#I think as long as he keeps being julian he will keep it together

[ofstoriesandstardust]

like real people do (j.h.s.)

a/n: i watched set it up for the first time last night and got so inspired to write more for these two. please enjoy.

summary: A camping trip means secrets come a-tumbling out.

second star to the right (and straight on 'til morning)

warnings: swearing, allusions to sex

word count: 1.7k

“we could just kiss like real people do”

Jake huffs, letting his hands fall to his hips as he stares at his closet. 

“I don’t own anything to go camping.” You peer over the top of your phone to your boyfriend whose frown is growing by the second. 

“It’s one night Jake.” 

“Who’s stupid idea was this anyways?” He grumbles, pulling a sweatshirt out of his closet before tossing it on the ground. 

You don’t dare remind him camping had been Bradley’s idea, knowing it will only set him off further. 

California offered relatively warm winters, but Bradley had found a campsite up north in Julian that was still open, offering the possibility of snow as an incentive to the group to go. Jake had been less than pleased by the idea but had caved to the enthusiasm of his friends, as long as you had promised to go with. 

As the frustration grows in Jake's shoulders, you sigh. 

“Jake, just come sit down for a second.” 

He does, sliding across the bed. He positions himself to lay on top of you, in between your legs. His head meets your stomach as you reach down to curl your fingers in his hair.

With the season finally being over, he was letting it grow out a bit more than he normally did and you’d be lying to say you weren’t enjoying getting to curl your fingers in it at all moments. 

“How is this gonna work Jake?” You mutter as his eyes flutter close. “You can barely keep your hands to yourself as it is.” He grunts, the vibrations settling against your stomach. “Are you gonna be able to manage while we’re out of town?” 

He shrugs as his arms sneak under your body, wrapping around your stomach. “No.” He says petulantly. “Which is why I think we shouldn’t go. I can think of much better ways to spend our time than shivering our asses off in a sleeping bag on dirt for a night.” 

He grins up at you through his eyelashes as you give him a displeased look. “We’re going.” 

He groans, face falling into your stomach. 

“You know, we could just tell them.” 

After kissing Jake at Thanksgiving, he’d taken you out on date after date all the while asking you to keep it a secret from your friends. While he’d said at the time that it’s because they had all been so invested in the two of you getting together that they wouldn’t have let the two of you learn each other in private, you couldn’t help the pit in your stomach that it was because a guy like Jake didn’t want to be seen with a girl like you. 

“No, because then they’re all gonna be up my ass.” His voice is muffled by the cotton of Jake’s t-shirt you’re wearing. “And I like having you all to myself.” 

You sigh, beginning to push back his hair again. “We’re gonna have to tell them eventually.” 

“Yeah, eventually. Right now, you’re all mine.” 

-

Having to keep his hands to himself is killing him, you can tell. 

Jake hadn’t gotten to sit next to you in the car, which had already started the trip off poorly. Javy had been riding shotgun with Natasha driving, Bradley in the middle of you and Jake. 

It had been fine, until Mickey and Reuben had bickered too much and Bob had pulled their car over and made Mickey switch cars with Jake. 

You’d gotten to the campsite later than anticipated, which had made things worse. In the way sleeping arrangements played out, he was with Reuben and Bradley (both notorious for snoring and snoring loudly), Mickey and Bob in a tent together, and Nat and Javy in another. You’d managed to end up by yourself as Bradley’s girlfriend hadn’t been able to make it at the last minute due to a work emergency. 

And now, you’re sitting with Nat and Bob and Mickey, playing cards as the rest of the guys stand around the grill, chatting about the upcoming baseball season at school. 

Except for Jake who’s sitting by the firepit, looking decidedly irritated. 

Apparently, having to keep his hands to himself meant that Jake had decided he couldn’t talk to you at all, which was now irritating you. 

As you sit down with your food, you sit next to Jake, tugging his shirt. You want to appreciate the way it brings out his eyes but you can’t as you drop your voice. All your friends were still by the picnic table, but Jake had apparently decided he wasn’t eating. 

“You need to chill.” You whisper. “This is supposed to be fun.” 

“Well, I’m not having any fun.” 

“And whose fault is that?” 

Jake crosses his arms as his nostrils flare. He turns away from you, kicking his feet up on the edge of the fireplace. 

“Jake.” You say firmly. “You need to go get food and breathe. You’re being a downer. I understand you don’t want to be camping but try to be a good sport about it. It’s one night; you don’t need to drag your way through it by starving and isolating yourself.” 

He lets out a lengthy breath, his shoulders relaxing as he does. “Don’t let Bradshaw take my spot.” He grumbles, standing up. 

“Never.” 

-

He’s gonna walk into the creek near their campsite and find a way to drown himself in it because he can not fucking take any more of this. 

He glances at his watch, seeing that it's past 3. 

The group had been up late, sharing stories and playing games but after you’d called it a night just past midnight, he’d lost interest. Unfortunately for him, Reuben had already crashed an hour prior and Bradley had called it when you did. 

Meaning, he was trapped between two of the world’s most obnoxious snorers. He’s sure the two men can sleep through an earthquake and he’s not sure how they wake up to their alarms for early morning practice. 

He’d hardly gotten to hang out with you tonight and not in the way he wanted. He wanted to be able to have you sit in his lap, a blanket on top for warmth as you slowly started to drift off on his chest. He wanted to be able to rub circles into your thighs and run his fingers through your hair. He wanted to kiss you and hold you and laugh with you. 

He knew that he couldn’t because of his own stupid rule. 

A particularly loud snore from Bradley sends him rocketing up from his sleeping bag, exhaustion and irritation driving him as he tugs the tent close before walking the ten paces or so to your tent. He doesn’t even think as he slides in, tugging at the zipper of your sleeping bag. 

“Jake? What’re you doing?” You ask, more awake than he thinks you should be for the hour. 

“Scoot.” He says and you accommodate him, moving over in the two-person sleeping bag you’d borrowed from Nick and Carole. “I can’t fucking sleep with those two.” 

He feels his body instantaneously relax at your warmth, arms sliding around you to bring you into his chest. “Can’t say it’s much better in here.” 

“Don’t care.” He says, tucking his head into your shoulder, finally feeling himself breath. “I just want to be with you.” 

-

You wake up next morning to the sounds of your friends, the chittering of birds, and the sunlight streaming through your tent. 

“-haven’t seen Jake.” 

“Maybe he went to piss in the middle of the night and got lost and eaten by a bear.” You can hear Bradley say. 

Horrors dawns on you as you realize they’re looking for Jake, who obviously isn’t in his own tent as he’s clinging to you, deep in sleep and tucked into your shoulder. 

“Shit.” You whisper. “Shit shit shit. Fuck, Jake, wake up.” You push his shoulder but all he does is groan, tugging you closer to him. “No, no, fuck Jake, wake up. They’re looking for you. Fuck, our friends are gonna find out. Jake-” 

A shadow appears in front of the opening of your tent as they bend down to unzip it. You feel like you can’t breathe as it reveals Javy, the boy already talking. 

“Hey, sorry to wake you. We can’t find Jake and I’m starting to- oh.” You grimace as a grin grows on his face. He turns, shouting behind him. “Never mind, I found him!” 

A full-belly laugh sounds as Bradley peaks over Javy’s shoulder. “Oh, you’re kidding. Oh my God, fucking finally!” He shouts, laughing as he talks. Jake finally stirs at that, letting one hand go of you as he reaches behind you for one of your shoes. Once he finds it, he chucks it behind him, wildly missing. 

Nat snorts. “Nice aim, Seresin.” 

“Fuck off!” He groans, finally turning to face the group crowded around. “You people-” He says, pointing between Reuben and Bradley, “-kept me up all goddamn night so the least you can do is let me enjoy the morning in peace with my girl.” 

“His girl.” Bob repeats, an amused smile on his face. 

“Yes, Bobby. My girl. We’ve been dating since Thanksgiving and we can talk about it later but please go away.” 

Javy throws his hands up in mock defeat before tugging the zipper close. 

Jake tucks himself back into you, hiding his face in your shoulder. 

“You’re not usually so grumpy in the mornings.” You whisper. 

Jake likes slow mornings. He likes getting to spend hours in bed with you, cuddling and taking you apart over and over again before pulling you from bed and making breakfast with you in the kitchen, a full spread. He likes the slowness, the quiet, a luxury he’s not usually afforded during the season. He’s sweet and sleepy and you think that you could love him most in those morning moments. 

He doesn’t respond, already falling back asleep against you. You wish you could sleep too, but you’re too awake and have never slept well on the floor of a tent, the ground lumpy beneath you. 

It does mean, however, that you get to hear Bob smugly announce to the group that they all owe him money.

#jake hangman seresin #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin fic #second star to the right (and straight on 'til morning)

[thearcanawearcrocs]

As a poly person myself I find the potential dynamics of an mc who is dating two or more of the main 6 fascinating so I’ve decided to rank them. For simplicity’s sake I’ve decided to only do the dynamic of an mc dating two of the main 6 for now but I’m happy to make more later if people are interested

Asra and Nadia

Interesting but I see them more as friends

I think they would both be eager to provide mc with anything they could possibly want

Nadia clearly values Asra’s opinion and they have a mutual respect and friendship

I think they could pretty easily share mc

4/10

Asra and Julian

These two have a lot of history together

I think it would be fascinating to watch them rekindle their old relationship but this time with more healthy and open communication and under better circumstances

Julian and Asra bonding as two people who have given everything to keep you alive/bring you back

Overall I really enjoy this one

Lots of potential for angst

9/10

Asra and Muriel

Childhood besties who only have each other for so long and now they are both dating the same person? Absolutely

I love the idea of mc dating both of them

It makes a lot of sense for them to become a triad

I think it would be a very positive experience for everyone involved

10/10

Asra and Portia

This would be fun but I personally don’t see a lot of romance coming with it

Asra and Portia would be adventure buddies and drag mc across the earth to show them the world

I think Faust and Pepi would get along

3/10

Asra and Lucio

Now this is fascinating to me

These two do not like each other at all in canon and have had almost no positive interactions

However I find the idea of them strangely compelling

I think it a world where mc chose Lucio it would be neat to watch Asra struggle to put aside his own feelings about Lucio to keep his apprentice close

It would get messy but honestly that’s part of what makes it interesting

7/10

Nadia and Julian

Another one that I think would come fairly easily

Nadia and Julian have chemistry in canon and I don’t think either one of them would object to mc also being in the mix

As countess Nadia can afford to take care of two partners

5/10

Nadia and Muriel

This one’s cute

Nadia who lives to shower her loved ones in gifts and luxury vs Muriel who struggles to believe he deserves basic comfort

You can’t tell me Nadia wouldn’t love to slip away into the woods from time to time to get away from the stress of her work

Also Nadia proving herself to be nothing like Lucio as a leader and taking steps to correct the issues in the city that hurt Muriel most

9/10

Nadia and Portia

I mean yeah absolutely

The two of them already fall in love in routes where mc doesn’t choose either of them so why wouldn’t they also fall in love in a route where mc did?

The trust and affection they already have for one another would be a pretty solid foundation to add mc to

10/10

Nadia and Lucio

I mean they were once married

Nadia would hold Lucio to his word and encourage his efforts to make amends for what he’s done wrong

I think she is one of the main 6 who would be able to forgive him fully with enough time and if she saw him putting in real effort

I also love the idea of her knowing Lucio the way he was before dying and being able to truly see and appreciate the difference

Lucio seems to harbor no real ill will towards Nadia either and I think they could make peace with one another

7/10

Julian and Muriel

The loudest most dramatic man you know breaks down the door of the most introverted quiet guy in existence

This can only end well

I think that they honestly would end up getting along but it would take a while

They would balance each other out in some respects

I think they would also eventually bond over trauma. They both lost their families at a young age, were both hurt by Lucio and have permanent physical marks of that trauma, and both struggle to see themselves as worthy of good things

If they don’t kill each other in the first month I think they could be great together

8/10

Julian and Portia

I mean they’re siblings so

I guess mc could just be dating both separately but that still feels weird to me

0/10

Julian and Lucio

I love these two together a lot

Julian “I only consider others and never myself” devorak meets Lucio “I only consider myself and not others” morgasson

It would be so incredibly messy

They will absolutely hurt one another but I think they may also help one another grow a great deal

They are both very dramatic and passionate and would play off one another well

10/10

Muriel and Portia

This is cute

I think Portia would be incredibly understanding

Her constant optimism and belief in those around her would be very good for Muriel I think

Also they are both animal lovers which is important

7/10

Muriel and Lucio

Oh god no

I don’t think Muriel ever could (or really ever should) forgive Lucio for what he’s done to him

I love Lucio but what he did to Muriel is beyond fucked and I truly could not see the two of them ever being able to be so much a friends

Could be an interesting dynamic to play with in a dark fic though

1/10

Portia and Lucio

Lucio would be like her silly little guy

I think Portia would be fine with having him around

Lucio would think she was a lot of fun

Portia is the character who was hurt by lucio the least and so I believe she would be one of the first to be able to forgive him

6/10

#the arcana #arcana #lucio #count lucio #the arcana lucio #muriel #the arcana muriel #julian #julian devorak #the arcana julian #the arcana nadia #nadia satrinava #portia devorak #muriel arcana #asra arcana

[effloradox]

Oh that Thomas request with a forehead kiss was so cute. Could I pretty please request one where the reader and thomas start a relationship as ghosts and are super cute together. But most of the other ghosts just don't get it? They catch them holding hands or cuddling and the other ghosts just tease them until they finally realise how good thomas and the reader are for each other - 🌸 anon

don’t let the dreamer get lonely

This was such a cute request!! I hope you like it <3

Thomas Thorne x Ghost!Reader

You would think that after knowing someone for almost a decade that your fellow ghosts would be more observant to changes in your daily behaviour. Part of you is convinced that they have noticed and are just messing with you but deep down you know that most of them don't have the tact to do such a thing, especially Pat and Kitty. It can't be hard to miss all the adoring looks Thomas sends you, or spot the two of you when you go for your daily stroll to the lake for a moment of shared peace but the true nature of your relationship seems to have eluded most of your acquaintances.

The ones who know have been fairly upfront about possessing such information, you probably shouldn't have been overly surprised that Julian had been the first to work it out. Whilst you'd initially written the disgraced politician off as a crude fool, he didn't get to be as successful as he was without the eye for detail he obviously possesses. He'd been surprisingly happy to keep your little secret as long as it benefitted him every so often and to keep some semblance of normality you didn’t mind occasionally doing his bidding.

