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avisisisis · 5 months

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I wanted to talk about this because it's been on my mind since I finished season 4

The way peaches represent Sun Wukong and Macaque's relationship. When they're happy in Flower Fruit Mountain, just the two of them — no brotherhood, no Jade Emperor (along with the entirety of Heaven), no journey to the West —, Sun Wukong gives Macaque a peach.

It doesn't look like much. SWK eats peaches all the time and his mountain is filled with them (seriously, is that all he eats? He really, really really loves peaches, man. How does he not get tired of them? I'd get grossed out after the first few months), of course he'd give one to his best friend! His most loyal subject!

In this scene, they're comfortable with each other. SWK talks about how what he wants is to live a lazy life with him and his monkeys, just chilling and eating peaches and basking in the sun? I can't remember exactly what he said but the point is, that he wants things to stay like that forever. Just the two of them (along with a thousand monkeys), living happily in a mountain with SWK being strong enough to protect all of them

SWK gives Macaque a peach. Macaque accepts it; the peach is fine. They're good.

The next time we see one of them give the other a peach is during another flashback, the one where SWK and Macaque are talking while Sun Wukong is sealed under the mountain (the position he was in looked so uncomfortable? He wasn't laying on his belly with the mountain on his back, he looked like he was trying to run away before he got caught with the mountain on his back), and they are definitely not good then

Macaque offers Sun Wukong a peach (read; Macaque offers Sun Wukong a peach, when Wukong was the one to offer one to Macaque before. The sun gives the moon its light, but the moon can't offer anything to it in return) and Sun Wukong acts passive aggressive with him, leaving it clear that no, Mac, he doesn't want that fucking peach (well, maybe he does, but we'll get to that later)

They're both in the right here, but they're also both in the wrong. Macaque is right for being angry at Sun Wukong. If he hadn't followed Azure's plan (he [Azure] was so fucking grooming that monkey, what the fuck. Not sexual btw), the brotherhood would've been fine, and Sun Wukong wouldn't be trapped under the mountain. However, Sun Wukong is also allowed to be angry at Macaque; from his POV, Macaque ran away from the fight when he realized they were losing. Macaque pretty much abandoned him first. I'd be angry too, honestly

Macaque is wrong for telling Sun Wukong that he's the one that got himself in that mess when really, that was partly Azure's fault. Weren't it for him Sun Wukong apparently wouldn't have cared about Heaven, since unlike what happens in JTTW (haven't read it yet, pls tell me if I'm wrong!), all he wanted was to live a comfortable life and train his troops (Azure was the one who saw him first; he found this... child? And thought that yeah, he can use this. He put him in a pedestal and showered him in compliments he didn't deserve nor want. He manipulated him to get what he wanted; not a king, but a weapon)

Sun Wukong is in the wrong for treating Macaque like shit here too, since he literally warned him and again, he wasn't at fault. Neither of them were!

Back to the point — in this scene, when Sun Wukong rejects the peach, Macaque crushes it with his hand. Later, after Macaque leaves, Sun Wukong expresses how he actually really wanted that peach. Or, in other words, Macaque tries to offer Sun Wukong his support, his friendship, and when Sun Wukong rejects it, he gives up and destroys any way of getting back together; later, it is revealed that Sun Wukong didn't genuinely want to be left alone, and that he did still wish to be friends, in a way

This, we can say is the point where their relationship was broken. The peach is left on the floor, abandoned, and Sun Wukong with it. As far as we know, Macaque didn't come back after, and even if he did it's pretty obvious that wouldn't have gone very well

(Also, just to add, and you can skip this part if you want! When Macaque is looking at the memory, he looks kinda confused? Like he doesn't remember it happening that way. Maybe that's one of the LBD messed with when she brought him back, if she even was touching them. I'm not sure if that's canon, I forgot. Please tell me if you know?)

The next and last time one of them offers the other a peach it's, again, Sun Wukong to Macaque (it's almost like that's the way it's meant to be. Huh. Sun and moon indeed haha!)

They're in a beach again! Yay! Sun Wukong's (and possibly Macaque's later, if he gets a proper redemption arc) friends and family (MK and the gang, and also the DBK fam) are there too. Sun Wukong is watching them in the sun (lol) when Macaque goes and joins him. He doesn't even go there to annoy him and as far as we know he didn't even get an invite, so he really just went to the event to chill with SWK. During this whole scene, we can see that Macaque isn't interested in starting a fight (fucking finally, man), even if Sun Wukong does act kinda aggressive at first. Which, y'know. Fair

They're in a beach again. Presumably not the same one, but still a beach. They're back to the beginning, but not really, because they're both different people. They've changed, and their relationship(s) with them

This time, it's not an actual peach being offered. It's a peach popsicle. I don't know how to spell that. Sun Wukong offers it to Macaque, and Macaque looks surprised but eventually accepts it. He appears to be happy with this

This I believe represents how they're both willing to begin a new relationship (platonic, romantic or something else, see it as you want). A new relationship; a changed one

Sun Wukong doesn't give Macaque an actual peach, he gives him a peach popsicle. He's offering his friendship, an offering Macaque accepts, but it's not the same it was before, and it never will be. They know they'll never be the way they were in the past, and they accept it. Sun Wukong offers Macaque his friendship, telling him that it won't be the same, but that if they want to heal then they've got to accept that — and Macaque takes it. It's not the same, there are mistakes that can never be fixed and actions that can't be undone, but they're willing to start anew

It'll be different, but it could be even better if they try (if they fucking COMMUNICATE for once)

And the popsicle will eventually melt. They'll eventually fight again; they'll fall apart, and maybe get so angry at each other they'll refuse to talk to each other for a while (y'know how stubborn they can be), but (usually depending on where you live) popsicles can be surprisingly cheap!

If the popsicle melts, if they struggle, they'll just buy another one, they'll just keep trying

Now all we need is a scene where Sun Wukong (or Macaque, to show them as equals if not in power then in... y'know, their relationship? I'm not sure what the word would be) gives Macaque an actual peach to show how they're them again. Not the same, never the same, but still them

#this is kinda making me want to eat peaches #it was so hard to put this in words. o didn't do it very well and some things are probably confusing n not what i wanted to express #but oh well #not everything's perfect. i'll get better at this some day #lmk #lego monkie kid #sun wukong #swk #the monkey king #the six eared macaque #liu er mihou #shadowpeach #i guess?? me personally i see them as qpr but you can take this as whtever you want!#platonic or romantic or qpr. like what u like i won't judge :) unless it's like. swk or pigsy n mk as a ship or stuff like that. then ew #peaches #this is about them so i had to tag em #it just seemed fair #(mentioned) azure lion #lmk season 4 #lmk season four #i might talk about this later #mentions of grooming #idk if i spelled everything right :((#it's 3am and I've been typing since 2:30... something. two thirty something #2:30+#not 100% abt the exact time but it's been almost hslf an hour #i reread this to check for any typos but again. it's 3am and i'm tired so i might have missed smth #avis talks #avis' post

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talltalesandbedtimestories · 1 month

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Save A Tree, Eat A Beaver - Priestly x Rowena

“Save a Tree, Eat a Beaver” - Priestly x Rowena

Part 1 of Pets4Punks

Rating Teen (Part 1)

Priestly x Rowena

Tags: Mild Angst, Fluff and Flirting, Owls Go Bad, Zoo Shenanigans, Homage to Betty White, Spell Casting, A Comedy of Errors

Word Count: 3800

Priestly’s nursing a broken heart. Rowena’s exacting some magical revenge. What will unfold when these two meet at a Beastly Ball?

I'm participating in @jacklesversebingo and this part will fill my "Flirtation-Whiskey-A Mistake At A Zoo" square.

Image created in Canva (credit for photos used: “Ten Inch Hero”; movietvtechgeeks.com)

“Would that be an invitation, there, then?”

Priestly dabbed his brow with a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder. It was hot in the food tent. Even if Beach City Grill was serving up pre-made hero sandwiches, bookending vendors grilled and fried their fare with furious abandon. Other heat factors included portable spotlights and generators. The warm night breeze created a tiny suffocating vortex under the tent for Priestly to inhabit.

Priestly panted. Hot didn’t seem like an accurate description.

No. When you added in the thousand or so bodies at The LA Zoo’s 37th Beastly Ball, the temperature downright sizzled.

