#it actually helped me to at least read the notes

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Just for the Taste

Pairing: Michael Gavey (Saltburn) x f!reader Warnings: Masturbation, smut. Word count: ~3k

Summary: Growing increasingly frustrated with the pace things are going at between her and Michael, his girlfriend takes matters into her own hands, quite literally.

Author's note: Day nine of Smuffmas - stockings and sex toys. No tag list. Follow @fics-by-ewanmitchellcrumbs and turn on post notifications.

She had met Michael in her first month at Oxford university. It was a Saturday night and, unlike the vast majority of people living in her college, she had opted to stay in instead of hitting the town to spend her student loan in one of the many pubs. She had a tutorial on Monday and was determined to impress the computer scientist who would be leading it. Her entire weekend revolved around getting ahead with the required reading in order to have a full understanding of the previous week’s lecture topics. She wanted to be able to talk about them at length, and share her ideas in a comprehensive manner.

Her stomach had dropped as she had reached into her backpack, feeling that her Discrete Mathematics textbook was missing. She cursed under her breath, realising she had left it on the table in the Bodleian Old Library. It closed at 4pm on Saturdays, so she’d have to wait until it opened tomorrow to go and fetch it back.

A lack of a textbook wasn’t enough to deter her though. On average, of students that applied to the Computer Science course at Oxford, only 17% were interviewed, and only 5% were successful. She was acutely aware of how fortunate she was, but also how hard she’d worked to get here, and wasn’t about to let that lapse.

A thorough Google search yielded nothing useful, all of the PDFs she managed to unearth were outdated editions and would have been of no use to her. She decided to go door knocking – the time will pass anyway, she figured, and there might be someone in their room that had a copy of the textbook that she could borrow. A long shot, but it was either that or lose an evening of studying, and she wasn’t prepared to do that.

Unfortunately for her, the Computer Science course wasn’t an especially sociable one – the difficulty of the subject matter and competitive nature of the field it eventually lead into wasn’t a breeding ground for fast friendships, and with only 44 people on the course who were all more than happy to keep to themselves, she had no idea where any of them were actually staying. There had to be at least one in her college though.

The first three doors she knocked on yielded no response, the fourth was answered by a flustered, barely dressed girl, who stared at her in wide eyed bewilderment as a male voice from within the room called out “tell them to go away!”

Her skin ablaze with embarrassment, she descended the stairs and was fully prepared to give up after receiving no response from another two doors, before the one in the far corner creaked open, causing her to turn to face the noise. A bespectacled pair of blue eyes peered out at her, narrowed in suspicion.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

She glanced at her watch – just after 9.30pm. “Yeah, it’s not late…”

“What are you doing?” he asked her. His voice was quiet, but laced with derision. “Are you pissed?”

She shook her head, slowly approaching his door as she clasped her hands in front of her. His stare was piercing and intense, yet his posture was so rigid she got the sense that he’d likely slam the door on her if she moved too quickly.

“I haven’t been drinking,” she said apologetically, “just need to borrow a textbook. You’re not on my course so I doubt you could help me anyway.”

“What are you reading?” he asked, his posture softening slightly, though he didn’t open the door any wider.

“Computer Science.”

“Hmm. I’m reading Maths, so–”

Her eyes lit up, a surge of hope making her heart soar. “I need a copy of Discrete Mathematics,” she said excitedly, “I don’t suppose you have one?”

“Not a physical copy…”

She visibly deflated, her heart sinking in disappointment as her shoulders sagged. “Nevermind then. Thanks anyway.”

“I’ve got a PDF,” he said, opening the door wider as she turned to leave.

She stopped in her tracks, her gaze drifting to where his fingers clutched the USB drive that was clasped to the belt loop of his tan coloured cargo trousers with a carabiner clip. “From what year?” she asked quietly, as her eyes lifted back up to his.

“2005.”

She grinned. That was exactly the year she needed. “You’re an absolute lifesaver,” she told him, her voice breathy with relief.

“I think the file might be too big for me to send over email though,” he admitted.

“Could you not just lend me the flash drive? I can give it straight back tomorrow morning.”

He pursed his lips, eyeing her from head to toe. “How do I know you will? This is a one gigabyte USB drive, it’s valuable. You might steal it.”

She grinned, until she realised he was being serious. “I live in the room directly above yours,” she told him, gesturing upwards towards the ceiling, “so you’ll know where to find me.” She gave him her name, as she fiddled with the clasp of her watch, removing it from her wrist and holding it out to him. “Here, insurance, so you know I’m not trying to steal from you.”

The faintest hint of a smile ghosted across his lips as his eyes crinkled in amusement. “Alright, fine,” he relented, taking her watch from her and slipping it into his pocket. He unclipped the USB drive and handed it to her. “I’m Michael, by the way.”

“Thanks, Michael,” she said with a coy smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She made her way back upstairs to her room and spent the rest of the night studying then, true to her word, on her way to the library the following morning, she knocked on Michael’s door to give him back his USB drive.

“I’m glad to see you’re a woman of your word,” Michael said playfully, as she clipped the drive back onto his carabiner, his cheeks flushing at her close proximity.

She held out her wrist and, silently, he clasped her watch back around it. Her skin tingled as his fingers brushed across it, their eyes meeting as their breaths simultaneously caught in their throats.

From that moment on, her and Michael were inseparable. The attraction was instantaneous, deepened by a shared love of mathematics and a refusal to toe the line when it came to the unspoken social hierarchy in place at the university.

Michael was a virgin, and so they took things slowly. She had had a long term boyfriend before going away to university, so she had had sex, but wasn’t overwhelmingly experienced. The split between her and her ex had been amicable; both going away to study in entirely different cities, they had wanted to give each other the opportunity to focus on their respective courses, rather than the pressures of maintaining a long distance relationship.

Things often turned hot and heavy between her and Michael. As their kisses grew feverish, his hips grinding of their own accord against hers, she could feel he was hard, knew that he wanted her, but was often left disappointed when he would hurry to the bathroom for a cold shower before anything truly interesting could happen between them. She cared for him, so she was happy to wait, though the sexual frustration was beginning to take its toll on her.

She had never been more grateful for the bullet vibrator she had brought with her to university, though it was costing her a small fortune in batteries – it had never had so much use before.

Three months into their relationship, she was beginning to get desperate. They had arranged to watch a film in Michael’s room that evening, so she decided to make it more than obvious that she was eager to take things a step further.

She pulled on lace topped hold up stockings and a black, lacy lingerie set, covering it with the red woolen jumper that Michael had left in her room the last time he was there. It fell to her mid thigh, so it wasn't immediately obvious that she had no other clothing on underneath.

They had fallen into the comfortable habit of leaving their doors unlocked when they were expecting each other to come over, so that they wouldn’t have to knock. She let herself straight into his room, finding Michael hunched over at his desk, fiddling with a Blockbuster DVD case to open it, so he could insert the disc into the CD drive of his laptop.

“What we watching then?” she asked, letting her rucksack drop from her shoulder onto the floor as she perched on the edge of his bed.

“Revenge of the Sith,” he answered, turning in his seat to look at her, “it’s a Star Wars film. I thought, erm…”

He trailed off, his lips parting slightly as he pushed his glasses up his nose. She followed his line of sight, seeing that the hem of his jumper had ridden up as she’d sat on the bed, revealing the lacy tops of her stockings. She smiled, knowing her outfit was having the desired effect, before looking back at him.

“You thought what?” she asked innocently, settling back properly on the bed as she moved a pillow behind her to lean against. She didn’t bother to pull the jumper back down, wanting to leave no room for doubt as to what her intentions were.

Michael swallowed thickly, before shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter, let’s just watch the film.”

As the film played, she could hardly concentrate, the closeness of Michael next to her, the heat of his body so close to hers was a distraction. Their fingers were entwined upon the sheets between them, a gesture of closeness and intimacy, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more.

Slowly, she moved his hand onto her thigh, leaving their fingers interwoven there for a few moments while she gauged his reaction. His eyes flitted to hers and he offered her a tight smile before he returned his attention back to his laptop screen. He made no attempt to move his hand away, so she left it there.

Gradually, she disentangled her fingers from his, pulling her hand away until only his remained on top of her thigh. His thumb absentmindedly began to stroke at the lace of her stocking, tracing the swirling pattern of the material as he continued to watch the film.

She had no idea what was occurring on the screen; the light sabers, the red and black face of Darth Maul, it was all just a blur of colour to her as her pulse raced beneath Michael’s touch. His hand moved higher, fingertips brushing against the soft skin of her inner thigh. It took all of her restraint not to just grab his hand and place it where she needed him most, knowing that she shouldn’t rush him. At a maddeningly slow pace his fingers inched their way up, her core throbbing with desire and the crotch of her knickers growing damp with arousal the closer he got. As his fingertips reached the hem of her underwear, so close to pushing underneath, the credits of the film began to roll and Michael moved his hand away, climbing off of the bed towards the desk where the laptop sat.

She wanted to scream in frustration, every nerve ending in her body felt ablaze, desperate to feel something, anything and he was painfully oblivious to all of it.

Not in the mood to answer his questions about what she had thought about what they had just watched – she hadn’t been paying attention anyway – she stood up, tugging the jumper down and slipping the shoes back on.

“Night then,” she called over her shoulder, not giving him a chance to respond as she hurried out of his room and back up the stairs towards her own.

She knew she was being rude and incredibly unfair to Michael, and that they would likely have to discuss at some point how his apprehension towards physical intimacy was affecting her, but right now she was a pent up mess of hormones and arousal and she needed release.

Slamming the door closed the moment she stepped into her room, she flopped down onto the bed, roughly tugging her underwear down her legs and tossing it to one side. She reached into the bedside table drawer, feeling around until her fingers wrapped around the familiar shape of her bullet vibrator.

Thank god, she thought, switching it on and bringing it between her legs, sighing in relief as she pressed it against her swollen clit and her eyes fluttered closed. Her breaths grew heavier as she moved the toy in tight circles to aid the gentle rumble against her sensitive bundle of nerves.

She froze as the door swung to, her eyes snapping open to see Michael standing there.

“Hey, you left your bag, so I– oh, shit, sorry!”

“Wait!” she pleaded, turning the toy off and chucking it down onto the bed as she moved into a sitting position. “Don’t go.”

He let her rucksack drop to the floor beside his feet, closing the door behind him and resting his back against it. His eyes were glued to the floor, his cheeks ablaze as he struggled to find the words. “Were you…were you…um…”

“Yeah, yeah, I was,” she admitted shamefully, feeling her skin grow warm with humiliation.

“Is that why you left so quickly? Because you wanted to…”

He looked so dejected, so sad, so hurt, it made her want to burst into tears. She’d have done anything to take away the furrow of his brow, the disappointed look in his eyes. “Yes,” she whispered, hating herself for the answer.

“Do you not want to with me then?” he asked, his voice so soft she had to strain to hear it.

“Of course I do,” she insisted, “that’s why I was doing…what I was doing.”

“I don’t understand,” he admitted, finally looking up to meet her eye, his back still pressed against the door as she sat on the bed.

She sighed, raking a hand through her hair, unable to keep the frustration from her voice as she tried to explain. “I want you, Michael, but I appreciate that you’re a virgin and I don’t want to push you before you’re ready. I have needs though, I’m sorry…”

“You shouldn’t have to apologise for that,” he reassured her, pushing away from the door and slowly approaching the bed, “I am ready, I just never realised you wanted to, you never said.”

“I’ve been dropping hints left and right, did you not see what I was wearing tonight?”

“Yeah, my jumper,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck, “just assumed you hadn’t done any washing for a while.”

She groaned, fighting the urge to laugh – for an intelligent guy, he could be so incredibly dense. “I want to fuck you! Is that clear enough?”

Michael nodded, his gaze falling upon the toy that lay discarded beside her. “I don’t know what I’m doing though. I’ve always just been able to do maths in my head, never needed a calculator before, but I know they help people. Maybe that–” he pointed towards the vibrator, “could be my calculator, could help me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Show me how to fuck you.”

The bluntness took her breath away, but the intensity of his stare left no room for argument. “Alright,” she nodded, picking the toy up once more.

Michael stepped clumsily out of his shoes, then moved to the foot of the bed, kneeling upon it. “Go on then, show me.”

She could feel nervous excitement fluttering in her belly as she laid back, allowing her legs to fall open, giving him an unobstructed view of her most intimate area, before she pressed the bullet back against herself and switched it on.

