#kaz was giving first date energy the whole time

[mistylakeee]

The scene in CK where Kaz and Inej scope out Van Eck’s mansion is an actual date. They literally rode on a gondola gondel under the moonlight through willow trees together.

[tklpilled]

Hiya Kaz! Who are your top ten favourite lees from BSD and why? What are you personal hcs for them?

okayokay this is in no particular order but

FIRST UP atsushi. hes so cute and he deserves to be wrecked <3 his ears are definitely ticklish dont argue im right

sigma. let them experience gentle touch i am begging you. also i want them to laugh bc i know it'd be cute as hell. i feel like they blush super easily especially at teases

chuuya!! hes cute and like. if youre dating dazai u gotta go through being tickled at any time of the day. its the law. he has freckles along his inner arms and he giggles so much if you trace along them

jouno. definitely like The most ticklish character in bsd just bc .. it makes sense. his knees are his worst spot. i couldnt tell you why it just feels right

kenji!!! hes such a sweetheart i know his laugh is So cute and it just makes everyones day 10x better. hes pretty open about liking tickling (on either side) he has no shame

akutagawa. its not easy to tickle him bc he'll literally impale you if you try. so like the only person who can get close enough is atsushi. very very bright red blush its v noticeable

junichirou. hes got the sweater paws i don't need to explain myself further. his immediate reaction to being flustered is to just curl up into a ball and cover his ears

mushitarou. idk something about him just gives off big lee energy. probably the most lee character in the whole series. hes Loud he will shriek if you tickle him

tecchou. i want him to smile more :(( hes not even like. angsty or anything hes just very straightfaced and i want him to Laugh. hes really good at all the don't laugh/don't move challenges though

lucy ... i love her sm. definitely strikes me as the type to Never give up in a tickle fight but she still loses like 50% of the time LMAO. i feel like when she's embarrassed sometimes she tugs on her braids idk it feels like something she'd do

[dinagothsdress]

MGS BIRTHDAY AND ASTROLOGICAL SIGN HEADCANONS

You know I had to do it to them, being the lowkey astrology thot that I am.

Fun fact: astrology was a big special interest of mine for years and I still find myself guessing people's signs now and then! So here I am merging my old special interests with current ones. Groundbreaking stuff I know.

I will only be doing sun and moon signs as birth times are very tricky to make up if you don't already know the exact times. I'm not that dedicated to my brainrot...

This gets very infodumpy so putting it under a read more~

MAIN: Wild Mass Guessing Section

Otacon is Virgo sun, Pisces moon (26/8/80). First of all he does give me strong Pisces vibes; he's a daydreamer, kind-hearted, and a bit of a crybaby, duh. Also cares very deeply about his found family and would do anything for them. However he's also very nerdy, wants to help others, dedicated to his morals, and committed to his work sometimes to the point of being a workaholic and honestly? I vibe with him sharing my own sun sign a little too much. I can spot Virgo energy a mile away. With moon placements ruling over emotionality and sun signs over general behaviours, I feel that Virgo sun/Pisces moon suits him better than the other way around. Furthermore, I can't find where I read it since it was a while ago but I did read that Kojima based a lot of Otacon's mannerisms on his own. Kojima is a Virgo (ofc).

Sunny is Aquarius sun, Virgo moon (24/1/08). She has big Virgo energy like her dad (no smoking flight!) (source: am Virgo sun/asc) but she was most likely born in early 2008 given how Olga was pregnant during the tanker incident in August 2007. Thankfully I also get Aquarius vibes from her so that settles that. That would put her birthday between 24th and 26th January 2008. Basically just going with the 24th though as that date comes up in quite a few family/friend birthdays irl.

Big Boss is Taurus sun, Libra moon (14/5/35). 100%. Loves food, stubborn af, sarcastic bastard. Also very determined and ambitious in his goals. Quite fatherly to his recruits too, even if he was a bit of a deadbeat to his actual kids (tbf I'd also be pissed off if my DNA was harvested without my consent). Also quite a charmer when he wants to be despite his obvious autism, hence the whole cult of personality thing. Big Taurus/Libra energy.

Venom is Virgo sun, Cancer moon (27/8/32). Yes his birthday is different to Big Boss (naturally) but hear me out; in my headcanons BB never really shared his birthday with people–except maybe Ocelot, who hypnotised his own memories of BB to change them anyway so that's one plot hole sorted right there–so who was to know it wasn't always his birthday? Anyway he's clearly very empathic and dedicated to helping others, especially compared to BB. You just have to see his pre-Venom Snake career as a medic and his very strong guilt over not being able to save Paz. BB would never have brooded for so long over anyone (except The Boss ofc). He's also evidently quite introverted, not liking to speak much. He seems very shy outside of his work. With this in mind, I feel he would be a Virgo/Cancer combination.

Raiden is Aquarius sun, Aries moon (17/2/83). This one was a very difficult one since it's not even certain which year he was born. The wiki reckons 1983 is the most likely though so I'll go with that. He can be quite aloof especially with emotional stuff, but he doesn't seem to be introverted and is actually quite talkative/sarcastic, making him prime Aquarius material in my eyes. Also he's such a hothead that I can't help but make him Aries moon.

Solidus is Capricorn sun, Aries moon (23/12/74). The wiki says he was born in 1972 but then Zero tells Kaz in 1974 that there are only 2 LET children so far, and the MGSV timeline says the project ended in 1976. Therefore I headcanon him as actually being born in 74 or 75. As for birthdate, he gives me Capricorn vibes tbh. He just reminds me of Capricorn men i've known irl idk, plus he's very determined towards his goals. Still bitter we didn't learn more about him as a person tbh, since he only appeared in one game. I'm guessing Aries moon though because he's extra af (Source: fire moons are very extra as previously discussed) and also extremely passionate about his cause.

Possibly-Canon Subsection

Snake and Liquid are Gemini sun, Cancer moon (12/6/72). I've seen a lot of people celebrate Snake's birthday on this day. I cannot find the source for this but a lot of the fandom, at least on Tumblr, seem to have his birthday as this day. I originally headcanoned them as Aries sun with Pisces moon, however them being Gemini does fit them well. Especially with Snake as he loves to talk about random knowledge and facts, Geminis are all about that shit. Also would explain how Liquid is very cocky and appears extroverted, as Geminis tend to be very confident, at least on the outside. Furthermore, the Cancer moon is something I feel strongly with them as both twins are very emotionally-driven, albeit in different ways. Eli wears his heart on his sleeve whereas David is more of a still waters run deep kind of guy, but their emotions affect them both very greatly (even if Dave hides them).

Kaz is Taurus sun, Leo moon (17/5/45). I originally headcanoned him as Libra sun/Leo moon, but then I found this post which confirms his birthday. To be fair Taurus and Libra share some energies since they're both Venus-ruled, but Taurus is more hedonistic (and stubborn!) which fits Kaz 100%. I'm so glad I got the moon sign right though, I mean just look at this himbo thotting it up singing Koi no Yokushiryoku to the whole of Mother Base with his guitar and tell me otherwise. Extra af. (Source: I'm also Leo moon). He is in this section and not the actually-canon section purely because he states he was born once the war had ended, not while it was still ongoing (hinting at 1946, not 1945 as his year of birth).

BONUS: The Actually-Canon Section

Ocelot is Gemini sun, Sagittarius moon (6/6/44). And good lord is he ever. Ultimate two-faced drama queen; can't help being a Gemini~! Also charismatic and catty af, and actually somehow super intelligent to be able to pull off all those gambits and betrayals like that. Sagittarius moon too bc of course he is, couldn't not have a fire moon when he's that extra. (Source: me)

Huey is Leo sun, Cancer moon (6/8/45). Ofc he's Cancer moon. I honestly have little else to say, fuck Huey. I'm so sorry for any Leo sun/Cancer moon people reading this.

Eva is Taurus sun, Aquarius moon (15/5/36). Yet another Taurus queen! She's all about luxury but is also a badass in her own way. Motorbike kung fu, let's not forget! Also flirting comes naturally to her, which makes sense as taurus is ruled by Venus. Honestly I completely vibe w her being a canon Taurus, and I can't help but vibe w the double-Taurus BB/Eva action duo tbh. The Aquarius moon is a nice touch, can imagine her being very sarcastic and funny beyond what we see in-game.

Zero is Leo sun, Cancer moon (12/8/09). Deadass headcanoned him as an Aquarius until I found this tbh. He has the same sun/moon as Huey too... honestly don't know what to make of that. Given that they both used technology to majorly fuck up the world though... Reckon he has Aquarius rising anyway, he honestly gives me too many Aquarius vibes for him not to have it in his big 3.

Paramedic is Cancer sun, Leo moon (22/6/36). Literally the opposite of Zero, which is quite amusing. The Leo moon I feel definitely explains her talkativeness too (Source: isn't it obvious by now).

Sigint is Scorpio sun, Scorpio moon (11/11/39). Makes sense considering he's the token "normal" one out of the MGS3 support team in that he's not completely fucking weird (most of the time anyway), who can actually be surprisingly deep at times (e.g. that whole nightmare convo that's a call-forward to the metal gears). Also becomes a bit shady later on in the timeline, with the Patriots and DARPA stuff going on. Like I just feel that Scorpios just generally act really normal most of the time, most of their true self is hidden bc they love to be mysterious I guess. So him being double Scorpio makes sense to me.

Anyway that's it! This got kinda long...

If I left a character out, assume it's because either I don't know their birth year, I don't know enough about them to guess their sign, or they're a minor character that I can't be bothered to analyse rn.

Thanks for reading this whole thing! :)

[almondscroissant]

hey, sweet friend. how are you doing? how's everything going on with you? i hope you're doing great. just wanted to say hi and ask you for book recommendations lol since you won't send me the playlist i asked for 🙄 jk jk honestly take your time. i recently got back into reading again would really like recommendations. just tell me your favorite books or something. other than that nothing much happening with me. but thanks to you i am obsessed with sage green now💀.

