#maybe i just need some sle

[goodlucksnez]

long post feel free to ignore

This is going to come off as really egotistical or selfish or any other fancy definition of psychology term that you want to use but I'm not happy with the content that I'm making. It could be because I'm a perfectionist, it could be because I have crippling self-hatred and doubt, but I feel like I’m not “useful” to the community anymore

When I first started this, it was a very niche community. Many people had written fanfiction of their favorite characters, but not a lot of people had voiced them so I started voicing them. I gain traction and in time I got a Fanbase, which was great, but the whole reason I started my blog wasn’t to gain a Fanbase. It was to make content because there was not content of my favorite characters. In doing so I inspired others not to make blogs and PLEASE DO NOT take this the wrong way. I am absolutely thrilled that people have come out of their shells and started recording character wavs. Something that I might have inspired them to do or at least shown that it is possible I can never feel bad that I inspired that, but as the years go on the more I see other accounts are getting traction just like I had when I first started and I am staying where I am.

here is where I’ve been struggling with my mental health, am i egotisical for wanting that recognition or am I just a human who craves some recognition because I’m lonely and have no self-esteem? It’s a very fine line and it’s very hard to navigate this line. It’s like walking a tightrope and I feel like I’m constantly being thrown to either side and falling because of that I’m not in the right mindset to create the new content I want to. I want to do make things again, I did it in the first place because they were characters whom I love that have no content for 

I don’t do this for attention, but some small part of me, which is turning into unfortunately a large portion craves that attention and you can call me a selfish attention-seeking whore. I just want to explain what is going on in my mind.

[aza-writes]

Our Little Wolf and Little Star

Married Wolfstar x twin!daughters (Willow and Selene)

Requested: no

Summary: Wolfstar adopted two twin girls and raise them the best they can. 

Warnings: description of birth (barely), some cursing, kinda cringe, but it’s for the vibes. 

A/N: EVERYONE LIVES AU. Mary Kate and Ashely movie vibes. Also… listen to Little Star by Dion and the Bellmonts and Li’l Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharohs for ultimate vibes. 

3rd Person POV

October 31st, 1980

The wait in the hospital was complete agony. Remus sat in an uncomfortable hospital waiting room chair. The only position that feels remotely comfortable is resting my head on my hands. His mind races faster and faster, watching his husband, Sirius, pace back and forth in front of him. James sits silently in the chair to the right of Remus. He’s trying his best to calm the pair down, but his words fall on deaf ears in Sirius and Remus’s overanalyzing ones. 

“Mates, you both need to calm down. Everything will be just fine.” 

Sirius stops his pacing and stares at James, his eyes wide with lack of sleep. “Calm down? What if something goes wrong? Why is it taking so long in the first place? It’s cause I’m stubborn, so they’re being stubborn to punish me? Fuck, I knew we should’ve used Remus’s-” 

“Siri, stop talking.”  Remus’s voice and eyes were stern as he sat back in the chair to get a better look at Sirius. The topic of who was going to donate sperm has been a sensitive one from the moment a surrogate was mentioned. The risk of passing his lycanthropy onto their future children was enough for the werewolf to insist on using Sirius’s for the donor. 

All Sirius does is roll his eyes and plop on the seat on the other side of Remus, head falling on Remus’s shoulder out of exhaustion and instinct. Remus’s hand slides into Sirius’s, their fingers intertwining. 

“I mean it. Plus, our kids would have your hair and height. That’s a win in my book.” Sirius moves his eyes to look up at Remus, but his head stays stationary.

Remus brought their hands up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on the back of his husband’s. “It’s a little late for that now, innit?” 

The labor has been going on for 48 hours, but the couple’s anxieties have been going on since they found out the implantation was successful. It only intensified as the months went on, now at an all-time high. Both of them refusing to sleep in case the surrogate, Maud, started to push. They both wanted to be ready to run into the room and watch their daughters take their first breaths. 

As much as James tried to calm them down and convince them to sleep just for a bit, Remus and Sirius were too stubborn and sleep-deprived to listen. James even called Lily, hoping she would talk sense into them, but with her stuck at home with a one-month-old Harry, her over-the-phone and sleep-deprived threats were far less intimidating.

“Sirius, labor takes time. Lily was in labor for 12 hours. And you have twins, so of course, it’s going to take longer.” James’s voice was empathetic, but this sentence has been said three times already. Every comforting thing James could think of has been said, causing the words to lose meaning to Sirius. 

Although Remus was pretending to keep it together, he was a nervous wreck inside. He walked into the hospital as Remus Lupin: Wizard, Werewolf, Husband, but when he leaves, father will be added to that title. 

The muggle hospital seemed odd to the three wizards. It was much more controlled and secretive than anything in the wizarding world. The wing they were in was decorated with blue, pink, and yellow, with a quiet lullaby playing every so often, signifying a new baby had been born. Every lullaby that goes off that isn’t to celebrate baby Lupin allows jealousy and anxiety to grow more and more. 

“Sirius, Remus,” James takes a deep breath, “I know you don’t want to hear it, but maybe you should go home and get some sle-” 

“Sirius and Remus Lupin?” A nurse in pink scrubs walks into the waiting room. Her eyes scan and spot the two men rising from their chairs. She smiles at them and pulls her mask down. “Your surrogate is pushing; we’ll have you wait outside the room until she’s done. Come with me.” She turns around, and then men are quick to follow. 

James shouts a quick “Good luck!” but the fathers-to-be don’t even look back to respond. 

The two husbands wait outside the delivery suite, their hands intertwined. They waited less than ten minutes, their minds going a million kilometers a second, but none of those thoughts mattered when they heard a faint cry behind the door followed by a quiet lullaby version of “Happy Birthday” playing over the speakers. 

Remus’s eyes widen, the weight being lifted off his shoulders. Sirius’s smile widens immediately. It isn’t until they hear a second cry that the couple hug each other. Happy tears flow from Sirius’s eyes while he laughs out of relief. The soft lullaby plays again for the second baby girl, signaling everything is going well in the delivery room. 

A soft knock coming from inside the room interrupts their celebration. A nurse in pink scrubs walks into the hallway and smiles at the couple. “Would you like to come in and meet your daughters?” 

Sirius kisses Remus’s head as they enter the room. They’re given a bit of hand sanitizer before being given their little girls to hold. The two husbands thanked the surrogate a million times before being taken into a separate room to fill out paperwork as Maud recovered. 

The twins were no longer ideas and possibilities; they were real and in their arms. 

The two walk out into the waiting room with the babies swaddled in a soft pink blanket and pale yellow hats. Sirius’s tears started again when he saw the mass of people in the waiting room. It was no longer James, but everyone important in their lives was there to support the new parents. Lily was there with Harry, Regulus, Peter, Marlene and Dorcus, Mary, Alice, and Frank, who brought Neville. Even Andromeda showed up. 

“Everyone,” Remus’s voice was still a whisper, yet loud enough for the whole crowd to hear. “I am happy to present to you for the first time ever Willow Lily Lupin. Born at 7 lbs and 2 ounces. 1st born by 3 minutes.” He raises his elbow a bit, letting people get a better look at the sleeping baby in his arms. 

“And this is Selene Andromeda Lupin, who stands at 7 lbs and 5 ounces.” Sirius continues, smiling at the little bundle in his arms. His gaze couldn’t be broken even if he tried, and he didn’t want to. 

Regulus smiled softly before speaking up. “W and S, Wolf and Star, I’m assuming?” His eyes were locked on his big brother, someone he’d seen in this caring and protective role before, but this time it seemed out of love instead of fear. Regulus also wanted to start crying happy tears, but he refused to be in front of a large group. 

“I guess it is.” Sirius grinned and looked up at his brother before looking back down at the sleeping baby. “Hell, my Little Star.” 

“So Willow is Little Wolf then?” James ran the back of his finger over Willow’s cheek, replicating something he often does to Harry when he sleeps.

“I guess she is.” Remus's smile grows more if that is even possible. “Our little Wolf.” 

Sirius turns to his husband beaming. So much love and happiness filled his eyes. “Our girls.” 

Remus met Sirius’s gaze with the same love and tenderness. “Our girls.”

[lucaslovescats]

Pink heart, pink helmet - Demitra kalogeras x male!reader (fluff)

Tw: None!!!

Requested!! (Male reader teaches Demitra how to skate)

Authors note: I loved writing this so much!!! So sorry for the delay, life is hard

Word count: 750 (approx)

Demitra💖

What should I wear?

You

Wear something simple, like a shirt and some pants

Since you do need protection

Demitra 💖

I cant just wear yours?

You

Nah, doubt they fit

But we can buy you some next to the park

They sell them in all colors, definitely going to be some you like

Demitra💖

Even in pink?

You

Even in pink, baby

—

You open the store's door, signature squeal being heard as the glass door slides against the wood floor. You stepped aside, letting Demitra go in before going in yourself.

It's a small, comfortable store with the basics. Wax, guards, helmets... basically everything you need to start out, just insanely overpriced

Demitra walks towards the helmet section, immediately starting to look around through different options, picking a few up even but none really catch her eye.

"Do you think I should get this one?" She asks after a few minutes, showing a baby pink helmet with different kinds of pink stars.

"I think you should check out the guards first, get ten matching and all" you say after considering it for a while, knowing she probably wants her elbow and knee protectors to match her helmet. “Maybe I should” she says, smiling at you before walking with you towards the side of the store with protectors

—

On the way to the park, Demitra looked excited. Both of you engaged in some conversation talking about whatever came to your minds, but as you give her a simple explanation on the first step, she looks far too worried for such a simple thing, eyebrows furrowed and pout visible

The step was simple, just getting on the skateboard and then learning how to keep her balance for a few seconds

"Are you sure this is like, enough protection?" She ask, uncertain . You giggle a bit, think on how you watched people first get on the skateboard with nothing to protect them self in areas were the ground is hard to skate on. “Mitra, I’ve seen people start skating barefoot and shirtless on the streets next to the beach, you will be fine"

With that, she takes a little nod, bracing herself to get on, but not before she grabs your hard tight. Once on it, she looks a little dubious of raising her leg, even if you're right there, still holding tight “Promise me if I fall you will catch me" she says, head turning to face you. "Always" You reply, almost as if it's a fact. Which, at least to you, it was. She raises her leg for no longer than five seconds before quickly putting it down on the floor, and repeats this a few times before she starts moving the skateboard slightly.

She smiles at her progress, looking down slightly at you before immediately looking forward, like you taught her on the way here.

You look up at her, following at the same speed, smiling at her progress too. Maybe being a teacher wasn’t so bad after all, or atleast, being Demitras teacher wasn’t.

In the end, you spend hours in the park. She insists on you holding her hand for the first few minutes of trying something new and once she feels sure enough, she makes you trail slowly behind her everytime she moves, you hands out as if you were following a clumsy toddler learning how to walk, but it's the prettiest girl you've ever seen, who also happens to be your girlfriend, learning how to skate because she wants to do this with you.

You catch her every time she gets unsteady, sometimes even stopping her even though she wouldn’t fall, and everytime she would whispers a little “thanks” and kiss you wherever. On your hands, arms, shoulders, wherever of yours was closer to her head at the time. She only falls once, and that one time is on top of you. You're not hurt and neither is sle, but it does end up with both of you laughing on the floor for a lot longer than you should have, not being able to get up as each time would just be met with another wave of laughter from one of you.

All things considered, the first class went well.

[zxoaii]

Get to Know You

fem! reader x Hiromi Higuruma

Summary: After spending six months as a personal assistant to lawyer Higuruma, he finally decides to get to know you better.

SMUT

WC: 2.6k

Wattpad: _Bolter

[ Y/n ]

My fingers skim through the folders in the filing drawer. I wish he'd listen to me and implement some kind of system... Half the tabs are bent or the names are smudged and illegible.

Jesus this job tests my patience. Oh, wait. I squint to make out the smudged letters. I think this is the right file. Really how am I supposed to tell though?

My heels tap against the floor as I carry the file into Higuruma's office. "Thank you." He's a mess. Papers are strewn all over the room. He has two whiteboards crowding the office, both completely filled out, and papers pinned all over the walls.

Not to mention the hundreds of tapes in stacked boxes behind him. Recordings of his thoughts from past cases.

"Do you need something?"

"It's just... I'm sorry if this is out of line but your office is a mess." He looks around at all of his things. "I guess it is. When I'm in court on Thursday you can work on it."

My mouth drops open at his comment. "Well, I'm not the one who has a problem with it. Are you headed home?" His eyes fall back down to his paper. I swear for a moment they linger on my chest.