It’s not that you wanted to keep your relationship a secret per-se, it’s just been an enjoyable experience running around like teenagers in love. Thomas had been so bashful in the first few years when approached with any level of physical affection that it had taken months for him to even ask to hold your hand. Dating and courting rituals have changed so drastically since Thomas was alive that you knew the process of going from friends to dating would take a while but it had to move at a pace you were both completely comfortable with.

It doesn’t help that most of your fellow ghosts are quick to tease you and Thomas if you’re seen so much as holding hands. You’ve had more than one argument with Fanny over the implications that come with holding hands, since she can’t imagine a world where doing so without wedding rings is anything less than a cardinal sin. It’s almost fun to wave your entwined hands in front of her in the beginning, just to take delight in her mortified reactions.

It’s only when Pat almost walks in on a private moment that the cat is finally out of the bag about the two of you. He’d been on his way to his room when he’d overheard a loud laugh from one of the drawing rooms, immediately attracting his attention. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, not really, but it wasn’t hard to recognise your laugh and he wanted to know the cause of it. It’s only when he hears a quiet exchanging of words that it occurs to him that this isn’t the kind of conversation he can just walk into.

“You know, I think you were sent for me.” The way you speak is soft, like you're afraid speaking any louder would break whatever bubble you've found yourself in and it peaks the scoutmaster’s curiosity.

“You flatter me with your words.” Pat isn't particularly surprised to find out that Thomas was the source of your joy, the two of you are very close after all. But he's never heard you speak to anyone like that and he can't help his curiosity so the scoutmaster inches closer to the half-open door so he can continue listening.

“I'm serious Thomas.” The room goes quiet and Pat is almost afraid that the two of you know he's there and that’s why you've stopped talking. It's only when Thomas speaks encouragingly to you that he stops worrying about being caught.

“Go on my darling.”

“I remember when I was a kid I saw a shooting star on a camping trip to the lakes. My parents told me that I should make a wish and if no one else wished on that star then it would come true. Silly really, hundreds of people must have seen it, but when I wished and they told me it would come true I believed them.”

“And what did you wish for?”

“True love. It took a while, but I'm so glad you're my wish come true.”

“Your words put my poetry to shame my love.”

It's only when Pat hears a noise from somewhere in the house that he comes back to himself. He bolts away from the room, heading to where most of the other ghosts had congregated for Lady Button's etiquette lesson. Even Allison had joined for this lesson, mainly because Kitty refused to leave her alone about it. In his mind, Pat has an eloquent way of explaining what he's just found out but it all goes out the window as soon as everyone's eyes are on him.

“Thomas and (Y/N) are dating!” The room explodes into a series of confused and surprised exclamations, with only two ghosts remaining silent. Allison is the only person to notice that the politician sitting across from her has not changed his facial expression since before Pat ran in. If anything, Julian almost seemed bored by the revelation.

“Julian, you don't look surprised?” The ghost in question crosses his arms across his chest, leaning back against the couch he's resting on.

“Well they've been pretty obvious about it, if you ask me. I worked it out months ago.” The politician's expression settles into a smug smile as finishes speaking. Alison can't resist the urge to roll her eyes at his smugness, not all that surprised that he’s kept the information to himself. She doesn’t doubt that he’s used that information for personal gain either.

The other ghost that remained silent has still not spoken. Alison knows how close you and the Captain are, so it's more surprising that he hasn’t reacted to the idea of you secretly dating one of the other ghosts right under his nose.

“Cap?” The ghost in question seems to come back to himself at Alison’s gentle prodding, straightening up and clearing his throat. A hush falls over the room as the Captain speaks.

“He came to me about a year ago asking me for my blessing for him to begin dating (Y/N). Said it wouldn't feel right if he didn't ask the closest thing she has to a father figure. I of course said yes once he made his intentions clear, and they seem to be very happy.” At the news of the couple receiving the Captain’s blessing, most of the other ghosts seem to settle into the news, murmuring compliments about the two ghosts.

“I always thought they’d be sweet together. Just thought Thomas was too reserved to ever make a move.” Julian laughs at that, redirecting the attention of everyone in the room back to him.

“He looks at her like she hung the bloody moon. I dread to think of how much poetry he’s written about her.” Alison lets out an involuntary groan at the idea.

“As long as he doesn’t subject us to it at his next poetry lesson he can be as poetic as he wants.”

In the days that follow it becomes apparent to all the residents of Button House just how in love the newly revealed couple are. The most surprising thing to them is how it took them all so long to notice. Subtlety is not in Thomas’ nature, and Julian was correct in saying that he looks at his partner like she hung the moon. It’s sweet really, and the others make sure to start giving you space to be alone together.

#my writing #fics #fem!reader #requested #thomas thorne x reader #bbc ghosts x reader #🌸 anon

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

How would the M6 react to a very very short MC? Probably 4'10 or less?

No I'm not projecting, I'm a tol gorl (I'm a gnome)

The Arcana HCs: M6 with a short MC

~ @zedibleandedible of course you're not, you are a perfectly average height XD I hope you like these, friend! - brainrot ~

-- for headcanon purposes, MC is a fully grown, 4'9 adult. I'll be putting M6's canon heights by their names as well --

Julian - 6'4

Upon meeting you, his mind follows this logical process exactly:

Wow, you are very short

He knows a short person very well. That short person is Pasha

Pasha is not to be messed with

Therefore, you are not to be messed with

But also, Pasha is his precious little sister and must be protected at all costs

Therefore, MC is clearly meant to become someone very precious to him, and he must now protect them at all costs too

This is what was going on behind that plague doctor's mask before you were able to get a read on him. He was stalling because he needed to figure out how to proceed

Having learned the hard way with his little sister, he is going to check first before making any jokes about your height

But if you give him permission, he is going to make so many. He's been saving up short jokes about Portia for years and this is a brand new innocent person to unleash them all on

Kisses work by grabbing his collar and yanking. He doesn't mind it

Asra - 5'8

They think you're perfect and adorable in every way. Your height just puts you at optimal top-of-the-head kisses level

If you think he won't take advantage of this to hold you to his heartbeat each time he hugs you, he absolutely will

They're used to being the short one in their friend groups, so you're definitely a change of pace (in a good way!)

Every time he sees you he wants to pick you up

They want to pat the top of your head so badly

It's right there, and it's so pattable!

But he's so careful about not pressuring you that it takes months of you asking if there's something wrong with your hair before he explains why he keeps staring at it

Teaches you all kinds of spells to float things off of high shelves

Likes watching you put people in their place when they assume that being short means it's okay to pick on you

Knits you a closetful of beanies because the top of your head is visible and so cute and they keep getting distracted whenever they can see it. Joke's on him, you're even cuter wearing the stuff they made for you

Nadia - 5'10

She's composed on the outside but on the inside she's melting

You will not know until you've been together for a very long time and you know just how much she respects you, because

Oh my goodness

She needs to squish you so bad

Or pick you up in her arms. Just once

She knows for a fact that you are strong and smart and capable and someone to take seriously

But you are an entire foot shorter than she is

On the plus side, it means she can just smother you every time she pulls you close for a hug

On the down side, she never wants to miss the opportunity to kiss you, but she's worried that her lips aren't easily accessible enough for when you want to initiate

She starts wearing clothes with lots of fabric flowing from her shoulders so it's easier for you to pull her down for a smooch

Will absolutely destroy anyone who insinuates that you can't be taken seriously because you're too small. Valerius learned a valuable lesson about not looking down his nose at you

Muriel - 6'10

He's terrified

Look, he is over two feet taller than you are. That's at least one chicken's difference. Maybe even two small chickens

What if he hurts you on accident? What if he walks into a room and doesn't see you there? What if you stand next to him and he hits you with his elbow?

Even more scared when you have to share a sleeping space, if he rolls over he could crush you and you wouldn't be able to escape

Until he sees how you respond to Morga and how easily you take to fighting

He's still terrified, but in the other direction

You can do insanely powerful things for someone your size

You also show him proof of his size being a positive thing - you're constantly asking him to reach things for you, and you're always using his wake to get through crowds

He doesn't want to have to double over each time he wants a hug or a kiss, so he gets in the habit of finding something to sit on anytime you two are in the same space so he's easy to reach

Suddenly the hut and clearing have so many tree stump stools

Portia - 5'1

FINALLY

Finally, somebody's shorter than her and not by half an inch!

She knows how annoying all the short jokes can be, she's not going to put you through that

Unless the cuteness aggression kicks in and then she is unloading every joke she's gotten over the years just for the satisfaction of not being on the receiving end of them

Loves being able to lean her head on top of yours during hugs and does so constantly

If you ask her to reach something down for you she will melt into a smug little puddle and gently tease you afterwards

Both of you are people to be reckoned with, so if the two of you ever get an insensitive comment from some foreign noble about Vesuvia sending "travel-sized" citizens they are in for a rough time

All the sailors on the boat now mentally equate "short" with "very strong"

But you are still their go-to person for when there's a small sack of something that's been wedged between a barrel and the corner of the hold, and then would you be so kind as to squeeze in and grab it for them?

Lucio - 5'10

Oh, you never heard the end of it when he was still a ghostly goatman

He was calling you every height-referencing nickname under the sun, and the more annoyed or upset you got the cuter he thought it was

Wait, cute? Oh no. Oh no, he thinks you're cute oh nooo ...

He tones it down quite a bit as he comes to respect and admire you, and eventually quits the nicknames altogether in an attempt to get you to like him better too

But he will never stop loving your height difference!

He feels so tall and manly and big next to you

Every time you ask him to reach something or look over the crowd for you his chest puffs up with pride

Makes the offer multiple times for you to sit on his shoulders to see a performance or announcement better whenever you're passing through a busy marketplace or town square

Will defend your honor against anyone who insults your height, but likes it even better when he holds your travel pack for you while you correct them

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana fluff #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[angelltheninth]

Teasing hds with the Arcana romantic interests?

I'm so used to getting Arcane hds requests that that's what I read at first lol.

Pairing: Asra, Nadia, Lucio, Muriel, Julian, Portia x Reader

Tags: fluff, teasing, flirting, dancing, bathing together, hand kisses, cuddles, love bites, protectiveness

A/N: Why wasn't dating all of them an option? I would have loved that.

ASRA

Takes him time to be comfortable with you before he starts to flirt

Sure he can be playful but you'll know when he starts to turn up his charm

Likes to linger close to you at all times and hold your hand

When he's traveling he always visits you in your dreams and leaves you breathless with his words and touches

Brings you little gifts from his travels as gift giving is one of his love languages and he likes to see you wear the things he buys you

NADIA

Extremely touchy with you, can't keep her hands to herself when you sleep next to her

Loves taking long baths with you, not for any lewd reason, she just likes the relaxation and closeness, of course that doesn't mean she's opposed to some wondering hands

Made it her mission to discover and exploit all your weak spots

Neck and collarbone kisses are a personal favorite of hers and she doesn't hide any marks either

Will pull you to her side the moment she notices someone looking at you wrong and whisper in your ear, telling you not to worry about a thing, she's got you

LUCIO

The man expects you to just get when he's flirting with you even when he sounds like he's just talking himself up

He thinks that you're his and his alone and he will make sure everyone else knows to stay away by staking his claim

He does this by leaving tons of little marks all over you, he loves to hear you moan and squirm against him while his hands travel your body

But at the same time he can get a little bashful when you tease him back and doesn't want to talk about it

It's hard to catch him off guard but when you do you'll be rewarded with his handsome blushing face and quick kisses to cover it up

MURIEL

It takes him a while to get comfortable with physical teasing, plus he tends to be quiet so in the beginning it was mostly tender gestures

Loves feeling you close to him and carrying you around

Pulls you in his lap when you're sitting in crowded places and makes a show of kissing your shoulder

He likes the sharp intakes of breath it causes

Gets embarrassed when you tease him in public but you can't help it, not when he tries to hide his flustered face by burying it against your neck

JULAIN

He wants you to think he can tease you by being overly flirty and laying it on really thick but once you see through him it's easy to flip the tables on him

As much as he likes dancing and going to bars for drinks he enjoys cuddles more

He's a biter for sure, there's nothing that excites him more than seeing you marked up by his teeth

Not shy about kissing you in public or even making out

Lends you his coat as a form of protection and comfort when going out

PORTIA

She's a little bashful when it comes to teasing you, she's more used to being teased

She has learned a few of your weak spots however but only uses that to her advantage when it's just the two of you

Likes to hug you from behind and kiss you below the ear

Regularly wears your clothes, especially the really soft baggy ones because those are your favorite

Brings you flowers every morning and leaves them on your pillow along with a kiss on your cheek

#the arcana #the arcana x reader #the arcana fluff #asra x reader #nadia x reader #lucio x reader #muriel x reader #julian x reader #portia x reader #the arcana headcanons #the arcana imagine #asra alnazar #nadia satrinava #count lucio #muriel #julian devorak #portia devorak

[kaigarax]

"By The Way, I Think I Love You."

Julian Loki x Reader

Quote: "Fall in love with someone you haven't seen in awhile."

My Dearest,

Amongst the billions of people in this world we might one day simply walk past our soulmates and never even know that was them in the first place; with the only interaction being nothing but a simple glance in their direction.

We might spend every single day of our lives with them. Happy, ecstatic, and thrilled because you know that you’ve found the one. We might never get the chance to meet them at all. Always left wondering and waiting for someone that might never even come in the first place. We might be distant friends that are left simply wondering what if.

And maybe -just maybe- we might meet them soon.

Yours Truly

---

“Julian Loke?” You say incredulously as you spot him, a teasing grin on your lips, “the Julian Loke? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Loki scoffs, “we just saw each other six months ago and now you’re acting as if I’m a celebrity or something.”

“Yeah, and all you said to me was hi in a passing glace,” you tease, “so I thought that I should take a more… appreciative approach. Besides, you are basically a celebrity after winning that gold medal there around your neck. Do you plan on showing off to everyone that you’re the prodigy that everyone’s talking about?”

“You say that as if this isn’t your third gold medal.” Loki rolls his eyes in an attempt to get you to ignore the burning hot feeling of his face, “and besides, not everyone is talking about me. Plenty of people talk about you too.”

Your eyes twinkle with amusement the same way that Loki remembers that they used to and it makes his heart race. The last time the two of you had a genuine conversation had been back when the two of you had decided to go your separate ways.

Loki had been the one to initiate the separation and what could you do but accept his departure? You very well couldn’t force him to continue to skate with him despite how disappointed you had been. And it wasn’t as if your friendship had been based solely around figure skating but Loki imagines that it couldn’t have been very easy for you to keep on seeing him so he made the decision to slowly disappear from your life. It was… hard.

Everytime after that had been nothing but the exchanging of pleasantries.