Priestly attempted to blink away his discomfort. A cacophony dialed his irritation up to ten. People chattered. A DJ spun another record through an obnoxious sound system with speakers the size of refrigerators. Even if the funds being raised tonight benefitted the zoo, he couldn’t imagine a bear or lion being okay with any of this. If there weren’t barriers in the way, he was pretty sure this entire crowd would be mauled to death by some very irate mammals. He only had so much patience for the human race of which he was unfortunately a part.

At least he’d get to see Betty White in person tonight. She was the Beastly Ball Chairman. That woman was a national treasure. And probably the only one that would be spared if the animals rose up.

He sliced up another of the more popular menu items being gobbled up by donors. The Mane Attraction hero had been a hit with the carnivores as suspected. Despite the surging heat, he’d kept his nose down and worked in the background the entire evening. Piper and Jen were the all-smiles servers, front and center, greeting the deep-pockets milling about the food tent.

“‘Scuse me, lad?”

It was the addition of ‘lad’ to the second question from a very Scottish sounding woman that had him look up.

Turned out, he didn’t need to look up very high. An elegant, petite wisp of a porcelain lady stared up at him. One of her copper-tinted brows arched. Lush, fiery red ringlets cascaded from the top of her head to her pointy elbows. A dusty peach wrap made of silk hung and clung to a body made for ballet. The chunky black vinyl belt with a sequin studded buckle cinched the dress in at the waist.

She was magically delicious.

Priestly smiled and wiped the roast beef gravy from his hands. He then pointed to Jen manning the front table. “One of our lovely servers will be able to plate up anything you’d like to try, Miss.”

“Including you?” Her coral stained lips curled up into a grin.

Priestly froze. He had to have heard her wrong in the middle of all the noise. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

One of the woman’s expertly manicured fingers pointed at his chest. “Are you being canny with that shirt? Or, would that be an actual invitation, there, then?”

Priestly gulped. “Um…”

The woman offered a playful frown. “Well, when you get your voice back, you let me know the answer, aye?”

Rowena didn’t have time to wait for the pretty punk boy to remember how to form sentences. So, she’d sampled the vegetarian sandwich the mousy haired twenty-something called The Panda Munch and then it was off toward the animal habitats.

She had work to do and little patience.

The rowdy bunch of guests, chatting and being all kinds of obnoxious for over ten minutes, had taken root by a particular set of sanctuaries that held her interest.

She stood by the guard rail on the opposite side of the walkway, sipping from a champagne flute. Her fingernails tapped the top of the fence. She gazed over at a nearby pond. The current inner debate in her head was whether she should ignite the shoes aflame of the loudest person in the group or temporarily immobilize his tongue.

The ticket to attend this pathetic attempt at a soiree had been overpriced. Good cause her arse. A good cause was exacting any bit of covert revenge she could toward the Grand Coven. An even better cause was finding a way to unshackle her powers.

And what she currently required –to fund the greatest cause, which was herself– could be pilfered more easily under the veil of night. Amid distracted security, overworked zoo staff, and intoxicated guests, what could go wrong?

Rowena sighed and eavesdropped on the eejit in the lavender polo shirt drone on about the Lakers. She watched him pretend to dribble out of the corner of her eye.

A majority of the upper echelon of Angelenos could be trite and vapid. All surface, no substance. But that also made them easy to grift. If she stayed under the radar for another year or two, her little shop might be a very lucrative business.

An announcement interrupted the awful excuse for music emanating from the stage some ways off where most of the guests congregated. Betty White would be giving a speech in about ten minutes.

That got the group moving.

“Finally,” Rowena murmured. She abandoned the glass atop the guard rail and sashayed toward her target. Her gaze landed on a security camera high atop a lamp post. She whispered, “Confractus.” A satisfied smile emerged at the subsequent sizzle and crack from the surveillance equipment.

“Go, take a break.” Jen shooed Priestly with her hands. “Betty’ll be on soon. I don’t want to hear you complain later about missing that.”

“Are you sure?” Priestly untied the black waist apron.

Jen nodded. “Anything that makes you smile should not be denied.”

Priestly knew Jen really wanted to say, “We’re sick and tired of seeing you all mopey since Tish moved to New York.”

“Maybe you can get her to autograph your shirt,” Piper added with a giggle.

“Betty appreciates a dirty joke.” Priestly nodded with certainty.

Jen cleared her throat. “You’re definitely making a statement with it.”

“Oh! Don’t forget that dude at the Whiskey distillery stand said to stop by and get us some samples in exchange for these.” Piper shoved three wrapped sandwiches in Priestly’s hands.

“Right, I’ll go do that before Betty. Back faster than The Flash.”

Rowena had gotten turned around more than twice on the Employees Only path. Nestled amid the Night Wing area terrain, the dirt walk lacked signage for the untrained. A paltry number of floodlights scattered warm amber streaks here and there to guide the way.

Why didn’t the coordinators of this benefit include a flashlight in their extra large swag bag? “Buncha beetroots,” Rowena mumbled, hefting the cumbersome tote over her shoulder. At least she could have both hands free when needed later, what with her tiny clutch now in the bag’s bottom.

To add to the indecency of the two other cameras she had to decommission along the path, a staff member had chanced upon her stumbling through foliage in black vinyl thigh high boots. Steel nerves she’d forged over a few centuries rattled only for a second. The young male, whose time on this planet tallied up to nothing more than a couple decades, had been quite amicable. He’d politely offered to escort her to the main path.

Rowena thanked him and followed his lead for a few yards while he made small talk. She fished out her clutch, found a hex bag, slipped it into his jacket pocket, and then glamoured him. He rotated slow and turned to face her.

With syrupy sweetness, Rowena asked to be directed to the owl habitat entrance and unlock it. He stammered, with dilated pupils and enamored smile, that it was only his third day on the job and he didn’t know which gate that was.

“Well, there shan’t be any harm in you opening up a gate or two for lil ole me, would there?” She batted her long lashes even though there was no need. Rowena did enjoy leaning into theatrics.

The junior zookeeper bobbed his head, turned, and floated back the way he came. “Follow me.”

The abrupt temperature change required Priestly to slip on his tartan plaid vest over his t-shirt. Away from the benefit crowd, the night air cooled slick spots of sweaty skin.

Listening to Betty White wax poetic about her love of animals had made all the hard work worthwhile. She’d even given him a cheeky little wink from the stage. Seriously, Priestly thought he might have a major crush on the woman. She was even funnier and more radiant in person than he’d expected. She could be his Golden Girl any damn day of the week.

After he, Jen, and Piper toasted with Whiskey samples to a job well done, he’d been released from cleanup duty. Excitement filled the segment of his brain in which the still six-year-old part of him resided. Okay, so it wasn’t like he was sneaking through the zoo. Staff members stationed at various checkpoints and exhibits nodded in greeting as he passed. But the grounds, typically experienced in the light and warmth of sunshine, now crackled with a forbidden energy.

It was nice to feel some excitement. His emotional state of late had been devastated. He hadn’t been able to shake himself out of the volley between self-pity and feeling responsible for Tish’s move. Maybe if he’d been more (more what, though), she would have stayed and they could have worked things out.

The three shots of whiskey had not helped the spiral of self-doubt. He hadn’t been enough. Pure and simple. Had it been juvenile to think his “normal” makeover would have been the key to winning over the girl of his dreams? Of course. Did that make it hurt any less that it hadn’t worked out? Of course not.

He recalled the flirty, testy banter with Tish over the years. She could slap him onto a sizzling griddle or submerge him in a bucket of ice with that sharp tongue and flippant hair toss. That drew him to her even more. He admitted to himself early on that he really liked how she took charge of a situation and gave zero fucks. That was what she presented to everyone on the surface, anyway. She’d been hurt. Sensitive. Cautious to risk any more of her heart. The armor had thickened. Just like him.

In the end, they’d been pretty compatible. But, in hindsight, most of that had been due to his ability to bend and compromise. She didn’t tell him much about what she wanted. He had to guess. Trial and error. And that attitude had transferred to what happened in the bedroom.

Priestly wasn’t a fucking mind reader. He didn’t have a clue. He figured she liked confidence and showmanship between the sheets. The kind that could run a porn marathon without breaking a sweat.