Michael inhaled sharply, his hands coming to rest upon the knees of her bent legs, holding them open as he watched her intently. “What does it feel like?”

“It…it feels good,” she whispered breathlessly, slowly circling the toy against her bud, “there’s pressure, but it feels nice.” 

She gazed up at him as she panted and moaned softly, seeing the way his pupils dilated subtly. His hands moved to his belt, tugging it open, causing her to bite her lip, a mixture of arousal, curiosity and disbelief all fought for dominance in her pleasure-addled mind as she watched him unzip his trousers and free his hardened length. It was long, thick and slightly curved, the tip weeping with arousal.

“Can I?” he asked, gently grasping her wrist to coax her hand away from herself. 

She nodded, allowing him to move her arm to her side, the toy still buzzing in her hand. She gasped as he replaced the toy with the flushed head of his cock, rubbing it in circular motions, allowing it to notch against her clitoral hood.

“Like this?” he asked, his voice strained, and she simply nodded, desperately fighting the urge to buck her hips from the exquisite pressure he was applying.

“Shouldn’t…shouldn’t your first time be special?” she uttered, voice thick with desire.

“We’re not fucking, we’re learning,” he said softly, his gaze never moving from between her thighs as he continued to stroke himself through her slick folds, “and besides, it being with you automatically makes it special.”

Her heart fluttered at his words, they would have been romantic were it not for the lewdness of what they were doing.

“Now,” he said, pulling back slightly and grabbing her wrist again, “show me what else you do with this toy.”

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More Michael fics

[moonperil6]

Just Let Me In

Pairing: Leo Valdez x Cold!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 1.58k

It’s hard to ignore someone like Leo Valdez. 

He’s constantly in everybody’s face, pulling jokes and pranks like a plea for the tiniest of smiles.

But most often? He’s in your face, teasing you and trying to make you laugh. Most of the time, he grabs whatever book you’re reading and holds it above his head because, as much as you hate to admit, you are the only demigod shorter than him on the Argo ll, and therefore the only one who can’t reach your book. Which is what you were trying to do now.

“Leo,” you growled. “Give it back.”

“Whoa!” Said boy raised his other hand in triumph as he cheered. “Y/N just said four words to me! Did any of you hear that?”

A ripple of laughter echoed through the dining table of the Argo ll, but it seemed to drop dead at Hazel. 

“Leo,” the roman girl said. “Give it to her.”

The Latino whined. “But, Hazel-”

“Now!” 

You knew that tone could never come from someone as sweet as Hazel, so you turned your head toward the voice. 

Frank was standing, hands resting on the table as he glared daggers at Leo. “Give Y/N her book back,” he ordered harshly. “Now.”

Leo glanced from you to Frank, sighing as he decided it wasn't worth it. He handed you back your book, which you accepted without hesitation. You made toward the door without another word, giving Hazel and Frank small nods of gratitude. Well, at least they thought it was gratitude; it was rather hard to tell with you, since you had a permanent frown upon your face.

You marched up the stairs and into your room, slamming the door so hard behind you, it shuddered on its hinges. Leo winced at the noise.

“Too much?” He asked. When no one responded, he sighed. “Too much.”

Piper frowned at him. “That is not the way to get a girl to like you, dumbass.” 

Percy nodded in agreement. “I was stupid, not mean,” he said, gesturing to Annabeth. 

Annabeth snorted. “You sure were, Seaweed Brain,” she teased before returning to seriousness. “Leo, I don’t know why you do this. If you like Y/N, show it in your actions! I mean, we all know you’re too cowardly to admit it straight to her face, so let her guess. She’s cold, not idiotic.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Leo muttered. “Whatever. She’ll never like me now.”

Frank scoffed. You were his best friend besides Hazel, and he was extremely protective of you. He thought of you as a little sister- the daughter of Apollo who preferred throwing knives and daggers to actual archery, and the son of Mars who used a bow rather than a sword. “You think?” He demanded.

Piper shook her head. “We know what you’re like when you’re not being a cocky jackass,” she said.

“Hey!” Leo complained loudly.

“I’m not done yet,” Piper scolded. “As I was saying, I like how you act when you're not being an asshole. I might help you get the girl, Valdez.”

Jason rubbed his eyes. “I’ll leave you two to your scheming,” he said. “I’ve got first watch.”

Annabeth grabbed a pen and notebook, flipping it open to a blank sheet of paper. “If anyone would like to be able to still lie to Y/N’s face about nothing going on behind her back, I’d leave now.” The daughter of Athena cracked her knuckles. “‘Cause shit’s about to go down.”

You flipped a page in your book. The author had just left you on a cliffhanger, and you desperately needed to find out if the main character managed to save the love interest in time or not.

“No,” you muttered when you saw a sticky note adorned with sloppy handwriting was stuck on the page labeled, ‘Chapter Nineteen’. This was supposed to be chapter eighteen! There couldn’t just be a sticky note!

You felt anger bubbling inside you as you read the note. That arrogant little Latino- the nerve to rip out a whole chapter and keep it to taunt you! 

Did your feelings for him change, though? No. You still liked him, and you found that highly annoying.

You glanced around for your diary, surprised when you didn’t see any sign of the notebook. You were sure you’d put it…

Oh, shit.

You stormed out of your room and back down the stairs once again.

The scene at the dining table was not your favorite, that’s for sure. Percy, standing on the table as he read aloud to Annabeth, Piper, and Leo. He kept stumbling over the words as his eyes scanned your diary. 

“Ugh,” Percy read. “I don’t know how I’m going to… surfer- ah! Survive on this boat for much long…er. Leo just won’t stop bugging me, and m-my emotions won’t either!” No one seemed to notice you as you snuck into the room. “How could I like someone who keeps… testing? No. Teasing! That’s it, teasing me.”

Piper squealed, clasping her hands together. “Well, there’s your answer, Leo!” She cried. “Y/N does like you!” 

All of your anger surfaced. “Jackson!” You screeched. 

All heads whipped toward you, and your eyes flicked over everyone, reading them each like a book. 

Percy: Terrified, hoping that Annabeth would get him out of this, but not the slightest bit regretful.

Annabeth: Looking and acting calm, but is actually panicked on the inside. Is this how she loses a best friend? Will Y/N ever forgive her? She’s also very sick of getting Percy out of situations like this, but is already formulating a plan to get her boyfriend out of this mess.

Piper: She’s secretly pleased. She doesn’t want to have to lie to you, not ever.

And Leo… you find him staring at you already, never taking his eyes off you while the others avert their gaze or exchange glances with each other. 

“Perseus Jackson,” you growled. “Give me my diary.”

Percy gave it to you without protest. 

You sulk all the way back to the door, only to turn around when you hear Leo call your name.

The Latino is grinning wickedly. “You think it’s hot when I steal your office supplies?” He asked.

You felt your face flush. “Shut up,” you said, exiting the room, only to hear Leo continue. 

“You like my curls, right? That’s what Percy said. I heard you also like my, and I quote, ‘Beautiful big brown eyes.’ I know you fancy me, Mi alma-”

“Shut up!” You yelled. “Didn’t you hear me the first time, Valdez?” 

Silence.

You stomped back up the stairs and to your room. You locked the door behind you and threw yourself onto your bed. 

It was all ruined. He knew. He knew! It was all over.

You grabbed a pillow and squeezed it with all your might. You wouldn’t cry; you couldn’t feel the tears. But you could crush your sorrows with rage. Yes, you were quite capable of doing that.

A knock.

Your head shot up, your deathgrip on your pillow easing slightly.

“What?” You snap.

“Uh… Y/N?” A voice that sounded suspiciously like Leo’s responded. “Could you maybe… open the door?”

“No.”

“Y/N,” Leo said, deadly serious for the first time since you’d met him. “Open the door.”

“No!”

“We need to talk!”

“No!” You cried, raising your hands to your temples to banish your headache. “No, we don’t. Just go away, Leo.”

“Y/N, please,” the boy begged. “Just let me in.”

You didn’t respond, turning your back to the door.

There was a sigh loud enough for you to hear from the other side of the door. “Okay,” he said. “I didn’t want to do this but… Frank!”

You jumped as a loud bang sounded behind you. You turned your head to glare at the Chinese-Canadian Baby-man that now stood in the doorway. “Frank?” You asked in disbelief. 

“Sorry,” your best friend muttered, rubbing his shoulder as if it hurt. “I was bribed. With bubble tea.”

“Ah.” You nodded. “You’re forgiven. I would’ve done the same.”

Leo popped his head out from behind Frank. “Thanks, big guy,” he said, patting Frank’s arm. “I got it from here.”

Frank gave Leo a look of pure distrust before turning and walking away.

You kept your back turned to Leo as he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Right,” he murmured. “This wasn't how I imagined it would be, but I’ll try my best…”

You felt a tap on your shoulder, but you didn’t look back at him, keeping your eyes trained on the wall in front of you. 

“Y/N… I like you too.”

“Enough,” you said softly.

“What?” Leo asked.

“Enough games. Enough teasing. I don’t need your pity.”

You couldn’t see it, but Leo smiled cheekily at you. “It’s not pity, Mi amor. It’s love.”

He gently grabbed your chin, turning your head to face him. He pressed his lips against yours delicately, as if you might break, might shatter into a million pieces. 

You pulled away first, still scowling. “Alright. You say you really love me, as I love you, but the only way to prove that is by letting me sleep in your room.” You gestured at the splintered remains of your door. “You broke my door.”

Leo grinned. “Correction: Frank broke your door.”

You rolled your eyes. “Correction to your correction,” you said. “You bribed Frank into doing it.”

“Fine. It’s worth it. You’re sleeping with me tonight.”

[the-blind-geisha]

In Other Words, I Love the Real You

Desc: Princess Peach expected to merely entertain royalty and agree on an alliance with this king. Nothing more. What she didn't expect was how easily she'd fall for King Bowser when he actually was the better version of himself in this disguise.

Rated: 18+

Words: 5,619K

A/N: Story commission for @untoldsoup! Keep in mind, this is not canon to his awesome comic works he makes! It was a fun idea he commissioned me to write, and I was so excited to write for this! 👀

I used Bowser's name over Koopa in the beginning, as Bowser didn't get his true name in the series till later.

Artwork by @untoldsoup!

Princess Peach was hardly a stranger to entertaining guests of nobility, but this letter came promptly out of nowhere in regards to a king wishing to have a moment of her time when it came to him and his people. She made certain her crown was in place, eyeing Toadsworth out of the corner of her eye. 

“You said his name was King Bowser?” The princess couldn't help but feel that name sounded a bit sinister. Maybe it was no thanks in kind to how many kings about the many worlds were hardly kind people. 

But she had to remember never to judge a book by its cover—in this case—it would be his title. It would be the king’s caliber she would judge over whatever exchange would take place.

“Indeed, Your Highness! Says he comes from a far off kingdom to which he…failed to mention in his letter.” Toadsworth couldn't help but find that a bit odd. Normally royalty would state where they hailed from.

“Interesting…” Her words trailed off, gloved hand to her cheek in thought. “It would be wise that I do not enter this discussion ill-equipped then.” It was there she headed for her bedroom door, finding herself properly prepared for the meeting.

Toadsworth scurried after her, staying in pace with her every move to the best of his mobility. “You read my mind then, princess. While I would like to believe the best in everyone, it is better we have some power ups nearby in case this is another scheme of sorts.”

She smiled down at her adviser. “Let us hope we are overreacting at any rate, but please—do see to it that the guards are prepared, and I at least have a fire flower at my disposal.”

Taking to her throne nearly an hour later, she anxiously awaited for whoever was to greet her. Would it be another trap? She had grown tired of those. All of her thoughts were drowned out when one of her Toads bowed before her to announce this king’s arrival.

“The Mushroom Kingdom proudly welcomes King Bowser and his advisor, Taika the Wise.”

The doors opened, having Princess Peach on the edge of her seat as the light from outside blinded her ability to see who was truly entering the throne room. Soon, the light subsided, allowing her to take in the sight of the two visitors.

They were human. Their figures said that much, but the advisor was a bit harder to see. They were hunched over with a gnarled wooden staff that they used to walk (or so it seemed). A blue, hooded robe covered most of their form, but she could tell they had a white beard with wild white hair to match. That made it impossible for her to even see his face.

But that was hardly the face she cared to examine after a point. This King Bowser caught her sight right away. His red hair was hypnotizing at first glance, but his eyes, holding a power all on their own, stole her attention away with ease. Noting that only a cape seemed to dress his upper half, she tried to still her desire to point it out.

