#no concept is a stupid name because that’s still a concept too hello

[illuminatedmysticc]

what truly made evrything click? what made you stop searching and start being

I stopped giving a sh*t so should you anon

Like stop reading this non dual stuff nobody knows Nothing here ! You are the Answer, go within yourself!! Some of the people who have Nd or no concepts blogs now just learnt about this yesterday or don’t know what the hell they talking about

Don’t listen to me , don’t spend half your day reading my stuff or anyone for that matter even those you “Trust” just yourself

Who am I ? That’s a great start

Who are you

[rodolfoparras]

Say something stupid (like I love you)

Pairing: Male character x Top Male reader

Cw: 18+, non human yandere character, human yandere reader, stalking, obsessing, possessiveness, masturbation, bondage, blood play, spit play, non consensual voyeurism, dubious consent, dom male reader, sub male character

Synopis: After spending so many years looking for the right one for him, he finally finds you or you find him…

When he first met you he hadn’t intended to fall in love, matter of fact he’d long given up on the concept solely because his partners rarely viewed love and relationships in the same way that he did.

Sure they’ve gotten jealous over him but never did they get possessive like he did.

Sure they’ve loved him but never did they get obsessed like he did.

Sure he’d been in committed relationships but never did they allow him to claim them properly.

And because of that he always broke up with them.

It’s love, he tried to explain, the all consuming type that has you tapping into your deepest darkest desires.

His previous lovers didn’t understand it, no one seemed to do, until he met you.

He had observed you through the shadows at first, not wanting to scare you away before he’d even gotten the chance to say hello.

He’d watch you practice in the garden. You were rather skilled with the sword but there were still weak spots in your swordsmanship, windows of opportunity where someone could come and harm you.

From then on he decided that he’d do everything in his power to prevent you from getting hurt, even if that meant secretly watching you from bushes and trees while you practiced with your sword.

He’d sometimes watch you take short walks to town. You didn’t seem to care whether it was day or night, seemingly determined as ever to finish whatever errand you had in mind. But he cared because sure while you knew how to wield a sword, the world you lived in was very unpredictable. You shouldn’t roam around alone so of course he followed wherever you decided to go.

He’d even watch you sleep until dusk turned into dawn through the window you always forget to close. Sometimes you couldn’t fall asleep for whatever reason, so you’d lay in bed, body bare and on full display lazily stroking your dick, grunts and groans tumbling past your lips, as you steadily worked yourself towards your release.

He tried not to look, it would be rather improper of him. He’d instead trail his gaze around your surroundings to make sure no one was watching, no one else but him.

You never noticed him or maybe you did because sometimes you’d throw a look over your shoulder while practicing with your sword as if you could feel someone watching you.

And sometimes you’d take one too many unnecessary trips to town, each time taking a new and unfamiliar path as if wanting to keep him on his toes somehow.

And sometimes while pleasuring yourself, you’d gaze into the open window, right in the spot where he usually hides himself, eyes searching the dark as if you were looking for something or rather someone, as if you were looking for him.

However the most notable thing was that you never seemed to fear him, at least not from what he could see.

There were no goosebumps rising upon your skin whenever you thought someone was watching you at practice, no pulse wildly beating under your skin when he was following you closely, no shaking limbs except for when you inched closer to your release.

He was intrigued.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and soon enough he decided to make himself known.

When he’d stepped out of the shadows and into the light he’d been intrigued with how much more beautiful you were up close but he’d been more intrigued with how familiar you seemed to be with him.

You didn’t lunge him down to the ground, didn’t bring your sword to his throat, didn’t even try to walk away when he came up to you.

Instead you said his name with a soft smile on your face, pronouncing the string of letters as if you were rather familiar with them, as if you were familiar with him. How you’d found that out, he had no idea.

He was used to an air of caution surrounding his conquests, the other party needing some time before they warmed up to him, maybe two or three dates before they allowed him to steal a kiss but there was no need for that with you.

There was no need for it when you were the one to pull him in for a kiss, a yelp of surprise turning into whimpers and whines, steadily licking into his mouth as if trying to erase any trace of previous conquests, sucking on his tongue and biting on his lips as if trying to devour him, before breaking apart, a string of blood and spit connecting you to him

At that point his conquests usually try to run away. They see the wild look in his eyes, the blood smeared around his mouth and run for the hills.

Instead it seems like you’re trying to prevent him from running away, one hand keeping a vice like grip on his throat, thumb pressing down on his Adam apples til his ears ring and world blurs while the other hand blindly fumbles for the cleft of his ass, fingers brushing over his clothed entrance.

He’d never managed to go as far as to get his conquests into bed yet here you were tying his limbs to the bed posters, using a bit of pre to stretch the tight ring of muscles before sinking into his warm wet heat like you owed it, uncaring of the way he winces and hisses as you set a steady pace with your hips, solely focusing on your pleasure.

You keep your gaze glued to his, like he’d done with you for so many weeks, eyes wide and frantic as if someone would steal him away from you, taking in the tears trickling down his cheeks, the way spit is dribbling down his chin, the way his cock is uselessly slaps against his abdomen while you frantically thrust into him.

And when he thought it was time to leave, feeling absolutely spent and wrung dry, nothing but pathetic spurts of cum spilling from his cock,you had stopped him before he could even get up.

This time you lunged at him, still naked as ever, your hard cock pressing against his thigh while pushing the sharp blade of a knife up against his jugglar.

Right then and there he knew that he loved you

and he knew that you loved him too.

[untoldstar]

male yandere! farmer x fem! spoiled city girl reader [Introduction]

lowkey hate this but I still love the concept.

This is based on an ask I got but since it’ll. e jumbled if I put everything in one post I’ll be posting it in parts so as much as it pains me to say this..no yandere shenanigans in this post<:33

You were spending the summer at a farm and you were absolutely dreading it.

You have been living, in your words, the high life but in your fathers words irresponsibly. Going out every night, partying, spending money on stupid things, and it seemed like you were only interested in going to college because of the parties your classmates host. Frankly, your father has had enough of it.

In the middle of his lecture, he had the bright idea to call up an old friend who owns a farm and ask him for a favor, and from the expression on his face you already knew it was something dreadful.

Turns out it was to have you work for him for the summer. To toughen you up a bit. Teach you some responsibility just so you could be a little more mature when you come back (and maybe not turn him penniless like you're about to with the way you're living).

His friend, which you learned his name was Blaze, didn't mind. In fact, he was happy to have an extra set of hands to help around.

Naturally, you threw a fit. You tried every trick in the book you even gave your best puppy eyes and promised not to spend too much money anymore, you would even stop going to so many parties!

Nonetheless..you ended up packing your bags when the day came.

You slammed the passenger door shut and made your way to the cars trunk to get your bags. You could hear both men exchange warm welcomes and rave over how long it's been.

You roll your eyes. A little more and they'll be going down memory lane over coffee.

Your father turns to you when you make it to his side, his face still pleasantly beaming. It was honestly freaking you out "Ah! honey, say hello to my friend, Blaze. He'll take good care of you here." You offer him a tight-lipped smile and shake his hand. You immediately remove yourself from the conversation as your eyes take in the scenery. A large field you can't even tell where it ends. Within it, a house is close to where you're all standing, not small, not too big while the barn is a little further away. You also see a dark blue truck parked close by. You don't see any of the animals yet. He must have animals right? You wince as you think of dealing with their waste.

And the heat. The heat. You have a small tube top and shorts on which would be lovely back in your city but here it does absolutely nothing to help with the intense heat.

Too distracted by your torment, you don't notice Blaze's eyes glancing in your direction every few seconds as he talks to your father taking in every detail of you. Smooth skin, soft hair, delicate hands that haven't worked a day in their life. He honestly doesn't think you'll last a day.

"Well! I'll be off then." You snap out of your daze "Oh. Okay then." You reply curtly. You're being petty and you don't care "Come now don't have that look on your face, lighten up will you? Don't give Blaze too much trouble" with that he makes his way to the car and you almost tear up watching him drive off.

Blaze clears his throat "Here let me help you with your stuff." He leads the way to his house and already you can tell how awkward this is going to be "I take it you're not familiar with working in a farm?" you only offer a small shake of your head "That shouldn't be a problem, you know I didn't wake up one day and decided to milk a cow. I had to learn and work every day...Not just that but everything else, of course." He clears his throat and you giggle. His shoulders relax a bit upon the sounds. You too enter his house and he sets your luggage down "Right, let me give you a tour, yeah?"

He leads you throughout the entire house, which doesn't take long considering its size, he leaves your room for last "This is where you'll be sleeping, this room doesn't have a lock yet but if you want I can install one for ya." you only nod and head inside and shut the door behind you.

What the fuck?

Blaze blinks then huffs knocking on the door "Hey uh- If you're tired from the trip we can start tomorrow at dawn" He looks down as he patiently waits for your response "Yeah that would be great!" He sighs. He doubts you had plans to start today anyway.

Blaze finally walks away from your door rubbing his neck 'Lets hope this runs by smoothly..'

Turns out, he had..a few things to worry about.

The first day was a pain, for both of you, but he'd argue it was more of a pain for him.

"You do it!"

"I'm supposed to be teaching you." he replies gruffly

"What if she bites my hand off?"

"She's a horse you're not feeding a lion- look just put the carrot closer to her mouth." he guides your hand closer and his heart skips a beat. So soft. Your hands were so soft-

He clears his throat "There, it'll just start eating it, it's fine if a little dribble gets on your hand." You grimace and he clicks his tongue "Oi, stop being a brat, a little drool is the least you should be worried about while working here." You whine "Can I just be in charge of feeding Stella here instead?" He crosses his arms "No can do sweetheart." You only pout and continue feeding the horse not noticing how the corners of Blaze's mouth lift slightly.

You kept running off from your chores to play with Clyde (his dog) and of course, he was chasing you around like a babysitter trying to get you to finish your work.

It was truly a nightmare when you had to clean after the animals. You were gagging, whining, he was honestly convinced you were going to start bawling at that point it was quite amusing.

After that, it seemed you were a bit desensitized from that experience and you were managing the rest of the chores with few complaints but for your sake, he won't mention how he heard you cussing out your father while you were cleaning the barn.

When you were finally done with everything the sun was beginning to set. You wanted more than anything to fall face-first into your bed but you stunk and you desperately needed a shower.

When you're done you open the door only to bump into Blaze "Oh, sorry.' You squeeze past him and continue your way to your room not noticing the shade of red Blaze's face turned in your wake.

His pants tighten and the scent of your shampoo and body wash wafting from the bathroom doesn't help.

Yeah..a few things he has to worry about

[anyaeras]

Fucked up day || Wandnat

Paring Wanda x Natasha x Reader

Summary || Wanda and Natasha got a little carried away this Friday the 13th, but they did it in the name of love hmm?

