#my dear harpy boy

[eatmacherries]

The harpy boy is back!

[jayvrontio]

OMGGGG I AM LITERALLY SOBBING RN!!!! I LOVE HOW YOU DREW MY BOY!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH DEAR SHIZA! YOU ARE AWSOME!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

ArtTrade with @jayvrontio <33 ~ Had much fun to draw ya boii >w<

[kiame-sama]

Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x Reader) Monster AU pt 17

(Naga Jamil has a tendency to coil up during classes, usually sitting by windows and anywhere sunny so he can keep his reptile half warm. He is technically warm-blooded, but it does take a large amount of food and magical ability to keep the snake half warm, so he will take the sunlight's assistance whenever available. During the winter, Jamil can often be found curled up in Scarabia in the sun-warmed sands or coiled around heaters for the warmth during classes.)

Warnings: Monsterverse TWST, yandere, multiple yanderes, platonic yanderes, romantic yanderes, violence, stressful meetings, protective behavior, obsessive behavior, cruelty, somewhat brat!reader, slight violence, fem pronouned reader, redemption, backhanded comments, Nemean Lions, Hellcat, Shinigami, Cervitaur, Dragons, Vampire bat, Harpies, Drider, Toad, Rat,

~~~~~~~~

Cheka smiled and happily ate the plentiful food in front of him, sitting side by side with Grim as they feasted. You decided to have an early lunch seeing as you were going to be busy around actual lunch time. It made you happy to see Grim wasn't being aggressive towards Cheka anymore and Ortho was happy to keep the cub entertained.

Naturally, you made a simple sandwich that Silver could easily replicate as the Cervitaur was keen to help you in the kitchen especially due to your leg. Despite how you wanted to walk around and even make something complicated like fried chicken- that new deep fryer Idia made was calling to you- Malleus was keen to keep you off of your leg. It was likely a result of the diligent guarding of the dragon that your leg began to stop hurting, feeling much better than it had since you were stabbed.

All you really needed to do was wait until the actual noon hour rolled around for your fated meeting of the representatives, but you were free until then. As you watched your two young charges eat and play together, a faint cool breeze on the back of your neck had you turning to look at your company. Malleus stood with you, his tail holding you up a little above where you would stand and taking the majority of the weight off your leg. He had insisted on giving Silver a break and seemed content to just hold you.

Rook and Vil were going to be stopping by soon, wanting to choose the outfit you would wear to this deciding of fates. They were actually surprised to hear that the representatives could potentially take you away and were determined to do everything they could to stop that outcome. It seemed like everyone you spoke to about the upcoming event was of a similar mind, even Riddle swore to appear before the group to plead your case.

"You seem so happy with your cubs, (Y/n)."

"Well, Cheka isn't mine to keep, but he is a sweet boy. And of course I'm happy to see him and Grim getting along."

"I am glad. I feel much of the same when I am among my Hoard."

A slight grimace pulled at the Dragon's smile and you frowned in response. Something was clearly bothering him.

"Tsuno?"

"I don't wish to lose any member of my Hoard, yourself included. Twice I have come close to facing that reality, and twice I have been late to defend you. The Ancient One has given me excellent council that I hope to heed, and with Lilia's guidance, I have decided to bestow a blessing upon you."

"What kind of blessing?"

Malleus held up a clawed hand, shadows seeming to be drawn to the space above it and almost seemed to condense into a physical object suspended in space. The item looked like one of the magestones that the other sudents carried around on their weapons, only somewhat different. It was a bright green crystal ball that sat encased in black metal akin to briar thorns, the top of the bauble making a loop that could easily connect to the upgraded tracking collar you now wore.

"This," Malleus started, letting you observe the interesting summoned item, "is something I hold quite dear to me. It is a twin to the magestone I now use. It belonged to my mother, both stones passed into Lilia's care along with my egg before she... It means a lot to Briar Valley. It means a lot to me. Only a Dragon of my lineage can wield the unruly wild magic it contains. I have considered and agonized over ways to keep you safe, now I can do exactly that. So long as you carry it with you, I am only a breath away. Speak my name, my full name, and it will bring me to your aid."

"Tsuno, I... I don't know if I can accept this. If it means so much to you, I would be consumed with guilt should anything happen to it."

"Just as I would be consumed with guilt if anything happened to you. Indulge me, (Y/n), and wear it proudly. You are always under threat and I can't always be there. Let me be your protector and call upon me when you need me. Call me to your side even when your life isn't at risk, I adore our conversations. Allow me protect what matters to me."

This was clearly something vitally important to Malleus, so you didn't fight the Dragon further on the matter. He moved and maneuvered his tail to attach the lovely bauble to your collar, smiling as it gleamed proudly from its spot against your collarbone. It almost felt weightless on your warm skin and you vaguely wondered if it was a result of being a Magestone.

Malleus couldn't help but admire the way it adorned your soft body, drawing his affectionate gaze over your figure. He was being truthful when he said you could call out to him with it, but that was not the only role the gleaming stone played. It was the smaller of a pair of Magestones and the larger partner was always with Malleus at all times. He could now keep his eyes on you even from a distance, the pair of Magestones working as a viewing glass. On top of the added benefit of checking in on you, Malleus could now slowly begin feeding his own magic into it and you.

He took to heart the wise words of his trusted friend and advisor, Lilia, and decided to try and begin the process of extending your life. It would take time and patience on his part, but once it was ready and charged enough with his magic, your life would last as long as his own. Naturally, he wanted your approval before taking such a drastic measure, but he did not wish to live without his most precious treasure. Even Lilia would one day die before the great Dragon, he did not wish the same fate for you.

He recognized that you may see it as too much or may be upset that he acted in selfishness, but Malleus already lost so much to this world. His mother. His father. The Dragon refused to lose you too. Besides, he was certain you would carry the next generation of Draconia and he wanted you to be there to see your young grow and mature. It took almost 30 years for a Fae infant to even begin walking, let alone the slow aging Dragon Fae. If you were to carry his young, Lilia's young, and possibly even Silver or Sebek's young, you would need a long life to support those children with your ever loving and compassionate heart. He refused to let his hatchlings grow up without a mother.

"It looks stunning on you, (Y/n)."

"Are you sure about this, Tsuno? I'm still worried something may happen-"

"Enough. If I was not sure, I would not have gifted it to you. You have already given me so much, allow this Dragon to guard the treasures he values."

"Alright. It isn't like I'm going to be removing this collar anytime soon... Not unless the representatives decide to take me away."

Malleus frowned deeply at this, a sudden low rumble of lightning sounding overhead. You were surprised to hear the lightning as you had not seen a cloud in the sky earlier. It was while you glanced towards a window that Malleus gently used his hand to draw your gaze back to him.

"They will not take you. They will have to fight me for even thinking they could take you away."

"Malleus?"

"Tsuno. I am quite partial to the name you have gifted me regardless of how flippant the act may have been in the moment, I would rather you use it."

"Tsuno," you glanced from his serious expression to the rolling storm that appeared outside, "are you the one who has been summoning the lightning?"

"Yes. It is a bad habit of mine. My emotions easily impact the weather and even directly control it at times. Lightning tends to come about with my anger. Snow often comes forth with my sorrow. My joy usually brings clear skies. I must guard my emotions carefully and control them with a steady mind."

"So the lightning that second night I spent here... The storm that woke me..."

"It was a creation of my emotion. Poachers sought to take you, I refused to let them."

It always surprised you to learn the sheer strength Malleus himself carried as he seemed so gentle with you and Grim. Apparently that gentle disposition did not extend to others outside of his Hoard and it made you vaguely worry about those around you. If Malleus was that powerful, how could anyone stop him if he truly snapped one day? Perhaps that is why Lilia emphasized the calming impact the Hoard had on the Dragon. You were beginning to realize the weight of the duty that had been lain upon your shoulders.

But where did that put Grim? As far as you were concerned Grim was your boy, your child, your cub. If you were part of Malleus' Hoard, did that include Grim as well? Lilia said only Hoard members could enter a nest built by Malleus, and Grim slept in the nest with you and the rest of the Hoard.

"Tsuno, is Grim a member of your Hoard?"

"As your cub, yes. Any you choose to take under your care shall be accepted into my Hoard. I have been more than serious about your standing among the Hoard and how much your happiness matters to me. Grim makes you happy and he has managed to win over the others as well."

"Will you protect him like you protect me?"

"With all the power I have available to me."

~~~~~~~~

You were a little frustrated at the ensemble Vil and Rook insisted on for your meeting with the representatives, feeling like some kind of dress-up doll. Both men had insisted that they be allowed to coordinate your outfit and you gave up trying to fight them on their choices. They took choosing your outfit rather seriously and once they finally agreed on one, you had to let them dress you up in it.

Apparently they weren't the only ones who were keen to keep you in Night Raven. Almost all of the Housewardens and their Vice-Housewardens showed up at your dorm to try and render aid, all except Leona who was oddly absent. Despite how you wanted to ease their concerns and tell them about Papa Hades' willingness to keep the representatives from taking you, you didn't want to disrupt the plan by loudly telling everyone about it. If you were going to be safe in Night Raven College, you had to at least make an attempt to expose the representative that tried to have you killed.

Now it felt almost like you were on a death march, Silver carrying you, Cheka, and Grim to where you were supposed to meet the representatives. You were flanked on either side by Idia, Ortho, and Sebek. Not only did your guarding entourage follow you, but Papa Hades and Malleus walked silently along as well, using a complex mix of invisibility spells and concealment spells to hide their presence. When you asked why they were hiding themselves, Papa Hades said the representative was more likely to act out against you if they didn't know of their presence.

It made sense, so you simply nodded along and let the Shinigami and Dragon do as they wished.

Crowley was holding the meeting in the Hall of Mirrors and your anxiety slowly raised as the Cervitaur walked you to what would be a gathering to decide your fate. If you wanted to have any hope of returning to your home, you would have to stay at Night Raven College. You fell into this monstrous world here, you could escape this world of madness here. All you had to do was root yourself in place and refuse to let the others take you away. Easier said than done.

The doors opened ahead of you as Silver walked you into the room, feeling everyone's eyes landing on you the second you crossed the threshold. It was more than a little unnerving to be the center of such intense attention. That is why you were glad Cheka and Grim were both with you during this. The cub and kit only purred reassuringly as you held onto them much in the way a child would hold to stuffed animals.

"There you are, (Y/n)," Crowley greeted you with a smile despite the fact he knew you were arriving, it was obviously more for the representatives to put a name to their wayward ideas of you being Human, "glad you could join us for this."

"I don't have much of a choice when people demand my time and threaten my peace to satisfy their own curiosity."

Crowley was silent for a moment, privy to the plan that had been put in place but somewhat thrown off by your more than clipped words. He was used to your proclivity to be a bit more goading around him- he did collar you first, after all- but he also knew you were more of a tentatively gentle disposition in most cases. It was odd to him to have you be less than understanding of the situation.

"... Anyway, these are the representatives of Twisted Wonderland. Several have come from the various Kingdoms and Queendoms to confirm you are being treated fairly at Night Raven College. Some are also here to plead their case for why you should be removed from Night Raven College."

You nodded, taking a quick look across the several representatives seated around the large table. There were various types of creatures present and one in particular stood out to you. A man with an orange and golden mane sat proudly at a spot between where you were and the end of the table, his neck, arms, and body adorned with gemstones and golden chains. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Cheka," the little cub looked up at you curiously, "is that Dada?"

He followed your pointing finger to the Lion man who looked caught off guard by you singling him out before his eyes landed on the cub in your arms. There was little to describe how surprised he looked as several representatives began murmuring and talking about the Nemean Lion you held so securely. Cheka was not nearly as thrown off by all of this as the representatives were, a wide and excited smile taking over his features as he began to wiggle in your grasp. His little paws reached out to the older Lion and you were happy to facilitate letting him return to his father.

Though it took more energy and strength than you cared to admit to release the cub, you still placed the young boy on the table and let him scamper away. A vague sadness pulled at your heart as Cheka scrambled past several others to reach his father's arms, purring loudly and cuddling into the surprised man's embrace. Clearly, the lion had not expected such a greeting but took it in stride and held the cub all the same.

"You know," you started, tone somewhat chastising, "Leona may be your brother but he is not- and never will be- a good option for a babysitter. I'm fairly sure you knew that going into this. But, I'm always game to take little Cheka on field trips if you ever need a break from him. He's a sweetheart."

The Lion man seemed somewhat dubious about your offer even as the cub cuddled into his chest and purred at him. If anything, not even Crowley seemed at ease despite how non-threatening the cub actually was. It was this unease that gave a representative- a toad looking man with bugged eyes- the courage to speak.

"No Nemean Lion should ever be allowed near a Human, not even cubs! They slaughtered Humans for food and we all know that Sunset Savana was instrumental in driving the species to extinction-"

"And we all know it happened in the past, long before this current generation of Lions. Are you truly so bogged down by history that you would hold contempt for those who are not directly responsible for the current issue at hand? Or is it simply your own racism against them that makes you speak so confidently about a topic you nor your ancestors were privy to? In fact, I've learned that other species had shown violence in the past to Humans- from Unicorns, to Naga, to Kelpies, even certain Fae- and not only that but disease and greedily hoarding my species as pets played similar roles in the death of Humanity. Can you stay with the utmost confidence that every Human was killed by a Nemean Lion?"

The toad man opened and closed his mouth, unable to respond to your direct accusation with any grace or ability to save face. In some ways, you wondered if you were being too aggressive in your responses, but Papa Hades made your role in this dance very clear. Any representative who pushed their agendas against you should be met with equal or greater pushback from you. Besides, you have been witness to the poor treatment Ruggie and Leona received simply for being born the species they were.

"They- well, they-!"

"Yes or no. Can you say every Human was killed by a Neman Lion?"

"... No."

"My point exactly. Unless you have something truly useful to add to the conversation, maybe it isn't your place to speak at all on the matter."

The man seemed to shrink back into his seet under your gaze, wanting to be anywhere but that room as your ire was clear. His silence was enough reason for you to move on from the conversation, turning to Crowley expectantly to get this 'conference' under way.

"Yes, well, let us continue with assessing her general well-being-"

~•§•~

"-which is why I petition the Human to be put into my care."

It had been at least three hours of listening to the various representatives speak and make their opinions known. Around the midway mark is when you realized it wasn't just representatives, but scientists who were clearly eager to try and test you for more information. You were mostly tolerant of the pressing and curious natures of the scientists, but your tolerance was running low.

Cheka had moved between you and his Dada several times in an effort to keep himself entertained, currently laying in your arms and batting at Silver's uniform. Despite the exciteable cub, no one was willing to reprimand him as it was more than clear you were willing to defend him from them. Even with his interruptions- which were quite welcome given the monotony of the conversations- many had been able to make their opinions and views known without too much infighting.

Few dared to speak openly against one another, especially after you promptly shut down that first toad-man in defense of the Sunset Savana King- Falena Kingscholar- and you were bored to tears. There was only a handful of representatives who had not spoken yet- the representative of Briar Valley being the most prominent- but even those who were more long-winded were losing patience with the man who now spoke.

He was a Rat looking monster that somewhat reminded you of a Gnoll given his twisted pelt stretched over a humanoid skeleton. Since he first started speaking you got a bad feeling from him and the way he seemed to sneer most of his words. You were less than amused with this creature than you figured to be possible and you were bored enough to have a bit of sport at the expense of the clearly proud Rat.

