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daikonchild · 3 years

Text

word count: 10k

time taken: 4 days

notes: i don’t think this turned out the way i wanted it to, it’s way too fast paced, i probably will end up rewriting this in all honesty. but here you go! this is only part one, ill link part 2 when i post it! credit to @ikarus.txt on Instagram for ren!

characters: ocs only

cw/tw: religious mentions, demons, implied nsfw in one part

———————————

Ren... Didn’t know what to do. He was sitting in someone’s house, a very pretty house, but still. A stranger’s house. He had been knocked out, and now he woke up here, a cloth on his head, his horns bandaged up, same with his tail and wings. And it felt nice but.

“...Where the flying fuck am I?” He glanced around, it was a very regal house.

Portraits hung cleanly, the occasional butler or maid would pass by. The couch was velvet like, and even if Ren was butt naked under the cover, which seemed to be leopard print, he felt comfortable. The soft noses of cats came by sometimes, Ren enjoying it a bit.

On the other hand, the yelling children and other people following them around was annoying as all hell. Maybe it was his perked demon senses due to the ears, maybe not, but he hated it.

To add on, they were all humans. Disgusting mortals who were only good for sex, being bred, food, murder, and souls. Nothing else about them was useful to Ren. He didn’t even want to be in the mortal realm, he was only here to collect the souls of the unholy, bring them to his lord Rei, then go to another realm. He only had three decades, and that was a small portion of time for him.

“Hmph...” Maybe the shelter was good, but still. That was it. He wouldn’t find anything interesting.

...Oh who was he kidding, the shelter was amazing. There were butlers for crying out loud, and a lot of loud children, meaning there had to be some milf or dilf in the hous-

“Hello?” The soft voice of a male. Almost soothing. Ren groaned, turning away from the noise.

“Shuddup...”

“Ah fuck. An annoying one.” A snap later, and a few people were surrounding him.

“Fuck off satan...” He felt someone flip him over, him blinking. He didn’t like it, at all.

“Ah... There. You four can leave.” Ren was now looking at a pretty male. Someone who he could only describe as prince like. He was surprisingly... He didn’t give off the same aura as other mortals. Ren didn’t like him, but instead of a harmful, rude, dark aura, it was soft, mellow, soft aura. It made Ren relax for a little while. But not enough to listen to him

“Hey! What the fuc-Ow ow ow-“ Ren whined at the feeling of the man pulling him up. It hurt, a lot. “Wh-Where am I? And stop touching me you disgusting mortal-“

The human blinked, a soft sigh leaving his lips. “You demons are such dumbasses.”

“Hey how do you know I’m a demon-“

“You’re in my house you dumbass, I found you looking like shit on the side of the road and you needed somewhere. God you are so stupid. Sit still.” Ren tensed up, feeling the boy’s hand on his face, patching up a open wound. He seemed talented with his motions, knowing how to clean the wound and patch it up.

Ren wasn’t a very safe person, usually leaving wounds open and unattended to, but the man seemed... Soft. Fragile as well, Ren could definitely best him in anything. Not the mention the dress, Ren would’ve guessed he was a chic if it wasn’t for his voice.

His lacy apron, his dress, he didn’t look half bad for a human. Like a small living cottagecore aesthetic. Ren could still chuck him out a window.

A shelter as well. This is what he needed. He was going to just kill someone for their house, but that had so many fucking risks, but this place seemed nice. It seemed almost perfect, along with free food and much more.

“Done. You demons are such fucking idiots.” Ren groaned at his insults, being a bit offended. “Now lay down.”

“Nope.”

“I said lay down.” He glared, Ren shaking his head cockily. “What do you want in return you nasty demon?”

“...” Ren tapped his chin, eyeing the smaller up and down. “Hm~... A human like you can-“

“Guards! Pull hi-“

“No no! I have something!”

“What? If you think of a good deal, then I’ll need something in return. Something worth my time...” He slowly got up. Ren blinked, listening to the smaller. He seemed more businesslike then Ren had thought.

“Elaborate?”

“I don’t know, that’s up to you. Plus, I need something of value from you.” The human glanced down at the demon, coldness in his eyes. “I don’t know, think about it yourself. You’re the demon. Shouldn’t you be good at making deals?”

“Wait wait, you-“

“You’re a demon, I could care less, I don’t give a fuck, whatever people say. Just stay here until you think of a proper deal. Something that you want and something I want.”

“Do... Do I have to make a deal?”

“No, but it seems like a demon as foolish as you would make one. Plus, I need some reason to care for who you are.” Ren regretted thinking he was nice. “Now, do you have any proposals? I’m waiting.”

“Shit... If...” Ren groaned. “...If you make a contract with me, then I’ll behave and help you clean around the house.”

“Hm.” He stared down at the demon, seeing it try and look confident, “What do I get out of a contract with you?”

“Free sex, order, knowing where I am, a cool tattoo, along with a way to contact me if I were to go missing. And I can’t take your soul like this.” Ren assumed the feminine male would know this. He didn’t know why he was making a contract with him.

He needed somewhere to stay, and even if he were to go anywhere else, he could win a fight, but that would make him distracted, he’d have to do something unnecessary, and that could also be someone else’s victim. So he didn’t want that.

Plus the human seemed good enough. He was a little bitch from what he had seen so far, and Ren wanted to kill him a bit, but at the same time, everyone here seemed so happy. And if he was the head of the house, he could seduce him, then take his house after killing him. He didn’t have the proper aura of an unholy soul, and that was rare to come by, so he would have a good reason...

Ren saw the small boy contemplate it, staring down at the ground, his mind wondering around.

“...I suppose. But doesn’t a contract mean-“

“I’m also allowed to order you around. You’ll be like... A pet! An annoying little bitchy pet, but a pet.”

“I’m not... W-Whatever, what do you need me to sign.” A puff of smoke, and a clipboard and pen was in his lap. And of course he was reading it.

Ren groaned, leaning against the couch. Well it didn’t elaborate the kind of demon Ren was, so he wasn’t too worried.

He was an incubus, like a sex god, but a lot more tame. The main reason he wanted Seruni to make a contract with him? It’s good to have a human shield just in case you need to be careful. Especially a human shield that looks as fine as that...

He chuckled softly, looking down at contract signing male. Soon, a flick of the wrist, and it was returned to him. Ren quickly read the name.

“Seruni... Dakion? Is that a fucking fake last name?” Ren raised an eyebrow.

“Bit-Why the fuck would I lie about my last name?” Seruni crossed his arms, still glaring at Ren. He was hardly intimidating, but he was trying.

“Fine.” Ren signed himself, and it proved him wrong. A small stinging feeling came from his back, glancing over at Seruni, who was clearly feeling the same. He looked around quickly, one eye shut. No one. Good. There wasn’t a reason, he just felt it would be better with that.

“Ouch ouch...” Seruni sighed from relief when it stopped, gently grasping his back. “What was that?”

“The ritual symbol, did you not know about that?”

“No... Suppose not.” Ren nodded, gently grasping the boy’s face. “Hey wha-Mm!” A soft kiss between them, Ren shutting his eyes to enjoy it.

“Mm~...” Ren giggled into the kiss, before cutting it off swiftly with his thumb, just as Seruni was about to melt into the feeling. “Good Daikon pet!”

“I’m not a pe-Fuck!” And Ren had disappeared in his grasp, the cover falling onto the couch without a sight. “Stupid fucking demon...” He tried to ignore the bright red stuck on his face due to the kiss, covering it with his arm.

Seruni slouched down onto his couch, not knowing what better to do. But of course, was instantly brought of it by a little child.

“Is everything alright sir..?” The girl grinned brightly at the house husband, him smiling softly.

“Of course, go back to doing what you were doing, unless you need to-Oh-Yeah go ahead.” She opened her book, flipping to a random page and started to ramble happily about her story.

Seruni would’ve stopped her, but just sighed softly, patting her head and allowing her to go on. Maybe it wouldn’t be as tough with the kids around him.

---

Ren quietly sighed, sitting on top of the roof. He had officially been in this hell hole of a house for three weeks. Each day it was some new kid yelling out in joy, clinging to his arm, only being stopped by Seruni.

It was good food though, he hadn’t really gotten used to someone caring for him. It was new, it was like the family he never had. Something eventful. They would constantly listen to Seruni, who took great care of them. Ren didn’t really see any of them as special, besides maybe Seruni.

It was so peaceful out. Maybe it was because there weren’t any mortals on his doorstep bothering him, maybe not. Either way, the view over the pond was beautiful, the moon lighting up the sky, the soft noises of fireflies and-

“Hey.”

“Fuck!” Ren flinched, looking behind him. “Oh. You.” Seruni sighed, sitting next to him.

Ren stared at the pond. He needed to flirt with him, try and seduce him and get into bed with him. No one would have him as a victim due to his holy aura. He could just kill him and then that would get rid of him.

Seruni laid back against the roof, Ren staring at him. Not a dress, but still feminine clothing. White suspenders with a lacy undershirt, something Ren would only see in those cheesy romantic comedies. He... Didn’t look too bad for a human.

Ren had to admit, he was an attractive human. He had the looks, the personality from what he could see. He had an overall calming demeanor. Most likely good in bed, but most definitely submissive and nervous.

“So... Why is something as beautiful as you awake at this time?” Ren winked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Because I’m trying to read. But a certain demon is being an annoying bitch and won’t let me.” Ow, that hurt. Seruni opened his book, placing it on his lap, the demon glaring at him. He was going to be hard to get with.

“Mm...” Ren kept his eyes on the human, watching him flip through the pages. His calming demeanor, his soft face... It was easy to like, he hadn’t seen an attractive human in forever. “So~, are you single?”

“A-Are you flirting with me?” Seruni glanced over at him.

“Well who wouldn’t?” His trashy and corny flirting seemed to work on Seruni, his face heating up. He was even more cute when he was nervous. A cold harsh business heir who’s embarrassed easily and becomes a nervous wreck... That didn’t sound too bad.

“O-Oh shut up...” Seruni turned away, trying to ignore the man’s affection attitude. Ren didn’t give up though, his hands grasping Seruni’s waist and thigh.

“Woah... Are all humans this...” He jokingly squished his thigh, before getting a slam of a book to the face. “Fuck!”

“I-Oh my god I’m so sorry, wait...” Seruni didn’t pack a punch in it of himself, but that book was thick and heavy, it would definitely leave some bruising. The demon pulled away, trying to get away from him. He wasn’t a holy aura, he was a horrid-

“Mm-“ Ren felt an ice pack hit his face, whining softly at the feeling. “I-It’s so cold...”

“Hey... Just relax. I’m sorry... Just breath.” The demon wanted to pull away, but he didn’t, relaxing slightly. He didn’t think a human could care this much. Sure, Seruni had patched him up before, but he didn’t see it, so it could’ve been anyone. And the scar on his face wasn’t that bad, but...

Owning up to his own faults and doing this? It felt sincere... Unlike any other human he had seen. Everyone else would hurt him even more, or yell and order him around. Seruni was so gentle, his movements were... Soothing.

“...O-Okay...” Ren trusted him, he felt a bit more calm, leaning into his ice pack. Seruni let out a soft sigh, holding the ice pack there.

“Here... Let me make this more comfortable, a-and do-don’t tell a-anyone e-else or I’ll kick you out...” He didn’t have the guts to, but still.

Seruni sat up, pulling Ren’s head down into his lap, the softness of his thighs gently pressing against Ren’s head. The other hand moved the ice pack beside Ren’s cheek. Ren tensed up, he doubted this. He had never been treated like this. With sincere care.

“You’re... You’re messing with me aren’t you?” He shivered in fear, scared of what Seruni was going to do. Sure, he could beat Seruni up, but this was new, he hadn’t ever had this much affection.

“I’m not. I’m trying to ease your mind. Shush. You’re such a dumb demon...” Ren wanted this to last forever... He never got this, he barely knew what was happening, but it made him feel warm inside. Seruni’s thigh warmth, along with the ice pack.

“It’s... Woah.” The demon blinked, “You’re so nice...”

“I-No I’m not! I-I’m... I-I’m not nice...” Seruni looked away, still being as tsundere as ever.

“Oh c’mon! I’ve never gotten a mortal who would risk their night for a demon~. Plus you don’t look hideous!”

“I-... Is that a compliment..? W-Whatever, I’m not n-nice...” Seruni, even during this small little debate, wouldn’t let Ren move around.

“I guess~... But you’re quite special for a human...” Ren stared at the water, enjoying the comfortability.

“Hmph... On that note, you need to sleep.”

“Oh c’mon... No I don’t.”

“Yes, yes you fucking do.” Seruni retorted, his tone colder then before.

“Ugh... I’m not moving from here though.”

“You... Y-You want to sleep on my thighs, d-dumbass?”

“Well I was thinking just sleeping with you, but that works too.”

“Se-“

“Yes, sexually. But if you’re going to be weak and not-H-What are you doing?” Seruni retracted his thighs, picking up Ren’s head.

“Demon, lay flat.”

“Wow. We made a contract and you still don’t know the spell to order me around? What a weakling.” Ren chuckled, shifting around to lay flat, arms behind his head. But this teasing attitude soon changed, Seruni laying on top of Ren, face on his chest. “O-Oh.”

Ren was flustered now, not having experienced this. Usually after doing the deed, he just kinda left, there wasn’t any point in anything after that. And sure, this wasn’t sex, but it was cuddling, and Ren hadn’t ever...

“Shuddup y-you ugly d-demon...” Seruni nuzzled his neck, now really portraying his nickname of a pet.

“Are...” Ren’s heartbeat was a lot faster, him trying to find a way to slow it down, but he wasn’t able to. “Fuck-Uhm, a-are you comfortable?”

“...Y-Yeah...” Seruni’s hands wrapped around Ren’s upper back. And the incubus was panicking, not knowing what to do.

“I-Oh...” He, being more of a sexual person, moved his hand to Seruni’s ass, the other in his hair. Seruni shifted around, but just let the demon, not having the balls to speak up.

Both of them were having a gay panic attack, bright red, and nervous. Ren’s tail moved around Seruni’s back. Soon, even Ren’s wings lazily wrapped around Seruni.

“Does... Is that-I-Is that more warm?” He gently scratched Seruni’s head, Seruni still in his neck.

“I-Y-Yeah...” Both of them went quiet after that, Seruni and Ren way too embarrassed to speak up. Neither of them had ever cuddled before, well, Seruni had a lot, but he had never cuddled with a demon. It was foreign to him. At the same time, Seruni enjoyed it. It mad him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Seruni soon fell asleep, the noise of Ren’s heartbeat easing his mind. It had always calmed him, and even if his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest, Seruni didn’t care.

Ren was trying to sleep, but with his heart racing. He usually only had sex, making them satisfied by that, but this was... So much better, so much softer.

Ren couldn’t even stop staring, how peaceful Seruni looked, how he breathed softly, chest falling and rising against his own. Like a small little cat, or like a prince. How did a human act like such a cold hearted bitch, but then they looked like this, and treated him with care...

This... This mortal was different to Ren. Something worth protecting and cherishing. Ren didn’t understand the emotion, how it felt like his heart was pounding against his chest over and over again. How he wanted Seruni to cuddle him more. How he thought Seruni would make the perfect person to make a contract with.

“...I’d have to ask Rei.” He softly groaned, the missions and tasks he had been assigned completely washing away in his mind, instead filled with a certain little house husband who was undeniably the most adorable mortal Ren had seen in ever.

---

The soft noise of the fire filled the room, Ren half asleep on Seruni’s chest. It had become a habit for these two to cuddle like this after that incident. Sure, they grew close alarmingly fast, but Ren really wanted to learn about human affection, and Seruni had obliged.

“Ah~... No, no horns. Hands back to my horns.” Seruni scratched right where his horns connected to his head, the demon smiling like a dork. “Fuck~... It feels so nice...” Ren loved being the center attention, especially when it came to this mortal in particular.

“Nasty demon, may I ask something?”

“I have a name but go on beautiful~...” Ren was really dazed, so soft from being treated like a little puppy, borderline being a golden retriever boy.

“Why do you seem... So starved for attention?”

“Hm... Oh...” Ren looked a bit sadder, before opening his eyes. “I’ve... I’ve never gotten any affection besides sex. Maybe a bit of flirting, but that’s... That’s it. I-I don’t mean to over spill but...” Seruni stopped scratching when he lowered his tone, having a feeling something was up.

“M-My mom... She left me at young age... Maybe 100 years into my life? M-My dad was just abusive... I’ve... I’ve never been in a committed relationship either. Well, I’ve always wanted to be in one, but ya know... Never happened.” Ren sniffled, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. “A-And... D-Demons are cruel, a-and none of them g-give me the littlest bit of a-attention...”

Seruni’s gaze softened, Ren starting to cry. He grasped the taller’s face, wiping his tears away. Ren rubbed against his hand, acting like a little kitty.

“A-And for a mortal, s-something a-as disgusting a-as you, t-to give m-me what I-I n-need...” Ren whined, trying to not bother. He loved how Seruni treated him, he wanted more of his attention, for him to constantly give him affection and attention and praise...

