#I had a weird horizontal space on the bottom that I didn’t know how to fill

[ricky-mortis]

Some pose practice with my favorite spy

#ignore the bottom one #I had a weird horizontal space on the bottom that I didn’t know how to fill #so that was what I chose to do #I am fully aware I could’ve cropped it out #but it’s too late for that #I love him though #I just realized I’ve been doing a lot of very static poses recently #something I def need to get better at #and thus #practice #agent curt mega #Curt mega #spies are forever #tin can bros #tw: guns #tw: alcohol #tw: banana #my art #:)

[not-alien-girl-v]

Angel (lrh) Chap. 2

warning: language

note: not edited but i dont care. i said next fic would be a george daniel fic. i lied. deal with it

12 hours ago, Luke had been dumped onto his front porch like a bag of trash, and at the moment, he didn’t feel that different from one.

Luke had tried almost everything he knew to solve a hangover: exercise, hydration, even some weird concoction Ashton whipped up for him in the morning that sent a weird tingle through his veins for just a moment, but the throbbing of his head and sickness in his stomach made him wince at every sudden move surrounding him. 

At precisely 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Luke downed half a pot of coffee, and by 3:23, he got into his car and drove to the local strip club, Les Belles Femmes, to right a wrong.

The wrong, in this instance, would be referring to the beautiful woman he thoroughly annoyed last night. Maybe he wanted an excuse to go back to the strip club, maybe he wanted an excuse to see her again, that eye-catching individual he felt a strong sense of guilt for burdening last night.

His car comes to a rolling stop, well, Michael’s car, in the trashed parking lot of the club. This place looks a lot different in the day time, the sign not so glowy, the building not so alluring, or maybe he’s just sober this time. Michael didn’t know that Luke took his new car out, and Luke had no intention of telling him. After the stupid fistfight Michael got into last night at the party, he had been passed out his bedroom with the lights out for hours. Ashton checked in on him a few times, checking for a pulse, and Michael simply swatted him away like an angsty teen.

Luke’s hand slides onto the metal handle of the door and he exits the vehicle, approaching the club, coming face to face with the bouncer.

Of course, with Luke’s luck, it’s Steve from last night. Steve remembers Luke, Steve doesn’t like Luke, Steve won’t tolerate Luke, not again. “Beat it, mop top.” Steve starts like a bully from a 2000′s movie.

“Please, man, I gotta talk to her,” Luke all but gets on his knees and begs the other man, though not much larger than him vertically, he had much more more on him horizontally. In other words, dude was jacked as hell.

“Who?” 

“Angel.”

“You’re here for Angel? Sure. What’s her real name?”

“...Olivia.”

Steve sighs. “Just go home kid. You’re young. You’ve got better things to be doing at 4 o’clock on a Saturday.”

“I really don’t. Can I please just talk to her? Please?” Luke considers poking his bottom lip out in a pout but ultimately decides against it, not wanting to risk it.

Steve sighs like that’s all he knows how to do. This must be an everyday thing for him. “I’ll call her out here. That’s only if she wants to come out, got it? If she’s busy, you’re out of here.” Luke enthusiastically nods, and Steve disappears into the tinted front doors of the club. 

His heart is in his chest, thumping and thrashing about and he wonders if he’s too young to be having a heart attack, and the overworked muscle threatens to stop all together when he sees the door open again. 

“Oh, it’s you,” she rasps at him, and Steve is following right behind her, keeping a watchful eye over Luke, as if he would get handsy any second now.

She’s not wearing a typical garb of someone in her line of work, she dons some black sweatpants and a black Nirvana T-shirt, much to Luke’s approval, but he keeps that to himself, at least for now. She must have just gotten here, perhaps not even a few minutes ago. Lucky timing.

“It’s me. Can we talk?” Her face is bewildered, she seems mildly annoyed that she’s out here off the clock, but nods.

“So, uh, I kept thinking about you, the random act of kindness you showed me last night when you really didn’t need to, I felt bad about not deserving it. So, if you’d allow it, would you like to have dinner with me?”

“No.” She turns on her heel, ready to bolt back inside to her safe space, but of course, he just won’t have it.

“Wait! Okay, that’s fine, you don’t need to go on a date with me, totally fine, I get it. I’m a creepy guy who shows up at your work to ask you out, not my proudest moment, I’ll admit. Um, I - uh - I’m playing a show tonight! Me and my band. I’ll get you a ticket, two if you want to bring a friend, free of charge.”

“What makes you think I want to see your crappy little garage band?” She counters, contrarily. He cracks a smile, unreciprocated.

“Because your a kind woman?” She scalds him with a stare, “hey, we’re not awful. And it’s free. It will be fun, I promise, I’ll play a great show, just for you.”

She sighs, just like Steve would, and speaking of Steve, he’s been watching in amusement, slightly in disapproval, yet doing his best to hold in a laugh at the patheticness of this young man.

“If I show up,” Luke’s smile doubles, “ if, heavy if, you promise you won’t be weird about it? You won’t make some weird mention of me on stage. No random love confessions?”

“Pinky swear,” he extends his smallest finger to her and she stares again, scalding him again, he puts his hand down.

“Angel? It’s 4:30,” Steve warns from behind, standing guard at the doors.

“Write down the time and place, give it to Steve, if I’m feeling nice, I might come. Don’t get your hopes up, freak.”

He should be mildly offended at the name he was just called but he isn’t, and for some weird reason, he kind of liked it a little bit. He’d have to explore that more later.

“Perfect. Cool. I’ll see you later. Maybe, I guess. Either way though, it’s fine, really.” Luke’s still shouting stupid things as she goes back inside, leaving him alone, with Steve.

“Alright, alright, I’m leaving,” his hands raise in surrender as he walks back to Michael’s car. He can’t wash the smile off his face as he pulls out of the carpark.

⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

“What’s wrong with you, dude?” Michael appears behind him in the dressing room mirror. He’s got a shiner roughly the size of a young woman’s fist and Luke doesn’t even feel bad about the full body laugh that escapes him. “Yeah, yeah, have your laugh,” he grumbles.

“I’m sorry mate, what were you saying?” Luke fusses a little extra with his hair tonight, experimenting with different strands laying out in variations across his face.

“I was asking what’s wrong with you. Why are you so excited?”

“What? Am I not allowed to be happy anymore?” Luke turns back to look at Michael but Michael deathstares him. 

“No.”

“Whatever,” he mumbles as Michael walks away. The band was going on in 10 minutes, and once again, Luke was worrying if he was of age to be having a heart attack with how furiously it assaulted his ribcage in deep, heavy pumps.

Sure, he doesn’t necessarily take care of his body, but he’s only 20, he doesn’t have to, right?

The stage lights are hot, bright, and blindingly white once they shine down on Luke. He feels like he could fall off this stage right now, hoping security could act fast enough to catch him in the front row. Or maybe he’d stagedive. He did say he’d give a good show to Angel. Hey, maybe if she liked it enough, she might even tell him her real name. Maybe agree to the date.

Either way, his ass was on the line with tonight’s performance. Tonight’s venue was only big enough to host 300, maybe 350 people, so he hopes she doesn’t see the small crowd and imagine his band sucks so much that no one even comes to see them live.

Sure, they were no Fifth Harmony, but he could hold a tune pretty well, and as long as he jumped around the stage looking pretty for about 45 minutes, the fans seem content with him.

Needless to say, he had never been so worried about a performance since his very first performance that didn’t include at least 3-10 family members in the audience. The first few shows of the band were mostly family, friends, and anyone else they could beg to come, but eventually people started coming on their own terms, no begging involved. If you squint, this nights was not one of those, as Luke had to do some serious begging to get this girl in the audience. 

She probably didn’t know he knew that she was here tonight, as she didn’t dress up in any way, blending in with the crowd, but little did she know that Luke put in a word with the entrance security to alert him when a certain someone with a VIP ticket shows up.

VIP means that she, amongst a few other fangirls, would be coming back to meet the band after the show ends, that is, if she wants to. She could decide the four of them are shit and go home early. 

Whatever, whatever, whatever, don’t think, don’t stress, don’t worry, whatever a therapist would say right now.

The setlist consisted mostly of songs off their newest album, Sounds Good Feels Good, along with some classics from their self titled album, and a few sentimental songs, mostly just for the old fans, off the B-Sides album.

The band ended the first portion with the set with Jet Black Heart, coming back for an encore of She Looks So Perfect, then finally exiting the stage for the night, and Luke almost started biting his fingernails even though that’s something he doesn’t do. 

He sprawled himself down on a backstage black leather couch, feeling sweaty and overall a little rank, and Michael walked up to him, fake-punching him in the stomach with an explosion sound effect, then continued walking to the entrance that the VIP guests would be entering through in just a few minutes.

“Dude, you coming or not? They’re almost here.” Ashton nudges him with a gentle knee and tiredly, Luke sits up, stretching out his arms loudly, enjoying every snap and crack emitting from his tired joints.

He suddenly hears frantic female chatter and he knows it’s time, so he stands up, turns around, and is face-to-face with her. Angel, the one who he had been waiting for all night. “You’re here,” he pretends to be surprised.

“I am,” she smiles nicely but he can sense there’s something behind it, a heavy ‘but’ lingering in her words. Before she can continue, he starts. 

“You look nice, tonight. I like the jeans,” he comments on the ripped black skinny jeans that look like they’d be straight out of his own closet, speaking of which, he is also currently wearing black skinny jeans, the only difference being the lack of a tasteful rip over the left knee.

“I know. So do you. It was a great performance, by the way. Though, I’m getting the feeling the crowds usually aren’t this small, you had some serious die hard fans out there.”

“Yeah, we’re doing some smaller shows before we go on a hiatus for the next album we’re writing. This one tonight, it’s the last one, actually.”

“Oh really? Cool.” He doesn’t know what else to tell her, as there’s no other concert to invite her to again, and he doesn’t want to rush her by asking her out again, he could easily fuck this up and never see her again as easily as he convinced her to come tonight.

“So,  I-” 

“Listen-”

“Sorry, you go first,” she continues.

“Okay, um. Do you wanna hang out again sometime? Maybe go to a party my mate is having in a few days or something? Or, if you wanna keep it lowkey, that’s cool too, maybe a movie or something?”

“Right, so listen, I don’t usually do this, and I’m starting to realize why. I think driving you home last night was a mistake, I know that now, and I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea with this whole thing, but I try my best to keep my private life and my work life separate.”

“What?”

“Hey, don’t take it personally. You’re a great guy, got a lot going for you, you sing, you dance, you’re cute, you’re persistent, girls love that, and I’m sure any day now, you’ll find a good one, but I’m sorry, I just don’t think it’s gonna be me.”

He doesn’t say anything, just hopes nobody is listening to this right now.

“So, I should probably head out now, thanks for the show, and for the ticket. I appreciate it, really. Maybe sometime you can come into my work and I’ll give you a freebie or something,” she’s already at the door with her back turned when she gives it a second thought. “I’m kidding, by the way, don’t do that. I’ll have Steve kick you out again. Bye though!”

He’s just standing there dumbfounded, when a girl with a VIP pass comes up asking for a hug and a picture, and he does as he’s asked with a content smile on his face but his mind is elsewhere from his loving fans. 

She called him cute. She called him cute! At least the night wasn’t a total failure. Sure, that’s what he’ll tell himself to avoid hiding in his closet and crying like an insecure teenage boy who just got rejected by his crush. 

No, he was a 20 year old boy who got rejected by a stripper, this is different, these are adult problems, not teenage problems. 

#luke hemmings #luke hemmings fanfiction #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer fanfiction #5sos #5sosfam #5sos fanfic #luke hemmings x reader #calum hood #michael clifford #ashton irwin #fanfiction #fanfic

[missymurphy1985]

Nobody's Perfect (part11)

Warnings - smut / mentions of baby loss / fertility issues

Taglist @queenshelby @margoo0 @being-worthy @peakyscillian @ntmynouis @janelongxox @elenavampire21 @noctvrnalmoth @ysmmsy @cloudofdisney @lauren-raines-x @namelesslosers

It had been three weeks since your romantic cottage getaway with Cillian and things had been perfect. The filming was going well, and you'd both agreed that there was to be no talk of babies or IVF while you were here filming. The other cast members knew what you were going through and we're going above and beyond to make sure you were both always distracted and busy, be it with a night out or dinner. Your relationship was back on track and you couldn't have been happier.

Apart from today. You'd been to a sushi restaurant the night before with the girls while Cillian was playing video games with the boys in Joe's hotel room and clearly picked up a bad case of food poisoning. You'd spent the last hour throwing up, sushi was definitely not as pleasant post-digestion.

"Babe, you okay in there?" Cillian knocked the locked bathroom door lightly. "Overdid the wine last night?"

"I didn't even drink Cill, I drove last night... I'm off alcohol remember?" He'd bought you a glass of wine a couple of nights ago in the hotel bar but you'd simply played with it, the thought of drinking it really not appealing to you.

"I'll call Steve and let him know you're sick - I've got the scene with the priest to film, I can't stay. I'll call Helen though, pretty sure she's got this morning clear?" You didn't answer as another bout of nausea flooded you and you vomited again. "I'll take that as a yes..." He chuckled, making the call to Helen to come look after you while he was out.

Helen entered your apartment an hour later while you were lying on the sofa feeling sorry for yourself. She had a carrier bag and a bottle of water with her. Sitting on the chair opposite you, she smiled.

"How you feeling love?"

"Like I've been pummeled by one of Tommy's racehorses..." You grumbled. "I'm aching, I'm vomiting like crazy..." You welled up again. All you'd done so far was vomit and cry.

"Drink this water - just sip it occasionally, we don't want you dehydrated." She felt your forehead. "No fever. Is it just sickness? Nothing the other end?" You shook your head. "I don't think this is food poisoning y/n..."

You looked at her confused. "What else could it possibly be? The sushi was clearly off, it even tasted weird, but I was that hungry I'd have eaten anything..."

"The sushi was fine. Tasted fine too, and the rest of us aren't sick are we?" She pulled the bag from behind her on the chair and took out a box. You could see the words 'ClearBlue' clear as day and you scoffed.

"That's not funny..."

"Just take one, please? What harm can it do?" You scowled at her, part of you highly offended that she could even suggest such a thing after what you'd been through, but she glared back and you knew you'd lose the battle. Snatching the box from her you went to the bathroom to pee on the stick before leaving the test on the bathroom sink and reclaiming your space on the sofa sipping your water. You were starting to feel a little better when Helen stood up and went to the bathroom.

"I wouldn't bother, there's no chance - "

"Y/n!!!!! Come here quick!!!!" She squealed from the bathroom. You edged yourself out of your horizontal position and walked into the bathroom rolling your eyes. She held up the test and you froze. Clear as day, 'Pregnant - 3/4'....

"No... No Helen... It's wrong, it has to be..." You started sobbing as Helen pulled you into her arms letting you cry. You were happy, but absolutely terrified at the same time.

"Now you listen to me - you're going to call your doctor back in Dublin right now and tell him the news. Whatever recommendations he gives you, you're going to follow them, even if that means you're going home, okay? We're taking care of you and this little peanut." You nodded, tears streaming down your face, your hands instinctively holding your belly.

"I can't believe it... I need to call Cillian... This is really happening isn't it?"

"Yes it is love. But I have a better idea," she smirked before picking up her phone.

Cillian came back an hour later to find you in bed, Helen had left half an hour ago after helping you set everything up. He saw you were sleeping so didn't disturb you, instead heading to the fridge to grab the milk to make himself a coffee. There was a post it note attached to the milk...

"Follow the clues to a gift for you.... The first one's easy, it's in your shoe..." He furrowed his brows, exhausted from filming his fight scene with the priest and wasn't in much of a mood for games but he played along. Heading to the shoe rack, he found another note.

"I know this is fun and you think it's neat... Go to the place where we sit and eat...." Rolling his eyes, he walked to the small dining table.

"This ones easy, go take a look... This one's hidden in your favourite book..." Walking into the bedroom quietly, he picked up the book on his nightstand and opened it to another little post it note.

"The very last clue, try not to peep... Are you feeling tired? Wake your girl from her sleep." He moved over to you and peeled the cover back slowly. Your eyes stayed closed as you moved onto your back, revealing a white T Shirt with 'Open me' written in black marker pen at the bottom. Lifting it off you gently, he furrowed his brows again, making you smile as you opened your eyes.

"10% loading?" He questioned, confused. You raised your eyebrows smirking. He looked at your belly again and you saw the penny drop.

"No... You can't be?"

"I can be, and I am!" You held out the pregnancy test you'd been hiding under your pillow, grinning. He pulled you up and held you, unable to form words.

"But how??"

"That weekend in Helen's cottage was exactly what we needed Cill.. I don't think we left each other alone for more than an hour!" You laughed pulling away from him.

"I've already spoken to Doctor Neal. As long as I feel well, I'm fine to stay filming. He's got a contact here in Manchester that'll look after us for the next 3 months while were filming, he's booking us in for a scan in a few weeks. I'm just to take it as easy as possible until then."

"And do you feel well? Really?"

"I'm fine, honestly. Bit sicky and my boobs feel like lead but I'm okay."

"Does that mean I can't play with them?"

"Touch them and I'll cut you, Shelby." You glared, making him laugh. He couldn't take his eyes off your stomach, planting small kisses along it, linking his hand in yours, laying his head down against it as your stroked his hair. You laughed when he sat up.

"You've got black marker all over your face, ya tit."

#cillian fanfic #cillian smut #cillian murphy #cillian x fem!reader #cillian murphy x reader

[haeyeongs]

#ShowYourProcess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

@lan-xichens​ tagged me and choose this gifset of mine. Thank you so much!

I’m tagging:

@cuddlybitch with this set

@mercurialhigh​ with this set

@therukurals with this set

@baijingting with this set

@moonlightsdream with this set

My process is below the line!

1. Planning

I’ve made this gifset as a gift for a kdrama secret santa. I knew I wanted to gif Healer because both my santee and I love this drama. As for the format, I had no idea what it would look like except that I wanted to make a gifset that would look like a graphic. At the time, I was really into experimenting graphic-like gifsets! To get me inspired, I’ve decided to search for a quote to include and found this one from Caitlyn Siehl. This gave me the direction to follow: I wanted to find soft scenes with the couple but also a shot of Young Shin because she would be the center of the gifset.

I don’t remember much since it was a long time ago but I’m pretty sure the first scene I’ve selected was the first hug because I’m very fond of this shot and I always want to gif it lmao. The second hug serves as a parallel because in this one, he is the one to embrace her and they both are at peace (if you’re seen the drama, you know this wasn’t the case in the first hug scene). I wanted to pick a full body shot of Young Shin without really knowing what I would make with it and ended up selecting this one!

2. Creation

I am not sure which version of Photoshop I was using but I also used Avisynth to process my video and help me make gifs with a better quality (now, I actually use Vapoursynth instead).

1st part: the middle gif

The first gif I’ve made was the middle one. I wanted the text to be big so I decided to make a big gif (which was quite rare back then) with a lot of negative space so the text would look great in the background. I wasn’t really sure how to include Young Shin but I ended up deleting the background around her (which took a lot of time!). This is how it looks like for now:

Then, I add a background with a cyan/greenish blue gradient (I always gravitate towards those colors when I’m giffing Healer) and put the text behind her. Once the composition is done, I color the gif to make it more vibrant and to increase the yellows (the main color of my set is cyan but the color accent is yellow, this is a color combinaison I often use). Then, I add some overlays I’ve found here (i’ve added an embossed effect to it) to both make it a bit more dynamic but also so I can use my accent color!

2nd part: the last gif

Yes my process is messy!!! I actually didn’t really know what to do with the last gif. I initially meant to use that scene horizontally, the way it was in the show

But the ratio felt off because of the previous gifs... And I didn’t want to crop it because I thought having a close up on their faces would also feel weird. So I just turned it to the side!  You’ve probably noticed both this gif and the first one of the gifset do not have a 540px width: I just wanted to experiment using different widths and thought it was quite harmonious because it gave some movement to the gifset!

As for the text, I had to find another solution. I ended up “cutting” the gif so the text images would show up between them (this sounds weird but if you click on the images of my gifset, you’ll see that the last gifset is actually 5 images : the main gif in the middle, the small gifs at the top and bottom and the two text lines in between the gifs. Back then, tumblr’s gif size limit was still 3mb so gifmakers would be creative to subvert it). The coloring is quite simple but I’ve made the background cyan to match my color palette for this gifset and the text highlights are yellow, of course!

3rd part: the first gif

The last part! This was actually probably the first gif I’ve colored but i didn’t know how to include the text so it was the last one I’ve finished. I struggled a lot with this one and tried many ways to put the text but none looked right to me. And then I’ve randomly put a circle around them because a lot of things in this shot are circular: the way Young Shin holds Jung Hoo (her hands around his head but also her body curled around him), the line of the blanket, the camera movement (which you can’t see because i had to cut it but it spirals). Here’s the uncolored shot so you can see what I mean about the lines:

And then, I realized I could just put the text on the circle to emphasize the lines of this shot ! Once again, I’ve added a yellow highlight which was very useful since the word “favorite” was actually quite hard to read because of the background! And I’m done!!

3. Posting

Well this is quite embarrassing but I tend to be quite anxious about what I create/post so I always keep my sets in my drafts for some time. When I finish a gifset, I put it in my drafts so I can look at it a few days later to make sure I didn’t make any typo or any technical mistake (you know like when your coloring doesn’t show up on one of your frame? or when there’s a layer that moves without you wanting to?). This one was meant to be a gift for the 2019 kdrama secret santa so I didn’t keep it very long in my drafts because I had to post it before the deadline ended. I’ve used my usual creation tags and the secret santa one. Once it’s posted, I’m usually done with my set (even tho I’ve recently started self-rebloging and using the post pinning!)

#showyourprocess #lan xichens #challenge #cuddlybitch #mercurialhigh #therukurals #baijingting #moonlightsdream #text

[whatevercomestomymind]

Hi, sorry to bother you, but I saw your post about learning calligraphy to better your handwriting? I was wondering if you remember any practice materials or methods you might have used? I have horrible handwriting and am trying to better it, but keep hitting walls on finding any practice materials that aren’t kindergarten level. Again, sorry to bother you on an old post but I thought you might be able to help another in their pursuit for better penmanship.

Not a problem! And I just posted that yesterday, so you're good!

There's an absolute TON of instructional work on calligraphy, and I agree, most start off way too basic, and then just skip through the "practice practice practice" portion, and end up not really teaching the evolution of the letter forms, which is stupidly helpful, especially once you already know the basics of handwriting.

