#atla hell store

[petewentzisblack1312]

im fighting for my life trying to put posters up on my painted concrete walls without ruining them or the poster falling off. i tried blue tac and so much got left on the wall when i took it down that my mom banned me from having posters. and it stained the poster too. i got these mounting squares that i was super excited about but that sucked too (smaller poster pulled off the wall and larger + heavier one straight up fell off). at sewing center they had mounting tape and im thinking about getting that and trying it but im not holding my breath. does anyone have any advice.

#dils declares #ive lived my whole life with bare walls because ive never owned a printer and printing shit is expensive as hell #and no one worked in a place with a printer and even when they did i wasnt allowed to print anything #and if i wanted posters i had to get them from online stores. #i actually did get a nerdfighteria poster if you want somethinf to bully me about. #anyway i got a cool poster with my mania preorder that i had up #and atlas sent me a poster with the slipmat #and i cant put either of them up properly #plus i have a shit ton of postcards shit i wanna put up there

[daughterofadeadman]

The Bonds That Tie:

Head cannons 18+ 18+ 18+ 18+ 18+ 18+

Bc there is literally no fucking content for this book series and I love the fucking characters so much. Some of the head cannons are horny some are just really sad. Spoilers for sure but if you don’t know what I’m talking about it might not spoil anything.

The Bonds That Tie by J Bree

Gabe

He loves the idea that everyone knows his bond wants him.

If he could get away with it he would 100% show everyone in town just how much his bond wants him iykyk

He LITERALLY asked if he could eat Oli out on the back of his motorcycle 😭😭 he doesn’t care if it’s in public

I also think he loves when Oli wants to fuck more than one of them at a time. It’s like a competition in his brain.

He wants to be the one to fuck her the best. He wants her to crave him just as he craves her.

I also think it hurt him the most when Oli disappeared. Everyone else already had some type of trauma before that but Gabe didn’t. He literally had a full on break down when he found out she was gone. Plus he was only 14 when it happened.

Gabe didn’t know what it was like NOT to be loved. Everyone loved him so why was it that his bond, the one person who would love him above all else didn’t want him? That broke him.

Atlas

It feels out of character for me that Atlas is covered in tattoos. He comes from a very wealthy family. And he is like indestructible. So I think they were a form of self harm for him.

Like he’s this self assured asshole rich kid that can do or say whatever he wants bc there will never be any consequences. Except he doesn’t think anyone really loves him.

It’s not until he understands what his mother did for him does he understand and she loved him in the only way she could.

When Oli disappeared I think it solidified in his mind that no one would ever really love him. And that’s when I think he found a way to start getting tattoos. And that shit would have to hurt like hell bc, like I said indestructible. So a little needle isn’t gonna do it.

Gryphon

Gryphon fucks. That’s not even a head cannon that’s just fucking cannon.

This man. This man I stg.

While I know Gryphon knows Oli doesn’t belong to him, I also know that when he is fucking her he wants her to forget that.

This is a man who asks her who her pussy belongs to and if she answers wrong he makes her regret it.

Also he is into her leaving marks. He wants the rest of the bond group to know just how much she likes fucking him. And he does know bc he can literally read her mind.

Plus I think when she was still living in the dorms, even though he trusted Gabe to walk her home and keep her safe, he sat out in the parking lot or hung out on the first floor with the security guard to keep her safe.

Okay not just to keep her safe he was also so fucking scared she would run away again and he couldn’t live with himself knowing she was out in the world and didn’t want him as much as he wanted her.

North

The reason North is so mean to her when she first got back is because she hurt Nox. Not because she left him. He can deal with people being mean to him, hating him, but his brother doesn’t deserve that no matter how big of an asshole he might be sometimes.

The reason he thinks she’s a gold digger is bc the only women who would look past the monster of his bond were women who wanted his money. Why would his bonded be any different?

The night they went to the dinner party together he let himself pretend that it wasn’t fake. That he could kiss her whenever he wanted to. That he could hold her hand and she wouldn’t pull away. That she wasn’t acting. That every night she could be his and love him like he couldn’t love himself. That they could be a normal bonded. But when she looked at him with hate in her eyes he was reminded that she wanted to run away again and wouldn’t tell him why. That is the reason when she asked for them to stop at a store he ignored her. If she couldn’t love him then he wouldn’t love her.

But it was so hard. He loved everything about her. He used all of his resources to find out her favorite drink and food. He had contacted every school she had ever went to, every friend she had ever made and asked countless questions in hopes of finding her when she left. If there was anything to know about Oleander Fallows, he knew it. But it didn’t help him get her back.

Nox

Nox didn’t want a bonded. After what had happened in his childhood he didn’t need one at all. He didn’t want one to mirror his parents either. Maybe if he didn’t have to share a bonded with North like his mother and her sister (North’s mother) had he could have given it a try.

But when they got the results back that his brother shared his bonded with him, his heart sunk. Would history repeat itself? Would they be doomed to the same cycle of torture?

Nox wanted to run. He wanted to get as far away from the news as he could. So when he heard that Oli had run the first thing he felt was relief. The second? Sadness. Regret. Longing. And then he settled in anger.

How dare she not want him? How dare she be bonded to him and not want him. Nox felt abandoned. He felt the terror and trauma from his childhood come creeping right back in. So he decided to hate her just like he hated his mother.

He replaced his hatred of one bonded for another.

After a few years of hating Oli and being glad she was gone, she came back. He watched as it destroyed his family once again and he decided that they would all be better if she was gone again. He wished she would just disappear. So instead of being sad that she didn’t love him, that she didn’t want him, that she didn’t care about him, he was angry. So angry he couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t eat. Couldn’t breath. That’s why he started drinking. To be drunk was to be numb. To be numb was to be safe. With her back he knew he would never be safe again.

Oleander

I think Oli’s first kiss was with Nox in the hallway after the tacteam scene and it makes me so mad for her. I hate that scene with Nox so much it made me hate him.

When Oli got away from Davies i think she made up scenarios about each of her bonds. She saw their pictures when she was in the hospital at 14 and their ages so she made up whole lives for all of them. At 16 she decided what Gifts she thought suited them best and what nicknames they might give her. She loved them so much without ever meeting them.

Oli was sure she would die without ever meeting her bonds and she was okay with that as long as it meant they would always be safe.

When she was 14 she was most excited about meeting Gabe and Atlas when she found out they were to be her bonded bc they were the same age as her. Then Nox and Gryphon because 19 isn’t that old but she wasn’t excited about meeting North because he was 24 years old. And that was just gross. What would they even have in common?

When the tacteam found her in the cafe she was excited to see her bonds for the first time but also so fucking scared she couldn’t breath. She never wanted to hurt them.

The first night in her dorm room she cried. She cried so hard she ended up passing out. She cried for all the time she wasted on the run bc what was it for if they were in danger again? She cried for her parents and she cried for herself because she could never have them. She could never love them the way she wanted to because she had to leave them again. She cried so hard and for so long she almost didn’t wake up for class. Her eyes were swollen and her nose was runny.

Oli had a diary where she wrote down all of their last names with hers just to test them out. Oleander Draven? Oleander Shore? Oleander Bassinger? Oleander Ardern? She decided that they would just have to take her last name because she was the central bond. Oleander Fallows sounded best after all.

