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stinkyme · 10 months

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Hello! I have been gone for a little as some may have noticed, which I will explain in a different post :)

However, I have not been on tumblr at all so if somebody already did this, I do apologize for being repetitive but oh well :3

I can also do version with women if anyone is interested since they have me in a very heavy chokehold (I will most likely do it regardless), so without further rambling, I hope you like it and enjoy :3

please read bsd fans: I don't want to leave y'all dry because I know you followed for bsd, so I added bsd characters who would also be similar to those characters :D

Characters: Sampo, Gepard, Blade, Dan Heng, Welt, Jing Yuan, Luocha

Those are little headcanons :)

CW/TW: NSFW, fem!reader, oral, mentions of biting/marking, mentions of praise, mentions of face sitting, mentions of edging and overstimulation, mentions of fingering, mentions of 69, mentions of body worship, and I think that's it, if I forgot anything please let me know! :)

Pussy Eating || HSR (+BSD) Men x Reader

Sampo (Tecchou, Ranpo, Nikolai, Atsushi)

Greedy. Greedy and messy. He loves giving you oral and eating you out for hours in the end even if he doesn't get to finish. He does it for your and his pleasure. That man is huge therefore I imagine him putting you on his shoulders and pressing you against the wall while your hands messily grip on his hair. He will literally drown his face into your pussy, his long tongue reaching every single spot of you and ravishing you greedily. He is so easy to get pussy drunk that sometimes he will overstimulate you by accident. Or that's what he wants you to think. Your little whimpers and moans as his tongue relentlessly circles on your clit while your thighs tighten around his face as he keeps his hands under your ass and squeezes it harshly just may or may not make him insanely hard. The way your body responds to his greediness and the way your throat gets sore and raspy from all the sweet sounds you let out make him insanely proud and needy to the point where he would and will cum in his pants. He also loves when you sit on his face as his tongue and lips keep on stimulating your sensitive spots all over your clit. If you dare and try to get up before he had enough of it, oh boy. He will squeeze your hips and push them on his face, basically locking you in place as he keeps desperately stimulating you with his tongue. Anytime he takes a moment to take a breath, the most pathetic, high pitched and broken whimper or moan will come out of his parted lips. He will make you cum like that countless times until he feels satisfied and until you basically can't think properly anymore. Next day when your clit gets overly sensitive to the lightest touch he will probably apologize for going a bit overboard. Is he actually sorry? No, not at all actually but he will treat you in a more gentle and tender way until your clit is ready to be ruined by him again.

Gepard (Poe, Chuuya, Mark, Atsushi, Sigma)

Gepard however, is more tender and gentle. He adores you as well but in a way where he will worship you and take things slow. He will kiss your whole body, slowly going down on you and adjusting himself between your thighs only when he makes sure every other part of you has been appreciated with praise, kisses, licks, gentle bites - you name it. He will leave soft, feather-like kisses on your thighs, with each kiss moving closer and closer to your needy clit. He will look at your pussy, admiring how wet and pretty it is for him. He will start with giving a few kitten licks on your clit and observing how your body reacts. He would wrap his arms and hands around your thighs, dimly spreading them just to get better access to your clit before he starts licking it and sucking it in a more consistent manner. He will start by drawing small circles with the tip of his tongue however as soon as you start letting out whimpers or moans and as your thighs start tensing and relaxing under his hands he will realize he is not as patient with making you cum. He will start sucking on your clit, eyes fixated on you and he will not stop until you cum all over him. Once you cum, he will make sure to clean you up with his tongue and praise how good you taste for him. He would leave a mellow kiss on your clit as a form of telling you how good you are for him. He will continue giving kisses and soft licks on your thighs until you are less sensitive and then start eating you out again. He will be more patient this time, you have the whole night after all, and he will make sure you cum as many times as possible in as many ways as possible.

Blade (Fyodor, Dazai, Mori, Jouno)

Tease. He loves to take his time with you but in a different way than Gepard. He will kiss every part of your body and move down on your pussy, leaving slow and gentle licks and kisses on your outer lips with the tip of his tongue. Purposefully leaving out the spot where you want him the most. He will enjoy the sight of your precum slowly leaking out of your pussy as you let out weak "please" for him to start eating you out. He would chuckle at how desperate you are for him and click his tongue a couple of times, lightheartedly scolding your impatience. He will start by slowly inserting two of his fingers inside of your wet cunt, gently and teasingly stimulating your g-spot by moving his fingers in a way that he knows drives you crazy. He would get his lips close to your clit and seeing your eyes get excited and needy only for you to let out a dissatisfied moan as he blows a small amount of warm air through his parted lips, is indeed very satisfying for him. He would feel your cunt tighten around his fingers, leaking more precum with each skillful thrust of his as soft moans escape your throat and enjoy every second of it. Then, when you sort of give into his teasing and when you least expect it, he will give one gentle lick to your clit. Your cunt would tighten around him and he would immediately back off, another teasing chuckle escaping his lungs as he watches and feels your body get immensely excited from only one, in his opinion, even pathetic lick. However, once he teased you long enough, giving you one pathetic and quick lick after another, he will start doing it properly. He will start by putting the flat of his tongue on top, covering your whole clit and start moving it in a pace and manner you enjoy the most. He knows after all the fingering and teasing it will take you a very short amount of time to cum and he will be right, your orgasm slowly approaching fairly quickly. However, he will stop just as you are about to cum. Swiftly moving his tongue away from your clit as his fingers stop moving inside your cunt. He enjoys the feeling of your body shaking regardless as your gaze grows pathetic and needy for an orgasm. He will grant you the desire you have, just when he thinks you deserved it.

Dan Heng (Kunikida, Akutagawa)

He loves 69. Not because he is selfish and can't focus on you only, but because of the feeling of you not being able to suck his dick properly due to everything he does to you. He loves how you have to pull away due to your whimpers and moans as he keeps relentlessly circling his tongue on your clit. Or how suddenly you will choke on his cock because he hit the right spot. Over and over again. Also, he enjoys how exposed your pussy is for him like that and how his tongue can reach every single spot he wishes to pay attention to. He loves to slow down his pace and lets you suck him for a while and when your throat is close to the tip of his cock, only to suddenly spank your ass and start vigorously sucking on your clit, resulting in you choking on his cock as muffled moans and whimpers escape your throat. If you try to just give him a handjob in order to avoid what he wants and desires, he will stop his movement completely. After all, it's unfair, right? If he is going to eat you out, he deserves the same treatment. If you disagree in some way, he will just calmly ask if you wish to cum or not and if you do, then listen to him and be good. If not, that's perfectly fine with him too, he can make that come true easily but you don't get to complain later and beg him to cum. So, you will choose wisely and decide you want to cum, earning a soft praise of his. He would continue circling his tongue on your clit, start sucking it as he can tell you are getting closer to your orgasm. He can feel your hands gripping his thighs as your mouth can't do the work anymore besides whimpering and moaning as your orgasm approaches. Once you cum, he will clean it all up, gently kissing your clit and inner lips afterwards, praising how good you were. If you decide to be a brat about it, he doesn't have an issue with that either. He knows exactly how to deal with you by simply readjusting your positions, making you lay under him as he ties you up. Oh, you thought he will fuck you and you will be able to persuade him by your begging? Or that he will cum and think it's only fair that he lets you cum too, especially after seeing how beautifully pathetic you look? No, he is a very, very patient man. He will finger you for hours if he has to, making it almost impossible for you to take it anymore. Or he may make you watch him stroke his cock, making sure he lets out pleasant whimpers and moans, basically rubbing it in your face what you could have if you were not a brat. He may even simulate things he could do to your clit on your nipples or even your thigh, very close to your needy bud. After your desperate apologies and begging, he may consider letting you cum. Only if you beg him good enough, he expects from you to show him how much you want him in a position you are currently in, so give it your best and he will eat you out just like you deserve.

Welt (Fukuzawa, Oda, Ango)

He is a gentleman and a soft dom. He will give you prince/princess treatment all the time and is quite generous in bed too. He enjoys eating you out, he loves making you cum over and over again until the point of complete bliss. Welt will also ask you to vocalize how much you enjoy him, how much you enjoy his tongue skillfully running over your inner lips and clit. He would initiate his or your desires by spreading your pretty legs with his cane, observing how wet you get for him. I imagine he is also easy to be teased about his age, however he will only play into it without taking genuine offense and show you that nothing about him is uncapable or old. Once you are in for it, he will make sure you enjoy it as long as possible. He is very gentle with his tongue, sensations that he provides for you are almost feather like, barely felt on the skin, but the impact they leave are more than pleasurable. He would focus on your outer lips then slowly move his attention towards your inner lips, giving you a quick surprise lick on the clit from time to time. Then, he would focus his tongue on your clit only, gradually increasing his speed and pressure. He enjoys your voice, the way your body reacts to him and once he makes you cum, he will repeat the process over and over again. Welt loves feeling your body getting more sensitive and responsive as he gets more intense with pleasuring you. He loves gently sucking on your clit as his fingers slide inside your needy cunt; the way your thighs eventually lose strength to wrap around his head makes him smirk into your skin. He will definitely tease you lightheartedly afterwards but rest assured that this man will provide you the most loving aftercare, spoiling you as much as possible.

Jing Yuan (Ango, Kunikida, Tachihara, Fukuzawa)

General loves the thrill of possibly getting caught. He is also the type of the man who, as secure and confident as he is, adores you being for him only. Those two facts combined will result in him enjoying pleasing you in his office, pulling you aside in isolated areas during certain duties just to taste you, even leaving his personal responsibilities early just to find you and be with you. He loves teasing you, reminding you to be quiet or things could get out of hand, when you would scold him about the risks - all he would ask is if you want it and if your answer is affirmative, that's all he needs. Due to this, he would often ask you to wear clothes that are easily taken off or easily accessible for him. Which also means, he enjoys buying clothes for you and daydreaming what outfit you could wear at certain places where he would eat you out. He loves gently biting your thighs, licking and tasting the precum that is leaking out of your cunt, kissing your skin everywhere that he can reach, he loves it all. When it comes to him eating you out, he loves being in control - gently spreading your thighs with his hands, keeping you in place as his tongue hits all the sensitive spots on your clit without a break. Similar to Sampo, he would also enjoy putting you on his shoulders and against the wall, gently brushing the tip of his tongue on your inner lips, then eventually relentlessly circling it on your clit. As mentioned, he loves leaving marks behind, your skin would be painted in countless hickeys, bite marks, his fingernails printed into your thighs, hips, waist - you name it. He bounces between being calm, a very giving lover and being quite greedy. The sound of your muffled whimpers, moans and the way your legs would squeeze him or simply shake under his touch will probably lead to either you pleasing him afterwards or him messily getting his cock out, just to feel you. Once you finish, make sure he will whisper in your ear how well you did for him, how he will reward you again later, how you need to remember that he is the only person who gets to please you like this.

Luocha (Fyodor, Jouno, Chuuya, Sigma)

My favorite man. Luocha is such a teasing, soft, but also quite intense lover. He enjoys pleasing you, enjoys your pussy and will constantly remind you how wonderful you are and how intensely grateful he is to have you. He will definitely do full body worship before going down on you. Leaving soft kisses on your neck, collarbones, chest area, tummy, hips, waist, hands, wrists, thighs, calves, ankles, crotch, outer lips. He will do it slowly, almost agonizingly slow, patiently waiting to hear your sweet voice asking him to give attention to your needy cunt. He loves when you ask him so nicely, but as the more time passes and as you get more desperate and demanding, it fills him with pure pleasure and bliss. Once he finally thinks you pleaded enough, he will softly tell you that you can relax now, he will give you what you want. He would wrap one of his arms around one of your thighs as fingers of his other hand would gently brush over your cunt. As soon as he would feel how wet you are, with just the bare skin of his fingers, it would make him feel like a switch has been flipped inside of his mind, almost challenging himself to make you as wet as you possibly could get. He would trace his way from the bottom of your pussy, tip of his tongue gently starting at the very edge of your inner lips, slowly moving it up in sensual zig-zag motion, purposefully avoiding your clit, going around it and moving back down. He would let out mellow, almost inaudible whimper when he would taste your precum, his tongue spreading it all over your needy cunt. After a bit, when he would notice that your pretty cunt is leaking more precum mixed with your soft whimpers; he would gently and slowly insert two of his fingers inside. Loucha would go as slow as possible, dragging the moment when he will finally give attention to your puffy clit. His fingers would dimly curl inside of you, pressing and stimulating your g-spot, as his free hand would spread your leg away from the other. Listening to your sweet voice, as his fingers are getting coated in your precum and realizing how wet you are as your cunt tightens around him, is truly a moment that Luocha wants to last forever. Then, after he finally finds appropriate, he will place his warm tongue on your swollen clit, moving it in circles and listening to you finally and completely break under him. As you are getting louder and your hands grab on his blond hair, pushing him more into your pussy, your orgasm painfully close, Luocha will not stop. He finds edging rarely enjoyable, what he enjoys is making you cum but also, making you needier each time that you do. It's a sweet circle of endless pleasure that he wants to last as long as possible, for both of you. When you finally cum, he will make sure to clean it all up, slowly extracting his fingers out of your pussy and giving your clit a soft kiss. A still very needy look on your face would result in a sly smirk from him, awaiting you to ask for more, knowing you are in for the long night or day.