Warnings || smut ,, AFAB!reader (They/them pronouns) ,, dom!wanda ,, dom!GP!Natasha ,, sub!reader ,, cunnalingus ,, d!v sex ,, light bondage ,, murder mentions ,, dark!plot ideas ,, slight mommy!kink ,, (a little degrading, if you squint) ,, manipulation concepts

Twitter Masterlist

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Friday the 13th Was all a joke to you, a stupid day that everybody wanted to act absurd, especially this Friday the 13th as it was in October approaching Halloween, you on the other hand had decided to have a quiet evening, until the news came on.

Reporting that multiple suspicious murders have taken place in your nearby city, no idea who the suspected killer is and it seems that they were still loose.

Clearly that's a little unsettling as a serial killer on the loose nearby isn't the most comforting feeling, yet it must be a whole Nother Friday the 13th prank that has gone way too far.

Now around 8:30 at night long after the sun had set, the cold brisk of the fall evening had settled, in the kitchen y/n was preparing a late dinner, simple really cutting up a few vegetables for the dish just than their phone with off.

'Unknown caller ID' the name read thinking nothing of it y/n let it go to voice mail, yet moments after the number called again.

Curiosity, overpowered ignorance, with that y/n picked up their cell.

"Do you like scary movies?" A strange male sounding voice asked over the line, leaving y/n with a shiver.

"Umm not really, I don't watch them a lot" y/n replied not thinking to much about it as none of this seemed familiar.

"What a shame, I wanted to know what's your favorite scary movie?" The raspy voice asked and that's when it hit her, the movies with the stabbing, that's what the line was from.

"Haha very funny, trying to prank me with a line from a movie" y/n said clearly not impressed before hanging up, a huge horror movie mistake.

Then again it was just a joke, going on continuing, making their meal, the sound of the front door opening, caught them off guard.

"Hello? Can I help you?" Y/n voice shouted threw the house.

"Yes sure you can y/n." The same raspy voice from over the phone now was heard throughout their house.

"This isn't funny what is this a sick joke to you?!" Y/n shouted now finally a bit uneasy with the whole situation, especially because I had no idea who would come into their house.

Y/n felt something or should they say someone quickly grab them pulling them backwards, kicking and screaming to get loose yet someone in a ghost face mask also now stood in front of them.

"every good screen movie always has two killers" the ghost face in front said.

Y/n was manhandled into a chair tied down in merely seconds.

"See y/n all these killing tonight were for you, we did it for you." The ghostface behind y/n explained

"What do you mean you did this for me? You killed innocent people?!" Y/n shouted out now confused and disgusted.

A phone was pulled from the front ghostfaces pocket, showing y/n each person who was killed, each one in someway had a relationship to y/n and they knew it.

"Y-you kill my friends? W-why?" Managing to stutter out words, almost frozen in a form of shock.

"They weren't your friends, especially not him!" the first ghost face was clearly becoming impatient as they should the photo of y/n's boyfriends slashed body, causing y/n to gasp, a few tears falling down their face.

"You're sick!"

"We aren't sick, we are protecting you, he would've just hurt you honey, we will protect you" at that point the slasher in front took off their mask, revealing themself

"Natasha?" Y/n gasped seeing the fiery redhead under the mask

"W-who's that-" now asking referring to the other masked murderer confused if one of them was Natasha, then who could the other one be?

Removing the mask, a shimmering Burnett was revealed

"Wanda? Why? Why me? Are you both going to kill me now?" They asked the two once masked murders who giggled in response to said question.

"Of course not silly, we did it all to save you, we wouldn't want to hurt you dear" Wanda spoke softly her knife touching y/n face gently.

"S-so what exactly do you want with me" clearly y/n was still confused on why their friends caused all these killings when the only reasoning they gave y/n was they killed them was to 'save you'

Natasha took her turn moving closer so that she could grab y/n's jaw forcing them to look up at her.

"Y/n, Wanda and I want all of you детка. You are ours" Natasha spoke soft words in a harsh tone

"SO YOU KILLED A BUNCH OF PEOPLE, ARE YOU GUYS DUMB WHAT IF YOU GET CAUGHT?" Y/n shouted finding the whole situation absolutely absurd.

"Are you going to turn us in?" Natasha's face held the same signature smirk, each word was taunting to the person tied in the chair.

"No they wouldn't turn us in, they don't wanna lose us" Wanda joined in on the teasing, giving y/n a quick kiss

Y/n couldn't help but enjoy the kiss, as much as they didn't want to due to the circumstances, y/n did have a tiny crush on the two women.

"That's pathetic y/n, you didn't even pull away" Wanda laughed clearly y/n wanted them even after they killed, and tied them up, and both older women knew that would be the outcome, that's why they did it.

"Guys I- umm" y/n being flustered made Natasha laugh, now taking a kiss herself from the tied up y/n.

"It's okay to want us детка" Wanda spoke softly brushing some of y/n's loose hair out of their face.

"But I shouldn't-" quickly y/n's words were hushed by the two other women who wanted to ruin the innocent one who was tied to a chair.

Natasha was getting fed up with y/n going back and forth and finally took things into her own hands. Swiftly moving to kiss now down y/n's neck, making them gasp at the feeling.

"T-Tasha" y/n's words were breathy as the redhead kept kissing on them

"Darling it seems you're a little trapped, would you like us to stop?" Wanda asked softly yet she was serious, for being a bit crazy, she was still caring and didn't want to do anything to harm y/n. Natasha also pulled away for a moment looking up at y/n for their consent yet when y/n whined for them to keep going the knew it was free game.

Natasha moved back into sucking non y/n's neck while Wanda dropped to her knees between y/n's legs.

"Can mommy taste you honey?" The name caught y/n off guard yet they still nodded giving Wanda the go, now as the witch moved y/n's pants to the floor, along with their panties she almost went feral just at the site.

"Fuck" the one tied to the chair huffed out biting their lip as Wanda got to work, having fun working y/n up

"Look at you, all tied up for us" Natasha teased as Wanda was a bit busy.

Natasha moved to grope y/n's body even more, slowly bringing them over the edge.

"Let go for us моя ангел" the redhead coaxed them over the edge, forcing y/n into their first orgasm.

Wanda lifted her head to forcefully kiss y/n, making them taste themself on her cherry colored lips. As Wanda held the kids her hands moved behind the chair, untying y/n's arms, so that the Burnett could reposition the once tied up y/n, now pushing them onto all fours, Natasha stood behind, while Wanda moved to stand in front.

"Can we use you pretty one?" Wanda bent down asking softly, yet her words were far from innocent, yet with y/n's brain already being fuzzy they were quick to nod along.

Natasha undid her jeans, pulling out her dick, finding a way to line up with y/n's cunt, slowly sliding into them making y/n moan out loudly, which Wanda countered by forcing y/n's mouth onto her cunt, giving the Burnett pleasure each time y/n moaned, Tasha on the other hand was railing y/n from behind as her dick was covered now in y/n's slick juices, making it easier for her to move in and out, which was causing y/n to scream moving closer to their second climax's.

"F-fuck I-I'm close" y/n groaned out, making Natasha thrust harder, as she herself was rather close.

"Make mommy cum and you can cum y/n" Wanda ordered making y/n work even harder at eating out Wanda, focusing on her clit more than before until the women's legs were shaking as she let go her orgasm left, prominent on y/n's face.

"Go on дорогой let go" Wanda whispered as Natasha also let her seed fill y/n, which was the finally push, making y/n shake as she orgasmed loudly.

"You did so good baby" Natasha whispered pulling out slowly, still using her arms to help support y/n, as it was clear they couldn't stand on their own.

"So so good for us, but детка, we have got to get out of here" Wanda explained now lifting y/n, supporting their weight, as Natasha grabbed keys, they were ready to skip town due to the early nights activities but as well as taking y/n far far away from this fucked up town, on the fucked up day....

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hello this is a question that came about from watching the new Fallout TV show and a character named Maximus. He’s a relatively neutral character and his arc is very wonderful coming from a writer and big book reader but I noticed that the average viewer doesn’t understand his character and actually hates him… my question is as an author is it okay to make your story more digestible to people who lack perception since it’s the general audience for mainstream media and how do you do that without losing your story? Idk this was probably too complex and a stupid question 💔

Not a stupid question! There are no stupid questions.

Going to unpack this a bit though. (I haven't seen the show.) First some general points, but then some advice on balancing complexity in a story.

So. Some things to get out of the way:

You don't know what the average viewer is thinking. Just because their opinion on a character is different to yours, doesn't mean they lack perception. Do we sometimes have an issue with critical thinking in the modern age? Yes. But we also live in an age where people bring a vast array of different insights and experiences into the stories they read/watch. 99% of the time a story doesn't have just one right interpretation, especially if it is a more complex narrative.

You CAN try to write a story that is more digestible to a general audience, but if you do have concerns about the media literacy of the general population, focusing on providing unchallenging stories is not the fix to that. People learn through engaging with interesting work and having discussions about them - e.g. when they are given the opportunity to. Perception, like anything, is a skill trained with practice. No one's born with it. There's no inherent us/them that can't be changed.

Will you be happy and fulfilled as a writer writing stories that you feel are dumbed or watered down? I know I wouldn't end up writing the versions of stories that I want. Similarly, you probably won't then attract the readers/audience that most resonate with your ideas, because you don't give them the chance.

Generally speaking, people hate being talked down to. As a reader/lover of stories, if I thought a writer was talking down to me and thought I was an idiot who couldn't understand the themes/plot, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with their stuff. It's a horrible feeling, isn't it? It's like being written off before you even leave the gate.

Okay, now some advice: Amazing children's books are a great example of stories that are simplified to appeal and meet the audience where they are at, without losing the richness that makes them resonate and engage readers/audience. However, there are adult examples too. They share some qualities.

These often have:

Clear structure (there are a myriad story structures that you can use to make a story hit beats the reader expects and create a sense of satisfaction, while still giving you room to play.)

High concept story idea/plot (so, stories that can be explained/pitched in a line. E.g. children are forced to fight in televised death matches (Hunger Games), a famous author is imprisoned by a dangerous fan who doesn't approve of his new work (Misery), 'it's jaws in outer space!'). These stories have simple premises that often have wide-appeal, but the stories themselves can be complex.

Engaging main character(s) with a clear goal/agenda. They don't have to all be morally pure, but for an easy win, your character should be likeable/easy to root for. In a children's book, e.g. at the simplest level, these are often also high concept. (E.g. a mouse wants to be heard so is convinced it needs a lion's roar to be loved - The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright)

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Game of Thrones was phenomenally popular, for example, but I don't think it's an easy to sink into world/simple set of characters.

Watering down an existing story to fit a different target audience is often not going to lead you to write the best story. This is because it's like trying to fit a triangle into a circle, or make a banana bread into a savoury scone. However, there are plenty of stories with mass-appeal that offer readers a variety of different levels to engage with them, so it is very possible to write a brilliant story with mass appeal. But you work from the foundations up, not from the finished product down.

I hope this helps!

[amywritesthings]

SEEING YOU, SEEING ME. (1/7)

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader

Word Count: 1.8K

Summary: After handling a life-or-death favor for Tess, you're in deep shit. Until she can make things right, she suggests you lay low at her place for the week. The issue? It's also Joel Miller's place, and you're pretty sure he hates you.