I'll post a list of books I 1000% recommend at the bottom, but there's a few things to know about calligraphy when you start.

Calligraphy and handwriting are seen as 2 different art forms now. They didn't use to be.

There is a HUGE difference between your "daily hand" and "calligraphy."

Learning calligraphy will have a relatively small impact on your daily hand unless you practice a style that is foundationally similar to what you already know.

So, you have 2 goals: learning "fancy" lettering, and improving your handwriting.

If you want to improve your handwriting, you have to go in reverse historical chronological order, so that your hands and eye adapts most naturally, which will give you the fastest results.

So where to start?

First, if you're American, you were probably taught the D'Nealian script (block and cursive) when you learned how to write (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Nealian)

This was derived from the Palmer Script (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_Method)

Which is in turn derived from Spencerian script (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencerian_script), and in turn before that, Copperplate (which is more of a font family rather than a specific style, it's most famous offspring being English Roundhand).

If your goal is to improve your daily writing style, practice those hands in that order. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO START WITH COPPERPLATE, IT WILL MELT YOUR BRAIN. TRUST ME.

I'd start with Palmer tbh. That's probably what your grandparents learned, and have you seen letters from the 1940s? Fuckin beautiful.

The key points are the angle of your paper, the angle of your pen, and your letter spacing. The styles all the way back to Spencerian tend to still allow for you to manipulate the pen with your fingers (like you're used to) rather than your whole wrist or arm (like older scripts like classic italics, copperplate and Gothic styles).

Here's a really old and really fabulous guide to the entire Palmer method: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/gdc/scd0001/2006/20060809007pa/20060809007pa.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjwtLfquYvsAhXydM0KHUpDBCMQFjAbegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw3cruMOFNqF4iK6as-toBJN

It's a free PDF. Pay particular attention to the section of scribbles and circles! THESE ARE NOT OPTIONAL IF YOU WANT TO RE-TRAIN YOUR HAND. You have to use muscles in ways they're not used to moving, so get a pad of paper, and in idle down-time (watching TV, riding the bus, on that stupid Zoom meeting that could have been an email), SIT THERE AND SCRIBBLE OVALS LIKE A LUNATIC.

Seriously, this is the single best thing you can do to improve your handwriting. And artwork for that matter. You have to train your hand. You have to start being conscious of how the pen feels, how it scratches the paper depending on how hard you press, how thick lines feel vs thin ones, how a miniscule change in pressure changes the whole line and shape you're doodling.

AUTISM/ADHD NOTE: doing this may make you feel weird, or overstimulated! If it's not something you can keep doing, then DONT. If like me though, you find the repetitive movement and scratchy feel of the pen on paper soothing, you're gonna freaking love this part.

So that covers scripts for the most part (well at least for the past couple of centuries).

ON TO BLOCK LETTERING!

In my research, I found that those annoying bubble letters with the I hearts I despised in middle school actually had a historical precedent: Uncial lettering.

Uncial (and half-uncials) lettering was the signature font of the Kells Monastery, and what we all think of when we thing "celtic/Irish lettering". Famous examples are the way Bilbo Baggins writes in the Hobbit and LOTR films, more pub signs than you can shake a stick at, etc.

Remember what I said about how older scripts require less finger movement and more wrist/whole arm movement? Half-uncial is one of those odd intersectional fonts. Below a 5/8" line height, you'll probably get good results moving mostly your fingers, but as you scale up, you'll get smoother lines by moving larger joints (wrist, keeping fingers in place, and then whole arm for 3"+ line heights).

The foundation of half uncial font is the circle. But it's more of a horizontal oval. Once you can draw a slightly elongated circle, and a straight line, you're ready for half uncials because every other letter is based on the "O". A's? A circle with a stick. D's? 3/4 of a circle with a horizontal ascender.

Now this us where the books I recommend come in.

You're going to want to start with the Celtic Design series by Aidan Meehan. Start with "A Beginner's Manual". It lays out the mathematical and geometric construction behind every major facet of celtic illumination. I particularly like the bit on the geometry of Insular letters at the end.

Then go through "Celtic Alphabets", followed by "Illuminated Lettes" if you're interested in the embellishments and decorated letters, though it does talk about how letter forms are constructed geometrically, which i found super useful.

But the font i use the most on a regular basis is Architects Hand. It's an all caps highly angular and tight, but easy to read and execute hand. Here's an example:

Since its mostly straight lines designed for optimal readability even at the smallest font point sizes, it's a super useful and easy way to write fairly quickly and legibly.

I hope this helps to answer your question and points you in the right direction! Since I moved on to specializing in knotwork and illumination fairly quickly after discovering calligraphy, I have a lot more information about those subjects than handwriting, but if you want more info, by all means, ask away!

#calligraphy #handwriting #letters #celtic #ask

[cordytriestowrite]

Knocking On Your Door

Bucky Barnes x Reader

One Shot College AU

Summary: Bucky can't sleep and you can't find your door.

The strip of light under the door was too bright and the heavy footfalls just outside sent shadows across Bucky's eyelids so that every time he felt compelled to open them. He knew it was late but didn't dare touch his phone and have his retinas burned by the intense, artificial light. Ten feet to his right his best friend let out a loud, choking snore reminding Bucky he was the only one having a problem adjusting to dorm life. 

A shiver ran down Bucky's body as his left shoulder escaped from the warm cocoon of his comforter and he had to expose his right hand to the cold to tuck everything back in. A sleeping Steve missed Bucky's lukewarm glare in the dark. The man could sleep soundly on a bed of ice but Bucky? Well, Bucky hated the cold. The thermostat for the whole floor was just down the hall behind a plastic cage. He spared a moment to fantasize about ripping it off with his bare hand before hurling it out the window and watching it shatter on the sidewalk below. And while the fantasy was nice the reality was Bucky should probably just put on a sweater, but he hated wearing shirts to bed so he stubbornly suffered in silence. 

Two students passed through the hall in a heated conversation at full volume. Did anyone take morning classes on this floor? Bucky wondered bitterly as he burrowed his head underneath his pillow and let out a tiny, totally manly whimper of exhaustion. He knew college would be tough, was told as much by everyone he knew, but no one thought to mention how impossible it would be to get some fucking sleep.

The tips of his ears and nose warmed with his head planted under his pillow and while his neck ached slightly and his inhales became filled more with exhaled breath than fresh air he found his eyes suddenly heavy with sleep. 

The rattling of the door knob had Bucky bolting upright. The sound was insistent, offending Bucky's ears every few seconds while he blinked sleep from his eyes. The sudden cold air on his chest helped rouse him enough to pull the covers back and put his feet on the equally cold ground. He took a moment to grit his teeth against the chill. 

What sounded like an open palm smacked once against the wood spurring Bucky to leap the short distance across the room. His hand gripped the still wriggling knob and wretched the door open.

"Jesus, do you know what time it is?"

The greeting growled out of him, he couldn't help it. He knew he was wild-eyed, hair messy, and torso bare to display the stump where his arm should be and that alone would have made even his closest friends take an instinctual step away.

But you only blinked owlishly at him.

"You're not Carol?" You managed to slur out the cohesive thought as you stared at the man in front of you who was definitely not your roommate. 

"Uh," Bucky's forehead crinkled with his own confusion. 

"No?"

It was obvious you were drunk. If Bucky didn't have eyes he'd still be able to smell the reek of booze pouring off your skin. 

"Why are you in my room?" 

"I'm not. I'm in my room."

"Who are you?"

"Bucky, who are you?"

Your gaze hardened and your hands braced against your hips. You knew where you lived god dammit and this...this...Bucky would not put you out on your ass.

"Get out of my room you creep!"

Bucky's movements were quicker than yours, his arm coming up to block your two handed push. What neither of you anticipated was the lack of balance on your end that had you crumpling into each other like a car crash. It took your brain a minute to breach the surface of understanding and reorient your sense of space to its current status: horizontal with a bloom of pain in your knee and your face pressed to bare skin. Your tongue swiped along your bottom lip and the action was answered with a pulsing sting and the taste of copper.

"Ouchies." You moaned with a pathetic warble.

A groan of agreement rumbled beneath you. Bucky, with the wind still knocked out of him, glanced up at the bed half expecting a disheveled blond head to lean over the edge. If Steve woke up at all from the commotion he already deemed it not as important as sleeping.

You didn't seem interested in moving off of Bucky and occasionally he could feel your tongue leave a wet trail against his chest which was kind of weirding him out. The last thing he wanted was to be accused of taking advantage of a drunk girl by another loud late-night hall walker. With his arm on your opposite shoulder he tugged gently until you fell onto the rug beside him. 

"Where's Carol?" You asked again, feeling your eyes sting with big, fat, extra salty tears.

"I want french fries." You added as an afterthought. 

Bucky let out a surprised chuckle, muffling it behind his palm as he let it slide down his face and pull at his lower lip.

"Me too."

Your stomach contracted with a mix of hunger and nausea. Turning on your side you tried to settle into a comfortable position on the hard floor. Bucky turned on his side toward you, his eyes flitting over your face with concern.

"Don't fall asleep."

Your lower lip jutted out, the pull of skin ripping the split open further. Your tongue ran along the wound again. 

"I'm not!"

Your eyes closed of their own accord though your mind was still very much active. You wondered yet again where Carol was. But finding her was only  secondary to your new mission.

"I want french fries."

You heard a sigh and cracking one eye open your vision swam for a moment before taking in the man next to you. His hair was long, pooling onto the floor under his head. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles and weary with the need for sleep. His chest was bare, pale and toned and scarred where his limb suddenly ended.

"Did I do that?" You wondered out loud, your fingers inching toward the pink, tight skin. 

"No." he answered, his voice soft with vulnerability. 

Bucky felt as if he had hit the floor all over again. He felt dizzy and breathless and unable to do anything but watch what was happening. Fingers connected with flesh and the sharp intake of air hurt his lungs. It didn't feel like much, the nerves dull and your touch light, but Bucky's body was awake with awareness. 

"I've never…" 

Your thought floated away halfway through speaking it, but Bucky nodded as if he understood. Eventually your fingers stopped stroking and Bucky rolled over to his back. There was a second of stillness before he sat up and stared down at you.

"Tell you what: let's go find your friend Carol and get you some french fries."

You ignored the pain of your lip in favor of offering Bucky a wide smile.

"Fuck yes let's go!"

Bucky sent a quick glance to the lump in Steve's bed which remained unmoving despite your exclamation. Rising first he offered his hand to you, bending his knees and keeping his balance low and centered as you stumbled your way up to standing. 

-

"Wake up sleeping beauty."

You groaned, pulling your blanket above your head. Your head was pounding, blood pulsing painfully behind your eyes. Your mouth was dry, breath foul, and bladder full. In essence you were hungover. 

"Carol, I'm dying." You moaned, your voice breaking with overuse. 

"I know sweetie. Now sit up and take these."

Carol pulled the blanket back and waited patiently for you to sit up before dropping the pills into your awaiting palm. You dropped them into your mouth and tried not to gag as you washed them down. 

"So you had an interesting night, huh?"

You had settled back down, the effort it took to stay upright too much to handle right now. You draped your forearm over your eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

"I don't know, did I?"

Carol didn't answer but you could still feel her weight on the edge of your bed. You snuck a peak from under your arm.

"Carol Danvers what do you know?"

She shrugged, but the burgeoning smirk on her lips suggested she wasn't entirely ignorant. You sat up again, your body hunched over with nausea, but you persevered. 

"Tell me what you know, woman!"

Carol's lips quirked upward, her stare steady in silent resistance. You were about to flop back down and leave last night a mystery but Carol must've seen your interest waning. 

"Imagine my surprise when there is a knock on the door at four in the morning and it's you holding a basket of fries in one hand and waving goodbye to some tall, dark, and handsome with the other."

"Who was it?"

Carol shrugged, finally getting up and crossing back over to her side of the room and tugging on her brown leather jacket.

"I'm meeting Maria for breakfast. Want me to bring you something back or do you think you can brave the journey."

As much as you wanted to spend the day in bed with your roommate bringing you food you knew the best way to recover from your monster hangover was to walk your tired ass downstairs and across campus to the cafeteria, load up a plate with greasy food, and shovel it all into your face until you felt human again.

You pulled back your covers to find yourself still in the outfit you wore last night, a wrinkled shirt and skirt combo that did not look as cute as it did last night. Pulling on sweatpants and a hoodie you followed Carol at a much slower pace. 

Maria was leaning against the outside wall of the cafeteria until she spotted Carol. You watched her jog to meet her girlfriend sooner by a few seconds with a flutter in your own chest at just how fucking cute they were. 

"Not that I don't like seeing you two be adorable but I need hash browns."

Maria took one look at your current state and nodded seriously, pulling Carol along under her arm.

"Well shit who am I to deny you breakfast?"

The cafeteria was surprisingly busy for a Saturday morning, but the lines of food were already being switched out for lunch items and you realized it was later than you thought. 

You were plopping your third scoop of eggs onto your plate when you felt a presence next to you. Looking up beyond the edge of your hood a spark of recognition barely ignited in your memory, but something about him seemed familiar. His plate sat mostly empty on the runner and you assumed he was waiting for his turn with the eggs. 

"Sorry." You muttered, dropping the spoon and moving along the line.

"For which part?" 

Bucky had barely registered that the hunched and bundled body next to him was you until you spoke. He had dropped you off at the door a floor below his only six hours ago then took the stairs back to his room and promptly passed out. Steve tried to rouse him for a morning run with Sam but unlike Steve, Bucky hadn't caught a wink of sleep until the sun was rising. Steve's return and Sam's insistent prodding at Bucky's body beneath his blanket had spurred him awake and in a foul mood. He escaped the room with his foul mood intact wondering if Natasha would let him crash in her bed while she worked. She didn't answer when he knocked on her door and in a futile attempt to catch up on sleep he ventured to the cafeteria. She wasn't there but now that Bucky was his stomach begged for substance. With an energy drink shoved into his pocket he pushed his plate down the line waiting for something to catch his eye. 

Turns out that thing was you. 

Turns out Bucky was not quite out of his funk.

He followed you, pushing his plate past what remained of the eggs. 

"Do you want to apologize for showing up at my door in the middle of the night? Or for accusing me of breaking into my own dorm? Maybe for pushing me?"

Your eyes widened with each word until the dryness stung and forced you to blink back the moisture. There was a smudged image in your mind of the same man before you, hair loose and eyes tired, not too different from how he looked right now. 

"All of it?" You offered up with a half shrug. 

Bucky didn't know what he expected, wasn't sure he expected anything. Maybe he just wanted to be angry and for you to feel guilty. 

But he remembered your fingers grazing the scars on his chest and arm, how you leaned into him as he walked you to your door, your nonsensical stories barely uttered through drunken giggles, and how much many times you muttered 'cute' when gazing at him with a dopey smile on your face. 

Silence stretched between you, Bucky's gaze far away with the night he luckily could remember. You moved down the bar, suddenly not as hungry as you were a few minutes ago. 

You reached the student cashier, who barely looked up as you reached into your pocket to fish out your id card.

"I got it."

Bucky leaned over to place his card into the cashier's awaiting hand. Who swiped it without hesitation before passing it back in Bucky's general direction. 

"Thanks."

You picked up your plate, waiting for Bucky to do the same.

"I really am sorry for whatever I did last night."

Bucky placed his plate down at an empty table then set his energy drink down before pulling out his chair. You could see Carol and Maria sitting a few tables away, but the couple was wrapped up in a conversation and hadn't noticed you.

"I assume I have you to thank for getting me home last night?"

Bucky nodded, a smile forming on his tired face.

"And your precious basket of fries. I'm surprised you're still hungry, I bought you three baskets."

A flush of heat rippled down your body, self-consciously you licked your bottom lip and felt a tenderness you didn't have before you started drinking last night. 

"Holy shit, I ate that many fries?"

"Nah, you wanted to bring one back to Carol."

You glanced at the woman in question. Catching her eye and watching her very obviously mouth 'that's him!'

Yeah, no shit Carol. Thanks. 

"So after I wake you up in the middle of the night, insult you, push you, and drag you out of your dorm you not only buy me fries but you buy my friend fries and my breakfast this morning."

Bucky shrugged, shoving a forkful of food into his mouth and staring intently at his plate. 

"Are you single?"

Bucky choked a little before he managed to swallow the large amount of food he had unwittingly dumped into his gob to keep from making an ass of himself. Turns out he could do that anyway. Coughing to clear his airway he let out a strangled answer.

"I am."

"So would it be weird if after all of that I asked you out?"

Bucky couldn't keep from smiling this time and to be safe he set down his fork and pushed away his plate. He had a date. He had the weirdest night of his college experience and now he had a date. Bad mood banished he felt an influx of endorphins urging him to run or jump or dance or do something equally stupid in public. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'd like that. But I'd like to take a nap first." He confessed with a chuckle.

"Oh my god, me too." You said wistfully, already imagining crawling back into bed, maybe with…

"First date idea: want to nap together?"

Bucky's heart swelled in his chest to the point he thought it might send him floating away. 

"Fuck yes! Can we go now?"

You nodded, letting out a surprised squeal when Bucky gasped your hand and pulled you up and out of the mess hall. You caught up with him so he was less tugging you along and more so holding your hand. 

"Maybe while we walk you can help me fill in the gaps of last night. So your name is Bucky and why were you in my room?"

Bucky groaned, albeit with no frustration. You were so fucking cute if you let him he was going to kiss you before you both passed out cuddled up in the small, thin dorm beds, ignoring the sounds of passersby and daylight streaming though the window.

And fuck anyone who knocks on the door.

Permanent tag list

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[heyimverydrew]

“He Who Calls 2 : The Hooded Witch”

“Tell us a story” yelled the small child. 

It was 1778 and the Witch by the name of Atunde River sat in the dark forrest with a bowl of water between her legs. They were running away from the evils of slavery. 

Atunde had dark brown skin like a freshly aged oak tree. She was plus size and she had black dreads down to her knees. She was 26 years old and a leader of this escape. She was leading dozens to freedom just as she’d done before. She wore a long brown dress decorated with flowers and her eyes were a dark brown. 

“Quiet” Atunde muttered. 

The three small children sat around her. 

“So you want a story,” said Atunde “stare into the bowl”. 

“Why” asked Nasir. 

“To see the story of course” said Atunde as she closed her eyes “ you have to stare into the bowl. This is a story of a witch in a time far from here. A witch named ‘The Hooded Witch’ “. 

The date was February 3rd 2021. The Philadelphia Police surrounded City Hall with their squad cars, guns drawn and spotlights flashed on the building. They yelled through a speaker as Bryan stood in the Attorney General’s office. Gun drawn to his head. 

Bryan was a 6 ft Black man and he stood there sweating as lights flashed through the window.

“Tell them I didn’t do it” said Bryan

“Bryan I-“ began the Attorney General

“Tell them I didn’t kill that cop. He attacked us! It wasn’t me.”

“Bryan if you put the gun down we can talk about reduced charges” said the general. 

“Fuck that!” Bryan said waving the gun in his face. 

The secretary sat on the floor and she screamed with every wave. 

“Shutup!” Screamed Bryan. 

The door was shut and locked but suddenly a noise was heard from the other side. 

“I ordered everybody out who the fuck is that?” Said Bryan. 

“I don’t know” yelled the Attorney General. 

The steel lock above the door knob began to glow a bright gold. So dark it was almost white and the lock gave off this color as it turned. 

“I’ll shoot” yelled Bryan. 

The turning stopped. And the door flew opened. 

The secretary screamed. The attorney general was pushed to the floor. And Bryan stood there gun drawn.

In the hall stood a tall figure standing 6’4. He wore a long black jacket that hung above his feet, a a black bullet proof vest with dark blue horizontal plates, black boots and a hood pulled up over his head. A dark blue mask covered his nose down to his chin and all that could be seen was this light brown skin mans chestnut eyes. Head and chest high he stood there ready as Bryan whispered “The Hooded Witch”.  

“Quite a mess” muttered the Hooded Witch. 

“Don’t fucking move sissy” said Bryan as he waved the gun. 

“Grandma what big mouth you have” hissed The Hooded Witch as he turned to the Attorney General and muttered “sleep”. The attorney general was halfway crawling to his desk when he collapsed and fell asleep. 

“Why’d you do that?!” Yelled Bryan in a panic. 

“He has a magnum in his desk. He was going to decorate the walls with the little brains that you do have. Now stop.“

Bryan froze unable to move only breath. The Hooded Witch got close and knocked the gun from his hand and grabbed him by the shirt as he pulled him along. 

The secretary screamed and The Hooded Witch  said softly “breath slowly”. She stopped screaming and calmly said “I’m breathing”. 

The Hooded Witch laughed and walked out as he pulled Bryan along. The Hooded Witch  pulled him down the empty halls of the city hall office building and he turned the corner to the exit and there stood 5 police officers guns drawn. 

“Fuck” The Hooded Witch turned around as the police ordered him to come back in disillusioned yells. 

The Hooded Witch walked calmly almost as if he was on a runway. “Its ok” The Hooded Witch  muttered to Bryan “I like pigs in a blanket”. The Witch pulled out a vile filled with a clear potion and he smashed it on the ground. The puddle grew a yard in just a few seconds and as the police ran behind him and drew their guns the puddle sprung up from the ground into 5 different portions. It wrapped around each officer and became a hard puddy, throwing them across the office, some on the ceiling, others into the elevator. The Hooded Witch smiled and dragged Bryan to another exit. All you could hear were the yells of police as The Hooded Witch dragged Bryan along. Bryan in a daze. 

The Hooded Witch kicked open the stair well door and there stood 12 police and they opened fire immediately. 

The bullets stopped immediately in mid air and began to circulate around The Hooded Witch  as if he was the sun.

The Hooded Witch walked away and pulled Bryan. The bullets continued to revolve around them as the police followed and shot. One officer grabbed The Hooded Witch by the shoulder and he grabbed the officers wrist and spun breaking it. He then sent his palm into the chest of another officer simultaneously using his power of heart stimulation sending a shock that threw him a yard off his feet. He ducked a kick from another officer and rose to give a round house kick that sent him slamming through a glass door. The Hooded Witch threw the long bottom of his jacket behind him as he turned around and grabbed Bryan. He grabbed him as the bullets circulated, and they slowly began to buzz and slowly became black and yellow as they turned into Bees. The bees surrounded The Hooded Witch as he approached a office door and kicked it open. Before walking in The Hooded Witch  muttered “Kolu” which was Yoruba for “attack”. 