After years of brief conversations Loki’s glad to see that you’re still the same bright eyed girl that he remembers. Happy to see that the fame hadn’t altered the warm ice loving idiot that Loki had once been Loki’s best friend.

Loki clears his throat, “you skated well.”

“You did too.” You replied, smiling softly.

“You watched me?”

“Of course! I always watch your performances when I can. Gotta make sure I don’t miss out on any mistake you make.”

Loki rolls his eyes, “of course you do,” but smiles fondly, “you never did miss the chance to point out when I mess up.”

“Well someone’s gotta keep you humble, Speed King.”

Loki blushes, “oh gosh. Please don’t call me that.”

“What? I thought it was a cool nickname~” You smile brightly, “I’d love a nickname like the speed king.”

“The only nickname you’d get would be slave driver.” Another voice says, as a salmon haired boy pops up behind you, wrapping his arm around you comfortably. You lean into his touch ever so slightly rather than flinching away the way you usually do when someone wraps their arm around you.

Loki immediately recognizes the salmon haired man as your figure skating partner. If not for the fact that he’d watched the two of you skate together than from the way you stand beside him.

It reminds Loki a little of how you and he used to act around one another. There’s a certain comfortable ease that you and the salmon haired boy seem to have that comes with spending hours upon hours with one another.

“I’m not a slave driver! You’re the one that insists on skating as long as I do with your horrible stamina.” You exclaim, smiling as you look at the salmon haired boy.

“Says the one that’s always encouraging me to skate the routine faster or add in another trick that won’t even make it into the final routine.” The salmon haired boy turns to look at Loki, “oh, wow! You’re Julian Loki! I hope this one wasn’t bothering you too much. She’s a total figure skating junkie.”

“I’m familiar.” Loki says.

“Julian and I are childhood friends.” You explained.

Loki cuts in, “and I was her first figure skating partner.” Truthfully, Loki isn’t quite sure why he even spoke up in the first place and is absolutely clueless about what he says next, “I was there for all her firsts.”

You roll your eyes and smile fondly, “ah yes, being the first to see me fall flat on my face hundreds of times when I first started skating. Very exciting.”

“Well I for one would have loved to have seen you fall flat on your face hundreds of times,” the salmon haired boy says, his eyes never once leaving your form.

You nudge him playfully, “as if you don’t already see me fall on my face all the time during practice.”

“That’s because you keep trying to do moves that you haven’t practiced.”

“Well, everyone needs to start somewhere.”

“Not in the middle of practicing a routine.”

Loki clears his throat, “you’re still changing things up on the fly, I see.”

You pout, “hey! I only try to change things up during personal practice and it’s not like I do it all the time. I just get bored of doing the same thing all the time.”

The salmon haired boy turns to look at Loki with an expression that says ‘look at this silly girl’. Loki can only muster up a polite smile in response, his stomach burning.

“Oh, Julian. Is your mother here?” You ask, “I’d love to say hi. It’s been so long since I last saw here.”

“Oh, she’s already gone home after watching me skate. My dad had a headache so the two of them went home instead of watching the doubles. I’m sure she watched you skate on the television though.” Loki clears his throat, “you could come with us to dinner though. I’m sure they’d love to have you come with us. Your parents are invited too if they want to come.”

You smile, “yeah, I think they’d love that. Oh, do you want to go see them now? I’m sure they’d love to greet you. They’re always going on and on about how they miss you and watching the two of us skate together.”

“Oh, that sounds great.” Loki smiles softly.

You turn to look at the salmon haired boy, “you okay to head back without me?”

“Yeah,” he warily looks between you and Loki before nodding, “I’ll be okay. Will you?”

“Of course I’ll be okay.” You give the salmon haired boy a reassuring smile, “Julian will be with me anyways so if anything happens I can push him towards the danger.”

“Wow.” Loki pokes your cheek, “I’m really feeling the love over here.”

You roll your eyes before grabbing onto Loki’s hand like you used to do when the two of you were young, “come on. Let’s go before my parents leave. You know how much they hate to linger.”

---

“Dinner was nice.” Loki says, breaking the silence as he walks you home.

“It was very pleasant,” you smile, “just like old times.”

“Just like old times.” Loki repeated.

You nod.

The two of you had attended many dinners together with both yours and his parents coming together to treat the two of you after a long fought competition much like the one you had done today. Of course, the main difference is that the two of you no longer skate together but the feelings still feel the same.

What is different though has to be you.

Sure you’re the same playful girl that Loki grew up with but you’re simultaneously so different. So much prettier.

He’d never admitted it when the two of you were young but he had always thought you were pretty. He even went as far as calling you ugly one day which sent you into a flurry of tears and you refused to skate with him again until he promised to buy you shaved ice for a week. Now though, Loki doubts he could ever call you anything but pretty and even that seems like an understatement.

Who’d have thought that you’d turn into such a looker when you grew up.

His childhood best friend was now the girl that made his heart race and flutter. The one that made his heart skip a beat. The…

“Congratulations.” Loki says suddenly.

“Hm?”

Loki’s face heats up from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, “congratulation on winning gold.”

You laugh softly, “congratulations to you too.”

“Yeah. Who’d have thought that after such a rough beginning for the two of us that we’d end up as gold medalists in one of the biggest skating competitions of the year.”

“I did, of course.”

Loki laughs, “liar!”

“No! I’ve always believed in the two of us. I just thought that we’d…” you trail off.

“That we’d do it together?”

“Yeah.”

“Well it all turned out for the best,” Loki clears his throat in an attempt to get rid of that uncomfortable feeling in his chest, “I don’t have to worry about you not being fast enough and you’ve… found someone that matches you well when you skate.”

You nod, smiling a smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes.

“You and Sabito are rather different.” You say softly.

“Different?” Loki asks, though more through politeness rather than curiosity, “how so?”

“You love the praise that comes with being brilliant while you’re on the ice,” you explain, “while Sabito loves the expression of himself that he leaves while on the ice. Both admirable reasons for being on the ice - well, as admirable as one can be when it comes to a sport like skating.”

“And which are you?”

“Which am I?”

“That is what I asked, yes.”

“Hm,” you place a hand on your chin before smiling, “why don’t you tell me? Considering what I told you.”

Loki sighs, rolling his eyes for what feels like the hundredth time. It’s a strangely familiar feeling that brings a fondness' to Loki’s chest, “you love the very ice itself.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

Loki chuckles, feeling a genuine smile form on his face. He’d forgotten how introspective you could be and in turn how introspective you made him.

“Hey,” you pout cutely as you turn to look at Loki, “what’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing. I promise.”

“Liar.”

“And how do you know I’m lying, huh?”

“Please. As if I wouldn’t. I was your skating partner for years. I’ve picked up on all your little habits and quirks. You have that same look on your face whenever that you would get when I would ask you to slow down.”

Loki laughs again, “and what kind of a look is that?”

“It’s that one where your eyebrows narrow ever so slightly,” you move your eyebrows as you attempt to replicate the expression for him, “and your eyes say ‘are you serious?’”

Loki ignores the pathetic skip of his heart, “I’m surprised you paid that much attention to me back when we skated together.”

“I’d be an awfully lousy partner if I didn’t notice small things like that.”

Ah, yes. That’s why he had never been all to cut out for partner skating. Not only did his best moves come from a speed that no one else could keep up with but because of his inability to notice mundane details like you. He doubts that he would have had any success in partner figure skating if he hadn’t been paired with you. Not that the two of you ever had much success apart from a bronze in the younger amature leagues.

He bets that the two of you would have done well eventually as you aged. Not only did you increase your speed in skating but Loki had gotten better at adapting to other people. It makes his heart ache as he wonders about what might’ve happened if he hadn’t decided to abandon you.

But this is for the best.

Or at least that’s what he tells himself as he thinks about the respective medals the two of you had won. Both rising up to claim the gold in your respective categories as young prodigies that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

Loki needed a chance to spread his wings and you needed someone like Sabito (Loki begrudgingly admits) that could understand you intuitively. That could help elevate you to another level on the ice rather than someone like him.

“Sabito always makes fun of me,” you say, smiling fondly as you look ahead into the distance, “says that I can read people like a book on the ice but can’t read a social situation to save my life.”

Loki rubs your head affectionately, “he’s not wrong. You are pretty dense.”

“Hey!” You duck lower to escape Loki’s grasp, “I’m not dense!”

Loki laughs, “according to who?”

“Ah, well um… okay maybe no one has said that I’m not dense but it’s not as if people go around talking about how…” you pause for a moment as you attempt to figure out what to say next, “how not dense other people are?”

“And how many people have called you dense?”

You blush, “that’s not important!”

“I’d beg to differ.”

You roll your eyes, moving to flick his forehead like you used to always do when the two of you were young after he’d say something to annoy you.

He lets you.

Momentarily allowing himself to bask in the familiarity it brings him. Allowing himself to pretend, if just for a moment, that everything was the same as it had been before. That the medals around your necks are the ones you won together. That you’re still just kids with big dreams instead of young adults with the pressure of the world on your backs.

He gives you a pout and an over exaggerated wince in pain.

You roll your eyes before leaning in to kiss his forehead.

He blushes brightly in response.

Luckily, you don’t seem to notice as you quickly pull away, preoccupied with your own blush, “oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I should’ve asked before doing that! I was just so caught up in the moment and forgot to ask.”

“It’s okay,” Loki says, hoping his voice doesn’t sound strained.

You tilt your head to the side cutely, “yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

Loki smiles, “it was like back when we were young. You flick my head when you’re annoyed and then lean in to kiss it better because you feel bad about flicking me in the first place.”

“Gosh,” you pout, “you make me sound bipolar.”

“I mean, if the shoe fits~”

“Julian!”

“Sorry,” he flashes you an unapologetic smile.

“Well anyways, thanks for walking back with me.”

“No problem.”

The bright lights of the hotel glow in the distance. The idle chatter of the city distracts you while Loki finds himself hating the fast walking pace he had initially set wishing to have walked with you for a little longer. You yourself also have a tendency to walk faster than normal and Loki’s always liked that about you but right now finds himself wishing the two of you had for once chosen to take your time. That you had stopped to admire the roses for a moment and appreciate the moment you lived in rather than charging forward without a second thought.

But, Loki supposes, there’s always something that must be sacrificed if one hopes to achieve greatness.

He brushes the back of his hand against yours which causes you to turn to him.

He thinks that maybe, right now, he’ll allow himself a moment of reprieve. Even if it might lead to nothing. The words slip from his mouth before they can even form in his mind.

“By the way,” Loki cleared his throat, watching you with a serious look on his face as he walked you back home, “I think I love you.”

Fall in love with someone you haven’t seen in awhile.

---

Him: There’s no universe or timeline where I don’t love you.

#blue lock #blue lock x reader #julian loki x reader #100 ways to fall in love

[bellapple-dude]

Dating phw hcs~ nsfw/sfw

He’s a very unhinged lover

Percy often brings up ideas for you two to engage in when bored

Such as: dumpster diving, making voodoo dolls of one another, sex

Meeting Percy was a whole other story

You met while at a gas station, when you literally bumped into each others heads when grabbing the same energy drink

Percy = smitten

The relationship was taken quite slow at first, but once you guys were going out you never stopped

He is easily the more affection out of the two of you

Always needing you to be in his general vicinity, or just knowing that you’re in his apartment makes him all giddy n’ shit

It has been talked about that he fake fucks you when you bend over

But I have a twist, it turns into real sex cause he begins to grind on you which in return makes you wet and him hard

Also has been talked about, but licking you and biting you 😩

Not always in a sexual manner, but it can be that way, just licking you as a silly goofy way to have your dna on his tongue 🤷‍♀️

Dance parties are the most favored thing you guys do in your free time

Often tipsy, but that just makes it more fun

Hip shaking, tripping over feet, half-assed tricks

It can be romantic though

Slow dancing to strange songs the both of you have taken a liking to (ie: twilight- boa, exit music for a flim- radiohead, etc)

Takes the most random photos, like this one:

And this one:

Makes it more romantic IMO

Before you started dating, he invited you to hang out with his not-so-small friend group, and they INSTANTLY loved you

Move it Percy, you're their new bestie

I distinctly remember seeing him and Natalie in this one scene from the gifted when they locked hands, and I IMMEDIATELY took notice on how large his hands actually were

Which got me thinking... choking? Yes. Face holding? Absolutely. Hand comparison to make you blush? Damn right.

He knows you're obsessed with his hands, and he'll never let you live it down

When intimate, he tends to be more of a person who wants to take care of you more than you taking care of him

He's more turned on seeing the way your face looks when he's giving you pleasure, or teasing you, rather than receiving his own pleasure

Now, if you propose you blow him, he won't exactly turn it down, but he prefers giving way more than receiving, but me personally I’d be sucking his dick quite a bit (everyday)

Loves your ass, can't explain it. But if you are on the curvy side, or plus sized, you bet he's diving in there atleast twice a day.

When having sex, he prefers doggystyle, cowgirl, and spread eagle. Don't ask though

Back to the fluffier stuff

His parents love you, it's just being in your presence makes them appreciate the happiness you've brought their son

Won't hesitate to ridicule your ass if you hurt his beautiful soul, same with your parents if he plays with your feelings

You two were inseparable before dating, imagine how it is now that you’re together

You don’t even use the bathroom without each other, unless if you’re shitting

Leaves the biggest hickies, like fat circular ones right on your neck

Everyone knows that he fucks you

The hickies you give him are small, but much more frequent

Like tiny little bites and bruises around his nipple

Your most favorite spot to leave hickies is on the nape of his neck

Barely visible, they almost look like small bug bites

But they were made from raw love ❤️

If you have a more plump face like I do, then you bet he’s always licking, and kissing your cheek

It’s a force of habit, your cheeks are just so soft, and Percy just loved feeling his lips meet your smooth skin

He’s the mort to your king Julian, and vice-versa

Back to nsfw

Legit best at everything, ESPECIALLY fingering

The way he twists and curls his long digits inside you makes you cry out in pleasure, becoming so intense it leads you to sob

When he takes your panties and shoves them in your mouth as a way to keep you quiet cause everyone is sleeping

The amount of vigor in his tongue when he licks your clit could get to the center of a tootsie pop in two seconds

He relishes in the contorted look on your face when you cum, biting down harshly on your saliva dampened underwear, small salty tears running down your cheeks from the sheer intensity of your orgasm

Percy then begins to check up on you like a million times, “are you okay?” “Do you need anything, are you sure?”