Not only had he been ranting about how 'trustworthy' he was, but he spouted off repeated flashoods. You understood that many in Twisted Wonderland didn't understand Humans and debated what species Humans were, but the Rat spoke down to you like he was doing a favor in 'educating' you with falsehoods and lies. Something you could call intuition told you that this beast was the one who hired the Wolves.

"Tell me again what species you think humans come from?"

"Pigs. Obviously."

"Yeah, well, you're wrong."

"Not possible! I-"

"We're an evolved species of great ape. Not monkey either, we don't have prehensile tails. Ape."

The Rat seemed to try and save face, glancing around at the table before back to you.

"Well, surely a blood sample could prove-"

"Furthermore, this idea of yours that claims Humans frequently consumed their young is just reprehensible. We killed for our young. True, some abandoned them or gave them to others to raise, but to dare suggest such a thing as all Humans eating their children? Absolutely vile."

He choked and tried to speak over you, huffing out the words in indignation. It was clear to you that your pushing and less than approachable behavior was unsettling the supposed 'Human expert' as you called out his falsehoods in front of the other representatives and scientists. Many of the scientists taking notes as you spoke.

"They were theories-"

"And they are wrong. That is not the issue I have right now. My issue is the fact you are trying to argue these things with me- an actual Human- who actually knows about, you guessed it, Humans. A Human who has lived among other Humans for the majority of my life. A literal world of nothing but Humans as the primary sentient species. Do I need to continue?"

The Rat man was glaring at you now and his lip curled upwards to bare his teeth at you. Despite his attempt to look intimidating, you refused to back down or let the Rat-man talk over you. If anything, he looked pathetic instead of frightening. He didn't even seem to notice you reaching up to cover Cheka's ears as he huffed at you.

"You could try to be polite-"

"Polite? When you came in here- the place I call home- and decided you were the expert on my species. Then proceeded to say the most inane bullshit fucking excuse of a theory and dare say I need to be polite when I disagree with your flat nonsense?"

"I have a degree-"

"And I am the 'creature' you claim to study. Not comparable in the slightest. If you're as educated as you claim, you would know that."

The silence that followed was thick and hung oppressively in the air, but you still sat tall and stared the man down. Cheka- whose ears were were covered by your hands- tilted his head curiously at you as he patted at your hands to move so he could hear. You weren't about to let the cub hear your angry cursing or taunting words, keeping your hands in place on his kitten soft rounded Lion ears.

The Rat was not faring well against your words, clearly becoming angry due to how his wormed tail writhed and his fur fluffed. There was a kind of tension in his limbs that made you wonder if he were really about to leap at you. He certainly seemed angry enough to try such a brazen act.

"What's wrong, Mr. 'Overly-Educated'? Lion got your tongue?"

"If only they killed you."

"Excuse you?"

"If only those idiotic hounds killed you. I pay them everything they demand to get rid of you and they had to muck it up! Wasted money and resources-!"

His voice caught in his throat as he seemed to realize the situation he just put himself in. Some of the representatives were shocked and some just seemed angry. All of them were staring at the Rat. When it seemed like he was about to back track on his words, you decided to be more than a little spiteful and threw in a light jab just to add salt to the wound.

"Go on. You were so confident before, did you run out of all that bought power and bullshit, or did you just realize how out of your depth you truly are?"

Only a singular eye-twitch told you what was coming as he threw himself across the table, his main goal being to maim and injure you however possible. He didn't even get close enough for Silver to respond before he was flying back the direction he came. Materializing out of the air was a familiar grayish-blue hand of a more than intimidating entity standing at your back. Even the Rat, who was trying to pull himself to his feet, flinched upon seeing the smoldering fury of the elder Shinigami behind you.

"Want to try that again, or have you realized the extent to which you've fucked up?"

"I'll kill you-!"

It was then another sound met your ears, one that rumbled and grew in intensity as the air around you began to spark with green lightning. Almost all representatives were unsettled by the show of power as Malleus materialized next to Silver, the rage in his eyes clear. Outside the deep sound of rolling thunder boomed across the island as his rage became clear.

The only one who didn't seem bothered by Malleus' appearance was the rather elegant woman that represented Briar Valley. In fact, she looked thoroughly amused by the rage of the younger Dragon. She had first drawn your eye when you had begun to mentally tire of the conversation a few hours ago, looking much like an effeminate Malleus. The only notable difference this woman had to Malleus was her apparent chest and thinner set face. Otherwise the two looked like they could be related.

Malleus told you earlier that day that his mother and father were no longer among the living. This meant that the woman who now smiled at the Dragon was either his grandmother or great grandmother. She certainly didn't look to be that old, but then again, Lilia didn't look old either. She sat alone at the table with no clear guards, but you figured a Dragon didn't need guards.

"Malleus, calm yourself, little hatchling."

"I refuse. He dare threaten my Hoard and even dare to claim violence towards my Hoard. He pays for his transgression with his life."

"That is fair, but also not your place to deliver punishment on this island. We are not in Briar Valley anymore."

"That makes his crime no less serious."

Talking to the woman clearly began to calm Malleus, and the Rat took this lapse of rage as an invitation. Blinded by rage at your earlier taunts, the Rat decided to try and leap at you again. The one who blocked him this time was an unexpected presence you hadn't even heard enter.

Leona stood holding the Rat by the neck, clearly amused in squeezing the fragile windpipe of the squirming creature.

"There you are, Mousey. Figured you had that brat with you, certainly had me running around campus looking for you two. Funny, I didn't think Rats had that much interest in Mice."

"Hi, Leona."

"That's all you're gonna say?"

"... You're an awful babysitter and you weren't invited to this meeting."

"Don't care and you're welcome, Mousey."

The Lion grinned as he threw the Rat back, clearly playing with the rodent man and not overly threatened by him. This sudden interjection was enough to make the other representatives answer the call to action as several rushed forward to detain the Rat that admitted to hiring poachers. It was while this uproar was taking place that several other Housewardens made their presence known, all of them entering the room and taking up posts around you in what was akin to body-blocking the representatives.

"You know," you loudly started, bringing a silent order to the chaos around you as all eyes turned back to you, "for all the talk of if I am safe here, not one person has addressed the full issue at large; am I safe anywhere in Twisted Wonderland? A representative- someone who is standing on guard for their country- had the gall to hire poachers to kill me and attacked me while surrounded by their peers. A room of people who claim to have my best interests in mind were incapable of acting to protect or aid me. Can any of you say you are doing a good job at keeping my safety in mind, or is this all just posturing? So far, the only ones who have truly acted in my best interests are those right here at Night Raven College and their associates. Judging from all of the complaints and issues brought up, it all pales in the light of reality that none of you could come to my defense when I needed it. Where I'm sitting, it seems like I'm already safest right here. Sure, poachers are here, but clearly they are everywhere. I don't think this meeting needs to continue, especially in light of the circumstances."

~•§•~

Despite the events, it still took time to wrap up the meeting and for the representatives to agree with you. Some scientists were still dubious and some wanted just a moment more to study you. It took your agreement to several research sessions in the future, visiting various Kingdoms and Queendoms personally, and Crowley's promise to give consistent wellness updates to get them to concede to your wishes.

Only a handful of representatives were interested in staying past the meeting, and it was primarily those who already had ties to the students that guarded you. Some scientists hovered around and- with your permission as well as Malleus' permission- took photos of you for reference and further study. None seemed willing to push you too much given the Shinigami and Dragon combo that hovered over your shoulder.

"Thank you, (Y/n), for keeping Cheka safe. He is an adventurous little cub, but he is still my son and I value your willingness to protect him."

"Of course, Falena! And I was serious about keeping an eye on him if you ever need a break. My door is always open to that rascal."

"At least I know better than to leave him with Leona again."

The Lion in question was scowling as Cheka ran circles around him, tugging at his arms and tail. You just smiled in response to the sight before turning back to Falena. He wasn't nearly as outwardly hostile as Leona had been and he was keenly interested in your recounting of the Wolves incident.

"Eh, don't write off Leona too soon. The way I hear it, he spent all day trying to track Cheka down. Despite how grumpy that Lion is- and the fact he will never admit to it- he has a good heart. He cares more than he will ever say, he just isn't the best at showing it."

"Then you see more in him than the rest of Sunset Savana. You seem to also see more in Sunset Savana than the rest of the world. I thank you for that."

"No need to thank. I've seen first hand how others treat your citizens and I don't appreciate it. We can only learn from history so we do not repeat it, no need to guilt descendants for the actions of their ancestors."

"Would it be too forward of me to hope you'll visit Sunset Savana some day?"

"Well, according to the representatives, I'll be visiting a lot of places in the near future. I don't see why Sunset Savana can't be included in those visits."

"Meeting you now and hearing your wisdom, it's hard to believe my ancestors were so willing to harm Humans for nothing more than a meal. Hopefully I can prove to the world that we in Sunset Savana have grown past such violence and barbarism."

"I don't blame you for what has happened, and I am glad it was Leona who saved me from the Wolves. Hopefully this can be an end to the mistreatment of your people."

"I would love nothing more."

As you spoke to the Nemean Lion King amicably, two Dragons watched you from afar. One elder and one younger. With both of them standing next to one another their shared blood was obvious.

"I see you saw it fit to gift her your father's magestone. You are aware those magestones are a pair and how they work, correct?"

Malleus nodded, gazing out at the Human he so greatly adored. Everything about this day had taught him more than ever that he could not bear parting with his most prized Hoard member. It didn't matter to him if he had to work endlessly to defend his soft Human, the world would fall in line for daring to encroach on his Hoard.

"You are certain?"

"More than I can convey."

"Very well. You will do well to take heed of how fragile Humans are, especially to us."

"I won't let you down."

"Lilia still has a few centuries left based on his species, his guidance will be invaluable. You may not wish to heed his words at all times, but you should still hear them all the same. I remember my court of Humans... Such fascinating creatures. Be a good Dragon and guard your Hoard."

"With my life."

[quecksilvereyes]

listen its about the last unicorn being fundamentally no different from the harpy and feeling more compassion for her than she does the trapped animals or the humans trapped by circumstance. it's about haggard grabbing the unicorn only once she has become human enough for him to drag her down and realise her eyes are empty. it's about schmendrick and the magic that lives in him more than he wields it, it's about "never run from anything immortal, it attracts their attention" while walking slowly from an unspeakable horror devouring an old woman, it's about "how dare you come to me now, when I am this?". it's about the unicorns staying in the water until they can't anymore, until the castle crumbles and the one unicorn who is different from the others now - she lowers her horn and she digs her hooves in and she stands her ground for a dear, dead boy. it's about the trade of immortality between schmendrick and the unicorn, it's about stories needing to be told, it's about lir loving the unicorn enough to know that she cannot stay with him, and to let her would be to do her a disservice.

it's about "your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. i would tear myself to pieces to call you once by your name." it's about regret.

(it's also about little 5 year old me renting the movie from the library whenever i could and watching it on loop for hours. it's about just how much this story has shaped me and my understanding of storytelling.)

[queenimmadolla]

𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

(Tattoo Artist!Eddie Munson x Apprentice!Reader)

Summary: . . . After deciding you were meant for more than what life had in store for you, you gave into the siren call of the city─well a city. But when city life finally eats away at your bank account and your main source of income isn't reliable, you take on an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop where your boss is the six-foot something, tattoo covered Eddie Munson who quickly and unwisely becomes intrigued by you. Nothing romantic can come from it, lest you risk it being torn apart by your past, his lover and yourself.

Entire Work Warnings: 18+ (smut will take place in later chapters), swearing, financial problems, mentions of loss, escorts/call girls, age gap (Eddie is 36, reader is 25), financial shaming, slut shaming, implied sexual harassment, bimbo!reader (she may not be book smart but she knows the score) angst, self-sabotage.

a/n: based on my initial post and elements of Breakfast at Tiffany's. next chapters will be significantly juicer, this was just something to get us going. this is dedicated to @munsonology, happy birthday and I hope this year was a good one! and a very gratitude filled thank you to my dear friend, @kitmon, for continuing to be an an amazing beta! hope you guys like it so far ♡ (attempting the keep reading feature, fingers crossed)

word count: 5k

“They don’t bite.” “Hmn?” Came your absent-minded reply, eyes cutting from the harpy, evil in her eyes and blood soaking her talons, to the man flipping through the red binder you’d been carrying around you in the Indianapolis heat. 

  Sweat evaporated off your skin, giving away to goosebumps in the air conditioned shop, a much welcome relief to the borderline unbearable heatwave settling over the city streets, something that can be found in every nook and cranny. You’d been navigating your way throughout the city since before dawn broke, eager to get your fill of it while the streets were quiet and a decent temperature. It had been almost chilly this morning, your thick strapped tank top and daisy dukes—that you normally wouldn’t allow yourself to be caught dead in—leaving most of your skin exposed, with no direct sunlight to warm it. Now that the sun was out, you were on fire out there.

“The artwork.” He glanced at the framed harpy drawing along the wall, the one you’d been staring at, one of many framed depictions of gruesome and mythical looking creatures. “I don’t blame you though, that one isn’t particularly my favorite. Pretty badass, though. Heh.” “Oh,” You shook your head, the oversized shades adorning your face sliding down the bridge of your nose, “No, I’m not afraid of it. I like it. It must have taken forever though.”

  You turned your attention to her again, admiring how realistic her feathers appeared. Painstakingly detailed and whoever was walking around the city with her on their body surely endured a generous amount of pain to get her. 

  And a large hole in their wallet.

  “It took a ton of sessions, for sure. My boy did it a couple years ago.” The man, Argyle, as he’d introduced himself when you’d first walked into the shop, flipped his long black hair over his shoulder before he flipped to the next page of your portfolio. He let out a sound of appreciation as he leaned his weight on his elbow, hand resting over his mouth.

  “This is good! This is really good!”

You lifted your chin to peer at the drawing he was fascinated with. Ah.

It was a drawing of the skeletal Grim Reaper, cloaked in a black robe and scythe clutched in one hand while his boney middle fingers stretched his eye socket holes down in an obvious taunt. A tongue, black and tendril like, lulled out of his mouth.

You thought it was pretty good, too. The idea for it had struck you at a party, you’d been hiding from an annoying suitor and ducked into an office room, doodling to your heart's content once you grew past your boredom.

You grinned, a feeling of giddiness beginning to bubble inside you.

“Listen, the DM’s out right now, running some errands. He should be back soon, can I hold onto this?” Argyle asked, gripping the sides of the binder and raising it as if you didn’t already know he was referring to your portfolio, “I think he’ll be pretty impressed with your stuff.” You fidgeted with your fingers, giddiness giving away to nerves once more. “Really? You think so?” Hope was something you hadn’t felt in a while; you’d been through exactly fourteen tattoo shops throughout the city, most of which you’d been rebuffed from before they so much as flipped open your portfolio, having already decided your particular aesthetic didn’t fit their image. They hadn’t verbalized as much, but you knew. You glanced down at your pink boots, already such a stark contrast to the black beams beneath your feet.

It wouldn’t be a big deal if you hadn’t made a wager with yourself, you could only go home once you’d accomplished your task of getting one of the shop owners to actually look at your work. While Argyle had made it clear he wasn’t the head honcho, he’d be passing it along.

“Yeah, man! This is some pretty legit stuff! I’ve been tatting, myself, for a couple years now, and I’m good–don’t wanna flex or nothing but I’m really good. Only it took a couple of years for me to actually get this good, you know? And I’m not even talking about on skin. You haven’t tattooed anyone before, right?” You thought back to when you had mentioned your art skill to a brief...something, he’d been intoxicated enough on expensive wine and your sangria kisses to encourage you to use the tattoo kit one of your friends had re-gifted you after her interest in the subject waned. You’d never particularly imagined yourself etching into people’s skin before, not even when she’d given you the supplies because she’d seen some of your doodles.