Warnings: Mentions of death and violence, Age gap/difference, Slow burn, Angry!Joel, Eventual Smut, Enemies to Fuckers, Before the events of TLOU 1.01

( Read on AO3 )

Next Chapter / Masterlist

CHAPTER ONE: THERE, EVERYWHERE

“Where are we going?”

The scoff from the woman stalking ahead tells you it's a stupid question to ask, if not already one too many.

Head down, hood up — in the cover of night, you have managed to slide in and out of alleyways unscathed and unseen. With every darkened hour, curfew gets that much more dangerous. Risky; the gallows are a recent addition to the zone to make an example out of deserters, rule breakers, and degenerates alike.

One false move, and it'll be two additional necks tomorrow morning.

None of this running around, however, is by your own doing: Tess Servopoulos is the thing that goes bump in the night. The smuggler that knows her way around the quarantine zone with little error.

The person that gets shit done around here.

You’re only by her side because you happened to be at the wrong place, wrong time — or, in her instance, the exact spot she needed in order for Tess herself to avoid that miniscule margin of error from increasing.

A lucky fuck-up, she calls it, except the concept of luck is all for her.

For you? It’s a matter of life and death — Fedra, the gallows, are only a drop in the bucket compared to having your fate at the hands of one Robert's underlings in a domino chain of petty fights and turf wars.

Tess swears on an eye for an eye: if she can clear your name and settle a deal, then no blood will have to be shed.

(A luck fuck-up, indeed.)

“You want to live?” she asks under her breath, a pace ahead. The hallway is empty at this time of night, wrapped tightly in militant fear. “Then you stay here.”

You shove your freezing hands in your pockets. “And where is here?”

“Just a place.”

“Yours?”

The woman finally halts at a door, glancing once at you as she fishes for her keys with an irritated boredom; a Tess classic. 

“Did I say you could ask so many fucking questions?”

Bingo.

You were right: one too many.

With one quick shove of her shoulder, you’re met with a sea of earth tone pinks engulfed a low light hue. Sun-stained curtains billow against the open air. The dilapidated floral wallpaper brings an uncomfortable Deja vu of a not-so distant world that's still rapidly decaying. The furniture seems well kept, sturdy, with a dining table set and a half-sunken couch. Eerie is the sound of a soft seventies ballad crooning Looks Like We Made It by Barry Manilow from a static-filtered FM radio between the windows.

But someone is already there.

Hunched over the small, square table for two sits a broad-shouldered man with salt and pepper hair. His shoulders lurch protectively over what seems to be paper and pen. The back of the jean-clad torso tightens at the sound of Tess's boisterous entrance, and their chin turns at break-neck speed to assess the intrusion. The person's eyes do not meet yours, but your certainly meet his face.

Shit.

You know that scowl.

It never leaves his damn face.

Here, Tess has conveniently left unconfirmed, is not only her place but Joel Miller’s place. Joel Miller — the guy who will take any hardened zone job no one wants so long as no one speaks or looks his way. The person who, at the end of the day, wants to be handed what he’s owed and to be left the fuck alone.

It's the guy you have spent dozens of shifts working alongside, desperate to make rationed ends meet, without so much as an introduction or a hello.

And you're fairly certain he hates you.

While it's rumor that Joel hates everyone, it's the way he hits your shoulder as he passes by to pick up the next dead body that's festered a full-blown fabricated story like a virus in your mind. You swear his gaze hardens every time he shows up at six a.m. sharp, only to find you waiting at the dig site.

With intimidating urgency he stands, slamming the notepad closed with an open palm. 

“What’s all this?” the southern drawl is unamused. Gruff.

Angry.

Tess doesn’t look at you when Joel steps once, twice, meeting her in the middle. “A favor.”

Joel’s eyes narrow a fraction of an inch. “We don’t do favors.”

“No, we don’t,” Tess confirms with an air of aloofness, “but she did one for me.” 

“And that’s my problem, how?”

Tess looks him dead in the eye, unblinking. Joel stares back with the same intensity, nostrils flaring. Mentally they continue to argue while you stand at the mouth of the apartment. An unspoken language, fit for the two of them and leaving you clear out in the cold.

Regardless, you’re no fool. You're not a face he wants to see.

(Goddamnit, Tess.)

Joel relents, shifting his weight from one leg to another as he places his hands on his hips. The movement is followed by a hefty, exhausted sigh.

“So then what’s your plan? Since you're suddenly feeling all sorts of generous today, Tess."

Not an outright refusal. Not a threat to turn you in.

Just like that, your not-so-lucky day has turned around.

Tess nods her chin once in appreciation of this acceptance, only to gesture to you.

“Let her lay low.”

His fiery eyes flicker to you, finally, and your fingers instinctually tighten against the strap of your pack slung loosely over your shoulder.

“I assume you mean lay low here.”

“Yes.” Tess tenses, if only a little, as if to brace for the oncoming storm. “For a few days.”

His expression shifts instantly, brows knit tight to blink back at Tess. Joel starts with a bite, louder than before. 

“A few—?”

“Days. Until I can sort shit out and make everything even.”

Joel pauses for a moment, taking a much needed breath to level the rage rolling off of him in waves. You shift your bag, attempting to make no noise. Prey meet predator; God forbid you provoke him.

Then he speaks between gritted teeth.

“That’s a big fucking ask, Tess.”

Tess nods, though it's a contrast softer this time around.

“You know I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. I gotta make it right before shit hits the fan. You know how Robert gets.”

And he does know, it seems, by the way he backs off with a miniscule step. His shoe scuffs at the floor, creaking the wooden boards. 

Joel lands his eyes on you for a second time. It's lessened in intensity, but it's unforgiving all the same.

You nervously shrug one shoulder, turning into a counterpoint. “If this… is an issue, I can just—”

“Go back out there until someone kills you?” Tess interrupts, craning her chin to watch you, too. “No. It’s just a few days. We can make this work.”

“And where will you be, during all this?” Joel asks, but it’s gentler this time. Worried, even if it’s laced with sarcasm. 

Tess keeps her eyes on you as she fixes her coat. “Out, but safe. It’s better to do this shit at night sometimes, as stupid as that sounds.”

"You're right, it does sound mighty fucking stupid," Joel gripes in the midst of Tess crossing the threshold between the two of you towards the door.

You almost want to beg her to stay, just for the night, but you know it'll be for nothing.

"Besides," when Tess reaches the door, she turns her head and smirks at the older man, "you could use a friend that isn’t me every once in a while.”

Joel's face drops in time with the boot taking one step ahead.

“But we don’t—”

Tess doesn't wait.

The door closes behind her faster than Joel can finish his statement.

(We don’t do friends.)

Now it’s just you, the white noise from the radio, and Joel Miller in his apartment.

Great.

Dropping his chin to his chest, Joel emits a drawn out groan and shuts his eyes. Yours wander, uncomfortable with staring, until they land on a half-full glass of amber liquid on the table with two white circular tablets.

Oxy.

Oh.

When you blink back to him, however, he notices you noticing all of this — the room, what he’s been up to, what his vices are. No explanation is read on the tip of his tongue.

Instinctually your head shakes, gentle and non-threatening.

“We all cope with whatever we have, right?” you ask despite yourself. “Not gonna… try to steal your shit or anything.”

“Good,” Joel responds, gruff yet almost uncertain. After a beat passes, the man clears his throat and gestures to the emerald couch in the corner. “I’ll, uh… I only got one bed.”

The statement makes you squint, confused, before it hits you:

“Oh.”

“It’s a small apartment,” he reasons more like a hotheaded apology than anything else, but you wave your hands in front of you.

“No, no, it’s fine. I can take the couch. I don’t even mind the floor. I really don't care.”

“I don't give a shit either, but Tess’d have my head if she found out I was good with letting you sleep on the goddamn floor,” Joel laments, sulking back over to the kitchen table to pick up his whiskey glass. You remain standing where you are in the middle of this makeshift living room as he flops down on the couch, denim-covered knees spread apart. “You take the bed. Got mostly fresh sheets put on yesterday.”

You want to ask — are you sure — but decide it’s best not to make more waves in the tsunami you’ve brought to his doorstep this late Tuesday night. You nod wordlessly, not even sure if he’s looking, before shuffling towards the open floor bedroom.

A mattress sits stacked on top of cement blocks in a makeshift frame. At first you reach out towards the pale salmon-colored sheets, gingerly pressing down on the mattress to test its give.

The bed doesn’t move.

Safe, for now.

From here you cannot see him, but you can feel him. There is a very suffocating air about this apartment; a sense of displacement. This is not home, but neither is this quarantine zone. Some people could make it as such, but it appears Joel Miller is about as unwilling to get comfortable as you are.

“Goodnight,” he chimes out of the blue from the other room. 

Your eyes widen, following the creaks of the couch as Joel situates himself on the other side of the wall — until the room goes silent.

You don’t say it back. Instead you slowly lower to the mattress that isn’t yours, afraid to contaminate his safe space with your germs. You sit with your back against the wall, fearful to touch the pillows that smell too much like a man you barely know.

For twenty minutes you wait at the left side edge, stirring in the silence, until incoherent mumbles fill the apartment.

It’s Joel, gone from the lull of an alcohol-induced slumber.

Author's Note: It's officially begun! Thank you so much for reading. This series is tied to my one shot reckless. Chapter Two is quickly on the horizon, so never you fret on the wait. As most of my works are, this is a slow burn. This will also not be the most lovey-dovey Joel, so I warn you all ahead of time. As always, comments and reblogs mean the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and enthusiasm over my first fic of 2023.

[aetherdoesthings]

hello! good night! i was scrolling down and i saw your post about requests... and i was going to ask if i could do one even though i didnt follow you before realizing you were the luffy angst writter!!! that i follow for that series/three-shot!!! anyways;

could you do something about a reader (f! or gn! reader, the one you prefer) getting a tattoo? (a tramp stamp to be more specific, if you can) with robin, shanks, luffy and crocodile? it can be platonic or romantic/suggestive! i had the idea of getting one for a little while and i couldnt resist the temptation of having some thoughts w/them...

thank you very much! i love your writing! 💖

elo aequarea! thank you for the compliment 🫶🏻🫶🏻! unfortunately i've put the luffy angst fic on hiatus until i decide to finish off y/n fate.

forethoughts: sickness update- i can breathe through my nose now! but i got a stupid cough and sore throat still :(. yes i'm still sick and writing with a migraine. thanks for all the wishes and lovely messages you've given me <3! going back to sleep after posting this.

notes: this is my first time writing for shanks and crocodile, so apologies if inaccurate or not good. all gn!reader, smut-ish for crocodile and robin.

Robin

When you told Robin you wanted a tramp stamp, she didn’t make any comments, and only wanted to know your reason behind it. She saw her fair share of tramp stamps back at her time in Baroque Works; she wasn’t shocked at the concept of it. She was rather intrigued at your desire to have one.

After learning why you wanted one, she grabbed her stuff, and took you to the tattoo shop to get one for you.