Along with the numerous ‘I love you’s shared between cheek kisses

This relationship = what I want

#percy hynes white #xavier thorpe #xavier thorpe x you #percy hynes white imagine #percy hynes white smut #percy hynes white x reader #xavier thorpe smut #percy white #percy hynes #percy hynes white oneshot #i stand with percy #save percy #percy is innocent #percy white x reader #hottest man alive #xavier thrope fanfic #xavier smut #xavier x y/n #percy hynes white x y/n #percy hynes white blurb #headcanon

[wrongchose]

Omg omg wait wait.. was that an infection au like your doodles? Genuinely so cool omg if you wanna share more I'd love to hear it

OMGGG MY FIRST ASK I'm so happy. I'm sorry i couldn’t reply earlier but i was a little busy

Basically yess, i posted something about them, before but i wasn't sure if continuing the idea would be appropriate (so angsty) but I will give some details.

I haven't really thought about the origin but I'm sure it would be after s2 finale when the sorcerer is defeated. In this AU the pearls have effects on their sorrounding, and the prolongued interaction with it basically caused this infection.

These people were intoxicated. The stank gas mixed with some other chemicals started to create an infectious sort of stank. Once it enters in their system it will fight to take control of the persons nervious system, the infection is just the persons body reacting to these changes.

When a person enters in contact with it they don’t get instantly "monsterified", this person needs intense negative emotion to turn into monsters and even then they can return to their "normal" state but they will behave indifferent to the world around them, they can show syntoms like: tiredness, headaches, dizziness and numbness the only constant one being strong emotions can alter their perception.

Those who have a more direct exposure to the infection (or a long time with it) tend to behave aggresively and turn into power hungry monsters, these can’t be stopped because the infection is already in their system, also they can't get de-stanked because they don't hold anything dear.

One of the main problems is that; Randy was one of the first people to contract this infection, which eventually transferred to the mask and it came back to life, fortunately he can't do anything since his priority is to protect the user, with such a big threat and the state in that Randy finds himself and together with the magic the mask enters a state of "protection at any cost" which prevents him from taking it off because it is constantly healing him from wounds and the same infection.

The infection affects him the same, but it took a greater toll on him because he's the Ninja and has to keep it together to help every one and find a solution. Btw in this AU the Ninja suit resembles bandages, and the only thing visible is his left eye (funny thought he looks like a mummy now HAHA)

I did skipped some other issues like: The Nomicon and Howard actually having something in common, Theresa and Howard bonding, Debbie being a survivor and the whole "inmortal" Julian thingy but i don't think people are interested in that soo

I had a Doc somewhere explaining the things this crew had to go through but idk if i should give it all or make more doodles about it.

#rc9gn #rc9gn au #wrong rambles #wrong posts stuff #Sorry for all the rambling but i love this au sm i can't physically restrain myself from talking about it #is this a little too much? #idk im actually uploading this

[lewis-winters]

3 and 6 for the positivity meme?

I'll answer this backwards because my answer to no. 3 got long.

6 - what's a headcanon that you'll die on that hill?

Lewis Nixon III was a theater kid and has done drag in his life. This is forreal. The ghost of Dick Winters revealed this to me in a dream.

3 - what are some fics you go back and read again and again?

oh I love this question. in the last ask I did say I left out some creators and now is my time to redeem myself! (also another reminder that I desperately need to finish this massive fic rec post I have been steadily adding fics to since January BUT ANYWAY)

under the cut!

all of @churchkey's Winnix and ToyeMalarkey fics! god do I love them so much. I re-read A Spell of Riot once a year since it was completed.

and of course @anthrobrat's Bob, TP, and Gen Kill fics!

all of BristlingBassoon's Winnix fics - Queen for a Day inspired my "Lewis has done drag" conviction and When we met, you'd never expect this series is just. divine.

@marycontraire's Contact Tracing. of course.

make it up as we go along - Joe drives his cab, Chuck plays Call of Duty, and Babe just wants to pass Biochem; their apartment is like Grand Central at the best of times and that’s without the two possible fugitives they decided to harbor in the guest room; Luz’s life is turning into a terrible romcom about a coffee shop; Harry’s friends are bad at running a bar but they’re trying their best; somebody got punched in the face; and someday there will be a New York Times Bestseller about all of it.

Or, the interlinked soap opera-worthy drama of a group of millennials in Philadelphia, told day by day.

Lie if God is Sleeping - Gene flipped the puzzle over to read the back. “My name is Edward Heffron,” he read aloud. “I killed a man, and now I’m paying the price. 18,000 pieces. It will take approximately seven days to complete me. For experienced players only.”

What the fuck was a curse this nasty doing in a Philadelphia used bookstore?

rivers always reach the sea - my favorite webgott canon era series fic ever

Situation Normal - Winters and Nixon move to the city, reunite with some old friends and find themselves adopting a new, four-legged one.

By Small and Small - Babe wants to keep talking with Gene, but he doesn’t really know what to say. He feels like, in the past, he never would’ve shut up, but now, since Julian, he’s just got nothing. Maybe that’s grieving; Bill says that’s grieving, anyway, but Bill uses the term like a Band-Aid to put over every aspect of Babe that has changed.

Or: The one where Gene is in med school and Babe's messed up over Julian.

Dear Lover - A group of friends who supervise soldiers' mail are secretly very invested in one Major Winters' letters to a woman he seems to be having a secret affair with.

all or SJtrinity's Band of Brothers (webgott) fics and The Pacific (sledgefu and andyeddie) fics

Green and Gold - Merriell has dark magic and a guilty conscious. He never considered how the war would change them.

The American Sublime - "Tactician that he is, he finds the likelihood of still being loved by someone who, thanks to him, has just awakened to a wicked hangover and a face full of cold piss next to nil."

Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon billet together at a farmhouse in Holland for a rare few weeks of peace and privacy, while Dick struggles to process his promotion and his time away from Easy Company. Set during the first minutes of Episode 5, "Crossroads."

Cows. Wildflowers. Feelings. Handjobs.

Black Ink on Some Blue Lines - It’s been sixteen years since the letter was written, but it never found its way to the one it was intended for. The thing about secrets is they eat away at you, not all at once but slowly over the years, and you begin to wonder, to play out the what if scenarios in your mind. Instead, David buried it away and pretended like it never existed. He should have killed it, he thinks to himself, not buried it while it still had breath in its lungs.

In which David remembers his evolving relationship with Joe over the course of the war and decides to deliver a letter.

Baby You Can Drive My Car - Everyone has their thing. Perco takes watches. Nix scrounges for liquor. Welsh continues his never-ending quest for anything that will please Kitty Grogan. Even Eugene robs abandoned apothecaries with only a touch of guilt, making off with as many bandages and sulfa packets as he can carry. And then there’s Speirs, sweeping behind them like a shadow and carrying away anything they leave behind that sparkles or shines.

Babe steals cars. He’s getting pretty good at it.

Come in From the Cold - In which Smokey Gordon's coffee shop 'Bastogne' saves lives by lending cutting instruments and offering a steady supply of caffeine and sugary goodness. The shenanigans are just a by-product.

Call me 'sweetheart', Please? by @mariamegale - A not-relationship in the making. (baberoe)

anthroposcene, interrupted - Three months ago, Ray Person was a Philosophy major at Harvard. Now, he's dodging Runners trying to get from St. Louis to Cambridge without a) starving, b) dying by accident or c) offing himself. However, three's company, and it comes in the form of a dog with no bark and a taciturn Marine Staff Sergeant who's last name is Not-Pitt, which has gotta count for something.

#ask #ask game #webgott #winnix #baberoe #speirton #sledgefu #fic rec

[svartalfhild]

A Case for Jezri

Listen, I know how the DS9 fandom feels about Jezri, but I just wanted to take a moment to explain why I like it. I'm not asking people to agree; I just want to give it some love because there are things to enjoy and to explore in that ship that haven't gotten any discussion.

(Also why is 99.9% of the Jezri tag just people tagging their hate? Who raised y'all? Please be respectful towards your fellow fans who may not feel the same as you.)

I'm no stranger to finding my gold nuggets in the trash heap when it comes to Star Trek ships. I'm the type to find the things to love about something that was executed poorly by the writers. Datasha is my TNG OTP. Need I say more.

So don't think I don't understand some of the main objections people have to Jezri. I get it. I do. So with that out of the way, let's get into the good stuff.

Julian's personal story, particularly in the later parts of the show, has a strong motif of loneliness, which comes from two or three different aspects of his life. The first one is of course the fact that he's an augment. He's socially isolated by his mental and physical superiority. No one can keep up with him, and he has to diminish himself to fit in, especially before the truth comes out. The second is the evolving lives of the people closest to him. There reaches a point where nearly all of his closest friends are either married or in committed relationships, and he's the free floater who has to hope he can still fit into their lives somewhere. The third aspect is his own shit luck with relationships. No one sticks with him for very long for whatever reason. And there was the everything with Jadzia on top of it all. Poor man couldn't catch a break.

And then along comes Ezri. Quark is quick to treat her as same old Dax with a new coat of paint, for whose affections he immediately tries to generate competition with Julian, because he is a sexist little toad. Julian, to his great credit, is like "what the fuck, Quark" and makes it clear that he sees Ezri as a different person, not Jadzia 2.0 who he now has a chance with. Ezri is his new friend, and he's not going to be pulled into Quark's bullshit.

The writing is unfortunately rather uneven when it comes to showing us the establishment and development of that friendship, so we have to piece together the vibes from several disparate moments, some big and meaningful and others more incidental, but that's not too difficult for me. Fandom has done more with less.

Anyway! Through all of that, we kind of get to see that Ezri sees Julian differently than Jadzia did in a way that allows them to click very quickly. Jadzia sort of saw Julian as an adorable puppy excitedly wagging his tail at her (and by the time he matured into someone who was more her type, he'd stopped pursuing her and then she was with Worf). Ezri sees him as the charming guy who knows how to have a good time. It seems natural to me that Julian would quickly latch onto someone who thought his holosuite adventures were demonstrative of a healthy sense of fun and not a sign of immaturity. Ezri is literally the bad bitch he pulled by being autistic.

And they are such adorable awkward nerds with each other! The big eyes! The soft touches! The fumbling! The trying to keep things platonic because they just like each other so much that they're afraid of messing things up! The breaking down and making out anyway because they can't escape the vibes! *chef's kiss*

The thing that completely sold me on Jezri, though, was their moment together at the end of the last episode where Julian is mourning Miles' departure and feeling lonely and then Ezri rolls up like "Hey~!" and expresses the desire to have dinner and do holosuite adventures with him. That was so beautiful to me. Everything is changing and so many of his friends have left and it's the ultimate pit of loneliness for him, but then there's Ezri. He has her now and he's not alone and the war is over and there's hope and the start of something new and soft. I cried, y'all. Like maybe it's because I'm at a place in my life where I feel left behind while I watch all my friends move on with their lives, but man, the way Ezri represents the light at the end of a dark tunnel for Julian just got me so good.

Here are some of the headcanons I have to supplement the sparse canon material and give further depth and enjoyment to my shipping experience:

They're both bisexual.

Since they're both healthcare professionals, they have a lot to talk about where their fields intersect. They make a great team when they're working, but this also results in them developing a shorthand with each other that is somewhat infuriating for others.

Ezri's closeness with Julian allows her to better develop her friendship with Garak, and there are several times when all three of them get up to shenanigans together.

They sometimes get each other new tea blends to try as a fun little surprise.

Ezri tries to teach Julian some of the gymnastics stuff she remembers at least once with mixed results.

Julian particularly loves hugging Ezri, and she particularly loves holding his hand.

Julian persuades Ezri to read Lord of the Rings, and she gets really into it, so they end up doing a holosuite adaptation as Legolas and Gimli. Ezri plays with her beard a lot.

Quark fucking hates how cute they are and Kira makes a point to tell him about every sweet moment she sees between them just to fuck with him.

Ezri very much gets in on the Fuck With Section 31 train and helps Julian do spy shit. The criminal psychology knowledge comes in handy.

Anyway, these are my feels. Please don't air your grievances here. I just want to sail on my dinghy and hope someone out there is sailing with me.

#Star Trek #DS9 #Julian Bashir #Ezri Dax #Jezri #if you're gonna comment just please don't be an asshole I'm so tired

[bijoumikhawal]

Bite the Hand That Starves You: Chapter Eight

Fic as of the chapter contains: discussion of abortion, references to drug use, intersex and trans characters, torture/graphic violence, colonialism and its aftermath, implied sexual violence, disassociation, kidnapping, explicit sexual content

Kardasi: -ijje: an affectionate Kardasi suffix. One adds it to a shortened version of a name. It is inappropriate to use this for a person you aren't very close to.

Whoo, final chapter! The sex scene here is the section that starts with "Garak had wanted to be alone, Julian guessed."

---

“We're within range to transport.” Garak rolled his shoulders, sitting up. “Alright. Do you have any questions about the sensor scrambler, or anything else I'm leaving with you?”

“I don't know if you should be going alone.”

“That's a no, then, I take it. I can't explain your presence if I don't. At best, Lokar will deny any knowledge of Dr. Bashir.” Garak began patching in a comms signal. “Besides, if I know Lokar- and I do- he'll try to sabotage the ship. Someone needs to keep an eye on it. And you have 15 seconds before they start getting video of this room.”

Sisko narrowed his eyes, but left quickly. Garak suspected there'd be… an interesting debriefing, after this.

Sisko had no qualms about strong arming others for a good cause, but he rarely appreciated it himself.

Garak was put through to a secretary he'd never seen before first, standing over the shoulder of a traffic controller. “Ship 5371-B, state your purpose. You are not scheduled to be here, and without good reason and authorization, you will be subject to detention until trial.”

Garak smiled. “Of course. Tell Barkan Lokar that Elim Garak has come to pay him a visit.”

She gave no sign of recognition. “What nonsense is that? Elim Garak is not on our list of those with authorized access.”

“-if you tell him that,” Garak said, cutting off her next sentence, “I think you'll find I have an appointment. And do tell him it was very rude to schedule one without asking me about it first.”

She bent and pressed some keys on the console, sighing. Garak felt the shift in gravity and momentum as a tractor beam took hold. “I hope detention is worth your little prank, sir.” The video switched off. Presumably, she was double checking his statement.

Typically a secretary would not be immediately available to traffic control. Barkan had not mentioned him by name, but clearlh he'd told his staff to expect someone. This was going well, so far.

Garak got himself a glass of rokassa juice.

The video came back on, though the tractor beam didn't turn off. Garak expected as much- odds were they'd set up a stasis lock, or potentially tow it into dock. The secretary was good. Her face betrayed no sense of shame or embarrassment. “Get on the transporter pad and you'll be beamed in.”