💜💜💜💜💜💜

Akjdkfjskdk call me out for that playlist lmao. I will finish it one day, I promise!!!! 😅

But oooh okay, book recs I can do! And congrats on getting back into reading. I hope I can help you find something you love! I'm not sure if you have a preference for certain genres, but I'll just list different things I've read recently and enjoyed/a few all-time faves:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman: one of my favorites, even though I feel like the marketing absolutely tricked me lmao (Reese Witherspoon, i am looking directly at you ...) This book is so clever and quirky and heartwarming, but it also deals with darker topics and a character living with the effects of childhood trauma. (I can be more specific on the triggers if you'd like me to!) All that said, it's such a special book to me and the friendship is just the best <3

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall: so sweet!!!!! so funny!!!!!! so warm!!!!!

One Day in December by Josie Silver: a controversial pick dksjdks. Some people really don't like this one because there is a cheating element to it, but boyyyy the angst and boyyyyy the pining. I picked it up in the middle of a reading slump and I flew through it.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson: this book has my whole heart!

The Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman: it's a graphic novel series and it is so soft!!!!!

Ring Shout by P. Djèli Clark: Probably my favorite thing I've read all year. It's about a trio of Black girls in the early 20th century fighting demons/the KKK. The concept is so unique and it was very short but made me feel more than books twice its page length. 14/10 recommend!!!!!!!

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse: It's a fantasy inspired by pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas and it was such a ride!!!!!! (I also recommend reading this one while listening to the audiobook. SUPER FUN.)

Circe by Madeline Miller: big kill men energy. Her writing is unparalleled!

Legendborn by Tracy Deon: I just finished this one and while I have mixed feelings about the romance (I can just feel a love triangle looming and ksjdksjdksd), the story is so interesting! It's got mythology and magic and twists all over the place!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: just !!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta (first book is Finnikin of the Rock): this is the first high fantasy series I ever read and it legit blew my mind?? I just fell in love with every single character and I knew the author was a genius (her book Jellicoe Road also blew my mind!!!!) but this really sealed the deal.

The Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo: maybe you've heard of them lol. But I mean, they are a good time!!!! Also starring the two loves of my life: Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: do not worry if you don't understand a single thing that is happening while you read this; it is the universal experience, it is part of the full scale hallucinogenic quality of the writing. Bonus factor: my son Richard Gansey III, the one character who, if I learned he was created in a lab to be unlikable to me specifically, I would not be surprised. (He's my fave.)

And some books I'm planning to read soon:

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

I'm stopping because I'll just keep adding stuff lol, but I really do hope you can find something here that appeals to you!!! 💖💖💖

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Protea (Part 8)

Mohi knocks on her door for the fifth time that morning. “C’mon now, girl ‘s time to git brek’fes.”

Snapdragon buries her face further into the pillow and bunches her fingers up in its ratty cloth. “I don’ wanna, Mohi.” She doesn’t want breakfast or lunch or dinner or to go to her factory or to do anything at all. She just wants to lay down with her cheek pressed against the pillow.

“Kaz says ya come in las’ night all soakin’ wet.” Mohi calls through the door. “Ya catch sickness out there?”

“Maybe.” She lies. “I don’t feel so good.” And she doesn’t, but it isn’t a matter of sickness so much as a tummy tickling sorrow. She bunches herself into a little ball. She had finally found someone willing to tolerate her odder quirks and she’d managed to push too far. She should have known better than to try to push those quirks on someone who isn’t quite interested.

She forces herself out of bed and makes her way out into the backyard. Zenyul and Kaz are already out there, sloshing through puddles and mud as they show off their bending. It would be mighty nice to join them. She doesn’t much feel up for a trip to her factory today. Maybe they can teach her to fight; even if she can’t bend it would still be nice to pick up a normal hobby. Maybe if she does that, she can have someone nice like Mai.

Snapdragon ducks back inside and removes her necklace. She gives the thing one last look over. It doesn’t seem so pretty now. She drops it in with the rest of the trash and wanders back outside. “Zenyul, Kaz, I want you to teach me to do that stuff!”

The boys take pauses.

“I thought ya said ya couldn’t bend?” Zenyul cocks his head.

“Anyways, don’t you have a building to scramble up?” Kaz asks.

Her face grows hot. “I decided I’m done doin’ that. I wanna learn to…” She gives her best imitation of their bending.

“Yer serious?” Zenyul asks.

Snapdragon gives a firm nod, expecting to be met with a similar one. Instead Kaz bursts out laughing, “you can’t bend.”

“But I can do all’a them jumps ‘n flips, I do it all the time when I’m explorin’ the city.” Her face grows redder still.

“Ya need fire ta firebend.” Zenyul quirks a brow.

“Fine, ferget it.” She bunches her fists and kicks the nearest rock. She’ll teach herself to do those silly tricks. She’ll be better than Zenyul and Kaz both. She doesn’t even have fire but somehow she’ll manage it.

.oOo.

Mai supposes that nervousness beats boredom. She doesn’t fancy walking in this part of Capital City alone. And she isn’t sure that Mohi will take well to seeing her at her doorstep after upsetting Snapdragon so thoroughly.

She gives the door a quick knock. She hears the unlatching of a bolt and the turning of a lock. Mohi lumbers over her. Silently. Overbearingly silently.

“I’d like to speak with Snapdragon.”

Mohi’s eyes narrow. “She been sulkin’ all day ‘n nite coz’a ya.”

“It was a misunderstanding, I assure you.” Mai replies carefully. Perhaps more carefully than is needed.

The woman has a bladed stare that bears a likeness to the sharpness of the knives tucked under Mai’s own sleeves. “Some misunda’standin’. Talk ta ‘er, but if ya make thin’s worse…”

“I won’t make things worse.” She promises. “Is she in her room?”

“She out back.” Mohi gestures.

Mai slips outside to find Snapdragon throwing kicks and punches at the air. Every now and then she stops to observe Zenyul and Kaz. It would seem that she is trying to bend. Her face scrunches up and she throws another punch.

“Hey.” Mai greets lamely.

Snapdragon jerks before turning around. She forces a smile. “Oh hi, Mai.”

“Don’t look at me like that.” It is somehow worse than Mohi’s glower. She can still feel it on her back, burning into her. She steals a peek over her shoulder and catches Mohi lingering at the window. “I’m here to ask you if you wanted to go out for dinner. I know how much you loved the palace food.”

Snapdragon tilts her head.

“And it just so happens that I have a new necklace that...well it doesn’t go with any outfit I own but I still wanted to wear it.” She holds up that ridiculous trash necklace.

Now Snapdragon is beaming from ear to ear, a true picture of delight. Her eyes light up and it as if she has been jolted with a shock of energy; she grabs Mai’s hand, “come with me to the factory and help me find something to wear!” She tugs Mai past Mohi.

“Where’s yours?” Mai asks with a gesture to her own accessory.

“Oh, I, uh…”

She hears a clacking from behind. “‘S right here.” She holds out the necklace.

Snapdragon takes it from the woman’s hand and puts it around her neck.

“That was in the garbage.” Mai points out.

“That’s where some of the charms came from in the first place.” Snapdragon shrugs.

Mai sighs, she supposes that, that much is true. She wonders how many pieces of her necklace had been found in a rubbish bin. “I’m taking her for dinner. We might stay at the palace if Snapdragon is up for it.”

“Stay where ya like, long as ya ain’t hurt muh girl again. Don’ ya leave ‘er walkin’ alone in the rain like that anymore.” Mohi gives Snapdragon a little pat.

“It’s a sunny day, trust me, I’m only this nauseous when it’s this cheerfully bright. Snapdragon is going to have a great time.” Mai promises. The woman is already jittery with excitement. Mai isn’t sure if it is for the upper class meal she is about to receive or simply the prospect of going on a date.

Mai comes to decide that it had to have been the food that Snapdragon was excited for. She finds that the woman is somewhat clueless. Oblivious. Mai waits for her to swallow her drink before inquiring, “you know that this is a date, right?”

“A date?” She asks. “With...with me?”

Mai nods.

“You ain’t embarrassed to be around me?”

Mai wouldn’t exactly go that far. It isn’t exactly comfortable to have so many eyes upon her. Especially eyes that do little to conceal the judgment within them. She thinks that they have been watching them since they arrived. And suddenly she reconsiders letting Snapdragon pick out her own outfit. All the same, she needs Snapdragon to know that she is loved for exactly who she is All the same, it might be better if she learns to deal with eyes that judge. She could use a bit of Snapdragon’s spunk and creativity. The confidence it takes her to be truly herself; Mai wishes that she could have that.

“Maybe a little.” Mai admits. “I don’t want you to change though.” She isn’t sure how to articulate it. “I guess that I wish other people would.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wish that they wouldn’t look at you like that.” With crinkled noses and upturned chins.

Snapdragon shrugs. “I’m kinda used to it.”

She coughs awkwardly, “okay, there is one thing though.”

Snapdragon looks up from her soup.

“Can you eat with spoons and chopsticks instead of your hands?”

Snapdragon frowns but she reaches for the chopsticks.

.oOo.

Her tummy does all sorts of flops and flutters as they near the palace. She supposes that it isn’t quite as intimidating as it was the first time, but the jitters are still quite heavily present. She fiddles with the rusty cog on her necklace.

“You’re slowing down.” Mai observes. Snapdragon shuffles to keep pace. “Don’t tell me that you’re still nervous.”

“I ain’t sacred. I ain’t scared of anythin’.” Except for nobles and their passive-aggressive stares and remarks. She can already hear them complaining of her scent. “Do I get to use the palace bath again?”

“Do you want to?”

Snapdragon nods. “I like the soap bubbles.” She also likes those pretty delicate scents. Something about them is comforting. Something about them feels right.