“Demon.” Ren blinked, teary eyed as Seruni wiped his tears. “Rest in my neck for a second... We can get hot chocolate and watch a horror movie, you don’t have to move from my chest, I-I can give attention to whatever demon part makes you feel happy to be scratched by, a-and... W-We c-can do that i-if it eases your mind... B-But don’t be w-weird a-and t-tell the others d-dumbass...

Ren blinked, before grinning brightly, huddling against Seruni. “Yes, yeah of course! I’d love to!”

“Glad...” Seruni tried to move his arm away, the demon instantly grabbing it. “H-Hey? I-I need...”

“Horns and tail.” The house husband sighed, his hand moving down towards his tail, rubbing it a bit, before scratching where it connected to Ren’s lower back, he did the same with his horns. “Oh satan that feels nice...” He grinned, his face in his nape.

“I’ll... I’ll call the staff.”

And a few moments later, Seruni had kept his promise. The pair were huddle up with a blanket around them, Seruni’s hands now on his wings and massaging them, Saw 1 on the TV, Ren passionately watching seeing as he hadn’t seen it before,

“C’mon... You can do it woman! You can get it off your head!” Ren cheered, having only enjoyed her character so far. Plus she was pretty. Not to mention that Ren whole heartedly believed movies actually portrayed real things, thinking that she was actually in trouble. Seruni didn’t dare correct him. “Yes! You can do it girl!”

Seruni snickered, enjoying the other’s passion, his pure joy and happiness filling the room. The demon grabbed his cup of hot chocolate, holding it, Seruni only able to describe it like he was L from Death Note, and drank some.

“Yes! Don’t kill her possessed doll! Y-Oh wait that, mm~...” He softly groaned, Seruni scratching it in a particular way, distracting from whatever was going on in the movie. It wasn’t in a weird way, but he was an incubus, of course he made weird, a bit sexual, noises whenever he felt happy. “So nice... Thank you Daikon pet...”

The human sighed. “Y-You’re such a dumb demon...”

“Yeah but you love me~...” Ren teased, hearing Seruni’s heartbeat speed up a bit.

“N-No... No I-I don’t...” Seruni looked away, still acting all tsundere as usual. Ren giggled, before grasping his chin, leaning in close to Seruni’s lips, their eyes meeting.

“Mm~...” His finger traced over the softness of the house husband’s lips, Seruni already trembling to his touch. And without hesitation...

He leaned in, watching Seruni close his eyes, trying to compute what was going on, but at the same time he was completely okay with it. Ren giggled, their lips touching slightly, before...

A loud slurp noise, Ren’s tongue licking Seruni’s lips. Due to him being a demon, his tongue was a lot longer then usual, probably going down to his neck.

“Wh-Hey!” Seruni was bright red, but then there was demon spit on his face, Ren snickering softly. “I-It isn’t-Mm!”

Ren actually kissed him this time, easing into the kiss, making Seruni even more flustered. Still, he leaned into it, not moving his hands, but being a lot more gentle with scratching. Just soft kissing, Seruni enjoying the attention.

Ren pulled away, glancing at his lips. “I... Woah. Mortals usually don’t have this good of lips...” He toyed with his with his thumbs, staring dazedly at them. He had to admit, they were almost perfect.

“S-Shut...” Seruni didn’t want to finish, feeling Ren pull him into another kiss, their lips connecting, making Seruni space out. He couldn’t deny how perfect this guy’s lips were.

Soon, Ren leaned in again, surprisingly not horny or sexual about it. He just thought Seruni had a nice pair of lips on him, pulling him even closer, hoping no one would walk in. The hands through his hair, making sure he was focusing on him and him only, nothing else.

Ren was probably getting addicted to kisses from Seruni, even if they only had kissed a few times. His lips felt so soft, like plush. Something that Ren absolutely adored.

“Fuck...” Seruni pulled away, the incubus a bit distracted by all the tension between them. He just watched, Seruni slowly regaining his breath. “Ah... F-Fucking... St-Stupid demon!”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to be kissed Daikon~?” Ren winked, Seruni quickly turning his head to glare at the winking boy. “Okay okay, I’m sorry my little pet.”

“S-Stop i-it... I-I’m not a p-pet...” He whined, his hands slowly going back to scratching.

“Human pet~, signed under a contract~. What will I do with you? I’ll just... Make you feel like the little prince you are.” He kept teasing him, trying to see how embarrassed Seruni could get.

“I-I’m not a-a p-pet o-or a pr-prince...” Ren giggled, his hands moving down south, grabbing Seruni’s ass. “H-Hey!”

“Oh nothing~... Just giving these attention~...” Another quick wink, he was back to groping his ass, Seruni bright red as usual. “You can ignore me Daikon~...”

Weakly, Seruni’s hand grabbed Ren’s horns, scratching where his horns and head met, the other moving down to his tail and massaging there. Ren lazily giggled, his face resting in the crook of Seruni’s neck.

“What a cute little human~... Alright~, continue.”

---

“Ooo~...” Ren watched quietly, seeing Seruni busy flipping pancakes. “Morning mortal!”

They had become fairly close after that previous cuddling session. Seruni wanted Ren to be open with him, and hearing him openly talk about his feeling made Seruni a bit happier. He wanted to make sure Ren was happy, reassure him in anyway possible.

“Morning twink.” Seruni yawned, staring at what he was making intently. Ren simply watched, not really caring. He just stood next to him as he cooked breakfast.

“That looks good~... Almost as good as your ass.” Ren winked, before getting shin kicked. Really hard. Not with any mercy. “Ow! Fuck!”

“Y-You fu-fucking perverted d-demon...”

“It’s not my fault you have a good ass.” Ren yawned, acting it off as he wrapped his arms around Seruni, his hands grabbing Seruni’s thighs. “These, belong to mwah~.” Ren chuckled, his hands playing with the squishiness.

“Y-You’re...” Seruni let out a groan. “F-Fucking si-simp...”

“Mhm~...” Ren stayed behind Seruni, doing his normal demon simp things, absolutely worshipping the house husband’s thighs with his hands.

Seruni shakily sighed, continuing to make breakfast, the demon a bit clingy but overall not too concerning. It was just a classic warmth session, nothing too weird.

Soft noises of the pancake hitting the pan then the plate, Seruni having to cook for around 40 people. Ren didn’t even know how Seruni’s house could hold that many people, but it seemed to. And everyone absolutely adored his food, that included Ren.

“Y-You can... Y-You can let go.” Ren heard Seruni mumble, his voice soft, face bright red, trying to play off his nervousness.

“What? Does it make you embarrassed?”

“No-No... I-It’s just t-that we aren’t d-dating? And ya know, w-we’re just friends.” Ren rolled his eyes, only clinging onto him harder. Seruni didn’t seem to mind, but part of what Seruni had said, it just started to gnaw at him.

That they aren’t dating. I mean, Ren knew that, they had only known each other for around 4 months, but Ren had already grown attached to Seruni. He was so kind, and he didn’t seem to mind that Ren was such a dork. An attention hungry little dork. If anything, it seemed like Seruni had found it sweet. Which was the truth. Seruni thought that Ren clinging to him was sweet.

How he looked, how he acted, Ren was a bit way too happy that Seruni existed. He wanted to pick him up sometime, see him flustered but looking down at Ren. Ren just switching it up, kissing him on the lips happily. It made Ren’s heart flutter whenever it happened

...

Was kissing not a common thing between humans? He hadn’t seen any of the humans kiss each other on the lips like him and Seruni did. He had seen people do it before, but most of them were holding hands or had rings on.

“Hey, Daikon. Is... Is kissing a common form of greeting between humans? We did it before, so I assume it’s common...” Ren mumbled the last part, leaning Seruni’s shoulder to look up at him.

“Wh-What? N-No i-it isn’t...” Seruni was trying not to mess up the food, while also focusing on Ren.

“Huh? Then why-“

“Y-You kn-know why stupid!” Seruni looked away, softly kicking Ren’s ankles. Not enough for him to even feel the pain, but maybe a small wince.

“Wh-No I don’t!” Ren blinked, a bit stiffened. “Is it something private?”

“I...I-I suppose...” Seruni was trying to make an excuse of his blatant like to be kissed by the simp, even if it was hard to explain that he had a small crush on the demon. But that was a whole other topic.

Ren sighed, cuddling up against the human’s back, before quietly whispering. “Human~... C’mon~, you don’t want to hide that from me?” And then a loud shriek. And it wasn’t from Seruni. “Fuck!”

“Y-You dumb... D-Dumb fucking de-demon...” Seruni was trying to cool his face, trying to ease his heart, but it was pretty hard to when he had no way to get out of being asked why he wanted to be kissed by Ren and Ren exclusively. Especially when Ren was using a raspy voice to see if he could be sexual and get it out of him.

“Hmph. Whatever.” The demon pouted, trying to play being kicked off, tightening his grasp around Seruni. The feminine male just remained silent, having a small urge to shin kick him again.

The silence remained like that for a few seconds, Seruni setting down the pan for a few seconds. Ren watched, lowkey having an idea of what to do to set Seruni off even more.

Ren grabbed Seruni’s shoulder, spinning him around, before pulling him to the side of the counter, making sure he wouldn’t burn himself on the stove, before grabbing his collar, the other arm on the counter holding Seruni in place, kissing him. Almost instantly he could hear the house husband’s panic, nearly being able to hear the guy’s heart beat.

Still, he quickly melted into the kiss, lips colliding, matching together like two puzzle pieces. His arms wrapped around Ren’s neck, pulling him a bit deeper. Neither of them cared if someone walked in, if this was gay, or anything. They just wanted to be there and kiss until they felt hazy minded, having to pull away, trying to regain their train of thought, before tossing that out the window again, kissing more.

Seruni pulled away, taking deep breaths. “F-Fuck...” Ren panted as well, even if he didn’t need to. Heart racing was an understatement.

Ren traced his thumb over Seruni’s lips, the human still trying to regain his breath. Seruni stayed a panting mess for a few seconds, before softly nodding, Ren instantly taking his chance and tugging him close and kissing him. He chose not to pin him this time, just tugging at his hair so he could make the kiss deeper, his other hand on Seruni’s lower back.

What was this? Ren’s chest felt like it was about to explode, that it was going to burst out of his chest, like something was just drumming on it over and over again. He didn’t hate it, it felt amazing, and it was caused by Seruni.

It didn’t feel like lust, even if that was a factor. It felt so much more... Warm, happy? It felt like his mind was blank with Seruni’s kisses, hugs, his care, everything, it made him a bit dazed.

Ren tried to think, but he couldn’t, feeling Seruni pulling him a bit harder. It was the only thing he could think of. Ren could multitask usually, but this made it so much different.

A loud door slam, Seruni instantly pulling away, pushing Ren off, landing against the counter. It was all so sudden to Ren, making him tremble a bit. It was another human, a more disgusting one. Well, all mortals were disgusting, maybe minus Seruni. But his mortalness did make Ren a bit ticked off.

The other human didn’t seem to care what was going on, simply walking to what Seruni called a fridge, pulling out a can of something orange with a fruit on the cover. They chugged it down, taking a quick sigh of relief after they finished it, before casually tossing it in the trash.

“See ya.” It was so fast, neither Ren or Seruni were near each other, Ren letting out a sigh of relief.

“Fuck...” Ren walked closer, arms wrapping around Seruni, a wink towards him. “May I, Daikon?”

Something seemed off, Seruni going quiet, Ren a bit put off. Something was on Seruni’s mind.

“You’re... You’re a demon, why am I even fucking...” Seruni dropped down, getting out from in his arms. “No-No no... You’re a demon, I’m not supposed to be with you.”

“Huh-What?” Ren blinked, staring hardly at the smaller. “We legit just fucking made ou-“

“No, Ren, I don’t think you fucking understand... I know you mean no harm, but I have a high profile family, and if I’m caught with someone like you, a demon? I’m fucking dead.” Seruni grasped the counter, pinching his nose slightly.

“I-Oh.” Ren grasped his arm. “Is your family... Is your family really that important to you?”

“Yes, what the fuck do you think?” Seruni slightly raised his voice, but his mood instantly changed, realizing he had just snapped at Ren. “Wait-Fuck I’m sorry, it’s... It’s my fault, I need to go... I’ll call someone else in.” Ren tried to grab Seruni’s hand, only for the smaller to jerk it away.

And there he was left, alone.

---

Ren... Didn’t know what he was feeling. Pissed, mad, enraged, Iike there was a pit in his stomach due to this. But even with that, he was trying to solve the feeling he was feeling about Seruni. It felt nice, but he didn’t understand it. Whenever Seruni was around, he felt a bit light headed, like Seruni was causing it. He didn’t think Seruni was a warlock or something of the sort, he was a mortal, but it was like some spell had been put on him, causing him to swoon.

Kissing him was replaying like a movie in his mind, like it was something that would never stop. The fight after was still in his mind, but at the same time, Seruni’s kiss was so fucking nice, and everything bad washed out of his mind due to it.

“Fuck~...” He suffocated his face in the pillow, trying to distract himself in some way. He ignored the wetness on his face from previously crying, seeing as they had only fought a few hours ago. He felt so light headed, almost like he could fly-Never mind, he could fly. Well, that he could fly without wings.

Ren grabbed the phone like device, dialing some random digits, picking it up to call his boss. Rei Mitsuru, she was honestly a scary women, and he was not ready to talk with her.

“...Hello?” Her voice came through the phone, Ren’s posture almost immediately tensing up. The merciless women already sounded tired of him. It was at this moment he chose not to bring up the fight, knowing she would probably be mad that he had already gotten into a fight with a non-victim.

“Yeah, it’s Ren...” He nervously spoke, his entire demeanor filled with fear.

“Akisuta? Oh. Hmph.” Rei sighed, already speaking. “Tell me, what are your intentions? If it’s not worth my time I expect an apology.” Yeah, he knew why. She was definitely stepping on someone based on the gagging in the background.

“I know this is a really odd question, but you know love? Like, the feeling that you feel when you... I don’t know, I’ve never felt it. Which-“

“Cliche. And are you asking what love means?” Rei chuckled. “What? Did you fall in love with a fucking whoreish mortal?”

“He’s not a whore!” Ren blinked, realizing what he had just said. Love, Seruni? Well, he thought he loved Seruni, I mean, it was perfectly plausible. I mean, he did look nice, he seemed overall... Nice enough. Plus Ren could force him to cuddle without getting into too much trouble.

“You... You fell in love with a human?” Rei seemed more cold, and the gagging had even stopped. He heard a lot crack and yelp in the background, following by the clacking of her heels. “Oh my god, you disgusting, foolish, nasty, ugly demon. You stupid idiot, what is your problem?”

“I-I don’t... I don’t know... He just... He’s just there, and... I kinda... I’ve never felt more happy around someone. He treats me normally, and...” Ren shivered quietly. “I like cuddling with him by the fire as he plays with my tail and wings, watching a horror thing, then talking while we do so, occasionally our lips meeting as we talk, enjoying the attention. It feels right! But, the thought of fighting with him,” He tried to be round about mentioning the fight, “it hurts, I don’t want to fight with him, he makes me so happy... And I love it, not the fighting, just his presence, and I don’t know for sure, but I think I might be in love with him? That isn’t weird right?”

The clacking of shoes stopped, followed by a sigh. “Tell me, what do you feel when you’re around him? Bliss? Joy? Does it feel like he’s causing this?”

“Oh! Well he’s super handsome and cute, he’s good with kids, he’s the owner of this household. He has a purer and more calming aura then an unholy aura, and it seems like he wouldn’t be a victim for anyone.”

“His name?”

“Seruni Daikon.”

“...We have a Seruni Dakion?”

“Oh, uhm, him! Yeah! Sorry, his name sounds so much cuter with Daikon, right?” Ren snickered, listening to Rei type.

“...He seems clean. An assistant to a lot of murders, but, you know.” Rei sighed, looking at her reports on the man.

“Woah... You think he’d commit arson with me?” Ren kicked his feet back and forth behind him, smiling at the thought of Seruni and him committing crimes together.

“No, looks like he has a stick up his ass, but... He seems pleasant, I like him.” She was clearly going through his record, smirking softly at what she was seeing. It was quite pleasant for Ren to pick a half decent man. “A house husband, would be a good partner. Not to mention feminine, he doesn’t seem bad.”

“Mhm~... Soft thighs, soft cuddler, amazing food, the best lips I’ve ever kissed, they’re addicting, and imagining him as mine would be so fucking amazing, it’s one of the best thoughts I can think of right now...”

“So... Are you in love with him?”

“I... I think I am.” Ren sighed with a dumb founded smile on his face. “I love Seruni... That seems right, I like that.”

“Does he seem to like you back?”

“No idea.”

“Okay, what about interactions you have had?”

“Ooh~, he cuddled with me on the couch after I had an emotional breakdown, his hands were just scratching at all the right spots, not sexually. Not to mention the kisses, how amazing his lips felt against mine, his embarrassment is so fucking sweet. He’s good with kids, even if I want to kill a child.” Ren explained, trying to fit all his thoughts on Seruni into one thought. It was hard. “Also his thighs, they’re like little pillows, I need to see them-“

“Nothing sexual, I will block you and boot your ass back into the demon realm.”