She knew you weren’t that good with pain, so the entire time you were getting your tattoo, you squeezed her hand, while she nonchalantly read a book. 

Robin didn’t care that her fingers were turning purple, she was reading her book.

She’d occasionally smile at you and give you some words of encouragement, squeezing your hand back before getting back to her book.

Once you were done, she’d coo you and help you recover, making sure it doesn’t get infected or smushed, giving you the best tattoo aftercare ever.

Once it was fully healed, she’d use it to tease you, brushing a finger over it, knowing you’re sensitive in that area. She’d tease the living daylight out of you in bed, making you cry out her name to stop the teasing.

Shanks

Shanks would first be confused by what a tramp stamp is, but once he digs into his memory, he remembers what it is and what it means.

He’d 100% want to choose the design or be a part of choosing the design because if he’s going to stare at it all day, he’d want it to be a beautiful sight.

As you’re getting your tattoo, he’s by your side, telling you a bunch of stories about his days on sea, trying to distract you from the needles poking into your skin. 

He ignores your cries and screams and his fingers turning purple simply by raising his voice over your screams.

Once you were done with your tattoo, Shanks immediately turned into a father figure, caring for you and treating your tattoo until it was fully healed.

Once it was fully healed, he’d always make sure to make a comment about it, especially in bed. He’d show it off to his crew and friends, boasting about how his partner got a tramp stamp for him (you did not get a tramp stamp for him).

All in all, Shanks adores the tattoo and loves it on your body, and maybe if you convince him with two bottles of alcohol in his system, he might get one too.

Luffy

100% when you tell Luffy you want to get a tramp stamp he’s gonna get it with you.

Boy doesn’t even know what it is, he just wants to match with you and get the same tramp stamp.

When it’s time to get it, he sits on the chair next to you, holding your hand to comfort you as you were both getting the tramp stamp. 

Little did you know he’d be the one squeezing the blood out of your fingers when the tattoo started.

For someone who’s fought a warlord and the World Government, he was squirming in his seat, waiting for the tattoo to end. 

Once it did end, he was thrilled and hyped, since the two of you got matching tattoos.

Oh, the poor Straw Hats who had to listen to Luffy yap about the tramp stamp and how it matches with yours.

Crocodile

Crocodile really didn’t care when you told him you wanted a tramp stamp. He was busy with his work, still trying to take down Alabasta and making sure it was a foolproof plan. 

He wasn’t also a fan of getting a tramp stamp, since he knew what it meant and he didn’t want the world to know his partner was associated with promiscuity.

He relented eventually, after you brought Miss All Sunday to join the argument, as Crocodile had no choice but to let you get the tramp stamp.

You went to the shop with Miss All Sunday, since Crocodile didn’t want to be seen with you inside a tattoo shop getting a tramp stamp, but he didn’t want you to go alone with you would be in danger, so he sent Miss All Sunday to go with you.

You got the tattoo with the woman, talking about some random things to pass the time. 

Once you were done,  you showed Crocodile, who initially had a strong reluctance in the tattoo.

But now that you got it, he was in love with the tattoo. He loves to use his hook to grab your waist, running the hook against your tattoo, loving your reaction and how it looked against your skin.

Yes he will use his hook to grab your waist while he’s pumping into you from behind and calling you a whore and living up to your tattoo.

[inkedroplets]

what if. what if.

💘 for quakecorp

OK This grew unruly and will probably connect up with the MCU fic I'm working on so I'll only post a snippet. Fake dating for the best Luthor and this dork:

Some things never change…

While it was maybe the furthest thing from funny, Lena still couldn’t help but find it amusing that even on an Earth so much different than her own, without the inescapable baggage of her name weighing her down, she was once again having to deal with another attempt on her life.

From the way Skye was watching the door like a hawk, reclining back in her chair as much as it would allow her to, Lena knew she must be waiting for someone. The self-satisfied smile that spread across her face instantly like a cat that had gulped down a particularly tasty canary made it abundantly clear that it was Lena she was waiting for. 

“Hello, Dear.”

“Sweetheart,” Lena replied without missing a beat, sitting down on her left. 

Jemma watched this exchange nervously, gaze flickering from Daisy to Lena and back again a number of times before finally settling on Coulson. “I really think we tabled the safehouse idea too quickly.” 

“We tabled it quickly because Lena refused,” May said. 

“Refused to entertain something so patently ridiculous,” Fitz said, repeating back what Lena said verbatim..

“If I went into hiding every time there was a threat on my life-”  

“I think an exception can be made this once,” Jemma reasoned. She looked around the table, hoping to rally support but only managed a halfhearted nod from Fitz on her second pass around which looked to upset her more than if he had simply avoided her gaze entirely. “She jabbed a finger at one of the screens that had Lena's would-be assassin’s dossier displayed. “His name is Bullseye for heaven's sake!” 

“I would like to avoid breathing the same air as someone with such a stupid name,” Lena said fairly. “But I’d also like this matter settled as soon as possible.” “To be fair, Poindexter isn’t that much better than Bullseye,” Daisy said fairly. 

Jemma gaped at the both of them. “I wouldn't classify a price on your head as trivial as a mere matter.” 

“I still can't believe you had other people trying to kill you back on your earth,” Fitz said, sounding genuinely mystified at the concept which Lena decided to take as a compliment. 

“The last one,” Lena said, taking a moment to think, “poisoned me.” 

“Tried to poison, you mean,” Fitz said.

“No, I don't,” Lena said darkly as the face of Morgan Edge floated to the surface of her mind. She wondered vaguely how close she had actually come to dying that time around. If not for Kara… She was struck by just how long ago that felt. A lifetime. Several lifetimes. 

“Poisoned?!?”

“I’ll be fine, Jemma,” Lena assured her. “Not the first time someone’s wanted me dead. Not the last either.” She tried to ballpark the number of times there had been a credible threat on her life and figured it had to be well over a hundred by now, although she knew better than to tell Jemma that. “She will be fine,” Coulson said reassuringly. “We had Stark move his expo indoors so that Mr. Poindexter will need to get in close if he wants to get to Lena.” “How big of a fit did Stark end up throwing when you told him?” May asked, looking amused. 

“Not big at all. I promised I'd owe him a favor once everything is said and done,” Coulson said, clearly used to it being the other way around.

“My condolences,” May replied. 

“There will be agents in place disguised as guests. They’ve all been instructed to keep their distance until we can locate Mr. Poindexter.. We'll be watching every way into the building so we’ll know when he arrives. When he does, we’ll apprehend them. If all goes according to plan-” 

“Which is always the case,” Skye murmured under her breath.

“-Skye and Lena won't even lay eyes on him.” 

“And if they do?” Jemma asked, sounding more curious than worried, maybe hoping that Coulson had an ace up his sleeve. “Then they follow the plan to the letter.” Coulson explained, which didn’t seem to alleviate Jemma’s concerns in the slightest. “Lena, Skye?”he said, turning towards the both of them. “Yes?” “To. The. Letter. I don’t like putting either of you in the crosshairs but you insisted on doing it this way,” he said looking at Lena. “And we need someone close on the off-chance that they get close enough to engage.” “I still think May would be better suited for that, don’t you think?” Fitz asked. 

Coulson shook his head. “May’s a known entity. If he suspects something is off he might run and that would mean Lena looking over her shoulder until we could apprehend him. Skye’s been photographed together with Lena in the past a few times. Not such a stretch to think they could be dating.” “I don’t know,” Skye said, looking sideways at Lena. “I’ve lived with Lena a while now and considering the dates I’ve seen Lena bring home, I really don’t think I’m her type.”

“How many dates are you bringing home?” Jemma asked before she quickly began shaking her head. “Never mind. Pretend I didn’t ask.” “That means not engaging with Mr. Poindexter,” Coulson continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted, unless you’re forced to. Just get to Stark’s safe room. We’ll do the rest.” 

Skye giggled. “All alone in a safe room together. How romantic.” “I’ll try my best to control myself,” Lena said, rolling her eyes. 

God, Stark, does everything you do have to be so loud? 

As if Skye could read her mind she leaned close to her and said: “You know better than me. Are these events always so loud?” 

“No,” Lena said baldly as the canned overly rehearsed voice of Tony Stark blared out over the loudspeakers informing guests that he would make his appearance at nine on the dot. She glared up at the nearest one as if that alone might shame it into turning itself off. “This is…” The word asinine was what first came to mind but she held that back as a kindness. “Unorthodox,” she finished as she steered Skye back towards the center of the room.

They were supposed to keep as far away from the entrances as possible and Jemma had already chided them over their comms for (in her words) gadding about when they should be keeping their eyes peeled for the gun-for-hire.

“They’re normally quite dull,” Lena admitted. “Schmoozing and glad-handing while you try and make sure your smile doesn’t look too painted on gets old fast. Especially doing it in heels.”

Skye made a face. “Sounds like a bore,” she admitted before snatching a crab puff off the tray of a passing waiter.

“They could be,” Lena said fairly. “But that was a small price to pay for all the good it accomplished. And if these antics,” she said as another pre-recorded message from Tony began to blare overhead, “are what people have come to expect from a Tony Stark hosted gala  then I can't get too annoyed. Not too annoyed, anyway.”

“You miss it,” Skye marveled. “All this hoity-toity stuff. Rich girl,” she teased affectionately through a mouthful of crab puff. 

“I don't miss it exactly,” Lena said, although even to her own ears it sounded untrue. “But I was good at it and throwing a gala was devoid of the moral pitfalls that my other attempts at being a force for good were rife with.” “Vanity?” Skye asked, pointing at one of Tony's older suits on prominent display where a small crowd had gathered around as if it was an art exhibit. 

“If only,” Lena said drolly. “But that's hardly an appropriate topic for a date.” She pretended to try and get a better look at Tony’s old armor on display while she eyed the entrance, spotting one of the SHIELD agents milling about in the crowd. 

“Was there a list of approved conversation topics in that doorstop that Jemma prepared?” Skye asked. “I only made it through the first few pages. Goodbye insomnia…” “It’s called being thorough, Skye,” Jemma insisted, her voice filtering in smoothly through their comms. “Which is an exercise in futility if you don’t actually read the material.” 

“I read the whole thing,” Lena said kindly but a moment later caught Skye’s eye and shook her head, vowing to read it in its entirety later on. “Well,” Skye said, sneaking a peek at the time, “what’s the plan when the gala’s almost over and he still hasn’t shown himself?” “We find him without you two marching around like ducks at a shooting gallery.” “I don’t know if it would feel like a proper gala if somebody didn’t try to kill me.” “That’s not funny, Lena.” “It’s a little funny,” Skye whispered. “Lena!” “Not funny,” Coulson agreed, his voice joining Jemma’s in her ear. “We have eyes on Poindexter near the front entrance.”

“Just eyes?” Daisy asked. “No one’s going to move on him?”

“Too many bystanders,” May explained. “If he doesn’t spot you, we can pick him up when he tries to slip out.. “Saferoom,” Coulson ordered in his best don’t you dare try to argue voice.“You didn’t set all this up just to get me alone, did you?” Skye teased as they cut their way through the crowd.