#the bonds that tie #j bree #North Draven #Nox Draven #Gabriel Ardern #Gryphon Shore #Atlas Bassinger #head cannon #Oleander Fallows #FMMMMM #RH #reverse harem #bond #bonded #soulmates #smut #light angst #talks of trauma #tw cursing

[unpretty]

What places besides FairyLoot have pretty books with sprayed or illustrated edges? I’ve seen lists before but they just tell you what genre of books or whether there are bookish goodies, and not how pretty the books are, which is very silly of them because I and many in the market are very shallow and do not care about the genre, we just want pretty books that are good I guess.

i am also extremely shallow and picked my subscriptions based on book prettiness

fairyloot has boxes with lots of goodies as well as book-only boxes, i've found their books to be some of the prettiest (if i were smart i'd be doing book-only for both young adult and adult but that would mean risking not getting gideon the ninth socks)

illumicrate also has really pretty books and a book-only option, they have a romance box as well HOWEVER the romances are NOT as pretty as the regular illumicrate books. they have sprayed edges but not stenciled or digitally printed. also they're all tradpub romance and i'm a selfpub kinda girl where romance is concerned.

owlcrate books aren't usually as pretty, often are the same book as fairyloot or illumicrate (but less pretty), and they do harry potter merch. no thanks!

i recently bought a book from thebrokenbindingsub.com (the legends and lattes special edition lmao) and i'm going to try to resist Yet Another Subscription but i'm real fucking tempted ngl

i don't trust litjoy because they have a lot of non-book nerd shit and also a lot of unlicensed definitely-totally-generic wink-wink nudge-nudge wizard shit. fuck off with that. also the books aren't as pretty. and their bookshelf alleys don't even have real depth despite looking cool at a casual glance. thumbs down. it's a bit of a shame because i do like the model where instead of paying for a box every month you pay for members-only store credit so you only receive items you actually want instead of having to figure out what to do with an atlas six booksleeve.

(and before anyone gives me shit for spending way too much money on books because they're pretty: i don't actually keep all the books i get and i actually prefer ebooks, but when i really like a book i want the prettiest possible version to keep on my shelf. so it's either subscribe to fancy book deliveries and resell the ones i don't like or else spend $300+ on ebay when a good one shows up. not buying pretty versions of books i like is NOT an option because why the hell did i get an office job if i can't buy pretty books to console me when i get home.)

#original #that last bit is probably unnecessary but people get SO MAD about defiling the sanctity of literature with pretty books lmao #i try to resell via my blog rather than ebay whenever possible #because i'm not trying to be shitty and profit off people still on the waitlist i just don't have fucking room for all these books #only the ones that spark joy may stay #i had to unsub from secretly society because reselling records i didn't want was too much of an ordeal #i don't want things for the sake of having things i want things that i LIKE and that are useful if only in theory #if the physical item isn't pretty i'd rather just have the virtual one #my only exception is books that are way cheaper used through bookfinder and unless i really like those they get donated when i'm done

[unofficialadamtaurus]

They should've never introduced maidens or magic. Dust, Aura, Semblances, crazy weapons and powerful Grimm we're all that was needed. No relics. No Brother Gods. Also the reveal for Ozpin and Salem's backstory ruined whatever mystery, intrigue, and stakes the show had. You're telling me the big bad was immortal from the start and had freedom of action but didn't steamroll the entire world centuries ago? Ozpin had been fighting her all that time but never figured out a way to contain or kill her?

I'm fine with maidens and magic so long as you continue to pursue the generic save-the-world plot the show's got going on. If you don't want that, then yeah, cut those.

Salem sitting on her hands for centuries is a hilarious hole in the world building, though.

Hell, try this: we establish from the moment that Salem is introduced (I think it's first during Qrow/Raven's intercut exposition dumps?) that, for centuries, she's been afraid of something that Ozpin had up his sleeve. Some weapon, maybe, that could stop her in her tracks if she attacked. Maybe he used it on her once before.

This weapon is the Long Memory's bomb, except it's not a bomb anymore, it's essentially a time prison. It'll trap Salem in place, aware but unable to do anything except watch time pass and listen to Ozpin's attempts to reason with her for decades if not centuries, depending on how much energy Ozpin had stored up. It's torture and Salem wants to avoid it, so that's why she bides her time. She sends proxies because she doesn't care if they get trapped, and hell, hopefully Ozpin wastes his magic on them instead.

So when V8 rolls around, she may be in Atlas in person, but she won't make herself vulnerable until she knows she can't get trapped.

#anon #unofficial adam answers #rwde #this idea would need a lot more fleshing out to justify the exact hows and whys #but it's better than canon

[pilot-boi]

Plotbunny AU : Pt 3 Alright, you want more? Here's MOAR Jaune and Alyx fill in Ozpin about everything they know about Salem, Cinder, their plans, and the Ever After and MAGIC.

Oh, and Qrow and Goodwitch are there too. Their reaction to Ozpin being caught flatfooted is almost as amusing as their reactions to realizing "Compulsive Liar with Trust Issues" didn't exclude them.

At some point, Jaune gets a full suit of plate-mail, and has his Aura unlocked and awakens his Semblance after an incident. He now spends every other night when he's not conditioning himself pumping more healing into Amber.

Alyx has to sit through a lot of how-to videos on stuff like the modern political structure of the kingdoms. The Great War. The Atlas Separation. Anything else she misses can be brushed off as being from the sticks like Jaune.

Jaune calls his parents at some point and rushes through "I make it into Beacon on a recommendation, sorry I took the sword and was an angsty teenager, also I adopted another sister and might have more soon, bye!"

Jaune does his best to introduce Alyx to modern conveniences and entertainment. He takes her by the hand and guides her through Vale, wearing his new armor to adjust to the weight.

He never meant for anything to happen. They had a very good plan to actually trap Cinder with a fake Amber in the Vault.

But then he's taking Alyx to see a movie at night and when he points out the scenery, there's a shop, a restaurant, Ruby fighting criminals-record scratch.

What.

Is that that Torckwick guy?!?!

Torchwick means Neo, the crazy midget!

Jaune tells Alyx to hide, and coazes Juniper out from his pocket, scanning for tri colored illusionists when a bulkhead appears and he sees h e r.....

and Jaune's vision whites out and he can't hear Alyx anymore.

But he knows the feel of Juniper rushing forward under him, adn she grows to her proper size and keeps growing.

And Jaune pushes his Aura into Juniper, his Semblance glowing, and Juniper kicks the Bullhead.

Right into the Dust Shop.

It gets very loud.

Glynda Goodwitch arrives to Jaune healing everyone's ears.

Ruby takes a moment to stammer: "Did you just kill that woman?"

Alyx, like the semi reformed hellion she is, replies with "Gods, I hope so"

(This was not the post I had planned. I had a whole fluffy Beason outline filled with Jaune being everyone's brother figure, Alyx questioning Pyrrha's intentions, and team pet shenanigans. I blame you for Cinder being kicked into a Dust Store for asking for more this late. Good Job. )

First of all, DONT call Neo a midget, what the hell dude

Second of all, all problems can be solved by big bunny. Get fucked Roman and Cinder. On one hand I hope they’re not dead because that would be a very anticlimactic way for them to go out, but on the other hand it IS very funny

And if Cinder is dead, then who did her sliver of the Maiden powers go to? Did they go back to Amber, possibly healing her? Or did they go to someone else?

Also, you could very well have Cinder survive. In canon she’s survived worse than this. Just give her some badass burn scars and throw her back into the action, more manic than ever, and now with a vendetta against our baby boy

#rwby #jaune arc #alyx #ruby rose #cinder fall #anonymous #mine #asks #plotbunny au

[manipulatorkaleidoscope]

Omega strikers incorrect quotes (part 3!!)

(yes I’m going to make a new one each time a new strikers shows)

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Finii: Watcha doin? Vyce: Stealing my neighbour’s cat. Finii: Scandalous. Finii: Can I help?

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Luna: Don’t stay up all night, Atlas! Last time you got sleep derived you tried to eat your own shirt!

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Juno: You have to apologize to Asher! Luna: Fine! Luna: Unfuck you, or whatever!

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Estelle: So, are you two dating now? Kai & Era: Yes. Estelle: Why? Kai: I happen to find Era very appealing. Estelle: Yeah, I can understand that. I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with Era.

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Era: Today at 7 am, X poured a Monster energy drink in his coffee, said "I'm going to die" and drank the whole thing. Kai: I watched X brew his coffee with Monster instead of water. Three cups in two hours. I think he’s ascended into the astral realm. Rasmus: The survivability of the human race never fails to amaze me. 💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Era: Look, I know you think my judgement's clouded because I like Kai a little bit. AiMi, holding Era's notepad: You doodled your wedding invitation. Era: No, that's our joint tombstone. AiMi: My mistake. 💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Zentaro, watching power lines fall down: AiMi, Finii! The town is exploding and it's very pretty!

