#like. In my town there are these things on the street lamps and stuff and I read in the newspaper

[amearla]

they’re coming for your toothbrushes and your property.

According to a recent report published by the Aargauer Zeitung (h/t Golem.de), around three million smart toothbrushes have been infected by hackers and enslaved into botnets.

The most cyberpunk thing on your dash today.

[swarvey]

how they would propose | sdv bachelors x g/n!reader | part one

-> summary: in game, the farmer is always the one to present the mermaid's pendant to their lover — what if it was the other way around?

pt. 2

a/n: starting with half the boys, i'll be working on the rest of them + bachelorettes after ! i got a bit carried away with elliott's ... but can you blame me?

alex

carries the pendant around in his pocket for a week, hoping the right words will magically find him if he does

(they don't)

definitely the type to lock himself in the bathroom and stare at himself through the mirror while practicing what to say to you

decides to propose during a quiet walk in the evening so he has your full attention and all the time in the world to profess his love to you

alex swears his heart is about to fly out of his chest as the two of you walk hand in hand around pelican town, the sun long gone below the horizon. the street lamps guide the two of you, fireflies intermittently emitting gentle flashes of light.

he doesn't even realize you're expecting a response from him until you wave a hand in front of his face, moving in front of him so he's forced to look into your amused gaze.

"alex," you laugh, and his breath hitches, "are you listening? you look like you've been zoning out."

he musters an empty laugh back at you, internally panicking as he desperately tries to recall what you said. "what? me? no, i was just, uh . . ." think, alex, think! you can't mess up now! "i was thinking about gridball." he wants to smack himself.

"really?" you reply, raising your brows. "you're thinking about gridball, now? while i was talking to you about our anniversary coming up?"

shit.

his face pales, stopping in his tracks in the middle of the bridge near the museum. he groans, dropping your hand to run it through his hair — surely he can fix this, right?

"okay, cut the act," you say, worry beginning to show in your features. "is everything alright? what's bugging you?"

"nothing, really! it's just that, uh . . ." alex inhales a quick breath to prepare himself before grabbing both your hands in his. "you know i love you, right?"

"yes . . .," you trail off. you look at him with concerned eyes, beginning to look uneasy. "now i'm really worried—"

"no, no! just hear me out, alright?" you nod. "you know, before you moved here, my view on life was pretty boring," he admits. "all i really cared about was gridball and my grandparents. and dusty, of course, and i guess sam and haley, too—" he shakes his head, blush beginning to cover his cheeks. "whatever, you get what i'm trying to say, right?"

"i'm not entirely sure if i follow," you reply, smiling at how flustered he's gotten. "what are you getting at, alex?"

he sighs. "listen, you moving here was the best thing that ever happened to me. you've shown me there's tons more to life than whatever i was doing before, like giving random gifts to everyone in town just to make them happy, or being a badass and fighting off monsters!" you laugh, and he grins. "anyways, now that i've had a taste of what being with you is like, i don't think i'm willing to share."

your jaw drops as he reaches into his pocket and gets on one knee, opening his palm to reveal a mermaid's pendant.

"will you marry me, y/n? so i can spend the rest of my life learning more awesome stuff from you?"

he nearly collapses in relief when you nod, whooping in joy before engulfing you in a tight hug. after a few moments, he can't help but kiss you strongly, a hand cradling the back of your head with the other on the small of your back. you smile into the kiss, pulling away only to look into his teary, overjoyed eyes.

"aren't you forgetting something?" you tease, glancing down at the pendant that's still clutched in his hand.

"oh, right!" you bend your head forward as he places it around your neck, beaming at the sight.

you hold the jewel in your hand, adrenaline pumping through your blood. "looks like we'll have to plan a wedding," you say, happily pecking alex's cheek.

"yes, this is so great!" he exclaims as he jumps in excitement, unable to control himself. "alright, first, we gotta figure out where we're going to cater food from, but i know grams will want to bake our cake," he rambles, grabbing your hand as he practically starts to drag you home. "oooh, and we should totally ask sam and his band to play something for us! he knows all the songs we like, anyway. i think all the guys will help me get all dressed up, but i bet haley and the rest of the girls would go crazy over helping you pick out what to wear, they probably know better anyway—"

"alex," you interrupt, laughing at his antics, "relax. we'll figure all this out tomorrow. let's just go home." he nods.

"you're right, honey," he agrees, swinging your intertwined hands playfully. "i'm going to need all the rest i can get if i'm gonna spend all of tomorrow bragging about my engagement."

shane

leaves the pendant in his nightstand drawer and looks at it every night before he goes to sleep for nearly a month

he truly never thought he would get married — who would want to marry him, the town drunk?

regardless, the past year with you has proven otherwise, and he knows now there's no one else he wants by his side

he decides to do it quite impulsively one day, literally grabbing it from his drawer and walking to your farm

(marnie nearly faints in excitement when she sees him walk out with the mermaid's pendant in hand, while jas cheers him on)

shane starts to get nervous when he doesn't see you anywhere on the farm, making sure to double-check all the chicken coops and barns before heading toward your house. your pet runs up to him, sniffing the hand wrapped around the pendant curiously.

"got any advice?" he asks jokingly, though he doesn't receive an answer — just a tilted head and wide eyes. "guess this one's on me," he sighs, looking at the jewelry nervously.

"shane? is that you?"

shane nearly drops it as he quickly shoves his hands into his pockets, watching as you step out from your greenhouse. of course, he thinks, the one place i didn't check.

"what are you doing here?" you ask, smiling at his sudden appearance. you're wearing dirt-covered gloves and your hair is touseled and frizzy; shane thinks you're glowing. "dinner's not til later, isn't it? or else i'll need a little time to get ready."

"no, i thought i would stop by a little early," he says. "i had something i wanted to talk to you about, actually." you nod, taking off your gloves and putting them in your bag.

"of course, what's up?" you ask, looking at him with those damn eyes that he could never resist.

"we should get married," he states bluntly, excitement sending chills down his body.

he wants to kick himself as you stare at him, blinking twice before saying, "y-yeah, i guess we should."

he nods, swallowing. "it makes sense, y'know?" he reasons, suddenly avoiding your eyes. "we've been with each other for a while now, and things have been going pretty good." he pauses. "you've gotten me through a lot, you know that? i mean, before you got here, i didn't think anyone in this town gave a damn about me — but you obviously do, for whatever reason, so i'll spend the rest of my life trying my best to be the guy you see me as."

he takes the mermaid's pendant out from his pocket, sheepishly looking at you as he holds it. his eyes are watering with emotion, and by the looks of it, so are yours.

"so, what do you say, honey?" he asks softly. "will you marry me?"

"yes," you reply, smiling as he puts the necklace on you. he laughs in disbelief when he sees you wearing it, still in shock that this is his reality. you roll your eyes, pulling him in for a deep kiss. you cry out in surprise as he hugs you strongly and even lifts you off the ground slightly, his eyes brighter than you've ever seen them.

"i can hardly believe this is real," he sighs, pulling you into his side. "guess i did one thing right in my lifetime."

you slap his arm, resting your head on his shoulder and closing your eyes. "you definitely didn't plan this out, did you?"

"huh? what makes you think that?"

"you couldn't even wait until dinner to ask?" you joke. "i guess it wasn't really a question, either—" you laugh as he pokes your side to cut you off.

"don't forget, you're the one who said yes," he retorts, smiling nonetheless. "you're officially stuck with me."

elliott

oh, he's had the mermaid's pendant for months. pretty much since you two got together

he tried to keep it a secret, he really did, but by the time he actually decides to propose, the rest of the bachelors and bachelorettes know

still, he wants the proposal to be for you and you only, so he plans on asking you during an evening picnic dinner on the beach

that doesn't stop him from asking his friends for some help, though

"is this really necessary?" sebastian questions, placing a candle into the sand and creating a pathway to the picnic blanket near the water.

"i think it's romantic," leah sighs, handing him another candle from the box in her arms. "he's been planning and buying all this stuff for weeks now. plus, candlelight always makes things more magical."

"i'm sure the moon will be bright enough tonight to add some 'magic.'"

"the light itself is not our concern, my friend," elliott says, wrapping an arm around seb — who scowls at the contact, but decides to let him get away with it just this once — and waving his arm to show off their setup. "i need this beach to represent a scene of pure love and endearment tonight, for my beloved deserves no less than a proposal for the century!"

"right," seb monotones. "well, the candles are all set up, so i'm heading to the shade."

"you want the speakers over here, el?" sam calls out, holding up one of his wireless speakers at the entrance of the beach.

"i've got one over here, too!" abigail yells from behind the cabin.

"perfect!" elliott replies, grinning as the setting he's been picturing finally comes together. he waves goodbye as everyone begins to head home, turning to the only part of his plan left untouched — the picnic blanket. i suppose the rest is up to me.

-

"are you ready, my dear?"

"elliott, i've been ready for the past twenty minutes," you say, playfully smacking the hands covering your eyes. "can i look now?" he laughs before finally lowering his arms, watching lovingly as your eyes widen at the setting in front of you.

"shall we?" he asks, holding his arm out. you gladly hold on to him as the two of you make your way down the beach, in awe at the candles lighting your way.

"i must be dreaming," you say, shaking your head. "how did you—? wait, where's the music coming from?" you realize soft acoustic music is playing throughout the beach, feeling as if you're in a movie scene.

"ah, that? i asked sam and abigail if i could borrow their speakers," elliott explains proudly. "i also recruited leah and sebastian to help me create this enchanting path."

you laugh. "let me guess, you asked alex and haley to distract me and bring me to the library?" your jaw dropped. "no, and you asked maru and penny to get lunch with me? all so i wouldn't come to find you?"

"i had a feeling my darling would venture to my whereabouts, so i requested the help of our colleagues to keep you away. though i'm sure it was difficult for you, i wanted this to be a surprise," he admits, smiling at you. "do you . . . like it?" he asks quietly, a bit scared he had done too much.

"elliott, this is more than anything i could have asked for," you say, warmth coating your words. "what's the occasion?"

he sighs in relief before replying, "have i ever needed a measly excuse to spoil you, dear?"

"i suppose not," you agree amusedly, recalling all the times you've returned home to a bouquet sitting on your porch.

finally, the two of you reach the end of the path, sitting together on the blanket. a big basket covered with a cloth sits at the center of it, as well as two plates, utensils, and your favorite food.

you shake your head. "this is ridiculous," you state, looking at elliott with big eyes. "how long have you been planning this?"

he hums in thought as he plates your food, pushing it towards you. "that, my dear, is none of your concern," he says, "though, i will say it took quite a bit of strategy. and money," he jokingly adds.

after the two of you eat, elliott hands the basket over to you, trying his very best to contain himself.

"i thought it'd be fitting to get you some gifts," he states, as you begin to uncover its contents one by one.

inside, you find a framed version of your favorite photo with him, a hand-painted mug, a poem, and—

you gasp. "are those rubies?" you ask, a couple red stones glittering at the top of the basket. you pick them up, realizing they're matching keychains.

"courtesy of emily," elliott explains. he hesitates, breathing out lightly before continuing. "rubies signify love and passion, you know, as well as good luck and prosperity."

you laugh lightly, holding up the keychains to the moonlight to see them shine. "perfect, should work wonders for us and the farm—"

"they also symbolize weddings."

you blink, gently setting down the gems as you look at him. he holds out the mermaid's pendant he has been patiently keeping for you, eyes already shining with tears as you gasp.

"y/n, the time we have spent together has been by far the best of my entire life," he starts, "and when i look to the future, i'm afraid i cannot picture one without you walking by my side. you are, and always will be, the love of my life, my shining light, my fairy book tale. you, my love, are my happy ending.

"so, will you do me the honors and marry me?"

you jump into his arms as soon as he finishes speaking, both of you laughing as he happily holds you.

"yes, elliott, of course!" you exclaim. he grins as he holds your face in his hands, covering your face in kisses before finally landing on your lips. your hands run through his hair before you fall backward, elliott landing on top of you with his hand cradling your head. you peck his nose, and he laughs once more before helping you sit up.

"here, let us celebrate with some wine!" he decides, grabbing two bottles he had left in the corner. "shane and harvey said these were the best the winery had to offer."

"you really got the whole town in on this, huh?" you tease, barely containing yourself as he helps you put on the jewelry.

he rubs the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "well, it began with leah, and i thought it wouldn't hurt to tell harvey, but then of course i had to tell—" he stops himself. "secrecy has never been one of my strong suits, has it, love?"

you shake your head, leaning into his arm as you listen to the sound of the music mixing with the crashing of the waves.

"don't worry," you reassure, and he looks down at you with nothing but love in his gaze. "you have plenty of other traits to make up for it."

[hunnylagoon]

Take Me to War

PT1 Friendly Fire

Streamer! Ellie Williams x reader

A writer, I think is someone who pays attention to the world. We are observers, it is in our nature to be off-putting and turn shallow things deep.

Premise: Your neighbour is becoming increasingly loud and you decide to do something about it.

PT 2 Here!

Two things I hate the most?

My neighbour and New York City.

They shared something in common, they never rest. I liked my quiet life in my small town until I was convinced that all of the greatest writers lived in the city, what a joke. I sold my virtue to move to New York and now my body burned with the shame of not belonging.

I worked as a journalist and in advertisement but it didn't fill the gaping mass that consumed me, I felt like a sellout so I quit to do freelance, and now I feel like even more of a sellout. Freelance is making me think that I hate ghostwriting more than I hate my neighbour and New York City.

It's like you do all of the work and get zero reward but I'm desperate to pay the bills and all that stuff I've been telling myself all my life 'I may never be a rich man but the rich man will never have me' well, the rich man most certainly had me. I was paid an almost criminal amount of money to pour my soul into art just for it to get stamped beneath a new name and make a gross income six times the size of what I sold it for.

I look for happiness everywhere but I do not find it. I search for it in things everyone seems to pry joy from; I go clubbing, walk in Central Park, and date around, but happiness doesn't seem to exist there for me.

I plead for it in my morning cups of tea with a spoonful of honey, the sunshine glittering in a puddle after a rainstorm, for a brief moment, it flickers in the light of my cinnamon-scented candle. The truth is I am almost comforted by my sadness and it is in my lowest moments that my creations are the most beautiful, it is like I am dead and I despise those who aren't for I enjoy the company of my silence more than anyone I have ever met.

It was my dream for my name to be above 'New York Times Best Selling Author' but instead, it is just my work beneath it and maybe that's why I'm so bitter.

Right now as I am trying to salvage the bits and pieces I was given by a washed-up pop star for her memoir my neighbour is screaming and laughing incoherently in their apartment, it makes me miss living in an actual house.

The noise usually started up when I would finish up my writing and get ready for bed, then it would go all the way through the night. The dumb fucker probably threw parties every single night; my roommate never faced an issue with this as she worked at a club and was usually working when the deafening noises would begin.

I on the other hand who lived in that apartment and worked from that apartment was always cursed to listen to the random thumps and spats of laughter that sounded all through the night. At least once a night when I'm sound asleep, I hear a bang against the wall and each time without fail, I'm brought awake with my heart thumping.

Trust me, I have retaliated.

On occasion when I'm sleep-deprived and at my absolute limit I'll bang on the walls, that only stops the noise for a minute. I've even complained to my landlord and that one week was heaven until it eased back to the clamour that I've almost grown used to.

Almost.

I still hate it.

I'm broken from my thoughts when my phone rings, it vibrates till it's almost at the edge of my desk and I feel for it; don't worry buddy, I wanna jump too. I read the caller ID and I almost wanted to gag, it was a woman from the publishing company who reached out to me and asked me to write Nicole Elliot's novel. Despite wanting to throw my phone against the wall to stop Noemi's constant checkups and get back at my neighbour while I'm at it, I answer the phone "Hey, Noemi!" I glance out the window where the winter sun has long set, leaving nothing but billboards, street lamps and neon signs to light up the New York night. Under the unforgiving lights I can barely make out the gentle snowfall.

"Hey," She draws it out and I can hear in her voice that she is smiling "I know it's a little late, just checking in, how is the draft coming along?" A loud thump sounds against my wall along with intolerant cackling "What's that?"

"Just some street noise," I dismiss "Anyways, the draft is coming along great, I'm a couple thousand words away from finishing it. I will of course send it to you and I would really love it if you could reach out to Nicole and ask for her opinion on it before I carry on with the final copy," I give a middle finger to my wall, even if my neighbour can't see me, it makes me feel a little bit more formidable "I did follow her outline, which was difficult but I think I salvaged it pretty well."

This time there is a yelp from my neighbour and what sounds like someone slamming their hands down onto a table, Noemi thankfully ignores it "You haven't been in touch with Nicole?"

My eyebrows furrow "She hasn't responded to any of my emails and she's been turning down all of our scheduled Zoom calls, so no, I have not been in touch with her."

"Weird," Noemi comments and there is a brief break of silence between us "She's been M.I.A on our end too," I could hear her scribble something down. "So can you get the draft to me by Friday?"

Two days? If I lock myself inside and don't see the sun then I totally can "Absolutely!" I do work better under a deadline.

"Great," She sounds almost relieved "We will hunt down Nicole, it would be nice to get her greenlight with this but whether or not she approves it, she has already signed off and it will be going to print."

"Okay," I fight the urge to respond with 'sick' or 'aight' because I'm an adult now and someone who is masquerading as a professional.

"Sorry, what was that you mentioned about an outline?" Noemi asks, she sounds more confused with each word "I wasn't aware Nicole made any-

She is swiftly cut off by a crash from the other side of my wall, when I say crash I mean it. It sounded like someone just bodied their car into drywall. My eyes went wide as I saw a crack splitting up my once pristine white wall. I hold my phone against my collarbone as I get up and pound my fist against the wall, giving it a kick for extra measure.

"Is everything alright?"

"Certainly," The nice thing about phone calls is that the person on the other end can't see your awkward habits or subtle outbursts (Or neighbours breaking through your shared wall). After I hit the wall, everything went silent for just a second before laughter sounded heavily from multiple people. "Noemi, thank you for sourcing me out to write this, I am really grateful for this opportunity I will send you that draft on Friday." I try to wrap up the call but she speaks up.

"Well, I've read your work and I was very impressed, I trust you will do well with this. Sorry to have called you so late-

"Thanks, have a nice night now!" I'm talking faster than I can even think, the only thing in my head is the fact that my neighbour is slowly deteriorating my wall.

"Wait-

Before Noemi can finish her sentence, I've hung up the phone. I'm leaning back in my cushy office chair, hands gripping my hair as I stare down the newly formed crack in the wall. I don't entirely like to be confrontational, even in school I hated drama, but I was beginning to think it was necessary.

I saved the progress I had made on the memoir and pushed myself up from my desk. I was clad in nothing more than a t-shirt and some plaid pants, it was my writing attire and in the moment I didn't care much to make a good first impression. It was fucking freezing the second I got up from my desk.

The moulding on my bedroom window was broken which allowed the frigid New York air to slip into my room and make me shiver with each breath. At my desk, I would usually have a throw blanket to shroud my freezing body but the moment I discarded it, I felt regret. I almost wanted to wrap myself in it to confront my neighbour but the pyjamas alone didn't help me look tough.

I did however shove my feet into some cow slippers and march right up to their apartment.

Apartment 2D stood in front of me, the pastel blue door making me angrier with every second that I looked at it. I rapped my knuckles on the wood and crossed my arms to stop me from shuddering.

My nerves built up as I slowly heard a door within the apartment shut followed by footsteps leading to the door. I would just ask them politely to quiet down and calmly work on a way to fix the shared wall that they are slowly ruining.

The door opens and staring me down is a woman. I had expected it to be a man to be truthful. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the colour teetered on the verge of auburn and brown. The woman is clad in a black tank top and grey sweatpants, it's almost parallel to my outfit.

"You need to be quiet," I say the first words that come to mind "And stop assaulting my fucking wall."

She sucks a sharp breath through her teeth "Are you apartment 3D?" She asks to which I nod "I knew you would be stopping by soon." She has this sheepish and almost sardonic smile on her face and despite the amusement she's portraying I can see sadness brewing in her green eyes like a storm.

"I don't know what you're doing in there where you are up all night, I don't even have a clue how you sleep and work with all this time to spare to be a nuisance." I say and then swiftly feel the urge to backtrack "I'm sorry, that was a little rude, but mate, I can't sleep or work when you're being loud doing whatever you do."

"Fuck," She mutters looking back into her apartment and then at me "I'm sorry, I'll keep it down."

"What about the wall?"

Her eyes look me up and down, settling on my cow slippers "I'll find someone to fix the wall."

I press my lips tight together, looking dead into her eyes, scraping my brain for something else to say. It was almost like I wanted to fight. I had expected this to be a full-out conversation that ended in yelling but god she was pretty and she was telling me just what I wanted. "Okay."

"Okay?"

I regard her once more with what I assume is a cold glare before ushering back into my apartment and slamming the door behind me, the whole time, my neighbour watches me from her doorway.

That was the first night of uninterrupted sleep I'd had in a month.

-

I woke up earlier than I would've liked when my roommate Margot came home from work at 4:56 on the dot. She made sure to slam every single door and cupboard before throwing herself onto her bed in all of her makeup and musty clothes that had to endure whatever happens at a nightclub between the hours of 8 pm and 4 am, which I can't imagine is very clean.

Still, even though I was a little ahead of schedule I fell into my morning routine. It started with ignoring my phone, this was followed by a mug of Bengal spice tea with a teaspoon of honey and a splash of cream.

Sometimes I would curl up on the couch, though it snowed last night and I loved fresh snow. Freshly fallen snow absorbed sound, it was like soundproofing for the earth. There wasn't anything like the rare peace you could find in New York. I figured I would have my morning tea on the fire escape.

My peaceful image was destroyed the second I pried my window open and crawled through I was hit with the intense smell of pot. "Shit," I mutter, instinctively wafting the scent away from my nose.

"Sorry, man," I see my neighbour leaning against the railing of the fire escape, nursing a joint. It hadn't crossed my mind that I shared a level of the fire escape with her, I had never seen her out here but now the smell of weed that drifted through the damaged moulding on my window made sense, I had always assumed it to be Margot.

"Joint for breakfast?" I ask, half-joking. A dusting of powdery snow adorns each step and railing, creating a delicate layer of white that contrasts with the industrial gray of the metal though it looks like my neighbour has pushed all of the snow off the platform.

"Nah, for dinner I guess, it helps me sleep," She's in the same outfit from last night, except her hair is now loose around her face and she threw a hoodie over her tanktop.

I furrow my eyebrows "You've been up all night?" The slight tension from the previous night has dissolved completely.

"Yeah," She says it like it was a stupid question and it partially was but I hadn't stayed up that late since New Year only because I was the designated driver and was in charge of getting everyone home safe. "I don't sleep much, that's probably why I keep you up all night."

I mean, I'd let her keep me up in other ways "Honestly, I've gotten used to it, it's almost like white noise." I try to sympathize even if it isn’t necessarily true.

"Next time I'm loud, you have every right to bang on my door and chew me out." She takes a drag from her joint and I watch as the smoke escapes her lips, her cheeks tinted pink from the cold.

"Good to know," I glance behind her at the open window and all I see are purple LED lights cutting through the darkness of her apartment. "Now I know that we share a fire escape I'll just crawl through your window and yell at you that way," I joke, taking a sip from my snoopy mug.

This makes her laugh in the slightest, she crushes what remains of her joint on the cold railing and tosses the bud into the pot of a dead plant that's covered in snow and has lived on this fire escape long before I moved in; one time I just about removed it but I felt bad, it's like I was evicting it from its rightful home "Feel free."

