#either that or like “hmm that’s not normally how this dream starts.

[azrielslostshadow]

lemon tart

word count: 1297

azriel x gn!reader

authors note: azriel is cute when he panics. cassian loves to mess with him too. look out for future parts!

pt.2, pt.3

taglist: @andrewgarfield2022 

azriel was gonna kill cassian. 

how could the general of the night court, the man responsible for the high lords' armies actually be so forgetful?

cassian told him it was something about a new mating bond, which azriel knew was ridiculous, cassian and nesta have been mated for 100 years already. he probably just wanted to sleep in with his wife, something azriel figured he would also want if he knew what it was like to be mated to someone. 

either way, he was still pissed off. 

it was also unbelievable that the only thing feyre wanted to eat during her second pregnancy were lemon tarts. lemon tarts specifically from the new bakery the high lady was obsessed with, Lemon Dreams. 

she could have anything in the world and she chooses lemon tarts?

azriel was really reconsidering how he felt about his High Lady. 

he supposed the place was cute… in a country farmish sort of way. it wasn’t really his style, but he supposed he could see the appeal. calming jazz played in the background, while daisies were lay scattered across dark wood counters, and the coffee and berry aroma’s filled the air. it seemed so out of place compared to the dark blue’s, purples, and blacks that normally filled the spaces of velaris’ cafes. 

“anything you’re looking for specifically?” a voice broke out from behind the counter and azriel’s heart fell to his feet. 

there you stood, bright and beautiful and smiling up at him, and oh gods you were beautiful… and speaking right at him! what did you say again? “huh? oh sorry, i-i just completely zoned out, what were you saying again?”

You blinked at him once… twice… and then you giggled at him and azriel thought that if could bottle it up and carry it with him, he might never have to go to majda for healing ever again. 

“its okay. must just be one of those days right?” you clearly carried the sunshine in your smile, otherwise the shadowsinger wouldn’t have to turn away when you made eye contact. 

“yeah,” was he actually out of breath right now? great mother, he was pathetic.

you made your way further down the counter before turning to him again, “so are you looking for something specific?”

“yeah, my friend she wanted a couple of lemon tarts? you have those right?”

“which ones was she looking for?”

“which one?” azriel was confused. isn’t there only one kind of lemon tart?

“yeah, i have lemon-mint, lemon-berry, original, lemon and cream, and i can make specialty tarts for future orders if she’s looking for something in the future.”

it was then that azriel realized why this bakery was called Lemon Dreams. the display trays were filled with lemon desserts. “wow, uh sorry. i didn’t realize that there were so many kinds of lemon tarts… original i guess?”

“original?” 

“yeah! that should work… i hope?”

“hmm…” you started, “who’s it for?”

“what?” there was no way you could know who wanted this lemon tart! velaris is a busy city, you could hardly ever know all the people in your own neighborhood. 

“is she a regular? i remember all of my customers.”

“all of them?”

“every single one! just give me a hint, i think i could figure it out.”

azriel pondered for a moment. it wasn’t like he was putting the high lady a risk… if she really came here so often you probably knew her. and you looked terribly cute, with those hopeful eyes staring into his, “she’s pregnant.”

“feyre?” 

he blinked.

you clapped your hands together, lit up and full of joy, “seriously? i almost thought i was gonna get it wrong!”

“how- how could you possibly know that?” he was shocked. there had to be many pregnant faes who loved lemon tarts!

“i’ve never met someone so passionate about lemon tarts quite like our high lady.” you began pulling various lemon tarts into a bag, nodding towards his left, “she made me that painting right there.”

azriel turned to see a painting of a field of lemon trees under the night sky. it looked exactly like the work he had seen in feyre’s studio a few weeks before. “i didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

“she says this place inspires her. sometimes she brings her sketchbooks and drinks tea in here for hours.”

“really?” 

“oh yeah! honestly, i think she does it to try and get more people in here. i was kind of dying before she started coming around.” 

“really? but it's so… peaceful here.” azriel couldn’t imagine people not wanting to be in this bakery. he wanted to be in here all the time (mostly just to see you smile but regardless he wanted to be there). 

“it’s not very night courtly is it though? i mean that’s fine! but i can see why some might be hesitant to stop by. for you?”

azriel realized you had probably been waiting for him to add to the order, but he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to see you smile again, “what’s your favorite?”

“my favorite?”

“yeah. i’ll take whatever you like the most.”

your eyes light up, “cake or pastry?”

“pastry now, cake next time.” azriel couldn’t even believe the words coming out of his mouth. 

“lemon danish?”

“is it your favorite?”

“today it is.”

“it changes?”

“every day.”

“well then, i guess i might need to come back and see what else is good?”

you handed him the bag of lemon-flavored treats, “you should.” azriel reached in his pocket to pay you but you stopped him before he could, grabbing his hand and moving it away from his pocket and towards his chest, “it's on the house.”

“what? no. i should-”

“any friend of feyre’s is a friend of mine. you can pay next time.” before azriel could argue any more, you had already walked back into the kitchen leaving him alone at the counter. still he dropped a rather large bill in your tip jar, determined to pay. 

---------

he walked back to the house of wind with a smile on his face, only for it to be replaced by a scowl when he saw cassian and nesta lounging on the couches with the rest of the inner circle. 

“you’re late, brother.” 

“cas if you don’t shut it i’ll rip your wings off.”

cassian visibly flinched at the threat, but still looked toward the bag of goodies, “whatcha get for me?”

“nothing,” azriel slapped his hand away, “you’re not pregnant are you?”

“i could be if you loved me more.” 

the group erupted into laughter as he handed the bag to the high lady, “for you, sister.”

she began digging through the bag, “thanks, az! i can’t tell you how much i’ve been craving these.”

“it’s all she asks for.” sighed rhys, voice tired from his mate’s antics and new love of lemon tarts.

“oh, what's this?” feyre lifted a pastry into the air.

“mine. sorry, i forgot to take it out.”

“is that a lemon danish?” mor exclaimed, entirely perplexed as to why the shadowsinger knowingly purchased a treat, let alone a lemon-flavored one. 

nesta scowled, “why are you freaking out over a lemon danish?”

“because azriel hates lemons?”

“you hate lemons?” asked, feyre.

“he’s hated lemons for as long as i can remember!” cassian jumped up, “cute cashier or something?”

“i like lemons!” argued azriel. 

cassian just gave him a look, “then take a bite.”

“fine!” the shadowsinger argued, before sinking his teeth into the treat, immediately regretting the decision. It was entirely too sweet, too sour, and just not at all something he liked. His face twisted, clearly not enjoying the dessert, while his brothers cackled at his misfortune. “i hate you both.”

#Azriel #azriel shadowsinger #azriel x reader #azriel imagine #azriel fluff #azriel acotar #acotar imagine #nessian #Feysand

[stvharrngton]

"you know what we are. you just want to hear me say it." best friends to lovers steve ??? maybe fluff/comfort 🫶🫶

hi! it’s short but sweet but i hope you enjoy either way 🥺💖

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 1381

warnings: none, angst to fluff (the angst is very very minor), oblivious idiots in love, best friends to lovers

prompt: “What are we?” “You know what we are. You just want to hear me say it.”

taglist: @dukesmebby @saturnband @sweetbabygirlsworld

The sun was setting, the sky a pretty mix of pinks and oranges. Clouds scattered across the airspace above the lake, the only noise to be heard was the chirping crickets and the dull hum of Robin’s radio down by the dock where she and Nancy sat.

Your place was atop the hood of the infamous Beemer, the one that belonged to your best friend, Steve. He was next to you, like always, knees knocking as you lay back against the windshield.

Wherever you were, Steve was never far away. Your friends always teasing playfully that Steve was like a lovesick puppy following behind you. Always asking when you were gonna get together. Naturally, you both always insisted that you were just friends. That there was nothing going on between you but that, just a friendship.

Not that you didn’t like Steve, of course you liked Steve, but you convinced yourself it could never happen. That he didn’t feel the same way and you couldn’t possibly jeopardise your friendship by coming clean.

Steve liked to make this incredibly difficult for you. The soft eyes from across the counter at Family Video, the lingering touches on the small of your back when you were in a crowd. The spot next to him on the small loveseat was always, exclusively, reserved for you at movie nights, the boy’s strong arm wrapped tightly around your shoulder. Hell, you even shared his bed when you stayed the night at his house.

But these were all totally normal things that best friends did, right?

You were disturbed from your daydream momentarily by Steve’s large hand placed on your knee. Your eyes skirted from the sky to the boy laying next to you, his face plastered with a confused but amused look on his face.

“Hey,” he whispered, “whatcha thinking about?”