The bees that were once bullets surrounded the officers and stung. They sprang shots that then because more bees and attacked even more. Over a hundred bees stinging at them. 

The Hooded Witch closed the door and locked it. “Be with me” said the Witch to Bryan. Bryan snapped out of it and backed up yelling “what did you do”. 

“I saved you” said The Hooded Witch, he then grabbed Bryan and walked directly through the wall to Bryan’s surprise. They were now on a train platform at the 13th and market station. 

Bryan yelled and backed away. 

“So lets talk Bryan. I know you didn’t kill that cop. And I know you plan to skip town. In your pocket is a new ID and enough cash to start over.”

“Why are you doing this?” Asked Bryan.

“I help you. You help me. Before you go you’re going to tell me where they’re keeping the women being held against their will. The motels keep changing but I want to know where they are.”

“And if I don’t tell you?” Asked Bryan 

“You’ll find out why the scariest people in this city whisper my name. Now tell me. Or you’ll be under this train and not on it.”

Bryan gulped.

“So, where are they?”

“Wow” said Nasir as he looked away from the water. 

“Ms.River he’s like you” said Bryanna as she sat on a log swinging her feet. 

“He beat that slave patrol like” started MBaku as he stood up and kicked and threw his fist. 

“Be quiet” said Atunde in a whisper as she held her laugh “he is indeed powerful. But a Witch in love is a Witch with a weakness”.

They all stared into the bowl as they continued to watch. 

The date was February 14th 2021. It was a bright warm night in a beautiful 5 star restaurant in center city. Caleb sat at the table with his fiancé Demarcus. He wore a dark blue turtle neck with black sacks and pointy black dress shoes. Demarcus wore a light gray suit with a dark gray tie that Caleb picked out himself. Caleb ate his crab soup as he listened to Demarcus rave about his case. 

“I’ve been calling you all afternoon to talk about this” said Demarcus.

“Yea I was at the gym sorry,” said Caleb.

“You’re taking this pilates class pretty serious” said Demarcus. 

Caleb smiled, he was really spending the last 6 months at a Dojo in south Philly learning Martial Arts. 

“So I won the case with barely any fight. Its like I was that good or they weren’t even trying” said Demarcus.

“I think you’re that good” said Caleb smiling. 

“Of course you do” said Demarcus smiling back.

“So I need your help with the Fishville slasher case “ said Demarcus.

“I told you I’m off that case,” said Caleb “I just don’t feel comfortable with it ok?”

“Babe” began Demarcus “this shit is weird. You’re the King of weird.”

“Wow my desire to sleep with you ever again has died” said Caleb putting down his spoon.

“Look at you on the downside again” said Demarcus laughing “no I meant you’re good at weird cases. Think about it. A man walks into a police station and confesses to a string of murders. He can’t remember anything about the last 72 hours other than the fact that he confronted someone that he calls ‘ The Hooded Witch’ “. The police search his home and find nothing. No weapons, no evidence, nothing. We don’t even know if he’s the real slasher.“

“Of course we do,” said Caleb. 

“Oh are you trusting this Hooded Witch guy?” Asked Demarcus. 

“Who says they’re a guy” says Caleb. 

“Sorry babe” Demarcus says quietly. 

“And I’m just saying they’ve done good. They freed those girls from that Motel last week and they captured The Jester. The police couldn’t even do that. Anthony Kale killed 32 people.”

Demarcus stares into space. 

“I hate when you do that,” says Caleb. 

“No I was just thinking how The Jester lost all  his memory as well. All he could remember was the ‘Hooded Witch’ “. 

“Well what are you going to do,” said Caleb changing the subject. 

“I’m going to get him out.” said Demarcus. 

“What?” Asked Caleb.

“The police didn’t find sufficient evidence. Mr. Bestwell has a history of mental illness and his confession wasn’t properly recorded. I can get him out easily.”

“Please don’t” begged Caleb “ you are possibly freeing a murderer?”

“And you want me to send a man to prison who we aren’t certain is a killer” spat Demarcus “I thought you were against things like that?”

“Demarcus,” said Caleb sternly “you can’t help free him. He confessed and the murders stopped what more do we need? Please just trust me.”

“…Okay” said Demarcus “I won’t. I’ll let them give him 40-50 years.”

“Good,” said Caleb “so its settled. You’ll thank me later. You don’t want to be known as the guy who got the fishville slasher out of prison.”

“Right” said Demarcus as he forced a smile.

The children looked away from the water.

“And what happened next Ms. Atunde?” Asked Nasir.

“The man with the knives stayed imprisoned. But Demarcus resented Caleb.”

“Why?” Asked Bryanna. 

“Well,” began Atunde “Demarcus was more concerned with fame and prosperity. And he lost a case he could’ve easily won. So one day. He disappeared. No warning, he just left. After this Caleb broke down. His powers became unstable. And he hurt those close to him.”

“How” asked Bryanna. 

“He was filled with rage, and he began to perform dark magics “ began Atunde “and his friend Tatianna grew concerned. Her grandmother and her coven attempted to bind The Hooded Witches powers. And he called the darkest most unnatural storm with vibrant unnatural lightning and razor sharp winds. He nearly killed them. After being disowned by Tatianna he willingly bound his powers and left them with the grandmother.”

“Whoa” said MBaku “and what happened after?”

“Caleb disappeared” said Atunde “look into the water.”

The date was June 28th 2021. Caleb sat on his car, a 78 blue corvette and he stared into the sunset. He was in a town just outside of Las Vegas. He was pulled over on the side of the road. He wore a white tank top, black jeans and black boots with studded heels. He watched as the sun left them again. He loved the orange sky and he loved watching the sun leave. One of the few joys that he still had. 

“Thanks come again” said Caleb as he stood behind the counter of the small gas station. Customer after customer. 

“You going to smile?” Asked Kya as she got to the counter. Kya was six feet, dark brown skin and she had long black braids down to her butt. She had several piercings in each of her ears and it was safe to say she was gorgeous. 

“No, but I will tell you to grab one more “Caleb said pointing to her shampoo as he chewed his gum “buy one get one free.”

“See that’s why I like you” said Kya going to grab another bottle and putting it on the counter “you look out.”

“I guess I do, “said Caleb ringing her out and bagging her things. 

“Look” said Kya “me and my girls are going to this club on the strip. Its called Elite Experience. Its for Black Queens like you and Black girls LIKE ME” said Kya alluding to being Trans “you should meet us there.”

“I work until 1am” said Caleb.

“The world is meant to be lived in, work will always be calling“ said Kya. 

“Im good,” said Caleb. 

“Okay” Kya said as she grabbed her receipt.

Caleb watched her leave as he thought. 

“Stare into the water” said Atunde “this is when it gets good.”

Caleb walked into the club. Wearing a black hooded top with studs down the sides and the same Black pants and boots from his shift. He didn’t have much time to change. 

“Mmm hey” said a white man as he approached Caleb “ drink?”

“No,” said Caleb as he walked passed him. 

“Caleb?!” Said Kya as she waved him over to her private table in VIP. 

“Hi,” said Caleb as he sat. 

“Is he not your type” asked Kya. 

“Hes really not” said Caleb. 

“What is your type?” Asked Kya. 

“Uh,” began Caleb “ tall, Black, dark hair, nice eyes” Caleb realized he was describing Demarcus and stopped. 

“Its that bad huh babe?” said Kya as she sat there in a tan tube top, her hair pulled up in a high pony tail as she sat in her black skin tight jeans “do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” said Caleb “well maybe. How-… how do you know if you aint shit?”

Kya laughs as Caleb stares. 

“Aint shit motherfuckers don’t reflect they protect their ego. Whoever it is .. aint worth your peace.”

“Wow,” said Caleb “Thats poetic I give you that. So whats your story? Lets invade your space”

“Ok well I’ve lived here 6 months” said Kya “I moved to LA from Brooklyn to pursue modeling. Fell in love with a dude in Vegas. Moved here. He wasn’t who he said he was so I left. So a girl bartends to make it now.I mean Im only 25 so Im not tripping. But I won’t lie sometimes surviving alone is a fucking horror movie.”

“Tell me about it,” said Caleb “ I’ve been here for about 3 months. I wanted something new. Im from Philly by the way were practically neighbors”

“Were nothing alike” spat Kya as they both laughed. 

“Shade” said Caleb. 

“See a smile” Kya said as Caleb rolled his eyes laughing. 

Kya looked at her phone and said “Im meeting a friend outside do you mind waiting here?” 

“Want me to come?” Asked Caleb

“No but watch my purse I’ll only be a second” said Kya as she tucked her phone into her purse and strutted away. 

“Ok Ill be right here” said Caleb excited to have met a friend. 

Caleb sat there as he waited. Thirty minutes passed now and he grabbed Kya’s purse as he stood up, ready to investigate. 

“Caleb?” Said a voice behind him. Caleb turned and it was his old boss Evelyn. 

“Evelyn hi, “ said Caleb “um what are you doing here?”

“Oh Im here for a wedding, a couple of the guys came here. My its been what 3 or 4 months?”

“Yeah…” said Caleb”

“So you ever figure out where Demarcus went? I just want to say it was terrible how he left you and well us. He left his friends to break it to you. And the spat you two had online it was just..”

“Yea I  don’t know” Caleb stated “I mean he practices law in England or something now. I don’t really want to talk about him.”

“Its ok” finished Evelyn “I just want to say a guy who looked like him wasn’t truth worthy anyway. I mean why would he be with you? “

Caleb stared. 

“Im sorry,” said Evelyn as she laughed “Ive been drinking.”

“And unfortunately I haven’t” started Caleb “look Evelyn. I don’t work for you anymore so I don’t have to pretend. You’re as tart as your Christmas cookies which really shouldn’t be complicated. But you’re as complicated as that $3 drink that couldn’t put a fly on its ass. Now look, I don’t like you, I don’t wish to engage with you and more importantly I have nothing to prove. I wish Demarcus well but we were equals. Him looking better in your eyes or anyone else’s doesn’t change that.  Now excuse me,” said Caleb as he walked away and stormed back to say “and expect an anonymous report very soon. I think the Smith’s would like to know that their lawyers have discussed very private information with rival investors.  Now Sip on that in your fake Louis, those tilted ass kitten heels and that brass fake ass gold bracelet. Goodbye.”

Caleb stormed out. 

“And that’s why I gave him a good reference,” said Evelyn to herself “…I knew this bracelet was fake”

Caleb searched outside the club and the strip for 3 hours. No sign of Kya. He even call Vegas police who were no help. No one cared but Caleb. 

It was now the next day. “Tell Mark I won’t be in today” said Caleb as he sat on the hood of his car watching another sunset in the desert. He wore a Formation World Tour tank top, ripped stone washed jeans and white tennis shoes. Kya had been missing for a day and he was determined to find out what happened. 

Two white men and one white woman stood over Kya as she laid barely conscious tied to a steel slab in their living room. They stayed in a expensive home by the beach. Each window tinted in the dark luxurious home. 

“I need to feed” said the woman vampire Alexandria. 

“Go” said Leonardus the lead vampire as Ryan stared on, rashes formed around their mouths as they usually did when it was time to feed.

Alexandria grabbed Kya by the throat and stood over her as she sucked her essence. Kya suffocated and veins filled her neck. Her essence was invisible but slowly left her and filled Alexandria as the rash around her mouth vanished. 

“Not too much” said Leonardus” we need her to last another day. “

Kya cried as she muttered “help”.

“Ok think Caleb” said Caleb as he went through her purse that was on the hood of his car. He couldn’t unlock her phone but he saw that her last text was from a man named Leon. Caleb went through her purse and found a card for a place called “Leon Enterprises. He was on the right track. 

“Vampires?!” Said Nasir as he and the other kids stared away from the water. 

“Vampires,” whispered Atunde “the kind that live long and suck your life force. Caleb was smart. He studied and found that Black women all across the land were disappearing and turning up drained to death. But Caleb was able to link Leonardus to one other incident. And upon learning that he was dealing with vampires The Hooded Witch was ready to fight.” 

“Without Magic?” Asked Bryanna

“Stare into the water,” said Atunde. 

The date was June 30th 2021. Caleb walked around the beach house. It was 6:00pm and almost sunset.  The street was quiet , and he finally found the house that he’d looked up online. The only house he could find that was linked to a man named Leonardus Hines. And Caleb noticed that all of the windows were tinted. “Could it be anymore obvious” Caleb muttered. 

Kya laid on the steel slab as the three vampires stood around her. All of their eyes were red with veins and bright red rashes surrounded their mouths and chins. 

“This is the last of her” says Leonardus “so eat wisely”. 

“Please” begged Kya “don’t. Please. If you let me go I won’t say a thing.”

“But who could you tell,” says Leonardus “we chose you because no one cares about you.”

“I do, “ says Caleb as he walked into the room “and for a man 300 years old you sure have a cold heart.”

Leonardus growled.

“Maybe I’ll put a stake through it” said Caleb puling out a stake that he carved. 

“Caleb” muttered Kya with a smile. 

Alexandria charged at Caleb and he kicked a foot stool at her knocking her over. Ryan charged at him at twice the speed of a human and Caleb bashed a vile of pure garlic on his face. He collapsed holding his melting face. 

Leonardus appeared to the right of Caleb almost out of no where and he pushed him clean into the air on the other side of the room. Caleb held his side as he laid there. He got up and charged at Leonardus and attempted to stab him with the stake, he ducked with ease, then he ducked a punch and grabbed Caleb’s foot as he attempted a kick and he flipped him into the air. Caleb lied beside Kya on the ground. 

“Witches are intuitive” said Leonardus “strong for humans. It makes you good fighters. But better for food.”

Caleb stood up and he held his side. He knew his last attempt was a spell, if he had enough magic to do so. 

“Thin as air,clear as water, now be seen, in this order. Thin as air, clear as water, be transparent, in this order.”

Leonardus laughed as he stood there. 

“Im too old for your magics” said Leonardus. 

“Your windows look pretty new,” said Caleb as the tinted windows began to lose its tint as if it were dirty with fog and now being cleaned. The windows became clear and the sunlight shined through. 

Alexandria now near the door escaped wisely. As the sun shined down Ryan and Leonardus turned to a ball of fire with their clothes and then into ash smoke that filled the air.

“Kya are you okay?” Said Caleb as he ran to her side to untie her. 

“I am now” said Kya as she got off the slab with Caleb’s assistance “lets get out of here.”

“Agreed” said Caleb as they walked out of the vampires nest. Free. 

“How did he have magic again?” Asked Bryanna as she broke the vision staring away from the water. 

“Tatianna begged her grandmother to restore Caleb’s powers after having a vision of his death. And the binding was ended. Unfortunate for the vampires though. Look into the water.”

It was December 15th 2021 in an abandoned train station in Paris. Alexandra and her friend Saleena walked into the station with Breelyn a very beatiful Black Woman.

“So where’s the party?” Asked Breelyn. 

“Who said anything about a party” said Alexandria as she turned around with a rash around her mouth and her eyes now red with veins. 

“Do you eat anything else” asked The Hooded Witch as he stood at the top of the stares of the station and he looked down at them “because when we say Black Only this isn’t what we mean”.

The Hooded Witch stood there in his long trench coat, bullet proof vest, dark blue mask and his black boots. He held in his right hand a 4 foot wand with a orange crystal at the base. 

Breelyn ran passed The Hooded Witch screaming as she exited. 

“Good idea” said The Hooded Witched as he looked back “I like her.”

Other vampires appeared now, 16 of them circling Caleb. 

“Everyone gets some” said Caleb “trust me…. tan imọlẹ!”

The wand began to glow with bright orange solar energy that grew by the second and lit the whole station as Caleb struck it on the ground. So much light that it lit every station in the tunnel. All 16 vampires gone. 

“Theres more” said Atunde as they stared into the water. 

It was December 30th 2021 and Caleb strutted through his luxury duplex and he called his secretary. He was now a private investigator under CK Investigations. 

“Yes Caleb” said Kya as she entered the room with files.

“The nest in Paris was a success,” said Caleb as he threw down his leather jacket. 

“”Boss..” began Kya.

“I mean summoning the sun was messier than I thought but hey,” said Caleb as he walked into his office and turned on the lights “remind me to return Malachi’s wand.”

“Boss someone is here to see you,” said Kya. 

Caleb turned and Demarcus rose from his couch. 

“I think we need to talk,” said Demarcus. 

“What happened?!” Asked Mbaku. 

“I’ll tell that story when you get older,” began Atunde “ but The Hooded Witch became a powerful hero. A hero who flew into the sky, fought enemies from the skies and one day like me moved objects with his mind. Like others with extraordinary powers he became a hero to man and he led those who became heroes by supernatural or evolutionary means. He became so strong that the Gods confronted him. To make sure he’d never rise for evil again.”

They stared into the water and saw Caleb levitating in space surrounded by three stars. The date was October 30th 2029. The stars buzzed and nothing more. But Caleb understood their communication as he flew in a steady motion, his trench coat flowing. 

The first star buzzed, the star was a bright yellow. 

“I have no desire to rule the planet” answered Caleb. 

The second star buzzed, the star was a bright blue. 

“I saved the earth from demons, other worldly beings and the White Witch. If I wanted to destroy-“ Caleb was interrupted. 

The third star buzzed, this star was a bright white. 

“My calling is to protect. Nothing more. I’m in control. “ answered Caleb. And the stars disappeared. 

“And Demarcus?” Asked Bryanna as they stared away from the enchanted water. 

“Demarcus was a good man but a hurt man and he found out that hes not as human as you’d believe him to be. He was a ikooko”

“A wolf..” Said Bryanna. 

“ A WereWolf, “ said Atunde “on his 30th birthday he became a Wolf. But he didn’t turn into a animal. He gathered strength, speed and strong senses. He too became his own hero in London. But not before a very big fight between him and the Witch.”

“Another?!” Said Bryanna. 

They looked into the water and saw a vision of Demarcus and Caleb standing on a busy train platform in London. The date was April 24th 2022. 

“I don’t want to fight you..” Said Caleb as he stood there in a black hoody, camouflage pants and a black face mask. 

“You not wanting to fight that’s new” spat Demarcus as he stood on the platform with ripped clothing and ripped sneakers, dirt in his hair and on his face.

“D this is the Ikooko talking, “ said Caleb as Tatianna stood behind him holding a pink crystal. 

“Now?” Asked Tatianna. 

“Not yet” said Caleb”. 

“You know most magic doesn’t work on us Wolves,” said Demarcus “but that doesn’t stop you huh Caleb? Always in control , with magic, persuasion, manipulation. You are the reason I STARTED OVER.”

“I’m sorry” said Caleb “ I should’ve been honest. But now I can’t let you hurt anybody else.”

“Well then lets go” said Demarcus as he charged toward him, pupils dilated and veins growing down his arms. 

“Now!” said Caleb. 

“Reverse, steady, do not flow” said Tatianna as everyone around them stayed in a 5 second loop. Repeating the same words and actions. The cameras also stayed on a loop as they watched. Tatianna continued to chant. 

Caleb reached behind his back to pull out a chain that was covered with inscriptions. And they fought. Caleb wrapped the chains around his right fist and swung at Demarcus. Demarcus ducked and kicked Caleb so hard he flew into the air and slid a yard back. 

“Keep going!” Screamed Caleb to Tati. 

Caleb approached Demarcus blocking a punch with his forearm and he sent a kick into his chest that barely moved him. Caleb slapped him across the face with the chain and ducked a punch. He then rose to uppercut him with the chain. He swung with the chain again and Demarcus grabbed it and pull, a pull so strong Caleb fell on the tracks. A train pursued. Demarcus jumped down, grabbed him and jumped in the air with Caleb to the other platform. As they landed Demarcus punched him to the ground. Caleb now on the ground lifted his foot into Demarcus’ face and he said “fasten” as the chains animated and wrapped around Demarcus’s body. Demarcus fell to his knees. 

“I know you’re in there” said Caleb “and we’re going to figure this out”. 

Caleb punched Demarcus unconscious. 

“Whoa” said Nasir staring away from the vision in the water. 

“But as far as their relationship,” began Atunde River “ Ill tell you that story one day. Love can be painful, tricky and ever changing.”

“I like them together,” said Mbaku “why don’t they just work it out?”

“Who says they don’t?” Said Atunde smiling. 

With the wave of her hand the fire extinguished. 

“The Hooded Witch lived both a hard and happy life” said Atunde “ but he lived. And that is the story of The Hooded Witch.” 

[toevenexist]

Weird Kink Link

Hello! Here’s another chapter to the Amelink/Linelia episode series (EARLY). I hope you like it. Please let me know what you’d like to read next xxx

Link to previous chapter

Link to masterpost

Enjoy xxx

Amelia felt exhausted as she climbed from Link’s car, she felt weathered. She stood for a moment, by the car door, feeling the cool rain patter against her face. She closed her eyes. She could see Derek, he was smiling. Her heart throbbed at the memory, a small smile tugged at her lips. 

It had been a difficult day. Though she’d not performed any surgery, she watched the man responsible for Derek’s death have his brain operated on, and watched him meet his maker. That man would never touch another patient, never cut open another person in the name of medicine. 

“Amelia?” Amelia opened her eyes slowly. Looking across the top of the car to Link. He stood there, flinching slightly under the rainfall. The white beamed streetlight had the blue of his eyes so light that they were almost silver. He smiled warmly, and nodded slightly towards the house. “You okay?” He spoke softly, the street was quiet, they could hear the rain dropping against leaves of the trees.

“Yeah… just thinking about Derek” She said, wistfully, peacefully smiling as she rounded the car. Link held out his hand and she took it gratefully and walked with him up to the house. 

“I wish I could have met him” Link said, squeezing her hand.

“He would have liked you” Amelia said, smiling wider, picturing the two of them. “You would have been two heartthrobs together.” 

Link chuckled, swapping the hand he held hers with and wrapping his arm around her. Amelia sighed when they reached the top of the steps, suppressing a yawn. “I’m exhausted” 

“I can only imagine… are you hungry?” 

Amelia unlocked the front door and they stepped out of the cold. She hummed, “babies are hungry.” 

“Not you? Just the babies? How does that work?”

“They want that gross soup you like… With the mushy spaghetti” Amelia grimaced, taking off her jacket. Link took it and hung it up for her, laughing. 

“You’re so smug! You don’t know what it’s like to completely hate what you’re eating, but to crave it, and think about it all day, and love it” she said, heading for the kitchen.

“You’ve been thinking about it all day?” Link laughed harder, following her. 