#hsr x reader #hsr smut #blade x reader #dan heng x reader #welt x reader #gepard x reader #sampo x reader #jing yuan x reader #blade smut #dan heng smut #welt smut #jing yuan smut #gepard smut #sampo smut #bsd smut #bungo stray dogs smut #luocha smut #luocha x reader

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rorywritesjunk · 7 months

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I won't treat you like you're oh so typical

Buggy wakes you up to help him with his makeup and he sometimes get grabby.

Rating: Soft R? Idk. Some swearing, and uh, innuendos. No sex. I plan to write sex at some point but I just wanted to keep this kind of fluffy for now.

Warnings: Insecure!Buggy because that's my anime husband right there, needing assurance while his lady does his makeup. Some swearing. Buggy is kind of a brat in this.

A/N: Inspired by the image of that woman sitting on top of another doing her makeup. The title comes from "Closer" by Tegan & Sara. Part Two is here!

“You have got to stop moving, Buggy.” You warned as you held the eyeliner pencil near his eye. “Do you want to be known as Captain Buggy the One-Eyed Clown? Because that’s what’s going to happen if your hand grabs my ass again.”

“But baaaabe!” He whined underneath you. You sat up and crossed your arms as you looked down at him. Currently you had him laying underneath you on your shared bed while you straddled him to do his makeup. Barely twenty minutes ago he woke you up from a deep sleep, demanding you help him with your makeup. You were still in your damn pajamas as you sat on top of your silly boyfriend.

“Buggy.” You sighed. “I can’t get this done if you keep groping me.”

“I can’t help it!” Buggy pouted. “Why are you trying to seduce me while doing my makeup? I can’t control myself when you’re dressed like this!”

You rolled your eyes. This being your pajamas. Light green boxer shorts with bananas printed on them and a shirt you cut the sleeves off of. Of course he’d find that sexy. You held the pencil up threateningly.

“Let me continue or this is going to take all day.” You told him as you leaned back down. He sighed and settled back down on the bed. While you managed to keep his arms pinned to his sides with your knees, his hands still could wander. You cursed his Devil Fruit powers when it came to situations like this. Sure, they were great for getting things off tall shelves or scratching your back when he was busy, but times like this you cursed it.

“Oh, what big plans do you have?” He asked as you worked the pencil around his eyes carefully. You didn’t respond at first, being careful not to jab him in the eye either on purpose or on accident. You sat up just enough to make sure the job was done well before you sat back up to grab the next bit of makeup. “Does it involve getting naked at any point with your fearsome Captain boyfriend?”

You gave him an unamused look as you grabbed a different pencil, the one you used to draw the skull on his forehead. “I was planning on going back to sleep because my silly Captain boyfriend woke me up to do his makeup and won’t stop trying to feel me up.”

He grinned cheekily at that as one of his hands did grab your ass, giving a sharp pinch to your left cheek. You yelped and reached back to swat at his hand before looking back at him. “Come on!”

“Stop seducing me then!” He whined. “Why do you have to be on top of me every time anyway?”

“Because… of the lighting, Buggy.” You told him as you lied through your teeth. This wasn’t the first time you’ve done his makeup like this. In the past you tried while he sat at his vanity, but found it hard to get the right lighting. Not to mention there was a mirror there and he could see everything you did. He made it a point to give a running commentary about what you were doing wrong and it drove you crazy. You finally gave up and had him lay down on the bed where you could see his face better and have better angles for his makeup. “And the shadows on your face throw me off when you sit down. If I do it this way, I can see your beautiful face more clearly..”

He fell silent as you called his face beautiful, and you noticed his cheeks were a little red. You smiled and kissed him on the forehead before you finished drawing the skull and crossbones. You looked down at him and grinned. So far the makeup wasn’t looking half bad. The last bit was applying the red lipstick. This was actually your favorite part because it was the easiest, and honestly, his lips were so soft to touch that every time you did apply his lipstick, you couldn’t help but kiss him afterwards.

You grabbed his chin gently to keep his head still as you dabbed it over his lips carefully, making sure to apply it thick. He looked up at you as you did, taking notice how focused you were and how you even stuck your tongue out in concentration. It was… it was cute. He liked seeing you like that. He managed not to pout when you let go of his chin, but when he felt your thumbs on his lips, no doubt to smear the excess lipstick around his mouth, he couldn’t help but kiss at the pads of your thumbs.

You smiled and cupped his head in your hands gently as you leaned down to kiss him. Fresh makeup on Buggy was always a glorious sight to see, because you knew in a few hours it would start to fade, smear, and look unkempt. You had the honor of seeing him first each day.

After a moment, you nipped at his bottom lip gently before you pulled back from the kiss. You reached up to wipe your mouth with the back of your hand, looking surprised to see so much red lipstick on it. You must have overdone this time. When you looked back at Buggy, however, you saw the look in his eyes and began to have regrets.

“Buggy…”

He wasted no time pushing you on your back and rolling on top of you, forcing your legs apart as he grinned down at you. He reached up to touch your lips, dragging his thumb over them slowly, and when he pulled his hand back you could see there was still lipstick on you. You rarely wore makeup, not really enjoying it on yourself as much as you enjoyed seeing it on Buggy. He stared at your lips for a moment longer before he pressed a kiss to the corner of your mouth, working his way to your jawline and to your ear, humming in appreciation as he saw the red marks he was leaving.

He pressed a kiss to your earlobe before whispering, “You really think I’m beautiful, or are you just saying that so I fuck you?”

Honestly, it caught you off guard. He was beautiful. Fuck, his eyes, hair, nose, everything about him was beautiful. His personality, at times, drove you crazy, and he knew that, but you also knew he still had insecurity about his looks and being a pirate and, well, everything. He was just insecure. You reached up and put your hands on his cheeks, smushing them forward and making his lips pucker; he was resembling a goofy fish at that moment.

“The most beautiful person I’ve ever known, Buggy.” You assured him as you pulled him down for a kiss, holding on for just a moment before pulling back and pressing your lips to his nose. You could feel him tense up, and you were proud of him for not pulling away. After letting go of his face, your hands removed his bandana and your fingers began combing through his hair. “Fearsome and flashy, Captain Buggy.”

“That so?” He grinned, the moment seeming to pass now. “Tell me more then.”

“I’d love to.” You replied. “If you get off me and let me finish your damn makeup.”

#buggy the clown #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #buggy x you #buggy one piece #buggy opla #buggy the clown x you #one piece headcanons #opla buggy #opla buggy the clown

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a-butterfly1 · 11 months

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==✦NINJAGO AU MASTERPOST✦==

This is an AU I've been working on, I will actually work on it on writting ( on AO3 ) instead of making a comic/manga because I tend to procastinate when it comes to drawing panels ( if you have been keeping up with other pojects of mine you would know this), hopefully I will keep this updated.

==❤︎CHARACTER INFORMATION❤︎==

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon

Age- 1000+ (immortal) Height: 5'8 (1,73m)

Lloyd has lived many years, of course, now he's immortal, he doesn't have much of a choice but to continue living on. He was many things throughout his life: a bratty child, a son, a master, a hero and now he's nothing more than a myth, while still a part of ninjago history many actually question if he ever really existed or not. He ostracized himself from society for a reason, after all,- it's painfull to make relationships when they are so short lived. He is considered a god by many, but he denies that being the case, maybe the embodiment of the balance between good and evil but he wont try to call himself anything more. Lloyd now lives with the spirits of his family with the occasional visits from Morro and Garmadon, his father.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Jay Walker

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 115 Height: 5'10 (1,78m) Status: Nya's husband

He was a man of the spotlight, he shined brithly- TV shows, TheyTube channels, he was knowed worldwide. Not that he minds the retirement, he lived his life; he had two beautiful twins with the love of his life, Nya. He died happy, even if he was the last one to die, 3 years after Nya had passed. His last years were spent with Lloyd. In his many years in the Ninja team, he's come to realise he doesn't exactly have the same type of strengh like the others so he created a different weapon one that creates iron alloy strings, that resemble spider webs. He also practiced racing with his wife in his free time and created all kinds of machines and weapons which ranged from house equipment to ninja tech, like mechs, weapons and transport.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Kai Smith

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 95 Height: 6'2 (1,88m) Status: Skylor's husband and Nya's bio brother

Kai was a little bit of an influencer in his younger years, but as the years went by he settled more into being a family man with his wife Skylor and his little girl. How did he become a spirit? Well it was his idea; well his plan was to become immortal like Lloyd but he was intersected by Morro, so he opted for the second best option: giving his powers to Lloyd, so even if he was dead he would be with Lloyd through his power; what wasn't part of the plan was he actually becoming part of Lloyd as a spirit, not that he is complaining, he got what he wanted in the end; and since he was the one that piched the idea to the ninja, he just involved them all into the mad plan- one that Lloyd was unaware of. He trully is a mad man, no one, and I mean, no ONE, puts themselves between him and his family, the last person who did so, is no longer amoung us, the last thing they saw was Kai becoming a demonic ball of flames.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Nya Smith Walker

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 112 Height: 6'0 (1,83m) Status: Jay's wife and Kai's bio sister

Nya, famous racer, only had to step down from the hobbie/carrer when she got into a small accident, while she wasn't gravelly wounded that was enough for her to be proibited from competitive racing. From that day on she still raced but became more of an idol than a racer per say. She ended up working on engineer projects, solo or with Jay, mostly out of boredom. Now, since she is dead, she has more free time than ever, and uses it to learn and explore every digital corner of the internet, catching a few criminals in the way. Many say she is mystical and her strengh is as crushing as the waves in a storm can be, yet calm and relaxing as the days in the beach, others, like the Ninja themselves just see her as they're beloved sister.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Cole Brookestone

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 87 Height: 6'8 (2,03m) Status: Vania's husband

Cole, King of the Kingdom of Shintaro, Husband of Queen Vania, father of the prince of Shintaro, and our beloved cake lover, sadlly passed away early, well earlier than his siblings at least, the unknowed illness that had taken the life of his mother had decided to claim another. Cole fell gravelly ill, bedridden in his late stages of life. Bedridden in the castle, he invited Lloyd over for most possibly a final goodbye, although he didn't think that Lloyd would stay around the whole time it wasn't completly unexpected, right there he was the first one to execute Kai's plan, and the first to discover the side effects of the plan; from then on he was part of Lloyd and made sure to let the others know of the end result.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Zane Julien

Age- 1000+ (nindroid) Height: 7'0 (2,13m) Status: P.I.X.A.L's husband

Caretaker of the rest of the Ninja team and their children, especially since those little kids sure liked uncle Lloyd a whole lot and would visit constently. He stayed with Lloyd in the monastery alongside P.I.X.A.L and Morro (who visits soo much he pretty much lives there, has a room and everything). Him and Lloyd share house chores, and Zane is in charge of looking at news around ninjago, to ensure it's safety, as well as helping in some researches since Lloyd is only one person and can only intake soo much information at a time. He is the only one that hasn't partaken in Kai's plan, since there is literally no reason to, Zane obviously doesn't die of old age, one may claim that he could possible get rusty and need repairs at some point but Lloyd and P.I.X.A.L are always around is any issue is to come.

==✿ADDITIONAL INFORMATION✿==

The Ninja team, many years after most of the team's death, has move the location of the monestary far away from the main ninjago island, and instead now lives in a far away island that Lloyd created west of Ninjago city, around the middle of Ninjago and the dark island (thats has been sealed away by Lloyd). The reason for that change is because of something rather strange, it's not just to ensure Lloyd's ever soo wished isolation but also because a merchant had attented to buy the place, with the intention of turning the monestary into a tourist attraction. Lloyd got a bit peeved and decided to pick up the mountain where the monestary was on top of and relocated it;

The only reason the Jay was living with Lloyd in his last moments, was because he genuenly belived he would miss the mark to execute Kai's plan, because he belives himself to be quite clumsy and distracted; either way he didn't miss it and now is with the rest of the team (which is a way to say that he can now torment the Ninja forever);

Lloyd has a cute nickname for all the Ninja's kids, and spoiled them to no end (he is the fun uncle who takes everyone to Disneyland), he calls Kai's daugther "munchkadee", Jay and Nya's twins has "Starlight" and "Moonlight" for the girl and boy respectively, and Cole's son is "Duckling";

the age diference of the Ninja are, from youngest to oldest: Lloyd - Nya - Jay - Kai - Cole - Zane ( to say, with maybe the idea of the 1 season, Lloyd (8->15) - Nya (15) - Jay (16) - Kai (17) - Cole (18) - Zane (30-40? he is old);

(conceivable for change) As of right now, Lloyd's power is one that could rival gods, the source of said power is something OP is still considering but the possible main reason might be related to "source dragons", has to why the other Ninja's had powers even after having kids is related to Lloyd giving them an artifact that has their specific element embodied into them (the artifacts are not phisical and can only be visualised when the Ninja have already passed, the artifact will most likely have the form of a card); (the reason of this possible change is the development of the plot of "Dragons Rising").