“Well the sooner you get inside, the sooner you can have a bubble bath.” Mai replies. “I can go for one too.”

“I asked first.” She darts up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She waits for Mai at the top.

“Alright, you can take the first bath.” Mai agrees. She takes Snapdragon’s hand and gives her forehead a little kiss. Snapdragon’s whole face goes red. “But only because our first date went so well.”

“It did?”

“Did you have a good time.”

She nods vigorously, “it were wonderful. We gonna do it again?”

This time Mai kisses her nose. “You can pick the location next time.”

[crazynekochan]

Yandere Angel and Incubus AU:

A Demonstration of Gundham’s Selfish Actions Making the World a Better Place

1. When he first started following Kazuichi around, he saw Kaz get hit on by a girl, despite his clear discomfort. Gundham sent a pitbull after her to scare her when she was done hitting on Kazuichi, but she took it to the vet, decided to adopt her when it turned out that she wasn’t chipped, and pretty much changed her whole life because of her new dog.

2. Kazuichi took some energy from the dreams of some random guys that he can’t remember the names of. The next night, Gundham came down to the guys and told them to repent for their lust of someone they can’t have. It saved 3 happy relationships and stopped a stalker of Sayaka’s that would have gotten much more aggressive if he hadn’t been stopped.

3. Kazuichi is working with Miu and Chihiro on a project and Miu decides to put on “Milkshake” from the Mean Girls Soundtrack. Kazuichi starts dancing along while bent over an engine (it’s a catchy song!), and Gundham trips up human!Kiibo for staring at Kazuichi’s butt, sending him falling straight into Kokichi, ruining Kokichi’s Silly String prank on Miu and serving as a great meet cute.

4. Ibuki and Kazuichi are hanging out and Ibuki makes some jokes about Kaz’s sex appeal, complete with joking groping of his butt. Gundham has the Devas mess with her equipment at practice so that she falls and breaks her tibia in 2 places, which sends her to the emergency room that Mikan is working at for her rotations. They meet and start dating when Ibuki gets her cast off.

5. Kazuichi is drinking at a bar with his friends while a guy leers at Kazuichi. Gundham zaps the tray out of a server’s hand, spilling wine all over the leer-er. The server starts frantically apologizing and after some sorting out, the guy gets the server’s number.

6. A guy was getting way too handsy with Kazuichi, so after Kazuichi punched him in the face and stomped off, Gundham sent a poisonous snake that bit him 4 times, sending him to the emergency room. He nearly died during the night and his near death experience gave him a new lease on life. He reconnected with his family, followed a healthirmer lifestyle, and even got a (different) incubus as a loving boyfriend.

I can’t think of any more right now, but there are more, I assure you. Please leave some feedback!

—

Mod: All of these are so golden x) Literally Gundham is constantly sinning and doing things out of absolute selfish reasons but the effects he has on the humans is absolutely divine, so absolutely no one can even question his motives at all. He is making the world a better place without even giving a single fuck about it ^^”

Kazuichi in the meantime has no clue what is going on around him, because he as other things on his mind than random good things happening in the world

[dregstrash]

“our christmas party turned into a tropical theme because the radiator is broken and it’s hotter than hell in here - damn you look good without a shirt i never noticed before asgdhfjgkhl”

I was tagged by @daniellepal to do some holiday fluffiness and I mean this is semi-canon so why not. I tried my best.

Modern Kanej AU

----------

Crow Club Inc. was a multimillion dollar trading company. It traded in the New York Stock Exchange, made deals with billionaires, and had offices in many locations all over the world. So Inej couldn’t understand why on Earth they couldn’t have their bloody radiator to work especially on the most crowded party of the year.

Inej had only been hired two years ago, as an outside consultant, but she had suffered through enough awkward office parties to know that if there was one party that needed the powerful chill of their air conditioning, it was their Christmas Party. But either Haskell, owner and CEO, was skrimping again or the old radiator had finally given up on this world. No matter the case, Nina’s carefully planned Winter Wonderland themed party was out the door, and a hastily improvised Floridian tropical paradise took its place. Unfortunately, the memo didn’t reach everyone so what resulted was a mismatched clash of heavy coats and gaudy floral patterns.

“There, at least you look on theme.” Nina came up to Inej and tucked a plastic flower behind her ear. 

“It would seem I’m one of the few.” Inej smiled looking down at the borrowed red Hawaiian shirt that used to belong to Nina. It was large enough that Nina had wrapped a spare belt around her waist and managed to create a makeshift dress that was a little shorter than Inej was used to. When pointing that out, Nina had merely shrugged and gave a wink.

“It’s not my fault that Haskell is a cranky old coot who couldn’t be bothered to pay for a replacement heating system. Besides, I’m not minding so much now.”

Inej followed to where Nina’s gaze had wandered, and she shouldn’t have been surprised to see Matthias Helvar, the overly muscular, overly formal chief strategist, starting to take off his heavy Christmas sweater revealing the sweat-soaked white undershirt that was sticking to him like a second skin.

Inej rolled her eyes, and walked away before Nina had a chance to leave her first. While Nina just like to flirt her way through all the departments, she had taken a particular liking to the only man who seemed to fight every instinct to ever notice her. The two were explosive on their best days and decidedly icy on their worst. But looking at the way Nina was studying the young man made Inej think that one way or another Helvar was going to get cornered. And Inej hadn’t decided whether that would be a dream come true or his utter nightmare. 

She made her way through the party, trying to make small talk with her other coworkers, but inevitably Inej found herself with her back against the wall and a soda nursed in her hands, being content to be the wallflower for a while and watch as the heat turned up higher and the party continued on. 

After all that Inej’s been through, she couldn’t have imagined ending up somewhere she could have been happy. Doing what she does best and gathering data and information from all over the world and meeting people who could be her own family. She loved Nina and her energy. She had a few great conversations with Matthias every once in a while. And she even started to get to know Wylan, the new hire who was a wizard with numbers. It was even better because he just started dating Jesper, Inej’s first friend at the company. 

“Brekker! Can’t you do something about this heat?!” Inej heard Jesper’s drunken yell and stifled a laugh. 

Inej was sure that Jesper was the only one who could talk to Kaz Brekker as if they were friends. As far as Inej knew, Kaz Brekker had no friends and he seemed determined to keep it that way. He may have only been twenty-one, but Brekker was Haskell’s protege and an utter genius. He seemed to know things about the market that nobody else could guess or predict, and had launched Crow Club Inc., from a rundown building to an international success.

He was the one to find and hire Inej, and since then he went to her for advice, he sent her on assignments, and seemed to rely on her for things that seemed to be outside her grasp. But she managed and working with him had taught her so much about the tricky business of the stock market, the endless pit of greed of men, and the ruthlessness that was sometimes necessary.

“If you want to do something about the heat, Fahey, you do something about it.” Kaz’s rasp shouted.

“Gladly!” 

Inej watched as Jesper stripped off his shirt and laughed out loud at the bright red color that rose to Wylan’s face. That seemed to rub off on the rest of the drunken partiers because by the time the heat had climbed up to sauna levels, everyone was either half dressed or getting there.

She was suddenly very grateful for the makeshift shirt-dress that Nina had made. Inej felt the sweat build up on her upper lip and on her brow, and if she hadn’t just promised to be the designated driver for Jesper and Wylan she would have left this hellish heat that was this building.

“I’m surprised your still here, Wraith.” Kaz said as he came up beside her. She didn’t turn her head.

Wraith, the nickname she had apparently earned after she had gotten unattainable inside information from the competing company belonging to Pekka Rollins. 

“In and out like a ghost, looks like a bonus is in it for you this year, Wraith.” He had said. She had rolled her eyes, trying to let the flush of pleasure at his attention roll off her shoulders. 

Inej did try to keep her distance from Brekker. But he needed her to be his shadow. To have ears open and watchful eyes at important meetings or inside another company’s walls. And she wasn’t completely blind, she noticed the sharp lines and tailored edges that formed his face and the way that his dark brown eyes analyzed and calculated everything. 

But even with the face of some dark angel, he was cold, cruel, and entirely-obsessed with money-- or that’s what she told herself. Because even with all the reasons to not have feelings for Kaz Brekker, all it took was the smallest hints of his whole trust in her and her trust in him to break those walls down.

“I didn’t want Jesper and Wylan to die in a fiery crash, so I offered to drive them.” She said simply sipping her cup. 

“Always the noble one,” The rough timbre of his voice vibrated through her and she wanted to close her eyes and revel in it.

“Someone has to be.” 

“One can’t be rich and noble, dear Inej. And between rich and noble, I’d rather be rich.”

Inej scoffed and turned her head to give him a searing look, but then stopped short when she noticed that Kaz wasn’t wearing a shirt. Kaz Brekker, the master of the fine Italian silk, the young man who had a very specific personal space issue, and the champion of keeping it professional was not wearing a shirt and that very fact alone knocked Inej’s breath out of her chest.

The hard planes of his chest and the pale muscles of his abdomen were gleaming dimly with sweat, and his hair was pushed away from his face in an effort to keep the sweat away from his face. Lean corded muscles were unfairly put on display as he leaned against the wall next to her with his arms crossed, and when a drop of sweat rolled from his brow down his neck Inej couldn’t help but stare at it.

Inej coughed uncomfortably, trying to grasp at something to say.

 “A-All the money in the world and you couldn’t afford to fix the heating?” She finally muttered.

At this Kaz’s shark eyes roamed over the barely dressed, sweating crowd, and fell back on Inej. He felt his gaze take in the length of her dress and the smooth curve of her neck, and it wasn’t until his eyes met hers that she realized she was holding a breath.

“I’m not sure all the money in the world could have given me quite a view like this, Wraith.” 

He had walked away then. She didn’t know to where or what he was going to do. But she followed his movements, watching his muscled back, as he dodged the sweaty bodies and left the room entirely that she expelled the tension. It wasn’t until the temperature in the room miraculously changed after his disappearance that Inej fully processed what had just happened.