Garak bowed his head to her with a smile. “Thank you.”

Barkan and a helmeted guard were waiting for him. Garak gave the latter a curious look. “Updating the uniform, are we?”

Occasionally Cardassian units used helmets, but they didn't look like this, with a full face cover- giving no indication of who was underneath. “Something like that. Why don't you sit, Elim? It's been so long since we talked.”

Garak did take the offered seat. “Has it.”

“Within the bounds of the Union, I mean.” Barkan amended his statement. “There's something freeing about being here instead of on enemy territory, isn't there?”

“I don’t know. The line designating “the Union” and “enemy territory” simply passed over me one night- I didn't find much difference in how I spoke in the evening or the morning that bookended it.”

“How about the evening and the morning that bookended the last time we spent a night together?”

Garak let himself tense. Better to make Barkan think he really had the advantage, to let him revel in it. "I was interrogated after, you know. I imagine you find that funny."

Barkan laughed. "You make me so cruel in your imagination, Elijje. Sometimes I worry I won't meet your expectations, and leave you disappointed."

"I find you meet them effortlessly."

Barkan sat, resting his head in his hand. "You're wanting your Terran doctor back, I take it. Have you ever noticed how similar they look to Bajorans? It's uncanny."

Garak rolled his thumb over the transmitter in his pocket. "They also look much like Vulcans. I wouldn't have come for anything else, Barkan."

"So we're back to first name basis, then." Barkan smiled. "Perhaps you'll be amenable to my suggestion, then."

Garak didn't bother to respond.

Barkan's mouth twisted. "Obviously, I don't want your doctor. He means less than nothing to me. Palandine has… gone missing, while I've been away. And as I've made clear, I do not consider our partnership annulled."

Garak had long suspected such was the case with Palandine. His few contacts didn't run in her circles, but they had heard nothing of her- and no news had remarked on Kel's emergence party. A girl of her standing would have a public one, and to not have it would normally make the news as well. The confirmation made his stomach drop all the same. It dropped further knowing their disappearance had not, as he had assumed, been at the military's direction.

"My brother died in the war with the Federaji, as you know. I am the last Lokar."

Garak flexed his hand in his pocket. It was a quiet admission regarding Kel, but a quiet admission was still terrifying. "It always comes back to this with you."

"I can end your exile."

Garak’s tongue stuck.

Barkan smiled. "Yes, even considering that incident on Bajor."

Garak centered himself in his mind. The cost of ending his exile this way was being alone with Barkan. Without the Order behind him. And if he struggled to conceive… Lokar would not examine himself. Besides, he surely wanted revenge.

But, to be on Cardassia again… and he still had contacts outside the Order… he could even find Palandine, he was smarter than whoever Central Command had assigned to look for her.

If it was Tain before him, he knows he wouldn't bother weighing the options. No matter what he'd asked, Garak would do.

He will still have to earn Tain’s forgiveness if he accepts. Until then, he will still treat Garak as a traitor and enemy. And Garak knows- Tain prides himself on outliving his enemies.

“You seem overwhelmed.” Barkan stepped behind Garak, squeezing his shoulder ridges- not in a way appropriate to do in one's office. “I'll let you sleep on it, hm?”

“In a cell?”

“Hardly.” Barkan’s grip eased, hands sliding down Garak’s shoulders. “Second. Show Elim to our guest quarters.” The helmeted guard nodded.

It was a cell. A comfortable cell (not silk quilt comfortable), the one you got when you fucked the warden, but a cell nonetheless. He couldn't leave, after all.

But if he was smarter than Barkan, he could get out. And if he could get out, he could trust himself to take the deal and come out on top.

---

Julian laid on the floor of his cell, pressing his swollen cheek to the cold tiles.

After Lokar was satisfied with himself, the helmeted guard took him back here. According to his internal clock, it was well into the night.

He turned, giving his the other side of his face a chance with the tile. Left-down, left-up, right-up...

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feet.

Earlier, a medic had come to see him, and promptly left upon being satisfied that Julian's injuries wouldn't kill him. He'd expected to be left alone for some time after that- it had only been three hours.

Julian kept still, closing his eyes most of the way.

The security field's hum ceased abruptly. Whoever it was walked in, stopping by his hip- Julian could just make out the toe of a uniform boot. Not the medic again, then, or anyone else interesting.

"Preparing for death." The helmeted guard muttered to himself. Julian heard him sling his rifle onto his back, out of immediate reach.

Nothing for it.

Julian braced his arm against the floor and swung his legs up and forward, catching him below the knee.

It wasn't his best, but it worked- knocking the guard off balance and having him flail a bit, hands away from his gun.

Julian got up, grabbing the rifle and strap. It wasn't that hard to tear the two apart- there was decent give, and the snapshot unfastened easily.

The guard spun on his heel. Julian hit his side with the rifle, between his ribs. Unfazed, the guard grabbed Julian by his shirt and hauled him forward. Julian hit him on the side of the head with the rifle, then jabbed him in the front of his neck with his elbow.

The helmet was more about secrecy than armour. The guard grunted in pain. Julian hit him again, then threw the rifle, skittering, across the room.

The helmeted guard slammed him against the wall. Julian grabbed for his throat, shaking off the dizziness.

At first the guard ignored it, slamming him again. Julian's grip did not break.

It was a common misconception that you couldn't strangle a Cardassian, because of the shape of their cervical vertebrae. It was certainly near impossible to break a Cardassian's neck- the force required would decapitate most. But strangulation simply required one to know where to put pressure- just below the corners of the jaw.

Two more slams, a little more panicked, then the guard grabbed his wrists, trying to break his grip.

This wasn't the time to worry about being found out.

Julian threw the guard to the floor once he slumped against him and began stripping his uniform off.

If nothing else, he could get word back to Deep Space Nine about where exactly he was- though Barkan wasn't too unlikely of a who, narrowing things down still would take time, and wouldn't help them much. It wasn’t exactly easy to get prisoners out of the Union even during scheduled exchanges.

The fit wasn't terrible. Fortunately, most Cardassians were Julian’s height, or a bit taller.

Now he just had to hope Second was the one monitoring his cell.

He pulled Second under his cot, so it wouldn't be too obvious who was laying on the floor looking in from outside. Pressing a fob hidden in Second's pocket rematerialized the security field.

Julian took a second to breathe, and turned. Would he be able to send a message from Barkan's office? That was where he knew to go- if nothing else, it'd be safer than wandering around.

Julian adjusted the strap of the rifle, and began heading for the first locked door. Before he even got there, he ran into trouble- not for himself, thankfully.

The first tell was that the lights were darkened- someone had cut the power here. Julian steeled himself, pressing onwards.

Garak was a welcome sight, even when fighting a guard by himself. Neither paid him attention- Garak was focused on winning, and the guard had his back to Julian.

Julian had never seen Garak get physical while in his right mind before. During his withdrawal- well. It hadn't come down to it, but Julian had been afraid of hurting him precisely because Garak was too strong to easily subdue.

The guard lost.

Garak faced him, and stood, approximating a stance. "Well, Second. I didn't expect a friend of Barkan’s to be so chivalrous as to wait his turn."

Julian took off the helmet and allowed Garak’s genuine surprise to warm him.

"Doctor." Garak stared a moment longer. "I was coming to get you- but it seems you only needed some help, hm?"

Julian touched the bruises on his cheek. "These are from earlier, actually."

Garak raised his brow ridges. "What a busy week you've had."

---

Julian had let Garak take the lead on their detour, though he wasn't entirely happy about it. He said nothing, but it showed in his posture.

Garak had never been to this particular prison before, but he was familiar with the particulars of their construction. Seperate maintainence corridors with manual locks were necessary- not too unlike the station's, though with more vertical space.

"May I see that?" Garak held out a hand beside him, eyeing the lock. Julian handed him the rifle.

Breaking it was a little louder than Garak would have liked, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Garak had Julian slip inside before him, and urged him to walk a few meters before leaning against the wall to rest.

“You don't seem surprised to see me.”

Julian looked up, having chosen to sit on the floor. “Should I be?”

“We fought the last time we talked.”

Julian managed not to laugh, but couldn't help a smile. “Garak, anyone could tell that fight wasn't about me.”

Garak narrowed his eyes in slight annoyance. Yes, it hadn't been his best showing.

Julian looked down. "Besides, practically speaking, there's not many people who would get here so quickly. The rest of the senior staff, you, Odo... you're about it."

And it hadn't been so long that a quick rescue was utterly improbable to him, compared to drawn out negotiations, or no rescue at all.

"I presume I make that list because of my connection to Barkan. After all, compared to the rest, my qualifications are lacking." Lying was always easy for Garak, even silly, obvious lies.

Julian looked up again, this time serious. "Barkan isn't going to leave it at this. He knows where you are." He stood.

“I know.”

“So we can't just escape.” The hall was narrow, and Julian’s expression was made all the more intense this close up.

“What else can we do?” Garak raised his eye ridges. “I got caught trying to get to you. You only haven't gotten caught yet because you got lucky with the uniform and you have decent aim. Do you think assassinating a warden is a spur of the moment decision?”

“What's your plan, then?” Julian didn't hide his frustration.

“To get out of here alive, just like it was when I beamed down. We are in his territory, doctor. He has the advantage. That's why you were brought here. I am far safer on the station than just about anywhere else in the quadrant.”

Julian covered his eyes with his hands, frustrated. Garak, being the one who lived this careful balance, had a point. Even if Julian didn't like it.

Garak took his transmitter out of his pocket and began adjusting the dials on it.

Julian looked up again, probably in response to the clicking Garak himself only barely heard. “What's that?”

“A transmitter. We'll have ten minutes to talk when it's activated.”

Julian stared at him. “To who?”

“Commander Sisko took your disappearance personally.”

“Ah.” Julian paused, clearly reasoning through it. “By himself?”

“He didn't want anyone else in trouble if things went poorly. I only barely convinced him to stay on the shuttle.” Garak stopped for a moment. “The only things of use on you are that uniform and rifle, correct?”

“More or less.”

Garak nodded to himself and hit the last button. “Commander, can you hear me?”

There was a slight crackle on the other end. “I can hear you. Do you have Dr. Bashir?”

It'd ended up more the other way around- “I'm here.”

“I take it Lokar isn't simply handing you over.”

“No. We're going to need to break out.”

A moment of silence. “Alright. What are we working with?”

“I've got a uniform with a helmet and a rifle. And I stole some gloves from the medic who they had look at me earlier.” Julian shifted to rest against the wall.

“I have everything I beamed down with: this transmitter, a spare knife, nothing else interesting.”

“Did you find an angle with Lokar?”

“No.”

Julian looked at him with a tinge of suspicion. It almost made Garak feel better. “Nothing?”

“He wants revenge. Unfortunately, I can't give that to him- and if I did, I don't think he'd let you go anyways.”

Julian accepted that, but his brow remained slightly furrowed.

“I don’t think your suspicion of possible sabotage is wrong, Garak, but so far nothing has happened up here. They did weaken the strength of the tractor beam, but that’s all. And judging from what I saw of the engine earlier, it won’t be able to break the hold on it’s own.”

“That won’t be a problem. Remember what I told you about the triangular device?"

“The one you clearly soldered together on the way over? Yes.”

“In…” Garak checked the time on the transmitter. “Half an hour, attach it to the spot I told you about. You won't need to worry about the tractor beam once its active.”

“That's me taken care of. How are you two getting out of there? You don't know where the transporter room is.”

“No need.” Garak said quickly. “We just need to get to Barkan’s office. They beamed me directly down there. Many in administrative positions have the transporter block stripped from their offices for convenience. It seems he picked up the habit.”

“Do you know how to get there?”

“Of course,” overlapped with Julian’s “Yes.”

“He had me brought in a few times to harass me.” Julian gave as explanation.

“That explains your face,” Garak said to himself, then spoke louder, “Once we're in, I can signal you on the other transmitter. The transporter controls aren't too different on the shuttle compared to what you're used to. There shouldn't be any other life signs to be confused by once the signal goes up.”

“And if you don't get there?”

“It's still what we agreed to on the station.”

“Alright. I'll be waiting for both of you.”

Garak ended the transmission, looking down the corridor as he put away the transmitter.

“What did you agree to?”

Garak looked at him, managing not to startle at Julian speaking so close to his ear that he could feel his breath across it. “My dear doctor. What do you think?”

---

They couldn't get to Lokar's office from the maintenance corridor, unfortunately, but it did let them bypass most of the locked doors.

Garak peered out in the hallway first. "Clear, so far."

Julian put the helmet back on before stepping out after him. There was another door, a few meters away, not locked, and then they'd be at Barkan’s office.

Foot steps sounded. Quickly, they turned to each other- Julian grabbing Garak roughly, and Garak putting up a theatrical struggle.

It was one of the normal guards. He laughed, amused. “I heard the warden had a guest. Did he not like his accommodations?”

“Not at all.” Garak snarled. “One is hardly a guest in a prison."

Julian jerked on his arms, pulling him down the hall.

“I am not going back in there!” Garak was testing the limits of of the strength Julian normally allowed himself to use, but not too badly. “Central Command will be hearing about this!”

Julian raised his eyebrows. Banking on the guard not knowing how nonsensical that statement was wouldn't have been his first choice. He kept pulling on Garak, they were almost to the door, and-

“Second, since when do you wear gloves?”

Julian kept pulling on Garak. He'd hardly premeditated all this- he wouldn't be able to imitate Second’s voice on his first try.

The guard raised his rifle. “Second.”

Julian stopped. They did not have time to get to the door before the guard fired his gun.

Unfortunately, the very act gave him away.

“Well, at least he won't be such a smug bastard after this.” The guard advanced.

Garak was clearly thinking too much to admonish him for the potentially fatal error.

“Take off the helmet or I'll shoot the other one.”

Slowly, Julian did so.

“Ah. That's why you're a special interest prisoner.” He laughed.

Julian hadn't turned around yet, but it sounded like he'd walked until he was just out of arms reach.

“You do know he was planning to go back to the warden, don't you?”

An odd look entered Garak’s eye, then- he yanked the helmet out of Julian’s hand and lunged forward, pushing Julian aside. He swung down first, nearly knocking the rifle from the guards hands, then at his head.

There was a loud crunch.

Julian grabbed his own rifle from its holstered position and aimed. His parents had gotten their money's worth. Sometimes he was even glad of it.

Garak stalked back to him, pulling the helmet down over his head.

“You aren't taking his…”

“We can't shoot our way out, doctor. We have to keep up the charade successfully if we run into someone else.”

Julian felt a hot rush of shame, but Garak seemed content to leave it at that. He pushed past Julian and through the door.

