else disembarked. Santiago had swung around the back to let the dogs out and haul Arden’s bag out. “I’m going to go sit in my rudimentary shack and pretend like today didn’t happen.”

Santi flashed her a wide, toothy smile. “I have an alcoholic beverage that may assist in forgetting.”

“I bet that you do.”

“Sol,” Jacob said, drawing her attention to him; he tilted his head, indicating the chapel where she knew Joseph was likely waiting to hear back about the things they’d seen. She felt her shoulders shag.

“Don’t become my least favorite Seed.”

“He’ll want to know,” the redhead cautioned. “See for himself you’re fine.”

“I’m not,” she snapped, “fine, and if I’m being honest—”

“You always are, in my experience.”

“—the last person I want to be making feel good is your brother.”

Jacob said, “I’m the one that’s going to suffer for it.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. The eldest Seed shrugged his shoulders and started heading toward the chapel, nudging Arden ahead of him in a gesture that was both affectionate and protective; that was nearly the strangest thing to come out of the day. Aside from their newcomer trying to make their own live-action version of The Most Dangerous Game.

“Fine!” Isolde relented at last, trudging after them. “I must be fucking insane, to keep helping you lot.” And then, as though to comfort herself: “You’d probably muck up the details, anyway.”

Jacob flashed her a smile over his shoulder. “Practically family at this point.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

The inside of the chapel was degrees warmer—so much so that Isolde hadn’t realized how cold she actually was until she was within range of the space heater rattling laboriously, the sound bouncing between the wood paneling of the walls and ceiling. Joseph was sitting on one of the benches a few rows back from the front, head bowed and cradled against the fold of his hands. A young blonde woman sat beside him, but rather than bent at the waist, her face was lifted, like she was drinking in whatever light and warmth she could get.

Suffused in the amber glow of candlelight from different little pockets around the chapel, he did strike a Renaissance-esque silhouette. Faithful In Repose, or something like that.

It wasn’t until Jacob said, a few feet away, “We’re back,” that Joseph’s head lifted and he came to a stand. His expression looked mutedly relieved—like perhaps he was trying to not appear too relieved.

“I was worried,” he sighed, reaching up to plant his hands on Jacob’s shoulders, “when I heard your radio call. We both were. Fifteen of ours, you say?”

“I think so, anyway,” Jacob replied, not moving to return the physical gesture but not brushing it off, either. “I’m going to go back out after I get Arden settled and get an actual headcount. Hopefully track down the person we saw.”

“Good,” Joseph murmured, and then paused, his gaze flickering to the honeyed blonde standing just behind Jacob. “Arden?”

“Hi,” she greeted, reaching around and offering her hand to Joseph. “Arden Hale.”

His gaze looked inquisitively to Jacob. It was excruciating for Isolde to watch it, the confusion on his face as he took Arden’s hand in his and said, “I remember you, from before, don’t I?”

“Probably,” she agreed with a little smile. “But only in passing. I ran the vet clinic.”

“That’s right!” the younger blonde exclaimed, her face lighting up. “I remember you for sure.” She paused. “I was Rachel, back when we met.”

“I remember you too, Faith.” Arden’s smile was light and friendly, despite the fact that she referred to what had been her livelihood in the past tense rather than present tense. It was a painful reminder that they had run the other people with livelihoods out of Hope County—and that it didn’t seem to bother or unsettle Arden at all was enough to make Isolde wonder.

“And you—?” Joseph paused, clearly trying to keep some kind of cool, calm, and collect as he muddled through a thing that his brother was offering no explanation on. “Jacob just, ah...Picked you up?”

“Yes,” Arden replied politely.

Joseph’s gaze darted back to Jacob. He waited a heartbeat for her to elaborate, and when she didn’t, he said, “I see.”

“Do you?” Isolde prompted, because maybe she was gleaning a bit of enjoyment out of seeing Joseph on the brink of squirming. She knew him well enough to tell he was furiously stuffing down a mounting frustration—Arden, quick and to the point and unwilling to waste time on elaborating something she probably thought wasn’t important, and Jacob, tight-lipped and ready to leave.

Now she knew why Jacob hadn’t wanted to say anything. He’d been keeping Arden for himself, and now this stranger on the hunt had forced his hand.

“So,” Jacob said after a moment, “I’m going to get Arden settled. Sol, bunk with you?”

“Sure,” she replied, only managing to barely contain her delight at having figured out a dynamic in which Joseph was at a disadvantage. “I’d welcome the company of someone other than a Seed.”

“I’ll help,” the girl, who Arden had referred to as Faith, offered. “I could use a good stretch, and I can’t wait to catch up, Arden.”

Jacob made a low noise, something like uh-huh but more displeased, before he turned on his heel and started marching resolutely back to the door, Faith chatting excitedly with Arden as they followed.

Before he could reach the door, Joseph said, “Jacob?”

The redhead paused, turning to look back at them.

“When you have a minute,” he continued, “I’d like a word.”

Jacob’s mouth set into a firm line. He didn’t respond, but gave one short nod before he stepped outside and ushered Faith and Arden out ahead of him.

Isolde watched them go for one heartbeat before she began, “It’s refreshing to see you squirm, Joseph.”

“You always were a little spiteful,” Joseph agreed, his voice mild despite the barb in the words. Isolde’s gaze snapped back to him, head tilted in defiance.

“Don’t deny me my pleasures.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Another moment of silence passed, one where Joseph’s gaze took a leisurely journey over her—too leisurely to have been anything less than admiring—before he said, “I was worried, you know.”

“Well,” Sol replied tartly, “we were getting shot at.”

“You shouldn’t be leaving the compound,” he continued, his voice a bit firmer now, “not while we’re not sure that the Family isn’t still around. Jacob is capable...” Isolde waited for him to finish his thought, to tack on the contingency, but all he said was, “Enough, for himself.”

“I don’t think you have any grounds to be telling me to do anything.”

The words left her mouth coiled tight and unforgiving. Joseph had always been in the bad habit of that—telling her, rather than asking her or suggesting to her; as though his suggestions should be taken as gospel and phrased them as such. Even back then—

I want you to marry me. I want you to be my wife, Soli.

—it had been a demand, not an ask. Not a request—but something that was almost enough to be a command.

The man let out a small, short breath, looking at her for a moment in a way that was almost wary. Good, she thought, you should be wary of me.

“I know,” he began, “that we didn’t leave things on the best of terms...”

His voice trailed off, like he intended to let her interrupt him. Isolde crossed her arms over her chest and waited expectantly.

“But I meant what I said.” Joseph fixed her with his eyes—infuriatingly blue, disgustingly blue. “That I’m happy you’re here.”

“And I meant what I said,” she replied tightly, “that you should be.”

Joseph sighed, “I don’t want to argue with you.”

“Then I don’t know why you opened your mouth in the first place—”

“Isolde,” and now he finally sounded a little frustrated, the tone bleeding into his voice. “We have to be on the same side, if you’re going to be here.”

She knew what that meant. She knew that what he was saying was, if you’re going to fight me at every turn, then there’s no reason for you to be here. But he was wrong about that; it was all the more reason for her to be there, to keep him in check, because clearly, nobody else was. Even Jacob, who should have had every reason to want to share this apparent relationship he’d been having, had kept it a secret from Joseph. And what did that say about him? What did that say about the person he’d become?

“I thought of you often,” he continued, his voice pitching a little lower now, taking a step forward. “And the mistakes that I made. That we both—” Joseph paused, his eyes flickering down to her mouth for a split second before lifting back to meet her gaze. “—made.”

Don’t fucking do it, she thought, watching him lift his hand to sweep the hair away from her shoulder in the affectionate gesture he had done so many times before then. If she let him, maybe he would follow up the way he had done so many times before all of this; he would have dragged his fingers along the pillar of her throat, pressed his mouth to the hollow under her jaw, sweet girl, my Soli, so gorgeous, and—

“Well, I didn’t,” Isolde replied, stepping away from him before his hand could make contact, before he could try and suck her back into the world that he’d had her in before. They were different now—she had known a Joseph before Eden’s Gate, and he had known an Isolde before Eden’s Gate, and all that had happened between was well and buried and done away with. “Think of you. At all.”

She focused on the door waiting for her, to take her out of the chapel and out of the romantic amber glow drenching the handsome features of Joseph’s face, to take her away from the cloying words. It couldn’t feel genuine coming from him, not right now. Not anymore.

“I don’t believe you,” is what he said, called after her just as she slammed the door behind her. “Not after the things I’ve done for you.”

The things I’ve done for you, he said. Fucker.

More like the things he’d done for himself.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The house was quiet when they returned. Scarlet must have retired early this evening; those nights that he’d spent sleeping in his car just down the street, he’d seen the light on in the downstairs living room well into the night, but the clock was only barely cresting eleven.

As they walked inside, Boomer lifted his head from where he’d been sleeping on the floor, stretched out in front of the couch. The Heeler’s tail thumped against the floor a few times, and then a low growl pitched out of him upon first seeing John come through the door again—only to have it waved away and quieted by a gesture of Elliot’s hand.

“Elliot,” he started, closing and locking the front door behind him, “are you sure you don’t—”

“I really—” Elliot’s voice tightened, wobbling sharp and tense. “—really need you to shut the fuck up.”

John had become familiar with the way that she said things; the difference between a casual shut the fuck up and the cadence of this, I need you to, so close to the thing he wanted her to say the most but only available to him now if he dredged it up from his memories. So he did as she asked and closed his mouth, instead contenting himself with replaying that parsed little clip of her words over again in his head.

I need you. He could fool himself, trick his brain into thinking as she hung the jacket up, the dips of her face shadowed by what little amber light was glowing from the one lamp left on in the living room. Just like she’d done it before—that night, before the scar. Before her lie. John, I want you so badly, I need you, I need you John, saying it against his mouth in a kiss and driving her nails into him like she wanted to leave a mark that wouldn’t fade, like she wanted him to think of her, always.

I do, he thought absently, jostled out of his near-daydream when she brushed past him to head for the stairs, the hound trailing at her feet protectively. Think of you, always.

“Could sleep in my bed,” he suggested, following a foot or two behind in case she decided to swing. “If you’re feeling out of sorts.”

“Is that what you think I’m feeling, John?” Elliot’s voice carried with it an idle kind of venom, the words barely above a whisper and tossed over her shoulder. It was a loaded question, of course. There was no right answer. In fact, it was more of a threat than anything. “I’m just dying to get some insight from the person who has clearly never read me wrong.”

He didn’t stop when she did; instead, he carried himself all the way to the landing that she paused at until there was hardly any space left between them, where he could still smell the wild winter blushing her cheeks and chilling her skin.

“I just remember,” he tried again, remaining casual, “you always seemed to sleep much better with a body next to you.” And then, pointedly: “A live one. Human and not dog-shaped.”

“Frankly, I don’t think you know a fucking thing about me,” the redhead snipped out.

“Well, we both know that isn’t true.” His eyes flickered over her; the urge to reach up and card his fingers through her hair, glide the pad of his thumb from her chin down into the hollow of her throat stung hard and bright in his chest, flowering with want. “I think we know each other quite intimately, you and I.”

“Fucking,” she hissed, “does not equate intimacy.”

“But it did.” John felt his mouth tick up at the corner. “For you. For us.”

Something vicious twisted her mouth. I know you, he wanted to say, but knew that he shouldn’t because it would only incense her further—he was having to straddle a very thin line. I know you, Elliot Honeysett, and I know we were fucking made for each other and you’re going to see it, too. One way or another.

“I only,” he continued, reaching up slowly and waiting for her to balk, “wanted to offer it.”

She didn’t jerk away from his touch, but before he could tuck the coppery strand behind her ear she had leaned away from him, shrugging off the affection. For a moment, her lashes fluttered, her expression changing into something he almost didn’t recognize. It took him a second to realize that she was considering, that it wasn’t blatant rejection just vibrating under her skin but something else. The times that Elliot had wanted him the most had always been when she was looking for comfort, and the gentle tremor in her hands that she tried to bury into her crossed arms, the way she was making a concerted effort to keep her breathing steady—she wanted him, as she had before.

It was a tiny, tiny little thrill, only a degree closer to what he wanted, but it was there nonetheless.

“No,” she said finally, doing that infuriating thing she did when she turned her eyes away from him—like she wanted to deprive him of her attention, her hand brushing his out of immediate reach of her. “I don’t want to sleep in your bed.”

“Alright,” he replied agreeably, even as every bone in his body disagreed with her decision. He stepped around her, heading up the stairs to the hallway that led to the guest bedroom. “But if you have a bad dream and want someone to hold you—”

“I won’t.”

“—you know where to find me,” John added playfully over his shoulder. Her footsteps drifted after him against the thick carpet, swallowed up by the high ceilings of the house.

“I hate you,” she bit out, her voice still soft so as not to rouse her mother.

John tried very hard not to smile. “I’ve told you once before, you need a catchphrase you can sound like you actually believe,” he told her. “That one just doesn’t hit the same anymore.”

She shot him a stormy, murderous look before brushing past him to reach the end of the hall where her bedroom was. Boomer darted ahead of her, eager to be in bed; John said, “Goodnight, Ell,” from the distance that kept them separated.

Elliot was halfway through the door to her bedroom when she said, “Eat shit, John.”

He shut the bedroom door behind him just enough to leave it cracked—Elliot still hadn’t come clean about the sleepwalking, but he still knew, and that meant he couldn’t have his wife and his unborn child traipsing around in the snow and potentially getting hypothermia while he was asleep.

It wasn’t until he’d undressed into more comfortable clothing that he crawled into the bed and realized how exhausted he really was; the adrenaline that had flooded his system at Elliot’s apparent panic had died out now, leaving him feeling hollowed out and a little empty.

John couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe Weyfield wasn’t as good for Elliot as she had wanted, and though that meant she would suffer for now, it would make their return to Hope County all the better; for him, and for her.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

He tossed and turned for a few hours, and found himself dredged out of his state of half-asleep by the jarring sound of his phone going off. John glanced over at the nightstand where it was vibrating, dull and insistent, against the wood. With no numbers saved as contacts in his phone, it was almost impossible to tell who it was, which always made it a bit of an uneasy endeavor when it came to picking up an unknown call.

Sitting up in bed blearily, he reached over and hesitated for just a minute before he hit the accept call button, bringing it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hi, Johnny.” It was Isolde. Her voice sounded tight, uncomfortable. “How’s Georgia? Hm? Everything good?”

He hesitated again, but for a different reason this time; Sol’s voice was heavily implying something was wrong, and John was not privy just yet to what it was that had put her on edge. “It’s good,” he said, climbing out of bed and wandering to glance out the window. The night outside was peaceful—or as peaceful as it could look, with the dark treeline looming in his vision and the swollen clouds threatening another downpouring of snow.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s...progressing,” he ventured, still half-asleep and clearing his throat. “Slowly, but I think I—”

“That’s good. That’s really, really good, honey. Hey, John? By the way, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Ah. So she was mad.

John opened his mouth to respond when Isolde plunged on, her voice pitching in a reckless kind of vibration, “I told you not to fucking lie to me. That means by omission.”

“Well, now—”

“I came out here out of the kindness of my fucking heart, you asshole. I fucking—they should be calling me Mother Fucking Theresa for the shit I’ve done for you, and you have the audacity to not only neglect to tell me that you didn’t know for sure the cult was done with but that your wife doesn’t want you? You’re hunting this girl across states and she fucking turned you in to the goddamn government?”

John grimaced. He was going to have to chat with Jacob and Joseph about how much information they were deciding to divulge with people. People, like Isolde, who didn’t need to know that his and Elliot’s relationship had ended on more than just “bad terms” and that the gap to heal it was actually much, much larger than perhaps he had implied.

“Also, can’t ignore the fact that you were in government custody at one point but your fucking cockroaches killed government officials to get you out—”

He started, “Sol—”

“No no no, do not fucking ‘Sol’ me, baby—I almost got fucking shot today. I watched someone hunt your fucking homeless population for sport and then make a very clear threat to do the same for me. And the worst part of it is that I’m not even that mad about that bloody bit, but—”

The sound of a door dragging against the carpet wobbled through the air, half-masked by his own closed door and the gentle whirr of the heater kicking on. He glanced blearily a the clock on the nightstand. It blinked 3:27 AM at him, and as he walked to the door and peeked out into the hallway, he saw that Elliot was wandering down the stairs.

Sol chattered viciously in his ear, but he wasn’t hearing it anymore; Ell moved leisurely, a pace that was unhurried, swaying on her feet a little as she came to a stop at the front door of the house and wandering in pajama shorts and an over-sized sweatshirt.

“Hold on,” John said, interrupting Sol’s tirade. “Something’s—can you hold on a second? Something’s wrong.”

“Oh? Yeah? Really? Something’s wrong? You fucking idiot—”

In her haze, Elliot tried to pull the door open. Her hand fumbled tiredly, clumsily with the lock, but the coordination needed to undo it just wasn’t there.

“I gotta go,” he murmured into the phone. “Listen, Sol, I’ll call you back in the morning—bye.”

Isolde’s indignation did not go unnoticed, but it did go unanswered as he hit the end call button and put the phone volume on mute, tossing it onto the bed as he made his way down the stairs. Elliot seemed to have given up trying to unlock the door and now tugged absently against the handle, staring out through the glass front; from the stairs, he could hear that she was whispering something, but not what it was.

“Ell?” John whispered, coming closer. He wasn’t supposed to wake a sleepwalker, right? Gently, he reached up to try and disengage her hand from the curved door handle. Her voice was still so soft that he almost couldn’t hear what was she whispering, but —

“...can’t,” Elliot was saying, to the glass—to the door—to someone or something on the other side of it. “Can’t let you in.”