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mywifealhaitham · 1 year

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various genshin valentine's headcanons ♡

⚠: mentions of a shotgun in mikas, lazy writing

a/n: I almost threw up and passed out in the process of writing this :3

albedo - ♡ • he draws you! he isn't experienced in gift giving or dates so he just goes with something he's familiar with • Klee stops by to give you two a drawing of all three of you holding hands and he hangs it up by his workplace smiling like the proud brother he is

alhaitham - ♡ • he gets you books he likes and commented on himself (DORK! NERD! LOSER! affectionate) every other page is a little note from him consisting of the meaning of this is actually... to this idiot reminds me of Kaveh, don't you agree? •he also takes you to a nice restaurant in sumeru and pays • like halfway through the date he forgot flowers and called up kaveh to buy them! he does not! and alhaitham makes him pay!

amber - ♡ • she got you your very own plushie! it matches with baron bunny and doesn't explode! • she takes you on a nice picnic where you two match outfits and feed eachother cake • she immediately gets home and writes to collei about everything while kicking her feet and twirling her hair

arataki Itto - ♡ • oh my god he gets you the largest bouquet of flowers ever like four members of the Arataki gang have to hold then Shinobu is deadpanning in the corner • with granny onis advice he also takes you on a picnic! unlike Amber's peaceful one yours is not! he makes the Arataki gang play instruments while Shinobu is dressed in a suit and is severing you two food

barbara - ♡ • she gets you two matching outfits! hers is baby blue and yours is light orange so it compliments eachother • she definitely sings you a love song behind the cathedral and you two giggle and dance and hold hands man I love barbara

beidou - ♡ • she gets you.... drunk! yep she's hosting a valentine's day party on the crux with plenty of drinks • after the wild party when you two are stumbling back to her room theyres some nice flowers laid out on the bed • she tries to woo you but passes out on you... I mean she tried!

bennett - ♡ • he got you some flowers but they withered away then he made you some sweets and accidentally mixed the salt and sugar! • he's very bummed for how everything turned out, he wanted this day too be accident free! • it's ok to make up for it you two walk around the town holding hands while you pray that the boxes that some people are carrying aren't gonna crush you and Bennett

candace - ♡ • she gets you a nice jeweled necklace! she carefully puts it on you and kisses your cheek • since the desert isn't the ideal place she keeps you inside we're you too spend quality time together • right before you go to bed she kisses you all over telling you how much she loves you

chongyun - ♡ • writing for characters I dont really know anything about is stressful sweats profusely • he probably gets you the standard flowers however for the date he takes you ghost hunting • by the end of day he's disappointed that he can't find any ghosts so you say that maybe they didn't want to ruin your date and now he's planning to go ghost hunting on a different day what have you done!

collei - ♡ • she gets you one of those valentine's cards you'd get for every kid in your elementary school class • it took her like 20 tries to perfect the card and when she did she threw it at you and ran • when she came home cyno and tighnari were sitting at a table with all the failed attempts of cards on said table. scariest thing collei has ever experienced

cyno - ♡ • he gets you a joke book to use on him. yes he fully expects you to pull out the book and start saying jokes like he does • he does get you flowers and brings you to a nice restaurant using his mass amounts of maha-mora (winks I'm so funny right winks again plz) • he told so many jokes that night you're just about done with his dorky mouth

diluc - ♡ • he gets you some nice jewelry this man is rich rich • he of course makes a candlelit dinner and sets up a table in the dawn winery fields • the maids fan over you both and start spreading rumors that you're gonna get married

diona (platonic) - ♡ • makes you your favorite non alcoholic drink. she'll MAYBE make you an alcoholic one but she'll spit in it • drags you to wind rise and forces you to make her a picnic. she'll violently rip flowers out of the ground and give them to you :3

eula - ♡ • she gets you the classic flowers and like necklace combo. the necklace is blue to remind you of her • she also took you to a restaurant and someone ruined your date by crashing into your table. she swore vengeance on the entire holiday of valentine's day

faruzan - ♡ • tbh I dont know shit about her • she makes you get her gifts and flowers. she also makes you pay for everything because she is a poor unfortunate lady boohoo • she wears one of those hot dresses so it's worth it

fischl - ♡ • forces diluc to decorate the patio of the dawn winery in purple fairy lights and asks his maids to cook something for you two • dilucs like erm ok I guess he's so lost and taken aback. also she got Oz to make hearts in the sky for you :3 • fischl gets you matching bracelets she made herself please wear it everyday or she will sob

ganyu - ♡ • she gets you flowers right as she sees you because she will accidentally eat them • gets Ningguang to let her use a nice part of the jade chamber for a nice date • at the end of the day you make her nap because SHE NEEDS IT! so hardworking! so smart! what a girl!

gorou - ♡ • he is so nervous the entire day... he tries to swoon you but embarrasses himself badly • he gets you a sentimental gift like a painting of your first date area or something! • you made him dog treats as a joke. he devoured them. what a day!

hu tao - ♡ • you woke up and she SMOTHERED you in kisses and hugs, if you didn't know any better you'd think she wanted you to be her next client • she planned the entire day and it's very sweet and cute. she takes you shopping then walks around liyue hand in hand with you. she kisses your hand at the end of the day saying that she'll stick with you through life and death

jean - ♡ • another hardworker that takes off the day for you! she prepares a nice candlelit dinner like half the cast 😊 • she gets you a necklace and while she puts it around you she swears to be your knight forever then kisses your neck

kaedehara kazuha - ♡ • in the morning he wakes you up with the sweetest of kisses then reads you some poems • beidou insists on having him bring you along to the crux annual valentine's day party but he says he just wants to spend time with you • he has you lay on his lap while the sun sets while he strokes his hair and declares his love for you (kazuha HIT MY LINE)

kaeya - ♡ • gets you an expensive wine he bought off of diluc, it's in your favorite flavor and everything • he takes you to starsnatch cliff and tells you stories he's heard about the stars, most of them are from the long forgotten parts of his childhood • kaeya actually didn't buy the wine bottle he got venti to steal it so your lucky if diluc doesn't doesn't marching towards you looking angry!

kamisato ayaka - ♡ • she gets you a matching fan! she thinks it both brings out your beauty and cools you off during hotter days • she then takes you shopping around inazuma, everything is on her! • when your both almost ready for bed she'll insists on doing a small waltz with you in your bedroom

kamisato ayato - ♡ • he takes the whole day off surprisingly • normally he doesn't spend alot of time with you because he's very busy but today all his attention is on you • overall you two just chat about everything ranging from politics to what crime did itto commit this week over some nice thoma cooked food

keqing - ♡ • another hardworking women we love to see it • keqing is very classy and also rents out a small spot on the jade chamber for you both • she gets you a bracelet and a Rex lapis Keychain. she does not look you in the eye when your excited about it

klee (platonic)- ♡ • when she was in confinement jean made her make valentine's for all her friends in mondstat! she put her heart into all of them, yours especially • she hands you the card in which she drew you two playing with bombs along with a heart shaped lollipop • she also did the cute little leg hug thing and said happy valentine's day best sibling ever (I LOVE LITTLE KIDS THEYRE SO ADORABLE!!!)

kujou sara - ♡ • she gets you some hand picked flowers! • since crime never stops she unfortunately has to leave for the day, but she sends you off with a kiss • when she gets home you run her a nice bath and massage her tense shoulders

kuki shinobu - ♡ • the worst idea of her entire life was telling itto about her date • he insisted in helping her by adding a special arataki touch to the day • by arataki touch he means the arataki gang scaring off everyone at the restaurant and playing horrible music • she apologized so much at home but you just kissed her and said the best part of the day was her !! (itto thought he did so good and starting advertising a entertainment service....)

layla - ♡ • when you went to sleep the night before she was still working so you didn't know what she was doing while you slept • she promised herself not to work and take a break for once! she just wanted to snuggle you • before she went to bed she put some fresh flowers in a vase next to your bed with a note

lisa - ♡ • she set up a little table in the library with some fresh flowers and a basket of fruit and sweets • her gift to you was some of her favorite books which she reads to you! • she's a bit lazy so she rather do some of her favorite activities than deal with the hussle and bussle of mondstat couples

mona - ♡ • she takes you stargazing for sure! she tells you about every star you point out • seeing you so interested in the stars so much she gets you a telescope! • as you look at planets in the sky and gasp them, she only smiles softly at you knowing the money she spent was worth it

nahida (platonic) - ♡ • she's so hyped because one of her first real valentine's day! with her bestfriend! • she hand picks some flowers for you then knocks at your door • it's early in the morning but when this sweet child is at your door with some flowers and the brightest smile ever you can't really complain

nilou - ♡ • she dedicates a whole dance to you! it's a lengthy dance and she's elegant with the whole process • afterward she tells you how much you mean to her then extends her hand because her gift to you is the art of dance! • she holds you tight as you two dance the night away

ningguang - ♡ • gets you the most elegant clothes pieces ever, like your even afraid of wearing them incase a stitch snaps • surprisingly she's humble with her date spot, preferring a nice field instead of a five star restaurant • she picks a beautiful glaze lily for you and puts it behind your ear

noelle - ♡ • she makes you a whole meal • at first the meal was only for you but you insisted that she take a break and eat with you. she took the offer and got to know you better

qiqi (platonic)- ♡ • she probably forgot all about valentine's day so baizhu had to remind her • she probably just made you a quick card and picked some silk flowers for you • she also took you to her favorite napping spot for a nice nap !! you deserve it and don't worry qiqi will be your litte guardian

raiden shogun - ♡ • miss ei has experienced alot of valentine's days but actually never had a date for herself • miko would sometimes get her some flowers as a thanks for being my friend but other than that her knowledge is limited • so she gets you a nice bouquet and takes you on a walk around inazuma • she shares stories of the land while you two walk into dusk

razor - ♡ • another person who probably doesn't know what valentine's day is • bennett and fischl told him all about it and he was intrigued • he picks you some fruit and some lamp grass • he spends the whole day with you!

rosaria - ♡ • she probably just takes you to angels share and let's you get whatever you want, it's on her • on the walk she'll put a stray flower that fell out of someone's bouquet into your hair while giving you a kiss on the cheek, a silent vow to protect you forever

sangonomiya kokomi - ♡ • she sets up a seaside table with some delicious looking food she made herself • headcanon but autistic Kokomi and her special intrests are war strategies and sealife • she'll take you on a walk and excitedly point at all the small creatures, spitting facts about them left and right

sayu (platonic)- ♡ • she doesn't really care for lovely dovey stuff and probably gets annoyed at all the pinks and reds around inazuma • however she does get you a small plush and some flowers she picked, afterwards though she immediately goes to sleep

shenhe - ♡ • ever since you became her s/o cloud retainer has been going on and on about couple stuff • a topic that came up was valentine's day, so cloud retainer suggested doing some of her favorite activities together • however most of shenhes favorite activities are either training or meditation so if your fine with that then good for you!

shikanoin heizou - ♡ • when you wake up he's missing and the only thing left behind is a note and a map with some things circled • you followed the map and soon found out every circled point had some gift for you awaiting patiently • eventually when you reach the end heizou is waiting for you with a nice dinner

sucrose - ♡ • she makes you some sort of artifical flower with albedos help! • she also makes you help her on her lab and when you pour a certain chemical in it makes a heart • that's the boldest you'll ever see her

tartaglia - ♡ • childe always used to buy a big stuff animal and flowers for his siblings for valentine's day, but now he has you to spoil! • you wake up and turn to silence your alarm clock and there's like a huge vase full of flowers • you find alot of gifts scattered around the house, all signed with a love, ajax ♡

thoma - ♡ • he's so excited!! he's such a dork for cheesy days like valentine's day! • he's stuck between just being himself or being romantic, in the end he chooses being himself • being himself means a nice walk stopping to feed all the stray animals and a nice warm home-cooked dinner later in the day

tighnari - ♡ • deep in my bones I feel like he just doesn't care about valentine's day at all • he'll pick you some special flowers he's been growing himself for months just for today but like he doesn't careee • he'll be nicer to you when he gives you your gift of a jar of herbs that can help cure alot of things... but he says he doesn't caree... suree....

venti (platonic) - ♡ • you never really cared for valentine's day nor did your mischievous little friend so you both decided to cause chaos • chaos as in stealing some wine from diluc and fake argue out loud to ruin couples dates • at the end of the day he takes you to windrise were he makes a toast to your long lasting friendship

wanderer - ♡ • valentine's day?? love?? affection?? EWWW thumbs DOWN!! • ^ he proceeded to say but you don't fail to notice that he's a bit more affectionate today hmm.... • he doesn't get you alot because he has to keep up his eww valentine's day persona however if you pass something you like he might buy it.... just maybe...