Thanks to her, a suit and tie you no longer spoke to, who made more money than you’ll ever see, was walking around with a secret under his briefs: a pair of shiny cherries on his left ass cheek.

  It was no loss to you. Sure, he made money. Just not nearly enough for you to tolerate how aggressive he’d been with his affections as soon as he was sloshed. You’d given him the tattoo with his drunk pals cheering him on, went out to a very high standard club, then promptly ditched him the moment you were out of his sight. You hadn’t answered the door when he came pounding on it the next morning and the morning after that.

  You’d originally had no intentions of using the tattoo equipment, until that encounter. It had planted a seed, an idea that may get you out of what you had to do to survive. Tattooing hadn’t been a passion, and it still wasn’t quite one but you needed money and you had talent.

“No,” You lied with a shake of your head, “I haven’t.”

“That’ll change soon,” he laughed, closing your binder as he leaned further over the glass counter. Your gaze briefly flickered to the jewelry it housed.

  “You got a number we can reach you at?”

  You’d scrawled the number of your landline down on the back of one of their business cards before Argyle could rethink his decision to pass your work along. 

  “Hopefully, we’ll see you soon!” He called out as you retreated towards the door.

  God, I hope so.

  The thought of a somewhat stable job that could help the pitiful state of your checking and savings account was the only thing powering you through your long walk home. You couldn’t risk a cab, that would mean you’d have no fare money for tonight, and who knows if you’d have to make a speedy exit?

  You’d learned. Eventually.

  Forty-five minutes later, you entered your apartment, sagging back against the door as you dropped your bag and kicked your shoes off, unconcerned as to where exactly they’d landed. 

  Sweat glistened over your skin, and unlike in that last tattoo shop, there was no air conditioning to cool you. You and Sid saved that for special occasions.

  Instead, you opened the large window to the fire escape, obnoxious sounds of the city you called home filling the apartment.

  It wasn’t much, but it was better. Next came the matter of your clothes, stuck in the most uncomfortable of ways to your flesh. Your tank top was peeled off and thrown over the couch, daisy dukes abandoned near the entryway of the small kitchen on your way to the bathroom.

  A quick glance was spared behind you, taking in the state of your shared home. It was a mess and not even remotely surprising. The place was barely furnished with the essentials, all of which were secondhand: a couch, a coffee table with a sheet over it to hide the stains, one shelving unit, a rug and tapestries hung artfully on the walls for deception. They made the place look more put together than it was, but you’d love it even if it were still barren. A roof over your head in the city meant you didn’t have to return to the past you’d clawed your way out of..

  The only thing worth much was the framed photo on the kitchen counter, and that was only in sentimental value. You and Sid, arms around each other’s shoulders as you sat in a booth at a shitty diner you’d tried upon first moving to the city. They’d taken your photo for being the 600th customer and tacked it to the wall.

  You’d stolen it and had no regrets because you got to keep your memory and ended up getting food poisoning.

  With a shrug, you entered the bathroom for a much needed scrub down and some disassociating. Your mess could wait.

  ─

  Eddie was not in a great mood when he walked into the shop.

  His jacket was clutched in a sweaty palm, rings twisting around the flesh of his fingers and his bangs were beginning to stick to his forehead, all the result of the walk from his fucking car to the shop door. 

  “Grumpy?” Argyle asked, amused with the clear annoyance on his face.

  Eddie sneered, standing under the vent for a minute to cool down, “Triple digits. Triple fucking digits out there, man. You could shove a thermometer up the devil’s asshole and it’d be cooler than that.”

  Once he’d solidified, he stalked past the front desk, threw his jacket onto the counter and picked up a stack of mail.

  “Did I miss anything?” Eddie asked as he flipped through the envelopes, mostly junk.

  “A couple of walk-ins. Nothing too major there, handled them myself. Simple stuff, one wanted a goldfish. Not like a detailed one, like how you’d try and draw a goldfish cracker. We did have a few who wanted a couple of advance pieces, got ‘em booked for consultations with Johnny boy and Rob.”

  “Nice,” Eddie chuckled under his breath at the mental image of the goldfish tattoo, most likely an act of affection. Tattooing people who wanted to permanently carry reminders of their children was one of Eddie’s favorites to do, partially because of the sentiment but mostly because the drawings were amusing.

  He’d just finished tossing out the junk mail when he reached for his jacket to hang it up properly and discovered it had been concealing something. 

  “What’s this?” Eddie asked as he lifted the slim red binder. Looked relatively new.

  “Huh?” Argyle glanced up from the sketch he was working on, recognition flashing across his face, “Oh, yeah! We got a prospective new hire, someone dropped off their portfolio.”

  Eddie rolled his eyes and heaved out a heavy sigh as his jacket was tossed aside yet again. He had nothing against other tattoo artists, but the last one he’d hired that hadn’t come from his friend group ended up nearly destroying the group. 

  Henry had been charming, good at his job and charismatic. Turns out, he’d also been a master manipulator and had a particularly abhorrent temper. Tensions had been high, heads were butting and fights had occurred—with a permanent reminder in the wall near the front entrance where a large hole had been punched through. Henry had to go.

  Eddie wasn’t looking to repeat the situation.

  “I think we’re good on artists around here–and put a reminder on the calendar for me to patch that damn crater up.”  

  “Well, it’s a good thing the artist isn’t a tattoo artist. Yet. I’d look at that portfolio first before making any decisions, if I were you. I think you’re gonna see the beginnings of something goooooood, and dude, you’ll be killing our fun if you fix it. Do you know how many glory hole jokes we tell?” Eddie ignored the latter half of Argyle’s statement, reluctantly flipping the portfolio open to the first page and annoyance began to associate itself with him once more. 

  A body, in a state of decomposition greeted him. But it wasn’t maggots or rotting flesh involved. Flowers grew out of the crevices, with moss and mushrooms over her skin. A lot of fine line work.

  The next page was home to a bird-like creature with the body of a lion, a Griffin. Done in American Traditional.

  A skinny, demonic looking goat with horns and legs long enough to belong to a horse, clouded eyes and wyvern wings was on the page after that. The Jersey Devil. Someone knew their Cryptids.

  The portfolio contained a vast amount of drawings from horror depictions to more aesthetically pleasing visions; the hydra, skeletons, dragons, goddesses, respectable attempts at the modern Renaissance pieces, and even a couple of Barbie references, ranging in a variety of tattoo styles. 

  Eddie closed the portfolio and drummed his fingertips across the countertop, scowling. 

  That long haired doofus was right. This was beyond good work. But if they weren’t a tattoo artist, there wasn’t much Eddie could do with them. Drawing on paper is a much more different experience than skin. Mistakes can be erased on paper, the sketch done over again. Can’t do the same on flesh. 

  It’s intimidating. 

  They’d have to start off slow, like he had. Trained under a watchful eye, an expert who’d guide them with experienced hands. He was sure Jonathan and Robin would be eager to have an apprentice.

  But before Eddie would even begin to entertain the idea of an apprentice in his shop, he’d have to see exactly what it was he was working with.

  “Leave a number?” He asked without looking at Argyle because he knew he’d see nothing but a smug expression.

  “Yup.”

  “See if you can get him back in the shop tomorrow.”

  “Why not today?”

  “Because I have a session for the rest of the day, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah! I forgot.” Argyle’s grin was sheepish as he read off the calendar. “Stacy Peterson called. Car troubles. Unable to make it to appointment with Eddie. Rescheduled. Heh. So…you also missed that.”

  “I’ll strangle you later, just get him in here then.”

  Argyle opened his mouth, then closed it as an expression that said I know something you don’t crossed his strong features. “Righty-O, boss. I’ll give him a call.”

  You’d been lounging in the bathtub, hair up and out of the way, eyeing the grooves of the shower tile. They were a permanent taunt, stained dark no matter how hard you and Sid scrubbed and you hated the sight of them. 

  People with money didn't have to stare at them, able to afford to have them professionally cleaned or the shower wall—the entire bathroom renovated.

  Someday, that would be you. 

  You sunk further into the water, toeing at the faucet when the shrill sound of the landline filled your more than humble home. The thought of simply letting it ring played in your head until you remembered the tattoo shop you’d visited last. 

  Hastily rising from the tub, water was splashed along the floor while you did a terrible job of drying off and ran naked the rest of the way to the living room, almost slipping as you did.

  The receiver was yanked off its post, “Hello?”

  “What’s up, Dudette? Argyle calling, dunno if you remember me from earlier…”

  “Yeah! From the tattoo shop, right?”

  “Right-O! Listen, The Dungeon Master is in and he wants to see if you can get down here to show him what you got. Possible?”

  “Yeah, it’ll be no problem!” You’d have to run most of the way but street traffic around this time wasn’t that bad so you wouldn’t have to fight your way through bodies.

  “Cool, cool, cool. And between you and me, this is pretty much the interview process. Good luck, dudette, and may the force be with your tattie skills. I’ll see you when you get here!”

  As soon as you’d hung up, you ran to your room to get dressed. You didn’t have much of a wardrobe, but it wasn’t high on your list of priorities considering you and Sid practically shared one. Another tank top was selected—to mitigate sweating on your way to your interview—along with a gifted pink thong and matching bra. You’d snagged your Daisy Dukes from the floor on your way out, shimmied them on, grabbed your small bag and keys and headed out.

  The selection of attire was a good one, the heat was still stupidly unbearable and heavy. You’d need to wash off again tonight. You’d managed to make it to the shop in under twenty-five minutes, having ignored all the looks you’d received as you hurried along the streets and the feeling of the air conditioner on your skin was a welcome one when you made your way back into the shop.

  Argyle greeted you with a bright grin from his place behind the counter, throwing up his hands, “You made it! One sec.”

  Then he turned his upper body to call into an area you couldn’t quite see into, “Oh, Eddie boy! Your prospect has arrived.”

  You hadn’t cared to entertain ideas on what your potential boss could look like, all you were concerned about was the position and getting your foot in the door. Even if you had tried to imagine him, nothing could have prepared you for the actual sight of him when he emerged.

  He was big, tall and cloaked in black, despite the heat of the city. He wore what you figured had once been a black t-shirt but was now lacking sleeves and a proper neck hem to be considered a makeshift tank. His pants were shiny leather and also tight, hugging the muscles of his thighs, and he sported a dark pair of pointed boots.

  He wasn’t particularly muscular enough to be the body builder type, but it looked like he could probably pick another grown man up with ease. His skin had a light tan to it, barely anything really, just like everyone else, he obviously couldn’t escape the sun. It was littered with intricate tattoos, weaving up his arms—a few you could tell disappeared under his shirt—and his neck.

  The word freak was permanently etched in black ink along his temple and over his eyebrow. Two silver balls decorated his other eyebrow.

  Leaning up against the back wall like that, arms crossed to make the muscles of his arms bulge slightly and oozing confidence, he looked like the personification of some really good sex.

  But he wasn’t what you were seeking out and you didn’t like to mix business with pleasure.

  Eddie was caught completely off guard, trying to school his shock and keep his composure.

  When he’d seen that portfolio, he was expecting someone with jagged edges, piercings galore and more than just a couple of tattoos to be behind it and standing in the entryway of his shop.

  Someone who looked like their art.

  You…didn’t. With your little pink cowboy boots, tank top that accentuated your figure and shorts so small, they should’ve been considered a form of underwear, you didn’t look at all similar to what Eddie was expecting. Not even if he closed his eyes.

  You didn’t waste time, quickly introducing yourself as you stepped up to the front desk and Eddie pulled himself from his stupor, closing the distance to shake your palm. Smaller than his (though most were) and slightly sweaty, no doubt due to that god forsaken heat outside.

  Eddie could see bits of your hair sticking to your skin, little beads of sweat prickling over your exposed collarbone and trailing down, down between your─

  “Thank you for taking the time to even look at my portfolio! I really appreciate it.”

  Eddie blinked hard, clearing his throat before smirking to pretend he hadn’t been drawn in by your chest.

  What the fuck was wrong with him all of a sudden? 

  He’d had plenty of beautiful clients, he’d tattooed nice asses, tits, pubic regions, thighs, all the beautiful areas. Now all of a sudden he was acting like he’d never seen a pair of tits before. 

  Hell, Eddie had been thoroughly busy with a pair, held them in his hands before he came into the shop.

  Professionalism, he reminded himself.

  “Not a problem, what I see—saw was pretty impressive,” Nice save, Eddie, you dick. He cursed himself, “You adapt well to different styles.”

  “Thanks!” You chirped, excitement filling you at the praise. It was so nice to hear positive feedback about your work instead of being sent out of a shop before they so much as opened your binder. “I like to experiment with different styles, see what it is that people like so much about them and honestly, it’s mostly because I haven’t quite found my art style just yet.”

  Hence your range, you were constantly expanding with your art because you hadn’t found one style you wanted to make yours yet. Or maybe you had and just didn’t know it yet. Whatever.

  Eddie and Argyle exchanged a look before he stepped back and nodded in the direction he came, “Why don’t you follow me? Show me what you can do?”

  You didn’t hesitate, stepping past the front desk.

  There was more artwork lining the short hall he took you down until you arrived at another room, obviously one meant for actual tattooing as there was a tattoo chair in the middle of the room. 

  On one of the counters, was an area already prepped for you. A tattoo gun, some ink, and some obviously fake skin that rested on top of a disposable sheet cloth, along with some gloves.

  “Argyle tells me you haven’t worked on skin before.”

  Sure you haven’t.

  “Not a whole lot of people lining up to get tattooed by someone with no experience,” you shrugged, following him over to the counter he was leaning up against.

  “You’re hanging around the wrong crowd then.” He joked and you let out a small laugh.

  He had no idea how right he was.

  “The first tattoos I ever got were from inexperienced people. This one,” he gestured to a Wyvern on the back of his arm, “I got my junior year of high school from a waitress at a bar I always snuck into.”

  “And this one,” he yanked the tattered collar of his shirt down to expose more ink, but the one he was referring to was a spider, “I got my first senior year from someone I did…business with.”

  First senior year? Eddie was proving to be an interesting character.

  “But enough about me,” Eddie released his shirt, allowing it to hide the artwork depicted on his chest, “let’s get down to business.”

  Before he could even explain what everything was, you dropped your purse onto the counter nearby, pulling a small box of unopened gloves from it.

  “You mind?” You asked, fingers poised to rip it open.

  “Go for it,” He shrugged. Gloves were gloves, so long as they were uncontaminated he didn’t mind.

  You tore into them and Eddie was still somehow surprised to see they were pink. Clearly his black ones weren’t your style.

  “Can I ask you a question?” You asked as you pulled the gloves on. Eddie watched you, intrigued as you finished assembling the tattoo gun without his help and opened the ink pack. 

  “Sure,” He mused, eyeing you skeptically. Hadn’t tattooed anyone but you were clearly familiar with it. Interesting.

  “Did your tattoos hurt?”

  Eddie waited until after you’d started the tattoo gun and got into working on the fake flesh. Apparently you already had an idea in mind.

  “A bit of an amateur question, you don’t have one?”

  “Nope.” You confirmed, paying him no mind as you leaned forward, gaze focused solely on your task, “I kind of want one but I’m not in any particular rush, you know?”