“Hmm?” you replied, questioning whether or not to tell Steve your head was filled with thoughts about how kissable he looked right now, “Me? Oh, nothing.”

Steve rolled his eyes, a playful smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned up on his elbows, “Oh, come on. Don’t give me that,” he started, a chuckle rumbling in his chest, “I can see the cogs whirring from here. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours, huh?”

You fought with your internal monologue whilst Steve stared at you with those honey brown eyes for what felt like eternity. The longer you didn’t answer the more Steve’s features changed from whimsical and teasing to that of concern and worry.

“Hey,” he spoke again, eyebrows pinched together as his hand came to cup your cheek, a touch that sent shivers down your spine, “what’s wrong, babe, hm? You can tell me.”

You’re not sure what did it, the concern that decorated his face or the soft touch of his calloused hands on your cheek but the words just fumbled past your lips,

“What are we, Steve?”

Steve looked like a rabbit caught in headlights, his hand still on your cheek but the minute movement of his thumb had all but stopped. Jaw slack as his mouth hung open a tad, lips moving only an inch as if he was trying to speak but couldn’t.

You turned your body into him now, eyes boring up at the boy you yearned for in your dreams. You regretted your decision to utter those words when Steve remained silent, grabbing his wrist as you shoved his hand back down by his side.

“Cat got your tongue, Stevie?” You taunted the boy with a roll of your eyes.

In a swift move to get yourself off the hood of the BMW and as far away from Steve as possible, he wrapped his large hand around your forearm, pulling you back next to him, “Hey, come on, wait, please?”

The silence somehow hurt more than the usual we’re just friends schtick but you stayed. You would always stay.

“Fine,” you grumbled, sitting up against the windshield.

“You know what we are. You just want to hear me say it.”

“God, Steve,” you laughed cynically, “is it a crime to ask for a little clarity?”

Steve could only shrug as he busied himself chewing on his bottom lip, “I just figured that, y’know, you just like, knew? Or whatever.”

“Knew what, Steve?” You guffawed, shock written all over your face at the words that were coming out of his mouth, “Come on, what are we?” You asked again.

Of course, Steve thought, of course you were oblivious about his feelings towards you. Oblivious to how crazy he was about you, madly and hopelessly in love with you, his best friend. Using any excuse to get close to you or to touch you.

Steve thought you were the prettiest girl on earth, that the sun and stars revolved around you. Your smile the most beautiful thing he’d seen, your laugh the only thing that could brighten up a bad day. You were it for Steve, the only girl in the world for him. There would never be anyone else.

“I just–I mean, we already act like a couple, I just figured–”

“Oh my God,” you cut him off with a chuckle, you almost couldn’t believe what you were hearing, “it would have been to have actually been asked Steve.”

Your heart was going a thousand miles a minute. Your head left spinning as Steve had practically admitted that he had feelings, that you were together. Albeit a little unorthodox, but all that mattered now was Steve.

You and Steve. Steve and you.

“You know, Nancy said you were a romantic.” You teased, a pout forming on your lips, “I was hoping for some big grand gesture when you asked me to be your girlfriend, Harrington.”

Steve exhaled a laugh, shaking his head at you, “Oh, you want romance, huh, sweetheart? That it? Wanna be whisked off your feet by me, honey?”

His hand came to cup your cheek once more now, thumb smoothing over the hot skin. His eyes boring into yours, Steve’s gaze flickered down to your lips as his tongue darted out to wet his own.

“Maybe,” you whispered as your fingers danced up along his bicep, fingers toying with the hem of his polo. Your eyes hopeful for what was to come, the butterflies in your stomach already erupting.

“I can do romance,” Steve murmured sweetly, voice rasp and low. A small smirk on his face as he lent into you, lips hovering a mere millimetre from your own. Your eyes fluttered closed as Steve pressed his lips to yours.

It was like fireworks with a hint of strawberry chapstick and cherry slushie all rolled into one. Steve’s lips were soft and slow, his hand on your cheek gentle and warm. It was a dream, really, you’d imagined this a thousand and one times but nothing you’d dreamt of would ever beat the real thing.

Steve Harrington was kissing you with his pretty pink lips and you weren’t imagining it this time.

You felt his nose press into your cheek as your fingers travelled into his soft brown locks, letting the strands glide between your digits. He hummed against your lips, his own forming into a smile as he pulled away from you slowly.

He pressed one, two more pecks to your lips before letting his nose brush against the slope of your own. His cheeks flushed and a dopey smile painted on his face. The boy was in heaven and he couldn’t help but let you know it.

“Jesus, Harrington! What took you so long?” You heard Robin yell from her perch on the dock, causing you to erupt into a fit of giggles all whilst Steve groaned into your neck.

“Ignore her,” he mumbled against your skin at her teasing, his fingers toying with the hem of your shirt, “so, you’ll be my girlfriend? I mean, you gotta after that mind-blowing kiss, surely.”

You swatted at his shoulder playfully, a bashful smile tugging at your lips, “I guess so,” you teased, “but you gotta take me on a date first, Harrington.”

Steve grinned as he leaned into you once more, noses nudging each other as his lips were barely touching your own, a whisper against your lips as he spoke,

“Deal.”

#steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #stranger things blurb #k.fic #this is not my best work i’m so sorry :(

[sparklingsjy]

enhypen's reaction to you being smaller than them but stronger

note: requested by anon!

contains: fluff :D and you threatening to beat sunghoon up because that's normal LMFAO

heeseung:

when you and hee first started dating he always thought you would be dependent on him

considering how tiny you were, he didn't expect to see you carrying your new tv to the living room all by yourself

"who is that!? y/n?!"

heeseung runs over to you and pokes your side to make sure he isn't hallucinating

"can you move the couch a bit to the left so i can get through?"

heeseung is still surprised by the fact that your 5'2 self can even lift a heavy tv but then again, he learns something new about you every day

as you're setting up the tv on the table, he admires you while sitting on the couch

"i really am lucky to have you y/n . . ."

knowing that you're stronger than him just made him love you even more <3

jay:

we all know jay LOVES going to the gym

you enjoy working out privately but jay invited you to join him as his gym buddy one day

you both did your usual routines and before he started working on his arms, he heard you call his name

"jay! can you come spot me?"

jay cluelessly looks around for you until you turn him around after waiting for 3 minutes

"oh hey!"

"you took too long! come!"

you took him over to your already set up bench press and got ready

"y/n . . is this a joke?"

"no! hurry and spot me! can you make sure it's on 120?"

jay knew you were full of surprises but THIS was on a whole other level

"120? as in one two zero?"

"yess now hurry!"

as surprised as he is, he hurries up and spots you while admiring how your arms work so easily carrying something so heavy

once you were done, he gave you your bottle of water and patted your back

"i guess you really are stronger than me y/n.. shouldn't you be the one protecting me then?"

"in your dreams . . ."

let's say the night ended off with jay asking you a series of questions on how you're so strong and to help him gain muscle LOL

jake:

you and jake love teasing each other and had a thing for piggy back rides

one day you decided to switch it up a bit with him

"jake! since you're always giving me piggy back rides, why don't i give you one?"

"you're so cute y/n! i don't want to crush your tiny body though :("

"this tiny body is very strong though!"

"hmm i'm not sure"

"pleasee!"

jake couldn't handle your whining because he always falls for your puppy eyes

he ends up giving in and his facial expression when you're able to carry him successfully on your back is PRICELESS

"are you a robot or something? how is this even possible?"

"i told you i'm strong!"

"y/n you should be my body guard"

"noo"

"i'm being serious! you're like superman or hulk!"

"are you calling me big??"

"nonono that's not what i meant"

"i can just drop you right here right now"

"Y/N!"

sunghoon:

dear lord someone save me from hoon's arms

anyways sunghoon is always challenging you to an arm wrestle whenever he cans

it's either to show off his biceps or to tease you

HOWEVER

he will not be expecting you to beat him over and over again

"ARE YOU SURE THIS IS YOUR ARM? there's no way you're stronger than me . . . DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LIFT?"

"what you lift is a piece of cake hoonie!"

"who are you and what have you done to my little gremlin?"

"GREMLIN? DO YOU WANT TO GET BEAT UP?"

the day goes on with you teasing hoon for losing and him trying to not let it hurt his pride <3

sunoo:

you and sunoo are so cautious with each other once you got together

he also loved spoiling you with food so it wasn't new of him to ask if you wanted something made by him

"y/n do you want a sandwich? i bought this new peanut butter spread!"

"ooh sure!"

10 minutes passed by and you got curious considering he should've finished the sandwich by now

you walked over to the kitchen to see a sweaty red-faced sunoo and an unopened jar of peanut butter

"sunoo? what's going on?"