xiangling - ♡ • she makes you food duhh! she knows exactly what you likes so she incorporates your favorite flavors into new recipes • she makes guoba wear a little suit while severing you two the meals she made • she spoon feeds you and gets super excited when you like her cooking!!

xiao - ♡ • another eww valentine's day guy but alot mode toned down.. • he just... doesn't care at all. but for you he'll try • he makes you a plate of almond tofu along with a small bunch of flowers, he's so embarrassed he kinda just teleports away

xingqiu - ♡ • he plans an adventure for the both of you! he'll lead you through monsters and almost dangerous path, but do not fret he is here to protect his leige from all harm! • the real date area is a old swinging bench he found awhile back! it's not the most scenic but it's the thought that counts • he brings a book you both enjoy so he can read for you (aww how cute now come home c6 Xingqiu.)

xinyan - ♡ • probably gets xiangling to make you guys your favorite food! you two eat and happily chat away • afterwards she takes you to the shore were she plays a softer love song on her guitar

yae miko - ♡ • she's extra flirty today. normally she's sly and makes you flustered but today she gets real bold • she takes you to a nice restaurant and gives you your gift, which is a novel she likes • before you two part ways she gives you a big kiss

yanfei - ♡ • because I'm tired she probably just takes you on a nice outing, occasionally telling you about intresting court cases she had recently • madame ping saw you two holding hands and immediately went elderly grandma mode and asked thousands of questions

yaoyao (platonic) - ♡ • like faruzan I don't know much about her • probably made little valentine's day cards for her favorite people in liyue with includes you! • she also got you a hearted shaped lollipop

yelan - ♡ • like Sara she also is busy because sadly crime doesn't stop for valentine's day • however she does send flowers and chocolates to your workplace along with a note saying she'll meet her later

yoimiya - ♡ • fireworks? fireworks!!! • she makes a ton of heart-shaped fireworks for you and all the other couples but mostly you • she excitedly points up at the sky when they finally go off, her eyes scanning your face to look for satisfaction

yun jin - ♡ • I also don't know much about her • she probably preforms an opera about love to the people of liyue and during the parts were she sings about couples kissing and giving gifts she always winks at you in the crowd

zhongli - ♡ • this old soul probably does the classic candlelit dinner and some sort of jewelry gift • he's been alive for so long so this valentine's day means alot for him • after all, he's chosen you hundreds of times

dainsleif - ♡ • he also doesn't care for valentine's day alot, after all he's been alone for so long • on the actual day he takes you to an open field where the breeze is just right and the sky is clear • here he points out constellations he recognizes and tells you stories about them that should be long forgotten to time

kaveh - ♡ • one word: dramatic • probably steals alhaithams credit card and buys you the most beautiful flowers and the most elegant clothing ! • he takes you to an expensive restaurant were as you two eat he tells you all the latest gossip along with how much he loves you

mika - ♡ • he gives you a free assassination ticket with the biggest grin on his face • you're like what and he pulls out a shotgun still smiling • plz point to someone you hate and run • fandom mika is so funny never change him

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asimplearchivist · 5 months

Text

‘ 𝓪 𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 . ’

𝐂𝐇. 𝐈𝐈𝐈 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

[𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓽'𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽] [ 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 ] AO3 | SPOTIFY | PINTEREST summary ☾ ⤏ jake struggled to decide whether you were a blessing or a curse to the system—his personal feelings about you didn’t matter. they never had. ⤏ until they suddenly did, that is. ⤏ now he had to fix the mess he caused before he ruined everything for the two he’s trying to protect most as well as you. pairing(s) ☽ steven grant/reader | marc spector/reader | jake lockley/reader word count ☾ 15.6k a/n ☽ ⤏ this chapter was certainly a challenge to write! I have such a particular interpretation of jake in my head influenced by such lovely headcanons and fanfics in the mk community that I had a bit of stage-fright trying to portray him with justice to my vision of him. having very little on-screen material from which to go off of certainly doesn’t help—steven and marc’s voices are so clear to me, but jake’s is a little more subtle and stepping out to develop it on my own was a little nerve-wracking because I wanted so badly to do him justice! ⤏ I also apologize that this chapter came late—I had a busy weekend on top of homework and I was wrestling with jake’s characterization. but here he is, now! let me know if y’all like how I wrote him! :) ☽ MASTERPOST ☾ ☾ PREVIOUS CHAPTER ⤎ ☥ ⤏ NEXT CHAPTER [TBA] ☽

The first time Steven had met you, it had been strictly by happenstance.

The first time Marc had met you, officially, it had been an accident.

The first time Jake met you, it was an inevitability.

Steven and Marc were wrapped around each of your pinky fingers. Completely enamored with you. Nearly worshiped the ground that you walked on. You had lodged yourself inextricably into their gravitational pull, orbiting them as though you’d always been fixed to their collective side—present almost as often as Jake was.

Jake found it inconvenient at best. Dangerous at worst.

Because despite his near slip-up, fumbling just a bit at the suddenness of stepping in that fateful night Marc had decided to swoop in and rescue you (not that you’d really needed rescuing—you were owed credit for holding your own better than most women with whom they’d ever interacted in such scenarios), the two had not been particularly watchful for him.

Sure, they discussed it more—never around you, of course, worried that you would worry about their unease, being unable to properly identify the source of their combined blackouts. The outlier. But they were doing little else than that, and Jake had almost been concerned about them trying to draw him out by force. Biding their time, maybe. But that was fine—Jake was patient. He waited them out every other time he slipped to the front while they were unaware, save during emergencies, and this would be no different—eventually they’d drop their guard, start to doubt their suspicions, and put the idea to the back of their mind where he dwelt and he could comfortably resume his work.

…That was, provided you were removed from the equation altogether.

London loomed in the height of winter, several months later. They had gotten over themselves long enough to enter full and individual romantic relationships with you, and Jake had to admit that he had never felt either of them as happy as they were around you. Marc had loved Layla dearly, still did, and Jake knew she had been integral to keeping him steady and for some of his healing—but you were different. You were an unknown variable, and yet Marc was putting in his every effort to make it work, not looking to repeat his past mistakes in order to ensure your mutual and assured trust: you knowing the brutal nature of Marc’s past and Marc entrusting you with the intimate knowledge of it.

It had taken time, of course (an excruciatingly long period of it, in fact), but you hadn’t flinched once even when he’d told you of the blood staining his hands, both innocent and villainous, during his time as a soldier and mercenary. You had stayed, hadn’t run, hadn’t treated him like the killer he’d always convinced himself that he was. Marc had been relieved.

Jake had only grown frustrated. The situation was rapidly getting out of hand.

Because Steven’s infatuation with you was one thing. He’d had a few crushes here and there, had been laboring in the dating scene for weeks by the time Marc had inadvertently revealed himself to his alter, and Jake had even tried to help the pobrecito* catch a break once. (Jake couldn’t lie—he’d almost hoped that he could’ve caught a break, too, since Marc had left Layla high and dry and Jake had been pent up with all the mounting stress Marc had only been internalizing instead of dealing with in a somewhat healthy manner—but Steven had deserved to be doted on by a pretty woman at least once in his oblivious, lonely life, and Dylan the tour guide was a very pretty woman.) Steven was a romantic at heart, had sought a meaningful relationship more than anything for the longest, so it was to be expected that he’d eventually fall in with some unwitting little thing ignorant to the myriad problems riddling the inner depths of his psyche—that, Jake could have dealt with, hypothetically, if things had escalated to that point. A quick misunderstanding carefully orchestrated leading to a break-up would have been a simple solution, and while it would have hurt Steven greatly for a while, it would have been ultimately necessary for both the long-term safety of the system and for the security of Jake’s continued, secretive role as Khonshu’s fantoche*.

But Marc getting involved threw an entirely new wrench into the gears of Jake’s plans. Because Marc Spector operated in black or white. All or nothing. Always had and always would. Either he didn’t trust you as far as he could throw you or he’d carry you through the depths of hell barefooted on red-hot coals and have the nerve to apologize to you for stumbling on his bleeding blisters.

Marc’s trust came two-fold, also, now that he was in full cohesion with Steven—he still didn’t readily trust anyone, but if Steven did? He was sold soon after just on the principle of the matter. Steven’s judgment of character was, admittedly, as keen as any telepath’s, despite his naïveté and optimism—and Marc trusted Steven more than he trusted anyone else in the world. Even Layla. Even you.

Even Jake, though it had been entirely subconscious up until very recently.

Because he’d fought Jake the last time he’d forced himself to the front to save his life (and yours, by extension, loathe as Jake was to admit it), whereas before Jake had always managed to blindside him. It was a close call—one that Jake could not afford to make again.

And it would be so much fucking easier if you weren’t around so damn often.

Any bit of spare time the boys had that happened to coincide with yours, they were trying to see you: from snack breaks between your classes or on your shared lunch breaks to movie nights featuring home cooked meals and set tables and lit candles because you were just as much of a romantic as Steven was (God help them). You dried one bloom from every bouquet of flowers they ever brought you, keeping them all in a pitcher you used as a centerpiece more than once. You had even started packing them lunches, for Christ’s sake, with plentiful options that either Steven or Marc would enjoy depending on who ended up fronting. Even when either (or both) of you were too tired to go out on the town for a date (which happened so often Jake wondered how Marc hadn’t depleted his bank account already), the long evenings you weren’t obligated to work or study were spent cuddled up on the couch in your apartment or theirs, oblivious to the outside world as you indulged in each other’s company.

The winter brought worsening weather with it, which meant that you were spending more time at home with them. You’d even started spending the night, which was treading on Jake’s very last nerve—his one assured bastion of being able to take the body surreptitiously without Marc or Steven realizing it was put into jeopardy because while you were a heavy sleeper (almost like a fucking corpse, really—he’d had to check to make sure you were even breathing, once), you hadn’t yet gotten used to sharing a bed with someone, which resulted in you rousing slightly any time the body so much as shifted. Marc still had night terrors occasionally, and you’d never fail to comfort him back to sleep, even at the cost of your own rest.

Jake should be thankful, really, if he thought about it for too long. Marc had managed to keep sober long before he met you, but his cravings had dissipated almost entirely since you’d gently steered him towards sodas instead of beer—meaning no more black-out drunk episodes from which Jake had to nurse the body back from the brink. The body rested better with you there to anchor their unsteady mind at the times it decided to bring back the bad memories. You were feeding them better than they’d eaten since living with Layla, hearty and savory dishes that had packed a few pounds onto their lean frame, helping to negate Marc and Steven’s combined forgetfulness towards even the most basic practices of self-care. You had even started buying them groceries in thanks for the dinners they bought you, keeping their fridge and cabinets full and their personal products stocked up throughout the apartment.

You were doing the brunt of his job for him—making sure the body was taken care of and that neither of them spiraled nor regressed. He should be happy that he didn’t have to pull so much weight anymore, that he got to kick back and relax.

So why did it all piss him off so damn much?

You were pretty, he supposed. Not the most stunning bird he’d ever seen, but you were a decent pull on Steven’s part. You got along with the little nerd, and you got along with Marc—which was a feat in and of itself. You had an incredibly dry sense of humor on top of a quick tongue that drew inadvertent chuckles from even the surliest of Marc’s moods. You kept up with Steven’s intellect effortlessly, and the pair of you could talk hours upon hours on the most mundane of topics—oftentimes earning a scolding from Marc whenever the conversation would carry on past midnight (which would only make you both giggle and apologize sheepishly and rarely actually curbed your shared enthusiasm). You mediated their occasional disagreements with utmost diplomacy, always playing devil’s advocate even on their most childish of squabbles, never played favorites even when they’d playfully compete for your affections—you stood resolute in your stance of loving them equally in their own unique relationships with you.

You made them completely, perfectly, incandescently happy. That should have been enough.

It wasn’t.

Because Jake was getting…distracted.

He’d always been strictly about business—the sole reason he existed. He protected the body, no matter the cost. Now he had Khonshu to answer to, and that was difficult enough, trying to balance enough time at night to do the old bird’s bidding while Marc and Steven slept—blissfully unaware thanks to Jake’s skill in repressing them both to the work he’d been doing the last several months trying to cull out the vestiges of Harrow’s cult.

Because of course that bastard hadn’t taken all his people with him to Cairo to hunt for Ammit’s tomb. Of course he’d left pockets of his followers scattered all over London—assured by his own success, he’d planted them there in order to divide and conquer the city once he’d freed Ammit. And of course they had to be skilled enough at hiding to require him to painstakingly construct an elaborate underground network of people keeping their ears to the ground for any signs. That’s what was taking so long to eradicate them all, and it irritated Khonshu to no end, having to sit and wait when he constantly hounded Jake to ‘execute his justice’. Jake was patient. The god of the moon was most certainly not.

Now add the stress of keeping you unaware of his goings-on? With your infuriatingly saccharine smile and fawn-like fluttering lashes and easy affection that haunted the back of his mind when he did find precious little time to front? He could hardly concentrate on prowling the streets anymore when your detergent of choice had wormed its way into the clothes he kept packed away in the back of Marc’s closet, well away from view (because you even did their laundry for them sometimes when Steven ended up working late on inventory—like a little housewife or something), the scent trapped under Khonshu’s armor nearly smothering him.