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Vyce : Wait, if baby oil dissolves condoms, what does it do to babies? Octavia: Believe it or not, babies and condoms are made of different materials. Asher: It’s like rock paper scissors. Baby oil defeats condom, baby defeats baby oil, condom defeats baby. Atlas: Rock also defeats baby.

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Kai, about Rasmus: I could fix him, but honestly whatever the hell is wrong with him is way funnier. Rune: That's what any god probably thinks about me.

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Drek’ar : :) Rune: >:( Drek’ar : Turn that frown upside down! Rune: ):< Drek’ar : Not sure what I was expecting…

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Store Worker: Would a “Estelle” please come to the front desk? Estelle, arriving at the desk: Hello, is there a problem? Store Worker, pointing to Juliette and Dubu: I believe they belong to you? Juliette and Dubu, simultaneously: We got lost. Estelle: I didn’t even bring you guys here with me—

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Finii: My heart is guarded but like… very poorly. The kind of guards that would let 3 kids in a trench coat into an R rated movie.

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Rune: And now for a gay update with Estelle and Asher . Estelle: Getting gayer. Rune: Thank you, Estelle.

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Rasmus: Hey Estelle. Estelle: *punches Rasmus in the stomach* Rasmus: What the fuck? Estelle: You are one of my very best friends. And I cannot stand by and watch you throw away your life like this. You're too young... YOU'RE TOO BEAUTIFUL! Rasmus: What the fuck are you talking about? Kai: hey guy- Estelle: I'm talking about the baby that's growing inside of your belly right now. Kai: See ya! *leaves * Rasmus: I'm not pregnant! Estelle: Well, not after that punch you're not. I've been taking muay thai classes. Rasmus: I was never pregnant, Estelle! Estelle: Are... you sure? Rasmus: Yes I'm fucking sure! Rasmus’s mom: I'm sorry, but why the fuck is everybody yelling over here? Estelle: Oh, I found this positive pregnancy test and - Rasmus’s mom: *punches Rasmus in the stomach* Rasmus: AW, MOTHERFU-

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Juliette: Can I have a private talk with you? Asher: Okay, as long as it’s not about tampons because I just don’t understand them.

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Asher: I literally cannot believe I let you talk me into this. X: I literally said “I have an idea,” and you just went along with it without question.

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Zentaro: Whoa, Luna, what’s up with that angry face? Luna: Finii won’t stop talking about how “Ancient Egyptians were furries”. Finii : But they were! Just looks at all their gods- Luna: Oh my god, SHUT UP!

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Finii : Tell Octavia off, Juno! Assert yourself! Juno: That's my ice cream! Finii : Good! Now let her have it!! Juno, handing Octavia the ice cream: Here, you can have it!

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Everyone is playing a board game together AiMi: I will put 'A' down to make 'A'. Zentaro : I will add onto your 'A' to make 'AT'. Luna: I will add onto your 'AT' to make 'RAT'. Atlas: I will add onto your 'RAT' to make 'BIOSTRATAGRAPHIC'. Luna: *flips the board*

💌🎀☁️🌈✨🌛⭐️🌜✨🌈☁️🎀💌

Vyce : Dumbest scar stories, go! Dubu: Dubu! (I burned my tongue once drinking tea.) Juliette: I dropped a hair dryer on my leg once and it burned. Luna: I have a piece of graphite in my leg for accidentally stabbing myself with a pencil in the first grade. Asher: I was taking a cup of noodles out of the microwave and spilled it in my hand and I got a really bad burn. Zentaro: I have emotional scars.

#omega strikers #omega strikers incorrect quotes

[kiki-strike]

10 characters 10 fandoms 10 (ish) tags!

thanks @transboyzuko and @fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma for tagging me ^-^

1. Azula ATLA - she’s a tragic villain she’s a narrative foil she’s a style icon she’s a mean lesbian what more could you want (a redemption arc lol)

2. Geralt The Witcher - AUTISTIC KING i too mostly just talk to animals and myself. i picked up his “hmm” and it got me in trouble for a while until my mom watched it and realized i was just unconsciously copying him.

3. Jinora LOK - i haven’t seen all of LOK so im hoping she doesn’t turn evil or smth but. hooray for little girls who see Creatures by themselves in the woods and are probably hyperlexic and are smarter and know more than all the adults around them !!!!!

4. Sam Winchester Supernatural - he got out of his toxic family situation and then he Went Back. watched his brother die 111 times in one episode. got addicted to demon blood to save the world. literally born to be possessed by the devil. chronic third wheel

5. Charlie IASIP - nuff said

6. Eddie Brock Venom - hated big pharma so hard it made him a divorcee. really hot ex who i’m in love with and so is he. cool murderous parasite best friend. lobster tank enjoyer.

7. Beth Good Girls - i regularly dream about her despite not having seen the show in years. that’s my wife. badass perfect housewife who robs grocery stores and launders money in her spare time.

8. Bean Disenchantment - hooray for teenage alcoholics. has a personal demon meant to make her life hell and the demon ends up making it better because she’s just that miserable. “this is the bathtub, where Bean makes her bathtub gin. and this is the shower, where Bean makes her shower gin.” killed two fiancées in the first 20 minutes of the show. canon wlw.

9. Scarlet Witch Marvel - THEY HATE TO SEE A GIRLBOSS WINNINGGGGGGG

10. Bender Futurama - his name is a pun. his face looks like 😬. occasionally behaves like a toddler/dog. unyielding devotion to homoerotic friendship. lives in a closet. was god once. alloaro.

i’ll tag: @ozais-lobotomist @waterfire1848 @tommyssupercoolblog @juniperhillpatient @kyoshigirl @autistic-katara @sukidude @averageinsomniac

[waheelawhisperer]

I wanted to enjoy the Big Moment, and I'm not *quite* where you are now WRT bees, but those points on character observations & situational context (epiphany pushed by the setting) are sadly legit (the bit where they start Deep Diving definitely cratered). All told I'm very burnt out on hellsite fndm rhapsodizing how Chicken Dentures nailed this, though the 'wlw robbed Sun/Adam/Whomever' contingent is still full of shit. Petty visual sidenote: holy hell would I have preferred their Vol 6 duds.

Anyone with a brain is burnt out on the FNDM at this point this shit is a cult worshipping a mediocre show and the bigoted company that uses it as a shield to pretend it's progressive

Rooster Teeth didn't nail shit, but their audience doesn't care. As long as the pretty girls kiss on-screen, they're happy to ignore everything surrounding it and buy the Bumbleby merch out of the store.

The people bitching about Sun/Adam/whoever being robbed are stupid and can safely be ignored. Nothing they say will have value.

I would've preferred the Mistral outfits too. Yang's sucks either way but Blake's Mistral outfit is good and her Atlas one blows, so if she'd stayed in her V4-6 fit at least one of them would've looked like they can dress themselves

#rwby #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #bumbleby

[fragmentedink-archived]

my coworkers: she got Atlas' pronouns right

me, who hasn't been to work in over 2 months due to a psychotic break and doesn't know who the hell this person is: why is she talking about me idk who she is

my coworkers: well bec she's a shift and needs to know these things before u return

me: Personally, I don't feel comfortable being talked about while I'm not there after having everyone talk about me behind my back to people not from our store

#yall lost ur ✨️rights✨️ #m e #work shit

[meowcatsposts]

Fear Spirit [Dmitri]

✎⁾⁾⁾ note: I wanted to add a little twist to the Greek god of fear, Phobos, with this fic. I hope you enjoy :)

╰► warning: mentions of arachnophobia (fear of spiders) + acrophobia (fear of heights) + stalker-y behavior

Overview

You feel uneasy

Like a pair of eyes staring at the back your head

Until one day, a guy named Dmitri shows up

“Do you need help?” 

A stranger, medium-built, peered over at your hunched figure and the largely stuffed grocery bags that sat in your trunk. Sympathy (or was it pity?) coursed through his system at the sight.

“Uh…” You stared into his tawny eyes for a hot minute before replying with a bashful, “Yeah, I do, actually…”

“Ok. I got you.”