"Am I allowed to ask why you're up all night breaking the sound barriers?" I ask, pulling my fuzzy robe tighter around my body to fight the bitter air. "Are you the leader of a cult? Would it be better for the world in the long run if I push you right now?"

The corners of her lips curl up into a smile once again "You've figured me out, just know I've got some big plans with Koolaid," She plays into my teasing.

"It was flavour-aid, actually." I don't know why I said that.

"What the fuck is flavour-aid?"

"Koolaid basically," Silence stretches between us "So what do you actually do all night?"

"It's a bit complicated," She says, of course, it was complicated. "I work from home," She couldn't do something normal, she probably did voice acting or ran a podcast or some weird shit like that.

"Sick," Don't worry, I made myself cringe when I said that too "I work from home too."

"Yeah, you said something about work last night, are you in marketing?"

I shake my head "I'm a writer," every time I tell someone that, I feel a twinge of embarrassment. I know it wasn't a noble career like my parents had hounded me over, but it felt noble to me. I had two absent parents and was raised by a pack of wolves, I would devour as much food as fast as I could because I didn't know when I would be eating next. I was far too emotional to be around all of the narcissists who preferred their own faces to my company, the only friend I had was the written word.

Since then I have been serving my soul up to strangers through word documents.

The thought makes me homesick for the arms that did not hold me and I truly expect my neighbour to make a mockery of me, the way others have. The way they've told me 'It's a tough industry but hang in there!' and pat me on the back like I'm a hopeful child clinging to her mother's skirts.

"That's really cool," She smiles while she gazes out to the skyline, I can see her perfect side profile and ski-slope nose "I wanted to be a writer, I thought myself to be a poet, and then I thought myself to be a scientist and wanted to be an astronaut. Now, I'm here."

"Where's here exactly?"

"Working things out, figure it out as I go," She shrugs like she is unsure of her answer.

I think it's beautiful how everything around me has been touched by human hands and carries so much history. For a quick moment, my mind wonders to those who built this building, the calloused hands that crafted the iron railing and now my neighbour who was leaning against it. "What's the end goal with this whole freefall thing?"

"To make it out alive."

"And your name?"

"It's Ellie."

-

That night Ellie stuck to being quiet as she promised. The next night was a different story. I was so close to finishing the draft of Nicole Elliot's memoir and was praying that the deadline would pass with no issue.

However, the noise began again. I was coming around to like Ellie and I didn't want to go yell at her again so I shoved my headphones in and turned up my playlist as loud as I could. There is no song I can blast in my headphones to drown it out.

She did say that the next time I was loud I could come and chew her out, I wouldn't do that; I would just knock on her door and quickly tell her that she was being too loud, and then we would both carry on with our respective work.

I stopped in front of the smooth door and raised my hand to knock. Ellie slips the door open just a crack, when she sees that it's me she opens the door. "Hey, Ellie."

"Hello," She smiles "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She had a very nice smile.

We both know the circumstances of my visit but I spell it out anyway "Dude, you're way too loud, it's disruptive and I'm working under a deadline."

"I know, I'm sorry." She looks genuinely apologetic.

"I don't know any office job that needs you to scream for hours on end," Alright, that blows what could've been a simple visit where she apologizes and I leave, I always had to add on.

"Right, sorry," She carries herself with so much confidence that it is like she is wearing armour made of gold though she has these subtle awkward tendencies of someone who has never been loved and was forced to improvise. "It's hard to explain,"

"Yeah, you've said-

"Do you wanna come and see?"

I'm taken a little aback and for a minute I think this is all a ploy for Ellie to lock me in her her apartment and kill me because she is sick of her neighbour banging on her door "What?"

"Well, you've asked a couple of times and if you have a minute I can show you."

I pause, mauling over her proposal. I think of my laptop on my spruce desk, open to the final pages of the memoir and I make up my mind "Alright, just not too long."

"If you say so," Ellie opens the door wider for me to move past her and then shuts it behind us.

Ellie's apartment is what I had expected from her even though it is surprisingly nice. She has a large L-shaped sofa in the living room adorned with throw blankets and pillows and a huge flatscreen with a coffee table in front of it. The layout is exactly like mine but inverted, her open kitchen has some odd knick-knacks that looked like they belonged on an Amazon must-haves list.

I don't go into her bathroom and the door leading to one of the rooms (What is equivalent to Margot's bedroom) is shut. The apartment itself is pretty sparse aside from little bits and pieces as she only moved in a month prior.

On the left side, I see that purple LED spilling out of what I assume to be her bedroom.

She walks in ahead of me and the second I follow in after her there is one question I have to ask "Ellie, are you a porn-star?" There are entirely too many computers in here. Her desk is set up with one of those fancy triple-screen PCs and she has a laptop placed seemingly randomly on a white loveseat that's pressed against the right wall.

There is one of those galaxy lamps that projects that trippy shit onto your walls and ceiling. The screen of her PC is facing our shared wall and I can see a huge hole where I assume that a loud crash from the other night occurred. Plastered all over the walls are posters from video games and movies, many of which I hadn't seen.

"What?" She sounds nearly offended "No," she grabs a folding chair from the corner of the room and unfolds it beside her black florid office chair. She sits on the folding chair and motions for me to sit in the office chair. "Come, sit."

I hesitantly sit in the chair "Are you going to attack me now?" I ask, getting defensive for no particular reason other than it was in my nature "Because I've read The Outsiders and I'm pretty sure I can fight."

She chuckles "I'm not gonna fight you."

"Because I'd win?"

She furrows her eyebrows but has this look of amusement on her face "Yeah, definitely."

"So what is this?" I motion around at all of her equipment.

Ellie puts one earbud in then hand me the other "Chat," She says, looking dead at the camera clipped onto her PC "This is my neighbour who came to yell at me for being annoying, she has every right."

"Who are you talking to?"

"I'm streaming," She said, clicking something on the screen so it changed, instead showing Ellie and I in front of the camera, I looked absolutely lost next to a rolling chat bar full of jokes that I didn't understand and people saying hello to me.

"So I was right," I turn my attention to Ellie "You are an internet person."

"Yeah, I'm an internet person but you weren't right, I don't do porn."

"Not yet," I shrug "Times are desperate," To this, the chats come in even faster than before. "So do you just sit here all night and scream at people?"

"I play video games and do challenges, sometimes I do just sit here and scream at them."

"That makes so much sense," I say "If there's any job that needs you to be obnoxiously loud and annoying, it's a youtube personality."

"Okay, well-

"So you're like Logan Paul?"

Her eyes go wide "No-

"What explains why your eyes are so bloodshot."

"You are a writer," She says it like it's a fact I wasn't aware of "You are in no place to judge, you probably spend as much time in front of a screen as me."

I nod "I hate to say you're right," My attention shifts to the hole behind me "Can you explain how playing video games put a hole through the wall?"

Ellie looks almost embarrassed, she doesn't say anything in response, instead, she just clicks something to screen share with us in a little box in the corner and then goes into YouTube. She types in 'Ellie Williams falls through wall' My eyebrows furrow as I read it, and she clicks the first video that pops up.

The video starts off strong; Ellie is cackling at something that her friend off-camera is saying, her friend then makes a comment that makes her laugh even harder and she throws herself back in her chair. This act breaks it, you can hear the chair snap beneath the pressure and Ellie just lets it happen as the chair crashes against the wall. Her eyes go wide when she realizes she's just put a massive hole into the wall and seconds later you can hear me on the other side banging my hands on the wall. Her eyes go wide and she stares at her friend off-camera, all of the laughter stops abruptly before her friend can't hold it in anymore and erupts in chortles, and the video cuts off.

My hand flies over my mouth to fight back the laughter I so badly want to let out. Ellie and I sit wordlessly, the only sound being donations on the screen and my giggles slipping through. Eventually, I manage to compose myself and look to Ellie, I don't have much to say except for "Oh my god."

A/N: Streamer! Ellie won the poll so here we are. As I was drafting out the other chapters for When I Was Your Girl, I decided that it is most likely to be discontinued unless I do a rewrite which will not be in the near future. I’m not rocking with the plot and there was a lot of mixed feedback, sorry if you were invested I guess, but you have this series to be invested in now!

[cq-studios]

Do you have any screenshots of your favorite details from KHUX?

HAHAHAHAHA, yeah I do

Gonna just drop a read more here 'cause if y'all know me at all you know this post is probably gonna be 10KM long lol

So, I'm gonna try to hold myself back a little because I literally have like 10 pages of notes about specifically stuff in the backgrounds and I doubt the internet will find my bench and lamppost count interesting. (Also image limit lol)

I'll list just 4 things for now (in no particular order) and talk about them a bit underneath.

NUMBER 1 || STREET SIGNS

So there are four street signs that we’ve seen in Daybreak Town. Two are in the Fountain Square (A and B), one is in the Marketplace (C), and one is in the Clocktower Outskirts map (D).

For B and D it’s pretty easy to figure out what the represent. B is a clock, probably representing the Clock Tower… or maybe the best place to see the Clocktower because it’s in Fountain Square. The overall shape of it is different from the rest of the signs so I imagine that means something. D is a gondola or canoe of some sort, which makes sense because it’s next to stairs that seemingly lead to the canal that runs through town. Maybe there’s a ferry system of some sort?

A and C I’m less sure about. The designs don’t really bring anything obvious to mind. Maybe C is Munny because it leads to the Marketplace? I’m not sure.

NUMBER 3 || DOOR UNDER FOUNTAIN SQUARE

See what makes this interesting to me isn’t just the fact that apparently Fountain Square is hollow underneath (maybe for pipe repairs or something, I don’t know) but just the general fact that a lot of structures in this town, that maybe shouldn’t be, are hollow.

If you look even some archways have windows, so there has to be an open space inside, right? Most of them seem at least connected to houses so I assume they’re basements or something. (The one by murder house gets me tho, like that’s right under the bridge. Who’s living right under the bridge)

And I also feel like this leads into the fact that, similarly but not as extreme as in Scala, Daybreak Town is kinda built on top of itself. Maybe that’s a symptom of being around so many (and possibly on) mountains but I still feel like it should be talked about more.

NUMBER 4 || LIGHTHOUSE INTERIOR MAP

There is so much to unpack here but I’ll try to keep it brief.

So I’m pretty sure this is one of, if not the oldest building in Daybreak Town. Two reasons.

1. Instead of having little wall lamps, like the rest of the town and buildings, all the light seems to come from mounted candles.

2. There are swords (A) on the walls and not Keyblades. Why would the Keyblade town not have Keyblades on its little shield emblem? Is it possibly because it was there before Keyblades?

This staircase here (B) is also the only known (not sewer drain) way into the waterways. It leads into the sewers then out to the little dock below the Lighthouse with the boat, hence the sign.

There’s these maps here (C) that I don’t really know what to say about, but is definitely worth pointing out. They’re all the same and I assume show the layout of the area surrounding the town (the darker parts being water). It could be a world map though (darker part being continents)… I don’t think we’ll ever really learn lol

And also I don’t know what this is (D) but I think it’s interesting that it has writing on it. It kinda gives me the vibe of those flat on the ground gravestones…

NUMBER 5 || BANNER

Daybreak Town actually has a flag it’s all over the place and you’ll start to see it everywhere if you look for it. They also kind of look like the banners in Radiant Garden. The colours and shape/mounting are the same but the designs on the flag itself (and mounting) is different.

I have no clue what that implies, if anything, but I figure it’s worth pointing out ‘cause it’s interesting.

[stellar-constellations]

(Very late) Christmas special! Yuri Briar

Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader

        Beware! This fic DOES contain SPOILERS for the manga and for the Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1)!

        This can be read with or without reading my Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1).

        Series information: Setting is AFTER the reader rejoined WISE (so Yuri and [Y/N] are married and [Y/N] becomes an official double-spy).

        This is NOT a replacement or part 10 for the Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series!

        The city air smelt like hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts. The town’s street lamps were decorated with yellow christmas lights and green wreaths. Children squished their faces against the cold windows of toy stores, gazing at what they want on their Christmas lists. Candies filled with marshmallows and peppermint advertised at the local grocery store. Yuri and I strolled through the town hand-in-hand, looking for gifts for the Forger family.

        “Do you have any idea what they’d want for Christmas?” I questioned, looking into store windows for anything that caught my eye.

        “I’m not sure. Yor said that she was fine with anything.” Yuri spoke, just as lost as me. 

        “Well what about Loid and Anya?” I asked, turning my head to look at Yuri.

        “Do we have to buy them gifts?” Yuri grimaced. 

        “They’re family.” I huffed. “Don’t be mean. And don’t even think about going to the Christmas party with an attitude to Loid. I’ll whack you.” I threatened.

        “I don’t even know what we’d give Loid. He’s so… reserved?” Yuri spoke. “He doesn’t talk much about himself other than work.” 

        “I see what you mean.” I hummed. “So work is obviously an important thing in his life.”

        “His main priority should be caring for Yor…” Yuri huffed.

        “We can talk about this later. The shops will close early because it's Christmas Eve, so we have no time to be complaining about stuff like that.” I pointed out. "Loid values work, we could get him something for work. Like, maybe a new journal to write notes? He is a psychiatrist after all.” I suggested.

        At least his public cover is. I thought to myself. 

        I tried to think more deeply on what Twilight likes without accidentally revealing to Yuri that I know him more than just his sister's husband. Of course I know things about him that Yuri and Yor won't, I did basically grow up with him almost my entire life, so I consider him like a brother and my best friend. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I basically knew nothing of Twilight's interests or hobbies. He's always been so work-oriented compared to my laid-back nature. 

        My realization led me to questioning everything I knew about Twilight. Is the personality I've associated with him almost my whole life a cover personality? Am I such a bad sister and best friend that I don't even know his favorite damn color? What he likes to do in his free time? 

        While I had an internal existential crisis, Yuri dragged me out of my thoughts. 

        "Hey, there's a bookstore over there. We can go find Loid's journal there?" Yuri suggested, pointing his finger at a small bookstore.

        "Yeah, okay." I nodded, dragging Yuri into the store with me. "Along with a journal, we can get Loid a book too. I'm just unsure of what types of books he'd enjoy." 

        "We have to get him more than one gift?" Yuri sighed, obviously displeased at the idea. 

        "Just wait till we get to Anya." I hummed. "She's a child, so she should get the most presents." 

        "When I was a kid, I didn't celebrate Christmas." Yuri pointed out.

        I did. Growing up as a West spy, the Handler would put time aside and host a Christmas party at HQ. She made sure to give small gifts to all spies (most likely to avoid promotions). Since I was a kid and the youngest on the team, she made sure my gifts were a little more special than my fellow spies. I remember the first year I joined WISE, she gifted me a warm sweater with comfortable short fur inside and the exterior was soft and gray, along with a raspberry candy cane. I cried so hard that day because I was so touched she bothered getting me something despite our relationship being something of a teacher and student. Now a days, I see her more of the closest thing I have to a mother in my life, and I make sure to give her a present every year too. 

        Speaking of the Handler, I need to find a gift for her too. I might be able to sneak out later and buy something while Yuri is sleeping. I thought to myself. 

        "Maybe a book on psychology?" Yuri questioned.

        "No. I wanna get him something for him to enjoy that's not all work-related." I spoke.

        Besides, me and him already know quite a bit of psychology as it is. I thought. 

        Maybe something like mystery? No, he'd figure out the mystery too quick. Suspense? No, he'd just get mad at the character's decisions for being stupid. Romance? Nope, he seems to have little interest in the subject. Maybe something dystopian? Eh, we've faced a war together and live under oppressed governments with the possibility of war, we have our own silent dystopian going on. Maybe something involving self-help, like how not to be robotic. It'd be a good gag gift, but like I said, I want him to enjoy it. Historical? No, we know just about everything in history.

        "Ah! Science fiction!" I exclaimed loudly. 

        "Like... robots?" Yuri questioned. 

        "I dunno, maybe. I think Loid would enjoy the genre." I spoke. 

        "How so?" Yuri questioned.

        "He's smart, he is a psychiatrist after all. He'll probably like something that's mixed with reality but still have hints of fiction in it. Smart people like smart things like science! It'd be something to get his brain working and still enjoy it." I spoke.

        "Pssh, anyone can listen to a person's problems and give out solutions." Yuri huffed.

        "That's not all they do, Yuri. They also—" I paused, deciding it wasn't worth going in depth. "Ah, never mind. Let's just find something good for him to read." 

        Me and Yuri walked to the science fiction section, looking for anything that caught our eyes. Yuri didn’t exactly do much of the searching since it included being “too buddy-buddy with Loi-Loi” so I did the searching myself.

        “Oh, what about 1984? I heard that was good.” I spoke. “I remember hearing it was featured in the newspaper, it’s relatively new, published in 1948.” 

        I might steal this after Twilight finishes reading it. I thought to myself.

        “Yeah, sure.” Yuri spoke.

        ���Hm… what do you think Yor would like? I was thinking of giving her a new set of earrings as my gift. What’s on your mind?” I questioned. 

        “Well… she likes apples, specifically this Whistle Candy we had as kids, the apple flavored ones.” Yuri explained. 

        “That’s a good start. We can go to the market and buy those.” I smiled. “I want to stop by a jewelry store and buy her a set of gold earrings, I noticed her jewelry was gold so I figured she’d might appreciate it.” 

        “You noticed.” Yuri spoke, tears in his eyes.

        “Why are you tearing up?” I questioned, a little confused.

        “Just… you’re so thoughtful of her too. She loves you so much as her sister-in-law so it’d make her so happy to know you paid attention to her interests.” Yuri cried, wiping his nose.

        I resisted the urge to tell him I was observing her to make sure she wasn’t an obstacle in STRIX’s mission or a hazard to Twilight’s mental health (now that I’ve spent time with her, I’m aware she’s a wonderful person, but I was on my guard when we first met, especially knowing how hard she can hit someone). 

        “Of course I care, Yuri. She’s family to me, just like Anya and Loid are.” I smiled.

        The names of his sister’s husband and daughter leaving my lips immediately dried his eyes and made him grimace. “Blegh…”

        “Wow. I should use that more against you when you’re upset if it makes you forget what you were crying about in the first place.” I smiled, a little impressed.

        “Don’t you use those two… imbeciles... against me.” Yuri threatened, a glint in his eyes.

        “Yeah, yeah.” I hummed. “Let’s find an empty notebook now. I'm thinking something blue, or blue and white." 

        Yuri nodded as we walked together, looking around to find a journal. I've seen empty journals in bookstores before, so surely this bookstore can't be an exception. I took Yuri to the front of the bookstore where there would usually be little souvenirs or many pens. I found a plain midnight blue journal and held it up to Yuri. 

        "What do you think?" I questioned.

        "Looks like a journal." Yuri spoke.

        "Helpful." I hummed sarcastically, before opening the journal.

        I felt the texture of the pages and the cover, along with the page colors, the spacing and colors of the lines, and the sturdiness of the spine before deeming it acceptable. 

        "Okay, Yuri. Let's go pay for these then we can go for Yor's presents." I spoke. 

        Yuri nodded, grabbing my hand as we walked to the cash register together. 

        "How about you pay for Loid's and Anya's gifts, and I'll pay for Yor's? Her earrings will probably be expensive." Yuri spoke.

        "I mean, I have certain earrings I'm looking for, so I can buy them." I explained.

        "No. I got them. Loid's and Anya's gifts will probably tally up to around the earrings price." Yuri explained.

        "And you wanna buy your sister's presents yourself?" I smiled.

        "Yes." Yuri admitted quickly. 

        "Well, if you really insist." I sighed, deciding it wasn't worth fighting him. 

        When we got to the cashier, I took out my wallet from my purse and handed the cashier the amount of dalc they wanted from me. The bagged the books and handed it to me, telling us "happy holidays" as we left.

        "Okay. Let's go to the jewelry store first, then the grocery store for that whistle candy you were talking about." I hummed, rearranging the fluffy red scarf wrapped around my neck.

        Yuri nodded as I grabbed his red mitten, having him follow me. During our walk, I looked around at the shop windows to see if I could find any present for Yuri. I wasn't exactly sure what to get him; he was a pretty simple guy who'd love just about everything I'd give him, but I wanted to give him something that was actually meaningful and something he could really enjoy. The problem is Yuri doesn't have many interests besides Yor and work, so I'm really limited with potential gift ideas.

        "Why are you glaring at me like that?" Yuri questioned, confused.

        "I'm cold." I lied.

        I'm glaring at you because you're a troublesome brat to make happy. I thought.

        "Even in all those layers? We'll be at the store soon enough, so don't worry." Yuri spoke.

        I nodded, thinking of what I could get him. Maybe he likes whistle candy like Yor? But that's so boring, not to mention unoriginal since we're getting Yor it. I could get him something like a candle? But that's not long lasting, and I have no idea what his favorite scents are.         

        "Yuri, I'm thinking of changing my perfume sometime soon. What do you think I should go with?" I questioned.

        "I don't know? Something floral or citrus like most perfumes? It's your perfume." Yuri hummed.

        "Yeah, but I want your input. You're my husband so I don't want to get a scent you don't like." I explained.        

        "I doubt there's a perfume that I don't like. Just don't have it too strong?" Yuri spoke.

        Sometimes I wanna punch his stupid face for being so damn hard to shop for. Seriously, how can someone simple be such a challenge to shop for? Even Twilight is easier to shop for! 

        Yuri and I walked to the store to get the whistle candy Yuri said Yor liked. During the time, I thought of what good gifts Anya would have. I wanted to spoil the kid and give her a good Christmas. I've always wanted to be a cool aunt but now that I lost my entire family I can't do that anymore.

        No, I didn't lose my entire family, only a part of it. I still have Twilight and the Handler, and Yuri and Yor and Anya. My mother is still out there too, somewhere in this world. The thought left me feeling a little better from the other sudden intrusive depressing thought I had. 

        Anya likes peanuts and stuffed toys, I know that. She likes that one spy tv show too, whatever it was called. The episodes I watched with her are a little interesting, I might watch it myself to be honest (perhaps I can learn a thing or two I'm unaware of). I briefly thought about getting her a coat or a cute dress, but then I remembered being a kid and disliked getting clothes as gifts. She does like sweets too. 

        Oh! They have dog too! I remember Twilight telling me about that, trying to train it to attack on command. Apparently the dog is a rescue from Project Apple, where he was trained along with many other dogs to become highly intelligent military animals. I wonder if the dog is huge and scary, like a German Shepard or a Pit Bull with that kind of reputation? Hey, maybe I can convince Yuri to get a dog or a cat!

        Wait, focus. We're here for gifts. 

        "Yuri, when we get the candy let's go to the toy section next." I spoke.

        "Aren't you a bit old for toys?" Yuri smirked, earning him a glare from me.

        "Shut it." I huffed. "It's for Anya, I wanna see if there's any good toys around here she might like. I always wanna get her peanuts and stuffed animals." 

        "Peanuts?" Yuri spoke, making a face. "What kid wants peanuts for Christmas?"

        "Apparently Anya." I shrugged. "Don't question it, kids are weird and have weird Christmas lists. Besides, it's better than like, I dunno, a 20 dalc dolly or something."

        "I guess that's true." Yuri hummed, grabbing a bag of candy from the shelves.

        It was the whistle candy Yuri was talking about. It's comes in a pack of eight circular candies with a hole in the middle. Yuri grabbed two apple flavored packs, holding them in his hands since we didn't grab a cart.

        "Hey, it looks like the American candy Life Savers!" I pointed out. "This whistle candy you speak of, does it actually make you whistle?" I questioned, glancing at the candies.