Kaz Brekker had complimented her. The cold-hearted Scrooge of Christmas had come up to her half naked and looking like a man strewn from stone, and complimented her. And for what it’s worth, Inej just drank the rest of her soda and almost wished that the heating would be broken forever.

[screamqvccn]

TASK 1 // WHO ARE YOU REALLY?

@murderclubhq

NAME.

FULL NAME: Edwina Agnes Clussy NAME/NICKNAMES: Eds (everyone), Eddie (Holly and Kaz), Edsy (her mom), Wee (her dad) GENERALLY REFERRED TO AS: Edwina or Eddie

APPEARANCE.

FACECLAIM: Kristine Froseth SEX: Female HEIGHT: 5′0″ WEIGHT: Basically a sack of flour; easy to pick up and throw over your shoulder BUILD: Scrawny HAIR: Mousy brown and straight, but she usually curls it. Sometimes she’s got a ribbon tying some of her hair back HANDS: Small and kind of cushiony (think of Pooh Bear’s hands). Her skin on her hands is usually dry because she uses a lot of hand sanitizer CLOTHES: Plaid skirts and dresses, comfy sweaters, knee high socks or socks with frills around them, overalls, mary janes, fannypacks, cross necklace

SPEECH.

ACCENT: North Carolinian twang VERBAL TICKS: Tends to stutter when nervous LANGUAGE: English ARTICULATION: She's educated and has the ideas in her head, but she’s just really bad at getting them out in an articulate manner EDUCATION: Edwina will occasionally substitute a really simple word for something longer. Besides that, she speaks like a typical teenager LAUGHTER: She snorts a lot and tends to try to bite back her laughter because she thinks her laugh is ugly BREATHING: Can usually sound like she’s out of breath especially from all the screaming and yelling she constantly does

MANNERISMS.

FACE: Edwina wears her heart on her sleeve and in her expressions. She’s very expressive and has a hard time fighting back microexpressions HANDS: Because she’s got a lot of anxiety and energy she tends to talk with her hands LEGS/FEET: Her legs are always kept very tightly together (she learned to do this from her parents not wanting her to flash people) EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS: Literally cries all the time. Tends to get emotional easily and will yell and scream if upset HABITS: Hums when she’s thinking and will look around a lot if she’s nervous POSTURE: Stands up straight because she’ll look shorter if she doesn’t PERSONAL SPACE: Tends to like her personal space at first, but once she trusts people (which really isn’t hard to gain from her) then she’s okay with touching. She loves hugs, but if people are overtly touchy with her she may act like she’s annoyed, but will do nothing to fight it back

HEALTH:

DIET: Her mom takes good food really seriously so Edwina tends to eat well for breakfast and dinner. She gets all her food groups in, but tends to snack. Her guilty pleasure is Lunchables. SLEEP: Edwina loves sleep and if you wake her up she will probably kill you EXERCISE: LOL no ACTIVITY: Edwina is lazy as FUCK she would let someone carry her if she didn’t have to walk at all CLEANLINESS: Very cleanly. Grooms herself well and tends to clean everything else around her due to her thing with germs ODOR: Smells like strawberries due to her shampoo and the body spray she uses MEDICINAL DRUGS: She has an inhaler NARCOTICS: No ADDICTIONS: Addicted to One Direction ILLNESS: Asthma and lil bitch syndrome

PERSONAL.

INTROVERT/EXTROVERT?: She keeps to herself, but she gains her energy from being with people OPTIMIST/PESSIMIST: In between. She tends to think everything is the end of the world, but because of that she tries to look for the light in everything GENDER: Cisfemale SEXUALITY: Homosexual, but she’s in the closet. At this point Edwina doesn’t even fully realize she’s gay she just thinks there’s something wrong with her for not liking guys ROMANTIC: Soft romantic bitch. She wants love so bad like she just wants to get married and have like 5 babies MEMORY: Her memory is strong which is helpful with school, but not with her grudges PLANNING: Edwina prefers to plan things out because she knows that’s the safest thing to do, but is constantly getting swept away by people or acting on emotion so planning for things typically go out the window INTUITION: Edwina does everything with good intent, but most of the time it just blows up in her face PROBLEM SOLVING: She’s pretty good at figuring things out whether with context clues or doing research GOALS: Her goal that she tells people is to go to a school like Stanford for engineering, but she really doesn’t think she’s good enough to get into any big name universities. She wants to do something with cars, but her real goal is to get married and become a mom. INSECURITIES: Edwina is insecure about her everything lol. She especially hates her body because of how short and flat chested she is. Her gums and smile are also a really big thing to her and she’s also just ver insecure about her personality because people tell her she’s weird all the time ACHIEVEMENTS: Wins second place in the science fair every year and is in the top 50 of her class ANXIETY: Bitch is always anxious SELF-HELP: Edwina tends to cope by crying all the bad feelings out or screaming about her inner thoughts until she’s tuckered out COMFORTS: If she’s really upset she’ll want someone to just hug her while she cries, but if she can’t do that then she’ll sit in her bed under all the blankets and curl up with her stuffed rabbit BAD HABITS: Not standing up for herself, getting emotional over small things, trusting people too easy, overly washing and sanitizing her hands, screaming and being loud in inappropriate places, and crying easily PHILOSOPHY: Basically lives by the teachings and rules of the Catholic church, but she’s leans very much towards the New Testament and the idea that God is forgiving and therefore so should man TRIGGERS: Germs, blood, death, vomit, Satan, anything gay

THE PAST.

PARENTS/GUARDIANS: She’s very close with her parents, but mostly her mom. Her mom didn’t let her out of her arms for so long that Edwina learned how to walk pretty late. Her parents always made her feel loved, but her dad was a little more strict with her. Even so, he still was always affectionate with her. Her parents wanted a bunch of kids, but it took them almost 3 years of trying to have Edwina so they tend to helicopter her and treat her like a princess. Edwina loves both her parents and would put them first always LIFE EVENTS: Edwina met Raquel in kindergarten and that was the first friend she made. After that they became inseparable and didn’t really have people to hang out with besides each other. This was mostly due to people thinking Edwina was sorta weird growing up or Raquel would scare off guys that she thought were trying to ask her out or get with her. Eventually this made people think they were dating which wouldn’t be a problem to Edwina until people started calling her gay slurs. It got worse when she looked at Heidi Dods in the locker room for a little too long and the whole school labeled her as a predatory lesbian. It got so bad that Mr. Kobbs told her she wasn’t allowed to change in the locker rooms anymore for other girls’ comfortability. WORST DAY OF THEIR LIFE: When Raquel’s mom died because that was really her first experience with death and that was the start of her having to watch her best friend’s life start crumbling BEST DAY OF THEIR LIFE: When Jamie let her drive Johnnie’s ‘64 Mustang LOOKING BACK: Edwina has always believed that things happen for a reason, but if she could go back and do anything different it’d be not letting Tommy go so he wouldn’t die

RELATIONSHIPS.

FAMILY: Mom; Susan Clussy. Dad; Edward Clussy. She has uncles on her dad’s side and some cousins, but she isn’t that close with them. She also considers Raquel family since she’s always at her house anyway and Mr. Torrance is awful FRIENDSHIPS: Up until this year Edwina’s only close friend has been Raquel. She has some church friends (i.e. Norman Normal), but no one she really hangs out with. Now she considers everyone in MC a pal, except perhaps Dolly (but that’s more so because Edwina doubts she’d want to affiliate herself as Edwina’s friend). FRIENDS IN NEED: Edwina will usually drop everything to help a friend out even if she has to put them first before her own emotional needs. She’s always there with reassuring being her greatest weapon to fight off tears, but Edwina will make other meaningful gestures if she thinks it will help NEEDING A FRIEND: Edwina tends to bottle a lot in and then will end up exploding all her frustrations or tears onto one unlucky person. She likes to only really talk to people she can trust not to make her feel worse, but sometimes strangers get caught in the moment she finally snaps ANNOYANCES: She yells a lot and tends to be snarky and sarcastic when she’s annoyed with someone ROMANCE: When looking for something romantic, Edwina tends to gravitate towards people that make her laugh and like being affectionate. If you wanna woo her then literally just be a pretty girl, make her giggle, and compliment her (she’s not that hard to impress) ADVERSARIES: Edwina would honestly befriend anyone and give anybody a second chance at redemption, but if someone was just cruel and showed 0 signs of having any sort of remorse or good in them then she'd stay away completely ENEMIES: She has a hard time with people who just go after her with little reason other than she’s weird STRANGERS: She tries to be polite to everyone because that’s how her parents raised her. However, Edwina can be a bit judgmental when she doesn’t keep that side of her in check FUN STUFF: Fun stuff she likes to do with friends are going to Marie’s, driving around town, going to the movies or staying in and watching cheesy films, napping together, private karaoke or dance parties, or even just sitting in silence while her and the other person/people just do their own thing or sit on their phones showing each other funny memes they find DATING: Everything above, but with kissing LOVE: Her fanny pack WORST ENEMY: Heidi Dods, Shoprite Cruz, and Mr. Kobbs

INTERACTIONS.