Before you could even utter another word the stranger shouldered more than enough bags and began walking. (Odd–it seemed he knew your route.) He walked at a sauntering pace, however, and you soon caught up, only a bag in your right hand. A twinge of guilt struck your stomach as you eyed his load, comparing it with your own. Sure, it was his choice to help, but still–he was carrying too much (though he seemed to handle it perfectly well). 

“I can carry a few bags,” you offered. Your hands itched; it simply felt wrong to be idle.

The stranger hummed lowly before replying, “Oh, it’s ok. Please don’t feel bad. I offered to help, anyway.”

It was odd, how he knew–how a mere stranger knew exactly how you felt. Your cheeks flushed a weird pink. Yet something stirred in your stomach; he was undoubtedly leading you to your own home. How?

“Thank you,” you spluttered softly; it was the least you could say.

“You’re welcome.”

The stranger’s lips curled into a tiny smile, but he turned away too quickly for you to catch a glimpse. How the hell did he know the way to your home? Panic rose to your chest. It was like bobbing helplessly at sea, salty water crashing into your mouth.

In the calmest way you could muster you asked him quietly, “How do you know where my house is…?” 

Eyeing the muscle on his arms and the way his shirt stretched taut against his back, you guessed that he’d easily overwhelm you in a fight. Heck, he probably could snap a bone if he wanted to. So you sewed your mouth shut, waiting fearfully for a response–a response you absolutely weren’t ready for.

“Eris sent me to you,” he replied, rather matter-of-factly. “That’s why.”

Eris, the goddess of discord and strife? What even was he, then? Dmitri didn’t miss the confusion flitting across your eyes, but he didn’t care to elaborate any further. He simply soaked in your bewilderment that permeated throughout the air; he quite liked it–your dilated, flickering eyes and quivering lips.

“I’m what you’d call a spirit,” he finally said, quelling the long silence. “A spirit of terror, fear…all of that sort.”

Terror? Fear? What the hell? Breaking out of your stupor you asked, rapid-fire, “Then…what’s going to happen to me? How many of your kind are there?”

The stranger feigned thoughtfulness as he gazed up at the sky. It suddenly felt so much lower now, as if Atlas dropped it–quite suffocating. 

“For your first question, nothing will. I won’t let that happen,” he answered, dull hazel eyes staring at your expression, to see if it would change again. “And for your second question, a lot. I have many siblings.”

“I wouldn’t share you with them,” he added, knitting his narrow eyebrows. He clicked his tongue softly, mostly to himself. “I don’t like sharing, anyway.”

You saw him everywhere now. You saw him at the grocery store, gazing aimlessly at the poultry, the pastries, the shelves. You saw him browsing through books at the local library, those slender fingers grazing over each and every book spine. Heck, you even saw him sitting at an inconspicuous table at every restaurant you went to–regardless if you were alone or with friends. A tiny shiver ran through your spine. 

As you were putting away groceries into the refrigerator, your thoughts couldn’t help but run back to the stranger at the parking lot. The very first time you met him, you couldn’t help but notice those lean ropes of muscle, flexing under his shirt when he picked up all those bags effortlessly. Wavy, chocolate brown hair framed his honey-dipped face all too well. And those melancholic, tawny eyes–he was eye candy for sure. But why would someone so mourningly beautiful act like a stalker?

“Hi, (Y/N).” Your name rolled off his tongue so smoothly, like velvet. Cool breath fanned over your ear.

You shrieked unceremoniously and whipped around and skidded away, far far far away from whoever the hell broke into your house. Immediately, you recognized the man. Wavy, dark hair. Tawny eyes. Lean body. Him. 

“Shh…it’s me,” he murmured. A ghost of a smile painted his lips. “I’m sure you recognize me already, judging by the look you’re giving me.” After pausing briefly he continued, a chuckle underlining his voice. “I’m Dmitri. Sorry for not telling you earlier.”

It was no use grabbing a knife; he was a spirit, after all. 

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? When I helped carry your groceries?” he cooed. “I won’t hurt you.”

Your heart hammered. Your head pounded. Run, or die. As if you’d trust anything that comes out of his mouth. 

Dmitri’s dark eyes turned even darker. Why didn’t you trust him? He clicked his tongue and sighed heavily, leaning on your kitchen counter.

“Why don’t I turn into something for you?” he offered. Dmitri tapped his fingers lazily against the counter; you guessed he was getting impatient. “Preferably something everyone hates.”

It was no use staying silent; you needed to speak, one way or another. And clearly, this was his way of bending you to his will. “Ok…what about a spider?”

Dmitri bowed fleetingly, half-smirking. “Your wish is my command.”

Then suddenly thick black smoke furiously swirled around him and you couldn't see any sign of the man now, just a small cyclone of onyx and gray. Though when you blinked, the haze vanished and he was standing in front of you. 

As a huge arachnid. He wasn’t lying.

Legs, all eight of them long and spiky and hairy. Eyes, all eight of them glossy and black and big. Fangs, sharp ends dripping with liquid–was it venom? Saliva? 

Dmitri saw you, frozen in your tracks, and nearly laughed. Gosh, “petrified” looked good on you.

“See?” he said. “I can turn into anything.” His voice was all gravelly and echoey and gross at the same time, thrumming like a fly your eardrums. You shuddered, squeezing your eyes shut; he looked and sounded horrendous.

“...Can you turn into something less…disturbing?” you peeped quietly. Instant regret. “Please?”

After a fat silence Dmitri replied, rather disappointedly, “Sure, I can do that. Keep your eyes closed.”

“Ok.”

“I’ll tell you when to open them.” 

His voice was close–normal, now. And why were you chilly? Cool wind brushed against your skin, and it smelled like the city: bustling, gaseous, and industrial.

“You can open your eyes now.”

You gasped–out of terror, and astonishment. 

You stood atop a thin, measly wooden plank, high above the ground. Did you just hear it creak? Sticking into the skies were tall gray buildings, and littered below them were shops, houses, and people of all sizes. The people looked like ants, from where you were. You shuddered. This wasn’t “less disturbing,” as Dmitri promised! 

A flock of screeching birds darted through your eyesight and you lurched, scared out of your wits. Yet you didn’t plummet to your death–couldn’t. 

“Isn’t the scenery nice?” Dmitri’s voice echoed throughout your skull, wrapping around you, vibrating in you. He was nowhere to be seen, but you felt him all around you, like a blanket that was too warm and heavy–suffocating.

“...Please,” you whimpered, lips quivering, hands clammy. “Please make it stop.”

You heard Dmitri sigh, and a gust of wind blew in your face. You lurched again. 

“Just know that I can be anything,” he whispered. “Anything.”

Black smoke engulfed you. Then again, and again, and again…endlessly. He morphed into scenery, objects, animals…anything, as he claimed. You grew dizzy. Your knees buckled; they turned to jelly. Your head swam. But just before you crumpled to the floor Dmitri caught you in his arms, caging you in a hug. He gently laid your head on his chest, stroking and combing your hair. So cute! You were like a kitten, soaked in water. The corners of his lips lifted just a tiny bit as he gazed down at your shaking form. 

“Maybe I toyed with you too much…” he purred.

chain divider by: bangssefi black divider by: firefly-graphics

#monster x reader #spirit x reader #phobos

[ilikepjo24]

Modern Atla AU

Siblings do a lot of crazy stuff for each other <3

In this AU Zuko is 14 and Azula 8

Azula knows she should be happy cause it's Christmas Eve and everyone is happy because it's holidays and bluh bluh bluh but how can she she be happy when she lives in such an unfair world?!

All of her friends have seen Santa and she hasn't!

Ty Lee and Mai say that every year, the night before Christmas their mommies come into their rooms and wake them up when Santa is there and they always get to catch a glimpse of him as he leaves the house if they're fast enough. That just confirms Azula's theory that all mommies are better than hers. Her mommy always tells her to go to sleep early because staying awake after bedtime is naughty and Santa doesn't visit naughty girls.

Well, tonight, Azula is going to even the score!