“Thinking about what all day?” Meredith and Maggie were standing together in the kitchen, steaming mugs in their hands. 

Amelia shook her head, smiling “Minestrone soup.”

“I didn’t think you liked soup?” 

“She doesn’t” Link chuckled, opening the fridge, taking out a tub of it he’d coincidentally made for himself. 

“He didn’t just impregnate me with twins, he also planted the desire for mushy spaghetti” 

“You could just make it without the spaghetti” 

“No Maggie, I want the spaghetti, the disgusting, falls apart in your mouth, sludgy spaghetti” 

“She really gets the appeal” Link said, putting a bowl of it into the microwave. 

“Well… I’m so sorry Amelia” Maggie laughed, sitting across from her at the table. 

“You want some tea Amelia?” Meredith asked, though she was already getting a mug from the cupboard, dropping a teabag in it. 

“Uuum…” Amelia was busy unbuttoning her pants, they always felt tighter in the evening, and she was quickly growing out of her current pair. 

“Too late, I made you a chamomile” Meredith said, placing it down on the table. Amelia just smiled, eyes alight, looking up at Meredith. “Thank you Mer” 

“You’re welcome” Meredith said, shrugging her shoulders against a chill as she sat down at the table, enclosing her mug in her hands. 

Link leant against the counter, waiting on the microwave, watching the interaction. He felt thankful too, that Amelia had so many people around her who cared for and loved her, and that he could be one of them.  

“What a day huh?” Amelia said, sitting forward to plump the small pillow behind her. She’d placed it there a week ago and had been moving it between what every chair she sat to support her aching back. 

“I know right! It’s been crazy” 

“Dramatic” Maggie said. 

“Yeah… is it… is it weird that I feel a little closure? I mean someone died… but… you know?” Amelia said, furrowing her brows, and twisting her lips as she spoke, it was a confusing feeling to express.

Meredith dropped her head, half smiling. “It’s odd, but I feel it too” she said, nodding.

“Here… Careful, its real hot” Link set down a hot bowl of soup in front of Amelia, handing her a spoon. 

Amelia sat up, moistening her bottom lip. Her eyes widened with greed as she saw the bowl. Meredith and Maggie both chuckled aloud, watching her sudden hunger take affect. 

“You sure do like that spaghetti” Meredith said, through her chuckles. Amelia looked up, and nodded, raising her brows as she blew a stream of cool air over a spoonful of soup. Link put another bowl in the microwave for himself and then returned to Amelia with a pint of water. 

Amelia took the spoonful in her mouth and then groaned blissfully, flopping back against her chair. She closed her eyes, resting one hand against the top of her stomach. 

“Good?” Link asked, smiling toothily, sitting down beside her.

Amelia nodded emphatically, “Oh yeah,” she said, taking another spoonful. Link shook his head in disbelief. He, Maggie and Meredith all smiled at one another, continually amused by these types of manifestations of Amelia’s pregnancy. 

“Congratulations again Meredith, on your license. It would have been a tragedy had it gone the other way” Link said. He folded his arms, crossing his ankles under the table. 

Meredith inhaled deeply and allowed herself to feel a repeat of the relief she’d been feeling since hearing the result. “Thank you, yes. I actually got my job back”

“You did? That was quick!” Amelia said. 

“Yeah, I know, I was as surprised as you” 

“Bailey really had a change of heart today, she was ready to burn you at the stake a week ago” Maggie said.

“She’s been hormonal, it’s confusing being pregnant” Amelia said, finishing her soup. She slumped back, rubbing her stomach, looking around at the group with a satisfied smirk on her face. Link side-eyed her, smiling to himself at the sight of her. 

“Yeah well I hope she’s settled on having my back for good now” Meredith said, finishing the last dregs of her tea. 

“When are you back?” Link asked her.

“Tomorrow” 

“Did Alex try and get you to jump ship?” Amelia asked.

“Oh he did… but Grey Sloan’s got my name on it, and I’ve spent most of my life there. Anywhere else would just feel wrong”

“Cristina’s letter of recommendation was sweet” Amelia said, habitually rubbing her stomach, realising she ate too much food too quickly. Meredith smiled, “Yeah, today was kind of amazing” 

“You should ask Alex for all those letters, you could get a real big ego boost” Maggie said, smiling widely. 

“That is a good idea actually, you could read them before difficult surgeries. Get your ego through the roof” Amelia said, taking a sip of water. “I could use a  bunch of praise letters like that” Amelia said, grinning. 

“Does Addison know about you?” Meredith asked Amelia, thinking about Addison’s letter.

“Yes she does, we’ve been trying to find time to have a call, but we keep missing each other”

“We should go to LA and see her sometime” Link said. Amelia was taken aback slightly, in a good way.

 “Yeah, I’d like that” she said, smiling meeting his gaze. Meredith smirked, watching the pair. “I think she was planning on visiting Seattle soon though.” Amelia said.

“It’s been a long time,” Meredith said.

“It has, I’m going to try and convince her to stay” 

“For your labour?”

“I’ll frame it that way, and then for their first year, then 2nd and so on” Amelia joked. 

“She’s a very good OB… one of the best” Meredith said, in explanation to Link.

 Link puffed his cheeks slightly and nodded, “We’ll offer to pay her and then she’ll be obliged” 

“She won’t accept money!” Amelia said, shaking her head. She slipped one of her hands under her shirt and rested it against her abdomen. 

“Exactly, she’ll refuse money, say she doesn’t need paying to help you, and then we’ve got her”  

“That’s smart” Maggie said, pointing a Link.

Amelia took a sip of her chamomile tea, and as the comfort of it flowed through her she realised how exhausted she was. She slumped further in her chair and sighed, looking to Link. “You ready for bed…” Link asked, knowingly.

“It’s pretty early for sleep” Maggie said, checking her watch, it was just after eight. 

“I just want to be horizontal” Amelia said, yawning again. 

“Yeah, I’m not convinced” Link said, raising his brows. He stood up and collected the two bowls, setting them beside the sink. Amelia began to defend herself but was interrupted by another yawn. 

“Yeah you’re probably right, but we can put on the TV, some netflix, and I’ll try to stay awake” she said. Link came to stand behind her chair and pulled it out. Amelia looked up at him and he down at her, both smiling. Amelia rest her head against his stomach and closed her eyes.

 “Nah you don’t need to try and stay awake” he said, rubbing her shoulders. 

“Goodnight guys” Maggie said. Standing up, stretching her arms above her head.

“Sleep well” Meredith said, standing up too, collecting everyone’s mugs, “See you in the morning.”  

——————————————————————

“I feel especially fat this evening” Amelia said, walking ahead of Link, up the stairs. 

“Stop with the fat thing Amelia, you’re not getting fat” he said, shaking his head, resting one hand against her lower back as they ascended. 

“Yeah, yeah” Amelia sighed, “well then, I feel especially pregnant this evening” she said, holding onto the waistband of her unbuttoned pants. 

“That’s better” Link said, closing the space between them as they walked, placing his hands on her hips. “You’ll be waddling soon” he said, beaming, scrunching his nose. 

Amelia groaned, “You think, god, you’re probably right, women get big with twins right?” 

Link hummed, nodding. He observed her concerned expression and laughing softly, “Nah, you’ve got a little while yet Amelia.” 

“Hmm, yeah” Amelia said, pouting. They both headed to the bathroom, and brushed their teeth. 

As soon as Amelia entered her bedroom she took off her top, and let her pants drop, kicking them aside. She was too tired to fold and put away or pick up and throw in the wash. She grabbed the tshirt she’d been wearing to bed and paused with it, taking a moment to look down at herself, at her size. 

“Amelia, stop that” Link said, as soon as he entered the room.

“Stop what?” Amelia grinned, shrugging, confused.  

“Getting all up in your head, all thinky” He said, stripping to his boxers. He climbed into bed. 

Amelia lolled her head to the side, smiling guiltily. She stared at him, shaking her head, wondering how and when he figured her out so well. He just smiled, and tipped his head, indicating she get into bed. 

She sat down and sighed in relief as she took off her bra. She held her shirt, scrunched, against herself, closing her eyes. She hadn’t realised until then how uncomfortable she’d been feeling in her clothes all day. “You alright?” Link asked, sitting up, shifting closer to her. 

“Yeah, just feels good to not have clothing constricting me” 

Link just nodded, shifting closer again, resting his chin against her shoulder. 

“By the end of this pregnancy you’re going to have seen me more naked and fat than…” 

“Hey” 

“Sorry, you’re going to have seen me more naked and pregnant, than you have seen me not pregnant… you’re not going to even remember, you’ll only know me like this” she said shrugging. 

“You’re worried about this?” Link asked, moving to sit to her side, capturing eye gaze. 

She shrugged again, “I don’t know, a little, maybe”  She said, pressing her lips together. slipping her shirt on. 

“Amelia… Come here” He shifted back across the bed and sat against the headboard. Amelia stood up, and kneeled on the bed, walking, setting down next to him.

“I love you in a tshirt” he said, winding an arm around her, she moved her legs across his lap.

“Weird kink Link” Amelia chuckled, curling against him. 

“It just sits nice… I don’t know” he said. Amelia sniffled a laugh. “Now… Amelia…” He met her eyes. “I have a good memory, and let me tell you now… I vividly remember your body when we first… you know… and every time since. So don’t you worry about me ‘forgetting.’ And you seem to be assuming that I see you as somehow less hot now?”

“Well we…we were still very fresh, and hot and you know… just, we slowed down in a lot of ways… and my body’s not… my body has,” Link shook his head, soothing his hand up and down her bare thigh, settling it under her tshirt against her waist.

“Amelia, you are beautiful, gorgeous, that has never changed. I love the changes I see in your body. I am amazed by them, I’m amazed everyday by you. Knowing that you are growing our babies on top of all that…”

“Okay” Amelia suppressed a smile, “okay.” 

“Honestly, I find you irresistible, if you could read my mind throughout the day, oh boy” He shook his head, smiling puffing out “wooh.” Amelia grinned, shaking her head, blushing. 

“Okay, okay stop I get it…thank you” she said, smiling, cheeks flushed. She dropped her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, a smile still pulling at her lips. 

Amelia looked up at him. His eyes sparkled. He dropped his head, pressing his lips to hers, warm and firm. He pulled back and pressed another to her forehead. 

Amelia took a deep breath, resting her head against his shoulder again. “What do you want to watch on the TV?” she asked him, 

“Now that’s a question, what do you want to fall asleep too?” 

“I honestly don’t mind” Amelia said, yawning. She sat up, pulling the duvet out from under her, covering herself.

Link shuffled down in the bed, getting comfortable, turning on the TV. 

“Come here you” He said, opening himself up for her to curl against his side again. She settled, releasing an exasperated sigh. 

Amelia had no idea what he decided to watch. Once her head was against his chest, the steady, calming sound of his heartbeat in her ear, his fingers running through her hair, sleep began its persuasion. She wasn’t awake long enough to hear even the first few seconds of the show Link put on.

Thanks for reading xxx let me know what you thought and what you want to read next xxx

#Amelia #AmeliaShepherd #amelia shepherd #amelia shepherd fanfic #amelia and link #amelink #link #link and amelia #Atticus Lincoln #atticus link #grey's anatomy #grey's #greysanatomy #greys anatomy #grey's anatomy fanfic #grey's anatomy fanfiction #grey's anatomy fic #grey's abc #greys anatomy fanfiction #greys #greys anatomy fanfic #greys abc #greys anatomy fic #caterina scorsone #Meredith Grey #greysanatomy fic

[lovelyparkers]

the summer fling (3)

just a warning this is spicy in some parts but also fluffy!

after leaving the beach and having an early dinner with the gang, the four of you were getting ready to go to the boardwalk for a nice night out. peter was in the bathroom getting ready while you were just in the bedroom, tearing through your drawers to find something a little nicer but still comfortable to wear. you could hear the shower turn on meaning peter was going to take forever and you really had to use the bathroom and ned was showering in the other bathroom. so you got dressed and flopped back on the bed waiting for peter.

and you were very impatient. well, that and your bladder hurt. so after not even two minutes you got up, knocking on the bathroom door and yelling, "peter, hurry up!"

he yelled back, "i just got in!"

you groaned much loud enough for him to hear and sat on the ground, back against the door. you could hear peter start to hum who knows what song and you smiled. he was super cute. and then you remembered you had to pee. you turned your body around and started knocking again.

"y/n chill out!"

"i have to pee!"

"then come pee!"

you furrowed you're brows then carefully placed a palm on the handle, like you were testing to see if it was hot, then turned it and to your surprise it was unlocked.

"hi," peter said, peeking his head out from behind the shower curtain.

"hi?" you replied, starting to sit down on the toilet. he quickly closed the curtain and got back to showering. it was very awkward as you sat there, while peter was just feet away. then you silently got up and pulled up your bottoms and washed your hands. you mindlessly touched and fixed your hair in the mirror when peter turned the water off. he thought you had left, not hearing anything after you turned the sink off so he just stepped out. you saw him out of the corner of your eye in the mirror then fully glanced at him.

you gasped, "woah," you paused then realized what was happening and yelled, "peter what the hell!" then you quickly turned around as he stumbled, reaching for his towel and wrapping it around himself.

"i thought you left!"

"well i didn't!"

he blushed furiously and was scared to look you in the eyes. he stared at the ground and quietly asked, "did you...see?"

"i saw everything."

the tips of his ears turned bright red and he covered his face with his hands.

"i'm sorry," you said.

"no, no don't be. it was my fault. it's okay. i'm sorry you had to see that."

"well it wasn't like it was bad," you smirked, a telling look on your face.

"y/n," peter said your name sternly and clenched his jaw. but you were completely distracted by his torso, bare with water dripping all the way down to his v-line. you let out a breath and threw your hands up in defense, walking back into the bed room.

he ran a hand threw his wet hair and said, "be out in a sec."

"uh huh," you breathed, walking out of the room after putting on some shoes and grabbing your phone. you met michelle in the living room, plopping down on the couch next to her.

"what on earth was all that screaming about?"

"i saw peter naked," you deadpanned, staring into space.

she laughed softly, "well?"

"he's hot, in every way," you whispered.

"i didn't need to know that."

meanwhile, peter walked into ned's after he changed, slamming the door shut and grabbing his shoulders tightly.

"jeez peter, what?"

"y/n..."

"y/n what?" ned asked, completely clueless.

"she saw me naked. like fully."

"dude."

"i know," peter was still grasping ned's shoulders still in shock. ned pushed him off gently and shook his head.

"well?"

peter shrugged, "she said it wasn't bad."

"it meaning...you know?"

"i think?"

"well go after her already! she clearly like, wants you. and she clearly gave you a boner this morning."

"you noticed?!"

ned shook his head sorrowfully. peter scrunched his eyes closed and sighed.

"man up, let's go."

a few minutes later everyone gathered in the front hall to walk over to the boardwalk and peter took good mind in avoiding you every way possible. he walked ahead with ned so he wouldn't have to constantly be staring at the back of you. he avoided looking you in the eyes and wouldn't even talk to you. so say he was embarrassed that you saw him naked was an understatement. but hey, it didn't hurt his ego when you said he wasn't bad. and it certainly gave him a little hope.

the four of you arrived on the boardwalk and spread yourselves out in a horizontal line looking at the enormous and noisy crowd. ned stood there with his jaw dropped, not believing how crowded it was. mj was just about ready to turn around and walk back home. peter was just biting the inside of his cheek, not stopping thinking about you and you were looking at him. honestly you couldn't believe that under those clothes he was so fit. like incredibly fit. you knew the spider bite enhanced him but you never saw that much and boy was it a sight to see. and suddenly you wanted him all to yourself.

you shook yourself out of your dirty thoughts and turned to the group saying, "so, where to?"

"uh," ned started looking around.

mj started laughing, "ned look," she pointed to a game across the boards, "you can win a stuffed tom nook."

again, ned's jaw dropped and shook mj's arm, "dude, we have to win that."

"i agree. let's go."

mj and ned started off toward the game, which was a ring toss that was probably rigged and they'd go broke on it, and left you and peter behind. you took a few sidesteps closer to peter until you were touching shoulders, making him jump slightly. he still didn't look at you, just staring either into the crowd or down at his feet.

"so?" you asked, trying to get peter to talk or look at you. he just shrugged so you spun around and squatted down directly in front of him to catch his line of view. he let out an exasperated sigh and kept hold of your eyes, finally.

"okay i saw you naked get over it. please don't be weird. i like you too much for things to be weird. and if it makes things better, you're really hot and i'm not just saying that."

for one, he couldn't believe the words you just said. you liked him? you thought he was hot? second of all, you were practically kneeling in front of him, and in public. the way you smiled and just stared up at him in a way that would just make him comply to anything.

"it's not weird," he finally said, "i'm sorry for making it weird. i like you too much too."

"good," you said, slowly standing up directly in front of him, chest to chest. "i don't really want to watch the night go away while ned and mj try to win an animal crossing plush, so how about we walk. together?"

"yeah! 'course," peter said excitedly, smiling. you grinned back and took his hand, fully pulling him onto the boardwalk and into the sea that was the crowd. your hand slowly made its way perfectly set into his, interlocking your fingers and swaying back and forth. it was quiet for awhile. well not quiet on the boardwalk but between the two of you. the people and stands and ocean were noisy, but you and peter walked silently, just enjoying the company of each other and finally doing something about your 'relationship.'

"should we get funnel cake? i think we should," peter spoke up, making you smile and nod your head. he led you by your hand over to the funnel cake stand and ordered one to share, insisting on paying. and somehow someway you were able to find and empty bench and sat down together, sharing bits of the funnel cake like it was the most intimate thing on the planet. peter even did the cheesy motion of feeding a piece to you, making you laugh. then you looked behind you on the bench to see the semi empty and dark beach and suddenly it gave you an idea.

"do you wanna walk on the beach?" you asked softly.

peter nodded and said, "yeah," causing you to pull him up from the bench, disposing of the trash and jumping off the boardwalk. you remained hand in hand on the beach, heading closer to the water. the two of you walked in the cool sand after peter took the liberty of placing each other's shoes in his backpack. the air was nice, slightly warm but also chilly from the cool ocean water and breeze passing by. it was much quieter down there and peaceful. it gave you privacy. every so often peter would give your hand a gentle squeeze as if to make sure you were still there and he wasn't just dreaming this because it wouldn't be the first time he dreamed about you.

"this is nice. really nice," you complimented.

peter nodded beside you once again. he smiled down into the sand, then back up at you. "you know i um...i really like you."

you tried to contain your smile but couldn't, "same here."

he squeezed your hand yet again before you spun in front of him and wrapped your arms around his torso. you rested your head on his chest and just hugged him. it took peter a second to process what was going on, but he eventually wrapped his arms around your body and closed his eyes. he melted into you and sighed, it felt so good and perfect.

you pulled back slowly, and he held onto your forearms smiling at you still. you looked right into his eyes then at his lips and back again. it was like you were in a trance. like no one was around, like the boardwalk wasn't even there. you mindlessly leaned in and kissed him. you didn't even have to ask, because as so as you stated to lean in, so did he.

the two of you stood there together on the beach, slowly kissing while peter still had hold of your arms, not letting you go anywhere. not that you would want to.

the kiss was passionate and made your lips tingle. his small lips were soft and kind of dry from the wind but it was peter. you loved him. you attempted to hold onto his arms at the same time he held yours, wanting to just feel him. and that made the kiss slowly start to speed up and become more than just a peck. your lips moved together in a fiery fashion, feeling like fireworks were bursting in between the two of you. literally. you and peter had to pull apart and looked up in the sky to see literal fireworks. the two of you laughed.

"well that's fitting," peter yelled over the loud fireworks. you laughed louder in response. god he was so cute.

you reached a now free hand to his cheek, pulling his lips back to yours and wasting no time in speeding it up. peter nervously slipped his tongue into the mix and quietly moaned into you. your lips curled up at the edges, knowing that you really did have quite the effect on him. he was wrapped around your finger.

he slid his hands slowly up and down your back. then, in a fast motion, he yanked you to his body closer, being pressed up against you and making you gasp into his lips this time. his hands were just about to slide down lower until a group of teenagers, not much younger than you guys, ran past yelling and screaming and playing tag.

you looked breathless at peter, "we should probably go find ned and mj." he nodded and the two of you ran hand in hand back onto the boardwalk.

when the ring toss came into view, the pair were still standing there trying to win that tom nook. you saw ned jump up in what seemed like success as the owner handed over the plush. mj was laughing while this all went down. you and peter made it over and all four of you were cheerful in that moment.

"well guys. me and ned are out fifty bucks but we also got tom nook that is in our joint custody," mj proudly said, ned agreeing. you smiled at the pair.

ned looked down at yours and peter's interlocked hands and gasped, "oh my god! you guys totally did something!"

"what?" you laughed, still gripping peter's hand and not even trying to hide it.

"oh they totally kissed," mj said.

you slapped her arm gently, "mj!"

"so you did?!" ned yelled.

"c'mon guys. let's just go back," peter said pulling you to the road and heading towards the beach house. you two could hear mj and ned gossiping behind you.

it was quite late by the time you all arrived back at the house and everyone was tired from the sun and the days activities, so you all changed into cool clothes for bed since the a/c was still out of funk.

that night you crawled into bed with peter, laying up against him. he smiled down at you before kissing you once again. he closed his eyes and cuddled into you more falling asleep just like that.

#peter parker imagine

[ramblinganthropologist]

Theme Cage

Summary: Garrus meets the Corporal and learns that Shepard knows... a lot... about hamsters. Turns out he’s passionate about something that isn’t Reaper related.

(Pre relationship, ME1.)

---

“Hey, Garrus. Could you hand me that bag?”

It was supposed to be a simple request. Garrus kept thinking that to himself as he looked around the room that was assigned to the Spectre, feeling his mandibles twitch in outright confusion. All he was supposed to be doing was handing off some datapads to the Normandy's commanding officer from the medbay. Now...

Well, he didn't know what the hell Shepard wanted him to do.

The man was currently seated in front of a large tank, a small container off to the side. A few bags surrounded him, full of shredded material in various colors. Others held wooden structures of various sizes, some of them bearing chew marks. All of the had a weird, woody smell that Garrus wouldn't necessarily have called bad, just odd.

Odd; that's what the situation was.

“Garrus?”

The turian snapped back to reality as he glanced around. “Yes, Shepard?”

One blue eye glanced over a shoulder to check on him. “You ok, Garrus? Turians don't get low blood sugar too, do they?”