"I am." It's half past when I was off. The overtime isn't worth it, I stay because Higuruma is a good guy and deserves the help. Ignore his bipolar mood swings and you have a real decent man in there.

"Want to grab a drink?" He drops his pen and leans back in his chair. I thought for sure he'd be here for a few hours looking through that file. He barely glanced at it.

"A drink?"

He raises his brows at me, testing if I'm actually going to make him repeat himself. "I... Do you know a spot?"

"I was a law student, of course I know a spot." The chair creaks as he stands up from it. Higuruma shuffles things around his desk. Maybe that's his version of organizing his papers.

"You don't usually leave this early." I shouldn't overthink this. Going to get drinks isn't a big deal. "On time? Yeah, I'm taking a break. I need to think... I'm at a loss right now."

His usually neat hair is slightly disheveled from the day. I've noticed when he’s stressed he will run his fingers through his hair. Our sounds are the only ones left in the building except for the janitor.

It's so quiet I swear I can hear him sigh when I bend over to pick my bag up from under my desk. I'm not sure I've ever directly confronted my feelings for Higuruma.

He's a lawyer. A handsome and kind lawyer. What woman wouldn't develop a crush? Still, I doubt he has any room for that in his life. He's always the first in the office and the last to leave.

He lives and breathes for law.

I've been working for him for six months now. I know him from observation. We hardly ever have any kind of personal conversation. He has me go to his home alone to get things for him but I don't even know the first real thing about him.

If you wanted to know the passcode to his garage door I could tell you. I could tell you the way he likes his suits dry cleaned and the liquor he likes to have waiting in his kitchen after being in court.

Don't ask me about his favorite color though. Or the songs he likes. Or even the food he likes. I don't know him like that.

Is he curious about me like that?

We stand together in the middle of the elevator, waiting for the doors to close. Higuruma scrolls on his phone while he waits. "You did get me my pass for my prison visit tomorrow, right?"

"Of course I did. It's in my top drawer."

He nods then looks back down at his phone. My heart thumps in my chest as my mind spirals. It's just a casual thing... Really, look at him. I'm not sure Higuruma could love anything but his career.

I focus on the hum of the elevator as it makes its way down to the lobby. Our arms brush as he slides his phone into his pocket. "You aren't a law student, are you?"

He rolls his sleeves up to his forearms. "Uh... I'm- No, a law student? No, I'm a medical student." Higuruma extends his arm so I can exit first. "I see... That's fine, I was just going to bounce some ideas off of you." We wave goodbye to the security guard.

"You still can. I've learned since I started working for you ."

"Oh yeah?"

I look away to try and lessen the burning in my face. Why is he suddenly so unbearably... Sexy?

The street is busy with people. Chatter and laughter replace the quietness of the office. The city is so much more lively at night. "It's a little bit of a walk." Higuruma stops in front of the parking garage.

"That's ok. The weather is nice." I usually walk to work anyway. Plus I don't know if I could contain myself watching him drive. What's wrong with me?

"Alright." He holds an arm out for me to take. My hesitation earns a response from Higuruma, "There's a lot of people. You should stay close since it's getting darker." Really? Is he serious?

I take his arm, my fingers carefully gripping his bicep. He's muscular. More so than I had initially thought. Higuruma is talking about something. He'll expect a response. Why can't I focus? Oh my god, did someone drug me? Did I wake up lovesick today?

I start to notice the glances from people around us. That never happens when it's just me. I look up at Higuruma, maybe he suddenly grew another head.

He looks down at me, "Is something wrong?" No two heads. He's just that handsome. "Sorry, I just... I'm having trouble focusing."

"Me too."

Is he flirting with me? Higuruma moves on quickly from his comment, back to his ideas for his case. He shoots himself down every time. It seems like just saying it out loud helps him figure it out.

That must be why he loves his tape recorder so much.

Maybe I should try it sometime. It could help me study.

Before I know it I'm sitting down at the bar with Higuruma. People are doing karaoke across the room. They have darts and an unused pool table too.

"Hiromi! I haven't seen you in forever. Who's this pretty lady?" The bartender stops in front of us mid-pour. "This is my assistant, Y/n." His hand falls onto my back gently.

"Hello."

"Hello. We always speculated about the first woman Hiromi would bring to the bar. Figures it's his assistant." The comment goes over my head. Was it a joke or an insult?

The bartender moves to give the drink to someone further down the bar before making his way back to us. "Alright, I know what he wants. What can I get you, madam?" Is this one of his friends? Honestly, I assumed he didn't have any…

"What red wine do you have?"

"Just bring her the most expensive one you have." Higuruma doesn't let his friend answer. "Alright then."

.  .  .

My fingers trace the rim of my glass. Higuruma has been telling stories about his time as a law student. I've learned so much about him.

"I just never knew that you could do it like that so I got totally wasted. Blacked out. Oh god, it was the worst hangover of my life."

He looks up at me from his hunched position. "I like you, Y/n." I smile stupidly at his passing comment. "What?" His laugh is charming. "Nothing... I should head home now."

Higuruma jolts upright. "What? Why?" The crowd has grown denser around us. The bar is so loud now it feels like we're screaming at each other.

"Was it what I said?" His nail digs into the bar nervously. "No, it's just... Well I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea." I don't want to kiss you and you not kiss me back.

That's where I feel like going right now.

"Well- I... I-"

His teeth chew on his bottom lip while he thinks. A shuddered sigh passes my lips. I stand to leave. "Thank you for inviting me out. I had a lot of fun tonight. I'll go pay."

We stare at each other for a moment before I start to shoulder my way through the crowd. My underwear is hot with my arousal. I really underestimated how much-

"Do you want me?" The hot air in my ear scares me. If his voice wasn't so familiar I'd assume it was a creep. "If you don't we can be done with this... If you do let me have you for the night."

My eyes search the crowd around us. No one seems to notice or care. Higuruma's breath lingers on the side of my neck. I turn so he can read my lips.

"I want you."

He lets out a breathy sigh, his shoulders relax and I watch as his eyes trace the curve of my lips. "Follow me." He takes my wrist and pulls me through the crowd. We walk away from the door.

Higuruma reaches over the bar for something. The bartender sees and then looks away. We walk further into the building, into a dark hallway.

He grabbed a key. A key that he uses to unlock a door at the end of the hall. It opens to a medium-sized private karaoke room.

Higuruma tosses the key aside. The door shuts behind me when he presses me up against it. The lock clicks then his hand finds the small of my back.

I hungrily pull him in for a kiss. Our mouths clash together desperately. He deepens the kiss as soon as my mouth opens. His tongue works against mine while his hands undo the buttons on my shirt.

My thighs press together to create any friction. Higuruma pulls away for a short moment to breathe before kissing me again. With my shirt undone his hands cup the sides of my jaw.

He tastes like liquor and cigarettes. I can feel his erection against my stomach. Nothing could tear me out of this moment now.

I undo my pants, dropping them to my ankles. The kiss breaks again. This time so he can take in my almost naked body. He looks up at me through hooded eyes.

I wonder if he can see how aroused I am for him right now.

Higuruma starts undressing himself. He starts with his tie, then his shirt, then his belt. They all drop into a pile on the floor. His happy trail forces me to swallow the saliva filling my mouth.

I watch impatiently as he undoes his pants. I'm so acutely aware of every feeling in my body. The ache in my feet from my heels. The throb in my core begging for him. The rhythmic pounding of my heart in my chest. The butterflies circling in my stomach.

Then I'm aware of his hand on my hip. The feeling of the elastic trailing down one side, then the other. "Hiromi..." His name comes out as a desperate plead.

"Fuck, say it again for me love." He guides me around so my palms are pressed flat against the door. "Hiromi, please." I look over my shoulder to see him. His hardened cock stands flat against his stomach.

"Are you sure?" His fingers linger on the clasp of my bra. "Yes, yes, please just do it." My breath hitches as his tip brushes against my bare ass leaving precum behind.

I can hear people laughing and talking outside. What if someone hears us? We aren't far from his office what-

"Oh!" My hand grabs the door handle in a tight fist. Hiromi's length slowly slides into me. He nudges my legs further apart with his knee.

"Fuck you're soaked. You like me this much?" His laugh vibrates against my back as he leans in to kiss me. I bite back pained moans.

His girth hurts so fucking addictively. I shouldn't be so shameless like this. "Good girl, just... Give it a second." It's a beautiful agony waiting for my body to adjust to him.

The wait brings our anticipation to a new peak. We both moan as I finally give in to his size. Hiromi holds my hips steady as he starts rocking his hips back and forth.

My head falls between my shoulders. His rhythm gradually increases. I've never gotten this far in my mind with him. It's heavenly.

The pads of his fingers dig into my skin. Our skin claps together loud enough for only us to hear. His moans are overpowered by all the other noises though.

Not only is his pace swift, but each thrust is rough and deep. My hands press into the door to prevent my head from slamming into it. One of Hiromi's hands slides to my chest.

I moan as he roughly cups my breast. He pulls me back, meeting me somewhere in the middle. His chest is flush against my back. My fingertips just barely remain on the door.

"It was torture not knowing what you felt like for so long." He attacks my exposed neck as I lean my head back onto his shoulder. "People will see if you leave marks."

One of my hands reaches back to hold his head. "Your boss won't care." He pulls away before I can get my fingers in his hair. I return to my position against the door but Higuruma remains leaned over.

His gruff moans consume my mind completely. My legs tremble at all the stimulation. My orgasm rapidly builds up in my stomach. Instead of words, all that leaves my mouth are pathetic cries of pleasure.

Higuruma's cock against my G-spot and his moans in my ear drive me wild. My knees buckle under me, he catches me to hold me upright.

"I'm right there too, princess..." I grab the doorknob again for support. The inside of my thighs are slick with our arousal. "Hiromi-"

His hands grip my skin harshly. My forehead rests against the door as he finishes inside me. Hiromi's cock twitches as his grip loosens.

An unexpected whimper escapes as he pulls himself out of me. "I've made such a mess of you, pretty girl. I'm sorry." I turn to face him, using the door as support.

Some of his hair is plastered to his face with sweat. His cheeks are flushed and his stomach flexes with each heavy breath he takes.

"I didn't know... You could be like that." Hiromi pulls his underwear back up. He wears the same self-assured smile that I see when he knows he's got someone cornered in court.

It makes me want another round.

"I can show you a lot more than that but maybe we should do it somewhere else. Somewhere we can lay down so I can use my mouth for something other than arguing."

He picks up my bra off the ground for me. "If you want, I can go grab my car and pick you up here. We can shower at my place."

Hiromi places a playful wet kiss on my neck. "Well, I shouldn't decline my boss when he's treating me so well..."

Our eyes lock. "Good girl."

[halcyone-of-the-sea]

Hello, my love!

I, unfortunately, missed your requests being open (six pages of a thesis is kicking my ass right now) but when they’re open again, is there a chance you could write another Dad!Price fic?

Since the last one felt so personal to me, would it be possible to have Price helping his daughter through Uni stress? Maybe she asks him to help her on her thesis? Lord knows I could use some inspo/assistance on mine!

Of course, if this is too late then feel free to delete it! I just wanted to pop in and drop a request off before I either, A: forgot about it, or B: missed your requests being open the next time :(

Sending so much love and hugs <3

Late Night Cookies

PAIRING: John Price x Daughter!Reader

SYNOPSIS: Stressed and still awake, you go to grab food from the kitchen before you get right back into your work. Your father talks some sense into you over a nostalgic recipe.

WORDCOUNT: 1.5k

WARNINGS: Stress around school, grades, papers, etc. but 90% fluff and comfort

A/N: I'm so glad you sent something in, Love! So good to hear from you again!

*I do not give others permission to translate and/or re-publish my works on this or any other platform*

Your eyes were blurry and your hands were shaking, the table light shining too brightly in the stillness of your bedroom as a cold breeze wafts through the cracked window. 

The words swirled on your computer screen, sitting in front of you as your head slipped forward. Letters bleed into nonsense sentences that even a genius couldn’t make sense out of. There were weights on your fingers—keeping them stuck to the keys. 

“And, thus,” your garbled speech slips out, reading the line you’d just written; eyes squinting as your headache flares. “A-and…thus…” 

Shaking your head, you pull back and press your palms into your eyesockets, your spine flopping back with an audible crack as it straightens from hours of hunched torture. A groan slips out of your lips. 

“Shit,” you growl, sighing harshly. 

University, while necessary, was really your worst enemy right now—you’re constantly stressed and getting little sleep; when was the last time you’d eaten? Pages upon pages of typed research seer your eyes while closed. Only in this tight silence of your room were you able to hear the small sounds of the TV on in the house as it wafts in from under the line of your door. 