She plans in staying up secretly and hide behind the couch in the living room so that she can see Santa but without him knowing so that'll he'll never found out she has been naughty and won't stop visiting her. She tells her plan to her brother, Zuko, and invites him to sit the night out with her because she knows that he probably hasn't seen Santa either. But, unfortunately, he refuses because "he has some very important business to settle" that night.

Now it's early in the evening in Christmas Eve and instead of laying in his cozy, warm bed, Zuko is out in the cold, trying desperately to find an open store where he can buy a Santa costume his size and boots with heels to make him look taller because he knows that Ozai is sure as hell not going to dress up for Azula so now he has to do it because he doesn't want to ruin Christmas for her by telling her the truth but he also can't have her thinking that Santa didn't show up because she wasn't a good girl!

Gosh, the things he does for his sister...

#zuko #azula #cute #fluff #cristmas au #modern au #atla #Zuko is a good brother #Azula i just being a kid #merry chrismas 2022

[outofthiisworld]

@mechahero asked: plots please for doc and ophelia? from ⤏ send me “plots please” / always accepting !

—💖🖤💖 lets GOOOOOOO!!! 💖🖤💖—

I can see all three of ‘em ending up becoming this ragtag, trio of misfits that are dead set on taking down organizations just like M.E.C and ATLAS; like a locally grown, organic s.uicide s.quad if you will? (but like, the second movie vibes- not the first one dfsdfsd).

Three people who’ve been to hell and back but still have this fighting spirit blazing in their hearts, working together to try and prevent the horrors that they underwent— just street-level, anti-heroic vibes all over this.

Lambda and Ophelia would be the ones on the field more so to speak– two powerhouses fighting against even bigger powerhouses, while Doc is more the Man-In-The-Chair type, providing support via useful information, insane gadgets, and field assistance.

If it uh, wasn’t obvious by my blog and muses i…….really……like found family…………..hits good

—💖🖤💖—

Doc being Lambda’s ACTUAL doctor. He understands machinery and is USED to weird alien/superhuman nonsense— so he’d be able to adapt fairly well after a bit of analysis. 

I’m sure Lambda has figured out how his body works at this point, and there’s going to be A LOT that’s going to puzzle Doc ( “you have a WORMHOLE?? system?????? w h y ?” ), but he’ll still end up strong arming his medical advice like: "Alright I did the calculations based off of your body mass and the regenerative qualities of your resurrection system, so you’ll have to eat XXXlbs of flesh every month in order to to prevent the decomposition process– um, excuse me– don’t you groan at me"

Or

"Hey try this, I’ve been trying to fabricate synthetic tissue, maybe it’ll be an okay substitute for- oh you’re vomiting– is it the taste?"

—💖🖤💖—

Ophelia pointing at Lambda: He's just like me fr fr

Jokes aside, I can see Ophelia and Lambda bonding over ✨solidarity✨. They both have died and come back, and will continue to do so. There's a lot of potential unknowns in something so powerful. Will they age? Are they truly immortal? Will their last death be their final death? It ain't easy finding someone who gets it— especially when you have a body that denies death but is also simultaneously working against itself. 

She’ll be able to feel open and even safe around Lambda– he gets it, he’s also killed people, he’s also trying to be better, he also didn’t ask for this.

I don't know dude just nothing makes me more emotional than two weapons just being human; having a night out in Motor City or hitting up the local corner store to stock up on shitty snacks and Lambda showing Ophelia his favorite movies while Ophelia shows off her (wack) newfound interest for the week.

#👽 … ooc #🎤 … asks #mechahero #//me: yeah i love interesting and unique relationship dynamics!!! #//also me: does your oc wanna join my oc's emo band 🥺👉👈 #//i went sicko mode w/ the length apologies on that but it probably will happen again #//thank you!! for sending this!!!! its fun hehehehe

[infinitethree]

OOC::

This is gonna be a bunch of links to the Sanctuary builds, which are also linked in the doc of docs & taglist/links page on the sidebar.

I'll be adding some images I want to say something about. Also, just know that I frequently have gone back and tweaked or even completely redid parts of it.

Builds; Old-> New, save for Updates which is new-> old to show any new stuff easier.

Overall has over a thousand pics spanning from January 11th 2022 to a week or so ago. I've been working on this 1.16.5 creative world for what my launcher tells me is over 14 days of time spent entirely in-game.

There are over 150 mods used, ranging from itty bity ones ("No Potion Shift" at 3KB & "Shut Up Experimental Settings" at 5KB) to almost comically large ones ("Caves & Cliffs Backport" at 50,313 KB & "Modern XL" at 37,090 KB).

I run it on a laptop, but I do have to turn pretty much everything else off. I usually switch to my phone for music/podcasts + Discord and have just the game running. Also, I got this model specifically to handle Minecraft and for having ample space for my music. I have all of it stored on my computer and played through MusicBee, because I don't want a million ads.

You might notice that it takes a looooong time for most of the buildings to get roofs. This is because I didn't understand how those blocks worked. And also I just don't like doing them much; they're boring compared to the character detail stuff.

-Overall

-Updates (New-> Old)

-Day + Theo + Lee & Temp Refugees

-Dee + Orph + Perce & Forge

-Atlas + Quizzy & Adamantium

-KinderSofter!Crew [Perce’s friends] -Poison Farm

-Aster

-Daz + Raine

-Aleph + Khons

-Council of the Star Headquarters It's not in the actual album (since the dates don't align, because it was just a screengrab to share with Noodley vs a proper screenshot), but these were the original blocks I planned on using for the three main Summer Hills houses:

The mod with the tiles and logs got removed early on, so I had to pick something else to use. I like the end result way better, though; each house has a more distinct flavor while still being fairly cohesive.

If I had to pick a specific detail as my favorite, it'd have to be the creeper plushies. At some point, Lee decides that creepers are protectors; thus, anyone he cares about needs to have a plush version. Sentiments on the look of them are...mixed.

Theo thinks they're creepy as hell but his baby brother gave those to him-- thus, they're above his gear as an 'intimidation tactic'; Day is, uh, not super keen on waking up from a nightmare to the sight of creepers, so he has them out of his line of sight; Perce's friends think it's almost tooth-rottingly sweet but in a /pos way, etc.

It all spawned off of seeing the creepers in the "Modern XL" mod, and realized those are EXACTLY the sort weird, kinda unnerving thing a kid would latch onto.

Day, Theo

Dee, Orph, Atlas

Perce, Lee (there are just barely 5 in the shot and that's not even all of them!)

Quizzy

Oisin, Agni [Perce's friends]

Damon, Oxylos [Perce's friends

Aster, Khons + Aleph

Daz, Raine

And here's a few pics of things specifically referenced in prose:

Sibling Acceptance Rituals, chapter 1 (where they're standing near Theo's room)

Sibling Acceptance Rituals, chapter 2 (very start of the chapter)

any scene in the den of the main house

Progress is Relative, chapter 3 (referenced; Dee's lamps that "look like honey but do NOT taste like it")

Polaris Shines Above; Aster's temporary room

Polaris Shines Above, chapter 9 ([redacted], obviously VERY in progress)

Uhhh and it looks like I ran out of space. Hmm. I...will shuffle the Piccrew/Art to its own post, lmao.

I'm absolutely willing to answer questions about things anyone is curious about!! I love explaining myself, and more importantly, explaining things about my silly little blorbos. Or even just what mods I used.

#cocochaos #long post

[dragoncityinteriordesign]

Look, my feelings on Shen Wei’s home decor choices are well-documented.

Of note:

Horses. There are enough horses that it seems a little bit like a theme: two sets of bookends on the office bookshelf, the horse head statue, and the one with the spiny mohawk over on the couch bookshelf. Shen Wei confirmed for Horse Girl.

The three objects by the office bookshelf. The top one is a statue of someone shushing you, the middle one looks like some kind of polished stone (slightly too pointy, ow) lingam atop a pair of books, and the bottom one appears to be a statue of Atlas.

Tiny hominid skull. Because evolution, I guess.