“Alright alright, Satan.” The incubus rolled his eyes, a bit too dazed to form a sentence without rambling about his small little tsundere crush. “I like it. I really like being in love with him.”

“Is that so?”

“Duh. I mean, he might not like me back, a-and that hurts, but, if he does, imagine all the little dates we could go on, cuddling on his bed, how we could just talk for hours, really anything. We would be partners in crime.” A shaky sigh left his lips. “That isn’t weird right?”

“No, you’re just a whore.” Ren groaned, taking that a bit personally.

“Rude... I just think he’s so...”

“Perfect, yaddity yadda. Whatever. Is there anything else you had to tell me?” Rei tapped her heel out of impatience, almost sensing something was off.

“...Yeah, actually. See uhm... Me and Seruni got into a fight recently. I didn’t mean to set him off or anything, it’s my fault, I kissed him and he realized just with a sudden realization that I was a demon, and that we shouldn’t even be in contact, and I got scared. Do you have any advice to settle this? I’ve never been in a situation like this.” Ren rambled a bit.

“I see... Well one, he’s acting pretty stupid. He shouldn’t be acting that way towards an incubus, stupid mortal.” Ren snickered at that, but it was a lot more sour, nervous. “But I suppose if you just let it happen. Don’t try and solve it with him, he might need time to think. When you have alone time together, then bring it up then, okay?”

Ren quickly shook his head. “Alright, thank you. I really appreciate it ma’am.”

“No problem whore, now I have to get back to stepping on men, this guy took all my panties. I’ll talk later you simp.” And a ring, and she had hung up.

Ren sighed, flipping over. That was that. He was in love, in love with a dumb mortal. He didn’t know how to take it, but at the same time, he really didn’t care, he was happy, knowing what it was. Even if it stun that he was in a conflict with him, he felt like he’d be able to solve it eventually.

“I... I love you Seruni Dakion.”

---

“Ren? Ren why aren’t you asleep?” Seruni walked into Ren’s room, seeing the demon up and just staring at his phone blankly. He looked tired, spaced out, but he didn’t seem to want to sleep. “Hey! Stupid demon!”

(Part 2!)

#artsy crime #oc x oc #gay #nblm #quick one shot

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jarmes · 5 years

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The Man In The Attic

From the attic of a suburban family’s home, a mysterious stranger fixes their problems...

The walls in this house are thin. I hear every footstep, every word, every rage-filled fight with crystal clarity. At 6:00, I hear Keith’s alarm go off. Five minutes later I hear him stumble out of bed and into the shower. At 6:30, I hear the sound of Karen knocking on Kim’s door and the sound of Kim chucking a pillow at her. At 6:45, I hear the front door opening as Keith leaves for work. At 7:15, I hear Karen wake Kevin up. Five minutes later I hear the sound of a sizzling griddle as she makes breakfast for her children. At 7:45 I hear Kim leave the house, dragging her younger brother with her. Five minutes later, I hear Karen pouring herself a cup of coffee. At 8:05 Karen finally leaves. Five minutes later, I descend from the attic.

I open the refrigerator door and pull out a Tupperware container full of pasta, leftovers from the previous night. I only take a few bites, small enough that no one will notice that I’ve touched anything. Karen has left half a pot of coffee sitting on the counter; I finish it off. As I sip my lukewarm coffee, I make my way to the living room and turn on the TV.

The morning news is playing some sensationalist story about a string of recent break-ins. I roll my eyes and flip through the channels, looking for something interesting to watch. After finding nothing but reruns and game shows, I open up the DVR recordings.

I pop on a new episode of a sitcom I like, one about a happy family that Keith recorded the previous night. While I watch it I check the recording schedule, making sure that my shows are set to tape. I notice that the Karen forgot to tape this afternoon’s episode of one of her soap operas.

I imagine the fight that’ll break out when Karen comes home and realizes that her stories weren’t taped. Presumably, she’ll accuse Keith of deleting them for the sole purpose of angering her and refuse to acknowledge the possibility that she made a mistake. Keith will bring up the fact that he’s had a hard day at work, which will only make Karen angrier. Kevin will try to drown out the fight by watching TV and Kim will storm out of the house.

I set the soap opera to record and pat myself on the back for a job well done. I can’t imagine how these people got by before I started living here. I’m the glue that holds this family together. My job is thankless, primarily because the Brattons don’t know I exist.

I’ve been living in the Bratton family’s attic for nine months now. Hiding in the attic of a suburban middle-class family was never the plan. My stepfather kicked me out and I didn’t have anywhere to stay, so I started squatting in an unsold house on their street. After three days of squatting, a new family moved in without any warning.

I probably should have run away. But, I knew finding a new squatting location would be a hassle, so I just started hiding in the attic. When the Brattons are all gone, I sneak down to grab food from their fridge. When they come back, I return to my hiding place. It was hard, at first, avoiding detection. I almost got caught a dozen times. But, before long, I managed to learn the family’s schedules. Nowadays the odds of me getting caught are minuscule.

My hearing has gotten pretty good over the past few months, so I was able to hear the unmistakable sound of a door opening at 8:30. This surprises me, because I know for a fact that no one should be home until 3:45. As soon as the door opens I dash to the pantry; it would take to long to return to the attic.

I hear the sound of footsteps. Judging by their sound, they belong to Kim. I realize that she must be skipping school. I hear, through the thin door of the pantry, Kim walk to the living room. Sneaking past her to return to the attic is risky. If she doesn’t move until her family comes home, I’ll definitely get caught. I reach into my pocket and grab my cell phone. I text Karen, informing her of her daughter’s truancy. I smile when the Read tag appears beneath my message. I wait for Karen to come storming home.

I’ve learned a lot about the Brattons since I started living with them. Karen and Keith were high school sweethearts, him the local high school’s star quarterback and her the head of the cheer squad. I honestly think that the two of them would have gone their separate ways if it wasn’t for an unplanned pregnancy. Nine months and one shotgun wedding later, Keith and Karen came home with a baby girl named Kim.

If Karen’s weekly phone calls to her sister are to be believed, Kim used to be a sweet kid. But, with high school came new problems. One day Kim came home with black hair, piercings, and a new foul attitude. Keith and Karen came to the conclusion that they were the only parents in the history of mankind to have a rebellious teenager and responded by doubling down on punishments in an attempt to “fix” their daughter, something that has only made her rebel more.

Karen rips open the front door and marches into the living. “What’s up, mom?” Kim says.

“Why aren’t you at school?” Karen asks.

“Didn’t feel like going,” Kim replies.

Karen sighs. “Kim, you need to go to school,” she says. “Otherwise, you won’t be able-”

“I won’t be able to get into college and then I won’t be able to get a good job and I’ll have to marry a loser,” Kim interjects. “I’ve heard the speech before, mom.”

“Then why do you keep doing things like this?”

“Chill.”

“I had to leave my nursing class to come and get you, you know.”

“That was a dumb decision.”

I hear the sound of a struggle, presumably created by Karen grabbing Kim by the ear and dragging her to the front door. “How’d you even find out I skipped school?” Kim asks.

“You principal texted me,” Karen replies.

I chuckle from the darkened pantry. I inputted my number into Karen’s phone number under the principal’s name two months prior, knowing that a situation like this might occur. After making sure that Karen and Kim are gone, I return to the living room to watch TV.

At 3:00, I grab some snacks from the cupboard and return to the attack. At 3:45, right on schedule, I hear Karen’s car pull into the driveway.

I hear Kevin dash for his bedroom as soon as Karen opens the front door. “No video games until you’re done with your homework!” Karen shouts.

A few minutes later I hear the sound of Kevin turning on a game console. I don’t know if Karen doesn’t know or is just too busy to care. If I were to guess, I would say that she’s working on her classwork. Fortunately, I don’t have to guess.

I grab a small tablet sitting atop a pile of boxes and turn it on. Camera feeds showing various rooms spread throughout the house appear on the screen. The feed from the kitchen shows Karen surrounded by a pile of books, jotting down notes in a notebook. The feed from Kevin’s room shows him sitting on a beanbag chair, blasting heads off an army of zombies. There isn’t a feed from the attic; if there were, it would show me lazily lying on the old couch I claimed as my bed.

The security system was already installed when the Brattons moved in. The realtor neglected to tell them about the countless cameras spread throughout the house, designed to help stop an intruder. Ironically, nothing has contributed to my continued residence in this house more.

When I’m up in my attic, I do a variety of things to keep myself busy. I read, I browse the internet, I play games on my phone. But, the main thing I do is observe the Brattons over the cameras. At first, I did this so I could learn their schedules and figure out how to stay hidden. Over time, I started watching them for my own enjoyment. The Brattons are better than any soap opera. Their fights, their wants, their struggles, all of these things feature an authenticity television could never reproduce.

I don’t pay for the food, shelter, and entertainment I take from these people, but I do make up for the things I take. I provide this family with something that money could never buy: stability. When I first met the Bratton’s, Keith and Karen’s marriage was hanging on by a thread. I knew that, if the two of them were to split up, they might leave this house and sell it to more observant residents. So I took it upon myself to keep the two of them together.

The main thing I do is clean up the minor creators of stress spread around the house. I make sure Keith’s work clothes are clean, I take out the trash when it gets too full, I make sure the toilet seat is down, I write things on the grocery list when we run out, that kind of thing.

I never do too much, because that would reveal my existence. Just enough to make sure Keith and Karen are happy. Occasionally, I do something big, like sending Karen flowers using Keith’s credit card or hiding tickets to a concert in the family’s mailbox. I honestly think that, if it wasn’t for me, Keith and Karen would have broken up months ago.

At 5:30, Karen moves her moves her books from the table to the living room. She isn’t done studying, but needs to start in on dinner if she’s going to have it done by the time Keith arrives at home. She pulls up a recipe on her phone and beings cooking fish.

I don’t think Karen ever wanted to be a housewife. She mentioned once, while talking to her sister on the phone, that she wanted to be a doctor when she was a kid. She’s never mentioned what changed, but I’m guessing that she put those dreams on hold when Kim came along.

She’s started taking nursing classes recently, a decision that has led to no shortage of stress in the Bratton family. No one has been impacted by this stress more than Karen herself, who has struggled to balance her studies and her family.

At 6:30, Keith comes home from work. He trudges through the front door and collapses onto the sofa. “How was your day?” Karen asks, seemingly oblivious.

“Tiring,” Keith replies.

Keith spends eleven hours each day in a cubicle. Since Karen started going back to school, things have been lean around the Bratton household. Keith volunteered to pick up extra responsibilities at work to help pad his salary, something he has regretted more and more with each passing moment.

Judging by the framed newspaper articles that hang in his study, Keith was a damn good football player in his youth, one good enough to get quite a few scholarships. He never accepted them, though. I’m not sure why.

“Keith, we need to talk about our daughter,” Karen says.

“What did she do this time?” Keith asks, eyes closed.

“She skipped school!”

“And?”

Karen scowls at Keith. “I can’t believe that you aren’t taking this seriously,” she says.

“Karen, she’s sixteen,” Keith says, rubbing his temples. “She’s going to make mistakes.”

“Skipping school is more than a mistake, Keith.”

“Fine, I’ll go talk to her,” Keith says while getting off the sofa.

“She isn’t here right now,” Karen says, “I drug her back to school but she hasn’t come back yet.”

Keith sighs. “Did you try calling her phone?” he asks.

“No Keith, I didn’t try calling my missing daughter,” Karen snaps. “Of course I tried calling her. She didn’t pick up.”

“Maybe that means she needs space.”

“She could be at the bottom of a ditch for all we know!”

Karen is proven wrong ten seconds later, when Kim walks through the front door. “Where on earth have you been for the past three hours?” Karen asks.

“Out,” Kim replies.

Keith chuckles and Karen shoots him an angry look. “I was hanging out with friends, I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Kim says.

“I was worried,” Karen says. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“It died,” Kim says.

“Bullshit,” Karen says.

“Easy,” Keith says as he pushes Karen and Kim apart. “Let’s all calm down.”

“I am perfectly calm, Keith,” Karen says. “I am just sick and tired of the fact that my daughter doesn’t respect me.”

“Okay,” Kim says while rolling her eyes.

Around this time, Kevin wanders downstairs, drawn by the fighting. He notices something that the others haven’t. “Mom?” he says.

“What is it, honey?” Karen asks, temporarily shifting her attention away from Kim.

“I smell smoke,” Kevin says.

Karen curses before running into the kitchen, ripping open the oven, and grabbing a glass pan containing charred fish with her bare hands. She screams and Keith runs over to her. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“I feel fucking phenomenal, Keith,” Karen says.

“Do you want to go to the hospital?”

“No,” Karen says, as blunt as a boulder.

She reaches into a drawer, grabs a pair of oven mitts, and picks the pan full of burnt fish off the floor. “I have had a long day and would like nothing more than to have a nice meal with my family,” she says.

The Brattons eat the burnt fish in silence. Up in the attic, I munch on a bag of chips, enthralled by the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Kevin doesn’t touch his food. “What’s wrong, honey?” Karen asks.

“I don’t like fish,” he replies.

“It’s what we’re having for dinner tonight,” Karen says.

“It’s burnt,” Kim says.

“Maybe it would be better if I was able to focus on making dinner instead of worrying about you,” Karen snaps.

The doorbell rings and Keith answers it. A pimply pizza delivery boy stands on the front porch, holding a large stack of pies. “Pizza delivery for Keith Bratton,” he says.

“We didn’t order any pizza,” Karen says as she walks over to the door.

“Is this 432 East Meadow Street?” the pizza boy asks.

“Yes,” Keith replies. “And I’m Keith Bratton.”

“I have a delivery for you,” the pizza boy says.

“We didn’t order any pizza,” Karen says as she slams the door in the pizza boy’s face.

To be fair, Karen is right that she didn’t order any pizza. I did, hoping to stop the eventual fight over dinner by replacing the burnt fish with fresh pizza. “What did you do that for?” Keith asks.

“We didn’t order pizza,” Karen replies.

“I know, but we could have just paid for the pizza and ate it for dinner.”

“I worked really hard on dinner and we are going to eat it as a family.”

Karen walks back to her chair. “So, how was school? she asks.”

“Good,” Kevin replies.

“Did anything interesting happen?”

“My teacher talked to me about football tryouts.”

“Football tryouts?” Keith asks, suddenly interested.

“The answer is no,” Karen says.

“Now, let’s not be rash,” Keith interjects.

“I said no,” Karen says. “Football is dangerous and I don’t want my son getting involved.”

“Karen, it’s just flag football,” Keith says. “He’ll be fine.”

“I said no, Keith,” Karen says. “That’s final.”

Kevin gets out of his chair and storms off to his room. “Nice going mom, you made another child hate you,” Kim says before following her brother.

Kevin is the youngest of the Brattons, born a measly seven years prior. As much as I hate to say it, I think Keith and Karen decided to have him to rekindle their long dead marriage. This plan failed as a second child only added to their stresses.

I think Kevin would have it a lot worse if I wasn’t around to keep his parents happy. I’ve seen children who grow up in broken homes and the problems they face. I’ve been keeping Keith and Karen together for Kevin’s sake as much as my own.

After dinner, Keith brings his laptop to the table and starts typing away. Karen scrubs away at the pan, rubbing off the charred fish and dumping it into the sink. “How was dinner?” she asks.

“It was fine,” Keith says.

It’s a lie, of course, and a poor one at that. Karen can easily see through her husband’s deception, but chooses to play along. “Just fine?” she asks.

Keith sighs. “Can we do this some other time?” he says. “I’m drowning in work right now.”

“You hated it, didn’t you?”

“I said it was fine, dammit. Why does it always have to be mind games with you?”

Karen leaves the pan to soak and begins cleaning one of the plates. “I’m just trying to make conversations, she says. “How was work?”

“Busy,” Keith says while typing on his computer.

“You know, I’d appreciate it if you put the laptop away while we’re talking.”

“Well, dear, I’d appreciate it if you acknowledged that my job pays for the roof over your head.”

“Here we go again,” Karen says, bitterness flowing through her words.

“What?”

“You act like you’re the only one who works hard in this family!” Karen shouts.

The plate slips from her fingers and falls to the ground, shattering. She reaches down to pick it up and slices open her finger. “Are you okay?” Keith asks.

“I’m fine,” Karen says as blood drips from her hand.

On my screen, I notice that Kevin is watching his parents from the living room. I sigh. No child should have to see their parents fight like this. Using a remote I stole from the living room I turn on the living room TV. Kevin stops watching his parents fight and starts watching my favorite sitcom, the one about a happy family.