“You got me,” Lena said, completely deadpan. “When we get inside I’m going to pretend to yawn and put my arm around your shoulder as well.”

“Classic,” Skye said approvingly as they began to walk a little faster. They slipped past a couple of guests who looked as if they had made very liberal use of the open bar, talking over one another as they held onto each other for balance, when a tiny wooden skewer whizzed past Lena’s head missing her by millimeters.

“Was that a fucking toothpick?” Skye asked as they dashed around a corner. As if in response to this, a fusillade of wooden skewers shattered against the wall where Lena had been just moments ago before turning the corner.

“You might want to send your date home early, Miss Luthor.” The voice was wholly unfamiliar but the man to whom it belonged to was not. Benjamin Poindexter strode towards them, not hurrying. He moved past the two inebriated men who were still engrossed in their overly loud conversation, not even noticing him. In fact, no one besides the SHIELD agents peppered throughout the crowd had noticed that there was a killer in their midst. Not so surprising considering his unconventional choice of weapon.

“Not such a bad idea,” Lena agreed, resisting the urge to peek around the corner to see how close he was to them, knowing that was likely to get her killed. “Chalk it up to a lack of chemistry.”

“Like hell,” Skye said dismissively as she pulled an I.C.E.R. from her concealed thigh holster. “I’m having a marvelous time.”

“That doesn’t sound like running,,” Coulson admonished. “Why aren’t you two running?”“Well, I’m not the one who insisted on wearing heels,” Skye replied.

[tilseptemberends]

New Elucien fic concept

______________

Elain trudged through the snow, shivering and holding her father's coat tighter around herself. It was too big for her but it was thicker than her cloak. This was stupid. So so stupid. Quite possibly the stupidest thing she would ever do in her life. If it failed then she was almost certainly going to die. But if it worked… if it worked then Feyre wouldn't have to follow those hunters into the woods ever again.

She halted at the tree line. The world was so quiet around her. She'd never felt smaller than she did right now, facing down these woods around the wall. She swallowed and continued forward, the sound of her shoes crunching through almost deafening in the silence of winter in the forest.

Her fingers were starting to go numb but she pushed forward until she was pressing a hand to the uneven stones of the wall. Her stomach turned as she made contact with the structure. She took a deep breath and whispered.

“Hello? Is someone here?” She could feel something moving in the air around her. A hesitation in its motion before it stilled behind her. Whatever it was, it wasn't human. Good and bad. Bad because non-human creatures this close to the wall usually meant death for little girls who ignored the warnings of their elders. But good because it might be what she was looking for.

“You're a bit small to be in the woods all alone…” a quiet voice spoke from behind her. She shouldn't have been comforted by anything about this situation but Elain was a bit… relieved to hear what sounded like a woman behind her. And she was starting to feel warmer. Though according to Feyre, dying from the cold could feel like you were getting warm again… that didn't explain the smell though. Like apple pie, and the last embers of a fire. Elain turned and looked up at the woman. Her words caught in her throat as she took in the stranger. A tall woman with curling red hair and pale skin, wrapped in a deep crimson cloak. “I… I am… but my sister is even younger and I don't know what else to do to fix things…” she forced the words out as every nerve in her body screamed as her to run. Because poking out of the woman's hair Elain could see her ears. Pointed where Elain's were rounded. “How old are you?” The woman asked and Elain wrung her hands. “I'm… I'm eleven. My name is Elain.” The woman knelt in snow before Elain. “You're very brave to come all the way out here for your family. What is your wish, dear?” Elain swallowed. She'd been thinking of exactly how to phrase her wish so her words could not be twisted around on her. “I want my father's ailments to be healed without any side effects so that he can work again. And for the creditors to stay away so he is not injured again.” The woman considered Elain's words. She nodded slowly and reached into her cloak twice. The first time she pulled out a small crystal vial strung on a silver chain, gently looping it over Elain's head. “This will cure your father's ailments. One dose with a week to fully recover.” She reached Bqck inside her cloak and Elain was a bit shocked to watch her pull out a satchel. “When you go with your father to find him work bring these with you. Sell them but keep the one on the bottom for yourself” Elain furrowed her brow and looked inside the bag. Her eyes widened as gold gleamed up at her. Golden apples. It definitely seemed like something the rich people the next town over would buy on a whim… “What makes the one of the bottom different?” she asked and the woman smiled, “Look at it once you get home.”

Elain nodded but didn't turn to leave. If the faerie had forgotten to make a demand in exchange then it was best not to remind her. The woman seemed to catch Elain's hesitation though and thought for a moment.

“Lets see… This is not a particularly grand favor. How about you just promise to listen for me in the woods in case I ever have need of you? An unnamed favor some time down the road.” It was a bad idea to agree to something without knowing the exact terms but Elain nodded. She already had the woman's gifts in hand and as nice as she seemed, the woman was still a faerie. Capable of killing her should she refuse. “Glad to hear it.”

The woman smiled and picked up some snow from beside them. “Close your eyes.” She instructed Elain and Elain did, shivering as the handful of snow was blown across her face. She opened her eyes to ask why but the words stuck to her tongue as her gaze fell upon the cottage. The woman had sent her back home. She looked at her acquisition. She was going to have a really difficult time trying to explain where this came from…

______________

Fic Synopsis-

At age eleven, Elain Archeron makes a desperate bargain with a faerie in the forest to give her family some chance at survival before her younger sister can put herself on the line instead.

At age 20 this favor is still hanging over her head. And Feyre's run-in with a different faerie in the woods does not set her at ease so she departs for Prythian to find the strange woman she made her bargain with and figure out what on earth she could want from a human girl that she could not find in Prythian.

[tsu-kitty]

it’d be really interesting to see you go the sweeter and bubblier route! I think it’s still important she’s not just an airhead, rather she’s just as (maybe a little less or maybe a little more) smart as tsukki- it’s their chemistry and bond that brings them together rather than a rivalry or banter. she’s not stupid, instead she chooses to be sweet with him and bring out a more docile area of his complex personality. she’s not snarky, she chooses to spend her time with him rather than being brought to it by the need to prove something to him. she knows she doesn’t, because they love each other and they get to be calm and enjoy themselves around each other in all their respective hobbies- and if tsukki’s hand tape gets replaced with a pink, patterned version then, well, what’s a guy to do?

yes, okay, slay. i so will.

i've seen others say this, but tsukishima with an emotionally intelligent partner to match his general intelligence is such a great concept.

but like agh i'm obsessed. obsessed. big scary boy who turns into a precious little softy with his partner? stop, it's everything really. like, imagine them talking in the hallway and he's looking at her so gently, tucking her hair behind her ear, then someone else comes up to talk to them and his face just drops. uuuuggggghhhhhhh.

or she's giving a presentation in class and the person next to tsuki keeps talking and he kicks their chair and glares at them like "how dare you speak when she's speaking, know your place you filthy mortal". lmao a little overboard but you get the point.

and just imagine all the little physical ways she creeps into his life. like, as you said, the occasional coloured tape on his fingers, hello kitty stickers on his headphones, a badtz-maru charm on his school bag (cause she thinks he looks like him), him using a pen with a fluffy pink top she lent him, him starting to use a fruity flavoured lip balm instead of his old plain one. and his fashion style slowly morphs from plain and basic to still simple but chic and slightly preppy.

oh, and her asking for his opinion on her new nails. and he always says he likes them. omg maybe this is too much, but what if for his birthday she writes his name on her nails. because tsukishima in english has ten letters, one for each finger. or maybe it's kei written in a tiny font on her thumb (in english or kanji). and when he sees it his face goes bright red and he pulls her into a hug so he can hide his blush from her, but she can feel his heart practically beating out of his chest.

oh my god and when he realises he loves her, like he's in love, he makes her a playlist. it's the sappiest thing he's ever done and probably will ever do in his life, but it's the only thing he can think of in the moment.

or maybe he chooses just one song that perfectly encapsulates the way he feels about her. as they walk home together, he unexpectedly places his headphones over her ears and presses play. he tries to act cool and collected, but he's dying inside and can't bring himself to look at her while it plays.

omg i'm gonna write that, just you wait.

[darkbluekies]

Silas asks #2

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Concept: I've put multiple asks into one post to avoid too much loose posts on my account! This way, you have more to read too<3

Warnings: violence, kidnapping, framing

Hello!! How would Silas react with a reader with insomnia?

Since Silas stays up a lot during the night to do work and business, he'll try to stay with you if he's able to. If he's at home and works down in his office, you may come inside and rest on the couch or cuddle up in his lap. He'll put on some calming music or hum for you if that's what you need. If you asked him nicely, he could run his hand through your hair and massage you slightly. In other words, he will do his damn best to make you fall asleep.

"Hm? Finally feeling a little sleepy? Good ... just focus on relaxing, Y/N. I will carry you up to the bedroom when I'm done."

Saw your track runner reader post with Silas n wanted to see what would happen if they escaped? Love all of ur works btw💕

You see, with track runner reader, there's a different situation than if it were the normal one. People know who you are and who you belong to, so if you escaped, no one would help you. No one would dare. Silas would do what Silas does best: cause havoc. Thanks to you being famous, he'll follow the news who will spill everything about your locations and then he'll just go and get you back :)

silas as terrible as you are,i still love you 😤😣def not one of my types Sincerely, First anon

Mate ... Silas will ruin your entire life. He'll ruin your reputation if he has to, to make sure that no one will like you if you ever manage to escape. Or he'll make you his partner in crime so that if you ever leave, the cops will take you. YOU SHOULDN'T LOOK PAST THIS, FIRST ANON!!!!! RED FLAG RED FLAG RDE GLAF

— Hii! I love your writing, and OC's! I'm not sure if you take requests but in case you do, I've thought of an interesting scenario I'd like to share with you if that's ok 💕 How would Silas react if his darling was somehow rescued by the government, and put into the witness protection program?

Shit. Silas would never give up the search. He has men who can find you in a month. You can't hide from him. Even if you change your name, appearance, or flee the country — Silas will come after you. It might take him a while to fully find you, but the moment he does, you better leave because he'll break down your door to get you.

"You thought I wouldn't find you? Baby, we belong together! Of course I'll find you. Don't look so sad, darling, you've had your fun now. Time to come home. Don't do stupid stuff like this again, it wastes my time."

— Silas my babygirl really number one in everything 😤☝️🏆 and PLS i accidentally voted for the king HELP- 😭 my vote is for silas not rat king!!! First anon

fIRST ANON ISTG STOP CALLING THEM THAT

[radrage]

Hello goobers. Have some Hancock headcanons that refuse to leave my brain. (I spent far too long condensing this I have so many hcs for this man)

pansexual he/they king. I refuse to believe this ghoul has made a decision ever. Like, look at him. He screams "I DO NOT CARE. IF IT HAS A HOLE AND CAN CONSENT, GIVE IT TO ME." Same goes with pronouns. He prefers he/him, but they/them is also a-okay. I reckon he picked it up from KLE0, who introduced him to the concept of ~gender identity~. I don't rlly like the poly hc that some people have bc I feel after what happened with McDonough, he's scared of betrayal, and having more than one (serious) partner at a time feels eerily similar to the feeling he got when he realised his own brother went against him.