  Eddie made a sound of agreement, at a brief loss of words as you arched your back, ass sticking out and he became painfully aware you were wearing a hot pink thong, the tails of it peaking out past the top of your denim shorts. He should’ve offered you a seat but you didn’t seem all that bothered with standing.

  No, that was apparently his foil, because he was incredibly bothered by you standing, especially with your ass out like that; when it made his pants tighten considerably in his crotch region.

  He was getting hard. 

  Eddie was mortified, stiffening (go figure) as he attempted to calm himself, eyes darting away from your ass to stare at one of the cabinets. Of course this had to happen to him on the day he chose to wear a pair of pants that left little to the imagination should the boy downstairs start acting up.

  Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look.

  “Hurts, depending on the area, which I’m sure you already know. The tattoos on my back and my thighs hurt pretty bad. Forearms were a bitch, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The ones on my wrists and hands were the worst, pain wise, in my opinion. Obviously it didn't stop me, but those tend to be areas with a lot of bones, veins and very little muscle, so it’s expected.”

  You hummed in response and his gaze briefly flittered over to you before his cock pulsed and he tore it away again, grateful your attention wasn’t on him.

  The remainder of the ‘session’ was spent in relative silence with the music playing through the speakers installed throughout the shop, keeping it from being awkward. Eddie had just managed to will his erection away when you finished, setting down the gun before you pulled your gloves off.

  “What do you think?” You asked, still admiring your work and Eddie peered around you to assess it.

  A wyvern, similar to the one on his arm but done in a fine line style.

  He chuckled, amused with your reference and you fought valiantly with yourself not to grin. You were trying to impress him, sticking with a subject he liked enough to make it a part of him permanently, but you hadn’t imitated the style of it to keep from downright copying and to showcase your ability to adapt.

  “That’s pretty good,” And it was, not a whole lot of people could get lines that perfect or seem as confident in their abilities on their first try. Still, Eddie could tell you’d have some ways to go before you were ready to be on your own, “but you can do better.”

  You tried not to frown, “Oh.”

  Eddie smirked and you finally turned to face him, apprehension on your face.

  “Don’t look so down. After some time around here, watching us work, you’ll be ready. The apprenticeship will fly by in no time.”

  “Wait—you mean—you want me?!”

  “I’d be stupid not to.”

  You let out a squeal and threw yourself at him, giving him a quick squeeze before your brain caught up to your body and you pulled away.

  “Sorry, sorry! I’m just so excited.”

  Eddie cleared his throat, shifting his body away from you and rasped out, “Argyle will have the paperwork for you to fill out.”

  “Got it,” You grabbed your bag and was just about to head out of the room when Eddie called your name, “Huh?”

  “Be back at the same time tomorrow. You’ll be practicing on real skin.” 

  “But I thought you said—” 

  “Me.”

  Something in you bubbled with excitement and nerves.

  You nodded once and then left the room to see Argyle for your paperwork.

  “So?????” Argyle asked once you’d approached him, a sullen look on your face. 

  You couldn’t keep the act up, beaming as you practically bounced, “I’ll be seeing you around more often now!” 

  He whooped, extending an arm out for a high-five which you reciprocated.

  “You are gonna love it here, Dudette. Just wait until you meet everyone! First, we gotta start on your employment.” 

  Your brows furrowed as you watched him go through a filing cabinet.

  “Wait—this is paid?”

  “Yeah! We’re not big on slave labor here.”

  Score for you! You had a feeling you wouldn’t be clocking a ton of hours but every single penny counted, especially considering how hard of a time you had actually building a savings account.

  Argyle had walked you through the paperwork, where to sign, what things meant and since the shop was getting ready to close up you’d simply just bring the completed paperwork back with you tomorrow.

  The door chimed behind you and you turned to see who could be coming in at the last minute, eyes widening at the voluptuous woman before you. Her hair was long and jet black, skin pale (apparently one person in this city was capable of defying the sun) and make-up done so elegantly it reminded you of actresses from the silver screen era. Her dress was simple, black and hugged her curves exceptionally well. You could tell it was worth more than everything in your apartment combined and you’d feel bad about it if you also couldn’t tell she was older than you. 

  You’d have time to get there.

  “Hey, Deidre.”

  “Hello, Argyle.” She gave the both of you a dazzling smile as she removed her sunglasses and walked right past Argyle, down the hall you’d come from.

  He didn’t even look surprised and paid her no real attention.

  “We’ll see you soon?”

  “Damn straight.”

  Argyle let out another cheer as you walked out the door with high spirits. Not even the nasty, hot air could get you down.

  You’d climbed up the stone steps until you reached the sidewalk and glanced behind you at the neon sign depicting the name of the tattoo shop you’d now be working at.

  “Welcome to The Dungeon,” You mumbled to yourself with a smile. 

  You turned back to the sidewalk, staring down at the pathway you’d have to take before you thought better of it, sticking your fingers into your mouth to give a sharp whistle.

  It caught the attention of a cab driver down the street, and you gave him your address when he’d pulled up and you’d hopped in, ready to prepare for tonight's plans. You deserved a little break, after all, you were one step closer to securing the future of your dreams.

  Eddie sagged against the counter once you’d left the room, scowling down at the bulge that had reappeared in his pants when you’d hugged him.

  Why his body was suddenly acting like he was a horny teenager again, he had no idea.

  He wasn’t about to do anything about it, though. Not when you’d be hanging around the shop for the foreseeable future. Eddie didn’t get involved with his employees. He’d worked in a couple of shops where he’d witnessed that occur and it always ended in a mess. Not a good kind.

  He busied himself with cleaning up, tossing away the supplies you’d used and storing your first piece of work. It’d be nice for you to look back at once your apprenticeship was over. When Eddie had nothing else to clean, he sighed and rubbed at his eyelids. 

  Platonic. Professional. God, if he couldn’t keep his dick in check, he’d be in a world of trouble. You’d be trouble.

  “Need a hand?”

  Eddie snapped around, relieved to see it was just Deidre. Explaining why he had a boner to anyone else wasn’t something he was keen on doing. In fact, he probably wouldn’t be telling her exactly why, either.

  Taking her up on her offer, however, was something he would eagerly do.

  “Are you offering yours?”

  She laughed, setting her purse down on the counter where your bag had been just a few minutes ago, and walked right up to Eddie, her body pressed against his and grinding onto him as the older woman slid her arms around his shoulders.

  “Mmm, not just my hand.”

  All Eddie knew next was the taste of her red lipstick. 

[rootspiral]

Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 2 part 3

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][+1] ep5 [1][2][3][4][5] ep6 [1][2][3] ep7 [1][2][3][4][5][6] ep8 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] ep9 [1][2][3][4][5][6])

agatha going UGH!!!!! when she sees jen's name. are you a toddler?? are you four????

"bougie probiotique" lmao

AGATHA

she's here she's queer she's gonna put an egg up her vajeer

sasheer zamata the glorious gay goddess that you are

"jen the potions guy" sounds amazing. I'd use that on my business cards

aaand once again I'm billy

I love that these two have clearly known and hated each other for centuries - sometimes you just see an enemy and immediately go, oh it's you motherfucker. and I think that's beautiful. (dear lord that store is so pink)

and once again: hilarious dialogue, heavy and dark undertones. jen has very, very legitimate reasons to hate and mistrust agatha, even more than she realizes. she will never open up to agatha like the others, and that's both fair and sexy of her. tbh she was too kind all things considered, that bitch deserved her ass kicked from here to the afterlife

case in point, agatha knows jen well enough to manipulate her into joining them. and jen knows agatha well enough to say what will hurt her. she picked the worst thing she could come up with

billy and the audience don't notice that agatha has just been stabbed in the heart

partners in crime, once again! agatha is so proud of her boy's lil manipulative side. and yep, billy is not as naive as he tries to appear. he's still a bit clueless, but he tries.

love how they're so deliberate in depicting the witches as a legit community with its own culture and history.

watch this scene again. now think about the rage and soul and desperation jen pours into winning her powers back from agatha. look at the way these two are being both so casual and so callous about jen's deep, bleeding trauma. not so funny a scene anymore, is it?

agatha shoving a fistful of paper in her mouth so she doesn't have to say rio's name also goes to the top five funniest list. she'll never beat the toddler allegations

and now she's gobbling a corn dog! see what I have to deal with here?? how can I keep it classy?

what's really iconic is bringing your gay son to hot topic

alice always looks a little hunched down, as if she had, idk, a giant disgusting harpy sitting on her shoulders. the more I think about it the sadder it gets

oooh, those are dorothy pigtails. i get it now.

you know, I said yesterday that agatha successfully cons jen and alice, but that's not true. she couldn't have swayed jen without billy's help, and she had alice completely wrong. she thought alice was looking for her mom, but Lorna didn't die on the Road and alice always knew it was a con - she's actually the world's biggest Road expert after agatha herself. seems like Agatha is pretty desperate and out of her depth without her mind reading powers. (wait, do we think billy is the one doing the mind reading, is that why he got to jen so easily?)

seeing her being so cruel with people's deep seated traumas is really upsetting me. especially considering how she guards her own trauma. feeling guilty afterwards is no justification, she knows exactly what she's doing.

these two need their own show. oh wait, they already have it.

but agatha saying "we don't need her" and then pushing people around in the mall - she is upset about what she just did to alice. and she's almost relieved she said no, that she gets to spare her. sweet, sad alice, so spiky on the outside, soft as a marshmallow on the inside. she did not deserve any of this. her death is entirely on agatha.

sighing and looking wistfully out of the window, she's in pain but determined to go on

meanwhile detective agnes is working hard to figure billy out, you can practically see the gears turning inside her head. I think at this point she already kind of knew, tbh. "I have a theory, but I need more."

aw

see you next for the ending of episode 2. and this time I'm giving a shoutout to @one-step-at-a-time25, who was having a lot of fun in the tags!

go to episode 2 part 4

[nofingjustaninchident]

⛧° midnights are easier with you

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

content: percy jackson x hephaestus!reader, platonic!leo valdez x fem!reader

warnings: angst, mentions of leo's death.

a/n: dedicated to my dear wife cynthia cause she asked me to post this one first so... yeah. ejoy ya'll

word count: 1,537

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

now playing… late night talking - harry styles

It’s a normal thing for demigods to have constant nightmares. Every night, the same monsters or gods or prophecies kept haunting your dreams, never going away. You couldn’t remember the last time you had a night of peaceful sleep, much less a good dream. 

But after the battle with Gaea, the nightmares only worsened, the loss of two of your closest friends and family never leaving your mind. And they couldn’t seem to haunt anyone else, just you. 

Maybe because only you, amongst all of them, saw your brother’s death.  

One time, at four in the morning, you woke up sweating and crying in your own bed sheets. It was once again with Leo’s death. He was once your best friend and closest brother, the type of close that’d tease and annoy you, but always be there, nonetheless.  

You knew you couldn’t stay in your cabin, so you decided to go to the beach. It was the only place you knew the harpies wouldn’t go this late at night, so it was practically your only option. And it wasn’t a bad one. Definitely better than staying at the Hephaestus cabin or even going to bunker nine, remembering all the good memories you had made with Leo in eight short months that should’ve been longer. 

You threw on a random hoodie that you had stolen from Percy’s cabin when he was missing, and you needed some sort of reassurance that maybe, maybe he was still alive. Now he was alive and well, probably sleeping in his cabin.  

And you were here, moping around.  

Two months before, you’d probably be moping with Jason, mourning the loss of a best friend and brother for the both of you. But now he was in a boarding school in California, unable to answer a call. Not that you’d call him, anyway. 

While walking in the direction of the beach, your mind kept diverting towards the green-eyed, raven-haired boy. You’ve had a crush on Percy for a few years now. Four, to be more specific. I mean, who never had a crush on Percy freaking Jackson?  

Not just hot, he was kind, brave, loyal, clever, strong, powerful, handsome... what else could anyone want, huh? 

Even thinking about him never seemed to leave your mind. And it was definitely better than to think about Leo twenty-four seven and get even more trauma than what you already had with his death. 

Even knowing that Percy was a water dude, it was still wildly surprising to find him taking a swim in the middle of the night at Camp Half-Blood's beach. He was right there, lying on the sand after a swim, being bathed by the first sunrays, his orange tee clinging to his wet body. 

He looked angelic, even godly. Anything, but definitely not human. He was too handsome for this world.  

You obviously assumed he was asleep, so you just kept staring at his face. It may have been a little creepy if he wasn’t your best friend who always did that with you too, so you just ignored and mentally mapped all the freckles on his cheeks, hoping beyond hope that someday you’d kiss every and each one of them.  

“You know it’s creepy when someone just watches you when you sleep, right?” Percy asked, his usual smug and cocky grin quickly making his way to his lips as he didn’t even bother to open an eye. 

You obviously couldn’t help but smirk back at the boy, laughing and kicking him playfully on the thigh.  

“Oh, shut up, Jackson. You do that to me every time you barge into my cabin. Stupid psycho.” You said jokingly while sitting beside him on the sand.  

“You hurt my feelings.” He said with a wide smile as he sat and pulled you in for a hug. A hug which you desperately tried to squirm away from, since he was dripping wet, soaking your shirt as well.  

After a few minutes of a heated battle, that he won with his ticklish cheating, you were soaked in the sea water without even getting into the sea itself and Percy was holding back his giggles.  

Infuriating, sure. Still cute, though.  

His laugh was just too pretty. The way he threw his head back just made you want to kiss the hell out of him, but you knew that wasn’t possible. Ruining your eldest friendship was an unnecessary risk to take.  

“You’re infuriating” You mumbled, rolling your eyes. 

“Maybe. But I'm hot, so it’s a win-win in my book.” He said, looking at you with his puppy eyes, which made you chuckle and look at the dawn sky.  

The color mixing together in a pink, orange and black haze with the remaining stars in the sky were your second favorite view in the world. It just lost to Percy. 

If you looked at him right now, you would notice how he was staring at you. You'd probably blush and smile at his intense, never faltering gaze. His sea-green eyes seemed to never leave your face, and one could even say he seemed enamored by you. But you wouldn’t let yourself think that and have false hopes and expectations. You could only hope that maybe, one day, he’d feel the same for you that you felt for him. 

“What brought you here in the middle of the night?” He asked a few moments later. When you looked at him, he seemed worried. It was definitely not usual for you to come to the beach at four in the morning, so he was kind of right in worrying so much. 

“I... had a nightmare. Couldn't really sleep after that.” You said, shrugging it off. 

“About?” He asked, raising one eyebrow in curiosity. 

“Leo. Leo's death, actually.” You answered.  

He just hummed in agreement and understanding. Obviously, he’d understand what you were talking about, since he experienced dozens of deaths of close friends, same as you did.  

“Wanna try and talk about it?” He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. 

“Not really.” You said for what it seemed like the tenth time in just a day.  

It's not that you were trying to hide your pain. Well, you were indeed trying to hide it but that’s off the point. I mean, it wouldn’t go great if he knew what was really going on in your head, especially when a few of those things were thoughts of him and you making out till you were both breathless and panting.  

“You know, you couldn’t have avoided his suicide. Trust me. Hazel and Frank tried, and it didn’t work out.” He said, trying to reassure you as he moved a little closer to you, your shoulders touching slightly.  

“Yeah, maybe. But they didn’t know him. Maybe he’d- maybe he’d listen to me, okay? I just- It's just too painful.” You said, already feeling the tears flowing to your eyes. His death was a sensitive topic that never failed to bring you to tears. 

