#which is about assuming things about someone based on other peoples words have been used for nooooo reason at aaaall

[moody-alcoholic]

These Violent Delights

Chapter 34 - Don’t Mess With Me

Summary: Poly 141 x fem!reader, a/b/o alternate universe 10.8k words. Everone is together and everyone deserves to be happy. 141 are doing their best to make things better.

CW: +18 content MDNI. a/b/o alternative universe, a/b/o dynamics, typical a/b/o universe tropes (knotting, scuffing), sex, PiV sex, oral (f & m receiving), fingering, overstimulation, semi-public sex (kinda), canon-typical violence, death, blood, use of weapons, fighting, military inaccuracies, kidnapping, assault, description of weapons, language, description of injuries, nightmare, night terror, hurt/comfort, angst, written by a european who has never shot a gun before.

AN: This chapter is all I’ve been able to think about for days.

Previous - masterlist - next AO3

Enjoy <3

“Now remember, we’re going after Professor Hale’s daughter. Our orders are to take her alive and unharmed.” Graves says as he looks around the people he hand picked for this job. There are seven of them in total, it should be more than enough. 

“We should expect heavy resistance. 141, assuming you’ve already the brief you know we’re going up against not only trained special forces but her pack. They will be willing to protect her with their life. Now we’re going to draw them out with a distraction, they’re going to raid the surveillance post.” Graves moves the sides long on the projector. 

“As soon as we get the signal we’ll move into their safehouse. We won’t have long, as soon as we make entry 141 will be told we have at least 40 minutes to secure the omega and leave.” Graves watches as his team takes in the information. 

“We can’t harm 141, they will be someone with her at all times, we have to assume we will meet resistance but harming them could cause her to distress, which could render the whole operation pointless.” He holds a peg up. 

“Scuffing, this is how we’re going to subdue them. Squeeze the sensitive skin on the back of the neck and it will cause them to pass out. Put the peg on to keep them that way. Remember this is a capture mission, we’re not killing anyone.” Graves puts the peg down, he looks over at the back of the room. He sees Hale standing at the door, he swallows the lump in his throat moving the slide show on. 

“Is there anything you would like to add Professor?” Graves asks, he watches as Hale thinks for a second before stepping into the room, everyone turns to watch him walk up to the front of the conference room. 

“It’s been almost six months since my daughter was kidnapped. She’s everything to me, 141 will get what they deserve but first we need to make sure the omega is safe. She needs to be back where she belongs.” Hale walks over to Graves and rests his hand on Graves' shoulder. 

“I have every faith you will be able to bring her back to me.” 

When you wake in the morning you’re alone with John. You can hear his steady breathing, you’re pretty sure he’s still asleep. You reach over to touch him, the moment you do he wakes, turning around in the bed to face you. 

“Morning.” You say smiling at him. It’s been almost a month since you’ve been in bed with him. He reaches out and pulls you against him, kissing the top of your head as you breathe him in. 

“How did you sleep?” He asks. 

“Good, no nightmares.” You smile, it’s the first time in a long time you’ve slept through the night without any dreams let alone nightmares. 

“That's good.” He breathes, he relaxes into the bed and you both just lay there in each other's arms. 

“What's going to happen today?” You ask before you start to doze off again. 

“We’re going to make a plan to raid the base we’ve been watching. Hopefully we will be able to find out where Hale is.” 

“Is it going to be dangerous?” You ask, trying not to let your nerves taint your scent. 

“No, it’s just a listening post. Like Simon said yesterday it’s a skeleton crew, low risk.” He says shuffling back so he can see your face. “It’s going to be okay.” 

You nod and reach up to kiss him. You keep kissing him even when it turns into a sloppy breathless mess and you’re grinding against his thigh. He moans in your mouth one of his hands slips up your top and before you know it his thumb is brushing your nipple. 

“Fuck, love.” He breathes, breaking from the kiss, you can smell the vanilla in the room. You can feel his cock pressing between your thighs. “I’ve got work to do.” 

“Later.” You say nuzzling your face into his neck. You just want to spend as much time with him as you can, it doesn’t even need to be sex, but you’re not going to ignore the throb traveling through your body. 

He sighs but you feel his hand travel down from your chest to the front of your pants. You must have put them on at some point in the night after his knot had deflated. You’re still surprised that it happened but it turned out to be a good thing in the end- you got a really good night's rest. 

“Please, alpha.” You ask, pressing a kiss into his neck. He tips his head back a little, his fingers teasing the front of your pyjama shorts. He hums and you pull your face out his neck to look at him, he smiles, his eyes are glossed over.

You can tell from his scent he wants this too, you spread your legs for him and he moves in the bed propping himself on one arm, his other hand slips under your shorts straight to your clit. You close your eyes moaning out for him and turn so you’re laid flat. His fingers travel further down to your entrance.

“Fuck, love. Still so wet even after last night.” He says, his voice is low as his fingers tease your entrance and you open your eyes again. You miss having hands on your breasts and before you can stop yourself your hands are playing with them over your top.

“C’mon love, show me how you like it.” He says, you blush but pull your top up anyway so he can see. 

“Fuck..” He breathes and leans down to lick the closest one, his tongue drags over your nipple already aching for attention. When he pulls off it he pushes two fingers into you. You moan out arching your back. 

“John.” You say as you move one of your hands down to pinch the nipple he just played with. Each pull sends vibrations down to your pussy. John curls his fingers inside you, hitting that rough spot inside you that makes you melt on his hand. 

The smell of vanilla is making your head spin you’re losing focus on playing with your nipples, especially when John’s palm starts rubbing against your clit with each thrust of his fingers. 

“John. Alpha. Please-” You choke on the words. 

“Please what?” He asks, his fingers are relentless now. You don’t want to come like this though, you need him inside you again. You need to feel him throbbing inside you. You clench around his fingers which just makes him move them faster. 

“Let me ride you again, like last night. I just need you.” You say. He smiles at you and leans down to kiss you. He pulls his fingers out of you, even though you asked for this you still whine. When you break from the kiss he lays on his back, you pull the duvet off him and pull your bottoms and underwear off. He does the same, your mouth waters when you see his cock spring free. 

You immediately reach out to touch it, it’s warm and familiar in your hand, you pull the foreskin back and watch as a sliver of precome falls down the underside. You can’t help yourself, before you get on top of him you want to taste him again. You wrap your mouth around his cock and take him as far as you can. 

“Christ, love.” You hear John say, he twitches in your mouth and it makes you hum around him as more saliva forms in your mouth. You keep going, taking him deeper each time, his breathing picks up, he moans his hand coming to rest on the back of your head. Suddenly, he grips your hair and his cock throbs in your mouth. A groan leaves deep from his throat. 

You pull your mouth off him, you don’t want him to come in your mouth, you want him to come inside you. You look up at him whipping the saliva off your chin. 

“What's all this for?” He asks, smiling. You swing your legs over his thighs again letting his cock rest against your stomach. 

“I’ve just missed you.” You say, running your hand down his cock. He smiles at you as you lift yourself up and down on top of him. As soon as you feel him ease inside you, you let out a long breath, his hands come up to your thighs and you plant your hands on his chest. 

You look down at him, he smiles at you, you see his dog-tags hanging out his shirt. You can see the sliver ‘a’ on his chest, you reach over to run your fingers over it. It makes you smile, suddenly yours feels hot around your neck. You're their omega, and he's your alpha, you're a pack and you're safe.

“You okay?” John asks. Your eyes flick up to him, you nod smiling and bend down to kiss him. You start to rock your hips on him while you chase his tongue, his hands move around to grip your waist. You lift yourself up as you break from the kiss and sit back down, John’s hands help you move his strong grip helps you keep a steady rhythm. 

It was definitely easier when you had Kyle behind you yesterday, but you don’t care you’re feeling too blissed out, you’re with your whole pack again, it's how it should always be. John gets louder, his cock twitches in you as you use his chest to help you push your hips up and down on him increasing the speed. 

“John.” You call out when you’re close, you’re trying not to dig your nails into his chest. He starts to buck his hips too, his head tips back and you clench around him. 

“C’mon, love. Come with me.” He says, you moan out as he drives his cock into you faster. You lean forward as you come scrunching his shirt in your hands and moaning his name. You feel him come too, he stills his hips but his cock pulses inside you, you lay down on his chest panting. His arms wrap around you, you can feel his heart pounding in his chest. 

You lay there on top of him letting him stroke your back until his cock slips out of you. When that happens you roll off him to lay by his side. He turns to smile down at you. 

“I love you.” He says. 

“I love you too.” You say, he leans over to kiss you. You wrap your arms around him, when he breaks from the kiss you press your foreheads together. 

“I needed this. I need all of you, now and forever.” You say, you feel yourself getting emotional, you're not sure why. 

“You have us, we’re right here.” He says, his hand runs up your side to your face, he strokes your cheek and you look up into his eyes. He has blue eyes like Johnny but they’re not the same, they’re not as light and there’s a hint of another colour in them. Maybe green, maybe brown. They remind you of the ocean, deep and blue you almost want to dive into them. Johnny’s eyes are like the sky, when the light hits them right they’re almost translucent. 

“What happens when this is over? What happens when the professor is dead?” You ask, he sighs, pressing his lips together. 

“I don’t know. You’ll be safe, we all will be. We’ll go back to the UK and figure it out from there.” He says. 

“Back to Scotland?” 

“If you want.” He smiles. You nod and throw your arms around him. He holds you tight, pressing a kiss into your neck. You listen to his breathing, his heart beat, you just wish it would all be over.  

“We really should get going, I have a lot to do today.” He says after a few minutes. You sigh and sit up reluctantly shuffling out of the bed. You look around for the clothes you had on yesterday and see there’s a fresh pile on a chair. It makes you smile as you pick them up. 

“The bathroom is the door at the end of the hall. I’ll let you use it first.” He says, you turn to see him also looking around for his clothes. You nod pulling your bottoms back on. When you leave the confines of the room it’s cold, you can feel a breeze as you walk down to the bathroom. 

When you try to open what you thought was the bathroom it’s locked. 

“Just a second.” Johnny calls from the other side, you smile and step to the side waiting. When he opens the door he’s wearing nothing but boxers and a towel thrown around his neck. 

“Hey, love.” His nostrils flare and he looks down the hall behind you. “You smell good.” He teases winking at you, you feel your face heat up and you flare your own nostrils breathing him in. You can smell leather and vanilia on him too. You can see the marks Simon has left on his neck and shoulders. 

“Seems like we both had fun.” You say. He smiles walking over to you and resting his hand on your waist, he pulls you close to him and leans down to kiss you. You can taste mint in his mouth, you wonder if he can taste John on you. He hums before breaking from the kiss, his eyes twinkle before he slips past you out the bathroom. 

You look back at him and he winks at you before disappearing into one of the rooms. You scoff, shaking your head and go into the bathroom.

When you make it down to the kitchen everyone is already sitting or standing around the dining room table. They seem like they’re talking about something important so you go to make a cup of tea. You feel happy, you catch yourself smiling even though you’re just doing the most mundane thing. 

When you’re done you look back to see them still talking. You decide to take the tea to the living room, leaving them to finish whatever they’re doing. There's a newspaper on the sofa arm, you’ve never read a newspaper before. You put the tea down and pick it up. 

The first thing you see is an article about a war, somewhere you’ve never heard of. Right next to that there’s something dramatic about a celebrity. You frown, it’s almost like the 2 polar opposites of news right next to each other. You can’t help being drawn in to page after page soaking up all the information about the country you were born in.  

Who the president is and what he’s doing. How the economy is - most of it if you don’t understand. There’s news about football and baseball, an entire page of scores that seem overly complicated. You soak up the colour images of people in fancy outfits, some kind of awards ceremony. There’s even a page dedicated to people who have died. That makes you sad. 

“Hey, love.” Johnny calls from the doorway, you look up from the paper over at him. You don’t know how long you’ve been sitting here. You look over at your mug of tea, there’s no steam coming off it now and your legs are stiff. 

“I thought we could do something.” He says, you put the paper down on the coffee table. 

“Okay, what?” You ask standing up, he holds his hand for you.

“You’ll see.” He says as you take it.

He leads you outside into the back garden. It’s nice weather, not too warm but not too cold. The garden is surrounded by a high wooden fence and there are some trees at the bottom. You follow him down to the end of the garden and see a bag of stuff. He turns to look at you, his hands land on your shoulders and he squeezes them looking over you. 

“What’s going on?” You ask, he takes a step back and holds his arms up. 

“Hit me.” he says, patting his stomach. 

“I don’t want to hit you.” You say.

“Okay but just do it. I’m a big man, I can take it.” He says winking. You really don’t want to but you sigh feeling like he’s not going to let this go. You punch him in the stomach. It barely feels like anything Johnny doesn’t even move. He sighs, pulling his arms down. 

“Okay, what about something different.” He says. You feel Kyle come behind you, his hand lands on the top of your back. 

“You don’t have to be worried about hurting us.” He says. 

“Why do I need to know how to do this anyway?” You ask looking down at your hands. The scars on your palms are almost gone now, you can’t even tell if what's left are even scars or just lines on your palms. When you look back up Johnny has pads on his hands.

“Now you can punch me as hard as you want.” He says. You look up at Kyle who steps back from you. You sigh but bring your hands up anyway and punch at one of the pads. His arm hardly moves, at this point you think you’re doing more damage to yourself then anyone else. Kyle chuckles behind you, his foot comes between yours kicking them apart a little. 

“Spread your feet.” He then twists your hip and it forces you to put one of your feet forward. “You want to be at an angle slightly.” 

“Yeah, your body should swing when you punch.” Johnny says, swinging his arms to show you. You frown at him, you ball your hands up into fists. Kyle’s hand lands on your right fist and he presses your thumb under your fingers. 

“Aim for the center of the pad.” Kyle says letting your hand go and steps back. It feels unnatural but you try to follow their instructions and swing your arm and fist into the pad as hard as you can. You immediately look up at Johnny who smiles at you. 

“Better.” He says, nodding. “Harder this time, as much force as you can.” You nod as Kyle's arms come back to your hips and he positions you again, moving your feet with his toes again. You punch again harder, Johnny nods and you do it again with your non-dominant hand. You can definitely feel the difference in power, using your left hand feels weird. 

“Why do I need to know how to punch someone?” You ask after a few more tries. 

“Peace of mind, it will make us feel better if you know how to throw a decent punch or shoot a gun.” Kyle says.

“Shoot a gun?” You gasp, turning to look at him. He nods, you swallow hard, you’re not sure why that makes a pit form in your stomach. You look back up at Johnny, he sighs lowering the pads. 

“It’s just some basic self-defence, everyone should know.” Johnny says, that sounds more reassuring and you nod. Johnny takes the pads off and Kyle’s hand rubs the top of your back. You turn looking over and see Simon and John now standing outside watching. 

“C’mon, let's show you a few other things then we’ll have lunch.” Johnny says when he turns back around. You nod and force a smile, maybe they’re right, it would be good for you to learn some self-defence. You’re not really sure when you would need to use it but Johnny and Kyle assure you it's better than not knowing anything.

They show you how to get out of someone's grip, and where to hit someone to really hurt them. How to knock a knife or a gun out of someone's hand. It’s a lot of information to take in and when John calls you all in for lunch. You’re hungry, apparently they actually got food in and cooked for once instead of eating food out of bags. 

You sit with Johnny and Kyle in the living room, Simon and John are still working on the plan to raid the base. Johnny and Kyle tell you a little more about it, it shouldn’t be too difficult apparently. The plan is for them to go tomorrow evening, as soon as the sun is down. It gives Kyle and Johnny another day to acclimate and sleep off the rest of the jet lag. 

Kate is going to be coming later, she’s been helping as much as she can but has to fly from Virginia every few days. From what it sounds like it must be exhausting. There are a few other people they mention Alejandro and Rudy, you’ve heard about them before. Apparently they’re in New Mexico helping with something to do with drugs. 

“Finished?” You hear Simon ask as he places a hand on your shoulder. You look up at him and nod. 

“C’mon, got something we need to do.” He says squeezing your shoulder then walking away. You nod following him to the front door. He hands you your coat.

“Are you going to teach me how to fight too?” You ask, half joking. 

“Something like that.” He mumbles, picking up a set of keys and walking out the door. You follow him over to the car and get in. The weather seems to have changed, there’s thick gray clouds rolling in from afar. You have no idea where you’re going but you drive out of the little suburban burrow you’ve been staying in and follow a big road for a few kilometres. 

Suddenly Simon pulls off the road to a massive run down building with a chain link fence running the whole way around it. He gets out of the car going over to a padlock between two fences. He uses pliers to break the lock then throws them open. 

He comes back to the car and drives in, you get a better look at the building now, it’s seen better days all painted white, you can see the faint outline of where there used to be signs and massive letters but you can’t quite make out what they say. 

You’re still squinting at it when Simon comes back to the car after closing the fence. 

“We’re not supposed to be here are we?” You ask as he drives the car around the back of the building to the loading dock. 

“No, but it means we won’t be disturbed.” He says, stopping the car. You smile and get out, there's a chill in the air now and you can hear the rumble of thunder in the distance. 

“It’s going to rain.” You say as he takes a bag out the back of the car. 

“Good, gives us more cover.” He says, you frown at him as you walk over to a smashed door. You follow him in, the place is massive. You’re hit with the overwhelming scent of damp, some of the roof has collapsed letting light spill in. You follow Simon as he walks you over to an old countertop. This used to be a department store by the looks of things. There’s a worn and warped sign above the ring of counters that says ‘jewellery.’  

The roof is broken just above you and you watch as Simon unzips the bag revealing pistols and targets printed on paper. You feel nerves rise in you as you watch him take the pieces of paper out. There are more pistols under them, bigger pistols and more magazines. 

“You’re going to teach me how to shoot.” You say blowing out the nerves. He nods then looks around. You stay by the bag in the light as you watch him drag a temporary wall into place. He sticks three targets up then walks back over to you. You swallow the lump in your throat, the targets are about 10 meters in front of you. Simon walks around to the other side of the counter top and gestures for you to join him.

“Don’t be afraid.” He says reaching over to take one of the pistols out the bag.

“I’m not.” You lie, honestly the thought of holding something as deadly as a pistol in your hands scares you. Last time you held one you almost hurt your pack, you shot at them while you were dreaming. You stand up against the counter looking out towards the targets. Simon comes behind you, putting the pistol and a mag down in front of you. 

“Pick it up, it’s not going to bite you.” He says, you nod and pick it up. It’s heavier than you thought, sleek and black with a rubber grip. 

“And the clip.” He says, you nod and pick it up with your other hand. It’s almost as heavy as the pistol which surprises you. His arms come around you, his hand gripping yours. 

“This is how you load it.” He says as he moves the clip over to the bottom of the pistol, you let his hands guide you but you do all the actual work. You feel it click in place, suddenly it feels like you’re holding a live grenade in your hands. 

You hear him search through the bag, you turn seeing him pull out a pair of ear defenders, he slips them on you and kisses you on the top of the head, his chest is pressed against your back again. His hands come back around to pick up yours, he moves your free hand to grip the bottom of the gun. 

“Just get used to feeling it in your hand.” He says moving his away, you nod and try different positions with your hands and fingers. It still feels wrong, maybe this is a good thing, you shouldn’t be afraid of this. 

“Hold it up and look towards the targets, do you see them?” he asks, you swallow and nod. 

“Words, love.” He says his hands landing on your hips.  

“I see them.” You say. 

“Good, you see that little switch on the side?” 

“Yes.” You reply, already moving your thumb up to it. 

“That's the safety, when you’re ready click it.” You nod and let out a long breath before flicking it with your thumb. Now the pistol feels suddenly heavier in your hands. 

“Good. Now you need to load it. Use your bottom hand to pull the barrel back.” He says. You move your hand around following his instructions and grip the top of the gun pulling it back until you feel and hear it click. 

His hands run up your side and down your arms straightening them. He bends down, his breath is hot on your neck. You can do this. You tell yourself, it’s just shooting a gun, nothing bad is going to happen. 

“Take a deep breath, look at the target.” He says, you nod. You take a breath and move your finger to the trigger. “Nice and easy, take your time.” 

You nod and let out a breath as you pull the trigger. The noise makes you jump even with the ear defenders on. Simon keeps you stood in place, the weapon makes your arms shake there’s more power in it then you thought. You can’t tell if you hit the target or not, you’re assuming you didn’t. You lower your arms but Simon stops you gripping your elbows. 

“Safety first.” He says and you nod, flicking the little switch again. You put the pistol down on the table as he lets your arms go. 

“See, not so scary after all.” 

“I guess.” You say smiling, it did feel good, strangely powerful. You already want to do it again, reaching down to pick it up. This time you make sure your dominant hand is on the trigger. You bring your arms up and look over at one of the targets. 

“Which one are you looking at?” Simon asks. 

“The middle one.” 

“Good, keep your arms straight. Take a breath and when you breathe out fire.” He says, you nod flicking the safety off and follow his instructions letting out a long breath as you fire. This time you think you’ve actually hit the wall, you hear the bullet ping at least. 

“Nice.” Simon says. “This time just aim a little higher.” 

“Okay.” You say smiling at the praise and raising your arms a little. He presses himself closer to you, you can feel his chest expand when he breathes. His hands are on midsection. You can smell his alpha filling the air. You fire again this time you definitely hit the target, the paper rips. 

“Good, try the next one.” He says, you feel his hands squeeze you. You blush watching as his hands travel down to your waist. “Hey, pay attention.” 

“Sorry.” You say, looking back over at the targets and straightening your arms again. You feel warmth travel through you, he’s warm too, you match your breathing with his. You can smell his alpha and the hint of vanilla slipping through. You try to ignore it focusing on hitting the next target, it becomes next to impossible when you feel him grind against your arse. 