For all she knew, it could be a clothing choice in their kingdom. It was best not to ask and offend him.

But as Peach’s eyes scanned him for anything out of the ordinary, it was there that a spiked shell on his left shoulder made her heart squeeze in fear. It reminded her so much of the Koopa King’s. Her fingers curled ever slightly on the throne’s armrest, doing her all to remain professional as she watched him bow.

“Princess Peach, it is an honor to be here before you.” Bowser waited so long to approach her in such a neutral way for what felt like years. Now with this magical crown that allowed him to dawn the appearance of one of her own kind and Kamek’s powers at his side to hide away his horns at least, everything was so much easier.

He felt like a new being all together.

“Greetings, King Bowser. You may rise.” When he did so, she too took to her feet and headed down the steps to find herself face-to-face with this foreign king. “However, I must say that I am a bit saddened to not read where you hail from.”

Even if her tone was playful, Bowser couldn't help but recoil a bit hoping she wouldn't mention that part. His attention shifted down to his advisor, feeling their eyes staring at him from even the darkness of the hood. It was a voiceless means of encouragement. That would do.

“I preferred to have said it to you in person, my Lady. What fun could be had if I told you everything in the letter?” He opened his hand, hoping she would take it and not be repulsed as she often acted around him. “Otherwise, my journey here would have been meaningless.”

Peach cocked a brow at his confession, a small smile forming upon her beautiful lips. “You have quite the way with words, Your Majesty.” Her hand slid within his, which prompted the king to kiss the back of her hand. Her heart fluttered, never expecting such a gesture.

“But to answer your question, I hail from the far east. It’s known as the Piranhabons Kingdom.” It was a bold statement to make, all things considered. But Petey wasn't there to whine about it, and Bowser wasn't blind—he saw her looking at the spiked shell on his shoulder earlier.

“Piranha?” Peach’s fingers touched upon her lips in thought. “So I’m assuming your kingdom tends to have quite a few piranha plants?”

Bowser wondered the better way to go about this, without bringing so many eyes upon him into the mix. He could proudly say most Toads were hardly clever, but it was Toadsworth he worried over. Even now, he could feel that old man staring at him in a way as if to hope the king would slip up.

“May I ask that we continue to talk about such matters elsewhere?” He looked about the castle’s throne room, finding it to be as lavish as ever. Still, it felt a bit suffocating to say the least. “You could give me a tour of your castle or your kingdom.”

Peach let a small laugh slip from her painted lips. “The kingdom might take awhile, so, castle it is.”

The Koopa King felt like he’d be pushing his luck if he tried to ask to hold her hand or anything like that again. But he couldn't deny how nice it felt to actually be able to kiss even the back of it like that. She didn't contort her face in such a way that made it look as though she wished she could squash him.

To say it felt nice was an understatement.

Stepping to the side, Bowser bowed with his arms motioning for her to lead the way. While he could easily say he knew these walls inside and out like his own, it would be nice to see what she herself had to say about it all. 

“Taika…” It was so odd calling Kamek that, but he insisted on the name. “Stay here and keep Princess Peach’s advisor entertained.”

“I have a better plan,�� Peach interjected. “Toadsworth, why don't you show Taika around? I am sure he would appreciate it.”

There was something in the old Toad’s expression that would assume he would have much preferred to stay beside the princess. While he could hardly do anything to protect her, he would rather be certain that he was at least some sort of obstacle to keep evildoers from attacking her.

“I, umm.. As you wish, Your Highness.”

The moment she opened the doors and headed through the winding hallways, she playfully smiled as she glanced over her shoulder at the king. “Alright. We’re out of prying ears and eyes…”

Those beginning words made him tense. Did she actually figure him out?! How could it have failed?! The disguise was perfect!

“...Tell me a bit more about yourself,” Peach concluded, putting Bowser a bit more at ease.

He rubbed the side of his neck, sighing out his relief. “Oh, well…to answer your first question, there are quite a few different species of piranha plants out where I rule. The usual fair take up my castle grounds, though. And the Megasmilax is more like a guard of mine.”

Bowser was relieved that he managed to run himself through this speech idea back at home. He knew he couldn't sell the thought of being a king from a foreign land if he didn't jot down a few notes about this fictitious world he came from.

Peach inhaled sharply at the name. “Megasmilax?! I remember that creature not far from my own castle! It nearly took it over, had it not been for the Mario Brothers.” She inched a bit closer to Bowser, curious as to how he even managed to keep such a powerful thing under his command. “Are you certain you aren’t just being held captive, Your Majesty?”

He laughed at her playful tone, which clung to her question. “Of course, he is a bit of a handful, but once you manage to keep piranhas under control and treat them well enough, they return the favor.” Bowser tried to shrug it all off as though it were hardly anything huge.

It was there her attention returned to the spiked shell upon his shoulder. “I couldn't help but notice your rather interesting attire choice.”

“Ah. That.” He had to think of a story. Quickly. Unless she wanted to visit, he should be in the clear to lie about a few things here and there. “It came from a Spiny Boss type—we have quite a few of those Spinies in my kingdom. They can prove to be quite a handful.”

It was disheartening to talk down about his own people now and again. Yes, they could be slackers and some could rightfully get on his nerves, but a lot of them were hard workers. 

Princess Peach could hear the odd sorrow buried in his tone when he spoke of such a thing. “Oh. I see. Perhaps it is for the better we get down to business, shall we? What has brought you to my kingdom at such a short notice? You said it was urgent.”

Bowser cleared his throat as he gazed upon her without fear.

Without fear… how odd it was to admit that he was nervous to look upon her with such confidence once more. Eyes were usually the window to the soul, or so he remembered the princess herself warning him sometime ago. The last thing he wanted to do was give her too much of a peek inside of him. She mustn't see the true monster inside.

But even just then, he found it almost difficult to look away. To say she was beautiful almost felt insulting. There had to be a better word for it, but if there was, it always escaped his grasp.

“I heard you have problems with the monstrous turtle king from the Darklands.” He was trying so hard not to insult himself too much, but he really had to offer the thought that he was there to help in some manner.

Peach rolled her eyes. “Yeah, the Koopa King. He can indeed be quite an annoyance.”

Bowser flinched, as those words hit harder than any attack Mario could even dare land on him. “He seems quite persistent, or so I was told from my area of the world.”

After all of the wandering, Peach managed to find her way towards one of the balconies that allowed her to see out and about her glorious kingdom. Her gloved hands gripped the marble handrail while attempting to push the fear from her mind. “He is, but I must ask…” She stalled for a moment, turning to look at Bowser with a raise of her brow. “...what exactly do you hope to bring to my army?”

“Magic and strength,” Bowser answered without hesitation. “While my own advisor is well versed in magic abilities, I am able to handle such powers as well. They even exceed his.”

“May I ask what kind of magic it is?”

“Attack magic, among many other types.” He avoided the use of saying black magic, or he knew that might give him away. Maneuvering his fingers above his palm, he was able to conjure up a flower in his possession.

While Kamek and even Junior needed special items to call upon the magic they used, Bowser hardly needed any of that. Not to say he’d turn down any magical item that could asset him, as it could easily amplify his powers. With the rose in his possession, it was there he offered it boldly over towards the princess.

Peach looked at the gift with such confusion that Bowser worried he may have overdone it. But the expression swiftly melted into a sweet softness that encouraged the tension within him to relax.

She accepted the gift, bringing it to her nose with a pleasant hum at the aroma. “Very well, my King.” Peach kept the gift close to her chest. “I will gladly accept this proposal of yours. But still, I must say, I know so very little of your kingdom.” She thought about where to take this conversation next. “How about we talk about this all over dinner? Just you and me. Nobody else.”

Bowser’s gasp was hardly quiet, as his excitement bubbled up within him. Fist to his chest, he bowed. “It would be such an honor and a pleasure, my Lady.”

Princess Peach shook her head at his gestures. “There’s no need for formality anymore, King Bowser. Just call me Peach.” Her gloved hand touched upon his shoulder, lighting a fire within him that was hard to ignore. “And there’s no need to bow either. I promise, it’s alright.”

For the first time in forever, he smiled in return. “Then yeah. Same for me. Please, just call me Bowser.”

“Bowser it is then.” Her fingers twirled about the rose, reminding herself it would be for the better that she put the flower somewhere safe. Even if it was spawned by magic. “One of my guards will take you to a spare room in my castle.” It was there she turned and headed back inside. Beckoning to one of the Toads, she relayed the orders to him before her eyes laid upon the king once more. “I am to assume you’ll be staying the night at the very least?”

He was so lost in her vision. Never had he been able to be so close to her without her recoiling in utter fear or disgust. She was looking at him as though he were her equal. If he could cherish this moment forever, he would.

Peach found his silence odd, making her worry he may have been offended by the offer. “Bowser?”

All it took was her soothing tone to beckon to him. “Y-Yes! Of course. I would think a week would be more than long enough, if that’s not too much of a burden.”

Peach smiled, shaking her head. “No trouble at all. I will see you at dinner then, Bowser.”

Bowser and Kamek reunited, making their way to the lavish bedroom they would be allowed for their week stay. The entire room was a beautiful white marble with power star designs tucked away at the top of some of the pillars. A rug was the only thing separating the two canopy beds, making it appear as though it perhaps were an extra bedroom for some visiting royalty.

When the doors closed, leaving them alone, Kamek hurried to his king’s side. “A week?!” he asked in a raised whisper. “Sire, I appreciate your dedication to your heart, but… it would be wise to make certain we don’t test the limits of this power! That crown could possibly only do so much!”

Bowser was careful when he touched the Super Crown, not wishing for it to be removed so soon. “It’s fine, Kamek,” he grumbled, trying to ignore the old man’s worrisome attitude. “I know what I am doing. Besides, you have magic that can spawn a better bed fit for my actual size—don't you?”

The old wizard sighed, nodding. “Of course I do. But that’s beside the point! If you truly wish to have the princess’ heart, it is wise you don’t push things too far too soon. We still need to have moments to return home. What if the crown is akin to a power up? You could take damage or the power could be exhausted to where you could return to your actual self before her!”

“I know the risks!” The King roared angrily, prompting Kamek to be silenced. “But, it would take quite a bit of strength to ever wound me and release any hold a power up could be placed on me. As for its limits, magic can rest just as we do,” Bowser insisted with a low growl accompanying his words.

Kamek could sense he had lost a part of the king somewhere down the line. It made him feel dreadful. Bowser was no doubt drunk on the very thought of having Peach for himself. “I must say, I am surprised you granted her your true name.”

Pushing from the bed he had sat upon, Bowser made it over towards the vanity in the bedroom. “I know.” Again, he was trying not to be mean to his own adopted father in the matter, but to say he was intoxicated on the day would be putting it mildly. “I know what they say… that there is power in a name, and no matter where you are, magic can easily reach you to do more harm should anybody in this world have it.”

It was there he boldly removed the crown to watch as he turned back into the giant, hulking beast that laid underneath it all. Smoke huffed through his nostrils as he continued.

“But if I trust anybody with my true name, it would be her.” His brow furrowed, staring down his reflection that he still saw as imperfect. “Besides, I am no coward. I will tear apart any and all who dare try to take me down.”

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

That one week became far longer, as the king couldn't help himself when it came to entertaining the princess in hopes to obtain her heart. He did everything he could to distract her and her peoples’ minds whenever he had to actually go back to the Darklands to tend to something. Never did he want a sliver of the truth to bubble to the surface.

The Koopa King couldn't help but enjoy the stories he fed her. While not all of what he said was fictitious, he left a good bit of the lava part out when it came to his kingdom. That should be enough to throw her off from the truth underneath it all.

“All these talks about how you have such gorgeous cherry blossom trees and a pond full of multicolored Cheep Cheeps…it makes me wish I could have a moment to spend with you in your kingdom.”

Hearing Peach say such a thing, the king swallowed his fear. “More than anything I would love to, but now would be a bad time.”

He was running out of excuses. Even with having his troops at his side under their own illusion veil, Bowser was worried when the cover might be blown. The Koopas were awful at trying to act like humans. To excuse away their awful hunched over position, he just said the majority had been through a lot, but were still willing to fight.

Peach gave him a playful side eye, sighing shortly after as she knew another excuse was coming. “And how will the Mushroom Kingdom protect yours if I am left in the dark as to where it could truly be? Would you not wish to have a warp pipe put in place so we could always be connected?”