“Baby,” he said, uncurling her fingers from around the curve of cool metal, “come on. Let’s get you back to bed.”

Her head snapped, mechanical and machine-like, to fix her gaze on him; the movement almost made him jump it was so precise, like she had just only realized he was there beside her. Though her eyes were open, they were glassy and drifted absently, never once staying in one spot for very long but never straying very far from his face.

“She keeps asking,” Ell told him, letting him take her hand away from the door and blinking, her brows pinching together at the center of her forehead. “She keeps asking me to let her in. She misses me.”

“Who?” He didn’t know that he really wanted to know the answer to the question, but it came out of him anyway—maybe the morbid curiosity of wanting to know what it was she saw in her dreams when she did this sort of thing, and maybe because he’d never been the type of person who could leave a door unopened.

As he guided her carefully to the stairs, their progress halting and uneasy, Elliot said pleasantly, “I told Joey I can’t let her in.”

He felt his skin prickle, dread crawling up his spine. He knew it. He knew he didn’t want to know the answer and he’d asked anyway, and now John would have to go to sleep with the knowledge that at least in her dreams, Elliot was seeing her dead best friend. Outside of her house.

“But I don’t want to,” the redhead continued. “She keeps asking me, but I don’t want to. She doesn’t have a face.”

His stomach churned violently. “Let’s go to bed,” he murmured, helping her up the stairs and to the guest room, pulling the blankets aside. His phone blinked with several missed calls from the same number—likely Isolde, raging mad he’d hung up on her. “Easy now, Ell.”

“She’s waiting for me,” Elliot whispered, like she was sharing a secret with him, her voice bridging mournful and gutted. “Joey’s waiting for me. She’s waiting outside. I have to let her in, or she won’t let me sleep.”

He pulled the blankets aside, trying to brush off the dread that really hit him the second he heard Elliot say she won’t let me sleep. Once she was laying down in the bed, her lashes fluttered unsteadily, her hand gripping John’s loosely.

Out from the hallway, he heard a low whine. Boomer had stirred at the sound of their hushed voices and now stood in the doorway of the bedroom; when John turned and looked at him, the Heeler let out a low growl, threatening.

“Well, come on,” John whispered impatiently at the dog, “if you’re going to come in.”

Boomer turned his head. It was the most effective side-eye he’d seen a dog perform in a long time.

“I have to,” Elliot whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears now. “I’m so tired, and she won’t let me sleep.”

“It’s okay,” he told her, even though his stomach wrenched a little at her words again, this eerie mantra that insisted on coming out of her now. “You can sleep.”

A little paranoid, he glanced towards the window—but it was empty, devoid of looming corpses or monsters peeking furred faces in through the panes. Don’t be stupid, he thought to himself, moving to the window and reaching for the curtains. Nothing out there. Just Elliot having bad dreams.

He gave the forest, bathed in cold moonlight diffused and filtered through the cloud cover, a final glance over. And for one split second, he was sure he saw something move, scrambling up a tree and shaking the pine boughs in a flash of pale limbs and bony protrusions and—

The dread returned. Cold, trickling down his spine like an IV drip. Just an animal, he told himself, as though the movement did not look like some two-legged humanoid monster scaling the side of a tree with the ease of a spider. Just an animal.

“Come on, beastie, we haven’t got all night,” he said, drawing the curtains closed firmly and waving at Boomer. The dog seemed appeased by this and came in, immediately hopping up to curl roll-shaped in the crook of Elliot’s knees. With the bedroom door shut and the curtains drawn, and Elliot having drifted back to sleep, the room finally felt quiet again.

John slid into bed pulling the blanket up and exhaling a breath.

She doesn’t have a face.

She’s waiting for me.

She won’t let me sleep.

Troubling, that she was seeing these things in her sleep. That she was seeing dogs with human faces. That she was seeing anything at all. It was almost the same as when she’d been drugged up to the gills by the Family and their weird earthy drug—not unlike Bliss, but with some more uncomfortable properties to it.

It wasn’t possible that she was still being affected by it, was it? This far away from Hope County, this long after she’d been experiencing the actual active effects of the drug they’d been plying her with?

Beside him, Elliot stirred, shifting until she’d rolled over to face him. Beneath her eyelids, in the dark, he could see her eyes move restlessly; still dreaming, even now, even after all of that.

What’s going on in that brain of yours? He thought absently, reaching up and brushing a strand of hair from her face as she slept.

What aren’t you telling me?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

When Elliot awoke the next morning, it was in a foreign bed.

She didn’t realize it, not right away; the first thing that struck her as odd was that a familiar smell washed over her, one that broke through the haze of slumber just a little, just enough to make her stir. It was like a memory—was she dreaming? Was she in a dream?

Stop squirming, breathed against the nape of her neck, the comfortable weight of an arm over her, locking her in place. I’m trying to sleep.

“Wh—?” Elliot felt the noise, garbled with a sudden surge of panic, muddle in her mouth viciously as she lurched into a sitting position. Her head swam; her stomach rolled with unspent nausea (yet one more reminder of her poor decision-making); but when she moved, so too did Boomer, leaping off of the bed and instantly alert.

And so did another body next to her.

She swung blindly at first, a knee-jerk reaction, and only barely registered that it was John in the bed with her, having caught her wrist and stopped her from clotheslining him straight in the trachea.

“Easy, Elliot!” he exclaimed, his voice hoarse from sleep.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she demanded, yanking her hand out of his grip. “How did—when did I—”

“Take a breath,” John cautioned, and instantly that hyper-awareness and panic was laser-focused, pin-pointed on the one thing that managed to be a tangible bane of her existence.

“Fuck you?” she said, incredulously. “Explain to me how I ended up in your fucking—”

“Elliot, you were sleepwalking,” he snipped. “I caught you trying to walk outside.”

She blinked at him, trying to process his words through a haze of blood rushing through her head and alarm bells sounding off rapidly. It was getting, she thought somewhere in the back of her mind, harder and harder to turn them off—to convince her brain that she wasn’t in immediate danger anymore, when she had identified a situation properly.

John is a threat? her muddled brain tried to parse through as she took in the scars and tattoos she had traced before—

(with her fingers with her mouth, while he knotted his fingers in her hair and sighed, please Ell please I’ll give you anything I’ll do anything)

—committed to memory.

Not a threat, she affirmed after a moment, lifting her eyes to his. Not a threat in the least.

“Okay?” he asked her, brows lifted. “Are we okay?”

“Why didn’t you just put me back in my bed?” she gritted out. “If you caught me sleepwalking.”

“And risk the beast ripping my hands off for coming into his territory? No, thanks.”

“Seems fine now.”

“Well,” John relented, “I invited him in.”

She rolled her eyes. Pushing the blankets off of her legs, Elliot passed her hands over her face, willing the alarm bells off. Red alert! Red alert! they screamed, over and over; we’re in danger, dig your heels in and sink your teeth in and tear tear tear—

The sound of the sheets rustling forced its way through the warning bells behind her just before John said, “You were talking too, last night.”

Elliot stopped, turning to look at him over her shoulder, eyes narrowed. “I suppose I said something like, ‘oh, John, I take it all back, please let me love you, I promise I’ll be the perfect cult wife’—”

The brunette lifted his hands in defense. “As ideal as that would have been, that was not the case.”

And then he didn’t say anything. John Seed, who could not possibly have learned how to shut the fuck up overnight, was regarding her very carefully—gauging her, getting a feel for what was going on in her brain. She felt her molars grind.

“Well, spit it out, then.”

John’s mouth twisted for a moment. “You told me you were trying to let Joey in,” he said finally. “That she kept asking you to let her in, but you couldn’t. And—”

A new wave of nausea washed over her. She didn’t think that was true. She didn’t that she had been dreaming about Joey. Had she? No, she would remember if—

(Joey, dirt packed under her nails and the flower blooms spilling out of the cavern of her chest, shaking the door, shaking it shaking it she won’t stop and she’s screaming even though she doesn’t have a mouth, even though her eyes and nose are smoothed out from her face, begging, begging to be let in, please let me in let me in letmeinletme—)

“—said she didn’t have a face,” he continued,

(LETMEIN)

“—and she wouldn’t let you sleep—”

(L E T M E I N)

“Um,” Elliot said, feeling faint as her brain dutifully trudged up the nightmarish dream sequence once again. “I don’t—um, I don’t think—”

John’s hand went to her shoulder, squeezing there at the junction between her shoulder and neck; instinctively, her hand flew up, gripping his wrist on a mechanical instinct to dig her nails in and rip his hand off of her.

He stayed firm—watching her, watching her reaction, brows furrowing. We like this, a part of her said, when his fingers splayed warm and calloused against the side of her neck, when her pulse jumped under the touch and the fog cleared a little. We remember this, and we like it.

“You said you were sleeping fine, Ell,” he murmured, his voice low as though not to spook her.

I know, she thought, feeling her lashes flutter as the urge to puke reared its head. I know what I said, I know what I fucking said, I know what I did, I’m not sleeping fine, I can’t remember when I slept fine, I can’t fucking sleep—

“I told you before.” The pad of his thumb swept down the front of her throat, close to the hollow just there; any lower and he’d be touching his handiwork. It was almost comforting, that he knew, that he was intimately familiar. “I’ll give you anything you want. Especially if it means helping you sleep at night.”

She knew that he meant it.

“I want,” she breathed, watching John’s eyes light up, “to punch you in the face so fucking bad.”

John sucked his teeth and regarded her ruefully. “Had me for a minute,” he told her. “Thought you were going to stop being so obtuse.”

“Disappointed?”

“A little, admittedly.”

“It’s good for you. Builds character.”

“You can’t be sleepwalking out of the house, barefoot, in the winter and pregnant,” he said, more firmly.

Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yes, Elliot.”

“No fucking shit? You’re sooo smart, John. Think maybe later, if you have time, you could explain to me how day and night works?” And now she did push his hand off of her—enough familiarity for one morning—and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “I have to shower and get ready.”

A frown planted itself on his face. “Ready for what?”

“Going to the stables,” she replied, opening the door and letting Boomer out into the hallway.

“I’ll come, too.”

Elliot stopped, blinking at him. “Sorry?”

“I said,” John began, having gotten out of bed and begun pulling his jeans on, “I’ll come too.”

“As much as I love the idea of you getting the shit kicked out of you by a horse—”

She cut herself off. The brunette raised a brow inquisitively—frustratingly distracting shirtless and standing there like he wasn’t the World’s Worst—and she shut her mouth promptly.

Taking John to the stables meant putting him out of his element. It also meant putting him directly in Sylvia’s path—and if there was someone who seemed almost as unimpressed with John as her mother, it was her new friend. She'd never seen him squirm as much as she had when Sylvia had clapped him on the back and said, jury's still out, but don't worry, bud! Like he'd never before had a woman not fall over herself for his attention.

“You know what?” She felt a smile tick the corner of her mouth. Even amidst the morning sickness riling in her stomach and the exhaustion from feeling like she hadn’t slept a wink, it still felt a little good. “Sure. You can come to the stables with me.”

Now it was his turn to narrow his eyes. He had one arm into a button-up when he stopped moving. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Elliot replied pleasantly. “But you’ve gotta do something. You can’t stand in the way. Be useful.”

“I can be useful,” he ventured. “It’s—what? Horses?”

“Yes, John, it is horses.”

“Great. Love them. Love horses. Very cool.”

“Uh-huh.” She eyed him, taking two steps out of the bedroom and then turning around. “And John?”

He let out puff of air, head tilting as he looked at her, having shrugged the other half of the shirt on. “Yes, Elliot?”

Elliot gave him a once-over, grimacing.

“Maybe don’t wear the Versace to the barn.”

[mycloneismywaifu]

Shaco’s thoughts on champions..

Aatrox: Such an angry man, definitely needs to relax.

Ahri: quite pretty, everyone seems to like her. I don’t know though..

Akali: Grumpy, but also...balanced, as they would say?

Alistar: Big boy, Small Mind.

Amumu: Oh Nyoh, poor baby...grow up.

Anivia: who left the frozen chicken out to defrost?

Annie: I like their potential, might host a tea party.

Aphelios: Sorry, didn’t hear what you said.

Ashe: chill...hehe...

Aurelion Sol: ALMIGHTY POTENTIAL...Rude as fuck.

Azir: Hm...you had everything, how did it feel to lose so much...?

Bard: BWOMMM....indeed.

Blitzcrank: Metal body, Metal mind, Metal heart...I wonder if you can feel...

Brand: Toasty, I’ll keep you in my fireplace.

Braum: You have a heart worth thousands, but can you save everybody..?

Caitlyn: You claim to be an amazing sherrif, but you haven’t caught me!

Camille: My my, that’s some long...knives.

Cassiopeia;  I like your style...Poison is quite...thrilling in it’s own way~

Cho'Gath: Who’s a good all eating terrifying monster...? YOU ARE!~

Corki: Has ANYONE seen his feet? Anybody?!

Darius: Chop Chop~ You’ve got to catch up to your brother~

Diana: So edgy, but loving the aesthetic~

Dr. Mundo: I’ll see you next week for drinks! Bring the good stuff!

Draven: I heard your brother’s ahead of you, gotta do more work~!

Ekko: Even if you go back in time, you can’t fix your mistakes...~

Elise: Oh My..!

Evelynn: MY OH MY!

Ezreal: Do you really have to dance like that...?

Fiddlesticks: SQUARK!!! ...hah, good times...

Fiora: You’ll never find a worthy opponent with manners like that!

Fizz: Slippery little sucker you are...

Galio: Big. Very Big.

Gangplank: Arrrg! ..got any of those oranges

Garen: You wish for JUSTICE! but what if you’re in the wrong..?

Gnar: Annoying, but sort of cute. Don’t piss it off, whatever you do.

Gragas: My supplier of the finest bourbon. Also a drinking buddy.

Graves: He smells nice.

Hecarim: I love to sneak onto his back to ride on him like a horse...

Heimerdinger: ...Fucking know it all.

Illaoi: I tried arm wrestling with her ones. Never again.

Irelia: K n i v e s, so many K N I V E S.

Ivern: Honestly I’d probably get high with this guy. He seems like fun to get high with.

Janna: Is it me or is it windy in here?

Jarvan IV: You have a kingdom, but do you deserve it?

Jax: If i gave you a rubber chicken, would you still clobber people?

Jayce: Pretty boy needs to learn his place.

Jhin: Finally, someone with some good T A S T E 

Jinx: 👀

Kai'Sa: I’m surprised you didn’t go c r a z y in the void..how do you feel..?

Kalista: I heard you want to get a little bit of vengence...?

Karma: ...Is a bitch...Pun intended.

Karthus: Fucking love to rock out with this guy. Holy shit.

Kassadin: Needs to find an inhaler.

Katarina: Totally isn’t a Yandere waiting for Garen to ask her out.

Kayle: Should have been the one to hit the ground too hard if she fell.

Kayn: Fucking edgelord who I wish would make up his fucking mind.

Kennen: Get a load of pikachu over here..

Kha'Zix: Messy eater, wouldn’t invite over again.

Kindred: Fun to talk about death with, would chat again. Wolf’s a good boy.

Kled: Fucking mental, would drink with again.

Kog'Maw: What the fuck is this thing. I love it. 

LeBlanc: Amazing parties, amazing dances, need to hang out more..

Lee Sin: Now you see me, now you...oh hang on.

Leona: Praise the sun? Nah I get sun stroke. Give me your sister pls.

Lillia: Too innocent, shouldn’t be here, easy to mess with...actually, maybe stay..?

Lissandra: Cold. Very cold. But the best of the 3..

Lucian: I laughed when I heard Senna got caught. Thresh did a good job.

Lulu: One of my bestest sort of friends, we cause the best mischief. 

Lux: Does your father know what you can do...?

Malphite: B I G

Malzahar: Sorta kinda kreeps me out sometimes...his bugs fuck my shit up...

Maokai: I like chilling in his branches, his saprolings know how to party.

Master Yi: That’s a nice lookin sword you’ve got there...

Miss Fortune: You got two lovely guns. 

Mordekaiser: Best guitarist I’ve ever heard. need to see their next concert.

Morgana: Lovely cookies, shame everyone dies after though.

Nami: Why would you even buy boots??

Nasus: Your brother hates you, do you forgive him? 

Nautilus: Can you even feel me knocking on your head?

Neeko: I see myself all the time, you can’t fool me...

Nidalee: You need some class, a wash and some clothes...

Nocturne: DARKNESS, DARLING, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!

Nunu and Willump: Willump can you just eat him already?

Olaf: I miss the good old drinking days...heh, mom’s op...

Orianna: The intricacy of the workings inside are limitless, I must see inside...

Ornn: B I G aswell

Pantheon: You’ve got abs you can eat off, and an ass that would be eaten.

Poppy: You may be small, but damn you hurt.

Pyke: I need to talk to you more, I want to hear all about drowning as much as I can...

Qiyana: You’re just an angry person.

Quinn: I’ve been trying to kill Valor for so long I can’t count the days.

Rakan: Look in the mirror for too long and your face will stick like that.

Rammus: Ok.

Rek'Sai: *SCREECHES BACK*

Renekton: Your brother trapped you for millenia, tell me how much you hate him..

Rengar: heh, you let your guard down and the bug ate your eye..funny.

Riven: You’ll never be welcomed back, you know that, right..?

Rumble: She’ll never notice how much you love her. Give up.

Ryze: C’mon, let me look in the scroll, just a little peek?