You keep firing until the weapon is empty. It feels good, it’s like there's this new energy pulsing through you. You shot a weapon, pretty well too at least you managed to hit 2 of the 3 targets. As soon as you’ve put the safety back on the weapon Simon’s hands grip your waist picking you up. 

You gasp as he turns you and plops you down on the counter. He steps up between your legs pulling the bottom of his mask up over his nose and pressing his lips to yours. He kisses you rough, his hands running up your thighs then under your shirt. You drop the pistol hearing it crash on the floor. Simon doesn’t stop though, his hands running up to your breasts, you can smell vanilia fill the air and you spread your legs even further for him moaning in his mouth.

“Fuck, love.” He says breaking from the kiss and running his hands back down to your hips. “I want you now.” His voice is feral, his tongue working its way down your neck. You grip the top off his mask. You want him too.

“You can have me. Anytime you want.” You breathe, he growls sucking on your neck, you feel his teeth tease your sensitive skin. He pulls his face out your neck looking up at you, you project your scent for him watching his eyes dilate. He picks you up in his arms, you wrap your arms and legs around him as he takes you to the exit. 

“Not in here, fuckin’ filthy.” He says, when you make it out and back towards the car you can feel the first few drops of rain hit you. There is still the distant rumble of thunder, it makes the air feel electric as he opens the car door and lays you down on the back seats. You prop yourself up to see him gripping the waistband of your jeans. You put your legs together and he pulls them down to your ankles.

You shiver as the cool air hits your legs, he’s on his knees pulling your pussy down to his mouth. You lay back as he presses kisses up your thighs throwing your legs over his shoulders. You spread your legs as much as you can for him shuffling down to chase his mouth. 

“Fuck.” You hear him breathe, his hot breath hits your already soaked clit. A second later he presses his tongue against it. You moan out throwing your head back, he starts with long drags like he’s almost trying to drink you up. He presses his tongue in your entrance then runs it back to flick your clit before locking his mouth around it and sucking.

“Simon.” You call reaching out to grip the front passenger chair, you’re going to come if he keeps this up. You moan out for him, it just makes his mouth attack your clit harder, his teeth nibble against it too. It’s all too much, the adrenaline from firing the gun and Simon’s scent has got you all worked up. You squeeze your legs crying out as you come, he doesn’t stop though, working you through the orgasam. 

“Alpha!” You call as your legs start to twitch from overstimulation, Simon chuckles looking up from between your legs, he still has his mask on, pulled up over his nose. You smile at him and he crawls out from between your legs. He leans over to kiss you, he tastes sweet, his lips puffy as he presses his tongue in your mouth. 

It just makes your pussy throb harder for him. You run your hands up his chest. He breaks from the kiss looking down at you. 

“I need you.” You say reaching up to chase his lips again. He smiles, quickly kissing you before moving back down to your legs, it’s awkward with your jeans wrapped around your ankles. 

“Turn over,” he says. You obey flipping onto your stomach, your arse sticks out of the car door, you can feel the rain hitting it. You hear Simon undo his belt buckle and drop his pants, one of his hands presses on the small of your back then slowly works its way around your arse and to your pussy. 

He presses two fingers into you and you cry out, at least this is a pretty secluded spot. His fingers drag in and out, your hands grip the seat as you feel his fingers get replaced with the head of his cock. You moan with him as he presses into you. You squeeze your eyes closed clenching around him. 

You always forget how big he is, he stretches you out pressing into you slowly. 

“Christ, love. I forgot how amazing you feel.” He says both his hands are gripping your waist. It’s not long before he’s pulling you even further down his cock. You relax for him, another groan leaves his throat and he starts to buck his hips into you. 

He feels good, you keep moaning for him arching your back, he pulls your waist against him in time with his thrusts. He’s pressing into you so deep, his cock feels like it’s bouncing against your cervix. 

“Missed you so much.” He says as he speeds up, you can hear the rain pounding on the roof of the car, he must be getting soaked. 

“I. Missed. You. Too.” You say between thrusts, it feels like he’s knocking all the air out your lungs each time he pulls you down on his cock. His moans turn to grunts, you can barely think straight, you clench around him to stop yourself from coming which only makes him slam his cock into you harder. It causes your breath to hitch in your throat. 

“Simon.” You call, you’re not going to last like this, you dig your nails into the car seat. One of his hands runs up your back. 

“Fuck, you can hold it.” He says, although it sounds like an order. 

“Yes, yes, alpha.” An order you’re going to follow it seems, you cry out relaxing as much as you dare which makes Simon’s grunts turn back to moans. It’s like music to your ears, he drives his cock into you harder picking your hips up slightly. 

“Si-” His name catches in your throat, you can’t hold on he’s hitting a new spot inside you that's making your legs shake. “Please.” You beg. 

“Come- come with me.” He says. You nod biting down on the inside of your cheek so you’re not biting the seat. Your whole body goes limp as you come, the only thing holding you to reality is your pussy throbbing around Simon's cock. You almost miss him coming too, but you hear him grunt, his fingers dig into the soft skin on your hips. 

He slows his thrusts eventually stilling inside you. Your whole body is pulsing, your head spinning from the scent of leather. 

“I love you, I love you.” You mumble into the seat. You feel him pull out of you leaving you feeling empty. You’re still panting, enjoying the come down. You relax and Simon runs his hands down your legs. 

“C’mon, love. You’re going to get soaked.” Simon says as the rain starts to come down harder.

“I don’t care.” You hum as you feel his spend slip down your thigh. He chuckles and lets out a long breath, you hear him opening a pack of tissues. You feel him clean you up and pull your underwear back up. You shuffle out the car, Simon helps you to your feet and you reach down pulling your jeans up. 

You reach up to kiss him, he holds your head in his hands rubbing your cheeks as he presses his tongue into your mouth. 

“You know I read in books this is romantic.” You say as you break from the kiss. 

“Not if you catch pneumonia it isn’t.” He smiles back reaching over to open the passenger side door. 

…

The rain is really coming down by the time you get back to the house. You both run inside almost tripping over each other. Simon has his arm around you as you walk into the dining room. Kate is here now, she smiles when she sees you and Simon drops his arm. 

“Hey.” You smile back at her. Johnny comes over to you wrapping his arm around your waist. 

“You’re soaked.” He says kissing your cheek, you hear him breathe in. You turn to look at him. “Smells good too.” He winks. Simon scoffs coming over to rest his hand on your shoulder. 

“I have something for you.” He says, you frown and he walks over to the stairs. You follow him hearing Johnny come too. 

“What is it?” He asks over your shoulder. Simon goes into a room and you stand in the doorway as he looks through a bag. Johnny’s hand rests on your shoulder and you both watch as he searches for something. After a few seconds he comes back with something in his hand. 

“Here, maybe guns aren't really your thing.” He says handing you a terrifying knife. You take it out his hand though. 

“Was I that bad?” You ask looking up at him. He chuckles, his fingers come to brush your cheek. 

“No, not like that but just so you have something. Makes us feel better.” He says. You look back down at the knife, it’s small, only slightly bigger than your hand. You don’t want to think about why you would need to use a knife. It’s not like you’re ever going to be alone. 

“Thank you.” You say, you’re not sure what you’re supposed to say but you take the knife anyway. 

“Should put it somewhere safe.” Johnny says moving away from you. You nod and move to the room you shared with John and Kyle. You’re not sure what the sleeping arrangements are like, you guess one of the good things about you all being together means you don’t have to worry about that too much. People just sleep where they want, when they want and with who they want. It makes you smile.

You place the knife in the bedside drawer, at least you’ll remember where it is and it’s somewhere you can find easy. The rest of the evening you spend with Johnny and Kyle, then introduce you to American Football while Simon and John are busy with Kate.

Kyle cooks with the limited ingredients he has breaking open multiple packets of the MRE’s you remember them talking about. After food you’re full and end up dozing off in Johnny’s arms. You’re watching some kind of sports game on the TV, it’s nothing like the football game you watched in the UK. 

“Who’s winning?” You ask eventually, Johnny pulls a blanket over you. 

“Nebraska.” Johnny says. 

“Where’s that?” You ask, closing your eyes. 

“South.” He says. You yawn. 

“Maybe we could go there one day.” You ask shuffling next to him, getting comfortable and relaxing against him. You wrap your arm around his stomach and he kisses the top of your head. 

“Yeah, We’ll go there one day. We’ll go wherever you want.”

You’re woken from a deep sleep, someone comes into your room and drags you to your feet. You don’t get a chance to ask what's going on, you just focus on keeping upright so you’re not being dragged across the floor. It's not long before you’re thrown into a room, your body slams painfully on the ground.

Hands grab you pulling your body up but keeping you on your knees. You finally get a chance to take in your surroundings, you see John and Simon on their knees with guns held to their heads. The professor reaches down and grabs your chin painfully, snapping your head up to look at him. 

“These are your alphas?” He snaps spitting in your face. You know he already knows the answer so you ignore him. He slaps you hard across your face, your head snaps to the side and you whimper. Your cheek is still stinging as you’re hauled  back to your knees. You can’t keep your eyes off John and Simon, they don’t look hurt but they’re here, in the bunker. 

“I told you what would happen if any other alpha claimed you.” Hale says pulling your attention back over to him, you hear the click of a weapon then the professor turns with a loaded pistol in his hand. 

“Please, no please don’t make me!” You cry and scream. You try to fight the person holding you but they don’t let you go, they grip you harder, so hard you swear you can feel their nails drawing blood. He just walks over to you, slapping your face again. 

“You brought this on yourself!” He snaps. “I am your alpha, no one else!” You sob feeling blood pool in your mouth, you must have bit the inside of your cheek. 

“I’ll give you a choice though. Of which one you want to kill first.” He says, you hear the weapon click in his hand. “Make sure she looks.” 

Your head is forced up right, your chin held painfully in position looking at John and Simon. The professor bends down so he is eye level with you. 

“You better not close those pretty little eyes of yours.” He says before pressing a kiss on your forehead. You can’t move from it but when he moves back you spit at him. He hates that, immediately getting to his feet and wiping his face.  

Your mouth is squeezed close. Hale curses, you hear the weapon click again and he punches you in the stomach. Whoever is holding you doesn’t let you double over in pain and he keeps your mouth closed as you scream. 

“Now you don’t get to choose.” Hale says. You watch in horror as he walks over to John and puts the pistol to his head. You scream as the weapon goes off. 

...

You wake with a scream. Hands are already on you as you instantly. Everything is so bright you can’t tell what's going on. Your eyes fill with water as you try to feel around the person who’s holding you. 

“John!” You scream as someone pulls you into their chest. There are voices all around you now as you bury your head into whoever is next to you. 

“You’re okay, you’re okay.” It’s Johnny you think. His hand comes up to rub your back. “I’ve got you.” Definitely Johnny, all you can do is sob in response. Someone sits on the coffee table in front of you. You look at them through your tear filled eyes, trying to figure out who it is. As soon as you see John you pull yourself out Johnny’s arms and throw yourself against him. 

You taste blood in your mouth, your cheek throbs, it makes your stomach turn.

“Okay, you’re okay. I’m here.” He says rubbing your back, you can smell beta in the air trying to relax you but it’s not working. John’s hands land on your shoulders pushing you away from his chest. 

“The professor-” 

“He’s not here.” John says cutting you off and squeezing your shoulders. You nod, hanging your head, while Johnny rubs your back. 

“Look at me.” He says, you snap up and look at him, he’s real, he’s alive. It was just a horrible dream. You feel silly now, the adreanile has worn off now. You look around the room, everyone is standing watching you. You sniffle and his expression softens and he pulls you back into his arms. You press your face against his chest. 

“I’ve got you, I’m safe, we’re all safe.” He says and kisses the top of your head. You nod sniffling in his chest. When you finally start to calm down he tries to transfer you back into Johnny's arms. 

“Take her to bed.” He says going to stand up.

“Come with me.” You ask reaching out for him

“Let me finish up.” John says coming to stroke hair behind your ear. You nod and watch as he leaves with everyone but Johnny following behind him. Johnny helps you up and guides you up the stairs. He keeps his arms on you, his hands rubbing your arms and back. 

“It’s going to be okay, love. This will all be over soon.” He says as you go into the bedroom and over to the bed.

“Then we’ll go back home.” You say as you lay down in the bed. 

“Then we’ll go back home.” He repeats, falling in behind you and wrapping his arms around you.

You sleep all morning, you’re never alone, Simon comes and wakes you around lunch. You force yourself out the bed. Everyone seems distracted, this is the day, as soon as the sun goes down they'll be leaving. The day feels like it's dragging on forever, but before you know it they're all dressed in full gear and John comes over to you.  

“Johnny’s going to stay behind with you and Kate.” John says. You nod looking behind him to see Simon and Kyle still getting ready at the table. “We’ll be back before you know it.” 

“You’re not going to get hurt are you?” You ask, reaching out to grip his arm. 

“No, this is a routine job, we’ll be back before midnight if we’re lucky.” John says, you nod and throw your arms around him. With his vest you can’t quite reach all the way around his back but he hugs you back and squeezes you tight. 

“I love you.” You whisper as he breaks from the hug. 

“I love you too.” He says stroking your cheek with his gloved hand. He turns to go over to Simon and Kyle who are waiting at the door. Johnny comes over and rests his hand on your back, you lean into him and watch them as they all leave with Kate through the door. 

“Is Kate going with them?” You ask. 

“No, probably just making sure they have everything they need.” Johnny says, squeezing you tight to him. “You okay?”

You turn to look up at him. “Yeah, just worried.” You admit. He leans down to kiss you. 

“Don’t worry, they know what they’re doing.” Johnny reassures you, you nod but you just can’t shake the pit in your stomach. 

“I’m tired, I'm going to lie down.” You say. If you take a nap maybe it will go quicker and when you wake they’ll be back. 

“Okay, love.” Johnny says kissing the top of your head. 

“Wake me when they’re on their way back?” You ask. He chuckles.

“Of course.”

You wake to your door opening. You smell beta, but not what you’re used to, it’s not Johnny. You’re facing away from the door, you slowly move your arm over to the bedside table, opening the drawer while listening to the footsteps. They didn’t close the door behind them, if it was Johnny he would have been in bed with you by now. 

You feel around for the knife your heart is racing in your chest, you focus on containing your scent. You want him to think you’re still asleep. You take out the knife and pull it to your chest slowly closing the drawer before shuffling both your arms back under the duvet. 

You’re lucky the room is dark, you hear the stranger walk around the end of the bed. You close your eyes, as soon as you can sense they’re near you’ll stab them, you don’t care where just as long as you hit them. You’re holding your breath as the footsteps inch closer to your head. 

“Shadow-one.” The gruff American voice says. There’s a second of silence that feels like it lasts forever. A hand lands on your shoulder. “I have the omega.” 

Your hand flys out the bed with a grunt. The knife meets flesh and the man in front of you drops to the floor with a cry. Adrenaline pulses through you and you throw the duvet off. You jump off the bed and stand in front of him. You can’t see the stranger's face, he’s wearing a mask, you don’t think you just plunge the knife into his chest before he can get up. When you pull it out a spurt of blood follows and his eyes close. 

You killed him, you killed someone. 

“Hey!” You turn to see a similarly dressed soldier standing in the doorway. He’s not holding a weapon at you but he has one swaying by his side. You don’t think just let the adreanile control you and sprint at him with the bloody knife raised. 

“Hey! Stop!” You don’t listen to his pleas, he doesn’t reach for his weapon in time and you jump at him plunging the knife into his neck. It takes him a few seconds before he falls to the floor, all you can smell in the air now is blood. There’s blood all over you, you don’t care, you need to get to Johnny and Kate. 

You reach down to take the knife out his neck but you can’t, it’s stuck. You hear more voices now, people talking downstairs, you can’t hear Johnny though. You give up on the knife and reach down to take the pistol off the man's hip. 

Even now it still feels wrong in your hand but you remember what Simon taught you. The weapon is not the same but similar. You can see what you assume is the safety, you pull the top of the barrel until you hear a click. You’re not sure what to do, you decide to keep the safety on.

What if this all a big misunderstanding and you accidentally shoot Johnny or Kate? No, you can smell alpha as well now. There’s another alpha here who isn’t John or Simon. It’s not Hale either, someone new. You slowly start to creep down the stairs, you can't see anything there’s walls on either side of the steps so you have to rely on your hearing to know if there is anything waiting for you at the bottom. 

You only get one foot on the bottom step before someone grabs you, you scream trying to fight them but they’re stronger than you. The pistol is knocked out of your hands and you’re dragged from the bottom of the steps into the dining room. You can see Johnny, his head is bleeding, he's on his knees with a weapon pressed against his head. You gasp when you see him tears start to stream down your face. 

“No!” You shout squirming in the person's grip. As soon as Johnny registers what's happening to you he moves. Instantly the person holding the gun to his head hits him around the head with it. You’re forced to your knees by the person who has his grip on you. 

“Johnny!” You scream as his body slumps to the floor. You can see more blood now, on other parts of his body and the floor. 

“Please leave him alone!” You cry. Someone walks towards you, you recognise who he is, it's Graves, he’s the alpha you smell. It makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

“Nice to see you again.” You ignore him looking past at Johnny on the floor. He hasn’t moved, your stomach sinks. What if he’s dead, what if you got him killed. 

“Johnny.” You whimper. Get up Johnny please. You plead, he can’t be dead. Graves turns to see him.

“Get him to his feet.” He orders, two soldiers pull him up. He moans and looks over at you making eye contact. Graves bends down to look directly in your face. 

“You better do as you’re told or we’ll kill him.” Graves says, you can hear the anger in his voice, you can smell his alpha in the air. This is a threat, a threat he will be more than happy to follow through with. You nod feeling more tears roll down your face. 

“Good, maybe we can have some order in here now.” Graves says as he gets back up. You look around the rest of the room, you see Kate laid on the floor on the other side of the table. She’s not moving but you can’t see any blood, her face is turned away from you.  

“You’re not going to get away with this Graves.” Johnny says through gritted teeth, there’s a slur in his voice, he’s injured. He’s still trying to fight with the people holding him. 

“Easy with the threats Soap, Hale never specified what state we need the omega in.” Graves says. Johnny looks over at you, you want to plead with him, tell him not to fight. He can’t get killed for you, you shake your head. He doesn’t seem to get it looking back up at Graves.

“We’ll come after you, chase you to the ends of the earth if we have to.” Johnny says before spitting on the floor. He’s hit over the head again. It makes you feel sick, the sound of plastic hitting his skin, you sob and drop your head. 

“Good fucking luck. Clearly you have no idea where we actually are.” Graves says. “The little performance we put on at the listening post was enough to keep you occupied.” 

You look back up at Johnny, he’s not going to give up without a fight and you can’t let that happen. You need to do something or he’ll die and you won’t be able to live with yourself. You close your eyes letting out a shaky breath to compose yourself. 

You need to scuff him.  

It can take up to a minute of scuffing for a beta to pass out but Johnny’s never been scuffed before. You just need to keep firm pressure and not let him pull your hand off his neck. He’ll fight it, it’s his instinct and he’s stronger than you. 

You have to try though because if not Graves will kill him. 

The person who has his grip on you loosens it for a second. You don’t think you just sprint towards Johnny, there’s shouting and people trying to stop you. You’re able to dodge them and make it to Johnny. You throw your arms around him and he squeezes you tight, they let his arms drop too.

You feel sick, but you need him out of the way or he could be killed, or kill himself trying to protect you. “I’m so sorry.” You say moving your hand up to the back of his neck. Before he can reply or realise what's going on you dig your fingers into his scent glands. 

“I love you Johnny.” You sob as he squirms in your arms but your hand stays strong digging into the back of his neck.

“I’m so sorry, I love you.” His body collapses to the floor; it breaks your heart watching life leave his eyes. As soon as he’s unconscious on the floor you kiss his forehead. A second later arms are around you pulling you away from him.  

“Please don’t hurt him.” You sob watching his chest rise and fall. You feel a weapon pressed against your back. 

“Put a fucking peg on him and lets get out of here!” Graves orders. You’re pulled to your feet as he walks towards you, someone clamps the back of Johnny’s neck. Now he’ll be unconscious until someone finds him.

“Try anything like that again and we’ll kill you.” He says. Before you have time to say anything, fingers dig into the back of your neck. 

It feels like you can’t breathe. Your hands fly up to scratch and pull at the hand but they just dig their fingers in deeper. It doesn’t matter though, there’s nothing you can do. Your legs give way and everything goes black, the last thing you see is Johnny’s blooded body on the floor. 

Piper can smell something is wrong as soon as she gets out of the car. She can smell it in the air, the unmistakable scent of death. She swallows hard, there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. She knows John, Simon and Kyle are out at the base but Kate and Johnny should be here with you.

When she makes it to the door the worry turns to panic, she can’t smell you, she can smell something just as strong though, she flares her nostrils taking in a deep breath. The rotten smell of death fills her nose, beta. Her heart sinks, Johnny was staying with you while they raided the base. She fumbles with her phone to get the code for the door, her hands are shaking as she types it in. 

The door clicks and she swings it open preparing for the worst. She sees Kate first, she drops her bag and rushes over. 

“Kate!” Piper calls as she shakes her shoulders there's no response she presses her ear against her face. She’s still breathing, she presses her knuckles hard on her sternum. Kate groans, Piper lets out a sigh of relief before turning her on her side. She looks around the rest of the room and sees Johnny. 

“Johnny!” She calls going over to him. He’s curled up in the fetal position. Before Piper can get a chance to see how he is she can see the peg on the back of his neck. She shuffles around behind him, she should hold him down when she takes this off he could lash out at her. It doesn’t matter though she needs to get it off him. She takes a deep breath and pulls the clip off, it takes a second a shaky breath leaves his throat before his eyes fly open. 

His body shoots up, Piper reaches out to steady him but he elbows her in her face. “Ow.” She cries pinching her nose and getting to her feet. Johnny is screaming, calling for you. His movement is frantic, his eyes wide and confused. She needs to calm him down. 