MINGLING: She’s nice but awkward as fuck so making friends is hard COMFORT LEVELS: Edwina gets nervous and anxious easily so talking to people can take a lot outta her, but if she’s comfortable around you then she’s more lax PHYSICAL: She’s very affectionate (but if you’re dirty she’ll be more reluctant to won’t touch you, sorry Kaz) GROUPS: Prefers smaller groups OPENNESS: It depends? She’s pretty open about most things, but she still keeps a lot buried down in her lil fanny pack and won’t talk about openly or easily GENEROSITY: Bitch would give the shirt off her back if anyone needed it JEALOUSY: Can get very jealous very easily, but tends to not understand her own jealousy. She’d go home and cry whenever Raquel would be hooking up with some new person, but just think it was her period making her emotional or something lol TEMPER: The human embodiment of an angry pomeranian EMPATHY: Thinks about other people’s feelings first and is a very strong empath AFFECTION: Cuddling, hugging, touching, forehead or cheek kissing, kind words, and meaningful gestures DISTASTE: She doesn’t usually show it to their face, but if she’s talking about them to someone else she’ll just call them an asshole and stuff lol ETIQUETTE: Tries to be polite in public, but tends to cause scenes if she’s upset or emotional RESPONSIBILITY: If she’s wrong then she’ll always apologize SELF ESTEEM: Edwina has really low self esteem because of kids at school picking on her. Her parents always tried to make her feel good about herself, but it didn’t do much because she always felt as though they were obligated to say nice things to her. She let’s people push her around for the most part, but if she does stand up for herself it’s in a very quiet way CONFIDENCE: She doesn’t really care what most people think of her, but she just wishes that they’d keep it to themselves instead of beating her down for it. She cares about what her family thinks though HONESTY: Edwina has always been taught to be honest, but recently she’s been lying a lot LEADER OR FOLLOWER: Follower PRAISE: Loves compliments, but is super bad at accepting them CRITICISM: Really bad at reacting to criticism, but takes it. Will likely cry, but take it to heart INSULTS: Doesn’t take insults well and will 100% cry EMBARRASSMENT: If she’s embarrassed she’ll usually turn red and start stumbling. Again, will likely cry FLIRTING: She isn’t flirty because she doesn’t think anyone would ever reciprocate. If someone does flirt with her it goes over her head ATTENTION SPAN: Gets distracted by shiny objects and fuzzy animals. Very easy to divert her attention SITUATIONS: Really bad at handling stressful situations. She will start screaming or crying or even hyperventilating in which case she’ll crack her inhaler out

LIFE.

TECH: Very tech savvy. Great with computers and figuring out how to make things work POLITICS: Her dad is a very vocal republican, but Edwina’s mother is a lot more loving and liberal so Edwina takes after her mom’s views COMBAT SKILLS: She’s scrawny, but scrappy. She’d definitely lose a fight if she got in one, but she’d go for the jugular HOME: Keeps her room immaculately clean. She’s one of those kids who makes her bed everyday and organizes all her clothes. Her mother is always cleaning the house so the whole place is usually spotless COOKING: Learned how to cook from her mom. She’s no Top Chef, but her food is good BUILDING: Likes to put things together so on any project she’d want to take the lead. It’s like a big puzzle to her CLEANING: Mom does most cleaning, but Edwina helps out sometimes just because she loves her mom. Her parents don’t really give her chores SHOPPING: Likes shopping DRIVING: Loves to drive. Grew up around cars because her dad owns the local dealership. Edwina could likely figure out how to drive any car FINANCES: Family comes from a decent amount of money PETS: No pets, but she’d love a bunny or cat. Pet hair makes her allergies act up and her dad doesn’t like animals so there’s a no pet rule in the house TRAVELING: The only place she’s really gone outside of NC is Disney World. Other than that, most family vacations are in stand MEDICAL: Is constantly going to the doctor because her and her mom are kinda hypochondriacs. Edwina had some health complications when she was a baby because she was born premature so her mom just wants to make sure she doesn’t lose her kid. Edwina doesn’t mind the doctor though for they always give her a lollipop ILLNESS: Asthma WORRIES: Is literally worried about everything lmfao PEACE: Likes peace and quiet, but will occasionally listen to music and stuff if she’s working PARTYING: Doesn’t go to many parties because she doesn’t get invited HOBBIES: Working on her car, building stuff, watching bad movies, and reading

[kazmorosov]

|| bill skarsgard, cismale, he/him || ( kazaran morozov ) is a ( 25 ) year old ( senior ) at rockport university studying ( business + literature [TA] ). people say they are ( ardent ) but also ( stoic ), and remind others of ( coffee rings on crisp paper, losing their sense of reality, hushed arguments ). bet they sure didn’t expect anyone to know about ( his plagiarizing to succeed and honor his terminally ill mother he killed ) but someone does, and ( kaz ) better cooperate if they plan to keep their lives. || james, 20, EST ||

hi i’m so sorry this took a long ass time to put out but im herE lmao here’s my baby

tw; murder, addiction/substance abuse, abuse mentions,

gen. info:

full name: kazaran nikolai morozov

nickname(s): kaz

b.o.d.: december 14th

label(s): the escapist, the academic, the fallen, the philanthropist, etc.

height: 6′4″

hometown: bangor, maine

sexuality: str...aigh...t ? question mark ?

biography:

born to a self-made businessman and a philanthropist with a penchant for odd names

his father’s a russian who moved to the u.s. in his childhood who still has many...unique, ties, to the country though none of those are important

his business involves military equipment and he works closely with the u.s.’s military (ahsdfghk conspiracies ?)

and his mother was a plain jane (literally--her name was jane) from a family of politicians; his uncle’s a senator

kaz is the eldest out of seven children (christ) and yes all of their names are just as excessive as ‘kazaran’

grew up with the pressure of the ‘golden child’ title; kaz had to be perfect at everything he did, from his grades to after school activities to manners and presentment

was always expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and like ?? partner with him once he was old enough? 

which is fine and grand except kaz had never given a shit about his father’s business; his real passion had always been for the arts, particularly literature and even more particularly poetry

he found that the arts was probably the most...free, kaz could get, without actively rebelling against his father

b/c god . . . his father is a force to be reckon’d w/

very strict man, likes to be in control constantly, not the...best, emotionally towards his family. or verbally. sometimes physically. y’know.

this really only...amplified, kaz’s perfectionist attitude. it was mostly out of fear of repercussions than much else

kaz has, however, always loved his mother.

jane is the opposite of their father, a woman who loves the world and everybody in it with this...heart of gold, and best intentions in mind

the only problem was that she was horribly submissive to her husband

aNYWAys okay, kaz grew up fairly unscathed but only because he was so...conformist, y’know?

loves his siblings and would die for them, but god--he’d have to side with his father just for his own sake, which definitely strained his relationship with a few of ‘em

AnywAys again; was pretty well-known in his high school

for being like, intimidatingly tall but also was fairly popular? star of the track team, student gov president, in DECA or whatever.

went to rockport just because it wasn’t...too far from home, and partially because he wasn’t allowed to go out of state.

and he was fine w/ it, man

his mother got sick his freshmen year, however, it wasn’t...horrible, at first

it was concerning, yes, but the doctors said she was going to be fine

jane was pretty...adamant about not letting her condition effect her children, too, so she acted as if she was fine

kaz, being a dumbass, was like alright fine this is fine and went on w/ life

sophomore year he met his soulmate; a future veterinarian named freya

n i mean he just...fell for her immediately, y’know ?? n ig she felt similar enough b/c they started dating immediately

it was really...good, for him; especially as his mother’s heath had suddenly taken a turn for the worst

kaz wound up taking two years off of school to care for his mother; his father was gone more often than not, and he felt as if his younger siblings shouldn’t have been burdened with the task

and well...jane never got better, only worse

it was at the point where the doctors had sent her home, knowing that nothing else could be done--she was confined to her bed, and miserable. in pain, really.

one...day, as kaz was tending to jane, she broke down. i mean, just, a full on emotional breakdown, a complete episode, begging him to just...put her out of her misery.

and, god, kaz had never disobeyed his parents (minus his studies in literature but y’knw what. . . not important rn) but that was so ?? morally ?? conflicting ??

they cried together for a long time until y’know. deciding what to do.

as soon as she had fallen asleep, kaz put a pillow to her.

he was never...caught, tho that may have involved some bribery on his father’s end who knows

the day after the funeral, kaz proposed to freya and she agreed.

and it really should’ve been fine if kaz’s mental health didn’t rapidly deteriorate like...he was not handling it well

freya helped, yes, but she could only do so much

turned to drugs, particularly painkillers after a minor car crash and just...a mix of shit, y’know.

probably stole drugs from his fiance’s job tbh

got on antidepressants, which only worsened his shit b/c he started ?? occasionally hallucinating his dead mother ??

his creativity had also just. shat on itself. he couldn’t write, no matter how hard he tried

his mother had really wanted him to pursue his dreams, and god, he was too far in his degree to drop literature

so he started....plagiarizing, his works, b/c kaz is a whole ass idiot. but he hasn’t gotten caught yet, somehow

his fiance thought the cruise program would be a great way for kaz to possibly, recover, since she could see how bad he was doing so he weNt because of her

also yes at this point he had gone back to school; had even gotten a TA position because he used to be...one of the best in his class, y’know ?

anyways yeah im paraphrasing this all horribly but idc u get the point

drug addict, mercy-killed his mother, loves his fiancee, tortured soul, y’know all that

personality:

likes to pretend he’s much calmer than he actually is, y’know

likes the whole aloof and distant thing b/c it’s already so easy for him to be intimidating

he can b a lil snarky, a lil sarcastic, but he’s overall always been really well meaning?

can be extremely passionate about his hobbies, or his future wife, or really...anything he mildly likes, tho, y’know?

gOD is he always feeling so guilty, tho, it really weighs him down

but he’s also like...usually high, sometimes u can tell but more often than not u can’t ??

because he’s obsessed w/ seeming okay. and doing okay. and being that average dude next door, y’know?

he wants to be normal, to feel normal, but he’s got this wave of emotions crashing into his chest and he’s in sm pa i n constantly

like he’s got major anxiety but u won’t know unless u catch him in midst of a panic attack and like he’d rather die than somebody see that

probably journals as a way 2 like...cope, and keep himself calm

uuhh he’s like lowkey a huge softie. will cry at sad movies and won’t care tht he’s crying about it

takes teaching rly seriously but he’s also always concerned somebody’s going to figure out that he’s just. a fraud.

smart, with dumbass energy

like he just...sometimes doesn’t think ??

loves his fiancee a whole bunch but this distance thing is...sm harder than he thought it would be. she’s his anchor and he’s just ?? floating aimlessly now

but yeah he’s always acting like he’s okay, like he’s gucci.

uuuhhhh god i dont know what else to say tbh ?? he’s just. a mans. being a mans.

probably doesn’t sleep super often b/c not only is he a TA, but he’s got some mf nightmares man

wanted connections:

got a girl best friend but he needs a...dude best friend?

other friends in general, honestly

professors he’s got some sort of relationship with b/c he’s working for penelope rn

a flirty unrequited thing, where they keep tryn but kaz is like nO i am TAKEN look at this photo of my beAUTIFUL FIANCEE

ppl pissed at him for the grades he’s given them LMAO

people...concerned? for him?

bad mf influences who are like LET’S GET FUCKED UP

a dealer y’know. somebody on the ship who can give him what he wants which is a Lot

uuh let’s brainstorm together, bb

like srsly just. gimme a like, i’ll pop into ur dms w/ my messy tall son and be like let’s fuck him up !