But that wasn’t him. And he could only keep that up (heh, child) for so long.

The same went for the preppie exterior he tried on to win her over. A few weeks after their first kiss, he snuck back on one of his piercings. Then another. And another. And another. Then the hair got dyed (fuschia). Then spiked up with gel. Next, he sported some eyeliner. He pulled out a signature statement t-shirt here and there. Dusting off the kilt might have been the last straw for Tish.

But he wanted to like the reflection in the mirror. All that skin-shedding pleased Tish. Not him.

So, the relationship met its inevitable conclusion and broke his heart. They’d agreed to revert to friendship status. He hadn’t expected Tish to up and leave a couple of months after that, though.

Jen had said it best one day. Tish probably couldn’t piece herself back together again here, around him. Fresh start and all. Finding your fucking self and all that bullshit.

That was all fine and good for everybody else. How was he supposed to figure that out for himself? Would he ever find someone that was willing to learn that along with him?

The zoo minion had been quite helpful for Rowena. Three gates unlocked in total. He’d made suggestions on the best direction to begin the owl search after her explanation on where they liked to hide. She’d thanked him kindly, pilfered his tiny flashlight, and then wafted a Forget Me spell over the man. “You won’t remember me or any of this. In fact, why don’t you take the rest of the night off? You deserve it for being soooo helpful.”

He toddled off repeating, “Sooo helpful.”

Times like this, an assistant in the dark arts would be a boon. This kind of menial labor, well, it was beneath her to be honest. Having to scour grasslands for a hole in the ground? She might as well be a pig, snout covered in dirt, snuffling for truffles.

Though truffles were delicious, she was in search of a Burrowing Owl. She’d done her research of course. No self-respecting witch starts something without the proper information. Sourcing all the ingredients for this divination spell –one of her own crafting– was a daunting task. But, what was the saying these Americans liked to bandy about? Go big or go home?

And one didn’t diddle with the Grand Coven without a well thought out plan. One required impregnable magic that a dozen of the most powerful witches on the planet would attempt to untangle.

Rowena held more power in her pinky finger than any of them before the Coven had punished her egotism and shackled her abilities. She needed to get that power back and back at them in the process. But in order to find what would cut right to the core, divide and conquer, would require eavesdropping. The divination spell would uncover the cloaked locations for those she needed to sentence for their condemnation.

Rowena’s eyes had adjusted to the dark. Silhouettes danced around the beam of white cast by the flashlight. Flying insects sparkled in the halo of light like falling snow. Her toe boots dug into the dirt here and there.

What would she do if this didn’t work as she hoped? She’d paid a high price for what she’d been told were the feathers of a Burrowing Owl on the black market. When the spell fell flat the only thing that could have been incorrect were the bloody feathers. But who would she complain to or demand a refund? Boris, or whatever his name was, wasn’t registered with the Better Business Bureau. She already had enough enemies.

So, it appeared serendipitous when an invitation for the Beastly Ball landed in her mailbox. She’d made a call to the LA Zoo’s information center and chatted with a lovely woman. The tale of having a daughter obsessed with owls spilled with ease and believability. This made-up child had been going on and on about an owl that squatted in another animal’s home in the dirt. They were in luck. It just so happened the zoo had a burrowing owl in their exhibit. The woman on the other end did warn Rowena her daughter might be disappointed, though. The chances of seeing one during the day were quite rare.

Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d disappointed an offspring.

More importantly, the universe sent her a clear message.

Take matters into your own hands.

Several minutes passed. A strong breeze rustled swaths of grass. Lots of ginger steps and toe boot shovels later, she came across a promising hole. Her heart raced. She bent down to inspect with a ruffle of fingers along the grass. A sharp quill pricked her thumb. Her hand cascaded over the soft frills of a feather. Then another. And another.

Hopefully, the feathers belonged to an owl that had fit itself into the burrow of another animal (or a facsimile of one made by a staff person). It had to be a Burrower!

Three feathers snatched off the ground were stuffed into her swag bag. Rowena surmised they would have fit into her little clutch as well. However, the bag proved an auspicious benefit souvenir.

She rose and dusted off her hands. Eyes closed, she inhaled deep, then exhaled. When she opened her eyes, she oriented her direction as best she could. She could reverse-track the way she came. A sigh released from her throat, satisfied. One step closer. She began the journey.

She passed once again through the forested area of the exhibit, which, in her opinion, better-suited owls. The sharp smell of pine filled her nose.

Her steps halted at the alien chuckling right above her head. Rowena stared up and squinted. She debated for a moment before shining the flashlight upon the sound source.

A set of bright yellow eyes peered back at her. It chuckled again. The tiniest owl Rowena had ever seen wasn’t spooked by the light. It couldn’t have been any bigger in stature than her hand.

“Aren’t you a curious little thing?”

It tilted its head as if answering in the affirmative. Rowena could make out expertly lined white eyebrows created by its feathers.

Rowena had always wanted an owl.

Was this another message from the universe?

Rowena pursed her lips.

There was only one way to find out.

Priestly stood under the spotlight by the Night Wing exhibit map. He’d learned a few new interesting facts about bats and owls as he continued to read.

A commotion within the fenced area pulled his attention from the signage. A figure bursted from the tree line a couple of yards away. He jumped back in surprise. “What the…”

He squinted. Crouched on the ground, the person gasped, almost hyperventilating.

He blinked in recognition. It was the red-headed woman earlier from the food tent who’d made quite an impression. “Are you alright?” he stammered out the question.

Her head shot up. Wide eyes stared back framed in a wild mess of curls. He gulped at the skin on display under the lamp post light. Tiny red marks crosshatched along her arms and bare back. She clutched a tote over her chest. The top half of her dress hung in tatters over her belt.

Priestly raised his hands and approached slow. “What happened?” He knelt beside her.

“I-I-” She waved a hand, arms tight to her sides so the flimsy bag’s material could preserve some modesty. “I went down that path” –she pointed back from where she appeared– “and, a bunch of the exhibit gates were opened.” Her voice cracked. “Before I knew it, there were owls and bats, everywhere, and I-I got caught in this awful melee.”

Priestly wanted to pat her in comfort. But, considering she was half-naked, he thought better of it. “The gates were opened?” he asked, incredulous. He scanned the path as far as he could in both directions. “Where the hell’s an employee when you need one? Is this Best Buy? They were everywhere a little while ago.” He muttered to himself before gazing at the woman. “You’re hurt. I’m gonna go get some help.”

He rose, only to be snatched up into a fierce embrace. She fisted his vest with both hands. The tote’s canvas material, which held some stiff objects, smushed tight between their bodies. “No,” she begged. “Please, don’t get anyone. I’m in such a state. I’ll be mortified.”

Priestly lifted his hands up and away so there was no chance of an accidental brush or touch. He felt like the one in trouble at the moment. “Um,” he thought out loud. An idea formed. “Listen, you need to get looked at by someone. But let’s work on getting you out of here first. Okay?”

She nodded into his chest. He inhaled. Her scent was rather pleasant. Spicy and sharp.

“Why don’t you go behind that sign there? I’ll give you my shirt to put on.”

“Alright.”

He breathed in relief when she released him. A fast blur scurried around the area map. Without wasting time, he peeled off his vest, dropped it to the ground, and then tugged the T-shirt over his head by the collar. He turned around and stepped backward until his side hit the hardwood of the sign. “Here.” Eager fingers snatched the material from his hand.

“Thank you.”

The lilt in her voice fluttered Priestly’s heartbeat. Goosebumps formed on the back of his neck. He wanted to blame it on the cool air skirting along his bare chest. “No problem,” he said. He tried again. “Are you sure I can’t go and look for some help? I think I saw a medical tent near the stage.”

“No!” She expelled the word with force from her throat that time.

“Sure. Sure.” He mumbled as his gaze scoured the ground. He picked up the discarded vest and plunged his arms through the openings. The benefit coordinators probably wouldn’t appreciate a punk Tarzan impersonation.

“I’m very grateful for this. Truly.” The woman called out. “What can I call you, besides my knight in shining armor?”

He chuckled. “Um, Priestly.”

“Presley?”

“No, Priestly.” He emphasized the “t”.

“Oh. Priestly,” she repeated. “I’m Rowena.” Her voice was closer now, no barrier between them.