All the things he dreamed of her saying were being spoken before him, and yet, he had to keep denying her. It made him frown, thinking of the best way to talk to her about things he really wanted to know.

“Princess, may I be personal with you for a moment?” He reached over, taking her hand within his own. Over the many days they had spent together, Peach had warmed up to the thought of this strange king holding her hand in such a way. There was not a single part of her that fought him on the gesture.

She tilted her head, fingers gripping his own hand rather tightly as if to offer some form of reassurance. “I am listening.”

They were alone in the royal courtyard. That would be enough. 

“I was curious—seeing as I’ve heard why the Koopa King continued to speak with you so often—is there a reason you do not return his love?” He tried not to sound so defeated asking that, but his expression faltered all the same. Bowser worried what her answer may be.

Peach sighed, as if frustrated to be confronted with such a question. Her hand slid from his as she ventured over towards the fountain not far from where they stood. Gazing down at her reflection, she blew a sigh out of the corner of her lips. “That beast thinks that forcing me to love him will do any good to the two of us.”

Bowser bit back the desire to tell her that it was the only way to get her alone. Hearing the title of ‘beast’ made his heart twist in agony. “Sounds to me like you view him on the outside as a monster.”

“He is a monster to me because of the way he behaves!” Peach snapped, as if offended the king would think her to be so shallow. She turned, hand upon her bejeweled chest as she continued, “The Koopa King could look like any creature in this world, and I would gladly consider his love, if he wasn't so selfish and stubborn!” 

“And… what about me? Have I been a monster to you these past several weeks?”

Peach found the question odd as she approached him, grabbing his hands to hold them tightly. “Why would you ever think that? It’s been a delight to get to hear about you and your people.”

The truth hit him far harder than he expected. Breathless, he found himself fighting over the thought of just keeping the crown in place and ignoring his past life. But one way or another, he and herself would have to face the truth.

“I wish I could continue with this.” His tone was heavy with defeat as the desire to be honest was eagerly winning out. Moving his hands from hers, he took a few steps back. “But, will you continue to believe me if I told you that I love you too much to continue this lie?”

“Bowser…?”

His fingertips reluctantly grabbed the Super Crown, removing it from his head to allow the illusion to fully melt away—Kamek’s powers as well. The sight of it made Peach recoil in horror as she backed away in fear of what he would dare try to do with her now.

“You…!”

It was a nightmare. Her eyes no longer held joy and admiration—they, once again, held nothing but fear and disgust. She was gawking at him with such horror that all the beautiful moments the two spent together were melting away into oblivion. He couldn't help but feel as though she lied. That it was indeed this version of him that she hated.

Maybe if he were a beautiful human king… this would all be different…

“Forgive me. I can’t stand to see you looking at me like this. I promise to merely grab my things and leave.” Bowser placed the crown back upon his head, making it easier for him to flee from the scene without drawing attention to himself.

Peach could hardly get a word out to him as he seemed to run back to the castle in hopes to warn Kamek and see to it that his people as well left and were all safe. She hurried after him, calling for the guards to see to it that her own swiftly put in place plan could be set in motion before it was too late.

Bowser just needed to make sure that Kamek was at least the first one out. While he knew that the old wizard could handle himself, Bowser still would prefer to be the last one to head back home in case something went wrong.

There was no knock at the door. It merely swung open as Peach made her way inside. “You ran off before I even had a moment to talk to you.”

“Your voiceless expression said enough.”

“I was in shock!” Peach insisted, grabbing his hand to make him stop with the nonsense. “You lied to me…So what else did you lie to me about? Were all those sweet things you said to me a lie as well?”

Bowser recoiled in disgust. “Of course not! I meant every single one of them!” He huffed through his nostrils. “In fact, I’ve said them before to you when you only saw me as a monster. You just never bothered to listen!”

Grabbing onto the spiked collar, she forced him down to her level to where their lips met.

The king’s eyes widened, not expecting such a bold action. In fact, he half expected her to slap him. The joy within his body nearly brought him to his knees, but he dared not move in fear she would regret her actions. The kiss was simple, a mere act of honesty before she pulled away just a bit to look into his burning eyes once more.

“I am listening now,” she whispered, allowing Bowser’s lips to taste the warmth of that sentence.

Still, the negative voices were loud. “Only because I look like this.”

“No,” Peach scoffed with a shake of her head. “Only because you showed me a better side of yourself.” It was there she reached up and knocked the crown off to the side to prove her point.

The crown didn't shatter. It merely rolled upon the ground as the magic released its hold upon Bowser, prompting him to transform back into the fire-breathing Koopa he was underneath it all. He almost felt naked in the moment, had it not been for her sweet kiss earlier to subdue the tension a bit. It was there his claw curled under her chin, urging her to gaze upon him all the more. 

“It will prove a challenge to kiss you like this but…” The flat of his tongue rolled across the nook of her neck, as his hands went to work removing her dress without destroying it in the process. “...not impossible.”

Peach tilted her head to the side, a small moan slipping from her lips in the process. As her gloved fingertips caressed his scaled body, she couldn't help but do her best to urge for more.

Bowser was too drunk on the moment to question whether this would be a good idea or not. 

When she felt him about to pull away, Peach found her lips trailing down from his broad chest to his stomach and beyond. “We will be left alone.” Upon her knees, she winked up at him with a teasing smirk. “I made certain of that.”

He couldn't think straight after such an honest admission. Even with her gentle touch, it was more than enough to light a far more intense fire in his belly as she continued. Bowser closed his eyes, soaking in the trail that her caress left. The moment he felt them upon the base of his cock, he huffed through his nostrils.

“I would hardly think you to be in pain,” Peach teased, letting her lipstick mark every inch of him as she trailed from base to tip. She admired the interesting texture that caressed her lips in return. It was erotic in its own way.

“Hardly in pain,” Bowser confessed, his hand removing her crown in return so that he could fondle each gold strand in loving want. “More as though I am embraced in a dream I never wish to wake from.”

“It is quite the dream if we are both sharing it.” Her palm stroked the underside of his erection, only for him to grab onto her wrist and urge her away. It shocked her, making her assume she did something wrong.

The tip of his claw touched the gloves she wore. “Remove these. I want to feel every bit of you.”

With a smile, Peach did as he asked. The gloves accompanied her dress. She resumed what she was doing.

That euphoric warmth made his teeth clench as his palm rested on the back of her head and urged her lips to the tip of his erection. Even though she knew what he wanted, Peach played against him a bit. The way the princess saw it was revenge for times past.

But she could only fight him for so long. Her tongue flicked across the head of his cock before finally letting her mouth tend to it with a throaty moan that could easily be heard.

With a vocal cry of pleasure, the Koopa King nearly fell to his knees. He remained firm. He let her adjust to the size of him before guiding her head up and down on his length. The tight warmth of her throat embraced him soon enough, and it was there he worried he may cum far too soon.

Was he that needy for her all this time? It wouldn't surprise him, but he was hardly sober minded to think too deeply on it all.

Her hand caressed his sack in the process, and while she couldn't make it all the way to the base of his erection, it hardly mattered. Beautiful blue eyes stared up at him through her heart shaped bangs that were a bit of a mess about her features. It was there she steadily pulled back to the head of his erection with a lewd pop of a sound when she finally found her throat and mouth freed.

The string of saliva broke the connection that they had until the king found his palms on her shoulders and urged her onto the rug that decorated the floor. He didn't care where they were. He wanted her. He needed her.

It was her turn to trail her fingers through his hair, watching as the fiery red strands slipped through her caress. “So impatient. Like always.”

“With you, it’s hard to remain patient,” Bowser insisted, his own hands trailing over the perfect curves of her body. He found himself enjoying as her skin seeped through the tight hold he had upon her, as he guided her closer to the head of his erection.

Maybe she felt some sort of nervousness to the act. But all the same, she reached up and touched his cheek to try and settle whatever worries he may have had. “I can handle it,” she whispered, breaking down whatever barrier of doubt there was between them all the more.

His grip tightening upon her hips, he felt the sweet, erotic kiss of her entrance touch upon the head of his cock before urging it ever steadily down the length of him.

Peach arched her back off of the ground, a sharp cry of ecstasy filling the room as the ridges of the Koopa King’s cock encouraged her own euphoria all the more. The erotic knot within her stomach tightened blissfully as the king assisted her small frame upon his length. It was a lustful dance that had her lidded eyes gazing drunkenly up at him.

Both of their breathing grew louder and closer together where neither one of them needed to speak a single word in regards to how they felt. Bowser could even feel the warm squeeze upon his sensitive length, knowing she would cum soon.

He inched forward, sheathing himself completely within her as he pressed his forehead against hers. Lips curled as he felt himself unable to keep his climax at bay for much longer, and it was there the warm rush of his release filled her to where his cum seeped between their connection and marked her inner thighs and the rug beneath them.

“B-Bowser…!” Peach cried out in pleasure, as her own orgasm uncoiled within her body and allowed her to mark him in kind. A pleasant sigh hissed through her clenched teeth as her fingernails pricked at his skin while riding out her orgasm.

The king caught himself, not wishing to accidentally crush her with his weight as he hovered over her with sweat beading from his brow. He was assisted in returning to himself when Peach’s bare palm caressed his cheek.

“Was it everything you wanted, my King?” she asked, her words weak from the aftermath of it all.

He took her hand, keeping it there upon his cheek as he wished for it to remain where it was for as long as she would allow. “Everything and more, my Princess.” His lips found their way to her cheek, and then to her neck where he held her tightly there in a loving and protective embrace.

END

[klitzy-please]

Missing, But Not In Action

Leon Kennedy x Choir teacher! Reader

SFW; fluff: angst; not thoroughly proof read

Author’s Note: Haiii! Klitzy here! I’m so sorry if this seems a bit chopped, I’ve been busy and only had certain times to work on it! I hope y’all enjoy, and please put what y’all’s thoughts (and prayers) in the comments if comfortable enough to do so!

You pace back and forth, just waiting. You keep calling the DSO, but they keep telling you the same thing. ‘We have this under control, Y/N.’

You don’t believe them, you can’t believe them. If they had this under control, he’d be in your arms, kissing your face off before work, he’d be there helping you with breakfast as you brushed your hair and teeth. He’d just be there.

You tried calling his cell, but you still got that same result.

‘Hey, it's Leon, leave a message.’

Oh, how you hate his job.

You checked the clock, reading 6:30. Shit. If you stayed in that living room, you’d be even more late for work if you mopped in your living room any longer. You grab your bag and hurriedly rush out to your car, keys jingling as you trot hurriedly.

Getting into the metal box, you start the ignition and speed out of that driveway. You and Leon were lucky enough to find this cute little Victorian era house that had about an acre of land around it that served as your yard. The two of you wanted children, hell, you wanted to put. Anything in that yard. He even got you a puppy on your first anniversary of dating. The house was close enough to your job and it was basically out of your dreams. Your whole life was almost actually. Beautiful house, a hot and loving husband, a job you can’t get enough of, everything was perfect, other than what your husband does. for work.

You couldn’t help but think about what he was doing, you knew that if Leon got enough booze in him, he’d drunkenly cry about it to you, but right now, he wasn’t home. He wasn’t in your arms and he wasn’t drunk off of the new bottle of Jamison’s you bought initially for yourself.

Your train of thought was fought off by your phone ringing. It was hunnigan.

You pick up the phone hesitantly. “H-hunnigan..? Why are you calling me? Did something happen?” Your breath hitched in fear and anticipation.

You could hear her sigh “We found him… or at least a sign of him. I could be wrong, but it seems that we should be able to get connected to him soon.” Hunnigan swallowed hard. She was also a bit uneasy about this, but for different reasons.

“Well I don’t know if that’s a good thing… he should’ve been home by now.” Your eyes dart around as you park your car in the “teacher of the year’ spot. “Wait.. how do you know it's actually him?”

“Well, we don’t truly know. But what we do know is that it's in the area that he was sent to…” Hunnigan swallowed hard. “Look, I’m not supposed to say anything, but it’s Leon we are talking about. The mission was a domestic one. Ergo, he’s still in the states… We might be able to get something out of that…”

“You’re actually serious, right? Please tell me you are.” Your lips start to bleed from all of the nervous biting you’ve been doing.

“Yes, I am… I’ll get back to you once I have more information…” Hunnigan clears her throat. “How did you know it was me calling?”

You relax a bit. “I’ve been calling the DSO so much, they just gave me your personal number… I could ask you the same actually.”