#writing #short story #fiction

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jyslifetimes · 5 years

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A selection of pictures from my trip to Taiwan (some repeats from my stories): 1. 歡迎蒞臨台灣 Welcome to Taiwan . 2. 廚師休息 A chef rests. . 3. 舊樓 Old buildings：I like how housing communities all have a rec area. . 4. 不要對我尖叫 Don’t yell at me: what a nice name for a tea shop. . 5. 國父紀念館 Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall: during my first few days I was waking up hella early (5a) so I went here and joined a early morning Taichi group and the aunties there told me I gotta stretch more cuz I’m too stiff. . 6. 中影門口 The front gate to CMPC: if you told me five years ago I would be working with the same company that produced Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao Hsien films, I would flip out. Central Motion Pictures Corporation was the main studio behind the Taiwanese New Wave of the 1980s. That wave, no lie, changed my life and now I’m at the same studio. Pretty crazy. . 7. 高剪輯師 Editor Jerry: Was such a pleasure to work with and finally meet my editor Jerry Kao. We had been exchanging notes via google sheets for months and a few LINE calls, but to meet in person and discuss was key in getting the final touches to the film. . 8. 姑婆和姑姑 Great Aunt and Aunt: I showed them pictures of my newly born niece, the first of her generation in our immediate family to my great aunt, the last of her generation in her family. . 9. 士林站 Shilin Station . 10. With the humidity, I really needed a haircut. The nice older gentleman barber was from Miaoli and we chatted a little in Taiwanese. 我：我台語講甲不好。 . . #taiwan #taipei #中影 #cmpc #filmmaking #family #haircut (at Taipei, Taiwan) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2bQ3BypB60/?igshid=1inz0yzkvkcrj

#taiwan #taipei #中影 #cmpc #filmmaking #family #haircut

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mediocremagicman · 7 years

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Wednesday night draft!

7 person Hour of Devastation draft (2x HOU, 1x AKH)

I took Dreamstealer pack one pick one, and the Bloodwater Entity pick two then flip flopped between U/R and U/B for the rest of the pack. Pack two I took the second two Entities and locked into U/R. This worked out very well for me in the end as the nearest red player was 3 seats away and the nearest blue player was 4 away. Unfortunately pack 3 wasn’t as favorable as the two players to my right were both also U/R. Luckily this deck favored a more aggressive strategy than their decks and I was able to pick up some decent cards to round the deck out. Ended up going 2-1. In depth breakdown after the cut.

I ended up with this fairly aggressive spells deck. The number of two and three drops made it easy to curve out. Two instant/sorceries that have a decent chance of being cast before turn two and 3 other 3 drops was sufficient to get a good balance between the need to curve out and the desire to get the value on the Entity. When push come to shove though it is better to play the Entity without a target on turn three than do nothing and hold onto it trying to get value.

It’s a little light on spells for the spells deck it’s supposed to be big the triple Entity really makes up for this. Violent Impact is normally a card I would avoid playing main board, only bringing it in for problem artifacts. Given that I’m light on spells to trigger the Riddleform and Firebrand Archer I decided it was fine. My thought on this was that using one card to destroy one land is not good enough to play, but if I could potentially use one card to destroy two lands with Bloodwater Entity it would be worthwhile. This gamble paid off as 2 games I was able to cast it multiple times. One game I lived the dream and cast it 3 times to destroy all 3 of my opponent's lands. They managed to top deck two more but it was too late.

Round One (2-1) was a matchup against a midrange G/W deck. Game one they were on the play. I started with Firebrand Archer into Aerial Guide. On their turn 4 they played Oasis Ritualist. Given that they were in green I opted to hold up Essence Scatter rather than play my Bloodwater Entity which was devastating when they exerted the Ritualist to cast Sifter Wurm. My Entity put the Scatter back on top on my turn and they managed to push out a Rampaging Hippo out before I could draw it again. With 6 power coming in in the air at that point it was too late. I forget what I cast first main to hit a prowess and Archer trigger but it was largely irrelevant. Game two they opened with two Rhonas Stalwart and I didn’t any play until turn 3 when I played an Bloodwater Entity for no value. Game three despite missing white they started out very fast with Frilled Sandwalla into Resilient Khenra into Oketra’s Monument. I managed an early trade for the Khenra and on my turn 4 I use Violent Impact to destroy a forest and they then missed what would have been their fourth land drop things started to turn around. I then used two Bloodwater Entities to put the Impact back and kept destroying their lands as while they continued to not draw any more. After I destroyed the final forest they drew two more, but by that point it was too late.

Round Two (0-2) was the inevitable mirror match. Game 1 their deck simply outplayed mine at every turn. I took a slower hand for my deck and since their deck was build more midrange than mine as things went on it became increasingly worse for me. I was putting out 2/3′s and 2/2′s just after they played Frontline Devastators and Minotaur Sureshots I just had to block because of the potential blowout. I thought I might stabilize when I dropped the Striped Riverwinder but when they followed it up with a Vizier of Many Faces to copy it my fate was sealed. Game 2 I had early plays as their mid range picked up I drew lands and ran out of steam.

Round Three (2-0) I played against a B/W zombies deck that lacked big zombie payoffs. Given the aggressive nature of our decks we were basically racing from the beginning. My early game plays of Blur of Blades game 1 really accelerated me into the lead. While they managed to get in on the ground I just flew over and used Archer triggers to chip away faster. The Aven of Enduring Hope seemed to live up to it’s name as the 3/3 eats all of my flyers. A Bloodwater Entity bringing back back Blur of Blades put an end to that hope. Game 2 we both started out fast. A turn 1 God-Pharaoh's Faithful put my ground state on lockdown. I managed to put them off kilter with a double Violent Impact but they kept drawing more lands and since the deck had a low curve they managed to keep pushing stuff out. They got to 5 and managed save themselves from what I thought was certain death twice; Once with an Aven of Enduring Hope, and another time with a Scrounger of Souls. The game was finally decided by a top deck Aven Reedstalker. They came attempt to come in for lethal damage and it created the extra blocker I needed to not die, as well as the extra attacker I needed for my swing back to be deadly, even with the creature and life gain trigger they followed it up with.

Disclaimer that all this breakdown was from memory but I think I got all the important bits right. All in all this was one of my better drafts of this format so far. Round two didn’t work out for me but I still think I made the right decisions both while drafting and in games. On top of it being the right choice the U/R in this format was quite fun. I’m looking forward to the next time it’s open in draft.

#mtg #draft #magic draft #magic the gathering #limited magic #original

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felinehypocritical · 7 years

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Could you write a prompt whenever you have time where Bill gets Stan a book about birds for Hanukkah and Stan is sososo happy?!

indeed i can babe

Stan sat in his living room, sandwiched between Bill and Mike, smiling from ear to ear. It was December 9, 1961, and, in one lone house in all of Derry, Maine, it was also the seventh day of Hanukkah. Stan Uris’s household happened to be that home. The house could hardly be described as lonesome, though. There were, indeed, nine smiling people sitting together in a circle, laughing and sharing good conversation, happy and content.

And Stan seemed to be the happiest of all. He was looking around at his friends and his parents. His two favorite groups of people in the world.

He’d coerced his friends to coming over for Hanukkah- after all, he’d argued, it’s only good manners to invite the Lucky Seven over on this, the seventh day of Hanukkah. How often do you get seven days of a holiday, much less eight?

“Sure, I can name one for ya, Stanny. It’s called the twelve days of Christmas, maybe you’ve heard of them?” Richie had shot back, earning himself a clout over the head from Bill, who was already nodding his head in agreement with Stan.

“I th-th-think that’s a gruh-great idea, Stan,” Bill had responded, shooting Stan a grin that warmed him to the tips of his toes, just as he saw Stan’s previously wide smile begin to falter at Richie’s remark. “And eh-anyway, most p-people don’t do ah-all the d-d-d-days of Christmas. Richie’s j-just a bruh-brat.”

And so he had smiled and said that’d be fine, just fine, Bill, and there the plans were set. The whole gang had turned up at around five, and it was already getting much too dark and much too snowy, so Mrs. Uris had taken them inside amidst a numbers of admonishments to Richie about getting too skinny and a flurry of compliments for Bill (she seemed to have a soft spot for him), and sat them down on the parlor couch. As Stan helped his father in the kitchen, she began drilling them for information of everything- how school was, how their parents were, and by the way, Mike, had his mother liked the casserole recipe Andrea had given her? Jessica Hanlon had, and she had a dish to give back to her soon, and that was peachy, just peachy, Mike.

Stan had finished up with the glasses as quickly as humanly possible, knowing how intense his mother could be, and practically ran to sit down with the rest of his friends. His mother thanked him for helping with the dishes, and everyone could see the adulation he had for his mother when she kissed his cheek and smoothed her skirt out, heading back into the kitchen to “leave the boys to their own devices” for a while, as she had put it.

Richie cleared his throat, saying, “gee, Stanley, if you wanted to go with your parents, you could have just told us…” They all laughed at Stan’s affronted expression, before lapsing back into their conversation beforehand. Stan simply watched as they laughed, taking in their appearances as he waited for an in to the conversation.

Mike and Ben could’ve made a singing group had they one more person- they were dressed simply in their white shirts and navy slacks, although Ben’s looked a little less borrowed in his than Mike did. Richie was in his usual cords and loud button up, though this one looked as if a drug addict attempted to dress formally, instead of Richie’s usual, ‘drug addict walking in a fashion show’ look. Stan snorted at the idea of Richie walking on a runway, tripping over his laces and yelling at the audience in all his different Voices, and passively noted Beverly’s pretty dress, her hair shimmering in a plait down her back as if incandescent dust from crushed diamonds had been tossed over her. Her pretty shoulders showed in the cold-sleeved cutouts, and Stan knew instinctively that Ben appreciated and despised them simultaneously.

Beverly and Bill really do have similar freckles, he thought passively, letting his gaze drift to Bill in a way he usually didn’t allow. He took careful note of Bill’s jaw and the sharp of his cheekbone which, even at fourteen, were already becoming more defined. He was wearing a pair of slacks, as well, but these were a bottle green that Stan’s artist’s eye noticed went perfectly with his eyes. His shirt was a whitish cream, and he’d rolled it up above his elbow so that his freckled wrists and forearms showed. It was a striking look, indeed, against Bill’s pale skin, and Stan thought bitterly that Bill probably didn’t even have to work that hard to find what looked nice, that lucky son of gun.

Bill said something to Stan that he didn’t quite hear, finishing with, “-d-do?”

“Pardon?” Stan watched carefully as Bill looked down at his hands, saying embarrassedly, “s-sorry, it’s just- I-I’ve nuh-hever done Hah-Hanukkah before. What d-d-do you…?” He made a vague gesture.

Stan perked up. “Oh! Well, usually you just light the menorah and say the blessings and open presents.”

The others all breathed an audible sigh of relief, and Ben said, “oh, thank God.”

Stan cocked an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

Richie ruffled his hair, saying, “well, we’re your friends, aren’t we? We got you presents and we were worried we wouldn’t be able to offload them on you and we’d have to keep all the dreidels and hotel soaps in our cupboards, so-”

“I got yuh-you a present, Stan,” Bill interrupted. “They dih-didn’t know whe-hether to or not, but I got yuh-hou one anyway. B-b-because I’m a good fruh-friend.” He flashed a charming smile to show he was joking. All of them were the best friends a guy could ask for.

Beverly shook her head. “No, Bill, Ben and I got one, too.” She produced a small parcel from her overcoat and smiled at Stan. She and the smaller boy shared a special kinship- not a large one, not one that signified friends for life, but they got along fine and understood each other well.

Richie suddenly got on his knees in front of Stan, holding his hands in front of him as if praying. “Oh, gee,” he said in a fake-sorrowful tone. “I’m sorry, dear Stanley, I didn’t get you a gift on this day! I’m sorry! Will you ever forgive me?” As he tended to, because he was Richie, he began to salaam wildly in front of Stan before Bill drew him up and sat him back down as they all giggled.

“Yes,” Stan said drily. “Yeah, I can forgive you this once, Rich. But I expect two gifts at Christmas. Two!”

“Eh, convert and I’ll think about it, toots.”

“Eh-Anyway,” Bill interrupted before Stan could even formulate a response. “Duh-do you want to open it right now?”

Stan blinked. “Well, sure, if you want, Big Bill.” He was still used to taking marching orders from Bill, and wasn’t used to Being His Own Person. Ever since he was a kid, he’d been taking orders from his parents. Then, when he was out of the house, it was teachers. When it wasn’t school, well, then it was Bill. Stan wasn’t a natural follower, but he couldn’t help but trust Bill with everything. Even his life. And especially the order of things, as long as it didn’t conflict with Stan’s own.

Bill nodded, picking up a little wrapped gift and setting it in Stan’s lap. “H-Here.”

Stan looked at Bill with luminous eyes. He somehow valued this little package more than any present he’d gotten before- and he’d gotten a telescope for his bar mitzvah! Bill nodded in a ‘hurry up’ fashion, and Stan hopped to it. He carefully peeled back the tape, putting the shell on Mike’s lap, where Mike unceremoniously crumpled it, much to his distaste.

He flipped the thing, which was now obviously a book, over, and his eyes lit up even further. The book was a pale green thing, with red gilding and a beautiful sparrow pressed in. ‘A Field Guide to the Birds’ gleamed up at him, seemingly calling to Stan with the likes of which he’d never had happen. He ran a finger over the spine of the book, taking it in with a smile as wide as he himself was long.

“Gee, Bill, this must be fifteen years old! At least!” Stan had a lot of bird books. A LOT. But he’d never seen one quite as beautiful or ornate as this one, he realized as he flipped from page to page. The works were hand drawn and the script loopy, and Stan felt his old soul longing to leap back to the time this was from.

“Ih-It’s actually oh-only f-f-fourteen years old, if th-that’s okay.” Bill looked anxiously at his small friend. “I c-c-couldn’t find an older one.”

Stan laughed loudly, a short burst of happiness that sent a jolt up Bill’s spine. “Are you kidding me? This is awesome! Bill, look at the drawings!” He seemed lost in his own world, and he pulled the book onto Bill’s lap. “Look at the heron! That’s so delicate!” He laughed again, and Bill laughed along with him. Stan looked up at Bill with earnest stars in his eyes. “Thanks so much, Big Bill. This is so nice.”

Ben cleared his throat. “Well, now I feel bad, ‘cause Bev and I just got you a catalog.”

Stan laughed at Ben’s worried expression, and patted his shoulder. “I think I can forgive you, Ben. I didn’t even think about gifts, you guys.” He looked apologetically at the rest of the Losers. “Sorry.”

Richie slung an arm around Stan’s shoulder as well as Mike’s in the process. “Don’ worry about it, Stanny, my man. We don’t want your stinkin’ trash.”

Stan hits in arm good-naturedly. “Beep-beep, Richie.”

The gang broke up again, before Andrea called them to dinner and they all got up, slowly, talking amongst themselves about tests and dates and the school play, and didn’t Richie get a lead in that? Homework was quickly forgotten, though, when they got to the table and Richie’s eyes fell on the plates of potato latkes before them.

“Oh, dear, gawd, someone squashed a bug and it’s on my plate!” Richie squawked, earning another slap from Stan.

“They’re potato pancakes, you klutz,” Stan chastised, taking a seat next to Bill. “Don’t be rude. They’re good.”

And good they were. They were so incredibly salty and well fried that no one could have denied that this Jewish staple, at least, was not one to scoff at. The applesauce was cinnamony and the sour cream crisp, although everyone made faces at Richie for putting so much on his. Richie had a ball mixing them together and they all moaned when he dropped the cream into the applesauce,, but he only cackled and told them to grow a pair. Beverly made a sound of delight upon her first bite and shook a surprised Ben’s shoulder frantically.

“Oh my god, Ben, these are amazing! Try them!”

Ben complied and he did, indeed like them, saying kindly, “you know, Stan, I think this is the present we needed. Your mamma’s cooking, I mean.”

Stan smiled and thanked him and appreciated Ben’s unabashed sweetness even more than usual. He was beginning to feel run down from his long day at school and Richie’s antics and now all six of his friends over. He was an introverted person, after all, and he would need to recharge soon. He’d hate to be disappointing, but-

Mike stretched, yawning. “Well it’s been fun, but I’d better get home, Stan.” He stood up, smiling graciously at Stan before tapping Richie’s shoulder. “Let’s go, Rich. Night, Stan!” He trotted out the door with Richie at his heels and Stan waved.

“Night, Mike.” He felt himself become more grateful for his empathetic friend by the second.

Ben stood up as well, with Beverly on his arm. He looked absolutely pink. “Us too. I’m driving Bev home.” Stan rose to meet him and gave them both hugs before they headed out too.

Soon the sound of the two cars leaving were gone and Bill and Stan were the only kids left at the table. Stan looked nervously at him. He could hear his parents talking quietly in the kitchen, but he also knew that they would be coming in soon, and he didn’t want to have to deal with them right now. Not while Bill was here, looking so handsome and content, leaned back in his chair with his eyes slitted.

“You tired?” Came Stan’s quiet question, and Bill smiled lazily at the low-hanging chandelier.

“A l-little. Can we s-s-sit on the couch?”

“Sure.”

Stan pushed his chair in carefully, cringing at the noise it made as it scraped hardwood in the echoing quiet of his house. He padded after Bill to the loveseat (how ironic, he thought absently) and sat down primly next to his much more comfortable counterpart.