Hes only in his late 20s/VERY early 30's. Maybe like, 29? I like to think he was only 18 or so when McDonough pulled his stunt, and that's why he turned to drugs. Being young and stupid, he didn't know what else to do.

Daisy is like a second mother to him. After his mum died, Hancock fell into a deep depression, which Daisy helped pull him out of. She also raised him when Martha was working, and would teach him and McDonough how to read, write, etc. Probably made him play an instrument at one point. Because of her, Hancock has just about the neatest handwriting you'll ever see. His f's and t's have little flicks and his i's are dotted with little x's.

He had an obsession with photography for a while. When he'd black out on chems, Hancock would forget most of his nights. This was a good thing for a while; it helped him escape his reality, but after waking up with a Deathclaw egg in his hands, buck naked and in a tree, he decided to start recording everything he did. If you look under the couch in his office, there's several albums from previous benders. Whenever you come across a camera he gets all excited and starts spewing facts about the make, model, and specs. Probably used the entirety of the Commonwealths film supply.

He's a sucker for compliments. Like, he'd probably die if you called him handsome. Being a ghoul, its pretty uncommon for him to be called anything other than an irradiated freakshow. So, even if its just an offhand "You look nice today", the chance of him melting would be pretty damn high. One time, Sole called him a work of art and he didn't stop smiling for an entire month. He still thinks about it. If romanced, Sole leaves little notes with compliments around their house for him to find. Before meeting Sole, Hancock would often brush off any form of positivity by going "They're being ironic." and on several occasions has admitted to regretting his choice of becoming a ghoul. This isn't true in the end, because, in his words "If I hadn't done everything I did, you wouldn't be in my life." Bonus: Hancock's really smart. This is actually canon as he has the second highest intelligence stat of any companions, but he acts like an absolute dumbass. Like, sometimes he'll ask Sole what 2 + 5 is, and then sometimes he'll write an entire thesis on the etymology of his name in an afternoon. The dumbest, smartest ass on this side of the seaboard.

[annymation]

Hello Hello! I know it's been a while but I was wondering if you could have the lyrics and maybe the instrumental of the song that Asha sings in the square to help her people (if you don't want that's fine... I'm studying and I started listening to some songs to inspire me and I remembered about this scene in your rewrite and I started to imagine your rewrite as a 2D animation of the classic Disney and I wondered what this scene would be like heheh) if you don't mind too... I also wanted to know what your favorite foods are of your characters in the rewrite (asha, magnificent, amaya, and the 7 teenagers), you could also say what the 7 teenagers like to do alone/ their hobbies. Well, that's what I wanted to ask about your rewrite, sorry if it was a lot of questions, I'm LOVING everything about your rewrite♡ ten thousand times better than Disney's wish😤 anyway, thanks for the rewrite and stay well and drink water hahaha😁😋

Unfortunately I don't have lyrics for that song yet, it would take me a lot of time that I don't have yet to work on creating it, maybe once I'm done with the whole rewrite I can try coming up with something since that song IS very important to the narrative, and currently all we have is "It's an inspiring song about fighting to achieve what you wish for no matter if all the odds are against you" that so happens to have a few references to past Disney I want songs.

Though... After listening to this deleted scene

I'm considering making "A Wish Worth Making" THE song, or at least a place holder for now. It's surprisingly fitting. However, my idea was for the song to be like a story that Sabino told her, since ya know, he couldn't sing nor play the mandolin because that was his wish that Magnifico kept from him... So I'm undecided.

Anyway, now for the favorite meals part, that sounds fun, and helps me explore the national heritages of each one of the characters, so let's do this:

Asha

Her favorite food is Mhalbi with pistachios, a milk pudding from Algeria. Her mother was Amazigh, and she taught this traditional recipe to her husband and Sabino. After she passed Sabino would still make it for Asha, it's a little piece of her culture that is very sweet and easy to make, she has a bit of a sweet tooth.

Dahlia

Dahlia is a special case since her family has been robbed of their passion for their traditional cuisine, if originally her mother and father wished for things along the lines of "We want to share our culture through our food" the king changed that to them just cooking what he liked. Sooo she has no connection to Japanese food. But, hypothetically, if she did grow up with her parents acting normally, her favorite meal would be Takoyaki, a savory dish of grilled balls of batter made with flour and eggs filled with octopus chunks and other ingredients.

Gabo

The name "Gabo" has German origins, so I decided Gabo's family comes from Germany. His favorite dessert is a bienenstich kuchen, also known as "bee sting cake", I think it's fitting because Gabo is always acting like he just got stung by a bee. But besides his rough exterior he has a soft spot for sweets.

Simon

Simon's last name is O'Donohue, which is a name of Irish and Gaelic origins, also the name means Dark Fighter... Interesting. Anyway, so his family is descended from Irish people, thus I choose that his favorite food is a traditional Irish Colcannon, a flavorful dish of mashed potatoes and greens like sauteed kale, and green onions. Quite easy too make and eat for a sleepy head like him.

Bazeema

I've mentioned in my blog about the 7 teens that Bazeema is muslim and wears a hijab (As she did in some concept arts... But Disney changed that, cause they're stupid) so her favorite food is a Palestinian lady cheeks... heheh get it? Because Bazeema blushes a lot?... Anyway this is a traditional dessert are like made with orange blossom water, cinnamon quill, caster sugar and other sweet ingredients, sweet just like her.

Hal

I saw on twitter that Hal's earrings resemble "Jaaro dibbei" earrings from the Fulani people, a West African tribe. So I picked a traditional meal from west Africa. Kedjenou, this dish consists of a spicy stew that is slow-cooked in a terracotta pot over fire or coals. Hal is more into spicy food, matches her fiery passion.

Safi

Safi is a name of Arabic origins. His favorite dessert is Mamoul, a traditional arabic cookie, made with yeasted semolina, these vanilla and rose-infused cookies are sweet and floral with a decadent and robust centre, and although they look like they'd make Safi sneeze like crazy, they're one of the only meals that don't make him sneeze at all.

Dario

Dario is an Italian name. So I picked gnocchi because SAME! Gnocchi is my comfort food too and I'm not even Italian, Dario is just like me for real.

... *siiiiiigh* I was dreading getting to them... Here we go:

Magnifico and Amable

The blood of their enemies Just kidding, I'm giving them both the same favorite food because honestly these two have so much in common they might as well be the same character (Also it's currently 1 am as I'm writing this, I must go to bed.) so let's wrap this up. Their favorite dessert is Spanish Baked Apples, get it? Like the poisoned apple from Snow White? HAHAHAHA- Actually come to think of it their favorite meal might be children's tears, idk.

WOOOOO okay this was a wild ride, researching and learning about all these meals was really fun! Thank you for the ask!

(Also I just now realized you also asked for their hobbies... I'll try answering that another time, cause' like I said, I gotta go to sleep lol)

Aster has no favorite food yet by the way, because he can't even taste food, but comment what meal you think would be his favorite if they were human.

[bluesylveon2]

for the 500 follower special, idia + 75?

I love how all of my gamer knowledge reappeared as I was writing this lol.

Prompt: 75. I’m an insomniac who calls my best friend at 3am except I misdial on my landline and I tell you all about my nightmare before letting you talk and now I’m mortified but you don’t hang up (I changed it a bit)

Note: Modern au. Fainaru Fantajī XV is Final Fantasy 15 but in Japanese. I was gonna use FFXVI but idk how the story goes and I might just watch it on Youtube lol. I DO know the story for FFXV and I love it so much

Word Count: 959

Warnings: not beta read and possible OOC characters

500 Follower Event

Idia's day typically goes as follows: 1. Wake up, 2. Collect his dailies, 3. Stream in his room for hours (while snacking during it). 4. Use the bathroom. 5. Eat sweets, 6. Stream again. 7. Stream. What's sleep anyway?

Idia sighed after setting his headphones down. He just finished playing the latest Fainaru Fantajī XV game since its release. His body ached from the long sitting position, but it was all worth it for him. The story was good, and the gameplay was phenomenal! Idia needed to tell someone about it!

Usually, he would rant about it to Ortho. Still, his little brother was currently out of town because he was starring in a movie with the Vil Schoenheit. Idia was proud of his brother and wanted to keep his much-needed rest. 

Idia grabbed his phone and sorted through his list of friends.

Azul? No, he would only talk about board games. 

Riddle? No, they both had a mutual dislike for one another. 

Cater? HECK NO! NO NORMIES! (Idia made a mental note to delete his number later. How his contact information got on his phone was a mystery.)

Lilia? Idia's eyes widen. Yes! Lilia was perfect! They both share a love of games and often play co-op together. Surely he would be awake at, Idia glanced at the time, 3 am! Idia quickly typed his number, too excited to click on Lilia's number, and brought the phone to his ear. 

"Hello?" A clearly feminine voice replied, but Idia had already started his passionate ranting.

"Lilia! Did you get to play the newest Fainaru Fantajī XV game?"

"Who is-"

"I love the open world concept, and did you see the Regalia? That car screams luxury, and it has to be my dream car. I need to get one ASAP. That would show those lame normies I deal with, ugh."

"Lilia" laughed but continued trying to speak, "That's nice, but-"

"And the chemistry between the main characters! Luna was pretty, I guess? Lowkey women still scar me after the whole Eliza incident." Idia shivered at the memory of his "self-proclaimed" (and crazy) girlfriend (it was one-sided, and Idia didn't consider her his girlfriend anyway) in high school. Never again. "But the bond between Noctis and the other guys was top-notch! It made the gameplay even better!" Idia sighed and leaned back in his chair. "If only Noctis survived to the end, ya know? I guess the developers loved angst. The song choice at the end was the cherry on top. I actually shed a tear."

"Uhh, that's very interesting, but who is this?" "Lilia," asked, and Idia frowned. Now that he was partially done with his rant, he noticed the strange pitch in his friend's voice.

"Lilia, it's me, Idia. You know? The super cool guy who you spend playing League with. Are you sick? Your voice sounds off."

"I don't know a Lilia. My name is Yuu, and no, I am not sick. I am very healthy." Yuu's voice replied, and Idia froze. OH NO, NO, NO

"YOU'RE A GIRL?"

He could imagine the stranger frowning and thinking he was some creep. "Yes?"

"Eep!" Idia squealed and immediately pressed the big red "end call" button. He threw his phone at his bed, jumped face down on his bed, and groaned loudly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! You just embarrassed yourself in front of a stranger! In front of a girl!" Idia was ready to bury himself in a hole.

Idia's phone rang just as he made the decision to do it. He groaned at the annoying ringtone, picked it up, and brought the phone to his ear without checking the caller ID. 

"Hello?"

A female voice laughed. "You hung up on me, Idia."

"Ah!" Idia screamed. He looked at his phone and raised his finger to hang up the call.