"y/n . . . this jar does not want to open AT ALL"

you walked over to him, took the jar, and easily popped it open

"not that hard love~!"

"HUH? HOW IS THAT . . ."

"is my sunoo not capable of opening a jar?"

"i swear that jar was super glued or something . . ."

"noo you're just weak~"

"y/n . . . how do you have room to hide your strength in that small body of yours?!?"

jungwon:

when you and wonnie are on a movie marathon in the living room, he is always picking you up once the movie gets too boring

he usually just brought you two to bed for a cuddle session or deep talks but this time the movie you guys were watching was actually interesting to him

on the other hand, you were bored out of your mind

so . . . why not surprise him?

"wonnie . . sit up straight!"

"hm?"

"please!"

"okayyy y/n~"

once he sat up straight, that's when you took your chance and picked him up

"Y/N!? WHAT AND HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"

"i'm bored!"

you take him over to your shared room and plop him on the bed

"there is no way you just picked me up and dropped me in the same night . ."

"the movie was bad!"

"noo not really but . . . how did you carry me? don't i weigh a lot?"

"it's because i started working out more with jay and sunghoon!"

"you're so strong y/n . . . this isn't fair!"

"one day you'll be as strong as me . . . but right now i want to sleep!"

you guys get tucked in bed but jungwon is not able to fall asleep easily since he keeps thinking back on you carrying him

"stop working out with them . . . they're making you stronger than me" he says all pouty

"shh let's sleep"

"fine . . ."

niki:

you and niki love having small wrestling fights on the weekends

you always let him win to boost his ego until his teasing pushes your limits . . .

"you're so tiny y/n you can't even beat me if you tried!"

"yeah? rematch right now!"

"are you sure you'll be able to handle me again~"

"i should be saying that to you . . ."

of course you two ended up rematching and whew niki was shocked

when you overpowered him his ego SHATTERED

"you're cheating!"

"what? how can i cheat in this?"

"you drank something didn't you?!"

"noo i'm just stronger than you niki!"

"have you just been willingly letting me win?"

"would it be bad if i said yes?"

oh he was SAD

not in like a dramatic way but he always loved teasing you for how tiny you were

now that you showed him how strong you are, he's scared to tease you again in case you decide to beat him up LMFAOA

(⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

ending note: thank you for reading !

#enha fluff #enhypen drabbles #enhypen fluff #enhypen #enhypen imagines #enhypen x reader #enhypen scenarios #enhypen soft hours #enha drabbles #heeseung x reader #jake x reader #jay x reader #sunghoon x reader #sunoo x reader #jungwon x reader #niki x reader #heeseung #jay #jake #sunghoon #sunoo #jungwon #niki #tiffy's requests

[elonmuskfansgossipblog]

part 6

Now we are free.

After a heady, orgiastic night, she woke up changed, feeling as if she had the power of many minds, full of energy and good humor, and when she thought about him she felt something like an electric discharge in her head. Hmm... baffling- she thought. She turned on the computer, and very strange wallpaper appeared on the screen, some animation, two red and blue balls, swirled, merged, exploded into the words "quantum entanglement" and then disappeared. oh! It's going to be an interesting day, glitch in a matrix. She turned on the radio and from the speakers came:

You were standing (you know it's true) I was there (worlds collided) Two worlds collided (we're shining through) And they could never tear us apart

-Is this some joke? - she laughed loudly.

She sat down in the armchair and was about to do her business when she heard a whisper: leave it all and write for me, I want to know how it ends.

- Damn, I need to see a psychiatrist, my dreams have been crazy lately, but the voices when I'm awake?! - she wanted to write a note in her phone, but she couldn't find it - I probably left it in her purse - the purse was nowhere to be found either. She sat on the bed to collect her thoughts, when suddenly in her mind's eye she saw a large cinema screen and on it she saw him, riding the Cybertruck and listening to music. Her heart started pounding like crazy, she could see him live! He looked happy, he was whistling a tune quietly, he was just turning a corner when a huge, terrifying fart split the air in the cabin. She saw him jump up, scared like a panda. "Oops, another tire inflated" he laughed loudly and mockingly. Then the image blurred and disappeared, probably because she was also bursting with laughter and tuned out of the signal. All in all, she wasn't too surprised, she could see remotely, but it never occurred to her to spy on him, especially since time didn't matter here, she could see any moment at any time. She relaxed again and thought "Well, let's see how you did in Baldur's Gate 3, I was lynched on the blog for that." This time, she wanted to see the scene from his perspective, she had mastered connecting with the consciousness of another mind quite well in her dreams, but would it work the same in waking life? She will most likely see the most exciting moment, such moments leave the clearest trace when new emotions occur. An image appeared, the scene flashed briefly, she didn't need to see more, she burst into laughter again, howled with laughter because she saw him having sex with a bear! She was ecstatic, he was so disarmingly human in everything he did, and for a moment she was fooled into the illusion that he was completely normal. She lay down on the bed to think for a while, she could, it was Sunday morning, nothing was chasing her. "Hey, little one, it works both ways" she heard. There was music in the room, Air On A G String, she saw him lying in his bed with his phone in his hand, he was reading part 2 of the story and thinking about her, probably quite intensely, she felt his arousal as her own, his penis was already ready, sticking out like the Washington Monument, lightly stroked by his hand, and with each movement her excitement grew. "Come to me" she heard his tender whisper. The transfer was immediate, and at the same moment she gave her inner consent, she was next to him. She was sitting between his legs, his thighs were so hot, the wonderful smell of Shalimar spread in the room "mhm... art deco even in the air..." She leaned over him, first her tongue enjoyed it, and then she covered it with her mouth, mmm... ice cream so good , yes yes yes and his rocket was ready to fly. She sat on him so thirsty, he grabbed her waist and she sucked him with her pussy. They came together. It was the most delicious breakfast you could have on a Sunday morning accompanied by a cello.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[loveandmurders]

Headcanon of Tiffany Valentine Falling in Love with a Childhood Friend Who Unlike Chucky Is an Awesome Guy and All Women Like Him How Would She Deal With This Infatuation and the Fact that He's Married?

Hello there, thank you so much for this request! This is actually my first male reader fic so I really hope it'll be alright <3

Enjoy <3

IN LOVE WITH THE MARRIED GUY

Warnings: no proof reading, a few strong words, mentions of murders and violence, toxic relationships, mentions of sexual themes, manipulative, dark and violent Tiffany, angst.

Tiffany had always known you, since kindergarten, and she had always kept you in a corner of her mind. 

The kindness you showed her gave her comforting memories for when her life was shitty and for when she felt unloved and alone.

She hadn’t known tenderness and softness a lot in her life, so the thought you had been there for her at some point, made her feel better. 

And a little bit sad she wasn’t currently in your arms. Even when she was in Charles’.

But you weren’t in the same world anymore. She was in a dark one in which she killed to survive and for fun, when you were in a more normal one.

You used to be such good friends when you were children, but as you grew up you took different paths and your relationship got a little more distant.

When Charles was around, he forbade her to keep calling you. 

He was jealous.

He didn’t like how you could always make her laugh and smile. He didn’t like how happy she seemed when she was with you. He was a possessive man and more than once he thought about killing you.

Because of that, she lost track of you. She didn’t want Charles to do anything to you, so she did her best to protect you.

You moved in with your wife somewhere else you used to and you changed your phone number through the years she spent away from you as well. 

She didn’t know where to find you anymore. And you didn’t know what she had become either.

You sometimes thought about her and you hoped she was doing well, because you believed she deserved a lot better than what she had.

When Charles disappeared from her life, she felt how empty it was without you. It was like a hole in her chest. 

She thought a lot about you. Daydreaming of you in her bath, sometimes touching herself as well. She was idealising and fantasising you.

You were the perfect man for her.

But she had no idea how to find you and get you back in her life.

One day, fate seemed to be on her side, for once. 

She was in the street, looking at the shop windows. She couldn’t really buy anything but she still enjoyed having a look at all the goods in the city.

It was when she saw you. You were getting out of another store.

She thought she was dreaming. She couldn’t stop herself from walking to you and greeting you with a little wink and happy smile.

You recognised her right away and you brightly smiled back at her. You started to chat together in the middle of the street.

She flirted a little with you, testing the water. But you didn’t seem to notice it, or if you did, you never answered it.

She saw the ring around your finger. 

“Oh yes, I got married three years ago. We bought a house too. I guess I’m having a quiet little life now, but I like it and I love my wife, so everything is alright. What about you? Are you still with… hmm Charles, right?”

She felt like her world crumbled down. Of course a great guy like you got married.