He looked at Bill, saw Bill was looking back, and glanced away, his cheeks coloring under Bill’s green gaze. “Thanks for the book, Bill.”

“Sh-Sure thing, Stan.” Bill looked a little red too, come to think of it. He said, much quieter, but in a way that said he was hoping Stan wouldn’t think he was dumb: “Wuh-hanna show m-me? Show me s-some, I mean.”

Stan nodded eagerly, scooting much closer to Bill than he honestly needed to and opening the book between their thighs. “For sure. Okay, so first, this one’s a cowbird, and it’s-” Stan’s long, thin finger curled away from it’s spot on the page as Bill Denbrough quickly leaned over and pressed a kiss onto his lips, barely missing and hitting his cupid’s bow and nose. He tried again, getting it right this time, and smiled into it. The kiss was chaste, just a short one, but Stan could feel himself melting into it.

“Ooh-oops. Missed.” Bill said, smirking apologetically.

Stan was bright pink by now, from the tips of his toes to the crown of his head. “Y-yeah. Oops.”

Bill looked accusingly at the embarrassed boy. “H-hey. I’m the o-one who stuh-stuh-stutters.” He put an arm around Stan’s shoulder and drew him in again, putting his chin on Stan’s head. “H-happy Hanukkah, Stuh-Stan.”

“Yeah,” Stan said faintly. “Happy Hanukkah to you too, Bill.”

It was December 9, 1961, and, in one lone house in all of Derry, Maine, it was the seventh day of Hanukkah.

#it #stephen king's it #stan uris #bill denbrough #richie tozier #mike hanlon #ben hanscom #beverly marsh #i love stan so much im gonna cry?!?!?!#stanny.txt

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themadcaitlin · 7 years

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Hawaii 5-0 Pilot- Hou

Heyy guys!! So this has been sat on my laptop for ages and I wanted to share it with the world. This is probably going to be five parts just for the pilot because it is 22, 341 words. The main plot follows the show but some sub plots and Joey is mine. I am such a sucker for Hawaii 5-0. This is more of a teaser for the rest of it but I hope you guys will enjoy it!!

Words: 2271.

Fandom: Hawaii 5-0.

Pohang, South Korea:

“Commander McGarrett has the prisoner secure. Over.”

The voice through the com crackled as the armoured vehicle made its way over numerous bumps and dusty roads. The four men -including the aforementioned prisoner- jostled around the small space as the driver took another sharp turn to avoid what was most likely a large boulder. The dirt roads did not have many obstacles but the ones where they did, the obstacles were hard enough and large enough to stop a vehicle like the one McGarrett and his team were in.

The tallest and best armed of the group –McGarrett- kept his eyes forward on the prisoner, his hands tight around his machine gun. The prisoner smirked around the blood in his beard and pulled at the rope around his wrists. McGarrett kicked him the shin, a sign for the prisoner to stop moving, which he did but opened his mouth instead, “You know it’s funny,” McGarrett narrowed his eyes and pointed the gun at the Scottish prisoner’s face. “You don’t look Hawaiian.”

McGarrett let out a laugh along with his team and gave the prisoner his own smirk.

“You’re going to tell us everything,” was the Commander’s reply.

“But you were born there, weren’t you?” The prisoner refused to be quiet or at least, refused to give them any helpful information.

McGarrett persisted, “Every terrorist that you and Victor helped arm, every supplier you worked with,” he took a breath, “all your trafficking associates and anyone you’ve ever sold weapons to.” The prisoner did not look fazed, his eyes held boredom and his hands relaxed in their bindings. His smirk never left his face, not even when the Commander’s stern expression fell back into place.

“Chasing me and my brother around the world for five years, you’re like a little doggy looking for a bone; did you not think we would do our homework on you? Or even on your friends across the world?”

McGarrett’s eyes widened and automatically reached for his phone hidden in one of the five pockets he had in his camo-trousers. He found it quickly and typed in a familiar number, the air caught in his throat in anticipation. After only three rings an English voice answered his call which allowed his breath to return and his heart-rate returned to normal.

“Joey are you-?”

“You absolute ass! Do you think it’s funny, stealing my client? Huh? He is under England’s custody and last time I checked, you were not English! I have the British Army on my ass because you meddled!!”

Joey was fine, in the physical sense at least, but despite her obvious anger, the Commander could not stifle the smile that threatened his cheeks. Yet, that smile faded when he heard his team’s laughter; Joey’s voice must have been loud enough for them to hear which didn’t surprise him. The Commander’s eyes squeezed shut and he raised one of his hands to scratch the back of his neck. His apology was on the tip of his tongue but two short beeps in his ear told him that another call pended. Therefore, instead of apologising he told her, “I’ll make it up to you later,” hung up, checked the caller I.D and allowed the other call to follow through.

“Dad,” McGarrett’s greeting sounded like an accusation.

“Hey Champ.”

Champ? His father had never called him ‘Champ’. McGarrett and the prisoner exchanged a glare before he enquired as to his father’s health.

“Who are these people Steve?” McGarrett heard the waver in his father’s voice and he felt his chest clench. Victor had his father and he had Victor’s brother, he easily predicted what the next few minutes entailed.

There were muffled scratching sounds before a deep, Scottish voice started to speak to him, “I now know where you get it from, you’ve got a tough old man here, Steve. Now, I’m willing to offer you a trade: my brother, for your father. All things considered, I think it is fair, don’t you?” As Victor tried to bargain with Steve, the Commander scribbled on a small notepad, the phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear. The note read:

Send Honolulu P.D to my father’s house ASAP.

He handed it to the man next to him and received a nod in return. Then the man proceeded to fish for his phone whilst Steve returned his attention to his own.

“You’re smart enough to know that’s not going to happen.”

“I appreciate the compliment.” Victor sounded desperate and vexed. Steve practically saw the veins pop out of his neck and the perspiration that dampened his shirt.

“You know the drill, we don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

“Oh, are we negotiating?” Steve sighed, it was bad enough he had to deal with one sassy Brit that day, he did not want to deal with another.

With his brow furrowed, Steve leant forward in his seat and informed Victor that he ‘gets nothing’. On the other end of the line he could hear his father’s pleas for the Scotsman to give him the phone, which Steve deeply hoped he would. Yet, it sounded like his father was trying to negotiate with Victor which Steve made a mental note to reprimand him for. Huh, he never thought he had to ‘reprimand’ his father for anything. Throughout his entire life, his father had taught him the difference between good and bad and last time Steve checked, negotiating with terrorists was on the ‘bad’ side of things.

“Listen to me Champ,” Steve’s brow furrowed deeper, there it was again, “I’m sorry that I lied to you,” cue Steve’s deeper confusion, “I love you son and I didn’t say it enough.” The Commander knew exactly where that conversation was going but every attempt he used to dissuade his father from talking failed. “Whatever these people want Steve… Don’t give it to them.”

There was a thud on the other end of the receiver and Steve called for his dad not once, not twice but three times before Victor’s furious voice exploded through the mic, “Enough games!”

“Hey,” Steve’s attention was turned away from his phone and Victor to his brother, “boom.”

He barely had time to look confused before the armoured truck that lead the way flipped over and burst into flames. The cause of said explosion came from the roaring helicopter that decided to join the party. Bullets rained down on them as the vehicles stopped and the soldiers and officers used their own bullets against the attack. The helicopter took a few hits but after a few minutes it flew off in the direction it came without warning. However, they did leave three packages for Steve and his men to clean up, three dangerous and armed packages that had the same accents as Victor and his brother.

Steve sent a couple of hand signals at his men which they understood and continued to fire, that gave Steve his chance to move the prisoner to a safer place. If the prisoner died, not only did his father but Joey would have his head on a silver plate if he did not return him and he did not fancy dying that day. Thus, Steve shot at any man that tried to shoot at him and protected the prisoner with his own body. He heard his men dying, their grunts of pain echoed in his head but he pushed himself to keep moving, to keep them both moving.

Then, it all happened so fast, one minute the prisoner was in his grasp, safe from harm and the next minute he had run for a gun, pointed it at Steve and had been shot. By Steve. Once realisation hit the Commander, the only option for him was to curse and try to save the prisoner. He had to applaud himself, he was a good shot but it was unfortunate that he wasn’t as good of a medic as he was a gunman. Yet, all he could think about was how Joey was going to murder him in his sleep if he did not save his –her- prisoner.

“C’mon Anton!” It was too late, the prisoner could no longer hear him and his pale eyes had glazed over. Steve did not have long to process that fact because his phone vibrated in his pocket milliseconds later. With hesitant hands and desperation on his face, he answered.

“Put Anton on the phone,” With a glance at the body, Steve remained silent. “My brother’s dead, isn’t he? Isn’t he?!” It was silent on both ends and Steve double checked his phone to make sure they had not lost connection. “Then so is your father.” Horror overtook Steve’s features and he called out to his father once again. As soon as the word ‘dad’ left his lips, the trigger had been pulled and the shot sounded through the receiver.

***

Frustration, was the key emotion Joey felt, there were other emotions such as anger, agitation and exhaustion but her frustration was overwhelming. There she stood, her hands clasped behind her back and her chin forward, legs shoulder width apart and dressed in her best suit but she couldn’t help the look of impatience that crossed her features as she stared at the old man, the old man who enjoyed being focused on his cigarette instead of talking to her. His beard was trimmed immaculately and he was dressed in an emmaculate uniform and on his chest gleamed numerous medals and badges whereas hers shone with her ID badge. His entire posture screamed superiority whereas she was sure hers screamed ‘stubborn teenager’.

“Why am I here Major?” She ground out through clenched teeth.

“Miss Robertson, you are a brilliant lawyer and can rival my men in the field, so we need you to clean up the mess you have dropped on our door. You will be going to Hawaii to retrieve Steve McGarrett and bring him back here for questioning.”

Joey took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was her superior and helped pay her; ‘Don’t say anything Joey, don’t be a smart-ass,’ she thought as she squeezed her eyes shut. Still, it was strange that they would send her to American soil just to retrieve a single man and not the men whose jobs actually entailed retrieval. She knew the regiment only had to make a call and the problem would practically be resolved. Unfortunately for her, the Major had it out for her.

Once she re-opened her eyes she spoke, “with all due respect Major, Commander McGarrett is not a part of our Military nor is he a threat to you in any way so that is not your call to make.“ She mentally reprimanded herself as her eyes locked with the man’s over the desk; as irritated at the man’s demands as she was, she knew better than to break form in front of an officer. She wasn’t technically a member of the British Army but she was under their pay as she was hired to be their lawyer due to her lack of a losing streak. Therefore, she was given the title of Legal Officer but stayed away from the field which gave her time to be trained by the Officers when she wasn’t saving their asses in court.

The older man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose; frustration was written all over his face which did nothing to calm her urge to storm out and never speak to him again like a petulant child. Once he released his nose he pushed a beige folder across the desk. She eyed the Major with caution before breaking her stance and reaching for the folder. Printed on the front was her name and file code: Joey D. Robertson MS09217. They only gave out personal files when the task was urgent and the receiver needed a reminder of their place in the Army. She grimaced and tucked the folder under her arm. She hated her file, it reminded her of how much her bosses knew about her, how vulnerable she was to their scrutiny and disapproval. Her ‘Military’ career was what she took pride in and the knowledge that she had let Steve slip under her radar because he was a friend made her sick.

“These orders were sent from Colonel Moulton, Robertson. I was simply told to deliver them.” She knew he enjoyed delivering those orders just as much as she hated receiving it. However, she nodded and was about to walk out when his voice stopped her, “The flight is at 7:35 pm tomorrow, do not be late.” She looked over her shoulder and smirked, a plan already formed in her mind. They wanted her to clean up the mess, then that was what she intended to do.

The smirk stayed in place but she didn’t notice. Only when she glimpsed her reflection in her bathroom mirror did she drop the smirk from her face. Her pale eyes behind the black rimmed glasses matched the badge clipped to her chest which reminded her to change into something more suitable for civilian travel: black jeans with a few faded marks and tears due to their age, a red muscle-tee which had surprisingly remained in good condition, leather vest and combat boots which both smelt like new leather despite their worn out states. Lastly, she gripped the elastic in her hair and pulled, her dark locks fell past her shoulders and added to her intimidating look.

She flicked the light switch before she grabbed her duffel bags and locked the door. ‘Hawaii, here I come.’

Please do not reblog unless it’s directly from me!! Please do not use my works without crediting and tagging me. Thank you!!

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dailynewswebsite · 4 years

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Buccaneers Lose, Rookie RBs Win, Trade Targets

Week 1 of fantasy soccer is all the time bizarre. Add an abbreviated offseason with no preseason video games and fantasy GMs are left scratching their heads, questioning if the video games we watched are indicative of tendencies or simply flukes.

There have been some fascinating upsets this week just like the Cardinals defeating the 49ers and the Eagles happening to the Washington Soccer Staff. It’s a brand new yr, a wierd yr, and Week 1 is just the start of an thrilling, and much-anticipated new season.

A Few Highlights

Some issues remained fixed from 2019 to 2020. QB Philip Rivers will discover a method to throw interceptions it doesn’t matter what jersey he wears and the Lions will nonetheless discover a method to lose regardless of a heart-stopping fourth quarter almost-comeback. HC Adam Gase nonetheless loves RB Frank Gore, though most of that might be attributed to an damage to RB Le’Veon Bell. Oh, and RB Christian McCaffrey and TE Mark Andrews are actually good, in case you missed it.

Rookie operating backs stepped up in an enormous manner in Week 1. J.Okay. Dobbins of the Baltimore Ravens scored two touchdowns, making veteran Mark Ingram woefully ineffective. Jonathan Taylor needed to step as much as the plate sooner than anticipated when Marlon Mack went down with a torn Achilles. To not be omitted of the motion, Zach Moss additionally discovered the top zone for the Buffalo Payments and Joshua Kelley carried the ball 12 occasions for 60 yards and a landing. James Robinson picked up the place Leonard Fournette left off within the Jaguars’ offense, speeding 16 occasions for 62 yards of their win over the Colts.

Sadly, D’Andre Swift dropped the ball for Detroit in an enormous manner (actually). With 10 seconds left within the recreation, Swift dropped a game-winning landing move. It wasn’t fairly. The entire Lions’ run recreation was complicated. Newly signed Adrian Peterson led the staff in carries with 14 and 93 yards although Kerryon Johnson was absolutely wholesome. It is going to be fascinating to see how HC Matt Patricia makes use of these backs because the yr progresses. I’m hesitant to go wherever close to the Lions’ backfield till then.

Regardless of a Falcons loss to the Seahawks, QB Matt Ryan gained for fantasy, connecting with WR Calvin Ridley 9 occasions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The Ridley-hype this offseason looks as if the actual deal. RB Todd Gurley additionally proved that he’s prepared for the motion, scoring the Falcons’ first landing of the sport and ending with 14 carries, 56 yards, and a landing. It was a little bit of a shock not seeing him extra concerned within the passing recreation with solely two receptions.

The early video games have been enjoyable to observe, however let’s be trustworthy. All eyes have been on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the New Orleans Saints. QB Tom Brady proved that he’s human, throwing two interceptions, together with a pick-six. He completed the sport with 23 completions on 36 makes an attempt, 239 yards, rushed in a landing, and handed two to TE O.J. Howard and WR Mike Evans. Tampa Bay’s protection regarded spectacular, holding elite WR Michael Thomas to 3 receptions for under 17 yards. TE Jared Cook dinner and RB Alvin Kamara noticed 5 seems every and Kamara capitalized with a receiving and a speeding landing. Regardless of seeing Kamara typically throughout the recreation, it was RB Latavius Murray who noticed a majority of the carries with 15 to Kamara’s 12 and 48 yards to Kamara’s 16. Sixteen yards. You learn that appropriately.

QB Joe Burrow made his NFL debut for the Cincinnati Bengals in opposition to the Los Angles Chargers. True to kind, Burrow regarded cool and picked up, however a win was not meant to be. Trailing by three, Burrow drove down the sector to throw a possible landing move to veteran WR A.J. Inexperienced. Nonetheless, he was referred to as for offensive move interference after pushing off of the defender. All they wanted was a 31-yard subject purpose to tie the sport and head into time beyond regulation. Bengals’ kicker Randy Bullock missed the sector purpose, harm his calf, and Burrow’s expression shortly went viral.

All hope shouldn’t be misplaced, although. When all is alleged and accomplished, the long run is surprisingly brilliant for Cincinnati with the brand new QB underneath middle. Hopefully, they shed the dreaded Cincinnati curse.

The night recreation featured a nail-biter with the Dallas Cowboys visiting the Rams within the model new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The sport got here all the way down to the wire with the Rams main the Cowboys 20 – 17. A questionable pass-interference name in opposition to Cowboys WR Michael Gallup and a handful of incompletions prevented Dallas from stepping into field-goal vary to tie the sport. Regardless of the loss, QB Dak Prescott completed with 25 completions on 39 makes an attempt, 266 yards, and a landing. QB Jared Goff additionally threw a landing on 20 completions for a complete of 275 yards.