        "Yeah. You can whistle through them." He nodded.

        "That's cool." I smiled.

        I took a look at all the candies, grabbing a few chocolate peanut candy bars and other candies like gummy bears, Fun Dips, marshmallow Circus Peanuts, and Jolly Ranchers before my eyes spotted a familiar and bittersweet candy—M&M's.

        "Oh hey, I remember these!" I spoke, grabbing a tube. "Hey Yuri, do you know how these were invented? Or more specifically why?"

        "Wasn't it something about the war?" Yuri questioned.

        "Yeah. During the war, normal chocolate bars couldn't be transported or eaten because it'd melt in the heat, so Ostanian soldiers couldn't eat them. Forrest Mars Sr copied the idea of Rowntree's Smarties, a British-made sweet small chocolate candies covered in hardened sugar syrup, when he saw soldiers from the Spanish Civil War eating them." I explained. "I had a buddy who would eat these like no tomorrow." I chuckled, before frowning. 

        Well, I guess he did eat them like no tomorrow, cause he's not alive anymore.

        I remember infiltrating a small town and killing a couple Ostanian soldiers. Rancher was looting the bodies to see if there was anything interesting or see if there's any extra ammo that matched his gun model. While he didn't find ammo that could be shot with his gun, he did find a small brown and tan tube with the title "M&M's" on the tube. He opened it and ate one of the small candies, then he became hooked and popped them in his mouth like a pill junkie. Sometimes, I think he killed soldiers just to see if he could find some of that candy on them. 

        Yuri noticed how my smile faded and patted my shoulder, an attempt to console me. While it didn't quite work, I was happy to know he was trying, especially considering that war was where he potentially lost his parents and started his hate for the West. He doesn't talk about them, but I can naturally assume he lost them in the war considering Yor was the one who raised him. 

        "Do you have a favorite flavor?" I questioned, breaking the silence.

        His hand left my shoulder as he thought, before speaking, "Maybe cherry?"

        I nodded, making a mental note in my head for later. 

        "Well, we got the candy. Let's head to the toy section and see what's there." I smiled, keeping the M&M's in my hand along with the other candies I grabbed.

        We both walked to the toys as I tried and figured out what toys I wanted to buy for Anya. I didn't want something lame or boring, and I didn't want to give her something too generic that every other kid has. Knowing Twilight, he probably got her stuff that's popular with the other kids along with things she liked, I wanna give her something meaningful other than snacks. 

        I noticed the toy guns and thought about getting her a toy cap gun, a small toy that made a small bang to represent a bullet and came with it's own bang roll cap refill that even made a smell, before I realized that not only would they have to purchase more paper roll caps every time it ran out, but I also didn't want to influence her with violence and guns (especially after I heard about her punching Donovan Desmond's son, Damian). I thought about those toy handcuffs, before realizing how boring they were since she couldn't really do anything with that when playing alone. Maybe snap-its? Nah, I don't want her throwing it at her parents or other kids, not to mention the hassle it is to clean them up. Maybe I can code a little morse robot for her to learn morse code (by me coding, I mean Franky). 

        I decided to ditch the entire idea of spy things in general, she's too young for such things, and I don't want her to start getting suspicious of Twilight and I's second-lives, children have an insane ability of calling out bullshit and having some damn accurate hunches. Maybe if I find pajamas or a jacket of her spy show, I'll buy it. 

        I grabbed multiple different teddy bears, a blue one (Twilight), a pink one (Anya), a red and white one (Yor), a red and black one (Yuri), a white one (their dog Bond) and a grey one (me) to represent her family. You can't do much with stuffed animals, so I grabbed other toys too such as a rainbow slinky, a Candy Land board game, silly putty, dominoes, and some coloring books.

        "Does a kid really need that much toys?" Yuri questioned.

        "Yes. Yes she does." I nodded. "This is her first Christmas with us! Christmas is a day that kids are always thinking about, she deserves a good one."

        "Well, if you think so." Yuri sighed, deciding not to fight on the matter. 

        Yuri carried most of the toys while I carried most of the candy. I noticed the struggle between us and mentally scolded ourselves for not getting a basket, it sure would've made this whole process easier.

        "Why don't we get a wagon?" I questioned. "Like a toy wagon for Anya?"

        "That's stupid. What would she use that for?" Yuri questioned.

        "Don't call it stupid without hearing what I gotta say." I huffed. "It can be used to carry her toys around the house, or when she's out and about with Loid and Yor, she can sit in the wagon as they roll her around—it's cute and convenient." I explained.

        "Sure, whatever you want." Yuri waved off.

        Yuri just doesn't understand the importance of Christmas. For an energetic and cheerful kid like Anya, Christmas probably means a lot to her. I remember when I was a little kid and still had the income, I was excited for Christmas too; Yuri probably stopped caring for Christmas when Yor started raising him instead since they would need to direct their funds to something nonessential that doesn't include food or shelter, so I can see his perspective on this matter.

        Even though he doesn't quite care about Christmas, I still want to be able to buy a gift for him, I mean, I have some festive spirit this year and I'm excited to spend Christmas in a place that's not Wise HQ with people I have genuine attachment to outside of work.  

        Me and Yuri grabbed a red toy Radio Wagon, placing all of Anya's (and Yor's) candies and toys inside of it. I also grabbed a classical music and a IIse Werner vinyl record for Loid. I thought and decided that I'll come back to the store later when searching for Yuri's gifts, that way I can get Franky and The Handler a gift too. We grabbed red and white striped wrapping paper (Yuri’s choice) and white snowflake wrapping paper (my choice, along with green and blue ribbons. We also grabbed Bond some treats, I heard he was a big dog so I got him large bones and chew toys. 

        Yuri rolled the wagon to the receptionist as I followed, paying for all the gifts and gift paper. We paid and left the store, heading to the jewelry store next. I wanted to get Yor a set of earrings. I noticed she wore gold spike-like earrings (the only set I've seen her wear really), so I wanted to get her a different pair instead, a pair where me and her match together so that the gift is meaningful. Yuri rolled the wagon down the streets as I guided him to a jewelry store, opening the door for him so he can walk in with the wagon as I advanced. 

        "Do you have a set of earrings in mind?" Yuri questioned.

        "Yep. I have a perfect vision for what I want." I nodded. 

        I spent three days going to every jewelry shop to try and find the perfect set of earrings for Yor that I actually liked and that would match her taste. It took some work and searching, but I found The Set. I lead Yuri to the jewelry shop I wanted to go to called "Himmlischer Ketten." 

        "The wagon is probably going to be troublesome inside of the shop, so you just wait outside with it, okay?" I spoke.

        Yuri looked at me with a blank face, thinking, before making a pout. 

        "But I wanna see what you're buying for Yor." He whined.

        "I'll show you after I pay for it. I'll be in and out in a flash, you'll barely know I left." I smiled. 

        Yuri sighed, his pout still relevant on his face but it had decreased, "Fine. Just hurry up."

        I nodded and walked into the store, looking around to find the set of earrings again. I found the ones I was looking for and told the jeweler, grabbing my wallet from my purse and payed for the price. I also got the second set of earrings so Yor and I could match together. She handed me the two boxes of jewelry inside, handing them to me in a small bag. I walked back out to Yuri and placed the bag of jewelry inside the wagon where the rest of the gifts were.

        "How much did it cost?" Yuri questioned.

        "One hundred dalc in total." I answered.

        Yuri reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing me a bit over 100 dalc.

        "Whaddya doing?" I questioned as he took my hand, placing the currency in my palm.

        "I told you earlier that I'd pay for the jewelry." He spoke. 

        "Yeah, but it's my gift to Yor." I pointed out. "Besides, I got a set for myself too."

        I can very well pay for it too since I'm working two government jobs...

        "Consider it one of your Christmas presents." He reasoned. "Besides, you spent enough at the store for Anya and Loid."

        "Wow, you actually said his real name without much thought." I chuckled, causing him to glare at me.

        "Shut up. It just came out of my mouth before I could stop it." He huffed.

        "Sure, hon." I smiled. 

        "Doesn't matter, let's get home and get these presents wrapped." He spoke quickly, changing the subject as he rushed ahead of me, dragging the wagon with him. 

        He can be such a tsundere at times... I thought. Though I guess it's a little endearing in its own stupid way. 

        I followed Yuri back to our apartment, getting home and wrapping the presents in our chosen gift papers we bought. Yuri did the wrapping while I placed bows and ribbons on the boxes since it turns out, I'm terrible at wrapping presents. I wrote the names of who the presents belonged too (most belonging to Anya, but it's still fun to write the names). 

        Yuri and I conversed as we did our own assigned roles together.    

        "You sure like going out for Christmas, huh?" He commented.

        I hummed, thinking of the comment and what to say to that. 

        Perhaps I'm making up for loss time? I don't have a family I can spoil, so I should spoil this one while it lasts. I might not live long being this double-agent, whether I get backstabbed from one of my jobs (most likely the SSS), or whether I die on a mission, or even just some sickness or such, I want to die knowing I at least meant something to someone, or die someone I can be semi-proud of. It's not like there's much I can ask for in life after all I've done, or even deserve much really. Sometimes I wonder if I should even be allowed to enjoy myself with this family, even if it'll potentially be my death. 

        Oh well, I guess it's a bridge I'll cross (or jump off) when the time comes.

        "I like Christmas. I like the pretty lights, the snow, and buying presents for people I care about." I spoke, deciding to go for a simple answer.

        It's not technically a lie or anything, so I'll go with it. 

        Yuri nodded, cutting wrapping paper for one of Anya's stuffed animals to wrap with. "Well, I think it's kinda endearing. You seem very excited when you were choosing the gifts, and I could tell that you were putting much thought into it."

        I blinked, surprised at his sudden adoring words.

        "Are you tryna get something outta me? Like a hint for your gift or a kiss?" I joked teasingly, choosing to ignore how my heartbeat sped up at his words. 

        "I don't got any ulterior motives. I was just pointing out an observation of mine." He huffed, his face turning red. 

        "Well, thanks." I chuckled. "I guess I just like Christmas so much since I didn't really experience much of it as a kid." 

        That's true, even when I still had my parents, Christmas wasn't much except a few toys and candy. Buying presents for five kids a lower-class town like Luwen, it was hard to find money to spoil my siblings and I with when we had to pay for necessities like food or water. 

        "Well, you can experience it more now." Yuri smiled. "Besides, Chihuahua Girl will probably appreciate the gifts, even if she is spoiled enough just being in Yor's presence." He huffed, envious of his niece's everyday life.

        "You're weird." I sighed, placing a blue bow on one of the white snowflake-wrapped gifts. "But I guess that's kinda my fault for agreeing to marry you." I chuckled, writing Anya's name onto the present. 

        "I'm not that bad." He huffed. "I think I'm a pretty good husband."

        "Whatever floats your boat." I teased, causing him to send a pouting glare at me. "I'm just messing with you, honey." I laughed. 

        "I know that." He lied defensively. 

        "Sure." I hummed. "Let's finish this up so that we can make some desserts for tomorrow. I don't want Loid and Yor to do all the cooking."

        He nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I'm ready to get all this done and go to bed so we can see Yor." He smiled.

        "And Loid and Anya." I added.

        "Ugh..." He groaned, his face contorting into disgust. "Yeah... those two."

        We continued finishing up wrapping the gifts until we finally finished, heading to the kitchen and preparing sweets and appetizers together. When we finished, we put them in containers and aluminum foil, calling it a night. While Yuri slept, I carefully snuck out of bed and changed clothes, sneaking out of the apartment to go get gifts for Franky and the Handler. I got the Handler red camellias and dutch chocolates with a red envelope that has a thank you card and 100 dalc. I got Franky the same thing too, except I gave him an extra 100 dalc so he could have extra money for his inventions. 

        Speaking of Franky's inventions, I decided to go to Franky's place to give him his gifts (and get a favor out of him). After spending the whole day with Yuri and trying to figure out what to get him for Christmas, I finally came up with the perfect gift idea. I walked to Franky's apartment and knocked on his door, waiting a minute or two before he opened the door. 

        Franky looked surprisingly awake for it being two in the morning. 

        "Oh? I didn't expect you to be awake." I spoke, a bit surprised.

        "I'm working on some new inventions. Did you need something?" Franky questioned.

        "Actually, I have something for you..." I spoke, handing him yellow roses. 

        "Oh? Really? Thanks!" he smiled, accepting the bouquet. "What's the occasion?"

        "Merry Christmas." I cheered. "Did you forget or something?"

        His face paled as he turned his attention to the calendar on his wall. "It's Christmas Eve already?!" he exclaimed.

        "What?! You didn't know?!" I shouted back, surprised. "How long have you been cooped up here working your ass off?!"

        "I don't know?! Maybe the 14th? Or... or like the end of November?" He spoke, his brain looked to be scrambled.

        "Sheesh man, take a break from work." I suggested (more so demanded). 

        "Yeah... Good idea..." He sighed. "Uh, you wanna come in?"

        "Yeah, I got a favor to ask anyways." I accepted as Franky opened his door wider, allowing me to slip in.

        "Just don't mind the mess." He spoke, having no embarrassment.

        It's not the first time I've seen his place like this. I've known him since the war, and we rekindled when I joined WISE, so I've seen him in this pitiful state many times. A good inventor is always has a scrambled brain (or workspace). 

        "So, what's the favor? Do you need me to get intel or something?" he questioned, sitting down on his blueprint map-scattered couch.

        "I actually need help learning something." I spoke. "You know how to weld, right?" 

        "Of course I do. I've invented all sorts of powerful and useful machines and inventions." He smiled pridefully, glad to boast. 

        "Can you teach me how to weld? I wanna make something for my husband for Christmas, and I wanna do it myself so that it's more meaningful." I explained.

        "Huh... So Twilight was lying when he said you and Briar's marriage was fake?" Franky commented.         

        "Oh..." I paused, thinking.

        Well, shit. I kinda completely forgot about that.

        "Well... we got recently engaged, however it's best not to tell Twilight. You know how he is, 'don't form attachments' and yada yada." I spoke quickly.

        "Yeah, that's Twilight there." He spoke, before smirking pridefully. "Once again, you and Twilight come to me for help, pleading for my assistance."

        "Dude, don't start it." I sighed. "I don't got time for this. I gotta get this done in at least six hours, so I need you to help me get it done as quickly and as perfect as possible." 

        "Six hours?!" he spluttered. "How do you believe that I can teach you all about welding in six hours?!"

        "Don't teach me everything! Just what I need to know to get this done!" I retorted.        

        "Fine. Fine. Let's hurry up, I wanna get back to my inventions as fast as possible." He sighed. "Do you have an idea on what you're trying to make?"

        "I got the perfect thing." I nodded.

        Franky helped me create the perfect gift I had in mind. Surprisingly, it ended with not much cuts or burns, so I feel happy about that. I only needed three band-aids for my fingers! I gave Franky an extra 200 dalc for all the trouble. In total he's received 400 dalc from me for Christmas, so I don't ever want him to complain about helping me again. I also convinced Franky to give my gifts to the Handler since I wasn't going to WISE's HQ anytime soon (and I didn't want to be stuck giving an update on what's going on with the SSS. I want to enjoy the holidays, not think about work). 

        I made it back home to Yuri and I's apartment, deciding to ditch sleep since Yuri will be awaking soon; I don't want him to know I snuck out while he was sleeping and if I sleep now then I certainly won't wake up in time for the Christmas party. I changed back into my pajamas so that it looked like I never went anywhere, and I used some light makeup to hide the evidence of no sleep under my eyes. I decided to get started on breakfast since I wouldn't be sleeping, making apple pancakes, sausage, and coffee.

        Yuri came out of our room in his pajamas and bedhead, looking a bit tired but refreshed (compared to how I currently feel). 

        "Morning." He yawned.

        "Morning, hon." I smiled, placing breakfast on the table. "How'd you sleep?"

        "Slept good, though it felt a little cold last night..." He spoke. "Must be cause of the winter weather."

        "Yeah, I thought the same thing too." I agreed, ignoring the fact he was so in tune with my body heat that he subconsciously knew I was missing during his slumber.

        "What are you doing up so early? It's unlike you to be awake in the morning." Yuri questioned, taking his seat at the dinner table. 

        "I was so excited for the Christmas party, I couldn't sleep." I lied, taking my own seat at the table. 

        Yuri and I ate our breakfast, Yuri doing the dishes afterwards since I cooked. To pass the time, we did our own things such as reading and watching TV in the living room together, waiting until it was time to get ready and leave. 

        When it was time to leave, I changed out of my pajamas and grabbed a grey coat and red scarf to protect myself against the cold. Yuri and I grabbed the sweets and appetizers we made together yesterday; pfannkuchen, bethmännchen, and bratkartoffeln. 

        Yuri and I walked to the apartment, Yuri dragging Anya's wagon filled with all the gifts while I carried all the food, my gift for Yuri inside of my purse. We made it to the apartment and I watched Yuri struggle to find a good angle to pick up the wagon and carry it up the steps (no, I didn't help him, I wanted him to suffer a little since it was so hard trying to find the perfect Christmas gift for him). When we got to the Forger's front door, Yuri knocked for us, being greeted by Twilight and Yor. 

        "Yuri! (Y/N)! Welcome back! Always good to see you!" Yor greeted, a big smile on her face.

        "Hi-ya, sis!" Yuri cheered. 

        "Thank you for coming. Come in." Twilight spoke, opening the door further, causing Yuri to glare at him once he realized Twilight was present. 

        I placed the food down on the table as Yuri placed the wagon near the Christmas tree in the living room. Anya was sitting on the ground near the TV watching her spy cartoon while the Forger's dog laid next to her. 

        "Hi, buddy." I smiled, crouching down and slowly placing my hand near his nose so he could sniff me. "You're a good boy, huh?" I spoke, petting his head as he let out a 'borf!' "Hi, Anya." I greeted, sitting down on the couch as Yuri took a seat next to me.

        "Hi, Auntie." Anya spoke, keeping her eyes on the TV screen. 

        Yuri looked disinterested in the show while I stared at it every now and then. Yor joined us on the couch and talked with us as Twilight was in the kitchen cooking, jumping into the conversation easily whenever he pleased. After an hour, all the food was done and ready, allowing us to eat Christmas dinner together and converse with each other. Twilight and Yuri talked about business together (Yuri sending him his infamous glares) while Yor and I talked with Anya about her cartoons and how school was for her. 

        We finally got to presents and watched Anya open her gifts, each one she unwrapped having a big smile on her face and her voice getting to loud enough volumes to potentially disturb other residents.

        Yuri and I gave Twilight his gifts. He seemed appreciative of them, mentioning how he'd put them to good use. Twilight gave me a book and Yuri an expensive bottle of wine (to repay him for the expensive wine Yuri bought the first time we came over). 

        I gave Yor the set of earrings I picked out, a set of golden suns, and showed her the golden moons I bought and told her the symbolism of us matching and being sisters now. It was enough to make her cry and earn one of her death hugs. I'm almost 99% positive that she would've broken my rib if Twilight didn't calmly tell her to not squeeze so hard. Yuri also gave her the apple whistle candy along with some other gifts he bought her. In return, she gave me a fruity perfume and Yuri a comfortable sweater.

        Anya was happy about all of her toys and candies, excited and hyper about it all. It was like it was her first time celebrating Christmas. Even Bond was happy, showing his joy by jumping up and down with Anya and barking (borfing). Bond seems like a surprisingly emotionally intelligent dog, though I supposed that's probably expecting considering it's Twilight (and because Twilight got him from the Project Apple situation).

        We all stayed and talked more before it was time for Yuri and I to go home, considering how late it was getting. Yuri and I walked back home, getting to our apartment before I gave him his gift.

        "I got you something. I made it myself." I spoke, reaching into my purse and handing him a small wrapped up box. 

        Yuri opened it, revealing a small square card, made out of pure silver (just like our wedding rings) and a small poem on the card 

Your eyes shine like the twinkle of mars, How I wish to claim and explore every part of you as if you were a new constellation. Your lips are like warm pillows, How I wish to forever rest my own against yours. Your voice could never compare to the delicate silk of Asia, the waves of the Pacific, or the luminous of the Aurora Borealis. How you make me lose my voice to utter sweet delicacies in your ears, so let me express it to you in another way: I love you, Yuri Briar...                                                                                    - Love, (Y/N) Briar

        "I just found a stupid poem for you..." I muttered, suddenly feeling a little flustered for how stupid and cheesy the writing sounds now. 

        "You liar." He smirked, a noticeable fondness in his eyes. "Thank you. You said you made it yourself?"

        "Yeah." I nodded. "It took some time, but I made it from scratch. I welded the silver together and welded the words... Of course words from a poem in a book." I coughed the last part out. 

        "You don't gotta be shy~" He teased.

        "Whatever..." I chuckled. "But I figured I'd get you something you can always have with you. You can put it in your wallet or pocket or something."

        "Thank you. Really." Yuri smiled, grabbing his wallet and placing it inside gently. "You really beat me this year in presents." He chuckled. "I kept tryna think for a while what I should get you, you're surprisingly difficult to shop for even though you're so expressive."

        "I'm a little eccentric." I smirked.        

        "That's an understatement." He smiled. "But, here." 

        He walked to our room and I heard him rummaging through drawers, before walking out with a large heart-shaped chocolate box, candies I enjoy, some books he noticed I've been eyeing over the months, and some fake flowers. 

        "it's definitely not anything compared to what you got me." He spoke.

        "Nonsense." I smiled. "I love all of it. I really do." 

        "Yeah, I knew how much you liked sweets and books." He reasoned. "And I figured it must be a bit annoying replacing the flower bouquets whenever they die, so I decided to get some fake flowers, to make it easier to tend to, and to show permanency in our relationship since we're married."

        "How romantic~" I teased. "Thank you, Hon."                

        "Merry Christmas, darling." He smiled. 

        "Merry Christmas, love." I hummed, kissing his cheek.

        "You know, you didn't have to get me anything. You're the best gift for me, (Y/N)!" He spoke, a light blush dusting his face. 

        "Yuri please, never say such sappy words again." I sighed. 

        I apologize sincerely for the huge delay! I had a hard time trying to figure out what I want, and I got busy indulging myself in reading about German foods and such, and I had little time to write due to work so the only time I had to write was when I was supposed to be sleeping or relaxing, but I finally got this done! Better late than never!

        I honestly do feel a little silly writing that poem since it's my first time ever writing poetry/a love note, so I do hope it wasn't too bad or cringy!

         Want more Yuri content? Check out the Yuri Briar x reader masterlist!

        My inbox is OPEN

[starlightwayfinder]

hi. sliding in. is there anything u have been compelled by recently. maybe music or a book or the way light fell on smth (idk how to ask stuff like a normal person but feel free to gush about anything you want, if you'd like to :3 (no pressure of course!))

Thank you!

Speaking of the way light fell on something… I’ve actually been waiting for an excuse to gush about some of Scala ad Caelum’s art and ornamentation. I have a few headcanons and inspirations of my own, too. (I can’t take my own screenshots at the moment, so I’ll just see what I can find online.)

First—there’s a lot of cool things themed (appropriately) around light and color.

This stained glass platform is one of my favorites in the game. Stained glass is nothing new in the series, but this one is especially iridescent, which makes it extra cool in my mind. I also think it’s neat that stained glass was chosen to represent hearts, as if the light of their hearts is shining through/illuminating it.

Here’s some real life examples with a similar effect!

Similar to the stained glass are the mosaics:

You can really see the influence of Daybreak Town with these! The fountain is probably my favorite—it looks almost like a sun from above.