“I always thought you’d left this town to have adventures.” she gently teased, not answering about Charles. She wanted to forget about him.

“Oh well yeah, adventures are good for kids. We enjoy to travel with my wife, but I won’t do anything too stupid anymore” you smiled

Tiffany was heartbroken but she couldn’t show it to you. 

She hated how things had changed while you were apart from each other. She hated all the time she lost with you. She hated that you had a wife.

But she was more than determined to change that. She wanted to be part of your life once again.

You exchanged your numbers and you started to spend time together once again.

She met your wife and she seemed very nice to her, no matter how deep down she hated her with everything she had. She wasn’t too sure how she was going to do it, but she was going to kill her.

Tiffany was certain that when your wife would be out of the picture, she could very easily seduce you. After all, you were soulmates, she thought. And she was obsessed with you.

You had never had a romantic or sexual relationship with her before, you were just very close friends.

But now she wanted more, she wanted you all to herself. She wanted something good in her life for once, and you were definitively it.

You were handsome, kind and smart. You apparently liked to be married, and she would be more than happy to be your new wife.

You just didn’t know it yet.

However, your wife noticed that Tiffany seemed very intense with you and it was worrying her a little bit, even though she wasn’t worried you would cheat on her because you weren’t like that.

You were a good husband to her.

But you absolutely didn’t understand when your wife was thinking Tiffany could be a menace to your marriage. Tiffany was so adorable to you and you remembered the bright little girl she used to be. You just thought she had a hard life, but it didn’t make her a bad person.

Of course, you had no idea about all the murders and dark rituals.

What needed to happen, happened.

Your wife died.

Tiffany was smart and you never suspected her. How could you when she was so supportive of you?

She helped you with the funerals and with everything, always by your side with gentle words to comfort you.

She even started to sleep in your spare bedroom so you didn’t stay on your own.

She didn’t like to see you that upset and she was worried you would do something stupid if you stayed alone… Like meeting another woman.

She spent months manipulating you and being all soft and cute with you, taking care of you like a sister, a mother, a… lover.

You had drunk a little the night you first had sex with her.

You were still quite depressed about what happened to your wife. But you also needed comfort and it was difficult to resist a woman like Tiffany, so hot and so caring when she wanted to be.

The moment she ended up in your bed, she thought she had won.

The next morning, you tried to explain to her that it was a terrible mistake, that you just lost your wife and that you couldn’t be that kind of man.

You told her you loved her but not like that.

But it was too late.

You were hers now. And she was going to make sure you would never forget about it.

Even if it meant keeping you locked up in the house basement and to break you until you would realise how much you were meant to each other.

Until, you would finally propose to her, so you could live happily ever after.

#child's play x reader #child's play headcanons #child's play #tiffany valentine x y/n #tiffany valentine headcanons #tiffany valentine x reader #tiffany valentine x s/o #tiffany valentine x you #female slasher #slasher x s/o #slasher x you #slasher x reader #slasher x y/n #slasher headcanons #female slasher x s/o #female slasher x you #female slasher x reader #female slasher x y/n #female slasher headcanons

[clumsiestgiantess]

The Walls Won’t Be There Forever (tw dehumanization, some ptsd dreams of sexual harassment)(it is about the pet trope, however condemning of it the story might be. So watch out yk?)

I ended up deciding to put out the entire first half (aka first two povs) instead of something shorter. Y’all certainly don’t have to read it all in one sitting, but here it is!

Prologue

It all started with a discovery.  Then agian, someone mustve known sooner.  67 years after The Borrowers book series was published, along with various movies, tv shows, and spin offs, science finally got its hands on the real thing.  It wasn't completely true to the books, though.  Their reflexes were off the charts fast — probably why no one's managed to find one all this time.  They also had strangely-shaped ears.  However, the biggest disappointment: they were basically mice who looked like people.  Unfortunately, the books are still labeled fiction for this reason.  The creatures only speak in the squeaks of mice, and they aren't that much smarter than mice, either.  

Which is why, within a few months of discovery, the homosapians redactus, commonly known as Mice People or Borrowers after the books, became fully known to the world as either a pest or a pet.  I, for one, find it rather unsettling to see something that looks so similar to us but small, though apparently, most people thought that was very cute.  So, owning a little mouse person to dress up and play with instantly became a new trend.

On the other end of the spectrum, pest services started advertising their expertise in catching 'those sneaky little creatures stealing your things'.  Soon, every house was being inspected, including my own.  It was around the time of my younger sister Aubrey's birthday, and following the new trend, she begged my parents to let her keep one of the creatures.  My mother, who was already deathly afraid of tiny scurrying pests like mice, rats, and cockroaches, immediately rejected her idea of a pet mouse person.  Especially a wild one caught from the house.  Eventually, she made an exception for her birthday though, so she let her pick one out from the pet store in town.  The ones that came from there had to have gone through some kind of basic training to be on the shelf.  

Aubrey could barely sit still the entire drive to the store.  As soon as we got there, she ran straight to the new section of borrowers for adoption while me and my mother walked over to the section for pet cages and accessories.  As per normal, there was an array of products to choose from, ranging from normal glass cages with little 'bonus' accessories inside, to two level mini mansions that looked like decked-out doll houses.  "Oh look at this!" my mother exclaimed, pointing to a sign above one of the cages.  "These are on sale!  Two for one!"  

If a store puts anything, and I mean anything on sale, my mother will buy it just because it's 'saving money'.  Even if we're spending that money on useless things, it doesn't matter, just as long as it's on sale or in the clearance section.  "Mom, Aubrey's borrower doesn't need two cages.  Just get one."  "But then it won't be a sale…"  She stood there thinking while I walked the rest of the aisle.  

"How about this," my mother asked me on my way back.  "I'll buy both cages and both you and your sister can have little pets."  I blinked, "I thought we were just getting one for Aubrey because it's her birthday."  "What?  You don't want one?" she asked me, confused.  I shrugged, "They aren't that interesting, that's all," I said, not wanting to admit that they kinda freaked me out.  "Hmm…  Then you can get one.  And if you don't like it, or it's too 'boring' you can give it to Aubrey."  

I could see there was no way to win this argument, so I nodded and headed toward the aisle my sister had run down earlier.  As I started scanning the cages built into the wall, she ran up to me and yanked at my sleeve.  "Do you want to see my new pet?"  I didn't really have a choice once she started dragging me down the aisle.  "You already found one?" I asked.  "Mmm hmm," she nodded, "This one right here!"  Peering in, I could see the little human-like creature standing by its cot, preoccupied with something.  "Mom said I could have one too, but I'll probably just get bored of it and give it to you," I told Aubrey as I turned away from her borrower in its display cage.  "What!?" she whined, "How come you get one too?  That isn’t fair!  It's not your birthday!"  Shrugging, I answered, "I don't know, she found some deal on cages so she's letting me have one as well."

Aubrey stormed off to find Mom, while I began my search for a decent pet.  I wanted one that was mellow enough that it wouldn't cause trouble, but not so mellow that it would be boring.  Finally, after my sister begged me to hurry up and choose, I found one that seemed to be a good fit.  She was about average height for a borrower, with straight black hair that was cut at shoulder height, and piercing blue eyes.  She was probably just a few years older than me, so she would live for a long time after I bought her.  

The articles I’ve read about them say that borrowers can sometimes even outlive their owners if they're given proper care, but hopefully I can just hand it over to my sister if I get tired of it.  Aubrey might not want it, but Mom was relentless, so I guess it'll be their problem.  Soon our borrowers were boxed up and put on the register, along with my mother's brilliant bargain cages.  

After a careful drive back to the house (don't jiggle them around, you're gonna make them sick), and an even more careful trip up to my room (don't drop the box, it might escape), I finally began setting up my pet's new home.  The cage was pretty simple.  It's a large glass tank that takes up about half of the space on my dresser, with a wire top and two doors.  The side door was for taking your borrower out; it had a bolt lock on it to keep your pet safely inside.  However, the second door on the top of the cage had a simple latch on it.  This was really just for easy access to things like replacing food and water.  It was too high up for a borrower to reach, so it wasn't a possible escape route, but I took a mental note to duct tape it closed later.  

Most of the extra stuff from the bag inside the tank were bits of furniture and decorative trinkets to entertain your pet.  Honestly, most of it looked like it came from a cheap dollhouse set, but that's what you get when you buy 2 for 1 bargain cages.  I spread the random decorations around the cage, leaving a large empty space at the front for me to look through.  After everything was set, I picked up the small cardboard box holding the borrower and carefully opened it as I set it down inside the cage.  She didn't seem to want to come out, so I checked the locks on the doors one last time and left her to settle in.