“John!” She calls, he turns to look at her, she can see the fear in his face, she can smell it in the air. 

“The omega. He took her.” Johnny says, his breathing picks up as he sways on his feet. He falls against the table gripping it for support. Piper goes over to help support him, he tries to shove her off and fails. 

“Easy, you don’t know how long you were out for.” Piper cautions him. He scoffs slowly walking around the table. 

“They fucking took her and I couldn’t do anything.” He says she can hear the anger in his voice, the disappointment. 

“Who?” 

“Graves, Shadow Company.” He says slumping down in a chair. Piper can see the wounds on his head, dried blood in his hair and around his face. 

“It’s not your fault, they scuffed you. You can’t do anything about that.” She says, it’s all she can really think of, he looks over and sees Kate. 

“Help Kate.” Johnny says reaching over for a phone on the table. Piper nods leaving him and going over to Kate, she’s still unconscious. Piper presses her fingers into her neck, she counts the pulse in her head looking down at her watch. 

She’s okay, she should be okay, Piper feels around her head and neck anyway. 

“Do you know what happened to her?” Piper asks. 

“I don’t know, she was unconscious when I was dragged in here.” Johnny says. She can hear him trying to call someone, she assumes John and the rest of them. She tries to focus on Kate, there are no injuries she can see. She could have been injected with something and she’s not going to know what. 

Piper reaches over for her bag, she can hear the phone ringing out but no one is picking up. 

“Fucks sake John!” Johnny snaps, Piper tries not to let the fear overtake her. You’re gone, Shadow Company have you which means it won’t be long before you’re with Hale again and they still have no idea where he is. 

Piper’s hands shake as she attaches a pulse ox to her finger. “Come on Kate, you’re going to be okay.” Piper says if just to have something to do. 

“How is she?” Johnny calls over. 

“She’s okay. Just unconscious.” Piper replies, she can hear the sake in her voice. She can’t hide it as well as they can. Kate groans, pulling Pipers attention to her, her eyes scrunch and she slowly opens them. 

“Easy, you’re okay.” Piper says. 

“Price.” Johnny says. 

“Soap we’re kind-” 

“She’s gone. Graves- he took her.” Johnny says interrupting john, Piper helps Kate sit up, she can hear the fear in his voice. She can smell it in the air. 

“What do you mean?” John asks. 

“Graves, he broke in. She’s gone.” Piper hears the break in his voice. 

“What happened?” Kate asks, rubbing her head. Piper looks back at Johnny standing holding the phone up to his mouth. He’s rubbing the back of his neck, he looks at Piper for a second then turns. Piper turns her attention back to kate. 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” She asks. 

“I- I was sitting at the table. The coms went down, I called John. That's the last thing I remember.” She explains. Piper rubs her back.

“Just, sit here for a minute okay.” She says, Kate nods at her. Piper stands up letting out a breath, she turns to Johnny who’s taken the phone off speaker, he’s pacing in the kitchen. She flares her nostrils, she can still smell death in the air, dead beta. She follows the smell heading for the stairs, as she walks up the smell gets stronger, hairs stand up on the back of her neck. 

She makes it to the hallway, there’s one body half inside a room half outside, as she gets closer she can see the pool of blood, there’s a knife sticking out the side of his neck. She uses her foot to roll him onto his back, he doesn’t respond, he’s definitely dead. She steps over him to walk to the next room when she hears a moan. 

It makes her jump, it’s coming from the room the dead body is half inside. Adrenaline rises in her, she reaches down keeping her eyes on the room door and pulls the knife out the dead man's neck. Blood spurts out but she ignores it standing up and slowly walking into the room. 

There hasn’t been another noise, maybe she imagined it, people can still make noise after they’ve died, it could have been that. She’s holding her breath as she walks into the room, there’s a weapon at the end of the bed, she kicks it out the way as she walks around to the other side of the bed. 

She gasps when she sees the person on the floor, there’s a lot of blood she can smell it, he’s still alive though his hand pressed on his chest. They can get info from him, he probably knows where you are, and where Hale is. 

“Johnny!” She shouts watching as the man looks up at her. Before he gets a chance to unclip his pistol she jumps on him.

Dividers by Plum98 & gild-ui

[khaotunq]

คนแบบไหน (kon baep hnai) - Mix Sahaphap / น้ำลาย (nam laay) - Silly Fools

BONUS SCRUNCH :>

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Actually, I think this does link in with a wider conversation that I have been thinking for a while Tumblr maybe needs to hear.

There's a common meme on this site now that no one here has any reading comprehension skills. The best one is, of course, the original "No offense but reading comprehension on this site is piss poor/How dare you say we piss on the poor" post, which gave rise to the nickname "pissing-on-the-poor website". There's also the "I like pancakes/How dare you say waffles are terrible" one. Both of these are great, because they're silly jokey ways to show two closely related phenomena that are probably the commonest ways to fail a reading comprehension check.

The first is someone reading certain catchphrases or buzzwords in the post, and based on their own biases or prior experiences or whatever else, their brain simply fills in what it reckons the poster is saying on the topic. Instead of reading the rest of the sentence and digesting it, the reader then just uses their assumption as the interpretation, and reacts to that.

The second is closely related, because it also uses biases and prior experiences to to interpret the post, but rather than ignoring what the OP is actually saying, it instead performs a series of gymnastic leaps to construct a whole new assertion on the OP's behalf that simply isn't there.

There's also a third, of course; that one is people being so eager to feel smug and superior over someone they perceive as Bad that they wilfully assume the OP is stupid or being serious when they're actually joking. And if the reader hadn't been so blinded by their desire to get to look down on someone, they'd have seen the very obvious tells, sometimes even including sentences like "Obviously this is a joke." (I think we have all seen examples of these. Also, in a bid to avoid as many reading comprehension fails here as possible, this does not include misunderstandings borne entirely of neurodiverse struggles to parse intentions; but, neurodiverse people are just as likely as neurotypicals to have ego play a part in their misinterpretation of others, and that is what this point is about.)

And the thing is... actually, we are all capable of any of these. I imagine a sizable chunk of people reading until this point were probably thinking "Lol, yeah, people are so stupid," but na, nage, I'm not having that. Literally everyone does these sometimes. And it becomes a particular risk when the topic under discussion is something that might brush against an issue that is a pressure point for you, like a social justice talking point that you are forever having to argue with internet strangers about, for example. Your brain holds schemas! And sometimes it likes to pattern match things before it deigns to tell you about its findings! And that can hit you right in the emotions, which if they are strong enough, really can shut down all rational thought.

But. This brings me to the real point of the post.

Because the thing is, we have all saddled up and gone to war under these conditions, or at the very least been strongly tempted to. And a vital skill that literally everyone has to learn, sooner or later, is:

Before you hit 'reply', double check the post to make sure you fucking understood it.

And that does not mean "simply re-read, confirm your bias, carry on." It means, "Is it possible to read this post from the point of view of someone who doesn't intend it the way I've taken it? If I put myself in the shoes of an innocent, could they still have written these words? Is there another interpretation for these phrases?"

And you do have to do this step. You simply do have to. Because if your desire is to 'clap back' and call someone a gargling knobskin made of garbage, fuck me sideways but you must see that it is imperative that you check if they actually deserve that kind of treatment first. You cannot spend your time claiming that we must all choose to be kind and then not bother doing your due diligence before screaming a person's various and assorted bigotries at them. If you misread it, and they were innocent - you are the raging aggressive cunt in this situation.

It does not matter that you reacted from an emotional place of normally having to defend yourself either, by the way. Sure, that makes the quality of your human soul better than that of the average Redditor who just enjoys anonymously hurting people, I guess? But it's also irrelevant. If you messaged someone and called them a misogynist because you performed several mental somersaults and landed on your own sore spot when they meant no such thing, you are the attacker. You owe them an apology. And yeah, sure, you can explain your over-reaction as the product of your normal experiences if you like, but that is only an explanation, not an excuse. You are still the asshole here. You still need to apologise and mean it.

And you could have avoided it if you'd done that due diligence, as you should have. If you're going to take a swing, make sure it's the right target. This was once described to me as donkey people - they don't think, they just kick. This is admittedly a little unkind to donkeys, who always do their due diligence, but I feel it's an apt metaphor.

TL;DR: If you feel moved to angrily reply to something, first make sure you've interpreted it right. Don't be a donkey person. And if you ask for clarification, people are innocent until proven guilty. Ask nicely. If they are a bigot, you can then smelt them for parts.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Yandere Fantasy Villain

Imagine you’ve been transported to a DnD-Fantasy-like world. Quests, adventurers, and mystical beasts are everything you could dream of. You’ve already established your little troupe; becoming an important cornerstone of the group. Whatever your class, you’re excelling at they really rely on which is why things go badly when you meet him—-the recurring villain of this world.

“Oh my–oh my Zoth.”

“What? Do I horrify the little hero!?”

“No, you’re–”

“Worse than you imagined?”

“No, you’re–”

“(Y/n) stop freezing up!”

“You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever met!”

The group is horrified as they plan a tactical retreat, finding it easier to thwart the Fantasy Villain’s attacks which are suddenly less frequent.  The group just assumes you’ve been enchanted because since you’ve locked eyes with him you’ve been unable to stand on your feet. Wide-eyed and breathing heavy you just can’t stop the heat climbing over your face and ears as you replay the moment you met over and over. 

“You realize he’s a part of the ugliest most horrible race known to all of Azarothan.”

“If that’s ugly then I’m dead!”

“M-maybe he did enchant them?”

Meanwhile, the Villain’s returned to home base, shedding his armor and dismissing his entourage. Sat on his throne he replays the words you’ve said to him…over and over….and over again. His ears are turning a deep blue and he can’t help the involuntary reaction of the volcano attached to his castle bubbling with excitement.

“They-they think I’m beautiful?!”

He’s reeling with an overflow of energy and unknown vigor when he recalls your awestruck face as you fell to your knees clutching your enchanted tool. He can’t stop the thought of you in that same position but in a different setting. Cursing his lacking imagination he concocts his usual magic to spy on the troupe with his crystal ball but this time he’s focused solely on you. 

“Surely they’ll brag about the enchantment they left on me…..and maybe talk about their own infatuation again.”

It strokes a different kind of pride when he hears you deny being cursed. The feelings are mutual. He’s over the moon all four of them. You have to understand the Fantasy Villain has never been told something so flattering. 

“From another world….figures. This world could never make such…a perfect soul.”

Since their upbringing, they’ve been met with nothing but scorn and hatred. Vowing to rule and change the world that did that to him. If others did express interest it was because he had power or was literally about to kill them. Your reaction, your unadulterated feelings for him, the tug at his soul is the only sign he needs before his objective changes. 

“I wanted to rule the world so I could change the world for me. But now I’m going to change the world so I can rule with them.”

He means it. The troops are given new orders, the deadly nightmarish beasts are given new tasks, and he’s already concocting a million different plans to attain you. He watches the crystal ball relentlessly trying to hear and see as much as he can to learn more about you. He realizes very quickly that he really hates those adventurers of yours.

“C’mon (Y/n)! Just because you’re attracted to the enemy doesn’t mean he isn’t trying to destroy the world!”

“Yeah (Y/n), you’ve got to get your head in the game. We need you!”

“I–your right…sorry guys…I just don’t think I’ve ever seen someone who fits my preferences so perfectly.”

“You don’t even know him!”

“But one look in his galaxy-like eyes and it felt like I did.”

He really hates them. Listening to them talk you out of your feelings for him. Before you arrived they were minor pests. Simply a small roadblock that he would eventually crush to shatter the hopes of the people when they needed them most. Now they were just obstacles in the way of his goal–you.

“Sire those adventurers you told us to keep an eye on are on the move. Should I give the order to attack?”

“No…summon the siren I’d like to take a different approach.”

He gets incredibly crafty, despite only meeting you once he can tell you aren’t heartless like he. He’s certain should you find him to be responsible for the death of anyone you’ve met you’d reject his love. So he’ll make it his plan to slowly break your little troupe, such spunky and erratic individuals may be just the only tool he needs.

“My orders, My Ruler?”

“Join their group. Do what you like with whoever you wish. 

“?”

“Bring discord how you see fit.”

“Yes, My Ruler!”

His plan is perfect and the group isn’t nearly suspicious enough to reject his double agent. Who’s presence triggers the cracks that this group had always had. When the group splits apart needing to cool off you’re left alone, a perfect chance for a moment with you. 

“Hello, little hero.”

“Whoa, what are you doing here? My troupe’s not too far! A-a-a-nd I–I’m willing to fight this time!”

“That’s a shame because I came to speak to you.”

“Really! Ahem, I mean about what?”

“About those words, you said to me….I wonder did you know what they’ve ignited.”

Taking advantage of your easily lowered guard, he speaks the truth. Coming in close enough to feel the heat escaping from your armor, he’ll share the tale of his past. Which as he predicted makes you so sympathetic and just as willing to sing his praises as the moment you met. 

“But you’re not ugly or horrid like they all say.”

“No?”

“I think you’re beyond handsome. One of the most ethereal beings I’ve ever met.”

“Do you truly think so?”

“I know so… I’m just sorry no one else has told you that.”

“I’m happy it was you.”

When you let him dive in for a kiss, naturally you accept it. Returning his vigor in kind if not with sympathy or just your attraction, you miss how he places a magical mark on your neck. Or how he casually enchants your armor to protect you better. Or how he influences the flora and fauna of the forest to curve in the direction you came from essentially blocking the path back to your camp. When he reluctantly releases you he further promises he’s never letting you leave his grasp. Promising to one day have you on the throne beside him.

“I must return and so must you. Your friends will worry.”

“Oh…you’re right.”

“Don’t sound so sad, we’ll meet again.”

“Not just in my dreams.”

“Not just in your dreams.”

He leaves not only giddy with love but with a new plan in mind. He prepared to be faced with a struggle, to have to fight for your affection as the enemy you’d be fighting. But he wasn’t prepared for your heart to be swayed so easily. Licking your remnants on his lips, he knows that you can be deceived, and conveniently so can the rest of the world.

Fantasy Villain devises that if the history of his race’s banishment and exile were portrayed in a certain light. You could defect to his side without guilt and if some of the more stubborn adventurers were to also agree that’d make things so much easier. Pretending to be persuaded to sign some peace treaty after being gifted enough land to rule over with you beside him didn’t sound too bad.

Even if that didn’t work the Fantasy Villain has decided you will rule beside him whether he has to trick, drug, or force you to be his. Though he adores the honest love in your eyes when he looks at you and he’s going to do whatever he needs to have it. 

[fireinmoonshot]

PART 0.25 OF A BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS JOAQUÍN x READER. Pairing: Joaquín Torres x Reader Warnings: I don't think there are any. Word Count: 892 A/N: So, this is a part 0.5 of the jealous Joaquín fic that I've been working on. I have had a few requests that sort of fit this same kind of vibe so I thought it'd be fun to write a few little drabbles that are sort of leading up to the main fic using requests you've been sending in. This is the first one based on the prompt "So what? You're dating them now?" which a couple of people requested. I will add links to the other drabbles and the main fic when they're all posted! 💗

Despite the fact that Joaquin hates hearing all about the dates you go on, he always listens in whenever you talk about them. You rarely ever talk about them to him – mostly because you sometimes get a little intimidated talking to your best friend about the men you date when you find him so attractive. But he always listens. 

His worst nightmares seem to have come to life tonight, though.

After years of failed dates and Joaquin hoping that maybe he’d get the courage to admit his feelings to you or maybe you’d suddenly admit to him that you liked him as well, you’re talking about how your last date had gone perfectly. 

Kira, one of your mutual friends, squeals in excitement. “Oh my god, that’s incredible! I knew that there were good ones out there somewhere. They’re clearly just hidden very deep in the wild. But babe, he could be the love of your life!”

Joaquin, sitting in the drivers seat of the car as he drives you and Kira back to your houses after spending the night out at a bar, tries not to say what he’s thinking out loud. Are you sure that he’s the love of your life? How perfect was the date exactly? I’m sure there are some red flags. Yeah, they’re not things that you’d really like to hear. 

When he drops Kira off at her apartment, though, and then it’s just the two of you in the car, he can’t manage to keep his mouth shut. “So what? You’re dating them now?” He asks, glancing over at you as he drives.

You look at him from your spot in the passenger seat, trying not to notice the way the muscles in his arms look as he holds the steering wheel or how much you’d love to reach out and touch his jaw just to see if it’s as sharp as it looks. 

“Yeah, I guess I am,” you shrug. “Why?”

He shakes his head. “From what you said, I just don’t know if he’s the right guy for you.”

His words surprise you. Joaquin never weighs in on your dating life. As far as you’re aware, he doesn’t like to hear about the dates you go on, but apparently he does listen when you talk about them. You’d assumed he’d been zoning out and focusing on the road while you’d told Kira about the date, probably trying not to ask you to stop talking.

You couldn’t be further from the truth.

“You don’t even know anything about him, Joaquin,” you say, a little defensively, though you’re not sure why you’re that defensive. You even agree with Joaquin a bit. He’s definitely not the love of your life like Kira had suggested he might be but he was a nice enough man and after the dates you’ve been on, a nice man is hard to come by.

“Well, are you happy with him?” He shoots you another look. You notice that his hands have started gripping the steering wheel a little tighter and feel thoroughly confused. 

Sighing, you nod. “I mean, I’m not not happy with him. He’s sweet. He makes me laugh. He’s the only guy I’ve dated lately who’s offered to pay for dinner. He walked me to my car after the date and he texted me to ask if I’d gotten home safe.”

Joaquin scoffs. “Oh, so all the things that even I do for you?”

He regrets the words the second they come out of his mouth. Is it possible to rewind time? He’s pretty sure he can find someone that can do it. Sam would know someone. Even just erasing this moment from both of your minds would do the trick.

You stare at him for a moment, a little bewildered. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” he shakes his head, loosening his grip on the steering wheel.

“Joaquin.”

He shakes his head again just as he turns on the indicator and pulls over at your house. This is one of the only times he’s glad that you live so close to Kira – there’s no reason to continue this incredibly embarrassing conversation now that you’re home.

For a moment, you stay in the car. He can feel your eyes staring at him and he can’t bring himself to look away from the road in front of him to look at you. 

He clears his throat. “So, this is your place.”

“Joaquin,” you attempt to try again, but it fails. With a sigh, you undo your seatbelt and grab your handbag from the floor. You lean over and press a kiss to his cheek – something you’ve been doing since the early days of your friendship and something you’re not about to stop doing just because he’s acting weird. “Text me when you get home, please?”

“I will,” he nods, trying not to focus on the way your lips had felt on his cheek.

He only tears his eyes away from the road once you’re out of the car and walking up the front steps to your apartment building. He’d usually walk you all the way inside but tonight, with how embarrassed he’d been, he hadn’t even thought about it. He lets out a groan and lets his head fall into his hands. 

Crushing on you is going to be the death of him.

Joaquín Torres Tag List (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!)

@sidkneeeee @dead-inside-but-happy @lay-lay-5 @marchingicenotes7 @phucboy @davinashifts333 @lomlbuckybarnes @laurenjbb @chansburgah @blackwidownat2814 @mischiefmanaged71 @madzlovez @marvelwitchergilmore @brittnicki @rheas-ripley @bcystar @victorsbathroomstall @giona45-5 @voodoo-tofu @happypopcornprincess @antixsocialx2 @innazra @lllucere @moonxnite @peacefangirl @ahoodgirl @ssinphetel @hiireadstuff

[practistyles]

drunk

(everyone wants him extra)

In which Y/N drunk calls Harry while on a night out and he comes running. (based on this ask. thanks!!)

word count: 1.1 k

series masterlist here.

Y/N rarely ever got drunk. She’d told Harry that she hated the peer pressure that came with, the idea that you could only have fun with alcohol in your system. This is why she didn’t really like partying, because you rarely ever found sober people there. Y/N usually found it entertaining to be the only sober person in a room, but only for a little while. 

And Harry hugely respected that. He was all for a good party, and obviously he would love it always if Y/N came with him, but she had her own thing going on and anyway he liked having her all to himself most of all. 

Today the roles were switched. Y/N told him that she was having a night out with her friends, and Harry didn’t expect to feel so excited for her. She’d expressed nervousness about it before, so he was really happy that she was trying it out with her friends, who she’d said were party animals. 

Harry decided to go all in for this reversal of roles, and decided to spend the night in his room, scrolling on his phone, maybe trying to finally start writing his paper that was due next week. 

And then his phone rang, loud and jarring in the silence of his room. He reached for his phone on his sidetable, and his heart did that usual soaring thing when he saw Y/N’s name. 

He answered, slightly confused, because it was almost one thirty in the night and she should be out there dancing. 

“Hello?”

“Harryyy,” Y/N’s voice said from the other end. Her voice was slurred and higher pitched than it usually was. He heard some kind of chanting in the background. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” he asked.

“I can’t find you,” she said, sounding deeply betrayed. “I looked everywhere and you’re just not here.”

Harry blinked. “Well, baby, that’s because I’m at home. Remember? You went out tonight?”

There was a long pause, then she said, “Oh. That makes sense.”

He was already out of bed, grabbing his jeans. “Are you having fun at least?”

“Nooo,” she groaned. “It’s kind of hard to stand and I wanted to say hi to you.”

“What?” Harry said. He looked around for his keys, ready to leave the house. “Are your friends with you?”

“No, this man is not my friend.” 

Harry felt a kind of panic forming in his chest. “Y/N. What man?”

“I told him you’re a boxer with huge muscles!” she giggled. Then, she whispered, “Can you bring me your big gloves?”

Harry snorts. “I’m not a boxer.”

“Well, he doesn’t know that.”

He put his shoes on and stepped out his door. “Where are you?”

“I’m right here! I’m waving. Can you see me?”