More real life examples—to me the swirls are reminiscent of wind and waves. For a headcanon of mine, I imagine there was someone in Scala who made kaleidoscopes kind of like these.

In addition to matching the aesthetic of the game, they also tie nicely into the theme of light.

There’s a fair share of things that relate to the sky and wind, which ties into the theme of “the heavens” as well. The pinwheels are like tiny versions of the windmills, which I think is super cute. I couldn’t find a picture, but there’s also a lot of dandelions. (In addition to drawing another connection to Daybreak Town, I like that they fit the theme of wind too.)

Okay so street lamps are kind of a given for a city, regardless of symbolism—but I think they’re the epitome of beautiful design so I have to gush about them, haha.

Just… look at these!! They are light and darkness,,, and you can even put flowers on them? I think the globe ones resemble the moon also. They’re so beautiful. I couldn’t find a good picture, but the ones in KH3 have banners hanging from them as well.

Last but not least is the printed/painted artwork. The Daybreak to Scala mural is my favorite—I love how it’s layered and moves to tell the story.

For headcanons, I like the idea of there being more of these mechanized storytelling displays. Maybe ones that depict fairytales of the other worlds. These puppet theaters aren’t exactly what I mean, but they’re the right idea:

And finally, I know Scala has some amazing libraries. I want to read all of these books!

[50cal-fullauto-astarion]

Going all out on this because Dot did an amazing job with these questions:

🧩, 🦴, 🥝, ❄️ & 🦷 for the ask game, please <3!

KEZ YOU OUT HERE SPOILING MEEE 🥰🥰💖💖

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

9 times out of 10 it’s either first person POV, a character waking up for the day age describing themselves as they look in a mirror, or WALLS of text. Formatting and first paragraph will always destroy my perception of a fic, and it doesn’t matter how good it is even two sentences after that.

Another more esoteric thing is any kind of dad’s best friend or stepfather or barely legal/he’s too old for me trope. I think those are literally the most vile fucking shit, and I just block on site. And I’m all for taboos, and people writing what they want, but I’ve never seen that shit written well nor on a blog that isn’t sparkly and pink and giving off major DDlg vibes. Fucking stomach turning.

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?

Answered this guy here! But I’ll add a few others that aren’t pieces of media dfhj. The words: abattoir, incandescent, butcher, slaughter, dappled. Different deep jewel shades of blue and green. Animal eyes. Bones in odd places. Videos of interesting women cooking. Dreams about: mothers, children, fire, the apocalypse, all my lost true loves, every corner of the town I visit that I should mark on map.

🥝 ⇢ do you lie a lot? what’s the most recent lie you told?

I lie quite a bit, but it used to be that almost every word out of my mouth was an exaggerated abs pointless lie dfhjd. Yay growing up in dysfunctional household! These days I’m much more conscientious and purposeful about being honest, and I’m always trying to improve, just going with white lies about stuff at work to make my life easier (“I need to use the restroom” means I’m going for a smoke), or at home to keep things smoother (“They were out of X creamer” means I forgot).

Most recent lie was this evening when I told my sister I had left the store and I couldn’t get her a certain brand of energy drink, but I was in the checkout line and didn’t want to go back through lmao.

❄️ ⇢ what’s your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

HO BOY SO MANY DFHJ. These are more vibes than anything solid sfhj. In alphabetical order:

@alittleposhtoad grieving in a cold place, love that has kindling in friendship, oranges peeled by one set of hands for another, tea in an old electric kettle on a black night, you can always come home here and home is what you call my head on your chest.

@dotcie two weirdos walk into a dive bar, and their mutually assured obsession exhibits as mutually assured destruction, sweating under a street lamp in a town where tourists don’t go at 3am with a man you swore you’d never see again, bedsheets they smell like sweat and home under an open window.

@kastlequill cannibalism as a type of taboo and closed religion, rage wielded elegant and precise like a blade, thought put into evils until they’re extrapolated into facets of humanity, the dichotomy of suffering as holiness and pointlessness, dangerous men they have either accepted or full on love the blood in their mouths, cities at sunset with the lights glittering on.

@parttimeprophet hey babe hehe. Animal hated paid back in animal brutality, cold women with colder determination, hell and religion and the death of god and the apocalypse, lipstick that glimmers like rubies, men that love the collars around their necks.

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on

More wisdom: take breathers as much as you can in any area of life - steal then when you can at work, in hobbies, in talking, in cleaning - whether it’s 5 mins or 5 months, you need to rest, shit will be waiting for you when you get back. Don’t write down anything you don’t want read. Horses and boats are fun hobbies, but you can have the same financial experience by throwing wads of cash in a bonfire.

More life hacks: if you want to buy a used car, go for a Honda, bc you can beat the dog shit out of them for 30 years and they’ll still run like a clock. To save money, don’t get addicted to coke. The secret to the best homemade fried chicken you’ve ever had in your life is a pinch of cinnamon in your seasoned flour, and to make it crispy add a tablespoon of baking soda. Cream of tartar will make it meringue not break, but if you use too much it will taste hella metallic. 2 drops of dandelion tincture in a shot glass worth of water helps with liver and gallbladder inflammation - that’s Appalachian not crystal woowoo medicine. Don’t whistle outside at night.

[kashishwrites]

Hiee...!! Guysss...!!!!

I'm going to start a series of horror experience I'm gonna tell you about horror experiences of other people if you have any you can share it with me if you are interested....✨📚

Ok i will narrate my experience you can decide whether it was paranormal or not. Sorry you may find it lengthy. 😅

This happened to me Last summer, we used to live in a duplex house (on rent) My room was in the first floor and my parents’s in the ground floor. I have a habit of reading books till late night (up to 3 or 4 in the morning) When we had recently moved I always used to hear this sound of anklets (ghunghroo) as if someone is walking in the compound. But i often neglected it thinking a stray dog or a cow which were many in number near our house had entered the compound as the house was vacate for more than 6 months before we moved in.

My room usually used to heat up in the summers and I had difficulty sleeping there,whereas my parents room was cool as anything and they had the fluffiest bed too. 😅

One day my father went to another town on a business so my mom suggested I sleep with her that night as we were the only two in that big house. I readily agreed. Unlike mine, That room gets a little light from the neighbouring street lamps so my mom doesn't keep any kind of lights on. So it's utter darkness till the eyes gets adjusted to it. I went to sleep early and was waken up by body pain . It was a result of a dream I had. It was really very strange, the dream, almost lucidic . I was not in the dream but was standing somewhere looking at the things happening. I witnessed a person getting murdered and then buried by the people. When I woke up, I had clutched my hands so hard that my fingers were burning from the pain and I was heavily sweating.

As I had woken up I thought of looking at the time as I had my mobile kept under the bed. I was sleeping on my left side and my mother was on my right. I looked at my mobile and it was 4:03 a.m. I thought of switching sides so I turned. I looked at my mother, she was facing the other side so I thought of looking at the window from where the light was coming . There I saw two shadowy figures (I could tell they were girls) standing. Not outside the house but inside in our own room. One of them was on her knees looking straight at my mother the other one was standing behind her. I have watched and read many paranormal related stuff so first I thought as I have been woken up by a nightmare it may be just an after effect. I rubbed my eyes but they were still there and suddenly the one standing looked at me, I lost it. I tapped on my mom's shoulder and asked her to wake up when she did I looked at the direction of the shadows and they were not there. I gave some silly excuse to my mom for waking her up and went back to sleep.

Next day my dad came back so I was sent back to my room. I woke up again in the night by the sound of children playing around . I thought the noise must be coming from my neighbours as they had so many guests come over. As a habit I checked my mobile for time and it was exactly 4:03 am again. And suddenly I heard footsteps coming upstairs I held my breath, my parents were fast asleep in their room downstairs, it could not have been a thief or an intruder as my colony is petrolled by police in the night. I went back to sleep again. Next night I again got up at exactly 4:03 am by the sound of someone thumping (not knocking) on my door, I got shit scarred and I screamed "Ammmaaaaa" there was no way my mom would here that coz both of our doors were closed And she always keeps the fan on 5 number. Thumping got worse so was my state, so i called my father and asked him to come to my room which he did.. No body was there at the doors but i clearly heard it. It was strange for some weird reasons I woke at exactly 4:03 am for 3 consecutive nights and experienced something unnatural.

After a moth to this incident we got shifted to another house."

If you liked the contant kindly like and repost it will halp a lot other people to know about these incidents.📚✨

[hunterofdeer]

The One, the Only, the Martini

Begin with the promise of sex later that night. If you don’t end up getting it on, do not fret. Just follow the rest of these steps, and the end result should be just as pleasurable.

First things first, get dressed, and dress well. Drinking a martini is an event—a spectacle even. The drink begs for sophistication; and the second that conical glass is placed in front of you by a half-smiling waitress or bartender, every eye in that establishment will be judging the hems and stitches on your shirt, slacks, skirt, etc. Make sure there is color in your outfit, and confirm your loafers have tassels, frills, or both. If no penchant for loafers, obviously opt for a stiletto—bright red and potentially rhinestoned. 

Throw on Grandma’s jewelry. It’s vintage, and her soul will rest easy knowing you look like a scandalous Upper East Side socialite. A martini is a minimalist drink, so indulge in maximalism for the balance of it all. Be ironic and beautiful, though ideally not ironically beautiful.

Now take a step back from your mirror. Missing anything? Cellphone, wallet, keys, fragrance? Have a one-on-one with yourself. Say your order, say, “I’d like a martini.” Say it again. Repeat it ten times—twenty if you’ve forgotten to take your Xanax. Listen to an improvised saxophonic ditty before you leave your residence. “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane is a classic (and saintly, believe it or not).

While I respect careful planning in choosing a venue, now is the time to let the universe, or your partner, choose for you. Yes, you are required to be accompanied by someone else. You cannot enjoy a martini in a vacuum; save the lonely nights for a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. Walk along the street and look through the windows. Unlike a moth to a flame, you’ll be most attracted to the dimly-lit watering holes. Furthermore, antique lamps, custom wallpaper, and crimson velvet are all things that make me remark aloud, “Oh, that looks nice!” 

You’re in the bar. Perhaps you’re at the bar itself, or maybe you’re in a booth. Regardless, you’re sitting down, elbows on the countertop or table, and leaning just slightly forward. Others may not know it, but you are in complete control, full of subtle wit and knowledge on 18th century women’s literature. This Thursday night is unfolding exquisitely—and it must be a Thursday, naturally.

It’s showtime. Order that goddamn martini, and prepare for the barrage of questions. “Gin or vodka?” Gin; we haven’t been taken over by the Russians yet. “What type of gin?” This one is up to you. If you’ve got money to spend, which you should, get the good stuff. Don’t ask me what that is. “Olive or lemon twist?” Never lemon! We’re not in Mexico. Have the bartender whisper vermouth into the glass. Also, it must be stirred, not shaken (sorry, 007). And ask for it unfathomably dirty. Filthy, even. Make it disgusting. Cliché, yet appropriately kitsch. Pray to god those olives are stuffed with something.

Now cheers, clink glasses, or do whatever your religion allows. Sip. You’ve earned this. If this is your first time, don’t be too hard on yourself. It can be a bitch of a drink. On New Year’s Eve, I had my first martini in one of the few serviceable boozers of my rural college town. I could hardly swallow the almost antiseptic liquor, and I imagine a few of my tears dropped into it. My partner was cool about it, drinking like a pro. The olives, thankfully, were injected with pesto.

I had officially reached adulthood with that martini; and, once under the blankets later that night, I rolled onto my side to confront the wall, thinking up a random scenario as some sort of foreplay for dreaming. I heard an “I love you,” and I nearly credited the martini, as well as the other drinks, to be speaking. But after a brief interrogation, I found out that it was my partner’s words. It was the first time I had ever been told that in a relationship. He admitted it slipped out by accident, but don’t our little falters come from love? Turning to face him, I smiled and said I’d drink to that.

[samkat10423]

Banyan Bend

While looking for something else the other day, I came across a link for this world and all of its original lots that were created by the 3 administrators of the old Sims Crossing site. Plus, the original sims created to live here were also up for grabs. Someone over on the Sims Cave uploaded them all. Which was great, since I had lost some of the stuff during my last 2 computer meltdowns and it was impossible to find any of them previously. So, if any of you want to play this world, hop on over to the Sims Cave and type in Sims Crossing - or Banyan Bend.

Anyway, this world was created right after Late Night came out and has no CC. It's their vision of how Twinbrook should have been. And while I like parts of it, there is room for improvement. But CAW hates me, so it is what it is.

I'm currently redoing lots. They placed the movie studio lot from Bridgeport on probably the only 64x64 lot in this town. And since I want to use that for my festival lot, I needed to find a movie lot on something smaller. They placed 2 of those dome thingies - that thing next to the science center in Sunset Valley - on 2 different 60x60 lots in town. One is for butterflies, while the other is... well, I'm not sure what it is. The butterfly one is down by the industrial lots - just down the street from their movie lot. So, I bulldozed it. Yes, I did! My greenie sims are not happy, but I'll let them have that other dome lot to keep their bugs in. I know! I'm way too nice to my sims.

I tried several different lots on this space before I accidently came across a lot over on MTS, created by someone called mccorade. It was created with Riverview in mind. And while it wasn't exactly what I wanted, it was a good start. And it was on a smaller lot. I think maybe 50x50. So, thank you!

Anyway, here it is now. I have made several changes - as I normally do - but the bones are mccorade's.

First thing I did was resurface the parking areas and change out the fencing. This is Banyan Bend! These rednecks can't afford fancy fences, so chain-link it is! I also added the fountains and those 2 large statues. Just because. I also made that main flowerbed smaller - so delivery trucks could access the main building. Then, on the backlot, I redid the houses - mostly used different finishes and added some more landscaping.

Then I made that area where the 'stars' can hang out in their trailers. Oh! And I switched out all the trees.

And finally, in the back, I added a guard shack, more fencing and that driveway to the back doors of the main building. And viola! Banyan Bend has a new place to make movies! Go me!

While I was in the area, I also got rid of the old science center lot. Since I used that hospital from Supernatural on the lot in town where they had their hospital RH, I really didn't need another lot wasted on my science sims. (This world was created before EA came out with their combo lots). So, I decided to make another 'movie' type lot.

This one is loosely based on that KWLW Studio lot from the Sims 1. This is where the hit series, "As the Stomach Churns," and the "Next Great Sim Nation Idol" are filmed. And the local Banyan News channel churns out their daily feed. I used that smaller stage - the 6x7 - one for my Idol stage. If any of you want it, it's over on TFM's Naughty Sims Asylum. You have to be a member, but sign-up is super easy. Once you get over there, type in Shimrod's mods. It's his BuyDebug Genie Lamp and smaller showtime stage mod. Pop it into your overrides folder and viola! A smaller stage is yours! Easy-peasy!

Anyway, I'll post interior pictures later. I was moving in sims today - after redoing the generic cemetery they had. Had to kill off sims and then replace all the fake graves with ones that will generate ghosts. Plus, I write bios for all my families and then - with the help of MasterController - create conflict amongst all of them. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it. Which is why I am the simgoddess and my sims aren't!

[ayizan]

Translated from the tomb of the Pharoh Tuk Ur, part 2

Part 1

As the sun began to set, the heat of the day broke bringing a blessed cool breeze. The breeze seemed to waken the city of Amm’Ti and before long the streets were filled with the sounds of people and a hub of celebration. Tables and carpets were pulled from houses so that neighbors could sit and feast together. Young girls huddled by the windows, dressing each other in perfumed oils and clean cotton robes. They giggled at the boys that would try to call out them but would not respond until they made it to the boats waiting at the shore. There, girls and boys would slip between the rushes to share a quiet moment in the darkness, watching lamps on the boats glimmer off the surface of the water, like distant fireflies. 

Daa ni took in a breath of the cool air as he excitedly dodged the crowd. While most were heading to the river to watch the procession of the Pharaoh and his family sail down the Nile, Sa’ma had suggested that they go up into the hills to watch the whole thing from above. Daa ni hadn’t been certain that they would see anything up there but spending a quiet moment with Sa’ma beat getting jostled by crowds of drunken people any day. 

The hills were dark by the time Daa ni reached the edge of town, just three large black silhouettes against a purple and deep blue sky. At the gate was Sa’ma in her customary black priestly robes. She blended so well into the hills Daa ni would have entirely missed her if it wasn’t for the oil lamp she was carrying. 

“Took you long enough!” She called waving him over. 

“Sorry!” Daa ni said, catching his breath. “You know how my parents are.” 

“Riiiight,” Sa’ma said, “and it wasn’t because you were staring at all the cute girls on your way here.”

“No!” Daa ni protested, instinctively looking away and blushing. 

She stared at him hard, waiting. He was never good a lying to Sa’ma. 

“Well ok, maybe a little, and it was mostly because I saw Paal ina on my way here.” 

Sa’ma snorted. “Paal ina? Why would she be on the streets? Doesn’t she think they are beneath her or something?” 

“She doesn’t think that!” 

Sa’ma gave Daa ni a ‘don’t bullshit with me’ look. 

“Ok well maybe sometimes she does think that, but today was different! She was with Daa’sh and Kwa an and they were looking at some of the boats.”

“Huh,” Sa’ma said, surprised. “Aren’t they usually in the boats? What are they doing on the shore?”

Daa ni shrugged, his mind filled with thoughts of how pretty Paal ina had looked, how beautiful her long black hair was, how it swayed liked papyrus in the wind. She wouldn’t give him the time a day of course, but a crush was a crush and Daa ni was happy to look on from the distance.

“Alright,” Sa’ma said, “I see that puppy dog face on you, forget about Paal ina, we have more fun stuff to do.”

Daa ni shook the thoughts from his head. “Speaking of which, what are we doing? And is Tuk Ur really going to show up?” 

Just as he said this there was a shout from behind him and both Sa’ma and Daa ni turned to see a dark skinned boy running towards them in the distance. This was the simplest either had seen Tuk Ur dressed. Normally he was covered in gold, lapis and jade, face painted with markings of a prince. But now, he wore a simple cotton wrap around his hip and his hair was tucked under a neat red head wrap. As he came up panting, Daa ni couldn’t help noting how different he looked without the makeup, more a boy like him and less a prince. 

“Sorry for the wait, you guys,” Tuk Ur said. “It took a while to distract Hotep, he gets so crazy when it comes to these celebrations.”

“Are you sure its ok for you to be leaving?” Daa ni asked, looking over Tuk Ur’s shoulder, just in case Hotep was charging down the road behind. Thankfully coast was still clear. 

“It’s fine,” Tuk Ur said, waving his arm. “What are twelve half siblings for if a few can’t play hooky?” 

“Right…” Sa’ma said, looking uncertain. If Sa’ma’s life was heaven, Daa ni would consider Tuk Ur’s life hell. Yes, he was a prince of Egypt, but with twelve siblings all vying for the throne and the thought of assination not off the table, Daa ni wasn’t sure how Tuk Ur had survived so far. On top of that whoever won was guaranteed to execute or exile the rest as well as any nobles who supported said rival. Frankly it was dangerous for Daa ni and Sa’ma to be seen around Tuk Ur as he so far seemed to be in dead last when it came to reaching the throne. But Tuk Ur, Sa’ma and Daa ni had all been friends since they were tiny and they were determined to stay friends for as long as they could, social life be damned. And actually damned they were as all three had faults that prevent them from “fitting in.” 

Daa ni was the son of sorcerers, an occupation that was uneasily accepted within the Royal Courts. Only the Pharaoh seemed to trust his parents, and nobles were ready and willing to blame any misfortune on them. This made an easy target, recommended even, for the young noble and royal boys trying to make a name for themselves. 

Sa’ma had been considered a promising daughter of the illustrious Mann’son clan. One of the few rare clans that managed to survive complete execution not through one but two Pharaohs. Their loyalty to the current Pharaoh was considered one of the strongest, until Sa’ma joined the royal court. Just on her first day she managed to piss off everyone by showing up in black priestly robes instead of the usual white and gold and declaring that she’d rather become an embalmer to marry one of the princes. From then on her family limited her presence in the Royal halls as much as possible. 

Finally Tuk Ur, somewhere in the middle of the seven princes and five princesses. He was the least noticed and the least listened to in all of Amm’Ti. Despite this Daa ni found Tuk Ur to not only be incredibly kind but incredibly smart. He knew everything from the paths to take if you want to avoid unpleasant run ins, to the ins and out of the royal law. His only flaw was that he was smaller then the rest of his siblings and had no strength. Unfortunately those were the pre-requisite to becoming a ruler, whether you had the skill to or not. Daa ni always thought that if Tuk Ur was lucky enough to be exiled, he would join him and see the rest of the world. 

“Shall we get going?” Sa’ma asked lifting her oil lamp. “This stuff ain’t cheap you know.”

“Right,” Daa ni said. Tuk Ur nodded as both boys followed Sa’ma out of the city and into the darkening hills above.

Part 3

[freakingoutthesquares]

Pulp Words: Siân Pattenden Taken from Select Magazine, October 1994 Transcription: Acrylic Afternoons

Russell Senior is the guitarist with "mad, staring eyes" and an interesting sideline in violin-playing with Pulp. He lives in Sheffield with his girlfriend and two children in a Coronation Street-style abode with a "certiflable lunatic" over the road who throws stones at his window. He is having a problem getting rid of the Artex that swamps the walls of the house at the moment, and has just finished painting the bathroom.

COCKTAIL SHAKER "I've always liked the idea of it, but only recently have I been able to afford to do it. The idea of sophistication like in a James Bond movie. It's just civilised values. Particularly in Sheffield, there's a tendency for things to turn into a Hogarthian nightmare. All these lairy people wandering about. It's for people like me to keep a stiff upper lip."

SUNGLASSES "I have so many. It started a few years ago in France. I wore these sunglasses, and afterwards in a nightclub loads of French people offered me money for them. I thought, Here's a way to earn money. So I bought loads of pairs and wandered around waiting for people to buy them. They didn't. Also, I've got these mad staring eyes. At concerts people'd be dancing, but there'd be a pool of emptiness in front of me, with people looking terrified. I started wearing sunglasses so I wouldn't disconcert people."

SOPHIE "She's my daughter, she's six. She's very into the macabre, Egyptology, vampires, things like that. Her favourite book is the Tibetan Book Of The Dead. Her teachers must think we're Satanists or something, because I see her school books and it's all drawings of vampires and stuff like that. I quite like horror films and horror books, but it's mainly her interest. She wants 'em."

JACKET "It's my own and I have worn it, but I wouldn't wear it to do the gardening. I got it from the cat shelter at the top of our road - a charity shop, not a place for beleaguered cats. I think originally it was the jacket that the mayor of a small American town owned."

GLASSES "These are from East Germany. I bought dozens of boxes of these in a car boot sale and they're the only ones left because they're so fragile. They're amazing, the kind of thing that would be in Modesty Blaise. They're completely impractical, which isn't really me. I like everything to be functional. I only use drinking glasses that are not made this century. It's tacky, new glass. I don't like tack and I don't really like the '70s either."

LAMP "You know lava lamps? I used to sell them. That's very Pulp, innit? That's a glitter one. The thing about your lava lamp is they take an hour to warm up, and they're good to look at but the light they give out isn't terribly interesting. Whereas the glitter ones give out a nice warm light. That's from my dealing days - kitch value that is, but I use it."

TREASURE CHEST "About three years ago Sophie found a large golden key in a wood near us, and recently she found a bottle with a map. We found this old tunnel from the map, and we came across this treasure chest. It's true. It had brass candlesticks in it, rum, spices, amber, old books in Latin, Roman coins - treasure. It was worth nothing individually, but accumulatively... it was everywhere the glint of gold. It's here to stand for the fact that I'm the treasurer of the abode, which means doing things like doing the books."