Cautious, Priestly looked up. He couldn’t help but smile at the vision before him. She stuffed the remnants of her dress in the big bag. The forest green shirt, slightly roomy on him, swallowed up her slight frame. She’d wrapped the big black belt around it. The bottom hem fell just above the top of her thigh high boots. Her fingers threaded through the mane of hair to wrangle it in place. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Rowena.”

She sighed and grinned at him. “Aye. But, we might not have met again if not for this.”

He recalled her flirtation from earlier. He stared at the design and text on the shirt he had custom made for the Beastly Ball. A cartoon panda munched away on some bamboo. A text bubble above the panda’s head declared in big, bold font: Raw Dog Me, I’m a Bottom.

She strolled over and rested a hand on his vest. “How can I ever repay such chivalry?” She whispered something else after the question… something he couldn’t make out.

Before he could ask her to repeat what she’d said, his thoughts clouded. Nothing seemed very important at the moment. A sense of relaxation washed over him.

“I would very much appreciate a walk back to my car, Priestly. And, I promise I’ll make sure I get myself straight to a hospital.”

He nodded. His head bobbed and swayed. “Good idea. I mean, yeah, bats and owls. You probably need a rabies shot.”

“Probably so.” She nodded in agreement. Her grin reached her ears. She held up a business card and tucked it in another one of his vest pockets. “But, you. You’re going to stop by my shop soon to pick up this shirt, aye?”

He smiled, then nodded. “Aye.”

~~To Be Continued~~

Story Notes: Google pics of a Burrowing Owl and the absolutely adorable Elf Owl. I have plans for this story to fill four bingo squares over as many parts. Things are gonna go off the rails (and probably quite smutty). Will see how my first foray into writing for Priestly goes. Also, so many thanks to @sam-is-my-safe-word for brainstorming all the chaos and kink with me.

#jacklesversebingo23 #boaz priestly #rowena macleod #fanfic #light angst #fluff #humor #flirting

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socially-awkward-skeleton · 11 months

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American Beasts

Chapter 34: In Righteousness Shall You Judge Your Neighbour

Fandom: Far Cry 5, Far Cry (Video Games) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Female Deputy | Judge/John Seed, Female Deputy | Judge/Jacob Seed Characters: Female Deputy | Judge (Far Cry), Joseph Seed, Cameron Burke, Earl Whitehorse, Mary May Fairgrave, Nick Rye, Kim Rye, Boomer (Far Cry), Grace Armstrong, Jerome Jeffries, John Seed, Faith Seed, Tracey Lader, Virgil Minkler, Hurk Drubman Jr., Sharky Boshaw, Adelaide Drubman, Joey Hudson, Peaches (Far Cry), Jacob Seed, Staci Pratt, Eli Palmer, Wheaty (Far Cry), Jess Black, Original Male Character(s), Project at Eden's Gate | Peggies, Tammy Barnes, Dutch Roosevelt Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Religious Cults, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Swearing, Torture, Unhealthy Relationships, Animal Attack, Threats, Threats of Violence, Stabbing, Knives, Guns, Shooting, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Hallucinations, Sexual Humor, Sexually Suggestive Dialogue, Kidnapping, Blood and Violence, More Biblical References to Lions Than You Can Shake a Stick at, Trauma, Suicidal Thoughts, Not Canon Compliant, Past Child Abuse, Social Darwinism, Obsession, Flashbacks, Enemies to Lovers, Physical Abuse, Hand Feeding, Smut, Internalized Misogyny, Hurt/Comfort, arrow wounds, Menstruation, Coercion, Manipulation, Bloodplay, Strangulation, Disembowelment, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Cannibalism, Stockholm Syndrome

Summary:

In which Kit goes through it again...

She should have learned her lesson by now that her and Bliss don’t mix, but as part of her plan with Jacob to keep the Resistance’s eyes off Faith’s bunker as it’s reconstructed for the Baptist’s purpose, she’s been taking outposts in the Henbane, and alas the GFH at her side suffers the punishment of the cult’s new executioner

#far cry 5 #fan fiction #jess black #dutch roosevelt #oc: kit cross

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pathos-logical · 4 months

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Tag game by @genxrocker! Pick a song for each letter of your URL, and then tag that many people!

Tagged by the lovely @lenky-lenikova!! Thank you!!

P- “Pool” by Paramore

A- “Alrighty Aphrodite” by Peach Pit

T- “THATS WHAT I WANT” by Lil Nas X

H- “Heaven, Iowa” by Fall Out Boy

O- “Overthink” by Fan Ka

S- “Shake” by Wednesday’s Wolves

L- “Love From The Other Side” by Fall Out Boy

O- “Ofelia” by Kiltro

G- “Glitter and Gold” by Barns Courtney

I- “I Of The Storm” by Of Monsters and Men

C- “Cairo” by San Fermin

A- “As It Was” by Hozier

L- “Lion” by Hearts & Colors

I am NOT tagging 13 people, I'll do six and then invite absolutely anyone else who wants to play to do so. No pressure tags to @bytedykes, @thewrongshop, @tmoblrina, @rend7, @sup3rparas1te, @mobtism!

#kay talks #tag games #musicposting #ty again lenky this was so cute!!#this took SOOO long for some reason

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mavspeed · 1 year

Note

I won’t lie I haven’t exactly been doing too many deep dives into the tag, but these are Recent-ish Bangers, in my humble (but 100% correct) opinion:

- You are my life, my pride, my joy by Neoptolemos on ao3 - Icemav are raising young Bradley, who wishes on a star for a younger sibling. Not A/B/O, is an mpreg but it’s really, really sweet. That being said if pregnancy is a squick, I would tread elsewhere

- you got the peaches, I got the cream by Saturn on ao3 - Mav, Goose, and Carole own a bakery, Ice owns the heart of a true simp and a pilot’s license. Super cute one-shot

- today, again, and tomorrow by Lacerta - fellas, is it gay to get stuck in a multi-day time loop with ur rival? Asking for everyone’s favourite disaster aviators. Admittedly, I am the target audience on this one, given that I go bonkers for any time travel trope known to man, but I recommend this one for everyone bc it SLAPS slaps AND GOOSE LIVES (eventually)

- ICE - In Case of Emergencies by thenofutureshoe on ao3 - to be fair I don’t know if this one counts as recent perse, since it has been going since November, but I love it so much that I don’t even care. Is it obvious that the top gun fandom has turned me into an exes to lovers stannie?? Is it??? (Ice and Mav are exes. Mav ends up in the hospital. Ice is still Mav’s emergency contact. Hoo BOY.)

- Watch his Six by Shearmouth on ao3 - I know it’s not technically icemav but it’s pre icemav. the universe itself (the authors notes) told me. Safe to say, I am never getting over this fic!! Mav gets Beat TF Up following Hop 31, and with Goose out of commission, Ice and Slider step up to the plate!! This fic has everything: the whump!! The pining!! The Goose living!! The Ice introspection!! The protective Slider!! That’s what it’s all about, baby!!

- additional rewards earned by mavissed on ao3 - IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE ON THIS LIST, READ THIS ONE. Ice is a waiter at TGI Fridays. Mav is a reporter testing just how far their unlimited appetizers thing goes. Somehow, this forms the beginning of what I can only imagine will be a beautiful relationship, and what I do know is hands down the best crack the top gun fandom has to offer. I nearly peed myself while reading this and I have no regrets.

- the Back Full Of Scars Series by CaptainTucker and Wingwyrm on ao3 - Set in an au where corporal punishment is the norm in the military circa the 1980s, and Mav has an unfortunate habit of being designated as the go-to whipping boy. It hurts so bad AND so good. The Cain in this is probably my second most-hated in the entire fandom, the whump is delicious, and the protective everybody??? Oh yeah, that’s what it’s all about.

- Flowers For Sale By Owner by aelibia on ao3 - Mav gets hanahaki disease. Mav intentionally exacerbates the symptoms of the said hanahaki disease to sell his lung flowers for money. Goose and Ice both think Mav is an idiot. They are Right (it’s so funny. It’s so damn funny).