Hunnigan chuckled. “Well, I looked through Leon’s emergency files… you were listed as the spouse there. Also, I’m not going to ask why they gave you my personal…”

“Noted… hey, I’ll get back to you later. Please tell me what all you can. I really can’t spend another night not knowing if he’s safe or not.” You tried to stable yourself and swallowed your tears to your best abilities.

The two of you bid your farewells and then hang up. Now, all you have to do is go clock in, check your mailbox, answer emails and get all of your music sheets organized for the 6 periods you teach in a day.

You sit down in your empty classroom in silence. You don’t even want to check your emails, your eyes dart to the pictures of Leon that sat on your desk that was encased in a cute metal frame. It was one of the first dates you ever had with him. You were looking for some vinyls to add to your collection and funny enough, Leon was in that same exact music store looking for some cds for his new (and soon to be totaled) car.

You can’t help but gain a bitter-sweet smile on your face.

Before you knew it, the bell had rung. It was homeroom day… yay.

The bell rang long and a group of kids started to pile in just as always. You sat down at the piano like you’ve done the past a decade you’ve been teaching here.

A tall, blonde kid walks into the class, eyeing you. He’s a junior if you are correct. He’s in your 6th period.

“Mrs. Kennedy?” The kid asks you.

Your mouth opens and then closes. “Uhm.. What's up ,sport?” You ask awkwardly.

He gives you a look before handing you a piece of paper. It’s a permission slip. You nod your head at him and he takes a seat in his respective spot. you can’t help but look at it, to be fair you forgot the kid’s name. It was something that sounded familiar enough.

You read the paper to see the kid’s name. Leo Kents.

L.K..

—————————————————————————————————————

‘L—Le—Leon-n-n!’ Leon’s comm rang as he tried to go somewhere with service. There was an outbreak in rural appalachia. Close enough for him to get home in 3 hours or sped fast enough. He grabbed the thing and proceeded to bang it on his thigh.

“Hunnigan?!” Leon yelps.

“Oh thank g——————safe.” Hunnigan beeped through.

Leon’s brows furrowed. “What? I… I can’t understand what you are saying…. Ah hell, the job’s done… I’m going home.” Leon put the device in his pocket after turning it off, he needed to get a car…

—————————————————————————————————————

It was about 12 in the afternoon and your lunch would be finished in about half an hour. All you could do was stare at your phone. You knew that they’d find him. Hunnigan promised! Right? I mean she told you that they found a sign, so the possibilities are endless.

You sighed exasperatedly as someone knocked on your door. You looked up to see a head pooping up to look through your window. As you stood to see who it was, a second head of hair popped in the window also, at that point, all you could do was chicken to yourself.

“What is it? Shouldn’t you be at lunch or something?” You lean against the door frame looking at the girls expectantly.

The girl first spoke. “We came to tell you our song choices for S/E. You told us that you’d get back to us by December, and here we are.”

Your eyebrows raised as you nodded your head. “I did say that, didn’t I? So, why is it that y'all came to me instead of vice versa?” The two girls blushed at the question which was more of a statement than anything.

“Well, we wanted to go over the ideas. We have many but we mainly have two to show you.” You boy finally piped up. The girl gave you a nod, agreeing.

You sigh and move out of the way so they could come in until it was time for their next class or however long it took them to go over the songs with you.

You start to read the music sheets that they provided you, all you could do was look at them in shock.

“Seriously? I understand ‘As the snow begins to fall”, but ‘When I am laid in earth’?’ You blinked at them in surprise.

The boy chuckled, almost like he knew you’d say that. It was a very odd mix of two songs with two very different voice ranges.

You sighed and shook your head. “If that’s what makes you happy.”

You put down the sheets into your fabric covered lap. All you could do was give these kids a weak smile. At this point, you just wanted them out of your room. You didn’t have to deal with these two and their jokes for another two periods and all you wanted was just a break.

The pair looked at you with looks of triumph and satisfaction. They finally bid their adues and went out of your classroom.

The second they walked out, You ran to your cell to check for any more calls. None.

You bit your bottom lip hard. When in the hell would she call you back?

—————————————————————————————————————

“Baby cakes?!” Leon practically screeched as he ran into the house. Stupidly, he came from the back door. Somehow, he found a ride that’d take him to the gas station closest to your place.

He rummaged through each and every room he could, looking for you. All he could do was yell and scream out your name. He needed to find the love of his life. His world.

The only thing that stopped him was the sound of Hunnigan tapping back in.

“Hunnigan?” Leon barked.

“Leon?! Where are you?! Did the assignment go through well?” Hunnigan shot questions at him quicker than an auctioneer could even talk. This, of course, made the infamous agent chuckle.

“I’m back home… I was looking for Y/N. And yes, it was completed. Once I get to my wife, I’ll be in shortly to put in the documents… though I think back up could easily finish that.”

Hunnigan gave him a glaring look through the screen. “Well they are only there for clean up. You, on the other hand, are the person who was sent in to get the information needed and take out whoever was wanted. But I’m sure your wife and the safety of the country must come first. I bet our boss would just love that!” She quipped, making Leon sour.

“Well, I bet she’s pulling her hair out of her head at the moment… It’s only for a few minutes, she at least deserves that much. And besides, she doesn’t answer her phone at work often.” Leon tried to reason.

Hunnigan leaned back into her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Well one of those few times must’ve been today. I talked to her.”

Leon’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?! Is she okay?”

“Leon… She’s more worried than anything. You haven’t been home. I think she’s a bit desperate.” Hunnigan chuckled. “Hell, she is desperate. She got whoever to give her my personal cell!”

Leon laughed at the mention of your sudden desperation.

“Look, I’ll just put in that you are en route to the main office.” Hunnigan started clicking away at her keyboard.

Leon smiled, relieved that he could at least do this. It was almost rewarding.

—————————————————————————————————————

You reread the score in front of you, making sure to play it just right this time. The students sat there quietly, some murmuring about the sudden and rare fatigue, others, zoned out, reading over their own sheets of music.

Your eyes closed as you sighed out of your nose. ‘You got this’, you told yourself.

your fingers played around on the keys, re-warming them up. You hit the starting notes, the time signature being pentatonic and a 3/2. Suddenly, the rhythm came to an abrupt stop. The students looked up at you as you waited for their expected gazes.

“Open to the beginning of the song, but go to the last measure.” You chirped as you brushed the bangs of your hair to the side, studying the way your hands rest on the piano. As if you were programmed, your fingers fell onto the keys, playing the melody of the music.

Your playing almost took you away from reality, from the aching pain of a very long period of not seeing your husband, from the aching pain that your life just loves to inflict. The sound of the piano brought you to a bit of peace as you ended at a different measure. You look at the children, who were closing their folders and putting them up. All you could do was give them a small smile. It was just about the end of the period.

You stayed. Silent as you watched them get up to the sound of the bell as if they were robots, moving to commands. You silently waved goodbye as they curtly walked out, one-by-one.

The second the last kid walked out, your face dropped. You turned back around, you sighed as your head fell into your hands. No call from hunnigan, no Leon, nothing.

“Why did I get myself into..?” You silently mumbled.

You shot up as you looked at the ceiling. You sniffed, holding back your tears. You had students coming in at any minute. You couldn’t just let them see you like this, they didn’t need to see you fret.

You sat there on the bench, basking in the loneliness that you didn’t know would be interrupted sooner than you were hoping for.

There was a knock on the wooden door frame, making you jump.

You quickly scrambled to your feet, flattening out your skirt and fixing your sweater. You twirled around with a hopefully convincing smile plastered on your face.

You opened your mouth, trying to cover up what you were just doing, as though it would paint you a good excuse. Let’s just hope they weren’t there for long.

“Hey! How can I-” your smile faltered as you stared at the taller, tired being in front of you. “Oh my god…”

Suddenly, your eyes filled with tears, threatening to ruin your perfect makeup.

Leon smiled as he hoisted himself off of the frame, making his way towards you.

“My sweet girl, oh how I’ve missed your ass!” He opened up his arms, just as he always did.

You sauntered towards him, grabbing him and pulling him into a tight embrace.

“I… I thought you were dead? You left me!” You choked on your sobs out of relief, anger, and sorrow.

Leon felt his heart cave. He really did make you worry your head off, he really did put you through that.

He chuckled out of relief. “Well I’m here now, ain’t I? It’s okay, I’m here, I’m safe. We both are together.”

You know that he was right, but the feeling of him not being there lingered. You prayed that it was real, that he was actually holding you and not just some dream.

But this was no dream, he was actually here in your arms. Now, you could go back to your usual routine of drinking coffee on the back porch and watching old westerns as you ate breakfast on the weekends. Just for this little bit, your life would be normal. You knew to hold onto this little bit. Because soon enough, your Scottie would be gone again.

[theneworder]

TAKING A ROADTRIP

So this isn’t the story you asked for, but it’s the one that came to me when I sat down to write. This is what I wanted to write. That should be enough.

“One week?” She had asked, unsure of why she was even contemplating this.

“Yes, baby. One week. That’s all. One week, and we can forget that any of this happened.” You flushed in shame, not just in what you were asking of her, but also the erection that had quickly followed after.

Months ago, you had messaged an online profile, someone professing to be a dom and a bull, someone who claimed to be able to corrupt women, turn them into bimbos, sluts, bitches, whatever he felt like, and whatever lay dormant within them. You professed your fantasies, talked about them for hours.. Over the days, these fantasies turned into careful planning, and before you knew it, he had turned up at your door in a white sportscar, under the pretense of being your old roommate from college, a gay man who needed a fake girlfirend to bring to his cousin’s wedding.

Of course she was furious that you would agree to such a thing without consultation, but eager to look after a vulnerable gay man, to prove her credentials as a radical feminist, she couldn’t bring herself to say no once she understood the situation. For your part, you couldn’t help but find your head swimming.. It all felt a little real when the sportscar had parked up outside. Your real fantasy had been to see your girlfriend corrupted into a leathered biker queen, and this bull’s sportscar was close enough at least, but was this what you really wanted? Your heart felt like it would explode through the meeting, the feigned catch-up, you thought you were going to be sick when they left through the front door. But when you heard the rev of the engine and your girlfriend pulling away in a stranger’s car, a quiet descended on your mind… and you felt a stirring in your crotch.

A picture arrived in your inbox a week later. You’d had a steady stream of texts from her the first three days, they slowed after that, and she left you on read by day 6.. This was day 8.

“We’ve been on a little roadtrip.”

You couldn't believe your eyes. This had to be fake? Your girlfriend was covered in tattoos, glasses gone, full face of makeup, her nails had been done, her hair tied back. She was sat in front of the same white car she had left in, but there was no way she would wear anything like that - tight, form fitting black material, and those shoes?! She looked like porn. The way she looked at the camera too, you had never seen that look before - entitled, expectant.. even aroused? Another text.

"You can't believe it can you?"

"Hahahaha you fucking loser."

"You know all she needed was to actually feel desired?"

You were reeling. Of course you wanted this girl.. But this wasn't the plain girl you fantasised about corrupting just to spice up your sex life, the same girl you shared pictures of with other men because you couldn't cum any other way, the girl you avoided having sex with because you wanted to masturbate in the bathroom instead...

No.. This was the girl that was inside her all along. But you never realised that. You were about to type a response but another text came through.. a voice note..

It started with a woman's laugh, and then: "Daddy told me all about your sick little plan~ God what a fucking loser I was dating.. You know, all this time I thought I was the problem. But daddy wanted me, I felt that the first time he put his arm around me, the first night we parked up outside that motel... He wanted me to be my best self.." The voice note trailed off into a small giggle.. "I can't believe you even thought I was yours to give away."

You felt that same sickness welling up inside you. The one you felt when the two of them left. You tried to type, but no words came to mind, you were pathetic, how could you argue with that; all you could think of to type was: "I'm sorry".

As you sat, alone, in bed that night, still in shock, you felt your phone buzzing. It was a video call from your girlfriend. Your heart started to beat again, a thousand times a second, but you had to pick up, just for a chance to say sorry, to tell her what she meant to you, to tell her that from now on you would just be honest to her.

You never got that chance. Instead he picked up, speaking before you even got the chance:

"Hhahaha, 'sup loser. So, in case you haven't realised. There never was any deal - I decided to make her mine."

You started to speak but he cut you off again:

"I decided I'll let you watch though."

And for some reason you couldn't stop watching.

He turned the camera round to reveal your girlfriend, face made up, collar round her neck, sitting on a motel bed, breathing heavily, expectantly. You saw a strong hand reach down and caress her face.