---

The hall to Barkan’s office had not been busy before, so Garak didn't expect to see anyone. At the same time, the absence of others had him on the knife's edge of aware and nervous.

"You didn't happen to get Second's access fob, did you?" Garak asked.

"Actually..." Julian stuck his hand in his pocket. "I might have." He handed something over.

Garak looked at the polymer in his hand.

There was such a thing as too easy.

There was, also, no other good path out of here. He'd failed the parameters of his own test- he couldn't stay, take his chances with Barkan, and leave Julian in custody. Especially not after Julian had attacked Second.

Garak pressed the fob up against the door's scanner.

The door opened to a dark room. The power hadn't been cut- if it had, the door wouldn't have opened, and there would have been emergency lights. Garak shut the door behind them and pressed the button on his transmitter, letting Sisko know they'd reached their goal.

Julian stood in place, shifting his weight. "Something isn't right."

Garak didn't reply. Hopefully, this part would be fast, and the rest would catch up with them after they were on the runabout-

The door creaked behind them.

Garak kept still as light cut across the floor.

"Second? Did our guest get antsy in his quarters?"

Barkan’s tone was easy. He assumed he was still in control.

Garak saw Julian’s fingers tighten on the rifle. Don't, he thought, wishing it could be heard. You won't be able to commit. The fallout will spin out of control immediately. Don't.

Luckily, Second was a somewhat quiet man, and Barkan had interpreted the finger tightening as a "yes, something like that". He circled around them, sitting at my desk. "Am I lucky, Elijje? Have you reached a conclusion about my proposal?"

A good Cardassian doesn't believe in fickle luck, Garak thought. "Perhaps."

Barkan’s smile broadened. Naturally, he assumed his offer had been too tempting for Garak to refuse him. "Are you always shy at times like these?"

Garak almost laughed at him. He'd been acting both times- was Barkan not suspicious of the first?

He replied easily, "Perhaps not all of me has outgrown being Ten Lubak."

There was no way to signal to Sisko that they'd been interrupted. He would know soon enough, in any case. Julian remained tense beside him.

Barkan let out a soft laugh. "Ten Lubak could be rather shy, couldn't he? Back then, that was... alluring."

At what point, Garak wondered. Their first two meetings had been marked by scorn.

The trouble with transporters was, without a badge, the operator had to select individuals manually, going off life signs- species, age, height, and weight. Barkan was taller, but otherwise, he and Garak had similar readings.

Barkan's desk terminal beeped, indicating an incoming call. Barkan pressed the button to answer it.

"Warden, that Federaji prisoner you were interested in has escaped. We just found Second on the ground in his cell."

Barkan and Garak both reacted quickly. Barkan lunged for Julian, and Garak lunged at Barkan, throwing him back into the wall.

Garak’s stomach lurched, and he had enough time to be grateful Sisko had chosen correctly even with unfamiliar controls before the sight of Barkan’s office faded.

He and Julian had been of the same mind, it seemed, as each had a hand on the other, keeping them supported as they rematerialized on the runabout.

Sisko turned his chair to face them. “Next time I'm bringing the Defiant.”

Julian took off the helmet and looked at Sisko. “What do you mean next time?”

"It's good to be prepared, doctor." Garak let go of him. "Thank you for all your help- I'll take over here for awhile, commander." He leaned over the console. "You and Dr. Bashir should get some rest."

---

Garak had wanted to be alone, Julian guessed. And he was- for as long as it took Julian to take a nap.

He woke up to the sound of Sisko getting out of his bunk. "Commander?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Julian. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's fine. I expect you're probably going to order me away from work when we get back anyway." Julian sat up. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. However, I expect Garak didn't sleep during the time he beamed down, and I know he didn't sleep beforehand. I'm going to relieve him in a bit."

"In a bit?"

"I'm going to shower first."

Julian got out of bed. "Don't use the water setting. I'll go tell him."

Garak leaned over the console, carefully going over every readout he could get displayed, it seemed.

"Sisko's in the shower. He wants to take over once he's..." Julian trailed off.

Garak had turned to look at him. Very... particularly. Julian’s hand had come to rest on the back of the pilot's chair. Garak’s own hand crept up to cover it. "Yes, doctor?"

"Uhm. He'll be out in a little. I warned him off using the water setting. I know the temperature can be difficult." Julian backed up a bit, his mouth dry and face growing warm. "He had the top bunk, but we can swap if you want."

Garak kept staring a moment. "I'll decide after I get a look at them."

Julian nodded, and retreated to the sleeping cabin.

He laid back down on the bottom bunk, facing the wall. His heartbeat was fast and his cheeks stayed flushed with heat, even as he heard Sisko pass behind him into the cockpit, the door opening, closing, and opening. And closing.

He was able to feel that stare again.

The mattress dipped behind him as Garak slipped under the covers. Things were quiet for a moment.

“You said you didn't want anything else, that night. Have you never wanted anything else of me, doctor?”

“Garak,” Julian started, then cut himself off with a gasp as Garak's hands slipped under his shirt, pulling him close.

“Yes?” Garak

"I- we-"

"Surely, you know why Barkan focused his attention on you, doctor. The conclusions he jumped to the second he saw you."

Julian closed his eyes. "Yes, I suppose it's rather ridiculous." A faint dissuasion.

Garak was quiet for a moment. "To be condemned for something you haven't done yet, yes, I suppose it is."

Julian opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned in Garak’s arms to face him.

Garak shifted back slightly. “Just once. We don’t have to think on it ever again.”

Even Julian could appreciate that it was a pretty lie, even if it wasn't a happy one. It was his move- Julian leaned forward, tilting his head to kiss Garak.

"I'm still not safe." Julian reminded him as he broke away.

"How convenient. So am I." Garak nudged Julian onto his back, rising up over him. "It's nice to be on the same page." He pulled Julian’s pajama bottoms down to his knees.

Garak’s gaze had dimmed in intensity somewhat, but Julian still felt pinned. It wasn't exactly a bad feeling. One only had to look down to confirm that. He kicked his trousers the rest of the way off and began pulling at Garak’s tunic- fair was fair.

Garak let him, but pulled his own trousers down. He leaned down, blanketing Julian and pressing him onto the mattress. Garak kissed him as he shifted into what Julian guessed was a more comfortable position.

Julian’s cock slipped between Garak's thighs, and groaned into the other man's mouth as he jerked upwards against him. Noticing, Garak pressed his thighs together. Julian let out a choked moan. Apparently Garak had been anticipating this for some time, as the soft flesh between his legs was slick.

Garak grabbed Julian’s knee and pulled it to the side, spreading his legs apart.

Julian broke the kiss. "Garak-? Oh!" His head fell back as Garak- it was, what he could best describe as a thrust, with Julian's cock trapped between his thighs. Julian grabbed his hips, letting out a string of breathy moans as he tried to meet Garak, thrust for thrust.

He'd certainly never tried intercrural like this.

Garak’s teeth grazed his earlobe, making Julian flinch away.

Garak pulled back, and Julian stroked his shoulder, trying to soothe him.

"It's alright, you just- startled me." Cardassian front teeth were sharper than many other species, despite not looking so obvious.

Julian’s hand tightened as Garak's teeth met his skin again, this time the soft flesh neat the hinge of his jaw.

No longer occupied by kissing, Julian looked down at the shoulder in his grasp, watching the deepening blue color spread over the ridge, and the shift of muscle under the skin as Garak kept thrusting against him.

Garak's teeth traveled down his neck- never biting down fully, as Julian half expected. Only grazing, nipping- almost like a tease.

Julian’s cock slipped out from between Garak's thighs as Garak groaned into his collarbone. A rush of warm wetness spilled forth, and Julian felt something new sliding out of Garak, prodding against his stomach.

Garak’s breaths changed as he ground his cock against Julian’s. Julian could feel ridges, though instead of the scales he was used to, they were of soft flesh that reminded him of the inside of a body. It also felt teasing- brushing against his cock, but more forcefully against his stomach, leaving wet trails.

Julian slid a hand down between their bodies, wrapping his hand around both of them.

Garak shuddered above him, halting for a moment before fucking into Julian’s hand, against his cock, with renewed vigor.

---

Garak would die before saying so, but having had his cycle hit its peak after the removal of the wire violently confronted him with the fact that while he certainly felt arousal, orgasm carried shockingly limited pleasure for him now. Perhaps it was temporary.

Pleasure hadn't really been the point, of course. And the rest of it had still been nice enough.

They had had to part to clean up- tired as they both still were, neither had really wanted to go to sleep like that. Julian was in his arms now facing the wall of the bunk in a mirror of before.

Garak had known the vagueries of the human body, but of all the aliens he'd met, he'd never seen one naked before. Some parts were unremarkably similar to other species- the same body hair he could expect from dozens of others, the nipples, the navel indention.

What had stuck him was, though the muscle of Julian's body was lean and hard, his skin was delicate. That the graze of his teeth had caused such a reaction, on unbruised flesh... and of course, the sight of darker bruising on Julian’s face and chest. 

He could see the marks he'd left with his teeth now, a few above the collar of Julian’s sleeping clothes. They were superficial enough to hopefully fade over the next few days. Enough not to come up when Julian would surely be physically examined and debriefed regarding Barkan.

Barkan...

“You were thinking about going back to him. Weren't you.” Julian spoke, evidently not asleep. It was almost like the thought had drawn his attention.

A snarled feeling rose in Garak. “Who?”

“Lokar. He offered you something, didn't he?”

There was that infuriating pity again. “It doesn't matter.”

It was quiet for a moment. "Alright."

If Barkan persisted, Garak would refuse. He couldn't rely on himself to deal with the man- he'd proven that twice now. There were other ways back to Cardassia, and this wasn't the first time an opportunity was simply untenable.

He just had to be clever in the future.

#cipher talk #Fic: bite the hand that starves you #ds9 #garashir

[sapphosewrites]

three titles for the fic title ask game: Relief, Devil on Your Shoulder, and I Told You So

Oooh, I like these! Thank you! :)

Relief: This makes me think of The Siege of AR-558, and the idea of waiting for relief troops, so I think this would be a melancholy Nog piece about returning to DS9. And he doesn't feel the relief that he would have imagined, or thinks he should- he's not even relieved by the synthetic limb. Because he has had his youthful sense of invincibility punctured and he won't get that back, and he's falling into that depression we see in Paper Moon. The relief troops came- but how long will he have to wait for some kind of psychological relief, or will he feel this way forever?

Devil On Your Shoulder: Now this calls for In the Pale Moonlight. This imaginary fic would be my foray into Siskarak, inspired by that post about SIsko keeps coming back to Garak to kill people because Garak is right there ready and willing, and also the idea that Garak's internal framework is that being a devoted, initiative-taking, useful tool is what love looks like (thanks, Tain). So this cycle brings out the best in neither of them, but Sisko wants to save lives in the war and Garak wants a sense of purpose and a spymaster to please, so they keep getting drawn back into it.

I Told You So: Julian and Garak are having an argument, probably a silly literary one, and they are both determined to have the last word. So it bleeds into unrelated conversations- they're having a meeting on the Defiant (or something else that gives an excuse for Garak and Julian to both be involved in a conversation with other people) and one of them says something about the argument right before leaving. They find increasingly comedic ways to do this- leaving notes, getting Quark to deliver a message with drink that one of them orders, popping up in a corridor just to say their bit and then hightail it before the other person can respond. Eventually they get bored with this, or someone else tells them to get their act together, and they agree to chill out on it. Cut to them getting married on post-canon Cardassia, and one of them uses their vows as an opportunity to finally get the last word on this very stupid argument.

Send me a title and I'll tell you the fake fic I'd write for it!

[igotsnothing]

hey, butterfingers! you dropped this... oh? you didn't? details, schmetails 😏

break - Lawrence desire - Sabine failure - Jairo guilt - Henry hide - Sasha nightmare - Nia please 😇

You sly, sly...

Also important to note: you're the best! I mean, you're asking about my pixel children- is there a greater kindness for an obsessive storyteller???

Ok: STORYTIME

Lawrence- break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

The older the vampire, the quirkier- but here's the thing: when it comes to keeping their existential shit together, they do it very well. They've dealt with lifetimes of loss and crap, so they have it DOWN. They'll flip over little stupid stuff but are very good at navigating the life-and-death scenarios. HOWEVER! Being in a relationship with Julian has made Lawrence feel emotions he'd not dealt with for a very long time. He's very aware of his attachment to Julian. He's acutely aware that he's in love with someone mortal and he worries about something bad happening to Julian. The anguish is fierce. Julian has seen Lawrence break down over this and it's heartbreaking. The compromise they reached is that Julian carries a protective amulet with him at all times and they've agreed to revisit the idea of Lawrence turning him or his starting to take a longevity elixir in a couple years.

Sabine-desire: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?

Sabine's desire has always been- without spoiling much- to be independent. She's in a bit of a bind right now and fighting to stand on her own two feet (more to be revealed- plot, not feet...). She thinks of herself as a no-nonsense person and tends to be practical and pragmatic. Working for Hiram has opened her eyes to new experiences and awakened her curiosity. Would she admit that she is experiencing new emotions? That she finds her mind wandering when it comes to Hiram? No. Never. It'll pass, she tells herself.

Jairo-failure: What's your OC's greatest failure? Have they been able to move past it? Does anyone else know about it?

HAHAH! JAIROOOO! Jairo is the kind of person who would try to bake a cake, it would fall apart, and then he would simply serve it as "cake crumble" or something as half-assed and somehow it would be great. If you asked him, he'd tell you that his greatest failure was that he did not manage to convince Mr. Lam to turn Erato Bookstore into a bookstore/petting zoo/crepe cafe.

Everyone else will tell you that Jairo consistently fails at READING THE ROOM.

Henry-guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

Henry is honest and straightforward. He's good at articulating his feelings and doesn't usually hold things in. Since his and Lee's move to Tomarang, Henry realized that he did not notice how upset Lee was about uprooting them from San Sequoia, where they had a good life with lots of friends. He thought that because Lee was moving back to Tomarang, and near his family, there would be no qualms. Instead, Lee, who is extremely sensitive, felt insecure and mortified that maybe he'd acted selfishly in wanting to move. Henry felt terrible- and guilty that he hadn't seen the breakdown coming- when Lee opened up about his fears. He accepted the guilt and saw in it a lesson that helped him communicate better with his husband.

Sasha-hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it?

Oh, Sasha... Where do we BEGIN? This boy could be a case study. But...He hides his heart. It's been hurt and broken so much that he has perma-paywalled it more fiercely than some asshole content creators. He can't afford anything to be vulnerable and has rationalized his abrasiveness as a means to survive.