“I know, beautiful, but he did it because he knew he’d save the world.” He said, scooting closer to you and pulling you to his chest. “If it weren’t for Leo, we would still be in a gigantic war, and we’d have so much more losses, darling. Leo is a hero. He'll always be remembered as one.”  

“I wanted him here, not his memories.” You mumbled, letting the tears fall freely from your eyes straight into his strong arms.  

“Yeah, I know. I know it’s hard, and the pain’s gonna take a long while to go away. But it eventually will.” He reassured, kissing your cheek. “And while it doesn’t, I'm gonna be here by your side whenever you need. Even if you don’t need, I'm still here.”  

“I love you.” You murmured under your breath before you could even stop it. He kissed your forehead softly. 

“I love you too, y/n/n.” He whispered. But it seemed like only fraternal, or friends love. That's more than what you want, and you’re gonna tell him. He deserves to know. Maybe it’ll ruin your friendship, but you just can’t keep this bottled up.  

“No, Percy.” You said, sniffing and sitting back, looking at his green eyes with your own puffy ones. “I love you. Like, lovelove.” 

He looked... startled, to say the least. He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of your words. You were starting to regret ever saying anything to him. Maybe now he’s gonna hate you and never talk to you again, then the whole trauma of Leo’s death would now be together with Percy leaving, and you were gonna get even more fucked up than you already are, and- 

Or maybe he’d just kiss you and completely interrupt your entire trail of thought and your whole mind with his salty, sea-like kisses and chapped lips that fit so perfectly with yours.  

His hand found your waist, holding it while his tongue entered your mouth deliciously well. It was literally a dream come true.  

Finally, you two were completely out of breath and he pulled away, smiling and keeping your foreheads touching.  

“I think I love you too.” He answered before pulling you in for another kiss.  

[thosetrollkids]

MONSTOBER: DESIGNS

Part 1: Teen Cast!

HELLOOOOO everybody! Welcome to my project, Monstober! A series of several posts with large, in depth looks at different aspects of my AU, Monster Kids, that I wrote during October this year. Special thanks to @eurazba for listening to me ramble over all this and helping with the AU over the years <3

This post will be going over the general monster designs for notable teen characters, as well as some thoughts as to why I chose said designs :D

There will be a second post for the main adult cast, and once posted, you can find it linked here :)

Jim / Toby / Claire

Jim Lake Jr (Sphinx): It's him! The poster boy! Wahoo! Honestly, I don't have many notes for his design process, because his design has stayed relatively similar since the early drafts. His was the very first design, and other than being a typical lion/eagle sphinx for like. two drawings, and then a panther/blackbird for two more, once the snow leopard/blue jay combo was struck, he's only really changed in small ways. I chose a blue jay, because they're one of my favorite birds, they're blue, and I'd used them to be an accent to Jim in a previous drawing. Snow leopards are also my favorite big cat! So similar reasoning for that particular aspect. If I were to design him today, blank slate, I miiiight have changed his cat species, but I still am way too attached to the leopard/jay combo.

Toby Domzalski (Gargoyle): Toby's design also hasn't changed much! The main trio haven't, other than minor adjustments. He originally had yellow eyes, but they're back to standard green. He also used to have larger wings, and while I liked the idea of the main three being able to fly together, I decided to go with a different route as I leaned into his design looking more aquatic, and he instead has wing shaped back fins! They fold down and sit under his clothes, as he only really can use them while swimming.

Claire Nuñez (Harpy) Also another design I haven't changed since conception! Harpies were always something cool to me, and I was inspired by an illustration of harpies in a mythology book I had bought at the time. Her design was originally just 'bird' until I tired to find a more specific species that fit. I landed on barn owls, and coincidentally, they are also associated with brujeria/witchcraft in Mexico! Win-win. With her stronger connection to magic overall, she's also the only member of Team Trollhunter that can fly reliably; her magic feeds her energy enough to keep in the air (Jim's wings are too small for anything besides light gliding and cushioning falls).

Steve / Eli / Krel / Aja

Steve Palchuk (Faun): Steve's design was always pretty formed in my head. For the guy that tries so very hard to be an all-American boy, an icon of that is the whitetail deer buck, and it very quickly fell into place! His design is fairly simple, which is why it works so well for him, IMO. Fun fact, he has a set of scars on his cheek from the equivalent of the fight he had with Jim in S1. More to expand on in a later comic, >:3c

Eli Pepperjack (Bat Humanoid): Eli was actually also a sphinx originally, but I wanted Jim to stay fairly unique among the main teens, so my follow up design was something more batlike! I did do plenty of research for monster bats, or hybrid bat monsters, but what research I could do didn't produce much (then again, could always be wrong!), so I went with 'attributes'. He's based on a Little Brown Bat. He little >:) His wings are also not capable of flight, they're basically large hands, all the better to hunt down creepers with, my dear.

Krel & Aja Tarron (Amphibious humanoids): WAHOOOOO!!!! I'm very proud of these, because you have NO IDEA how many months I struggled to find a design I liked for them. They have been (checks notes) spidertaurs, a few other passes of various insectoid tries, I was going to attempt something more seal like, because I knew the main group's designs were already mammal-heavy, and something aquatic or insectoid was what I wanted to balance the group out. Then my beloved @eurazba, listening to me ramble one night, helped me come to the idea of their 'human' transductions looking closer to old monster movies! Creature from Black Lagoon was an easy pick, I did some research about CFBL and Shape of Water (thanks Del Toro), and bada bing, bada boom! My fishy twins! Also Krel is the only one wearing shoes. Just realized this...

Mary / Darci / Shannon

Mary Wang (Dryad): Mary has also gone through a lot of changes (turns out, I was very indecisive outside of the main trio, AJDJSBSJFHB). She was actually a -taur alongside Darci! Specifically a unitaur (saw a lot of alternate Monster Falls art of Mabel Pines as one, and I really liked the idea. The overall AU was inspired by the Gravity Falls AU, now you know!) She stayed that for a while, then also went through some bug-like redesigns, and then a couple months back, I decided on a dryad! Before that point, I was trying to stay strictly to animalistic monster designs, but it became a little too confining, so she exploded into my sketchbook and became real. Her tree is a california redbud, and her 'antlers' are like the branches of the tree, and leaves/flowers bloom in time with the season on them. The hooves were based on a Zelda design from an artist I liked a lot (truffe.art on IG!)

Darci Scott (Praying Mantis-taur): HERE COMES THE BUG PAYOFF. Some of you may remember my design for Darci hasn't changed for quite some time, and while I liked the look of the cervitaur (a centaur, but deer), it didn't feel... as unique as I wanted? And I was still missing my BUG. So, debating over this, I did a few passes of her mixed with a bee, spider, etc etc... and then once again, @eurazba was like "hey! praying mantis." and I fell in LOVE with the concept. (Very quickly sketched her up as I was doing these sheets, actually NDJSNJKJD)

Shannon Longhannon (Gorgon): Last design of the group, another that has hardly changed since conception. Nagas, gorgons, lamias- whatever they're called, I love the visual of a reptilian character slinking around gracefully, and she helped balance out all the mammalian designs as well. She was originally a typical green/yellow snake, but when I inevitably color her, I picture something more ruddy, reddish brown, to match her hair :) She indeed is able to turn someone to stone, but as she was not born a gorgon, this ability is dulled, and only lasts for a few hours, working only if she focuses completely on doing so to someone. She's taken to wearing shades more often to not scare people who don't know this.

[stevesbipanic]

If You Would Promise Me Your Heart

For my Eddie, @steveshairychest.

Every nerd in Steve’s life had their mythical creature niche.

Robin loved pixies. Channelling their mischievous energy into her everyday life, bouncing around the store while they were on shift, even joking she’d get a pixie cut one day.

Nancy, though she would deny it to anyone outside their circle, loved fairies. Soft but calculating, intelligent and beautiful, when they had visited the ren faire the year prior her cheeks matched her glittery wings.

Dustin loved hobbits and Steve loved to affectionately call him one even as the boy grew just as tall as him, the excitement that crossed his face when Steve agreed to watch the movies with him made the confusing deep lore worth it.

Lucas loved ents. Steve would often find him in the woods just listening to the trees, he was the only one of them that would still brave the forest at night, the trees would keep him safe.

Max loved harpies. If Steve were to give any proof that these creatures existed, he’d just tell you to look at Max’s face when some boy told her girls can’t skate.

Will loved merfolk. When they visited the beach last summer Steve could see the years of stress melt away from the young boy’s face as he listened to the waves, the water washing away the memories.

El loved elves. She loved the many forms they came in from fantasy to Christmas, that they could be fun or loud or quiet or brave, that they could be whatever they wanted to pointy ears just made them a little special.

Mike loved griffins. He knew that being both just made you stronger, that you can be strong and brave and protect the things you love, that being different doesn’t make you less whole.

Erica loved unicorns. She would hit you if she heard you saying they were anything less than metal.

Which of course leads us to Steve’s favourite nerd, Eddie.

Eddie loved dragons.

The first thing he did once his scars had healed enough was to get a beautiful dragon tattoo across them, the rough skin almost like scales through the dragon’s back.

One of his most prized possessions is a massive red dragon figure for his campaigns.

Steve thinks he’s seen the How to Train Your Dragon movies more than every seven-year-old in the world because it’s the only things that make Eddie feel better when he has nightmares. He has seen them so many times that he can recite his own favourite scene by heart.

They’re in the small clearing in the woods behind their house, it’s spring, the afternoon is warm and the wind is calming. The sun is setting, they are sharing a small picnic, it’s perfect. The sun is bathing them in a golden light, Steve thinks Eddie would be beautiful even if the world was pitch black.

It’s time.

He whistles out the first few notes.

“I’ll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne’er a fear of drowning. And gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me.”

Eddie has turned to Steve recognising the song, his eyes are as bright as the love between them.

“No scorching sun, nor freezing cold, will stop me on my journey.”

Eddie’s eyes are shining, he’ll blame them on allergies.

“If you will promise me your heart, and love,” Steve looks expectantly at Eddie.

Eddie face breaks into a smile at Steve’s pause.

“And love me for eternity,” he continues, “My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me. But I’ve no need for mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me,” Eddie sings pulling Steve to his feet as he stands.

Steve laughs as he continues, “But I would bring you rings of gold, I’d even sing you poetry!”

“Oh would you?” Eddie giggles.

“And I would keep you from all harm, if you would stay beside me.”

“I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry; I only want your hand to hold,” Eddie sings lacing their fingers.

“I only want you near me.”

The boys begin to spin and dance to only the tune of their voices.

“To love and kiss, to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming. Through all life’s sorrows and delights, I’ll keep your laugh inside me.”

Eddie begins to spin from Steve the joy bubbling up inside him, not even noticing Steve’s voice has gotten softer.

“I’ll swim and sail a savage seas, with ne’er a fear of drowning. And gladly ride the waves of life if-” the last words catching in his throat as he looks at Steve, down on one knee.

“If you will marry me.” Steve finishes, a beautiful black ring in the shape of a dragon protecting a ruby in its centre laying in a black box in his hand. “For the dancing and the dreaming, Stevie, yes.”

[amarynthian-chronicles]

Celestial Christmas

(Merry Christmas darling @amymaleneart , I am your Secret Santa!!!! Here is some cozy cuteness for you to enjoy, all of your celestial boys celebrating the holiday with you. I wish you all the best and merriest of Christmases, all the love, the softest and nicest things, and the best New Year of 2025)

You were sitting on a nest of cushions, observing as the giant Cosmodian beings were comically running around and making a rather splendid rendition of a Christmas gathering.

Little harpy chicks Sun and Moon were nesting next to you, wearing cozy Christmas sweaters and watching the aliens curiously. It was all rather silly, and they would look at each other each time their alien counterparts would trip over a wayward decoration on the floor.

Dr. Sun spoke in a cheerful manner, waving his tail happily as he tried to get your official stamp of approval for his actions.

"Sweetheart! We can always add more lights if needed, we truly wish to provide the most authentic experience."

You giggled, unable to hide your mirth at the whole situation.

"Well, it seems mostly in order. You boys seem to be getting better at this!"

Dr. Moon appeared, carrying a few more boxes of presents and placing them under the Christmas tree.

"Dearest, we would love to hear more of your input. It is so exciting to engage in these interesting human customs. I believe we have most items on the list all checked off."

Seeing these majestic and fluffy Cosmodian beings go to such lengths to create this special moment for you was very heartwarming. It was your first Christmas to celebrate together with all of your celestial creations, and the boys were quite serious about making everything absolutely perfect.

Dr. Sun had even managed to convince his brothers to learn how to knit the very same sweaters that the baby harpy chicks were currently wearing. It was rather silly seeing the three of them make their way through the treacherous realm of knitting with their claws.

You smiled at the memory.

Just then, Captain Eclipse had entered the room, wearing a giant version of a chef uniform and pushing a cart that contained a small feast. Roast turkey, potatoes, freshly baked bread. His tail was also comically wrapped around an entire bag full of files. "I had done extensive research on the holiday and human cuisine. We shall make this the best Christmas ever for you, our starlight!"

You could not help but laugh "I am truly surprised and I appreciate all of this, my dear Captain. I thank you very much."

He made an elegant bow "all for our esteemed and beautiful starlight."

The harpy chicks seemed both confused and amused with the whole thing, but they made themselves comfy in your arms. You held them close, loving the warmth of their soft feathers.

"See, little ones? Look how sweet your counterparts are being." The harpy chicks chirped and nuzzled you to show their love. They also wondered when they could snatch some of the treats that were waiting on the table.

Dr. Moon winked at you "we have another little surprise for you. Another one of us shall be coming shortly, he is the most recent addition to your creations and he has a special show ready for you."

You tilted your head in surprise "Oh? My, my, I am looking forward to see what more you all have in store for me!"

You had to hold your tears back. It was all so beautiful, so magnificent. There was warmth, a promise of care and softness. Perhaps in this tiny stolen moment you could find peace.

The tree was marvelously decorated, so many celestial ornaments, but also hand-crafted decorations that the boys had made. Even little letters with messages of love and adoration. You couldn't wait to open all of the presents that were underneath the tree, the wrappings with patterns of suns and crescent moons.

You could allow yourself to feel loved and safe in this one moment, completely devoid of past and future, one comfortable moment in the present where you could allow yourself to relax and breathe.

Sweet scents. Lemon meringue pie and chai. Lavender and blueberry. Freshly roasted feast. Marvellous, marvellous.

You were suddenly distracted from your thoughts as the fluffy Cosmodians sat next to you, cuddling close.

"It is beginning, it is beggining! He is here!"

You blinked at them in confusion "hmm?"

The lights turned off, leaving all in darkness, save for the sparkly Christmas lights on the tree and along the walls. The ceiling suddenly was bathed in stars, as if to mimic the night sky. A few moments passed and a spotlight appeared right next to the Christmas tree, almost akin to a Broadway show or a similar stage performance.

An elegant Eclipse animatronic stood there, wearing a magnificently tailored suit, far more elaborate and gaudy than the ones he would have in the speakeasy. He was grinning at you, his golden eyes holding pure adoration and desire.

He held the microphone close, winking at you, making your cheeks burn and blush. His voice was deep and gravelly, almost sinful, and yet with such a beauty that was rare to find.

"I dedicate this one to my most dazzling sweetheart, heart of my heart, my fiery darling."

Music played, echoing across the entire area, reminiscing an era long gone, an era of ladies and gentlemen in Art Deco dance halls and speakeasies. As charming as Frank Sinatra, Eclipse was singing softly, swaying, moving closer to the audience.