Your hands slip down your face as you stare blankly at your ceiling, eyes burning with fatigue. The muffled shouts from football games play in your ears. 

Humming, you push back from your desk and stand, stumbling for a second as your numb legs get prickles of electricity shooting through them. You needed food, water, even. Then you can get back into it. On the way out you snatch a blanket from the frame of your bed, wrapping it over your shoulders to preserve heat. 

Like a snail, you shuffle over the hardwood before finally pushing out into the hallway with only a small bump into the door frame. Hissing, the darkness of the house was good, and before long you’d grumbled past the large form laying on the living room couch in need of any form of sustenance. So brain-fried, you end up completely missing the small questioning ask of your name as Liverpool fights off another rival on-screen. Slashing colors dance across the darkness. 

The hand on your shoulder, though, you can’t miss.

“Sweetheart?” Your father’s voice brings you back from blankly nodding off into his chest as he turns you around. You jerk back with a rapid fluttering of your eyelashes. 

“Yeah?” Your voice slurs, croaky, and you rub again at your cheeks with the corner of your blanket. “What’s up?”

Blue eyes blink down at you in shock at your state, small noise made in the back of the large man’s throat. “Hell’s this, then? Thought you were sleeping already.”

“Sleeping?” The tone is incredulous, a bit of sanity leaking back into your speech. You look up into your dad’s face and his tight beard; his eyebrows are curled in. “I’m not even close to being done. I can’t sleep yet.” 

John blinks slowly, gaze darting from the sizable bags under your eyes to the redness of your sclera—the veins that reach for your irises like infectious fingers. His grip on you tightens. 

“When’s the last time you took a break, Love?” He asks slowly, taking you by the shoulders and bending down a little. He looks concerned. “It’s bloody dark out.”

You stare and huff a sheepish, tired, smile while your dad’s expression tightens with exasperation. He blinks in disbelief at your non-answer, answer. 

“Fuckin’ hell…c’mon, Sunshine, off to bed.” Your head is already shaking.

“I’m hungry.” John sighs, and the air ruffles your hair. But he relents and before you know it there’s a hand on the back of your shoulders corralling you into the kitchen. You lean heavily into your father’s side, and his fingers curl over your opposite arm. 

A soft kiss is pressed to your head. 

“How long have you been up, eh?” You yawn and lick your lips. Flinching when John flicks the kitchen light on. Burrowing down into your blanket, you seep in his heat like a greedy lizard. “Sweetheart?”

“Dunno,” you’re guided over to the island and plopped down into a chair. “I need to finish my work.” 

He chuckles and you slouch over to fold your arms, resting your chin on them. “Well, I suppose you plan on finishing it half-asleep?” 

John opens the fridge, looking over the small remnants of supper. He frowns and turns to look at you as your face lays sideways on your limbs. You blink slowly at him.

“...Maybe,” you grumble, face hot. 

Your father grunts and closes the fridge, turning back around and crossing his arms. 

“No more of this, eh?” He begins, glaring and infecting his words with that infectious authority. “After we get you fed, you’re off to bed. That’s that.” 

You’re about to protest before your dad interrupts with a stern growl of your name. You grit your teeth and shamefully dip your head. There’s a moment of silence where the outside sounds of wind and creaking can be heard—the entire world asleep beside the father and daughter in the dim kitchen.  

John tilts his head and softens his face; feet carrying him over. Stopping beside you, he places his hand on your scalp and pats you gently, rubbing his thumb into your hair. Lashes flutter, and your body sags into the counter even more. Your father kisses your head and whispers, “You need your sleep, Sweetheart. This’ll do you no good. Pace yourself, you’ll get it done—I promise, yeah?”

“How do you know?” Your voice mutters, hesitation finally showing itself. Eyes stare at the table, red and dry. 

Your father chuckles and you glance back. He’s smiling in his own way, wrinkles showing and eyes crinkling with amusement.

“You’ve gotten this far. My girl’s not one to give it up. And even if you do,” he stands and pats your shoulder before he heads to the pantry. Your expression leaks slight confusion as he opens the door. “We can figure it out together. It’s not the bloody end of the world. It’ll pass.” 

Your internal anxiety eases at your parent's reassurance, his casual surety more of a blanket than the one you already swaddle yourself with. The subtle anxious shaking of your fingers stills after a moment of cognition. Stuffing down another yawn, you feel a warmth burn in your heart at the words and you smile. 

“When did you get all wise?” You tease, seeing John take out various ingredients as you watch. He scoffs.

“The second I got the call I was needed in hospital and had a damn daughter.” You laugh. 

“Alright, then,” your sarcastic reply slips out, and John chuckles lowly. After a moment you can’t stop your curiosity, no matter how much your limbs stay heavy. “What are you doing?”

A large bowl had been placed on the counter with a dull thunk. Blue eyes darted at you before measuring cups were spawned next to the previous object. 

“What’s it look like, then?” John’s finger casually points to a recipe that had been set up on the wall, a thin and damaged piece of paper with chicken scratch; stains, and crumpled corners. You blink at it in recognition.

“...Cookies?”

“You want chips or cinnamon?” 

Watching with wide eyes, you clear your throat and utter, “Uh, c-chips, I guess?” John grunts and focuses with a calm face. The recipe had been a sort of inside joke between the two of you. 

When your dad was off on assignment for long periods, you’d always make him a batch when he was set to leave and when he came back—a kind of soothing gesture to ease the uncertainty. To let him know you’d be alright without him here. 

He made them for you when you were sick or feeling bad. You blink quickly to dispel the sudden wetness of your eyes. 

“You helping?” John asks, not turning to you, as he dumps flour into the bowl. “Won’t taste right if you don’t.” A cheeky tone hits your ears. 

Standing, you shuffle over and grab at the chocolate bag, digging inside and stealing a few before your dad can stop you. He gives you a fake glare, huffing under his breath before smirking to himself.

Your body leans into his side and you giggle as he rubs his beard into your head. 

—

Hours later, you rest limply against your dad’s shoulder on the living room couch, empty plate on the coffee table and the TV low. You breathe softly and get the sleep you both deserve and need—of course, the work would start back up tomorrow, but it always would. Having your dad in your corner was the thing to keep you upright; your rock. 

John looks down and watches you with a deep well of affection and ease. He kisses your head before his arms reach around you, lifting with no problem. 

He carries his little girl, because that was what you would always be, off to bed and tucks you in. Snapping off your desk lamp with a small sigh of contentment and a low hum.

TAGS:

@luuvbuzz, @emerald-valkyrie, @anna-banana27, @blueoorchid, @cryingnotcrying, @writeforfandoms, @homicidal-slvt, @jade-jax, @frazie99, @elmoees, @littlemisstrouble, @alpineswinter, @phoenixhalliwell, @idocarealot, @lavalleon, @facelessmemories, @h-leigh, @20forty9, @glitter-anon-asks, @emily-who-killed-a-man, @neelehksttr, @aeneanc, @escapefromrealitysm, @i-d-1-0-t, @pparcxysm, @hawkscanendme, @caramlizedtomatos, @konigsleftkidney, @sanfransolomitatm, @maelstrom007, @jemandderkeinenusernamenfindet, @pheobees, @glitterypirateduck, @uselsshuman, @fan-of-encouragement, @halfmoth-halfman, @ghostlythunderbird, @I-inkage, @pukbadger, @kopatych11, @0nceinabluem00n, @cocrorapop, @knightofsexyness, @abnormalgeil, @smallseastone, @jacegons, @330bpm-whiplash, @simon-rileys-housewife, @4-atsu, @tiredmetalenthusiast

[coffeeghoulie]

Mushy May Day 13: "Just Wanted To Hear Your Voice"

Timezones apart, Mountain and Aether share a late night/early morning phonecall.

Thank you very much to @forlorn-crows for putting Mushy May together, and to @ghuleh-recs for the divider. <3

(this could also be for the long distance extra prompt but i digress, enjoy the fic)

Aether wakes not to his work alarm, but to the drum fill in Respite, his phone buzzing on the nightstand. He shoots up, scrambling for it in a half awake haze. He fumbles to accept the call, pressing the phone to his ear.

"Mount?" He slurs, tongue not fully cooperating yet. His mind struggles with the timezone conversion, the rest of his pack, minus Sunny, halfway across the world. "'S gotta be late over there, what's goin' on?"

There's a deep sigh on the other end, made tinny through the speakers. "Hey, Aeth. There's no emergency. Sorry if I woke you."

"Don't apologize," Aether says, tension easing from his frame as he settles back in bed, phone pinned to his ear by his shoulder as he adjusts a blanket. He doesn't have to be to the infirmary until two hours from now. There's time. And if there wasn't, he'd find a way to make time. Anything for them. "I'm awake, sweet thing. How was the Ritual?"

Another sigh, edging on a groan. "Really fucking long. I don't even want to think about how many more of these we have left. I haven't had a chance to be outside for more than five minutes in a month, nova."

Aether hisses through his teeth in sympathy. He knows second hand what being cut off from one's element feels like, a phantom pain you can't quite shake. Quintessence is everywhere, so Aether's never experienced the loss of it himself.

It's easy for the rest of them to recharge; air a constant, water everywhere on Earth, fire easy to sate with heat. Dew's preferred method of recharging is near-boiling showers, taking advantage of hotels and venues and running their hot water bills sky high. It eases both his fire and what remains of his water.

Earth is a different story, especially when the pack is moving from city to city with barely room to breathe. It's always taken a toll on Mountain, but he takes it like a champ. Though Aether will always, always, always let him vent, knows how satisfying it is to let off steam.

"I'm sorry, Mount," he hums, clearing the sleep from his eyes. He'd been dreaming, something too realistic, almost able to trick his mind that he hadn't been asleep at all, that his mattress had been warm with three ghouls' worth of body heat instead of one.

"Why'd you think it's your fault?" Mountain chuckles halfheartedly. "You in charge of scheduling or somethin'?"

Aether hums. "Maybe. You don't know," he teases. "It's late over there, Mount. You want to hang up and get some sle-?"

"No!" Mountain cuts him off suddenly, distress sharp in his tone. "No, Aeth, please, don't make me hang up."

Aether can't see him, can barely sense their bond, stretched thin with distance. He can imagine it though, the way his shoulders slump, eyes pressing shut. "Not going to make you do anything. Talk to me, sweet thing. Anything you want, just let me hear you."

Mountain sighs, and he can just barely pick up the sound of a hand dragging down his face, scraping against his stubble. Mountain normally likes a clean shave, itchy, regrowing stubble an easy way to send him into a sensory overload. But being on tour makes it difficult to keep up with the upkeep. He wonders when their next hotel day is.

"Cue's halfway through her third blanket," Mountain says slowly. Aether doesn't need to feel the bond to feel the exhaustion seeping into his voice. "We made a stop at a craft store a few days back, she came out with a literal armful of yarn. Every color under the sun. I think she cleared out an entire color's worth of baby blanket yarn. She said something about making one for Aurora."

Aether hums considerately, reaching with one hand to the purple and navy blanket that had been pushed aside in his sleep. Still as soft as the day she had shyly handed it to him, the second one she had ever made, only a few months' summoned. She's come out of her shell since, but Aether rubs the yarn between his thumb and forefinger and remembers anyways. "Aeon's gotten theirs?"

There's silence for a second, and a quiet spew of Ghoulish cursing. "Just fucking nodded like you could see me," Mountain laughs, exhausted. "The second one she made was Aeon's."

"They like it?" Aether asks, biting back a yawn, tail going ramrod straight as he stretches his back. There's the sound of a privacy curtain being pulled back, and Mountain groans softly before the curtain is pulled again.

"Had to make sure they were still out there," he explains. "They're currently burritoed up in it on the couch with Swiss."

"Don't get up and do it now," Aether says, chuffing at the mental image of the new quintessence ghoul all cozy. "But in the morning, if they're still wrapped up, send me a picture, will you, sweet thing?"

A soft chuckle. "Of course, nova. Thank you."

"What for?" Aether says.

"I dunno. Just wanted to hear your voice."

Aether chuffs, reaching for his glasses. It's almost time for him to get up out of bed. "Thank you, too, then," he says, sliding his glasses on one handed. "I miss you all terribly."

There's a long sigh, which changes halfway through into a yawn. "I don't want to hang up, Aeth." His voice is as small as Aether's heard it in years, not since the last time the pack was thrown into upheaval.