“God,” Harry groaned. “Go into your phone and into my messages and send me your location, okay? Can you do that?” He knew it was a reach. 

“Oh my god, Harry! There is a shiny dog here. He’s so cute. Can we take him with us?”

“Okay, stay put. I’m coming to get you.” Harry assumed she was in the club next to the statue of Dixie The Dog. He wondered how he would convince her that they couldn’t steal a statue.

*****

He got his flatmate Zayn’s car, and when he drove up he found her sitting on the pavement with her hands over her knees. She brightened up at the sight of him, and Harry parked at the side of the road and stepped out. 

“My boyfriend!” Y/N said loudly. A few heads nearby turned, some of them even the girls Y/N had come out with. One of the girls came over to them. “Hey, are you Harry?” Harry nodded as Y/N clung onto his arm. 

“Look, Anna! He’s here. Isn’t he so pretty?”

Anna smiled. “She’s been asking for you for the last hour. Said that you were gonna beat up someone for her?”

Harry nodded solemly. “Sounds about right.”

“She’s all yours.”

“Unfortunately,” he muttered under his breath, but he smiled. “Thanks.” 

Harry held onto her waist and guided her to the car. He tried looking around for the ‘man’ Y/N mentioned, but there was not many people around. 

“Harry,” Y/N started again, slightly swaying. Harry held onto her tighter. 

“Yes, baby.” 

“I want to get married.”

Harry chuckled. “Okay.”

“It’s going to be beautiful. You’ll cry.” 

“I bet.” He opened the car door for her and guided her in, but she turned around to face him instead, crowded up against the car. She leaned forward with puckered lips to kiss his nose. 

“Hi,” she whispered and then broke out into little giggles. Harry smiled. He felt suddenly overwhelmed with affection for this girl. He leaned froward to bump their noses. 

“I can’t believe you like me,” Y/N whispered to herself, but Harry felt almost sad at her words. He cradles her jaw in his palm and lifted her face up. “I much, much more than like you, Y/N.” He hoped he sounded sincere to her hazy mind. 

She smiled brightly, then said. “You have to be the husband. I will not marry if you are not the husband.”

Harry laughed. She won’t even remember this, but she’d just asked him to marry her. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “Gladly, Y/N. I would love to be your husband.”

Y/N gasped dramatically. “You’re only twenty one!” 

“You’re the one who asked me,” Harry shrugged. “Now can we go?”

Y/N nodded, and then got into the car. 

On the short drive back, she kept asking Harry random questions, then she kept apologising for dragging him out of bed.

“Sorry you had to come get me.”

“Are you kidding?” he said. “This is the most fun I’ve had all week.”

He took her to his place and tucked her onto the couch while he grabbed a glass of water. She squinted at it like it offended her.

She frowned at it. “I want to eat something.” 

“Okay, I have some fruit if you want. But you need to drink this first.”

“No.”

“Drink it before I pour it on your head.” Y/N took the glass from him but rolled her eyes. 

Soon, she was curled up under his arm in bed, her makeup smudged, hair a mess, but comfortable in Harry’s clothes. She looked like the msot adorable thing ever to him.

“Thanks for picking me up,” she mumbles. “You’re my favourite person.” She yawned. 

“I know. Go to sleep, darling.” he replies, brushing a kiss to her forehead.

She lifts her head to grin. “Were you worried?”

“A bit. You call me at 1 am screeching in the middle of the road.”

“But you like rescuing me,” she says, sleepy. “You can do it anytime you want.”

“I do,” he murmurs. “But next time, don’t try and steal a dog statue, okay?”

She giggles again, already half-asleep. “No promises.”

****

thanks anon for the idea. this was so fun to write!

[theliving-radio]

An Artist's Biggest Fan

(Sylus x Non-Mc!Artist!Reader)

A/N: Hello, Hello! I finally finished it! I originally made this for a friend who has been struggling with work and school. Sylus is her comfort character. (It's more of just her simping for him. Which is fair.)

Anyway, to my best friend, and for everyone else, enjoy!

Warnings: None! All fluff! Does has Female pronouns, though! Not fully proofread, but here we go!

Sylus is a man who loves classical music.

He has a whole Vintage Vinyl collection in his office and enjoys listening to them when he pours himself a glass of wine. There have been several times when both Luke and Kieran would hear their boss humming a song from his collection when he’s relaxing in his office. Very rarely, and when he had free time, Sylus would buy himself tickets to an orchestra and sit among the crowd to enjoy the symphony that was created.

But ever since you entered his life, Sylus has begun to appreciate art just as much.

Sylus first met you when he was coming back from a business meeting. He doesn’t recall the last time he took a casual stroll around the N109 zone. It's been a while since he could relax like this. As he continues to see certain changes, small changes nevertheless, throughout the N109 zone, a figure bumped into him, causing materials to become scattered and paper to fly everywhere.

You kept apologizing nonstop as you tried collecting your materials. He was feeling generous and used his evol to collect the scattered papers, only to realize they were sketches and colored drawings. He found it cute how embarrassed you got when he complimented you on your work, so he kept doing so.

You were a shy little thing, fidgeting on the spot as you accepted his compliments. When he asked about one of your pieces, your eyes lit up, and you went on a small tangent about the character you made. From then on, Sylus could only describe you with one word.

Adorable.

From then on, he wanted to learn more about you. What is a cute little artist like you living in the N109 zone? Turns out, you didn’t live here, you came to visit an uncle of yours who, apparently, works for another organization he deals with. 

Small world we live in.

You originally lived in Linkon City, and Sylus would come up with any excuse he could to visit you. You weren’t a threat, not one bit. He can tell just based on the way to try to please the people around you, along with how your anxiety spikes when you somehow upset someone. Yet when nobody is around, your freely speak your mind and shit talk the people that make you feel like, well shit. 

 At the time, you didn’t know he was the fearless leader of Onychines. A Handsome and Friendly Fruit Vendor is what you would tell your friends. 

The Fruit Vendor is what he told you; you just added the handsome part.

It did take some time for you to learn who he was, and even then, your opinion of him didn’t change much. Instead of being a Handsome and Friendly Fruit Vendor, he was now a Handsome and Smart Blacksmith.

“A Blacksmith, sweetie? May I ask why that specifically?” He asked you after he confessed who he was. 

“Simple! You make weapons, right? Blacksmiths also make weapons!”

“They can make other things too, Kitten.”

“My point exactly!”

At that point, the fearless and untouchable leader of Onychines was smitten by you. The Cute Artist, he had the pleasure of bumping into. Three months into getting to know each other and he couldn’t help but pop the question to ask you out on a date. To be his girlfriend. 

When it happened, you were walking with each other in a shopping district. He figured you wanted to stop in one of the beauty stores or the art supplies shop. No. Instead, you wanted to go into what he assumed was where teens and young adults would hang out to get certain merchandise and clothes.

You told him it was your favorite store, but it's been a while since you've been in one, and you began to show him everything they sold. From band shirts to overpriced name-brand bags, all the way to the body jewelry section, he couldn’t help but be enthralled by your bright and beautiful smile. You laughed every time you read a funny button or pin. You scrunched up your nose when you read a price tag. 

Cute.

Adorable.

Beautiful.

“Be mine.”

The words left his lips before he even had the chance to catch them. But he didn’t regret it one bit when he saw how fast you turned to face him.

You looked up at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open as if to say something, but nothing came out. And what Sylus thought was the sweet cherry on top.

Is that he believed you looked like a cherry with how much blood was rushing to your face and neck.

“Are- are you sure? Me?”

“I’ll be honest, sweetie… I meant to confess to you in a better setting, but just seeing you in your element, I couldn’t help but let the confession slip. And I don’t regret that it did.”

He would come and visit you in your small apartment when he was done with business, where he was able to witness you and your creations. You weren’t on that level of expertise like that famous artist in Linkon City, Raf, or something. (He doesn’t have the time to fully learn his name.) But he can see the passion you put into your work. Any time you finished a character sketch or just a small doodle, you would proudly present it to him, and Sylus would happily praise you for your work.

Sylus would ask questions every time you created a new character for a story you were imagining in your head. 

“And who’s this little star character?”

“Oh, this is a mascot for a circus I’m working on. Their name is Bom-Bom!”

“Oh? Anything else?”

“They explode every time they get overexcited, like a bomb. Bom-Bom!”

He would listen to you every single time you went on about your creations. Just seeing the sparkle in your eyes every time you spoke about them, he felt himself falling for you. How passionate you were with what you made, with every project finished, he just loved how you glowed.

You loved drawing, but painting was a different story. It shocked Sylus to know that painting was just a hobby for you and that you don’t indulge in it as much due to how much supplies cost and how you didn’t have much room in your small apartment to store said supplies. 

So that inspired him to set up an art studio for you back at his base. He had Luke and Kieran get the supplies he knew you usually used or would enjoy working with in your future projects. When everything was set up and ready, he proudly showed it off to you. You were more than just happy, you were ecstatic. 

He recalls how you threw yourself on him, pressing kiss after kiss all over his face before letting go to explore your new territory. The dragon inside him purred pleasantly from your gratitude, pride swelling up inside him.

“Look how much space I have!”

“I see it, sweetie.”

“There’s so much room for activities here!”

For the rest of the day, you started putting your touch and personality into the studio that was now yours. From time to time, he would pass by the room to see you hanging art pieces you finished in the past, projects on full display for anyone to admire when they entered.

Though recently you haven’t been coming to the studio he set up for you as much in the past few months.

Recently, you started going to school to get a higher education and experience to get a degree in Art. Even got a part-time job in a retail store just close to your apartment.  So coming from your home to your school, and then having to go to work, was a lot of traveling. The fact that you didn’t own a vehicle was also troublesome, and getting to the N109 Zone was a trip on its own.

Sylus understood you wanted to work, and he supported you! But what bothered him the most was how the way your job was treating you…

On your first day of work, they tried putting you on the cash register. The rush of everything and the customers being rude spiked your anxiety and caused you to have a panic attack. Sylus only found out about it when you called him after your shift. He wasn’t happy over the fact that not once throughout the day did you catch a break, and the fact that the only time you were able to was when the day ended. 

Thankfully, after that occurred, you weren't put on the register anymore. Instead, they put you in the stockroom. Sylus came to surprise you one day with a bouquet, only to see that you weren’t there. He blew up your phone asking if you were alright and where you were. He saw you burst open the backroom doors, startling a few customers as you zeroed in on him, practically throwing yourself against his body to greet him.

You complained that you haven’t been able to get a break and that your co-workers weren’t as much help as all they did was gossip and complain about their lives. 

Then they moved you to the Fitting rooms, where there was more activity and social interaction for you to deal with… and how you were by yourself. It was too much, too fast-paced. You couldn’t handle it and wished you were back in the stockroom, where all you did was open boxes or hang up clothes. 

School was another story on its own. For some reason, they put you in a welding class. You weren’t that interested in the welding, and Sylus nearly had a heart attack when he learned that you’ve been doing your welding projects without any gloves. Turns out your professor said you didn’t need them, and that the other students also didn’t wear them either. 

Sylus hated knowing how tired you were every time you called him after your shift, and he hated knowing how you had no time to rest because you had art projects due the next day. 

Weekdays were filled with school. Weekends were filled with work.

Sylus was ready to talk to you, to get you out of that hellhole of a workplace, because he saw just how tired you were with every video call. Though he never got to that talk…

When he answered his phone one day for a video call one day, all he saw was your beautiful smile. You were practically bouncing on the spot.

“I made a friend at work today!” You explained loudly, earning a chuckle from him.

“Well, hello to you, too, Kitten.”

“Oh, right, sorry…”

“No, no, no. Don’t apologize, tell me more about this friend.” Just like that, you started talking about the co-worker you made friends with in the stockroom. He learned how both of you just stood next to each other while working in silence, and how she was the one to start small talk with you. And eventually, you guys just clicked, and both of you could not stop laughing or talking about your interests. You two were jumping from topic to topic and had to be told multiple times to pick up the speed in your work.

When he went to give you a surprise visit again, he found you maintaining the Fitting Rooms, this time wearing an actual smile instead of a forced one. You were currently handing a number to a customer so they could enter the changing room, when you turned away from them, your eyes landed on him. 

He chuckled to himself as he saw how you wanted to run to him, but weren’t allowed to leave your station. So he went to you instead.

“I would like to try some clothes on.”

You giggled at his small joke, trying to act like a customer. “Sir, I’m pretty sure you need to have some clothes first before I can give you a number. I can’t just let you into the fitting room if you're empty-handed.”

Sylus was ready to sweet-talk you once again, but was interrupted.

“Excuse me, pardon me, I’m just gonna squeeze on through.” Sylus looks over to see…

A pile of talking clothes.

“Oh my gosh, let me help!” You moved around the counter to help the walking pile of clothes, setting them on the small rack just beside the counter.

Underneath was a round girl with short dark hair and a pair of clear glasses with pink frames. She pushes her frames up her face and lets out a groan.

“Why do people insist on putting the wrong clothes in my department? Like, why am I finding men’s pants mixed in with women’s dresses? Unbelievable.”

“Bro, that’s annoying as hell. Thankfully, I have room to put men’s clothes away. Amanda should be over soon.”

“Hun, why haven’t you called me back here?! You barely have any more room on the rack for women’s clothes!” Your co-worker moves past you to get to the rack behind you, already selecting certain clothes to put back on the sales floor.

“I saw you getting scolded by Erika, I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Bitch, shut up. Bother me. I don’t want you drowning in clothes. Erika can kiss my ass. Customers don’t want a damn credit card, they want to get the hell out of here.” Your friend huffed in irritation as she carried another pile of clothes, almost blocking her view. “I’ll be back!” She shouts under her mini mountain of clothes as she waddles off. 

Sylus turns to face you, he smiles down at you, and lifts a brow as if wanting to know who that was. 

“Oh, that’s Sarah, the friend I was telling you about. She’s been helping me with the Fitting Room lately. Even though she already has her hands full working in Women’s Apparel.” 

“That’s very kind of her. I’m going to have to tell her my thanks for taking care of my kitten.” Sylus gazes down at you with soft eyes. 

He watches as a blush starts to form around your ears and cheeks. You let out nervous giggles as you cover your cheeks with your hands. 

How adorable.

“Ok I’m back. Who’s this stranger?” When your co worker Sarah came back, she was panting. Practically out of breath. 

Was it that heavy?

“Sarah, this is Sylus, My boyfriend. Sylus, this is my friend Sarah. She’s been a huge help with work lately, she’s been helping me with a few of my projects too,” you introduced your friend to him. 

“Oh, you're the Fruit-smith.”

Sylus snorts at that. “Fruit-smith? Is that what she told you?”

“She told me you're a Fruit Vendor who also does Welding as a side job. So I just call you the Fruit-Smith,” Sarah shrugs her shoulders as she stuffs her hands in her pockets. 

“I see… what else has she said about me?” 

Sylus looks over at you with his eyebrow raised, a teasing smirk on his face as he watches you begin to grow shy. 

“How handsome you are, and how she's 101% down bad for you.”

“Okay, Sarah… you can shut up now.”

“Do you wanna see the text messages she sends me about you?” Sarah takes her phone out, and Sylus watches in amusement as you try to snatch her phone away, only for Sarah to block you and laugh as she scrolls through her old messages. 

Sylus smiles to himself, knowing that his adorable artist is in good hands at her workplace.

That is, until 6 months later, when your friend Sarah quit her job. 

“She was texting me while she was at the Boba Cafe and was saying how Tasha was telling her ‘Hey, I know your stressed, but the place looks like a mess, and I know you're used to it, but can you clean up the mess for your co worker that comes in after you. She’s not used to it.”

“And you said that Sarah had already placed her two weeks in, but she didn’t finish them because of this?”

“Yeah! Like she called me crying, how she went to Brian and turned her name badge in.”

Sylus was currently sitting on the couch in his office, massaging your aching feet as you rested them on his lap. He learned about how you finished your semester for these classes and that you had a week's break before having to go back to school. You’ve been complaining nonstop about how badly your feet were hurting from all the standing at work.

And being the wonderful boyfriend he was, he wished to take the ache away.

You let out a whimper and hugged the throw pillow in your arms tightly when he applied pressure to a certain part of your arch. “I know, sweetie. I’ll make it better for you.”

“They don’t stink, do they?”

“Didn’t you just take a bath? Why would they stink?”

“I don't know! It still feels like the sweat from work lingers on my skin. They haven’t even fixed the ACs in the store. I think another one broke.”

Sylus' red eyes turned away from your feet and looked over at you, his brows pinched together. “Didn’t you tell me 6 out of 11 of the AC Units were broken?”

“Yeah, it’s 7 now. I’m just lucky that the one above the fitting room is still in working condition.”

You swear you saw one of Sylus's right eye twitch with irritation. Knowing that you had to suffer in such a horrible environment didn’t sit well with him. 

You never mentioned the other stuff that was wrong about the store. No, he saw it for himself the few times he visited. 

One of the pillars in the store had a rubber trim at the bottom, and it was beginning to peel off. He can see nails and staples sticking out from the inside and he recalls seeing some smaller kids playing with it. Over one of the vents at the checkouts was a long, dust strand. You and Sarah placed bets on when it would fall and land on a co-worker's or a customer's head.

And don’t get him started on the bathrooms…

Dear god, the bathrooms… 

Sylus lives in the N109 Zone. He’s seen the way people live. He’s seen the gutters and broken down buildings, trash scattered everywhere. 

He’s never used this term before. Not even for describing anything in the N109 Zone…

But your workplace was ghetto.

Sylus lets out a sigh as he switches to your next foot, thinking about his words carefully.

“What if you-,”

“I plan to quit after the next semester. There’s someone at my school who’s encouraging me to apply to the library.”

Oh, that was easy. But he’s still not satisfied. 

“I can-“

“No, I told you I wanna do this all on my own. I know you want to take care of me, and yes, I love that. But I don’t want to turn into some spoiled brat who relies on her boyfriend.”

The hand on your foot paused as he shifted it down and began to pull you up on his lap, causing you to gasp and your face to flush red. 

“Is that what this is about? You don’t want to be my spoiled kitten?”

“I-I never- hold on!”

Sylus reveals a teasing smile as he places his hands on your hips, pushing the hem of your shirt up so he can rub small circles against your skin. 

“So what if you turned into a spoiled, pompous brat? You would be my spoiled, pompous brat. And if you act out, I can just discipline you.” Sylus leaned forward where his chest pressed against yours, his breath fanning against your face. 

You were babbling out excuses on why you didn’t want that, eyes looking around his office as if you were trying to find something that would save you. 

He had enough and brought your attention back to him as he planted a kiss on your lips. Gentle, yet firm, just enough to ground you. When he pulled away from you, he barked out a laugh. 

You were pouting, face completely red as it led down your neck. 

Oh, how adorable you were.

“That was rude…”

Sylus huffs out the last of his laughter, looking at you with his signature smirk. “What? Is it rude to kiss my girlfriend now?”

“I was trying to think of a better way to explain how I feel, and you interrupted me!”

“Why yes, I deeply apologize. Please, explain to me why you want to continue to work in such a horrible environment.” Sylus spoke in such a condescending tone, but there was a light tease to his voice.

You close your eyes and let out a sigh before sucking in a deep breath. 

“It’s hard to move on from something when you become used to it. Even if it’s negative… and I’m trying to take baby steps to step away from my job.” 

A pregnant pause hangs in the air as you confess how you felt over the situation. You opened one eye to look at Sylus, and then the next. Sylus stares at you with an expressionless face, but then he lets out a sigh. He cups the back of your head and brings you closer to rest just under his chin. 

“I trust you. I do, but it pains me knowing how you keep mentally straining yourself over this job. School is one thing, but your work? I don’t approve of it. Not in the slightest.”

You let out a small whimper as you curl up against him, nuzzling into his chest. Sylus moves his arms to wrap them around you, burrowing his nose into your hair. Both of you stayed like that for a while in his office, just soaking up the warmth and affection from one another as the only sound that was made in the room was the ticking of a clock and your guy's gentle breathing. 

Eventually, you shifted in Sylus's lap and pulled away just to be able to face him. “I promise, when I’m ready to quit, I’ll come to you first.”

Sylus smiles at your words, pleased to know that the first thing you’ll do is come to him when you're ready. 

You stayed with Sylus the whole week, only having to go back to Linkon when the weekend hit, so you’ll be ready for work. Throughout those days, he would bring his work tablet with him into your art studio so he would be able to see your work. 

You made a small nook just for him in the corner of your studio, so any time he wanted to just be in your presence, or to just watch you while you work, he has a comfortable spot to relax in. You even made a little perch and nest for Mephisto! 

Sylus looked up from his work tablet as he saw you rearrange your desk for the next semester of classes. He puts the tablet down and props his head up against his hand and watches you, a smile forming on his face. You mumbled to yourself a few times, what Sylus can only guess was that you were having a conversation in your head. Other times, he saw you counting your tubes of paint and checking your brushes for any damage.

If you did find anything that was damaged, he would happily replace it.

After all, his adorable artist deserves the best.

Sylus has started to see how you begin to expect the bad at your job, no longer surprised when something goes wrong, and how it's no longer mentally straining you…

But then you started struggling with your classes. 

It wasn’t just the deadlines. It was also the insecurities of your talents. The way your Painting Professor would criticize your work instead of critiquing it. 

You were drained.

And Sylus started to notice it. 

On video calls he could see your head drooping just a bit while you were in the middle of painting. “Careful now, Kitten. We don’t want you to ruin your work. Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“I’ll go to bed in a bit once I’m done with this. I want this to be good.”

“Sweetie, all your work is good. Fantastic even.”

“Yes but this is a portrait of my mom!” You put your paintbrush in the small cup of water and walk over to your phone. Sylus watches as you flip the camera and he couldn’t help but smile proudly at your work. 

You used different hues and shades of blue to create a self-portrait of your mom. Adding a bit of white specks to imitate stars around her. 