No, they didn't. That was a human thing that the turian was still trying to forget, thank you very much. It wasn't every day you walked in on your commanding officer slumped over his desk, only to be saved moments later by a children's candy. Bizarre didn't even begin to cover it, but how the room looked got close.

“No just...” He cocked his head to the side. “What are you doing?”

The tips of Shepard's ears flushed to match the short shock of red hair that stuck up in the front. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling nervously. Then he gestured to the smaller container that was sitting off to the side, tucked safely away.

“Oh, uh... Corporal Fluffytail needed a cage change.”

Corporal... Fluffytail.

Garrus realized now that there was something in the small cage, watching him with beady little eyes. It was a space hamster, he realized – like the ones he saw in the Citadel gift shop, only much rounder and much calmer. The ones exhausted parents bought for screaming children tended to practically be chewing on the bars of their cages as they got carted off. Instead, he was pretty sure the Corporal was sizing him up.

How did a hamster become a corporal anyway?

“A cage change.”

Shepard nodded as he gestured to the large glass tank in front of him. “I like to do a deep clean monthly, and he needed a change of scenery. It keeps him from getting bored and engaging in destructive behavior.”

He gestured to the bags by the door. “Can you grab me the red and pink bedding? I'm almost out over here.”

Garrus responded by stiffly making a grab for the bag and depositing it by the Spectre. This put him in closer contact with what Shepard was working on. He already had a good amount of white material at the bottom of the tank, all of it much cleaner than the stuff he saw other space hamsters living in. There was also... more space, he supposed.

Really, did space hamsters need that much space? Especially on a warship?

“Does the corporal need such a large tank? Looks like he takes up the whole table.”

Garrus regretted his words almost immediately as a switch flipped in the mild mannered Spectre. A real fire glowed behind those mismatched eyes as Shepard started to tap in something into his omni-tool. All the while, Corporal Fluffytail watched. The little bastard almost looked smug.

Shepard's voice was a quarter pitch higher than it usually was as he turned to face the turian. “Space hamsters and Syrian-space hybrids like Fluffytail need at least 600 square inches of unbroken horizontal floor space for adequate living area. Any smaller, and you start to see cage biting and other stress symbols.”

He tapped down with firm resolve. “So no. He can't have a smaller space. Not if I want to raise him right.”

The turian winced as he held up his talons. “I meant no disrespect... I can't say I know all that much about space hamsters. You never see them in cages that big on the -”

“The Citadel gift shop needs my damn foot up their ass! Those assholes keep trying to sell genetic cedar as bedding!” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Really, did they do any research on hamsters before they decided to sell them... and don't get me started on how small the wheels are, do they-”

He stopped, and his cheeks turned blood red. Garrus was left blinking, processing the conversation. It was... well, those were certainly words. His translator was doing the best it could to keep up, but specialized knowledge was often beyond its reach sometimes. Usually he just had to download packs for that...

But for hamsters?

“Right. They've got it all wrong for proper care.”

Shepard's face was still red as he dug into the new bag to start laying material down. “Sorry. I keep trying them to adopt better husbandry practices but they practically laugh me out of the shop when I try.”

“Maybe being a Spectre will get them to listen next time.” At least it got the man's shoulders to lift as he continued to spread material. “So... why red? Did they run out of white or is it easier to find the corporal that way?”

It could have been possible, given the corporal was a little on the beige side with some darker brown spots on his face and the top of his head. Honestly, he was kind of cute – in a beady-eyed small rodent kind of way. He still would never understand why humans kept rodents as pets, but at least this was one of the less obnoxious ones.

Leave it to Shepard to pick a good one.

“Oh, I was going for a theme this time.” The Spectre's tone was much lighter now as he tucked a tube under some bedding, then placed more pink material around its entrance. It kind of reminded Garrus of flower petals on the Presidium. “Something nice for Valentine's Day, you know? It'll give him something to explore while we're in FTL.”

Garrus' translator supplied the information – human holiday, romance, lots of hearts. The Citadel had been participating in growing strength ever since humans had come into the galactic stage, but it really wasn't his thing. Not much time for romance and dates when you were chasing down bad guys or drowning in paperwork.

Not much time for the Corporal either, given Garrus didn't see a friend in there with him.

“I'm pretty sure hamsters don't celebrate Valentine's Day.” He paused, before adding, “They don't, do they?”

Luckily, no lecture followed. Instead, Shepard chuckled softly as he finished spreading out the pink and red bedding. Now he was working on arranging the wooden toys he had picked out, sometimes holding them out to the cage for Fluffytail to inspect. Judging on the pile that was slowly growing with each rejection, he had discerning tastes.

Great – a spoiled hamster. At least it only affected his owner.

“No, they don't. That's mostly for me. Themed cages help me have a little fun, you know?”

Never before had Garrus been convinced humans translated that word completely differently than he did.

“Ah.” The turian knew when to let an issue die. “So... does the corporal enjoy it?”

Shepard nodded as he stood to grab a small pan of what looked like sand. “I think so, he loves exploring when I come up with something new for him. You should come by to watch in a few days when he's awake, he'll probably have moved it all around by then.”

And then the human laughed again as he placed the pan inside the cage. It was the second time Garrus had heard it, and he had to admit it wasn't a bad sound. Honestly, it was pleasant – in a human sort of way. With all the shit they were being put through, it was no surprise he didn't hear it often.

Something like that should be more frequent...

“Hey, do you want to meet him?”

The turian blinked. “Meet... him?”

“Yeah, Corporal Fluffytail. He's awake right now and I need someone to keep an eye on him while I put the wheel in and get his food.” Shepard sounded oh so casual as he reached down to the small cage. “I promise he won't bite.”

At that moment, Garrus very much doubted the corporal could bite through his carapace. Still, his heart skipped a beat as he watched the Spectre carefully cup his hands around the furry body. Slowly, man and hamster rose up, bright eyes focused straight on the turian. They were coming over.

A few seconds later, Garrus was having his talons manipulated in order to hold a hamster right. Turians, as it turned out, needed a different grip that he wasn't altogether used to as the Spectre moved his hand around in order to make sure the corporal would be safe in his care.

Was it hot in there, or was it just him?

“He's... warm.” Garrus kept his arms close to his carapace. Fluffytail was sniffing at his talons, but no nibbling was going on. He seemed curious, if those bright eyes were anything to go by. So... this was a space hamster.

“He's a soft little guy, comes from his Syrian side.” Shepard was smiling as he watched the two. “I'll be right back. Just stay calm and he will be too.”

And then the Spectre was gone, leaving Garrus alone with the corporal. The hamster kept sniffing at him, shuffling around in his talons. Once, he got close to the sharp edge. Garrus could feel his heat jump in his  throat. Then the instincts took over.

“You better not pee on me, Corporal.” Garrus gently deposited the hamster in his cowl. After all, if it was safe for baby turians it should be fine for anyone. Or in this case – anything. The hamster shuffled around a bit, but at least he didn't try to climb down his back. “Good... just hang out there until Shepard gets back.”

A furry body brushed against his mandible and settled in. Corporal Fluffytail, it seemed, was a rather calm fellow. That, or he was terrified of turians and this was a hamster terror display. If that was true, he was about to be in deep water with the Spectre.

“I guess I can see why he likes you. You're not loud, you don't smell... I guess the biting might be a problem, he doesn't have a carapace.” Garrus didn't really reflect on the fact he was talking to a hamster as he carefully reached up a talon to pet the small, furry head nestled close to his mandible. “Not a bad pet for a Spectre, though I think I would go for something a little more intimidating.”

If the corporal was bothered by this commentary, he didn't let it slip. Instead, he accepted the rub and didn't try to bite his talon. That, in Garrus' book, was a good sign. Add in the fact he really was damn soft, and it was all green for him, or at least until he found droppings in his carapace.

“So, do you alert for low blood sugar? I read up on that. “Garrus' mandible twitched. “Or... guess not. You're not a dog. Or at least I don't think you're a dog. Damn dogs come in so many sizes it's easier to guess what isn't one.”

Fluffytail never answered, just kept hanging out somewhere between his mandible and cowl. His furry little heart was quick, and something about it put the turian at ease as he waited for Shepard. A hamster might not have been his pick, but... they weren't bad. Not bad at all.

Maybe the Spectre was onto something.

“Well, looks like you two are getting along.”

Garrus picked up his head to see Shepard had returned and placed food in the corporal's enclosure. His cowl felt a little colder as he carefully scooped the hamster up and handed him over. Once his paws touched the bedding, off he went digging. He was fast.

“He makes a decent enough pet.” the turian nodded. “I'd say we were civil.”

Shepard chuckled again as he brushed some bedding from Garrus' cowl, fingers almost dangerously close to his mandible. “Looked like you were more than civil to me. I knew nobody could resist a cute hamster.”

He went to toss the bedding and empty bag away. “By the way, what did you come up for earlier?”

…

The datapads were still by the door, waiting for Shepard to read them over. They had both walked by them multiple times in the process of getting the hamster situated. Just the sight of them made Garrus want to make like Fluffytail and dig a hole. Instead, he cleared his throat and made a grab for them.

“Dr. Chakwas wanted me to give these to you.”

Thoughts of hamsters were abandoned as the pair slipped back into duty. Still, there was something about the faint scratching of a corporal exploring his new surroundings that put Garrus at ease as he watched Shepard pour over the contents. He could get used to that kind of sound, undying embarrassment notwithstanding.

Maybe if he was lucky, he could come see him again. Though... that would mean hanging out with Shepard more.

…

Well... there were worse things to do with his free time he supposed.

#ramblinganthropologist's WIP dungeon #Garrus Vakarian #Alistair Shepard #Corporal Fluffytail Shepard the Space Hamster #Yes not Saren for once #Saren is the ME2 hamster #Fluffytail died in ME1

[thepurplebutterflythings]

Damsel in Distress (Part 2) - Jason Todd

Gif: Dxnninja on Tenor

Word Count: 2.6K

Paring: Jason Todd (Titans) x (f)Reader

Summary: Y/N gets closer with Robin and Jason, not realising the connection between the two of them.

Warnings: N/A

A/N: This is a little series I am doing about Jason Todd in Titans. I don’t know Comic!Jason very well so I’m taking all of this from the show, and at the moment he hasn’t been in very often, so please forgive any mischaracterizations.

 Damsel in Distress Part 1 | Masterlist | Damsel in Distress Part 3

________________________________________________________________

It was all against Jason’s better judgement, talking to Y/N about Friday. He didn’t want to give her any hint that it was himself who saved her that night, not only that but he didn’t want to upset her by reminding her or forcing her to relive that night, but every time he looked at Y/N all that was in his mind was when he held her in his arms to comfort her and how distressed she was – he just had to make sure everything was alright with her, and then he’d go back to normal he told himself. That seemingly all went out the window the moment he was within a metre of her. Suddenly Jason became overwhelmed and his heart jumped in his chest when looking at her.

“Hey,” he said quietly when he found her in the library. Her back was to him and her nose was buried in the textbook they were using for their assignment. Y/N sat upright at the sound of his voice and for a second he panicked, thinking she recognised it as the voice of Robin, but those concerns vanished when she turned around and gave him a small smile.

“Hey.”

“I saw the footage from Friday, about you being saved by Batman and Robin,” he said, “It’s viral, trending number one on Twitter.” He told her. The moment he said it, Jason felt like a complete idiot. Why wouldn’t she know that? It was about her.

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Y/N.” He said. All Jason wanted to do in that moment was hug her and pull her close to him like he did as Robin, to tell her that he knew how upset and scared she was and that he would do anything to stop her feeling like that.

“It’s okay, Dad is making sure the guy never sees the outside world again,” Y/N told him.

“I would too if that was my kid.”

“And people are finally listening that those like Batman and Robin are actually needed in the world.”

“But it shouldn’t be at your expense,” Jason shook his head, “How are you?”

“I’m good.” Y/N nodded, “I was lucky that Robin was in the area.”

“No, Y/N,” Jason said, “How are you? I mean it.”

Y/N sighed and leaned back in her seat as she looked around. Had he pushed the line? Was she catching on to the fact that he was Robin? He should have listened to Bruce and kept his distance, but Jason was never one for listening to the rules. Anyway, Y/N was always someone he couldn’t help but look at, even if she never noticed. Jason always sat a few rows behind her in Physics to watch her. He glanced at her laughing with her friends. Heck, even the night of the party he stayed closer to that area hoping to catch a glance of her leaving with her friends, only to come across something else, something he wanted to kill a man for. Jason acted distant and offish around her at first because he was nervous, which he didn’t like, but Y/N was from the Y/L/N’s, what chance did he have with a girl like that? So he thought it better to cut his losses, yet that night he let his guard down a little and now he was hooked. Hearing her say how lucky she was with Robin being in the area made him shudder. What if he hadn’t been in the area? Jason thought after he watched her go into her building that night. He didn’t dare continue that thought as he knew he’d break into where that man was being held and finish the job that Y/N stopped him from.

“I feel like everyone, except my parents, keep asking me about Batman and Robin,” Y/N said, “and not about me, and how I am. Not in a vain way, but I just want one person to pause and say ‘I’m glad you’re okay, Y/N’, but not a single person outside of my family has said that to me.”

“Well, I hope you know I’m not just saying this, but…” Jason took the seat next to her. “I am so glad that you are okay.” He placed a hand on her upper arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you, Jason,” Y/N smiled, placing her hand on top of his.

“If you wanna talk, about anything, don’t hesitate,” he offered.

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with the Jason Todd, I know?”

“You don’t know me, Ivory Tower,” Jason teased.

“And you don’t know me,” Y/N smiled back.

“I hope to change that.”

So much for going back to normal.

 _____________________________________________________________

It was near on a week from that Friday night and Y/N had spent that past week doing her work and listening to her parents on the phone saying their daughter would not be giving any interviews about the incident, and it was her right to reject them.

Y/N sat in the chair on her balcony connected to her bedroom and stared out over Gotham. For the first time in a week, Y/N had peace and quiet. Now that she was alone, Y/N found herself feeling drained and so tired, but she didn’t want to sleep, because when she woke up, she’d have to deal with the questions and phone calls again. So she stayed up. According to her phone, it was about half past one in the morning.

“Everything alright?” called a voice from above her. Y/N stood up and looked at her roof. Robin was crouching on the edge of the building’s roof with a grin.

“Hey,” Y/N said.

“Hey yourself, Damsel,” Robin sat on the edge now, leaning back on his hands, “now, are you gonna answer my question?” Y/N nodded, “everything alright?”

“It’s been weird.”

“Yeah, I saw the video,” Robin said. Y/N leaned against the railings of the balcony and looked up at Robin. “I am quite dashing in action, aren’t I?” He winked and Y/N started laughing with her head shaking in disbelief, “come on, you know I make girls swoon. You nearly crumbled to your knees that night.”

“Yeah, had nothing to do with the gun pressed against my back, it was all those grins you flashed,” Y/N teased, “nearly dropped my panties too.”

Robin burst out laughing and hopped down to the balcony, stepping towards Y/N. He was grinning the whole time. It was that charming, boyish grin that made Y/N blush and look to the ground. Why the hell was she acting like this? She couldn’t really be developing a crush on a guy whose real name she didn’t even know, could she? No. That would be stupid, ridiculous, totally crazy. Robin placed his hands either side of Y/N on the railings and looked her in the eye. Yep, she was getting a crush on Robin.

“Would you have invited me up under different circumstances?” He wasn’t invading her space, he wasn’t making her uncomfortable and he wasn’t propositioning her. It was just a guy asking a girl ‘if it wasn’t this if it was just me and just you, no secret identity, no crime, would you have liked me?’

“I think I would’ve,” Y/N nodded. Robin smiled and pulled back, taking the other chair on the balcony and gesturing for Y/N to do the same. Y/N sat down and pulled her legs to her chest, resting her cheek on her knees and looked at Robin.

“What?” He asked.

“Do you check in on all the girls you rescue?”

“Just you,” Robin admitted, “not everyone I rescue goes viral on Twitter.”

Y/N nodded and smiled tightly as she thought the reason Robin solely came to check on her regarding the aftermath of their encounter. It made her feel a little stupid. Here she was hoping Robin had just come by to see her, but that was a foolish notion really.

“Oh.”

“But I also wanted to see you.”

“Oh!”

“I enjoyed chatting with you,” Robin stated, “you’re interesting.”

Y/N blushed again and looked down to hide the redness of her cheeks, but Robin caught it and grinned widely. Robin thought she was interesting, Y/N couldn’t help but find herself smiling gleefully. Y/N looked back at Robin.

“You’re not too bad yourself.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled, “I heard that your family is taking the guy to court.”

“Dad doesn’t want any girl to get hurt.”

“I get that.”

“People are starting to listen a little bit more, about why you and Batman and others like you are needed… to an extent at least,” Y/N explained, “hopefully they won’t be harassing you that much.”

“Public has never been a problem,” Robin told her, “not to toot my own horn, but I know that people like me are kinda celebrities. The police though, that's a different thing altogether.”

“Is it bad?”

“They kick my ass every night,” Robin lowered the collar of his suit down to reveal a large bruise on his collarbone. Y/N leaned over to his seat and gently placed her fingers on the bruise. Robin winced a little at the contact.

“Sorry!”

“It’s alright, Damsel,” Robin assured her. Y/N then stroked the bruise carefully and Robin relaxed a little at her touch, almost sighing. “It’s not the worst I’ve gotten,” he said. Y/N then looked up at him.

“What is?”

“That’s more of a fourth date conversation, Damsel,” Robin chuckled, leaning back and putting his collar back up. Y/N smiled and fiddled with her fingers.

“So…” Y/N scratched just underneath her ear and cocked her head to the side, “you wanna see me again?”

“If you don’t object.”

“I’d really like that,” Y/N nodded.

Robin smiled and stood up. He just stared at Y/N for a moment, taking her all in. Y/N wasn’t wearing any makeup, but that didn’t bother her. When they first met, she had mascara streaks down her face. Her clothes were a pair of jogging bottoms, a deep navy blue and most likely her older brothers which got mixed up with hers in the wash based on how baggy and unflattering they were. Her top of just a long-sleeved top with horizontal stripes decorating it, grey and black stripes. She wore large white fluffy socks.

“I’d really like that too,” he said, “I gotta go, but I’ll come by again soon, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Y/N smiled and nodded. She watched as Robin climbed back up to her roof and then run and leap onto the next building. When she saw him jump, Y/N inadvertently let out a small yelp. Robin heard and turned round to give her a thumbs up, assuring her everything was alright, then he waved goodbye. Y/N waved back and watched him run off into the night.

 __________________________________________________________

“Morning, Y/N,” Jason Todd plopped into the seat next to Y/N and smiled at her on the following Monday.

“Morning, Jason,” Y/N nodded in response.

Jason seemed to have grown fonder of Y/N and had been very nice to her, and Y/N in response had been a lot nicer back. They were friendly to each other and got along quite well. He came and spoke with her in the library and she would sit with him in classes now, and when not in the university building, the pair would be texting.

“Have you heard about the Gala for the Gotham City Police Department next month?”

“Yeah, I’m being forced into going.” Y/N said with a roll of the eye. She hated the Gala’s she had to attend, they were always stuffy and she had to wear horribly uncomfortable dresses, but she went anyway because it was part of her responsibility as a member of the Y/L/N family. “You?”

“Likewise,” Jason nodded, seeming just as despondent of the idea as Y/N did. “Maybe we can make the best of a less than appealing idea,” he offered.

“And do what?”

“I’m thinking we stand together, drink and then we bitch to each other about the people there. What’d you say?”

Y/N looked at Jason. He gave her a large grin and his eyes sparkled with the prospects about what could happen with them hanging at the Gala. Y/N started thinking too. She kinda liked the idea of hanging with Jason the whole night.

“Yeah. Sounds fun, or at least bearable.”

“Oh, you wound me, Da- Darling.” Jason chuckled, “I’m lovely company for a night. There are many who can vouch for me.”

“Are these P.G. evenings, Todd, or 18?”

“Mixture. But I never disappoint.”

“Oh my god!” Y/N laughed.

“You’ve got a nice laugh,” Jason told her, “I like hearing it.”

“Is that why you joke so much with me?”

“That,” he nodded, “and you have a good sense of humour. Why you hanging with me then?” He asked. Y/N frowned in confusion, “come on, I told you I like your humour, why’d you like being around me? Or am I a pity case for the Y/N Y/L/N?” He teased.

“You’re easy on the eyes,” Y/N grinned.

“Oh, so I’m not a pity case, just a nice piece of eye candy for you.”

“Exactly!” Y/N poked him with her pen, “I mean, you’re alright at talking too, I guess,” It was her turn to tease now and Jason laughed, throwing his head back before looking at her intensely.

“Let me know what colour dress your wearing and I’ll get a matching tie,” he told her.

“It’s a Gala, not a prom.”

“We’re going to be standing around and bitching about everyone – this is the closest thing to prom we’ll get at our age.”

“Wanna get me a corsage too?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

 __________________________________________________________

Y/N knew Robin would be dropping by her building that night by the little gift he left on her balcony the night before. The night before every visit, Robin would place a red feather on her balcony as a calling card, so he wouldn’t be unexpected. Every time Robin visited, Y/N would get two cans of coke out from the fridge and a snack, tonight it was Oreos.

“How can you have Oreos without milk?” Robin asked as he opened his can.

“I just don’t like it with milk,” Y/N shrugged.

“I knew you were too good to be true, there had to be something wrong with you,” Robin sat down with a shaking head but still took one of the cookies.

“I don’t see you rejecting them though.”

“It’s free food from a pretty girl, I’m not stupid.”

“Pretty?”

“Drop dead gorgeous.”

“I just need to learn how to love Milk and Oreos, huh?”

“Then you’ll be the complete package,” Robin spoke with a mouth full of Oreos. There had been a question in Y/N’s mind since Robin first started visiting her, one which she had to ask.

“What does Batman say to you dropping in like this?” She asked. Robin became awkward and rigid, “come on, one of us had to bring it up eventually.”

“He doesn’t know,” Robin explained, “even vigilantes have nights off.”

“And this is what you do with yours?”

“Can’t think of anything better,” he shrugged, “food, drink, good company, conversation and an incredible view.”

Y/N nodded and looked over her balcony taking in the view. It was a view of all of Gotham, and from this viewpoint, you could trick yourself into thinking that there was no bad in Gotham, that it was a lovely safe city. But it wasn’t.

“It is a lovely view.”