The Cosmodians gently hummed in unison, enjoying the display. The harpy chicks were fascinated and made happy noises, amused with all of this wonder and lovelines they had been experiencing for the first time in their young lives.

It was so perfect, so cozy. You could not contain your joy anymore and you allowed tears to flow as Eclipse reached for your hand, kneeling before you and singing.

He invited you to stand up and gently dance with him, as he wrapped one arm around you, holding the microphone with his other hand still. This Eclipse was indeed rather villainous in your stories, but you could not deny how lovely it was to hear him sing for you. Tender, so tender.

"And have yourself a merry little Christmas now..."

You closed your eyes as he leaned to press a kiss to your cheek and your forehead.

What else could be appropriate for you to do now?

Perhaps make a wish?

Your wish.

A wish that may only be heard by the stars, but you needed to make it anyway.

May this moment never truly end, and may the beauty of this perfect second follow you for eternity, no matter the universe, no matter the world. You are safe and adored. You were happy.

Merry Christmas to all.

[kasagia]

In the last chapter of Right Hand, Feyd said he could just leave her behind and take other women without any problems if that's what she wanted; forced her into a confession; never confessed his own feelings; wants to kill people she was intimate with in the past, when he still has his harpies; his bullshit with Irulan; injected her with truth serum.... He basically treated her like a glorified concubine (the woman he supposedly loves) and her reaction is to act like a retarded school girl??? But my main question is: how does she not react about him saying that he could just leave her behind and have other women without any problems? He acts like he does not give a shit about her, only that he's mad that her attention is on others.

Dear Anonymous, thank you very much for your thoughts!

I'm going to play a bit of devil's advocate here and explain the actions of our boy and reader, so let's get started.

First of all, it is worth pointing out that the relationship between the reader and Feyd is not normal. They both have attraction towards each other, sexual desire, and so on. Of course, that's not all, because they feel something for each other: attachment (to some extent), admiration, respect, possessiveness (on both sides), and they like being close to each other. Nevertheless everything that happens between them is not healthy, sugary, or an example of how a relationship should be.

But back to the answer to the main question (how does she not react about him saying that he could just leave her behind and have other women without any problems? He acts like he does not give a shit about her, only that he's mad that her attention is on others.):

"(...) Is this what you want? For me to take another woman? For me to treat her the way I treat you? For me to leave you on this damn desert? Because I can, Y/N. I can fuck the other women, become emperor the easy way, and give you damn Arrakis, but you have to look me in the eyes and tell me that's what you really want."

Feyd doesn't say he wants to do that. He says he can if the reader wants to reject him or if she is sure she doesn't want him. (So technically, it is: I love you; you are important to me; I won't force you to do anything if you don't want to; but I won't be alone forever waiting for you to decide whether you want me or not.) And he asks such questions when she is under the influence of truth serum, because he knows that she will never admit to him what she really feels by herself and willingly.

Feyd has never loved anyone before; he has never had a normal relationship. That's why he resorts to what he knows: plotting, planning, and extracting the truth by force (poor Fevas). These are his ways. The boy here is just desperate. He must know the truth; he must find out whether the reader loves him or is just taking advantage of him, because temporarily it is convenient for her to be close to him.

And the reader understands that Feyd sees no other way, that he resorts to something like this to get the truth from her. Which doesn't change the fact that she's mad at him for it, but... the reader resists him for so long; everyone must have their moments of weakness, right? And Feyd proved in this chapter that he cares about this reader (not with words, but with actions; I will give examples later).

I think he is too harmed and guarded/self-protective to hover around the reader and shout that he loves her, to allow himself to be completely vulnerable with her, and to express his love and devotion in words. Therefore, Feyd's love language (here) is actions.

"You almost died." "You're exaggerating this. I thought you of all people won't be afraid of the sight of a little blood." You respond dismissively, which only makes his mood worse. (...) "I simply don't enjoy holding your almost lifeless body in my arms. I much prefer it when your heart beats strongly against your chest... like now."

Feyd, as we know him, does not hesitate to take someone's life; he likes to hurt people. But seeing the reader's blood? Having her bloos on his hands? Hold her as she fights death? It doesn't make him happy; hurting her isn't pleasant for him if... it's not intended to increase pleasure and sensations. (I think I wrote somewhere that the boy ordered to burn his clothes and hers from that day so that he wouldn't be reminded of it.)

"Don't kill him." You ask him, knowing full well that he will refuse. But despite everything, you cling to this stupid hope, not knowing why you care so much about keeping Fevas alive. "Why?" "Because I ask you. Please." For the first time, you look at him desperately, knowing full well that all you can do is beg him to change his mind. Because if Feyd Rautha Harkonnen decides that someone is going to die, then even the Grim Reaper won't be able to save the poor man from him.

Here. Fevas was… quite tortured by Feyd, but he kept him alive. He wouldn't listen to just anyone once he had decided something, but he made an exception for the reader.

"I am a Bene Gesserit. I don't love anyone." You answer coldly and without emotion. He stares at you for a moment before pushing you away from him. He no longer looks you in the eyes, though his eyes are still glued to your half-naked form. He stays in silent reverie for a moment, then breaks it with a bitter, hoarse laugh, shaking his head. "And I am a Harkonnen. We don't obey anyone." He growls impassively and pushes you away to get to the door. He returns to the party, closing the metal door behind him with a loud bang.

Our boy's black, rotten heart was slightly hurt here. Because how can his little witch say that? So, in an act of rebellion, he went to Irulan, knowing full well that it would hurt the reader as much as she hurt him. Yes, it's not healthy, but that's Feyd: If you hurt me and show me that you don't want me, I will go and show you that I am not a pathetic guy who is head over heels in love and that you have no control over me. (He failed miserably because, immediately after her leaving, he caught up with Fevas to find out the truth about his relationship with the reader.)

"The little witch shouldn't listen to this old man. The master likes the little witch very much. He threatened to kill us if we did anything to her." You frown at her sudden confession, but you don't question why she's doing it. You decide to brush it off. "I think we both know that he... likes to break his favourite toys only by himself." "But not a little witch. When the little witch was bleeding, the master became furious. The master almost killed his uncle when he ordered him to kill the little witch. The master watched over the little witch until the doctors said that the little witch would survive. And he told us to guard her door while he went away to kill the people who hurt her."

And the last one (because it's very late and I should go to sleep xD).

Would Feyd go against his uncle for anyone? NO. He wouldn't give a damn if his uncle told him to kill one of his harpies. He would just do it. But the reader? Fuck no.

Feyd still keeps the harpies close; it's true, but it's more out of sentiment. Because they were a little close to him, but now he spends nights and days with the reader, and since... he became a little close to her (*cough* trying to fuck her *cough*), he doesn't go to them and doesn't spend time with them. He treats them rather as... useful pets. Guard dogs.

To sum up, it may seem that Feyd doesn't give a damn about her, but to me, he must be so... conservative in showing his emotions. He will do it through small actions rather than words (which the reader notices; after all, she knows him best; they communicate without words).

He is extremely jealous of the reader, possessive and paranoid, because he is afraid that she will eventually run away from him, that she will get scared and leave him when he falls in love with her. He is afraid that he will give her everything he has; he will give her his heart on a platter only for her to trample on it, chew it up, and throw it away. So, he won't do it until he's 10000% sure that the reader really loves him and isn't going anywhere.

I hope you understand what I mean and what I wanted to show. 😅🙈

Thank you very much, anonymous, for your question and I'm sorry I wrote so much! Have a nice day/night! 😊🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🖤🩵🖤🖤🩵🖤🖤🩵🖤🖤🩵🖤🖤🩵🖤

[missterious-figure]

The package of healthcare products for Sun has finally arrived and has been sent to your office. It is a part of your job to inspect everything that comes into the casino that is intended for the three big stars that's under your care. Whether it would be from a fan or something the boys have ordered themselves like, you need to make sure it's safe for them. You are even required to go through the fan mail, making sure to discard the...umm..."unsavory" ones and let security know what to look out for.

But that's not the case this time since it was something Sun would get on a regular basis. You pull out a large bottle of skincare lotion, specially formulated for avians, including harpies.

Looks like he decided to try a different scent this time, the bottle reading "honeysuckle and clover blossoms" as the fragrance. That is... interesting. It's the scent you have mentioned on passing with a co-worker that this one of your favorites. And now that you're thinking about it, you do remember Sun placing his order later that day.

Must be a coincidence.

Not thinking anymore on it, you take the very expensive bottle of lotion with the intention of dropping it off in his personal dressing room. You knock on his door just out of courtesy before you reach for the knob.

You hear a very delightful trill as a cheerful voice says, "Come in!" Oh, guess Sun is in between his shows. After a moment of hesitation, you open the door with an apologetic tone, saying, "S-sorry for disturbing you. But your package has arrived. "

The beautiful sunny peacock quickly turns his feather-framed face towards his favorite human. "Not at all, darling. Please bring it over here."

You walk over to where he sits at his vanity table, his golden tail feathers drap behind him like the elegant train of a ballgown dress. His pale eyes seem to light up as he sees the bottle in your hands. "Oh, wonderful! I was really looking forward to trying this out. Can you be a dear and help me get these gloves off?" he asks as he extends one of his gloved arms to you.

This isn't the first time any of the boys ask you for help, but it still causes you to flustered each and every time. As best as you can control the trembles in your hands, you help remove one of his silver leather gloves to reveal his ebony scaled arms. He sighs, saying, "Ahh, that's a relief. It can get to tiring wearing these all day." Sun takes the other glove off himself, placing both gloves on his table. Then, he takes in new lotion and rubs the new floral scent into his bird-like skin, which seems to intensify its scent after being activated by body heat.

You know the reason he, and pretty much any of the harpies in the casino, does this is because they are required to cover their arms and legs while on the floor. And because of that, it could cause some irritation to their skin. You do find it such a shame because while most people would find the harpies' skin unattractive, you just can’t help but admire their beauty as Sun continues to lather the coconut oil lotion into his skin.

You are brought out of your trance when you hear Sun chuckles towards your direction. You couldn't help the burn that comes to your face when you look at the smug yet loving expression on his face.

He turns to you as he sticks one of his boot-covered legs out towards you. "Now, if you would be so kind..."

HELLO?! HELLO!?? *CLUTCHING MY CHEST* SUCH. GOOD. WRITING.

Bleh. *Dead*

The ending tho 😳

[l0stfoster]

Would looooove to learn more abt marcia regaining two-bit’s trust. Or just the first time he sees her after he’s jumped . Actually, just , like , everything abt them i love marbit so bad and i just think they could be so sweet like imagine after two relearns to fly and he takes marcia to like the highest point of tulsa to just spend some alone time together and they look out at everything together and just ugh idk why that popped in my head okay sorry im rambling bye

I let Novva take the lead on this bad boy again, she's our Mar-Bit master so most answers come from them. I think just using their input works!!

Regaining trust.

- I fully believe Marcia spent many weeks trying to get friendly with Two-Bit again. Of course, she only started after he interacted with her again first, and that’s when she kinda realized “Oh shit, Maybe this can work out!” Of course, she did at first think it wouldn’t be that long for his trust to come back, but she ended up learning that the tough way (xe: He nearly attacked her)

Seeing after-jumped.

- She definitely saw him directly after the jumping, like when Dallas pulled up and the socs scattered like rats in a kitchen in that one French Disney movie. Ratatouille. ANYWAYS she tried to “help” at first, in a medical standard though, but Dally was so scared for Two and his safety that he basically pushed her away PHYSICALLY and spat on her.

Highest point.

- Oh boy this ABSOLUTELY happened you cannot tell me otherwise. I know Marcia was probably clinging for dear fucking life at first but Two-Bit was chilling. I like to think that “flying the gf to the highest point in Tulsa so she can see what the sky feels like” was something that Two-Bit was thrilled about. Totally a HC btw don’t take this as canon but sometimes Two’s mom talks about how her own parents used to fly up together at night kinda to share freedom, and Two’s ass was like “What if I did that.” The problem, of course, is that Marcia is clearly not a Harpy, but Two-Bit found a way.

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

My Sorrows

Author's notes: Alpharius in Living Water AU

Past =-= Next

Warnings: Alpha Legion Shenanigans

Summary: Lana gets Rejected by a Black Templar, but another one who's almost identical shows up to speak with and start to bond with her.

Tagged: @barn-anon, @bleedingichorhearts, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @egrets-not-regrets, @kit-williams,

Tagged continued: @sleepyfan-blog, @whorety-k, @ms--lobotomy @bispecsual @thevoidscreams

Tagged continued: @i-am-a-dragon34, @gra93fruit-blog

Lana had felt a pulling, singing sensation within herself, the place within herself that she had been taught where her magic, and part of her soul resided. She’d seen some mer-astartes with black and white and a touch of red and gold colorations like young Cedric has, but from the scars on their scales, they were much older. 

She flew to a nearby outcropping, suddenly feeling like this might not have been a good idea to follow the almost whale-song crooning now that she could see who was calling out to her. 

The pod surfaces- and one of them seems to be searching, looking, rubbing at their chest as he looks straight at her and he tilts his head a little as he swims out of the water and ‘swims’ through the air, as young Jophiel calls it.

“No,” He says. There is a coil of confusion, disgust, and rage in his voice.

The beautiful whale song becomes discordant, and it feels like something- a connection is splintering, fracturing, and it feels like he’d just gutted her. Surreptitiously she touches her chest, and is glad as she looks down.

And then back at him and his pod that he hasn’t actually stabbed her with his claws or blade as he dives back into the sea and leaves her behind, uncaring of what he’s just done.

It took her a few moments to breath through the pain and gather her wits about her to fly back to the Gannet Rock. Mara notices that something seems to be bothering her, and the elder heads over and gently fusses over Lana.

It takes her a few minutes to explain what had happened- even she’s confused on what exactly was going on. Lana doesn’t know why, but tears drip from her eyes. She didn’t even know that strange, large, and dangerous mer-astartes who, with a word, had wounded her so.

“That sounds like some part of Mer-Astartes magic interacting with you dear, “Mara hums as she listens and gently pats one of her hands as she speaks, “I’ll see if young Jophi or one of his brothers knows what's going on. If they don’t, perhaps Lenora’s Erriox might have a better idea.”

“Alright,” Lana says, she’s still mostly reeling from what happened to her. ‘How could a stranger hurt her so?’ She wonders to herself.

She gets the answer in the form of a concerned Jophiel peering down at her with large sanguine eyes- with Cedric, who’s an Apothecary- a form of healer who’d asked if he could check her over, if she was alright with that.

Lana allowed it, because the boys generally were good tempered fledglings that meant well. Jophiel’s eyes glow- with his Magic, (the Warp-craft) as she’d heard it referred to, to check on metaphysical things, while Cedric checked on her physically.

The boys told her about Bonds- and how an Astartes could randomly come across a human, or harpy, or some other Sentient being upon Ancient Terra, and their souls would call to one another due to The Warp.

“The bonds come in a variety of strengths and potential Implications,” Cedric says, recalling words that Older Brother’s Roland and Arnault had told him and Ramiel about bonds, “The Astartes is the one to sense and feel the Bond most strongly at the beginning.”

“Perhaps,” Jophiel offers after a moment or two of contemplation, “It’s because Harpies are more sensitive to Magic and the Mysticism of the universe that you can sense it more?”