Story continues

For the Rams, it was veteran RB Malcolm Brown who got here away because the fantasy winner. He rushed 18 occasions for 79 yards and scored two touchdowns. There are nonetheless query marks as to who’s going to get the quantity in that backfield. Rookie RB Cam Akers rushed 14 occasions for 39 yards however didn’t see the top zone. The Rams relied on Brown in Sunday’s recreation, however there isn’t any assure it stays that manner. When you’ve got shares of Brown, you might wish to capitalize on his massive recreation and transfer him now.

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Commerce Away/For

Like I mentioned firstly of this text, Week 1 is bizarre. This yr is very rocky with a shortened coaching camp and no preseason video games. There’ll undoubtedly be knee-jerk reactions to this week’s performances. Listed below are just a few names you need to take into account concentrating on as we transfer ahead into Week 2 in addition to just a few you need to take into account transferring whereas their inventory is excessive.

Keep in mind, trades are extremely goal and are solely dependent in your staff’s wants. If you end up contemplating a commerce both for a participant or buying and selling him away, consider a easy rule of thumb. Commerce away a participant whereas their inventory is excessive and commerce for a participant when their inventory is low. You’ll find some studs who bombed in Week 1 and offload gamers who could not have a constant future.

Listed below are some names to contemplate in commerce negotiations.

AWAY

Sammy Watkins (WR – KC)

Latavius Murray (RB – NO)

Will Fuller (WR – HOU)

Jared Cook dinner (TE – NO)

Aaron Rodgers (QB – GB)

Robby Anderson (WR – CAR)

Malcolm Brown (RB – LAR)

FOR

Nick Chubb (RB – CLE)

Tyler Boyd (WR – CIN)

Austin Ekeler (RB – LAC)

Christian Kirk (WR – ARI)

A.J. Inexperienced (WR – CIN)

Preston Williams (WR – MIA)

Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)

It’s turning into a development for WR Sammy Watkins to have an enormous Week 1. He did it final yr and he did it once more this yr. In 2019, Watkins posted 9 receptions on 11 targets for 198 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1. After that recreation, he did not have greater than 13 targets a recreation and did not rating one other landing the whole yr. Kansas Metropolis has too many proficient gamers to function Watkins as a constant piece within the offense. Benefit from his growth recreation and do away with him for the very best worth you possibly can.

When you’ve got operating again depth and want some assist in different areas of your roster, take into account buying and selling away RB Latavius Murray. He bought the quantity on the bottom, however Kamara ought to proceed to be the top zone goal. You may additionally take into account capitalizing on WR Will Fuller and WR Robby Anderson you probably have depth on the vast receiver place however need assistance elsewhere.

TE Jared Cook dinner led in receiving yards with 80 and QB Drew Brees regarded his manner underneath stress. The tight finish place in fantasy is difficult and I do fear for Cook dinner’s season-long manufacturing. WR Emmanuel Sanders solely noticed three targets, however one among them was for a landing. I can definitely see Sanders matching or overtaking Cook dinner in targets. If you wish to commerce Cook dinner away maintain off for one more week. The Saints play the Raiders in Week 2 who allowed the second-most fantasy factors to the tight finish place final yr behind the Arizona Cardinals.

Chances are you’ll assume I’m loopy to counsel buying and selling away QB Aaron Rodgers. Keep in mind, commerce targets are about staff wants. Your leverage in concentrating on stud gamers simply went manner up with Rodgers on the commerce block. Though he blew up with fantasy factors this week, it doesn’t imply he shall be a constant auto-start for the remainder of the season.

On the flip facet, some potential studs upset this week, however you need to be wanting so as to add these gamers your roster if potential. RB Nick Chubb is an effective instance. He posted 10 carries for under 60 yards and didn’t discover the top zone. With a run-heavy head coach in Kevin Stefanski, I don’t assume the mediocre efficiency is indicative of the remainder of the season. The identical can also be true for RB Kareem Hunt and even WR Odell Beckham Jr. Don’t overlook that the Ravens Protection may be very, excellent they usually had a chip on their shoulder after final yr’s defeat.

Working backs Austin Ekeler and Antonio Gibson posted mediocre to poor numbers, and WRs A.J. Inexperienced and Tyler Boyd didn’t discover the top zone in opposition to the Chargers. Fantasy managers could also be prepared to maneuver these gamers after Week 1. In case you want some depth at these positions and the waiver is just too skinny, take into account buying and selling for them. You may additionally wish to have a look at WR Christian Kirk so as to add to your squad in spite of everything the eye was showered on WR DeAndre Hopkins.

Miami’s WR DeVante Parker was injured in Sunday’s matchup in opposition to the Patriots. Search for WR Preston Williams to soak up these targets. It was a poor displaying for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and I count on him to enhance within the passing recreation because the season continues.

I apologize upfront for being redundant, and it gained’t be the final time I say it. Once you commerce gamers, you’re buying and selling them AWAY at their HIGHEST worth and buying and selling FOR them at their LOWEST worth. Simply because an excellent participant has a nasty recreation, doesn’t imply you instantly do away with him. That’s the reverse of what you’ll want to do. I do know it’s irritating watching a participant underperform and presumably value you a recreation. Wait till he has an excellent recreation after which look to maneuver him.

Don’t overlook to take a look at this week’s Waiver Wire article for pickups that is probably not rostered in your league.

Damage Updates

Cowboys TE Blake Jarwin presumably tore his ACL in Sunday evening’s recreation in opposition to the Rams. … Saints WR Michael Thomas suffered an ankle damage and is taken into account questionable. … Colts RB Marlon Mack exited the sport with a suspected torn Achilles. … Cleveland TE David Njoku scored the Browns’ first TD within the season opener however suffered a knee damage. … Jets RB Le’Veon Bell questionable with a hamstring damage. … Miami WR DeVante Parker left the sport early with a hamstring damage. … 49ers WR Deebo Samuel was positioned on IR and can’t return till at the very least Week 4. … Giants WR Golden Tate is questionable with a hamstring damage main into Monday’s matchup. … WR Courtland Sutton suffered an AC sprain however HC Vic Fangio acknowledged that if Sutton can do 10 leaping jacks earlier than the sport, he’ll play, based on NFL Community’s James Palmer.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/buccaneers-lose-rookie-rbs-win-trade-targets/ via https://growthnews.in

#Growth News

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powerranks · 6 years

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Power Rankings: Week 1 Playoffs Edition

To you esteemed gentlemen who made it this far, I applaud you. We fuckin did it! Time for all the stress, hours of research, agony, and heartbreak to come to fruition. I think we can safely say that the best six teams made it, and I’m glad we locked this up one week in advance.

I’m gonna do a power rankings of the six playoff teams, then give a little bit of insight into both matchups for the first week of the playoffs.

Bye Week Tier

1. Fournette About It (Jack “holy shit you’re lucky you’re on bye” Cleek) (11-2)

You probably still would’ve won but WOW you have awful matchups up and down the board this week. I’m not sure what else there is to write about your team at this point. it’s either gonna take injury or ridiculous circumstance to beat you. When Kyle Rudolph is by FAR and away the worst player on your starting lineup, things can’t be going bad. It’ll be interesting to see who you end up playing next week, because it totally flips and you have incredible matchups.

2. Scott’s Balls (Anthony “Marvin Jones can put up 35+ in the title game against me, he still sucks and isn’t fantasy relevant” Mendola) (11-2)

I took a look at your past few weeks, your players have been remarkably consistent at scoring touchdowns. You’ve had three non passing touchdowns every week going back to week 8. My only concern with your team is that you finally get a week in which you don’t get those additional 18+ points. Everyone’s had a no touchdown week, is it regression to the mean time for you?

Aside from that I think you have favorable week 15 matchups and while you’re clearly the second best team, you’re closer to Jack than most people give you credit for. I’d almost rather play Jack because your ceiling is higher because of the touchdowns.

The Legitimate Contenders Tier

3. Perriman4MVP (Alex “you’re literally only alive because of the Scott trade and I’m still SO upset and now the scott trade is directly fucking me in the playoffs” Ahn) (8-5)

I’ve been low on your team for quite some time but it’s been a sustained run of good scores for you and I can’t keep sleeping on you. I still legitimately believe some of the Ravens stuff is ridiculous and unsustainable, but it’s gotten you here and you come into the playoffs off of your highest week all year. You’re in a good spot, you have decent matchups, and now you have Mike Evans, who has been disappointing but presents massive upside against a decent matchup. Good luck this week buddy.

4. Green Evans and Kam (Beshoy “you and alex made me have to refuckin write this because of your trade you stupid assholes” Halim) (7-6)

Last minute trade!!! A win now move by Beshoy bumps you up to here. As much as it pains me to say that Alfred Morris was the one bullet you got for AARON CHARLES RODGERS and MIKE EVANS, it was a legitimate move since you weren’t starting either anyways. (This is one of those trades we’re going to look back on with zero context and laugh at like we did in Anthony’s the other day btw) I’m terrified of Mike Evans, but there’s no denying that he’s been disappointing. I think this hurts you going forward, but for this particular week it helps you beat Alec. Kamara getting hurt was the worst case scenario, but you can spin it and look at it in the sense that Kamara at least got you three, and Lutz had a bad game. Kamara needs you this week Beshoy, step your game up and fucking do it for him.

5. Mixon It Up (Alec “sneakily, GM of the year” Bernstein) (7-6)

I’ve bumped you down a bit this week because Mixon was just starting to get consistent and I’d feel a lot better about flexing him and not having to start one of the three receivers you’re throwing out there. I’m also bumping you down a little bit because a 97 point floor is cool in the regular season, but it isn’t beating ANYONE’s good day. I still think you might tortoise your way into a ring, but the playoffs are where low scoring teams get exposed. Speaking of low scoring teams...

The I’m Just Happy To Be Here Tier

6. Scott’s Penis (David “tank hard for bernard” Chinchilla) (6-7)

It’s not a reverse jynx I swear, in fact I think I have a decent chance of beating Alex. However my team is trash, scored less than 90 points a week this year and just happened to pick up some timely wins. I’m heading into playoffs on a two game hot streak but it’s been on the back of defensive touchdowns (fluky, can’t depend on them) and Keenan Allen going absolutely buckwild. I think a first round exit is likely, but if I make the second round I’ll be getting SPANKED by the bye week bois. I’m just here for the ride and hope I get hot like 2013 Flacco baby

MATCHUPS

Okay so how this will work: I’ll write up something brief about your QB’s, something briefer about your skill guys, and something even briefer about your defense/kicker with my personal projections for each individual player. At the end, I’ll have a prediction based on my own projections.

Perriman4MVP Vs. Scott’s Penis

QB Analysis:

David: Alex Smith Vs. Oakland

Let’s face it, Oakland is fucking trash at playing defense, but somehow fantasy QB’s haven’t done a whole hell of a lot of damage against them. I can’t really point my finger as to why, especially since they only have one interception all year and it was off a fluke deflection against Paxton Lynch. Matt Nagy took over play calling duties for the Chiefs last game and they nutted creamy baby juice all over the above average Jets D, so there’s no reason for Smith to not have a good game right? Wrong. Against the Giants (the actual best possible QB matchup) in week 11, Smith put up a total dud. I’m tempering expectations while knowing the upside is there. Projected Points: 18.8

Alex: Jimmy Garoppolo Vs. Houston

Would you look at that, the Niners look like they got a good QB. Garoppolo looked really impressive against an above average Bears D and should only improve and get more comfortable with Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Houston can’t defend the pass at all, but the only thing making me think Jimmy might not have a good game is the fact that his weapons are so limited. I’d love to see what this offense would’ve looked like with Garcon out there, because as cool as Marquis Goodwin might be, he’s the talent equivalent of Taylor Gabriel. Aldrick Robinson and Louis Murphy aren’t likely going to be making huge plays for him out there. I think he has a good game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the lack of consistent weapons makes it tough for him. Projected Points: 16.3

RB Analysis:

David: McCoy vs. Indy /Hyde @ Hou/ Nard Dog Vs. Chi

McCoy: The Bills just keep finding ways to fuck me. First it was the Benjamin trade, and now it’s starting Nathan Fucking Peterman to turn an amazing Shady matchup into just a decent one against a stacked box. Indy sucks anal beads on defense, so Shady could still break off a few runs but I was HYPED for this before they announced Peterman. Proj: 11.4

Hyde: Houston’s a tougher run defense than I think anyone gives them credit for, and Breida’s role increases by the week, so I really think Hyde has a down week this week. I just can’t sit the guy’s guaranteed 20 touches. Proj: 7.5

Nard Dog: Bernard looked really good after Mixon left last week with a concussion, and with no other healthy RB on the roster, his role should expand greatly this week. Chicago is TOUGH against the run, but his receiving ability should give him a nice floor. Proj: 10.8

Alex: Murray @ CAR / Collins @ PIT

Murray: First real tough run defense since Murray took over a starring role in the Vikings backfield. We’ll see if he can keep it up against Luke Kuechly & crew, but the floor is going to be SO nice with the amount of touches he gets and the goal line work. Proj: 9.5

Collins: Obviously nobody ever wants to see a player get hurt and I know this isn’t something to be happy about, but Shazier being out really makes this matchup a lot better for Collins. This rivalry game is always super ugly, but I think Collins manages to get out of there with a TD. Proj: 10.1

WR Analysis:

David: Gordon Vs. GB / Allen Vs. Was

Gordon: If I win, it will most likely be because Gordon had a good game against Packers defense that High School Me could’ve had 100 yards against. If Kizer doesn’t get my guy the ball, he should face the electric chair. Proj: 14

Allen: I’m forever indebted to this dude for carrying my ass here. I even feel bad for throwing him into trade packages that involved me getting like Stefon Diggs back as the main piece. Ugh. Allen does most of his work in the slot, making me think Josh Norman won’t be on him 100 percent of the time. Hopefully he keeps up even 50% of what he’s been the past few weeks. Proj: 13

Alex: Tyreek @ OAK / M. Thomas @ ATL / M. Evans Vs. Det

Tyreek: Terrified. Honestly terrified. Oakland has nobody who can run with him and Alex Smith just heaves it to him a few times a game. Think he has a second consecutive big game. Proj: 16

Thomas: Honestly looked incredible against Atlanta. Made huge contested catches and really showed what he could’ve been if the Saints didn’t turn into a ground and pound offense. Got 17.7

Evans: The wild card. I’ll be honest, I’d rather have played Morris personally because Darius Slay has murdered #1 wideouts (only Jalen Ramsey, Aqib Talib & Jimmy Smith have been better) but he’s still Mike god damn Evans. Wouldn’t be surprised to at least see him have a decent game, but I think he continues his mediocre streak. Proj: 6.5

TE Analysis:

David: Brate Vs. Det

Don’t feel good about starting him. Incredibly TD dependent, but Detroit is 31st in DVOA against tight ends, Jameis LOVES him in the RZ, and Jameis doesn’t seem to look OJ Howard’s way as much as Fitz did. Proj: 9.1

Alex: Kelce Vs. Oak

#1 Tight end Vs. a team that can’t defend them and a new coordinator who will get him the ball down the field more often. Can’t be more scared. Proj: 13.5

K/Def Analysis

David: Zuerlein Vs. Phi / NE @ MIA

Zuerlein: Truly has been like having a second QB on my team. I might love him more than Keenan Allen. However, his only bad games came against teams with good defenses, and Philly is definitely a good defense. I’d be an idiot to not start the dude, but I could easily see the Rams end up with 21 points and him not kick any non PATs. Proj: 8

Patriots: Patriots always have trouble @ Miami, but how can I pass up the chance to start a defense against Jay Cutler? I’ve started a defense against Miami for three straight weeks now with wild success rates and I feel pretty good about this one too. Proj: 12

Alex: Tucker @ Pit / Ravens @ Pit

Tucker: Heinz is historically a difficult place to kick, but Tucker is a fucking G and should thrive anyways in a game that should be low scoring. Wouldn’t be surprised if he had three attempts over 50 yards. Proj: 12

Ravens: Losing Jimmy Smith the week you play AB isn’t good, but the Steelers won’t have JuJu. Could totally go either way, again usually this game is low scoring but the Steelers have way too much offensive talent for me to think the Ravens have a massive defensive game. Proj: 8

Final Prediction:

David 104.6 - Alex 109.6

Mixon It Up Vs. Green Evans and Kam

QB Analysis

Beshoy: Philip Rivers Vs. WAS

The mastermind behind a passing game that’s trending ALL the way up, Rivers should stay hot against a middle of the road Redskins D. I think the Chargers have finally realized that Hunter Henry and Keenan Allen should get the majority of the targets and things will work themselves out. The only thing that worries me is that Rivers is a gunslinger and it’s been three weeks without an interception for the guy and that’s unlike him. Washington isn’t the defense to force him into a bad game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw one this week. Despite that, I’d start the guy with total confidence. Proj: 20.3