[curseofaphrodite]

tori my love hi

my boyfriend and i 🤝 expressing our love for each other through bullying

i'm still down for yours and mine wedding tho totally will make him maid of honour for you

each time i write sanskrit exam i feel like i have accomplished everything lmao getting decent marks w/o studying in sanskrit exam is my job

you don't understand our farewell is on 13 and i'm literally so excited can't wait omg omg omg aND I'M GONNA GO SHOPPING EEEKKKK (my lovely girls are wearing bodycon dresses literally everyone's gonna look so pretty aww ig i'll miss this batch sm)

I ORDERED A VERY PRETTY NECKLACE TODAY HOPEFULLY IT LOOKS THAT PRETTY IN REAL LIFE TOO

mystery murders>>>>the whole world

aYY SO PROUD THAT YOU READ SIX OF CROWS PLS WHO DO YOU SIMP FOR (tbh i simp for all of the crows but kaz inej nina>>>) oh have read shadow and bones series nah cause i really i hate darkling but ✨ben barnes✨ to create darkling ben barnes really said i will take the sad boy//shy boy cuteness of stardust the royal airs of prince caspian the beauty of dorian grey and the sheer hoe energy of billy russo there i said it

pls stop casting hot actors for villians i'm sick and tired of questioning my morals every single day😔🙏

urgg true it did piss me off a little every time aarons blue eyes were mentioned but meh that guy hot asf so okay kinda makes up for it aaron pls choke me

moving on

harrison ostetfield is soo fineeee my fav white boy of the month

now the tea not exactly tea but me ranting about my best friend's sad love life

and since you don't really know any of us in real life i can share shits without feeling judged or fear that you'll tell everyone

remember nyasa? i swear my poor girl has the worse luck when it comes to dating//loving someone. poor baby falls in love with ppl who play with her feelings. so recently she liked a guy and the guy "liked" her back but said that he doesn't want to do relationships bc yk indian science students 🤝 sacrifices he told her friend to take care of her and not let this whole thing mess up her grades. oH AND HE CONFESSED HIS FEELINGS FIRST THO anyways i thought maybe it was right person wrong time bc he genuinely seemed to care for my friend but today (he goes to her coaching classes) she texts me saying that he told his friends that he never liked her and she was so damn sad she wanted to cry but she couldn't bc she's in class :(( my poor baby the fact that this happened 3 times with her really makes me sad bc she's now insecure and doubting herself. i've literally grown up with her seven years of friendship and seeing her question "is something wrong with me" totally breaks my heart :( IT MAKES ME SO MAD THAT PPL THINK IT'S OKAY TO PLAY WITH SOMEONE'S FEELINGS LIKE NOT RECIPROCATING THE FEELINGS IS OKAY BUT PRETENDING TO RECIPROCATE IS NOT OKAY

anyways i love you and stfu ik you'll do great in your exams take care have a lovely weekend<3

-🔮

ps do you wear rings bc if you do 😩🤌💍❓

REPLY UNDER THE CUT CAUSE I RANTED A LOT <3

lmao yes our wedding will literally be too cool for this world. just amazing and GODLIKE

YOU GET GOOD MARKS IN SANSKRIT WO LEARNING BISH GIVE ME YOUR BRAIN RN. but in all fairness, i dont have sanskrit or even hindi shjsh

plss farewell party hits so hard cause I only have one more year with the same people who have been with me from LKG???? kindergarten??? how am i supposed to say goodbye to them?? literally gonna cry so hard.

OMG YES PRETTY NECKLACE FOR A PRETTY HOOMAN!!!

me, along with everyone else, agrees with you on the ben barnes comment cause he really popped off with his acting. no i havent read shadow and bone series yet but ill probably get to it this monthh!! i simp for inej mfing ghafa as well as the disaster that is jesper.

LMAOO okay one fun fact, idky but whenever i read a book i have an idea of what the person looks like in my head rightt. i was watching a lot of personality type videos then so I ENDED UP IMAGINING AARON LIKE THIS DONT ASK ME WHY

hes really funny tho check out his videos.

YOU MEAN A LOT TO ME TOO LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS ASK, IM WRITING A NOVEL FOR YOU HERE

YOU BRING OUT THE BESTIE IN ME.

harrison osterfield looks hot in a very specific model way. like the kind of dude we'll see at a bar and you'll be like ;) and I'll say dudeeeeeee + ends up match making yall.

OKAY NO WAT EVEN NO THIS ISNT EVEN FUNNY THAT TROUPE IS VERY FAMOUS AMONG GUYS IG CAUSE THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME?? one dude said he liked me and a week later he went meh. horrible feeling istg.

tell your friend that it'll feel shit and it will continue to feel like shit but on the plus side, months later, she will go ew when she thinks of him; just like I do now. remember to give nyassa hugs, she's an angel ✨✨

I did not do well. everyone possibly failed in physics cause we were all laughing at how shitty we did.

I DO WEAR RINGS BESTIE SHKDHKSJ DO YOUUU?? CAUSE ID LIKE TO GIVE YOU ONE MORE HERE

[fighting-god-69]

I posted 6,727 times in 2021

135 posts created (2%)

6592 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 48.8 posts.

I added 2,236 tags in 2021

#young royals - 990 posts

#secrets of blackthorn hall - 239 posts

#taylor swift - 236 posts

#red white and royal blue - 184 posts

#six of crows - 128 posts

#kit herondale - 97 posts

#the last hours - 96 posts

#tsc - 93 posts

#the shadowhunter chronicles - 88 posts

#simon yr - 85 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#often when i get handed the aux everything i play is either depressing as fuck or too upbeat for the energy levels of the people in the car

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Waiting for Omar to get invited to a Met Gala so he can show all these saltine cracker ass men how its done

96 notes • Posted 2021-10-30 14:55:55 GMT

#4

Imagine your OTP

⁸158 notes • Posted 2021-09-19 10:25:59 GMT

#3

"Stop calling ships toxic and/or emotionally abusive whenever they encounter conflict and relationship issues" challenge 2021

185 notes • Posted 2021-08-09 12:58:58 GMT

#2

I think part of why people here love books so much is that so many book characters mess up and do super awkward things around their love interests and they still end up getting their love interest in the end. And it gives us hope that we can be super awkward and still end up with someone great. Examples, including but not limited to:

Kaz Brekker: calls the girl hes simping for an investment

Gideon Lightwood: hoards croissants under his bed for months on end as an excuse to talk to Sophie

Gabriel Lightwood: "You must really like that horse"

Alec Lightwood: falls down the stairs on his first date

Will Herondale: this man did many things. Tbf most of those things were because of his curse but still. He did get the girl

Gansey: accidentally calls his true love a prostitute when they first meet

Simon Lovelace: has to be rescued by the girl he eventually ends up with on the night they met because he got himself turned into a rat (also the two timing thing, even tho they weren't officially together)

Cardan Greenbriar: exiled his wife while giving her an ambiguous riddle to get herself unexiled and was surprised when she got mad at him

Jesper Fahey: roasts Wylan a lot in the beginning. And the first indicator that he likes Wylan is by telling Wylan that he "likes his stupid face" (this was still romantic. But it could count as it's own blunder)

Henry Fairchild: spends years of his marriage thinking his wife just married him to be nice and ends up making her think the same for him because he never actually vocalized his feelings

Peeta Mellark: the girl he loves finds out he loves her because he tells the whole nation on a television broadcast

Ron Weasley: too many blunders to list

James Potter: also far too many blunders to list

259 notes • Posted 2021-10-17 14:05:06 GMT

#1

Fuckboy has so many red flags he looks like a children's hospital

558 notes • Posted 2021-10-28 16:11:42 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[deanwinchesterjournal]

Amon Part Nineteen

Twin and Kaz continued to float down.

“Did he just die?” Twin asked Kaz.

“We're still floating...so no? Maybe?”

The troll ran in place again and got nowhere. “How do I turn this damned spell off?”

“Kaz closed his eyes and suddenly dropped the last thirty feet at full speed. He fell to the ground coming up into a roll, completely unharmed. “Feel for the magic around you and then tell it to stop.”

Twin closed his eyes and sure enough he could feel the energy around him. Feeling like a fool he thought harshly. “Go away!”

He felt the spell beginning to fade

Using the last of the gravity the spell provided he pushed off from it and cleared the thirty feet in a single bound, landing where the rocks had slammed into the unknown elf.

“Do you know who that was?” Twin asked trying to move one of the huge chucks of rock that had fallen through the portal.

“No one I knew. Maybe a friend of the paladin?”

“I don't know that guy either.” the rocks refused to move.

“Yet both just risked their life to save us.”

“Yeah I know.” Twin said under his breath taking a step back from the rocks. “Ok, we do this my way now.”

Pulling out his sword the warrior charged at the rock, striking the center of it with the tip of his sword. The rock shattered as Twin pressed the sword further into it. Two more swings and they could see what looked like a chunk of ice under the rock.