Sejuani: God you smell as bad as the boar...

Senna: You have no idea how long it’s been to ask someone...how was it in the lanturn??

Sett: All you do is punch. Not impressed at all.

Shaco: Love this guy, can’t get enough of him!

Shen: You say balance is necessary, so isn’t what Zed doing good..?

Shyvana: No matter what you do, Demacia will always fear you~

Singed: You need to give me more of your experimental vials, I have too much fun with them..

Sion: oh hey big guy, I thought you died!

Sivir: I think you make more money than me killing people...jealous much..

Skarner: Aren’t you the last of your kind...? Samesies! how’s it feel for you~!

Sona: I wish I could hear you scream...that would be wonderful..

Soraka: Why not give Warwick what he wants...no one will miss you~

Swain: I would love to study your...ehem...other form more, it’s so intriguing ...

Sylas: You were a bad boy, yet you didn’t let people know about lux~

Syndra: Show me this limitless power you have~

Tahm Kench: Gotta say, I’m a big fan of your vocabulary...

Taliyah: Yasuo isn’t who you think he is...you should ask who Yone is...

Talon: Stabby Stabby time~

Taric: Wow. 

Teemo: I could list off 900 different ways I would exterminate that little rodent.

Thresh: Hey, I’m Shaco, big fan, huge. Biggest even.

Tristana: you’re oblivious to all the signs, you’ll end up hurting people you have no idea exist...

Trundle: HIT HIT HIT, That all you think about?

Tryndamere: See above

Twisted Fate: I’m never playing cards with you again, seriously, fuck off.

Twitch: God you stink. but you make a good foot rest.

Udyr: So calm, yet anger is deep inside you..

Urgot: No one likes you but god you’re amazing at killing people.

Varus: You fuck everything up, yet you’re still around...

Vayne: You wish to rid the world of black magic, but so much fun comes from it..

Veigar: HAH, SO, SMALL, OH MY, HE’S JUST...PFFFF.

Vel'Koz: I too wish to know what’s going on inside of people’s heads..just more emotionally.

Vi: Caitlyn will never notice you.

Viktor: hit me up when the revolution starts, I may skip town til it’s over.

Vladimir: SO MUCH GOOD WINE, OOF.

Volibear: You’re a big boi now, indeed.

Warwick: Cmon, you know you want it, go get it...soraka’s practically open...

Wukong: sometimes you even get me confused...

Xayah: oo, look at me, such an edgy bitch, only one man get’s me~

Xerath: I am so curious, how the hell did you become what you are...

Xin Zhao: sorry, who are you again?

Yasuo: You killed your brother, didn’t you. I fucking knew it!!

Yorick: Play me that bass riff again, it’s so G O O D

Yuumi: God you’re annoying. 

Zac: surprisingly enough, you’re an amazing bed.

Zed: You know what you should do..? Kill them all...heh, that’d be fun to watch..

Ziggs: I need you to make more bombs, for me...for research purposes..heh

Zilean: You are also annoying, stop knowing where I’ll be, stop. now.

Zoe: GOD, WHY ARE YOU ALL ANNOYING

Zyra: ...you provide the good kush.

Clean list below if anyone want’s to do it too!

I love reading them, tag me in them if you could! :D

Aatrox,

Ahri,

Akali,

Alistar,

Amumu,

Anivia,

Annie,

Aphelios,

Ashe,

Aurelion Sol,

Azir,

Bard,

Blitzcrank,

Brand,

Braum,

Caitlyn,

Camille,

Cassiopeia,

Cho'Gath,

Corki,

Darius,

Diana,

Dr. Mundo,

Draven,

Ekko,

Elise,

Evelynn,

Ezreal,

Fiddlesticks,

Fiora,

Fizz,

Galio,

Gangplank,

Garen,

Gnar,

Gragas,

Graves,

Hecarim,

Heimerdinger,

Illaoi,

Irelia,

Ivern,

Janna,

Jarvan IV,

Jax,

Jayce,

Jhin,

Jinx,

Kai'Sa,

Kalista,

Karma,

Karthus,

Kassadin,

Katarina,

Kayle,

Kayn,

Kennen,

Kha'Zix,

Kindred,

Kled,

Kog'Maw,

LeBlanc,

Lee Sin,

Leona,

Lillia,

Lissandra,

Lucian,

Lulu,

Lux,

Malphite,

Malzahar,

Maokai,

Master Yi,

Miss Fortune,

Mordekaiser,

Morgana,

Nami,

Nasus,

Nautilus,

Neeko,

Nidalee,

Nocturne,

Nunu and Willump,

Olaf,

Orianna,

Ornn,

Pantheon,

Poppy,

Pyke,

Qiyana,

Quinn,

Rakan,

Rammus,

Rek'Sai,

Renekton,

Rengar,

Riven,

Rumble,

Ryze,

Sejuani,

Senna,

Sett,

Shaco,

Shen,

Shyvana,

Singed,

Sion,

Sivir,

Skarner,

Sona,

Soraka,

Swain,

Sylas,

Syndra,

Tahm Kench,

Taliyah,

Talon,

Taric,

Teemo,

Thresh,

Tristana,

Trundle,

Tryndamere,

Twisted Fate,

Twitch,

Udyr,

Urgot,

Varus,

Vayne,

Veigar,

Vel'Koz,

Vi,

Viktor,

Vladimir,

Volibear,

Warwick,

Wukong,

Xayah,

Xerath,

Xin Zhao,

Yasuo,

Yorick,

Yuumi,

Zac,

Zed,

Ziggs,

Zilean,

Zoe,

Zyra,

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 127: Sir Nighteye

Previously on BnHA: Aizawa announced that the freshman students would be permitted to take on internships. Deku asked All Might to introduce him to his former sidekick Sir Nighteye. At first All Might declined, but then he had a change of heart after seeing Deku’s determination. He ended up asking Mirio (who’s been interning with Nighteye for the past year) to introduce Deku for him. Mirio agreed because he is a pal, and come the weekend, Deku accompanied him to Nighteye’s office. Mirio warned Deku that Nighteye values humor very highly, and if Deku couldn’t make him laugh, he’d probably be sent home in vain. Deku greeted Nighteye and made the weirdest fucking face I’ve ever seen. Times like this, it’s hard to believe this is the same series that was hitting us with that intense character development a mere five chapters ago, not to mention straight up blowing people to splattery bits two chapters ago omg.

Today on BnHA: Nighteye chews Deku out for getting the wrinkles wrong on his All Might impression. Deku activates his Quirk of Being a Giant Nerd and informs Nighteye that actually, his impression is based on a specific incident in which All Might made a particularly weird face. His gatekeeping attempt foiled, Nighteye begrudgingly agrees to test Deku. He says he’ll give him three minutes to take Nighteye’s hanko stamp from his hands and use it to stamp his internship form. This is much more difficult than it sounds, since it turns out that Nighteye’s quirk, Foresight, lets him see into the fucking future. Since he can see all of Deku’s attacks before they happen, Deku quickly finds himself in a pickle. Nighteye says that Mirio should have inherited OFA, and that Deku isn’t worthy. Our little green boy takes some issue with this, seeing as he was acknowledged by All Might himself. He powers up again, determined to show Nighteye just how worthy he is.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 155 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

are you even a megane character if you don’t use your middle finger to flip people off when adjusting your glasses

although to be fair, he has the rest of his fingers all splayed out. clearly he is still undecided as to whether he actually likes Deku or not

fucking look at this title

“shit, we didn’t come up with a title for this one.” “well who’s it about?” “um, these four characters.” “okay just put all four of their full fucking names then”

so he’s towering over Deku, who fully believes that he’s about to die

he fucking loves it, Deku. YOU GOT GUTS, KID!!

wow he’s grabbing Deku’s face and saying All Might doesn’t have a wrinkle on his right side, unlike the face Deku is making

holy shit

nevermind he doesn’t love it

jesus christ. EVEN THE UNLICENSED MERCH, DEKU. FUCKING GET IT RIGHT!!

now Deku’s looking around Nighteye’s office while the man in question continues to aggressively jab his fingers all over his face

he’s jealous of all of Nighteye’s All Might swag

Nighteye says he is “quite displeased” and is telling Deku to leave

what in the

sure. who doesn’t. that’s when all the vinegar just. fuckin’ killed itself

holy shit

OH SNAP. HE FUCKING NAILED IT AFTER ALL

Deku says it’s one of his less popular incidents, but he really likes it

mainly because of All Might’s terrible dad jokes

holy shit I love All Might so fucking much

by the way can you imagine if a river just fucking turned into fucking vinegar all of a sudden. like, did the kid change it back afterward? how much of it was actually changed? someone else is walking along further downstream and they’re all like, “...do you smell something? ...did this river go bad?”

also there’s no suicide in this story. how misleading

now Nighteye’s getting offended and asking Deku if he’s testing him

but Deku says he just got a little hyped up remembering the story

Mirio and Bubble Girl are just watching like, “...”

Mirio’s impressed with how Deku turned the situation around even though he didn’t actually get Nighteye to laugh

so now Nighteye’s sitting down and looking as though he’s considering it

Deku’s all “PLEASE TAKE ME!!! HERE’S THE CONTRACT OMG”

but Nighteye hasn’t quite made up his mind yet whether or not to take him

Nighteye’s laying out all the details of the internship and how tough it is

the internship will last at least a month -- although it’s paid, hell yeah Deku, nice -- and Deku will need to take lots of time off from his lessons at U.A. and he’ll likely have trouble keeping up with his course workload and would risk falling behind his classmates

but Deku has made him his mind on this for sure. he’s not afraid of the extra work

aaaaaand Nighteye is stamping the contract

wait a sec

uh oh

(ETA: how could I have just skipped right over Deku’s reaction without commenting on it omg

fucking flawless comedic timing. who says this kid has no sense of humor)

lol Nighteye says he has no intention of stamping it

Deku, grab his arm real quick and just... he’s right there! you can do it. he’s so skinny. just overpower him

oh shit

what the fuck is wrong with his neck

also, so Mirio’s already considered a sidekick then? you go, Mirio

(ETA: actually, Mangastream has the correct translation here: “this office already gets along fine with two sidekicks and one student intern.” it’s just that at this point we hadn’t yet been introduced to Nighteye’s other horrifying sidekick)

he’s asking Deku what he has to contribute to society. if he wants his acknowledgement then Deku has to show him

of course there’s no need to sum up everything All Might himself had to contribute. nothing to see here, just a single man who transformed the entire world for the better and gave it hope. yep yep

anyway, so Nighteye is again asking him what advantages he can offer his agency. and he says he’d appreciate if he showed him with actions rather than words

well this is tricky. what does Deku have going for him. well his winning attitude and good heart and big hero brain of course. and also a little ol’ thing called One for All, but that part is of course a secret

oh my god

lmao are you serious. yes, exactly. GO FOR IT DEKU, STAMP THAT SHIT YOURSELF

he says he’s giving Deku a rare chance even though he doesn’t have the slightest shred of humor

“am I not merciful” jesus

now he’s telling Mirio and Bubble Girl to skedaddle

well, Deku managed to graze Gran Torino within three minutes his very first time using full cowl. and he’s the guy who trained All Might. Nighteye is just his fucking sidekick. DEKU YOU GOT THIS BRO

Bubble’s asking if Mirio had to pass a test like this when he first started

he says he didn’t, since Nighteye chose him personally. I guess U.A. must have given him the same pitch they gave All Might about how great Mirio is

in both the FA translation and the Mangastream translation, Bubble uses the word “jelly”, and for some irrational reason it’s really making me cringe

so jelly

(ETA: honestly though, Nighteye really does love Mirio. initially it’s framed as just Mirio being his protege and the one he believes is most deserving to inherit OFA, but over the course of the arc it becomes clear he cares about him much more deeply than that. actually, a good deal of Nighteye’s character development is just us gradually learning that he cares a fuckton more than he initially lets on. I have a lot of Nighteye feels. someone sent me an ask about him yesterday, so I’ll post that soon)

Mirio’s thinking to himself that it doesn’t look good for Deku, though

“against Sir’s quirk, accomplishing those conditions is virtually impossible”

well then Sir “All Might’s fucking sidekick” Nighteye, what the fuck is your quirk, then. consider me suitably hyped by this point

Nighteye says he won’t attack Deku, and he doesn’t care what Deku does, even if he damages the room

okay for real though, just how badass is this dude. what rank is he. is he the number three guy at long last? they’re sure making him out to be at that level

(ETA: are we going to get Nighteye’s actual hero ranking at any point? will they mention it in his fucking obituary maybe)

Deku’s powering up full cowl. I hope he went straight to 8%

he’s charging straight at him. Nighteye seems to think it’s a feint

yep he’s right

“you’ll follow with another attack” hoooooooly shit IS HE A PRECOG. IS THAT HIS QUIRK. FUCKING KATAKIRI OMG

although to be fair, literally any asshole could have told you Deku was going to follow up with another attack lmao. “nah, actually that’s it. one and done. I give up now”

imagine if this really is the number three hero. oh Kacchan, I heard you interned with number four, so naturally I went and convinced the number three guy to take me :)

(ETA: and yeah I’m aware that since All Might’s retired, all of the rankings have been bumped up, but I still think of them in terms of their previous rankings for some reason. anyways, you know what I mean)

not that Katsuki would have been able to tolerate this guy for more than thirty seconds

“I see everything.” yeah, I’m pretty sure. either that or he’s got 360 degree vision or some shit

but I really hope it’s precognition. I have a mental list of quirks we haven’t seen yet that I’m anticipating and this is one of them. (I also really want to see mind-reading and truth serum quirks. and an illusionist quirk, because I need one of these villains to play some damn mind games one of these days)

(ETA: WE GOT THE TRUTH SERUM QUIRK AND THEY TOTALLY WASTED IT. I’M SO MAD)

Deku’s thinking to try and beat Nighteye’s quirk by overwhelming him with a bunch of attacks

yesssssss!

(ETA: later on we learn that he can only use this quirk once every 24 hours. that’s a pretty big deal, because it means he took this decision so seriously that he decided to use it on Deku. if he’d ended up needing to use it for something else (say, something related to actual crime-fighting) later on he’d have been SOL.

also, Nighteye is a great example of the advantage a hero has when the details of their quirk aren’t widely publicized for the world to see. and he also proves that it’s more than possible to keep them under wraps even after years of hero work. just saying, U.A. maybe it’s not the most rational thing in the world to deprive your kids of that advantage right from the get go simply because you assume it’ll happen eventually)

so now Deku’s straining to figure out a way to get around his quirk

I would think speed alone would still be able to do it. if you’re fast enough it shouldn’t matter whether the opponent knows the punch is coming or not. but I expect Nighteye is likely faster than Deku though since Deku’s still inexperienced

is there any way to confuse him if someone has a lot of potential “courses of action” and all of them have a near-equal likelihood?

anyway let’s see what he actually does end up doing lol

Nighteye says he was wondering what kind of person Deku was, and that he had high expectations

but he says Deku is mediocre

wow

starting to get an inkling that the guy who can predict the future has gotten a little too used to being right all the time

you really think you know better than All Might on this one, huh. okay

also, exactly how many people know about One for All for real though?? the list just keeps expanding

so Deku’s really surprised. that’s right, he wasn’t aware Mirio had been the original candidate

Nighteye says he respects All Might, but they didn’t see eye to eye when it came to his successor

why do you think you should have had a say in it to begin with?

I guess All Might probably confided in a few people and asked for advice and recommendations though

oh dang

(ETA: All Might does a lot of not telling Deku things. he is the Obi-Wan of this series after all)

I don’t know if I’m ready for Deku to have a crisis of confidence so soon after Kacchan’s. I hope this doesn’t rattle him too much

he asked All Might back at the sports festival if he wanted someone else, and All Might told him in no uncertain terms he was the one, so. hope he remembers that

so Nighteye’s reminding him that the clock’s still ticking down while he’s just standing there thinking

he’s being a real asshole! :)

NOT ACCORDING TO THE GOAT ALL MIGHT THERE ISN’T

I mean, not to compare All Might to Lord Voldemort lol, but it’s kinda the same thing. having heard a prophecy that could have applied to two different children, Voldemort went with the child most similar to him, rather than the pureblood. All Might also had his choice of successors. Mirio is amazing and would have definitely been worthy. but in the end, All Might chose the boy who was born quirkless just like him. just because he started from further down doesn’t mean his ceiling is lower than anyone else’s, and in fact it may just be the highest of them all

oh good. Deku’s getting fired up

good Deku

“All Might... chose me!” yessssssssss omg. bring it!

“he’s not the kind of kid who’s so used to rejection anymore!” omfg. now they’re trying to get me fired up. and it’s working oh damn

 BONUS:

it is pretty sweet how he went out of his way to make sure she got a decent amount of screentime and not just some one-time background role

but like, he can’t pretend her costume design wasn’t 100% the reason he picked her, and tbh it kind of skeeves me out. anywayy

[k-liight]

Green Hearts part 2

Here's part two, just like I promised! yeah, three months later and I finally finish the second part lmao. More swearing ahead, just like in the first part, but no smoking this time (thanks Ace!)-- however this IS ridiculously cheesy so beware of that LMAO. part 1 is here for those of you who didn't read it. I highly reccomend you read it before carrying on with this lol. hope y'all enjoy this! and special thanks to @ghostly-rowlf, @beankich, and @slither-sol for your kind words on the first part!!