- By Night, My Love, Tie Your Heart to Mine by SOBERHYUCK on ao3 - And they were bunkmates! (Oh my god, they were bunkmates)

- Summer Rain by TunaSupremacy on ao3 - au where Ice and Mav didn’t go to top gun together, but did do the Layton rescue. Years down the line, they have to get into a fake relationship for Military Reasons. It’s only three chapters in, but the au is super intriguing and I’m very excited to see where they go with it :)

Honourable mentions go to the as lions update by qin-ling. Is it recent? No. Does it slap? Yes. Am I telling everyone I know about it? Also yes.

Pls enjoy my offerings lmao. I am in a foreign country where I know nobody, and have way too much time on my hands :D

OOOHHH thank you so much!! yeah I’m familiar with some of these I actually love watch your six and as lions omg although I haven’t been keeping up with the most recent updates ☹️☹️ but I’ll def check the rest out!

#ask

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risingsoleil · 2 months

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Long Ass Tag Game

Tagged by @linnorabeifong, thank you queen!

How many tumblr accounts have you had before this one?

This my first one.

How long have you been in fandom?

Since like 2008/2009-ish? My typical span in a fandom lasts about 3 years.

Your favorite trope in fiction?

Soulmates and love at first sight 🥺 I've had my own experiences irl and I love reading + incorporating that into fiction!

Your favorite random fact?

A man was saved by a sea lion while he attempted to unalive himself

Your favorite game or kind of game?

Dodgeball. I'm hella good at dodging and catching, but need to work on throwing lol

I'm not into board games or group activities bc they make me feel embarrassed and/or don't really feel "fun" I am, however, very competitive. Even if I don't like playing games, I easily get into competition mode.

A place you'd like to visit? (If carbon emissions, logistics and money weren't in question)

I haven't been to Europe yet, so there are many countries in that region that I'd love to explore. Maybe my top three to visit are Italy, Spain, and Greece.

Nordic region: Norway to see the aurora borealis 😍

South America: Machu Picchu

Okay I'm getting ahead of myself, does this give away that I'm a Sagittarius?

An animal you're irrationally afraid of?

FUCKING ROACHES. The ones where I come from are another level bc they FLY. I hate them so much. Feels like I'm going to war when I see one on the bathroom wall at night.

What's your favorite season?

Winter. I'm a winter girl at heart and i looooove the cold.

A smell that brings you nice memories?

Pikake, plumeria, puakenikeni, white ginger, gardenia, and kupaloke. These are all flowers that are used in lei, and remind me of home. I wish I could upload a fragrance because the smell alone makes anyone happy.

(If you're ok talking about food. If not, delete this part)

HELL YES I LOVE FOOD!

What's your favorite food from where you were born? And what's your favorite food from some place else?

I would say lau lau, poi, haupia, and kūlolo. Lau lau is meat (my fav is pork) wrapped in ti leaves, then smoked and cooked in an underground oven for hours. Poi is pounded taro until it has a paste-like consistency. Haupia is sort of like a coconut pudding, but firm. Kūlolo is like a taro pudding, but I don't think that accurately describes it lol

From somewhere else, (almost all) Mexican food, Thai panang curry and green chicken curry, Vietnamese bún bò huế and pho, most Korean foods, and...

Yes, I just love food.

What's your favorite drink (if you drink alcohol, alcoholic and non-alcoholic)?

Non-alcoholic:

Ceylon tea. There's a honey ceylon tea from Japan, that is MY ULTIMATE FAVORITE.

Boba (Taro, Thai milk tea, and brown sugar)

Horchata

Sikhye

Alcoholic:

Peach crush

Screwdriver

All soju cocktails, except for beer + soju

Tropical moscato

Piña colada (also virgin)

Lava flow

Alcohol:

Do you give your pets random table scraps?

When I had a doggie, yes but only foods that she could eat.

Tagging (no pressure as always): @peachchanvidel @obsessedwithlinzin @vr-tb @yellowsalt3 @khrystyav and anyone who would love to give this a shot!

#long ass tag game #personal

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pvremichigan · 4 months

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I. FAVOURITE COLOURS: Green and red!

II. FAVOURITE FLAVOURS: Mint, strawberry, peach, lemon! Why the text get so damn big hol up-

III. FAVOURITE GENRES: Fantasy (why this text so big now), action, horror, adventure

IV. FAVOURITE MUSIC: Anything I like! I range from Shinedown to MelMar to Billie Eilish to christmas music to video game music to dubstep to country to alternative- you get the picture.

V. FAVOURITE MOVIES: Resident evil (Paul W.S Andersen movies, mostly just Afterlife), Legion, Elf, Lion King 2

VI. FAVOURITE SERIES: Supernatural

VII. LAST SONG: Answers - FFXIV Endwalker

VIII. LAST SERIES: Young Sheldon

IX. LAST MOVIE: Polar Express

X. CURRENTLY READING: My drafts LMAO

XI. CURRENTLY WATCHING: Any bg3 video tbh

XII. CURRENTLY WORKING ON: my drafts. When will they get done? I have no idea.

Tagged by: @skxrbrand

Tagging: you. This isn't a choice, do it. If you see it, do it. You don't have an option. This isn't "if you want to" this is a demand. I appreciate all of my mutuals and want to learn about them and their interests.

#[[out of ammo]];; ooc

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softtidesworld · 4 months

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—OC Interview Tag Game

got tagged by @simplegenius042 to do this, honesty pretty neat!

tagging: @strafethesesinners @echthr0s @johnseedfanclub @harmonyowl + anyone else who sees this and wants to join

i have a bunch of oc’s so im just doing 3: selená, aaliyah (newbie oc) and nala (also newbie oc)

———

nickname: peaches by jacob. when her mom was still alive she would sometimes call her by her middle name; now no one calls her that.

gender: female

star sign: pisces

height: between 4’11” and 5’2”

orientation: heteroflexible

nationality/ethnicity: yaran

fave fruit: the potassium providing, yellow boomerangs we call “banana”

fave season: definitely a summer girlie

fave flower: lily of the valley

fave scent: ocean breeze

coffee, tea or hc: tea

average hours of sleep: 9hrs

dog or cat person: cats, but also reptiles!

dream trip: she would love take a trip around the entire caribbean

favorite fictional character: thor, solely off his looks

number of blankets they sleep with: two

random fact: she legally can’t drive but shush, don’t tell :)

———

nickname: ali, liyah. jerome once called her “the fire in his loins” and she made sure he never did again, because that’s weird.

gender: female

star sign: capricorn

height: 5’8”

orientation: bisexual

nationality/ethnicity: african-american

fave fruit: strawberries

fave season: fall

fave flower: violets

fave scent: freshly baked cookies

coffee, tea or hc: coffee, iced

average hours of sleep: between 2 and 14, depends on how long jerome’s antics keep her up for

dog or cat person: cats

dream trip: california

favorite fictional character: gordie lachance from stand by me/the body

number of blankets they sleep with: three

random fact: she knows how to do hair really good, could become a hairstylist if she really wanted

———

nickname: little lion

star sign: sagittarius

gender: 5’11”

orientation: unsure/questioning

nationality/ethnicity: biracial american, white and black

fave fruit: MANGOS. forever mangos

fave season: spring

fave flower: orchids

fave scent: uhm… gasoline. she’s jerome’s kid she’s a bit strange don’t judge her

coffee, tea or hc: chocolate milk!

average hours of sleep: when it comes down to being a psychiatrist in arkham asylum, probably like 4

dog or cat person: neither, she prefers bunnies

dream trip: anywhere but gotham city.

favorite fictional character: jake from adventure time

number of blankets they sleep with: either one or four

random fact: she can recite the us constitutions. every single one for some odd ass reason

ok that’s all bye bye :)

#c: selená rojas #c: aaliyah breaux-kennedy #c: nala valeska #far cry 6 oc #gotham oc #dcu oc #oc interview

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mirsvintagesonytv · 1 year

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Tagged by @ettaevie :D thanks !!!

Rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better

Relationship status: unfortunately taken by a very silly goose (I am so gay)

Favourite Colour: hmmm probably darker green shades or like a dark red

Song stuck in my head: La Esmeralda because I’m choreographing an figure skating program based on Esmeralda variation so I’ve gotten it stuck up there bouncing around like a ping pong ball. Tbh anything classical is so catchy

Last song I listened to: Either Violet Blue by Lana del Rey or Softcore by the neighbourhood I cant remember

Three favourite foods: At the moment; Japanese Pork Curry Rice, Potato tots from my workplace, peach jelly and tiramisu (I cant choose also adhd these are my current hyperfixation foods)

Last thing I googled: Yk what probably AO3 or Google docs but if we’re talking Google searches and not just searches in general for sites and stuff, probably “Evgenia Medvedeva programs” bc I was searching for the program she used a fan in (it was Carmen to who’s surprise lmao)

Dream trip: Cable bay in New Zealand I would very much like to see the southern lights (they do exist they are very pretty), or hmmm either Nara prefecture or Fukuoka in Japan both are super pretty and I’d really like to be able to use my Japanese properly I keep losing stuff bc I don’t have anyone to talk to. If we’re talking about like.

Unattainable pipe dream trips tho: top to bottom hippie trail in the 70s that would’ve been so cool to do and my mum did half of it a bit later in the mid 80s and said it was amazing and that Thailand was her favourite place.

Something I want right now: tit removal (trans core), Off ice skates

Tagging (no pressure) : @amethystroselily @violets-arepurple @videogamelover99 @jessbeinme15 @originalartblog @tachiehara @iwritenarrativesandstuff @karl-raccoon-in-a-teacup @noose-lion @carrotkicks

#mir speaks #personal #intro to my silliness #not bsd

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acoraxia · 11 months

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“I've never let anyone dictate my destiny in the past, and I'm not about to start now…”

KO-FI | SONG | YOUTUBE VERSION

#lego monkie kid #lmk amv #lmk sun wukong #sun wukong #shadowpeach #qpr shadowpeach #DO NOT TAG AS LION//PEACH I WILL KICK YOU #editing is my passion

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scullyverse · 2 years

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Get to know you better

I got tagged by @freckleslikestars thank you so much! 💕

Rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Favourite time of year: I would have to say autumn as it’s a nice break from the usual hot summer here but not cold enough yet for lots of blankets. And it doesn’t have the pollen of spring to worry about 😂

Comfort food: It would have to be Tonkostu ramen with extra pork belly. But it has to from a proper ramen booth/restaurant as it’s always the best from there.

Do you collect something?: I used to collect Lion King stuff but now it’s just books. I collect (hoard) books.

Favourite drink: A large green peach iced tea with lychee jelly from a bubble tea/boba shop. And my favourite alcoholic drink (though I rarely drink) is a Fruit Tingle.

Favourite Song: I Need My Girl by The National

Current Favourite Song: You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette

Favourite Fic: Oh, this is just too hard!! 😭 Ummm I just have way too many. I would have to say;

My current fave fic and one that I’m obsessed with right now is — Partnership: The Fall & Rise of Dana & Stella by ee_ombra_ombra

But some all time faves are;

When The Ink Dries by somekindofseizure (this one will always stay with me)

Laws of Motion by suilven

Stella’s Rules by DanaScully77

Novel Explorations by useless_bian

Those are for my Stella/Scully shipper heart.

When it comes to Mulder/Scully my favourite fics are pretty much everything written by wtfmulder and Phillip_Padgett as well as;

Scully’s Submissive Awakening by DanaScully77

Waldron Island by SisterSpooky1013

Tagging: @scullysexual @anders-hawke @ellivia @barbarashershey @danakathrine @pawsteps @enigmaticxbee @agent-troi

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katebushsbabushka · 2 years

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Solitude Sometimes Is Best Society

Word Length: 4.6k

Characters: Shouta Aizawa, OC

Notes: This is based off a text post I made not too long ago about my oc x canon AU with Vampire Aizawa. I wrote this simply as an experiment for fun and decided to post it for the heck of it. Everything I write for this blog will be SFW, but I do give a warning that there is a lot of romantic tension in this drabble, so, if that's not your thing, you have been been warned.

Warnings/Tags: Vampirism, college AU where Shouta pretends to be a professor and falls for a graduate student in "his" lecture hall, 1950s style AU, oc x canon.

Excerpt:

“Professor,” her voice called above the others, and he noted how small it sounded in his presence. The girl was anything but quiet. He’d heard her argue in his colleagues’ classrooms, heard her throw fits on her fellow classmates in the master’s department. She’d nearly bashed his skull that night when Yumi had no idea that he had been the one who attacked her. Shouta had been used to people cowering in his presence, but something about the way this little woman became so twitterpated in his presence bothered him. The deer should be afraid of the lion that could kill it.

And she’d gone and fallen in love with him.

Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss.

His mouth ached.

Shouta Aizawa looked over the horizon of his lecture hall, gazing at the mountains of different colored heads as saliva pooled in his mouth. Hunger was bad enough, thirst was even more unbearable, but the combination of the two itched so deep that his teeth felt it down to the very nerve endings in his jaw. At first, he could combat the feeling clawing in his throat by chewing on the inside of his left cheek. He could deal with the numbers – the various smells acidic and tangy, cool and bland, dry and bitter lingering in a hodge podge in the air – and Shouta never once doubted his ability to ignore his own impulses until the door opened one final time.

Peaches. She smelled like peaches. He could always tell what students had eaten before coming into his class. The smell would linger in their blood for hours, never changing the base scent entirely, but rather enhancing or diminishing it. The girl – the woman – that had walked into his lecture hall smelled best of them all, an aroma that drove him mad, redolent of deep spices and salty, magnifying the already metallic scent and taste of blood. She took her seat at the front of the class, always at the front of the class, before she looked up at him with a shy smile.

Her scent blasted him in the face when Shouta made an effort to breathe in front of his students, and he stepped away from her, fully aware of the slight falter in her features as he made his escape from her. In all honesty, she was a lovely girl and an even more delightful student. Shouta hadn’t been an instructor in eons, not since he taught in the emperor’s house centuries beforehand, but she was exactly the type of pupil he’d enjoyed: studious, polite, responsible.

And, oh so, very eager.

And she’d gone and fallen in love with him.

“I need my test from when I was recovering. I didn’t take it, and midterm grades are coming up and—”

Shouta fought the urge to gag as she walked up to him right as he decided to inhale. Really, if he didn’t need to keep up appearances so badly, he wouldn’t worry about it, the activity caused him more trouble than it was worth. He tucked his chin deeper into his scarf, thankful for many of the excuses colder weather provided him with before dismissing her with a wave.

“Don’t worry about it. I passed you. Now, sit down.”

“But, sir—”

He launched into teaching after that, some lecture about vampires that came from sources that Shouta knew were only half correct, and the young woman dropped her head at the sound of his voice, her pen only doodling at the paper rather than taking notes on what he was saying. Although Shouta did his best to concentrate on his teaching, his eyes would slip away to Yumi every so often only to find her with her face buried beneath her indigo hair, her chocolate eyes slipping towards him every so often. He hated the look she gave him – that look of quiet confusion that she often leveled towards him whenever he was cross with her – and, despite the rumors whispered in bathrooms and hallways, Shouta did not like alienating himself from these humans. Being in this school only reminded him of how different, how inhuman, he was in comparison to these fragile souls.

He chuckled to himself. Soul. He didn’t even know if he had one of those anymore.

Lecture dragged on for its normal two and a half hours, and Shouta supposed that was the one thing that he liked about Fridays. He only had to see Yumi for two and a half hours before she disappeared into the dormitories to do her work, and the only time he heard from her again was Saturday mornings when he’d run into her in the library. She would never eat breakfast, evidenced by the lack of enhancement in her warm blood, and the meetings were fleeting little rituals that were tolerable.

Finally, the campus belltower chimed five o’clock, and the students began to funnel out before Shouta could dismiss them, a gesture that would normally provoke him if he weren’t hoping that Yumi would funnel out with the rest of them and take her vibrant scent with her. His students left in droves, the smell in the room funneling from the lecture hall until one fragrance remained.

And it was the most deadly of all.

At max capacity, the lecture hall contained enough smells that Yumi’s blood was blanketed in with hundreds of other scents, and, while Shouta could never get away from the aroma entirely, the other bodies provided enough distraction. However, alone with her in this large room, Shouta could do nothing more than clench his teeth while his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as her scent tormented him. “What do you need?” he nearly spat in her direction, doing his very best to keep calm. Yumi approached him, the subtle sway of a perfectly wound curl sending his mind reeling as she approached. Maybe one little whiff of her hair would be enough. One smell. That’s all he needed. He allowed her to get near him, taking in a quiet breath through his nostrils, his chest rising.