WALLPAPER "It's fairly neutral. The main thing in this house is getting round the Artex in the other rooms. I regard Artex as an affront to civilised values, a deeply cynical form of decorating. To me it's the epitome of bad taste, I try to avoid it."

CHESS "I play on tour. Touring is 90 per cent intensely boring, and there's always a tendency to do the most mind-numbing things - to be surrounded by screwed-up cans of lager, play Nintendo and have three kinds of music all playing at the same time. It's terrible. Whereas chess perks the mind up. I'm not a good player but it's one of those civilised things."

STEREO CABINET "I don't think it looks very nice. It's OK, but you've got to put it on all the black hifi stand stuff. I've got a thing about keeping any sort of reference to music out of the mainstream of my life. You won't see any Pulp posters in my house. I don't listen to our records."

MUSHROOMS "I use them in cooking, I pick them to eat them. I learnt about them from books. I had this chart with mushrooms on, I saw all these exotic things you could find in the woods. Fungi is an amazing world, but there's a certain snobbery involved - it's just an excuse to charge exorbitant prices for a meal. Most of them aren't as nice as ordinary mushrooms from a shop. That's the truth, as someone who's tried most of them. The best? A shaggy parasol is probably the finest."

HERBS "I like having all the herbs and spices there are, every nut in existence, every seaweed. I like going to shops to buy a nice vegetable or piece of meat, and come home and think, What are we going to do with you then? I like having every possible cuisine available to me. That choice. If I was going to live in London it would be because you can't get fresh basil in Sheffield."

RECORDS "I don't listen to that much, but I'd listen to Wagner and Bach quite a lot. The Rolling Stones are probably my favourite classic rock band. (Confidentially) I have listened to The Auteurs a bit, that's my concession to the '90s. It doesn't play a large part in my life music, at home."

SUNGLASSES STAND "Plastic and fluorescent, maybe luminous. I wouldn't have that kind of rubbish in my living room ordinarily, it's my one token Pulp thing. If you're going to say Pulp is all about '70s-ness and kitschness, well, it's one media perception that isn't me. There are other elements to Pulp of which I'm one."

VIOLIN BOW "To represent my amazing violin playing in the group, such as it is. My violin's at the practice room. No, I don't play it round the house to amuse the kids."

Kitten.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 3- Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

"Who was that?" I ask when Dane gets off the phone.

"Stephanie Wong," he says, swiping a hand over a chin rough with two days' growth of stubble.

"Someone broke into her shop last night and stole some things."

"Our thief?" I ask, perking up.

Across from me, Ingrid looks up from her toaster waffles.

She'd taken a keen interest in our detective business and offered to help however she could to earn her keep.

"Seems like it," Dane says.

"What will we do?" I ask.

Dane finishes a bite of waffle and takes a gulp of coffee before he speaks, probably giving himself time to think.

"We do our job," he says at last.

"We investigate."

After convincing Ingrid to stay home and practice for her first meeting with the orchestra, Dane and I drive into town.

Stephanie greets us when we arrive, wrapped in a loose cardigan and hugging herself against a nerve-induced chill.

Her shop is only a short distance down the street from the spot Dane and I had staked out the night before last, though the area is far more charming in the daytime.

Trees line the sidewalks, their leaves just turning from summer's green to autumn's brighter colors and rustic brick and wood facades define the historic buildings.

Usually, the large glass windows of the store-front displays are full of choice tourist-bait but recently they've been empty or papered over, no one wants to tempt the thief.

In the distance, the mountains rise, their tops capped with the remnants of last year's snow.

Per Dane's instructions, Stephanie has kept her store closed and held off on calling the police, leaving the scene undisturbed.

She lets us in with her key, pushing open the old-fashioned door, painted bright red and shakes her head.

"Who robs a thrift-shop?" she complains, waving a hand at the confines of her store.

She wears comfortable slacks and slip-on shoes and her casual attire reminds me that a lot of the shop-owners see their business as a second home.

The sense of violation probably hurts more than the relatively minor financial loss.

"And who steals costume jewelry?"

She leads us through the small, cluttered store to a glass display case.

It's intact but the sliding side panel is open and the case is empty.

"Maybe the thief didn't know the jewelry was fake," Dane suggests.

Stephanie laughs.

"I think he'd know."

She pulls out her phone and shows us a picture.

It's the display case, full of obviously fake jewelry... gaudy baubles, rhinestones, plastic painted to look like pearls and gold.

"I get a lot of customers who want costume pieces for Halloween, so I try to bulk up on the fake bling this time of year," she says.

"None of this was valuable?" Dane asks.

Stephanie shrugs.

"Doing inventory in a thrift-shop is a pain in the ass. Unless it's something really special, I just take pictures when I change the display. I don't even know exactly what was in there but none of it was worth more than five dollars."

"What else is missing?" I ask, scanning the shop.

There's a little of everything... furniture, lamps, books, framed pictures, knickknacks, kitchenware, toys, clothing and accessories.

Never having had much interest in antiques, I have no idea what's treasure and what's trash.

"Nothing," Stephanie says.

"At least, nothing I've noticed so far. All the valuable stuff is accounted for."

"Does that camera work?" Dane asks, pointing to a small security feature mounted in the corner.

Stephanie shakes her head.

"I wish. It was a donation but it's broken so I couldn't sell it. I stuck it up there for effect."

She nods and takes a breath.

"I just wish I could do more to help."

"Actually..." Dane rubs the back of his neck.

"There is something you could do. Would you mind if we have a look around in private? We'll leave the scene as-is."

Stephanie frowns but nods.

"Sure. I'll head over to Danny's for a coffee. You two want anything?"

Dane shakes his head but I pull a ten from my wallet and hand it over.

"Sure. I'll have a latte and a scone. He'll have an iced espresso."

Stephanie blinks, probably not having expected us to take her up on the offer but murmurs her agreement and departs.

"Julian, the client is supposed to pay us, remember?" Dane grumbles.

"Business expense," I counter.

"We need to eat."

"We just ate."

I roll my eyes.

"Fine. I did it to buy us more time. I happen to know Steph takes her coffee plain... she'd be in and out of there in two minutes. Meanwhile, that place makes a great latte but it takes about a century to get your order. And don't even ask about their espresso machine."

Dane's gaze sharpens.

"Okay, good thinking. What did you have in mind?"

Blushing like a teenager in love at his praise, I gesture around us.

"Do you know how hard it is to pick up a single, accurate, focused impression in a place like this? It's full of previously owned things, all of which hold at least a small trace of their previous owner's energy. It's a psychic nightmare. I need to concentrate and I do that best alone. Well, alone except for you."

Dane shifts his weight as if he'd like to argue but nods.

"How can I help?"

I wave him off.

"I don't know... do your werewolf thing. Sniff around."

He still gets jumpy when I use my abilities.

He's witnessed me react badly to a reading in the past but I have much better control now that I know I'm Fae.

It's actually the 'Fae' part that bothers him, he thinks that me using my abilities will lead to me disappearing into thin air, never to return.

I suppose I can't blame him, since I did disappear for six months a while back.

I tend to forget, since for me it was only three days.

Time is weird in Faerie.

"I'll be fine," I say.

"Stop worrying. I got this."

He gives me a look but goes about his own business.

From previous experience, I doubt he'll find anything... our thief hasn't left so much as a crumb behind so far.

Then again, I doubt I'll find much, either but I still want to try.

I begin by shutting my eyes and taking a few slow, deep breaths, focusing my awareness and clearing my mind... techniques I'd honed when I thought I was just a guy with an unusual gift.

When my mind is still, ready and receptive as blank paper, I open myself to impressions and let my senses expand.

A kaleidoscopic swirl of sensation washes over me, as if I've stepped from a quiet place into the world's noisiest restaurant.

My ears ring with phantom sounds, images flash before my eyes as if on a screen, a medley of smells assaults my nose and ghostly touches make my skin crawl.

For a moment, I'm nearly overwhelmed, I can't differentiate between one impression and another and my senses begin to register the over-stimulation as pain.

Forcing myself to take a careful, deep breath, I relax and, little by little, the chaos calms.

I allow myself a smile, there was a time I wouldn't have dared open myself to impressions in a place like this.

I'd have left with nothing but a psychic hangover and a massive migraine.

Now... like I told Dane... I got this.

[whimsyprinx]

UFO anon here! Yeah my bro tried to murder me, just family things 🤪 Anyways it was super wild so buckle up.

I was up super late at night when I was a teen cause I was a menace and never went to bed before like 4 am. And you know that thing where something happens so slowly you don’t notice it until it’s right there? Well over the course of like half an hour a sound kept getting louder. It was a deep humming that sounded like a mosquito fogger a block or two away, so I brushed it off as it’s common in my area in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t realize til later that it was WAY too early in the season for that my months. I brushed the noise off until I could feel it, it had three tones a mid tone, a very high pitched tone, and an incredibly deep bass tone. The made my guts shake like when you stand too close to a bass. I thought it was strange that nothing else was shaking.

I still brushed it off 🙄

My blinds were open as I lived in a middle of nowhere town (can’t stress that enough) so there was really no risk of creeps. I could see a street lamp, the top of my neighbours house and some trees. I saw another light but we had had a storm a few days before and figured maybe a branch had been knocked down so again, ignored it and went back to playing video games, until it moved.

Obviously I thought ‘no fucking way’ but decided to watch it anyways just to confirm. It moved so slowly but it moved. So I got up to get a better look. It was huge, similar in colour to the street lamps but more red. There was just enough light pollution in town to see a giant black triangle behind the single light.

I grew up right next to an airbase and was an air cadet on the base, and my mother was an aircraft mechanic (I know, sounds super convenient) even seeing tons of aircrafts in my life, I had never seen anything close to it. Considering it’s size and general height to the ground it shouldn’t have been able to move as slowly as it was.

My first instinct was to be excited, even if it was alien in origin it was still probably not seen by really anyone. I thought maybe it was a flight test for a secret craft? But why would they be flying it over my town?

I had a game plan. I was going to grab a phone and go to my back porch to get a photo or any evidence that I saw something, I was ecstatic! I practically skipped to my bedroom door.

As soon as I opened my door and was just about to do through it, it was like a switched flipped in my brain. I went from giddy to the most but deep terrified I have ever been in my life. I remember thinking ‘if you go outside, you’re not coming back’ but it made me sick because it didn’t feel like my own thought, like someone was telling to me.

As I was standing in the doorframe I could see someone or something in my peripheral at the far end of the hall. I could hear my brother snoring, and my mum was in bed too. They were the only other in the house.

My body felt like it was on auto pilot. Almost mechanically I took off my slippers and my glasses, and went to get in bed. For a minute I thought of looking for something I could use as a weapon but again the ‘other’ thought was in my head and said (and I will never forget it) ‘there is nothing you could do, no weapon you can have, that’s going to stop what’s going to happen from happening’

So I just accepted it and got into bed, pulled the covers to my chin and laid like a corpse totally defenceless, I’ve never felt more like a prey animal than in that moment.

I waited for anything to happen, and nothing did. After such a long build up the noise faded in what fell like maybe five minutes. I’m a big trust your gut person, so I waiting until I felt safe and RAN to my mums room. (This is mad long so I’ll send another part lmao)

AGH I forgot to answer these I’m so sorry for the delay!

brushing stuff off is so real though, idk I feel like it’s just What You Do. Holy shit this is all so much, you’re far braver than I am, idk if I could investigate things like that all on my own abdjgjkt. Your reaction is also so real like, I’d also end up running to my bed until I felt safe then running to the nearest adult or person

[evansencezz]

𖠁𖠁—EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IM A GOOD GIRL, OFFICER—Noel Vixien—𖠁𖠁

Notes: fluff, dating sim/survival horror, half-zombie half-human noel, slight gore, flirting, valentina, bribery, kinda loose plot idk, mentions towards past trauma, moody noel, she only likes you if you give her candy, takes place around christmas, bickering, average sibling behavior, noel my beloved, nods towards noel when she was fully human. no established love intrest, noel has mild amenina, raw meat eating if you pay attention, lots of mentions towards weather for some reason, smoking, noel is a odd ball, powerful noel, noel is genderfluid, slightly different zombie au plot from the other one, they dont match up completly, included other ocs not relvent to the plot just there as love intrests, violet, human violet, human venus, human iris, violet is disabled, violet has a permant limp in her foot and walks on crutches, bickering, fighting.

Noel sighed as she brushed through her long white hair. When she looked in the mirror, she was met with herself. Her green eye blinked fastly while the purple one with a messily scar running through it lagged behind.

The side of her skin and body, where her right eye was, was a plaeish blue color. Or atleast extremely pale. She also had bandages on her bruised knuckles and hands.

Once her hair was detangled, It fluffed up still. She grimnaced and simply tied it down with a low pony tail. She stared at her reflection some more, not taking into account the knocking at her door.

“Noel!! Come on, this is serious! You said you would come help me gather grocies for dinner tonight!” A familar voice whined.

This was Valentina, her sister. They didn’t live together, but Valentina decided to stay with her sister since Noel was visting back in the home town for a few days.

“Yeah, coming!” Was all the half-eyed girl called back.

They cursed under their breath and quickly stood up. They grabbed a small messenger bag and stuffed it with stuff. It included, a knife, a pistol, some first aid stuff like gauze and pliers, disinfecnet, medicine for them spefically, and other things. They adjusted it onto their hip before sighing and opening their door.

Valentina was the older twin, and her only survivng family member. Ever since this apocolypse hit, they stuck together. It was funny, really, the time where Noel actually decided to come was the time everything went to hell.

“Shoulda’ just stayed home..” She whispered.

Walking down the stairs, she came face to face with the ladder. Her more upkept white hair swished when she looked at the other.

“There you are! We should head out now, before it gets too dark, y’know?” She noticed before asking a question with no needed response.

The slightly shorter girl only nodded and came closer. She actually manged to get a peeking glance out the window, it was showing very lightly.

“We should also look for things to keep us warm. Like, matches, which we already have multiple packets of, and unpluggable therms’..” They added.

The older sibling glanced over her shoulder with a grin. Then, the two exited their base and looked around. There were only a few working street lamps, and if they were working, they glew warmly with light snow pilling on them.

Valentina was more careless then Noel. They barely looked around as they crossed the snow covered streets. Meanwhile, the younger gaped and kept moving her head back and forth, looking around for any other humans or dangers.

Her purple was more eager, rolling around and frantically blinking. She wanted to slap the back of her head to keep the eye in check, but that would just worry her sister.

“Noel..” A faint voice whispered.

She tensed and focused on the back of her sister. The voices got louder and she felt like eyes were pouring into her back.

“Noel..hey..” The voice called out again.

“Noel!” She was snapped out of it when Valentina was suddenly infront of her and shaking her one shoulder.

She blinked a few times, her green eye searching the others face. She had a worried expression on. And when she slightly gazed past her, a grocery store was visible.

“Hey, are you okay? You completly fucking’ zoned out there.” She asked.

He simply nodded and looked away slightly, of course, this didn’t help. The taller tightened her hold on him for a second before pulling away fleeting.

The two somehow got the entrance open, and the dim lighting of the store was visble. Rows of food, mainly cannned sat on the shelves. It also had cashier rows and other things.

The older twin turned towards him.

“Noel, we should spilt up. The medicine area should be near the back, you can check back there.” She offered.

Noel wasn’t very pleased by this, but he nodded untheless. And all of a sudden, the cross necklace she wore became more obvious to him for some reason.

The ladder flashed a smile before walking away. The white haired person sighed before walking through a few rows of shelves. They immeditally stopped, heart pounding once they saw what was in front of them.

A girl, with short pink hair, was crouched on the ground. It looked like she was staring at something, but they couldn’t tell what. The said girl seemed to finally notice them and her reaction was..odd.

She had a casual smile on her face, and her grey eyes gave the other a quick once over. She had a can in her hand and looked up at them.

“Oh hey there, other human.” She greeted.

Noel thought her to be wrong, considering they weren’t fully human. But then again, how could she tell when their eye was covered?

“Can you take a look at this for me? I can’t tell if it’s expired or not..” The one who was still on the ground asked, raising her hand that had the can in it.

The long haired girl merly nodded and took the can. She rotated it in her hands and squinted before seeing the date.

“No..it’s not expired..” She answered, handing the can back to the other.

She seemed pleased by this as she grabbed it from her and stood up properly. When she looked slightly behind the now slightly taller girl, she saw a slightly open bag with a few more cans and packaged things.

“Great! By the way, what’s your name? Mines Chiyo, Chiyo Yang!” Chiyo smiled, placing the can in her hands into the said open bag.

The green eyed girl hesitated. She ment, she just met this werid girl in the grocery store! Wouldn’t they have met before if they were both survivors??

When Noel got a good look at her, she blinked a few more times. She had a very..cute outfit on..a pink and white striped shirt, albit it dritied from well, living conditions. And a pair of jeans that had stuble desgins stitched on and basic shoes. And her bag was a pink color with a few pins on it.

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna’ tell me! But then I’ll just have to call you a nickname!~” Chiyo broke the silence before singing slightly.

The white-nette sweat-dropped multiple times at this. She didn’t understand. Why was this girl so friendly?! She looked around slightly, where was Valentina?

“Hmmm..what SHOULD I call you? You gotta’ prefrence?” The ladder brought her attention back to her.

She jolted slightly when she circled around them. Awfully close, might she add.

“Your really pretty..hey, how about pretty girl?!” Chiyo mummbled before sparkling and leaning closer to her.

Aganist her better judgement, Noel blushed slightly. It wasn’t extremely obvious but it was still there. This girl was stupid.

“Ugh…my name is Noel, Noel Vixien.” She introduced herself regretablly.

The grey eyed girl smiled widely and leaned back.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you! Tell me, are you the only person here?? I thought I heard someone else talking to you..” She polietly said before tilting her head.

And the irony of the situation, was that Valentina finally popped up behind Noel. She visibly tensed and blinked a few times when she laid her eyes on Chiyo.

“Oh!” The said girl blurted out, also looking at the older twin.

The slightly darker eyed girl blinked a few more times, twisting her body to shift it towards the younger and Chiyo a few times. Before, they finally placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“Stop that. This is another surivor, your not going insane..” They grumbled.

The taller’s mouth shifted into a engatmatic smile. She pulled away from them and looked back at the short haired girl.

“Sorry about that! My name’s Valentina! How are you?~” She apologized before introducing herself.

The simaliar girl only plastered a relaxed grin on her face. Her posture was still slightly tense but nothing much.

“The name’s Chiyo..and I’m pretty good, for being in a apocolypse, anyways..” The other replied.

Valentina grinned and wrapped an arm around her younger sibling. They tensed at the movement slightly but didn’t say anything.

“Hey, do you have any other people that hang around with you? Y’know, like survivors?” She asked.

The non-related girl smiled wider at this and nodded.

“Yeah! There’s only a few of us though..but I’d be glad to let you meet them!” She cheered.

Noel squinted at her but remained slient. It was odd, she acted alot like her sister, remaining carefree in a situation like this

“By the way, not be rude or anything but why are you here?? Are you picking up suppiles?”

Chiyo nodded and slightly pulled at her bag to flash the amount of things she had in it. It had cans, boxes of things like medicine and bandages, and a few small water bottles.

“Yeah, just pickin’ up things. Anyways, do you two wanna’ come back with me to meet the other people?” The pink haired girl casually said before asking.

The shorter twin pressed their lips into a firm line. They didn’t want to say anything, Valentina glanced towards the other and tilted her head.

“I’m fine with it, you?” She asked.

Noel looked away slightly before nodding. Chiyo seemed pleased, as did Valentina.

“Alright, well, let’s go then..?” Chiyo started but was cut off by Noel.

“Hold it. I need medicine-!” She stopped the other before being stopped herself.

“Don’t worry! I got it right here!~” The taller placed a hand on her siblings shoulder as she flashed a pill bottle.

She blinked a few times before grabbing the pill bottle. She took a pill out and dry swallowed it, while the girl on her left looked at her curiously.

“What is that??” She leered slightly over the formers shoulder.

The said girl shot her a glare and tucked it into her bag. She also shuffled towards her sister, a mild scowl on her face. A air of silence covered the trio before Valentina finally broke it.

“Well, let’s get outta’ here! I’m happy to finally see more faves that aren’t rotting!” She cheered happily.

At this, the girl beside her mocked offense and leaned closer to her. This made her slouch slightly.

“What, is seeing my face not good enough?” She hissed, sarcastically:

This caused the other twin to panic and caused a small bicker between the two. Obviously, the girl who had started it all was just kidding. After the non-related girl watched for a while, she finally broke it up.

“Alright you two!! C’mon, Noe’ was just messing with you! Let’s just get out of here.” She broke it up before walking closer to the doors.

The darker eyed twin blinked before following after while Noel blinked a few times. Had she seriouslt just gotten a nickname?? Oddly enough, she didn’t completly hate it..

They still pressed their lips into a small frown as they followed after the duo. They weren’t looking forward to this..

Chiyo eventually stopped walking once she spotted the familar building. It was small, probably someones apartment or something. She turned back towards the duo behind her and smiled.

“Well, here it is..I know it’s rather small but..” She presented, shuffling from side to side.

Valentina stared at it in curiousty while the other squinted at it. It was rustic, even though the apocolypse had taken place a few months ago. Everything seemed to fall apart quickly.

“No, it looks very quaint!” The taller twin brushed off the girls nervousness and walked closer.

The other sibling trailed behind her, sending Chiyo a look. The said girl only perked up at this and tilted her head slightly.

“Are you gonna’ open the door or not?” She only asked.

The pink haired girl flinched back slightly at the comment. She glanced towards them and the door before tensing and nervously smiling. A tint of red covered her face.

“Right! Uh..s..sorry!!” She apologized before yanking open the door.

The two siblings walked inside. They were greeted with three other people who were sitting down at a table, playing cards. One had light purple hair and dark colored skin but with patches of white.

They whined when the person across from them laughed and fanned their wrist out, sprawling their cards across the table.

“Better luck next time, guys!~ I’m three for three!~” They sang, closing their eyes with a cocky smile on their face.

Speaking of their face, they had mix and match white and pale green hair, the base of it being pale green but some thick stripes of white here and there. They also had white and green eyes that were big but slightly uplifted.

“Go eat a dick, Iris.” A blond scoffed, throwing her hand onto the table.

She was closer to the said person, but not close enough to be considered sitting next to them. She had, medium blonde hair that was tied into a tight bun with a small braid and a blue ribbon holding it together. She also had ocean blue eyes and her pink or reddish eyebags practically sunk into her face.

Noel’s eyes merly darted between the trio before the purple haired one noticed them.

“Oh..hello there..?” She spoke.

The first thing the former thought, was how comforting her voice was. It had a slight rasp but it still made you feel warm. It was the voice of a tired person.

The two other people perked up at the girl speaking and followed her eyes. The green haired person had a violent reaction, jolting back in their seat before scoffing out a sigh.

“What the fuck!!?” Was all that came out of their mouth.

The blonde only blinked a few times, slowly. Probably in shock or something akin to that.

“Hey guys! I found some more people, they aren’t zombies, I promiseee..~” Chiyo finally shoved herself inbetween Noel and Valentina.

The people seemed to still be on guard, the blue eyed girl rubbing her temples before picking up the cards. She held them in her hands before shuffling them.

“Violet.” She bluntly said.

“Sorry?” The older twin asked, a bit confused.