Part 1

It all started with a discovery.  Humans know about us now, and they've wrecked everything from the very beginning.  Of course, our kind have had some close calls before.  Being seen but not caught, accidentally taking noticeable things, getting stuck in a gluetrap is always a frightening experience.  There's even been books and movies made about us but still, no one found out.  Until now.  My family barely got a warning before the exterminators arrived, separating us.  How long has it been since I've seen them?  Weeks?  Months?  I'm pretty sure my brother is in one of the other cages somewhere, but because of the code, I can't call out to him.  

The code.  It's always been one of those 'golden rules' you learn when you're young, almost like instinct.  I always hated thinking about it back then.  In fact, when I was younger, I had nightmares about this — this awful rule that forces us to quit speaking, forces us to play dumb so the humans might leave us alone one day.  I hate it.  I've always hated it.  Now that it's a reality, I hate it even more.  It's even worse than my childhood nightmares — at least those I could wake up from.  

With all the time I spend staring out a glass wall every day, I've noticed certain things about humans that I hadn't before.  Of all the humans I've seen, they always either act like predators, or act like prey.  The ones that act like prey are easier to deal with for sure.  They won't purposely hurt you most of the time, and even if they do, they make a big fuss over it.  Which is fine I guess, but they have such an overpowering scent of energy, and boy are they stupid.  They're also slightly annoying, and boring, and nine times out of ten they buy you to dress you up for whatever idiotic trend is going on now.  I wouldn't be surprised if many of my kind bought by them end up right back here in cages once our discovery blows over.

However, the humans that act like predators are a lot harder to read.  And like most predators of this world, I'm terrified of them.  I can only hope that I don't get picked by one of those.  Unlike the prey humans who buy you to be their little toy, the predators buy you because they see you as an animal — an actual pet.  If they scare the shit out of you, they don't care.  If you make them angry, they torture you, or take you back to the store with enough complaints to get you put down.

Yeah, again, I pray that I don't get chosen by one of them.  In fact, I think my best option is to sit here, not getting picked at all.  That dream died almost a month later though, when a certain family came in early to celebrate a birthday.  At first I thought it was just the younger one looking around; she bounced back and forth between all the different windows, peering in at each one of us just to make sure she knew all her options.  This human definitely fit into the prey category.  She picked hers quickly — not me thank goodness — and I let out a relieved breath.

Then, her older sister walked over and explained that their mother told her she needed a pet too.  Thankfully, I learned a lot of the human language before I was abducted.  I wouldn’t know half of what was going on without it.  Instantly, I went on high alert again, expecting this human to be the same type of prey human that her sister was.  However, as she silently paced back and forth along the wall, it became clear that she was more on the predator side.  It would take her a lot longer to find the 'right one'.  Keeping to my strategy, I steered clear of doing anything to attract attention.  Even so much as locking eyes for a moment was enough to set humans off.  I guess predators are interested in that sort of thing, though, because next thing I know I'm being thrown in a cardboard box and placed on a counter, my entire life summed up as $14.99 on the register.  

My heart rate finally slowed slightly as the humans drove back to their house.  Great, now I can panic.  My mind raced as I realized that my worst nightmare had come true.  I'd been chosen by a predator human.  How do I get myself out of this?  I can't just sit here and wait to be tortured!  I have to get out!  Frantically, I shoved at the pieces of cardboard that folded together above me, but nothing bugged.  Grabbing one of the air holes, I hauled myself up so I could see how the top opened from the outside.  

I had my head pressed to the hole for a while before I felt a crawling feeling down my spine.  I glanced the other way and fell back in shock.  The human was watching me — just waiting for me to slip up and do something wrong so she could hurt me.  That put an end to any escape plans for the rest of the ride.

Next thing I knew, I was brought through the house and upstairs to the girl's bedroom.  I tried to memorize the layout of the floors so I would know where to run if I escaped, but I quickly found that staying in one place was impossible with the human's movements jostling the entire box.  Eventually, I was placed on a massively large bed while the human cleared off a space on her dresser.  I sat silently in the box, pressed against the wall furthest from the human, watching through the air slits as she sorted out a cage for me.  

Finally, after everything was placed down, Liz, — I'd overheard her name in the car — picked up the cardboard box.  The motion was so sudden that I fell forwards.  My stomach lurched as I unsteadily righted myself.  Just as abruptly as the motion started, it stopped.  I barely had time to process what happened before the folds in the top of the box gave away, revealing the behemoth human far above me.  In a panic, I threw myself into a corner and watched as the human scrutinized me quietly, then stepped out of view.  I heard her footsteps get further and eventually fade away.

Though I could tell she was gone, I refused to leave the sad cardboard corner I hid in.  It offered the only protection I had, even if it wasn't much.  All I could do was sit there, shaking with fear-made adrenaline as tears welled in my eyes.  It must have been a good hour and a half at least when I'd finally stopped crying.  Existential dread loomed over my mind, whispering things like you’ll die here, and you won’t last a week.  Why on earth does my brain think it’s a good idea to terrify me even further than I already am?!

I shakily got up, steadying myself with the side of the box as I took in my horrible new home.  The ceiling was made of a wire mesh, and every wall was made of glass.  I noticed this instantly.  There was nowhere to hide — nowhere I could go where the human couldn't easily find me.

Slowly, I stepped out into the glass cage, brushing my fingertips over the human-style bed tucked against a corner.  The only decent thing in the entire room was this bed.  My old one at the petstore was almost as hard as the floor, and this one was blissfully soft in comparison.  I walked slowly along the back wall, always keeping the bedroom door in view as I passed an empty bookshelf and a dresser with a mirror made of reflective paper instead of glass.  My reflection was only a few sad distorted colors.  

The only other thing I had was a table with four chairs surrounding it.  I laughed coldly in spite of myself, forcing down tears before they had the chance to spring up.  Why would I ever need four chairs when I would probably never have the privilege of seeing a guest my own height?  Though I guess the human’s sister has one of my kind, too.  I can only hope they’re holding out alright.  It was funny, though.  They’d been picked by a prey human.  If anything, they should be worried about me.

I sat down at the table and sighed, burying my head in my arms.  How had it all come to this?  Why me?  What did I ever do to be thrown in a stupid-  BOOM  The door to the human's room suddenly swung open, startling me out of my thoughts.  "Oh look!" Liz's sister exclaimed as she rushed to my cage, "It's at the table ready to eat!  Look Liz, look how cute!"  I froze, stunned.  This human was LOUD, I couldn't really tell at the store because our rooms muffled everything, but sitting in a mostly empty cage — echoes vibrating off the walls — it was almost deafening.  

Wait, I’m supposed to be acting like a dumb creature, right?  I can't be sitting at a table in front of them.  Quickly, I backed out of the chair and sat in a random spot on the floor instead.  "That was so cute; maybe I could train mine to do that," Liz's sister thought aloud.  She meandered back out the door.  I was so distracted trying to seem unintelligent that I'd missed the sound of the cage door opening.  When Liz's arm fell down from above, I nearly screamed.  I soon realized that she wasn't here for me, though; she'd only come to deliver food.  If that's even what she's given me.  Liz left some kind of dried pellets on the table I'd been sitting at minutes ago, and I tried my best not to gag when she placed them down.  They smelled extremely un-appetizing.  However, as the long hours melted into days, I forced myself to eat them.  I had no alternative.

The bedsprings squeaked as Liz flung herself down, tablet in hand.  It had been a long, terrorizing morning, so I sat on my bed to watch her carefully.  Despite living in hell for the past week, I'm still not used to Liz being around.  To be honest, I’m still not used to the fact that I’m still around.

I had another nightmare last night, though it was really more of a horrible memory.  For the first few days of my time in the pet store, my subconsciousness was plagued with haunting images of the exterminators, tearing my old life away from me.  It was so bad that I hadn’t slept a single second.  I’d gotten almost drunkenly sick before managing to sleep nearly a week after my capture.  This time in my dream, it was Liz, not the exterminators, who dragged me away from my family as I desperately fought to stay with them.  I was thrown into the cage she bought me, and forced to wear stupid doll's outfits and play pretend.  After waking up, I doubted she would do that — she doesn't seem like the type — but I've heard what happens across the hall in her sister's room when the doors are open.  My nightmares are almost daily occurrences there.  

I shuddered, propping my pillows up, and sat back waiting for Liz to leave.  However, the silence of the room was threatening to swallow me.  The only sounds came from the slight thuds and creaks somewhere outside in the hallway.  Usually, my home was filled with sounds of life.  My mother, cooking on the makeshift stove, my father, stashing borrowed goods, and me and my brother, doing various chores around the house.  I reminisced for a moment before regrettably returning to my horrible reality.  