"I know, Mount. I know. But you still need to sleep, sweet thing. Call me in the morning?" Aether offers, knowing that he'll probably be on his break by the time Mountain wakes, ever the early riser.

"I'll call you in the morning," Mountain says, still a little hesitant. "I love you, nova."

Aether smiles. "Love you too. I'll talk to you soon."

[yellowbunnydreams]

Only Donors Left Alive [Vampire! Dave Miller x F! Reader] (Part 2)

~Glad that vampire Dave has made more people feral. He doesn't hang about so let's jump into a new chapter!~

Taglist: @ruh--roh-raggy @springlockedfool @brightcosmos

CW: 18+ MINORS DNI- Female Reader, legal age gap, older man/younger woman, graphic acts of violence, biting, knife-play, blood, blood-drinking/licking, unbalanced power dynamic, anaemia, possessive behaviour, partial nudity

You sighed as you made it to the landing of your floor and ran your fingers through your hair, the night-shift at the small town's diner was taking it's toll on you. Bleary eyes looked at the time on your phone and barely registered that it was three in the morning. Having to squeeze them shut before looking again to confirm the time. It had been the best paying position you could find locally, although you assumed some of that was hazard pay considering the disappearances that had occurred in Hurricane recently, but you were feeling exhausted. Whilst you weren't a morning person, you definitely were suffering not being able to sleep at your usual times.

"You look like shit." The raspy voice from behind you made you blink and turn your head, grunting slightly as you barely registered the gut twisting feeling that Dave always gave you as your body craved sleep and you could only think of a cool shower to ease off some of the already oppressive heat.

"Thanks Dave. Good morning to you too." You mumbled, hearing his footsteps approaching you as you fumbled with your keys. Yawning and feeling momentary confusion as you stared at you hands, keys absent from them before you blinked and looked up at Dave.

He was wearing his security uniform again, his hair even more tousled than you had seen it before, the bags under his blue eyes darker as he glanced at you. The usually lopsided, sharp smile gone and replaced with a furrowed brow as he expertly flicked through the ring of keys and found the correct one, letting you into the unit with your thanks being mumbled sleepily. A lazy smile creeping across his face as he leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Nights are really fucking you, and not in the fun way." Chuckling to himself as he handed you back your keys and watched you lean into the unit to place them on the little table in the hallway, where they usually lived.

"Yeah, I'm just too tired, and too hot. God I feel dizzy standing up sometimes." Laughing weakly before you felt Dave's cold, clammy hands against your cheeks and turning your head towards him. His eyes darting about your face as you felt your body relaxing slightly at the touch as much as it made your insides bristle at the touch. Slender fingers moving to just under your eye and pulling gently on the eyelid, finally focusing on you as he released the skin and took one of your hands, pressing on your nails and watching them with a growing concerned expression.

"Sugar, you're getting anaemic."

"No way, I'm fine. I just need-"

"No, you definitely are. I know one of myself when I see it." He chuckled again, a little more bitterly and in a way that made your tired brain want to reach out and comfort him. You could never figure out how to feel when Dave spoke to you, it was like your brain was being disconnected from part of itself, although you couldn't tell which part it was. "Let's get you inside, take a shower, you stink of people."

"Gee Dave, and you smell of roses." Rolling your eyes at him as you stepped into your apartment and felt a little sense of relief wash over you when you had the threshold between you, although you couldn't quite place why.

"I'll have you know I only save my best smelling stuff for special occasions."

"Like when, Christmas and your birthday?"

"Maybe yours too if you're lucky, pet." He chuckled, and you couldn't help but join in, shaking your head as you sighed and leaned against the cool wall. Sucking your teeth lightly before you grasped the door handle, looking at the sleazy, cock-sure smile on his gaunt, pale face. Watching it disappear behind your door before you heard his quiet footsteps moving off and the sound of his own door opening and closing left you with a strange discontent as you shuffled yourself off to bed.

You weren't sure what time you woke up next, rubbing sleep from your eyes as you padded into the kitchen wearing whatever you had thrown on for sleep. Hair messy and feeling groggy but at least more aware than you had before your shower and sleep. Passing the doorway into the main building and glancing over towards it naturally to see a little package sitting just inside the doorway, waiting to be collected.

You paused. You didn't remember bringing in any packages.

Cautiously, you made your way over to it and looked at the small tupper-ware container with a few items in it. Squatting down to pick it up, you gently rifled through the items and found there were iron supplements, some vitamin c tablets, a small bottle of orange juice and a bottle of melatonin. A paper note caught your attention as you picked it up gingerly between two fingers. Squinting as you tried to decipher the spidery handwriting that looked like it had been written in a hurry against a surface that wasn't quite flat to boot.

'Your door was unlocked, so I left it in the doorway. I thought we talked about locking out things that went bump in the night? Anyway, you need to take the iron twice daily, vitamin c in the morning and drink some orange juice. The melatonin should help with your transition to becoming nocturnal like me'

The smile spread on your face before you knew what was happening. Even if it was kinda creepy that Dave had opened your door, you found it sweet that he had left you things to help you out. After unscrewing the top of the iron and taking the box of things into the kitchen, popping the little terracotta coloured tablet into your mouth and swallowing it down with some orange juice, you had to admit after a few minutes that you felt a bit better. Maybe Dave had been right after all.

You'd have to thank him in some way, once you'd adjusted to your new routine and supplements.

Dave was shockingly elusive for most of the following week. You didn't even see a package arriving for him, and his mail piled up in his pigeon-hole. You began to find yourself growing more concerned for your strange landlord, wondering if you should go and check on him, you decided to wait until dusk. For some reason, that felt like the right time to try and summon the tall, gaunt man.

And so you found yourself at his door, noticing that the bulb in the little alcove around his door was out and shrouding it in darkness. You were dressed for your shift, a little earlier than usual but you figured that you needed time to make sure that Dave actually answered his door. Something whispered in the back of your mind that you should just leave it, but you raised your fist and knocked on the door. Listening intently to any sounds of movement inside.

The sudden cracking open of the door startled you, sending your pulse racing as you couldn't see anything inside, but the door closed again and you heard the sound of a chain being unlatched from the door. Opening it brought you a sense of relief as you saw Dave's scrawny build standing opposite you, opening your mouth to speak before you realised that he wasn't quite dressed.

He had a t-shirt on that looked like it hadn't been washed for a few days, a faded logo on it as you naturally glanced down his body and felt your cheeks heating up as your eyes naturally landed on what you had first assumed were shorts, but you quickly realised they were Dave's boxers, complete with little hearts printed all over them. You made some tiny squeak as you diverted your attention to his feet, feeling a little laugh bubbling up in your throat as you realised that the left one had a hole over the big toe, but it was quickly silenced in confusion as you realised that they were in fact Christmas socks. You mentally had to re-affirm to yourself that it was August as you blinked and stared at them, red and green stripes complete with the tiny, gaudy bells at the top.

"I must still be dreaming, finding such a present wrapped up on my doorstep." The raspy voice sounded gravellier than usual, snapping you out of your shock at his half-dressed state and looking up into his face. Watching Dave rub his eyes with the heel of his palm, his greasy dark hair messy and tousled, sticking up at various angles like he had just dragged himself from bed.

"Good evening Dave." You laughed softly as he grunted, eyes darting about as he blinked and clearly tried to focus. Yawning and developing that lazy, crooked smirk that made your chest tighten and stomach flip with uncertainty. "You...uh...appear to be slightly undressed...and in Christmas socks?"

"My evening is certainly off to a good start with you at my door, sugar." The lazy smile grew wider as his eyes fixated on you, seeming to take their time sleazily rolling over you and your work uniform like he was drinking in every detail. Your arms naturally raising up to cover across your stomach self-conciously.

"That doesn't answer the question about the socks."

"You never wear socks out of season?"

"They have a hole in them."

"Generally useful for putting my feet into, yes." That cocky smile as he tipped his head and leaned against his doorframe made you roll your eyes and sigh dramatically. "Any more questions, darling? I saw the little hearts in your eyes whilst you were admiring something else covered in hearts..." Tongue running over his teeth and chuckling as you visibly cringed back and your lip curled up in distaste even as your cheeks flushed.

"Says the man who answered his door in his boxers."

"Says the woman who was staring at me through them for longer than necessary."

"You caught me off guard."

"You were the one who knocked sugar, you're in my domain now." Dave's dark chuckle sent a few hairs on the back of your neck on end, feeling your pulse racing slightly as something in the way he said it made the words feel a little threatening to your primal brain.

Sighing, you knew you weren't going to get anywhere with him, and you knew you shouldn't have been worried about your sleazy landlord, especially as his gaze seemed to linger on your neck, just above the collar of your polo-shirt. Running your fingers over your hair and messing it up slightly, Dave's eyes resuming their usual darting as he seemed to scan the air behind you. Shrugging your shoulders as you shoved your hands into your pockets.

"Look, Dave, I just came to check you were alright. You haven't collected your mail in a few days and I wanted to make sure you hadn't fallen and died in the shower or something." Dave smirked at you, blue eyes returning to yours as you felt your heart pounding faster in your chest. Something behind his intense focus was something that made your brain scream to move away from him. You ignored it, brushing it off as Dave's usual weirdness.

"I'm touched by your concern, sugar. You look much better by the way. Been taking iron?"

"Yeah, thanks for the little gift basket by the way. Is there anything I can get you in return?"

"Oh it'll repay itself, don't you worry pet," his tongue running over his teeth again before he took a sharp, deep breath in. His nostrils flaring slightly as he stepped towards you, making you take a step back. "I'll be by at some point to collect the rent. You should get to work, shame you're not on the menu....there...."

The comment made you cringe again and wonder why he stipulated 'there', but before you could ask or answer. The gaunt man brought a white ceramic mug to his lips, one that you hadn't even noticed him holding, downing the contents and pulling a face like whatever was inside had been in distaste. You wondered if it was tea that had gone cold or something before he closed the door on you. Leaving you stood in his dark doorway and wondering what on earth you had just talked about with your landlord.

You headed to work, feeling like eyes were lingering on your back as you bounced down the stairs and out into the growing night air. Crickets and other bugs forming their dusk-song as you made the subconscious decision to stick to well-lit areas.

Knocking on your door woke you up on your day off from the diner. Grumbling as the knock grew a little more insistent and you pulled yourself from your couch where you had fallen asleep watching TV. The knock occured again.

"Jesus fucking Christ! Pack it in! I'm coming." Sighing as you rubbed your hand over your face and padded over to the door, dressed in sweatpants and t-shirt as you pulled open the door admittedly a little viciously. Scowl on your face as you blinked at the chest in front of you, tilting your head up slightly to see Dave's lazy smile spreading across his sallow face.

"Now now sugar, I've told you that you can always scream my name." Your scowl deepened as you tried to process what Miller wanted, wondering why he was knocking on your door well past midnight on your days off. The dull buzz of unease was ignored as you crossed your arms across your stomach.

"What do you fucking want Dave? I was asleep." You sighed, irritated as you seriously contemplated moving for a moment as you watched the lanky man hold up a mug with something printed on it that you took a moment to decipher in your half-awake state. 'Abnormally large dick'. You mentally sighed, of course Dave would have a mug that said something like that.

"I need to borrow a cup of blood." He smiled, making you pause and blink as you laughed a little.

"Sorry, it sounded for a moment like you said 'blood'" Chuckling as you blinked the sleep from your eyes, watching him tilt his head to one side and hum like he was contemplating something.

"Nope. That is what I said."

Hair began to stand up on the back of your neck, feeling your half-aware state becoming more lucid as all those uneasy feelings piled back onto you all at once. Swallowing thickly, you laughed, your knuckles turning white on the edge of the door.

"I...Dave what the actual FUCK? I'm not giving you anything, I'm calling the cops." Realising only after you said it that you didn't have your phone on you and you would have to leave Dave at your door. His smile falling and his expression serious as he set his face into a grim expression.

"Wow, how very undeadist of you, I feel offended you would even say that. I'll have to put your rent up by ten dollars for emotional damages."

"WHAT?!"

"I have been emotionally compromised and I demand satisfaction." Shaking the mug at you, still with that serious expression as you realised that he was totally serious. No wonder the rent was cheap, you thought to yourself, they didn't disclose that the landlord was fucking insane.

"Come on," he cooed your name, raising a thin eyebrow at you. "just a quick little slice to that juicy vein in your left wrist and we're both happy." Your blood felt like it was running cold in your veins, heart pounding wildly in your chest as you tried to think of any reason to stall him so you could get your phone and call for help.

"And why would I be happy, Dave?"