Truly, you outdone yourself. 

 “You’ve done a good job, Kitten. Fantastic even.”

“Thank you-“

“Truly, your talents have no limits. Your art skills have improved. I can see beauty in every brush stroke you created.” Sylus smirks as he sees you begin to get flustered, your cheeks turning red. 

“It's a beautiful portrait of your mother, dear. You did a wonderful job.”

“It also sounds like you're complimenting my mom, too,” you softly mumble to yourself, hoping he wouldn’t hear you.

Unfortunately, he did.

“Because I am. From the photos you’ve shown me of your family, it looks exactly like her.” 

“Except she isn’t blue.”

“Yes, she isn’t blue.” Sylus smiles as he hears your soft giggles. Ah, his heart swoons every time he hears that soft melody.

It’s been almost a year now since both of you got together. 10 months exactly if anyone was counting. Not him. Could never be him. He thinks he should take you out on vacation during your next school break. Somewhere far from Linkon and the N109 Zone. 

As Sylus plans for the next outing with you, he hears a small yawn escape from you over the phone. “Looks like you're getting tired, love. Go get ready for bed.” 

You nod with your eyes closed, rubbing one of them with your hand. “Fine, I’ll get ready for bed. But is it ok if you stay on call until I fall asleep?”

“Kitten, you don’t even have to ask. I would happily stay on call with you.” 

And with that, you got ready for bed. You prop your phone up against one of your stuffed animals as you finally crawl under the covers, letting out a contented sigh. 

“Would you like me to sing you a lullaby, my dear? I can put one of my records on to help you sleep.” 

You didn’t answer right away. A small hum escapes you as you grab hold of the crow plushie that Sylus won for you at the claw machines in Linkon. 

Sylus disappears from the screen for a few minutes, and then a soft melody is heard from just the other end of the call. Soon enough, he comes back to sit at his desk, gazing back at you while your eyes begin to close. A smile begins to form on his lips.

“Sleep well, Kitten. I’ll be here if you need me.” You mumble something incoherent, making Sylus let out a chuckle and shake his head. He goes back to his work from there, letting you get your much-needed sleep.

Sylus’s jaw clenched as he heard your soft cries over the phone.

You’ve been working so hard on your paintings, putting so much work and effort into your creations. Sylus has witnessed you paint every single brush stroke and bring life to a plain white canvas. 

So why is it that your Professor can’t see that? Why can’t he see how hard you worked on your piece? Why can’t your professor see the same beauty as he does in your work?

“The professor said I should have used Oil Paints instead of Acrylic. But like- I hate Oil Paints! I feel like they’re so hard to work with, and they cost so damn much too!” He hears you take a deep breath before blowing your nose. “I’m not sad, I’m just mostly frustrated with my Professor.”

“I’m starting to think your Professor isn’t qualified to even be teaching,” Sylus mentions as he pulls out his computer and starts looking up the most popular and best quality oil paints. 

“And then these other students, their work is so much better than mine. Like these people paint for a career, I do it as a hobby! Someone painted a pixelated clit… a clit, Sylus. I even took a picture of it! Here, let me send it.”

Sure enough you sent it, and indeed it was a pixelated clit. Sylus lets out an amused huff after viewing it and is ready to set his phone back down, only to get another notification. You sent him images of more artwork from the other students.

Each one was different, indicating the type of individual the artist was behind their work. He admits they weren’t that bad, they were indeed pretty good. 

But they weren’t yours. 

“The Professor said I can try to make another one, but with Oil paints this time. I have some sketch ideas for this character I wanna do. Sarah says she’s gonna pick me up from work this Friday and we’ll be working in my apartment.”

“No.” Sylus immediately shuts you down. You were ready to question him, but he adds on, “I’ll have Luke and Kieran pick you both up. I want you working in your studio where all your supplies are set up. I’ve already placed an order for Oil paints and it should be here for tomorrow night, so they’ll be prepared for you.”

“Oh my gosh, Sylus, stop!”

“I also included some brushes in the order. I noticed how your old one was leaving bristles in the paint and how you were struggling getting them out.”

There was a long pause over the phone before Sylus heard you crying. Bawling your eyes out, more like it. The silver-haired man was just left confused as he heard you constantly crying. “You're such a wonderful boyfriend! I don’t deserve you!” Ah, so you were thankful. He could only chuckle as he heard you blow your nose again.

The week went by fast. By Friday, when Sylus greeted you at the front door of his base, he had almost forgotten he had included your friend Sarah to come over. 

For you to have an uncle in the N109 Zone was something, because you visited from time to time. But for her, it was a different case. 

And then there was her finding out who he truly was. Sylus was ready to threaten her to keep her mouth shut on who he is, what he does, and where to find him-

But Sarah had other plans. 

“Pay me back by making me the Godmother of your children.” 

You immediately start choking on your boba shake that the two of you got before getting in the car that Sylus sent for you guys. Sylus just casually rubs and pats your back as you try to get your breathing in order. He looks at Sarah with a quirked brow and an expression that you knew for a fact that he was amused.

“Is that all it would take for you to not speak about me to outside sources?”

“Bitch, talk to who? Socializing takes a lot of hard work. And to find someone to sell info? You think I have the time and energy for that shit? Hell no.” The brunette flicked her hand a few times, as if shooing away the idea.

“Oh my gosh, Sarah, no.”

“It’s a deal then.”

“SYLUS NO!” 

Both Sarah and Sylus shook hands. You knew for a fact that Sylus would never back out of a deal; he always pays in full. 

You start wondering if you can pass Mephisto as your child. Along with the twins.

The rest of the evening, you and Sarah stayed in your art studio. Sylus was in his usual spot as he worked on his paperwork, though he kept getting distracted by the two of you laughing and joking around. He couldn’t help but stare at you the whole time, watching how you unravel from stress and insecurity. 

You needed this, he thought. To just be in a comfortable setting with him and a friend. Away from work. Away from school. Away from it all. 

 “Honestly, I’d say you should use the color combo you started with. Just change the hue and saturation of the paints.” Your friend's voice cuts off Sylus' thoughts as he watches Sarah demonstrate how to mix the acrylic paints.

“But the drawings… Do you think it’s ok? I mean, I know the other students have better painting experience than I… and the professor keeps making me go first! Like he just wants my art to be done with the critiquing.”

“What’s the name of your Professor again?”

“Tom, why?” You asked as you picked up a paint brush as you held the pallet, dipping your brush in the mixture and painting on the canvas along with Sarah. 

“Fuck his dreams, and fuck his nightmares. I’ll kick his ass if he gives you any shit.”

Sylus couldn’t help but snort from hearing that, no longer focusing on his paperwork. His full attention is now on both of you.

“Sarah, have you been in a fight?” You turn your attention to the brunette who pushes up her glasses and turns to you with a blank expression.

“No, and if I’m honest, I’ll probably lose. I’ll try though!”

“Oh my gosh, Sarah, no!” You shove your friend, causing her to laugh as she shoves you back.

It was like that for the rest of the night. Sylus watched as you and your friend worked on your art project together. It was two characters you created, both in a fighting stance and ready to battle. From what he recalls, they were an alien species you’ve created with deep, traumatic backgrounds. 

Sylus didn’t fully understand it, but when he saw how excited you were from the sketch you finished the other day before painting, he didn’t care if he fully understood it. It was created by you, and that’s all that mattered to him. So Sylus supported you, he supported you not just because he loved you, but because he believed in what you could do. That you truly do possess great talent. 

He just wishes others would appreciate your work as much as he does.

When the time came to turn in your project, Sylus waited with bated breath to know how your Professor felt. He waited all day for a text message from you or a phone call. 

The Leader of Onychines had Luke and Kieran on standby near his desk. If so much as he heard a sniffle from you, a hiccup, or god have mercy, a sob, would send those two out to have a… talk, with your Professor. And the twins would happily talk to him. The bastard made poor Ms. Painter cry! That wasn’t going to sit well with them.

But it was radio silence. All day, he didn’t get a text from you. Not even a call after he was done with some business.

He had Mephisto fly out to your apartment to check up on you, and before the crow was able to land on your windowsill… he was snatched up, letting out a high-pitched caw.

You were patiently waiting for either Sylus or Mephisto to drop by; either one would do! You just wanted to vent and didn’t have the energy to text or call.

“I’m ready to explode, Mephie. Explode, I say!” You hold the poor crow in your grasp. Mephisto struggled a bit but calmed when he found out it was you, letting out a friendly squeak as he looked up at you.

“Like- this motherfucker tells me ‘it’s an illustration of action that’s not active, so I don’t empathize with these characters’… What the fuck does that even mean?!” You walk across your small apartment to get to your bedroom. You quickly turn around and jump backwards, landing on your back.

You get comfy and hold Mephisto close to your chest, as if he were one of your stuffed animals. The mechanical crow didn’t seem to mind whatsoever, allowing you to hold him anyway you want to give you a sense of comfort.

“I’ve never taken advanced painting before, and I never will again. I swear, this class is making me hate painting more and more… I should just give up on it entirely.” Hearing that, Mephisto lifts his head and caws in protest. 

No! You can’t stop! Don’t ever stop from what you enjoy! 

“Heh, you think I shouldn’t stop, huh?” Mephisto nods to your question. You let him go and watch as he flew off to your desk.

Mephisto hopped around and pecked a few things that were lying around. When he spotted what he was looking for, he grabbed it with his beak and flew back over to your bed, dropping it right beside you.

It was one of your paint brushes. 

You couldn’t help but laugh when you sat up to grab it. “I have another project I need to start on. Do you want to help me, Mephie?” Mephisto bobbed his head and let out a beep. “Alright, let me get my stuff together. It’s on another large canvas.”

Sylus waited patiently still, and he felt like he could finally breathe when Mephisto updated him on what you were doing. When Mephisto sent a short video of you flinging paint at your blank canvas, he couldn’t help but let out a snort. Luke and Kieran poked their head in their boss’s office to ask if they could go handle your professor yet, but Sylus just shook his head and motioned for the twins to come over to him. 

In the video now, you were stabbing the canvas with your paintbrush. The twins couldn’t help but burst out laughing as they watched you attack your work with creative gusto. You pause for a second to give the cavas a break and walk over to the desk. Mephisto tilts his head in the video and watches as you come back with a painter's tape.

“I’m gonna shut this fucker up.”

Luke and Kieran were bent over laughing, basically wheezing as they watched you wrap your canvas in tape. Even a smile was forming on Sylus's face as he tried to cover it with his hand. 

You were acting like him when he was interrogating someone. 

“Where’s my switchblade?”

Kieran and Luke both came back to watch you pretend to question your project before stabbing it. Kieran had to step away as he was starting to cough from laughing, and tried to get his breathing in order. Luke inhales deeply, already getting his breathing in order as he watches you question your canvas and pretend to tease it with the knife before stabbing it.

“Boss, please, let us go visit her.” 

“Yes! Please! I wanna help her too!” Kieran had his breathing under control now as he and his twin both looked at their boss, hoping he would say yes.

“No, leave her be for now. She just needs to get it out of her system.” Sylus waves his hand, dismissing the idea of sending the twins over to pick you up or for them to visit you. 

“Mephie, attack!”

The sound of a caw was heard through the speaker on Sylus' phone and the next thing he sees is Mephisto stabbing the canvas with his beak. 

Only you, kitten, Sylus thought as he couldn’t help but chuckle at your demand. 

For the rest of the night, Sylus continues to request videos of you from Mephisto. Watching as you assaulted your art project was pure entertainment for him. He wanted to watch more of you just cursing at your paints and the canvas.

It took awhile, but eventually you finally calmed down and started calmly mixing your paints together. Mephisto helped while hopping from paint tube to paint tube when he thought a good color could be used.

Your final result was an abstract piece. Different colors splattered against the canvas and added a texture to it. Bumps and ridges formed over the dried acrylic as you began to strip off the painters tape, revealing an untouched canvas area that was protected by the tape. You go over those sections with a solid color careful that your paint brush doesn’t leave any of the bristles in the paint.

You created sections in the piece and began to paint something different in each one. You lift up a tube of red acrylic paint and squeeze out a large amount and begin to dip your hand in red paint and press it in the center. Mephisto watches as you apply more force to it before pulling back and going to wash your hand in the bathroom.

“Well, the background to this is going to be nice. Anyway, time to start the other one.” Mephisto perks his head up at that and caws at you, tilting his head in question. “Yeah, I have to make a second one.” 

“Cra! Caw!” 

“One more hour, buddy. Then I’ll go to bed, promise.”

Mephisto huffs as he goes to grab another tube of paint for you, ready to start the next project with you.

The next morning you called Sylus as soon as you woke up. His voice was husky and groggy as it sounded like you woke him up. 

“Ah- sorry, I can call you later. I forgot this is the time you usually go to bed.”

“Oh no, you don’t, sweetie. I’ve been waiting to hear from you all day. Are you doing better now?”

“Yeah. Did Mephisto tell you?” You were still curled up in your bed, pulling the covers up to your chin while holding the crow plushie. “I’m sorry I didn’t text or call you… I didn’t want to bother you with my many complaints. At this point, I must sound like a broken record complaining about the same damn thing, heh…” 

Sylus furrows his brows as he hears your nervous chuckle. You? A bother? Never. Not in a million years. And he’s sure in every single universe, you could never bother him, not even a little bit, even if you tried. How cute.

“Do you think speaking about your troubles would put me off, dear? I enjoy any time I get with you, even if it is you venting out your frustration. Which I must ask, did you get the intel from your victim?” Sylus couldn’t help but tease you, already imagining your confused expression before hearing a loud groan.

“Ugh… did Mephisto show you that?” You cover your head with the blanket. Even though Sylus couldn’t see you, you felt embarrassed by the idea of him watching you take out your frustration on a simple and innocent canvas. 

“Yes, the twins had a blast just watching you attack the poor canvas. They wanted to join you, but I told them not to bother you.”

“Tell them next time when I work on another painting, they can help stab it.” Sylus chuckles at that, already imagining the twins holding up their knives as they help you with your next project.

He hears you yawn on the other end of the call and chuckles. “Go back to sleep, kitten. You don’t have work today, right? Try and catch up on sleep.”

“But I’m not tired…” You rub your eyes as you say that. You're such a liar, and Sylus doesn’t need to see you to know you're still sleepy. 

Sylus was already being pulled back to his slumber by the sound of your soft breathing. He huffed out a chuckle and adjusted himself in his bed, lying on his back as he stared at the ceiling now. “When is your project due?”

“Hm, this one is due in a few days. I also need to work on my Welding project. I’m making a Uter-ring.” As soon as you said that, there was a long pause over the phone, and you think Sylus fell back asleep. But you were proven wrong when you heard the sound of fabric from his bed shifting.

“A what?”

“A Uter-ring. A ring that looks like a Uterus.” 

Sylus had to sit up in bed because he knew what his girlfriend was going to say was going to be ridiculous, and yet, it was just like her. He couldn’t help but snort and cover the smile on his face, even though nobody was around to witness it.

“Babe! I can hear you laughing!”

I’m sorry, I just- why?”

“It’s called art for a reason. It would be hard to explain it to you.”

Sylus huffed and shook his head, yet he couldn’t get rid of the ridiculous smile on his face. “Well, when you finish it, I wanna see this ‘Uter-ring’ that my lovely partner made.” As soon as he heard you giggling, he decided to lie back down. “Now get some sleep, kitten.”

“Ok, ok… Sylus?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I love you.” Right after you said those words, you hung up. Tossing your phone across your bed in favor of squealing into your pillow. 

It’s not the first time you’ve said those three words. And it will never be the last, but you just couldn’t help but get all fuzzy every time you tell him how you feel.

Over where Sylus was, he just looked at his phone after his call with you. He taps it a few times and presses it against his ear, hearing the dial tone. Once he heard your soft voice greeting him as if you didn’t just hang up on him, he smirked.

“I love you, too, kitten.”

Usually, your Professor made you go first. You don’t know why, since he didn’t do it based on alphabetical order, but you think it’s because he just wants to get yours over with. 

As if showing off your work was a waste of time.

But today you were last. You weren’t sure if it was because your Professor wanted to give you a break from always calling you out, or maybe because you have something he may like.

When it finally came to the critiquing of your piece, everyone loved it. They complemented the chaotic nature of it, from the cuts and the paint splatter, your classmates encouraged you to make more of something like this. Even during the critiquing period, it felt like advice more than it did insults or to tear you down from what you made.

You stood there completely confused. You were thankful and happy for the advice, along with the compliments your classmates gave you…

But where was all of this when you worked on your other pieces?

When class was over, you began to gather your stuff and place them in your bag before carefully grabbing your two projects. You were thankful that it was the last class of the day before you went home. All you wanted to do was go home and think about your emotions during the whole ordeal. 

As you exited the main building, you saw a small crowd gathered at the front entrance of the school gates. Mostly girls pointing at someone and giggling behind their hands. 

When you got to the front gates, you saw just what they were pointing at.

There, Sylus was casually leaning against the hood of a black convertible as he was looking at his phone. You stood there staring at him, looked behind you at the group of girls, and then turned back around to stare at your boyfriend.

They want to admire your hot boyfriend? Well they are about to admire him along with his dumbass girlfriend.

You carry your canvases above your head and sprint full on towards him.

Sylus was scrolling through his phone to pass the time as he waited for you. He was going through old text messages between you and him, smiling at some of the dumb jokes or events that you shared with him. His thoughts were broken when he heard the sound of hard footsteps approaching. When he looked up, Sylus saw you carrying your canvases above your head, practically charging at him. 

You then dropped your projects and launched yourself at your boyfriend. 

Sylus has to quickly use his evol to catch your art before it hits the pavement as he braces himself for your impact. You jump on him, wrapping your arms and legs around him like a koala. Sylus couldn’t help but laugh as he used his evol to be placed in the back of his car before moving his arms to support you before you fell off of him.

“Well, this is a surprise, kitten. Or should I call you koala? Because you sure are enjoying being one right now.”

“Shush, trees don’t talk. They only support the koala as they latch onto them,” you retort back which causes Sylus to snort. 

Sylus didn’t mind people staring. They could stare all they wanted. “Why did you throw your work? I would have accepted this affection either way.”

“Don’t care about the work, I want my boyfriend…” You mumbled against his chest and nuzzled against him.

Sylus rolls his eyes, but there is no annoyance to it. He began to walk to the passenger side of his car, adjusting his hold on you to hold you with one arm and open the car door with the other. He goes to try and get you to sit in the passenger seat, but you don't unwrap your legs from around his waist. “Honey… are you going to be difficult?”

“... No?” You pull your face away from his chest and look up at Sylus, giving him the best innocent eyes you could give.

You still don’t unwrap your legs, which causes your boyfriend to raise a brow. 

“You say no, yet you're still being difficult. I guess we won’t go see the surprise I made for you.” Sylus lets out a long sigh, acting like he’s disappointed. 

You finally unwrap yourself from Sylus and look up at him with furrowed brows. “You made me something?” Your mind began to race with multiple things on what Sylus, the Leader of Onychines, could have made for you.

It couldn’t be a gun, no. You don’t need one, and you don’t feel comfortable carrying one around. Sylus has tried to give you one in the past, so he knows you would be safe, but you refused every time. So instead, he taught you how to use one, just in case you came across one and needed to use one. 

You like going on motorcycle rides with him, where you get to sit behind him and hold him. Though you have never actually driven one before, so it couldn’t be that.

If he bought another fucking castle just for you, you were going to be pissed! As sweet as it was, 5 castles is way too much for someone like you!

Sylus chuckles as he watches you try and figure out what he could have possibly planned for you. The facial expressions you were making were hilarious, and he couldn’t help but flick you on your forehead, which caused you to flinch and be brought back to reality. “Whatever is running through your head right now, it's going to be wrong.”

“I was just thinking about how mad I’m going to be if you bought me another castle,” you say as you rub your forehead while he prompts you to sit in the passenger seat. Sylus closes the car door and walks to the driver's side.

When he sat down and adjusted his mirrors, you looked over at him, thinking that his silence was a yes.

“Sylus I swear-,”

“I didn’t buy a castle. You told me the last time you didn’t want to have the responsibility of having 5 castles. I made something that would be more meaningful; something I know you would love.” 

You turned your attention to Sylus as he started up the car and carefully began to drive out of the pickup area of the school. He hands you a pair of yellow star-shaped sunglasses that he kept in the car for you. They were an impulse buy, and Sylus thought they looked cute on you, so they always stayed in his car.

“So what is the surprise anyway?” You take the sunglasses from him and place them on your face. Sylus glances over at you, smiling at how adorable you look, before he has to shift his gaze back on the road.

“It's a surprise, so I can't tell you.”

It was a long drive, and you weren’t sure where Sylus was taking you. During the whole drive, you rapid-fired him with question after question. Even poking his bicep and cheek a few times to get him to answer. All the silver-haired male had to do was place his hand on your knee, and that got you to shut up and behave yourself. 

Sylus didn’t do it as a threat, oh no. He did it because he knew you would become a shy, blushing mess. 

And it was fun to tease you when you got like that.

It was a 3-hour drive, and Sylus took you to one of the Warehouses he owns in the N109 zone. You were ready to question why he brought you here when you exited his car, but you were more curious about why he was pulling your two art projects from the back seat. 

You were about to open your mouth, but he answered before you had the chance to question. “Just adding two more pieces for the Exhibit.”

“Exhibit? What exhibit?” You follow after him as he walks over to the warehouse holding both your pieces. He doesn’t answer you, but he turns his head towards you and gives you one of his rare, gentle smiles. 

Both of you made it to the front of the warehouse, where one of the doors was already open… and surprisingly decorated?

Sylus lets you walk inside first, and you nearly lose your breath.

A small section of the warehouse was transformed into a mini art exhibit. Large Panels were propped up like fake walls, and some of your paintings were displayed on them. You were so focused on seeing your work on pedestals and displays that you didn’t even notice that there were other people here, admiring your work.