Recurring pieces. A number of these items will show up later in different locations, but the most notable are probably the double-eagle statue and the phonograph, both of which also grace the shelves of Zhao Yunlan’s office.

Class photo. There is some kind of large-group photograph framed on Shen Wei’s bookshelf, and it’s killing me that the camera never gets it quite enough in focus to tell what the hell is going on there.

Fruit. Not pictured must be Shen Wei’s Magic Bullet smoothie blender.

Shield and three swords. I was going to make a Knights of the Round Table LARP joke here, but you know what? I get it. Sometimes you just have a blank wall space and you need something to put there, so you find the cheapest big weird thing at the thrift store and go, yeah, that’ll do. Anyway, get him some coconuts to go with the rest of the fruit and he’s ready to ride to Camelot.

The telephone. The telephone is not plugged in. He has an entirely decorative antique telephone. He does not understand how telephones work.

Trophy. I bet that’s the teaching award the administration gave him in lieu of a raise this year.

#guardian #zhen hun #shen wei's apartment #it will become progressively more apparent that I work in academia

[aghostpost]

An Indecent Proposal (Kento Nanami x Reader)

A/N: This is gonna be multiple chapters, just a heads up! For all my jjk lovers and Nanami simps (self included duh)! This is chapter 1. Hope you enjoy~ ♥

4:28 in the afternoon. That’s two and a half hours of unofficial overtime.

“Shauna, I need dinner reservations tomorrow night at Edo for 7, 7:30 at the latest. I want the back room, and for the love of everything holy, do not seat us near the restrooms.”

“You want a last minute dinner rez at one of the busiest restaurants in the city on a Saturday night. Did I get that right?”

“I’ve seen you make miracles happen before.”

That makes a total of about seven and a half hours of overtime over the last three days.

“Yup, I’ll have everything emailed to you before we dive back in Monday morning.”

Now that I think about it, I’ve been going nonstop for what? Eight, nine days now? Holy fuck. If I wasn’t getting a commission the size of Atlas’ biceps I would have passed this client off months ago.

“Great job, guys. Enjoy the casino, enjoy the hotel. Relax, grab some drinks; you all earned it.”

I was actually the one that deserved it. Hell, I deserved an all expenses paid vacation, sunbathing butt naked on a yacht sailing the French Riviera.

I sighed. There was no sense in dwelling on anything at all that would not expedite this casino deal trip. Whining didn’t pay the bills or for my Mercedes to get detailed. In fact, overtime is exactly what did, no matter how much it sapped every drop of energy I had stored inside these tired ol’ bones. The herd thinned in the hotel conference room, everyone filing out after another long day of negotiations until I was the last man standing. I sighed, taking a seat at the head of the long mahogany table, gently twisting myself from side-to-side. I closed my eyes in deep thought, taking advantage of the moment’s peace I was finally given.

I just needed to make it through this weekend. Myself and a small team of associates were tasked by our law firm with overseeing our client’s purchase of the Paradisio Casino. Technically it was a conveyance, since our client bought out the place from the previous owner, but that was neither here nor there. We’d been working on this deal for months and finally, after this last week of finalizing agreements and signing this or that contract, running over every document with a fine tooth comb, we were wrapping up our business. Typically I didn’t opt to spearhead teams for acquisitions of this magnitude; the daily migraines and babysitting of interns and the few newborn junior associates was more than enough to choose being a team player over a leader. But when one of the names on the building personally handpicks you, you show up, zero questions asked, and you make sure they made the right choice in choosing you.

The bulk of the work was finished today. All I had left of this trip was a few minor loose ends to tie and a congratulatory dinner with our client, and then I could fly back home and get back to normalcy: expensive business brunches and assessing properties with realtors for whatever ambitious young couple I represent looking to buy a space for their… I don’t know, fucking pet cafe? I reclined in the rolling desk chair, staring blankly at the ceiling. “Fuck.” I don’t remember the last time I truly felt this tapped, like I’d just run the real estate attorney decathlon. I kept reminding myself I’d soon reap the fruits of my labor, but I was reaching the point of feeling like I had deluded myself. This particular assignment was the kinda work that would gray my hair early if I kept at it. This was certainly a one time and one time only operation for me.

I spent some more time on my laptop drafting a few emails to send before I decided my work day was officially over, because once I clock out, I really clock out. When my eyes started to glaze over and my screen read less like English and more like hieroglyphics, that was my queue to finally gather my shit and head to my hotel room. The moment I swiped my keycard and crossed the threshold I kicked off my heels, my feet instantly relieved by the cool marble flooring as I padded my way to the full length mirror beside the wardrobe. I stared at myself as I undressed, admiring the best parts of my body and fully ignoring the parts that needed fine tuning. What I noticed most was how drained I looked. I felt like no matter how long I stayed in bed, I wouldn’t return to how youthful I was prior to this case. This shit essentially shaved about four years from my goddamn life. I spoke to the virtual assistant offered in all the rooms here and asked for the time; a gentle female voice with an accent I couldn’t quite pinpoint informed me it was 6:33pm. I pulled on the complimentary bathrobe and grabbed my laptop before I climbed onto the plush bed. I checked my email for what I said would be the last time of the evening, but I knew better than to believe myself. I didn’t make it to my position by not making myself readily available for anything my career required of me.

Live for the job, die for the job. Loser.

“Shut the hell up.” I rolled my eyes, both at my own thoughts and also at the fact I was now speaking out loud to myself. I always thought that people that I’d catch talking to themselves were always stressed out and typically overworked, but I ignored that when it came to myself. My rules never applied to me, except the rule that says my rules don’t apply to me. I didn’t argue with my logic.

Unfortunately, that tiny negative thought I just planted had already taken root, and now I did feel like a fuckin’ loser. I encouraged everyone to enjoy the weekend and here I was, in bed before seven and checking emails. The most excitement I had came from an email I spotted from my personal shopper saying he got a Christian Dior connect to hold goods for me now. But I recognized this pattern: whenever he hooked up with a new guy, there were perks I’d reap the benefits from until they had some inevitable falling out and the perks stopped. Knowing Devin’s penchant for self sabotage with every relationship he’s had since being in my employ, I rushed to open a browser tab to the Christian Dior site; I had to jump on this one stat.

I shot him an email with the link to two bags I wanted and felt a little better about beating myself up, but it wasn’t enough. Why was I holed up in here? Surely the casino was big enough that I wouldn’t find myself tagging along with interns and baby lawyers, right? And if not, I was in the city! There was plenty to do here, an abundance of places to be someone else other than Y/N Y/L/N, loser at law.

“... Fuck it.” I slammed my laptop shut, knowing if I stayed on it any longer I’d be looking for porn to top myself off and wind up passing out before the sun fully fucking set. I hopped off the bed and set a playlist for the night, connecting my phone to the virtual assistant, and went to take a quick shower to refresh myself and wash away any residual thoughts of loserdom. I had no set plan for tonight, so I needed to wear an anything goes kind of fit. And black. Black was as “anything goes'' as it gets, and had the magical effect of making me feel like I could conquer the world when I wore it. I settled on a classic LBD that hugged all the right curves and bulges, and some ruching that hid all the undesired ones. The square neckline tastefully, not desperately, showcased the girls, while long mesh sleeves offered a peek at my skin underneath that made you want to peel them back for a better look, maybe even a touch. The dress came to mid-thigh, my legs glowing and smooth as butter, courtesy of the full body massage and scrub I treated myself to prior to the trip. I always made sure to get any and all grooming and maintenance done before traveling, since I never knew what trouble I’d kick up in a town I had the security of knowing I’d never see any hookups again once I left. Bootycalls aside, when I felt my best I performed my best at work, and I never felt better than I did after waxing and exfoliating myself dolphin smooth.

I piled the curly mess on my head into a messy but sexy top bun, threw on some gold hoops and a few complimenting rings before finishing a simple yet effective makeup look. Begrudgingly I climbed into some black heels with thin straps I had to wrap and tie around my ankles, and finally I was able to spritz on some perfume, grab my clutch and head out for the night. I decided I would kick my evening off downstairs at the hotel bar for a drink or two and give myself more time to figure out what the hell I wanted to do tonight.