The girl scoffed and boredly looked over her shoulder. Her eyes flicked between the two, finding more intrest in Noel apprently.

“My name, it’s Violet.” She clarrifed.

She looked away and contuined messing with the cards. The green haired person eyes seemed confused, jaw hanging open slightly.

“Wait, your seriously gonna’ act like this isn’t werid at all?! That there’s somehow two other survivors?!” They asked Violet.

They simply shrugged and dissed the cards out to the other two.

“Why not? They don’t look like threats, plus I’m sure they’re related, right?” She bluntly asked back before inquiring.

“Yep..” Noel finally spoke.

The girl who had spoken before, the black skinned girl spoke again. Noel still couldn’t get over the feeling she producded. It was like moonlight and lavender.

“How sweet!..I had a couple siblings before..I think one of them might still be alive..she’s strong..” She cooed before looking away.

The other two people at the table also looked away. Finally, the pink haired girl broke it.

“Well, why don’t you two introduce yourselves??” She offered.

The two shared a look before Iris sighed and leaned aganist the table. They placed their cheek into their hand and gazed at the trio.

“The name’s Iris Redbrook..I’m non-binary, just so you know.” They introduced.

Both Noel and Valentina nodded, and this made them raise a eyebrow. They flicked between Chiyo and Venus.

“Are you two like clincally silent?? I mean, I get it if the shorter one wants to be mystrious and quiet, but you??” They asked, quiet boredly.

The taller twin blinked a few times before smiling with a sweat-drop rolling down her face.

“Me..?” She pointed at herself.

Iris scoffed and leaned over the table more, a snarky smile on their face.

“Who else would I be talking about, sweetheart? You seem like the overly ethusastic and go get em’ type.” They squinted their eyes at the ladder.

This made the purple haired girl perk up as she hit them slightly. The mismatched eyed one erked and turned towards her. She made a slitting motion across her neck.

“Cut it out!-I’m sorry about them..my name is Venus Damershera..It’s very nice to meet you..again, sorry about them..!” They hissed before turning towards the group and smiling with their eyes closed.

This made the girl sitting across from them groan. She sat the cards she was holding down, face down. Then she lifted the hand of cards she was delt and squinted at the girl.

“Cut the nice angel act, won’t you?? It’s annoying.” She only said, blue eyes glancing over her shoulder again.

This made Venus flinch before scowling on her own.

“Stop trying to make me look bad!! Is that your life’s goal or something?!” They complained.

Chiyo stepped in again, coming closer to the table. She clapped her hands and narrowed her eyes, one of them twitching, actually.

“Both of you..pleaseee stop fighting..anyways, Noe’ do you wanna’ take a house tour with me?~” She comanded before smiling brightly at the white haired girl.

This made both Iris and Violet blink a few more times.

“Your name’s Noe’?! PFFT-WHAT KINDA’ NAME-!!” Iris snickered.

This made the said persons eye twitch as she pressed her lips into a firm line. Her visible green eye squinted.

“It’s Noel.” She bit out.

Iris still had a snarky smile on their face, but didn’t say anything else. The short haired blonde only shook her head and made a nudging motion towards the other.

“Venus, flip over a card from the deck, won’t you?” She asked.

The indigo eyed person only jolted slightly. They looked up from the cards they held in their one hand before flipping over a card from the face down pile.

It was a eight of hearts.

With the disraction finally in the way, Chiyo grabbed the two siblings by the arms and led them up the small staircase. Valentina didn’t seemed phased by the touch but Noel was.

The male struggled out of her hold before finally getting away. He nervously rubbed his right arm and looked away. Both ignoring the glances from his sibling and the taller gir.

“Anyways, here is where we sleep! This whole hallway has rooms, on either side..the bathroom is actually downstairs..but- lucky for you two, we have two more rooms left!~” She explained before cheering.

The white-nette that was closer to Chiyo grinned widely.

“You don’t mind us staying with you?! I mean, we’ll probably have to go back and get our stuff at where we live but-!” She beamed before being cut off.

“Woah, woah, woah, slow the fuck down. Stay here? What..?” The brighter eyed male paused, slightly grabbing the girl’s sleeve.

This made her blink before smiling slowy.

“Come on, Noe’..there’s more people, surivors here! Don’t you think we should all stick together??” She tried to reason.

The former only furrowed their eyebrows and pulled away. Their mouth was placed into a confused grimnace. Was she serious?! Staying with complete strangers they couldn’t give a flying shit about?!

“You cannot be serious, Valentina.” They only choked out.

The two other girls watched in concern as Noe stepped further down the hall, front facing them. They acted like they had just touched fire and wanted to reel away.

“Noel, are you okay..? I don’t understand why you’re acting like this..” The sister said, coming a little closer.

The long haired person only stared at her with shaky eyes before changing pace. They narrowed their eyes and set their mouth into a frown-scowl sort of deal.

“Whatever. You can stay with your..new ‘friends’ apprently! I’m out of here!” They hissed before yelling slightly.

And with that, they pushed past the duo before making their way down the stairs. Valentina jolted at this and went to scamper down stairs, only to see that the door outside had slammed closed.

“No, no, no!! It’s not safe out there at night, Noel!” She panicked and practically threw herself down the stairs stummbling a little.

The non-related girl frowned and quickly followed after. They went around the corner only to see people standing. More spefically, Iris and Venus.

Violet was still at the table, but all the cards were gone. Now she was merly picking at her fingers with a bored expression.

“What are you doing?!! Get outta’ the way!-!” The green eyed girl asked.

The semi-shorter person only sighed and placed their arms across their chest. They gazed at the former with a odd expression.

“Look, whatever your name was, it’s obvious that they need to cool the fuck off. I don’t know what happened but they looked really shaken. And if your related I’m sure they will come back, they seem strong.” They stated.

Venus only shifted in place, although seeming to agree with the short haired person.

“You cannot be serious!! That’s my sister, I have to-!” The girl protested.

This time, Chiyo spoke up.

“Val’ I agree with Iris. I don’t know what cued the certian switch in demenor, but maybe you should just wait..oh, here’s an idea! What if we give her untilllll’..ten?- to come back and if she isn’t then we can look for her..deal??” She placed a hand on the slightly taller girls shoulder and squeezing it slightly.

The two’s eyes connected, the grey calm ones and the squinted green ones. She could see all emotions storming behind those eyes, panic, anger, scaredness.

After a while, Valentina broke the eyecontact and pulled away. Her face was shadowed by her bangs but she took a deep breath in and looked at her.

“Fine.” She placed her hand out and the grey eyed female smiled smallely and shoke it.

The moment was broken by the blonde uncomfortably shifting in her seat. She finally made full eye contact with the older twin and tilted her head.

“Say, do you play chess or any board games?”

Meanwhile, Noel was wandering through the alleyways. Her head was down, yet her eye-or eyes would search around as she held the flashlight in spefic areas. Speaking of, she actually tucked some of her hair behind her ear so her infected eye was showing in all it’s nasty glory.

She flinched and held her jacket closer to her when something crecked behind her. She breathed before wobbingly flashing the light around, but not seeing anything.

“God damnit Noel. Your so paranoid.” She scolded herself.

Something smashed above her and she violently scampered back. She relized that it came from ontop of a tall bulding and she looked around for something to protect herself.

They saw a zombie jump down and appear right infront of them. It had ripped skin, deep wounds and cuts all around it’s body. Somehow, it didn’t seem affected by the height from which it jumped. To mention, it also had a very mangled looking neck.

It seemed to stumble around slightly before it’s almost glowing white eyes landed on Noel. They smiled and waved slightly, one hand holding the flashlight.

“Hey there, freak!” She greeted.

The zombie obviously didn’t reply back. Instead, it only staggeree foward and swipped at her. She moved back and grumbled when she couldn’t find anything to defend herself with.

The monster came closer the finally, the white haired girl broke out in a sprint. She rounded the corner and a few more zombies appeared when she entered the street area.

“What the fuck?!” He yelled, scampering in the opposite direction.

Eventually, he found a metal rusted bat on the wall in a other alleyway. He made yet another sharp turn and swiftly picked the bat up and lifted the thing on his one shoulder.

“C’mere, freaks!~” He cooed before grinning when one of them did just that.

He brought the metal bat down onto the side of its head with force and speed, the damned things head litterally came off!! He made a sound of disgust when he wrenched the bat away from the fallen body before going at it with the others.

Most of them were easy take downs, Noel wandered how so many people died to paethtic things like these. He was actually slightly battling with one that had its hands on the bat and was pushing.

“Ugh, get off already!” He groaned before slunging the weapon, almost letting go of it.

This knocked the zombie back and he struck, its body falling with all the others. They looked around for anymore to come but the area was pretty much clear.

They deicded to still keep the bat handy as they wandered towards where Valentina and them called home. The thought of their older sibling not being with them made a sick feeling crawl throughout their entire body.

“Stupid Val’..Wanting to stay with fucking strangers rather then her own sibling..!” They scoffed out, lazily finding the house.

It was a rather large building, sort of simaliar to the one they were in eariler just bigger. It had grey walls and they had to slam into it and open the hatch with strength.

She eventually got it open and sighed. She entered her hideaway, shaking out her one hand that was holding the flashlight. No zombies or monsters should have entered here.

All of a sudden, a sharp pain rung in her one eye, the infected one. She hissed as it burned and felt like it was spreading across her whole face.

“Agh!-What the fuck?!! Ugh..why now?!” She complained.

She stummbled around a little bit before finally finding a pill bottle. It was in the kitchen, oddly enough. It was just kinda slouched over and on the counter.

She hummed happily, even though it litterally felt like her face was being melted off. She open the bottle with shaky hands and popped two in her mouth and dry swallowed them.

Of course, the pain didn’t immeditally stop. It still dully ached and she groaned slightly. Noel also knew her eye was probably glowing a vibarant purple, due to the posion in it.

Something nagged at her to get Valentina. She placed her mouth into a scowl and looked at a still working alarm clock they had, it was 9 PM.

Her purple eye twitched and throbbed as she strained it. She immeditally slapped a hand over it on reflex, almost slapping herself when the eye rang in protest.

“Fucking!!!-Okay..okay okay..fuck!! Whatever!!” They yelled before calming themself down.

The white-haired person’s eye had calmed down to a still melow throbbing. They could vaguely see in it now, and they decided to give in. They would grab stuff from here that Valentina and them absoutetly needed before trying to make their way back.

They knew it was stupid, but they couldn’t just leave the older sister on her own.

Back with Valentina and the other humans, the older was antsy. Not because of her sibling, no, because of this-

“You’re pretty good, Valentine! You could almost match up with me and V’ over here!~” Iris sang as Valentina won yet another round of poker.

Meanwhile, the blonde made a face and pointed her thumb in the direction of her.

“Okay, are we sure she’s not cheating? That’s the fourth row she’s won!” She complained.

The short haired person only smiled widely and leaned closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Now their shoulders were touching and Iris had a stupid smile on their face.

“Awww, you mad V’?? Mad that your gettin’ beat at your own game??” They cooed.

The other’s eye twitched violently at this. She immeditally pulled away and shot them a look.

“And you’ve won six!! I don’t wanna’ hear it!” She hissed.

All of sudden, the slight knocking of a wall ganned attention. Venus peaked out of the kitchen and offered a smile.

“Hey uh..I made some snacks if you guys want some..just uh..apple slices and shortbread cookies..nothing too fancy..” She shyly said.

Iris and Violet immeditally perked up at this and the mixmatched one scammpered up. This made the shorter slightly scowl at them but then Chiyo smiled at her. Valentina observed as she leaned down to pick up two fallen crutches off the ground and gently help Violet up.

“Oh..” Valentina softly mummbled.

The blue eyed girl glanced over at her before lifting herself up onto the crutches. She wobbled a little before walking away from the table. She was putting her right foot down, like she was still walking but seemed to switch fast and have a heavy limp.

“Yeah, V’s crippled. When we first met her, she was like that too..poor girl’s been trying to find someway to walk normally but she hasen’t found anything yet.” Chiyo frowned, watching as she reeled into the kitchen.

This made the older feel slightly bad for her. And she also wondered how she was dead by now. But she was broken out of her thoughts when Chiyo nudged her.

“Come on, you wanna’ grab something to eat? The cookies are pretty dull and doughy but with the apples they taste pretty good! We also have water, orange juice, and oat milk?” The pink haired girl smiled and grabbed the girls wrist.

She blinked a few times before looking away and replying.

“Oh..uhm I’ll just have some apple slices and water..thank you..” She hestaintely said.

The soft girl seemed to squint at her before doing a double take. She seemed to frown even deeper and scoffed slightly, motherly.

“Nosense! Your so tall and scrawny, I’ll get you some cookies too!” She refused before letting go of the girl and going into the kitchen.

Valentina only sweat-dropped before looking at a old rusted clock that was on the wall, 9:30 PM. She was nervous sure, what if Noel didn’t come back??

She knew her beloved sibling could defend themself. They were smart, and worked better in tense situations.

She was broken out of her thoughts when Iris and Violet came back. Iris was carrying two plates and two drinks. She was probably carrying the blonde’s things, considering she couldn’t while she was on crutches.

“You keep staring at me..is there a problem..?” The cripple asked, slunking down into her seat and dropping the crutches near her.

The white haired girl only tensed and smiled nervously. Violet had a very..standofish personality. It wasn’t like you could just get along with her like that!

“No sorry..I’m just curious..” She answered, almost flinching when Chiyo came back and slide a plate infront of them.

The short haired person that was sitting across from her only shot her a look.

“What, about V’ being crippled?” They sarcastically inquired, taking a bite out of apple slice.

The long haired girl only tensed further and her eyes found the cup of water intresting. Everyone had became silent and just ate they’re food in peace.

That was until..

A knock at the door startled everyone, also having different reactions. Violet jolting and almost FALLING out of her fucking chair. Iris choking on another apple slice. Venus almost dropping a plate she was cleaning, and Chiyo and Valentina merly jumping wildly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she took a glance at the clock, 9:50 PM. Iris sighed and walked towards the door, rolling their shoulder in the process.

They unlocked it and took a peak at who was outside.

“Oh, look who it is!! Hey short-stack!” They mockingly said before opening the door fully.

Noel was slightly hunched over, her hair an absoutetle mess. She also had a proper eye-patch covering her left eye. She merly grumbled and tensed when she saw Valentina.

But before any interaction could happen with the two, Venus grinned and shoved a platter of food towards her.

“Here! You must be hungry, everyone already ate!” They said before handing her the plate fully.

She looked at it with mild curiousty before looking up again.

“Sorry, I had something to eat at our other place.” She brushed off the darkskinned girl.

Valentina knew she was lying straight through her teeth but didn’t get why. The younger glanced at the older sibling and that’s all that she needed to do in order to have a crushing hug.

“Ack!-Okay, okay! I’m sorry Val’!” They apologized through shortened breaths.

Eventually, the taller let them go. They staggered back and their eyes flicked across everyone’s faces. The only one who liked like they couldn’t careless was Violet.

“Uhm..I’m sorry for causing a distrubance..” They apologized.

The green and white eyed other only brushed it off. They slung a carefree arm around their shoulders and winked.

“Oh pleaseee’!! It’s not as if that hasn’t happened before! It would’ve been such a waste if your face was mangled in the streets before you came back, right?” They sang before tilting their head.

Chiyo deicded to sweep in and practically save the day. She picked up the large bag Noel had laying beside them and delievered a wink of her own.

“This is stuff for you and Val’ right? I’ll put it in your room, Val’.” She picked it up easily before climbing up the stairs.

Iris had already moved back from the green eyed girl. She was now bothering Violet, poking her check and erking her.

“Hey, hey! Guys it’s getting pretty late, we should all head to bed.” Venus slightly called out.

The white haired with green stripes person whined slightly. But untheless, they threw themself up off of the chair they were on and clapped once and twice.

“Alrightttttt’ light’s out people!” They drawled out before flicking the one downstairs light off.

The rest of them could still see, sure. But that was due to the small little candles and laterns they had mingling about.

Noel watched in intrest as Violet got up and swiflty picked up her crutches. She limped difficultly upstairs and Iris followed after her. Those two seemed the closetest.

Venus spared a look towards the twins and grinned slightly.

“It was a pleasure meeting you two, I know that the others might seem..a little standofish, but it’ll fade off eventually.” She reassured before going upstairs aswell.

The older twin sighed before looking at Noel with her head placed on her cheek.

“I’m not mad at you.” She mummbled.

This made the said male perk up and blink a few times. He looked over at her and tensed.

“Your not..?” He repeated.

She smiled and shook her head slightly. But, then she squinted at him, he couldn’t see everything but he could see that she was staring straight through him.

“But anyways!-I still can’t fully understand you. Buttt’ that’s your own bussiness. I’ll see you in the morning, Noe’.” She brushed it off before smiling softly at her twin before going upstairs.

Now that the half-mortal male was downstairs, he could look around a little. Was it probably wrong to snope around, yeah. Was he still going to do it? Yes.

He looked in the kitchen, to the living room, to the bathroom. But nothing was out of the ordinary. It slightly erked Noel, because it seemed like there had to be a catch to all of this. No person was THAT nice as Chiyo.

Untheless, he decided to finally go upstairs and head to bed. He walked down the hallway and could’ve sworn he heard Violet and Iris talking. Maybe they stayed up later or something.

She eventually found her room, and went inside. It was pretty basic, and the bag she had earlier sat near her bed. She walked into the room, closing the door behind her and walking towards the bed.

It was small, and looked almost like a bunk bed. She dug through the bag to find a blanket and a soft stuffed bunny. It’s color was a soft brown with button eyes and stitches here and there.

She sighed and her hands tightened around the poor thing. Almost strangling it, to be honest. Her head was dipped down and her bangs shadowed over her eyes. She eventually snapped out of it when something slammed aganist her window.

Noel sighed and her eyes fixated on that one spot. When she squinted, she was able to make out that it was just a branch. She grumbled before climbing into the bed and wrapping a blanket around herself.

Noel’s eyes snapped open and a scowl was on her face. She went to bed five hours ago, but just couldn’t sleep! The soft voices of Iris and Violet mummered down the hallway.

They weren’t saying it was their fault buttttt..’

Speaking of, a snicker, louder then the rest sounded through the hallway. Iris. The long haired person’s right eye twitched and they climbed out of bed.

“God damnit..” They whispered, trying to get their barrings.

Their bare feet slid across the wodden floor, making uncomfortable feelings. They got antsy at the feeling and grimnaced.

“God, now is not a good time for sensory issues, Noel!” They scolded themself.

They eventually made their way down the hallway and towards a spefic door. This had the name, ‘Violet and Iris’ both carved on it. Her eye twitched again and she knocked on the door softly.

The grumbling noises inside sort of started the green eyed girl. What exactly was going on in there?!

A click noise was heard, and behold, Iris peaked out. They blinked a few times, doing a double take. Before an easy-grin covered their face.

“Ah, hey there, Vanilla!~ What brings you to my room this late?~” They greeted.

The shorter sweat-dropped at the nickname. Before shaking her head and slightly scowling at them. They didn’t seem phased.

“You two are loud..well not that loud..but I’m a light sleeper soooo..” She explained, all of a sudden seeming silly.

Now it was Violet’s turn to be curious. When she slightly leaned in the direction of the doorway, she saw the two talking. She raised an eyebrow before speaking up.

“Oh, hey…Noel? I think that was your name or something. Wanna’ come in?” She greeted before akwardly offering.

The white and green eyed one made a expression at Violet before grinning. They dragged the white-nette in by the wrist and closed the door smoothly behind them.

‘Am I being fucking kidnapped right now??’ The girl thought.

She made a face like she was holding her breath as her eyes wondered around. The walls of this room were a dark blue, wondered how that was even possible. There seemed to be a sort of outerspace theme going on.

She ment, there were posters of planets and a lava lamp!! Where did you even get that in the middle of a fucking apocolypse?!?

Iris seemed to be amused at the shocked face she was making as they snickered. They had also made their way over to the blonde and wrapped a casual arm over her shoulder.

“You seem honestly horrifed.” They said, laughing slightly.

“How the hell do you have so much stuff?! I mean, you have a fucking lava lamp!!” The former snapped, waving at the glowing lamp.

Iris laughed before quickly slammed a hand over their mouth to muffle it. And the cripple next to them just watched with a bewildered expression.

“I made it..I’m….” She said slowly before trailing off.

The half-mortal raised an eyebrow, unamused. The blue eyed girl shrunk back at this before finishing.

“I’m a..inventor..and doctor..techincally..” She finished.

The person beside her had recovered and had a smile on their face. Noel wondered if they actually ever stopped smiling or took anything seriously.

“Yep! A proud certified nerd!” They added on.

Violet shot them a look before sighing. Her eyes seemed to be focused on her foot that she couldn’t walk properly on.

“I only know half of this stuff because I read alot. I mean, I can’t even go outside on missions! All because of my fucking conidtion.” She lamented.

Noel stayed quiet and now noticed the aray of books. There werw books about outer space, inventing, cooking, survival (how convient), and human anatomy.

“Hey, straighten up doc! Your helpful for when we almost die!” The white haired one with green stripes nudged her again.

The girl scowled at her and glared before sighing. But then she looked up Noel with new-found curiousty.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s up with the eyepatch?” She asked.

The taller next to her seemed curious too as they both looked at her. The male who was asked the question pressed his lips into a firm line and looked away tensly.

“You don’t gotta’ answer if you don’t wanna’, just curious.” The short haired other said.

The green eyed male bit his lip before coming up with a lie. If he told the truth, no dobut they would be horrifed. But if he lied, he could get them to get off of his back.

“I lost it. It’s blind and I have no use for it to be showing plus, I don’t have a fake eye soooo..’ What about you, Iris? You have a white eye..” He smoothly said before switching the topic.

They seemed to perk up at the mention of their eye as they chuckled slightly before replying.

“Ah, I’m half-blind in it! A brith defict, if you would. Anywaysss’ you totally rock the eyepatch, so cool!!” They answered before practically fangirling.

The ocean eyed girl next to them grimnaced.

“Please don’t push your love of pirates on her.” She mummbled.

And just like that, the two started bickering. Well, Iris more then anything. Noel just watched in fasanation as Iris started getting gently physical, tugging on the others hair and stuff.

Now that he thought about it, maybe these two weren’t so bad. They seemed to care about each other alot, and Iris constantly flirted with her.

His lip twitched upwards before falling down again.

END

(holy shit this took so long what)

[the7thcrow]

ideal woman | k.ys

pairing: yeosang x (fem) reader.

………

wc: 10.5k

genre: romance. suggestive. angst. a tad bit of fluff if you squint. gang au. basically a romp between inherent enemies.

summary: at the only bar in town where the lines drawn between different gangs becomes blurry, you spot your intellectual rival involved in one of the biggest underground organizations the city has to offer. responsible for the recent heist on your warehouse, as well as the death of multiple of your gang’s own members, he’s understandably considered someone that you should not be talking to. you buy him a drink.

warnings: non-graphic talk of violence and death, mention of drugs, alcohol, smoking cigars, suggestive content.

a/n: look who’s finally gotten around to starting these (go me). requested by @joontied for my 1 year anniversary event. inspired by the song ideal woman by celeste.

UPDATE: currently dealing with formatting issues because tumblr sucks. if you have repeating paragraphs, feel free to read here on ao3 instead. thanks so much.

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Duke’s is muddy territory.