Suddenly, the silence was broken as the human began to humm to a song I'd heard on the radio at the store.  Well I have called you darlin' and I'll say it again…  the quiet hums became quiet singing as she got to the chorus.  Put your hand in mine, I promise that I will be with you all the time…   After another few lyrics, the chorus line came back around again, and I have to admit, I was enjoying the song.  Her voice wasn't actually that bad.  Then, Liz abruptly stopped mid-chorus-line and looked around, confused.  I didn't plan on her to stop singing so suddenly, so I kept going, not realizing my mistake until it was too late.  

I didn't know I was singing out loud.  I thought it was just in my head.  But as Liz's singing came to a halt, I'd actually kept going.  The entire borrower secret blowing up in my face.  Quickly, I looked over in shock and saw the massive girl staring at me.  "Y- You can sing!?"  Before I could stop myself, I blurted "No!"  

What did I do?  The hell did I just do!?  My hands flew to my mouth as I scrambled up from my bed in terror.  Liz flung herself up from her own bed as well and rushed over to the glass wall in front of me.  "You can talk!  You can understand me!  This is incredible!"  No, no, no, no!  This is when the torture starts; this is when they send you to a lab for the world to reveal your secrets!  Hot tears streamed down my face as I backed all the way up, crouching against the far wall.  

Liz thought aloud as she began to pace the room.  "How have we not noticed you guys can talk?  You've been in labs for months and human speech was somehow overlooked during all that?"  Coming to a sudden halt, she glanced back over at me.  "Wait.  There's no way they didn't catch that.  Which means…  Have you guys been hiding that from us the whole time?"  Slowly crossing the room, Liz peered through the glass again.  Her expression shifted from triumphant joy to a concerned frown.  "Wait, are you..  Are you crying?" she asked, confused.  No!  She can't figure it out!  My head screamed, my heart pounded in my ears.  Everything started to blur in front of me and I honestly thought I was going to pass out.  I did this.  I failed.  Once word got out about us, it would all be my fault.  

I desperately rubbed the tears from my eyes in a last-ditch effort to undo what I'd done.  She regarded me for a moment, typed something on her phone, then left it by my cage and backed off, giving me one last look before silently walking away to another level of the house.  Confusion was written on every inch of her gigantic form.  

My head was wrapped in a fog as I wandered over to the glass, staring at nothing as I tried to process what happened.  Then all at once, pent up emotions exploded through me in an instant.  "No no no!  I can't believe I let her walk away like that!  She's probably telling everyone right now, dammit!"  I kicked the glass angrily, "Why can't they just leave us alone?  Now they're all going to drag me off to some horrible lab to be studied!"  Tears welled against my eyes, blurring everything out as I crawled into bed.  “Please,” I begged no one in particular, “Please don’t let it end like this.”  Pulling the blankets up over my head, I lay in darkness wishing I could stay there forever.

Eventually, I heard the bedroom door open.  I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed myself deeper into my pillow, desperately willing whoever it was to go away.  The glass around me vibrated as they took something off the table and left.  To my utter amazement, that was all that happened.  Sure, I could hear the sounds of humans walking past from under the covers — which I never left the rest of the day — but they never came to take me away.   No one came to pry me out of bed.  No one even came by to ask why I was hiding.  The entire day played out just like any other, with even less commotion than normal.

This changed the next day however, when Liz came upstairs after breakfast and caught me out of bed, sneaking something to eat.  She came over and sat next to my cage as I cautiously backed into a corner between the glass and the stupid bookshelf she gave me.  It doesn’t even have any books on it — there aren’t any small enough for me.

Liz leaned closer, watching me intently.  "I left my phone here to record you talking yesterday.  So I'd have proof you actually can talk."  Shit.  "I watched it before going to show everyone."  Double shit.  Liz was quiet for a while, which gave me a moment to think.  So, if she showed everyone proof, why haven't I been taken away to a lab yet?  I squirmed uncomfortably in the corner as she stared me down, longer than she had even on the days when she would watch me to see if I would do something interesting.  There were a lot of those, and they were unnerving, but I was still thankful for them.  They were so much better than all the horror stories I expected from her.  In fact, I don’t even think she wants me around.  Well, she might not have, until I gave up my secret.

"That video,” Liz began, startling me from my thoughts.  “I mean, obviously you're smarter than we think you are but…  That's not mimicking human speech that's- that's you talking in the video."  Sitting back, she continued, "And you clearly have the same emotional range that we do, too…"  She looked over at me again, but for the first time, I didn't flinch back.  I was too dumbfounded by what she was saying.  "You're.. human."  What?  "Well, as human as a non-human can be anyway" she chuckled.  

So she saw me as…  No, if she saw me as an equal I wouldn't be in this dumbass box.  Also, what about the video she showed everyone?  I had to risk asking.  It's not like I'm helping the secret by staying silent, anyways.  The video is all the proof she needs.  

I took a breath to steady my voice, but it didn't help much.  "So..  W-what about everyone who saw the video?  Am I…  A-are they…"  Liz's eyes widened in shock as I spoke, and she shook her head, "No one saw the video but me."  "But, you said-"  "I watched the video and realized that you were right.  If I showed it to anyone you would probably end up in a lab.  So I kept it to myself.  I deleted it after a while.  It’s gone."  Blinking, I stood there confused.  "So.. You didn't sell me out?  Why?  Aren't I your… pet?"  I spat the last word like a curse.  I hated it, but it was true.  Liz’s look darkened, and for a terrifying moment, I thought I might’ve reminded her that she was supposed to be torturing me.

However, her expression softened a second later.  "Honestly, I don't know what you are anymore, but...  If you really are a person, then you shouldn't be in a cage."  Yes, please let me go!  "But then what?  Release you in the woods somewhere?  Doesn't your kind survive off ours?  Houses aren't safe now that we know you exist, so where could I even bring you?”

"Wait, wait.  What do you mean 'houses aren't safe'?" I asked warily.  I’m planning on escaping to another house if I ever get out of here.  Liz shrugged, "Well, now that people know about you, they're putting up traps.  Not just mouse traps, like, actual tripwire surveillance traps," she explained.  I puzzled over my new dilemma in shock, taking it all in as she went on and on about the various types of specialized borrower traps.  

If it’s true, and human houses aren't safe anymore, then what will happen to the rest of us?  The ones that haven't been caught?  There have to be some of us still out there, right?  Liz must have seen the horrified look on my face because she quickly ended her explanation.   "Alright, so releasing you isn't an option…"  I recoiled, "Of course releasing me is an option!  It's the only option!  I don't want to sit in a cage forever!"  I stormed over to the glass, my anger overcoming any common sense I had.  "You said I was human!  You said I don’t deserve to be in a cage!  I didn't do anything wrong!  You can't keep me in here!  You can't-"  My voice cracked, but I stubbornly shook my head, refusing to cry in front of this human anymore than I already had.

After a bone chilling silence, I was sure Liz would punish me for yelling at her, and I braced myself for whatever might happen.  Finally, she bent down to my height and asked: "Well, what do you want me to do?"  Me?  Carefully, I raised my head to look at her.  It seemed like she genuinely wanted to hear what I thought, but what do I think?  I want out, obviously.  But where?  If houses aren't safe, and the outside world is a nightmare now that the weather's getting colder, where can I go?  

I slowly stepped into the chair behind me and sat down heavily, pondering how I would get out of this situation.  "What if.." Liz proposed gently, "You stay here?  Not as a pet, but like, a roommate, maybe?"  "What's the difference?" I grumbled, "I still have to stay in this stupid glass box."  She thought for a bit, "Well, as long as you don't get caught outside when other people are around…  you could come out whenever you like."  

What?  This must be some kind of trick, right?  To gain my trust or something?  But why?  "No," I spat a little more harshly than I'd intended.  "You're just trying to make me your pet.  I won't fall for it."  Suddenly, I was ranting, and boy was I on a role.  "What is wrong with your kind!?  Why are you torturing us like this!?  Everything was FINE until you found us!  Now we're being treated like animals just because we took things you didn't even want!  Hell, you're so stupid you didn't even know they were missing!  All of these exterminators and traps — why do you care!?  Just let us go back to how things were!  But nooo, you just had to go and, and…  do whatever the fuck this is!" I yelled, gesturing to my glass box filled with useless trinkets.  "It isn't fair!"  I shuddered, "It isn't fair."  

I guess I'm just tired of being treated like this.  Or maybe I'm feeling gutsy because she didn't punish me the first time I lashed out.  Whatever it was that compelled me to say that, I could tell I wasn't getting off easily this time.  