"Wait! Don't hang up!" Yuu exclaimed, causing Idia to freeze. He slowly brought his phone back to listen. The girl sighed after a minute passed. "Look, before you hang up again, I wanted to say that I love that game too."

Idia blinked, and his mouth opened in shock. "Y-you do?" he managed to say and wanted to facepalm.

Yuu laughed. "I'm not far into the game, though. I got distracted by fishing and playing with chocobos."

Idia felt himself relax, and he laughed with Yuu. "They are adorable. I liked racing them."

"Me too! Hey, Idia, can I ask you something?"

"Uhh, sure…What is it?"

Yuu sighed, and Idia could hear some shuffling on her end. She was probably adjusting herself to get comfortable. "Can you tell me more about the game? I need some help getting through it and would like some advice."

Idia felt a smirk grace his face. "Of course, you would need my help. I'll help you beat all the bosses with 0 deaths. You're good to talk for tonight?"

Yuu chuckled. "Yeah, I don't have anything planned. Oh great, Idia. Give me your wisdom." 

Idia ended up not sleeping that night but made a new friend instead. 

Bonus:

"I heard the Child of Man made a new friend." Malleus looked up from his Gao Gao Drakon-kun to speak to his father.

Lilia paused his game and turned to Malleus. "Oh? Did she say who?"

Malleus nodded. "It's actually your friend Idia. The one you often play games with." He said and gestured to the monitor that currently had Fainaru Fantajī XV. 

Lilia smiled, feeling happy for his friend. "What a coincidence. It is a small world, after all."

Malleus nodded and smiled, thinking about Yuu's happy rant that morning after staying up to talk to Idia before passing out from exhaustion. He was also delighted for her that she had met him. "Indeed it is."

Disclaimer: I do not own Twisted Wonderland and its characters. Those belong to Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan, and Yana Toboso.

©: This story belongs to bluesylveon2 2020-23. DO NOT modify, republish, or plagiarize my work.

[headcanoncorp]

Rules and Blog Details

round 2 for getting back into this blog.

Anyways hello, this is Headcanon Corp, here for both Lobotomy Corporation headcanons and appreciation for any custom agents you may have lying around. I'm also hoping to apply some Limbus Company material in here now that I've actually gotten into it (uh, basically this means I'll do limbus company headcanons for abnos and humans now if requested). I'll also do Wonderlab stuff if anyone still thinks about it. (though no Library of Ruina, I just can't get into it gameplay-wise I'm sorry)

Anyways now onto the actual

Rules

I will not do romantic writing if it involves a minor (if you have to think about if it counts, don't send it in)

I will not touch on concepts only found in Library of Ruina currently as I have not played it and would just be very confused.

That's it for now, can't really think of anything else important to add. Other than that I get to Abnormalities faster than humans because Humans are weird and confusing (and can only be animal shaped when they're at their worst)

As for agent appreciation it's pretty simple, just send in your nugget via submission with a few details on them and why you like them so much and I'll share them here for us all to appreciate.

here's my own, he's my little icon guy up there and my favorite agent ever. His name's Hunter and I just fell in love with his silly stupid face, not a care in the world. His name's Hunter, he's got a lot of gifts and is my most beloved most strongest agent and I would kill for him

-----------

You can and will also see my fanfiction for Limbus Company if you follow me, because I like yelling about it and there's too many ideas in my silly little head

[definitelynotthedarklord]

Talking About It

A Silent Knight Fanfic

It was a cold night in the city, but Neo had always like taking her moonlit strolls when it was cold, and though the streets were empty save for the occasional alley cat, she knew better than to go out without a disguise on. The current default was one she liked to call Cheri Cordial, with dark red hair pulled into a high ponytail and chocolate brown eyes. Roman had once asked her why she based all her alter egos on flavors of ice cream, to which Neo had responded with a playful "go fuck yourself."

"Roman," she thought, his name reminding her of the emptiness she felt at his absence. He had died so long ago that she had become used to the feeling, hardly even noticing it anymore, but not so long ago that the pain wasn't there.

A bitterly cold wind forced Neo to tighten the scarf around her neck, and flung a piece of paper into her face. Annoyed, she was about to shred the sheet to pieces, but what was on the piece of paper caught her attention. It was an advertisement for an online therapy service, one that specialized in helping people deal with the loss of a loved one. Neo scoffed, she could understand the need for such a service after all that had happened in Beacon and Atlas, but still thought it ridiculous that anyone would use it. "That's what alcohol is for." She thought. The wind started picking up, lowering the temperature to a point Neo decided was not fit for strolling, and signaled that it was time she go home.

A few nights later, Neo was lounging in her hideout, it wad an apartment in the nicer part of town that would be considered shabby be those who lives there, though Neo thought that said more about the locals than the apartment. It was mostly bare save for a few pieces of furniture, food wrappers Neo had been too lazy to clean up, and a plant she had stolen a month ago because she was bored but had let die. "No point in decorating, it's a safe house, not a safe home." Roman used to say.

Again, Neo felt a deep yet muted pain at the memory. Neo shifted from laying down on the couch to sitting up, wherein she felt something crinkle in her pocket, it was the advertisement from a few days ago, Neo had absent-mindedly put the paper in her pocket when she went home, and she was about to throw it in the trash...but she didn't, she just stood over the trashcan, staring at the paper in her hand.

"This is so stupid." Neo thought as she typed the advertised website onto her laptop. She didn't know what compelled her to investigate the online service, she wasn't stubborn enough to dismiss the entire concept of therapy, but she was sure enough that it couldn't help her, "not that I need help," she thought as the page loaded.

Neo was annoyed to find that the website in question wasn't one of those talk-to-a-therapist-online websites that seemed to be popping up everywhere these days, but rather, it was a chat room website, where if she were to have a conversation with someone about her nonexistent problems, that person would be some rando and not a trained professional. "Because that makes sense. Why talk to someone who knows how to deal with your issues when you can talk to losers asking for nudes?" Neo thought as she made her profile, going with the screen name Cheri_on_Top. "Huh, maybe I do need to cool it with the ice cream personas, and just when thought of Rochelle Rhodes for rocky road." Neo scowled.

It didn't take long for her to get a response, a simple "Hi." from someone with the username Chevalier234. Neo was already disinterested, but she had come this far. "Hello." she messaged back, quickly following it with "So I'm not the only one who thinks this is dumb, right? The advertisement said this was a therapy service, not a chatroom." She saw the icon that said Chevalier234 was responding. "I dunno, I think it could help." They said. "And how is that?" Neo asked, "I think the idea is that it's easier talking to people who have gone through similar stuff than it is talking to a therapist, like it feels less like there's something wrong with you and more like you're just letting it out and being heard." Neo was taken aback by the message, not really expecting this sort of insight from some rando on the internet. "Isn't that what friends are for?" Neo typed, not that she would know, she only ever had one friend, everyone else she knew were just henchmen. "I think the anonymity helps people feel safe to talk about stuff. I love my friends, but sometimes it feels like I can't talk about this kind of stuff, like if they knew they would look at me differently, like I might break." Neo understood that feeling, if any of her henchmen saw her like this they'd either try to take over or kill her. She knew it wasn't the same as what Chevalier234 was talking about, but it was close enough.

After that their conversation drifted towards those they'd lost. "So who did you lose?" Chevalier234 asked, quickly followed by a polite "If that's not too rude to ask." Neo responded "My best friend, my only friend, really. They were my world and then one day they were just gone." She knew it was smarter, and safer to not reveal too much, no names or information that could expose her, but still, she found it easy to type the words and talk to this person she didn't even know. "We're the two of you...together?" Chevalier234 asked, the idea made Neo snort. "No, no, he was more like an older brother to me, also I think he might have been gay? He loved wearing guy liner. Lol"

Wait, did Neo seriously just use "lol" in a completely unironic way? She quickly shut the laptop and tried to process. She had never been an "lol" person, never wanted to be one, she thought it was a dumb internet thing that would fade as quickly as it appeared, like "talk to the hand," or "all that and a bag of chips." What was this person doing to her?

The next day, Neo had curiously and cautiously opened her laptop, as though it were a bomb. The chatroom was still open, and Chevalier234 had responded to her last message with "I'm sorry to hear that, I know losing someone can be hard. I lost someone too, we were friends, though I think she wanted to be more. She was the only one who truly believed in me when even I didn't, and when she was gone it felt like a piece of me was gone too. Sorry to dump all that onto you, but I just wanted you to know if you want to talk I want to listen." Then they had sent a message asking if she was still there. Neo felt a twinge of guilt, a feeling she had hardly ever felt because guilt was for people dumb enough to believe it was wrong to do whatever the hell they want, that's what Roman taught her, at least. She had considered messaging back, making up some excuse like she had fallen asleep or her laptop died, but oddly she didn't want to lie to this person she didn't even know. She moved her cursor to close the window, but her finger just hovered over the touchpad before falling by Neo's side. Neo sat down on the couch and let out a heavy sigh, her head hanging low. What was happening to her, she thought, a feeling of defeat washing over her.

Eventually she looked up at the screen, and gave in to the guilt, typing a reply to Chevalier234's last message. "Sorry, I closed my laptop last night after my last message because it felt too weird to talk to you." She sat and stared at the screen, waiting for a reply, but when none came she began to worry she had burned this bridge. A few hours later, while slurping some ramen and watching Atlas After Dark, a drama about cops in Atlas doing whatever it took to get the job done and occasionally sleeping together, her laptop showed she had gotten a message from Chevalier234. Neo had moved so quickly to open the message she almost spilled her dinner. The message said "Sorry for the late reply, I just got home." Then a second message popped up, "And I'm sorry me saying all that stuff made you feel weird." The message pulled at her heart. "It wasn't you," she began, "it just felt weird talking about all this to someone, and about laughing at the things he did." Chevalier234 messaged back, "I know the feeling, like it feels wrong to think about the good times, like their being gone means we should only ever feel sad anymore, but I think it should be the opposite, we should want to feel happy, not that they're gone but that they were here when they were. There's always going to be that feeling of her being gone, but I want to remember her how she was in life, brave and happy, I want to remember the way she made me feel when I stood next to her, because then she's never really gone, you know?"

As Neo read the message, she felt her heart tighten and hot tears running down her cheeks. She tried to stop but she couldn't, the tears turned to sobbing and her body shook, she couldn't remember the last time she cried, but she had never cried as hard as she did that night.

After that night, Neo had opened up to Chevalier234, little by little, but more than she had with anyone else. They talked about those they had lost, the good times and the bad, never anything incriminating, but enough that she felt lighter than she had in ages. One day Chevalier234 reached our to her in a surprising way. "Listen, I know this is all supposed to be anonymous, and I don't want to come across like a creep, but would you want to meet irl?" This had surprised Neo, she would have imagined this sort of thing was against some unwritten rule about internet etiquette, but she felt comfortable enough with Chevalier234, and she did like breaking rules, plus if things went south she could always kill him, and with a smile she typed "When and where?"