   Crash!    “Gah! Son of a bitch!!”    I rush to steady the stacks of Pringles that I stupidly crashed my shopping cart into. I thought I had control of this damn thing. Luckily, none of the Pringles fell over. I snatch a tin from the shelf and sigh deeply.    Ever since last night, I’ve been a frazzled mess. Why does Ace have to be so pushy? Now he’s probably pissed at me, and the other guys likely wondering what the hell came over me. Am I ever gonna be able to even show my face around them again? Probably not.    Or maybe I’m just overreacting. Ace was probably just trying to help me. Well doesn’t that make me look like a jackass.    “Light!”    “Huh?” I look around and see a small green figure running towards me. It’s Arturo.    “There you are!” he cries out as he approaches me. “I’ve been looking all over for you!” He puts his hands against his head, making him look stressed out. “Ay caramba, what are you wearing?!”    I glance down at my usual ratty jeans and t-shirt ensemble, then not as far down at Arturo. “What do you mean, what am I wearing? What’s going on??”    “No time for that now!!” He grabs my arm and yanks me from my shopping cart, running towards the exit. Damn, for someone with such tiny little legs, he sure can run fast. He must’ve had a lot of coffee this morning. Before I know it, we’re out the door and running down the street.    “Where are you taking me??” I ask.    “To where you’re supposed to be!” Arturo answers. What? The hell is that supposed to mean? I’m so confused. I’m about to open my mouth again when Arturo suddenly stops and pulls me down.    “Wait a second—I have got to do something about that hair.”    He takes out his treasured comb and runs it through my hair. His little fingers assist him, flattening my hair in places and fluffing it up in others. Geez, my hair is short, there can’t be too much wrong with it. With a final tease to the back, he pulls away.    “There. Much more presentable.” He smiles for a bit, admiring his handywork, then whisks me away again. “Now come on, you’re late!”    “Late?!” I squawk. “Late for what?!”    “Your date! You’re late for your date!”    “DATE?! What the fuck are you talking about??!?!”    Before I can figure out what the hell kind of stunt Arturo’s trying to pull, he finally comes to a halt in front of a cute little 50’s-looking diner. I see Ace, Billy, and Grubber sitting at one of the patio tables outside the diner. Arturo finally lets me go and makes his way to the others. But where’s Snake?    “I’ve got her!” Arturo says, making his way to the other three. Ace stands up.    “About time! What da hell took yous so long?”    “Hey, I can only go so fast!” Arturo whines. I roll my eyes. I’m calling bullshit on that one.    “Okay, I’m here now, now can one of you idiots please tell me what the hell is going on??!?!”    Ace stands up, and dramatically points to the large restaurant window.    “Snake has been waitin’ in there for yous all by hisself for fifteen minutes now!”    “Wha—”    I cut myself off when I see Snake sitting at one of the little tables inside the diner. One of his arms rests on the table, and his legs are crossed. He’s absentmindedly playing with his hair again. His usual tanktop and shorts ensemble has been swapped for a cute turquoise off-shouldered top and a black skirt. His expression looks dazed, but with a twinge of something else… sadness? Worry? Restlessness? As if he’s expecting something major to happen. He looks so quaint sitting there, all dolled up. And then it hits me.    “You—” the realization leaves me gasping for air— “you guys set me up on a date with Snake?!”    “Ey, didn’t I tell yous that if ya didn’t make a move I was gonna do it for yous?” Ace puts his hands on his hips. I remember fully well that he said that, but I didn’t think he would actually go through with it, let alone so soon!    “Wh-what do I do?! I’m not prepared for this!!” I grab my hair out of nervousness.    “Hey!” Arturo yells. “I just fixed that!”    “What you need to do is just go in dere and be yourself,” Ace says. “The last thing yous wanna do is panic.”    “Dah—Snake will be happy to see you!” Billy beams.    “That’s right!” Grubber raspberries.    “Oh, by the way, you left your nice jacket at our place last night,” Arturo says. “It might come in handy right now.” He holds up my black motorcycle jacket. Shit, I forgot all about that thing.    “Haha, thanks guys.” I take the jacket and put it on. I take a quick glance at myself in the reflection on the window. I’m no Danny Zuko, but it’ll have to do.    “Now go on,” Ace says. “Your date awaits.” He gestures to Snake inside the diner. “Go get ‘im.” He claps my shoulder and pushes me toward the door.    “Good luck!” Billy yells.    I give an awkward wave to the rest of the gang, unable to say much more at this point. Oh god, I’m really doing this. I’m going on an impromptu date with Snake. Holy shit. I peer at him through the glass door and swallow the lump in my throat.    With a final burst of confidence, I push through the door and make my way to Snake’s table.    Snake’s head shoots up as he sees me enter. A wide, adorable smile breaks across his face. There’s no way he can be looking at me like that.    “Light! You’sss finally here!”    “Yeah sorry, I kinda didn’t know we were doing this until like five seconds ago, pardon me…” I chuckle nervously as I pull into the chair across from him.    “I wasss waiting for you~.” Snake smirks, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers and gazing into my soul with half-lidded eyes. God, he’s gorgeous. I tug at my shirt collar. Fuck, we just started and I’m already losing it, how am I supposed to keep my cool for an entire date with this creature?    “Haha… sorry to keep you waiting for so long…"    “It’sss alright.” Snake’s smile looks a bit less mischievous now. “Thisss whole thing wasss a little lassst-minute for me too.”    “At least Ace gave you time to pick a freaking outfit.”    Snake drops his composure and falls into hissy laughter.    “Yesss, it doesssn’t look like he gave you nearly asss much time, no offenssse."    “None taken. He literally had Arturo drag me out of the supermarket and fix my hair on the way here.”    “Really?” Snake giggles again. His laugh is so adorable, what the hell.    “Really. Luckily my sweet-ass jacket here makes up for my otherwise shitty presentation.” I smirk, or attempt one at least, pointing at my jacket.    “It really isss a niccce jacket. Black looksss good on you.”    “Thanks. Black looks pretty great on you too.” I gesture under the table towards his skirt.    “Thanksss…” He looks down and blushes, like he wasn’t expecting me to give him any compliments. Maybe he wasn’t. The gang was more used to having insults hurled at them. None of them really know how to respond to compliments. Snake twirls his hair again, daring a soft glance back up at me with those big eyes. Ace was right, he is rather shy. So cute. I open my mouth to say something, but a waitress comes to our table and interrupts me.    “Oh, is this the date you were waiting on?” she asks in an airy voice.    “Yesss,” Snake simply states.    “Aww, you didn’t have to wait for me, you could’ve ordered something.”    “It’sss okay, I wanted to wait.”    “Well, can I start you two off with something to drink?”    “Oh shoot, I didn’t even think about the menu.” I chuckle a bit, quickly picking up the menu and trying to find the beverage section. “Uuuhhh, I’m definitely gonna need a few minutes.”    “That’s alright.” She smiles warmly, then turns to Snake. “You?”    “Uhh, can I hasss the strawberry milkshake pleassse?” He turns to me. “Wait, do youss mind me ordering sssomething now?”    “Nah go ahead, you’ve waited on me long enough.” I lean back in my chair a bit.    “So a strawberry milkshake for you?”    “Yesss pleassse.”    “Alright then, coming right up!” The bubbly waitress heads back towards the kitchen.    “Crap, where even is the drinks section?”    “It’sss on the back.”    “Of course it is. Thanks.” I flip to the back, yep, there it is. I peer at the menu for a few seconds, then look back up at Snake. He’s studying his own menu, searching for something to eat, that tongue flickering out in that mesmerizing way, those ruby-red eyes skimming the page. It’s hard to focus on the menu with this beautiful creature sitting across from me. Suddenly, he makes a face and hisses a bit.    “Something wrong?”    “They don’t have mozzarella sssticksss.”    “What?! Those bastards!”    He giggles a bit. “Shame, I wasss looking forward to that.”    “I’m suing!” I joke.    “Pleassse don’t.”    “Here’s your milkshake!” The waitress suddenly comes back with Snake’s milkshake. Holy shit it's HUGE! Snake’s eyes widen in awe at the size of the thing.    “Oh my god. There’sss no way I’m gonna be able to finish thisss all by myssself.”    The waitress giggles. “Maybe you could share it with your date? I’ve got an extra straw.”    Snake immediately gets red-faced. I chuckle nervously.    “Haha, well I was just gonna get a root beer, but if you really need help finishing that…” I look to Snake for approval.    “Well… I guesss it’ll sssave usss money.” He smiles a bit.    “A wise decision!” The waitress plucks a second straw into the milkshake. “Either of you know what to order yet?”    “Errr…” I glance at the menu again. The bacon cheeseburger looks good, but so do the chicken tenders."    “The chili dog looksss good,” Snake says.    “Alright, and for you?” The waitress turns to me.    “I guess I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger.”    “Uh-huh, and do you guys want fries with that?”    “Yesss pleassse.”    “Alright, coming right up!” She skips back toward the kitchen. I turn to Snake, smiling a little.    “I like her. She’s really nice.”    “Yeah, she’sss a lot nicccer than everyone elssse here…”    I frown. “What do you mean? Was someone giving you shit before I showed up?”    “No, but everyone keepsss giving me weird looksss…”    I open my mouth to protest, but just one look around the room shows that everyone is, indeed, shooting judgmental looks our direction. A man quickly glancing over his shoulder with hate in his eyes. A little girl staring at us as if we were aliens. A woman side-eyeing us and whispering something to her friend—the only word of which I can pick up is “Gangreen”. The entry bell rings, and a young couple walks in, hand in hand, only to freeze in the doorway upon seeing us and immediately turn around and leave. I scowl. Who the hell do these people think they are?! I clear my throat and turn back to Snake.    “Are they making you uncomfortable? We can leave if you want.”    “But we ssstill need to get our food.”    “We can get it to go. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable on our first date.” I chuckle, trying to ease Snake up a bit. He looks down as if ashamed.    “That would be great, pleassse…” he says softly.    “Okay.” I look around and spot the waitress coming back from another table. “Excuse me!”    She turns to me with a surprised look. “Yes?"    “Is it alright if we get our food to-go? We gotta leave—”    “Oh. Of course!” She seems mildly disappointed at our departure, but retains her cheery disposition.    “Thank you!” I say as she walks away. Snake lowers his head.    “I’m sssorry…”    “Hey, don’t be sorry.” I smile at him, ghosting my hand over his. “I’m not gonna force you to stay here if you don’t want to.”    Snake looks up at me and smiles sadly. He looks really upset, but at least he seems appreciative. Poor boy. No one has the right to make the love of my life upset.    “Well… we may asss well have sssome of our milkshake before we go.”    “Oh yeah, I forgot about that, haha.” I quickly take a sip of the shake. “That’s pretty good.”    “Isss it?” Snake asks before leaning forward for his own sip. “Mmm. Ssso good.”    “Well I’m glad you enjoy it!” The waitress says, surprising both of us. Holy crap, that was fast. She sets down our food and the bill. I automatically fish the money out of my wallet; I wasn’t expecting Snake to pay for the food, nor do I want him stealing it.    “Thank you so much!” I say to her, leaving a tip on the table.    “You’re welcome! Come back anytime!” She gives a friendly wave goodbye and skips off to the kitchen. Snake runs out the door as I pay for our food as quickly as possible. As I meet him outside the door, Snake takes our shake from me.    “Thank you ssso much. I don’t know how much longer I could’ve ssstood that.”    “Not a problem. Where do you wanna go to eat this?”    “Doesss the park sssound okay?”    “The park sounds wonderful.” We begin to make our way toward the park, but Ace stops us from the patio table.    “Hey! Where are yous two goin’ so soon?”    “Snake didn’t want to be there anymore so we’re eating our food at the park!” I yell back at him.    “Oh.” Ace seems surprised. “Well uh, we’ll meet yous later!”    “Ssseeya Accce!”    It’s a rather short walk to the Townsville city park. Snake sips on the milkshake the entire way there. It’s a shame we had to leave the restaurant early, but at least it’s a nice day out. We find a random bench and sit down on it. I place Snake’s food in his lap and open my own.    “Ahhh… thisss isss much better. Nobody’sss bothering usss here—”    Snake cuts himself off as we hear an all-too familiar sound: the sound of a certain trio of little girls flying at breakneck speed towards us.    “Hold it right there, Gangreen Ga—err, Snake!” Blossom commands.    “And Light! I knew you were up to something!” Buttercup adds.    “No stealing on our watch!” Bubbles pouts.    Snake groans.    “Whoa whoa whoa girls,” I begin, “for your information, I paid for this food. I have the receipt right here. See?” I pull out the receipt and wave it in their faces.    “Oh yeah?” Buttercup challenges. “Then why were you two looking around and making sure there was nobody else nearby, huh?”    “Becaussse I wasss hoping we’d be left alone!” Snake hisses.    “Wait, what are you two doing here without the rest of the gang, anyway?” Blossom inquires.    “We’sss on a date,” Snake says rather proudly, hooking his arm around mine and putting his free hand on my shoulder. My face has gotta be as red as Blossom’s bow right now.    “Aww, that’s so sweet!” Bubbles gushes. “You make such a cute couple!”    “Bubbles,” Buttercup growls through her teeth.    “Thank you, Bubblesss,” Snake says, ignoring Buttercup. He snuggles into my side a bit more. Is he just doing this so the Puffs will leave us alone or is it genuine???    “Well, alright, you’re off the hook for now, but we’ve got our eyes on you!” Blossom says. With that, the Puffs fly away, but not before Buttercup shoots one last angry look at us over her shoulder.    “Finally.” Snake slouches into the bench. “Can I pleassse eat my food now?!”    “I think so.” I chuckle. Snake immediately digs into his chili dog. I decide not to question his little display of affection and instead try to focus on my burger.    The next few minutes are spent mostly in silence as we eat our food. Snake’s completely devouring his chili dog, and he snatches a few fries out of my box from time to time. He’s acting like he’s about starving. Hell, he probably is. It’s hard finding food when you don’t have any money to pay for it. I can’t help but chuckle when he finishes his dog.    “What’sss ssso funny?” he asks.    “You’ve got chili sauce all over your face!” I laugh.    “Oh.” Snake’s eyes peer down at himself, and he licks it all off with a single swipe of that crazy tongue. I laugh again as Snake raises the milkshake.    “Want a sssip?” he offers.    “Sure…” I lean forward to take one of the straws, and Snake’s at the other straw in an instant. Shit, our faces are really close. Oh god, he’s making eye contact. Fuck. He bats those long eyelashes a few times and I’m hooked. I swallow the shake and my pride. Even as he pulls away I’m still locked into his gaze. He laughs at me a bit.    “Why do you look ssso shocked?” he asks playfully. I let go of my straw.    “Well I uhhh—I just wasn’t expecting you to do that.”    “Isssn’t that why the niccce waitresss gave usss two strawsss?” He snatches another one of my fries and winks. I have to try not to choke on my own breathlessness.    “I-I-I mean I guess, haha…”    “By the way, are youss gonna finish that?” He points to the last couple bites of my burger. I look down at it for a second or two, then quickly shove it into my mouth.    “Yesh!” I say through a full mouth.    “Good, becaussse I’m ssstealing the ressst of your friesss.”    “Hey!”    He snatches my fries away from me before I can even think about stopping him. Whatever, he can have them. He stands up and throws our empty boxes in the trash. Then, he grabs my hand, pulling me off the bench.    “Wha—”    “Now come on, let’sss go!”    “Go where?”    “Anywheress!”    With that, he takes off running, dragging me along with him. This is the second time today I’ve been dragged into running by a green boy. Though this time, despite my lack of running ability, it’s not as unpleasant. Maybe it’s because Snake’s closer to my height. Or maybe it’s because I actually know what’s going on. Or… fuck it, it’s because I’m in love with him. He leads me into a more wooded area of the park, and the way the sunlight slips in between the trees makes it look like something out of a fairytale. He looks over his shoulder at me as he runs, and the sun illuminates every curve and angle of his face, rolling like waves over that beautiful hair as it sways, and bouncing off his shoulders. But then he flashes a smile that puts the sunshine to shame.    “Come on, ssslowpoke!”    “I—I’m trying!”    Even if I was a good runner, I’d still be struggling to catch my breath at the stunning sight before me. His head is turned back in front of him now, but the image of Snake in the sunlight is still fresh in my mind. Suddenly, he comes to a halt, and I realize he’s taken me to—a pond?    “I didn’t know there was a pond in this park,” I say breathlessly.    “You obviousssly haven’t been in Townsssville long enough.” Snake gives me a playful nudge with his elbow and crouches at the shore of the pond. I stand next to him, leaning forward a bit. He swirls his finger around in the water, a wide smile plastered across his face. I’m surprised at how much he seems to be enjoying this date. No one is ever this giddy around me. The idea of Snake actually being happy in my company makes me think that maybe I do have a chance with him after all.    But what if he’s just faking it? What if he only agreed to the date out of sympathy? And that he’s only pretending to have fun so that I don’t feel bad? My heart immediately freefalls into my stomach. How do I know I’m not annoying the crap out of him? Everyone else always ran away from me because I was too much. Why would Snake be any different?    “What’sss wrong?”    “You seem to be having fun for someone who was forced into a date,” I blurt. Snake’s brows furrow.    “Forccced?”    “…Well yeah, I mean, Ace did set us up.” I stuff my hands in my pockets. Since I already dug myself into this hole, I may as well find out the truth.    “I wasssn’t forced,” Snake says rather defensively.    “But I thought you said it was last-minute—”    “I had to get ready at the lassst minute. Accce wasn’t forcccing me into thisss date. I didn’t have to go if I didn’t wantss to. If anything, I thought you were the forccced one.” What?!    “No no, absolutely not!” My hands fly out of my pockets and up in front of me as if I were telling him to stop. “I wanted to go on a date with you, I’ve been wanting to, I mean—” crap. He wasn’t supposed to know that much. His eyes are wide with surprise, a red blush staining his face and his fingers hovering over his parted lips.    “Ssso… you’re not jussst… doing thisss to be niccce?”    “Hell no! I thought that’s what you were doing!”    “That’sss not true…” Snake’s expression slowly morphs from shock into sheer glee. And then, suddenly, he lunges into a hug. Holy shit. He’s hugging me. The love of my life is hugging me. For a moment, all I can do is stand there stupefied at the feeling of his arms around my midsection. My face heats up as he nuzzles my neck. Cautiously, I wrap my arms around his tiny waist, keeping him close. He fits so perfectly. I think I’m gonna cry. I love him so much. I wanna kiss him so badly, but that would be creepy. I feel him tighten his embrace a bit. I had no idea he was so affectionate. I rub his back a bit, to which he responds with a soft humming noise. I gotta tell him how I feel.    “Snake?” I begin.    “Hmmm?” He turns his head and looks up at me with those eyes. Shit, I’ll be lucky if I can even do this.    “…There’s something I gotta tell you…”    “Oh?” He pulls away from our hug, but I keep my arms around him. “Pleassse tell.” He moves his hands to my shoulders. I swallow a lump in my throat for at least the third time today.    “Well… urgh, how do I even say this… err, Ace didn’t say anything about why he pulled me out of the shack last night, did he?    “Not asss far asss I know.”    “Oh, oh well that talk we had might explain some of this. B-basically, Ace was pushing me to… to… well, make a move. Y-you know, do this whole da-date thing on my own. But, I-I-I got scared. I mean, it’s not easy to just waltz up to your crush like ‘hey I like you, wanna go out with me?’ haha…” I raise one hand to prod at the back of my neck. Shit, there goes my diarrhea of the mouth again. Snake gasps softly.    “Youss… I’m your crush?” He sounds dumbfounded. I lower my head a little.    “…Yeah. It’s been that way since… since I started hanging out with you guys regularly. I just… you’re so amazing. I’ve never met anyone like you. Well, I’ve never met anyone like any of you guys, but you… you’re special. Like… you’re so… you’re so slick, and sassy, and adorable, and beautiful and—you’re everything I’ve ever wanted.” I shoot him an awkward smile. Now he really looks stunned. His eyes have completely rounded out, and his jaw looks like it’s going to fall off his face any second now. He shakes his head a bit, his hair gently fluttering from the movement.    “I-I don’t know what to sssay, I…” He struggles to catch his breath. “…That’sss the sssweetessst thing anyone’sss ever sssaid to me…” His brows curve upward as a sort of sad smile stretches across his face. “After all thessse yearsss of being outcasssted, shunned, and being called thingsss like ugly, freak, undesssirable…” His voice cracks at that last bit. He looks up at me, his eyes filled with water and something I’ve never seen before. His bottom lip quivers as he speaks up again.    “It feelsss amazing to finally be loved.”    With that, he buries his face in my shoulder and sobs. Oh shit, I didn’t mean to make him cry! I hold him in a tight embrace, gently stroking his hair.    “Hey, don’t cry,” I breathe, “It’s gonna be okay. I’ve got you. Shhhh.” I rock him back and forth a bit to soothe him. His shoulders shake, and his fingers dig into my jacket. I can already feel my shoulder getting wet. It seems like his tears are of happiness, so I guess I should be flattered? But I don’t want him to cry anymore. I rub his back again; that seems to help, as his sobbing subsides. After a moment or two, he raises his head from my shoulder, wiping some of the tears from his reddened cheeks.    “I’m ssso sssorry, I’m sssuch a messss right now…”    “It’s alright, I’m sorry for making you such a mess.” I chuckle, hoping some humor will ease him a bit. My breath hitches as his fingers creep up my face. He glances at me with a soft expression, and I’m pretty sure the entire city can hear my heartbeat right now.    “And for what it’sss worth,” his breath is still shaky, “I feel the sssame.”    Wait what?    “I—wha—haha, that’s funny. You’re funny.” Now it’s my turn to lose my breath. Snake pouts.    “I literally jussst cried on your shoulder, and you’re ssstill sssurprisssed?” I open my mouth to say yeah, I honestly am, but he presses a finger to my lips. “Shhhh. I don’t want any ssself-depreciative commentsss out of you. You’re ssso fun to be around. You makess me laugh, and feel sssafe. And I… I like your loud voiccce and your posssitive attitude. And how you’re ssso unique. And with how youss’ve been treating me today, I’m convinccced that we’re jussst… meant to be.” Holy shit, did I just hear all that right? I resist the urge to make sure there’s no gunk in my ears.    “…Now I think I’m gonna cry.”    “That’sss okay, my shoulder’sss open.” He smiles and pats his shoulder. I sniffle. Shit, I might actually cry. I brush some of his hair out of his face and tuck it behind his ear. He closes his eyes, leaning into my touch. When he opens them again, I can now recognize that new thing in his eyes—love. Can this be true? I sniffle again. Whatever did I do to deserve—    Rustle!    I turn my head around to inspect the bushes behind me. “What the hell?”    “That wasss probably jussst an animal or sssomething.”    “Well, whatever it is better leave us alone! We’re trying to have a moment here!” Snake giggles at my outburst. I turn back to him, playing with a lock of his hair. “Now where were we, hmmm?”    “Youss may or may not have been about to cry.”    “Ah, yeah, eh, I don’t think I wanna do that.” I chuckle. Snake smiles, but then it fades as he appears unsure.    “When you were sssaying all thossse niccce thingsss… you sssaid… youss called me beautiful…”    “Yep,” I say matter-of-factly. He smiles shyly.    “No one’sss ever called me that before.”    “Guess I’m the only one with taste around here.” His soft, hissy laughter fills my ears once more.    “You’re too sssweet.” He leans his head on my shoulder. God, he’s so precious. It occurs to me that my arms are still loosely around him, so I tighten my embrace.    Rustle rustle!    “Damn critters,” I mumble.    “That’sss an uncharacterissstic thing for animal-loving Light to sssay,” Snake teases.    “Hey, I’m trying to have a moment with my boyfriend, I don’t want anything ruining it.”    “Oh ssso I’m your boyfriend now?” he asks with that same teasing tone.    “Well I—” my arms instinctively retract to my sides. “I assumed that, after all this, it meant we were… you know…”    “I’m jussst messssing with youss.” He grabs my arms and pulls them back around him. “Now get theessse back here. Your boyfriend never sssaid you could ssstop hugging him.” He gives me a wink that makes me wanna melt into a puddle.    “Ahahahaha….”    CRACK!    SNAP!    THUNK!    “Okay, what the fuck?!” I yell. Snake and I both turn around to look behind us and see what all that commotion was. There’s a strange figure flopped on the ground in front of the bushes. The person lifts their head, and we see it’s—    “Grubber?!”    “Oh hi.” Grubber’s usual raspberry noise takes on an embarrassed tone. He waves sheepishly.    “Dahhh, you okay Grubber?” Billy suddenly pops up from overtop the bushes.    “Way ta go guys,” Ace scolds, climbing out of the shrubbery. “Now yous given us away!”    “Boss!” Arturo harshly whispers through clenched teeth, sliding out from under the bushes. He makes a “cut” gesture with his hand. How long have they all been there?!    “What are you guysss…” Snake trails off as it clicks in his brain. “Were you ssspying on usss?!”    “Whaaaat?!” Ace laughs nervously. “Spyin’?! Wha— what’a yous talkin’ about?? We wasn’t spyin’ on yous! Hehe, we’s ain’t spies, right guys?” The other three hurriedly agree. Snake glares at them, clearly not amused.    “Oh yeah sure, what else could you guys have been doing?” I huff.    “Birdwatchin’!” Ace quips. I raise one eyebrow at him.    “You? Birdwatching? Really?”    “Y-yeah, sure! Right guys?”    “Billy like pretty birds~,” Billy says in a sing-song voice.    “I don’t believe it for a sssecond,” Snake says, his hands returning to my shoulders.    “Me neither,” I agree. We both laugh for a moment.    “Ey boss,” Arturo starts, “it’s getting a little late. Should we go home?”    “Oh…” Snake fretfully looks up and notices the sun beginning to set, his thick brows curving upward. “How isss it thisss late already?”    “Ey ya know what they say, time flies when ya havin’ fun.” Ace winks at us. Snake’s fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt.    “I don’t want thisss to end,” he says. It’s so soft, almost a whisper, and it’s more to me than the rest of the gang.    “Neither do I,” I mumble, hugging him. “But hey, there’s always tomorrow.” I smile at him, and he returns it.    “I guesss you’re right.”    “Alright guys, let’s amscray before da Powa’puffs get on our case for somethin’.” Ace starts to make his way back to the shack, and the rest of us follow suit.    “It already happened to usss onccce, I really don’t needss that again,” Snake says.    “Wait, really?” Ace looks over his shoulder at Snake in disbelief.    “Yeah, they thought we stole the restaurant food and didn’t realize we were on a date,” I explain.    “Well those little Powa-pukes.”    “Dude, Be quiet! They might hear us!”    “Yeah boss, you need to control that loud obnoxious voice,” Arturo states bluntly.    “Ey, her voice is just as loud an’ obnoxious as mine!” Ace argues.    “Yeah but I don’t talk smack about the Powerpuff Girls!”    “My god, Light, you’s such a goody-two-shoes, why do we’s even let yous hang out with us?”    “Becaussse she’sss sssweet, that’sss why,” Snake says, hugging my arm. Suddenly I’m a stuttering, flustered mess again.    “Ah-well I uh, I mean uhhh, I-I-I just—”    “Shoulda neva’ asked.” Ace turns his head away from us and stuffs his hands in his pockets in annoyance. We all laugh at him a bit. Suddenly, Snake shivers beside me.    “You getting’ cold?”    “Jussst a little.”    I immediately take off my jacket and drape it over his narrow shoulders. He perks up, surprised by the gesture. “Oh, won’t youss get cold now?”    “Nah, I’ll be fine,” I insist. “And even if I was, you’re even worse than me when it comes to getting cold, so it’s better if you have it.”    “Thanksss.” He leans his head on my should as I slip my arm around his waist.    We stay like that the rest of the way to the shack, silently enjoying each other’s company as we listen to the rest of the gang blabber on about whatever. A few occasional laughs escape our chests, as is inevitable when you’re friends with these doofuses. But mostly my mind is in a whirlwind of disbelief as I process everything that happened today. I actually went on a date with Snake. And he actually enjoyed it. Fuck, we confessed our feelings to each other! And he even said he was my boyfriend! Wait, holy shit, I have a boyfriend now? Does this mean I’m his girlfriend? Holy shit, I’m Snake’s girlfriend. This can’t be true. This is too good to be true. This must be some kind of crazy dream. And now he’s actually cuddling up to me like this?? Damn, if this really is a dream, then dream me is one lucky bastard.    “What’sss with that dopey sssmile on your faccce?” Snake teases, snapping me out of my daze.    “I’m just wondering how I managed to land the most beautiful boy in Townsville,” I blurt. Snake’s face turns beet red.    “Okay now you’re jussst sssaying that.”    Ace makes a vomiting noise. “Why did I think settin’ yous two up was a good idea?”    “It’s called consequences, Boss,” Arturo says.    “No, I really meant that,” I say to Snake, ignoring Ace and Arturo. “I didn’t mean to say it so quickly but I meant every word!”    Snake smiles as he struggles to make eye contact. “Thanksss, but… I don’t thinkss I’m very attractive.”    “Well you know what they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I cup his face with one hand, and he leans into the touch.    “Okay DIS is ridiculous!” Ace blurts.    “Quit ruining the moment, Ace!”    “Yous really think he’s prettier than me?!”    I shrug. “Sorry, dude.”    “Dis is bullshit!” Ace storms into the shack and slams the door. The rest of us laugh.    “What an asssshole,” Snake says.    “I know, right?" We laugh again as Snake takes my hand off his face and holds it in his own.    “Thanksss for everything today. I had an amazing time.”    I chuckle a bit. “Hey, not a problem. As much of an asshole Ace is being right now, he’s the one we gotta thank for this.”    “I don’t think he’ll accept our thanksss for sssomething he regretsss doing now.”    We laugh once more. Then, suddenly, I feel something warm, soft, and slightly wet on my cheek. My face immediately feels like its been set on fire. Did… did he just… ?!    “D’aawwwww,” Billy coos. Snake starts to head towards the door.    “Ssseeya tomorrow, Light,” Snake says, raspy voice dripping with honey.    “Y-y-yeah, seeya Snake.” I can feel that dopey grin plastered on my face once more. Snake opens the door to the shack, but before he goes in, he looks over his shoulder at me one last time. I don’t think he realizes he still has my jacket on, but at this point I don’t care if he keeps the damn thing. He smiles that beautiful, charming smile, and for a moment time stands still. I awkwardly wave at him, too stupefied by the overwhelming happiness to say anything. Snake gives a little wave back, and then he goes inside, that hair swooshing behind him as the door closes. I stand there in shock, until Arturo’s slow clapping snaps me out of it.    “You sly dog,” he says.    “Dahh congrats!” Billy cheers.    “Haha, thanks guys!” I high-five Grubber as I make my way home. My heart does a victory dance the entire way, happy that I finally got the green boy who ssstole my heart.