“How are we startin’ the night off, hun?” the bubbly brunette behind the bar asked me, setting a bar napkin before me as I seated myself on the vinyl bar stool.

“I think I’ll take a gin and tonic with a squeeze of lime.”

“You got it.” I rested my clutch before me and took small glances at my surroundings. I didn’t spot anyone from the firm, and wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Yes, it would be refreshing not to have to discuss work even at a lighthearted capacity, or go through the big wow moment of someone seeing me informally and in outside clothing. But also I wouldn’t have minded being in familiar company. No matter. I didn’t hesitate when it came to striking conversation with a stranger. Once my drink was placed on the bar napkin, I pinched my straw for a sip as I spun around on my stool, crossing my right leg over my left. I surveyed the room for potential; naturally I looked for moneybags. Not because I needed a man with money to entertain me, or for any other reason, but I was used to doing so for work. People with money tended to want to buy new property, which meant a textbook of real estate laws for acquiring said property, which is where I came in.

I thought maybe I’d have better luck at the casino, where at least the highrollers would be a lot easier to spot, until I made eye contact with a particular gentleman. I wasn’t inclined to point out physical features as checks off the list, since being attractive wasn’t a sign of significant wealth. Instead, I noticed the quality of the clothes he was wearing, his watch if he was wearing one, and above all else his shoes. You could tell just about anything about a man by what he had on his feet. Unfortunately my view was a bit obstructed by another bar patron, but I was almost certain he’d approach me after the look I just gave before rotating back to facing the bar.

But not before I noticed the aforementioned bar patron, and he got a glance at me for a fleeting moment the same time I spotted him.

Now I was very good at playing out of sight, out of mind. The moment I turned my back to him he ceased to exist in this room. The one, single time I broke my rule and slept with a co-worker, although technically we didn’t work directly together under the same firm, my decision found a way to kick me in the ass. I ran into Kento Nanami a handful of times at work-related functions. I was a  conveyancer, a real estate lawyer to the common man, at Hilman & Klein, and he was a financial advisor at another building in the same work district. Our paths often crossed; he would represent some pretty big silent investors, and I was usually the one convincing people like him to have their employer hire me in the event they wanted to buy new properties. As it happens, we had the same boss this time around. Because we didn’t work in the same office, it was so easy to avoid him, so it never even crossed my mind that he would possibly be here.

And now here we were.

You know that android isn’t gonna make a fuss, shut up.

True. Kento was far too callous in my opinion to even think to come over here and kick up dust. Actually, that was part of why I figured him an ideal candidate for a work conference hookup; he seemed pretty cut and dry, like the last person to react in any fashion that would complicate a strictly just sex situation. A simple one and done! I always chalked it up to the alcohol that he was even showing any inkling of emotion during our little tryst. But that was just one night, and every interaction after that was as if it never even happened which I couldn’t be more thankful for. My shoulders relaxed as I let out a sigh of relief and ordered a shot of tequila to snuff out any budding tension in my nerves. I looked over my shoulder to see if I could find my mystery guy, and instead I was met with Kento about three and a half steps away from me.

Fuck!

“Are you shittin’ me…” I mumbled under my breath to myself, my jaw clenching. I quickly faced forward. Maybe I’d need more than just one shot.

“Did you just arrive today?” he asked, helping himself to the bar stool to my right.

“Nope. Kinda been leading this whole thing. Been here since Tuesday.”

“Hm. Funny, this is my first time seeing you and I’ve been here since Sunday.”

“You been lookin’ for me, Kento?”

“Not particularly.”

Lying fuck.

I rolled my eyes. “Where’s that white-haired hemorrhoid that usually tags along with you?”

“Gojo’s around here somewhere, probably harassing your interns.”

“Like a fox in the hen house. Of course they’ll eat up whatever he throws their way, too.” Finally a tiny glass of tequila rimmed with salt slid across the bar for me, a lime wedge placed on my napkin along with it.

“He has a way of charming the impressionable.”

I shook my head and lifted my glass. “They’re not impressionable, just dumb.” I licked my rim, took my shot and quickly sucked the lime wedge immediately after. “Besides, I’d never admit this to him directly but he’s got an impressive reputation in our field.”

“So he charmed you at some point as well?”

I scoffed, reaching into my clutch for some cash to settle my tab. “The moment Satoru opened his mouth, whatever respect I had for him was blasted to shit. I’m impressed by his performance as a lawyer, nothing else.” I tossed a crisp hundred onto the bar and slid from my stool. “Give him another round of whatever he’s having, on me, and keep the change.”

“You know, you don’t have to scurry off every time we run into each other at one of these things.”

Ignored. “I’m assuming you’ll be at the dinner tomorrow night?”

“I am chief financial advisor for our mutual client. I helped seal this deal as much as anyone else.”

I rolled my eyes. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow night then, Kento.”

“Y/L/N.”

Snooty tight ass. That last name only shit was always his first class ticket under my damn skin. It always felt kinda condescending, like I was being half-assed acknowledged. On my way out I scanned the room one final time for Mr. Mystery to no avail, so I headed in the direction of the casino. I reached into my clutch once again to exchange enough cash into chips to get me into the highrollers den. I wasn’t a gambler by any means, but for a night I could be. I looked around for a table that wasn’t too busy and found a blackjack table with my name on it. Only two other players, both old, both women.

“Any drinks for you tonight, miss?” the floor attendant came beside me to ask.

I looked to my left with a friendly smile. “Ladies, what are we drinking?”

I wound up with a Long Island for myself, and a cran-vodka and an Arnold Palmer for my two new friends. I sat for a couple hands just spectating before getting in on the action myself. I wound up winning six hands and losing three before bidding my girls good luck with the rest of their evening and heading to the next table.

“There’s my girl!” I heard booming behind me, over the arcade-like chimes of slot machines. I turned around and wished to every holy deity that I hadn’t. “Now the fun can really begin!”

“Stop before people think we know each other!”

“We missed you earlier; I thought for sure you’d be at the meeting with the new owner.” He instantly hooked his arm around my neck and pulled me closer to him.

“Jesus-” I sighed as I struggled to free myself from his grip, readjusting my dress. “I was in a closing meeting all day. I’ll be seeing him tomorrow night.”

“A night visit from the big man?” he asked suggestively, wiggling his stark white brows. “Women have it so easy.”

“It’s only been three minutes, snowflake. Usually the sexism doesn’t kick in for an hour.”

“Luckily for you, I’m already four drinks and three shots in, so you’ll hafta excuse me.”

“Any drinks for you two tonight?” another floor attendant came around to ask.

“Yes! I-” Satoru started.

“-He’s fine, but I’ll take another Long Island, thank you.” The attendant smiled with a nod and a be right back before he was on his way.

“Booooo. Keep it up and you might tie with Nanamin for biggest buzzkill, Y/N.”

Oh fuck. That reminded me: if Satoru was here, it was safe to assume that Kento wasn’t far behind. “Actually,” I said with a playful grin, “why don’t you take my drink. I’m gonna go find the ladies room.”

"Now we’re talkin’,” he exclaimed with excitement and his signature smile showcasing every tooth in his fat head.

I laughed to myself as I made a dash for it, successfully shaking Snow White and making my way to a craps table in my view. As a rule I never rolled dice, too worried I’d cause everyone at the table to lose money, so I sat comfortably as a spectator and sized up the flow of things. I chose a good horse to bet on and began stacking my chips when it was their turn to roll, my fresh Patron margarita with me. As I sipped I chuckled to myself thinking of whether or not Satoru had figured out I was gone with the wind while he was drinking my Long Island.

“C’mon, big money big money. Mama needs a new Boston brownstone…”

“Final bets!” the dealer called. I stared at the table eagerly when an arm extended beside me, dropping two $100 chips on the table. Immediately the sexy watch around his wrist screamed at me, so I turned to look at the body and the man it was attached to.

“Didn’t peg you as a gambling man.”

“When in Rome.”

“Are you stalking me now, Kento?”