And for some reason you couldn't stop yourself getting hard.

It felt like hours. You watched another man stroke your girlfriend's face, feed her his fingers. You watched his muscles flex as he moved past the camera, the true image of a man who took what he wanted. What he wanted was your girlfriend. That much was clear when he pulled up her skirt, fondled her bare ass.

And for some reason, hearing her moan, you couldn't stop yourself reaching into your shorts.

As you watched him slide her onto his lap, now stripped to underwear you'd never seen before, as you watched her face soften, gave in to his assured touch, as you watched your ex-girlfriend melt onto his perfect cock, you couldn't help but stroke, stroke to the girl she was becoming. She was becoming someone else, someone you'd never know, but she was also becoming your dream - a woman that no man could ever resist.

You were still jerking when the video stopped.

No one hung up, you were still watching them intently, watching her moan as he tasted every inch of her, watching her body grind into his, imagining with every fibre of your being that it was you doing that to her. No, you suddenly became aware that the video stopped because they forgot about you. The phone had run out of battery after two hours. No one in that room realised you were even still there.

Every one of your sick little fantasies had come true and you had lost her. She was falling in love with another man, becoming better than you ever believed she could be, and you were still masturbating to the thought, alone, in your pathetic mess.

And that's how she found you. A week later. In a filthy apartment, you were jerking your tiny cock to that photo of her in front of that fucking car, jerking to every call she refused to pick up, and then the bell rang. She had come to pick up her things. Well, the expensive stuff.

You almost came on the spot.

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

The funniest quotes from my toxicology notes: a collection

It's not even that funny but it made me read the freaking notes so suffer with me

Yeah, I wasn't writing in English most of the time, but stuff happens,-

[Excretion: Kidneys] *insert basic biology knowledge*

This graph:

„Sliznice v dýchacích cestách zachytávají, like, prach a mikroby. *Biology knowledge*“

[komplex carcinogens] „Two in one!“

[osmium] „It's being a difficult little bitch“

[Mercury] „[...] And that's bad.“

[amalgam - that thing used to repair teeth that releases mercury into your body] „Will be fully banned in 2030. Meanwhile suffer unless you are a child or with a child. Teratogenic.“

[Chronic exposure to mercury] „Just describe a Mad Hatter“

Repeatedly describing animals used in experiments as „volunteered animals“

[From a two hour lecture about lab safety] „Don't be a fucking idiot.“

„ 'cos capitalism ✨“

„It does what it says“

[Glykophosphate] „Magic genom into plants => they are now immune too and you can use it to make your sklizeň clean of plevel. Fuck languages btw.“

[neuroparalytic substances] „That gas from GtN!!“

[heroin] „Prescribed to overcome morfin addiction. Good luck with that one.“

[pervitin] „(fuck you) in chocolate? Sure. Hysterical wife? Yeah, why not. Yep, army gets some too! (Wehrmacht Blitzkrieg)“

[Atropin] „NEVERLAND CURSE“

„Please, don't lick toads“ (this is a genuine quote from the textbook btw)

[synthshenanigans]

JASH STICKER COLLECTION GAINS ANOTHER

Also they do adopt certificates for the lil guys u get which is p cool however rlly funny & rlly weird since its just his name

Heres where i got em!!! theres tons of diff stickers & stuff u should check out :D

also got crocheted pan flowers!! :D

[caitas-cooing]

All those how to be successful in work and school courses are all the same and none of them are actually that helpful imho

[lesenbyan]

I will not start a project with denim when I've been awake for 19 hours. I will not start a project with denim with I've been awake for 19 hours. I will not start a project with denim when I've been awake for 19 hours. I will not-

[love-songs-for-emma]

they say that "time heals all wounds" but i honestly think that upping my anti-depressants has done more for me

[hellguarded-moved]

SUBJECT: characters most relevant to the lore, be it by importance, how they've shaped and affected the world, or by their relation to ignis. tw: frequent mentions of drugs / narcotics, implied transphobia, implied rape, mentions of body dysmorphia, super long post.

≥ FILE 020: CONQUEST_

given name lucius. codename derived from his true name. the horseman of conquest and pestilence, he is the one that had given birth to the organization known as 'gonchiye.' translated from russian to mean 'hunting dogs,' it is advertised as a supernatural police force of sorts, meant to upkeep the law and balance in the society of non-humans. the truth is much more ominous than this noble goal lucius presents it to the public with.

the gonchiye was built upon the remains of an ancient pit fighter ring, where humans would imprison supernatural beings through the use of binding magic and make them fight for their entertainment. as time consumes all, lucius had eventually only found a sole survivor of it all— and decided to use this one as a test vessel for a new plague he was developing for the inevitable apocalypse, that would be brought for once the time was nigh; lucius is the second oldest of the horsemen, and even though he rode first, he leaves leadership of the group to the eldest, death. he rides upon a white horse, going by the name glory, and his weapons of choice are a bow and arrows.

the truth beyond this organization is that it is the horseman's way of preserving world balance. each of the four horsemen has their own way of going about it, and while some are more questionable than others... in the end, it is for the greater good of the world. or so they say. many, especially mortals, have any sort of understanding to actually comprehend this divine task. for lucius, this means eliminating targets that, in his opinion, endanger this delicate balance, as well as constantly improving. this could mean many things— be it in regards to biological or technological advancements. one could very easily classify the nephilim as a mad scientist, and they wouldn't be wrong.

lucius has an odd quirk in that he never uses abbreviations, verb conjugations, or contractions. his manner of speech is very proper, if not outright snobby. he is by no means a coward, but he is the type to make others do his bidding for him; it's the very reason why he utilizes the hundred of agents ( there are no more than a hundred active agents at any given time ) within the gonchiye to carry out tasks for him. tasks that are masterfully masked so that the true ambition behind them isn't discovered. generally speaking, there is but a handful of people within the organization aware of the truth, and all of those are under tight scrutiny— to the point of being collared with a collar infused with a special serum meant to make these beasts docile and easily compliant with his wishes. it isn't humane.

ignis is one such agent. once, he dared even to call lucius a friend. the two were rather close, due to them being of similiar ages. ignis is also one of the few people able to actually keep up against lucius in a fight. and they did fight. unfortunately, lucius possesses light magic, which is incredibly effective against an infernal like the hellhound— it has left him with an ugly scar across his chest. their friendship ended and relations became tense after ignis' failure with mission 298: to dispatch stormbringer.

with ignis' continual failures to deliver after that incident, he's set an execution order on him.

≥ FILE 057: LINCEI_

given name kalisha. codename derived from the italian accademia dei lincei, named after the lynx whose keen eye is neccessary for scientific research. kalisha is a nekomata of spanish and japanese origins, and was one of the very first members of the gonchiye. unlike most members who had joined voluntarily under the impression that they'd do some good in the world, to the lynx, it was offered as means of vengeance. kalisha harbors a deep hatred for humans from the times hunters had taken her husband and son, and she's never gotten over the loss. due to her then-violent tendencies, she was also one of the first agents to be collared.

the drug worked well, far too well perhaps, as not long after, her aggressive demeanor had mellowed out. a side-effect of this was the very prominent deepening of her voice, leaving it husky and nearly sounding like a chain smoker. once under control, she's been retired from field missions and was instead tasked with helping with the research— something that had allowed her quite the deep insight into the truth of just what lucius was aiming for. with her mind numbed like so, however, she did not have the willpower to do anything about it, other than simply play along.

that has changed once she was introduced to project talonshot. while their interactions were limited for the sake of conditioning naoto into a cold-hearted killer, she did end up doting on him and treating him like her own son. it could never be the same, and not just for the boy being different, but also due to the strict security within the gonchiye walls, she could never be as open with her affection as she could hope for. nevertheless? it gave her some hope and determination in perservering in these conditions.

ignis considers her his closest friend. both of them were early members, though she's never told him the truth about lucius and the things she's learned until much, much later. she believed she was protecting him this way. they had interest in each other at one point and had tried dating, but things never quite worked out, and so they simply stayed on friendly terms. she is someone ignis can talk about just anything, and he knows she has his back, while he has hers. they had numerously teased each other for their tastes in partners, especially once she'd learned that ignis had taken naoto as his lover and mate, but the truth was, she was very happy for them both; and would entrust her son to no one else.

kalisha eventually meets the current warlord of the red oni tribe and decides to stay with them ( or rather, they had rather forcibly kidnapped her from the gonchiye. she didn't resist or complain ) and become their queen as they became lovers and partners.

≥ FILE 094: NIHIL_

given name noctis. codename derived from his umbrakinesis and the ability to create black holes. about 500 years younger than his half-brother, he harbors immense jealousy towards ignis and has set out along with his cousin, eryx, to earth to seek him out and hopefully drag him back to their home in the underworld. was it selfish? certainly. did that stop them? no. noctis used to be rather clingy towards his older brother as a child, so seeing him run away from home like so was incredibly traumatizing; he practically idolized the hound.

contrary to his half-brother, who is the result of a hellhound and an erinye, noctis is a pureblooded erinye. he is rather apathetic and laughs at the misfortune of others. he is mean, but not neccessarily evil. his magic can be destructive and he can be rather ruthless in a fight. such talents had earned him the position of a saboteur; but not without a collar.

noctis is a trans man, but lucius knew that he possesses female biology, and took advantage of it. his genes were forcibly used in the creation of project talonslash, which has left the erinye with deep mental scars. he'd never felt insecure about his body until that very moment that someone abused it like so. as a result, he's come to loathe talon, even if the boy himself hadn't done anything wrong. long since losing ignis again after his exodus from the gonchiye did he not want to stay anymore, but getting out was never easy. this, though? this was the last straw.

≥ FILE 273: HELIOS_

given name sirius. codename derived from his title, 'the sun of the underworld.' sirius is the current hound of hades, something of a king of the hellhounds, inhering the title of cerberus that goes with it. such tradition is something ignis is aware of, therefore his bitterness about lucius choosing to designate the codename cerberus to him within the gonchiye.

sirius had an affair with tisiphone, an affair from which his ( currently ) only son was born. a bastard perhaps, but he still wished for him to take up the mantle of cerberus once it was time. unfortunately, tisiphone didn't agree with this; she wanted the child for herself, or at least, to have him make whatever choices he wished to later in life. fiercely protective, she hid herself and baby ignis within erebus, the shadowy pocket dimension of the underworld, only accessible to the erinyes and a few others. ignis did take after this fiery desire to be independent, maybe a bit too much, and yet, he felt like his mother was smothering him; not allowing him to leave erebus until... until what? he didn't know, and she never gave him the answer. eventually, he heard the call of hades; a call every hellhound must answer. one that only they hear, and cannot resist. under the influence of the call, he managed to break free of erebus.

that was the first time he and sirius met, some three hundred years since ignis' birth. perhaps a bit too enthusiastic to meet his son, sirius was quick to introduce ignis to just about everything that was to be expected out of him— once, they might have even ended up on good terms. but feeling that his father, too, wished to force his dreams and ideals onto him, ignis came to resent his father more than he did his mother. he swore to never become the next cerberus, or have anything to do with sirius at all. he avoided him like the plague.

sirius is an outgoing, charismatic, yet arrogant individual. he and ignis are quite alike, in both looks and personality, much to his dismay. nowadays, sirius realizes he might've been a little too pushy with ignis, and he regrets it greatly, as he would have loved to be on good terms with his son... he still hopes for as much, even if the rational part of him knows that will likely never happen.

another custom for the hound of hades is to take up two mates, so as to represent the other two heads of cerberus. sirius, dutiful as he is, eventually enters an arranged mateship with xolotl and tiangou, two guardian hellhounds from different cultures, later accepting the names of sol and luna, the sun and moon to sirius' star. this mateship is especially important in these trying times, where the guardian breed is near its extinction— sol is expected to carry the pups of both luna and sirius. this polyamory is yet another parallel between father and son, but ignis remains unaware of this so far.