Jophiel shakes a little and apologizes, “I’m Sorry Lana- I’m… Still in training with Magic. Perhaps If I could talk to a friendly older Librarian I could learn more… but the Bonds are… New to us.”

“Thank you for what you’ve told me,” Lana says gently patting one of Jophiel’s hands with her own. “It’s more information than I had before.”

Several days later, after the boys had left, they went back to their own tasks that they had delayed to check up on her and the rest of the Gannet Harpies on the Rock, to ensure that they are alright as well.

She spotted a large black and white colored figure, resembling another Black Templar? Lana’s feathers ruffled as she focused on the Mer-astartes. A First Born as Cedric, Claude, and Jophiel would call him from the way his form was scarred and older looking than the fledglings.

She hops and flies away from him a bit, mers generally tend to be hostile to Harpies, and Lana didn’t recognize him as one of the friends of her colony. He pauses as he watches her, there is something a bit…off about his colors.

“Hello,” He calls out to her carefully in one of the Common Trade Languages, his voice is surprisingly lyrical. “I go by Zarius.” 

“Did you need or want something, Zarius?” Lana asks him warily. Even as she feels something weakly starting to form.

The smallest whispers of whale song, rather than something that had sung almost so strong through her bones that it had almost had her falling from the sky. Lana frowns a little at him in dismay. 

‘Perhaps it’s another Bond,’ She thinks, and that has her heart sinking in dread, as she starts to build her walls up, waiting for him to Reject her like the other one had.

“I felt… called to you,” Zarius says almost shyly. “... And I wondered if you’d want to- get to know one another?”

She blinks at him, and part of her soul is crying out in joy to accept his words as quickly as possible. However, a larger part of her is more cautious, and a little suspicious as well.

“... Alright, we could start to get to know each other,” Lana says carefully, “I go by Lana.”

Zarius seems to perk up at that and has taken off his helmet, and he starts to ask her getting-to-know-you questions, while answering her own questions. He swims around her, but not within easy grabbing distance, but comfortable speaking range which helps ease some of her concerns. 

[darkmatter-nebula]

Belos kidnaps Colli and straps him back onto the machine and the little baby sits there for one full agonizing minute before the Owl Family come and rescue him. It’s very traumatizing.

Good morning, my dear @strawberryshortcake1495! 👋😊

Thanks for the request!

This takes place shortly after Eclipse Lake. Hunter is on a mission and doesn't know that his greatest treasure is being tortured.

Drabble: One Agonizing Minute

Emporer Belos decided to take matters into his own hands. The ruler of the Boiling Isles left the Castle and was looking for a certain small starboy with otherwordly fluffy lavender hair and a heart as pure as freshly fallen snow.

It didn't take long for Belos to find Colli. Colli was blissfully unaware that he was in danger. The kindhearted eternal little boy was on the playground. Out of a sudden, everything went black as Belos knocked him out.

The kids at the playground were too terrified to do something. 'Now you're mine again, my Little Battery!' Belos thought. His icy blue eyes were filled with glee. He used an teleportation glyph and brought him and Colli to the Castle.

Belos strapped the still unconcious Colli back onto the Draining Chair. Colli woke up as the same horrible pain shot through his tiny body he knew very well for fifty endless years. "I told you that you will always be mine." The puritan said, a sadistic expression on his face.

Colli couldn't hold back his tears. "No..." The cosmic little boy whispered. Colli was afraid. Would he see his family ever again...?

.

.

.

"LET HIM GO, BOO-LOS!!!!" Eda, in her Harpy form, was there! She wasn't alone, though. King, Luz, Lilith and Hooty were with her. Lilith had a bad feeling about letting Colli go alone to the playground. That's why she used the spy potion on him.

Belos was fighting Eda and Hooty. Luz, King and Lilith freed Colli from the Draining Chair. "Mommy!" Colli floated into his mother's arms. Belos didn't want anyone else in the Castle to know about what just happened. He let the Owl Fam escape. 'You'll be mine again, my precious Little Battery!' He thought.

Colli only was one minute on the Draining Chair. This wasn't enough time to weaken his magic again.

.

.

.

Back at the Owl House, the immortal celestial boy was comforted by his family. It was quite obvious that this day traumatized him. Eda showered her Little Star's adorable multi-colored face with lots of soft and loving motherly kisses.

King nuzzled softly Colli's freckled cheek. Lilith rubbed gently her nephew's back. Luz kissed lovingly her little brother's forehead. And Hooty wrapped himself around Colli for a tight yet soft embrace.

The End

[queenimmadolla]

𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

(Tattoo Artist!Eddie Munson x Apprentice!Reader)

Summary: . . . After deciding you were meant for more than what life had in store for you, you gave into the siren call of the city─well a city. But when city life finally eats away at your bank account and your main source of income isn't reliable, you take on an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop where your boss is the six-foot something, tattoo covered Eddie Munson who quickly and unwisely becomes intrigued by you. Nothing romantic can come from it, lest you risk it being torn apart by your past, his lover and yourself.

Entire Work Warnings: 18+ (smut will take place in later chapters), swearing, financial problems, mentions of loss, escorts/call girls, age gap (Eddie is 36, reader is 25), financial shaming, slut shaming, implied sexual harassment, bimbo!reader (she may not be book smart but she knows the score) angst, self-sabotage.

a/n: my fav little hater was upset about my post getting interactions again so they flagged it to be incorrectly labeled, meaning it's hidden from the majority of people so repost time! there is no mature content in this chapter, suck it. based on my initial post and elements of Breakfast at Tiffany's. next chapters will be significantly juicer, this was just something to get us going. this is dedicated to @munsonology, happy birthday and I hope this year was a good one! and a very gratitude filled thank you to my dear friend, @kitmon, for continuing to be an an amazing beta! hope you guys like it so far ♡ (attempting the keep reading feature, fingers crossed)

word count: 5k

“They don’t bite.” “Hmn?” Came your absent-minded reply, eyes cutting from the harpy, evil in her eyes and blood soaking her talons, to the man flipping through the red binder you’d been carrying around you in the Indianapolis heat. 

  Sweat evaporated off your skin, giving away to goosebumps in the air conditioned shop, a much welcome relief to the borderline unbearable heatwave settling over the city streets, something that can be found in every nook and cranny. You’d been navigating your way throughout the city since before dawn broke, eager to get your fill of it while the streets were quiet and a decent temperature. It had been almost chilly this morning, your thick strapped tank top and daisy dukes—that you normally wouldn’t allow yourself to be caught dead in—leaving most of your skin exposed, with no direct sunlight to warm it. Now that the sun was out, you were on fire out there.

“The artwork.” He glanced at the framed harpy drawing along the wall, the one you’d been staring at, one of many framed depictions of gruesome and mythical looking creatures. “I don’t blame you though, that one isn’t particularly my favorite. Pretty badass, though. Heh.” “Oh,” You shook your head, the oversized shades adorning your face sliding down the bridge of your nose, “No, I’m not afraid of it. I like it. It must have taken forever though.”

  You turned your attention to her again, admiring how realistic her feathers appeared. Painstakingly detailed and whoever was walking around the city with her on their body surely endured a generous amount of pain to get her. 

  And a large hole in their wallet.

  “It took a ton of sessions, for sure. My boy did it a couple years ago.” The man, Argyle, as he’d introduced himself when you’d first walked into the shop, flipped his long black hair over his shoulder before he flipped to the next page of your portfolio. He let out a sound of appreciation as he leaned his weight on his elbow, hand resting over his mouth.

  “This is good! This is really good!”

You lifted your chin to peer at the drawing he was fascinated with. Ah.

It was a drawing of the skeletal Grim Reaper, cloaked in a black robe and scythe clutched in one hand while his boney middle fingers stretched his eye socket holes down in an obvious taunt. A tongue, black and tendril like, lulled out of his mouth.

You thought it was pretty good, too. The idea for it had struck you at a party, you’d been hiding from an annoying suitor and ducked into an office room, doodling to your heart's content once you grew past your boredom.

You grinned, a feeling of giddiness beginning to bubble inside you.

“Listen, the DM’s out right now, running some errands. He should be back soon, can I hold onto this?” Argyle asked, gripping the sides of the binder and raising it as if you didn’t already know he was referring to your portfolio, “I think he’ll be pretty impressed with your stuff.” You fidgeted with your fingers, giddiness giving away to nerves once more. “Really? You think so?” Hope was something you hadn’t felt in a while; you’d been through exactly fourteen tattoo shops throughout the city, most of which you’d been rebuffed from before they so much as flipped open your portfolio, having already decided your particular aesthetic didn’t fit their image. They hadn’t verbalized as much, but you knew. You glanced down at your pink boots, already such a stark contrast to the black beams beneath your feet.

It wouldn’t be a big deal if you hadn’t made a wager with yourself, you could only go home once you’d accomplished your task of getting one of the shop owners to actually look at your work. While Argyle had made it clear he wasn’t the head honcho, he’d be passing it along.

“Yeah, man! This is some pretty legit stuff! I’ve been tatting, myself, for a couple years now, and I’m good–don’t wanna flex or nothing but I’m really good. Only it took a couple of years for me to actually get this good, you know? And I’m not even talking about on skin. You haven’t tattooed anyone before, right?” You thought back to when you had mentioned your art skill to a brief...something, he’d been intoxicated enough on expensive wine and your sangria kisses to encourage you to use the tattoo kit one of your friends had re-gifted you after her interest in the subject waned. You’d never particularly imagined yourself etching into people’s skin before, not even when she’d given you the supplies because she’d seen some of your doodles.

Thanks to her, a suit and tie you no longer spoke to, who made more money than you’ll ever see, was walking around with a secret under his briefs: a pair of shiny cherries on his left ass cheek.

  It was no loss to you. Sure, he made money. Just not nearly enough for you to tolerate how aggressive he’d been with his affections as soon as he was sloshed. You’d given him the tattoo with his drunk pals cheering him on, went out to a very high standard club, then promptly ditched him the moment you were out of his sight. You hadn’t answered the door when he came pounding on it the next morning and the morning after that.

  You’d originally had no intentions of using the tattoo equipment, until that encounter. It had planted a seed, an idea that may get you out of what you had to do to survive. Tattooing hadn’t been a passion, and it still wasn’t quite one but you needed money and you had talent.

“No,” You lied with a shake of your head, “I haven’t.”

“That’ll change soon,” he laughed, closing your binder as he leaned further over the glass counter. Your gaze briefly flickered to the jewelry it housed.

  “You got a number we can reach you at?”

  You’d scrawled the number of your landline down on the back of one of their business cards before Argyle could rethink his decision to pass your work along. 

  “Hopefully, we’ll see you soon!” He called out as you retreated towards the door.

  God, I hope so.

  The thought of a somewhat stable job that could help the pitiful state of your checking and savings account was the only thing powering you through your long walk home. You couldn’t risk a cab, that would mean you’d have no fare money for tonight, and who knows if you’d have to make a speedy exit?

  You’d learned. Eventually.

  Forty-five minutes later, you entered your apartment, sagging back against the door as you dropped your back and kicked your shoes off, unconcerned as to where exactly they’d landed. 

  Sweat glistened over your skin, and unlike in that last tattoo shop, there was no cool air conditioning to cool you. You and Sid saved that for special occasions.

  Instead, you opened the large window to the fire escape, obnoxious sounds of the city you called home filling the apartment.

  It wasn’t much, but it was better. Next came the matter of your clothes, stuck in the most uncomfortable of ways to your flesh. Your tank top was peeled off and thrown over the couch, daisy dukes abandoned near the entryway of the small kitchen on your way to the bathroom.

  A quick glance was spared behind you, taking in the state of your shared home. It was a mess and not even remotely surprising. The place was barely furnished with the essentials, all of which were secondhand: a couch, a coffee table with a sheet over it to hide the stains, one shelving unit, a rug and tapestries hung artfully on the walls for deception. They made the place look more put together than it was, but you’d love it even if it were still barren. A roof over your head in the city meant you didn’t have to return to the past you’d clawed your way out of..

  The only thing worth much was the framed photo on the kitchen counter, and that was only in sentimental value. You and Sid, arms around each other’s shoulders as you sat in a booth at a shitty diner you’d tried upon first moving to the city. They’d taken your photo for being the 600th customer and tacked it to the wall.

  You’d stolen it and had no regrets because you got to keep your memory and ended up getting food poisoning.

  With a shrug, you entered the bathroom for a much needed scrub down and some disassociating. Your mess could wait.

  ─

  Eddie was not in a great mood when he walked into the shop.

  His jacket was clutched in a sweaty palm, rings twisting around the flesh of his fingers and his bangs were beginning to stick to his forehead, all the result of the walk from his fucking car to the shop door. 

  “Grumpy?” Argyle asked, amused with the clear annoyance on his face.

  Eddie sneered, standing under the vent for a minute to cool down, “Triple digits. Triple fucking digits out there, man. You could shove a thermometer up the devil’s asshole and it’d be cooler than that.”

  Once he’d solidified, he stalked past the front desk, threw his jacket onto the counter and picked up a stack of mail.

  “Did I miss anything?” Eddie asked as he flipped through the envelopes, mostly junk.

  “A couple of walk-ins. Nothing too major there, handled them myself. Simple stuff, one wanted a goldfish. Not like a detailed one, like how you’d try and draw a goldfish cracker. We did have a few who wanted a couple of advance pieces, got ‘em booked for consultations with Johnny boy and Rob.”

  “Nice,” Eddie chuckled under his breath at the mental image of the goldfish tattoo, most likely an act of affection. Tattooing people who wanted to permanently carry reminders of their children was one of Eddie’s favorites to do, partially because of the sentiment but mostly because the drawings were amusing.

  He’d just finished tossing out the junk mail when he reached for his jacket to hang it up properly and discovered it had been concealing something. 

  “What’s this?” Eddie asked as he lifted the slim red binder. Looked relatively new.

  “Huh?” Argyle glanced up from the sketch he was working on, recognition flashing across his face, “Oh, yeah! We got a prospective new hire, someone dropped off their portfolio.”

  Eddie rolled his eyes and heaved out a heavy sigh as his jacket was tossed aside yet again.He had nothing against other tattoo artists, but the last one he’d hired that hadn’t come from his friend group ended up nearly destroying the group. 

  Henry had been charming, good at his job and charismatic. Turns out, he’d also been a master manipulator and had a particularly abhorrent temper. Tensions had been high, heads were butting and fights had occurred–with a permanent reminder in the wall near the front entrance where a large hole had been punched through the wall. Henry had to go.

  Eddie wasn’t looking to repeat the situation.

  “I think we’re good on artists around here–and put a reminder on the calendar for me to patch that damn crater up.”  

  “Well, it’s a good thing the artist isn’t a tattoo artist. Yet. I’d look at that portfolio first before making any decisions, if I were you. I think you’re gonna see the beginnings of something goooooood, and dude, you’ll be killing our fun if you fix it. Do you know how many glory hole jokes we tell?” Eddie ignored the latter half of Argyle’s statement, reluctantly flipping the portfolio open to the first page and annoyance began to associate itself with him once more. 

  A body, in a state of decomposition greeted him. But it wasn’t maggots or rotting flesh involved. Flowers grew out of the crevices, with moss and mushrooms over her skin. A lot of fine line work.

  The next page was home to a bird-like creature with the body of a lion, a Griffin. Done in American Traditional.

  A skinny, demonic looking goat with horns and legs long enough to belong to a horse, clouded eyes and wyvern wings was on the page after that. The Jersey Devil. Someone knew their Cryptids.