A horrific idea, really.

“Doctor Aizawa, I really, really would prefer it if I took my exam,” she replied before her words all faded into an incoherent oblivion as the light aroma of peaches and crisp, warm bread filled his nostrils. One of the sororities sold peach tarts in the student center on Fridays, and, damn it all to hell, Shouta could still detect the soft scent of the peaches so tangibly it was like he shoved his face into the smooth fruit and felt its fuzz. Shouta exhaled, the sound much more resembling a grunt than a breath, and the girl stopped talking once he did so, her eyes fluttering up to his through thick, dark lashes. “I–Is that a problem?”

“No,” he murmured, though he felt more like sobbing the word out. Anything to get her out of his lecture hall and as far away from him as possible. He brought a large palm up to cover his mouth and buried his nose into it as though the gesture would do anything to block the scent. “That will be fine,” he continued, not even fully aware of what he’d just agreed to. She smiled.

“Thank you,” she breathed, “it’s just…well, I…some of the others didn’t really think it was fair and—”

“Watanabe,” he cut in, decidedly unable to handle one more millisecond in her presence, “I don’t have time to talk right now. I have somewhere I need to be. Now, have a good day.” Before she could utter a word in response, Shouta hastened from the room, breaking into a full run the second he was far enough away from her.

*****

“So he just ran out of the room like an idiot?”

Yumi nodded, her indigo hair bouncing against the receiver as she balanced the telephone between her cheek and shoulder. “Yeah…I really don’t think he likes me, Mami.” A voice blustered on the other end, muffled as Mami spoke back to it, and Yumi couldn’t discern whether it was her boyfriend or one of her female friends. She didn’t really care either way.

“So what if he doesn’t?” Mami questioned returning to the receiver, “sorry. Hiro needed something.” Yumi shrugged, pulling her feet onto the couch as she once more adjusted the telephone. “There’s plenty of boys back home, not to mention the fact he’s a professor, Yumi.” Yumi shushed her, biting her lip and turning red despite the miles of distance between them. “Oh my God, Yumi,” Mami muttered in response, “Hiro doesn’t care about your love life. He’s probably not even listening.” Yumi held her breath before sighing.

“I just don’t want Mom to find out.”

“Hiro’s not going to tell on you,” Mami groaned, “and neither will I as long as you don’t do something stupid.” Mami paused in that way Yumi had grown to despise since telling her sister about her new professor before adding, “You aren’t doing something stupid, are you?” Yumi sighed, her eyes drifting to the setting evening sun through her apartment window.

“No, Mami, I’m not.”

“Good,” Mami replied almost instantly, “do you have the grades you need to pass his class?”

“Yeah…”

“Then I don’t see what the problem is,” Mami stated, “as long as he doesn’t start failing you for no reason, then who cares if he doesn’t like you?” Yumi nodded, the knot in her throat tightening.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Yumi replied, forcing her voice to be steady and not to sound like she was on the verge of tears. However, for all Mami’s harshness, she was equally as perceptive and sighed.

“Listen,” she said in a much softer tone, “he only teaches vampirism right? And you only need one class in that, don’t you?” Yumi nodded to both, giving a vague hum to signify her affirmation. “Then you never have to see him again after this year, so don’t worry about it.” Yumi gave a small reply of “okay” before she heard Hiro’s voice pipe up in the background once more. “Listen, I promised Hiro I’d go see a movie with him. Call me tonight if you need, but don’t worry about your stupid professor, alright?”

“I won’t.”

After an exchange of goodbyes, Yumi pressed her pastel green phone into its receiver before tugging her legs up to her chin. Mami didn’t understand, although Yumi supposed she couldn’t really blame her. Yumi had refrained from telling her friends on campus about her infatuation with their vampirism teacher out of embarrassment. If her own twin didn’t understand, how could she expect anyone else to? Her clothed feet hit the floor, warm both in her socks and against the plush carpet as she walked over to the window and peered out of it, listening as the wind whistled through the barren tree branches.

Yumi listened to other people far too much. Of course, Professor Aizawa would have passed her for midterms without a second thought. She’d been attacked by a vampire for God’s sake. Any decent person would have done something like that. It wasn’t her fault the incident had happened. Nevertheless, Yumi knew that Professor Aizawa’s midterm pardon wasn’t the only reason the students were talking – it was merely the byproduct of weeks of observation.

Yumi had never been good at concealing her emotions, and anyone who was around her during vampirism could figure out the depths of her infatuation for her professor. What had started as a running joke among the graduate studies student body, however, quickly turned into resentment the second everyone in the class received the results of their first exam, with many students claiming that Professor Aizawa preferred her to everyone else in the class. What was even worse is that everyone except Yumi seemed to be thoroughly convinced of the idea as well.

Oh, Yumi had heard the excuses, the explanations, the reasons all before. She’d laughed when a colleague pointed out that Professor Aizawa never took his eyes off her, and her only rebuttal had been that she would believe it the day she made eye contact with him and he didn’t avert his eyes. She’d rolled her eyes the day someone mentioned that he gave her the most attention out of the whole class. She’d outright scoffed when she overheard other teachers mention with actual concern that Professor Aizawa looked at her as though he could and would devour her any second.

Silliness, Yumi had thought, outright madness. The only thing Professor Aizawa looked at her with was disdain. The others were just jealous. That’s all it was. The man hated her, and Yumi didn’t even know why.

Her eyes drifted to the clock, ticking away until it was only fifteen minutes until six o’clock, and Yumi sighed, gathering her bag from the floor along with her keys. It was better to leave now. Yumi couldn’t think of a better way for the man to despise her more than being late for her makeup exam.

*****

Shouta swore he could still smell those godforsaken peaches.

Within seconds of entering his office, Shouta had slammed the door into the wall, locking it with trembling hands before burying his forehead into the mahogany. Despite the fact Shouta did not need to breathe, he closed his eyes and took deep, shallow, haggard breaths through his mouth for no other reason than to cleanse the scent from the back of his throat. He remained there, forehead pressed against the door as sweat poured from his icy body, and the desire to wretch built in his throat. Saliva pooled in his mouth in thick strands from the roof of his mouth to his tongue before he swallowed hard. He remained like that for minutes until finally the ache in his jaw and tongue subsided enough that he could extricate himself from the wood and collapse onto the floor.

His black hair hung about in clumps around his face, the half bun at the back of his head pushing into his skull as he leaned his head against the door. He had to eat tonight. Something horrific would happen if he didn’t, something worse than what had already happened with the girl. He covered his face with his hands, hoping his own scent would counteract hers. He’d eat some birds, maybe a stray animal if need be. Animal blood was nothing but a piss poor substitute for that of a human’s, but a beggar can’t choose a feast when scraps are his only option. It would have to be enough to satisfy him.

Shouta remained on the floor, her aroma leaving him little by little. He’d always been attracted to savory tastes even as a human, and her blood only reminded him of the curry bread he’d enjoyed in mortality. The other vampires he’d been able to converse with over the centuries held that the best human blood was sweet – gentle like a dessert and never overpowering – but Shouta had never been one for confection. Perhaps it was the fact that her blood was so unpopular that drove Shouta to the point of madness. She was a little delight – appealing and special all for him and only him.

He began to salivate again, and Shouta shoved all thoughts of the blue haired girl who sat at the front of his classroom from his mind. He’d do something stupid if he didn’t.

Shouta rose to his feet, going over to his desk and sitting in his big leather chair as he examined the various test papers, essays, and God knew what else littering his workspace. For someone who only intended to stay for a few weeks, he’d become quite busy in his new vocation, and Shouta would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the position just a little. He’d always been drawn towards the educational field, and there was something special about enriching student lives with his own knowledge. Most of his students were lazy little pricks who only came to UA on mommy and daddy’s money, but there were a few among his ranks that, if circumstances were different, Shouta would have befriended.

He thought about the student who got into fights with the fraternity boys who thought they knew everything before he realized that was Yumi. His mind then conjured up images of the student who always told him good morning and good evening in the sweetest little voice before realizing it was, once again, the same girl. When his mind recalled the student who always shoved her pen into her indigo curls, perfectly messy and always bouncing with the slightest movement, Shouta shoved all pleasant memories of his job away and thrust his neck back against his chair, hoping the plush leather would somehow crush his skull. Maybe she was the only one he paid any attention to after all.