"I'll reduce your rent for repairing your cold-hearted emotional damage by supporting my condition, of course." That lazy smile creeping back onto his face as he leaned against your door-frame, your mind racing at a million miles an hour as you tried to think of anything. If Dave really believed he was a vampire, and watching the way his eyes ferally flickered around, the mild tremor in his hand, the unkemptness of his appearance, then you tried to dredge up any knowledge you had of the supernatural to play against him.

"Well... I feel like I could just...not? If you're really a vampire, you can't come in without permission."

"Oh sugar, you think I didn't think of that? It's in your contract, silly goose, I can come in any time I like." The almost chipper tone with which he said it made your stomach turn uneasily. Had he let himself into your apartment before? He must have done, he'd left you gifts. Something whispered in the back of your mind that it was making sure the cattle were healthy.

"Sugar, you're so lucky I'm asking nicely." His eyes focused on yours with that ensnaring intensity that made you feel hot and cold at the same time. They looked dark, like there was nothing alive behind them except something that really wanted to see what colour crimson lived inside you. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up and you felt your skin crawling into goosebumps, swearing you heard a low growl under that familiar rasp. His long, thin fingers curled around the edge of the door and pressed it open all the way even as you pressed against it to try and resist it.

Once the door was wide, Dave took a deliberate step inside, it was in some form of breathless horror that your mind realised that he was still dressed the same as earlier. You were about to be killed by a man in fucking Christmas socks with bells on and heart-boxers.

Before you could even think about running, Dave's thin arm wrapped around your waist and hoisted you over his shoulder in a semi-fluid movement. Making you gasp as you held onto his t-shirt, the sudden movement making your head spin as he simply turned and headed further into your apartment, dumping you unceremoniously onto the couch. Your heart pounding as he dissapeared and you heard the sound of the door locking before you lost track of where he was again. The tall, lanky figure that was shockingly strong for his build reappearing as he sat opposite you ontop of your sturdy coffee table, holding one of the knives from your kitchen block.

"Now, this one is nice and sharp, so you won't have to cut deep. In fact, please don't, I don't want to lose such a good tenant this way." The way he spoke was so natural, but you were just left with dread and unease as your fingers automatically wrapped around the black handle.

"Why?"

"Why? Sugar, we'll have time for 'why' after you've been a good neighbour." There was a spark of guilt that wormed it's way into your mind, making you wonder if you were really being unreasonable. The knife shifted in your hand, raising it slightly before common sense took ahold again and you lowered it, much to Dave's mild scowl of disapproval. "Come on, don't be a baby, it's just a little cut. You've probably done worse cutting vegetables for dinner, and this is my dinner."

"I can't..I can't.."

Dave tutted and rolled his eyes, which would have made you laugh given the absurdity of the situation if your mind wasn't reeling with the possibility that he really might be what he claimed to be. Holding out his slender hand, he raised a dark eyebrow at you.

"May I?"

Nodding, he took the knife from you and laid your arm across his knee, scowling as he looked for a sensible place to put his mug before holding it between his bruised, boney looking knees. Carefully running the knife against your skin without breaking it and making you shiver, watching the predatory and precise way he moved that seemed so out of place on Dave's wiry, tired body.

You were so focused on him that you barely noticed the bite of metal into your flesh. Your eyes darting wildly as you clocked that your arm felt cold suddenly, watching with wide eyes as crimson spilt over your skin and began a somewhat steady stream into his mug, splashing over parts of his pale thigh that were exposed by the way he was sitting. Breathing harder and faster as adrenaline kicked in, Dave looking up and giving you that same coy, lazy smile that he always did as he held onto your wrist. Swearing slightly as you moved and you spilt some of yourself onto your floor, Dave frowned and mopped it up with his sock whilst trying to hold you still.

You brain decided it couldn't handle any more as he lifted your arm and your felt his cold, wet tongue drag up the skin and chase any rivulets that had escaped, and mercifully; everything went black as you passed out.

[bartxnhood]

love you need | s.h

shawn hunter x fem!reader

summary: you notice shawn distancing himself from you and the group until one night she shows up at your door hoping to talk it out.

warnings: angst! both shawn and reader have some self doubt.

a/n: this is my first time writing for shawn, and tbh it’s been a hot minute since i’ve rewatched bmw so😭 but i really miss shawn and i relate to his character sm. so i might start writing for him now, this is just to test the waters. enjoy !

requests open

not proofread

Copyright © 2023 bartxnhood. All rights reserved. This original work is not allowed to be reposted on any platform in any format.

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you stand at your locker rummaging through your books searching for your history book. “hey!” topanga hollers, followed by cory. you push you locker door inwards revealing the couple. “have you seen shawn?” cory questions, you simply shake your head and close your locker. “no, why?” you ask, leaning against the metal. “i haven’t heard from him over the weekend. totally unusual, normally i csnt get rid of him” cory answers, your eyebrows raised. now that you think of it, he hasn’t called or stopped by to see you either.

shawn was the type of boyfriend to check in occasionally, even out of school. he’d often surprise you with small gifts just to lighten things up if you were having a bad day. so this was out of character for him, if he was sick or something came up he’d always tell you or cory. something wasn’t right.

“wel..” you trailed off, furrowing your brows. “we can call if he doesn’t show. surely he wouldn’t not show up and not have a reason or tell us” the other two agrees and decided to let it go for the rest of the day.

but a day turned into two, and next thing you knew he never showed that whole week. you tried desperately to call but each time it went to voicemail. you felt frustrated, why did he disappear all of a sudden? why didn’t he tell anybody? you were high strung for the remainder of that week. snapping at people when you didn’t mean to but, nothing was as important as shawn was to you.

“did i do something to upset him?” you’re laying on topangas bed. she invited you over to work on a project, but after you stayed for dinner. “what if he doesn’t want to be with me anymore? what if he found someone else.” your mind is racing, why else would shawn not come to school or return your calls?

you hear topanga sigh, and came to your aide. “y/n, look at me” you sit-up, looking at her. she puts her hands on your shoulder, “he loves you, y/n. i’m sure he has a reason for why he’s been gone.” you groan, she was probably right but it didn’t your heart from aching. “now, cmon. let’s go eat dinner, okay? get your mind off things.”

it wasn’t unusual for you to be home alone as your parents were typically on work trips. you had your own little routine after school. you’d come home, make a snack, do some homework, maybe read for a couple hours, shower, then go to bed. but today was different, after doing your homework you were pretty exhausted so you had just planned on laying down. thank god you we’re graduating in a few months, the work was beginning to run you down mentally.

it seemed no matter how hard yo supplied yourself, you always came in last. you were barely making the grades to pass your classes, but you were trying so hard.

as you were entering the bathroom, ready to brush your teeth and wash your face you heard banging at your door. of course, you didn’t want to answer because who would be banging on your door at this hour? but, something told you to answer it. you cursed at yourself mentally, you were too nice for your own good and your kindness would be your demise. but when you opened the door you didn’t expect to see him. “shawn?”

“i’m sorry for coming here so late but i just didn’t know where else to go.” shawn states as he runs his hand through his hair. your heart broke just looking at him. it looked like he hadn’t slept in days, his eyes were so dark, he looked beyond exhausted. “shawn, you don’t have to apologize. you know you’ll always have a place here.”

shawn took a seat at the edge of your bed he feels like his heart has been ripped out, all he wants to do is sleep and probably never wake up again. “i just” he rubs his eyes. “i got left alone again, dad went out. i just i didn’t have the guts to face you.” he feels so little, sitting in front of you like this on the verge of tears. “oh, shawn..” you cup his face making him look at you. “it’s okay, you know i’ll always be here. no judgement, shawn. it’s just you and me” you offer a smile.

you see the tears swell in his eyes. shawn wraps his arms around you and rests his head on your stomach. “i’m sorry” he says just above a whisper. “shawn, you didn't do anything wrong. there's nothing to apologize for." you feel him shake his head against your, “no, y/n. i’m sorry i’m not good enough for you.” tears begin to fall from his eyes and he hold on to you as if you were about to be ripped away from him.

“i live in a trailer park, i have nothing to offer you, you could do some much better than me..i don’t deserve you, y/n. you need someone who can provide and give you what you need..i don’t know if i can be that person for you, y/n” you can feel his tears staining your shirt. you remove his arms from your waist as you fall to your knees so you could be eye level with him. “shawn. listen to me” you wipe away his tears, smiling sadly. “you are good enough for me. in fact, i often think you’re too good for me because sometimes i think you could find someone better than me.” now you begin to tear up, confessing all of your bottled emotions.

“shawn, i have felt this toward someone as much as i have you. you’ve saved me so many times and you probably don’t even know it. i promise, you are good enough. you’ll always be good enough,okay? i’ll always be here for you, just let me be the love you need.” tears begin to fall from your eyes, so now the both of you are a crying mess.

“don’t cry, i hate seeing your cry” shawn hums, he wipes away your tears and rests his hand on your cheek. you nod, “i know..” sniffling.

there’s a moment of silence between you two, a comfortable silence. shawn is staring at you. admiring you, puffy eyes and all. he realizes how in love he is, that no matter what life throws at him that he will always have you. shawn softly rubs the pad of his thumb over your check.

“i love you.”

you blink, a few seconds of silence fills the room. he hadn’t said that to you yet, in your years of dating he hadn’t said he loved you, once. shawn was too afraid to love anybody. afraid that he’d ruin the person he wants to love. shawn was like that most of his life, until you changed his mind.

“what?” you feel all the air leave your lungs, your emotions were all over the place now. from crying to now feeling this warmth in your chest as you heard him say the words you had been waiting so long to hear. “say it again”

“i love you, y/n.”

instinctively you wrap your arms around his neck, embracing him in a tight hug. “i’ve been waiting to hear that for so long” you sniffle. shawn rubs you back, you feel him nod. “i know, i should’ve said it a long time ago.”

hours later, after the both of you had spilled your hearts to each other, you offered him dinner but he denied claiming he just wanted to lie down.

you rested comfortably on his chest, he drew circles on your spine. both of you enjoying the silent. “i want to spend the rest of my life with you.” you say. shawn is taken aback, looking down at you. “what?” you look up, smiling softly. “i know we’re still young, but there’s no one else in my life i’d want besides you. i want to be with you forever.” you see him smile, and he tightens his grip around you.

“i like the sound of that…y/n hunter…that has a nice ring to it”

[mariacallous]

This is dated 12-29-2023, for the record.

It was a nightmare scenario that Ukrainian and Western officials had feared for months. Western officials have watched as Russia stacked up precision-guided munitions to launch targeted attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure in the winter while keeping up the pace of strikes on cities using unguided “dumb” bombs. 

And on Friday morning, it became a reality. Russia conducted a hailstorm of strikes across Ukraine, hitting Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Kharkiv. There were at least 158 drone and missile strikes in all, which damaged hospitals, a shopping mall, and schools, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 160. 

The numbers are still going up as search and rescue teams pick through the rubble. Russia fired its missiles with so much abandon that the Polish government confirmed one of the Kremlin’s projectiles entered its airspace. In the chaos that engulfed the Kyiv streets, one man tried to stop the fires from spreading by driving his burning car away from his neighbors. 

The renewed barrages have Ukrainian officials and U.S. experts questioning how long they’ll be able to keep the lights on during winter—or hold territory—especially with the long tail of U.S. military aid running out, unless Congress acts soon. 

Ukrainian officials believe that Russia’s capacity to strike is even greater than what it just showed off: The Kremlin can fire off about 300 Iranian-made suicide drones in one attack on Ukraine and about 150 ballistic missiles in one shot on Kyiv, said Sasha Ustinova, a Ukrainian lawmaker.  

And with the Ukrainian counteroffensive stalled and fresh weapons not flowing until January at the earliest, how resilient will the Ukrainians be? 

“The Ukrainians are heading for a tough winter, for obvious reasons,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview earlier this month. “But I think that the Ukrainian morale is much, much higher than the Russian morale. What is crucial right now, of course, is that we all will step up support.”

But that morale is now getting tested, as Ukrainians were shaken out of bed by dozens of air raid alerts that lit up their phones. And the aid isn’t coming—at least until the U.S. Congress gets back from recess in the second week of January, and maybe for even longer. 

“Ukraine needs funding now to continue to fight for freedom from such horror in 2024,” Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, wrote in a tweet screenshotting the numerous air raid alerts sent to Kyiv residents.

U.S. officials have seen movement across the nearly stagnant front lines slow considerably in recent weeks, a trend that is expected to continue. The weather in Ukraine has hit subzero temperatures and piles of snow have mostly halted forward movement along the 600-mile front, underscoring the prospect of several months of attrition warfare. Ukraine is already making moves to lower the draft age to get more men onto the battlefield.  