“I’m not talking about the city,” Robin said. She heard him stand and place his can down, then Robin walked over, his chest against her back, placing his arms on the railing either side of her. “City is nothing compared to the view I’ve got,” he whispered in her ear. Y/N blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. Robin then placed a kiss on her cheek before hugging her close to him. “This alright?”

“This is perfect,” Y/N sighed, leaning back into him.

#Jason Todd #Jason Todd Titans #Titans #Titans DC #Titans Imagine #Jason Todd imagine #Jason Todd x reader #Robin #Jason Todd Robin #Robin imagine #Robin x reader #jason todd x y/n #imagines #oneshot #fanfiction #queue me up scotty

[ethereousdelirious]

I wrote another thing for some OCs of mine! I’ll put context under the cut.

I will say this: it’s a long read for what turned out to be not a lot of sick content. Just so you know that going in, haha

Content Warnings: oblique mentions of sex, brief references to emotionally abusive parents, semi-realistic depiction of urgent care/hospitalization and panic attacks

Please don’t bother correcting me on details i may have gotten wrong regarding flu symptoms/the hospitalization process :) I’m not shooting for absolute realism here and likely never will be. Thanks!

Oh, one more thing! This was based off a prompt that I will try to find so I can properly credit OP. It was basically about Character A getting hospitalized on Christmas and Character B decorating their room for them as a surprise.

This is based off a WIP of mine about 2 college roommates who go on a road trip after graduating and fall in love :) This story takes place in their Junior year and isn’t actually part of the WIP. Canon fanfiction? Is that a thing? Anyway.

The 2 characters that matter are:

Gaël Moreno

(Face claim: Reece King)

Santiago “Santi” Velez

(Face claim: Diego Boneta)

That’s p much all you need to know in terms of context!

--

Gaël swirled the last of his cider around the bottom of his plastic cup and sighed. As far as parties went, this one was rather small. Most of the attendees were playing Jenga Truth or Dare in the kitchen and the rest had broken off into small groups and were talking on their own.

With another sigh, Gaël tossed back the last of his cider. He glanced longingly into the kitchen, wondering if Santi would be upset if he slipped out.

"Hey."

Gaël jumped at a sudden voice behind him. He turned and came face to face with one of the GSA regulars. "Hey, Keith."

"I'll get to the point." Keith's strawberry blond hair was styled into spikes that quivered slightly as he talked. "This party blows and you look miserable. Do you wanna," he gestured at the hallway and made a suggestive hand motion. "I have condoms."

Gaël glanced back at the kitchen. Santi was pounding the table and chanting with the rest of the group while one of them clumsily attempted to shotgun a beer. "Yeah."

"Thank God, this night isn't gonna be a total waste of time." Keith took Gaël by the hand and led him farther into the house.

When they emerged, Keith said goodbye and left for the night, leaving Gaël to gloomily resume his spot on the couch. The game in the kitchen had gotten quieter. Santi was talking to the host, gesturing wildly with a half-empty beer bottle.

His eyes lit up when he noticed Gaël on the couch.

"Hey!" he called, a little too loudly than was appropriate for the close quarters. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Gaël stood up and pulled his coat back on. "Are you?"

"Yeah, we're winding down here." Santi turned back to the party host, someone with whom Gaël was unfamiliar. "Hit me up tomorrow, I'll totally help you clean up."

"Thanks, bro. Appreciate it "

"You bet." Santi saluted with his bottle, finished the contents, and deposited it in a cardboard box labeled 'recycling.' "Alright, later. Seriously, text me."

"Night," Gaël said stiffly. He took Santi by the arm and led him toward the door.

They walked along side by side, Santi chattering aimlessly about the party and what they were going to do with themselves now that it was winter break.

Finally, he seemed to notice that Gaël didn't want to talk and fell silent. 

The clock on the microwave, only just visible from the front door, read 2:58.

"Shit," Gaël groaned. "Tomorrow is gonna suck."

Santi shut the door behind them and locked it with a clumsy hand. "Least you don't have anywhere to be. Unless you wanna come with me to help clean up tomorrow?"

"You're really doing that?" Gaël kicked off his shoes and lined them up by the door. "You're crazy."

Santi waved a hand. "Nah. I mean. I'd appreciate the help if I were in their shoes."

"Fair enough. I'm going to bed."

"Think I'm gonna wait 'til the room stops spinning." Santi sat heavily on the couch. "G'night."

"Night."

Gaël woke to the sound of the front door opening, meaning Santi was either just leaving or just getting back. That, or they were being robbed by the world's most polite burglar.

Yawning, Gaël rolled out of bed and shuffled into the living room. Thankfully, he hadn't drunk enough to earn himself a hangover.

"Hey," Santi greeted him from the couch.

"Hey." Gaël paused on the way to the kitchen. "How did cleanup go?"

"Uhh. I cleaned. I came back. I think I died somewhere on the way home."

"You take any painkillers?"

"Yeah. Like 2 hours ago."

Gaël sighed fondly and rolled his eyes. "I'll get you some painkillers and water."

"Coffee?" Santi pleaded.

"I haven't made any yet." Gaël went to the kitchen to rectify this before bringing Santi a glass of water and some aspirin.

"Thaaaanks." Santi hauled himself into an upright position and took the pills.

Gaël took a seat in one of the armchairs across from the couch and assessed Santi. He looked as bad as Gaël guessed he felt. He was still wearing last night's clothes and his tanned skin was sallow in the late morning sun. His hair was down, which was unusual, and from the way he was squinting, he hadn't bothered putting his contacts in.

They sat quietly for a while, listening to the coffee maker percolating.

"Did you ever end up getting a job or anything?" Santi asked suddenly.

"Oh. No." Gaël shrugged. "I made enough from tutoring that I felt okay not subjecting myself to some heinous seasonal retail job."

"Hell yeah, dude. Enjoy that time off."

"What about you?"

"You know me. Got my busking permit all signed and up to date. One of the choir guys got a hand pan and wants to team up."

"Sexy. Is he going with you to play at the old folks' home?"

"Nah, that's all me. Well, and the rest of the choir but you know." Santi waved his hands aimlessly. "I'm the master musician." He swept his hair back like he was going to tie it up, then noticed he didn't have a hair tie on his wrist. He let his hands drop. His hair fanned back out in unruly waves. "You wanna come?"

"I don't sing," Gaël answered. They had this conversation every year. 

"Come on, everyone can sing."

"I can open my mouth and make noises." Gaël couldn't help but blush. Whether he was good at singing was beside the point. He was no good in front of crowds and Santi well knew it. "I'll stay here and hold the fort."

"Alright, alright." Santi leaned back and closed his eyes.

--

Despite the lack of school or work, Gaël actually saw very little of Santi in the following days.

Between busking, practicing for the Christmas concert, and attending house parties, Santi was absent for most of the weekend.

Not that Gaël was sitting around at home waiting for him. Most of his friends had gone home for the holidays, but several members of the GSA had not. Gaël spent much of the weekend with Keith and a few other GSA regulars at various coffee shops and bars in the area.

It wasn't until Monday afternoon that Gaël and Santi had the opportunity for another real conversation.

Gaël came in from a late lunch and found Santi halfway to horizontal on the couch, awkwardly balancing a glass of red wine on his chest.

"I'm not buying us a new couch if you spill that," Gaël said. He locked the front door behind him and came inside properly. There was already an empty glass waiting for him on the coffee table.

"I won't spill," Santi insisted. He sat up a little straighter. Wine sloshed perilously in his glass, a few drops escaping over the side and running onto his hand. "That didn't count."

"You look tired." Gaël sat in the space previously occupied by Santi's legs.

Santi heaved himself properly upright and poured out a glass of wine for Gaël.

"I've never had a Winter Break this hectic before, and that includes the time I was in high school and my parents tried to drag me to Hawaii at the last minute and the airline lost our luggage and my mother threatened to sue them for emotional damages because her favorite Chanel dress was in her suitcase," Santi said all in one breath. He downed half his glass and ran a hand down his face. His hair was down again, which was unusual. In the low light it almost framed his head like a halo. "So it turns out Avi, the guy with the hand pan, has stage fright or something so he wanted to practice until everything was perfect and he kept freaking out every time I tried to improvise. Then we finally get out to our spot and he doesn't want to leave even though I have an agreement with the knife-juggling guy." He paused. "Choir's going fine, though. Except they keep inviting me out to Denny's after every practice and it feels weird saying no. Gaël, I am so sick of pancakes."

"I wondered what all the to-go boxes in the fridge were about." Gaël took a sip from his glass. "Where did this come from, by the way?"

"Oh." Santi sighed. "The choir did a Secret Santa thing which I didn't know about because I'm not technically in the choir and this was the 'backup gift'."

"Not a bad gift," Gaël said with a shrug.

"I agree, especially considering some of the other gifts that were given out."

"Let me guess, candles and hand lotion?"

"You nailed it." Santi drained his glass and leaned over like he was going to refill it before evidently changing his mind and setting the empty glass on the coffee table. "Luckily I have tomorrow off. The concert is on Christmas Eve and then I have the rest of the break to myself. More or less."

"Is there anything you want to do?" Gaël asked. "We could go out for lunch or something. To a real restaurant."

"No pancakes?"

"No pancakes."

"Excellent."

They slipped into silence.

Gaël sighed through his nose. Although he told himself he was over his juvenile crush on Santi, sometimes it came creeping back into his thoughts. This was one of those times. Gaël wanted to run his fingers through Santi's dark blond hair and feel him relax, wanted to run his hands down Santi's neck, his chest--

Blushing furiously, Gaël cut off that train of thought before it could travel any farther south. He just wanted to make Santi feel better, that was all. Because they were friends.

"What is a hand pan?" Gaël asked, mostly to distract himself.

"Oh, it's like…" Santi made a vague hand gesture over his lap. "Like a faceted dome made of metal, and when you hit certain parts of it in a certain way, it makes noise. Kinda like a steel drum."

"Oh. Is Avi any good?"

"He's not bad," Santi said. "Better than I would be anyway. Hang on, let me see if I can find his Instagram."

They spent the rest of the day lounging in the living room, alternating between silence and light conversation. The bottle of wine remained on the coffee table, untouched since Gaël's arrival.

The sun sank below the horizon.

Gaël stretched and shifted positions. "No parties tonight?" he asked, looking sideways at Santi.

"Why, d'you wanna go to one? I think some of the Drama kids are having some sort of get together."

"No." Gaël stuck out his tongue. "I was just wondering."

"You sure? I know some of them. I could introduce you. Or we could have some of your friends over." Santi seemed poised to go on, but instead was overtaken by a yawn. He shook his head.

"Yeah, you look ready to party." Gaël raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should get to bed."

"Hm, yeah," Santi agreed. He didn't move. "Later."

"Alright, but don't expect me to make you coffee tomorrow."

"Of course." Santi smiled brightly.

Gaël refused to meet his eyes.

--

Ever the early riser, Gaël woke up the next day shortly after the sunrise. Unlike Santi, whose morning routine seemed to involve a lot of squinting and spilling water all over the kitchen in the process of making coffee or tea, Gaël's first act of the day was always to brush his teeth.

Half-awake, he staggered to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and lazily dragged some product through his dark brown curls. He took his time getting ready, knowing that Santi often preferred to sleep in.

To Gaël's surprise, Santi was waiting for him on the couch. He had wrapped himself up in his duvet and sheet and bundled up against one of the armrests. He appeared to be sleeping, but his hazel eyes cracked open upon hearing Gaël approach. 

"Morning," Gaël said with a little wave. He poked his head into the kitchen to double check the time. "You're up early. Or did you stay up all night?"

"I was having trouble sleeping so I came out here."

"Did it help?"

"Not really." Santi sniffled and ducked his head under the duvet. After a moment, he sneezed sharply and then emerged. "If you want, you can have my leftover pancakes for breakfast."

"Thanks." Gaël went back into the kitchen to retrieve the to go box. While he was microwaving it, he heard Santi sneeze a few more times. "Bless you," he called over the hum of the microwave.

"Thanks," Santi called back.

He sounded a bit congested, Gaël thought. A familiar wave of anxiety began to rise in his chest. He abandoned his post at the microwave and stuck his head through the doorway into the living room. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Sanri frowned, confused. "Do I seem not okay?"

Gaël made a face and gestured at the scene before him. Santi was wrapped head to toe in his bedding. Only his face was visible from beneath the pile of blankets. "You seem like you're trying to become one with your duvet."

The microwave beeped. Santi sneezed into his sleeve.

Gaël frowned, but went to go get his pancakes. When he got back to the living room, Santi was attempting to extricate himself from the tangle of sheets and blankets. 

"Is the milk still good?" he asked Gaël when he was finally free.

Gaël shrugged. "Go check."

"Just figured I'd ask."

Santi was shivering when he came back into the living room, a bowl of cereal in hand.

Gaël couldn't help but notice. Winters in San Diego weren't exactly harsh, and Gaël was comfortable enough in his boxers and T-shirt. Yet Santi was shivering noticeably.

"Hey," Gaël said. "I think you're sick."

Santi paused in the act of arranging his duvet around himself. "So it's not weirdly cold in here?"

Gaël rolled his eyes. "Go take your temperature."

"But my cereal will get all soggy," Santi whined.

"Alright, whatever. I'm not your mom."

"Thank god for that."

Santi finished eating before Gaël and wandered off. He came back wearing an undersized Grateful Dead hoodie that kept trying to ride up.

"I'm doing it," he said.

"Huh?" Gaël was staring at the little bit of skin that was showing just above the waistband of Santi's sweatpants. He shook his head and looked up. Santi was brandishing a thermometer. "Oh. Good. I mean--" he stuttered. Santi sat down and stuck the thermometer under his tongue. "I hope you're not sick."

"Mm'" Santi hummed in agreement.

They waited a few seconds and the thermometer beeped. Santi made a face. "101.1."

"Huh." Gaël leaned forward. For the most part, Santi looked fine. He was a little pale and he did look tired, but not unusually so. "And you feel okay?"

Santi shrugged. "Yeah, aside from the fact that I'm freezing."

"Huh. Well." Gaël frowned. "I guess let's keep an eye on you."

For a moment, it was quiet.  Then Santi shifted under the pile of blankets.

"I need to brush my teeth."

"Go brush your teeth," Gaël said, not looking up from his phone.

"Yeah." Santi got up and left.

The day was, by and large, anticlimactic. Gaël spent most of it on his phone, switching between the couch, an armchair, and his bed whenever he felt the need to move. It went without saying that their lunch plans were cancelled, and Santi went back to bed around noon, leaving Gaël to his own devices.

It would have been a lovely day for a hike, he thought as he looked wistfully out the window, but it wouldn't feel right leaving Santi behind.

So Gaël resigned himself to a boring, lonely day. He did receive a few texts from his friends, but everyone was mostly too busy to have a proper conversation.

At around 6:00, Santi emerged from his bedroom looking noticeably worse, downed a handful of painkillers, and retreated back into the darkness of his room.

"You okay?" Gaël asked as he passed.

"Sleepy," Santi answered, and shut his door.

--

They both woke early the next morning. 

"Feeling any better?" Gaël asked upon emerging from the bathroom to see Santi sprawled out on the couch.

Santi said something akin to "not really." The words came out muffled with half his face pressed into the faux suede couch cushion.

Deciding to forgo breakfast for the moment, Gaël came out to the living room to take a better look at his roommate. "Oh. Shit."

Santi was a mess. His dark blond hair was hopelessly tangled around the dangling cross earring he had evidently neglected to take out, and matted to his sweaty forehead. His cheeks were an angry, feverish red and his eyes were blank, not seeming to focus on Gaël or anything at all.

He didn't say anything, just lay there motionless but for the frantic rise and fall of his chest, and let himself be examined.

"Shit," Gaël repeated. Then, "um."

The thermometer was still on the coffee table where Santi had left it last night.

"Can you sit up for me?"

Santi hummed a dissent. "Dizzy."

"Just… Roll over onto your side, then. I need to take your temperature."

"'Kay." Santi rolled over and allowed Gaël to slip the thermometer under his tongue.

For a few tense seconds, Gaël waited and tried desperately not to freak out. They both got sick all the time. This was nothing. Everything was fine.

Then the thermometer beeped and the panic roared again, loud in Gaël's ears. "104.2. How long--"

"I don't know." Santi closed his eyes and scrubbed at his face. "I woke up feeling really bad."

"What time?"

"Night?"

"And you said you were dizzy?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Gaël bit his lip, thinking. "I think you should go to urgent care."

"Mm." Santi didn't open his eyes or attempt to move. "I don't know if I can--" He shuddered and pulled his knees up to his chest with a quiet moan. "I feel really bad."

"Just try to sit up. I need to grab some things and I'll help get you to the car."

"My wallet's, um… In my backpack. I'm still on my parents' insurance."

This made Gaël pause. "Really?" Then he shook himself. "Sorry, not the time. Just try to sit up."

He darted off. Keeping his wits about him was a constant battle. His body wanted so badly to panic. It was all he could do to not hyperventilate as he packed a few essentials into his school bag and started the car.

Santi was sitting up with his head in his hands and his knees braced against his elbows.

"Hey," Gaël said, kneeling beside him. "I'm gonna help you stand, okay?"

"I'm tired," Santi said, sounding almost on the verge of tears.

"I know. You can rest in the car, okay? Put your arm around me."

Santi's body was frightfully hot. It was hard to walk with him leaning so heavily on Gaël's shoulder, but they managed.

After a short drive, they had to repeat the maneuver to get into the urgent care.

"'I'll check you in," Gaël said. "Are you okay to go sit?"

"No," Santi said, clinging on harder. He leaned heavily to the side and Gaël staggered to try and keep them both upright.

One of the receptionists seemed to take notice of their plight. "I'm sending someone out to help, okay?"

Gaël said nothing. He couldn't. All he could do was try to breathe and to lower Santi to the floor as gently as possible.

Breath, he reminded himself. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. It wouldn't do any good if he passed out too.

So he knelt on the carpeted floor of the urgent care, sinking into a strange feeling of numbness. Santi was attended to by a doctor and a team of medical assistants and Gaël had to answer questions for them but the answers seemed far away in his mind.

His hands fumbled over Santi's wallet, words clumsy and faltering on his lips until every other sentence was "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know."

The carpeting was blue-gray, patterned with rosettes. Gaël watched his cream-colored skate shoes obscure it until it disappeared, replaced by pale orange linoleum.

One of the medical assistants was talking to him. Gaël looked around at the walls of the exam room. The words bounced around in his head without really sinking in.

His body seemed to catch on before his brain did, his shoulders beginning to shake with sobs. He was crying without really feeling it. Tears made dark stains on his pants. Gaël stared blankly down at the orange linoleum and let them fall.

--

"Gaël, I'm going to be fine," Santi said for what must have been the 50th time.

He didn't look fine. It was impossible to look fine laid up in a hospital bed. Gaël would have said so, but he was too busy crying. He hadn't really stopped since he'd started sobbing in the exam room and his head was starting to ache.

"Come on, Gaël, look at me. It's just the flu."

There was a whole list of things Gaël wanted to say to that, but all he could manage was "But I— And you…"

"You need to calm down or you're going to get admitted too," Santi joked. "Can I tell you a secret?"

This caught Gaël off guard. He looked up and wiped his eyes. "Y-yes."

"I'm not actually sick," Santi said in a stage whisper. "I just faked it to get out of the concert."

"Oh, shit," Gaël said as Santi's eyes widened.

"Oh, shit!" Santi echoed, flailing around aimlessly in the hospital bed. "My phone, I need— Ah, shit, shit, shit. What time is it?"

Gaël dived for his backpack, digging around for Santi's phone. He found it and tossed it over to Santi, who unlocked it and began typing furiously.

"Did you miss it?" Gaël asked, watching Santi's awkward attempt at typing without bending his left arm and messing up his IV.

"No, it starts in 2 hours." Santi sank back against the pillows and closed his eyes. "Ugh." The brief moment of panic had robbed him of breath. He was silent for a moment while he breathed. "Gaël," he said, opening his eyes. "I need you to bust me out of here. Steal a wheelchair while I distract the nurses, and we'll go from there."

"Wh--" Gaël squinted, his eyes darting over the medical equipment in the room. "You— No!"

"I'm kidding," Santi said, but his smile faded too quickly. "I just…" He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I've been looking forward to this, you know? It's kinda the only thing I get to do for Christmas now that my family's all--" He waved his hand dismissively. He sniffled and scrubbed at his eyes even though there were no tears to wipe away. "Sorry, I know it's stupid to freak out like this."

"You just saw me have a panic attack for like three hours and you want to call that a freakout?" Gaël laughed. He wanted to put a hand on Santi's shoulder to hug him, to brush his hair, anything to make him feel even slightly better. As it was, self-deprecation was all he could muster. "I think you're entitled to cry a little bit considering where you are."

"Yeah." Santi gave a heavy sigh. "Merry Christmas, by the way. Your present is in my sock drawer. You can't miss it. It's the only thing in there that isn't socks."

"We can open presents tomorrow. Did they say when they were releasing you?"

"Yeah, hopefully tomorrow. Christmas Day." Santi wiggled his fingers. "They just want to keep me overnight to make sure I don't keel over again. Apparently I'm 'severely dehydrated' and 'drink too much alcohol'."

Gaël scoffed. "They know you're in college, right?"

"That's what I said. Well. Would have said if I could've felt my face at the time."

They fell into silence for a moment.

"I didn't know you liked Christmas so much," Gaël said. "You're always so enthusiastic about everything it's hard to tell sometimes."

Santi raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on the character analysis. "Yeah, I've always liked it. I'm not going to go into a Hallmark movie spiel or anything, but it's just nice. Although out of everything, I think the lights are my favorite." He sighed wistfully. "Quiet Harbor, the old folks' home we always perform for, always has the prettiest decorations in the lobby. Speaking of." He picked his phone up off the sheets. "The group chat is blowing up."

"They're not going to cancel, are they?" Gaël asked anxiously, knowing it would upset Santi.

"No, no. I'm not that important. They're just gonna do it without me."

"Ah."

"Can you do me a huge favor, by the way?"

"Of course."

"Can you swing by home and grab my phone charger? And toothbrush? Mm, and regular brush?" Santi attempted to run a hand through his hair and was instantly stopped by tangled up knots.

"Oh, yeah." Gaël blushed. "I'm sorry, I should have thought of that sooner. I'll go right now."

"Thanks," Santi said. He pulled the covers further up around his shoulders. "I'm going to sleep. Possibly for several thousand years."

Gaël drove home in contemplative silence. He gathered up Santi's things and put them all in his trusty backpack, but did not immediately head back to the hospital.

Instead, he drove.