“Sylus… what is all this?” You turn to see your boyfriend still holding your latest works and walk over to two of the empty panels. Sylus places them on each one and displays them with precision, making sure they are displayed straight and aren’t tilting in any way.

“My little Artist was starting to feel insecure about her Paintings and Artwork. She said she was beginning to lose interest in it due to a professor criticizing her hard work and passion. As a fan of her work, I wanted to let her know that others enjoy her piece as much as I do.” Sylus backs away from the Display panel and admires the painted canvas. 

Though his gaze moved over to you as he saw you, your eyes started to become misty. A gentle smile graced his lips as he reached out to you and carefully pulled you closer to him. As soon as you were flushed by his side, you wrapped both arms around him and rested your head against his arm.

“You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“No, I didn’t have to. But I wanted to. I wanted to show off the projects you worked so hard on, the silly doodles you make, and the characters you create with intense backstories. I may not understand everything you draw, but I love hearing the passion you have for what you create. “ 

A stray tear falls from your eye, and Sylus wipes it away. You look up at him to see the gentle gaze he was looking down at you with, making your heart skip a beat.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“I like to think the opposite. As someone as creative and expressive as you, a person like me doesn’t deserve a bright star like you, sweetie.”

“Sylus, shut up, I’m going to start crying if you keep talking like that.” 

Sylus chuckles and plants a kiss on your head. You nuzzle your face more into his body and hold him tighter.

“Ah shit, I wanted to say hi but I think I’m interrupting something.” You perked your head up when you heard a familiar voice, turning your head you saw Sarah approaching the two of you. 

“Oh my gosh! You're here?!”

“Uh, yeah? I was invited by your boyfriend.”

“But did you have to dress like… that?” Sylus motioned to the outfit she wore. A duck-patterned shirt with blue jeans.

“You said I was more than welcome to wear something comfortable!”

“Yes, but I was hoping for more casual wear.”

“Bitch, this is casual,” Sarah said as she strikes a pose, causing you to snort and go into a laughing fit. Sylus shook his head but he couldn’t be mad. Your friend was able to make you laugh like this was a blessing, and he was happy to see you be so carefree. 

Once you got your breathing in order, you started talking to your friend about the exhibit. Sarah explains to you that this was more of Sylus’s idea to set everything up. He was the one to buy the display pedestals and panels

“This asshole right here called me at 3 am to ask me if I knew anything on how to set up an art exhibit. I said no, and he sent me a list of things he might need and a gift card to a fast food joint.”

“You bribed my friend?” You turn your head to Sylus, who acted innocent. 

“Who me? Never. I wouldn’t dream of bribing a dear friend of yours to help set up something that would be a lot to you. Why would you think such a thing?” Sylus smiled the whole time as he sarcastically answered you.

Sarah lets out a sigh and crosses her arms before shaking her head. She looks up at you with a smile, “I miss my wife, Tails.”

You snorted at the words she said, and Sylus only looked confused but smiled nevertheless.

“I'll be back,” Sarah waves to you as she walks off, heading to another part of the exhibit where a woman is standing and admiring one of your sketches. 

“What was so funny about what she said?”

“I’ll explain it to you another time. It’s just a video we both love to watch,” You confess as you try to hide your smile behind your hand. Sylus was still confused, but he just playfully flicked your forehead, making you playfully swat at him. 

Through the rest of the night, you walked around the art exhibit that was dedicated to you. The people that came were actually some of Sylus people that work under him. They complimented your hard work and expressed how wonderful each piece was. Though some expressed they weren’t a huge art fan and wouldn’t usually go to an art exhibit, they did get a laugh from some of the brief explanations of the pieces and enjoyed seeing your colorful work.

Sylus loved seeing you light up with every compliment his workers gave you. The sparkle in your eyes when they asked you to explain more of your work, the way you laugh with your explanations, he couldn’t get enough of you. 

He was falling in love with you all over again.

Luke and Kieran came over and started showing you their drawings and sketches. While they were helping Sarah set everything up, your work inspired them to start their own. You laugh at the cute stick figure drawings they made, praising them for their hard work and giving them both pats on the head, which they accepted happily. 

A few hours go by, and the mini-exhibit begins to come to an end. All the guests say goodbye to you and Sylus, especially Sylus. They were thankful to their leader for allowing them to see such wonderful pieces that you created, and wanted to ask if there will ever be another.

You didn’t know how to answer that, so you just looked up at Sylus… who was looking down at you with a smile. He was waiting for your answer, and you weren't even sure what to say! 

You turn back to the few people who asked you the question, and try to appear more confident, yet you are also unsure of yourself. “Um… Maybe? I’m not sure, but once I make more pieces, we can set something up!” That answer was enough for them as they thanked you once again before leaving.

Sarah and her wife came over to say their goodbyes before heading out. This was also the first time meeting her wife too. 

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, my name is Elissia. Sarah is always sharing stories and jokes that you both tell each other.” Elissia smiles and shakes your hand. She was pretty; with her black hair braided to the side and wearing a yellow and white floral-patterned sundress. She was even wearing rubber duck clip-on earrings, just to match with Sarah.

“It's nice to meet you, Elissia. And thank you for coming. I… honestly didn’t know anything about this until a few hours ago,” you said, shyly rubbing the back of your neck. 

“I figured. She was rushing while buying all the supplies this morning. When I asked what was going on, she only said ‘The damn Fruitsmith’, and went off to the nearst hardware store.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like her.”

Sylus and Sarah were standing off to the side, watching you and Elissia chat. Both of them were just admiring their partners from a short distance. Without breaking his gaze away from you, Sylus spoke up to speak to Sarah.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“How many godchildren do you want?” Sylus heard her snort and glanced over to him, seeing Sarah begin to ponder.

“Can’t have just one… and I want it to be less than eight.”

“YOU WANT ME TO HAVE EIGHT CHILDREN?!” Both Sarah and Sylus turn to see you staring at them with a modified expression.

“Excuse you. We are trying to have a private conversation here.”

“Not if it involves my womb!” 

Before Sarah says something, Elissia comes over and begins pushing Sarah out the door. “Don’t listen to her! I’m just gonna take her away for now. It was nice meeting you!” Elissia waves as she turns to Sarah and begins scolding her.

“Eight? Eight children?! What is wrong with you?!”

“I was only joking! I didn’t think she would hear!”

“You're lucky I love you and decided to marry you.”

Their voices begin to fade out, and the only ones left in the warehouse are you and Sylus. He steps over to you and wraps an arm around your waist. You try and act annoyed, but you lean against him while looking at your old sketches.

“You are Sarah are always teasing me.”

“We’re practically Besties at this point.” You giggle at the image of Sylus and Sarah hanging out like two friends. 

Sylus looks down at you fondly. When you look up at him, he swore he can see stars in your eyes, how the light shimmered in them. He chuckles when you look away from him as to hide your increasing blush. But he didn’t let you, he hooked a finger under your chin and brought your gaze back to him, and from there he leaned down to kiss you. You let out a soft hum and close your eyes. Sylus carefully cups your face in his palms and breaks away.

“I love you so much. I will support everything you do, and all you do. Even if it pains me to see you struggle, I will always be here to catch you.” His words were just a whisper against your lips, but his declaration was loud and clear.

You smiled and wrapped your arms around his neck, planting a small kiss on his lips. “I love you, too. And thank you for being here for me.” Sylus wraps his arms around you tightly and buries in face in the crevice of your neck. 

Work was still going to be hell, and you knew your classes were going to get harder. But you were starting to feel like everything was going to be alright.

As your biggest fan, Sylus was going to be right here to support you. 

I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll be making a masterlist soon for Lads it seems, so be on the lookout for that!

For now, I'm gonna focus on the ones in my inbox, and hopefully I'll make more of stuff like this in the future!

[httpwintersoldier]

『 bloodhound. || mihawk x reader 』

[PART 3 OF 4 - ONE PIECE'S KINKTOBER] - MIHAWK VER.

[SHANKS VER.] [BUGGY VER.] [SANJI VER.]

pairing: mihawk x f!reader words: lenghtyyyyy summary: your thievery catches the eye of a man who likes to take on every challenge that crosses him, only he did not know you were a bigger challenge than he anticipated. warnings: mihawk uses you. just assume the worst when reading my stuff. angst; smut; fluff.

You weren't a pirate, but somehow you got yourself a pretty little wanted poster. 10 million Berries, not bad! Not bad at all for someone who only committed a little theft.

Obviously by "a little theft" you meant stealing from the biggest banks and richest families - you just happened to like shiny things!

You got under the Marines' radar when you managed to infiltrate the base and steal some of their maps - yes, they weren't shiny or pretty, but the money you were about to get for them from the likes of Arlong and Buggy sure was. You made deals with good people and bad people alike, who they were mattered not to you - it only mattered that their money was real.

"You busy?" The Vice-Admiral's voice sounded in Mihawk's ear.

The man, who was sleeping, his hat covering his eyes, furrowed his eyebrows and groaned internally at the voice he now found annoying.

"I was, Vice-Admiral, but I find myself free now that you woke me." The man answered, an impertinent tone in his voice.

"I got you a new prey."

Interested in the way he described you (as a prey), Mihawk listened attentively to the instructions the Vice Admiral gave him.

"A thief? You woke me and are sending me out to sea, because of a little girl who stole some stuff?" Mihawk asked with a condescending tone.

"Not some stuff. Too much stuff."

The man rolled his eyes as he made his way to his small ship

"And the Marines are not able to catch her?"

"I think you will find the task harder than it seems, Mihawk."

With those final words, the Vice Admiral hung up, tired of Mihawk's judging and condescending tone. The man groaned, getting a little tired of these seemingly easy tasks the Marine sent him on - he was a Warlord, for fuck's sake, and the Marines used him to go after a measly thief...

You, on the other hand, rested on the shore of an island whose name you didn't care to learn. You hadn't robbed anyone or anything on it yet, so you wanted to enjoy the sea, the sand and the food while no one was looking for you (even though someone already was, you just didn't know it yet). You were very confident in your skills, constantly changing your look, attire and personality to make you harder to find or recognize. Few people ever suspected you, and so the confidence that you'd never be caught grew.

Obviously it didn't take Mihawk long before he was able to find you - all he had to do was ask around which islands had recently been tragets of many robberies and find the closest island that had yet no reports of such a thing happening.

"Have you heard? Dracule Mihawk is here! I'm sure I saw him, you can see his sword from miles away!" You heard someone whisper as you walked the streets of the island.

Your furrowed your brows at the information... Dracule Mihawk? What would a Warlord be doing in such a small island? Unless...

Your eyes widened in realization.

Shit.

Maybe you weren't as careful as you thought, maybe you weren't as good as you thought, and maybe you weren't as "uncatchable" and untraceable as you thought. If he was able to find you within a couple days of setting foot on the island, Mihawk surely would be able to spot you.

Shit. Fuck.

You needed to sneak on a ship that very night and get the fuck out before the man found you. You kept cursing internally as you had to leave the island before even being able to steal anything - but it was either leaving empty handed or leaving tied up.

For the time being, you hid on the island's vast forest, where you were sure he wouldn't look, waiting for the moon to come out.

When the sun began setting in the horizon, you made your way out of the dense jungle and headed to the island's port, looking for the biggest and most crowded ship - the more people it had and the bigger it was, the hardest to spot you, the unsolicited company, would be.

"I had to admit, I thought the whispers of my arrival would ruin our encounter, yet here we are." You heard a male voice speak behind you, as you walked on the port's creaky wooden floors.

You slowly turned around to unfortunately find the man tasked with bringing you to the Marines. You smiled innocently and held your hands up in surrender.

"Sorry Sir! Think you got the wrong person, I'm just boarding now!"

Your lies didn't work on Mihawk, that just rolled his eyes at you.

"Boarding? No ship is boarding at the moment, as both of us can very clearly see. I know who you are girl, make this easier for yourself and give in."

You smirked and scoffed at the man.

"Can't believe the Marines sent a Warlord after me, am I that dangerous?" You said, placing a hand over your chest, pretending to be shocked.

Mihawk was a little surprised about your change in demeanor, but he (obviously) didn't show it.

"Neither can I." He said honestly, with a sigh that showed the utmost boredom "So let's make this quick shall we?"

Your eyes were set on his sword and necklace. They were intersting... Pretty and... shiny. Oh you wanted them, you wanted them bad. Especially since you didn't get to steal anything in the island. You knew you'd hardly be able to steal the big heavy sword, but the little cross on his neck? Child's play.

You switched your confident expression to a fake shocked, sad one and walked over to him slowly, with your wrists together in front of you - you pretended to give yourself in for the sake of getting closer.

Mihawk's confidence, boredom and belief that he was better than anyone and capable of outsmarting every opponent, as well as the fact that he underestimated you, were fulcral for your escape plan.

When trying to find a ship, you spotted a couple that had left not long ago and would be easy to swim to. For you, obviously, not for Mihawk that carried

The Warlord was not surprised you gave youself in, some people would do so in hopes to fall in the Marines' good graces and get better sentencing.

"Pretty knife you got there." You said, pointing to his sword

Mihawk furrowed his eyebrows and, while he was busy being offended you called Yoru a "knife", you grabbed the cross on his neck and dove into the water, furiously swimming towards one of the boats that had left not long ago, but was far away enough from shore for Mihawk not to be able to follow you.

"Fuck!" He yelled.

It was dark and the waves were wild, it was impossible to follow you with his sight, let alone physically. And he couldn't attack the ship - it was full of civilians.

When you reached a ship, you pretended to be a scared woman that had fallen overboard in another ship and they immediately took you in and offered you food and clothes, in an attempt to make up for the supposed trauma you'd told them about.

You were the number one thing on Mihawk's priprity list from that day on - he was obsessed with you. Any other targeted ordered by the Marine was ignored or done as a side quest as he looked for you - the woman that had stolen his necklace and worse, the one that outsmarted him.

On the other hand, you were giddy you were able to pull it off, and wore the necklace (hidden, of course, as to not raise suspicion) as a prize.

You wouldn't see each other for two months. You thought you were safe from his radar, but that couldn't be further from the truth. To be fair, you knew that if he was looking for you, he'd be at the big ball hosted by Kaya, and you knew it'd be risky to attend but you absolutely couldn't miss it - so many people to steal from, so much jewelry... A paradise to you.

So you did your best to disguise yourself: a dress far more revealing than usual, to take away attention from your somewhat recognizable face and a long, black wig with a fringe and two strands on each side that framed your face, hiding your features even more.

Mihawk refused to leave Yoru behind, even if it meant you'd recognize him in the middle of the crowd. He was determined to get you, no matter what means he had to use.

You waited a while before starting to swipe stuff - you wanted to give people time to get somehwat drunk. That would make it so they wouldn't notice their things vanish so easily and, as a bonus, they'd probably blame the loss of their items on the alcohol, and not on a thief. It was perfect.

You hid the sutff you had stolen on your pouch, in hidden places on your outfit and, in some cases, you wore the jewelry as if it was yours.

The party was cut short on your end when you saw a feathery had and a shiny sword walk in the big doors of the mansion.

"Oh... Shit." You cursed under your breath and scanned the room to find the best exit.

The stress and fear of the Warlord seemingly still following you made your brain momentarily stop, and you did not stop to think that someone hurriedly making their way out right as he walks in would be suspicious.

"Gotcha." He thought, with a smirk, as he spotted you making your way to the back.

Before you could get far, a large hand captured your wrist.

"Leaving so soon? Why don't we dance for a little, my lady." Mihawk whispered in your ear.

You had no time to reply as he spun you around and pulled you to his chest.

"You have something that belongs to me, Y/N." He whispered again.

To the unknowing eye, it would seem you and Mihawk were simply dancing to the song, but you were very much fighting, although not in a way that would alert the other guests that they were in possible danger.

"Why don't you come find it?" You suggested with a smirk, as the man spun you into his chest.

"There will be plenty of time to find it, trust me." His hands travelled your body, looking for the cross you had stolen, correctly assuming you kept it close, instead finding several compartments with jewelry "Is this all you've stolen tonight?" Mihawk asks, amused.

You chuckled.

"I was just beginning, until someone crashed the party."

Mihawk pulled you close once more.

"I doubt you're in the guest list, I'm hardly the only one crashing a party."

"So now what?" You asked with a scoff, looking up at his big, yellow eyes "You take me in and hand me to the Marines?"

Mihawk scanned your face - you were good. You had just been caught, yet you displayed no trace of stress, despair, panic... In fact, you looked confident. And Mihawk wasn't sure if that impressed him, agered him, or aroused him. For you to be so confident in the face of power and danger... that stirred up something in him that he wasn't sure how to describe.

"I'm not so sure. You've made this personal when you stole my belongings." He replied, with an expression you couldn't decipher.

"I also made fun of your pretty sword." You said with a giggle.

That was the turning point that had Mihawk swing you over his shoulder and carry you out. Some guests were far too drunk to process what had happened and the ones that weren't simply didn't care - they had free food and drinks, why should they care.

The man carried you out to the garden, to a secluded place surrounded by bushes, trees and tall flowers. There was a small gazebo in the center but it was far away enough Mihawk was sure no one would come snooping.

"That's it. Where is it!?" He asked, as if you had wasted his patience completely (which you had).

Mihawk not-so-carefully threw you on the ground and straddled you, making you groan when your head hit the hard wooden floor.

When he obtained no response, his hands began searching you, taking out every piece of jewelry he found - your pouch, your hidden pockets, your body.

"Hey!" You complained, gathering the jewelry others had worked so hard for (and you had worked so hard to steal from) as best as you could.

"Where is it!?" Mihawk growled, his face, centimiters away from yours, as his hands angrily gripped your thighs.

You knew you had no way out of it now, so you might as well succumb to his wishes.

Mihawk watched as you slid off the straps of your dress and pulled it down slightly, to reveal that his necklace was stored in your bra, between your tits. You giggled in his face, making him even angrier.

"You know what?..." The man began, taking his cross away from you and placing it down far away "You've caused me a lot of trouble... and most of all you made fun of me to my face."

His hand made its way from your thigh to your neck, gripping it slightly, before bending over to whisper in your ear.

"I think I've just found a way for you to pay for all the trouble."

For a second you thought he was going to kill you - even though choking wasn't his style, nothing was off the table, you thought. It was only when you saw a lustful glint in his eye that you understood what he meant.

"You like to fuck all of the criminals you find along the way?" You teased with a smirk.

Mihawk stood up and, as he did so, he gripped your hair and made you kneel in front of him.

"Can't wait to shut that pretty little mouth of yours." He says through gritted teeth, as he pulled out his cock and slapped it against your cheek a couple times.

You obidiently open your mouth as you look up at him with big eyes, and he shoves his lenght in your mouth. The man gathered your hair in a ponytail, making it easier to control you and fuck your face.

"Who knew you could be such a good girl? Hm?"

You could only moan in responde and grip his thighs for support. When you looked up at him again tears brimmed in your eyes, from how hard he was fucking your mouth.

When the man pulled out, you gasped for air, a string of saliva connecting your lips to his tip.

"Feel like talking back now, brat?" Mihawk asked, voice dripping in fake pity.

You opened your mark to hit him with a snappy remark, but he took the oportunity to shove his cock back into your mouth, efffectively shutting you up once more.

You gagged on his cock over and over, a tear rolling down your cheek and eyebrows furrowed in pleasure as he fucked your throat.

Mihawk's abdomen clenched as he felt himself getting closer and closer to climax, and just then he pulled away from your mouth.

The smudged makeup running down your face and swollen mouth alone would've been good enough to make him cum - oh how he loved putting brats in their place.

The man sat with his back leaning against one of the sturdy wooden collumns, and patted his thigh, signaling for you to sit on his lap.

"What makes you think I won't just run away." You asked with a broken voice, your throat a little dry from him fucking you.

Mihawk scoffed as you crawled over to him.

"I know you won't." The man responded in a cocky voice.

Worst part was that he was right.

As you straddled him, one of his arms wrapped around you, keeping you hovering over his cock. The man pulled up your dress and pushed your panties aside so he could access your pussy.

"Oh but you like being used, don't you? You like being a fuck toy, right princess? Just a hole for me to fuck?" Mihawk asked condescendingly, as he ran two fingers along your dripping folds.

You bit your lip as you heard those foul (and very true) words leave his lips.

"Answer me." He demanded through gritted teeth, delivering a harsh smack to your yes.

"I do- I love being used by you."

Mihawk chuckled, running his tip alolng your folds.

"I can tell, princess."

His tip found your entrance, and he had no mercy on you. He slammed you down on his cock. You gripped his shoulders, and your mouth fell open - although you were incapable of making a single noise.

The arm that was gripped around your waist controlled your movements as his hips slammed up against you, fucking you at an inhuman pace.

"Come on princess, don't you like being a brat? I dare you to try it now." Mihawk dared, whispering the last part in your ear.

"I- I won't be! Fuck- sorry!" You apologised between pants and moans, your eyes barely open.

"That's a good girl." He praised, nearly out of breath from fucking you.

"You feel good... so good." You admitted in a husky voice, earning a smirk from Mihawk and a spank that was meant to be a reward (and you took it as such).

The Warlord attached his lips to yours in an animalistic kiss, accentuating the fact that he was in control, he owned you in that moment.

You moaned incessantly into the kiss, mixing with his groans, as you gripped his shoulders.

"You look- you look so much better like this. Being obedient, with my cock deep in you."

The way you bounced on his cock became sloppy, as did his thrust, signaling you were both close to climax.

Mihawk bit and sucked your neck, marking you as best as he possibly could at that point.

"Fuck Mihawk I'm gonna cum!"

The hand that was not busy gripping your ass flew to your neck, choking you just the right way - in a way that almost made you cum.

"Did I tell you you could? Beg." He demanded through gritted teeth.

Your legs faltered at your command, but his hand held you up.