Liz stood up to her full height, sending instinctive fear coursing through my veins.  I scrambled backward, recognizing the danger I put myself in, and hit the back wall with an echoing thunk.  Panicking as her gigantic form loomed closer to my cage.  "Wait!” I cried out, “I-  I didn't mean it!"  "Yes, you did," Liz cut me off in a bitter voice.  She sized me up, lips parted in a snarl, and for the first time it occurred to me that she could probably eat me in two quick bites.  Everything began shaking.  No, that was me shaking — dreading my inescapable demise.  

"Did it ever occur to you that not all humans are horrible?  That maybe I'm actually trying to help you?"  Liz asked from somewhere above my blurry line of vision.  "If you really want to get out of here, you can start by not cursing me out.  Whoever got you here, whoever trapped you and brought you to that pet store…  I’m- I’m not like that."  The last of her words faded on her tongue.  My gaze slowly drifted upwards until I was looking directly up to see her face, which had relaxed a bit.  "It's just me.  I don't want to hurt you, but I will, p-probably, accidentally maybe, if you keep this up."  She turned, walked into the hall, and closed the door, giving me a sidelong glance before her gaze was cut off.  

I was lucky.  Very lucky.  I thought I'd be dead for sure.  As much as I hated her for leaving me in here, she did have a good point.  It's a horrible idea to yell at someone about 30 times your size.  Everyone knows any human would gladly take the chance to torture me for that outburst, so why didn't she?  Hell, if someone a fraction of my size started cursing at me, I probably would've threatened to rip them apart.  

I went through the motions again as I paced back and forth for what seemed like hours, but I couldn't find one good reason for her to not have hurt me.  Other than just being nice, like she said she was…  No.  Never trust humans, especially when they've put you in a cage.  That was the conclusion I stuck with the rest of the day.  I dreaded talking to her again, but she would have to come back, this is her room, and I'm stuck in here.  Eventually, Liz did come back, and she looked like she'd been trying to avoid me just as much as I was hoping to avoid her.  But here we were, standing here staring at each other from across the room.  

"Sorry if I scared you before," Liz finally said, avoiding my gaze.  "I just…  Think it over, will you?  My offer?"  All I could do was stare at her in numb shock.  "But if you don't want to, I understand."  Liz shuffled off to the bathroom, PJ's in hand.  "Wait!" I yelped, then hesitated, unsure why I stopped her.  "Why..  Why are you apologizing to me?”

Liz stood silently in the doorway for a minute, then turned to me.  "I don't know," she sighed, "I just… don't know."  Then she walked away into the room's connected bathroom and shut the door, cutting off the conversation.  Is it just me, or was she acting like she was the one who got yelled at?  Wait.  She did get yelled at.  By me.  Was she actually that shaken up over what I said?  I shrugged it off; humans are strange creatures, I know that well enough.  

Re-making my bed — which looked more like a dollhouse bed than a normal bed — I lay down and realized just how tired I actually was as I sunk into the covers.  Later, I heard Liz came back out of the other room and got into bed herself, waving off her parents as they said goodnight.  

Nights always felt like my only time alone because humans rarely did anything in the dark.  That's why we do most of our sneaking around after hours.  Tonight was no different, and even though I was exhausted, I stayed awake.  My thoughts ran off as they sometimes do, and I couldn't help but come back to Liz's offer to be 'roommates'.  She said she would let me out and I could go wherever I wanted as long as no one else found out.  So, it was basically my old way of life back: hide from anyone who might see you and continue doing your own thing the moment they walk away.  I just.. add on a human to it, I guess.  

If I agree, and if Liz isn’t bluffing to trick me or tame me, I could probably just walk away into the walls and never come back.  I can escape without having to find a way to break out of here!  Liz shifted in her bed and I froze, thinking she somehow knew I was plotting against her, before realizing she had no clue what I was planning.  Letting out a frustrated groan, I turned over and fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up a bit shaken.  Nightmares of exterminators and cages plagued my dreams again last night, along with a few involving my newest captor, Liz.  I sat up, rubbing sleep from my eyes and stopped, confused, mid-stretch.  Something smelled amazing; what was that smell?  Then I noticed the table across the cage.  

Replacing the stupid everyday pile of food pellets was something I'd only dreamed of eating: a pancake.  I raced out of bed and skidded to a halt at the table.  It smelled so good it made my mouth water, and I ignored my borrower's common sense long enough to scarf it down.  I think I'd been sitting there for 20 minutes contemplating every scrap of food I ever ate or stole before Liz walked in.  "I see you enjoyed breakfast," she noted as she sat next to the cage.  "I'd enjoy it more out there," I commented.  "Well, if you agree to the deal, you can."  

Glancing upward at her, I sighed tiredly.  "So what exactly do I have to do?  Just hide whenever someone shows up?"  "It depends," Liz said, "If you're out while I'm here, I'll just say I was watching you so no one will think you're escaping."  For a second I thought guiltily of my escape plan the night before.  Wait, no.  I shouldn't feel guilty, I'm escaping capture not running away.  There's a difference.  

"But if you come out and I'm not there," Liz continued, "Then you have to try and make it back into the cage so it looks like you were in there the whole time."  "So I don't hide from them?"  She shook her head, "No, if someone happens to look over and see that you aren't there, then I get in trouble for letting you 'escape' and you get in trouble because my mom would probably call the exterminators at that point.  She hates small creatures."  Liz seemed to notice me flinch at the very mention of those awful people because she added, "I'll probably just pretend to search for you while you sneak back in, so hopefully it won't come to that."

Blackmail.  That's it; this is probably blackmail to get me to be a good little pet.  She’ll let me out, but she threatens me with exterminators if I don’t come back to her.  I did say she was the predator type, and those were usually smarter than their counterparts.  The joke's on her, though, because when I get out, I'm running far away from where anyone might find me.  I don’t know where, but I will.  

"Alright," I told her, "I'll come back to the stupid cage."  Liz sighed, bending down to my level to look me in the eye, so I could tell this was important.  "I don't like keeping you in here every day either, trust me.  That's why I'm offering you this deal.  But we already established that I can't just release you."  "Then just let me live out there!" I yelled, cutting her off.  "Get rid of the cage and I'll set up a place for myself right where it was, because for some reason your kind insists on watching me constantly!"  "If I treat you like a person, like I want to, won't everyone find out about your secret?" Liz snapped back.  

I'd forgotten about that, but it didn't matter, all I have to do is convince her to let me out and I'll be free.  If my plan works, I can finally have my life back.  Or at least a part of it.  "Alright, fine.  I agree to your deal."  Liz smiled slightly, "Did you want to come out now?"  What kind of idiotic question was that?  Of course I want to get out.  I nodded vigorously and watched as her hand reached around to the side of my cage and unlocked the door to my prison.  I dashed outside the moment her hand left the door.

I did it!  I'm home free!  I'm… terrified.  As I stepped from my cage to the barren surface of the dresser, my senses started spiking.  I was completely exposed here, and a human was staring me down from within their arm's length.  Being watched from in my cage is one thing — even though the walls are glass, they are still walls.  The glass would stop any immediate attack from reaching me.  Out here on the open dresser, there was nothing to stop Liz from straight up grabbing me.  This wasn't the kind of freedom I was expecting.

Liz seemed to understand, at least slightly, what I'd just realized.  "If you like, I could leave some things out on the counter for you to hide behind.  Though, I was kind of hopong you could sit at my desk."  She gestured to the massive piece of furniture on the opposite side of the room.  I looked up at her, bewildered.  "And how do you expect me to get over there?  Fly?  I don't have any climbing gear, and I doubt you'll give me any."  "Well, I.." she trailed off, holding out a single hand, palm up.  It took a few seconds to understand what she was hinting at.  Immediately, I stepped all the way back to the furthest part of the dresser, glaring at Liz all the while.  

"Oh, hell no.  No thank you.  I'm not going to literally put my life in your — or anyone else's — hands."  It only fueled my anger to see disappointment spread across her face.  "You said I wasn't going to be your pet, remember?" I asked peevishly.  "Just tie up some string or something I can climb.  I can get there just fine on my own."  I halfway expected Liz to ignore me and pick me up anyways, but she only nodded, saying she could probably duct tape a few pieces up later.

Just then, Liz's mother called her away to do the dishes.  "I'M COMING!  ONE SECOND!" Liz called, nearly blasting my eardrums out.  I yelped and covered my ears in pain.  In my family, we never shouted at eachother like that.  Mostly because a human might’ve heard us, but still.  In fact, we rarely verbally spoke at all.  Sign was the main method of communication between us; it was best to keep quiet.  The only time we really spoke aloud was when we were practicing human English.  