  The portfolio contained a vast amount of drawings from horror depictions to more aesthetically pleasing visions; the hydra, skeletons, dragons, goddesses, respectable attempts at the modern Renaissance pieces, and even a couple of Barbie references, ranging in a variety of tattoo styles. 

  Eddie closed the portfolio and drummed his fingertips across the countertop, scowling. 

  That long haired doofus was right. This was beyond good work. But if they weren’t a tattoo artist, there wasn’t much Eddie could do with them. Drawing on paper is a much more different experience than skin. Mistakes can be erased on paper, the sketch done over again. Can’t do the same on flesh. 

  It’s intimidating. 

  They’d have to start off slow, like he had. Trained under a watchful eye, an expert who’d guide them with experienced hands. He was sure Jonathan and Robin would be eager to have an apprentice.

  But before Eddie would even begin to entertain the idea of an apprentice in his shop, he’d have to see exactly what it was he was working with.

  “Leave a number?” He asked without looking at Argyle because he knew he’d see nothing but a smug expression.

  “Yup.”

  “See if you can get him back in the shop tomorrow.”

  “Why not today?”

  “Because I have a session for the rest of the day, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah! I forgot.” Argyle’s grin was sheepish as he read off the calendar. “Stacy Peterson called. Car troubles. Unable to make it to appointment with Eddie. Rescheduled. Heh. So…you also missed that.”

  “I’ll strangle you later, just get him in here then.”

  Argyle opened his mouth, then closed it as an expression that said I know something you don’t crossed his strong features. “Righty-O, boss. I’ll give him a call.”

  You’d been lounging in the bathtub, hair up and out of the way, eyeing the grooves of the shower tile. They were a permanent taunt, stained dark no matter how hard you and Sid scrubbed and you hated the sight of them. 

  People with money didn't have to stare at them, able to afford to have them professionally cleaned or the shower wall—the entire bathroom renovated.

  Someday, that would be you. 

  You sunk further into the water, toeing at the faucet when the shrill sound of the landline filled your more than humble home. The thought of simply letting it ring played in your head until you remembered the tattoo shop you’d visited last. 

  Hastily rising from the tub, water was splashed along the floor while you did a terrible job of drying off and ran naked the rest of the way to the living room, almost slipping as you did.

  The receiver was yanked off its post, “Hello?”

  “What’s up, Dudette? Argyle calling, dunno if you remember me from earlier…”

  “Yeah! From the tattoo shop, right?”

  “Right-O! Listen, The Dungeon Master is in and he wants to see if you can get down here to show him what you got. Possible?”

  “Yeah, it’ll be no problem!” You’d have to run most of the way but street traffic around this time wasn’t that bad so you wouldn’t have to fight your way through bodies.

  “Cool, cool, cool. And between you and me, this is pretty much the interview process. Good luck, dudette, and may the force be with your tattie skills. I’ll see you when you get here!”

  As soon as you’d hung up, you ran to your room to get dressed. You didn’t have much of a wardrobe, but it wasn’t high on your list of priorities considering you and Sid practically shared one. Another tank top was selected—to mitigate sweating on your way to your interview—along with a gifted pink thong and matching bra. You’d snagged your Daisy Dukes from the floor on your way out, shimmied them on, grabbed your small bag and keys and headed out.

  The selection of attire was a good one, the heat was still stupidly unbearable and heavy. You’d need to wash off again tonight. You’d managed to make it to the shop in under twenty-five minutes, having ignored all the looks you’d received as you hurried along the streets and the feeling of the air conditioner on your skin was a welcome one when you made your way back into the shop.

  Argyle greeted you with a bright grin from his place behind the counter, throwing up his hands, “You made it! One sec.”

  Then he turned his upper body to call into an area you couldn’t quite see into, “Oh, Eddie boy! Your prospect has arrived.”

  You hadn’t cared to entertain ideas on what your potential boss could look like, all you were concerned about was the position and getting your foot in the door. Even if you had tried to imagine him, nothing could have prepared you for the actual sight of him when he emerged.

  He was big, tall and cloaked in black, despite the heat of the city. He wore what you figured had once been a black t-shirt but was now lacking sleeves and a proper neck hem to be considered a makeshift tank. His pants were shiny leather and also tight, hugging the muscles of his thighs, and he sported a dark pair of pointed boots.

  He wasn’t particularly muscular enough to be the body builder type, but it looked like he could probably pick another grown man up with ease. His skin had a light tan to it, barely anything really, just like everyone else, he obviously couldn’t escape the sun. It was littered with intricate tattoos, weaving up his arms—a few you could tell disappeared under his shirt—and his neck.

  The word freak was permanently etched in black ink along his temple and over his eyebrow. Two silver balls decorated his other eyebrow.

  Leaning up against the back wall like that, arms crossed to make the muscles of his arms bulge slightly and oozing confidence, he looked like the personification of some really good sex.

  But he wasn’t what you were seeking out and you didn’t like to mix business with pleasure.

  Eddie was caught completely off guard, trying to school his shock and keep his composure.

  When he’d seen that portfolio, he was expecting someone with jagged edges, piercings galore and more than just a couple of tattoos to be behind it and standing in the entryway of his shop.

  Someone who looked like their art.

  You…didn’t. With your little pink cowboy boots, tank top that accentuated your figure and shorts so small, they should’ve been considered a form of underwear, you didn’t look at all similar to what Eddie was expecting. Not even if he closed his eyes.

  You didn’t waste time, quickly introducing yourself as you stepped up to the front desk and Eddie pulled himself from his stupor, closing the distance to shake your palm. Smaller than his (though most were) and slightly sweaty, no doubt due to that god forsaken heat outside.

  Eddie could see bits of your hair sticking to your skin, little beads of sweat prickling over your exposed collarbone and trailing down, down between your─

  “Thank you for taking the time to even look at my portfolio! I really appreciate it.”

  Eddie blinked hard, clearing his throat before smirking to pretend he hadn’t been drawn in by your chest.

  What the fuck was wrong with him all of a sudden? 

  He’d had plenty of beautiful clients, he’d tattooed nice asses, tits, pubic regions, thighs, all the beautiful areas. Now all of a sudden he was acting like he’d never seen a pair of tits before. 

  Hell, Eddie had been thoroughly busy with a pair, held them in his hands before he came into the shop.

  Professionalism, he reminded himself.

  “Not a problem, what I see—saw was pretty impressive,” Nice save, Eddie, you dick. He cursed himself, “You adapt well to different styles.”

  “Thanks!” You chirped, excitement filling you at the praise. It was so nice to hear positive feedback about your work instead of being sent out of a shop before they so much as opened your binder. “I like to experiment with different styles, see what it is that people like so much about them and honestly, it’s mostly because I haven’t quite found my art style just yet.”

  Hence your range, you were constantly expanding with your art because you hadn’t found one style you wanted to make yours yet. Or maybe you had and just didn’t know it yet. Whatever.

  Eddie and Argyle exchanged a look before he stepped back and nodded in the direction he came, “Why don’t you follow me? Show me what you can do?”

  You didn’t hesitate, stepping past the front desk.

  There was more artwork lining the short hall he took you down until you arrived at another room, obviously one meant for actual tattooing as there was a tattoo chair in the middle of the room. 

  On one of the counters, was an area already prepped for you. A tattoo gun, some ink, and some obviously fake skin that rested on top of a disposable sheet cloth, along with some gloves.

  “Argyle tells me you haven’t worked on skin before.”

  Sure you haven’t.

  “Not a whole lot of people lining up to get tattooed by someone with no experience,” you shrugged, following him over to the counter he was leaning up against.

  “You’re hanging around the wrong crowd then.” He joked and you let out a small laugh.

  He had no idea how right he was.

  “The first tattoos I ever got were from inexperienced people. This one,” he gestured to a Wyvern on the back of his arm, “I got my junior year of high school from a waitress at a bar I always snuck into.”

  “And this one,” he yanked the tattered collar of his shirt down to expose more ink, but the one he was referring to was a spider, “I got my first senior year from someone I did…business with.”

  First senior year? Eddie was proving to be an interesting character.

  “But enough about me,” Eddie released his shirt, allowing it to hide the artwork depicted on his chest, “let’s get down to business.”

  Before he could even explain what everything was, you dropped your purse onto the counter nearby, pulling a small box of unopened gloves from it.

  “You mind?” You asked, fingers poised to rip it open.

  “Go for it,” He shrugged. Gloves were gloves, so long as they were uncontaminated he didn’t mind.

  You tore into them and Eddie was still somehow surprised to see they were pink. Clearly his black ones weren’t your style.

  “Can I ask you a question?” You asked as you pulled the gloves on. Eddie watched you, intrigued as you finished assembling the tattoo gun without his help and opened the ink pack. 

  “Sure,” He mused, eyeing you skeptically. Hadn’t tattooed anyone but you were clearly familiar with it. Interesting.

  “Did your tattoos hurt?”

  Eddie waited until after you’d started the tattoo gun and got into working on the fake flesh. Apparently you already had an idea in mind.

  “A bit of an amateur question, you don’t have one?”

  “Nope.” You confirmed, paying him no mind as you leaned forward, gaze focused solely on your task, “I kind of want one but I’m not in any particular rush, you know?”

  Eddie made a sound of agreement, at a brief loss of words as you arched your back, ass sticking out and he became painfully aware you were wearing a hot pink thong, the tails of it peaking out past the top of your denim shorts. He should’ve offered you a seat but you didn’t seem all that bothered with standing.

  No, that was apparently his foil, because he was incredibly bothered by you standing, especially with your ass out like that; when it made his pants tighten considerably in his crotch region.

  He was getting hard. 

  Eddie was mortified, stiffening (go figure) as he attempted to calm himself, eyes darting away from your ass to stare at one of the cabinets. Of course this had to happen to him on the day he chose to wear a pair of pants that left little to the imagination should the boy downstairs start acting up.

  Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look.

  “Hurts, depending on the area, which I’m sure you already know. The tattoos on my back and my thighs hurt pretty bad. Forearms were a bitch, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The ones on my wrists and hands were the worst, pain wise, in my opinion. Obviously it didn't stop me, but those tend to be areas with a lot of bones, veins and very little muscle, so it’s expected.”

  You hummed in response and his gaze briefly flittered over to you before his cock pulsed and he tore it away again, grateful your attention wasn’t on him.

  The remainder of the ‘session’ was spent in relative silence with the music playing through the speakers installed throughout the shop, keeping it from being awkward. Eddie had just managed to will his erection away when you finished, setting down the gun before you pulled your gloves off.

  “What do you think?” You asked, still admiring your work and Eddie peered around you to assess it.

  A wyvern, similar to the one on his arm but done in a fine line style.

  He chuckled, amused with your reference and you fought valiantly with yourself not to grin. You were trying to impress him, sticking with a subject he liked enough to make it a part of him permanently, but you hadn’t imitated the style of it to keep from downright copying and to showcase your ability to adapt.

  “That’s pretty good,” And it was, not a whole lot of people could get lines that perfect or seem as confident in their abilities on their first try. Still, Eddie could tell you’d have some ways to go before you were ready to be on your own, “but you can do better.”

  You tried not to frown, “Oh.”

  Eddie smirked and you finally turned to face him, apprehension on your face.

  “Don’t look so down. After some time around here, watching us work, you’ll be ready. The apprenticeship will fly by in no time.”

  “Wait—you mean—you want me?!”

  “I’d be stupid not to.”

  You let out a squeal and threw yourself at him, giving him a quick squeeze before your brain caught up to your body and you pulled away.

  “Sorry, sorry! I’m just so excited.”

  Eddie cleared his throat, shifting his body away from you and rasped out, “Argyle will have the paperwork for you to fill out.”

  “Got it,” You grabbed your bag and was just about to head out of the room when Eddie called your name, “Huh?”

  “Be back at the same time tomorrow. You’ll be practicing on real skin.” 

  “But I thought you said—” 

  “Me.”

  Something in you bubbled with excitement and nerves.

  You nodded once and then left the room to see Argyle for your paperwork.

  “So?????” Argyle asked once you’d approached him, a sullen look on your face. 

  You couldn’t keep the act up, beaming as you practically bounced, “I’ll be seeing you around more often now!” 

  He whooped, extending an arm out for a high-five which you reciprocated.

  “You are gonna love it here, Dudette. Just wait until you meet everyone! First, we gotta start on your employment.” 

  Your brows furrowed as you watched him go through a filing cabinet.

  “Wait—this is paid?”

  “Yeah! We’re not big on slave labor here.”

  Score for you! You had a feeling you wouldn’t be clocking a ton of hours but every single penny counted, especially considering how hard of a time you had actually building a savings account.

  Argyle had walked you through the paperwork, where to sign, what things meant and since the shop was getting ready to close up you’d simply just bring the completed paperwork back with you tomorrow.

  The door chimed behind you and you turned to see who could be coming in at the last minute, eyes widening at the voluptuous woman before you. Her hair was long and jet black, skin pale (apparently one person in this city was capable of defying the sun) and make-up done so elegantly it reminded you of actresses from the silver screen era. Her dress was simple, black and hugged her curves exceptionally well. You could tell it was worth more than everything in your apartment combined and you’d feel bad about it if you also couldn’t tell she was older than you. 

  You’d have time to get there.

  “Hey, Deidre.”

  “Hello, Argyle.” She gave the both of you a dazzling smile as she removed her sunglasses and walked right past Argyle, down the hall you’d come from.

  He didn’t even look surprised and paid her no real attention.

  “We’ll see you soon?”

  “Damn straight.”

  Argyle let out another cheer as you walked out the door with high spirits. Not even the nasty, hot air could get you down.

  You’d climbed up the stone steps until you reached the sidewalk and glanced behind you at the neon sign depicting the name of the tattoo shop you’d now be working at.

  “Welcome to The Dungeon,” You mumbled to yourself with a smile. 

  You turned back to the sidewalk, staring down at the pathway you’d have to take before you thought better of it, sticking your fingers into your mouth to give a sharp whistle.

  It caught the attention of a cab driver down the street, and you gave him your address when he’d pulled up and you’d hopped in, ready to prepare for tonight's plans. You deserved a little break, after all, you were one step closer to securing the future of your dreams.

  Eddie sagged against the counter once you’d left the room, scowling down at the bulge that had reappeared in his pants when you’d hugged him.

  Why his body was suddenly acting like he was a horny teenager again, he had no idea.

  He wasn’t about to do anything about it, though. Not when you’d be hanging around the shop for the foreseeable future. Eddie didn’t get involved with his employees. He’d worked in a couple of shops where he’d witnessed that occur and it always ended in a mess. Not a good kind.

  He busied himself with cleaning up, tossing away the supplies you’d used and storing your first piece of work. It’d be nice for you to look back at once your apprenticeship was over. When Eddie had nothing else to clean, he sighed and rubbed at his eyelids. 

  Platonic. Professional. God, if he couldn’t keep his dick in check, he’d be in a world of trouble. You’d be trouble.

  “Need a hand?”

  Eddie snapped around, relieved to see it was just Deidre. Explaining why he had a boner to anyone else wasn’t something he was keen on doing. In fact, he probably wouldn’t be telling her exactly why, either.

  Taking her up on her offer, however, was something he would eagerly do.

  “Are you offering yours?”

  She laughed, setting her purse down on the counter where your bag had been just a few minutes ago, and walked right up to Eddie, her body pressed against his and grinding onto him as the older woman slid her arms around his shoulders.

  “Mmm, not just my hand.”

  All Eddie knew next was the taste of her red lipstick.