"Please, please Mihawk... I need to cum, please!"

Your high-pitched moan combined with the way you begged was enough to make him give you the green light.

You came on his cock, a loud whine and a call for his name leaving your lips. Mihawk grabbed your hips and snapped his against yours until ropes of cum filled you up.

The both of you stayed still, regaining your breaths and resuming the tension of the pre-sex moment.

Mihawk reached out to grab the cross that you had stolen from him and wrapped it around his neck once more, enjoying the familiarity of the item.

"I guess you gotta hand me over, hm..." You said, in a fake sad voice, trying to appeal to his soft side now that you had his dick in you.

He simply scoffed.

"You won't get sympathy from me, princess." The Warlord said, placing his hands on your ass "However, this world does need a few new wild cards, it's getting boring. And you have the right attitude, I think you'd have a lot more use beside me, as a student, rather than in a cell."

It was almost as if he was debating with himself about the theme as he exposed it to you.

Before you could speak, Mihawk anticipated himself.

"You'll have plenty Berry to buy your shiny paraphernalia..." He clarified, rolling his eyes.

"Well... Having your grumoy self as a teacher beats being behind bars... so I guess you got yourself a student."

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

hi shitty first post in like a month n then prob will disappear into special interest land for next month or so who knows but half formed thought of like 

been thinking abt how like have seen people say US early disability rights movements non inclusive thus ableist bc it focus on physical disabilities n exclude mental disabilities (which is always like, left vague but assumed to mean like. psychiatric + maybe low support needs autism adhd + mayyybe other neurodevelopmental disabilities + maaaaaaayyybe higher support neds autism adhd but like don’t count on it… it’s always SOME but not others that part be clear), focus on visible disabilities (by that they mean wheelchair users + people who move around world differently like visible ataxia spasticity etc) n not invisible disabilities, etc

n its like putting it as nicely as possible but people need be able get in building first before they can even talk about what go inside building. we need be able get into event first before we can talk about what go on inside event what *we* need inside event. 

n if you think what am mean by “people who need help get into building before they can talk inside” = physical disability or visible disability or wheelchair user or mix of all 3, and “people who can get into building who need help inside building during event” = [mental disability] or invisible disability or non wheelchair users. n then go give me who reaction base on that assumption then am sorry u really not understand disability as much as u think u do

my memory not be good right now. may have know answer to this years before but don’t now. so, historically idk what the case but. in my mind anti psych anti [abusive psychiatric institutions etc word] movement & like independent living movement always be connected. 

speak as someone who significantly disabled both physically & (neuro)developmentally & psychiatrically it like. you criticize how one group one movement one historical thing one modern thing haven’t included you but 1) have u really look into it yourself done research yourself understand historical circumstances understand those people’s lives n reasoning n needs understand why those movements came to be before you speak, & 2) have YOU your movements you identify with movements of your specific identity historically modernly been inclusive of those people also its not just one sided you know? have you aligned yourself with those people first n foremost?

and also sometimes we focus on different things like different group within one big group fight for different things? 

also again memory erase itself so not gonna pull thing out of ass n pretend expert but didn’t what we referring to as “US disability rights movement” thingie (that so broad) also literally fought for education rights & independent living rights & labor rights for people w intellectual & developmental disabilities (I/DD) n stuff like…

or wait are I/DD ppl who need that level of support not included in what u mean by mental disabilities m just checking - bc that not sound like me problem does it

[blakeswritingimagines]

Being Sidney Crosby's Controversially Young Girlfriend

"Controversial" isn't quite the word he likes to use to describe our age difference. It's significant, sure, but he's never felt that it's been a major factor in your relationship. Sure, some people might raise an eyebrow at the fact that he's older and you're younger, but it hasn't really come up much.

That being said, there are a few quirks that come with your age difference. For one thing, you're in different stages of life. You just finished college and is starting out in the professional world, whereas he's well-established in his career and is thinking about retirement.

Another difference is your social lives. You've got a circle of friends who are in their early twenties and just starting to explore the world, whereas he's been there and done that. He's got friends his own age who have families and careers and responsibilities. It can be a bit of a culture shock at times, but it also adds an interesting dynamic to your relationship.

There are also practical differences. He's got a lot more life experience than you do, which can sometimes lead to a bit of a generational gap. He might recommend a restaurant that was the coolest place in town when he was your age, only to find that it's been replaced by a new hotspot that he'd never heard of.

Similarly, he might make a reference to a movie or a book that he watched or read when he was your age, only to find that you've never seen or heard of it.

But despite the differences, he still finds himself drawn to you. He loves your youthful energy, your adventurous spirit, and the way you see the world. Your age difference doesn't define your relationship, but it does add an extra layer of complexity and excitement.

Of course, there are also some benefits to having an older boyfriend. For one thing, he's typically more mature and stable, which can be refreshing. He's more likely to have a solid career and financial situation than someone your own age. He also has more life experience, so he tends to be more confident and stable. Plus, he's had more time to figure out what he wants in life and in a partner, which can be reassuring for you.

One of the biggest challenges of your age difference is the inevitable scrutiny from the public and the media. As a celebrity athlete, he's used to being under a microscope, but the fact that you're so much younger has brought an extra level of attention to your relationship. People are always speculating about how you met, what you see in each other, and whether or not your relationship is "appropriate."

It can be tough dealing with that kind of scrutiny, especially when it feels like your relationship is being judged based on superficial factors like age.

Another challenge is that you might find yourself facing different societal expectations and biases. For example, people might assume that he's in a position of power and has a lot of control over you because he's older and more established. They might also assume that you're with him for his fame and fortune, rather than for his personality and character.

Dates are an interesting challenge. He's been around the block and has been on plenty of dates before. He knows all the classic dating moves like taking you to a fancy restaurant or a romantic movie. But sometimes he feels like he's a little out of his depth when it comes to planning dates that you'll enjoy.

You're younger and have different interests and tastes, so he has to be more creative and thoughtful in his planning. Sometimes he tries to research the latest trends and what's popular among people your age, but other times he just goes with his gut instinct.

Affection is an area where your age difference really comes into play. He's used to showing affection in a physical way, like hugs and kisses and cuddling. But he knows that you're at a different stage of your life, and he wants to be respectful of your boundaries. He doesn't want to come on too strong or make you feel uncomfortable, so he treads carefully.

He shows affection in less obvious ways. He'll take the time to listen to you and really hear what you're saying. He'll give you little gifts or leave you notes with sweet messages. He'll hold your hand or wrap his arm around you when you're walking together. He'll make a point of doing small things to make your day better, like bringing you coffee in the morning or fixing you a snack when you're hungry. And when you're together, he'll constantly be touching you in some way: holding your hand, running his fingers through your hair, kissing your forehead, etc.

He's a natural leader and tends to take charge in most situations, so he often shows casual dominance without even realizing it. He might make decisions for you without asking, or he might order for you at a restaurant if you can't decide what to get. He'll also often take the lead in physical situations, like pulling you closer to him when you're sitting next to each other or grabbing your hand to guide you through a crowded room.

He'll also often use his body language to show dominance. He'll stand close to you when you're talking, or he'll lean in to whisper something in your ear. He might also put his arm around you in a possessive way or rest his hand on your thigh.

One of his favorite expressions of casual dominance is telling you what to wear. He'll suggest outfits for you to wear on dates or to parties, and he'll make comments about your appearance when you're getting ready. He'll tell you how good you look in something or how he prefers you in certain types of clothes.

He doesn't see himself as a sugar daddy, per se, but he does enjoy treating you to nice things and spoiling you with gifts and experiences. He likes to feel like he can provide for you and make you happy, and he's not afraid to spend money to do so.

He'll often take you shopping and encourage you to buy whatever you want, even if it's something expensive or extravagant. He'll also bring you to nice restaurants and book you for activities like spa days or concerts. He'll even use his connections to get you access to exclusive events or experiences that you wouldn't be able to get otherwise.

In the end, though, he knows that age is just a number. What really matters is the connection you share, that bond that transcends age and experience and all the other things that could otherwise divide you. And that's worth more than any arbitrary age difference.

[thatordinaryoddity]

hot take on 3x03 sweat tent scene

and since I know that most people here seem to feel differently about that scene than I do and actually love it (which I don’t), I’m putting my thoughts below the cut. You know, don’t like, don’t read, etc etc.

I’m finally gathering the courage to voice my thoughts on why this scene bothers me so much. Please keep in mind that this is my personal opinion, shared on my personal blog, based on my own impressions and experiences with this topic.

Call me prude, but for me, the entire scene felt uncomfortable and left a sour taste in my mouth for several reasons. I honestly can’t wrap my head around why so many people seem so unbothered by it or even love it that much.

First of all, even if we assume that Moiraine and Siuan are breaking up, I’m not on board with the whole “yas, go for it, girl” rebound narrative. They’ve been in a relationship/marriage for over 20 years. Unless the word breakup is used, I don’t think we can assume they’re officially done. Yes, Siuan betrayed Moiraine in 2x07 (though, to be fair, Moiraine wasn’t exactly a saint either so I don’t place all the blame on Siuan). But considering the depth of their relationship, I’d expect them to have a definitive conversation before ending things, especially given their shared responsibilities and history. No matter what Moiraine assumes about their status, I feel like there needs to be a clear, final acknowledgment of their separation before we treat them as truly over.

And honestly, they don’t seem over. Moiraine’s emotional support fishing net, her saving Siuan and her little eyebrow twitch, the kiss from the trailer - all suggest there’s still something between them (and we know there will be). Even if they are broken up at this point, it’s only been about a month. I get that people handle breakups differently, but I don’t see Moiraine as someone who immediately starts messing around the moment she’s out of a long-term relationship.

Now, setting aside the possible cheating aspect, there are other issues with this scene: Lan. Oh my god, brother? We see in 3x01 that Moiraine is still yearning for Siuan. She’s clearly not over her and isn’t emotionally in a good place. Lan basically even mentions indirectly how unhappy she seems. And yet, he suggests this as a solution? As if Moiraine is just going to forget 20+ years of Siuan because some random stranger flashes her tits? I’m so sick of the trope that sex is a magical fix for emotional distress after a breakup. And… Moiraine wasn’t even thinking in that direction until Lan put the idea in her head, which makes it feel even more forced and icky. His suggestion kinda boils down to “quit moping and get laid so we aren‘t that miserable anymore,” without any thought given to the emotional fallout.

Does he (or Moiraine) really think she’d truly feel better afterward? Has anyone who’s ever had rebound sex actually forgotten their ex because of it? Did it magically fix everything? Did it bring you lasting happiness? Or regret and even more pain? Anyway. His advice felt dismissive, and more broadly, the way the show treats cheating as something casual or insignificant is frustrating. (Honestly, this issue extends beyond Moiraine and Siuan. Rand/Egwene comes to mind, and Egwene deserved so much better as well).

And yes, maybe it was intended as a lighthearted, funny moment, just some banter between Lan and Moiraine. But for me, it’s an absolute flop and not cute at all. I hope we don’t actually see Moiraine cheating or anything like that, but even the implication alone already makes me mad and sad. If the show actually goes there, I don’t think if I can stand behind it.

And before anyone argues that maybe Moiraine and Siuan aren’t monogamous, or that Siuan wouldn’t care. Sure, we don’t know for certain. But based on what the show has told us about their relationship, all we’ve seen so far is a deep commitment, loyalty and resilience, at least up until 2x07. And if we’re going with the idea that wanderer!Moiraine can be off having casual sex with strangers while Siuan sits in the Tower, unable to do the same because of her position as the Amyrlin… well, that doesn’t sound like a very balanced dynamic to me.

Which brings me to another issue: Moiraine is off in the Waste, thinking about casually hooking up with some stranger, while Siuan is back at the Tower, dealing with absolute chaos? I saw other posts about how lonely Siuan seems, and I felt that. Imagine being in her position! I say it again; Imagine being in her position! She’s probably riddled with guilt and regret and hurting too (as we can see in her expressions in both 2x07 and 3x01, and in her conversation with the kiddos). But she’s got responsibilities, political turmoil and an entire broken Tower to manage. I’m pretty sure she’s not off checking out some other naked woman because, you know… she has business to handle and shit to deal with (as does Moiraine, actually). Idk, I just feel so sorry for Siuan. And again, if we assume they’re truly broken up and will try to reconcile later, Moiraine’s “one hour of happiness” would/could complicate things even more.

I also know that Tumblr is obsessed with Moiraine/Lanfear, which is another idea I don’t love and haven’t been quiet about. But honestly? I’d rate the sweat tent scene as even worse because that is happening in real-time. Moiraine isn’t dreaming, isn’t having a vision, isn’t being threatened or forced. She isn‘t even gaining knowledge or power or whatever by (considering) sleeping with that woman.

Moreover, the sweat tent scene rubs me the wrong way because I cannot see Moiraine‘s character behaving like this. Yes, she’s human and has needs, blah, but I personally just don’t see her doing this. All of it feels like such a loser move. Why does there have to be so much toxicity and awful tropes all the fucking time? Can’t we just have that one pairing that is loyal and loves each other? I know this is my hopeless romantic side speaking, but I’m just disappointed in this scene and how the show suddenly portrays Moiraine and the fishwives.

That being said, I do love how diverse the show is in its portrayal of different relationships and I do think that‘s great and beautiful, and I do embrace it! But when it comes to the fishwives? I personally can’t mentally go there. Sorry.

If you made it through my TED Talk, my condolences.

[saturnville]

Let's Stay Together | David Cliff (Kelvin Harrison Jr.)

Pairing: David Cliff (The High Note) x Black Fem OC (Sybelle Selene Jackson) Summary: Sybelle is determined to make up Warnings: Angst, fluff, suggestive language. WC: 2050 Reference: Loosely based on Let's Stay Together by Al Green AN: Because @youreadthatright asked about David and Sybelle...part 3. I hope it doesn't break your heart, friend. Please let me know your thoughts! Remember: likes are appreciated, but reblogs, asks, and comments are encouraged!

"Hi," she said, breath catching in her throat. "My name is Sybelle Jackson-Cliff. Yes, hello! Um, you made a cake for my husband recently--David? I wanted to know your turnaround time—I need one in about two weeks...thank you, kindly!"

She hung up with a loud sigh. 

She felt awful. The disappointment lingered in the air, heavy and stale. Some weeks had passed since the bust, she called their wedding anniversary. When people asked her how it was, she plastered a smile on her face and claimed it was 'everything a girl could've asked for.' They couldn't know she didn't ask for her husband's tear-filled eyes and disappointed tone to suffocate her until she closed her eyes.

He claimed they were fine, but things didn't feel fine. He was present, but distant. He responded when she spoke, but there wasn't anything behind his eyes. No excitement. No flare. No...David. He stayed on his side of the bed at night, resisting the urge to turn and wrap her in his arms. They ate together in silence, save for utensils scraping against thrifted china. He hadn't touched her much, either. Sure, a kiss before he left for the day, but she'd yet to be reminded of what it was like to be pressed into the mattress and chest to chest with the man she called her lover and friend. 

Sybelle wasn't the type to bring others into her relationship, but she couldn't resist wailing like a child to her best friend once David had gone to sleep that evening. 

"I'm the worst wife ever! Like...he did all this and I was..." Her words could hardly be made out over her sobs and heaving breaths. "I messed up so bad; what if he decides he doesn't want to be with me anymore?" 

Her friend, the trusted Kayla Marie, sighed deeply on the other line. "I don't think it'll go that far. But, this is a wake-up call, B. You cannot marry someone and still be in an unhealthy relationship with your job."

Sybelle sniffled. "I don't want to choose."

"You don't need to choose--David has made that clear. But, he shouldn't be second behind the stuo. Let him know you're trying. Intentionally trying. Do it because you mean it and because you value him and your marriage."

It hit her like a ton of bricks. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but what she needed to hear. How could she become one with a man and treat him like he was number two, three, four, five, and six? She couldn't blame him for his distance, but she didn't like it. She despised it, truthfully. He'd forgive her, eventually. Hell or high water, they'd be okay, she was determined. 

It started simple. He'd been going on and on about a new microphone for a while, but was stuck on which one to choose. She'd understood how he may have assumed his comment had gone over her head from lack of response, but he hadn't known that she'd been in communication with some of the best music technicians, engineers, and instrument productions companies to find the one to suit his needs the best for their home studio,

It was meant to be a Christmas gift, something she hid under their bed and forgot about until eating turkey and drinking hot cider transitioned to eating ham and drinking hot chocolate. She determined now would be the perfect occasion. 

When he was out for the day, she called a series of technicians to install the microphone in their in-home studio. It was quick process, thankfully, as he'd returned just 30 minutes shy of their departure. 

He hadn't noticed at first. But when a shiny logo, unlike the one he was used to seeing, caught his eye, he was intrigued. David's fingers traced over the microphone softly, like it was the finest piece of china he was afraid to break. His eyebrows furrowed. "Slim, you been in here?" He called loud enough for her to hear over the clamoring noise she made just a few feet away in the living area. 

"Slim...?" He said, unsure.

"Wasn't me," she replied. "Had some folks come by."

"This...this is new?" he asked.

The sound of her heels against the laminate floor had his head turning toward the door. She was half dressed--nothing but a black bra, black slacks, and her favorite stilettos. In her hand was a blazer. He exhaled slowly. 

"You're the singer.  You got a new mic. Hope you like it. I've got the dinner soon. Do you want anything?"

David, gobsmacked by her appearance like he'd never seen her before, and by the new microphone that she gifted (though she tried to act like she didn't). It wasn't what he'd expected for a Tuesday afternoon. He swallowed thickly and shook his head, glancing over at his new music equipment. 

"No, no. I'm okay. Enjoy the dinner." 

He turned to press a kiss on her cheek, oblivious to the way her smile faltered just slightly when he intentionally missed her lips,oblivious to how her smile wavered when he chose her cheek instead. She stood straighter and nodded. This was only day one. She still had more time...she hoped. 

-

David sat at the dining room table, soothing sounds of jazz filling the atmosphere. His fingers moved swiftly across his laptop keyboard as he finished scheduling studio time for the next morning. His eyes cut toward the electronic clock on the stove. 5:05. The handle of their front door jingled. His eyebrow raised. "Slim, is that you?"

The click-clack of expensive heels against laminate answered for her. She huffed lowly and peeled her sunglasses off her face when she came into view. Breathtaking as ever, he noted. She donned straight leg pants that did wonders for her figure, a white tank top, a pink blazer, and tan heels. She smiled shyly. "Hi."

She dropped her keys and phone in the small bowl on the side table beside the couch. "Gonna shower. Anything you want for dinner?" 

David's eyebrows furrowed, and he stammered, confounded. She walked through the door at 5:05, which meant she left the studio at 4:45 PM, before the workday officially ended. Her phone joined her keys in the designated bowl. He noticed. And now, she was showering and ready to make dinner.

David blinked, mouth agape, as he tried to piece together what he was witnessing. Had his prayers been answered? He reminded himself to mark his prayer as complete before he went to sleep. 

"No," he called after her, voice hoarse. "I'm good."

She didn't respond, but the soft thud of the bathroom door closing was enough. A few moments later, he heard the water running. He sat back, brows still knitted, and glanced toward the bowl again. 

Her phone lay in the bowl. Abandoned. Silent. A part of her he often had to compete with. But it was there. Along with her keys. Like she wanted to be here. To be present, not just at home. That alone told him more than any apology could. 

His eyes returned to his laptop, the blinking cursor on the unsent email now an afterthought. He didn't want to get his hopes up. He couldn't afford to. But he couldn't ignore the strange feeling pulling at his chest. Hope. Hesitation. Confusion, for sure. He shook his head. 

"How was your day?" Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. David cleared his throat and sat up. His eyes followed her as she moved gracefully around the kitchen. Her work attire had been traded in for one of his shirts and her college sweatpants. Her dark hair was clipped back, and her makeup had been washed away. Sybelle, the woman you are. 

"It was good," he said carefully. Sybelle hummed and leaned against the counter, her eyes trained on his despite her phone buzzing in the bowl. His eyes cut toward it, then back to her. She remained unmoving. "Not gonna get that?" 

She shook her head and shrugged. "I told them I was leaving at 4:45. They can leave a voicemail. Decide what you want?” She turned on her heels and started toward the fridge, rummaging through the neatly organized shelves, racking her brain for recipes. “I can make sausage and peppers…”

She rattled off a list that seemed never-ending, but he couldn’t focus. 

“Sybelle.”

She paused. “Yes?” 

David tried not to sound suspicious and accusatory when he asked, “What is this about?” 

Sybelle shrugged a shoulder and rummaged through the drawers for a can opener. “I was putting everyone else above you. It wasn’t fair, and it’s not right.” Oh. His heart fluttered. “Sausage and peppers or something else? Work with me here.” 

David smiled slightly and nodded. “That works.” 

They ate dinner together that night. Nestled side-by-side as they murmured about the highs and the lows of their days. For once, undistracted and undeterred. 

-

David stared at the closed studio door. A note was taped to it in her unmistakable cursive: "Dress nice. Trust me. Love you."

He spent the drive home racking his brain, searching for explanations on what she could have up her sleeve. Things had changed recently. Lately, he felt like a priority. The number one on her list. Yet, he struggled to embrace it. 

Sure, she could do all these things now. And when things got rough, when work got busy, when the going got tough, he'd slide down the totem pole and be back at square one where he began. 

But when he opened the door and was ushered into the ambiance of the candle-lit dining room, a dining table lined with a full-course spread, with a small heart-shaped cake in the middle, all his hesitation and suspicion went away with the wind. "What is this?" 

Sybelle smiled shyly and shrugged. She exhaled shakily and said, "I saw the way you looked at me across the table—like I was a stranger. I hated that. And...our first anniversary was supposed to be grand and magical just like you planned, but..."

Pause. 