Surely there were stores open on Christmas Eve. Not everything could be closed.

Sure enough, a dollar store was open. Gaël rushed in and surveyed their selection of holiday decor with a discerning eye. He grabbed a few things, even finding a few cheap strings of battery-operated lights.

Once he'd paid, he hopped back into the car and rearranged his backpack, sticking his new purchases at the bottom and Santi's belongings at the top. The backpack' zipper just barely managed to close, straining the seams. Gaël set it in the passenger seat and, after a moment's thought, strapped it in.

Then he headed back to the hospital.

--

Gaël's plan was not going quite as smoothly as he'd hoped. After an uneventful evening, he'd made the decision to stay the night in Santi's room.

It wasn't, as he'd feared, against hospital policy and Santi didn't protest beyond a few token attempts to get Gaël to leave and spend Christmas Eve with his other friends.

However, Santi was not as heavy a sleeper as Gaël had been hoping and he woke up almost every time a nurse came in to record his vitals.

After one such visit from a nurse, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, Gaël sat up. Tooth by tooth, he unzipped his backpack and set about decorating Santi's hospital room as lavishly as he could without obstructing anything too important.

This might've been against hospital policy, but it wouldn't have to be up for very long.

Since much of the room was taken up by the IV pole, hospital bed, and guest seating, Gaël tried to focus on the windowsill and tables. He set up the lights in careful loops and hung up paper ornaments everywhere he could think of.

When he was done, the room wasn't exactly covered in Christmas decorations, but it was certainly cheerier than before.

Satisfied that Santi was still fast asleep, Gaël set off to get himself a coffee.

"That's lovely," said the nurse, coming in. Her name was Permata. Gaël had met her earlier when she had come in to check Santi's vital signs.

"What's lovely?" Santi asked blearily.

"You'll see."

Santi must have been too tired to argue, because he didn't press the point any further.

From his position by the window, all Gaël could see was Permata's back. She finished what she was doing and left again.

"You awake?" Gaël asked.

"I guess so." Santi yawned. "What did she mean when— Oh." He looked around at all the Christmas decorations: the paper ornaments hung from the edge of the table, the streamers hanging from the message board on the wall, the lights on the windowsill. "Gaël, did you…?"

"You seemed really upset yesterday, and I wanted…" Gaël hesitated. "I didn't want you to be sad on Christmas."

"Gaël." Santi's eyes were wet with unshed tears. "Thank you." He held out his arm for a hug. "Seriously, thank you."

"Of course." Gaël leaned over the bed and embraced Santi. It was an awkward and slightly painful position, with his knees jammed into the plastic safety rail and his body twisted to an odd degree. But it didn't matter. Santi was safe.

That was all that was important. 

#posting oc content always makes me so nervous hhhhhhhhh #ethereous writes #whump #sickfic

[lemongogo]

MY GOD EVERYONE SAYS THAT. drawing front on is so much easier for me, y'all can actually do that annoying ass eye thing and the cheek and the jaw like WHAT HOW. But ye okay I'll actually try to practise it lmaoooooo ahhh THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA. Also the order thing THank you!

just letting u know now that the video is completely useless unless you just like to watch someone’s process in general SO i wrote up a rly quick summary of what i did

1. i start with a circle and 2 guidelines facing the direction i want. the horizontal guideline gives me an idea of where to place the eyes / start the cheek, and the vertical guideline lets me know where the middle of the face is / where i’ll add or join the chin.

once i draft that circle, i draw over it with the basic face shape of the character, usually setting the forehead and cheek out further than the chin. 

2. for the eyes, i like to begin with the outer-most eye so you can get an idea of the curvature , placement, etc. i place the inner corner of the eye in line with the vertical guideline, and end with the outer corner touching the edge of the face.

although i didn’t do it here, it’s really helpful to draw the upper lids for both eyes first, that way you can nail the placement and symmetry while also making sure you don’t dedicate too much attention to one side. this probably wont make sense, but i also “squish” the iris of the outer eye because as the person is looking over to you / “over the nose”, you’re going to see less of that than you would with the eye completely facing you. if that makes sense  (??)

i also tend to draw the outer eye, eyelid, and eyebrow with more of a “curve” because of how the perspective works. in my mind, anyways. i don’t know if its actually correct oop-

3. flip the canvas !! it definitely helps you understand what you need to fix in terms of both anatomy and perspective. it also makes everything so much easier if you take advantage of the lasso and transform tools. sometimes you don’t draw it right the first time or the 50th time, so it helps when you can just stretch and squish a shape to your desire

4. i draw the bridge of the nose next to the inner part of the outer (furthest) brow bone and drag the line downwards (about midway). i also like to draw that weird triangle thing because of personal preference, dont mind that. to me, it just makes sense in my mind as the shadow cast to the side/on the cheek

5. the mouth!! the edges of the mouth should align with the pupils. so i like to start, again, on the outer edge and bring it inwards. to give the illusion of that 3/4ths profile, i like to end the bottom lip a bit shorter than the top lip and add some dark space inside / where the teeth would be to give the impression of space, cheek, etc. **the red circle under the eye was to show that my lower lids werent level with each other so i wanted to fix that**

6. the ear (v generally speaking) should begin at the same height as the eyes and end at the bottom of the nose. i dont draw the other ear bc its obviously hidden hehe

biggest tip: curves curves curves ! i curve the eyes, the brows, the cheek, the crop of his body, etc. i just feel like it sells the point a little bit more

nd thats all i can really tell you .! i wish i had more to say or that my video Actually Explained Something but !!! theres that. hopefully it showed u at least something and if not i hope u enjoy the quick drawing of hawks

#aA ok im going to sleep now gn #this is so bad i am so sorry i prob set ur expectations way high KJGKJH #Anonymous #asktag

[beautifulandbleeding]

Exposure Therapy

Kostya fidgeted with the button at the end of his sleeve and shifted from one foot to the other. El caught Kostya looking at the table that had somehow become his spot in the month since El found him. It was still weird to think about, like a child bringing back a piece roadkill and giving it a home.

“I don’t… I don’t think that we have to do this,” Kostya was saying, awkwardly and stilted. “I’m sorry about before.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” El said. “I want to help you. This will help you.”

Kostya looked at him, for the first time since El suggested that he try exposure therapy. It was about time that Kostya put this behind him. Of course, El was a jeweller, not a therapist, and what he planned to do to Kostya was something that no good doctor would sanction. Kostya would hate it, but El couldn’t say that that wasn’t part of the appeal. There was something special about the light in Kostya’s eyes, and when he was uncomfortable like this it was so sharp that El swore that it had a taste.

“Can we think about it?” Kostya asked quietly.

“You could tell me what’s wrong.”

It didn’t look like he would answer, or move, but after a few moments’ deliberation, he eventually said, “I’m squeamish. I don’t like, you know, blood.”

“You don’t like blood,” El repeated.

Kostya shook his head.

“But that isn’t all of it, is it?”

“El…” Kostya was just this side of begging, and El half wanted to let him. He wanted to see what Kostya would ask.

For almost a month now Kostya had stayed with him. It wasn’t something that they’d agreed to, nor was it something that they even talked about. El had brought Kostya home and then never asked him to leave, and from what El could gather Kostya had nowhere to go. In that time, Kostya mostly seemed content and occasionally worried. If he was ever upset, El didn’t know about it, but if he was afraid it radiated off him so thickly that El thought he should be able to bury his hands in it.

As far as things went El didn’t think that he could ask for someone better to live with. There were reasons why El was interested in Kostya, of course, but El didn’t know whether he’d care about Kostya at all if he irritated him. He was quiet at night, barely taking up any space; he did most of what El asked. Give him a well-stocked kitchen (or even a barely-stocked kitchen) and he’d make something nice. He took care of most basic housekeeping, and reasonably took it upon himself to carry out tasks that El had fallen behind with: things that El meant to take care of himself but never gotten around to, like organising his cupboards and arranging his bookshelf in a reasonable order, polishing the silver and deep-cleaning the carpet. Kostya even dusted. When El had asked him about it, Kostya had simply shrugged awkwardly in that we way that he made a lot of gestures, like it was more a habit than just anything genuine, and he’d said that it was the least that he could do.

Kostya sat tersely at the table over dinner, silent unless spoken to. In the evenings while El read or worked, Kostya had made a habit of sitting somewhere in the room—sometimes on the ground, leaning against El’s leg while he watched TV; sometimes on the sofa with him, with a book of his own. A few times Kostya had fallen asleep, only to start awake with a gasp, clutching his chest and shaking, and when he did he’d apologise desperately to El as if he’d done something terrible.

But those moments died quickly. It was never long before Kostya’s silence took over, like a shroud of distance that he wrapped around himself. El thought of it like a challenge. There was nothing about the way that he met Kostya that was normal, and nothing about Kostya himself that El could reasonably expect to see in anyone else. It felt inevitable that he become obsessed with him.

“Listen,” El said carefully. “I’ve given you your options. Either tell me what it is that you’re sitting on, or let me help you get over this.”

Kostya closed his eyes. El thought that he’d refuse again, but finally nodded. It was a rough gesture that twisted something in El’s stomach, because who would willingly let something happen that they were so afraid of? Kostya’s fear fascinated him, but not as much as… this.

“Fine,” Kostya said softly. “Whatever you want.”

“As I said. Take off your shirt.”

Kostya’s hands jerkily reached for the bottom button, and with a disjointed kind of grace he worked his way up to the top. He slipped out of his shirt, leaving just a plain grey t-shirt on underneath. Around his neck lay a ring of darker skin, like the scars from chafing. That was something else about Kostya that El wondered about—that scar, and all the others.

El wouldn’t say that Kostya was covered in scars, but there were enough there that El had noticed. What looked like little burn marks decorated the backs of his hands, and a number of scars were lashed across his arms. If he’d happened to see Kostya on the street, he’d have assumed self-harm, but upon closer inspection El noticed that angles of some of them didn’t look easy to reach without help.

But the mark that interested El most lay in the crook of his left arm. It looked like a burn, or a brand. The symbol was distinct, but not anything that El recognised. At first El had wondered if it wasn’t some kind of Celtic knot, but over the years a number of people had commissioned him for that kind of thing and this was something else. He was sure of it.

Nothing about Kostya is ever easy, is it?

El wouldn’t be interested if Kostya was.

He watched as Kostya pulled the grey t-shirt over his head, revealing yet more scars. And then there was the absence of a scar over his heart from that wound that had killed him. El had to admire Volodya’s work, with that.

“All right,” El said, gesturing to the seat opposite him. “Sit down.”

Kostya obeyed.

“Give me your arm.”

Dread all but emanated from Kostya, but he held out his arm. El wrapped his fingers around Kostya’s delicate wrist and turned it over. He considered asking for the arm with the brand, but looked back to Kostya and reconsidered. The mark was special. It had been clear to El for a while that everything he wanted from Kostya would have to be taken, as Kostya wouldn’t offer up anything willingly, but there was such thing as forcing a matter too quickly. Until he had a better idea of just who it was that he was dealing with, he’d wait.

It surprised El that Kostya was so warm to the touch. He was pale; delicate like thinly sculpted ice. When El first found him he’d been dead, freezing to the touch.

El withdrew his favourite knife, a gift from his sister back when they were teenagers. She’d happened to see it the last time that she visited, and been delighted that El still had it. El opened it one-handed, then rested the blade over the back of Kostya’s forearm. He felt Kostya tense and tightened his own hold on his wrist, so that he couldn’t pull back at the last moment.

“You know,” El said conversationally, “if you tell me how you died I won’t do this to you. I think that’s fair, don’t you? Let me help you face your fear, or face up to whatever happened to you.”

Kostya squeezed his eyes shut before stilling his face.

 “I don’t remember,” Kostya said evenly. There were times that El was grateful for his gift of really seeing people as they were. Now was one of those times, because Kostya was stoic and he knew how to brace himself, but El saw his fear move under his skin as if it was alive.

Wordlessly, El pressed the blade hard against his arm and drew it in a straight, horizontal line. Blood welled up at the surface, bright red against his paleness. Kostya didn’t make a sound. Instead, a heavy silence fell across him. El drew another two cuts parallel to the first, one above and one below, each deep enough to bleed but still not deep enough to reach down to the layer of fat under the skin—no deeper than how some of those other cuts would have had to be, to scar like they had.

El looked away from the cut back to his face, to find that Kostya had tilted his head back and now stared at the wall behind El.

“Kostya,” he said, and Kostya grunted in response.

“Kost-ya,” he repeated.

Kostya lowered his gaze just a bit, to meet El’s eyes. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He closed his eyes.

“Look,” El said, nodding to the lines of red, to the blood on his arm. “Just look at it.”

“I can’t,” Kostya said quietly.

“Yes, you can.”

El took the knife back to Kostya’s arm and drew a sharp line through the skin, this time not taking his gaze away from Kostya’s face. His expression was set, hard and unyielding in his focus except for his eyes.

Volodya speculated freely about his power, what he called the internal dynamics of death, when he was in the right mood. Death was the constant unknown in everyone’s life, Volodya’s included, for although he could bring back the dead he could never really understand what it was like to be on the other side of that invisible, dividing line. Introspection about that kind of thing was expected, just as it was expected that he share his theories with El: what El could do was nowhere near as impressive as Volodya, but he was the only person that had a chance of understanding him.

But El himself was nowhere near so introspective. As far as he was concerned, it was pretty simple. What he thought of as a person’s interior depth was covered by surface thoughts and immediate reactions, but in certain circumstances that depth shined through the surface—when someone was in the throes of grief, or when they looked to someone with sheer, unmitigated joy. El could just see that depth whenever he chose to look.

In Kostya’s eyes El saw a deep pain and betrayal. The mitigating surface of Kostya’s fears and desires hadn’t just faded against the intensity of whatever lay within his interior—it had been wrought open, and lay exposed like two wounds carved into his face.

El brought the knife down again, deeper this time.

“Look at your arm,” he said. “You aren’t doing yourself any favours, you know.”

“I can’t,” Kostya said, and this time visibly winced when El sliced through his skin again.

“Look.”

“El, please.” A hint of panic in his voice, that same edge that bordered on begging.

“You have to get over this, Kostya,” El said, and for just a moment El saw that gold light deep in Kostya’s eyes that he’d never seen in anyone else. It was faded, and unlike the day that he’d first seen Kostya it was focused into a single point within him. The room was practically shot through with it, although it receded quickly.

“I can’t.”

El sighed, burying his thumb in the pit of Kostya’s wrist. That earned a grimace as well, and a turn of his arm as though to pull away, but El held him still. By now blood ran freely down Kostya’s arm, warm where it touched El’s hand.

“Will you at least tell me why?”

Kostya dropped his gaze, and then he froze. He stilled so completely and instantly that the thought struck El quite suddenly that he was dead; that he’d just undone all of Volodya’s work. A moment later Kostya leaped up from the table, wrenching his arm away from El so quickly that he was able to pull it free. He backed away as if he could escape the arm itself. Kostya’s breaths came hard and fast, and then he stared up at the ceiling and screamed.

By the time El reached him Kostya was knelt on the ground, gripping his hair in his unbloodied hand, screaming and screaming. It wasn’t pain or even just that distressed noise that people made sometimes when they didn’t know what else to do. He was afraid, so afraid that for a moment El couldn’t move. His fear was real and tangible, like a physical presence in the room that El could touch, and for a moment El was certain that he should be afraid, too.

But the moment passed so quickly that El could barely believe that it happened.

He strode two steps over to Kostya and grabbed his wrist, trying to yank Kostya’s hand away from his face. Kostya simply turned away from him, tucking himself against the wall and heaving. The screaming stopped, breaking off into a sob. Something between guilt and pity twisted in El, but he found that he didn’t want Kostya to stop.

“I’m sorry,” Kostya gasped. “I can’t do this again—look, I tried. But I can’t do it again.”

“Shh,” El said, crouching next to the shaking form on his floor. He lay a hand on the back of Kostya’s neck and rubbed his thumb in a circle. “You’re fine, Kostya.”

“I can’t.”

“You already did,” El said. When Kostya shook again, tucking his face against his unbloodied hand, El grabbed him by the shoulder and turned Kostya to face him. “You’ve done enough for now, Kostya. Look at me. I won’t do any more tonight.”

Kostya looked to El again, his eyes wide. There was absolutely no recognition there, but then something changed. It was like watching Kostya snap back into focus. His whole body sagged, and he leaned against the wall.

“Oh, thank God,” he said, with almost a laugh. “Thank God.”

#whump #phobias #supernatural elements #writing tag #El #Kostya #fun with knives #haha what tags do people use?

[neqeyam]

Forgotten Myth; Chapter One.

Word Count - 2746

Warnings - possible trigger for fears of heights, and falling, and mean hall monitors.

Summary - When fourteen year old Ruby Moore is chased down the hallway at school by a character out of one of her fever dreams, she gets thrown into a world of tales and myths that society has ruled out to be fake. Befriending a Pegasus that hates everyone, and gathering friends strong enough to be considered a small army, she has to embark on a journey that will change her life forever.

POV- Ruby

Chapter Two- https://rqmcuwdwpjo.tumblr.com/post/188483698489/forgotten-myth-chapter-two

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking; ‘wow, demigods are so cool! That must be so much fun! I bet they get lasers!’ Well, it’s not that fun; it actually gets old after like two days. I’m not trying to die every ten minutes. As for the lasers, unless they’re made by the senior counselor of the Hephaestus cabin Leo Valdez, they’re not going to be on your side.

My name is Ruby Moore, but I’m sure you’re more concerned with how I know all this. One word; experience. Example one of why the life of a demigod isn’t fun, ever witness your best friend and favorite teacher fight off Echidna in the middle of the hallway? Didn’t think so. Imagine my surprise when freshman Ruby was trying to run away from Echidna during fifth period and my best friend pulled out two daggers to fight the thing. That’s where this story starts, me sprinting down the hall while a character from one of my fever dreams slithers after me.

I twirled the hall pass around my index finger, leisurely strolling down the hall toward the bathroom. The hall monitor, Mrs. Johansson stopped me, her yellow eyes narrowed as she scrutinized me silently.

“Pass,” she demanded, holding out a hand for it. Now, Johansson sounds like a nice name; most people associate it with Scarlett Johansson from Iron Man, but Mrs. Johansson of Marbur Academy in Columbus, Ohio (In the schools presentation they say that they’re the best for your ADHD children, and let me just say; ehe, that is not correct.) is exactly the opposite. Take Sirus Snape from Harry Potter; genderbend him, add a few pounds at the hips then give him a lisp and the voice of Roz from Monsters Inc. That’s Mrs. Johansson.

I held up the pass for her to see, she studied it for a few minutes; looking between me and the pass. She always spent extra time looking at my passes since Jackson Ryans accused me of faking a pass to get out of class early (not that’d I’d so such a thing, wink wink, hint hint).

“You don’t look very great… no, definitely no threat here,” she murmured, handing me the pass back.

“I’m sorry? I-I feel fine,” I said, confused. Mrs. Johansson waved me off, I started to walk away when she hissed. Not like the weird girl from third grade that thought she was a cat, no, like a snake hissing in warning. I turned back towards her just in time to see her legs fuse together into a tail- no wait, the bottom half of a snake. Her eyes slit and a long snake tongue slipped in and out of her mouth.

“A-Actually… on second thought-” I took a few steps backwards, trying to put some space between the snake lady thing and I. She hissed again and looked down at me, sneering as our eyes met.

“Whatssss the matter? Ssscared?” The snake lady hissed, swiping a hand at me.

“Uh- Yeah…” I squeaked, taking off down the hallway. The snake lady yelled and slithered after me, throwing rocks and other various objects at me. How she got these items was beyond me.

My legs carried me faster than I’d ever run before, burning when I skidded around corners. I felt like I’d been running for forever when I finally came across Ayla Weber; my best friend, talking to her architecture 1 teacher Miss Chase. They noticed me sprinting down the hallway before I could call out, breaking the distance by jogging toward me. Ayla looked more worried than I’d ever seen her look before.

“Ruby, why are you running?” she asked, looking over her shoulder as I slumped over, trying to catch my breath.

“Mrs. Johansson… snake thing- chasing- me…” I panted as I sat down on the floor hard. Miss Chase knelt down next to me, her gray eyes filled with worry.

“Snake lady? Like Echidna?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever that is.” I mumbled, putting my arms over my head to open my airways. Just as I was about to lay down, the snake lady thing came barreling around the corner and down the hallway, yelling in another language. Although, I realized, I could understand her. This was definitely a fever dream.

Miss Chase and Ayla looked at each other and nodded. Ayla reached into her backpack and pulled out two eighteen inch long daggers, while Miss Chase pulled a shorter dagger out of a sheath under her shirt. Together they ran at the snake lady, cutting and slashing at it. The snake lady pulled out a sword to fend them off. Miss Chase got in behind the snake lady thing while Ayla distracted it from the front. She yelled in agony and flaked away, a dark dust that reminded me of coal. They turned back to me, assessing me I guess. I stared at them in awe, mouth hanging open, eyes wide.

“That was awesome!” I yelled, standing up so quickly my vision spotted, (stupid iron deficiency). “When and where did you learn to fight like that Ayla? You’ve been holding out on me girl!” I said, flailing my arms in exaggeration.

“We need to go, there’ll be more if we stay.” Miss Chase said, pocketing her phone and jogging to get her computer bag out of her classroom. Ayla put her daggers back in her backpack, perfectly hidden behind the straps.

“Where?”

Ayla pulled a necklace out from under her shirt. “To camp of course,” she said, I looked at them, her first bead had a painting of a tiny centaur in a dress, another was all black except for a turquoise trident in the middle of it.

Miss Chase -who told me to call her Annabeth- hurried us outside and across the parking lot to the football practice fields. As we got closer I noticed two chariots waiting for us. (I only knew that because of a mythology class I failed out of last semester). Each chariot had two Pegasi reined to it, waiting for takeoff. One of the Pegasi had its wings stretched out and it had to have had a twenty foot wingspan.

Ayla hopped into the closest chariot, pulling me in after her. We stood on either side of a semi scrawny kid with bright blond hair like mine, and a medical bag slung across his body. Annabeth hopped into the chariot in front of us, taking up position next to a really buff guy. The Pegasi unfolded their wings and with one flap we were in the sky.