Jake knew, deep down though he’d done his best to ignore it, that his ruse would come to a head eventually—Marc was keen on his interiority now that he was no longer in denial of his issues; and Steven was, too, since Marc had let him in on all of it. Jake just didn’t anticipate having to deal with you and your unnervingly observant perception on top of it.

Ultimately it was of little surprise that the scouts for the rest of Harrow’s carroñeros* had put a flag on you, since Jake’s alters spent so much time with you in plain public view. At the very least, it had allowed for that one slippery bastard to finally be put away after somehow surviving Jake’s wrath with him ever having realized it, even if it had put you in danger. The hijo de puta* had played a calculated risk to come after you, trying to cover it up as a robbery rather than a hit to get back at the spectre picking them all off one by one—one that hadn’t paid off in the slightest. He was lucky that Jake hadn’t had the time nor privacy to do exactly what he’d wanted to—a fractured temple via blunt force trauma, hopefully with an added concussion, would have to suffice for the time being. He’d better pray that he wasn’t released anytime soon.

Especially since he’d had the audacity and the gall (and the balls) to target you. Jake wasn’t cruel enough to wish you any harm, don’t get him wrong. You hadn’t done anything wrong, necessarily, just…frustrated him to no end. They were lucky that you’d had the foresight to text them, or else that would’ve been the last that Marc or Steven would’ve ever seen of you.

Jake knew that would only have resulted in disaster.

You had crossed over the threshold of being a danger to the system to being a necessity for their safety and sanity—because if something happened to you now, Jake doubted sincerely that he would ever be able to pick up the pieces of Marc or Steven’s hearts and minds. And so Jake was forced to resolve himself to add one more individual to his list. For the betterment of the system.

Joder, pues claro.*

…It wasn’t as if he didn’t like you. He had to admit that much to himself, at least. You were pleasant enough to be around. You did tell good jokes, well thought out ones that made Jake have to think about them a little while before he got them. He appreciated how rational you were about things, rarely letting your emotions impact otherwise simple miscommunications or misunderstandings over which most women would have a conniption, choosing to talk out your problems while also being honest about how you felt rather than giving them the silent treatment or some shit—it was a necessary balance to Marc’s precarious internalizations of his own complicated feelings and his ever-present struggles to express them in a concise and healthy manner. Jake didn’t mind listening in on your tangents all that much, even if the topics didn’t interest him in the slightest—your passion and thought process kept him hooked enough, as did the dimples bordering your smile and the creases crinkling the corners of your glittering eyes. You were a damn good cook, to boot—Jake had snuck your leftovers on those late nights more often than he’d ever readily admit out loud. Neither still were you hard on the eyes.

So…yeah. If Jake found himself co-fronting, lingering in the back of the headspace well away from Marc and Steven’s reach, as Marc watched you gape at the street performer juggling flaming swords while balancing on a unicycle…that was between him and the soft smile tugging at the corners of their host’s mouth that Jake would likely have reflected despite himself.

The early evening had plunged the city into a nose-numbing one—but you’d been itching to revel in the cold, misty air and to venture out into London’s brimming nightlife with the bolstering safety you’d confessed to feeling while in their presence. The entire plaza was thrumming with music and noise and laughter, light and fire mixing to highlight the angles, curves, and planes of your disbelieving face. You were bundled up to the nines to fight the cold, still unaccustomed to the weather in contrast to the south US’ comparatively mild winters, but you refused to tuck one hand into your pocket in favor of clasping Marc’s firmly. Seated on a bench wedged so closely together that even Jake could feel the tremors in your limbs, you remained glued to his side as though to sap the warmth from the body—evidently, it wasn’t working, because you let out a shuddering breath as your teeth chattered when the performer paused to take a break. Another stepped up to take his place, and the loosely gathered crowd clapped to welcome him.

“You’re going to freeze if you don’t let me take you home,” Marc rumbled into your ear, covered by the toboggan he’d insisted you wear to spare yourself from frostbite.

“Just a little longer, honey?” you pleaded, turning your head to gaze up at him with those infuriatingly fawn-like eyes. “It’s supposed to ice over tonight and I just know I’m going to get cabin fever tomorrow.”

Marc huffed out a wry chuckle, unthreading your fingers to coil his arm around your shoulders and to tug you closer, keeping his mouth tucked close to your ear. “You’re a homebody, baby. I don’t think you’ll have any more trouble staying inside cuddled up with us for the weekend than you normally do.”

You pouted at him playfully, jutting out your bottom lip, and Marc’s gaze was fixed on it until you smoothed your expression. “All right,” you bemoaned, tilting your head away in faux dejection, “I suppose I’ll allow you to coop me up for the next couple of days…” You fluttered your lashes at him. “...as long as you promise to keep me warm, that is. Won’t you, honey?”

“As if you even had to ask.” Marc dipped his head to skim his brow against yours, peering directly into your eyes. “But that’ll require thawing you out first. It’s not getting any warmer.”

“I can think of a few ways to solve that,” you murmured, half-lidded, and slanted your mouth over his—the breath’s breadth between your lips and his was quickly stolen by Marc with a low, knowing chuckle.

Jake rolled his eyes. Metaphorically, of course. He’d even facepalm if he could. You two were hopeless—and he’d thought Steven had it bad.

Can it, Casanova, remarked the Brit as though summoned by Jake’s internal musing, she’s still shakin’.

“I know, I know,” Marc mumbled, pulling away and shaking his head at your amused expression. It had taken a while for both of them to get comfortable enough to vocalize their seemingly one-sided conversations around you, but you treated it as normally as if you could hear the third party, too. Marc patted your hip and stood, grumbling under his breath at the stiffness of his muscles, courtesy of Jake’s last bloody brawl a few nights prior—unbeknownst to either of his alters, of course. “Come on, I bought hot chocolate. We’ll start with that, and then a hot shower.”

You gasped in delight, lurching up to your feet and latching onto his hand once more. “Why didn’t you say that earlier?” you demanded, tugging eagerly at his arm toward the direction of the bus stop. “You could’ve gotten me home hours ago!”

“I wasn’t going to stop you from enjoying all this,” Marc returned, allowing you to guide him in the wrong direction only to see the excited sway of your hips. His eyes cut over the plaza on reflex, but locked onto a couple of guys lingering near the fountain that started to move in the same direction at the same time. His brow furrowed. “Let’s take a shortcut—don’t want to miss the bus.”

He folded your hand over the crook of his arm instead, winding his way through the crowd in an attempt to lose his tail. Jake could feel Marc’s mind crowding with alarm—who they could be, what they would be doing, which group he had once pissed off that now had decided to try to ruin his night—and he edged just a touch closer to the front to peer through Marc’s periphery.

Ah, yes. The bastard with the scar that had come after you had a handful of lackeys, and these cabrónes* were two of them. Twins, big and ginger and mean as hell. Marc was none the wiser to the reason why they were after the body, however—no recognition passed through his racing thoughts—and Jake inwardly cursed.

Steven noticed Marc’s growing apprehension, likewise. What’s wrong, Marc?

“Nothing,” he muttered, causing you to glance up at him questioningly.

“Everything okay?” you asked quietly, glancing around the thinning people as Marc herded you towards the end of the plaza where it was quiet and dark. He ushered you into a narrow alleyway that broke out onto the main street, and while your brow was furrowed, you followed him without resistance. “We haven’t gone this way before.”

“We’re being followed,” he muttered to you, glancing over his shoulder towards the retreating lights. “Remember what I’ve told you?”

Your expression morphed from shock to grave in an instant. It was a discussion Marc had reiterated multiple times—being in a relationship with a wanted man always entailed a certain amount of danger, and Marc had hammered emergency protocol into your head in the event that something like this ever happened. He had hoped that it wouldn’t, for your sake, and the fact that you were schooling any signs of fear in all but your eyes only reinforced the reason why Jake hadn’t wanted you involved at all in the first place.

Jake pressed in closer. Marc’s ears were straining in lieu of ample light, eyes trained on the end of the alleyway—which became shadowed as another pair of silhouettes hemmed the both of you in.

Marc, Steven breathed, tone tight with worry, what now?

“Fuck,” Marc hissed, jerking you against his chest. He whipped around to dart back out from whence you’d come, but the twins had caught up. Heart pounding, he cupped a hand around your head and whispered urgently, “I’m going to take these guys down first so you can run back to the plaza where it’s lit and there’s other people. Call the cops and stick with a group and do not go anywhere by yourself, all right? Not until I come get you.”

Your hands were vices around the collar of his jacket, eyes shining in the dim. Your voice quivered. “Marc, I am not leaving you here alone.”

His fingers tightened around your shoulders. Their footsteps were picking up in speed from both directions, echoing off the dampened brick. “We talked about this—you promised you’d listen to me,” he growled. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Us. We’ve faced worse odds.”

“What if—” you started, but didn’t have enough time to finish.

Marc shoved you behind him as the first giant reached out with mitts for hands towards you. Marc latched onto the bulky limb, twisting his wrist and pinning him onto the concrete in seconds. He pressed and jerked and the unfortunate soul’s arm popped out of place—a wet, skin-crawling pop that resonated far more loudly off the narrow walls than it should have. The man cried out in pain.

“Marc!” you gasped.

Jake leaned in as Marc took a blow to the side of the head—the other twin’s paw clapped against his ear and sent him careening into the wall, discombobulated as his hearing rang like a siren. His shaken equilibrium buckled his knees, but he pushed himself upright to land a series of resounding punches along the brute’s side and back, targeting the sensitive places sure to bruise at the very least. The ribs gave under the combination of Marc’s strength and expertise, and like a tree the second twin was felled with a well-timed hook to the chin.

“Go!” Marc snapped over the ringing in his ears, hooking a hand around your waist and shoving you in the direction of the exit between the two groaning gingers. “Get out of here!”

You turned back to look at him, utterly terrified. “But—!”

“Damn it, baby, please just—”

The latter pair of cultists didn’t give him as ample a warning as the former—and they were smart enough to pull the guns from their holsters rather than rely on their hands. The shot flashed like lightning, muffled by its silencer.

Marc staggered back, the burning in his side stealing the breath from his lungs. The tinnitus increased twofold, to the point that your startled shout was drowned out entirely. The pounding of their pulse roared in their ears, and Jake thought he heard Steven hollering over the din trapped in their head.

Marc’s control slipped in his shock and pain. Steven grappled for it in terror wholly driven to protect you. Jake seized the opportunity and yanked them both back into the headspace to block them off as he lunged forward—so suddenly that the body folded in half from the strain. His knees buckled and his shoulder struck the brick, jarring him.

“This is the guy that’s been giving us so much trouble?” gloated one of them. “All it takes is one bullet?”

“We’ve shot this one more than a dozen times and it’s never stopped him before,” the other said warily. “Where’s all that get-up?”

Jake muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth as he closed his eyes and concentrated.

“What’s that?” crooned the fool, gesturing lackadaisically towards him with the smoldering muzzle. “Have something to say before we rid the world of your chaos, asshole?”

“Sí.” The avatar raised his head, glowing eyes casting his assailants' suddenly wan, fallen countenances in a spectral hue. “Dije,” he growled as the familiar ragged bandages coiled around his limbs while he straightened to his full height, “te vas a arrepentir, pendejos.*”

The bullet clinked against the damp asphalt as he was fully enveloped in the armor.

“Ah, shit,” they said in unison.

The shock on their faces precluded the terror that followed his swift movement. The crescents whistled as he slung them in their direction—the cocky one caught it in the throat, plunging through his jugular. Blood splattered in a wide arc against the ground as he fell. The cautious one managed to tumble to the side to avoid it, however—just barely.

A heavy hand grabbed his padded shoulder and whirled Jake around—only to be struck across the temple with an errant piece of pipe. Mierda. The twins were back up on their feet, tag-teaming to make up for their missing mobility.

Jake jerked his head back to avoid another swing, summoning a truncheon from the small of his back and shattered the first’s wrist with a well-timed parry. Two more strikes upon the man’s solar plexus and skull sent him crumpling to the ground, totally unconscious at the very least. Two to go.

He didn’t have time to pause. The gunman fired thrice at his back, but the slugs passed right through him. Jake exchanged blows with the twin for a moment, finally propelling himself off the brick wall and swinging over the expanse of his mountainous shoulders to lock and twist his neck between his knees and bring the behemoth crashing down face-first. He didn’t move again even as Jake leapt back to his feet and pitched another array of darts at the gunman’s retreating back. Sliced flesh, a gurgled curse, and the clatter of metal preceded the heavy tumble of his body.

Jake stalked further into the shadows, tucking the truncheon back into its holster and flexing his fists. He grabbed the collar of the gunman’s jacket and hoisted him upright, pinning him to the wall with his forearm against his throat. Blood dribbled from the corners of the man’s mouth onto the woven gauntlet.