Alec: Russell Wilson @ JAX

#1 Fantasy QB against the #1 Defense in the league. Should be interesting. Wilson has been out of his mind this year, but it’s gonna be really really hard for him to mask his line’s deficiencies against a defense that’s so fucking stacked. My projection is still going to be absurdly high considering who he’s playing, but I’m sure he’ll pull some Russ shit out of his ass and drop 24 somehow. Proj: 21

RB Analysis

Beshoy: Gordon Vs. WAS / Kamara @ ATL / Morris @ NYG

Gordon: Ekeler is clearly better than this dude, it’s honestly a Ingram/Kamara or Hyde/Breida situation. The only thing keeping Gordon afloat is guaranteed touches, and I like his goal line chances against a middle of the road Redskins D. Proj: 11.5

Kamara: I feel terrible for the dude and you by association. Such a bummer but you have no choice but to go make it up. Got 2.7

Morris: Amazing matchup, gave up a king’s ransom for him, needs to do well. Only concern is that the Cowboys have run so hot and hold, divisional games are always a concern, and the Giants may play with the interim coach boost... Proj 13

Alec: L. Miller Vs. SF / Burkhead @ MIA

Miller: Ultra consistent, almost boringly consistent and hasn’t slowed down since the Watson injury. He hasn’t been able to super exploit some good matchups so I doubt he goes off here either. Proj: 9.7

Burkhead: It’s unbelievable how the Patriots seem to only let the white dudes get the touchdowns. Lewis does literally all of the work for Burkhead to come in and score. Miami is a good matchup for him, I think he continues to have good games. Proj: 14

WR Analysis

Beshoy: A. Green Vs. Chi / Hopkins Vs. SF

Green: Has been excellent since you got him. Scoring a lot recently and the Bears are a better run D than they are a pass D. Think he has a huge game for you. Proj: 16

Hopkins: Target monster. The Lamar Miller of WR’s because of that target share. Should keep on keeping on his usual 12 even against a decent SF pass defense. Proj: 12.5

Alec: Thielen @ CAR / D. Adams @ CLE / M. Lee Vs. SEA

Thielen: One of, if not THE feel good story of the season at the WR spot. Has fallen off a bit recently because of some tough matchups and I think the downward slide continues for another week. Carolina isn’t a phenomenal pass D, but Keenum has been a better IRL QB than he’s been a fantasy QB recently, and Thielen’s numbers have fallen a bit because of it. Proj: 8.8

Adams: Hundley’s #1. Fell off last week amid a dreadful offensive performance against a bad defense. Hundley seems to trade off horrible games with ones that are passable for his receivers numbers-wise. Should have a bounceback game but I’m not expecting anything crazy, even against Cleveland. Proj: 8.9

M. Lee: My personal random dude who I think is going to do really well this weekend. Seattle has no corners left and Bortles has low key been okay the past three weeks. Would not surprise me at all to see 100 yards and a touchdown. Proj: 13

TE Analysis

Beshoy: Henngod Vs. WAS

He’s two years into his career and I honestly think he’s gonna be one of my favorite players for the next decade. So fun to watch and he clearly already has a really good rapport with Rivers. The second half of this season has seemed to officially be the passing of the torch from Gates and I think he gets his usual 8-9 targets. Proj: 8.5

Alec: Graham @ JAX

Russell loves him in the red zone, and for good reason. The dude is huge and can box anyone out. This week he has a really tough matchup and he does kind of seem to get taken out of games by teams who can match his physicality and I could see that happening. I think his TD streak might end this week but you never know. Proj: 10.5

K/DEF Analysis

Beshoy: Prater @ TB / JAX Vs. SEA

Prater: Last week was a blip in the radar, dude will be fine. Detroit should move the ball relatively easily against Tampa. Proj: 12

Jags D: They won’t be sacking Wilson too many times, and Wilson takes care of the ball. Horrendous matchup but I wouldn’t sit them, they’ve been un fucking believable this year. Proj: 7

Alec: Lutz @ ATL / Min @ CAR

Lutz: Meh game. Saints O clearly affected by not having Kamara. Got 5

Vikes D: Interesting choice. Carolina runs hot and cold more than any team in the league on offense, you’re just hoping you chose the right side of the coin. It’s a talented unit, but it hasn’t translated into a good fantasy year. Proj: 11

Final Prediction:

Beshoy 103.5 - Alec 101.9

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deactivatedashe-s · 7 years

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Yet Another OC Meme (50 Q&A)

I'm not sure what the original post was but if anyone knows please tell me so that I can link it to this one. (blame 9th grade me). http://nekotan-chou.tumblr.com/post/120740460331/loi-got-this-from-some-other-post-1-your-first So this is a "yetanotherocmeme" that I did a couple years ago //cries// and I cringe. I cringe heavily. I don't roleplay anymore much less create individual or fan OCs nowadays. This questionnaire will only revolve around the 200+ characters I acknowledge as still in use. Virtually all of the ones from the first post are abandoned. SO MUCH CRINGE. Also, I know that a lot of these questions specify just one OC but I like talking about ALL of them. 1. Your first OC ever? Looking back through old sketchbooks, it was actually a group of Kingdom Hearts OCs. The one that sticks to memory most, however, was supposedly the daughter of Kairi and Sora. 2. Do you have a personal favorite among your OCs? Liluna Maefield. She's my absolute favorite character. I love developing her character and her design is actually one of my favorites. Ironically enough, she's also the furthest away from my general character designs/personalities. 3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else? I don't believe so. I have many characters that are influenced by other people and their characters but I don't think I've ever had one directly. 4. A character you rarely talk about? Seiren. He exists but I don't normally delve into him. During the early drafts of Secret (during the cringe years), Seiren was the Teacher to Violet, whose a special type of Mage. In the current version of Secret, Seiren is the father of Violet and Liore 5 If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? Riden. If I make Riden popular, that would mean people would read Litheliun. All my time and effort put into that story won't have been for naught. Also because Riden is one of my most complicated and the second favorite after Liluna. I love his character designs. 6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related? Prior to my redesigning to diversify my character designs, the characters that were most similar without purposeful relation were Lucas of Secret and Day of re:Meetings. Looking back on it though, I think re:Meetings was a recycled plot line of Secret but I just forgot that fact. 7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories? All of them are. I'm a writer nowadays so all of my OCs are characters created for my stories. I have a master list of my main works /here!/ 8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here! All of my OCs used to be RP OCs, however, I mentioned I wouldn't use any of the ones from prior to 9th grade and that was really the last times I role played. There was one, however, from this year. Their name is Anaro. They're a merperson from the Voltron: Legendary Defenders universe. I used them as a character for an OC-centric Voltron AU with my friends. They're flirtatious. They also travel around on either a wheelchair or a fish tank on wheels. 9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else? I really would depend on the situation, what I'm getting in return, and which character. 10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? I want to Sora Davit due to his scar and eccentricities but almost all of the main characters of Dragons have rather ornate designs. 11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? Mikaela Kay. Now and forever. She's no longer a universal RP character since s has a set role as one of the leading sidekicks of the Litheliun: Eternal. 12. Name an OC that isn't yours but who you like a lot. Jun's character Alwyn! He's been put through a lot! He deserves happiness with his family!!!! 13. Do you have troublemaker OCs? Gods below, yes. A majority of my characters are chaotic neutral or even just chaotic in general. 14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory Liore and his older sister were suddenly dropped off at the orphanage. There he met his soulmate. He wasn't a prime candidate for adoption because he couldn't be separated from his sister who was too old, in her teens, for most couples. His soulmate did get adopted and they began to fade away from each. Then he and Violet "die" at the hands of his soulmate. He resurrects with no memories or hints of his life beforehand. He wanders around until he's picked up by a kind couple who had recently founded what would become the Red Outlaws guild. Unfortunately, the happiness wouldn't last when a family friend betrays them. In a course of events, battles wage and his parents die. 15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people? Yes! Please! Talk to me! I created this entire blog just to do that (and world build). 16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? A lot of my Litheliun characters. Pheal is actually an anthropologist with a hobby focusing around cryptozoology. Ziren learned a lot from Pheal and is a scientist in his own right as a botanist. Chiron, despite being a renowned chemist, would actually be very good at biology. She just doesn't like it. Reidoux would also be best at biology since she studied the body. Had it not been for the war, she would've actually become a marine biologist. 17. Any OC OTPs? Yes! Chiron and Liluna are my precious married girls! I love drawing them together and it's fun to do so. 18. Any OC crack ships? I'm terrified to say that there is one. It's Ziren x Jasper. The idea once popped into my head and it hasn't left. Ever. 19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why) Riden Olivyon. Believe it or not, he's actually one of my oldest original OCs right next to Ziren. I never really delved into him as much as I tried to outline a plot for Litheliun back in my younger years so he's not really brought up often from back then. If memory serves right, Riden was also originally based off of my mom (they're both born in August Leo's). I worked, reworked, and fixed Riden from the jumbled mess he already was into a pretty decent character. He's probably my greatest achievement. 20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)? Hm... Yes? Riden does technically sing when he has a voice. The world of Litheliun doesn't really have verbal music since language had been destroyed not too long ago and it's been a struggle to build it back up. His voice is lilting and is reminiscent to bells. It's also pretty raspy. He sings to music boxes. Oh, and they're Harriet! She is quite literally a famous singer named Rehenna (a cheap alias based on a book series he likes). It's difficult to pinpoint his music genre but it's something like pop and Celtic. 21. Your most artistic OC Chiron Hallows. Prior to becoming a chemist, she worked as a commissioned artist. On the flip side, Cedar Flores became an artist as a hobby after taking a liking to drawing the blueprints for Meth's inventions. 22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? I wouldn't know. I doubt anyone even knows my characters exist beyond a visual design. 23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like? ..... Virtually all of Litheliun, all of the Secret Series. Holy frick none of my original plans go out right. However, there is Skylar Davit of Fantys Aurea. His original personality was meant to be a true villain who greatly enjoyed villainy. However, after infiltrating the hero school and befriending the students there, he decides to become a hero himself. In his current personality, he became a vigilante in hopes of finding his missing brother. When Sora does eventually return, Skylar finds himself enjoying screwing around. He's a trickster over a sheer villain. He stays a villain through the rest of his life with bouts of vigilantism here and there to assist his hero boyfriend Joseph. (also, I wanted to give him blue hair so I made his original sociopathy a side effect of a loss of emotions while using his power) 24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why. No. They'd all try to kill me. 25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?) Chiron Hallows actually uses a redesign from //cringes// Kanoka Seiwa, an RP OC who was based entirely off of me. Not only is her physical appearance similar but she's also an artist. Luckily, I've managed to make her her own person over the years. On another note, Sapphyr Mata is quite literally based on a self-insert with a design taken from a character physically based off of me, Phiran Korand. A lot of the characters from Secret are based on my irl friends and myself. 26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? With my current characters, no, not really. If I change something about them, it's mostly because I either wanted to or forgot the original aspect of them, improvised, and it stuck. 27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? While the characters themselves were created based on the song, Blake and Ruby's story, as well as their personalities, were inspired by the song "Both Sides of the Story" by We Are The In Crowd. I did end up changing this plot line so the original is more of a backstory leading to the events. They still hate each other but they don't end up back together in the current version. 28. Your most dangerous OC. Depends on your definition of dangerous. If you mean by potential danger, then Kylan, Goddess of Destruction. She can remove anything from existence, even souls. Luckily, she's level-minded and is very responsible. If you mean as actually shown being dangerous, then... Oh, that's difficult. Many of my antagonists/morally ambiguous protagonists are ALL considerably dangerous. 29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going? Avery "AJ" James. It's pretty much her job to investigate abandoned areas without telling anyone. Aside from her.... Jamie Rowen maybe? 30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? Secret? Almost any of the ones who have a stuffed animal collection would display it proudly. 31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really) Pheal Nascal would have a conspiracy/science blog. They'd have spent days upon days coding the layout with Matrix by their side. Ironically, it'd be mostly pastel colors. 32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? ..... Um.... The characters of Dragons? I've been tempted to dive into the tragedy genre and me doing so usually means horror genre too. It's kinda weird. Aside from them, Sora Davit. Previous child quite literally went through a horror game scenario on his way to escaping. 33. Your shyest OC? Young Phiran. He was a rather tiny thing and during the course of Litheliun, he had just awoken from a coma and with amnesia. He's not very good at socializing and can barely speak more than a few words at a time at a whisper-level. He was easily frightened. 34. Do you have any twin characters? A LOT. The most notable are Sora and Skylar. Under the right circumstances, they can pass as identical and have a tendency to steal each other's identities since they're both wanted criminals. There's also Riddle and Rhyme (although Riddle had stopped aging around 16 while both of them are presently 19), Derek and Dylan, Evan and Eloise, Mil and Mira, and Ioryn and Carolyn. Then I have my fraternal twins, Wren and Harriet. Neither of them know they're even close to related. Both of them like to hide behind their undefined ages. 35. Any siblings characters. Aside from the twins, there's also A LOT. Most of them are adopted, half-siblings, or dead. Justin and Jay, Jasmine and Jaden, Avery and Avalon, Stella and Alice, Jun and Jewel, and Violet and Liore are the most notable siblings. Sonja is the older sibling of Sora and Skylar, while Riddle and Rhyme are the eldest to Silica, Erick, Meric, and Pyrus. There's a lot more. 36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)? I'm not entirely sure what this is supposed to mean now that I'm actually reading it. "Pair" is a rather vague word. 37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human. I'm a fantasy genre writer. NONE of them are "quite human". However, I'll introduce Rubee Sonata. She's a vampire born after the fabeled Flooding of Terraria and her parents had apparently been born shortly before the Flooded waters sunk down to regular bodies of water. Her clan had joined together with another clan, the Novellas. During her youth, she was childhood sweethearts with the Novella heir, as was to be expected as she was the Sonata heir. Rubee, like her predecessors, were cursed to rely entirely on the Novellas for their immortality while the Novellas relied on the Sonatas for sanity. The curse manifests itself as a ruby embedded in the front of her neck. 38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer? Either Onyx Mata or Eloise Tallon. Both are vaguely based off of my sister who is a rather amazing competitive dancer. 39. Introduce any character you want Avalon James is the deuteragonist of Secrets Behind Lock and Key. During the original concept, however, he was the sole main character. His book was styled like a journal and he was the author. In the current version, it's Avery and she is the one who found the journal. Avalon is considered the "host" of the Seven Vices. While his body does indeed act as the basis of the Seven Vices, he himself as a soul is the vice of Lust. During the current version of SBLAK, Avalon is around 27-28 years old and is one of only three members - the other two being his closest companions - of the gang literally known as Vices. He's also thought to be dead for most of the book. It isn't until an infiltration mission where he is mistaken for his sister is he revealed to have been alive this entire time. 40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share! I don't think I have any linked to the characters themselves aside from the actual process of creating them. No one is really interested in my characters so I never get the chance to develop or think of them outside of the words being put down through typing or through pencil. 41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!) Yes! Henry draws my characters on occasion without me having to request that she do so. My favorite one is of Ziren with Riden's back facing the camera in the background with leaves everywhere! The link to it is here! 42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods? My actual God characters, of course! Godly Affairs occurs in a world where the human race managed to wipe itself out. The Greek pantheon is one of the few pantheons that managed to survive and flourish in the new world so the newer pantheons admire them greatly. 43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess I have a rather wide range of characters designs but in earlier designs, you could typically find a reoccurring theme of white hair, red-eyed undead characters, fire-powered red-heads usually as an ode to my first original work OC, Mikaela), and characters with short black hair, a blue color scheme, and somewhat relating to sapphires. In my stories, you might even notice how some characters tend to have altered replicas in groups of 4 to 7 across their universes. I enjoyed using my irl friends as the characters themselves. 45. A character you no longer use? Look at the original post for this. All except for Mikaela. 46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly? Yes. All the time. I tell it to myself too. 47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child? No, not really. As I've mentioned before, no one really cares. 48. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes Rubell and Joseph. They are casual existential despair personified that cover it up with memes. 50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want All of Them: Help me.

#blurb #character blurb #this is a character blurb right?#DreamlessAshes

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pissbaby-lover · 7 years

Text

Dark Era [Takara and Draco Oneshot]

Title: Dark Era Pairing: Takara Kari x Draco Words: 3888 Warnings/Rating: K

~Takara takes a load off at a military outpost while in between jobs. The war between the Animus’ Halion and Humans’ Fillola armies rages on.

Takara eased back in her chair at the end of the bar, sipping halfheartedly from her drink. She drummed on the rough wooden counter top with her free hand, eyes wandering around the dark, musky room. It had been several days since her last mission and she was feeling rather anxious to leave town.

'I am getting rather stir crazy here... I hope something comes up soon; I didn't join the Halion army to stand around and idle.' Takara sighed heavily before downing the other half of her glass. Though the war hadn't slowed in the slightest, it seemed to Takara that she was spending more and more time lazing around town and drinking.

Takara rapped her knuckles on the counter top.

“Another!” She called to the bartender, tossing him a silver coin. He caught the coin mid-stride and tucked it in his pocket, strolling over with a full glass. He grinned, sending her a wink as he grabbed her empty and returned to the far end of the bar.