Ukraine doesn’t need any silver bullets, experts say. It just needs the regular kind. 

“We’re clearly past the ground counteroffensive now,” said Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. “Since it won’t get large numbers of longer-range precision fires, Ukraine probably needs to entrench and defend right now—and absent Congress passing the supplemental, even those defensive lines may not remain stable.” 

Still, Jonson said the Ukrainian military has been getting some access to more long-range strike weapons, which has forced Russian ships and aircraft to move farther away from the front lines. But Ukraine has had to build its military while fending off the invasion: Jonson said that Kyiv is operating about 600 types of Western weapons systems, while ferrying fuel and spare parts across the front line. All that on roads that will be coated with sleet, snow, and ice. 

Even with its limited arsenal of Western-provided long-range weapons like British-made Storm Shadows and the cluster variant of the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System, Ukraine has still made a dent, knocking out a Russian tank landing ship in Crimea on Tuesday. And experts believe that Russia’s fragile logistics system—which was never designed for continuous military operations across Europe’s second-largest country—is a good target.  

“If they had longer-range weapons, they could completely wreck the logistics system,” said Ben Hodges, the former head of U.S. Army Europe. “I think they know this is a real vulnerability for the Russians, particularly in winter.” 

But Ukrainians fear they are already running out of munitions—and time. Though Western-provided air defenses blanket much of Kyiv, they are not enough to defend against far-flung Russian attacks that could dot the country during winter. As much as Ukraine needs more air defenses to blunt attacks like Friday’s firestorm, Ukrainian officials have indicated that the falling temperatures have already shifted their priorities: Attrition warfare means a premium on artillery fire, and Europe is far behind on its target to produce a million artillery shells by March 2024.

“The biggest problem we’re going to run into is when they start shelling us heavily,” Ustinova said. “Because we will not have enough munitions.” 

But Ukraine has been forced to cut military operations as aid has dried up. Ukrainian Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who heads up a group of forces in the southern push, told the BBC this week that Ukraine is facing particularly acute shortages of Soviet-era 122 mm and 152 mm shells, which still make up a large portion of Kyiv’s military arsenal. And if the Ukrainians want to apply forward pressure in spite of the snow, they have to clear entire minefields in front of them, only for the Russians to reseed the deadly explosives from the air. 

The Russian war chest is still heavily stocked. Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian defense minister, said in November that Russia still has about 7,000 to 8,000 tanks in reserve. Meanwhile, Russia has turned its sanctions-battered economy into a war economy. The Kremlin plans to spend 6 percent of GDP on defense next year. And Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deals for drones with Iran and ammunition with North Korea have indicated to Western officials that Russia’s game is quantity, not quality. 

“It doesn’t matter. As long as it fires, as long as it unfortunately kills Ukrainians, it is good for Russians,” Pevkur said. “They are increasing their production, especially ammunition. They don’t care about the quality. They care about the quantity.” 

Western officials believe that there are 300,000 to 400,000 Russian troops on Ukrainian soil, across a swath of occupied territory that is about the size of the contiguous Baltic states. Russian casualties have totaled about that many troops in the 22 months since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion began. But experts caution that the cannon fodder won’t last forever. It might not have to last that much longer, though.

In November, Russian forces claimed to gain ground around the eastern city of Avdiivka, where Western officials believe the Kremlin is trying to make a pincer move to encircle the town, the site of a major coke fuel and chemical plant. They’ve also set their sights on the important railway junction of Kupyansk. 

“They just keep pushing these guys into a meat grinder to convey the sense that they have endless resources,” Hodges said. “They don’t have endless resources.” 

For now, though, absent Western aid, Russia’s focus on eastern Ukraine could lead Kyiv to cede more ground. 

“That’s very painful for us, because we pay thousands of lives to get every single kilometer,” Ustinova said.  

“They are already taking more territory,” she added. “Look at the map.”

[iwritewhump]

"I need your help" + villain's base

day 10 of whumptember

1236 words

warnings: bruises

~

Hero swallows thickly and looks at the ground. His eyes lock on Superhero’s boots in front of him. He closes his eyes, pushes his pride down, and falls to his knees. 

Superhero lifts his foot off the ground and tilts Hero’s chin with the toe of his boot. 

Hero closes his eyes and takes a shuddering breath. Superhero releases him and he falls forward, nose hitting the floor. 

“Report?” Superhero barks. 

Hero pushes himself up and stays kneeling in front of him. “Vigilante escaped. I have my best PI’s watching for her, but as of now there’s no news.” 

Superhero nods once and waves his hand, “And?” 

“And?” 

“What are you doing? Other than waiting on your ass?” Superhero says, rolling his eyes. 

Hero stammers, “I was-I mean. I’ve been awake for two days. I was hoping-I really need some sle-” 

“I think training is a great idea!” Superhero cheers, rolling his sleeves up. 

Hero stands and follows Superhero to the backyard, his feet dragging behind him. Superhero gets out the sparring tools, the obstacle course, and the boxing gloves. Hero closes his eyes and takes a moment to mourn the nap he was hoping to squeeze in. 