Her blood. Her blood was tantalizing. That’s all it was. Shouta wouldn’t allow himself to believe any differently. Nothing good would come of it anyway. Not a single damned thing would be worth the trouble.

Shouta almost yelled when someone knocked on his office door.

Enraged, Shouta took to his feet, his black Brandy leather shoes creaking against the floor as his hand grabbed the doorknob so tightly he nearly tore it from its fixture. One rule, he had one damned rule that he expected these little urchins to respect.

Don’t bother me after my last class. Come during office hours or don’t come at all.

Shouta didn’t even catch the aromatic peachy smell until the door opened its first centimeter, and, immediately, Shouta shoved the door closed. “What do you want?!” he demanded to the girl on the other side, his forehead already breaking into a nervous, cold sweat as he held his hands against the door. What is she going to do? Break down the door? Idiot.

Her little voice piped up from the hallway, muffled by the wooden structure. “I-I’m here for my makeup exam,” she called, confusion palpable in her voice.

“What makeup exam?!”

“I–The one I asked you about, sir!” Yumi replied, “we talked about it earlier? You said I could come in…” Shouta’s eyes went wide at the declaration, his brain retracing every step until the point he reached his office. It must have been back in his classroom when she was babbling to him about her midterm. He dropped his head forward, his hair falling in front of his face, and he sighed. He had no one to blame for this but himself. His fingers twisted the lock on the door again, and he peered his head out just enough for a silver eye to see the young woman standing in the hallway.

“Can we do this some other time,” he hissed, “something came up, and I really don’t have time for this.” Shouta’s harsh words were met with a quick blink, her eyelashes batting at him in confusion before she tipped her chin down.

“Professor, I really, really want to get this done,” she pleaded, “you don’t understand.”

“It can wait, Watanabe.”

“Sir, please! Some of the students are threatening to go to the dean if you don’t let me do a retake!” Shouta’s hands dropped, the strength easing from the appendages as his fingers slid down the door. Concern shot through him, his eyes softening as his jaw went slack out of Yumi’s view. He remained still, his eyes still giving her a penetrating stare.

“What do you mean?”

“The others are convinced that you’re playing favorites,” she stated, “I know it’s crazy, but they think it’s unfair that you passed me for midterm without testing me.” Shouta nearly growled at her words, slinking back into his office fully. “C-can I come in?” Yumi questioned.

“No,” Shouta barked at her, “wait there.” Once out of her view, Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and lifted his head up to the ceiling. Leave it to a bunch of spoiled college students to come up with the idea that the top student was only passing because he was sweet on her. Great. Just great. His gunmetal eyes dropped back to the cracked office door as his lungs didn’t even dare to breathe.

Maybe things would be fine. He could take her to the lecture hall or the library and administer the test. He could even sit behind his podium and hide the fact he wasn’t breathing. He’d spent centuries concealing his identity around humans that tantalized him before. What was an hour?

He could do this.

Shouta straightened his suit jacket and slid some of the messier strands of his hair back behind his ear before he returned to the door and slid it open, stepping into the hall to find her skipping around on the different colored tiles on the floor, and, for a second, he almost smiled. At the sound of the door closing, Yumi lifted her head, those dark blue curls bouncing absently around her cheeks before she straightened, her hands going behind her back as though she were embarrassed, and Shouta already began to regret his decision. “Make this quick,” he rasped, walking ahead of her by several feet while Yumi turned and began to follow with little quickly-timed steps. Although she made several attempts at small talk, Shouta only responded to her prattling with one word responses or noises, not wanting to open his mouth very much. Although he could still smell the scent of peaches, the smell was tolerable, ignorable even if he tried hard enough. In fact, Shouta didn’t have any problems with getting through the hallway.

It was the last few feet before they reached the testing room.

Yumi ran ahead of him, something Shouta didn’t exactly have a problem with in and of itself. As long as she remained a few good feet away from him, Shouta didn’t mind where she was. He didn’t even mind her getting the door for him, until her indigo curls bounced behind her, the strands of hair flicking toward him at close proximity. The remnants of the motion hit Shouta in the face, the smell intoxicating, and his eyes nearly rolled back into his skull, every instinctual muscle in his body activating at that point.

In mere seconds, Yumi’s back collided with the wall, and Shouta’s face lingered mere inches from hers, and, if she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn the man grew five inches taller. His left arm pressed into the wall by her head, locked into place by his elbow, and, if Yumi had dared to look up at it, she would have seen how his fist trembled against the sheetrock. His right hand grasped her shoulder, his fingers digging into the flesh of her collarbone and pushing her further against structure. Yumi couldn’t pay any attention to the position of his hands, however; her eyes were locked against his, petrified by the sight before her.

While Yumi had never gotten a detailed look at the planes of his face this close, Yumi knew for certain that his eyes were silver, maybe blue under certain lighting. Right now, his irises glared blood red down at her trembling body, and she couldn’t describe the look on his face as anything other than animalistic. If this was how he looked at her when she didn’t meet his gaze, Yumi finally understood the teacher’s whispers in their break room.

This was the face of someone who wanted to consume her.

Yumi almost said his name, made some attempt to speak beyond the fear choking her, but not even the tiniest of sounds would escape her lips. Fortunately for her, despite whatever rage he’d entered, he still retained enough of his senses to talk.

“Get away from me,” he rasped out, his own voice weak with an emotion Yumi couldn’t

exactly describe, “please. Before I do something I regret.” He backed away from her a step, and, while Yumi knew the smartest thing to do would have been to run, she only remained frozen to her spot, her eyes studying him with concern.

“Sir?”

“Watanabe,” he snapped, “go!” Yumi moved, finally having the sense enough to obey, but the seconds of delay cost her when Shouta reached for her and shoved her back into the wall, this time shoving his face deep between the juncture of her neck and her shoulder. Despite all of the lectures he’d given about the subject, Yumi didn’t attempt to jab him in the abdomen or singe him with the silver he’d made all of the students start carrying since the attack. She only tensed in his hold, her limbs ragdolling against him as her breathing picked up in short, panicked puffs of air. Shouta wanted to shake her, chastise her for not paying enough attention to what actually mattered during class until he realized why on earth would she?

Until now, he’d been nothing but human – a rude, miserable little human.

Even through the sweater she was wearing, Shouta could smell the peaches emanating in her blood, right along with that salty, savory scent he adored so much, his own little five star meal with dessert flowing right through her blood as though she’d been considering this. He breathed long, heavy, and deep, every muscle in his body tight, the veins popping in his neck and arms. His fingers trembled as his hands slid up her back and neck and into those curls he loved so much, the hair he often wondered the length of time it took to fix. It was just him and the little barrier of white fleece separating him from what he so badly craved. His teeth slid out, fully prepared to puncture through the fleece, his mind a whirlwind of desire and oncoming regret until something penetrated the storm in his brain.

“Professor Aizawa…?”

His eyes snapped open, his throat raw and dry as his teeth hung mere millimeters from her skin, his canines already snapping some of the strands in her sweater and so close to breaking skin. The sound of her voice, soft, scared, panicked but still so hushed pulled what little humanity remained in him from the torrent, his eyes regaining focus from the glossy state they’d entered. He hadn’t done it yet. As much as he so badly craved the liquid flowing in her veins, he still had a chance to walk away from this and return to somewhat normalcy.

Somewhat.

Shouta pushed his mouth closed, a great task considering his jaw became somewhat locked during a feast, and he ripped himself away from her neck. His left hand clutching her shoulder as his right hand gripped her chin and yanked her towards him, apathetic towards how rough he was being at this very moment. Her brown eyes were wide with fear and…something else he couldn’t quite figure out swirling in those brown irises, and he hardened his stare as his thumb pinched her chin harder. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t set foot in my lecture hall again. Better yet, you’ll drop my damned class,” he warned, “you have…such greater things to worry about than a bunch of nosy adults.” Before she could even respond, Shouta pushed himself away from her, disappearing down the hall at an inhuman speed until he escaped down a stairwell, avoiding his office entirely. Yumi fell back a few steps, ultimately catching herself before she could hit the floor, her lungs struggling for air as her face and body burned. She watched him disappear, her hands trembling at her sides until she ran for the main door, her mind only able to form one coherent thought:

What on God’s earth had just happened.

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