≥ FILE 298: STORMBRINGER_

given name shinjou. codename derived from his ability to control lightning. this kitsune was the unfortunate patient zero as the sole survivor of the earlier-mentioned beast pit fight business. he was unaware of this predicament until much, much later, that this sickness had started to show itself. at first, it was simple nausea, then it turned into something akin to tuberculosis, and eventually, his very body had started to change.

shinjou is incredibly technically skilled, something of a mad scientist himself to rival lucius, but where lucius seeks the biological, shinjou is more interested in the mechanical. while being the head of a yakuza group called 'the order of the lotus,' in honor of his deceased father, he also owns a cybernetics company that specializes in highly advanced body implants and prosthetics. his twin brother had once lost an entire arm in a fight with a red oni ( this same oni had later also targeted shinjou and took his eye, leaving the fox blind in one eye ), and he was more than eager to provide for his brother with the technology he's developed. later in life he even attempts to build an adroid from scratch.

besides technology, shinjou is also a skilled sniper and hacker, on top of being a very influential person in kyoto— and slowly, all of japan, though for all the wrong reasons. the order had become feared, and its influence had even changed the widely-accepted meaning and symbolism of the lotus flower— where it once was a symbol of purity and rebirth, it is now something to be feared. shinjou experienced many hardships in his life, starting since childhood where he was exiled from the kitsune clan he lived in, for being born a twin, as twins were considered a bad omen. only one of the brothers was allowed to stay, and shinjou wasn't it— he never harbored any ill will against his parents or his brother for making that choice, however, only the clan elders. the twins were separated for most of their life before reuniting.

it only went downhill from there. getting caught and imprisoned within the fighting ring, which then cost his father's life, then getting used as a guinea pig, and even once he'd gotten out of all of that? he was adopted by a yakuza oyabun, who then taught him all that shinjou currently knows in regards to that kind of life. once the man had passed and shinjou took over, he renamed the group to honor his late father, and made it to be the most fearsome group kyoto had to ever deal with. all the misfortunes and abuse led to shinjou closing off his heart to love; and that was where ignis came into play, who'd, despite his own hardships, managed to stay soft and tender.

ignis was originally deployed as a long-time infiltrator agent into the order of the lotus, as per lucius' orders to learn all that there was, and then take him out before the plague had time to spread. this had gone on for twelve years, during which the hound, expectably so if you know anything about him, had developed romantic feelings for shinjou. he failed at pulling the trigger at the end, but shinjou still learned about the truth behind ignis' presence within the order— he was incredibly hurt by his betrayal, given just how much loyalty means to the fox. so much, that he insists every members gets a lotus tattoo ( hand for regular members, the neck for high ranked members ) to show their loyalty. and that's exactly what ignis did, and the fact that he bore the mark of the lotus and still stabbed him in the back like so? was something that broke the fox. one might have thought there was still some hope for salvation for him, but since then, he'd become unreasonably cold and cruel. he was letting no one close to him, ever again. even if later he'd found someone whom he calls a mate, a woman called abigail medusa, even with her the relationship is incredibly unstable and full of vitriol.

however, he still had to thank ignis. thank him for this opportunity to actually learn about the gonchiye, lucius, and the truth behind his undiagnosable illness. this meant war.

≥ FILE 309: TALONSLASH_

no given name. or? 'talonslash,' eventually simply referred to as 'talon' by his fellow agents for simplicity's sake ( despite lucius' disdain ) was purposefully left nameless upon his creation. project talonslash was meant to be the successor to project talonshot, which was, after ignis' influence and tampering, deemed a failure. the codename itself was derived from the mother project talon, plus a contrasting word to the original shot, as the birds were specialized as snipers.

talon is a very particular kind of a genetic experiment, as his dna consists of that of a tengu, falcon, and an erinye. noctis, to be specific. it was an ugly memory. this was made so that they could force his body into becoming resistant to physical stress, as that was deemed as one of talonshot's greatest weaknesses. they couldn't possibly make a durable bird assassin if they wanted him to remain swift and agile, and so, they went with the route that would make talon's body dissolve into shadows whenever exposed to immense physical trauma. therefore, it is incredibly difficult to actually wound him— if you manage to catch him in the first place. he struggles to actually control this side of himself, and everytime he is forced to dissolve like so, it leaves him feeling besides himself, in a nearly dissociative-like state.

his purpose, much like his predecestor's, is to be a living weapon. cold and heartless when taking the lives of his targets, and highly efficent at doing so. he is incredibly skilled with firearms as well as small hand weapons, such as knives. he also had extensive close quarters combat training, and while he excelled at it, it remains not his forte. talon much more prefers to pick his enemies off one by one from a safe distance, unseen. besides that, being agile as he is, usually leads to a more hit-and-run technique of fighting, plus he never properly learned how to handle and counter blows, due to how his body reacts to such assault. but given just what a dreadful feeling having to turn into a shadow leaves him in, he prefers to simply avoid getting hit altogether if he can help it.

despite his lack of identity and the ease at which he kills, he is a surprisingly bubbly and carefree character, if not a bit silly. naturally, he was allowed very little socializing and given even less affection while growing up, and while that had turned talonshot into the apathetic man that he is today, it seemed to have the very opposite effect on talonslash, leaving him childish and very eager to please. the primary person he seeks validation from is talonshot, whom he considers his older brother, even if their actual relation between them is a lot more complex. too bad he hadn't seen him for the majority of his life— only heard about him in stories, constantly compared to, and told just what kind of image he needed to live up to, and then subsequently surpass.

eventually, he was given the name hayato by none other than his brother upon finally meeting. as it is rather new to him, sometimes he still struggles to actually react to it should someone call him that— while he will always, without fail, respond to talon.

talon himself isn't incredibly important to ignis, rather he is important to his husband, naoto, and the one originally dubbed 'project talonshot.' their meeting and further interaction together was important for the development of them both; helping to find themselves among the scraps that the gonchiye had left them in.

honorable mentions, aka characters not played by me ( but @hellhunted ), but still very important:

≥ FILE 093: ORTHRUS_

given name eryx. codename derived from the mythological brother of cerberus, which was the designation assigned to ignis, due to the brother-like relation between the two. eryx joined the gonchiye together with noctis, hence their numbers following one another's. lucius was quite eager to have another hellhound at his disposal thanks to their unique ability of phasewalking.

eryx is a very... airheaded individual. a lot of things go over his head, but his heart is in the right place. he never truly saw the gonchiye for what it was; he and noctis only joined it as means of getting ignis back. eryx was collared nearly right from the start as precautionary measure, as lucius did not want to take any possible risks, having witnessed what troubles the elder hound could, and had, caused him.

ignis was something of an older brother to eryx while they were growing up together in the underworld. but where ignis ached to escape it, eryx wished to remain home. in his selfish desire for as much, ignis had abandoned the younger hound without a word on numerous ocassions. he feels great guilt about this all, but it just never seems like a good time to actually stop and tell him— and his cowardice prevents him from actually ever seeking him out and properly apologize. what kindship they had, is slowly dying out.

≥ FILE 308: TALONSHOT_

given name naoto. codename derived from the mother project talon, plus the word shot to signify his specialization as a sniper. talonshot was lucius' first attempt at dna splicing to create a perfect being with the exact kind of traits he desired. it was... mostly a success. naoto was intelligent and effective, and excelled at everything they put him to, which really mostly just involved assassinations with no feelings attached— something he noticed a lot of his agents often struggled with. to separate their duty from their emotions. ignis especially. but what was especially important and unique about naoto? was that, since he was just the first prototype at this kind of bioengineering for the future, he was also made disposable. 'talonshot' had an expiration date.

talonshot's purpose was to take care of the most important mission lucius had once entrusted ignis with— nowadays he really wonders just why he'd ever trusted that sap with something like this —to take out stormbringer. not only was naoto then succumbed to years of intense training to make sure he was ready for that encounter, his blood was also, since birth, infused with the antibody to the horseman's plague. he was meant to contain the plague, to get rid of the first specimen who wasn't meant to escape, before it started to spread prematurely, before the world was ready for the apocalypse. a clean state for the world was neccessary, but the time had to be right.

however, ignis was still the only person who had the most experience with stormbringer and as such, he was assigned as naoto's handler once he was out of initial basic care and training. they were still sent out on numerous other missions in gonchiye's name, but the long-term goal was to make sure that talonshot knew how to properly employ all that he'd learned against his main target.

you cannot teach new tricks to an old dog though, so long story short, the two ended up falling in love. it was true that at first, ignis despised naoto and all that he was meant to represent, but more importantly— he despised just how all the higher-ups were treating him. like he wasn't a living, breathing being. it took years upon years to make naoto believe that that was who he was; his true name, and not 'talonshot.' ignis strongly believed that he could be an efficent killer if that was who he wished to be, but he didn't need to completely forego his identity for it— and so, the many years of secret relationship were also a lot about helping naoto discover who he was behind all the guns and bullets.

they eventually made it to japan again, fully determined to see talonshot's mission to completion, only for the kitsune to prove a much deadlier foe than either of them had anticipated. ignis' direct orders were to not interfere, to let naoto handle it himself. but once he saw his boyfriend, his mate, nearly on death's door? he didn't hesitate. he'd saved him, paid a heavy price for it as he'd transformed into his true form to do so, and in the end, he still left the fox to live. his mate was alive, but he'd effectivelly ruined all he was working to achieve. enough said that naoto was furious at him— and so was lucius, which eventually led to him marking ignis as a traitor, and a kill order was issued on the hound.

naoto eventually forgave ignis, in fact, he'd eventually even proposed to the hound— the first man to ever do so, no less —and once he was chased out of the gonchiye, he followed after him. they've been on the run ever since, trying for some measure of a normal life, only to be crossed by the more loyal gonchiye agents on a handful of ocassions— until they met rashida and her resistance.

≥ FILE 388: SERQET_

given name rashida. codename derived from the goddess that she was a priestess of in her human life. the first human ignis had ever come into contact upon earth; and also his first ( and, romantically enough, also last ) lover and mate. she was the one to teach him about humanity with a hands-on approach, she was the one to teach him the first human language ( ancient egyptian ) and how to live like a human. due to an injury acquired from his less-than-graceful escape from the underworld, ignis was stuck in his demon form for a good while before recovering, making that a little troublesome; the locals had come to believe that he was an avatar of anubis coming to bless them. once discovered a fraud, both him and rashida were chased out of the temple.

since rashida had shown him her own home, ignis suggested they visit greece; his home on the mortal plane. it was there, closer to the magic of the gods, that he managed to mend the damaged mortal seal and take on a proper human guise. they'd been separated on numerous accounts, oftentimes by means outside either of their's powers, and yet each time, they found their way back to one another. one time she'd died, not long after ignis was recalled back to the underworld against his own will upon hearing the call of hades once again ( as it was louder within greece— for that reason, he now avoids the country ), as many mortal human would, which was something ignis should have expected... and he did, and yet? he couldn't accept it. especially because it wasn't death by natural means. he came to beg persephone to have her resurrected— such a selfish wish of a selfish lover, not at all caring about the consequences it might have had on her. the goddess told him as much, but he wouldn't take no for an answer; eventually tasked to find her soul that had passed on so that she could protect it personally for the times to come, while the spring deity worked with the egyptian goddess serqet to help restore the woman's body.

it... proved problematic, naturally. suddenly inhabiting a soulless vessel, turned into a demon like so, and all for the canine's selfishness and inability to let go. he was warned, but he was willing to face it head on, and was given another hundred years together with her— to help her learn about herself, her new body, her new demonic abilities. it was rough, as the reborn demoness despised herself for being this way, that ignis had done this to her... it took a long time of learning and self-reflection for rashida to accept both herself and him, before... ignis was called back once again, now that his hundred years were up. not that he was willing to stay, but another escape proved more problematic than the last, far too much to actually still be able to find his lover where he'd unwillingly left her on earth. since then? he hasn't seen her again... not for another two thousand years.

due to her own traumas of being reincarnated and forcibly turned into a demon ( and therefore stripped of her soul ) found the drive to fight against the gonchiye and the horsemen, to protect the humanity. even if she didn't possess her own anymore, she still holds humans dear to her heart, and simply couldn't accept what the horseman was doing. she, and many others outside the system, had discovered the truth, and a lot of it was thanks to all the wrenches ignis and naoto had thrown into lucius' plans. an alliance between mortals and immortals was formed, and came to known as the resistance against the coming apocalypse; though more importantly, against all the inhume methods the horseman of conquest is employing to upkeep his precious balance. lucius still insists these puny beings cannot understand the neccessity and importance of a world reset, and so, these two factions are now at war.

these were the two thousand years that had passed, until she's met ignis again— though this time, now a married man. it hurt her heart, certainly, as did the hound's, given just how awful and guilty he felt for all the pain and trouble he put rashida through. nevertheless, she offered the two of them shelter from the gonchiye, after having learned that they were hunted by them— and not long after, even naoto had started to warm up to the demoness. they're all now happily together in a polyamorous marriage.