“Come on!” Superhero says, tightening the strap on the boxing glove. 

~~~

Hero leans heavily against the wall with a heaving chest. The gloves fall to the ground and he shakes his head. “I’m done.” 

Superhero turns to him and shakes his head, “Excuse me?” 

“I’m beyond exhausted, I can’t see straight, and I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating because you’ve never had those horns, have you?” 

Superhero clenches his jaw and shakes his head, “You can go. Leave and never come back. If you can’t train for thirty minutes before needing a break then you’re not made for this line of work.” 

And maybe it was the two days without sleep. Or it was Superhero’s tone. Or maybe Hero was just too fucking tired of nothing he does being enough, but he leaves. He doesn’t even pack a bag, he just…walks out the door and down the street. 

He sheds his phone in a trash can and snatches a jacket from the back of someone’s chair to keep the cool breeze away, and he’s gone. His muscles ache, every movement hurts and it takes everything in him to keep going. 

He walks, and walks, and walks until he sees a familiar building. How had he managed to make it here? 

Shrugging, Hero walks up to the door and slams the knocker down on the wood. 

Villain opens the door with a few bills in her hand. She looks Hero over and sighs. “You’re not pizza.” 

Hero shakes his head and blinks tiredly at her. He pushes off the entryway wall (when did he start leaning against it?) and inhales deeply. “Can I stay here? Just for the night?” 

Villain takes a minute to think before nodding, “Whatever, just be quiet, I have homework.”  

She steps aside so he can walk past her, as he does, he brushes against her and she inhales at just the right time to realize. “You stink.” 

“Superhero thinks that showering is a waste of time apparently.” Hero says, lifting his arm up and sniffing. He shrugs and falls onto the couch, eyes closing the instant his head hits the cushion. 

Villain watches him, trying to figure out if this was a trick or not. Hero starts snoring and rolls onto his side with his arm above his head. His shirt rides up and Villain looks away, but not before she sees bruises blooming across his torso. 

She picks up a blanket from the closet and lays it over him. 

Sighing softly, Villain pulls her phone out and dials a number, “Hey, I need your help.” She leans against the wall and looks out of the window next to the door. “I’ve got Hero here, I think he’s in some trouble.” 

“Of course he’s in trouble!” Vigilante shouts. There’s a few moments of silence where Villain wants to ask if she’ll come. “I’ll be over in a few. Have you eaten yet?” 

“I have pizza on the way.” 

Vigilante cheers, “Perfect, I’m starving.” 

The pizza arrives and Villain sets it on the table. Ignoring her growling stomach, she gets out two plates, two mugs, and starts a pot of coffee. 

Vigilante comes in through the back door and sits down before Villain even notices her. 

“Hey,” She says, opening the pizza box. “Ew, veggie?” 

Villain jumps and puts her hand over her heart, “Ew, free pizza?” 

Vigilante rolls her eyes and takes a bite. They look at each other and Vigilante grabs another piece from the box. “Aren’t you having any?” 

Villain sits down and takes a few pieces from the box. After polishing off the first slice, she leans against the back of her chair and sighs. “So, any ideas?” 

Nodding, Vigilante swallows and gestures to the coffee pot, almost full. Villain nods and she jumps to her feet to fill her mug. “So he’s here? Like…in your house?” 

Villain nods and points to the couch. Vigilante’s mouth falls open and she tiptoes over to the couch and looks over it. She hurries back to the table and sets her mug down. 

“Oh my god,” She says, whispering. “You have Hero, sleeping, in your house! What are you going to do?” 

“I have no idea! That’s why I called you.” She responds, also whispering. 

“So what happened?” Vigilante asks, leaning over the table. “Like…how’d he end up here?” 

Villain shrugs, “He just showed up. I don’t know where he was, but he’s kinda beat up.” 

Vigilante jumps up again and looks over the couch. She runs back to the table and slides into her seat, “I didn’t see anything-oh my god! You little perv!” 

Villain’s face goes red and she shakes her head, “I put the blanket on him after he fell asleep. Before I did…he kinda stretched and I saw his stomach.” 

“Oh my god!” Vigilante whisper-shrieks, “Does he have abs? It's hard to tell with him since he’s so scrawny. Does he?” 

Villain bats Vigilante’s arm, “I didn’t notice! But what I did see was a lot of bruises. And I…” 

“Yeah yeah, your little stray-loving heart went ba-dum ba-dum.” Vigilante says, putting her feet up in Villain’s lap. “Well you can’t keep this one, he’s a biter. Oh and let’s not forget he’s been trying to get me arrested for a month!” 

Villain sighs and nods. She looks at the back of the couch and frowns. “Come on, Vigilante. You remember how it was…with Superhero.” 

“Stop.” 

“All I’m saying is-” 

“I know what you’re saying. I’m asking you to stop.” Vigilante says, drawing her knees to her chest. 

Villain looks at the floor and sighs. She bites her cheek and leans her head back. The pair sit in their uneasy silence until Vigilante nods. 

“Ok.” she picks at the skin around her fingernails and frowns. “How can I help?” 

“Keep him at your place?” Villain asks. She gets ready to defend him, already taking a big breath to get ready for the word-spill, but she doesn’t have to. 

Vigilante nods, “Ok. When he wakes up, I’ll take him home.” She almost smiles, “But if he pees on my carpet he’s out on the streets!” 

From the couch, Hero smiles and rolls over onto his side so he can hear them better. 

~ part two?

[sunny-reis]

Hi, may I ask you about write Ayato x reader who like be affectionate but only with Ayato? For example they don't like be touched or when someone use pet name or nickname but they like when Ayato do this? They are like this grumpy cat which only one person are allowed to pet haha.

Good day/night

headcanons - ayato with a grumpy(?) reader

credits to @/SodaPuff3 on twitter for the ayato icon :3

sorry, i can't take your touch; it's not that i don't want you...

notes: woohoo first request !! i've never written headcanons like this so please feel free to tell me what you think :)

i now realize that this is a lot longer than it needed to be .. oh well 🤠

tags: i was DEFINITELY projecting while writing this LMAO, reader isn't implied to be fem or masc in any way ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

🫧 there are a whole bunch of reasons you might not be that welcome to physical affection or touch from others

🧋 maybe you're just not comfortable? let's assume so for now lmao

☔️ anyways !! you're going about your day in inazuma, maybe running some errands, when you realize you forgot to get rice flour 🧍

🫧 for SHAME how could you forget the flour !!

🧋 now you have to go all the way back to the tsukomono grocery shop when you're already out of the city 😟 yikes

☔️ yeah that isn't gonna be a fun trip GOOD LUCK

🫧 anyways you're back at the grocery shop and - just your luck!! - it starts raining

🧋 why. does the universe hate you 😶

☔️ sigh. anyways

🫧 you do the mental gymnastics of realizing you have to walk back to the kamisato estate ... yeah lmao there's no way that's happening

🧋 you look back from under the little awning and see that it's now pouring cats and dogs

☔️ today's really not your lucky day huh 🫠 you're just standing there like a fool, watching it rain and holding your little bag of produce and (now wet 😟) flour

🫧 a few minutes later you see the one and only

🧋 your saving grace, the (now) light of your life, your reason to get up in the morning, the apple of your eye, your good samaritan,

☔️ your savior,

🫧 thoma !! you've never been happier to see the man

🧋 waving at him like a madman, he looks your way, eyes wide, and rushes over to you to ask you what the heck you're doing out here in the rain

☔️ you recount the whole flour situation (albeit embarrassed), and thoma, being the amazing person he is, offers to share his umbrella with you

🫧 you thank your lucky stars and gladly accept, now walking back to the kamisato estate as the rain pitter-patters over the polished paper umbrella

🧋 which is great ! you're really thankful and all that ! but there's a small, itty-bitty, minuscule, tiny problem

☔️ he's WAY too close for your liking 🧍

🫧 it's not that you're worried about good ol' thoma flirting with you or ayato being over-possessive or anything !!

🧋 you just Don't. like touching/being touched by other people (which is understandable !!)

☔️ but you don't know how to explain it to thoma without sounding like an absolute asshole (ﾟｰﾟ;

🫧 like he did offer to take you back home in the rain and he's a really good friend and all that

🧋 but every second that passes by with his arm brushing just a little too close for your liking drives you INSANE for some reason

☔️ by the time you reach chinju forest, you're overstimulated and frustrated and grumpy and slightly wet and your robes are clinging to your body and you can feel the water in your soggy socks and

🫧 OUGHHHH you feel like a steaming pile of trash ((´д｀)) at least the kamisato estate's just above the stone steps in front of you

🧋 after a few minutes of carefully climbing up them, drying off with a warm towel from furuta (the sweet old housekeeper), and a change of clothes, you plop down on your and ayato's shared bed

☔️ god the past hour's been .. something

🫧 you don't know if you're being dramatic (although you feel guilty .. so maybe not), but you still feel overstimulated after that sensory nightmare

🧋 so you curl up under the covers and try to sleep it off 💤

☔️ and you do !! you get a solid two hours of sleep (my eepy ass could never) before you're woken up by a tired ayato slipping under the blanket with you

🫧 neither of you say anything, but he understands everything by the look on your face

🧋 he knows about how sensitive you are to touch and proximity with other people, and has helped you get through many a sensory overload before

☔️ so you both just lay down in silence, lights dimmed, and you start to feel a little bit better :)

🫧 at the end of the day, you do think you need to work on setting boundaries with other people when it comes to things like physical touch

🧋 but that's all for another day !!

☔️ right now, you're focused on nothing but the shared warmth between you and ayato and the soft sound of your breathing

🫧 all is well now :)

[holllandtrash]

thinking about 6to1 as i usually do. but can you imagine being in a hotel with both of them & charles hearing the reader & lando through the walls 😭😭😭 i cry i cry

NOOOOOOO Because charles would be so conflicted between just like trying to sleep through it and getting up and banging on your door but good good you and lando are loud and its annoying and how come everyone else sleeps through it and he can't go knock on the door ITS HIS SISTER but he also needs sleep so what does he do

he calls carlos

"you want me to what?"

"tell them to stop-" charles pinches the bridge of his nose as he leans against the bathroom sink. he figures that in here he'd be safe from the noise but no he can quite clearly make out each syllable that comes from both of your mouths

the entire goddamn floor probably knows both of your names at this point

"they're so loud, mate," charles complains, and he hates that hes complaining because this is awkward and embarrassing and it's his sister but it should be illegal to have to listen to someone from your family have sex

"I'm not about to interrupt them," carlos laughs. "they're in the honeymoon stage"

"they've been together for months. honeymoon's over"

"young love i guess"

"it's not-" charles winces when he hears another particularly loud groan? moan? it came from lando that's for sure. god he should not have been able to tell who was making what sounds but you have been at it for hours.

"fine," carlos eventually gives in. "but you owe me."

charles thanks him and hangs up and he remains locked in the safety of the bathroom until eventually the noises stop. he can't hear muffled voices, but he assumes carlos has finally said something and maybe finally, charles can get some sle-

then there's knocking on his door.

charles expects it to be carlos. knocking to tell him he spoke to you and lando so he opens the door, only to be completely taken aback by you standing there, hair disheveled, lando's shirt on inside out because you clearly didn't look before putting it on, and a pair of shorts.

"can i help you?" charles asks, struggling to look his sister in the eye.

"can i help you?" you repeat. "mind telling me why you sent carlos to my room at one in the morning?"

charles tenses uncomfortably, "because i'm trying to sleep."

it dawned on charles that carlos probably didn't say hey keep it down. carlos probably put the blame directly on charles and made up some stupid excuse for stopping by.

"what does you trying to sleep have to do with me?"

"you were being too loud."

"loud?" you ask, eyebrows raised.

"loud." charles repeats, finally getting the point across.

charles heard you and lando.

you were annoyed at first, having to barge into the hall, but now you wanted to retreat back into the room and never make direct eye contact with your brother again.

"oh god," you whisper, hand going to cover your mouth. you start to back up, because the further away you can get from this conversation the better. you can't even look at him. your head drops you just go back to your room, ignoring lando's questionable stare as you head straight to the bathroom and ask yourself why the hell you thought it was a good idea to all get rooms on the same floor.

and honestly, charles is already planning to make sure that will never happen again.

[animeyanderelover]

(First of all HIII, How are you?! It's been forever since I've sent you a request! Tbh I kinda lost interest in anime and had some private issues going on. But I'm really glad I've caught you with open inbox this time!) Moving on to the actual request: So let's say that darling forgot to lock/close the window at night before falling asleep. Which character(s) from Black Butler would be brave enough to take the risk and cuddle with the darling before they even officially confessed (meaning them and darling maybe met once or twice, but they are still in stalking phase) and let's say darling is such a heavy sleeper, they don't even notice? (Hopefully this made sense!?)

Nice to have you here again, my friend. I chose the characters that popped up first in my mind.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, delusions, stalking, clinginess

Risky cuddling

Timber, Thompson & Canterbury

🤫Those three haven’t really acknowledged their morbid obsession with their darling as anything wrong. The triplets can only really hyper focus on the fact that you are their mate and that is really all they need and want to know about you. Whilst Timber, Thompson and Canterbury have yet to figure out how to share once you are by their side, where you belong, they have no problem making up a schedule who watches you when. It’s one of the advantages that come with being a team of three, two of them can still work for Alois whilst the third one stalks you. It’s a whole system where informations and observations are constantly shared and once a problem arrives, all three plan meticulously how to remove the threat from your life.

🤫They don’t even think when all three stalk you together and catch your window open. They know that this is an opportunity to have skin contact with you, something all three of them crave for so there is zero hesitation. It surely gets a bit cramped since the demon siblings get into a small fight who gets which place, in the end two cuddle you from the side whilst the third one just sprawls himself flat on top of you. They don’t even view this as creepy or anything as all three are a bit delusional in their own ways. You’re technically theirs already and vice versa so cuddling you at night like this isn’t anything weird in their eyes. They try to get you to smell like them as much as possible to claim you as their mate. It’s a pity when they have to leave you but they hope that you’re going to forget to lock your window at night again soon.

Grell Sutcliff

🟥Grell seems to be delusional too. Whilst she knows that her darling might be potentially scared of her and her kind, she can just not shake off the images in her head. She just knows that you two could make each other so happy and her heart soars in her chest when she’s stalking you. Grell can’t get enough of her lovely darling, is often trying to finish her work earlier so that she can continue where she left. Grell knows that she can’t let William or other Shinigami find out about her sweet crush though, she fears the higher-ups might forbid her to see you again. Oh, that would break her poor, little heart completely. Balancing her work life and her love life is certainly not always easy but Grell somehow manages to find a way.

🟥The lady is a bit more on the shameless side so when she one night notices that you forgot to close your window, she just can’t help herself. She tries to be as silent as possible when she sneaks inside your house and she can’t help but silently fawn over you when she sees you sleeping deeply. She thinks it over for a moment, wonders if you’d wake up if she’d cuddle you. In the end she can’t resist though and crawls into the bed so she can lie next to you. It’s risky but the small rush of fear and excitement somehow makes things even better, the danger that you might wake up. Her heart beats giddily in her chest as she starts cuddling you closely, basking in your warmth. So this is what it feels like to sleep with you. She could do this all night but sadly Grell has to eventually leave you again, with a pout on her lip that is.

Dagger

🔪Dagger is completely gone in his head. Utterly besotted and infatuated, he’s too far gone to ever recognize his obsession. For Dagger his darling and him might as well be already together as he thinks that only he is the right one for you and only you are the right one for him. You two are basically already lovers, you just don’t know it yet. Dagger is clingy and follows you around like a lost puppy with shining eyes. He worships you and everything you do, you can’t do wrong in his eyes. The other string members from the circus have a hard time stopping him from obsessing since it happens that he threatens his friends with one of his knives, paranoid that they might try to take you away from him. They wouldn’t though, right? They’re his family, surely they would want him happy.