“Gojo told me he saw you headed in this direction.”

How the fuck did he know?! My eye twitched infinitesimally. I’d have some words for him at the dinner tomorrow that I’m almost certain he’d be attending. “You lookin’ for me?”

My horse rolled the dice, and both my chips and Kento’s were removed from the table. Fuck. I collected another $100 chip and placed the same bet; it would take more than one bad roll for me to give up on my trusty steed. I noticed Kento placed the same $200 bet, the show off.

“I would like to talk to you.”

“About? I’m off the clock.”

“Nothing work-related, technically.”

Technically? “Can it wait?”

“I think it’s waited long enough,” he spoke as he raised his plastic cup to his lips. “Don’t you?” he asked before taking a sip of the iced dark brown liquid.

I sighed. “What is there to talk about?”

“Not that I need to spell it out for you, but I will, if that’s the game you’re playing. The San Francisco conference.”

Another roll, this one kinder than the last. Both of our chips doubled and while I removed mine from the table, Kento left his to remain in the exact same position. “What about it? It came, it went.”

“Well, did I screw up somehow that night?”

I turned to him with a look of incredulity, an arched brow shooting upward. “What??”

“Did I say anything I shouldn’t have?”

Okay, maybe I was wrong about him being extremely indifferent and robotic. A person that truly could not care wouldn’t be asking me questions like this. I scoffed before taking another sip of my cocktail. “No, Kento.”

“Then perhaps it was something I did.”

I took a quick jog down memory lane to recount that evening. It was a long day of meetings, convention panels, and a lot of networking that inevitably proved very fruitless. I remember how annoyed I was that most of the activities I participated in that day were mandatory for the firm, so I was grateful I would be flying back home the following morning. This was almost two years ago, and at that point I had been working at Hillman & Klein for almost 4 years, which seems like a long time in theory but I was still considered fresh blood around the place. I wanted to show up and be a team player and do so with a smile but fuck I couldn’t wait to get back home. It’s common practice for these work events to end with a bang. While others opted to indulge in more questionable party favors, I was fine with just drinking that night. That’s how I wound up bumping into Satoru at the open bar and two of his good friends, Suguru and of course Kento. I grew tired of drunkenly mixing up the two names so I wound up spending more time talking to Kento.

Initially I thought he was incredibly boring and for the life of me couldn’t see how someone like Satoru wound up with a friend like him. The two were apples and oranges, night and day. I just enjoyed flirting with him that night, watching the muscles in his face pull just slightly in reaction to my toying with him. Not to mention that he was a fairly attractive man and he could keep up with me on an intellectual level, maybe even teach me a thing or two. He wasn’t a hard man to like, aside from him constantly appearing like he didn’t wanna be bothered. I could see how a nuisance like Satoru Gojo had fun poking at Kento, as I soon found joy in doing the same. Somehow I bullied him right into my room that night, and one thing led to another. As memories of our bedroom jostling came flooding back to me, I couldn’t think of one single thing that could have been misconstrued as bad, in behavior or performance. He was just shy of the perfect gentleman once I chiseled away at his cold exterior, and to my surprise he wasn’t bad in the sack, either.

Not bad at all.

I snapped back to the present before my imagination got the better of me and eyed Kento. The expression on his face of course didn’t match any of the concern for me that he spoke. He was staring at me while I stood reminiscing, and sighed at my silence and redirected his attention back to the craps table. “It was nothing you did,” I finally said.

“So nothing I did, and nothing I said. Hm.”

“What answer you lookin’ for in particular?” I finished my drink and took a partially melted ice cube in my mouth.

“I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out why you avoid me the way you do, but if you’ve got nothing and I’ve got nothing then the answer is simple: you just dislike me.”

My ice crunching was promptly interrupted by an eruption of laughter. This man was no robot at all! “Wait, what? That’s the conclusion you came to??”

He looked at me for a moment before placing another bet. “Was that funny?” he asked as he continued idly thumbing his chips and staring at the table, clearly not amused.

I composed myself, swallowing the ice threatening to fall from my mouth. “It’s a bit of a stretch, no?”

“You have yet to tell me a better reason…”

“Tell you what: you win this roll, I’ll tell you.”

He smacked his teeth under his breath. “And if I don’t?” He sipped his drink again, side eyeing me.

I shrugged. “Then it’s business as usual. I see you, we exchange pleasantries, and then go about our day.”

“I hardly call anything after San Francisco pleasant… ”

I stepped a bit closer to him and stared with anticipation at the table, eager to see what fate was in store for curious little Kento. “Don’t be dramatic, I haven’t been that bad. Besides, that was like two years ago.”

“Hm.” He said nothing else and as the dealer called for final bets, we watched in complete silence.

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #nanami #nanami x reader #nanami kento #kento nanami #kento x reader

[zexhyr]

ZEKE BAEK (nonbinary, he/they, kim mingyu) is 25 and a HAIRDRESSER from ATHENS, but now they can be found in MAIN VILLA. they are known as THE AESTHETE because they are PATIENT, but if things kick off, they can be a bit NAIVE. they’re BISEXUAL and are most interested in grafting NAOMI & ROMI. one thing they want to accomplish in casa amor is SOMEONE WHO WILL GENUIELY CHERISH HIM. (stickered covered apple max headphones, melodic laughter that fills an entire space, hushed whispers and soft giggles, and metallic shears resting on a towel.)

BIO!

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Zeke lives there with his grandmother. His mother passed giving birth to him and his father had passed away when he was five. A bit rough for him but it’s alright because Zeke has his grandmother who loves him dearly. 

Because it was only the two of them, Zeke was always found at his grandmother’s side. If she went to the grocery store, he was pushing the cart for her. If she was visiting a friend, he was sitting at the table eating whatever cookies they gave him. And if she was working, he would be there too, and that was his favorite place to be. 

His grandmother worked as a hairdresser at their local hair salon and it easily became Zeke’s favorite place to be. While dominated by women, he never felt like an outsider, they never made Zeke feel like an outsider. Instead of doing his homework, he would sit in his designated seat and watch everyone work. It always amazed him how they did everything so effortlessly and continue to gossip about everything happening in their lives. For a little kid, it was magical to watch it all happen. 

Zeke’s fascination never left as he grew older, he simply pushed him down the road of becoming a hairdresser. Many tried to push him towards becoming a barber ( bc Men ) but he would always shake his head no, a barbershop wasn’t his home, it was a hair salon.

Every day after school he would go to the hair salon. Everyone knew his name and face, hell, he even worked there as a receptionist and cleaned up for everyone. Lowkey was used to bring in younger customers because of his looks,,,,, the same could be said now. 

By the time they graduated from high school, Zeke went off to cosmetology school. They walked out as a licensed hairdresser and worked at the same place as their grandmother. And everyone loved it, happy to see Zeke everyday now as the young adult worked beside them. And once again, Zeke brought in a lot of customers for them because they look like a literal Greek God. 

And it’s fun, they’re doing something they love! Their career is great but that’s... about it. Zeke doesn’t have any friends his age, all of his friends are married women in their 40s and up, some even being widows. While he made friends at school, none of them really stuck around for long. The same could be said about their love life. 

No one really stays for long, both platonically and romantically and it sucks, ya’ know. Zeke begins to think that he’s gonna be left with older women his entire life until they women at his job talk about Love Island. And they’re all telling him that he has to go onto the show because it’ll be fun and maybe he’ll meet the love of his life. It sounded silly at first until he’s like hahha UNLESS...? 

So boom, he arrives during Casa and he’s like “ I want love blah blah blah “. Idk I GIVE UP NO MORE INTRO MEET ZEKE BAEK CLAP YOUR HANDS. 

QUICK FACTS!

Has a pet dog named Atlas! Atlas will be turning four in February.

Has yet to tell their grandmother this but Zeke does want to move out but doesn’t want to leave her alone. 

Traveled to California once with friends, enjoyed the state for the most part. Considered moving there once. 

Realizing now that Zeke does in fact know three languages! Korean, English, and Greek <3 

Yes he can do your muses hair, he brought his little kit if anyone wants a drastic hair change.