[manimaindo]

H A P P I N E S S

I don’t know why people make it so fucking hard to have fun or just enjoy themselves. I get it that sometimes people wake up on the wrong side of the bed or, after a long day of work or bullshit that’ll wear you out. I get it we’re humans and we can endure so much. But i call bullshit on that, people now-a-days are just pussies. They’ll find any excuse or make some up to counter someone putting them in their place or giving them the answers to start the process of getting them out of their own situation. But fuck it, you now how the old-gen makes fun of us “Millennial's” for being soft. I totally agree on that, & that’s coming from a 19-year-old lol. But with me i feel like im part of the 1% in my generation or millennial group. To sum it up in a short saying, i would call myself “ young at heart but, with an old mind. “ Like i said in my first post, i don’t consider myself on the same status with people my age. Im not saying im perfect but shit compared to the shit i see on fucking IG stories, past acquaintances, or shit my brother talks about. It reminds me of how right the old-gen is about us. But holy fuck. at the end of the day we’re all humans nobody ain’t better then someone else. We need time to ourselves or with another/group of people to unwind. I’m a strong believer of “ Enjoy the little things in Life “ because that’s all you need or, i’ll just call it the essentials. You need to do some simple things like sleep in, go out sight seeing, eat or drink at a low-key spot,etc. BTW if you didn’t notice that’s what i do lolz. I’ll definitely post about the shit i do to have fun/unwind in my life currently. Or i’ll just tie that in with another topic of coming up with. But the bottom line is happiness doesn’t mean just only matter on the factor of when you’re bored or again done with the day’s bullshit. It starts with the environment you wake up to. Down to the bed & room you sleep in. Unless your not done with HS then nigga you SOL ( SHIT. OUTTA. LUCK. ) But the minute your 18 ( at least if you’re in the US, that’s the age you’re considered an adult, idk bout you foreign dudes. ) From that point on you’re finally in charge of your own life. No more having your hand held by the person of people who raised you. They’re are not in charge of you or obligated anymore to help you. If they do its outta love or some other shit. Nigga life aint sunshine & motherfuckin’ rainbows. You can’t get mad at someone for not supporting you anymore. People other than your selfish ass can get tired as well. You’re lucky they gave up or stopped at that point when your now a grown ass person. They could of taken the dead beat dad option and just dipped on you. Shit nothings guaranteed in life. Shit some of you little bitches should of grown up in fucked up lives or at least should of switched spots at birth with someone who was destined to go thru one. So it could of toughened you up and spare someone the pain they didn’t deserve. You cant say to yourself or whoever that you cant do or get something in life because of the past or the situation your in. The sad thing is, when you ask someone how they got to a certain point or how to get somewhere in the future. 9 times outta 10 they know how to get there, maybe not in detail but the know the broad idea of the process. Its common fucking sense, not everyone knows a detailed answer to everything. But they can point you to right direction. The thing that needs to stop, is you being a lazy fuck & a pussy while you’re at it. I get it at some points you’re gonna slip up because you’re tired or because you might go back to your old ways for a bit. It’s natural, you’re rehabilitating yourself. You just gotta remember of the past and/or your accomplishments to keep you on the right track. Keep setting yourself small goals as a sort of checkpoint to your main goal. A smart man that left us too soon said “ You get what the fuck you deserve. Point,Blank,Period. “ You gotta have a environment that you enjoy either to yourself or with someone else, whatever makes you feel comfortable. You gotta have a job or career that you enjoy, so that every morning when you wake up eat and get ready for, you aren’t dreading the ride there and the entire time you’re doing it. So at least you don’t come home pissed, just tired. Then anything and everything beyond that, you just tailor it to your lifestyle. By then you will have matured more than you could ever believed. You’re welcome fuckers, i just gave you the answer to life. Lets just see who has the balls to take it, No Homo.                           - M A N I

[sonofadeanwinchester]

You, Me & Evanstan (5)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Summary: Premier with the guys ;)

Words: 1,742

Sebastian Stan x Reader ; Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: Swearing .. flirting

A/N: Is anyone actually reading this thing?