Sybelle twiddled her thumbs nervously, then pitched the side of her light blue sundress."I messed up. I can't take it back. I can't turn back the clock, even though I've tried. I can’t undo that night. But maybe… you’ll let me try again?” Her voice slid an octave as her confidence dwindled and her statement turned into a question. 

She stilled under his gaze, unable to read his expression. His lips were pressed in a line. His eyes darted between the table and her. His hands clenched and unclenched like he was fighting an internal battle. And her anxiety was through the roof. It was her last chance, she felt. He'd put up with so much for so long; she couldn't be angry at him if he decided to throw in the towel. 

He didn't. 

Instead, he beckoned her over with the nod of his head that made her weak in the knees when they crossed paths in the studio two-and-a-half years prior. Sybelle stood in front of him. She raised her head slightly, damning her lack of heels for their lack of eye-level contact. 

The corner of his lips raised, and he raised his hand to trace her chin. She leaned into his touch. Sybelle had done many things. Some of which he didn't like, others of which he adored. She had to fight tooth and nail to make a name for herself in the industry, and some of those tendencies bled into their relationship. And her heart. Her big, beautiful heart softened somewhat to recreate what he thought was lost. 

"I appreciate you, Slim," David said lowly. "Can I show you how much I appreciate you, baby?" She whimpered and nodded. He bent down to press a kiss against her cheek, which marked the beginning of a trail of marks being left on her neck, collarbone, and chest. She'd complain about it tomorrow. All she could do was bask in her husband's hands around her thighs as he hoisted her into his arms and marched up the steps. 

Well, she thought. At least she wasn't the one who forgot about the dinner this time. 

-

Tags: @kirayuki22 @greedyjudge2 @notapradagurl7 @irishmanwhore @honeytoffee @theogbadbitch @jazziejax @kumkaniudaku @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @youreadthatright

[ada-banshee]

The importance of Ada’s backstory

First of all, her backstory is very likely the stem of all her issues seen in Nevermore. She grows overly clingy to the people she likes because Thomas left so often. “I don’t think my heart can take it a second time” HEAVILY implies that he got deployed before, possibly for a long period of time. And since Ada is only the Tamerlane maid, she can’t fully express her love for him in public. We never saw anywhere outside of the bedroom, but based on how Thomas reacts, he’s already in a relationship with someone else. He could be with the other girl for things like money or reputation, and Ada for her body. It would be the best of both worlds for him, especially if nobody found out. Ada wanted to fully love Thomas, to experience true love, but never could. Assuming Thomas ever DID love her, they couldn’t show anything. Plus, that was likely the first relationship Ada experienced. She got used to the unhealthy/abusive (??) nature of it, and it never clicked to her that it wasn’t healthy. She’s been surrounded by these types of relationships for a while.

Now onto how Thomas’ relationship with Ada relates to how she acts in Nevermore. She likely sees Thomas in both Prospero and Montresor. Prospero looks like him and pushes her away the way he did, and Monty doesn’t truly care about Ada and truly reciprocate her feelings. She’s self-damaging herself for the sake of trying to get back what she had while she was alive. She’s doing whatever she can to get some sense of familiarity. Ada doesn’t know everything she’s doing is wrong and/or unhealthy, since it’s really all she knows. There’s definitely a chance that her family life wasn’t the best either, which could lead to a messed up perspective of what relationships should look like. If she had been raised inside a healthy marriage, I doubt she would’ve let Thomas treat her how he did. She was always programmed to think it was okay. Which would also explain why she was okay dating Montresor, even though she previously hated him. Although he was rude to her, again, Ada thought it was normal. She thought that’s how relationships were supposed to be.

(Only “loving” her fully in private/hiding it from others.. ohhhh Ada my shayla…)

Now, explaining the brief death scene. We don’t get much context since it was only two panels, but theres still a lot to unpack from them. If you look at where she was axed, it was right in the stomach area. Ada asks “But why?”, possibly meaning she got brought out there randomly to get killed. The response from who we can assume is Thomas is “Because you gave me no choice”. That mixed with where she was hit leads me to believe she got pregnant. She was only meant to be a maid/mistress, not a mother. And the only way to make sure word didn’t eventually get out that Thomas was the one that got her pregnant was to kill her. Assuming she’s born in the ‘40s (based off of her underwear), most abortions were illegal. She would’ve had to have the baby. Also after the scene we see, she might have been chopped up and buried somewhere in the woods. What proof is there of that? Her spectre. The limbs aren’t fully attached to her body. And it may be too far of a stretch, but Thomas did say he loves “parts of her”. That along with her spectre looks like it has dirt all over it, like she was buried. And it would be a lot easier to bury small parts of a person rather than a full body.

In conclusion, they could never make me hate you Ada Lovelace ☹️🫶

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

(Genshin Impact) Jean, Eula, Rosaria, Ei, Shenhe, Yelan, Navia, Lumine rescuing their S/O

No one requested this, Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" came on and demanded I write. ...Same thing happened for the AK-15 fic actually. I NEED A HERO, I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO-

The moment Jean learns that her S/O had been kidnapped for ransom, her senses become so hyper focused and immediately sets off to alert the Knights of an abduction.

She wastes absolutely no time in tracking S/O, and does so easily with her and the others searching.

Her adrenaline kicks into overdrive, and she does not rest until S/O is safe inside Mondstadt walls, ignoring any injury sustained and insisting that she can keep going.

For only a brief moment, Jean loses control and doesn't even warn warn the kidnappers or attempt an arrest, immediately using her Vision to blow them back.

The sight of her S/O is enough to get her to snap back to her senses, and promptly make the offenders pay for their crimes by sending them to the jails.

With a sigh of relief, Jean feels the exhaustion on her body start to take its toll, but she smiles as she unties them.

(Jean) "Thank goodness you're alright. Let's get you home."

She gives her S/O the tightest hug of their life, and has one arm locked around them the entire journey back.

Eula absolutely loses it the moment she learned that someone of the Lawrence clan has kidnapped her S/O.

This was the exact reason she did not want them associated with her-

No. Now was not the time for such thoughts. Now was the time for vengeance.

Being the Captain of the Reconnaissance company, she doesn't have any difficulty in locating their whereabouts.

As much as Eula would like to make sure the Lawrence in question never take another step, she knows it'd be far worse for them to be alive and imprisoned by the Knights of Favonius.

With a swing of her claymore, she instantly puts down the attacker in an ambush and cuffs them. Her gaze turns to her lover before releasing them, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes.

(Eula) "Hmph, how careless of you to be captured by another Lawrence. Next time, you will not be so lucky."

By the way her hand was shaking and how close she remained at their side, they could easily see past her words and how worried she was about them.

VIOLENCE

Unlike most people in Mondstadt, her idea of justice is if the person never takes another breath again.

The person kidnapping S/O more than likely had no idea that she was even associated with them. That was their first mistake.

Their last mistake was assuming they would get away with it alive.

Rosaria stalks the kidnapper to where her S/O is being kept.

For the moment, they were unconscious.

Which worked for her.

Dropping down from the shadows, she quietly but violently dispatches of the kidnapper, taking extra care to not make a mess on S/O.

She unties them before carrying them in her arms out of harm's way, not making a comment until they woke up.

(Rosaria) "Good, you're awake. I'm glad you're okay, but be more careful next time."

Rosaria's grip tightens on them before gently setting them back down if they could walk.

What do you think happens when you kidnap God's girlfriend/boyfriend?

If you answered death, congratulations! You're right!

Ei on the inside is scared for their safety, but she knows that panicking will not make things better.

Instead, she goes out to rescue them personally while alerting the soldiers at her command to ensure no one escapes.

And to add extra insurance, she sends out the Shogun to find S/O as well, and to exterminate any offender with extreme prejudice.

The skies darkened and lightning split apart the clouds, striking at the entrance of the abandoned base.

The last thing S/O's kidnappers saw was a woman in purple, staring down at them with a katana held in her hand.

I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROOOAAAAACHING

There was literally nothing left of the kidnappers to arrest or bury, so Ei casually walked up to S/O before untying their restraints.

(Ei) "I am glad to see you unharmed. Do you require any medical assistance?"

For the next month, Ei and the Shogun personally accompany S/O to wherever they needed to go.

Ensuring that if anyone was stupid enough to try it again, they got to see what they would be up against.

EXTREME VIOLENCE

The red ropes on Shenhe is barely enough to contain the rage that swells within her at this very moment.

Someone dared to kidnap someone as loving and sweet as her S/O?

Thanks to them and the Traveler, she tries not to use violence as the answer to all her problems.

For this particular situation, Shenhe decides that violence will solve the problem that is the kidnapper's continued existence.

The very second she found out their location, she begins ripping and tearing through anything and anyone in the vicinity that she deemed was responsible.

The treasure hoarders that kidnapped them? Turned to ribbons.

The wooden doors trying to conceal them? In splinters.

That one Hilichurl sitting near the cliff minding its own business and not even realizing what was happening? It's now at the bottom of that cliff. (And if Shenhe didn't do it, you would've, you monster.)

Shenhe is absolutely stained red the moment she frees her S/O, her rage slowly subsiding at the sight of her lover.

(Shenhe) "I am here to rescue you, S/O."

Shenhe is almost super glued to their side from then on, never wanting to let them get hurt ever again.

And Archons help anyone who tried to again.

Yelan figured something like this would happen. Her enemies would try to kidnap her S/O as a form of revenge or luring her out.

Unfortunately for them, Yelan had a contingency plan if something like this ever happened.

Informants are able to pinpoint the exact location S/O was being held with relative ease.

She infiltrates the building and without warning, her strings immediately sweep the kidnappers off their feet and left them dangling in the air.

(Yelan) "Not so fun when you're tied up, is it?"

Ignoring their shouting, she walks over to S/O and gives them a smile.

(Yelan) "Sorry for the wait. Dinner on me?"

She seems casual about the situation, but when they're out of earshot of everyone, she gives them a firm but gentle hug.

Yelan was no stranger to losing people she cared about, but she was glad she did not have to re-experience the feeling today.

(Navia) *LOADS UMBRELLA WITH MALICIOUS INTENT*

Oh, perfect! Looks like S/O's kidnappers just volunteered themselves to be target practice!

Navia charges headfirst to wherever S/O is being held, not really worrying about the collateral damage other than S/O themselves.

Her bodyguards were able to find them quickly, and joined her in their rescue.

Navia lets all guns fly, making sure these punks would be taught a lesson they'd never forget.

NO ONE touches her darling, except for her!

When Navia finally gets S/O out, she has them in a near bone crushing hug, kissing them repeatedly on the face, being a bit too playful considering the situation.

But in private, she nearly breaks down crying as her hug on S/O tightens.

She was so afraid that they'd get hurt, or worse.

But she's thanking the gods above that they were unharmed.

The aftermath of the situation, Navia and her guards are almost stalking S/O. For their safety, of course.

Even though sometimes that safety has to be all three of them hiding behind a bush very conspicuously, even after S/O's insistence that they were fine.

Sadly, this was not Lumine's first experience with a close person to her being kidnapped. Probably wasn't going to be the last either.

While she is worried for their safety, she has no doubt that they're going to get them out fine.

Lumine blitzes into the domain they're being held in and clears out everyone in her way with nearly blinding speed.

No one has a chance to even react as she effortlessly takes out every single attacker, making her way to them.

Finally after knocking out their kidnapper, she has the guards who she informed the kidnapping about make their arrests as she personally attends to S/O.

(Lumine) "You're not hurt are you?" sigh "Good. Come on, let's go home."

Lumine holds S/O's arm the entire time as they get enough distance from town, remaining silent.

She couldn't find her brother, and she didn't want to lose S/O as well.

Brightening up the mood a bit, Paimon appeared behind them.

(Paimon) "Why don't we have S/O stay with us at the Teapot for a while?"

Lumine makes it mandatory for S/O to sleep in the bedroom with her, and has Tubby or Paimon usually keeping an eye on them so she has some peace of mind.

[nakedbibi333]

Consciousness Is the Only Reality - Neville Goddard

I have heard time and time again that people find Neville's teachings to be too complicated to understand. I wanted to share some of my notes on his lectures and books as I re-read them. The point of this is to make it as easy to understand and accessible as possible. I linked the lecture above in case you want to read the actual lecture and you can use my notes as a guide if anything seems too convoluted or confusing.

All quotes are taken directly from the lecture.

Introduction

Before we begin, it’s important to mention that Neville bases his teachings on the Bible, which he says is meant to be interpreted as a metaphorical/allegorical text, rather than a historical text. 

The Name of God

This lecture begins with Neville explaining the meaning of God’s name. 

In short, it contains references to your I AM-ness (awareness), your imagination, your ability to feel as you desire to be and to take your desire out of the imaginary and reflect it onto the physical. 

When you break down the name of God, it explains the foundation of reality, your consciousness. 

“As you assume that you are that which you want to be, you have completed the name of God” 

You have the power of creation within you. 

“The question arises: What is God? God is man’s consciousness, his awareness, his I AM-ness”

You Become What You Are Conscious of Being and Dying to the Old State

Since your consciousness is the cause or the foundation of reality, then what you are conscious of being must be impressed upon the physical reality.

You have the power to leave behind your current state/undesired reality.

Your current reality has been created through consciousness, and you can leave it behind and recreate a new reality with anything that you desire.

You can die to the old state and create a new one. (You no longer become conscious of the old state--redirect your attention)

Story of Isaac and His Sons Esau and Jacob

The story of Isaac and his sons Esau and Jacob expresses the idea that your brain cannot tell the difference between what you experience in imagination and what you experience in the physical world. 

For example, your brain expresses the same physiological and psychological reaction to you imagining a hug and hugging someone in real life. 

If you place reality upon your imaginal acts and feel as though you are truly experiencing that which is taking place solely in your mind, then your brain believes that you are truly experiencing that. 

Leave the physical alone, do not take action, and do not reason.

You leave the physical world alone and simply use your imagination to change your life

You do not have to worry about the physical manifestation of your desire, that is not your job. Your only job is to imagine that you have what you desire. 

“In other words, you remain faithful to this subjective reality [that which you desire to manifest] and you do not take back from it the power of birth. You gave it the right of birth and it is going to become objective within this world of yours. There is no room in this limited space of yours for two things to occupy the same space at the same time. By making the subjective real, it resurrects itself within your world.” 

You cannot occupy two opposing states -- you cannot believe one thing and also believe the opposite at the same time (ex. You can’t simultaneously believe the statement “I am rich” while also believing the statement “I am poor.”)

The only way you can stop a manifestation from being reflected in the physical is by not being faithful to your new reality (failing to die to the old state/continuing to be double-minded). 

You will die to the old state simply by remaining faithful to the new one. 

“Do not ask yourself how this thing is going to be. It does not matter if your reason denies it. It does not matter if all the world around you denies it.” 

You never have to worry about how it will come to be, because that is not your responsibility. It will happen without any effort on your part. Your only job is to believe in the fulfillment of your desire. Everything else will be taken care of for you. You do not need to reason with it, you cannot let external circumstances get in the way of it, and you don’t need to think about what actions you need to take to “make it happen.” You do not need to do anything but remain in that fulfilled state.

SATS and Lullaby

State akin to sleep - the creative act. 

A sensory experience that implies the fulfillment of your desire. 

Remove your attention from the physical world, go into your imagination fully, and grant your imaginal act reality.

Don’t let the mind wander, make the imaginal act short and sweet, at the point of the fulfillment of your desire. 

Minimal effort is the key, it should not cost you too much energy to fully experience your desire fulfilled.

Lullaby method

When you are nearing sleep, repeat a short phrase that implies fulfillment of your desire. 

2-3 words that can easily be repeated without too much focus. 

The point is to fall asleep while saying it over and over in your mind.

You No Longer Hunger For It When It Is Fulfilled

“When satisfaction is yours, you no longer hunger for it” 

If you have successfully fulfilled the desire in imagination and you believe that it is yours, you no longer feel want of it, because you already have it. 

You no longer think of it as separate from you. 

You have granted it to yourself in imagination, then it is already yours, and there is nothing else to do but persist in that state.

Your Imagination Is The Cause

“Know that your consciousness is the only reality. Then know what you want to be. Then assume the feeling of being that which you want to be, and remain faithful to your assumption, living and acting on your conviction.”

Consciousness is the only reality -- it is the source of everything in the physical

“You draw from within yourself that which you now want to express as something objective to yourself” 

All your manifestations come from you. You are drawing the fulfillment of your desires from within yourself, from consciousness.

If you can imagine it, then it is possible.

“Your consciousness is the mother-father, there is no other cause in the world” 

Everything that happens in the physical world is caused and created by your consciousness. 

There is no other cause than your I AM-ness/your imagination. 

Since your imagination is the only cause, then the only way to change the outer world is through imagination itself.

“As I stand here, having discovered that my consciousness is God, and that I can by simply feeling that I AM what I want to be transform myself into the likeness of that which I am assuming I am; I know now that I am all that it takes to scale this mountain” 

Neville says that you don’t need anything other than your consciousness/imagination to achieve anything you want. You don’t need money, luck, power, etc. You only need imagination.

How to Manifest

“Take the idea you want to embody, and assume that you are already it. Lose yourself in feeling this assumption is solidly real. As you give it this sense of reality, you have given it the blessing which belongs to the objective world, and you do not have to aid its birth any more than you have to aid the birth of a child or a seed you plant in the ground” 

Define your objective (your desire), create an imaginal act that suggests the fulfillment of that objective, grant it reality, and persist in that new state.

You do not have to take any kind of physical action for it to manifest, you trust in your imaginal act and allow it to come to be on its own.

Do not wait to die to the old state and embody the state that you desire. If you desire something now, change your state now. Fulfill it within imagination the moment you feel it. 

“When my world conforms to my assumption the prophecy is fulfilled”

You were always meant to use your consciousness to manifest your life. In this lecture, Neville is basically saying that the entire point of the Bible is to teach you how to manifest through allegory and metaphor.

[artfulacrostic]

okay so matt's entire treatment of and then defense of hector after their witness turns on them is based on his own personal experiences. he's (imo) super wrong to out hector's identity to everyone and their mother without even giving him the courtesy of discussing it with him first, but do you know why he does it? it's because he thinks that not only will it win them the case if he can spin it in hector's defense, but ALSO because he thinks that being outed to the public will force hector to stop being white tiger.

his thought process goes like this: if he, matt, had been somehow forced to stop being daredevil, maybe if he'd given it up post s3 or even sooner, then maybe the people in his life that he lost because of their connection to him and therefore his vigilante identity would still be alive. (father lantom, foggy, etc.) therefore he assumes that even though hector doesn't want to be outed, this will be the net good in the end, as it will 1) keep hector out of prison/get him off murder charges, 2) get him off the street as a vigilante before the people in his life are negatively impacted even more than they have been already, 3) allow him to find a different way to do good without the outlet of vigilante violence (which we know is to matt a self-destructive behavior, though it doesn't necessarily seem that way for hector). it's giving "i know better than you what's best for you" which is SO catholic of him. i can say this as someone who grew up roman catholic trust me i'm correct.

HOWEVER. matt can't convince hector to stop, the same way foggy couldn't convince him to stop, and his assumption that being unmasked will force hector into retirement is also what signs his death warrant, since matt inadvertently put white tiger on fisk's radar as a vigilante that matt appears to be enabling (thus breaking their agreement in fisk's mind.)

on to the defense matt uses in his closing argument.

this entire section is matt asserting through the parallel of hector's life that his own decisions regarding his vigilantism are right. first, that his choice to go out as daredevil was made from a place of good intentions, and that he did accomplish good things. second, that his choice to hang up the mask was not a choice that meant he was abandoning his cause or the people he fought to help, but rather that he was doing it in a different way. the way foggy wanted him to.

by being forced to justify his own position, matt is also placed in the position where he has to acknowledge himself as a hero, even just internally, because he has to believe the argument he's making about hector, and that means for the first time, maybe he believes it just a little about himself. after all, he doesn't like being called a hero, he disagreed with that idea actively throughout s1-3, where the idea of who a "hero" is had a lot of discussion.

the only person who really knows both matt and daredevil and ever calls him a hero and means it is foggy, who does it twice. most telling: the first time is when they meet, and foggy says he was a hero for saving that old guy as a kid. matt is a hero for doing something years before he even conceived of becoming a masked vigilante. he doesn't need a mask to be a hero, foggy just acknowledges it straight up. the second time is after season 1, sometime in s2 when foggy tells him to go be a hero, just don't get killed doing it. this is an acknowledgment of the good he can do, but even here the mask comes with a caveat: it might get him killed. foggy knows that to do heroic things, it requires matt to put himself in danger.

all the other times people call him a hero, they only know his vigilante identity, not matt himself. and most people don't label him that way anyway; it's usually the term "vigilante"; people rarely throw the h word around. when they do, it's usually not both a) in reference to him and b) positive/sincere. frank rejects the idea that matt is a hero just because he doesn't kill people. karen decides that the real heroes are the everyday people surviving in society despite everything. maggie makes fun of him for moping in the basement like a brooding hero. and even foggy isn't afraid to call matt out for his complex when he thinks he ISNT being heroic, but not once does matt agree with anyone who labels him a hero.

but now, he's forced to face that his argument hinges on hector ayala, a vigilante, being a hero. putting himself in harms way over and over again, just because "it's the right thing to do".

just like matt did. and if hector is a hero, then despite it going against everything matt believes about himself, then there is some part of him that is a hero too. mask off and everything. a hero, still.

so while i think the parallels matt has drawn between himself and hector are not completely fair, i do think that it's a fascinating way to make him study his own beliefs about himself, and for us as the audience to get a glimpse into his internal process at the moment, when we lack any of our usual clearest conduits to how matt is feeling or thinking at any given time (his confessions to father lantom, his discussions with foggy, karen, even claire, etc). without them to serve as the interrogation device to give the audience access to his thoughts, the writers instead use hector as a mirror and make matt hold it up to himself and reveal things through his actions.