🔪Dagger panics a bit when he notices during his nightly patrol that you forgot to close your window. What would you do if someone decided to break in? Oh, how lucky you are that he’s always there to protect you. He quickly climbs up your house and enters your house through the open window. To his relief there seems to be no one besides him and you inside. He could leave but your peaceful form in bed stops him from leaving just yet as he slowly walks towards the bed. He’s softly cooing over you as soon as he sees you sleeping, his hands caressing your face before an idea pops up in his head. You wouldn’t mind, right? You two are almost lovers after all. His heart is thumbing excitedly in his chest when he cuddles you, your warm body so close to his, showering your face here and there with kisses.This is perfect, this is your future together!

Ran Mao

🌺Ran Mao isn’t really the aware type either since she doesn’t know that her behavior is creepy at best in the eyes of others. She just knows that she loves you a lot and wants to watch you and protect you all of the time. She isn’t very vocal but Lau notices her keen interest in you anyways. The way she peers up when your name is mentioned and how her eyes never leave you when you’re around. Lau doesn’t even try to help her realize her obsession though, he’s encouraging Ran Mao at best to follow through with her interest. If you make his little sister happy, he won’t do anything for you and will just take her side. He knows that Ran Mao will treat you well in her own ways so it’s not like he’s worried about you. It’s all for the person he views as his own sister.

🌺Ran Mao is alarmed when she sees how careless you’ve been by forgetting to lock up your window. She knows that there might be people lurking on the streets of London at night who would see this as an invitation. Before anything happens though, she decides to slip in your house herself. Her senses are keen so she quickly realizes that there’s no one besides you inside the house, something that reassures her. Then she sees you sleeping soundly though and Ran Mao can’t help her own curiosity. She’s always been shameless with her touches, you could say that she feels confident about herself. She hugs you tightly, her body pressing against yours. Her golden orbs are trained on your sleeping face and slowly she feels a blush creeping up her cheeks since you’re adorable when you’re asleep, so close to her.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-11-25

Getting Colder

Listening: I have been listening to a lot of Perennial for some reason.

Extremely yelling music. I like it when a musician sounds like they're on the verge of breaking out in tears which happens sometimes with Perennial.

Reading: Catching up on my enormous RSS backlog, which includes a very interesting aggregated feed run by Blackle Mori, Sortition. This is a website where, if you produce an RSS feed somewhere, you can add it, and at random your recent posts will be put into One Big Feed that anyone can subscribe to. It's a nice way to get a broad mix of people Doing Real Blogging On The Web into your feedreader.

I know a lot of the people in here from other places, fediverse, tumblr, twitter, IRC, even a few Weaguers, and it's a nice vertical slice of a particular corner of the blogosphere. Lots of furries.

Watching: Watched What We Do In The Shadows for the first time. Pointing at the screen going "I know that gif!"

It's a great comedy and it strikes me that comedy movies do seem to have quietly died, maybe because they now put a little comedy in all the mainstream movies? Unclear.

Playing: World of Goo 2 which I continue to do a little at a time. It's a really cute game. It feels floppier than I remember, but that might just be because it launches in at a much higher base difficulty than the original game, I think? It certainly feels that way, the efficient solutions feel much more marginal here, and they're challenging you with much taller, much more awkward structures much earlier in the game.

Also some Forza 5 which is because the Track Day event is on and I wanted some of the porsches. This week's Trial is ruinous, because it's a bunch of really technical twisty circuits with the "Super GT" class of vehicles, which are all big long high speed rear-wheel drive coupes, and if you try to mod your way out of this you tend to drop your top speed too much without gaining enough handling to make up for it. It doesn't help that with less-skilled team drivers they're very likely to cause terrible pileups in corners.

Making: Spent a while printing and pricing out upgrades for my printer and came to the conclusion that a much better refurb printer would cost less, and also that because of the absurd deal I got on my printer literally just the motors are worth more than upgrading it.

I am gradually getting Pissed Off at my big PC speakers which are really annoying and boomy and too loud and I fell down the rabbit hole of the Speaker Builder types and it's unfortunately exactly my shit. I love obsessing over frequency dynamics. There are some really weird little speaker drivers out there in the world and 3D printing allows you to fabricate incredibly complicated enclosures for them, so I am doing the legwork of figuring out how to model some of these.

Tools and Equipment: OpenSUSE AutoYasT is a system for automatically setting up and even changing the configuration of existing OpenSUSE and SLE systems. I'm doing a bunch of orchestration stuff at work and I needed a way to quickly set up a bunch of servers without doing it manually, and this is a handy way to approach it. You can even execute ERB templating rules within the rules file to do specific-to-device config.

You can deliver the instructions in a lot of ways, but I just patched them into the install CD with mksusecd. I'll talk about Distrobox next week.

[the-fiction-witch]

Wake Up Call

Media Lewis The Mind Has Mountains

Character Adam Douglas

Couple Adam X Reader

Rating Smut

Concept Wake up!

Smut semi non-consensual/ hj/ riding/ fingering/ full sex/ raw sex/ jizz/

I sighed as I arrived at Adam's little room We had been here a good while, in this drug trial before classes started up again, We saw the flyer in the student common room and thought why not? Extra cash I suppose, however that did mean I was constantly stuck with Adam as the only others in the tail around our own age were a couple of gobby townies and some girl from our school who clearly thought highly of herself as she'd never even spoken to me, but it was pill time and breakfast in an hour I was dressed makeup done and he was laid in his bed on his back in his boxers still dead to the world.

I rolled my eyes and sat on his bed "Adam?" I asked but no response "Adam?" Still nothing "Adam?" I asked giving him a poke but he stirred and little else "Adam?"

"Humm?"

"It's y/n"

"Ummm? Y/n" he grumbled shifting his hips

"Your gonna be late, it's pill time"

"Ehh" he grumbled not really interested Sure enough he went back to sleep

"Adam! You need to get up"

"Ummmm… let me sleep y/n" he complained

"Adam, you'll get yelled at if you miss pills and you'll feel like shit if you skip breakfast come on," I told him but nothing so I moved a little closer and began to gently tickle him

"Ummmm y/n! Let me sleep" he complained wriggling and trying to push me off

"No come on it's time to wake up"

"I'm not getting up so bugger off"

"Adam!"

"No" he groans putting a pillow over his head

"You wanna play this way fine?" I snapped I got up and bounced on his bed but no response, I ticked his feet but nothing, I even poked his face but nothing I looked over him trying to formulate my plan of how I could be annoying to wake him up but then I had a thought perhaps I'm coming at this incorrectly so I sat on his bed again and gently ticked his waist

"Ummmm! Y/n let me sle-" he began moving the pillow but as he spoke I moved my hand down to gently palm the morning wood in his red and black boxers "uuummm?" he groans barely awake but unable to stop his hips grinding onto my hand "helllooo" he Cooes "ummm just let me sleep y/n"

"And stop my hand?" I asked

"Don't make me choose" he groans

So I smirked and tugged down his boxers exposing his hard erection I gently took his shaft in hand stroking his head with my thumb before I began to move my hand making sure to pay attention to his gasps and groans to ensure he was receiving the most pleasing possible

"Uuuhh" he gasps rolling his head against the pillow and biting his lip "That's a good girl… put me to sleep"

"It's meant to be waking you up!"

"Ummm but it's ever so relaxing y/n, it feels so good just to lay back all snug and sleepy with these soft hands wrapped around me"

"Wake up or I'll stop"

"That a promise?"

"Yes"

"Uhhh just a little longer"

"Sleep or my hand?"

"Both"

"No one or the other Adam"

"Uuhh I still think sleep wins out," he says

"Fine" I sighed taking my hand away

"Ummm thank you very much though, maybe when I'm less tired you can come to finish me off?" He says before he began to drift back to sleep but I hatched a better plan I stood and kicked off my shoes and tugged my panties out from under my dress I climbed on his lap and shuffled a little Letting him slip inside me "uuuuuuuhhh! Holy-" he moans putting a hand over his mouth given everyone else in the house he now actually opened his eyes and saw me sat over him as I began to move his eyes rolled back and he moaned under his hand "uuhhh okay okay. I'm up! I'm up!" He says sitting up "I'm awake, I'm awake I swear. Uhhh just please don't stop y/n" he begs moving his hips to thrust up into me as I ride providing us both with waves of pleasure we did our best to both stay quiet and slow given his bedroom was above the kitchen where everyone would be congratulated for breakfast and his wooden bedframe would bang in the wall of we are too fast he wrapped his arms around my waist often kissing my neck as he tried to keep quiet but I pushed him down to lay flat as I knew how close I was getting and i needed to just work so I began to get faster and more merciless on him which he enjoyed massively biting his lip hard trying desperately not to moan "I'm close y/n" he pleads "please, please! You have no idea how bad I need this" he groans moving his hands from my waist to my breasts groping them through my dress and playing with my hardening nipples "ohh yeah… fuck! Uuuuuuuhhh I haven't cum in a week and being stuck inside all day with you isn't exactly helping" he groans

"I know, just a little more -" I whined moving one of his hands to my clit and he didn't need more information as he began rubbing and stroking my clit which was enough to throw me over the edge I covered my mouth as I froze up pleasure Washing over me

"Uuughhhh!" He groans as my tightness has thrown him over the edge too he buries himself inside me filling me up he collapses completely against his pillow gasping for breath

"Umm finally you're awake Adam" I smiled

"You evil little thing" he smirked

"It worked didn't it?"

"Hummm true. I didn't know you…liked me like that"

"I didn't know you did?"

"Guess we're both kinda dumb" he laughed before he sat up and gave me a sweet kiss "You wanna go have breakfast together?"

"I'd like that Adam" I smiled "Then my room after" I smiled tapping his nose

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

"Ummm okay, but I wanna be on top this time"

"Maybe" I smiled getting up and using his tissues to clean up where his kiss was leaking down my legs before I could put my panties back on even if some was still leaking "damn Adam"

"I did say it's been a week," he says getting up to get dressed "ummm you look so fucking good like that"

"What?" I giggled

"With me dripping out of you…" he smirked "fuck… breakfast can wait" he smirked grabbing my hand and pulling me onto his bed he sat over early "This time I wanna watch you squirm"

"But it's pill time They'll get mad we're not down there"

"...fine. but as soon as breakfast is over your room?"

"I promise, come on or we'll be late," I told him sorting myself out and scampering down to the kitchen for breakfast.

[whump-and-suffering]

Fic for @vocalhitches

R\\si fic! Sick!B\\rkin. Could be read as platonic or romantic with W\\sker (there's a bit of flirting but it's ambiguously not serious).

TW for smoking.

Fic with uncensored names below the cut, desperately hoping my R\\si fan vanilla friend won't find this:

It was late at night–how late, William didn’t know, as he’d long since lost track of time–and the laboratory was silent. Which was a sign of just how late it was in itself: this was Arklay, after all, and there were normally at least a handful of researchers working into the night on various projects. He paused, frowned as he glanced around the empty room–when had everyone else left?--and was about to resume his work when his breath caught–fuck, not again–he searched his pockets for tissues, and just about managed to press a crumpled one to his nose in time to sneeze twice into it. “Ha’tschhoo! Hh…hh-aTSCHOO!”

His nose was streaming now, and he slumped back against the workbench, suddenly exhausted. That morning, he’d just had a slight sore throat that he’d dismissed as nothing, but he’d been sniffling and sneezing more and more throughout the day. He couldn’t afford to get another cold–not now, not with the rumours of Alexia’s work outpacing his own growing by the day, and definitely not when it was the fourth fucking cold he’d had in three fucking months. Every time, he’d pushed through it and kept working, but no matter how hard he tried he could never work quite as quickly or quite as well when he was sick, and he cursed himself for it. Curie had kept working while dying of radiation exposure, Einstein was writing equations on his deathbed at the age of 76, and William Birkin, once said to be the greatest researcher of his time, was letting a cold of all things distract from his work.

William blew his nose, and grimaced as snot soaked through his last tissue. He threw it in the trash, and massaged his aching sinuses for a moment–still just as congested as he had been before blowing his nose, despite all the thick snot that had come out. He knew it would only make him feel worse, but he needed a smoke.

He’d started smoking again a couple of months ago, when everything with Alexia had come to a head. It had just been the occasional cigarette in a stressful moment at first, but by this point he was back up to a pack a day, sneaking around like a kid so Albert wouldn’t notice. Albert was probably asleep now anyway. How the hell he found time to sleep every night and still get all his work as Chief Researcher done, William had no idea. He stepped into the corridor, lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. Fuck, he really had needed that. He was tempted to chain-smoke the whole pack there and then, but his throat already hurt. He’d limit himself to just the one for now. Maybe two.

As he brought the cigarette to his mouth again, he sneezed without warning–”H’tsschoo! HaTSCHOOO! HATSCHIEW!”--shit, now the cigarette was out. He was just wondering whether it was worth trying to relight it–they were never as good, but he was desperate, and it wasn’t often he found the time to get into town to buy more–when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“I thought you’d quit those years ago.”

William jumped, startled. “Albert, how the fuck do you sneak about like that?” He turned to face him and stared for a moment. “And why are you half-undressed?” The bastard was just standing there, shirtless with his how-the-fuck-are-you-a-researcher muscles on full display. His hair was ungelled–had he been asleep? He looked far too put together for someone who’d just got out of bed–William, with his red nose and dark circles under his eyes, felt disgusting in comparison.

“Walking down here fully undressed seemed inadvisable.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Albert sighed. “You told me you had ‘just one thing to quickly sort out in the lab’ and then you’d get some sleep. After an hour had passed without your return, I got up and came down here to find you.”

“I ca–ah–tsschhoo!--can’t sleep until thi–hi…heh…” With a scowl, William wrinkled his nose and just about managed to fight off that sneeze. “Until this is finished.”

“Depriving yourself of sleep won’t help you accomplish anything.” Albert stepped into the lab, glanced through the pile of notes William had made over the last couple of hours, then turned back to him. “These are practically illegible. Between lack of sleep and that cold, I highly doubt you’re thinking clearly enough to get any work done at all.”

Shit, was it that obvious?

As if in answer to William’s question, he felt his nose starting to run down his face again. He sniffled harshly, trying to stop it dripping onto his lip.

Albert frowned. “Don’t tell me you thought I wouldn’t notice. We share a room, it’s impossible not to.”

William opened his mouth to argue–though what he’d have said he had no idea–and instead sneezed five times in rapid succession. “Hh–tsschhhoo! Hhaatschhoo! HaTSCHOO! Heh…ATSCHOO! HATSCHIEW!”

When he was finally able to open his watery eyes he saw Albert offering him a handkerchief. William grabbed it, only briefly wondering if he was really meant to use it like this (but then, Albert had offered it to him, right?) before messily blowing his streaming nose into it. It took a full minute before he even came close to feeling like he’d cleared out the heavy congestion.

Albert was looking at him with distaste. “I won’t want it back.”

William sniffled, gave his nose a final wipe, and shoved the now soaking handkerchief into his pants pocket.

Albert raised an eyebrow. “Now, are you really going to tell me you can still work?”

“You sdtill–” Fuck, he’d just blown his nose and he already couldn’t breathe through it– “You sdtill wedt to work whed you had a code thadt one tibe,” William rasped out.

‘That one time’, a couple of years ago now, remained William’s only proof that Albert Wesker was not in fact a flawless superhuman being who remained untouched by the illnesses that afflicted mere mortals (although he was sure Albert would find a way around that eventually). Even then, he’d recovered uncannily quickly. William scowled at yet another reminder that other people managed to do this job without feeling like they were about to collapse under the pressure. Without always being tired, without fucking getting sick all the time.

“Not in the middle of the night. You should be in bed.”

William forced a grin–anything to stop Albert figuring out just how awful he really felt. “Id yours, you mbead? Thadt whad you really cabe dowd here shirdtless for?” Not that there was anything attractive about him at the moment.

Albert sighed. “No, in yours. To sleep, as I’ve already repeatedly told you.”

“...Fide.”

Halfway through dragging himself up the stairs, William doubled over with a harsh, wet coughing fit, and if it hadn’t been for Albert catching him he’d have fallen. By the time they reached the bedroom they shared, he’d given up on trying to pretend he was fine, Albert guiding him as he stumbled to bed in an exhausted daze. His head ached, his throat hurt, and he was barely able to keep his eyes open.

No-one else at the Arklay Laboratory would ever have believed that Dr Wesker would gently brush a strand of Dr Birkin’s hair out of his face and watch over him with concern as he slept off a cold. Yet that was, in fact, the last thing William saw as he finally fell asleep.