“Brace yourselves.” the blond kid said. Ayla grabbed into the handles on either side of the chariot, blocking the path in case I fell. I grabbed the handle next to the scrawny kid as he whipped the reins. Our chariot lurched forwards, the wind pushing me back so hard I almost fell… again. It felt like how you would imagine going into hyperspeed in Star Wars, or how the Flash feels when he runs really fast. The wind was hitting my face so hard I couldn’t breathe, and I felt bad for Ayla; who was probably swallowing my hair. Suddenly, the blond kid tightened the reins and the Pegasi went straight up. He was smart enough to put a hand on my back. He whipped the reins again and the Pegasi nose dived, tucking their wings at their sides completely. Ayla slammed into my back, smashing me against the front of the chariot.

“Will! What in Hades!” Ayla gasped over the wind. He looked back over his shoulder, I followed his gaze to see two concentrated storms following us. Lightning flew at us, horizontal across the sky. The blond kid, whom I’m assuming to be Will; jerked the reins to the left, just barely dodging the lightning. It curved toward us, and Will kept trying to dodge it.

“Get on the Pegasi!” he yelled, shoving me over the edge of the chariot. I lost my balance and fell face first onto the back of the first Pegasus. Ayla came flying over to the second one, her shoes had sprouted wings. I was too confused to do or say anything.

“What about you?” I called back, turning to see him cutting the ropes attached to him and the Pegasi. He didn’t say anything and cut the final rope, the chariot fell at an angle. Going with the lost momentum of the Pegasi. Ayla and I looked at each other in horror as we watched him fall. The chariot gained more speed than he did.

“Dive!” I yelled, grabbing the broken rein and whipping it. I had no idea what I was doing but it felt right. The Pegasus folded its wings and we hurdled toward the ground. It took all the leg and stomach muscles I didn’t have to keep from falling over the front of the Pegasus. We’re not gonna make it, I thought. Blonde hair was whipping around in the wind so hard I thought it was going to rip right off my head while my mind went into overdrive as I tried to think of a way to speed up.

“Fly toward him!” I yelled over the wind, the Pegasus obeyed. Flapping its wings propelling us toward the Earth faster than I would like to. When I could make out Will’s facial expression I reached out my hand, snatching his flailing arm on a luck shot. With one hand, I tightened the rein like Will did. The Pegasus flattened its wings and we seemed to float for a moment before it pushed them down. Throwing us upward before all three of us crashed into the ground. With that momentum I pulled Will onto the back of the Pegasus.

“Well that didn’t go according to plan…” he murmured. Sitting upright as I tried to tell the Pegasus to straighten and fly forwards.

“What was your plan exactly?” I asked breathlessly, holding the reins tightly. Will slowly wrapped his arms around my waist, sending shivers down my legs. I wasn’t used to such close contact with a boy. Especially a boy that looked to be five years older than me.

“To grab the rope and pull myself up on Sandblast here, even though she would’ve hated it.” He said, patting the Pegasus’s back. I nodded, trying to keep my nerves from making me throw up. “But it seems like you’re a natural! Sandblast hates everyone except Butch.” he added, earning an annoyed whiny from Sandblast. She had an all white coat, except for blonde specs near her hooves and on her wings, which I guess is where the ‘sand’ part in her name comes from. I’d hate to find out where the ‘blast’ part came from.

We flew in silence other than Will giving me directions to wherever we were going. When we passed over a cluster of trees he told me how to land. Our landing was a little rough, but Sandblast didn’t break any bones and neither did Will or I so to me, it was a win. Ayla ran up to me and scooped me up in a hug, then examined me.

“Oh my gods you’re okay! That was so scary but also really cool how you dove after Will.” she said, using her hands for emphasis. A centaur and a pudgy man with a bottle of diet coke in his hand came walking over.

“So this is our new recruit?” the centaur asked, looking down at me. Now, I was average height-wise for a girl, but this centaur guy made me feel short. Will dusted himself off and nodded, lightly punching me in the arm.

“You should’ve seen her! She’s a natural Chiron, Sandblast listened to every command she gave with no pull back. And she actually knew Pegasi commands.” Will exclaimed, making me blush. The centaur looked at me, his expression shocked.

“Is that so?” he asked, as if I knew.

“In my defense, I was left alone in the sky. I panicked.” I said, hoping they’d look away from me. I hated being the center of attention. Annabeth laughed, and I saw Ayla grinning.

“I want to see this girl fly then.” the pudgy guy said, taking a swig of his coke and belching loudly. They all looked at me and I felt a hot breath on my head. I looked up to see a horse head. Sandblast towered over me, her eyes screamed pick me.

We walked to a clearing that overlooked a lake. Out over the lake there were more Pegasi flying around, some with riders and others that were just out for a joyride. I mounted Sandblast and looked to Will, who smiled at me and gave me a double thumbs up. I nodded to Chiron, who held out a hand as if to say the skies yours. With that, I slouched over, getting into what Will called my ‘riding position’.

I tugged on the rein once and Sandblast unfolded her wings, giant, ten foot long, white with blonde speckled beauties. She galloped a few times and right at the edge of the cliff she jumped, flapped her wings once and soared. We’d gotten over the middle of the lake when a water spout just about blasted Sandblast and I out of the sky. She whinnied and I yanked her reins to the right. Another spout, yanked to the left. Another spout up ahead of us this time, we went over it. One arching right at me, I moved the rein slightly again and Sandblast dove. We dodged water spout after water spout, only getting sprayed with the mist that came off them. She rolled over something that whizzed passed from the trees, I realized that there were people in the trees. Their clothes reflected white light and silvery glows followed them. A water blast that I didn’t even see knocked into me, throwing me off Sandblast. She kept flying for a moment then dove, but it was too late. I was falling toward the water too fast for her to catch me. I mean, sure, Pegasi are fast, but she’d have to get under me without diving into the water. I closed my eyes and accepted my fate, falling three hundred feet into water? Might as well just fall onto concrete. A warm feeling fell over me and I felt like I was being dipped into the water, like someone had grabbed me right before I smacked into the lake. I do not wish you the same fate as Icarus, a voice in my head said. It sounded vaguely familiar.

When I resurfaced, I saw Sandblast hovering in a circle above my impact point. I held my hands up to say c’mon man. She whinnied and flew off. A soft current grabbed me and pulled me toward the cliff. I braced myself -yet again- to ram right into the side of the cliff, but instead of face planting into solid rock, the water propelled me up and I landed face first on the grass. There was applause, and there were whispers. I looked up to see a crowd gathered, Ayla and Will leading the applause. A black haired kid stood next to Annabeth and Chiron, a slight smile on his face.

“That was some great flying.” he said when I walked over.

“There is something wrong with your lake. Normal lakes don’t try to kill people.” I said, wringing out my shirt. They laughed a little, then gasped. I looked at Annabeth who seemed to be glowing golden, no wait- something was illuminating her face. I slowly turned my head up and above me a golden Lyre- wait, how did that? Bigger question, why was a golden Lyre floating above my head? Will screeched and scooped me up into a hug, his face dangerously close to mine.

“We’re siblings!” he yelled as he swung me in a circle.

“We’re what!?” At this point, I figured that I had too many questions to ask. They wouldn’t be able to keep up. Will set me down but then took me by the arm and started leading me down the hill, Sandblast landed behind me and trotted happily close at my heels. “Wait- where are we going?” I asked, looking back to see the crowd snickering. Will just kept walking and rambling about who knew what.

#pjo fanfic #fanfic #pjo #hoo #toa #Forgotten Myth #Ruby Moore #Ayla Weber #Jackson Ryans #oc fanfiction #greek gods #greek mythology

[thederrylcsers]

Oblivion

Pairing: Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris

Summary: Stan receives a message from Bill Denbrough who invites him to a party and, again, questions his own judgment.

Chapters: 2/? (you can read chapter one here)

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 3424

Two weeks pass without Stan noticing and it's Friday. He tended to like Friday's more than any other because he only had two classes. It meant that when he left his last class of the day, he could head back to his dorm and get a jump on the homework assigned to him over the weekend. The perfect setup.

Stan was in his second and last class of the day when his phone vibrated against the side of his thigh. He'd been startled but ultimately chose to ignore it, more focused on what his professor was saying than checking it. As he sat in his chair his curiosity was peaking, his finger tapping restlessly against the small wooden table that his laptop was resting on. He chewed on his bottom lip wondering what it was. He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, turning the screen on and he thought he had a heart attack upon seeing the notifications on the screen.

Instagram: billdenbrough sent you a message

Stan stared at the screen until it timed out, confused and intrigued. He tried not to let his thoughts run out of control but it was hard to stop his train of thought once it got moving. What did he say? How did he find me? He curses under his breath and shakes his head, blinking a few times, as if that would help him clear his mind, and desperately tried to focus on the lesson but that was easier said than done. He slid the handheld device back into his pocket. He began to play with his fingers, picking at his nails in the last ditch effort to distract himself from the urge to open the message.

The next thing he noticed was that the rest of the class was packing up and leaving the lecture hall. Stan mentally kicked himself for missing the remainder of the lesson and he resisted the urge to reach back into his pocket to retrieve it, pulling the screen of his laptop to meet the keyboard and shoved it into his bag, slinging the straps over his shoulders and walking out of the row, down the steps to the exit doors. When he gets outside he exhaled a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

He started walking, staring down at his feet as he made his way toward the building where Eddie's class should have been getting out. When he arrived, he stood at the end of the concrete stairs and waited for Eddie to come bounding down the stairs. The doors flew open seconds after Stan arrived and the students filed out of the building in small groups until he spotted Eddie walking with Richie who now wore a pair of glasses with oddly thick lenses. He smiled down at Eddie and laughed, lips moving but they were too far away for Stan to hear him, not that Stan wanted to.

Richie had been walking Eddie out for a week and a half and Stan had grown to know just what a conversation with him may consist of, usually jokes that were either offensive or crude, or both, and he was more at ease being distanced from him. Eddie spotted Stan at the bottom of the steps and waved while walking down the steps. "Hey." Stan smiled in return as Richie came up behind Eddie and leaned against the stair railing.

"Stan the man, how's it been? Get any fun messages today?" He smiled innocently and wrapped his arm around Eddie's shoulders. Despite his need for space away from others, Eddie didn't try to shove him away. Stan glared up at Richie.

"What are you talking about?"

"Big Bill, Stanley." Stan cringed at the nickname used for Bill and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm not sure how but, yeah, I did." Richie was smirking somewhat victoriously and it confused Stan even more than the message itself. It also annoyed him. "Why are you smirking?"

"I'm the reason he messaged you! They call me Cupid, ya know." Richie said with the same satisfied smirk on his lips. Stan felt like he could punch him then but decided to go with his better judgment.

"Why the fuck would you tell him to message me? And how did he even find me? I never told him my name." Stan asked, noticeably irritated.

"He asked me for your name after the party, and then did some searching or some shit and found you. As far as me telling him to go for it, I don't know, I think you two would hit it off. He gets a bad rap." Richie explained and Eddie removed his arm from around his shoulders while watching the situation unfold before him, stepping down to meet Stan at the bottom of the steps.

"I'm sure," Stan replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "If I wanted to talk to him, I would have given him my phone number." He moved around Eddie to continue walking down the street, shaking his head as he did. Eddie looked over in Richie's direction apologetically although he did know how Stan felt. He quickly caught up with Stan, the two of them walking in silence until Eddie decided to break it.

"So, what did it say?" Stan looked up, a pout prominent on his face.

"What?"

"The message." Eddie clarified and Stan looked back down at his shoes.

"Oh. I haven't opened it yet." Stan uncrossed his arms and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Eddie looked up toward the sky, noticing the light clouds above them. Suddenly he was wanting to get back to their dorms as soon as they could. The last thing he needed was to be sick because they were stuck in the rain.

"Why not?" Stan shrugged next to him, not quite knowing why he hadn't bothered to look at the message. Perhaps it was the constant gnawing worry of what it might say. The possibilities of its contents, as far as he knew, could have ranged from a simple hey to a crude photo of a certain body part and he definitely did not want to open it to find Bill's on his screen. The chances of that actually happening were probably slim but he really didn't want to take any chances.

"He's not my type," Stan replied, turning the corner and spotting their residence.

"If he isn't then what is your type, Stanley? Even back home you never made any attempt to date." Eddie probably looked confused but Stan didn't look away from his feet.

"Derry was different. It's full of homophobic assholes. There was no way to tell who was serious and who wanted to throw you into the Canal. And my type is someone who does not sleep with anyone with a pulse, and that rules out Bill Denbrough." Stan thought about the possibility that maybe he was being too harsh without knowing Bill, but the photos on his Instagram said more than any story he had heard.

"I don't know, Stan. Maybe he isn't as bad as you think." When they reach the front doors of the designated building, Stan is silent with his hand resting on the handle and looking directly in front of himself. "Just open the message. If he sent a dick pic or some shit like that, don't respond but if he genuinely wants to start a conversation, reply and see where it goes. Who knows, you might end up with a friend." Eddie smiled even though Stan didn't see it, feeling somewhat relieved when he finally pulled the door open and they walked inside the building. The ride up to their floor was accompanied by more silence, only this time Stan is the one to break it.

"Okay." He said and as if on cue the elevator doors pry themselves open and Stan steps out, walking down the hall toward his room. Eddie is left standing in the elevator feeling somewhat prideful knowing that he got the stubborn Stanley Uris to crack.

Back at his dorm, Stan is met by Mike who is laying horizontally across the sofa in their room, flipping through channels on the TV set that he had brought with him. Stan removes his bag from his shoulders and sets it next to the entryway, meeting Mike in the small living area. He slouches in the chair adjacent to the sofa, knowing that it was bad for his posture but not caring much about that then. He was pouting, thinking of the many scenarios that could take place by opening this message, but he finds the words to start up a conversation.

"Don't you have classes?" He didn't mean for it to come out the way that it did but Mike still finds humor in the question, chuckling shamelessly.

"Yeah, but my classes got out early today." He sits up and wandered toward the mini-fridge they have set up against the wall strip between their bedrooms, pulling out a yogurt cup. "What 'bout you? Why are you home so early?"

"It's Friday," Stan stated just before sighing. Mike came back over, yogurt in hand with a spoon dipped into it, sitting back down on the couch.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's been a weird half hour." He replied, sitting up comfortably with his back arched ever so slightly away from the back of the chair, handing teaching down into his pocket, fingers drumming against his phone. He stands up and walks back over to the door, picking up his bag and heading into his room. He hangs his bag in the back of his desk chair and pulls his phone out from his pocket, trying not to bite his nails as he turns the screen on, staring at the message.

It seemed to scream open me! open me! but Stan still felt queasy thinking about it. He considers just deleting the notification and forgetting about having seen them but he knew that it would still eat at him and that deleting the notification wouldn't delete the message itself. He also knew he was being a bit crazy over a message that probably meant nothing to the sender. Why is it so difficult for me to open them?

Stan decides fuck it and clicks the notification and types in his passcode. When his phone is unlocked he is faced with the message and wonders what he was so afraid of.

billdenbrough: hey (:

Stan let out a sigh of relief, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. He pressed the message, rereading it a few times before sending back his hesitant reply.

stanley.uris: Hi

He closes the chat and shuts off his phone screen, sitting on the edge of his bed, startled when his phone goes off again not even 30 seconds later.

billdenbrough: how are u

stanley.uris: Fine. stanley.uris: How are you?

billdenbrough: better now that i'm

talking to u ;)

Stan rolled his eyes but his heart still fluttered. He had never flirted before or been on the receiving end of flirtatious remarks until he started college and both times they were from Bill. He knew he shouldn't feel like he did because of Bill's nature but he couldn't really help it.

stanley.uris: Very original.

billdenbrough: i thought so

They text back and forth like this for a solid hour and Stan decided it was time to start on his work. He opens his bag to retrieve his laptop, setting it down at the edge of his desk along with a notebook, an array of colored pens and highlighters. Studying tended to calm his nerves whenever he felt overwhelmed. He went about fifteen minutes without any interruptions, that is until his phone vibrated on his desk and he was forced to break concentration.

billdenbrough: my friend's sorority is having a party tonight, u should come

At that moment he is interrupted yet again by knocking on the door to the dorm. He stood from his desk and opened the door to his room, seeing that Mike beat him to answer the door. Eddie stood at the door, having a friendly conversation with Mike in the entry. They turned toward him and Eddie smiled enthusiastically, bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, I thought we could study?" He asked, holding onto the strap of his backpack and smiling when Stan nodded with a small smile on his own face. The other teen stepped into the dorm and walked the small distance into Stan's room and Stan shut the door behind him. "What are you working on?" Eddie asked, sitting down on Stan's bed while the latter stared off into space, reaching in front of him to grasp the back of the chair to sit in it. Eddie noticed he looked dismissed but chose not to say anything until he snapped himself out of his trance-like state.

Stan refocused his gaze, blinking twice before glanced by over in Eddie's direction. "Sorry. Bill invited me to a party." He said, turning back to face his laptop screen but stopping halfway when Eddie began talking again.

"Woah, wait! Did you say yes?"

"I just opened the message. I didn't reply." Eddie glared at him, mouth open in an 'o' before he was struck with a realization.

"Oh, I get it. You're going for mysterious? Good. Are you gonna go?" Eddie kicked his shoes off, standing up and placing them against the wall next to the door. He went back over to the bed, pulling his legs up with him, his jeans making it slightly harder for him to cross them but he managed to do so anyway.

"Maybe." Stan replied, playing with his hands, not really wanting to be apart of the conversation.

"Come on, Stan! He technically asked you out on a date."

"A party isn't much of a date." Stan stared.

"That's because you have high standards." Eddie tossed his bag to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll be there too, if that helps."

"Is Richie going to be there?" Eddie nodded making Stan roll his eyes. "Great. You will go off with Richie and I will be left alone. Again."

"But if it is a date, you'll have some company." Eddie winked, opening his backpack and pulling out the textbook titled 'Business Management' and flipped it open to the correct page. Stan shrugged, tilting his head to the side. The thought of going to another party for someone else's pleasure made him want to stay home, even more so because he knew Bill would be there. Don't get Stan wrong, Bill was attractive, there was no denying that, but he couldn't let himself get involved with him.

As he thought of this, another thought entered his head, making him question his judgement. What if they're just rumors? Maybe Richie was right. Just as the thought is over his phone vibrated again, another message from Bill.

billdenbrough: come on, don't leave me hanging, uris. it'll be fun!

Stan stares at the message, half offended that somebody who barely knew him had called him by only his last name, chewing on his bottom lip nervously. He looked over at Eddie, who had his face buried two hundred pages into his textbook while writing down valuable information as he skimmed the pages, then looked back to his phone with Eddie's words ringing in his head.

"But if it is a date, you'll have some company."

He thinks over the many, many possible outcomes of this night and while guy screamed no, he went against his better judgement and sided with the devil on his shoulder.

stanley.uris: Okay, I'll be there.

He sends the message, sighing deeply and running the palms of his hands over the dark cloth of his pants. Eddie looks up from his studies and asks, "So, what's the verdict?" Stan looks over at him once again and nods hesitantly.

"I'm going." Eddie's eyes grew wide with excitement, hands clasping together and gasping as if about to commence a musical number before his eyes.

"That's great! What're you gonna wear?" Stan squinted, not sure what was wrong with what he currently had on. He was still clad in a black Columbia fleece jacket, another knit sweater (only this time it was tan) underneath that, a pair of blue skinny jeans and his Converse.

"What's wrong with this?"

"We can't have this conversation again, Stanley. Those are not party clothes. Why not wear a collared polo or a plain t-shirt? Something that doesn't say 'I spend all of my free-time at the library'." Eddie quipped, uncrossing his legs and sliding off the bed to walk toward Stan's closet. Stan was taken back by the comment, surprised. Eddie had changed slightly since they began attending college, not necessarily in a bad way, but he became more free without Sonia breathing down his neck every second of every day. With the lack of parental authority, he was more loose, which was more than Stan could say for himself but that was part of his character.

"What about one of these?" Eddie asked, pulling a plain black t-shirt from the closet along with a fade red polo. Stan wanted to reach for the polo since it was what he was used to and what he felt most comfortable with but the days events had proven that getting out of his comfort zone just slightly might have been what he needed.

"Black." He said, phone vibrating next to him again.

billdenbrough: great, alpha sigma house at seven. see u there ;)

He looked up into the top left hand corner of his phone screen noticing that it was only 4:06 PM. They definitely had some time to kill. They spend the rest of their time studying and cracking subtle jokes while Eddie gushed over the lanky, curly-haired, Hawaiian shirt wearing mess that was Richie Tozier.

Twenty minutes till seven, Eddie is forced to leave the room while Stan changes out of his sweater and undershirt, pulling in a fresh new item of clothing and grabbing his Columbia, meeting Eddie outside of his door. They begin to head toward the door when Stan stops, turning toward the couch where Mike still was, this time sitting upright and watching a home & garden network.

"Would you want to come with us, Mike?" He asks, eyes wide and hopeful. The truth was, he did enjoy Mike and living with him, and if he could come along it would have amazing. Not to mention that if Eddie did abandon him at the party and it was not, in fact, a date, he would have someone else to talk to while he waited for Eddie to detach himself from Richie's hip.

"Really? Uh, yeah, sure. Let me just go grab a jacket and some shoes." Mike beamed and Stan felt more comfortable already, knowing that there would at least one more familiar face at this party. He headed into his room to retrieve said items while Eddie's face lit up as well.

"Maybe I should invite Ben, too! I don't really know if parties are his thing but it's worth a shot to try and hang out somewhere outside of the dorm." He said and Stan smiled a tight-lipped smile. He didn't know Ben all too well given that he wasn't his roommate and going to party with another person he didn't know felt uncomfortable. Then, thinking of Eddie, he had invited Mike along and the former barely knew him as well.

"Yeah, invite him. I'm sure he would like to get out too." His smile was less harsh now and Mike met them at the door seconds later where he was informed of the change of events.

"Well, the more the merrier, right?" He said and laughed. He was always happy and Stan didn't get how. They reach Eddie's room soon and are met with Ben at the door, a hamper full of dirty laundry, appearing to be headed down to the washroom. He smiled at the three of them. Eddie filled Ben in on the current situation to which he looked enthused.

"I'll go, definitely! I was planning on spending my night sorting dirty laundry but this sounds infinitely better." Ben said, obviously thrilled by the invite. He looked down at his attire, sweatpants and a tight-fitting hoodie and decided a quick change of clothes wouldn't be the worst thing and then they would be on their way.

Let me know if you would be interested in being in a taglist for this!

#stanley uris #stan uris #eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #ben hanscom #mike hanlon #stenbrough #it 2017 #there is slight richie/eddie content #stenbrough fic #stan is salty #modern au #college au