≥ FILE 523: EMPRESS_

given name persephone. codename derived from her sovereign status to match with her husband, hades, the 'emperor.' persephone was something of an anchor to ignis while he was chained in the underworld. she provided him with light, both literally and figuratively, and with stories of earth— one might even blame her for the yearning he's come to feel for it. he's even come to develop a crush on her but of course, such feelings were not reciprocated. nevertheless, she was the one to bless him with the mortal seal upon his shoulder, that allowed him to appear human and walk freely on earth.

[orcelito]

Ykno the common critique I've seen around is that trimax fights r hard to follow & such. And I've always had the kind of thought of like "I mean sometimes it can be confusing, but if u stop to study it it's really not that bad"

Having a fight analysis post kinda blow up tho I'm seeing ppl comment over and over in the tags about how hard it is to keep up with the fights... and I'm just like. Is it really that confusing? Like genuinely. I thought it was one of those overblown fan critiques but it seems like a Lot of people agree with it.

[superstardestroyer]

Dawg I work in automating email-job-type-tasks and my coworkers - fellow elder millennials - were STUNNED at my solution to create a dynamic folder name. Not the method of making it dynamic, the part that stunned them was the "run cmd.exe: '/c mkdir [filepath]'" and at the point where I was going "yeah no its not wizardry its just like... a vestigial recreation of MSDOS..." I had to confront that frankly computer literacy has never been more in the toilet.

Telling young zoomers to "just switch to linux" is nuts some of these ipad kids have never even heard of a cmd.exe or BIOS you're throwing them to the wolves

[burntoutdaydreamer]

Things That May Be Causing Your Writer's Block- and How to Beat Them

I don't like the term 'Writer's Block' - not because it isn't real, but because the term is so vague that it's useless. Hundreds of issues all get lumped together under this one umbrella, making writer's block seem like this all-powerful boogeyman that's impossible to beat. Worse yet, it leaves people giving and receiving advice that is completely ineffective because people often don't realize they're talking about entirely different issues.

In my experience, the key to beating writer's block is figuring out what the block even is, so I put together a list of Actual Reasons why you may be struggling to write:

(note that any case of writer's block is usually a mix of two or more)

Perfectionism (most common)

What it looks like:

You write one sentence and spend the next hour googling "synonyms for ___"

Write. Erase. Write. Rewrite. Erase.

Should I even start writing this scene when I haven't figured out this one specific detail yet?

I hate everything I write

Cringing while writing

My first draft must be perfect, or else I'm a terrible writer

Things that can help:

Give yourself permission to suck

Keep in mind that nothing you write is going to be perfect, especially your first draft

Think of writing your first/early drafts not as writing, but sketching out a loose foundation to build upon later

People write multiple drafts for a reason: write now, edit later

Stop googling synonyms and save that for editing

Write with a pen to reduce temptation to erase

Embrace leaving blank spaces in your writing when you can't think of the right word, name, or detail

It's okay if your writing sucks. We all suck at some point. Embrace the growth mindset, and focus on getting words on a page

Lack of inspiration (easiest to fix)

What it looks like:

Head empty, no ideas

What do I even write about???

I don't have a plot, I just have an image

Want to write but no story to write

Things that can help:

Google writing prompts

If writing prompts aren't your thing, instead try thinking about what kind of tropes/genres/story elements you would like to try out

Instead of thinking about the story you would like to write, think about the story you would like to read, and write that

It's okay if you don't have a fully fleshed out story idea. Even if it's just an image or a line of dialogue, it's okay to write that. A story may or may not come out of it, but at least you got the creative juices flowing

Stop writing. Step away from your desk and let yourself naturally get inspired. Go for a walk, read a book, travel, play video games, research history, etc. Don't force ideas, but do open up your mind to them

If you're like me, world-building may come more naturally than plotting. Design the world first and let the story come later

Boredom/Understimulation (lost the flow)

What it looks like:

I know I should be writing but uugggghhhh I just can'tttttt

Writing words feels like pulling teeth

I started writing, but then I got bored/distracted

I enjoy the idea of writing, but the actual process makes me want to throw my laptop out the window

Things that can help:

Introduce stimulation: snacks, beverages, gum, music such as lo-fi, blankets, decorate your writing space, get a clickity-clackity keyboard, etc.

Add variety: write in a new location, try a new idea/different story for a day or so, switch up how you write (pen and paper vs. computer) or try voice recording or speech-to-text

Gamify writing: create an arbitrary challenge, such as trying to see how many words you can write in a set time and try to beat your high score

Find a writing buddy or join a writer's group

Give yourself a reward for every writing milestone, even if it's just writing a paragraph

Ask yourself whether this project you're working on is something you really want to be doing, and be honest with your answer

Intimidation/Procrastination (often related to perfectionism, but not always)

What it looks like:

I was feeling really motivated to write, but then I opened my laptop

I don't even know where to start

I love writing, but I can never seem to get started

I'll write tomorrow. I mean next week. Next month? Next month, I swear (doesn't write next month)

Can't find the time or energy

Unreasonable expectations (I should be able to write 10,000 words a day, right????)

Feeling discouraged and wondering why I'm even trying

Things that can help:

Follow the 2 min rule (or the 1 paragraph rule, which works better for me): whenever you sit down to write, tell yourself that you are only going to write for 2 minutes. If you feel like continuing once the 2 mins are up, go for it! Otherwise, stop. Force yourself to start but DO NOT force yourself to continue unless you feel like it. The more often you do this, the easier it will be to get started

Make getting started as easy as possible (i.e. minimize barriers: if getting up to get a notebook is stopping you from getting started, then write in the notes app of your phone)

Commit to a routine that will work for you. Baby steps are important here. Go with something that feels reasonable: every day, every other day, once a week, twice a week, and use cues to help you remember to start. If you chose a set time to write, just make sure that it's a time that feels natural to you- i.e. don't force yourself to writing at 9am every morning if you're not a morning person

Find a friend or a writing buddy you can trust and talk it out or share a piece of work you're proud of. Sometimes we just get a bit bogged down by criticism- either internal or external- and need a few words of encouragement

The Problem's Not You, It's Your Story (or Outline (or Process))

What it looks like:

I have no problems writing other scenes, it's just this scene

I started writing, but now I have no idea where I'm going

I don't think I'm doing this right

What's an outline?

Drowning in documents

This. Doesn't. Make. Sense. How do I get from this plot point to this one?!?!?! (this ColeyDoesThings quote lives in my head rent free cause BOY have I been there)

Things That Can Help:

Go back to the drawing board. Really try to get at the root of why a scene or story isn't working

A part of growing as a writer is learning when to kill your darlings. Sometimes you're trying to force an idea or scene that just doesn't work and you need to let it go

If you don't have an outline, write one

If you have an outline and it isn't working, rewrite it, or look up different ways to structure it

You may be trying to write as a pantser when you're really a plotter or vice versa. Experiment with different writing processes and see what feels most natural

Study story structures, starting with the three act structure. Even if you don't use them, you should know them

Check out Ellen Brock on YouTube. She's a professional novel editor who has a lot of advice on writing strategies for different types of writers

Also check out Savage Books on YouTube (another professional story editor) for advice on story structure and dialogue. Seriously, I cannot recommend this guy enough

Executive Dysfunction, Usually From ADHD/Autism

What it looks like:

Everything in boredom/understimulation

Everything in intimidation/procrastination

You have been diagnosed with and/or have symptoms of ADHD/Autism

Things that can help:

If you haven't already, seek a diagnosis or professional treatment

Hire an ADHD coach or other specialist that can help you work with your brain (I use Shimmer; feel free to DM me for a referral)

Seek out neurodiverse communities for advice and support

Try body doubling! There's lot's of free online body doubling websites out there for you to try. If social anxiety is a barrier, start out with writing streams such as katecavanaughwrites on Twitch

Be aware of any sensory barriers that may be getting in the way of you writing (such as an uncomfortable desk chair, harsh lighting, bad sounds)

And Lastly, Burnout, Depression, or Other Mental Illness

What it looks like:

You have symptoms of burnout or depression

Struggling with all things, not just writing

It's more than a lack of inspiration- the spark is just dead

Things that can help:

Forget writing for now. Focus on healing first.

Seek professional help

If you feel like it, use writing as a way to explore your feelings. It can take the form of journaling, poetry, an abstract reflection of your thoughts, narrative essays, or exploring what you're feeling through your fictional characters. The last two helped me rediscover my love of writing after I thought years of depression had killed it for good. Just don't force yourself to do so, and stop if it takes you to a darker place instead of feeling cathartic

[deoidesign]

Please for the love of God read my webcomic

cowboys are to pirates what werewolves are to vampires

[niennanir]

Listen to your elders

So last week I posted abut the importance of downloading your fic. And then three days later AO3 went down for 24 hours. No one was more weirded out by this than I was. But while y’all were acting like the library at Alexandria was on fire I was reading my download fic and editing chapter eight of Buck, Rogers, and the 21st Century. And also thinking about what I could do to be helpful when the crisis was actually over.

So first off, I’m going to repeat that if you’re going to bookmark a fic, you really need to also download the fic and back it up in a safe place. I just do it automatically now and it’s a good habit to get into.

But let’s talk about some other scenarios. Last October I lost power for over a week after hurricane Ian. Apart from not having internet or A/C I did find plenty to do, I collect books so I had plenty to read, but maybe, unlike me, your favorite comfort reads aren’t sitting on a bookshelf. So let’s do something about that, shall we?

In olden times many long years ago around 1995 we printed off a lot of fic. It was mostly SOP to print a fic you planned to reread and stick it in a three ring binder. And that’s totally valid today too, but you can also make a very nice paperback with a minimum amount of skill and materials.

Let’s start with the download; Go to Ao3 and select your fic, we’ll be working with one of mine. This method works best with one shots, long fic tends to need a more complicated approach. Get yourself an HTML download

Open up the HTML download and select all then copy paste into any word processor. Set the page to landscape and two columns, then change the font to something you find easy to read, this is your book, no judgement. This is all you have to do for layout but I like to play a little bit. I move all the meta, summary, notes to the end and pick out a fun font for the title: 

No time like the present to do a quick proofread. Congratulations, you’ve just created your first typeset. On to the fun part.

Now you’re going to need some materials:  8.5x11in paper ruler one sheet of 12x12 medium card stock (60-80lb) scissors pencil pen or fine tip marker sheet of wax paper white glue two binder clips 2 heavy books or 1 brick butter knife

You’ll also need a printer, if you’re in the US there is almost a 100% chance your local library has a printer you can use if you don’t have your own. None of these materials are expensive and you can literally use cheap copy paper and Elmers glue.

Print your text block, one page per side. Fold the first page in half so that the blank side is inside and the printed side out:

use the butter knife to crease the edge. Repeat on all the sheets. When you’ve finished, stack them up with the raw edge on the left and the folded edge on the right. I used standard copy paper, because you’re only printing on one side there’s no bleed to worry about. Take the text block and line everything up. Use the binder clips to hold the raw edge in place.

Wrap the text block in the wax paper so that the raw edge and binder clips are facing out. I’m going to use my home built book press but you don’t need one, a brick or a couple of books or anything else heavy will work fine.

Once the text block is anchored down, take off he binder clips and get out the glue.

You can use a brush but you don’t need one, smear some glue on that raw edge.

Go make a margarita, watch The Mandalorian, call your mother. Don’t come back for at least an hour

In an hour smear some more glue on there and shift your brick forward so that the whole book is covered. This keeps the paper from warping. While glue part 2 is drying we’ll do the cover. Get out your 12x12 cardstock

Mark the cardstock off at 8.5 inches and cut it. Measure in 5.5 inches from the left and put in a score line with the butter knife (the back edge not the sharp edge)

Carefully fold the score line, this is your front cover. You have some options for the cover title, you can use a cutting machine like a cricut if you have one, you can print out a title on the computer and use carbon paper to transfer the text to the cardstock. I was in a mood so I just freehanded that beoch. Pencil first then in pen.

Take your text block out from under your brick. Line it up against the score mark and mark the second score on the other side of the spine

Fold the score and glue the textblock into the cover at the spine. Once the glue dries up mark the back cover with the pencil and then trim the back cover to fit with your scissors.

Voila:

I’m going to put this baby on the shelf next to the Silmarillion.

The whole process, not counting drying time, took less than an hour.

If you want to make a book of a longer fic, I recommend Renegade Publishing, they have a ton of resources for fan-binders.