“We need to get that ice out of there fast.” Kaz said taking his belt off and wrapping it around the block of ice.

“What about the elf?” Twin asked.

Kaz handed him the end of the belt. “That is the elf, pull.”

They both began to drag the chunk of ice out from under the rocks, both of them straining against the weight. The ice looked as if it was cracking and Kaz's eyes got wide. “Harder!”

Twin, having had enough, pushed Kaz out of the way, grabbed the belt with both hands and pulled for everything he had. The ice came loose from the rocks and went flying overhead as Twin landed on his ass.

When the ice block hit the ground it shattered, ejected the blood elf who was in a panic.

“Good not dressed like this!” Graymark screamed, one hand held high as if it could stop the rock he had seen falling on him. Realizing he wasn't crushed he looked around, and saw the troll and the panda gazing at him with an odd look.

“You're alive!” the mage said getting up.

“So are you.” Twin answered. “So we're even.”

Kaz slammed his staff down on Twin's foot.

“I mean thank you.”

Graymark walked over and gave a half bow. “My privilege. Let's get back to Orgrimmar, shall we?”

Opening a portal back the three of them walked through...

...and were thrown thirty feet to the left onto the ground.

“DAMNIT!” Graymark screamed, seeing the dirt stains in his pants. “I should have known that wasn't going to work.”

“Are you hurt?” Kaz asked.

“Look at this!” he showed the stain to the panda, who felt it.

“That's dirt, not blood.”

“I know!”

Kaz just started at him for a long few seconds and then said. “Ok, I am following him now.” and walked to follow Twin who was heading back towards the pit.

“Get out of my way paladin!” Garrosh screamed into the tauren's face.

“There are people trapped under there, move those elementals now!”

“Who do you think you are giving me orders?” the orc screamed back.

“He's the only one here trying to save lives.” Twin said. “He just saved ours.” he gestured to Kaz. “There might still be people alive down there.”

“That cliff face is going to collapse and kill more.”

“No one is dying today.” a voice called from behind them.

Thrall walked forward, the crowds parting as he passed by. “Elements guide me!”

The rocks in the cliff began to shake and then miraculously fall upwards, connecting back to the cliff face where they once belonged. It looked as if the shaman was reversing time itself the way the mountain knit itself back whole.

The Cleft was still unstable so Thrall took the materials from the earth elementals and used them to replace the chunks of rock that were now in the pit where Dalaran once was.

“I had this under control.” Garrosh roared at Thrall.

Thrall simple looked at the war chief and said. “Throne room. Now.”

Garrosh looked like he wanted to argue but there was a crowd and it was pretty obvious he was going to get yelled at by Thrall so he simply walked off towards the throne room without a word.

Guards rushed into the newly reformed Cleft of Shadows and began to drag our survivors one by one. Some had broken limbs, others were worse off but the shamans began to set up triage points and the healing powers began to flow.

The paladin walked over and began applying what limited healing The Light granted him to the injured.

“This is why I hate paladins.” Twin muttered. “They just walk around making everyone else look bad because they have to be so good.” The warrior walked over and began to bandage some of the less critical victims with his extensive knowledge of first aid.

“What?” he said to Kaz who was looking at him funny. “I get hurt a lot and I don't have a ton of friend. You get used to bandaging yourself up.”

Kaz knelt down and began healing who he could while the blood elf tried in desperation to get the stain out of his clothes.

Twin looked at him sternly and Graymark opened his mouth to complain that what he was doing was more important and then closed it and knelt down next to the warrior. “Every used mageweave bandages? Of course you haven't because no one would be dumb enough to waste mageweave on them.”

He pulled a strip free from his stained pants and handed them to the warrior who used it to bind another wound.

“Thanks for the, you know.” Twin said in a half grunt.

“Saving your life? My pleasure.”

“I was devising a way out of it.”

Gray gave him a look.

“Most of them needed me to be on the other side of the rocks but I was thinking.”

“Thank you as well.” Kaz said to the paladin. “You both came along at the perfect time.”

The tauren nodded. “Silver Hand business brought me here, The Light led me to you two.”

“Business? I thought all you pallys did was ride around and polished your armor.”

“We also save people who are buried under tons of rock.” Vickers replied.

Twin growled as he wrapped another bandage.

Vickers ignored the growl and asked. “I suppose the two of you haven't heard any news about a blacksmith's place being burned down.”

Both Twin and Kaz paused. “We might.”

“I am here for that very same thing.” Graymark said, pausing in his ripping..

”We knew the blacksmith.” Twin said.

“The fire was set to cover a robbery.” Kaz added.

Vickers nodded. “You do know what was robbed right?”

Twin scoffed. “We should, we were on the one that killed her.”

Graymark stopped tearing and looked at the other three in amazement. “Do you know what this is?”

No one said a word.

“The four of us?”

More blank stares.

“This is a Ka-Tet!”

And now blank, confused looks.

“We are all here for the same reason! Fate has bound us together to solve this problem.”

“I am bound by nothing.” Twin said. “What the hell is a Ka-Tet?”

“It's when a group of people are brought together by forces outside their control and become something greater than it's parts. It's an ancient elven concept that dates back before the sunderin...”

“Blah, blah blah. What makes you think we are bound by anything?” Twin snapped.

Vickers looked over at him. “Well we did save your life, and if I am not mistaken in the troll culture when someone save's your life you are duty bound to return the favor, no matter how long it takes.”

Kaz sighed. “In my culture karma must be restored, which would mean I would need to repay the debt them saving us has created.”

“That doesn't mean crap.” Twin said, not very convincing.

“We are all here to investigate the act of arson and the stealing of Onyxia's head.” Graymark reasoned. “That is not a coincidence.”

Twin stood up. “No, that is exactly what it is.”

“There are no coincidences.” Kaz said softly.

“You too?” he asked his friend.

The panda nodded.

Twin stood there, silently fuming for a few seconds before he let out an angry. “FINE! Maybe there is a small debt to be repaid and maybe, for right now, we are all looking for the same thing. But that is not some kaput or some crap and it does not mean we are fated to be anything.”

“You glad you got that our of your system?” Vickers asked.

“Fight me!” Twin raged at him.

“What my friend is saying, we would be honored to help you solve this crime.”

“NO, I said nothing like that.” Twin protested.

“We graciously accept.” Graymark said, ignoring the warrior.

“I didn't agree to this!”

“My name is Graymark.”

“Vickers.”

“Kâzu.”

They all looked at the troll.

“Shut up.” and went back to bandaging.

[zephirine-blog1]

Six for Gold

A response to @savagekaz and their generosity in giving me a writing prompt for my first fic. (Thank you once again!) General warnings include: alcohol and innuendo. 

This thing is just over 2.5k, so there’s a cut for obvious reasons.

The crowd in the lounge rippled with interest as Jesper made his way to the spread of reserved setees and couches. Jesper made it a point never to walk into a room. No, he strolled, he ambled, he strode like it was the word of the day and he was a really kinesthetic learner. Shoulders back and chin up, not a care in the world except for ensuring that all eyes were on him.

And then he sank onto the couch next to Wylan, folding all his angles into the gaps between cushions and Wylan’s limbs, a silent declaration that he was off-limits to the watching crowd. It was a declaration that wasn’t always heeded.

Wylan loved Jesper for how bold he was, but sometimes he wished that his boyfriend would be a little less attractive in front of groups of people, mostly because Wylan… wasn’t. He liked button down cotton shirts and cardigans, and never wore jewelry because it got in the way in the lab. So people let their eyes glance over him, drab and friendly and easy to dismiss. It’d been that way most of his life, but in social gatherings it became especially grating.

In the high-rolling world that Jesper liked to frequent, assumptions were made; assumptions that ended up with Wylan dumping expensive cocktails in persistent strangers’ laps after a few too many insinuations that Jesper couldn’t really truly be dating someone like Wylan.

Jesper, the rat bastard, thought that Wylan was never more attractive than when he was making a scene, so Wylan had long resolved himself to overcoming fits of jealousy in public. At the end of the day, it was his boyfriend they were all ogling.

Wylan stretched, making himself comfortable around Jesper. He’d finished his drink while waiting on Jesper, and was holding off on ordering another until their group of friends actually managed to arrive. Jesper was looking over the fancy menu on the table.

“Aren’t we waiting for our friends before ordering?”

Jesper popped a stuffed olive from his martini into his mouth. “Nina and Matthias are probably hooking up in a VIP lounge that she didn’t pay for, so they’re going to be late.”

Wylan considered this. It sounded entirely likely, except…

“Isn’t Matthias being considered for an position on a Vice squad?”

“Has his job ever stopped him and Nina? Or even him from being friends with us?”

It really hadn’t, because Matthias was capable of impressive levels of double-think when it came to their little band of misfits.

“Inej left me a message earlier - I listened to it while you were getting our drinks - she and Kaz are on their way,” Jesper continued.

“I’m impressed that-”

“He’s coming at all? Me too.”

This was the first time that all six of them had met in over a year. They had seen most of their friends over the months, but busy schedules took their toll on most attempts to reconnect. Kaz was without a doubt the worst of the lot, despite the freedom that self-employment should have provided.

“Maybe he just missed us, and couldn’t bear to stay away.”

Jesper scoffed, taking a long sip from his drink. Wylan took the moment to watch him, the long slide of his throat and the golden gleam that the dim lamplight gave his dark skin. He’d tried to sketch Jesper a hundred times, but could never capture that purity of motion. Everything Jesper did seemed to end in a flourish. It was that dynamic energy that had first caught Wylan’s eye, years ago. As always, his hands itched to try again, on his tablet, on a napkin, however Wylan could manage it.

As if sensing admiration, Jesper met his gaze, and made sure to ruin the moment with an impressive waggle of his eyebrows.