A term for where the line’s between different gang’s and operation’s blur, the dingy old bar is a neutral breeding ground of sorts, a place where enemy’s under any other circumstances can drink alone together. That is to say at their own seat at the bar with their own drink and company, but at the same time, two feet away sits another member doing the exact same thing. Sharing a moment together in loneliness, but then again, it’s ultimately better than drinking alone.

Yet, for the amount of steady business the bar always seems to receive, Duke’s remains a bit of a dump. The lamp-post outside having been burnt out for months, which may now be years under consideration, the owner - Duke - put’s little care in keeping the establishment together. Prone to bar-fights due to the nature of the facility, as tension is ultimately unavoidable in some circumstances when a member of one gang as had a few too many drinks, and it’s the man who shot his buddy last night sitting just a few tables away, the furniture remains constantly scratched and worn from being flipped over. Glass typically coats the streets outside as nobody cares to sweep it up, and plenty of lamps hanging down from the ceiling have been cracked and shattered, and will most likely never be replaced until the bar is one day shrouded in complete darkness.

To be frank, it’s a shithole. But that’s exactly what you like about it.

Nursing a gin and tonic at the front end of the bar, you do your best to ignore the constant buzzing in your pocket, as your phone begs for attention. You don’t have to check who it is, Hongjoong is always like this in the days leading up to and of a big operation. Always asking whether that particular part of his plan is fool-proof, or whether this piece of the puzzle needs some work. It’s all underground politics, manipulation, and holding your hand close to your chest. All things that although he won’t admit it aloud, he knows you’re far better at than him.

And while you should be flattered to know that the leader of KQ values your intelligence, it would be nice for him to not endlessly bother you on what was supposed to be your night off.

Digging into your purse, you pull out your phone, screen already set alight from his latest message.

Without bothering to read it, you turn your phone on silent and stuff it back into your bag. If he doesn’t understand where to draw the line, then you’ll just have to do it for him. You don’t need his constant supervision.

Forgoing your straw, you bring the rim of the glass up to your lips, tipping your head back as you let the rest of the liquid pour down your throat. A pleasant sort of burn, one you’ve grown to appreciate after years of drinks at this very bar-stool, you flash Duke a smile and a small wave.

As the burly man - with a bushy red beard and healthy beer-gut beneath his dirtied apron - makes his way over to you, your attention is quickly pulled away as you catch sight of a man over his shoulder.

Blonde hair that hangs long in the back - although parted neatly in the front in order to frame his face - he sits with his chin cupped in his palm. Clearly lost in thought, his gaze is trained mindlessly on the display of spirits behind the bar. Sporting a white button up that is slightly too large, draping over his figure and allowing his collarbone to peek through, he almost shines like a beacon of light amidst the dreariness of the facility.

Kang Yeosang. You recognize him.

A sort of mirrored image of your own role in KQ, Yeosang is the leader of SMY’s right hand man. The intelligence behind the operation, the brains behind the brawn. He was the mind responsible for SMY's surprise heist on one of your own warehouses a few weeks ago, that left you down a dozen men, as well as the pots in your meth lab empty.

He’s dangerous. Not your typical sort, no immediate danger in sight as the two of you sit merely ten feet apart. You aren’t sure of his skill with weaponry, but you’re fairly certain the most he has on him is a knife, and is likely not an expert in using it.

When Duke takes your drink order, you ask him for another gin and tonic, as well as a glass of whatever Yeosang is currently sipping to send his way.

Duke raises a brow, the request certainly out of the ordinary in a room full of inherent enemies, but he fetches a glass nonetheless. After completing your gin and tonic, he pours an accompanying glass of whisky out in front of you - Glen Mckenna, as you can now recognize it to be - before taking it in hand as he makes his way over to Yeosang.

Setting it down in front of him, the blonde blinks out of his daze before his gaze falls down to the drink before him. Eyes fluttering upward, he casts Duke a confused - as well as slightly suspicious - glance.

Duke simply shrugs, pointing over his shoulder over to where you are sitting. Following his finger, Yeosang's eyes slowly drift over to meet yours. At first his expression is blank, but after a moment his eyes widen with a sense of familiarity. Lips parted in a small “o” shape, he seems unsure of what to make of it.

You simply smile, lifting your glass up and tilting the rim towards him in a sort of long distance “cheers”, before taking a sip yourself.

He pauses for a moment, before a small smile begins to creep onto his lips. Whether a manifestation of surprise, or simply genuine gratitude for the drink, you aren’t sure. Either way, he takes a sip of his whisky, eyes not leaving yours as he does so.

A moment passes by where neither of the two of you move, and it serves as a sort of cross-roads for the evening ahead of you. On the one hand, you could retract your gaze right now, leave the drink as simply a nice gesture and nothing more. Nurse your gin and tonic for a few more minutes, then grab your bag and leave the bar. Head home to your apartment on the other end of town before sifting through and responding to Hongjoong’s texts for the next couple hours until sleep inevitably takes you.

Or, on the other hand, you could push a little further. Smile back at him, maybe let him return the favour. Chat. Whatever normal people do on a night out in town.

You slip out of your chair and onto your feet.

Drink in hand, you walk over to meet him at his spot at the other end of the bar. Another look of surprise flashing over his features, you note how he slips his own phone off the counter and into his pocket. Out of sight.

“Hello,” you say, a simple enough opening as you slide into the chair beside him.

He raises an eyebrow, corner of his lip drawn up into a smirk. “Well, isn’t this a surprise.”

It’s not in reference to you being at Duke’s. After all, this is not the first time the two of you have seen each other here, on multiple occasions having granted eachother a small nod in greeting. Or well, perhaps greeting is a bit of a strong term, recognition more accurate. A nod that says: I know you and you know me. I know just what terrible things you’re capable of, and I have accomplished just the same.

And yet, here we both are. Drinking alone to forget another day.

Safe to say, the two of you don’t really chat beyond meetings between the higher-ups. You know his voice, you know he’s witty and a little risky with his level of sarcasm at times, but you don’t really know him.

And maybe you’re curious what lies beneath those layers.

“Long day?” You ask, taking the lime from the corner of your glass and squeezing it into your drink.

Yeosang chuckles. “Aren’t they all long days?”

“I don’t know,” you reply, a smile creeping itself along your own lips. When you speak, it’s after another sip. “I would expect it to be a real celebration for you over there, what with your recent success and all.”

At the reference to the ambush he’d orchestrated on your warehouse, Yeosang freezes. Hand stilling on his drink, he swallows, eyes quickly shifting from relaxed to poised. Analytical.

You simply chuckle, stirring your straw around in your drink. “Relax,” you say easily, lip curving upwards into a smirk. “I’m not here to jeer you about it.”

He seems to let his guard back down at this, although with a tad bit of hesitancy. His posture softens, but not so much so as to lean back in his chair. Not on guard, but ready to be should the coming minutes permit it. It’s the wise thing to do, and surely how you would be likely to respond as well.

“Hm,” he hums, taking a sip of his own drink, the fingers on his other hand tapping mindlessly against the counter. “Then why are you here?”

You know he doesn’t mean in reference to Duke’s, but you decide to play coy nonetheless. “Can’t a woman simply enjoy a good drink?”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” he replies just as quickly, tilting his head to the side as his eyes flicker up and down, observing you closely. “Why are you talking to me? We both know it’s unprecedented, even around here.”

You tilt your own head to the side, mocking the gesture. “Tired of my own company I suppose.”

Eyes narrowing - although a smile remains on his lips - he doesn’t seem to buy it.

You figure you can grant him some honesty, at least a fraction of it, anyway. “Hongjoong’s getting on my nerves,” you reply with a sigh, flickering your gaze down at the table as to not meet his own. “Guess I want a bit of my own insurgence.”

Yeosang lets out a small laugh at this, merely a light puff of air from his nose. “Well,” he begins, gaze flickering to the side as he chews on the corner of his lip. Perhaps deciding what he dares to say next, if he wants to play into the hand you’ve dealt him.

In the end, it appears that he does.

“Maybe you aren’t the only one in that boat.” He says softly, and you nod, a faint smile on your lips.

“Fine then,” you say, lifting your glass off of the counter and holding out before him. Your eyes meet his own above the rim. “Cheers to a bit of defiance.”

For a second, his gaze flickers from your offered glass, to his own sitting on the countertop. He’s hesitant, at his own crossroads it seems, just as you were earlier. A toast to a night with company that SMY’s leader would never approve of, one that he can either accept or turn away, head back home towards his own gang’s district and comradery.

He lifts up his glass, and the two knock together with a quiet “clink”.

“Cheers,” he replies softly, and you can’t help but smile.

~~~~

Over the last two hours of talking, as well as three drinks that accompanied it, you have learned your fair amount about Kang Yeosang.

Firstly, that he is just as witty as you may have expected, sarcasm a rather active aspect of both his vocabulary and humour. Whether you are discussing your gang or his own, or any of the other smaller crews amidst the city, he always has something clever to say. With a sharp tongue and a tendency to be a tad critical, you find there isn’t a dull moment to be found in conversation.

You suppose this adds to your second point of interest, this being that the man is far more amusing than you’d anticipated. Along with that wit comes a rather dry sense of humour. Not in the sense that he is boring, but rather much of what he says is delivered with such a comedical level of seriousness that you can’t help but laugh along.

But finally, and what intrigues you the most about the man in question, is that he seems to hate SMY. Perhaps not near as much as your gang does, but enough to discuss his distaste openly, with a member of what is supposed to be his enemy number one, at that.

Interesting.

“What would you do?” He asks, the two of you having forgone all formalities. His cheek rests in his palm, his other brought up to sit on the table, fingers tapping against the cool metal. You’d originally pegged it to be a nervous tick, but perhaps it is simply a habit.

“What would I do if…?” You ask, tone slightly teasing as you are unsure of what he’s getting at.

“If it weren’t for all of this,” he says, lifting his hand from the counter to motion around him. “If it weren’t for Duke’s, for SMY and KQ, what would you do?”

You don’t even consider the question before answering. “I don’t see much of a point in imagining that. There is no life without them, we’re too wrapped up.”

Yeosang sighs, narrowing his eyes. “Come on,” he says gently, the corner of his lips tilting up into a soft smile. “There must be something.”

He leans in a little closer, and for the first time you feel nervous. Not from the close proximity, but from the question itself.

What would you do if it weren’t for all this?

A simple question, but so much more complicated than he may even realize. It’s a question you’ve never let yourself dwell on, never given much thought other than the late nights spent tossing and turning under your sheets. Where Hongjoong would be off at a late night meeting - or far more likely, with some other girl uptown - unavailable for your occasional inappropriate blur of the lines between colleague and something more… intimate.

Those nights, the one where your studio apartment in KQ’s district feels a bit more like a prison cell than a home, those are the one’s that question enters your mind.

Where would you be, if not here? Who would you be upset over, if not him? What would you do with your life, if not this?

You’ve never come up with an answer, always veering your brain in a different direction when your conscience comes too close. But as the blonde watches you intently, awaiting your answer, you feel the strange urge to muster one.

And yet, you can’t. Not just yet, anyway. The vulnerability of it all is too much for you to offer up first. Better to make it like a business transaction, something you’re more familiar with. I will only offer something to you if you grant it to me prior.

“What would you do?” You ask him, voice barely above a whisper. You almost expect him to deflect the question, to say that he asked you first, and thus should receive an answer before he gives his own..

Instead, he sighs. Eyes drifting upwards, and focusing on the dim hanging lantern above you, he seems to consider it for a moment. “I would go to the mountains,” he says finally, and you can’t help the surprised laugh you let out.

“The mountains?” You ask, and his gaze falls back down to yours, eyes wide with surprise at your laughter.

“Yes?” He says, and when you continue to laugh he smiles, tone a tad affronted. “Why is that so funny?”

“I’m sorry,” you say genuinely, feeling a little bad due to the affronted look on his face. Motioning outwards with your hand, you gesture up and down, in reference to his head to toe appearance. His designer loafers, pristine white button up. Custom-tailor fitted pants and bleached blonde hair that you're certain he gets done at least every few weeks to remain so  flawless. “I just never would have guessed.”

He sighs at this, rolling his eyes, albeit playfully. The smile remains on his lips as he speaks, but you can’t help but notice his drop in tone, words holding a tad more somber of an edge than previously.

“I know it’s a bit strange,” he says, voice lowered as he leans in a little closer. Maybe he just doesn’t want anyone else to hear, but the proximity undeniably makes the moment feel more intimate. “But I just think it’s the exact opposite of this city.”

“Is that what you would want?” You ask, curious. “The exact opposite?”

Yeosang pauses a moment before answering. “I would want somewhere quiet. With no violence or underground politics. Where I can walk wherever I want at night without the risk of getting mugged or kidnapped for ransome or murdered. Where I could have someone over to my place without it being seen as taboo, but also secluded enough to not have everyone involved in my business.”

“And the air doesn’t smell like shit,” you add, and he chuckles.

“That too,” he says. As the laughter between the two of you dies out, he speaks again. “So yeah, the exact opposite.”

“Still, I think you could find somewhere better than the mountains,” you add, doing your best to keep the lightness to the conversation alive, not wanting to know where it might go if you let the heaviness dwell too long.

“Oh, really?” He laughs, taking the bait with ease. Perhaps heaviness isn’t something he desires either. “And where would you go?”

You know it’s another attempt at breaking down the wall you’ve put up, another shot at hearing your answer.

However, he gave his own, and perhaps you owe him that much.

“A beach,” you say softly, and the answer comes as a surprise even to yourself. You’ve never dreamed of a beach, even within the brief fantasies you’ve never permitted yourself to have. But as you say the words, they feel right.

“A beach?” He says, eyebrows raising his surprise, as well as delight. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” you rush out quickly, feeling flustered all of a sudden, embarrassed. “Sand, warm weather, ocean breeze. It might be nice.”

You feel stupid for admitting it, telling this man who’s practically a stranger - or better, an enemy - an unspoken weakness. After all, it’s a vulnerable piece of information that a higher up within one of the major gang’s within the city dreams of being someplace else.

But Yeosang doesn’t seem to treat it as such. Instead, he smiles.

“It does sound nice,” he offers gently, and his hand falls onto yours on the table. Maybe it’s the alcohol buzzing around your system, but the action sends an unexpected jolt through you, a rush of warmth to your cheeks. He laughs quietly. “Better than the mountains, anyway.”

You chuckle, agreeing with the sentiment, although you can’t help the strange feeling that passes through you, almost like a tingle beneath your skin. An itch of sorts, one that tells you that this is wrong. You shouldn’t be discussing these sorts of things with him, it’s too dangerous. Not only that, but too vulnerable.

You should change the subject.

Fortunately, this comes almost naturally, as a loud clunking noise echoes from the other side of the bar. Craning your neck around, you watch as a burly man - one from a lesser gang you assume, based on how you don’t recognize him in the slightest - stands up from his chair. A puddle of beer coats the table in front of him, dripping down the rim of his glass, and you assume the noise had been him smashing it down on the table top.

While you don’t know why he’s angry, you can at least tell who his outburst is being directed at. A short stout man, with ginger hair and a scar that runs along his eyes sits in the chair before him. If he feels any sense of fear or intimidation he doesn’t show it, leaning back into his chair with his arms crossed and a bored expression across his face.

The lackadaisical attitude only seems to agitate the burly man further, and as he begins to shout something about a bet and how the man owes him his due, you know that Dukes’ weekly brawl is most likely about to commence.

Yeosang appears to recognize this as well, as he rolls his eyes. Letting out a deep sigh, his hand finally drifts away from your own, and the absence of it feels cool over your knuckles.

He most likely thinks that the night is over, neither of you are the type to participate in needless and mindless violence, at least not on the brawn side of things.

Besides, beyond Duke’s there’s really nowhere for the two of you to go. At least nowhere safe, where the ground remains neutral. For the night to go any further, one of you would have to take a rather significant risk, walking onto enemy turf with no defence nor back-up waiting for you.

Which is perhaps why Yeosang is so surprised by what you say next.

“So,” you start, eyes wandering from the escalating situation, over to meet his own. Your hand drifts to rest on top of his knuckles, mirroring his own boldness earlier. A small grin laces your lips as you manage to catch how his eyes widen slightly with surprise, although he does well to hide it.

“Your place?” You ask, and this time he doesn’t do well to hide it at all.

Mouth parting open slightly, his gaze darts from your face to the door, eyebrows furrowing. “Are you…okay with that?” He settles on finally, tone laced with genuine concern. By the sounds of it, it’s a risk he wouldn’t take himself if the offer had been reversed.

But you’ve always been a little more daring in your plans. Willing to play a tad more dirty, with a level of risk that some would cower at.

Now is no different.

“Of course,” you reply with a level of nonchalance, slipping off your chair and pulling your purse back up and over your shoulder. Heels clicking beneath you as you make a few steps towards the door, you glance over your shoulder to find he’s already watching you intently.

You nod towards the jacket covering the back of his chair. “Grab your coat,” you say. With a grin, he follows.

~~~~

The walk to Yeosang’s apartment didn’t feel near as dangerous as it may have been in reality. Wearing a simple black mask in order to cover your face and preserve your identity, it almost didn’t feel needed, the two of you only passing by a fellow or two along the way. Making quiet conversation the entire length of the walk, the journey was practically over before you’d even processed that it had started.

Now you are in his apartment. His home.

He lives here, and you aren’t quite sure why, but the thought jares you.

“Feel free to make yourself comfortable” Yeosang says, neatly hanging up his jacket on the coat rack by the door before taking yours in turn.

The first thing you notice about his apartment is that it’s much cleaner than your own. With a minimalistic style, the counters and tables seem almost barren. Everything a classic black and white hugh, it casts a refined atmosphere over the entire apartment, classy. The only real decorations being a few dark paintings that hang on the walls - an abstract sort of style so that you can’t pick out what exactly they are - and an empty vase sitting on the coffee table in his living room.

Feeling a little shy all of a sudden, you take a slow walk around to simply observe. It feels weird to see his place, all of his belongings. Intimate almost, as it’s where he cooks and eats and watches tv, such mundane tasks you rarely imagine a person doing until you get to know them better.

“Can I get you something to drink? Or eat, if you’re hungry?” He asks, moving past you in order to open the fridge.

Taking a seat at his kitchen island, you lay your hands atop the marble counter, not quite sure of what to do with yourself. “A drink will be fine.”

“What would you like?” He asks, closing the refrigerator and moving towards a cupboard, where you assume he keeps his alcohol. “Someone recently gifted me a bottle of bourbon. It’s a bit of a fancy one, if that’s up your alley.”

You wonder if it’s a gift from someone in SMY, perhaps for the success of the heist he planned.

“Bourbon is good with me.”

After pouring two glasses, he slides one across the counter and over to you. Raising it to your lips and taking a sip, he does the same.

It’s so… quiet. The bustle of Duke’s no longer there to provide an ambiance of busy background noise, the entire atmosphere has changed. When you place your glass back down at the counter, it practically rings throughout the entire apartment. Like a drop rippling through still water, it breaks the silence.

You’re far more nervous than you expected yourself to be, and you have yet to decide whether or not that’s a good thing.

“So,” you start after swallowing, taking another moment to glance around. “You live here.”

He chuckles. “I do,” he offers, a small smile painting his lips. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet, and you wonder if he feels the shift in mood as well. “Do you like it?”

“It’s very clean,” you offer, and after realizing that might come off a bit backhanded, you amend: “Classy. Much nicer than my place.”

“I think it’s boring,” he says, walking over from his place across the counter, and sitting at the stool right beside your own. It’s practically the exact same position the two of you had shared at Duke’s, but as he sits down, it feels so utterly different. So much closer, and when his hand falls on top of yours just as it had before, you feel your breath catch in your throat.

He doesn’t seem to notice, but you certainly do. Why are you so nervous? You’ve been at death's door multiple times, had meetings with men who would have you killed in an instant if they had the chance, lied to an entire breakroom of criminals without breaking a sweat.

And yet this - no, he - is the thing that seema to have you losing your cool? Under different circumstances, you’d laugh at the irony.

But for now you just look upwards, gently meeting his dark eyes. “Why not change it then?”

He sighs. “I don’t know,” he starts, but the way his voice trails tells you that he does. “Maybe it’s just that if I really put my heart into the place, it’ll start feeling like a home.”

It’s a strange answer, and the look on your face must make that apparent, as he elaborates.

“If this place starts feeling like a home, I’ll feel even more trapped here than I already do,” he murmurs. His gaze falls, and the mindless tapping of his fingers fills the silence of the apartment, as you struggle to think of what to say in return.

It’s one of the many times tonight that Yeosang has mentioned his discontent. Having stated that you weren’t the only one craving rebellion as well as having it planned where he might be if it weren’t for SMY, it’s interesting. As well as serious.

You also have had your struggles with KQ. With Hongjoong. With this life and routine and the way it all weighs down on your shoulders.

Yet, you have never discussed such things, and you aren’t sure if that’s because you don’t believe them as strongly as Yeosang seems to, or if you are simply too terrified to try. Perhaps a fair mixture of both.

“You’re awfully quiet all of a sudden,” he whispers, breaking you from your thoughts. Running his fingers along your knuckles, they just barely graze your skin. His tone is gentle, but also a tad playful. “Too heavy?”

“No,” you say, extending a hand forward to smooth out the fabric on the shoulder of his button up. You wonder if the light touch affects him the same way it has you. “I’m used to it. But I also wouldn’t mind something a little lighter.”

“Hm,” he hums, the corner of his lip curving upwards. “Have something in mind?”

Gaze drifting across the room, you notice a set of curtains at the end of the living room. Long and draping, as well as covering most of the wall, it’s an odd placement. “Do you have a balcony?”

“I do,” he replies, that little curve to his lips growing far wider. “I also have some Cuban’s, if you’re interested?”

“Speaking my language, I see” you say, leaving your purse on the counter as you make a move to get up. Yeosang follows suit, although instead of following you into the living room, he opens one of the drawers within the kitchen. After sifting through some papers, from beneath them he pulls out a box - more precisely a humidor - setting it down on the counter as he pulls out two cigars.

Pulling back the curtain, followed by the sliding door, the night air feels cool against your skin. The breeze that blows by is especially strong due to your sheer height above the ground, Yeosang’s apartment located near the top floor of one of the tallest sky-scrapers in the city.

Stepping out to place your hands on the metal railing in front of you, you grip it tightly as you lean forward in order to get a better look at the city below. The few people out and about at this hour are like little ants making their way through tunnels rather than street’s, the once towering lamp posts now reduced to mini beads of light, equal distance apart as if strung about on a wire.

You hear the door slide closed behind you, Yeosang following suit by your side. Handing one of the cigars over to you, you slip it between his lips, and he does the service of lighting it.

The smoke is almost dizzying, the pleasant aroma of the Cuban’s hanging potent in the air even with the blowing wind. The rich scent of spices and leather fill your nose, a brilliant concoction of tobacco and plenty else, somehow smelling purely of the earth and the city all at once.

Both of you twisting to face outwards to view the city rather than each other, you blow another puff of smoke into the air before speaking once more. “I’ve never seen the city like this before.”

“Don’t live in the sky?” He asks, and you shake your head, lip curling upwards.

“I don’t, but that’s not what I meant,” you say, gaze fluttering across the quiet streets. The different shops you can just barely make out down below, the other towering apartment buildings with only a few windows still glowing, letting you know you aren’t the only other people with waking lives. “I’ve never been to this side of town. Maybe for a couple meetings, but I’ve never really looked at it, you know?”

Yeosang considers this for a moment. “And how does it compare?”

“It’s…” you start, mulling over the question. In the end, only one answer comes to mind. The truth. “It’s exactly the same.”