Nia-nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

AAAAAH!!! You remembered NIA!! I love Nia so much! I need to get cracking on Bite Me! so she and Sam can show up more (because they do). Ok, so Nia has been terrified of scary or sad clowns since she was a little kid. Ask Sam about the time they went to SpookyTown on Halloween: Nia screamed more than a D-list actress in a low-budget slasher film anytime a scary clown snuck up on them (but she claimed she was still having fun- go figure). If Nia hasn't been getting enough sleep OR if she overindulges in spicy food late at night, the probability of a clown nightmare skyrockets, and Sam knows they'll be consoling her and rubbing her back later. All their friends know about this because Nia will share the nightmares' outlandish plots with them in these mini-impromptu analytical sessions (Julian especially loves to offer his interpretation of the symbolism behind the imagery, and he and Nia feel oh-so-insightful and smart afterward, while Sam shakes their head in bewilderment)..

#answered asks #greighish #i loved doing this #bite me! #lawrence saint-germain #nia and sam #tact #sabine fletcher #tomarani adventure #henry tan-mcgraw #darker #sasha #thank youuuuu #❤️

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

I think you are one of the first people I've seen on here that doesn't try to hate on one of the characters while writing them. I'm curious, how would the M6 handle an MC with very low self esteem? I suffer from it and would love to see what you come up with ❤️

The Arcana HCs: M6 with an insecure MC

~ this is one of four requests I've received for an MC who's insecure/has low self esteem - as someone who can completely relate, here are your headcanons my loves, I hope you can receive these affirmations from fictional characters knowing that they come from a very real person who adores you all - brainrot ~

Julian

Oh, he gets it

Sure, he never hesitates to ask for what he wants, but that doesn't mean he thinks he deserves any of it

He can recognize those moments of doubt in your eyes as soon as they appear, because he knows exactly what they feel like on his own face

Which makes his heart ache for you, he knows how crappy that feels and of all the people he knows you deserve it the least

Normally when this happens his instinct is to fawn over you to the point of becoming a public embarrassment

This usually works, but sometimes when you hit a rut like this you just need something to get you out of your own head and enjoy the life you've built for yourself

He's taking you dancing

It helps everything! Focusing on the motions gets you out of your head, it's a fantastic way to initiate some physical contact, and by the time you're worn out you've had too much fun to keep worrying

Once you've reached that point you're fair game for affirmations: what a lovely dancer you are, the way you move is breathtaking, how is he supposed to enjoy dancing without you again?

Asra

On one hand, their love for you is so unconditional that they have a difficult time understanding the source of your doubts

He would love you in any shape, with any name, with any identity. If it's you that's all that matters to him

Why are you worrying about certain details about yourself when none of them change who you fundamentally are?

On the other hand, they know perfectly well what it's like to doubt themself or feel lacking

Once you two are together it's less common for you to spiral because he doesn't let you go five minutes without giving you a boost of some kind

Every morning comes with a tidal wave of subtle compliments. They will flirt with you mercilessly and go out of their way to admire any specific thing about yourself that tends to be a sticking point for you

On the days when it does get bad, he'll pick a place or activity that brings out something he knows you like about yourself

You're a good singer? You're proud of your magic? They'll take you back to the cave to practice combining the two

So many kisses, everywhere, all the time

Nadia

She doesn't struggle with it in the same way, but you've met her family

Being the youngest in a large family of exceptional people, parents with public and demanding roles, and lots of big personalities leaves very little room for self-discovery and confidence

I mean it was bad enough for her to marry Lucio and leave Prakra

She's come a really long way, and been able to address the source of her insecurities, but she remembers what it was like

Her default is already to take every opportunity to fluster you, so even if it's not on purpose you never have to doubt her affections

But she makes being a Countess look easy, she has years of education and good upbringing on top of her natural talents, and you're a humble court magician who was relearning how to exist less than three years ago

She is committed to seeing you succeed in the Palace. She'll happily spend hours teaching you the ins and outs of diplomacy and etiquette in the most delightful ways

But she'll also make sure the two of you regularly visit your old haunts, simply to highlight the things you excel at that she doesn't and to prove to you that you two are truly equals

Muriel

You've seen him go wide eyed before, but one of the times that really sticks in your memory is the moment you casually told him that he could do a lot better than you

Until he met you, he went through life with a total of one (1) friend who had a crippling combination of wanderlust and attachment issues

The fact that he's able to have a relationship with you at all is a miraculous win in his mind

He knows he's not the best at expressing his feelings, but if it's your self-esteem on the line he will learn and he will do his best

The first time he hears you voice your insecurities he's dropping whatever he's doing and sitting next to you

He'll take your hand and wait, as patiently as you need him to, until you've told him everything that's bothering you

He's not the most eloquent person, but he knows the importance of responding to your doubts and he'll painstakingly address each one, out loud, telling you that it's not true and why

On a day to day basis, he makes a point of acknowledging all the ways you make his life better with little words or smiles or touches

Portia

She's a generally easy going person, she knows all her own faults and how to acknowledge and live with them

However, she has her own brand of low self-esteem and it fuels her workaholic tendencies

So much of her life has revolved around the people next to her being the main characters that she has a hard time seeing herself as having any relevance unless she's playing a support role

And then one day she hears you, the exciting, mysterious magician who turns every day into an adventure, casually question your own worth and relevance out loud

She has to process it for a moment before she can respond. Important people experience this too? This isn't in her novels

She'll ask you about it right away. What do you mean when you say that? Why do you think that?

Talking to you proves two things to her: that her own feelings do not make her unimportant, and that you are not as indestructible as she assumed you were

She'll write her favorite qualities down about you and have you do the same, and now you say your affirmations to each other every morning

Lucio

This guy had questioned himself maybe three times in his life before he met you

He thinks he's an above-average dude on his humbler days. He hates acknowledging his oopsies because the consequences scare him, not because he thinks they make him a bad person

He adores you, you keep the world in perspective for him, and he knows how important that and the way you've helped him grow is

But he subconsciously contributes to your struggles at first. Any unique trait is teasing material to him, it never occurred to him that the stuff he comments on might be sensitive for you

Until the day he notices you change your appearance and have a hard time responding to him

Why did you change your clothes to hide that part of your body? Why don't you take credit for your work any more? Why don't you believe him when he compliments you?

When you manage to tell him, he feels awful about it. He doesn't know what it's like to be insecure, but he does know what it's like to want somebody's approval and acceptance

It'll take a while, but he'll prove all the doubts he caused wrong and then tackle the rest. How is he supposed to shine without you as a light source anyway?

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #the arcana #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana fluff #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

[pfenniged]

+ So I've got a lot of opinions about the latest episode of Season Two of The Gilded Age

First off, this is possibly the best written episode of both seasons. Actually one with an actual twist, consequences, and drama.

My biggest criticism of this show is despite the clear money invested in it, the clear quality of actors they have, and the inherently interesting characters, I think we can all agree the writing is subpar for how well funded the show is. And I was always trying to put my finger on to why.

Despite the jokes I've seen of everyone saying it's an inherently boring series where nothing ever happens aside from "MRS. CRUMBIBLE'S SCONE WARS ARE OCCURRING," I think it boils down to one thing inherently, and it's that up to this finale, actions, for the most part, have not had consequences.

And what I mean by this is this: In a well-written show, say, early season Game of Thrones, or the first episode of Downton Abbey (Another Julian Fellowes production), actions have consequences. If a character does something, there are ramifications for them choosing to do this thing, that reverberate throughout the rest of the series.

For example, in the first episode of Game of Thrones (Spoiler Alert)- Jaime Lannister pushes Brann Stark out of the tower when he sees Jaime and Cersei having sex to protect their secret.

In The Gilded Age, what has been happening with the plots, is a problem presents itself, a solution is quickly offered, and then that is a thing that happened and resolved itself.

So if Game of Thrones was to follow Gilded Age writing logic, Brann would be pushed out of the window, but Brann would hit his head on the way down to the ground, have amnesia, and forget that Jaime and Cersei were sleeping together.

Even within Downton Abbey's first episode, Mary finds the visiting nobility dead in her bed, and everything is an offshoot of them hiding the body, trying to protect her reputation, and dealing with the aftereffects of the issue. In a Gilded Age episode, if someone was found dead in bed, someone would blame it on "the drink," frame that person as a secret alcoholic, and that plot line would be tied up and basically forgotten besides one reference the next episode. They basically treated most episodes like one-off plot lines that are forgotten or barely mentioned next episode except in passing.

This is the first episode where we've had fucking CONSEQUENCES for things that happened two or three episodes ago. Oscar has been constantly trying to scheme young women out of their fortunes, only to find he's the one being schemed- and worse, he used his mother's money and the family fortune to do it with.

This is an action that has CONSEQUENCES. It's not Mrs. Turner trying to fiddle with the food at a dinner, only to be swiftly caught and for nothing really to move the plot forward. The Van Rhijn Family now has several issues to deal with because of this:

They need to go find Maude Beaton (Whomever she is), and get the money back.

Now that they have no money, Ms. Brook has to actually marry wealthier (Probably to her great happiness), if they're to actually garner some of their fortune back.

Do the Van Rhijn sisters now have to work? Will they have to let go of staff? How will they pay people?

Can they afford to "keep up appearances?" How long will it be before the other society folk will notice something is amiss?

The same with Mr. Russell being turned on by the other tycoons- that is something that has a direct effect on him, and his business, but also the safety of his family's position. If the tycoon's efforts are now actively working against him, how long can Mr. Russell hold out at being the "nice" tycoon, even if it is for an ultimate economic profit?

And I don't think it's a question about "small rich person things" being inherently boring. In terms of the soup debacle with Mrs. Turner, what if instead of the spiked soup being given to the British nobility and tasting bad, what if it was something that was given to someone else at the table, and that person had a worse reaction? (Somehow died, etc.?). What if it was someone Mrs. Turner relied on, like her husband, and she was suddenly accused of his murder? Suddenly, instead of her enjoying "labour free" money all in her own hands, she's being blamed for something that she ironically was plotting for, but never wanted to occur, because she effectively killed off her meal ticket and everyone would suspect her first?

My point is, there are SO many better ways to advance these characters, and I'm happy we FINALLY got a solid writer on this episode to help move these plots forward, even if it took two fucking seasons for anything to pay off.

(So please renew it with a proper writing team, HBO- because in short- we're finally actually getting somewhere with consequences for people's actions).

#spoilers #the gilded age #please renew it I do love it though despite my criticisms #it's my guilty pleasure #analysis #personal

[inafieldofdaisies]

WIP Wednesday | Tagged by @adelaidedrubman <3 | @thesingularityseries @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat @euryalex @strafethesesinners @strangefable @nightbloodbix @aceghosts @madparadoxum @g0dspeeed @trench-rot @josephseedismyfather @josephslittledeputy @theelderhazelnut @purplehairsecretlair @jinfromyarikawa @shegetsburned @clicheantagonist @locustandwildhoney @fourlittleseedlings @poisonedtruth @vampireninjabunnies-blog @cassietrn @wrathfulrook @jacobsneed @voidika @harmonyowl @schoute and anyone with something to share <3

This week, I'm treating you all with two snippets: first one is a bonus POV of the confrontation between the unlucky Peggie and Zorro (as part of Chapter 10 because it was floating around in my brain way too vividly not to write it all down; I can picture the whole thing as a cartoon scene and can't help but cackle at poor Owen's fate. Now, I didn't fully snap and write it from Zorro's POV, thought it would have been hilarious.), the second snippet is from Chapter 11 where we go back to John and Sabrina (tension, something, something).

*in my best Julian Slink voice*: Enjoy the show, folks.

obvious warning for the first snippet about descriptions of a racoon attacking a cultist.

"I don't think the Sinner would show up.", Owen muttered as he sat down in one of the old chairs, trading places with William at patrolling the perimeter around the cottage. "We have orders, Owen. Or do you feel like finally facing the fact you ain't cut our for this job?", Constantine smirked at him, lounging back in his seat, clearly enjoying the fact they were faced with another uneventful night shift. Owen was the youngest and most recent recruit between the three of them and the man sitting next to him had spent every waking second in making his life hell since being assigned to work together a few days back. "I know, brother. But don't you want to be out there delivering Sinners to brother John instead of sitting around when the Reaping has begun?" "Are you questioning John's orders?" "No, of course not.", Owen retorted quickly, knowing full well what happened to those that disobeyed the Herald. Constantine only grunted in response, and they sat in silence, watching William do his routine check of the grounds in the distance. Two more of their people were stationed down the road that connected to the property, keeping watch in case the Deputy finally decided to make an appearance at his home. Minutes passed where Owen found himself close to drifting off, overworked from all the long shifts, then a loud noise came from inside the cottage, making him jump in alarm and causing the sleepiness to fully leave his system. "Go check that out, Owen.", Constantine ordered. "Uh-, what if it's the Sinner?" "We're here to capture him, are we not?" "I, just, should I go alone, brother?" "Yes." Constantine was in no mood for arguments, staring at him impatiently and when he saw no movement from the young recruit, he pointed with his thumb behind him, muttering, "Chop-chop, Owen."

Owen couldn't help but think of the stories he had heard about the Deputy taking out every capture party sent his way. He knew he had to follow John's orders because that was the Will of the Father, but it still didn't help the primal fear he experienced at the idea he might come face to face with the one they were tasked to catch. "I will go.", he whispered as he got up and headed for the front door with convinction, the rifle shaking slightly in his hand. Constantine didn't bother with a reply and he wondered if the man would even come to his assistance if something was to go wrong. Owen pushed the door open quietly, his eyes struggling to make anything out in the dark living room, the only illumination came from the porch light and it didn't go too far inside. He stopped at the threshold, listening for any sound and when he came up empty he passed through the doorway with a simple goal in mind: to turn on one of the lamps that he could distinguish as a silhouette ahead of him. The door shut with an unsettling click the second he let go of it to proceed further in and he wondered if it had done it on its own or Constantine was pulling another trick on him. Just as he reached for the switch, he felt something bump into his leg, but he told himself he was just on edge, imagining things. I'm bigger than my fear. Joseph said God will protect us. The words worked at calming his nerves until a sharp pain came in his pinkie as teeth closed around his hand, making him scream out and drop his weapon. He managed to clumsily turn on the light with his other hand and his eyes shifted between his bloodied fingers and a raccoon on the ground, its menacing pose foretelling Owen of more trouble to follow. Shock overtook him as his gaze landed on a bloody piece of sausage at his feet, then moved back to his hand instinctively. No. It wasn't a sausage, but his pinkie. He looked at his hand again, counting his fingers in dread, refusing to believe what he was seeing.