Tags: @221bshrlocked @potterhead1265 @pawallday @titty-teetee @shellymaesworld @chameerah @thejemersoninferno @sarahp879

Two weeks later, I was napping in my bedroom when Sebastian barges in demanding I wake up. I rubbed my eyes, still half asleep and cursed at him in a series of mumbles. "What in God's name do you want?" It was a little after 3 pm, no time for an adult to be napping, but here I lay.

Seb's eyes grew large and panicked. "Get up."

As I stood, I whined loudly, making sure he heard me. He grabbed for my arms, dragging me to his bedroom. "What the hell? Sebastian, I'm awake, Christ."

He shook his head, "Listen to me, I forgot about the premier that is tonight! For the new movie I'm not allowed to talk about," he chuckled, but cleared his throat coming back to the point. "Anyway, I forgot to get a date, usually a girlfriend or my mom but I'm SOL for them, so, pretty please with a gumdrop on top, will you .. go with me .. tonight?" He clenched his jaw and made a face, waiting for a reply.

"Are you serious?"

"'Look at my face and tell me I'm not 100% serious. (Y/N)! Answer me, or else I have to go solo..." He played nervously with his dark locks that always danced between black and brown. "Sweetheart, I need an answer." He continued after I didn't reply.

"I guess so."

He engulfed my body against his in excitement. "Thank you! You're a life saver!" I nodded, scared to death of his reaction. "Mikayla and Suri will be here in a half hour for wardrobe and makeup. Take a shower, you're starting to smell like the apartment." He winked and ran off to the bathroom.

I mumbled under my breath, "How the fuck am I suppose to shower if you hog the stupid thing?"

Chris came to me, looking confused. "Hey, listen."

"Uh, don't really have the time but walk with me and I'll try."

Chris followed close behind my short steps, sitting on my bed as I fumbled with my clothing. I stripped down to my underwear and a tank top. Chris has seen me like this before but he's never seen me do this in front of him. But right now, I'm too rushed to give a damn. "So."

I nodded, standing in front of the mirror. "So?"

"So ... there is a premier thing tonight and-."

"Lemme guess, you forgot about it. You are SOL for dates, meaning no girlfriend and mother is out of town or whatever and you want me to be your date?"

He looked around the room, confusion dancing in his turquoise eyes, "How did you know that?"

I grinned, "Dude, I'm psychic." He looked at me like I had six heads. "Just kidding ... uh, Seb just asked me the same thing."

"Oh." If I didn't know better, I'd say he was disappointed. "Okay, uh, I'll call around, see if anyone is available." He smiled awkwardly and left me alone.

Half an hour later, I was sitting in a chair in Sebastian's room, a tall African American woman, I'm assuming is Mikayla was behind me doing something wild with my hair. In her thick accent, she kept repeating that my hair was dead, needed some TLC, and other things. So, I gave her permission to cut off whatever was dead and basically go to town. I sat in the chair in the beginning with long locks, now cut to shoulder length and dyed a dirty blonde color. I hardly recognized myself. She curled it in large ringlets and sent me down the hall for wardrobe.

A tall platinum haired male stood in front of me now, Suri I guess, was picking out dresses for me that he thought complimented my curvy body. He hung twenty different dresses in the bathroom, waiting patiently for me to enter the room each time after slipping one on. This process took about forty-five minutes. Eventually, he settled on a mid-thigh cut black lace dress and a pair of matte black heels. He was the makeup artist as well, doing my face up in dark lashes, plump red lips and a smokey eye. I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to distinguish myself.

I stepped out into the hall, finding Sebastian done nicely up in a black tux, black shirt, black everything really. And he looked fine as hell. "Damn boy, you clean up well."

He stared at me, jaw slack. "Holy shit."

I made a pained face, "I know .. too much, right?"

He shook his head, a coy look on his face. "Not at all, just ... you look beautiful."

I chewed my bottom lip, cheeks turning rosy. "Thank you."

Sebastian licked his lips, a nervous habit I noticed, and cleared his throat. "Chris already left."

"Uh, okay. He asked me shortly after you if I would accompany him on this very special night." I winked at him playfully.

He smiled, thin-lipped. "Really?"

I nodded, "Did he find someone?"

He shook his head, shrugging, "Guess we'll find out. The limo is downstairs waiting."

The drive there was short and my stomach was doing cartwheels. I was bouncing my knee, my nervous habit, to the low volume music. Sebastian reached over and placed his hand gently on my knee. I smiled, running my fingers over the lace. "I'm just really nervous."

He smiled smugly, "Nah. No big deal, we just have to stop every few steps for pictures, answer a few questions and then we can head inside, okay?" I nodded but apparently I wasn't convincing him. "I'll be by your side the whole time okay." I nodded again, breathing more steady now.

The driver pulled up to the carpet and I could already hear the piercing screams of young fans. Sebastian opened the door and stepped out. The wave of excitement raised a few notched when they caught eye of who was exiting the limo. He smiled at them politely and reached his hand into me, helping me slide across the leather. I stepped out onto the carpet and there was hundreds of people, every which direction. He placed my hand in the crook of his elbow and guided me along the carpet. We made it in front of the first background, photographers snapping pictures, the flash blinding me. I laughed and smiled, trying not to flinch from the bright lights.

We walked a few more steps and I noticed Chris standing there, alone, hand in pocket smiling confidently. He caught my sight and his face radiated. He walked briskly back to us, give Seb a high five and hugging me tightly. He stood on my other side, the three of us posing for a picture. "Doll, you look positively beautiful tonight."

I ducked my head in response, smiling at him. "Thanks Chris, you look dashing yourself." He was in your standard suit, tie replaced with an open collar.

Seb pulled me along gently until we reached the reporters. I heard questions left and right, their names being yelled from everyone. One lady in the front directed her question at Sebastian. "Excuse me? Sebastian, who is this beautiful lady you have brought with you tonight."

He smiled widely, bringing my close to his side. "This is (Y/N), she's my best friend and roommate."

The crowd went wild at that statement. Another question from an older gentleman. "Chris, did you come with (Y/N) as well?"

He shook his head, "Unfortunately no, Sebastian snatched her up before I had the chance to ask her."

"Excuse me, (Y/N)." I looked at her, confused. She smiled, "Yes, just one simple question, how is it being best friends with two of the most popular actors in the MCU?"

I chuckled, "Well, honestly. They are just two regular guys, trying to live their life to the fullest and I'm blessed to call them my best friends."

Before we could answer anymore questions, Sebastian dragged me down the carpet further. We reached the end, where there was another few journalist, "Sebastian!" He looked at them and smiled, that one hundred megawatt smile that captured the whole world. I scooted down the aisle further, posing for pictures by myself. I caught a glimpse of Seb, answering questions with a laugh.

"(Y/N)! Over here!" I followed the voice to a young man, roughly in his early twenties. "Hi! Welcome to your first premier! How are you doing?"

I smiled, "Thank you! I'm doing pretty well all things considered. It's a bit more overwhelming than I imagined."

He chuckled, "That's to be expected. Did you come with Sebastian or Chris tonight?"

"Uh, I came with Sebastian."

He nodded, writing something down. "So, are you two an item now?"

I laughed out loud, tossing my newly cut locks around. "Uh, no. We're not. We're just really good friends."

He furrowed his brow, and clucked his tongue. "I don't know. Maybe the friends thing is only on your side. The way I see it, he seems pretty doe eyed when he's around you."

I snorted, "Sebastian is just a really loving person. He has been affectionate towards me since day one. This is nothing out of the ordinary."

He nodded, "Sure. What about Chris?"

I chortled, "What about him?"

He scoffed, "You know he is crazy about you as well, right?"

"HA!" I actually made a laughing noise. "Wow, okay. No, Chris is just a good friend, nothing more."

"Mhmm, well here they come, shall we ask them?"

Before I could stop him or even reply, he was shoving the same question in their faces. "So, are either of you interested in this fine specimen?"

Both, BOTH, of them went deep red. Chris shook his head, "Uh, to be quiet frank, that's none of your business. And also, she is just a really good person to be around and I'm very fortunate to have her in my life." He walked away from the reporter, running his hands through his light brown hair.

I looked at him, confused. That was weird. He directed the same question to Sebastian. "You know, Rich, to be honest, I love her with all my heart. She's a very good person, she's kind, caring, loving, hilarious, smart, beautiful. And I'm blessed to have her as a friend. And right now, that's all we are. Who knows what the future may hold but you know." After that he whisked me away inside before I could clear the air.

[tamcitrus]

vacation night

pairing: Benimaru Shinmon x f!reader

genre: nsfw (i really tried giving it a background, i really did)

warnings: spit play, spanking, slight dom/sub, breath play?, little degradation

words: 2.7 k

summary: working as a fire force officer you inevitably met and worked with the Seventh Company’s Captain and you grew a soft spot for him, so you went to visit him on your “vacations”

tam’s notes: it’s finally here, my first Fire Force fic. I knew as soon as I saw this man that I had to write for him. I hope my fellow Benimaru lovers enjoy reading this as much as I did while writing it.

tags: @writeiolite​ , @shinsotired​ , @loneveenas​ , @vventure​

"Ugh, you here again?" Benimaru walked past you and his friend, with the twins behind him. "I'm not interested in what you have to say, so please leave."

He was already in the next room when he finished talking.

"I'm sorry, he's… stubborn," Konro explained.

"Oh, don't worry, Konro-san. I can assure you I'm even more stubborn," you laughed. "Do you know a nice place where I can stay the night? I won't bother him now, I don't want to ruin your dinner."

"We have extra rooms, you can stay here if you like."

"Thanks. I'll take a look around the city and I'll be back," you smiled at the gentle man that made you company until now.

You walked around the city, bought some candies and went to sit by the river under the moonlight. A few minutes later you heard steps behind you and a big arm brushed yours when a person sat by your side.

"Why are you still here? Didn't I make myself clear?" Benimaru couldn't understand what it was about you that made him nervous.

"I'm not here for official business," you explained.

You were sitting on a bench facing the river and the man by your side had his back facing the river. You couldn't quite see the other's face but it wasn't necessary.

"I might apply for a new company," you whispered.

"We don't take people outside Asakusa," he anticipated.

"You don't."

"I'm not in charge."

"I'll ask Konro-san then."

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue and sighed. "Why―?"

"I like Asakusa. I'd like to be away from the Holy Sol Temple for a while…"

"Take some vacations," he said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

You burst out in laughter. You couldn't believe a man this powerful could be so dense sometimes.

"I'm not making myself clear, I see. I'm here for you.”

He sighed. He had his suspicions and he was right.

“I don’t have time for this,” he answered.

You stayed silent. You had your suspicions too. Benimaru Shinmon didn’t look like a man interested in a relationship or any kind of romance. He had his job and his kingdom. And he was satisfied with it.

“Try not to wake up anyone when you come back to the headquarters,” he said as he walked away.

You smiled at him and observed his shadow disappear in the night. It was ok, you weren't hurt. It was just a simple crush on him, not like he was the love of your life or something. He could be but whatever.

You waited a few long minutes to stand up and walk back to the Seventh Company headquarter. Konro left a note with the room he had prepared for you and a little map to not get lost or get into someone else’s room, all of them marked with an X. You walked there and stared at the ceiling for another long period of time. You weren’t getting any sleep that night, you just knew, so you decided to leave. But you couldn’t leave without any notice so you wrote a note for Benimaru and walked to his door ―which Konro kindly pointed in the map with a different mark― to leave it there.

Once there, the curiosity bit you. You couldn’t hear anything, not even the slightest sign of his breathing, so you slowly opened the door to get inside and deliver your note.

It all happened so fast. You barely saw a flash of fire and then a hand in your throat had you pinned against the wall, without making a sound.

“Easy there, destruction king,” you said. He had your throat in one hand and your hand with the note in the other. “It's just me.”

“I could’ve killed you. What the fuck―?”

“Just wanted to leave a note before going my way,” you interrupted, as calm as you could with him all over you. “I didn’t think you would be so territorial.”

“Do you know how many people have tried something against me? Sneaking here and shit?”

“Pretty sure after a few tries they learned their lesson,” you joked.

“Are you leaving?” he asked without letting go even a little bit.

“I had a nice stay here today but I have to go,” you shrugged.

“What are you even wearing? In the middle of the night are you gonna walk out like this? Without a uniform?”

“A dress. Civilian clothes, Beni, I'm on vacation, remember? You should try it sometime,” you said, the pressure on your neck a bit lighter. “You’d look good without―”

Without your uniform, that's what you wanted to say. His mouth was over yours before you could mock him one more time. You made him come closer to you with your leg around his waist. He let go your arm and neck to grab your legs, you held to his shoulders to jump and cling to him. His torso had you against the wall as his hands explored your thighs.

You didn’t waste a second thinking about how he rejected you a few hours ago. You couldn't focus on anything else but his hands and his tongue, that wet muscle that was now tracing the veins from your neck to your shoulder. You moaned as his big hands grabbed your ass as hard as he could. He walked to his bed and let you fall there, as if you weighed nothing. You gasped when you felt your body hit his mattress. He was taking off his clothes without getting his eyes off of you for a second. It was almost like a lion stalking his prey before jumping to its neck to end the job.

“You’re big under all those oversized clothes,” you commented.

“You talk a lot,” he said.

“Want me to use my mouth for something else besides talking?” you smiled, you put up the most innocent smile that you could in that situation.

He sighed and rolled your dress up to your waist to position himself between your legs. You rolled your eyes at him even when he couldn’t see you. He bit your inner thigh and you closed your legs on pure instinct. You tried to, at least, but Benimaru’s hands held your legs at a safe distance from his head as he kept going up your skin and finally got to the point. He kissed your clothed clit and his mouth went up to your pelvis and belly until he met your dress again. He clicked his tongue and stood up to take your dress in his hands and ripped it apart, like it was a buttoned shirt.

You opened your mouth to complain but all you left out was a moan when you felt Benimaru’s mouth over your nipple. You tangled your hands in his hair and you were surprised by how soft it was. You threw your arm down between your bodies and took his erection on your hand to jack him off. He was… huge. Just like everything else on him, he was big and intimidating. His broad shoulders and chest, his big hands that could easily cover your whole face in one touch, he was just so powerful and big.

“What’s wrong?” he said and stopped to look at you. His different eyes looked at you through long locks of hair and even in the dark you could see a little blush on his face.

“Nothing,” you cleared your throat and moved your hand again before spacing out in your thoughts again.

Why get lost in a thought if you had the original one all over your body and kissing you in that same moment? You pulled his hair to hear him make some noise one more time, just in case you were dreaming. He growled when you moved your hips up and grinded your wet underwear against his bare dick.

“Just fuck me already, Beni,” you whispered on his ear as you tried to get rid of your underwear.

He helped you to get it off and then step back to admire your naked form on his bed. He also set your panty on fire, as if that little piece of fabric just did the most unforgivable thing to him. You giggled as you bent your knees and spread your legs open for him. He stood right in front of you again and took two of his fingers to his mouth and then to your pussy. You wiggled your hips at his touch so he rested one knee between your legs and put his other hand around your neck to try to keep you still.

You held to his bicep with both hands ―yes you needed both to get a hold around his arm― and moaned. You moved your hips desperately, silently begging for more. Without letting go of your throat he took his dick and teased your entrance, going up and down with his tip full of precum.

He could tease you like this the whole night just to watch you squirm and whine under his hands. But the reality was he wanted to fuck you just as much as you did. So he finally gave you -and himself- what you wanted. You arched your back at the feeling of him stretching you. Even with all the teasing and preparation you still needed a minute to adjust to his huge erection. He could be a bit rough with you but he still waited for you to signal him to keep going and when you squeezed his arm he took it as his signal.

He started thrusting slow, taking his time to see his dick disappearing between your folds. Once he had enough of that hypnotic view, he pushed himself balls deep into you, like his life depended on it. The pleasure clouded your mind, you had no space for something that wasn’t him right now, nor mentally or physically.

“Oh god fuck,” you whispered when he threw one of your legs over his shoulder and started thrusting in a new position. 

You couldn’t hear anything besides his heavy breathing, your moans and the constant skin-against-skin sounds. He pulled out and bent down to kiss you again.

“Turn around,” he ordered and you obeyed without a thought.

He slapped your ass and you screamed as you shut your eyes. You couldn’t hear him or see what he was doing so the expectation only added to your arousal. Then you felt his palm again on your skin and your pussy clenched around nothing.

“Again, p-please,” you said.

He chuckled and obliged. Your ass had three red marks with his hand shape and he felt proud of it. He used his fingers on you again as he kissed your spine up until he finally reached your head and whispered in your ear.

“Do you like it when I’m rough with you?” he asked. His deep voice made you feel like you were dreaming.

You nodded with desperate energy. You just wanted his dick inside you again, stretching you so good it almost hurted. And as he could read your mind, he kneeled behind you and used his hands to elevate your hips and thrust again into you. Seeing your ass hit against his pelvis was a glorious sight, he could feel himself on the edge of an orgasm just with it. But he couldn't do that to you. He took a fistful of your hair and pulled back so you couldn't muffle your moans with his cover anymore.

Beni fuck, holy sun and derivatives were the only things you could say between your moans and screams of pleasure. He slapped your ass again with all his strength when his thrusts became sloppy. Sweat dripped from his face to your back and tears of pleasure threatened to fall from your eyes if he kept that monstrous rhythm while ramming into you.

"This is what you wanted, right? Why don't you cum so I can see how bad you wanted this?" he said and slapped you again.

You moaned his name and your arms gave up to your weight and the strength of Benimaru's thrusts. He used a hand to touch your clit and rub it. That was your limit. Your climax hit you and you couldn't even keep your hips up, you collapsed on the bed as the man behind you observed as you struggled to catch your breath. He pumped his dick a few times before he started grinding against your ass and sucking bruises on your neck and shoulder, holding his weight with his hands on both sides of your head.