He pulls the cigar from his lips before raising an eyebrow, beckoning you to elaborate.

“Same tall skyscrapers with little to differentiate them. Same narrow streets and accompanying lamp posts. Same taxis, same dingy corner stores, same cool wind and foul smell in the air. It’s just all the same,” you say, eyebrows furrowed as you try to wrap your mind around it.

You sigh, and while you know you shouldn’t say the next few words, they tumble from your lips all the same. “Makes you wonder why we all fight so hard for more of it, when it’s all the same shit anyway.”

Yeosang doesn’t say anything to this, but you can hear as his head turns away from the city skyline in order to face you. And yet, you hold yourself back from doing the same, and you aren’t quite sure why. Scared to see his expression, perhaps. What might his eyes say to the briefest vulnerability you’ve granted him? Will they gleam with more than you’re willing to grant?

His free hand drifts to rest on top of yours along the barrier of the balcony, and beckons for you to look at him. With a steadying breath, you do, and he smiles. The look in his eyes is warm - genuine - and you try to match it, although your chest feels tight.

You might be taking this too far, you shouldn’t be talking about this with him. Let him display his own weak discontent, sure, but your own cracks are something you should never let shine through. Not to him, not to Hongjoong, not to any of these men who are far more dangerous than they often appear to be.

Because Yeosang does not appear to be dangerous, especially now, with his expression so soft. Eyes tender and thumb dragging back and forth over your knuckles.

“I think we fight because that’s what we’ve always done,” Yeosang says, tone somber as a quiet sadness creeps its way across his face, settling into a sad sort of smile. “Maybe years ago there was a reason, but now it’s just what we do. Hatred bred and born rather than earned.”

He’s right, and you wonder what Hongjoong might think if you told him that. If you told him your rivalry is pointless, that everything you all do is unjustified. Who cares about power, about warehouses and blood-feuds and meth-labs when it’s a never-ending game? KQ will never win, just as SMY never will. Like a hamster-wheel constantly turning, you chase after a dream that’s impossible to reach. A journey with no end.

It’s a depressing thought, as well as one that surprises you. It’s not the first time such syncism has touched your conscience, but it’s certainly the first time you haven’t brushed it away. Haven’t shoved it down, put a cork in it and bottled it away.

It scares you.

Taking one last drag of your cigar, you let the smoke hang in the back of your throat for a moment, before stubbing it out on the ashtray embedded in the wall next to you.

“Had enough?” Yeosang asks, and you shake your head, blowing out the smoke.

“Not quite,” you reply, trying to bring some lightness back into the conversation, although the weight doesn’t lift completely from your shoulders. “I just can’t finish a full one. I’ll share yours.”

Granting a nod in response, he takes a drag himself before handing it over to you in turn. It’s not as quiet as it was back within his apartment, the background noise of the city far more similar to how it had been in Duke’s. The horns of taxis still blaring even within the quiet of the night, traffic never fully stopping, the city never truly asleep. The wind whistles throughout the tall buildings, and within the distance you can hear laughter of a drunk and wild sort, from a girl you're certain is having more fun than the rest of the town combined.

When was the last time you laughed like that? You aren’t certain you ever have.

Yet, you can’t deny it grants you a bit of comfort. To be accompanied by not only Yeosang, but the city itself. Something unfamiliar, settled by another in which you’re entirely comfortable. A perfect balance.

The smoke in the air is slowly becoming dizzying, the scent incredibly potent, and as he blows out another puff you take in a deep breath. The two of you are close, perhaps even more so now than before as you pass the cigar between you.

“Have you ever thought about this?” He asks suddenly, reaching past you to place the bud of the cigar down on the ashtray.

“Me and you?” You ask, the corner of your lip curved upwards. “No.”

He chuckles at the bluntness of your words, teeth now visible as his grin widens. “Me neither,” he replies, tone drifting towards soft. “Strange, isn’t it?”

“Which part?”

“How neither of us ever even considered it a possibility,” he begins, eyes flickering away from yours and back towards the skyline, almost shy. “We’ve seen each other at meetings countless times, and plotted against one another twice as many.”

He taps his fingers along the railing.

“And yet, now you’re here on my balcony, sharing a drink and a cigar, and it’s like it doesn’t matter. I don’t hate you, not how SMY wants me to. Not the way I pretend to, as if it’s just a part of the job description.”

The statement sends a jolt of surprise that rattles through you, causing you to still.

You don’t hate him, and frankly, you’ve never hated him. But it’s not this fact that surprises you, but rather in trying to recall anyone in SMY that you despise, you seem to draw a blank.

You plot against them not because of passion, but because it’s your role. You hijack their transport routes and send scouts towards their warehouses not because you want nothing more than to see SMY burn, but because it’s just that: your job.

Hongjoong hates SMY. He spends nights laying awake dreaming of his next move. Harbouring resentment over people lost, over past failures and battles. It’s war for him, nestled deep within his soul.

What’s animosity for Hongjoong is mere duty for you, and it’s not until Yeosang points this out that you realize how divisive that is.

What you’re doing right now, a casual drink with a sworn enemy that doesn’t feel like so, Hongjoong could never. Does that make you worse than him? Better? Does it matter at all? Or is it just part of the never-ending cycle, the hamster wheel turning and turning with no end. Wherever your motives fall, you run it all the same, just as you all die equals.

Yeosang doesn’t seem to notice the weight his words have on you. Or if he does, he refrains from acknowledging it. Instead he continues to move his thumb back and forth, palm of his hand moving upwards to more fully rest atop your own.

“But I’ve enjoyed our little insurgence,” he says, giving your hand a soft squeeze. “Haven’t you?”

“More than I could have ever expected to,” is the first thing that comes to mind, but it feels a little too much, so instead you simply say: “I have.”

Eyes igniting with what appears to be confidence, he moves in a little closer, faces still remaining a few inches apart, although the new proximity is daunting. His breath blows against your face, the scent a mixture between the leather and tobacco of the cigars and the bourbon from earlier. It’s a rich combination, warm against your skin in contrast to the cool night air.

His eyes flicker down to your lips, gaze lingering there in a way you know he doesn’t wish to go unseen. He seeks permission, a sign of acceptance before going any further.

As you lean in, it’s slow. His breath grows warmer, and your heart beats within your chest a little faster. His sunken eyes fall shut, and it’s only once your lips connect with his own that you let your own follow suit.

The kiss is melancholic, lazy. Lips dragging slowly against his own, there is no rush as your hand drifts to rest upon his shoulder. His own hand - the one that is not placed against your own on the balcony railing - settles onto your waist. Grip gentle, he pulls you in a little tighter, closing the remaining space between the two of you.

For the first time, it crosses your mind that someone may see you. There are building’s equally as high, the two of you not out of sight from plenty surrounding apartments. You’re in SMY territory, scouts surely something they have strone about the streets, just as you have set up for KQ.

What might SMY’s leader think, if he were to see the two of you now? And why does that prospect excite you more than it scares you?

Other hand finally drifting away from Yeosang’s own, it settles along his jawline, cupping his face as you pull him further into you. He lets you, hand sliding back along the railing as he is pulled closer.

He lets out a groan as your teeth nip at his lower lip, hand gripping your waist a little tighter. The smell of cigar smoke fading as the wind continues to blow it away, the bourbon becomes even more pronounced on his tongue. Flooding your senses, it’s sickeningly sweet, like vanilla and caramel.

Mouth pulling away for a moment, his gaze darts from your own to the skyline, then to the door. “Should we take this inside?” He asks, and you almost want to say no.

“Let them see,” your mind whispers. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Perhaps Yeosang’s own cynicism really is rubbing off on you.

Instead, you nod. “Yes,” you murmur, accompanied by a smile that matches his own as his grip remains on your waist, pulling you beside him as you head over towards the door.

Sliding it backwards, it’s only a moment after you hear it click shut behind you that you feel him spin you around towards him, lips crashing back into your own.

What was once lazy becomes messy, as the two of you tumble your way through the narrow hallway. Not bothering to break apart, the two of you become one shared force, a tangled mess of ragged breath and loose limbs that makes its way to what you assume to be his bedroom. It's fortunate now that Yeosang’s apartment is lacking in decorations, as you’d surely be breaking a few of them.

However, despite the lack of decoration, upon entering his bedroom you still manage to crash into something. Knee striking into an object next to the door, it falls heavily as it tumbles to the ground with a loud bang.

Pulling away from him briefly, your gaze scans the floor to see what may have fallen. His grip on your waist remains tight, as he attempts to lean in and kiss you once more, but you don’t let him. When you see what lays on the floor, you pull away entirely.

A suitcase.

But not just the one suitcase that has burst open onto the floor, packed almost entirely full with a mountain of clothes that have begun to spill out upon the hardwood. But rather four suitcases, the other three sitting next to the doorframe, all equally as large. Stuffed to the brim, the zippers appear almost ready to burst.

“Yeosang…” You trail off, gaze narrowing as you stare at the surplus of luggage. You’re certain that those four bags contain more supplies and accessories than his entire apartment. “Are you going somewhere?”

When the only answer you’re met with is his silence, you twist your neck around to face him. You can’t make out his expression, as the room is far too dark and the only light source remains down the hallway, the hanging lamp from within the kitchen. However, you can tell that he’s moved backwards, now a solid few feet away from you, face downcast as his own gaze remains fixated on the floor. He says nothing.

But the silence is more of an answer than any words.

“Are you…” You begin, tone remaining accusatory, even if you try your hardest to keep it soft. “Are you running away?”

Over the course of the night, you have taken Yeosang for many things: A good man discontent with the hand he’s been dealt, someone in need of a change of pace, as well as a new outlook.

But even as all those things, you never took him to be a deserter.

Few who are a part of this life are in love with it. It’s difficult, messy. Full of greed, hurt, and so, so much worse.

But you never, ever leave. It’s not an option, and only a fool would consider it to be.

You never considered Yeosang to be a fool, either.

Once again, you are greeted with silence. Yeosang takes another step back, and as his head shifts upwards, you can tell his gaze has shifted to the suitcases, both hands coming up to run through his long hair. He seems stressed, nervous. Panicked and afraid.

And yet, amongst all that fear, he also seems tired. Defeated, as he lets out a long sigh.

Then he finally speaks.

It’s nothing more than a mumble, and you take a step closer. “What?” You ask, and he finally turns to face you, eyes meeting yours even within the bedroom’s darkness.

“Come with me,” he states, and you choke on nothing but the air in your throat.

“What?” You ask, this time with far more incredulity in your tone, not even attempting to mask the utter shock at the suggestion, or better, plea.

“We’ll go to the mountains,” he says, moving closer to you, and this time it is you who takes a step back. He doesn’t seem to notice, as he instead begins to ramble. “Or the beach. Hell, I’m sure there’s a place with both. We’ll find it, and we’ll go there.”

There’s a desperation to his voice, one that you do not recognize. Never before seen in previous meetings, nor throughout the night, it’s as if you managed to flip some sort of switch. Like a dam breaking, the walls he put up have suddenly come crashing down, and now the flood has come rushing through. All the harboured discontent you’ve noticed far deeper than you ever could have realized.

“Are you crazy?” You ask, and if he takes any offence to the statement, he doesn’t show it. Instead he groans in frustration, turning away from you and walking further into the room. Once again raising his hands to his head, this time he pulls at his hair instead of running them through it.

“No,” he whispers as you move over to his nightstand, switching on the lamp in order to cast even the slightest hint of light into the room. However, now that you’re able to see his expression, you almost wish you hadn’t switched on the light at all, as he just appears so… broken.

Eyes dull, he simply stares at you, shaking his head. “No, I’m not crazy,” he whispers, and although it’s in response to your question, it seems to be more of a reassurance to himself. “I’m not crazy for wanting out, and I’m tired of people acting like I am.”

“Yeosang-” You start, wanting to stop this before it even truly begins, but he interrupts you before you get the chance. His hands loosen their grip on his scalp, and with one of his hands he reaches out, pointing towards you. When he speaks his voice is surprisingly firm.

“You feel the same way I do, don’t lie,” he says, accusatory. “The shit about the city all being the same, fighting being pointless, wanting a bit of insurgence? The beach?”

You shake your head, denying the statement, but he presses further. “That was all you, not me.”

You open your mouth to say something, but no words come out. Not because you are interrupted, but simply because you don’t know what to say.

Because really, he’s right.

Caught up in the moment, his own vigilance and outspoken behaviour seemed to rub off on your own conscience, because those were your ideas. And as much as you want to, you can’t blame them fully on him.

And yet, it doesn’t matter. You will never desert. This is your life, even if there’s a little part of you that wishes it wasn’t. It’s like you told him from the very beginning, there is no point in imagining a life without this - without Duke’s, KQ or SMY - you are simply too wrapped up. He is also too wrapped up, even he’s pretending that he isn’t.

“They’ll find you Yeosang,” you say quietly, shaking your head. “You know that.”

“And so what if they do?” He says, although the anger is slowly dissipating from his voice, as if he’s remembering it’s not you he’s upset with. “At least then I’ll die knowing that I tried.”

A moment of silence passes, and he let’s out a sigh. Shoulder’s sagging slightly, it’s as if you can see the defeat in his posture. His mouth drawn into a thin line, he takes a few steps towards you, hesitant. This time, when he reaches out for your hand, you don’t pull away.

“Come with me,” he asks again, although this time it is not as desperate, as he already knows the answer. “We’re smart, we could make it.”

But you both know that you couldn’t.

Maybe that is why his packed bags have been sitting by his bedroom door for what you imagine have been weeks, the dust collecting beneath them now visible in the lamp-light.

Maybe that is why he let you approach him at Duke’s, brought you here tonight. Knowing he couldn’t stew in this alone, hoping to find someone who shared in his own struggles. Desperate to not be lonesome in this feeling any longer.

But the woman he searches for is not you. He is willing to abandon it all, a brave enough coward. You are neither of those things.

“No,” you say softly, giving his hand a soft squeeze. His lips purse together, clearly disappointed, but he nods in acceptance all the same.

“I’m not the person you want me to be,” you say, looking up to meet his eyes. “I’m not your ideal woman who’s going to come save you from all your discontent. That’s just not me.”

He swallows at this, beginning to pull his hand away, when you stop him. “But,” you begin, your free hand reaching up from your side and settling on the collar of his shirt, fingers resting upon the first button. He stiffens at this. “If you’re looking to lose yourself in something…”

You pull the button through it’s loop, allowing the shirt to fall open slightly, so that the bare of his chest is visible. “Even if only for one night,” you continue, leaning in closer so that you’re only a few inches apart now. His gaze falls down to your lips, and even though he doesn’t move closer, his own fall open in turn.

You let your hand trail down to the next button. You can feel his breath on your face, and it still smells of the cigar smoke. Of the bourbon, of the whisky from back at Duke’s, of the series of poor decisions that brought the two of you to where you are now.

“I can do that for you,” you murmur, voice just barely audible.

Instead of speaking, he leans forward, connecting his lips with your own. And that is answer enough.

It is not slow this time, nor is it not lazy. It’s passionate, furious. He lips seeking yours with a sense of vengeance, a desire to forget himself. Forget KQ and SMY, live a life where they don’t matter.

And for tonight, you can pretend the same.

Hand gripping around the small of your back, he pulls you with him as he makes his way backwards, towards the bed that lays behind him.

He moves to turn the two of you around, so that he can lay you down under him, but you don’t give him the chance. Instead, you take the opportunity to push him backwards, so that it is his own back that presses against the mattress.

Elbows still holding him upwards, his eyes widen in surprise, mouth parting open although no words come out. Seating yourself over top of him, you let you lips drift to his jawbone, sucking gently on the skin. Mouth slowly drifting closed, he let’s out a sharp inhale of air.

He swallows, hard.

You feel as his own hand drifts to slide up beneath your shirt, reaching backwards as to fiddle with the back of your bra strip.

It strikes you now just how wrong this is, how fundamentally taboo it is for you - a higher of KQ - to be fooling around with someone equally as important under SMY. It’s truly unheard of, mostly due to the fact nobody would ever dare to try it.

Yet, here you are, daring.

But right now, you don’t feel daring. You feel tired, frustrated, and desperate. Tired of having these thoughts plague your mind. Frustrated with yourself for letting Yeosang’s own discontent rouse the harboured resentment within you. Desperate to lose yourself in something.

For all of your talk of it being Yeosang who wishes to pretend that reality doesn’t exist for a moment, with the way you press yourself against him with such fervour, it may truly be you who desires to forget it all for one night.

A bit of insurgence.

Closing your eyes, desire burns hotly from within your core. Like smoke from a burning wildfire, it spreads quickly as a haze over your mind, and it’s exactly what you’ve wanted.

And for one night, the two of you pretend.

     ~~~~

When you wake up, it’s in darkness.

Sweat beeding against your forehead, you blink a few times, eyelids sticky as you attempt to remember where you are. Shifting upwards, you realize that an arm hangs over the back of your figure, fingertips brushing against your naked stomach.

Right.

Yeosang’s chest is pressed up against your back, breathing slow and melodic as he sleeps soundly. Lips brushing against you shoulder, the contact makes you still, as if the weight of what you’ve just done finally settles into reality.

You don’t regret it, the night truly being everything you needed, but an inkling of guilt creeps into your mind all the same. Chewing on the bottom of your lip, you slide one of your ankles out from beneath the sheets, and are immediately shocked by the coolness of the bedroom air.

Slipping it back under, you give yourself a moment to prepare. Yeosang is warm, the bed cozy, and you know you’d be far more comfortable letting yourself fall back into sleep.

But that was never the plan.

Gently pulling his hand from it’s place over your waist, you are careful not to rouse him awake as you slide out from beside him. Shivering slightly, you search around the room for your top, your eyes not having adjusted to the dim light.

You find it, along with your jeans, on Yeosang’s side of the bed. Slipping them on as quietly as possible, before tiptoeing your way out of the bedroom, you do not allow yourself a spare glance backwards.

Making your way down the hallway and into the kitchen, you make quick work as you immediately head towards the drawer where he’d kept his cigars. Or more specifically in your interest, was stuffed full of documents.

Sifting through them, your eyes scan over the headlines. There are orders describing the details of past and future shipments, profile’s for different SMY members, printed out emails that surely may hold a level of importance.

But they aren’t what you came here for tonight.

You find it near the very bottom, sliding it out from it’s place beneath the pile and holding it before you. The document reads: “Northern Warehouse: Floorplan and Security”.

Jackpot.

It’s what you need for retaliation. SMY took out one of your warehouses, so the only appropriate response would be to take down one of their own, specifically the one known to have the most prevalent meth lab inside, as well as most populated security.

Fight fire with fire, as Hongjoong had put it. If they bring you a battle, counter them with a war.

Taking the document, you fold it in half before reaching for your purse that still sits on the kitchen countertop, slipping it inside. Your phone screen is already alight from within the pocket you’d stuffed it in, buzzing only slightly since you’d left it on silent mode.

Pulling it out, you finally check the notifications you’d purposely ignored, and the screen is flooded with messages from Hongjoong.

Hongjoong (9:24pm): You at Duke’s yet?

Missed call from Hongjoong.

Hongjoong (9:48pm): Hello?

Hongjoong (10:10pm): Fine. Just let me know when you’re on your way to his place.

Hongjoong (12:13am): You on your way there?

Hongjoong (12:28am): Listen, I know you were iffy on this. Be mad at me, whatever. But don’t leave me in the dark.

You roll your eyes.

Hongjoong (12:56am): I’m assuming you found it?

Hongjoong (1:15am): Is he out?

At this your hand mindlessly drifts into your bag, settling on a small linear bottle hidden within one of the side-pockets. Pulling it out, you twist the bottle within your hand, the white powder within falling from side to side as you do so, like sand within an hour glass.

This had been the original plan for when you got to his place. Slip it in his drink, knock him out, find the papers and leave.

But you knew you were never going to do that from the minute you sat down next at him at Duke’s

Hongjoong (2:13am): You’re starting to worry me, this is seriously fucking petty.

Hongjoong (2:45am): You got an hour to text me back or I’m sending someone out there.

However, what starts as a worried concern quickly shifts, and you can’t help but snort.

Hongjoong (3:17am): You’re fucking him, aren’t you?

It’s almost humorous. He speaks with anger, as if you owe him any sort of loyalty. He slept with a waitress at Duke’s just last week, and a girl from your Southern District a month earlier. You don’t really remember the one before that, but you’re pretty sure she had a tattoo of a crane on the back of her shoulder, at least that’s what you saw when she was leaving his office.

The two of you aren’t together, so if he wants to be mad at you for fucking someone else, he needs to reflect on his own history first.

And maybe he is starting to, as he seems to think better of it.

Hongjoong (3:22am): Don’t answer that.

Missed Call from Hongjoong.

Hongjoong (3:26am): Please call me back. I just need to know you’re alive.

Letting out a sigh, you know you can’t keep him in radio silence any longer. You can tell that even with his jealousy, he’s genuinely worried, and if the roles were reversed you would want a response just the same.

You (3:36am): I got it. On my way back.

You’re about to leave, slipping your jacket on and heading towards the door, when something stops you. You sigh, knowing it’s stupid, but you find yourself lightly tredding back down the hallway, towards Yeosang’s bedroom.

Peaking inside, you hang in the doorframe for a moment. Feeling a ghost of the person you were just a few hours ago, you can’t bring yourself to leave, like an apparition tied to the room.

Despite yourself, his offers hangs within your mind.

“Come with me,” he asks again, although this time it is not as desperate, as he already knows the answer. “We’re smart, we could make it.”

It’s dumb, and you’re well aware of that, but you can’t help but imagine what might happen if you said yes. If you shook him awake right now, stuffed the items back into his suitcase and left everything behind.

Desert it all, escape the hamster wheel. No more immoral shit like this, no more planning the murder of the SMY members during operations, no more of this toxic endless cycle of an almost-relationship you’ve gotten yourself wrapped up in with your boss.

But even if you managed to leave it all, would it ever really leave you?

You’ve done too much to turn your back on this life now. You’re too tainted. This is your job. It’s what you’re good at, because really, it’s all you’ve ever done. Unlike Yeosang, you aren’t someone brave enough to dream of anything else, to chase after what may lay beyond the boundaries of this city.

You swallow deeply, trying to shake off both the pain and guilt that rests upon your shoulders. Smoothing out your jacket, you watch him for only a moment longer, how his arm drapes over the spot where your figure had just been. He smiles when he sleeps.

Turning around, you make your way back down the hallway and towards the door. Slipping on your heels, you don’t close the door completely when you leave, as not to wake him.

Making your way down the apartment complex hallway, you still smell of the cigar smoke. The bourbon and the whisky. Like sex and longing. Like regret.

You’re afraid a shower won’t be enough to wash that away.

Sending a quick text to Hongjoong, you ask him to send you a car, this area of the city still entirely foreign to you.

When you make it out of the apartment building, it has begun to snow. The first of the season. You pay no mind, you feel cold enough already. And even as you stare down the street, waiting for the car to pick you up to take you back to your real life, your mind does not leave Yeosang.

You blink, and your eyes water for the first time in as long as you can recall. Funny, you thought you were immune to the trials of the job at this point, your plots no longer containing the power to phase you. Apparently, there is a line to this however, and you have managed to cross it.

Eventually, the car comes, a long and jet-black vehicle with tinted windows. When you settle into the back seat, the driver immediately sets the car in motion. You stare out your own window, eyes drifting up towards the top of the building, knowing that in one of those rooms Yeosang sleeps. Unaware.

You sigh.

You can only hope SMY doesn’t kill him when they discover where KQ found the floorplan.

~~~~~

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