“Tell me where the rest of your amigos* are and I’ll consider letting you go,” he growled.

“Funny,” the man spat viciously onto Jake’s mask near his shielded eyes, “how you think I’ll talk after you murdered them!”

“Just like you attacked a bunch of innocent kids, yeah?” Jake snarled. “Said their scales wouldn’t balance just ‘cause they were picking on someone else? Even though your fucking goddess is dead and you don’t even have the power to read a single palm? Child murder isn’t going to get you where you’re wanting to end up, pendejo, and a little bullying isn’t enough to condone ritual execution!”

The gunman roared and tried to grapple with him, but Jake only pinned his wrists into the mortar with a dart over his head before jabbing him in the ribs. He only noticed the panic button clasped between his fingers once the indicator began to blink a rapid crimson.

“Mierda,” Jake hissed, clocking his elbow across the bastard’s face and snatching the device once he slumped over. He dropped and smashed it with his heel, grinding it into bits.

“...Baby?”

Jake stiffened, head whipping towards the sound of your small voice. You had cowered against the wall, plunged mostly in shadow, but your hunched shoulders and quick breaths fogging against the shafts of light that the street lamp at his back cast tipped off your apprehension. He didn’t have time to react, save to open his mouth, before the distant squeal of brakes, the heavy slam of vehicle doors, shouting, and rapid footsteps at the far end of the alley interrupted him.

He marched over to you, the armor receding with every step. He glimpsed your eyes in the dark, round and anxious, even as he gripped your arm and tugged you in the opposite direction. “Come on,” he muttered gruffly. “Better scram.”

“What’s wrong?” you breathed instead, resisting him. You were sturdy, he had to give you that, even as the heels of your boots skidded against the rain-slickened pavement.

“Other than having a bunch of madmen with guns on our tails? Nothing at all.” He pulled a bit more forcefully this time. “Let’s go.”

Your protesting noise was drowned out by an ear-ringing report of a gun, and the air near Jake’s ear whistled with the near miss of a bullet. It ricocheted off the brick and had mortar showering the ground.

“Por el amor de Dios,” Jake hissed. “Corres, chaparrita!*”

He pulled you along behind him into a full sprint. The pair of you broke out of the alley towards the crowded plaza once more. You stumbled a couple of times on the uneven concrete due to the awkward mobility afforded by Jake’s unforgiving grip on your wrist, but he was not going to let you go for fear of you falling behind and getting snatched or worse. His scowl and speed drew bemused glances from the bystanders, but their expressions morphed into shock when their eyes passed over his shoulders.

So the bastards were pissed (or desperate) enough to give chase in broad moonlight. They had balls, he had to give them that—and while it made them stupid, it didn’t make them any less dangerous.

He headed towards the far side where the plaza merged onto the main road littered with vendors on the broad sidewalks. People buzzed along the blocked off street—for the entire event would last all weekend and force all the normal goers to circumnavigate the grounds—in tight throngs, along which he had no doubt he could lose the zealots. The tactic has served him well countless times before—and not just in London, or while under Khonshu’s directive. Merging and camouflaging with oblivious civilians and letting one’s hunters pass one by altogether often worked better than trying to outrun them or to hide outright.

The gateway was narrow, and Jake shoved a man twice his size out of his way to hook a sharp left. The man’s curses were drowned out by your profuse, breathless apologies, and Jake growled out a tense, “Callate!*” before narrowly dodging a street lamp since he’d cast a glare over his shoulder at you.

People’s attention only grew as the street funneled into a narrow crosswalk connecting to a broader street. Jake hooked a right that time, darting past families and couples as he went. You were keeping up with him surprisingly well, but your panting was getting too loud—your stamina would give out soon. He had to figure out a way to blend the both of you in without drawing attention so the zealots would go on and he could double back to lose them completely.

Another right at the end of the block revealed another market street, though the middle was undulating with dancing couples as a busking band was playing a lively, energetic tune.

“Mierda,” he growled, “las cosas que hago por vosotros, hermanos.*”

Jake hauled you to a brisk walk instead, melting into the ring of onlookers clapping along with raucous chatter and laughter. They would provide good enough cover, but Jake knew he could show neither of your faces or else the ruse would be for naught. That necessitated unbearably close proximity with the bane of his existence for the last few months—and you had clocked him instantly. It wouldn’t fly for long.

Jake broke through the wall of people nearest the booths, thankful for the partial shadow that would aid to your obscurement. He hastily tugged the collar of Marc’s jacket up, ruffled his fingers through their hair to conceal the majority of their upper features, and hooked an arm around the middle of your back to tug you against his chest. You scarcely caught yourself on his shoulders to keep your nose from bashing into his sternum. With his free hand he pulled the toboggan from your head and stuffed it into your pocket before tugging the back of your scarf up the back of your head and over your forehead, overlapping the tails to cover your chin and mouth—which opened as your brows furrowed in protest.

Jake ducked his head, pressing his lips against your covered ear. “If you want to live long enough to see the end of the night,” he hissed, hands slipping to your waist and beginning to sway you in time with the music, “you’ll do exactly as I do. Me entiendes?*”

You pursed your lips, but the indignant flare behind your eyes didn’t flicker once—even as exclamations of shock caught his attention. Jake pulled you further back into the shadows, but to his luck a couple of other dancers swung between the pair of you and the zealots squinting down the street for any sign.

Jake began to match the others’ movements to appear more natural, the quick tempo dictating the shuffle of his feet—forward, scuffle, back, ad nauseam, faster than he could breathe. He could hardly concentrate on that as well at the moment, unfortunately, given he hadn’t danced in years.

You were hot under your clothes from the running spree, seeping through yours and his shared layers where the weight of your torso was pressed tightly against his. He kept his face tucked close to the sweep of your neck and shoulder, angling his broad shoulders towards them, winding carefully behind more and more couples while keeping careful rhythm. Your panting came harsh and high next to his ear, your breath warming his chilled shell and lobe. Your hands slipped from his shoulders to rest more convincingly on his chest, a firm press to keep your balance.

Although you didn’t seem to know all the specific steps to this dance, you were obviously familiar with the form and rhythm of it. You were a natural, the shimmy of your hips almost smoother than his own—you didn’t stumble once, light on your feet as you (reluctantly) allowed him to guide you without a single glance behind you to confirm he wasn’t about to walk you into a wall or another person. No, your eyes stayed fixed on what you could see of his face the entire time, forehead perspiring and cheeks darkened from exertion, mouth slightly agape to pull in much-needed air. You were studying him, it seemed like, scanning his features as though dissecting every crease and stretch.

Jake didn’t like it, not one bit. You already knew too much—the last thing he needed was you committing any of him to memory.

Instead of stopping, the band shifted into an entirely new song with a different beat altogether, but when Jake adapted to it, you did so, too—seamlessly, in fact, perfectly in tune to the body’s movements. (Ew. He didn’t need to think about that shit.) The two of you were so close that your knees would have knocked together if your feet weren’t offset. You were used to it, to him, even though you’d only learned the body while the others were using it. You knew him, even though he was a stranger.

Shit, shit, shit. He was so fucked.

Your fingers curled into the fabric of Marc’s sweatshirt over his thrumming heart, anchoring yourself as the tension finally drained from your form—he felt it before he saw it, watching your shoulders loosen as you lost yourself to the music. You almost seemed to be enjoying it, and Jake almost lamented the fact that you were only able to indulge in it under these very dire circumstances.

Almost.

“Are they gone?” you ventured breathlessly, chin brushing against his clavicle as you tilted your head forward so he’d hear your low tone that caused each hair on the nape of his neck to stand on end.

Jake blinked, then looked back up to the street corner with a deep-set frown. “Me distraiste jodidamente,*” he growled under his breath, shoving the visceral image of your chapped lips to the very back of his mind. “Yes, they’re gone.”

Your expression relaxed, then, into one of relief. The song tapered into an end, allowing both the dancers and the musicians a breather, and Jake finally peeled himself away from you as though your warmth had scorched him. He grasped your elbow again, tugging you through a narrow passage between booths to the mouth of a quiet side street with outdoor diners clustered around tables set out despite the weather.

He expected questions. He expected you to demand answers, like any other person in your situation would. ‘Who were they? Why were they trying to hurt me? Who the hell are you and why are you not Marc or Steven?’

He did not expect, however, for you to drop your gaze to his abdomen and to fish your hand under Marc’s jacket. He flinched back, but you’d already hooked a finger into the hole torn into the sticky, blood-soaked material of Marc’s shirt, fingertip grazing the smooth, whole flesh underneath and searing your fingerprint there in the process. He pushed your hand away, taking a half step back to distance himself from the mix of concern and confusion in your eyes.

“Are you hurt?” you asked him quietly, not venturing further into his personal space (to his relief).

Jake clamped his jaw shut and shook his head.

You hesitated. “What’s…what’s your name?”

Fuck his lack of luck, honestly. He half-turned away so he wouldn’t have to look at you.

“...Thank you for saving me.”

He scoffed under his breath. “If you’d kept your promise to Marc in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Your tone instantly sharpened with indignation. “I know what I promised him, but he—you got fucking shot! I wasn’t about to leave you to die!”

“Wouldn’t have died. Just a scratch,” he groused, contorting and tugging the hem of the shirt up to show you the unblemished skin there, smeared with tacky blood against his knuckles. “See? Missed.”

“They did not miss,” you told him matter-of-factly. “I saw Marc fall. There’s fucking blood all over you—I’m not stupid. Do not lie to me.” You stepped closer, then, pointing that same bloodied finger at him and poking him in the sternum. He bared his teeth at you, cornered with the alley wall at his back. “All that back there was something that you’ve got going on, wasn’t it? Marc hasn’t told me about anything like this.”

You were too goddamn smart for your own fucking good. “There’s a lot that Marc hasn’t told you,” he growled, “and for good reason.”

Your eyes flashed. “And I bet you’re the authority on all of that, aren’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he snapped.

“I’ve noticed them being vigilant lately, but they won’t tell me what’s bothering them. Lots of private conversations—and no, don’t look at me like that, I didn’t listen in on them—and they get anxious when they’re tired or spacey. It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out why they’ve been walking on eggshells ever since you popped up in the coffee shop that night—”

Jake’s jaw dropped open. Things were rapidly escalating out of hand, faster than he could hold them together. “How on earth do you—?”

“Marc is many things,” you said lowly, “but he is not a man who glorifies in violence. It bothers him still to touch me on his bad days, much less brushing up against a stranger. He wouldn’t smirk when he knocks someone out cold—with the pommel of a knife, no less. Neither would Steven, for that matter.”

Jake squared his shoulders and folded his arms over his chest to brush your hand away, glowering down at you. “Why haven’t you said anything to them?”

“Because they haven’t brought it up. I don’t push them for answers that they don’t want to give me. I know it’s already hard enough for them to be open to communicating their thoughts and feelings between themselves—I don’t want to pressure them any more by adding myself to the mix.” You jutted your chin. “But if you’re going to keep putting them in danger, you need to let them know what’s going on so they don’t get caught off-guard again.”

“You need to keep your nose out of my business and let me do my goddamn job,” he ground out.

“It becomes my business when both of our lives get put on the line!” you returned. “And what exactly is your job, huh? Circus performer with a specialty in knives?” You tugged on the hem of the jacket, ignoring how he went rigid. “Where do you keep that costume so they don’t realize they’re wearing it, too, by the way? Because I know for a fact that Steven would’ve mentioned cosplaying as the fucking Mummy if he knew about—”

He gritted his teeth. “It’s not a costume.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” You raised a haughty brow. “Do they know you’re running around like an albino version of London’s Daredevil?”

He was not about to explain all of Khonshu’s business to you. You knew too much already, and if Marc and/or Steven even caught wind of the old bird still hanging around, Jake was done for. “They don’t know about me for a reason, chaparrita, and I’d like to keep it that way. They can’t know about me—it’s better for all of us in the long run—so if you’d very kindly just keep your trap shut—”

“You have to tell them about you,” you told him firmly, eyes blazing, “and about whatever vigilante shit you’ve got going on. It’s not fair to them—they think they’re free from Marc’s old merc work, and here you are using the body against their consent to do whatever it is that you please. Do you realize how much danger you’re putting them in carrying on with shit like this?”

“I am protecting them,” he bit back, a snarl building in the back of his throat.

“By getting them ambushed in a fucking alley?” you snapped. “Your involvement in this could’ve gotten all three of you killed!”

“That costume is the only thing that can keep them alive through anything!” Jake returned sharply. “They would’ve been fine!”

“And what about me?” you demanded. “What about my safety? I know I chose my lot once Marc told me about his past, but this is adding a whole new level to all this that I wasn’t prepared for! What if you hadn’t been there, lingering in the background, or—or however you knew to step in? Do I need to live my life looking over my shoulder just in case there’s someone tailing me, waiting to catch me off-guard long enough to hurt me to get to them thinking they’re you? How do you think they’d react if something happened to me out of the blue, just by my being around them and whoever it is you’re fighting, thinking you’re the same person because you share the same face? Even then, they’d try to get to the bottom of it, and they could get shot, or stabbed, or—or whatever, just by trying to clean up your fucking mess!”