Neo sat alone at a table in the café she and Chevalier234 had agreed to meet, disguised as Cheri Cordial and patiently stirring her coffee as she waited. She began to wonder what kind of person Chevalier234 was in real life, would they be some hideous thing that lived in their parent's basement and smelled like stale pizza? They had given her a brief description of what they looked like, a guy with scruffy blond hair, though that was much too vague for her liking. "Mad about someone being vague? Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black..." she mused as she sipped her coffee. She turned to look out the window and almost choked on her drink when she saw none other than Jaune Arc, leader of team JNPR and friend to Ruby Rose. Neo had stopped trying to get revenge on Ruby a while ago, though she still hated her on principle, the same went for all hunters and huntresses. As she watched the hunter walk outside she realized something she should have a while ago. "Wait, a guy with scruffy blond hair, who calls himself Chevalier...it can't be." Neo thought as she turned to look at the door to the café. The door opened and the hunter entered, scanning the area until his eyes landed on her. "Cheri?" He asked with a smile. "It is! Oh gods, it is." Neo thought as Jaune approached.

How could she be so stupid, and so unlucky? Agreeing to meet some rando she met on the internet and it being one of her worst enemies? "Why couldn't it have been the basement dweller?" Neo lamented before snapping out of it. "Okay Neo, think, there's got to be a way out, he's already seen you so you can't run. Maybe say you don't feel well? No he'd probably want to make sure you're okay. Wait! I know..." Neo thought with a mischievous grin.

Jaune sat in the chair across from her, greeting her with a warm, genuine smile. "Its so nice to finally meet you, Cheri." Neo responded by signing "Its nice to meet you as well." She smiled at how clever she felt, knowing once the hunter realized they couldn't carry on a conversation without a computer she could escape, Jaune looked surprised for a moment before smiling again and signing as he spoke. "You never mentioned you knew sign. Are you deaf, or maybe mute?" Neo maintained her smile despite the revelation. "He knows sign? Crap, that was my trump card!" Neo thought, starting to panic. She knew if he figured her out it would all be over, she had managed to evade the police and hunters for months, and the heat had cooled down, but if this sign knowing himbo put 2 and 2 together, thinking there can't be that many mutes who were named after ice cream, she'll have the whole city looking for her.

"I'm mute." She finally signed, then tried to shift attention off of her by asking how he knew sign. "I have an older sister who's deaf, Daisy, she taught me sign when I was young, though she taught me the sign for "broccoli" and told me it meant "cookie" which led to some pretty heated temper tantrums." Jaune laughed. Neo let out a nervous chuckle, still on edge, she studied Jaune's face, looking for any indication that he knew who she was, but as far as she could tell he was clueless. "So," Neo began, "would I be right to assume the person you lost, the one you told me about was Pyrrha Nickos?" Jaune looked surprised and asked"Yeah, how'd you know?" "I remember seeing the two of you fight together in that tournament." Neo answered. Jaune looked down at his coffee, an expression of sorrow on his face. "I remember that day, hard to imagine how normal that day felt." Neo's nervousness turned to concern, was that how she looked when she thought of Roman? Jaune's expression shifted as he looked back up at Neo, smiling again. "Sorry, didn't mean to bring the mood down. I know i said I prefer thinking about the good times, but its hard not to remember the bad, you know?" Jaune's smile was different than before, before it was a warm, friendly smile, now it was one that felt a little forced, the kind one wore when they weren't alright but needed others to think they were. "Is that the smile you wear for your teammates?" Neo asked, causing the smile to drop. "Yeah." Jaune answered, looking back down at his drink. Neo didn't know what compelled her to do what she did, but before she knew it she had reached across the table and took a hold of Jaune's hand, drawing his eyes to hers. Neo put on a smile like his and signed "What was she like? I know what I've seen on TV, but what was she really like?" Jaune perked up a little and started talking, his real smile returning as he did.

As the two of them sat and talked, drinking coffee and munching on pastries, all of Neo's concerns about Jaune finding her out vanished, not because she thought he wouldn't turn her in if he did find put, but because she genuinely enjoyed talking with him. She loved listening to his stories, about fighting Grimm, about traveling Remnant, though she did get a bit uncomfortable when he talked about fighting her and Roman. They had talked for so long that the café staff had asked them to leave. Neo found it annoying but Jaune just laughed. "I guess we have been here a while, huh?" He asked. Neo felt a little disheartened at this development, wanting to talk more with the hunter, but then he heald his hand out to her. "You wanna take a walk with me?"

They walked side by side through the park in silence, from this point Neo could see how much taller Jaune was, as well as how broad his chest and shoulders were. "No, bad Neo, none of that!" She thought to herself, feeling the heat of embarrassment in her cheeks. "So," Jaune began, "I notice you keep asking about me, but you haven't really said anything about yourself." Neo looked away, not sure what to say. There was only so much she could say without giving herself away, and she didn't want to lie to Jaune. "But I'm lying right now, aren't i?" She asked herself. "Its okay if it's hard to talk about, it actually took me a while to be this open, I just feel like I can talk to you." The way he looked at her pulled at her heartstrings like someone was trying to open a parachute. "What would you like to know?" She asked hesitantly. "Well, tell me about your family, your mom and dad, do you have any siblings?" Of course the first thing he wanted to ask her was the one thing she wanted to talk about less than her life of crime. "I have no parents, I lived on the streets." It wasn't a total lie, she did live on the streets for a while, and she stopped thinking of her parents as her parents long before that. Jaune looked at her with a heartbroken expression. "I'm so sorry," he said, "we don't have to talk if you don't want." He was trying to backpeddle, not because what she said made him uncomfortable, but because he didn't want her to be uncomfortable. "It's fine." Neo responded. "Living on the streets is how I met..." She knew better than to use his real name, "Reggie, the guy I told you about." "The older brother with a thing for guy liner." Jaune said, showing her he paid attention, that made her smile, but the smile faded as she stopped walking. Jaune stopped and looked at her curiously. "Jaune, if you want to know more about me, you should know I've done things, not exactly legal things." There was no going back now, she didn't think Jaune would start yelling at her and threatening to call the cops, but she seriously doubted he would be accepting.

Jaune was quiet for a minute, his expression unreadable, not that Neo could look him in the eyes at that moment. "And are you still doing "not exactly legal things?"" He asked. Neo nodded, signing "When I have to." "But you don't have to, do you?" Jaune said in an accusatory voice, which made Neo flinch. Jaune sighed, looking almost defeated. "Listen Cheri, I'm not going to call the cops on you or anything like that, but I can't be near you if i know you're breaking the law, at some point I'm going to have to do something, so please, don't make me do something." There was a look in Jaune's eyes, something between determination and pleading that worried Neo, she could tell he meant every word, and that doing so hurt him.

Neo couldn't remember a time she felt more conflicted, she had been a criminal her whole life, it was all she knew, and now this hunter was telling her she had to stop or else? He hadn't been the first, but the way he looked at her made her want him to be the last. Neo took a deep breath, signed "Okay." and watched him for his response. Jaune looked at her for a moment before letting out a shaky breath, and said "Okay, good, thank you." "I guess he was as worried as I was." Neo thought.

They resumed their walk as Neo told him about her life, even the parts she was worried he would hate her for, but she could tell there was nothing to worry about, the way he looked at her and listened, she knew he understood, and before she knew it the sun had set. Neo told Jaune that it was getting late and that she should head home, and he offered to walk her there, Neo accepted. It was so strange, she had just revealed her criminal past to a hunter, someone sworn to protect others from people like her, but all he did was listen and accept her. Being in Jaune's presence gave her a sense of ease she wasn't sure she had ever felt before, as well as other feelings, ones that she really didn't want to acknowledge.

When they got to Neo's apartment, they stood on the doorstep for a minute before one of them said something. "So I guess this is goodbye, and goodnight. I had a really great time with you today, and listen, I was serious about not calling the cops on you. Everyone has a past, but that shouldn't stop you from having a future." Jaune said, it wasn't the best thing he could have said, Neo thought, but she appreciated it nonetheless. He turned to leave, but Neo's hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve without thinking. Jaune turned back and looked surprised, Neo had no idea why she did that, okay she had some idea, but she really wish she didn't. "Is something wrong?" Jaune asked sincerely. Yes, there was, there very much was something wrong, she thought, wishing she wasn't about to do what she so desperately wanted to do. "No, I just needed to tell you something." Neo answered, trying not to seem nervous. "Okay." Jaune nodded, giving her his full attention, Neo motioned for him to bend down and get closer to her, Jaune obliged, and Neo dove in, connecting her lips to his. It was a half second of contact, but it sent electricity all throughout her body. She could see Jaune's shocked expression for a split second as she turned to run inside as fast as she could, but she was stopped when Jaune grabbed her hand and pulled her into him, spinning her to face him and planting his lips onto hers. Now she was the one wearing a shocked expression, but as the kiss deepened her shock melted away, and she wrapped her arms around his craned neck as she gave in to the feel of his hands on her hips and the taste of coffee on his lips. The night has gotten cold, but that didn't stop the wave of warmth that washed over her.

They disconnected when they needed to breathe, slowly opening their eyes to look at each other, but Jaune's eyes widened and he quickly backed away from her. Neo wanted to ask what was wrong, but she figured it out when he said her name, her real name, "Neo Politan?" Jaune asked, completely dumbfounded. Neo had let her semblance fall when they were kissing, and without thinking Neo ran inside, slamming the door to her apartment and locking the door.

Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might just burst, and a thousand thoughts whirled through her mind. "How could I have let my guard down? Maybe he didn't notice. Oh who am I kidding he said my whole name, of course he noticed. Any minute now he's going to call the cops and they're going to break down my door! I need to run! But what about Jaune? What ABOUT Jaune? He's a hunter and a do-gooder and-and...and he kissed me! Oh gods, I KISSED HIM! And I liked it, I really, really liked it, and I like him, but dammit why did my semblance have to fail?"

Neo's mind went quiet when she heard a knock on her door. "Are you there?" She heard Jaune say from the other side. "Be quiet, maybe he'll go away!" A voice inside told her, though she tiptoed to the door regardless, peering through the peep hole. She saw Jaune's face, distorted by the hole, but she could tell he looked like he was in pain. She lightly tapped the door, hoping he would understand that that meant yes. Jaune didn't say anything for a long while before asking "Was any of it real?" The question squeezed her heart, she realized they had been enemies for a long time in the past, but right now the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. "Just say it wasn't, tell me this was some kind of joke, some kind of sick plan to get close to me and make me fall for you just so you could break my heart, because...because I have, fallen for you, I mean, or at least for the version of you you pretended to be. So if it was all a lie please tell me, I deserve that much." Neo's hand shook as she undid the locks and opened the door, just enough that he could see her. "It wasn't a lie, not really. I may have used a different name, but everything I said was true." Neo signed. Jaune let out a sigh, though she couldn't tell if it was out of relief or frustration, or maybe both.

"So...what happens now?" Jaune asked, Neo opened the door wider and signed "You could come inside, and we could talk about it." Jaune smiled that smile Neo loved, and accepted her invitation.