One.Two. Three. Four. No. And no matter how many times he counted, he came up short with one finger.

"OH MY GOD!", Owen shouted, his voice springing the raccoon into action and before he could react the animal launched itself at him, grabbing onto his shoulders. The crazed look in its beady eyes made his blood freeze. Tiny claws dig into his skin through his sweater. "Brother, HELP!", he screamed over and over again as he ran around the room in an attempt to shake off his vicious attacker. Disoriented and in a complete state of terror, he kept spinning in circles and knocking into various pieces of furniture. His feet couldn't stop slipping on the blood gushing from his injured hand, hindering his movements. To his horror, as much as he tried to remove the hellish creature off his body, it continued to hold on with a ravenous look on its small face as it bared its teeth at him. The whole time it produced the most haunting noise Owen had ever heard in his life, it was between a snarl and scream, and he had no doubt it would haunt him in his nightmares. At one point he inevitably stumbled over a chair, finding himself unable to catch his fall since his hands were too busy grabbing at the racoon in desperation to unlatch its claws. The frenzied animal wasted no time when he hit the ground, aiming its attack at his face next and Owen closed his eyes in last last ditch effort to protect his eyes, knowing John would have no use of him if he loses his sight. Save me, Father. God. Anyone. Please.

But no matter how much he prayed, help refused to come and the Devil's pet remained on top of him, nimbling on his long hair, its angry snarling getting closer and closer to his ear. God, it's going to eat me. This isn't how I want to die. "What are you screaming about like a little girl, Owen?", Constantine asked in annoyance, entering the cabin, his sudden appearance making the raccoon finally release its hold on Owen and scurry off towards one of the unlit rooms of the cabin. "It-it bit off my finger. It re-refused to let me go.", Owen stuttered out, holding out his hand, the pain coming to him at once as the adrenaline abandoned him. The sight of his injury and red-hot sensation in his finger made him feel dizzy. Blackness was taking over the corners of his vision quickly and he couldn't understand why Constantine's lips moved but no sound was reaching his ears. "Owen.", was the last thing he heard before he passed out.

"You won't disappoint me, would you, Owen?"Joseph's voice played on repeat in his mind, getting louder and progressively more accusatory as he fought darkness. Those same words were spoken to him on his official acceptance as one of John's Chosen before the Reaping's start. He had felt hope and believed he would be helping the Project to save people's souls, instead he had ended up on cabin watch duty with a partner that hated his guts for no reason. "He's not cut out for this, brother. Can't you see. Defeated by a RACOON.", John's maniacal laughter was deafening and coming from all directions as the racoon's beady eyes and sharp teeth flashed in his memory. "Owen. Owen. Owen.", his name echoed, then he felt a sharp pain in his face. "He won't wake up like that, Constantine.", a voice scolded. "Be my guest then, William. Wake the Sleeping beauty up." The arguing brought him back to reality, the bright light coming from overhead blinding his eyes for a brief second as he forced them open, then they adjusted and took in his two "brothers" looming over him as he laid on the floor. "What happened?", he asked in confusion, then everything came back to him. "You passed out, Owen.", Constantine narrowed his eyes, shaking his head as he muttered, "How did you even make it through your Confession?"

"I bandaged your hand, brother.", William interjected, pulling him to his feet. He eyed him over with concern as he asked, "What happened? Did the Sinner do this? Your face is all scratched up." "Thank you.", he said in a small voice, trying to ignore the blood at his feet and the pain he felt as he stumbled outside, sitting down in one of the chairs again, "It was a-a-a racoon." Constantine let out a guttural laugh, "Oh, mercy me, wait until brother John finds out about this. You couldn't even deal with a racoon? Hope you like roaming in the fields, boy, because you're going to be an Angel soon." "Cut it out, Constantine, or do you feel the need for another Confession?", William sent him warning look as he sat down too, "Show some concern for our brother, will ya." Owen took a deep breath, the throbbing in his hand making him feel nauseous, "I think I need to see a-a doctor." "Our shift isn't over, Owen.", William reminded him quietly, "We can't leave the cabin unattended in case the Sinner shows up. We would have to call this in and it won't end well for you with John." "But-" "You have an issue, take it up with brother Wyatt or John himself.", Constantine gritted out, as he went down the stairs leading off the porch, "I'm going out on patrol next."

The downstairs area was empty, silence ruled over the whole house as she made herself a cup of coffee. She eyed the untouched plate that was still on the table with disappointment and without a second thought she threw away the food, knowing it would hurt Savannah if she finds out when she wakes up that John hadn't eaten the dinner they had prepared. Fresh morning air seeped in through the open window above the sink when she leaned against the counter, holding her almost finished cup of coffee. If she closed her eyes, for a second she could pretend nothing had changed, that Ms. Darcy or Cal would soon knock on the door, stopping by for breakfast. Instead any of that happening, minutes later John finally appeared, entering the kitchen quietly. He was already dressed for the day, wearing a pair of jeans and thin dark sweater with its zipper down, showing off the strange scar on his chest again. "Morning, Deputy.", he muttered as he beelined to the coffee machine. His arm brushed against hers when he grabbed an empty mug from the dish rack and poured coffee into it, not bothering to add any sugar or cream. "Morning.", she responded, her voice was even despite the fact he was standing unnecessary close and his presence that had taken over the room the second he appeared. His eyes darkened, darting to her collarbone, then his hand reached out, fingers grazing her skin as he moved her T-shirt's neckline back into place until it wasn't slipping off her shoulder.

His arm retreated then, but she could still feel its warmth at the place of contact and the way her body reacted to the simplest touch. You're calling this keeping your distance? "Are you feeling like telling me about your tattoo yet?" "What's to tell?" "A lot, Deputy. People usually ink their skin for a reason and what they choose reveals even more about them." "And what if I just got drunk, stumbled into a tattoo parlor and pointed at the first thing I saw as design? What then, John?" "Now, we both know that would be a lie." His gaze remained on hers, the intensity making her clear her throat and blurt out the first thing that came to her mind, in hopes of changing the subject, "I'm going to wash the shirt you gave me and return it-" Amusement flashed in his eyes before he said, "Keep it. But I'm holding you to the promise about my jacket, Deputy. I'd like to wear it again, you know." When he didn't say anything else as he picked up his cup and headed towards the door, no doubt planning to go to the Bunker straight away, Sabrina spoke up. "You promised we'd talk. Are you running off to your "happy place" again?" He shook his head, not bothering to look back at her, "I'm not. I'm going to grab something, I had no idea if you're awake yet with how quiet everything was." John climbed back upstairs as Sabrina took a final sip of her coffee and sat down at the kitchen table, wondering how long he would make her wait on him this time. To her surprise he returned shortly after, placing a black notebook on the table before he took a seat across from her.

Sabrina flipped through it, empty pages greeting her, as he said, "It's for your visions. Whatever comes to you, you write it all down as usual. This time for me." "And if it's nothing of significance? I have no control over what I see or-" "I understand that you can't force them. Just note them down, I will be the one deciding what's important." "Okay.", she sighed.

Deep down, she knew she had an advantage in the situation: the fact he had no way of confirming what she'd actually seen and as result she could in a way control what information he receives. John raised his cup, taking a sip, before saying with a faint smile, "I can sense all the questions bouncing around in that curious mind of yours, Deputy. Shall we get this over with?" I might as well try. "Whitehorse, Joey, Pratt… do you- do you have the others?" His eyes narrowed, making her wonder if she just ruined whatever good mood he was in, "Remember what I told you before?" "That I should worry only about myself?", at his nod, she added, "That's not the type of person I am, John." "They refused to listen to your warnings, Deputy.", his gaze darkened as a frown took over his features, "Then they left you behind for me to find, wounded, if I may say." "After your people made our helicopter crash and-" "Did you even stop to ask yourself why Whitehorse wanted you to arrest my brother. Why he or that arrogant Marshal wouldn't do it instead?" "It's not my place to question his orders." Her words didn't stop him, instead a dark smile appeared on his face, "For years, he chose not to get in our way, "keeping up the peace", he'd call it. But, Sabrina, he was afraid. He knew my brother was right, that there's nothing he could do to stop what's God's Will." "God's Will". There was nothing more she hated than those words, how people hid behind them as they hurt others. She'd seen it so many times. When she said nothing, John continued, probably believing he was getting through to her, "And when "evidence" finally appeared, when old Earl had a warrant, what did he do?"

"Just-" "He put you in the center of everything, Sabrina, basically threw you to the wolves. Did you think he had no idea how an arrest would unfold and what consequences it would bring? You're not that naive, Deputy. Deep down, you know." In a way he was doing what she had tried to do back at the cabin: convince him what he believed was misguided, dangerous. Yet where her words came from a place of concern for him and the people he would hurt in attempts to appease Joseph, here John wanted her to stop asking questions, accept the Project and overlook all the red flags surrounding his brother's ideas. "It wasn't my first arrest, John. I've faced so many criminals, some would make your brother look like a saint. Do you expect me to join the Project and leave all my collegues in Joseph's hands, free to do whatever he decides with them?" "You've been here for what, two months… you owe them nothing, Sabrina, worry about your sister and keeping her safe." Of course you'd say that. "Loyalty isn't determined by time, John. I've made a vow." A vow to her father. To herself. That she would protect people, just like he had done his whole life. Still, Sabrina knew the conversation would lead nowhere, she hadn't expected much anyway. "And Ms. Darcy?" "What about Darcy Harris?", his face was unreadable, the mask refusing to slip even for a second. Sabrina let out a frustrated breath, "Where is she? Locked in that bunker of horrors? I know you two had bad blood." His blue eyes shone at her questions, "My Gate. Are you asking for my alibi, Deputy? And again, you should-" "Worry about myself? NO. You told me to ask questions, I'm doing just that." "They're all where God wants them to be. It's all unfolding according to His plan. That's all you need to know."

"God or Joseph's plan? Because to me, they're two different things." John gave her a warning look, "Sabrina. I'm not getting into this with you." She took a deep breath, knowing she had to be careful how much she pushed, so she kept her silence as her fingers clutched the notebook. "Should I remind you that you're the one that should be providing information according to our deal, not the other way around?" Sabrina fought back a smile at his tone, "I feel like I should have my lawyer present… is this where I demand my one phone call?" John let out a chuckle, "You seem quite capable at negotiations on your own, Deputy." "A compliment? Careful, I might start to think you're impressed by a Sinner." "Impressed?", he licked his lips, "That doesn't seem like the right word to me." "What would you call it then?", the question slipped before she could stop it. "A complete bewitchment.", his intense gaze didn't waver from hers, "When it comes to you, Deputy, I just can't help it. I want to know more." She forced herself to look away, eyes darting up to the window while she attempted to ignore what his tone and the conviction in his words did to her insides. The air grew heavy with tension as he pushed back his chair and stood up, coming to stand next to her, the sudden move making Sabrina scrunch her face in confusion as she stared at him. In a blink, he was cradling her cheek with one hand, the move shocking her not only because of how unexpectedly it happened, but because of the gentleness lurking behind it. "You have no idea about how much danger you are in, do you? You still worry about everyone else but yourself. You're good at pretending, but not good enough to fool me." She tried to keep her emotions in check, but her breath hitched at his next words, his blue eyes pulled her in as his fingers stroked her cheek, "Did you even sleep last night?" She shook her head, hoping his touch would retreat as she did, but it remained, the heat from his palm spreading across her skin as the seconds ticked by. "I'm fine." "I'm not convinced, try again.", that all-too-familiar look was hiding in gaze, holding a dark promise. I have to stop this before you drag me into dangerous waters. "I'm fine.", she repeated, ignoring the giddy sensation she felt as she grabbed his hand and how a part of her wanted to hold his palm to her face, instead of removing it. 

John backed away, grabbing his coffee, smirking as he said, "At least you took care of that wound for me. That's progress." Sabrina cleared her throat, moving onto her next question while willing her heart to slow down, "I wanted to ask… What did you mean by staying on the premises? Savannah wanted to go play outside yesterday, but I had no idea what to tell her." "You can go out, Deputy, just don't leave the property or go running off to-", he stopped himself. "Who?" He shook his head, "Nobody." But his face said otherwise, clouded by something she couldn't place. What were you about to say, Seed? "Thank you then.", she mumbled. He turned to the door without replying and was almost out of the kitched when she spoke up again, "Are you headed back there? Will you resort to avoiding me again, now that you've kept your promise?" As much as she tried to ignore the thoughts about what was going down in the bunker, what he was doing… she couldn't, and she swore she'd find a way to stop it. Find a way to get through to him. "They all have a light in them, monkey, sometimes you just have to look very hard until you find it.", her father's words came to her as a reminder that she had to have hope, keep pushing.  Seconds passed in silence before John turned, "No, Deputy." No to which… Sabrina gave him a questioning look, forcing him to elaborate, "I'm staying here today, I have some things to take care of." "Oh. Then should we expect you for breakfast?" He gave her a nod, followed by a small smile, "That would be nice." "Savannah will be thrilled, she kept waiting on you to arrive yesterday-" A tired breath escaped him as he whispered, "I'm sorry. For being no-show, when you had dinner ready-", he stopped, eyes darting to the table in realization, "Where's my plate?" "I threw the food away." "Sabrina-" She waved him off, hiding the shock at his apology, burying it deep, "I'm used to it, my mother-", she bit her lip before the rest of the sentence could slip out, knowing saying anything further would provide information on her life. How it would feed his curiosity further, make him crave to hear even more. The less he knew, the better, especially when he viewed secrets as currency. "Your mother what, Deputy?", John raised an eyebrow. "Nothing." "There's something there, I can tell. All you have to do is open up, let it all pour out. I'm a good listener, I promise." "Pass.", she deadpanned. "The offer remains on the table.", he shrugged before heading back upstairs.

#Zorro with Leslie and Cal: *handshake; hugs; being all cute* #Zorro with Owen: *Satan's spawn mode activated; haunting screeches in the distance* #I don't know if I should laugh or cry for Owen (should have joined the Resistence; my dude)... #John trying to turn Sabrina against Whitehorse and the gang... we see you; boyo #wip wednesday #oc: sabrina donovan #wip: in hope of tomorrow #ship: the diviner and the baptist #john seed x sabrina donovan #john x sabrina #john seed x female deputy #oc: Zorro “The Agent of Chaos”/“Calahan's Angel” #fc5 ocs #far cry 5 oc #ocs #original characters #wip stuff #wip snippet #dialogue snippet #my ships #wip #wip excerpt #fc5 fandom #snippets #wip sneak peek #current wip #fc5 deputy #far cry 5 deputy #wip whenever #character dynamics