“If you weren’t around being seen with our face in the first place, you wouldn’t be involved to start with,” he growled, “and I wouldn’t have to concern myself with keeping you out of harm’s way all the time! You’re a liability to them—if something happened to you, they’d lose their shit, and I can’t have that happen. You’re as much of a danger to their wellbeing as these fucking cabrónes are!”

You retreated then, hurt flashing across your features so fast he almost missed it, before you schooled your expression into something frigid enough that it sent a chill down Jake’s spine. You floundered for words, lips moving without a sound, and Jake’s fuse shortened by the second. You swallowed, then, and roughly tipped your chin up—in defiance, certainly, but Jake didn’t miss the shine of moisture welling along your lash line. “…Do they feel that way, since you do?” you finally ventured. “Somewhere deep down? That I’m just a burden to them?”

“No,” he sighed, tucking his head and scrubbing his hand down his face. “There’s not a thing in this fucking world that they wouldn’t do for you, chaparrita, or kill themselves by trying. That’s the problem. That’s what makes you so dangerous. They care about you far too much.”

“And you don’t, I take it?” you supposed tightly. “Is that your job? Not to care?”

Jake ground his jaw so tightly his temples throbbed. “Don’t put words in my fucking mouth.”

“Then tell me why, exactly, you’re so hellbent on hiding yourself from them when they’re already trying so goddamn hard to heal and work together? What gives you the right to opt out and do whatever you damn well please, spilling more blood on their hands at the same time they’re trying to wash them clean?”

“There’s nothing special about me,” he bit out, “and they don’t need me—because if they knew what I’ve had to do to keep them alive they’d never forgive themselves!” Your brows twitched up, and Jake snarled under his breath. “Mierda. Just stay out of my fucking business, will you? The less you know, the better. And do not tell them about this, or about me, me entiendes?”

“I am not going to lie to Marc or Steven, and it’s stupid of you to think that I would,” you told him resolutely. “Either you tell them, or I will.”

“Did you miss all of what I just fucking said?” he spat. “If they know about me, it’ll do far more harm than good. They have a hard enough time reconciling what they’ve gone through, I don’t need to add all my shit to it!”

“You’ve helped them survive what they’ve gone through,” you pointed out, and Jake’s breath stopped short. “I’m not stupid, despite what you may think. I can tell even now that your primary concern is their well-being. But don’t you think telling them that you’re here, and that you’re a—a what, a superhero?—wouldn’t that be better than keeping them in the dark?”

“I am not a hero, chaparrita,” he told you darkly.

“Well, you’re certainly not a villain,” you responded evenly—as if you were stating fact.

Jake scowled. “Did they tell you what happened in Egypt? What really happened?”

Your eyes flashed. “They don’t have to, it’s not really any of my business. I know it was hard on them and they don’t like to talk about—”

“We got shot. Twice. We died! And it was only that armor that brought us back!” Jake flashed his teeth. “Marc let the bastard that did it go, but I killed him. That’s the difference between Marc or Steven and I, chaparrita: I hurt those who deserve it and feel no remorse for it.”

You blinked, then, eyes rounded. Realization dawned behind your gaze, and when you looked sharply off to the side, a stray tear slipped over the curve of your cheek. Your expression tightened, and Jake could imagine that you were finally putting together all the fragments of what Steven and Marc had mentioned offhandedly about their time in Egypt.

Jake squeezed his eyes shut, sinking against the wall and dropping his head back against the brick. He dragged a hand down his face with a harsh sigh. He’d completely fumbled this entire situation. “...Mira.* If something were to happen to you, mis hermanos* won’t take it well.” He looked down at you, eyes half-lidded—meeting fire with fire obviously didn’t work with you. Even when Marc was being surly, you only listened when he stopped and lowered his voice. It didn’t take rocket science to figure out that you shut down when you were shouted at, based on the way you’d stared at him like a doe caught in headlights. “...Do you really care about them?”

Your head recoiled to stare at him critically. The vessels in your sclera were an agitated crimson. “Of course I do!”

“Then you’ll listen to me, all right?” He straightened and stepped closer, fingers flexing at his side while he repressed the urge to reach out to you. Seeing you upset was doing funny shit to him. (He didn’t like it. Not one bit.) “After what happened tonight, I can’t afford to wait any longer. I need to finish up my business as soon as possible—I spent too long investigating and biding my time to see when those guys would crawl out of their nest. They are dangerous, and I’m going to do my damnedest to tie up all those loose ends. All right? That means I can’t have you caught in the crossfire. And once I get done with that…” He shook his head, casting his eyes upwards briefly. “...then we’ll talk—you know, about…everything else. Do you understand?”

You glared at him for a long moment, lips pursed as you considered him. Finally, you nodded curtly, once.

He raised a brow. “Can you say it for me?”

Your temples flexed. “Yeah. I understand.”

“Buena nena.*” He peered around the corner just to ensure that the zealots hadn’t doubled back, then moved to the edge of the street and flagged down a cab. When they stopped, he gestured you over. You watched him warily all the while, glancing both ways. He reached for the door and grasped the handle, but you laid your hand over his. He froze.

“Please,” you murmured, pleading him with your gaze, “be careful. Keep taking care of them. Let me know if…if you need any help. If there’s anything I can do...” You squeezed his hand, then let it go. “I’d prefer you three to come back in one piece, you know.”

He swallowed roughly, then nodded. He opened the door, and as you stooped to climb inside, his hand curved around the back of your head. You glanced up at him in surprise, but once you were seated, he abruptly retracted his touch.

“I’m trusting you,” you told him. “I don’t want this to be the last time we meet.”

Jake gave you a rueful, wooden smile. “If you’re lucky, cariño*, you won’t ever have to see me again.”

He shut the door, waved off the driver, and shoved his hands into the pockets of Marc’s jacket. He watched the cab round the corner out of sight, closing his eyes briefly, and turned to start walking in the opposite direction.

Read the rest of the chapter here! :)

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lheewonz · 9 months

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[11:07] 희승 ✧ l.hs

wc :: 0.9k, fluff, gn!reader, non idol!heeseung, not proofread // a/n :: i wrote this as soon as i woke up

taglist :: @jiminzfav-furry @gunilsfurry

Lazy mornings were your favorite type of morning.

The sunlight filtering through the blinds cast a soft glow on your boyfriend’s sleeping face making him look ethereal, almost as if he belonged to another world. Still, before any world he belonged to, he belonged to you.

Heeseung, your wonderfully sweet boyfriend. Even before dating the two of you had done everything together. You two were a package deal, everyone knew that if they saw one, the other was not far behind. No one was surprised when the two of you started dating.

Aside from following each other everywhere, everyone had seen how sweet you were with each other, in that way that makes single people gag. Heeseung was always the first to comfort you when you were upset, always buying you your favorite snacks and hiding you away, and holding you in his lap to hug you (he insists it’s the best position for a hug, spoiler: he just likes you in his lap). He would walk you to class, he would hold your books, when it was raining he made sure that you never got wet, and every time you had an art showing he would take pictures of your pieces and proudly show them off whenever he got the chance. The two of you would spend nights together, stargazing, and he would whisper “Beautiful” while looking at you, and you would blush because that’s cheesy, and corny, and really cute.

So yeah, no one was surprised when you started dating. If anything they were just surprised it took so long. But you liked to take things slowly, never one to rush into any type of relationship, and Heeseung knew that. Your parents had even jokingly warned him that you hadn’t warmed up to them until you were 5. Heeseung wasn’t that different except that he made you want to move faster.

Every time you saw him smile (and every time you saw other people blush at him) it made you want to pack up and move into a little apartment perfect for just the two of you.

A couple months after you had officially started dating, you had blurted the question out by accident. A girl had sat herself beside you, ignoring your presence and forcing you to scoot over. She had begun talking at him and interrupted you every time you tried to speak. Heeseung awkwardly stared at her, every time he tried to say something that sounded the slightest bit like rejection the girl spoke louder, occasionally drawing attention from other people. The two of you made eye contact and Heeseung sent you a pained smile. You giggled at him, and he laughed softly looking as handsome as ever. You watched him laugh with a smile on your face and it was silent, the girl also taking a moment to admire him.

“We should move in together.” Cut through the silence and all three of you were shocked. Heeseung recovers first, a gorgeous, wide smile spread across his face.

“Really?” You nod, and the girl beside you grumbles and leaves your booth, although neither of you noticed. Heeseung stands and rounds the table, he grabs your hands and pulls you up and into a hug.

“It’s easier to keep you to myself if we live together and I can stop you from leaving.” He throws his head back and laughs and you smile, holding onto him tighter.

“I think that’s kidnapping, but I’m okay with that.” And then he’s kissing you, and you want to pull away because you’re in public, but you can’t because your heart skips a beat, and you’re so weak for him, and he’s so perfect, and happy and you want him to be this happy forever, and you’re happy because you made him this happy.

That happiness continued all the way up to the night you moved in. The excitement kept his energy at an all-time high for the couple months it took to find an apartment (since you had both lived in the school dorms), pack everything up, and buy the few pieces of furniture necessary.

He had spent the entire day moving in the boxes with his friends, insisting that you didn’t have to do anything. He had assembled the couch by himself, and then the bed right after. He completely exhausted himself doing everything, so right after a quick shower, he laid down in your freshly made naked bed and went to sleep early.

You spent only a couple more hours opening up certain boxes, the kitchen appliances, and bathroom necessities, and putting those items away before you also took a shower and joined him with a blanket.

And now here you are. Admiring your boyfriend’s beautiful sleeping face. Waking up next to him had been something of a dream, you almost wanted to pinch yourself and then you remembered that you would be waking up to this sight every morning.

A giddiness filled you and you felt like a little schoolgirl with a crush. Unable to help yourself you pressed little kisses all over his face, giggling when he scrunched his face up and his hand came up to lightly push your face away. You pressed one last kiss to his forehead, smiling when you notice the way he smiles in his sleep, before laying your head on his chest and going back to sleep.

Lazy mornings were your favorite type of morning, and they had just gotten so much better.

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genopaint · 27 days

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SOME NEW DRAGON GIRLS HAVE APPEARED!!!

A long while back (around 2019?) I made some alt designs for Green in different colors. And later I decided I really wanted to try and give them some genuine nice redesigns to match other dragons and be fleshed out more. This is my first attempt to actually do that! Green is a little more general dragon-esc and is meant to be Bahamut cause it's my favorite. But now Blue, Red, and Yellow are their own characters, all based on different dragons I draw a lot! I think they came out cute, I hope you like em too!

Now these are all just my first goes at these girls, I'm sure I'll give them more tries later. And just like Green, they can all be drawn differently every time! Because I just like that sort of thing lol. Not to mention they're just girlie versions of the main 4 dragons I draw.

Their personalities are probably something like:

Green - The regular girl, a bit of a clutz, but tries her best

Blue - The cool one, is always chill and friends with everyone! Also for some extra design context, Blue's horns aren't meant to be little sea slug antenna they're meant to be those little whiskers I always draw on Leviathan. Just didn't feel like giving her a mustache for personal reasons lol.

Red - The mean one, always acts tough and gets angry easily

Yellow - The silly one, really bubbly and fun! This one is of course Ziz and because of that she has wings!

Also all their height differences are intentional. From shortest to tallest: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow

Here's some of the earlier drawings of them! The first with all 4 is from 2019, and the other 2 are from 2020!

Similarly to Blue I did try to do a redesign in 2020 of Red... However, this was actually an accident cause I totally forgot about the alt colored Greens lol. But it's still neat to see what was in my brain at the time! Unlike Red and Blue, I've never tried to redesign Yellow before today. So I do hope you enjoy this first attempt at her!

I also have plans to do at least 4 more to finish the rainbow and to maybe have 4 girls for the evil dragons I made a while back (Nero, Caligula, Commodus, Tiamat) Idk when I'll get around to them but do keep an eye out if you liked these 4!

#character design #original character #dragon #dragons #dragoness #dragon girl #anthro #scalie #reptile #my stuff #oc #green #bahamut #behemoth #leviathan #ziz #i should probably have tags for those 4 already

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contentloadingandstuff · 1 year

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Gym headcanons with Kuki Shinobu!

A/N: While I worked out today, this idea came. Enjoy!

CW: Male reader, some spiciness.

Kuki Shinobu works on every part of herself - both the mind, and the body. With freelancing comes a lot of spare time, so she can easily find time to hit the gym three times a week.

Let’s be real - most people train to get those tasty looks. Shinobu is not much different. Among her certificates was one about general health, but she treats health benefits more as a very nice bonus. You may tell her you fell for her personality, skills or fashion sense, but she knows full well what it was exactly that caught your eye.

And she is proud of her fitness. As with everything else in her life, she got it by hard work (and her luck in the genetic lottery as well, of course). So why not flaunt it?