“Feel free to take me now, before anyone else shows up. On this table even,” he drawled.

Wylan scowled and blushed, all sense of artistry lost. If asked, he would blame his lack of composure on his earlier drink. It wouldn’t be true, but Wylan had standards to maintain and admitting how flustered Jesper could still make him had no part in that. “I don’t believe in giving people a free show to my dick.”

“Oh?” The word lingered heavily,

Jesper smiled, all teeth, and slid closer. Flirtation and promise tied up into a glimmering cranberry silk-shirt package. Wylan eyed him carefully.

Jesper always thought that he was so damn smooth, but Wylan saw through him. He was not smooth, he was like a cactus covered with sandpaper he was so not smooth.

It didn’t stop him from being attractive.

“What’s this about dicks? Wylan, I thought you were above conversations of the likes of these?”

Nina sank into the seat beside them, with an air of expectant aplomb. Her eyes were sparkling and her hair looked artfully mussed, but aside from that there was no hint to confirm or deny Jesper’s earlier theory.

Matthias appeared after her, looming over them all. Standing at a generous six-three, the police officer loomed well. It was a talent of his specifically. He had a smear of red lipstick vanishing beneath his collar that matched the red of Nina’s smirk.

Jesper, all too happy to contribute, answered her gleefully. “Wylan was complaining about my wicked ways.”

Nina laughed, clapping her hands, uncaring of the heads that turned at nearby tables.

“Now you know how I feel! That’s Matthias’ favorite hobby,” she leaned forwards, allowing her chest to press dangerously against the neckline of her dress. By design it was low and tight, and it appeared to be losing the war of decency. Nina pitched her voice low and breathy. “We’re both terribly awful people, Jesper.”

“No hope for us,” Jesper agreed cheerily, swirling his martini. He had effected a look of noble suffering, contemplating his numerous sins.

As a general rule, Wylan and Matthias didn’t share very much in common. The cop was sombre by nature and didn’t always appreciate Wylan’s stunning humor and wit, and Wylan knew that he underestimated the other man. But in that moment, with Jesper and Nina grinning at each other like the cats who had gotten the proverbial cream, Wylan and Matthias shared a moment of complete exasperated camaraderie.

Nina sat up, and dabbed at her immaculate lipstick. If he had never met Nina, Wylan probably would have trusted the innocent look on her angelic features.

“I think,” she paused to make sure everyone was focused on her on her pouting expression, “that we need to be punished.” And then, with deliberate emphasis, she shook her ass.

Jesper would have fallen off the couch laughing, if not for Wylan’s arm across his waist.

Matthias turned about three different shades of red in two seconds, looking as if he was torn between trying to cover Nina with his jacket and hauling her back to that hypothetical VIP room.

Wylan just covered his face.

At some point he was sure that he would come to terms with the fact that this was his life, and these were his friends, but that moment was not going to come when the woman that bought him his first drink was making comments about BDSM to his boyfriend.

“You’re a witch,” Matthias scolded his girlfriend, face still bright red.

“Mmm, yes. But you adore me!” Nina dragged him down for a kiss. It had been her way of shutting him down since they started dating, but Wylan couldn’t fault Nina because it was plainly still effective.

Matthias recovered himself, and went to go place an order for another round of drinks (“And appetizers!” Nina was quick to add). Jesper glanced at Wylan, but he brushed his boyfriend’s concern off and ordered the paté and a glass of pinot. Wylan had listened to the menu before arriving- perk of going to ridiculously fancy places was that they updated their website consistently.

“Do we actually know when Inej and Kaz are going to get here?” Nina asked. “It’s not like either of them to be late.”

The crowd went hush, conversations dulling to a murmur the way they always did when Kaz walked into a room. Partly the force of his personality, partly because he looked like the type of person it was better to steer clear of, and partly because people stopped to stare whenever a person with a cane walked by.

Jesper cocked an eyebrow. “Speak of the devil and all that, I guess, but that was suspiciously well-timed”, he murmured into Wylan’s ear, careful not to let it carry. Even after so many years of friendship, he remained a little cautious around Kaz. The remnants of hero-worship or wise precaution, Wylan was never completely sure.

Probably a bit of both.

Whatever the reason, Nina didn’t share it. She leaped out of her chair to embrace Inej, compliments for her friend and happy chatter spilling from her lips easily.

She didn’t reach to touch Kaz at all, but she did smile widely at him before kissing Inej on both cheeks, proclaiming “One for you and one for him; Kaz needs all the kisses he can get.”

Inej beamed back at her, hand perched lightly on Nina’s broad hip, thumb stroking small circles.

“You look so good. I’m glad to see it.”

From the look in Inej’s eye, she’d been worried about her friend. Though none of them visited as much as they wanted or promised to, Wylan and Jesper at least saw Nina and Matthias every few weeks. The other two saw their friends sporadically at best, though Inej at least had the excuse of traveling for work. It had probably been months since the two women had seen each other in person.

Nina waved her concern off. “Thank you! Matthias does his best to take care of me, no matter how stubborn I am.”

“Very stubborn.” That was Matthias, returning with a plate of baked brie and peaches in one hand and the paté in the other. “They’re bringing the drinks,” he offered to Jesper, who was making mournful eyes at his empty glass.

Kaz nodded to the group as a whole before settling into the sole armchair, resting his cane against his lap. As always, his suit folded crisply around him, wrinkle-free and screaming of the kind of money that meant he didn’t have to try. If Wylan struggled to depict Jesper in motion, then Kaz was someone he could have drawn in his sleep. All sharp lines and careful stillness.

Kaz stretched his bad leg out in front of him, but made no indication of pain otherwise. “It’s good to see you all in one piece.”

“And in one place,” Inej added, perched on the arm of his chair. Kaz grunted what was probably meant to be an agreement, and Wylan felt a bloom of warmth in his chest.

These were his friends, as aggravating as they could all be.

Some just took more patience than others, he thought, looking at Kaz. It was easy to think that he didn’t care about any of them but Inej, but Wylan knew that they’d all felt the benefits of his high regard more than once. It was why they always invited him out, even while expecting the texts to go unanswered.

Jesper leaned away from Wylan’s side to gesture at the bar. “I ordered you a Sazerac, Kaz. They make a good one here, and I thought you’d appreciate a taste of home.”

Kaz’s lips spasmed into a quick smile. “Thank you.”

Wylan would have been jealous of the way that his boyfriend turned toward Kaz’s approval, like a flower toward the sun if he didn’t know how careful Jesper was of his affection for his oldest friend, and how much it also meant to him. But beyond that, Wylan knew the feeling of craving Kaz’s attention.

Some people were just magnetic like that, and Wylan sometimes thought that if the world was a fairer place, then Kaz would have been making history.

Nina settled back into the curve of Matthias’ arm, occasionally nudging Inej’s foot with her own. “Inej, I can never predict your taste, so I went basic and got you a cosmo. They don’t come with umbrellas here, so obviously it’s not a perfect drink but it should taste good.”

“And if it doesn’t, Nina will take it off your hands, I’m sure,” Wylan added with a grin.

Inej smiled at them all. “An act of stunning sacrifice, I’m sure.”

“More like an act of thievery,” Jesper muttered. “I love cosmos.”

Matthias stared at Inej somberly. “So do I.”

Inej blinked at them. “I don’t know what makes any of you think that I’m giving up my drink after an international flight, but you’ve clearly all lost your minds.”

Jesper sat up. “Oh, that’s right you did just get in! I forgot you were flying in today. Have you even stored your stuff yet?”

From the dark circles under her eyes, the answer was a strong ‘no’.

“He,” Inej said, nodding at Kaz, “sent someone to pick me up from Dulles, and someone to get my luggage, so I’m assuming that everything is going to be in my apartment when I get home.”

“With your door locked,” was Kaz’s contribution.

And then Kaz shifted his weight, briefly coming into contact with Inej’s hip. It barely qualified as a movement, and was done before anyone else saw what happened. But Wylan was an artist and a chemist. Watching things carefully was what he did. And even if he had missed it altogether, the proof of it was clear enough in the warmth that washed over Inej’s face.

He almost thought he’d gotten away with it, but her dark eyes flickered to his and she quirked an eyebrow. Wylan smiled, not at all ashamed at being caught. She was his friend too, and it felt good knowing that she had someone in her life that made her smile like that.

He had Jesper, and was glad for that every day.

The waitress brought the drinks over, and Nina wasted no time in sampling Matthias’, only to declare it more like paint thinner than a beverage. The five of them quickly swapped around glasses, criticizing each other’s taste in turn, before settling with their original selections. Kaz sat back with his drink, and looked as though he would take fast action against anyone who objected.

Predictably, Jesper was the first one to break the ice.

“So, are all of you as bad at cards as I remember? Anyone up for a friendly game?”

Inej frowned. “Should you even be playing cards?”

“I said a friendly game,” Jesper smiled at her, “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Wylan was less enthusiastic. “Even if you’re fine - and I believe you that you are - that never stops you from cheating.”

Jesper’s indignant ‘Hey!’ and Nina’s drawl of “It won’t stay friendly if Matthias plays.” sounded at the same time, and instigated a wave of bickering that made the likelihood of any organized game seem incredibly low.

The familiar patterns of the argument were as familiar and well-worn as the best pair of shoes Wylan owned. He let it wash over him, and sank back into the couch, feeling Jesper’s side shake against him as his boyfriend laughed.

It had taken them a year and a day to come back together, but Wylan knew how lucky they were to all fall into place as if they had never left.

A/N: and that’s it you guys! I have a really weird amount of backstory for these versions of the characters, but given the nature of the story and who they are as general people, I figured including it would, uh. Significantly reduce the ‘fluff/happiness’ factor. (Which isn’t my usual forte anyways, which I’m sure comes through.)

This was my first time doing anything for SoC fandom in particular, so please let me know any critiques or comments. It’s also my way of introducing myself, I suppose!