You felt cornered, trapped under his body and his dick still grinding between your ass cheeks, but you wanted more. So you asked for it.

"Such a good subordinate," he said as he made you roll on your back again.

He took your legs and threw them over his shoulders as he aligned his cock with your pussy to thrust again. He spit over his dick and your clit before starting to move, massaging over your sensitive organ to make you clench on him as he moved forward.

"Fuck," he hissed. He was balls deep inside you again but he didn't move this time.

You whined at the feeling of his cock stretching you again. It almost hurted, to feel him fill you like that and not move an inch.

He was biting his lower lip. You tried to move and he held your hips to make you stop.

"What's the rush?" he whispered and you were on the verge of tears again.

He knew what was the rush. He felt it too, your walls clenching on his dick, your legs trembling on his shoulders with the denial of pleasure.

He sighed. He couldn't keep his façade much longer, his balls ached for release. So he moved again, back and forward, hitting your cervix each time. You screamed and cried, it was too much. First nothing and then too much at once. You had your second and faster orgasm of your life. Benimaru lost it too, finally giving his body release, filling you up with his cum. He stood still again, feeling your pussy frantically clamping on his dick as your climax went down and your legs shaked still over his broad shoulders.

When you could breathe normally again he pulled out of you, cum dripping from your cunt and his dick to the bed.

You observed as he walked outside naked and came back with towels. You sat on the bed as you could, your legs were still shaking. Benimaru helped you to get up and cleaned you before taking off the covers and sheet of his bed.

"You shouldn't walk around naked, what if someone sees you?" you said. What if someone heard us, you thought.

"My room is the only one occupied on this wing, no one's around," he answered. "You can still stay here tonight."

"Here in the seventh or…?"

He didn't answer but he threw you one of his giant shirts before putting on some underwear and walking out again to get clean sheets. You walked out to the bathroom next to his room to wash your face and body. You would have marks in a few hours on a lot of places. You took your bag that was forgotten in the hallway and rushed inside his room again, you were still ashamed that someone saw you.

Benimaru was already sprawled on his bed, semi-naked and with one arm stretched to his side. You took that as an invitation to use it as a pillow as you laid by his side and tiredness finally took over your body.

When you woke up, Beni was gone. You assumed he was already working. You got dressed and you were ready to leave (again). When you walked outside, hoping no one was around, you were met by a soft oh that scared you.

"Konro-san, good morning!" you nervously smiled.

"Good morning. Did you enjoy your stay?"

You couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but you decided it was the latter. He didn't look the type to laugh at a nervous woman.

"I did, thank you. Your map was really helpful," you tried to joke now. "I have to go now, sadly. My vacations will be over soon."

"Come to see us whenever you like, I'm sure Waka will be pleased," he smiled.

"Thanks, again. See you next time," you said and walked away after slightly bowing to him.

[a-magpie-witchling]

KAY CRAFTY WITCHY HOES GATHER UP

Does this count as a witch post? I don’t know, but there’s a lot of cursing and I hurt myself and I know y’all like that

kinky little bastards

SO ANYWAY

I may or may not be an alcoholic, but the important thing is that I’ve got a lot and I mean a LOT of champagne corks, so I said to myself “hey, I should do something C R A F T Y with these, else they’ll end up as buttplugs which wouldn’t be too sanitary.”

Although I’m sure I could make some fat cash out of that…

TOO LATE TO BACK UP NOW BECAUSE I ALREADY GATHERED MY MATERIALS

WHICHS IS ACTUALLY A LIE BECAUSE I TOOK THAT PIC AFTER I WAS DONE

bitches will say it’s censored not to show the final result

SO OUR MATERIALS ARE

oh wait I haven’t told you what we’re making haha

we’re making magickal stamps. there. happy? come for the crafty shit, stay for the impeccable writing.

SO OUR MATERIALS ARE!

Champagne corks or really pretty much any sort of soft cork or rubber shit although I highly recommend champagne's because it’s much softer

Something to draw on

Something to draw with

The SHITTIEST scissors around I mean that crap should be so useless it makes you go “a lesbian scissor cuts more than this, why do we even still have this thing”. It’s very important that you get the scissors so we end up not using them.

An [infomercial voice] X-acto Knife©®℗™… PFFT. Forget that gringo shit, get something sharp and pointy, a scalpel would be good for precision but don’t fret. In the meanwhile also take the time to shank a bitch.

Some tissues becase I’m a mucus volcano and hadn’t stopped sneezing in two days

Now basically you will find two kinds of corks:

Cold weather and warm weather *snorts at own joke*. Go with the mushy soft one (right) because the one in the left is too compressed and will be a pain in the ass *snorts again* to carve.

Now at this point I’m there taking pictures looking like a total pro and behaving totally C R A F T Y (whenever I say that you gotta picture that glittery music in the background)

BUT ON THE INSIDE I’M LIKE OMG WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO I’VE NEVER EVEN DONE THIS SHIT BEFORE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS I SHOULD CHOOSE SOMETHING TO CARVE

So I go to Google and I’m like “maybe a heart? Maybe a triangle? Maybe a pictorial representation of my crushing depression?”

But then I’m like well, what’s my name? Rihanna The MAGPIE Witchling!

So I found a lot more minimalist magpie silhouettes than I would have expected, I drew my own based on that 

And hOLY FUCK IT’S REALLY UGLY.

And don’t even get me STARTED on those nails

Queen Cristine would be so disappointed

Look at that

That’s the face of a disillusioned senpai.

Maybe I should try her Trump nails

Wait, what was I talking about?

OH YEAH

C R A F T Y S H I T

So I took my initial “””design””” and kind of tried to reproduce it on the cork?

WE NEED SOME MUSIC TO MOVE ON AND MAYBE SOME TEQUILA CON SAL BENDECIDA CON SOL BECAUSE SHIT, THIS JUST GOT UGLIER.

Now, be smart kids. You don’t HAVE to try and recreate the original drawing, you can use carbonic paper, cut the normal paper neatly and then trace the silhouette, etc. 

But aunt Rami is a fucking idiot so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Final result:

And let me tell you doing this was a LOT easier than I would have expected. Like, I seriously was prepared to realize this had been a waste of time, that I’m painfully useless for this shit, etcétera. But no! The cork was REALLY easy to carve (I secretly have an open tab with only the word carve in it ‘cause I don’t remember if it’s carve or crave. Fuck the English language).

So I decide to try it out 

And sistah this is my first attempt at this and I already feel like a fucking PRO. 

But the main problem is that the image is too small and complex, I think. So then I’m like “Imagine [all the people] if the original design wasn’t ABSOLUTE TRASH.”

So what do I do?

PLAGIARIZE, OF COURSE.

I found this image by Julie Magers Soulen and I’m pretty sure that it’s actually a photograph instead of a minimalist drawing in which case HOLY FUCK, GIRL

And I kinda tried to reproduce it on a cork but it was just too large so I cut one in through the center vertically and I ALMOST FUCKING SLICED MY PINKY IN TWO LIKE FUCKING BYE BYE LIBRA MOUNT WE’RE LEAVING CHIROMANCY AND MOVING SOLELY TO TAROTISM.

Aaaafter cleaning the blood from all over the place, I chose to use a kitchen knife like a normal human being to cut the cork in half.

I fucked up because I did it in two slices, which ultimately gave me a slightly uneven pressing surface. Don’t make my mistakes, son… Be the better man *fake mustache proceeds to fall from my upper lip*

In the meanwhile my phone vibrates and hey guys! #shoutout

BACK TO THE GODDAMNED BIRD (that’s all this blog is about, seriously. And no. There’s no such thing as going to the point in my religion.)

This is the final stamp. Mh, not half bad. Let’s try it out.

So after messing up with the ink a dozen times I realize that since I’m using PRINTER INK it’s way too liquid, so I let it dry for a couple of minutes and finally

OMG

FUCKING LOOK AT THAT.

IT’S TOO BEAUTIFUL.

I MADE THAT.

THAT’S MY CHILD.

#PARENTALPRIDE

That’s how it looks without so much fucking liquidy pansy ink.

AND BRUH, I’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR LIKE, FIFTEEN MINUTES.

Ok, that’s a “””very pretty””” stamp, Rami, but, like what does that have to do with witchcraft?

Huh? Oh, nothing, this is shameless self promotion, I just filled your dashboard with magpies.

AH! WAIT! I CAN MAKE SOMETHING UP!

No but really, I will use these stamps on my grimoire and hear me out

SIGIL STAMPS.

Like, say you’re feeling generous. Make a lucky sigil and go around town with your sigil stamp and an ink pad leaving it on the floor, the corners of signs…

If the ink is washable that doesn’t even count as vandalism xD

Also, if you are careful enough with the carving of the negative space and give the cork stamp a nice thick layer of a protective spray or liquid, you can even use these as wax stamps!

Use beetroot ink and stamp your sigils on the leaves of your plants. Use permanent ink and mark your witchy jars. Soften the wax of your candles and use your stamps to leave a mark in them.

And we spent like… only the money we used for the booze in this!

MAKE THE BEST OUT OF YOUR ALCOHOLISM (?

I had a picture of me giving a thumbs up but you could see a bit of my face, so, safety reasons, ha. INSTEAD HAVE A CRAFTY MAGPIE YAY. SEE WHAT I DID THERE!?

-Semiramis, The Magpie Witchling

[buttdawg]

FTR vs. The Initiative (Brandon Cutler & Peter Avalon)

Pineapple Pete & Michael Nakazawa vs. Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss

Abadon vs. Skyler Moore

Will Hobbs & Shawn Dean vs. Dark Order (Stu Grayson & Evil Uno)

Corey Hollis vs. Scorpio Sky

Kenzie Paige vs. Penelope Ford

Aaron Solow vs. Wardlow

Best Friends vs. Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)

Lance Archer vs. Frankie Thomas

Orange Cassidy vs. Serpentico

Fuego Del Sol vs. Sammy Guevara

SCU vs. Private Party vs. Santana & Ortiz

I’m watching this one right now, so I might as well throw in some liveblog commentary.

--This episode marks the beginning of the Cutler/Avalon team using the name “The Initiative”.   The implication is that they’re finally getting comfortable working as a unit.

I don’t really get FTR’s “Follow The Rules” gimmick.    This match is a good example, because they nag Aubrey Edwards about enforcing proper tag rules, but then they tried to do a hand-to-boot tag themselves during their match on this show.    And then they win using a spiked piledriver, which used to be illegal in 1989, so it seems weird that these “Old School” traditionalists would adopt it as a finisher.    Or maybe it’s supposed to be ironic, I don’t know.   They’re a great team, I’ve always thought so, but I keep losing the plot with them.

--Sonny and Joey have a new remix entrance theme.   Not sure how I feel about the music, but I like it when teams enter together.

I guess Pineapple Pete is into baby oil like Nakazawa now?  This match sees Pete oil up Naka’s back and then slide across him to spear Sonny in the corner, using Naka’s back like a homoerotic slip’n’slide.

Pete just tagged Joey even though they’re on opposite teams?   Was Pete mocking them, or did Joey think that was Sonny’s arm because they were all locked up in a hold?    Or did Pete think he was in his own corner?    So many questions.

Joey and Pete sell Naka’s thong claw like a champ.    I feel kind of bad for Sonny having to deal with all these goofballs, but he looked good out here.

--They talk a lot about how green the AEW Women’s roster is, and I’m not disputing that, though I can’t tell which women are experienced and which ones aren’t.   Nevertheless, they’ve got a lot of strong characters in this division, and I think that’s something women’s wrestling usually lacks.   Abadon is a prime example.    Maybe she’s a total rookie, but she looks so horriffic that it doesn’t matter.   She’s like Bray Wyatt but actually scary.

And then you’ve got Britt Baker’s dentist/role model thing, Kris Statlander’s alien gimmick, Rayche Chanel’s “what have I stumbled into?” character, Leva Bates, and so on.   That’s the cure for a roster with limited experience.    They need to repackage Skyler Moore as some sort of truck driver or a witch or something.

--Promo package for Shawn Spears here.   I saw this on Twitter, and it made no sense to me, because he didn’t explain what the glove does.    Basically, Shawn lost on PPV to Dustin Rhodes, and Tully Blanchard chewed him out on Dynamite, and then he gave him a black glove like it was the key to furthering his career.    

Now that I’ve watched all these Dark episodes, I finally see what’s going on here.   The glove isn’t loaded.   There’s nothing special about it, and they even have the refs make a big deal out of checking it before the bell.   But then Tully will pass a metal slug to Shawn during the match, and then he’ll load the glove.  

And this is great, because it justifies Tully’s presence (the glove only works as a cheat if Shawn has someone to smuggle the slug to him.), and it gives Shawn a winning record.   My beef with the “Search for Spears” angle was that Tully kept putting him in tag matches to audition potential partners, and they never won.   The implication was that Shawn Spears sucks and the only possible way to fix him is to pair him up with a better performer who can carry him through a tag match, except there isn’t one.

But the glove works, because it really is a coaching tool.    Sometimes, Tully doesn’t even give Shawn the slug until after the match is over, because Shawn doesn’t always need it.    So it’s not just a cheat.   It’s a secret weapon if Shawn needs it, but it’s also a confidence builder.   As long as Shawn is wearing the glove, he knows he can use the slug if things go poorly, but he also feels motivated to do his best without the slug.  

My only complaint is that they introduced the glove on Dynamite, but only explained how it works on Dark.   But now that I’m caught up, it doesn’t bother me as much.

--Not much to say about these Dark Order matches.  I looked them up the other day because I wanted to make sense of their numbering system, but as far as I can tell they never used 6 or 7, and you never see 8 or 9 anymore.   Maybe the unnnamed “spokesman” guy is 6 and Brodie Lee is 7?   I thought the whole point of Brodie Lee was that he was the Exalted One, but they have Evil Uno, so that’s shot to hell.   Is Brodie #0?   Is he unnumbered because he’s in charge?    Does Anna Jay get a number?   Does Colt?  

--It’s weird to watch Scorpio Sky’s winning streak on Dark, because I watched his TNT title match with Cody first, and I think that was supposed to be the payoff of this story.   But I sort of hope this keeps going.   Sky might as well keep doing singles matches, keep racking up wins, and take another crack at the AEW World title.    While he was fighting Cody, the announce team talked about him becoming the first Black AEW World Champion someday, and it got me thinking about how he could very easily become TNT Champ someday, and I think the World title’s only a few years away at most.    Really, the conversation should be about Scorp becoming the first AEW Triple Crown winner.   

In terms of Black firsts, would he be the first African American Triple Crown winner?   Nah, Booker T pulled that off in WCW, right?  I’m not even sure he was the first to do that, but I’d have to look it up.   Anyway, Sky looks like a guy who could win all the singles belts, and he’s already done the tag title, so he’s got a leg up over just about everybody. 

-Dig the psychology of Penelope Ford locking in a camel clutch and (illegally) hooking her fingers into Kenzie Page’s face, then turning Kenzie’s face from side to side to hide her fingers from the referee.   Nice stuff.

-Aaron Solow kind of looks like Kirk Hammet from Metallica.  Wardlow wins by KO, then keeps attacking Solow after the bell, and I feel like they really need to bring back the thing where the ref will reverse the decision to punish the heel for excessive brutality.   It didn’t get a lot of use in early 90′s WWF, but it was pretty cool when it happened.

-I really want to see Lance Archer mow down a whole squad of Dark Order guys.    That’d be pretty sweet.

Holy shit they didn’t cut off Lance’s theme song during his entrance!    First time for everything.

Taz asks on commentary how Jake can control Lance Archer, because he thinks he needs pointers on how to control Brian Cage.   Taz, Jake’s just some guy Lance Archer lets follow him around.    He’s gonna beat the shit out of Jake too; he’s just saving Jake for later.

-A lot has been made on Dark about Serpentico’s streamers.   I dig them, but I don’t know what more there is to be said.   I’m more interested in the weird protrusion from his luchadore mask.

-I dig the laid back commentary from Excalibur and Taz, including where they try to figure out what to call Penelope Ford’s leather garter (thighlet?) and whether or not “smooth as ice” would be a good figure of speech.  

-I’ve seen Sammy Guevara’s GTH a few times, and I can’t really tell if it’s anything other than a GTS.   Well, he carries the guy face-up on his shoulders, and I think the GTS starts out with the guy lying face-down on the shoulders, so maybe that’s the difference? 

-Private Party and Matt Hardy do a promo before their match.    The problem I’ve got with Matt is that he announced that he was dropping all of his characters, but I can’t tell the fucking difference.   I think he was doing a bit as “Big Money Matt”, which I vaguely remember from a run he had in ROH?   I never saw it, though.    But it doesn’t sound that much different from all the other Matts, including default Matt.   Also, he went nuts on the last episode of Dynamite, attacking a guy he thought was Sammy Guevara when he actually wasn’t.    So is that him going nuts and descending back into his Broken gimmick, or is Normal Matt just going normal nuts?    I sort of don’t care enough, is the problem.

-I like this triple-threat tag match, as it features the three teams that sort of got overlooked in this whole Young Bucks/FTR/OmegaPage thing.   Those three teams have been circling around this “who’s the best?” business, but I think Private Party, SCU, and Santana/Ortiz have plenty of business in that conversation.    Oh, and the Lucha Brothers, but yeah, there’s an embarassment of riches in this tag division.

-And of course PNP wins, because they’re THE BEST THE BEST THE BEST THE--!