She knows her strong sides, and works to enhance them in any way possible. She works on her belly muscles with plenty of crunches to get that nice, flat stomach. Shinobu doesn’t do them very often, though. She prefers to have a little fat on her tummy - just for you to rest your head on. Same goes for her thighs.

She knows that what she’s lacking in her upper body she makes up for in her lower parts. Her outfit selection, the booty shorts, weren’t picked by accident. But Shinobu knows that she can still do better. Squats are by far her most frequent and most liked exercises.

Most hated? Certainly butterfly kicks. They’re so exhausting and straining on her lower body. Since she tends to get more sore than most people, doing them too much makes it painful to walk the next day, regardless of how much winding down she does.

When it comes to the rest of her body, it’s running most of the time. She wants to keep her silhouette slim, and her stamina high. Except running places, which draws some unusual looks from passersby, but is ultimately a lot faster than walking to her destination, high endurance has… other uses. Shinobu loves to take you out on evening runs through Inazuma City outskirts, when the air is lovably cool and humid. And the smell of dew-sprinkled grass? Amazing.

When you’re going together, expect plenty of wordless teasing from her. She’s not shy at all for you, even more - she feels better when you’re watching her work out. While you’ll be doing dumbbell lifts, she’s going to find a spot in your line of sight, or more precisely right in front of you, and do squats.

And don’t try to hide away from her either. She goes to the gym to train and to watch you work in equal measure. Simply watching your arms tense up while you bench press, or listening to all those delicious moans and groans of effort… At the end of the day, she can’t tell what got her more hot - those, or the treadmill?

Likes to work out at home as well, on her stationary bike. Even more so that you can finally go shirtless for her. She LOVES when you leave your top behind and wear those bench press gloves. It does horrible things for her focus sadly.

Will wait until you get home to shower together. Usually, the girl is absolutely exhausted to the core, so horniness is going to be rare. Most of the time she’ll just clean herself and you or vice versa.

Shinobu gets extra sleepy after workouts. Like, barely-walking kind of sleepy. As soon as you leave the shower, she’ll just lay on top of you on the couch or the bed and have the best sleep of her life. With your arms around her hard-earned beautiful stomach, of course.

The only downside of training are the muscle sores. For most people they are uncomfortable at worst, but for this girl? Absolute. Nightmare. Ease her pain with a good, long and tender massage, will you? If you do, she may as well love you forever!

Thanks for reading!

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denimbex1986 · 3 months

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'From the first shot of Andrew Haigh’s unconventional ghost story All of Us Strangers, we are introduced to the world of the uncanny. Sunlight streams through the windows of a glass building, molten and syrupy against Andrew Scott’s skin. There’s something surreal and insubstantial about his reflection in the window. Then, we see the building itself, a new high-rise in Stratford, inhabited by only two men: Adam and Harry.

Adam (Scott) is a screenwriter who lives alone, subsisting on Chinese takeaways. He seems lost in his own world as he tries to write about his parents who died in a car accident when he was a child. When he decides to jog his memory by returning to his childhood home, he returns to find his parents apparently alive – but exactly as they were 30 years ago (by now, Adam is older than them). Loosely based on the novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada, Haigh re-appropriates the ghost story with a naturalistic bend, which allows Adam to re-engage with his grief and its entanglement with his queer identity.

The film also delves into Adam’s burgeoning love with his young, enigmatic neighbour, Harry (Paul Mescal). “It was such a joy, playing Harry, playing someone different to any role I’ve had. He’s a little bit frightening – and drunk, sexy and forward,” Mescal tells Dazed. The film unpicks the unsettled state of modern queerness – of feeling estranged by a heteronormative society even during a time when queerness is supposedly celebrated. Haigh takes this mutable sense of temporality and creates a sense of suspended, circular time as the film vacillates between two timelines, one focused on the past with his parents and another in the future with Harry.

At its core, All of Us Strangers is an exploration of queer love and intimacy across time. As Haigh says: “Love is the centre of Adam’s story. With both his parents and with Harry, love is about feeling seen.” Below, we speak to Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, Andrew Haigh about the film.

In the film, the use of mementos, from photographs to music, are really evocative. Why did you want to invoke the past through these symbols?

Andrew Haigh: We shot the film in my own childhood home and I wanted to feel like I was putting myself into it. It’s my most personal film. I wanted to return to there because it’s the space I imagined while writing the script. I hadn’t been there for 45 years, yet I could remember so viscerally the smell of the house, the feel. The soundtrack is composed of songs I loved as a kid. I’ve always loved The Pet Shop Boys. It was a kind of therapy – of staging my memories to work through them. Memories exist like time travel in our mind constantly, it all feels as real.

The whole film is about feeling. We want you to feel the emotion of it, the texture, the sensuality of it, in a phenomenological way. Music just draws you back to the past in such a visceral way. The records have such an analogue texture to it, of real things and textures. That’s why we shot it on film, to keep that sense of materiality.

Andrew, what drew you to Adam’s character and the story?

Andrew Scott: It was the central idea of returning to the past. I find the character to be someone I really recognised and a character who goes on such a strong journey. He’s in every scene except two shots. What’s so interesting is that the film’s ghostly concept seems like such an audacious idea, but what’s so wonderful is that people walking outside in Soho right now are having conversations with people in their head who are not alive. Our imagination is so alive, and time is not a linear logic. To bring that memory to life is not as absurd as you might think.

Paul, what drew you to Harry’s character and the film? Aftersun and All of Us Strangers both tackle the ghosts of the past, memory and grief. What draws you to this complex subject and different ways of embodying it?

Paul Mescal: I think Harry is a beautiful character. He has an immense capacity to love somebody even though he’s dealing with extraordinary pain. We don’t really see a huge amount of it in the film, but there are instances where he talks about his incredibly difficult relationship with his family.

I think I am more interested in the past than I am in the future in general. I think the past is what informs our behaviour. There’s something about the past that feels unattainable. But what’s amazing about this film – its magic – is that it allows you to interrogate the past and to revisit conversations. That’s what’s so tragic about the past: once it’s gone, it’s locked there.

For every film, I usually create a playlist tailored to the character, to try and understand them. For Harry, I was listening a lot to ‘Adios, Florida’ by A Winged Victory For the Sullen.

Can you tell us a bit about the cinematography choices? The film features a lot of superimpositions and reflections in windows and mirrors. The first time we see Harry and Adam, they are both seen through the glassy reflection of a window or mirror.

Andrew Haigh: I knew that the film, even while naturalistic, couldn’t feel entirely real. It had to feel like it was hovering somewhere in a liminal space. In the opening shot, you almost ask, ‘Is it a reflection? Is it you?’ We aren’t quite sure what we are seeing.

I’m obsessed with reflections. On a philosophical basis, as a queer person, you spend a lot of the time reflecting and performing something which actually isn’t you. Especially when you’re in the closet. You spend the whole time reflecting an image to the world. That can be very disconcerting for you on a psychological basis. Reflection is the perfect way to express that. In this film, the reflection is often even different from who you are. It changes through the film when we play with those reflections and I find that really interesting. Towards the last scene, they get closer, and expose their real selves. I returned to some Francis Bacon paintings as references just to articulate what felt right aesthetically.

What was it like working with Andrew Haigh in his own home? Did you bring any of your personal mementos to set?

Andrew Scott: It was so generous of Andrew to let us film in his home. It throws down the gauntlet in terms of authenticity. I just felt I had to bring my own biography even if it’s not my own geography. One of the great pleasures was to speak to Andrew about how we grew up and the pain that we’ve been through – the 80s and 90s was a difficult time to be queer. We’ve come so far in relation to our experience in the world and I felt so seen by the script and by Andrew’s other films in the past. I brought my own sense of truth and my own experience.

I wore this golden chain that I’m wearing now too, and it catches the light in the film in a lovely way.

It’s remarkable the way you manage to transform into a child again in the house through your body language and this vulnerability we see in your face.

Andrew Scott: When Adam says, ‘It doesn’t take much to make you feel the way you felt back there,’ I think it resonates. You know, I live a very happy life now and I’m comfortable with who I am, but there was a time when that wasn’t the case. The pain of that time, as much as you try and suppress it, it’s very potent. To be able to do that again, that feeling is not as far away as I might have imagined. It was also a catharsis to do it again.

The coming-out conversations with Adam’s family are particularly poignant, capturing the sense of the atemporality of modern queerness. What was the process of writing them?

Andrew Haigh: It was quite painful to write those coming-out sequences. It wasn’t just coming out to his mother, which has its own complications, pain and terror. But it’s a reminder of how he used to feel back then. So, all of those things that the mother said, all those things that happened to him at school that the dad mentioned, those were things that happened to Adam – look, they happened to me, to a lot of gay kids back then. It’s a reminder of how I used to feel. The film is about the pain we try to keep hidden away, the grief and the trauma of being gay at that time. For Adam, it’s about that coming to the surface again, remembering how he used to feel. For me as a director and writer, and for Andrew as an actor, it brought all of those feelings back again. I got eczema again, which I haven’t had since I was a kid. My body literally reacted to how I used to feel when I was younger.

Harry is often a protector to Adam – taking care of him when he’s ill, taking him home from the club. Yet, we see brief moments of his immense pain throughout the film. Paul, how did you represent this pain bubbling under the surface?

Paul Mescal: That’s the tragedy of the film. Harry is laughing at his own pain a lot of the time. Because that’s how humans are. It’s so difficult to talk about ourselves so directly – when we try to talk about things that cause us pain, I think we generally try and laugh through because it deflects from the rawness because if you really go into those feelings, sometimes you can’t really get out of it. And I think Harry’s a master chameleon. I wanted to play Harry as somebody who’s trying to hide his pain the whole way up until the ending. I wanted him to not show his pain, and I think I failed in the moment when I said, ‘I know what it’s like to stop caring about yourself’, because I was looking at Andrew and he was upsetting me so much.

The pain reveals this idea that, despite Harry being more forward and more sexually liberated, he still feels this pain and this shame because of his family. Essentially, if families aren’t caring and thoughtful, they can breed shame, which is ultimately quite damaging and you see the damage that it does to Adam. Adam has the privilege of being able to revisit those conversations with his parents. Harry doesn’t get that opportunity with his own and they’re still living, so I think it’s a wonderful illustration of how shame is bred in society, particularly in a home environment.

The love story features two different generations of queer men. How did you decide to represent their difference but also their shared sense of dislocation?

Andrew Haigh: There is a big difference between the different generations of queer people. They’ve grown up without the shadow of AIDS. We didn’t know how our lives would progress into the future then. Whereas, there’s now gay marriage and so much progression. Yet, to be queer in the world now still means you’re different and that’s still difficult. Some young people who seem great from the outside are still dealing with their trauma of being at school. Yes, it’s better, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy. I think we can often fight against the generation that came before, but it’s important that we see ourselves in this lineage together.

Paul, how did you approach building this tender sense of intimacy and chemistry with Andrew?

Paul Mescal: I loved Andrew as an actor before we knew each other properly. And when I started to know him more, we just really liked each other. I find that it’s actually easier to play sex scenes than it is to play the tenderness after sex. Because you’re both inhabiting a physical language – that distinct feeling of lying on a bed and talking to somebody you love after having sex. The tenderness required in your quality of touch is something you can’t really block and write. It’s not like you’re going to touch his hand like this at this particular moment. It just doesn’t work like that. So I think we do have this innate thing called chemistry, which I find impossible to describe.

The way you guys look at each other in the film is so sexy. I couldn’t look away.

Paul Mescal: That’s the bit that scared me. When I saw it for the first time in the audience, I asked Andrew if he remembered me doing that. The most illicit moment is not actually the sex, but my eyes looking up to Andrew when I’m about to go down on him.

How do we tackle queer loneliness for future generations?

Andrew Scott: I think the problem of queer loneliness comes from a basic thing: that people assume everybody unless told otherwise is straight. Everyone from a benign aunt to a taxi driver asks if you have a boyfriend if you’re a girl, and a girlfriend if you’re a boy. That’s the assumption. That’s why I love the embracing of the word ‘queer’ – as some people exist within a scale, defying this binary of choice. It’s very difficult to define – do we write down and laminate all our sexual fantasies to define us?

The way we talk about sexuality has to ultimately change. It’s the accidental cruelty of the benign aunt or the parent. That’s what makes people feel lonely. And, it’s not something you can defend as a child, because you don’t know or can’t fully articulate it yet. It’s this quiet and subtle feeling of loneliness that permeates these lives. I remember Geri Halliwell years and years ago with this little camp boy on TV, a Spice Girls fan – and the TV presenter asks ‘are you going to have a girlfriend when you grow up?’ and Geri Halliwell adds in, ‘or boyfriend’. That’s a wonderful thing, it’s a tiny thing but it offers the option. The reframing of how we talk to our youth.

All of Us Strangers is available in UK cinemas from January 26.'

#Andrew Scott #Andrew Haigh #Paul Mescal #All of Us Strangers #Strangers #Taichi Yamada #A Winged Victory For the Sullen #Adios Florida #Aftersun #Francis Bacon

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