He was young, within a decade of her own age and an Animus like her, though she couldn't tell if he was a dog or a fox. Takara let out an amused snort, her tail flicking back and forth behind her.

'Cute... but no... I'm not looking.' Takara raised her glass to take a drink when the door of the bar slammed open, letting in a blinding stream of mid-morning light. Takara raised her arm higher to block the light from her eyes, glass clinched in her fist. The patrons groaned in protest until the door was shut in the same violent manner in which it was opened.

Takara heard the sound of heavy boots on the wood paneling and the scrape of a chair being pulled out. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear the spots from her field of vision.

'Damn it all... I'm not worth much as an assassin without my sight...' Her ears pricked up at the sound of a familiar agitated voice.

“Give me a glass of whiskey, no ice.” Takara's vision cleared and she turned toward the voice, her brow already set in a glare. There before her sat the Reptilian Draco, looking more ragged than she remembered. His hair had grown longer and his boots and pants were covered in dust from the road.

“Well hello there Snake, came crawling out from under a rock back to civilization I see.” Draco turned to her, his yellow eyes narrowing in distaste. The barkeep brought Draco his drink, sending Takara a lingering stare. Takara ignored him and instead propped her arm under her chin, eyes trained on the new intruder; the day just got a little more interesting.

“Tch, could this day get any worse?” Draco muttered angrily, turning his attention to his drink. He gulped it down and slammed the glass onto the counter. Several of the patrons glanced over at the source of the noise. Takara scoffed, earning another glare from Draco.

“Well, seeing as you're here, I guess it can't.” She said with a sneer. Draco's brow knitted in fury.

“Oh really?” He growled. His hand plunged into his pocket, coming out with a crumpled piece of parchment. He tossed it onto the bar in front of her, she could make out the silver and blue Halion seal within its folds.

“Take a look at that, then tell me what you think,” Draco told her, ordering another glass from the now disgruntled barkeep.

Takara dropped her hand from her chin to the parchment ball. She flattened the parchment, sending Draco a look of mild curiosity. He waved his hand, urging her to read it and Takara suddenly felt a wave of discomfort wash over her as she lowered her eyes to the carefully printed words on the page.

By order of the Halion Kingdom, Takara the Ferret and Draco the Snake Are hereby ordered to gather information on the Fillola camp spotted near the Valcanni Woods. Bring the information back to the Western Headquarters immediately.

Takara read and reread the orders for a few silent moments, trying to absorb the message, before she looked up to meet Draco's stony gaze. The most upsetting bit of the orders was the signature of approval in the bottom right-hand corner.

'Only a fool like Tavish would think this was a good idea...' She thought, clinching her teeth in an effort to control her anger, but her false calm didn't last long.

“Are you fucking serious?” she exclaimed, tossing the parchment to the side. It fluttered in the air for a moment before landing on the corner of the bar. Draco gestured with one hand, taking a swig before answering.

“It's kind of in bad taste for a joke... it's not like I'd ever choose to work with you.” Takara scowled in response, her fangs showing.

“The feeling's mutual Snake.” She spat.

“I'll take the job alone; I rather not have a simpleton like you slowing me down anyway.” Takara's words struck a sour note in Draco and his mood darkened in response.

“Me?! Slowing you down? How about you slowing me? You don't look like you've done any serious jobs in months!” Takara cackled in response.

“Of course someone as slow and stupid as you would think that; why else would I be drinking such expensive liquor and wearing quality gear like this?” She flung her leg up, planting her boot against the edge of the counter. Draco grumbled to himself; they were nice indeed, knee high oiled and sealed black leather, designed to withstand the cold and wet regions the Fillola were operating in currently.

“Silent as my blade pressed against your coldblooded throat,” Takara grinned sadistically at the reptile, lowering her boot to the floor. Draco looked less than intimidated, though her words lit a fire in his eyes that wasn't there before.

“Sounds like a threat Ferret, care to demonstrate?” he challenged, turning his body to face her full on. Takara's grin widened at the thought but knew it wasn't worth her time.

“Not now, little Snake; I have a job to complete.” She stood, swallowing what remained of her drink before swiping the parchment off the bar.

“Later Snake,” she said, shoving Draco in the chest, sending him backward onto the floor before he could catch himself. Takara tossed one final coin to the barkeeper before exiting into the searing daylight. Pocketing the orders, Takara's mind wandered to the past.

'It's been almost a year and a half since our little group split up... we were so naive back then...' Takara chuckled to herself. Hono and Crow were the first to disappear, leaving for other odd jobs. Wrath was the next to go; Takara still wasn't sure if he had been a Fillola spy or not, but didn't see how it mattered as the length of time they spent traveling together was more than enough reason to trust him.

'In that last month, Draco, Lilly and I were the only ones remaining.' At this recollection, Takara wondered where Lilly was exactly. She didn't have much time to mull it over as a rather angry Snake had caught up to her.

“FERRET!” Draco called, rapidly strutting up to her. Takara turned to him, an agitated look on her face. Her ears flattened against her hair.

“What is it Snake? I don't have time for you!” She said venomously as he made it within talking distance.

“As much as I loathe the thought of working with you again;” he stressed his loathing with his arms crossed and a disgusted look on his face.

“We don't have a choice in the matter. The director informed me we both have to be present to observe and report our findings.” Draco said with unsteady control. Takara stared at him, wondering if he was telling the truth.

Well, it's not like he has anything to gain from us working together... and that damned director is certainly capable of something as sadistic as this...' She sighed in exasperation, her hand now planted on the halt of her dagger. Draco noted the movement of her hand, gripping his blade in motion to her thinking.

“Fine. We'll leave now then if you're ready.” Takara turned her gaze to Draco's face, her dark brown eyes studying him intently. She only just noticed how tired Draco looked and that his dust covered clothes weren't the only thing in disrepair.

“I'm ready when you are Ferret,” Draco said solemnly.

'His eyes look so haggard and empty; he's been on the road a long time...'' Takara stared at Draco for a little longer than she intended to. Once she had realized this, she turned her head sharply to face the town square.

“Is your blade sharp?” She asked finally, crossing her arms.

“What?”

“Have you sharpened your blade Snake? The rest of you looks worse for wear so I'm wondering if you have taken care of your equipment.” Before Draco could reply, Takara's hands shot out and in two swift motions, she had unbuckled his sword belt. At first, Draco looked too surprised to respond.

“Hey! Give that back!”

Ignoring Draco's protests, Takara ran her hands over the sheath, feeling the minute nicks and pings in the metal. She unsheathed Draco's sword to examine the blade, smiling at what she found.

'Well, look at that. Not a single fault or scuff on the blade itself.' Takara turned to Draco, sheathing the sword and passing it back to him.

“Now how is it that your blade is the only thing on you that's being cared for?” Takara asked, an amused look on her face. Draco's brow furrowed.

“What's it to you? My blade's good and that's all I need.” He belted his sword to his waist once more, his eyes watching her warily. Takara shrugged it off; it was not her concern to began with.

“Well, let's go then. There's a province at the foot of the mountain we'll be crossing. We'll need to get there by nightfall.” Takara started up the main road, heading west. It took Draco a moment to realize what she said.

“Come on! We haven't got all day!” Takara called over her shoulder, flipping a strand of her fluffy brown hair out of her face. Draco hesitated then followed her up the road and away from town.

They walked in silence, and the farther Takara got away from civilization, the more she missed the slow, lazy days she spent relaxing at the bar. An hour or so passed without a word between the two of them and Takara longed for better company. Draco had done nothing but walk and sulk, staring off into the distance.

While they headed west toward the mountain, the temperature steadily dropped. Here and there, signs of a colder climate began to appear as the rich green grass was replaced by shorter darker sprouts. Lush evergreen shrubs became the most common sight on the side of the dirt road they were traveling.

Takara sighed heavily for the tenth time, earning a glare from Draco.

“Bored Ferret? Or are you getting tired from all the hard work?” Takara scoffed at the comment, her ears tilting toward him.

“Tired? Not so much. I could go for days at this pace without stopping,” she bragged.

I'm bored because you're not much in the way of conversation, even when you are talking.” Takara snickered, giving Draco a violent shove into a nearby bush.

“Though I'm sure if I wasn’t wasting my energy on tolerating you, I'd be far more energetic,” she informed him, adding a little skip to her step as she left him behind to pick leaves out of his hair. Draco growled loudly behind her.

“Wait up dammit!” Draco hurried to catch up with Takara, muttering under his breath.

'Working with Takara is by far the worst thing that could happen...' he thought to himself, glaring daggers into her back. The dark shorts and belted shirt she was wearing left little to the imagination and he was momentarily distracted by her figure, noting how she had developed a lightly defined layer of muscle over her thin frame.

He watched her long, sun-bleached, sandy hair sweep back and forth, the leather thong she had used to secure it at the nape of her neck struggling to keep it's hold on her messy mane. Her tail was swaying back and forth with each step, held high just like it's prideful owner.

Draco shook his head to clear it, trying to focus on his main objective which had nothing to do with their current intelligence gathering mission. Lilly, his long time companion and honorary sister had been missing for almost a year.

'If I hope to have any chance on finding Lilly, I'll have to work with that thief Takara... if anyone knows this area, it's her...' Despite this very real fact, it still left Draco with a bitter taste in his mouth to have a rival such as Takara help him in recovering his sister. He chose not to inform Takara at all of the reason he became a bounty hunter for the Halion army for his pride's sake.

'Surely she would humiliate me for not protecting Lilly... especially if Lilly is hurt... or worse...' Draco's teeth clinched in aggravation at the thought and he sped up his pace to match Takara's, the former assault on his person adding fuel to the fire that was his temper.

“That was uncalled for Ferret!” Draco snapped. Takara turned and looked him up and down, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement.

“You know, you're kind of cute when you're angry,” Takara announced, causing Draco to stop dead in his tracks. Takara took a few steps past him before stopping and looking back.

“What did you say?” Draco asked carefully, making sure he confirmed exactly what she said.

“You heard me, I said you're kind of cute when you're angry,” Takara replied, getting too close to his face for comfort. Draco stared at her awestruck, his face tinged pink.

“Why would you say that?” He wondered out loud. Takara held his gaze for a minute before ducking her head and continuing up the road.

“Because it's true,” she answered simply, though she wondered herself what spurred her to say such a direct thing, and to Draco of all people.

Time passed with them lapsing into silence once more; the sun had set behind the edge of the mountain just as they crested the hill at the edge of the province.

“Finally...” Takara grumbled, a small shiver going through her. The air had developed a sharper bite as the sun had gone down, and the wind carried the scent of pine trees and storms.

“Let's find the inn and get a room and hot meal; we'll need to get up early to buy supplies,” Takara informed Draco. He nodded wordlessly in response, mind still occupied with unpleasant thoughts. Takara frowned.

“Come on! Get the lead out already! You can mope about once we're in our own rooms.” She slapped him on the back and trudged up the last bit of road into the town square.

“Yeah yeah...” Draco followed her inside the inn, hands shoved in his pockets in an attempt to ward away the cold. Takara was already up at the counter, and while Draco was used to her having an angry look on her face while she was around him, this look wasn't directed at him. Takara spied him out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey Snake!” She called, turning to talk to him.

“We've got a minor problem. Do you have any coin on you?” Draco looked taken aback. He shook his head slowly, jaw set in aggravation.

“No I don't, why? Do we not have enough?” Takara gave him a grim look, her ears dropping slightly.

“We have enough for food and supplies, but we'll have to share a room...” Draco groaned loudly, throwing his hands up.

“Well, one room it is than... we don't really have a choice...” Takara muttered something under her breath that Draco didn't catch, though he was pretty sure it was about him and even more sure it wasn't anything polite. Takara paid the innkeeper and headed into the mead hall on the opposite end of the inn.

“Come on, dinner first Snake,” she huffed, grabbing Draco's arm as she went. Draco stumbled at her motion but caught himself before he fell on her. He yanked his arm out of her grip and followed her to an empty table.

A young barmaid brought out their food, making a point to chat up Draco before skipping off giggling. Takara rolled her eyes at the whole display, her ears drawn back, though Draco hardly seemed receptive to the barmaid's attention. They ate their meal in the same heavy silence they traveled in, exchanging hateful glares.

“Man, I'm tired...” Draco sighed, dragging his feet up the stairs to their room. Takara looked behind her at him and smiled mischievously, her mood improved after filling her stomach.

“Aww, I could carry you up the stairs if you're too tired to make it,” She offered, earning a small dry laugh from Draco.

“No, I'm perfectly capable of carrying myself,” He informed her jokingly. From her view at the top of the stairs, Takara cocked her head to the side at him.

“I didn't know you were that talented...” she snickered.

“Ha ha, very funny...” Draco said sarcastically, stepping around her to open the door to their room.

“I get the bed.” Takara stated once they saw the size of the room and the lack of a fireplace. The room was narrow enough for them to stand hands against the wall, end to end with their arms outstretched and still be able to touch hands with each other. Not that they would want to of course.

The floor paneling was unevenly spaced, allowing small drafts in and the window was cracked open a few inches. The bed itself looked like the only warm place in the entire room.

“Fine,” Draco consented, digging in the small closet on the inside wall. He pulled out an armful of blankets, tossing the majority of them onto the bed; keeping one for himself. Takara, who had busied herself with untying her ponytail, looked surprised at the lack of argument but wasn't complaining.

“Good night then,” Draco said, setting his blade beside him before wrapping up in his blanket. Takara slid out of her boots and crawled into the bed, pulling the blankets up over her. She was quiet for a moment then spoke.

“Are you sure you'll be okay without more blankets?” Her voice sounded funny to her, considering she was talking to someone she absolutely hated. Any concern she had for Draco was not natural to her. Draco rolled over slightly to look at her.

“I'll be fine. I've slept in worse conditions.” For some reason, Takara found this rather humorous and laughed.

“Well, if you do get cold you can always join me,” she teased. Draco let out a snort in response but said nothing farther. The pair of them lay there listening to the wind blow outside before Takara drifted off. Draco was not so lucky; he lay there, mind racing with thoughts and anxiety.

To the right of him, Takara moaned in her sleep, sounding distressed. Draco tried to ignore it but when he found he couldn't, sat up to examine her. With her facial features softened and her long, fluffy brown hair splayed around her head like a halo, he had to admit she was far more inviting now than when she was awake.

'She's not so bad when she's sleeping... kind of... cute really...' The idea took Draco by surprise and he tried to push the thought away, denying he ever thought it in the first place. Takara sighed, muttering disconnected syllables to a conversation only she could hear.

'Ridiculous... what's wrong with me?' Draco sighed, taking a seat on the bed. He struggled internally to not look at his sleeping companion again but lost in the end. His hand absentmindedly stroked the curve of Takara's tan, wind-chapped cheek, noting how warm her skin was compared to his.

What happened next, Draco would in the future try to justify as a combination of emotional exhaustion and sleep deprivation; he leaned down slowly, pressing his lips to her cheek.

Quickly realizing his mistake, Draco stood, silently fretting over his actions.

'What did I just do?! This is the Ferret for divine's sake! What is wrong with me?' Draco lay on the floor, wrapped himself in the blanket, feeling incredibly relieved Takara hadn't stirred from his actions. He struggled to fall asleep but never got the chance as Takara shifted over and fell off the bed.

“Ooof!” Draco exclaimed as Takara landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of his lungs. She sighed, but didn't wake and Draco felt this was the beginning of a long night.

He struggled to get out from under her and eventually succeeded. He looked down at her on the floor and after a moment's hesitation, bent down to lift her back onto the bed. Draco placed Takara carefully so as not to wake her and covered her with the discarded blankets.

'Ridiculous...' he thought for a second time. The word seemed to fit his situation better than any other. Draco moved to lay back down on the floor, face flushed in embarrassment, when Takara's voice stopped him.

“...co... unn...”

Against his better judgment, Draco rose to the bed, taking his seat once more. Takara rolled away from him muttering something that sounded familiar. Curious, Draco leaned closer to hear.

'What is she saying?'

As suddenly as she had fell off the bed onto him, Takara rolled back over, pinning Draco's hips to the bed with her leg. Her arm slid around him, pulling him flat against the thin mattress.

“...nn... Draco...” Takara mumbled contently. Draco's face turned a brilliant red as he struggled to get out of Takara's iron grip.

'Are you serious right now?' he thought, looking down at what he thought was a sworn enemy.

'She said... my name...' Draco mulled over this thought, disturbed to find he was less upset over this than he should be. He knew if he tried to get up it would probably wake Takara. He also knew he was far more comfortable on the bed than he was on the floor.

Giving in to the fact that he was stuck in his current predicament, Draco pulled what blankets he could reach over himself and coincidentally, Takara. After some consideration, he eased his right arm around Takara so it wasn't pressed up against his side.

'Why... why my name?' After some time passed, Draco's mind calmed and he drifted off to a long needed peaceful sleep.

Thank you for reading; if you’d like to read more of my original writing, you can find the masterpost here. [X]

#original writing #takara #Draco #drabble

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