[carcinoaquarium]

alright kk, don't say i didn't warn you lmao: Dearest Karkat, I am the anon whom you blessed with that dragon age tangent and i was bettered for it bc that tangent was great. When I played da:i I knew jack-all about the characters and literally only chose to be an elven female bc she had the most romantic options and I was going in thinking 'hell yeah imma romance the first available qunari of the series, you kidding me?' (1/7)

And then i chatted w solas and the literal first 'flirt' option w him is to tell him you aren't going to harass him for being an apostate and that was so /sad/ to think about, like he's so...lonely? Not to mention his greatest fear is dying alone?? Also he was hella intelligent and had interesting conversations and was suave as fuck, and I ended up being like "iron bull who?" and got my hEART RIPPED FROM MY CHEST, OW because solas has gotta be one of my fave villains in media to date. (2/7)

Also loghain, whom I didn't really appreciate until after I'd beheaded him. Whoops. Actually, I'd love to keep talking to you about dragon age?? i haven't been able to chat w a new(ish) fan in ages and these games have such depth. (also, dorian was absolutely my inquisitor's moirail, too, tbh. Although that's technically a romantic relationship, and Dorian is gay...? They're def BFFLs, tho, once Dorian was less racist against elves. Everyone in dai was kinda racist against elves.) (3/7)

Actually, elf Inquisitors kind of got a really fucking short stick in da:i. Not only did all of thedas hate them for being an elf, but there wasn't a single elf in that party that didn't challenge and beat on their religion (which is worse if they weren't already questioning it, as my inquisitor was), and even the people you can date don't seem to comfort you once your entire understanding of the world comes crashing down around your eyes. (4/7) (shit, i might hit the ask limit)

To a lesser extent this happens to the dwarves, too! Like, idk if you played the Descent dlc, but spoiler-free the dwarven religion is kind of picked apart and in the Tresspasser sequel we find out the ancient elves did a lot of shitty subjugating of the dwarven race, and not to mention the qunari are implied to be a race made through scientific genetic SPLICING of human and/or elven genes with fucking /dragons/, and it's like?? Man, give these fantasy races a break. (5/7)

Humans were the only ones who weren't really fucked with, they just kinda showed up from the north and invaded thedas while all that other political stuff was going on. But playing as a human's always seemed so boring to me, lmao. Did you play DA:O and DA2, too? (6/7) I feel like 200% nerd power right now,but the amount of effort and heart bioware put into these games is fascinating and i can't help but love dissecting it. Feel free to respond in private if u don't wanna clog ur blog w DA. (7/7)

--

YES. LET’S DO THIS. PROBABLY GOING TO BE A LONG REPLY SO I’LL READ MORE THIS SHIT.

ALTHOUGH I ONLY PERSONALLY PLAYED THROUGH ONE ROMANCE I OF COURSE HAD TO WATCH ALL OF THE COMPILATIONS ON YOUTUBE BECAUSE THAT’S JUST THE KIND OF GLUTTON I AM. SO YEAH. I AM FAMILIAR WITH SOLAS’ ROMANCE ARC. AND MAN I HAVE TO SAY YOU HAD TO BE MASOCHISTIC AS HELL TO RIDE THAT ONE OUT AND ENDURE THE MOST HEARTBREAKING OUTCOME OF THEM ALL. BLACKWALL WAS BAD ENOUGH, BUT AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, IT GETS BETTER IF YOU CHOOSE IT TO. 

DON’T GET ME WRONG, IT PLAYED OUT BEAUTIFULLY. BUT SADFPSDHFHSDF I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE SEE THAT THROUGH. 

AND I SERIOUSLY DID NOT SEE SOLAS’ TURN COMING. IT WAS AMAZING. HE WAS SO CONVINCING THE ENTIRE TIME. JUST THE BOOKISH APOSTATE ELF WHO LIKED TO PAINT MURALS AND FANBOY OVER THE FADE IN IAMBIC PENTAMETER. FUCKING. IAMBIC. PENTAMETER. THAT WAS PRETTY AMAZING. ERIDAN APPRECIATED THAT. ALTHOUGH IT WAS HARD NOT TO THINK OF SOLLUX WHEN WE SAID HIS NAME. ESPECIALLY ERIDAN. 

fuckin sol

BUT HOLY SHIT. I NEVER SAW IT COMING. AND YET WHEN YOU PLAYTHROUGH A SECOND TIME YOU SEE ALL THE LITTLE HINTS. MY SECOND PLAYTHROUGH WAS FULL OF ME SCREAMING AT THE SCREEN 

“OOOOOH, SUUUUUUURE. TELL ME YOUR VAGUE ASS REASON FOR BEING HERE AGAIN, YOU LYING PIECE OF SHIT.”

“I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, DREAD WOLF. GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE.”

“YOU KNOW WHAT? THE FADE IS BORING. SPIRITS ARE BORING.”

“MAYBE I SHOULD SKIP THESE ELVEN PUZZLES THIS TIME, EGGSPONGE. OR MAYBE PISS IN THIS WELL. OR FIGHT THE IMMORTAL ELF DUDE. HMMMM??"

“I’M RUBBING MY BULGE AAAAALLL OVER THIS FEN’HAREL STATUE. YEAH. THAT’S RIGHT. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT??”

“WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GIVE YOU A *HAND* WITH THAT QUEST??? OH I BET YOU WOULD.”

SERIOUSLY THOUGH I THOUGHT THE WAY SOLAS’ CHARACTER ARC UNROLLED WAS MASTERFUL. THE WAY HE PULLS THE INQUISITOR ASIDE NEAR THE END OF THE MAIN GAME TO TELL THEM THAT THEY EXCEEDED HIS EXPECTATIONS AND THAT HE TRULY VALUES THEM AS A FRIEND... I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER REALLY KNOW IF HE MEANT IT BUT I LIKE TO THINK HE DID. AND THAT IT GENUINELY SURPRISED HIM THAT THE PERSON HE WAS OUT TO MANIPULATE NEARLY CHANGED HIS WORLD VIEW IN THE END. THAT’S HOW YOU WRITE A THREE DIMENSIONAL ANTAGONIST.

FFFF. THE RACE SHENANIGANS. DRAGON AGE AND SKYRIM REALLY LIKE TO PLAY UP THE DISCRIMINATION AND OUTRIGHT PERSECUTION OF ELVES, WHICH STANDS IN SHARP CONTRAST TO THE TOLKIENIAN LORE IT ALL STEMS FROM WHERE ELVES ARE (MOSTLY) POWERFUL AND RESPECTED AMONG HUMANS. I LIKE IT THOUGH. IT’S AN INTERESTING SPIN. THE DWARF HATE TOO. I FUCKING LOVED THE WAY THE ORLEASIAN COURT NOT-SO-COVERTLY THREW SHADE AT YOU IN THE WINTER PALACE FOR BEING A DIRTY LOWBLOOD INFERIOR RACE. IT MADE PUTTING THEM ALL IN THEIR PLACE A WHOLE LOT SWEETER. AGAIN. WISH FULFILLMENT.

I HAVE TO AGREE THOUGH THAT THE GAME SOMETIMES KIND OF DID A SHITTY JOB OF ACKNOWLEDGING THE ELF AND DWARF INQUISITORS’ PERSONAL STRUGGLES WITH THEIR RACE, AND I GUESS THAT COMES DOWN TO THE SHIPLOAD OF DIALOGUE CUSTOMIZATION THE DEVS ALREADY HAD ON THEIR PLATE. I REMEMBER BEING ESPECIALLY PISSED OFF TALKING TO DAGNA WHERE SHE FUCKING SEEMED TO FORGET NELLIE WAS *ALSO* A DWARF HALF THE FUCKING TIME. 

AND THEN OTHER TIMES THE GAME WAS RANDOMLY REALLY GOOD IN THAT REGARD. IT WAS HIT AND MISS. ERIDAN DID AN ELF PLAYTHROUGH THAT I SAT IN ON AND I REMEMBER HOW COOL IT WAS BEING ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE DALISH CLAN IN THAT INSIDER KIND OF WAY. BUT IT’S TRUE THAT PRETTY MUCH NONE OF THE ROMANTIC INTERESTS GIVE YOUR RACE MORE THAN *ONE* PASSING MENTION. CULLEN’S ROMANCE WITH A MAGE PLAYS WAY MORE HEAVILY INTO THINGS THAN SAY THE FACT THAT MALE LAVELLAN CAN DATE A GODDAMN *TEVINTER* ALTUS AND THE SLAVE THING IS BROUGHT UP A GRAND TOTAL OF ONCE.   

AND AS A SIDENOTE THE FACT THAT IF YOU CHOOSE THE NECROMANCER MAGE SPECIALIZATION, DORIAN-THE-GOD-DAMN-NECROMANCER HAS FUCK ALL TO SAY ABOUT IT. EVEN IF YOU ROMANCE HIM. WHICH AMPORA DID. AND HE WAS PISSED. 

SPEAKING OF AMPORA, HE ACTUALLY DID ROLL A HUMAN AT FIRST, BUT FIVE MINUTES IN HE WAS SO BORED WITH HIS CHARACTER HE ALMOST GAVE UP THE GAME FOR GOOD. SO YEAH. I FEEL YOU THERE. 

BUT YEAH. THE SUGAR COATING ON THE CONFECTIONERY ITEM IS DEFINITELY THE FACT THAT THE GAME HINGES ON BASICALLY SOLAS DESTROYING DALISH LEGITIMACY. AND AS A DALISH INQUISITOR IT’S LIKE. OH. OK. SURE. MY LIFE WAS A LIE. NO BIG DEAL. NOW WHO’S READY FOR A VACATION IN TEVINTER BECAUSE BOY HOWDY ME AND MY QUNARI FRIEND ARE DOWN FOR SOME FIRST CLASS NORTHERN HOSPITALITY.

AS MUCH AS I CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT A LOT OF IT I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I NEVER PLAYED THE PREVIOUS GAMES BUT I ABSORBED THE DRAGON AGE WIKI AND I THINK I HAVE A PRETTY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WENT DOWN. I HAVE DA:O AND I DO PLAN ON PLAYING IT SOME TIME.

THE SADDEST PART IS THAT IT SEEMS PRETTY CERTAIN THAT THE SERIES IS PERMA-DEAD. AND I ACTUALLY WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WHERE THEY SEEMED TO BE TAKING IT. IT’S A FUCKING SHAME.

[mycasandstarrs]

SPN 6x01: “Exile on Main St.”

The era of Sera Gamble begins.

One Year Ago: Sam and Adam/Michael fall into the cage. Dean goes to Lisa and has lived his apple pie life for a year.

“Beautiful Loser” by Bob Seger.

Dean looks miserable.

I do love this montage tho.

Dean having barbecues, exactly as he promised.

The shot gun and holy water under his bed. He hasn’t fully let go.

New title card.

Hey, El Sol!

I wonder how many new friends Dean made, and how many of them he actually liked. I don’t know, I never got the sense that Dean really liked Sid all that much, just that they were very casual friends. 

“I lived on the road... Took, uh, crap jobs that nobody else wanted.”

“Like what?”

“Like...pest control.”

“Really? Pest control?”

“Yeah. You get to work with a partner. You get to help people. You have no idea what's in some people's walls. It could eat 'em alive.”

A vague, but still very true, description of his former life.

OOOHHHH I’M JUST NOW REALIZING THAT THAT’S THE DJINN AND HER “FLIRTY ARM TOUCH” WAS HER POISONING DEAN.

OF COURSE, BECAUSE RIGHT AFTER THAT DEAN THINKS HE HEARS/SEES THINGS.

Dean can just immediately snap back into hunter mode.

Dean continues to see things.

Scared by a Yorkie for the second time.

“I thought that was a possum. Remember when I said I was in pest control? Well, possums carry rabies, so...” Dean’s lying skills are rusty.

I’m telling you, Dean just IMMEDIATELY snaps back into hunter mode.

That’s...kinda true?? Like, he thinks there’s a demon, but really there’s a djinn.

Lisa is so patient with him.

He kept John’s things in a specific, separate box.

Azazel!! (Except, not really.)

“You can't outrun your past.”

Sam. (Except, not entirely.)

“Hey, Dean. I was expecting, uh... I don't know, a hug, some holy water in the face -- something.”

Dean automatically thought he was dead and in heaven.

You know what sucks ass, is that even on first viewing I knew something was wrong with Sam but I pushed those feelings down because I wanted Dean to have something good. Damn it.

Cas is mute, according to Sam.

“You finally had what you wanted, Dean.”

“I wanted my brother, alive!”

“You wanted a family. You have for a long time, maybe the whole time. I know you. You only gave it up because of the way we lived. But you had something, and you were building something. 

There’s...a lot of truths here, but I only see them as half truths? Like, yes, Dean does want a family, but it ain’t really family if Sam’s not there.

“Had I shown up, Dean, you would have just run off.” Sam’s right.

And it’s rather sad how quickly Dean kinda renounces the entire year he just had.

“I hooked up with some other people.”

“You? Working with strangers?”

Sam has always been about working with others for the sake of cooperation. I’m not exactly sure why Dean thought that was strange.

Let me just go ahead and say it: the Campbells suck ass.

Gwen, Christian, and Mark. Campbell. Only ONE of these three is redeemable, and she just said the dumbest shit right off the bat.

Samuel Campbell. welcome back, you old bastard.

MOTE: djinn

“Oh, I know a few things. Stick around, I'll show you tricks your daddy never even dreamed of.” You know what tho, he’s right. He had a djinn cure and they also have a vampire cure too.

“You got to take me home right now.” “Home”, awww.

RIP Johnny Campbell. Killed by djinn. We hardly knew ye.

Awww, group hug.

The brother of your live-in boyfriend is back from the dead. What a moment to go through.

Bobby!!!

I like how Dean thinks Sam’s appearance is gonna be a surprise to Bobby; he had that look you give someone when they’re opening a gift you gave them.

Bobby also knew about Sam.

Bobby can’t even look Dean in the eye.

“Do you have any clue what walking away meant for me?”

“Yeah -- a woman and a kid and not getting your guts ripped out at age 30.”

Umm, that’s technically already happened to Dean.

I’m sorry, but can’t Lisa and Ben hear all this??

Like I said earlier, I’m so sad on Lisa’s behalf on how quickly Dean just...drops everything that he’s lived through in the past year with them. Not that he doesn’t love them, but it’s clear he would’ve dropped them almost immediately if Sam had shown up on their doorstep a year ago.

But to be withheld of such important information for a year...poor Dean.

“Look, I get it wasn't easy. But that's life! And it's as close to happiness as I've ever seen a hunter get. It ain't like I wanted to lie to you, son. But you were out, Dean.”

“Do I look out to you?” 

“Me and Sam, we’re gonna head out.”

“For how long?”

Oohhh, that face Lisa just made...Lisa knew. The beginning of the end.

“You’re saying goodbye.”

“I’m saying I’m sorry...for everything. Everything.”

“You're an idiot. I mean, I know it wasn't greeting-card perfect, but we were in it together.”

Lisa is fucking awesome, y’all.

“Yeah, well, the guy that basically just saved the world shows up at your door, you expect him to have a couple of issues. And you're always so amazing with Ben. You know what I wanted, more than anything was a guy that Ben could look up to like a dad. “

Ouch. (But that was my point exactly. Lisa saw it as the best year of her life, while Dean just...saw it as one of the worst of his.)

“What’s the plan?”

“Well, right now, we stock up, get set.”

“So you’re saying there’s no plan.”

I wonder how often Dean reminded Samuel of Mary.

“Relax, Dean. We got it handled. Djinn are hard to draw out. Now, you've been out of the game for a while. Leave it to the professionals.” He helped saved the fucking world, you asshole.

I would be so fucking pissed if snarky ass people came into my house and started touching EVERYTHING.

“intranet” That’s actually rather cute.

“You know, believe it or not, I...I get it, Dean. You wanted a normal life. Your mom wanted a normal life, too. You remind me of her, actually. The attitude, for one thing.” Yep, called it earlier!

Samuel started off...fairly well. He was kinda like another Bobby, except even more crotchety.

“What I'm saying is that we're your blood. And we're out there dying, trying to get in front of whatever this is. Maybe not the best time for golf.” Well, Dean didn’t even know all this shit was going down. Hell, he barely knows y’all. And it’s not easy to just up and leave after building a life with someone for a year.

I almost want to take back what I said earlier, Mark’s alright. Christian’s the true asshole.

Backup’s gotta go.

“Whoever brought you back...”

“They don't want to be found.”

(Oohhhhh, like the certain angel who’s been avoiding you.)

“Dean, I don't want to talk about it. I'm back. I get to breathe fresh air, have a beer, hunt with my family, see you again. So why exactly would I want to think about Hell?” That’s completely fair.

RIP Sid and his wife. Killed by djinn.

Welp.

Golf clubs not so ridiculous anymore, huh?

Oohh boy. Dean’s hallucinations are god awful.

RIP djinn. Killed by Samuel.

Sketchy ass behavior from the start.

Dean decides to stay with Lisa and Ben...but more out of wanting to protect them than to genuinely want to be with them.

“You just went. You didn't hesitate. Because you care, and that's who you are. Me? I wouldn't even think to try.”

“Yes you would.”

“No, Dean.”

Our veerryy first red flag. Sam knew he needed someone with heart...and soul.

Would Sam denying the Impala be red flag #2? I’ll go ahead and say it is. Something about the reason why Sam denies taking Baby (because he has his own car set up how he likes it) rubs me the wrong way.

This...just feels all kinds of wrong.