Liz turned back around and gave me a pitying glance, "Oh, sorry I yelled.  I'll be back in a bit, ok?  Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."  Her parting words stuck in my head even after she'd disappeared behind her bedroom door.  Did she think I would try to escape?  I mean, I would if I could, but without a climbing rope, scaling this dresser would be impossible.  Still, I just couldn't wrap my head around it.  Why would a human leave me alone out here?  Weren't they all supposed to be cruel and unjust?  

I paced the length of the dresser, trying to get a good view of the room.  If I were to try and escape, I would have to find an electrical socket that was low enough to the ground that I could slip into it without needing my climbing gear.  Oh how I missed my gear — my grappling hook.  I would already be long gone if I still had it.

When Liz returned, I was sitting on the edge of the dresser, legs dangling off its side.  Liz took one look and rushed at me.  I scrambled backwards, screaming involuntarily at the surprising speed the giant had.  "What are you doing on the edge like that!?" Liz asked hurriedly, "You scared me, I thought you might fall."  It took me a moment to catch my breath.  I was so certain she'd changed her mind about our deal.  I thought she was coming to punish me.  "I scared you?" I asked angrily, "You rushed at me!  I thought you were about to attack me!  What is wrong with you humans!?"  

Liz took a step back, ashamed.  "I'm sorry, I just-  Aren't you scared?  That ledge is so high for you."  I scoffed.  Were all humans this dumb?  Probably.  "Of course I'm not scared.  I've lived in human houses my whole life.  I've stood on much taller furniture before.  I don't get scared of heights."  Liz sat down on the end of her bed; I could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she thought.  For the brief silent moment, I wondered if she might be angry at me for making her seem so stupid.  "Oh," she said finally, "I guess you're right."

The bedsprings creaked as she stood up and gathered a few things from her desk.  I was about to ask what Liz was doing when she froze, looking up suddenly like she'd just remembered something.  In a few quick strides she was sitting in front of me again.  How do they move so fast?  "I just realized I don't even know your name," Liz said, looking expectantly at me, "You know mine's Liz, right?  I'm sure you've overheard it a dozen times by now, but I don't know yours."  

Wow.  Everyone, and I mean everyone knew humans loved to give their pets about a hundred cute little names.  It’s not just borrower pets, either.  All human pets seem to have a few various different names the humans like to call them by.  Never in a million years would I have thought a human would be asking for my real name.  "It's Wren," I said in shock, "My name's Wren."  "Like the bird?" Liz asked.  I shrugged, "I guess so."  She smiled warmly, "Well, it's nice to officially meet you, Wren."

All I could do was stand there, staring.  Liz had such a genuine smile — maybe she does actually care about me.  I can’t get my hopes up, though.  I know better than to trust human beings, but who knows, there's a chance I'm just insanely lucky enough to end up with one of the better ones.  I was stirred from my thoughts as Liz got up again.  "I'm going to go get some things to make your climbing stuff, alright?"  I nodded, and she was gone.  It wasn't long before Liz returned, though.  She was carrying a bin of various household supplies in her arms, and set it down on her desk.  

Briefly, she rummaged through the items she'd brought, then sat down and began to work.  To be honest, I wanted to be on that desk so I could craft some useful escape items, and I stewed in annoyance because I'd have to be carried to get there.  That would change soon enough, though; I'd make sure of it.  Liz worked mostly in silence before she was called away for lunch and I was left alone for the third time that day.  It'll be so easy for me to escape this place.  Almost too easy.

When Liz returned this time, she brought me a small portion of her lunch.  A piece of pasta was placed on the table in my cage, covered in some kind of sauce.  "Why are you giving me that?" I asked before Liz could return to her work, "Food wasn't part of the deal."  She turned and gave me a curious look, "Would you rather eat the pellets instead?"  "Oh, no no," I backpedaled, "I'm not complaining, I'm just.. confused."  Liz gave me an amused look, "Can't I do something nice for you?"  I was about to launch into a huge explanation on why her behavior was so perplexing to me, but I held my tongue and nodded in agreement.  Sitting down at my plastic table, I ate another extravagant meal.  At this rate, Liz was going to spoil me, but this is one thing humans tend to do to their pets that I don't mind.

After finishing my meal, I cautiously returned to my seat at the edge of the dresser.  My movement must've caught Liz's eye; she turned and regarded me for a moment.  "How do you do that?" she asked me.  "Do what?"  "Sit up there like that.  I know you said it was normal for you, but I think I'd be terrified if it were me up there instead."  For a while, I sat deep in thought.  "Well, I wasn't always this at ease with heights, I guess.  When I was still being trained on how to.. you know, steal human things, I was pretty scared."  

Liz put down whatever she'd been messing with and fully turned her attention to me.  She clearly wanted to hear more, but I was slightly hesitant to explain anything related to my kind.  Then again, she already knew we were basically human.  I took a breath to steady myself and relayed my story.

"I was about 10 at the time," I began, "average age to begin training.  I'd never seen the human side of the house we lived in.  My parents made sure to keep me safe inside the walls.  Both my father and older brother showed me the way through the passages out to one of the exits.  They started me off with one of the easiest and most important borrowing spaces: the kitchen."  Liz had slowly ventured closer to my side of the room, eyes wide in fascination.  

"Why is that the easiest?"  I couldn't help but smile; I'd asked my father the same question earlier that very day. "The electrical socket is usually right there on the counter, so you don't have to scale anything to get up to the supplies and-"  I stopped short.  Should I have said that?  Wasn't it also a secret of my kind that the entrances to our wall systems were often electrical outlets?  

"Why did you stop?" Liz asked me.  "I.. I don't know if I should be telling you all this," I answered honestly.  "About your life or the entrances?"  I shrugged.  "We already knew the electrical socket thing, in case you were wondering," Liz continued, "It's where the exterminators set the traps."  "Of course it is," I grumbled, glaring angrily at nothing in particular.  "So, can you continue?" Liz asked hesitantly, "You know I wouldn't tell anyone if you reveal something to me."  I thought for a moment, then nodded.  

"I'd just made it out onto the counter.  It was really dark because we scavenge at night, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. When they did, I was so stunned my brother swore to me I stood frozen for a good five minutes before coming to my senses.  Everything was so much bigger than I'd expected.  Like I said earlier, I'd never seen a human's living space before, and I'd certainly never seen a human before, either.  Everyone said they were big, I just.. never really understood how massive they really were until that night."  

I glanced over at Liz, who shuffled uncomfortably in her seat.  "Of course, I'm not scared of humans anymore," I bluffed, "Your kind are just an annoying nuisance nowadays.  I was 10 though, so yeah, I was kind of freaking out."  "You aren't scared of us?" Liz asked in astonishment, "Wow, I'd be terrified.  Aren't we like 50 times your size and 1,000 times your weight?  I mean, I've seen some people do horrible things-"  "Alright!  Alright!  Fine, yes!"  I cut her off and stood up abruptly, "Obviously your kind are horrifying.  I get it, you can do whatever you want to us and we can do nothing.  You don't have to rub it in."  There was an uncalled-for touch of malice in my voice; I didn't mean for it to have been there, but I couldn't take it back now.

Liz sat speechless for a while, staring at me as I glowered from my place on the dresser.  "I..  I didn't mean to-"  "Yeah yeah, I get it.  Whatever."  I stormed over to the door on the side of my cage and slammed it in her face.  It wasn't as grand an exit as I'd hoped.  She could still see me marching off inside my glass prison.  I put my crafting skills to good use and pulled the blanket off my bed, tying it up like a curtain between my bed stand and the bookshelf next to it.  This created a small, and almost private room where I sat and fumed for the rest of the day.  Tears burned in my throat and swelled in the corners of my eyes, but I refused to be scared.  The only thing I should feel towards this human is anger — resentment.  Whatever sort of sideways friendship I'd just tried to form blew up in my face.  Clearly my kind had been right all along.  Humans are cruel and unjust.  Liz is just better at hiding it.

We didn't speak a word to each other the rest of the day.  The only interactions we had were when Liz dropped off my dinner, but I refused to touch it just to make a show of how angry I was with her and her kind.  My mouth watered at the scent of whatever was left out for me.  Once, I've gone almost a week without eating anything, so I know I can easily survive skipping a meal.  In fact, three meals a day are fairly uncommon for my kind.  However, those old meals consisted of cold leftovers that didn't smell nearly as good as what was sitting right in front of me.  In the end, my mind won over my stomach and I went to bed without dinner.  

Liz returned to my cage right before she went to bed.  I was turned away from her, so I couldn't tell what she was doing, but I clearly heard her sigh at the sight of my untouched meal.  It was almost gratifying to hear her so concerned, because that's just what I was hoping for when I decided to starve a bit.  My satisfaction quickly fled my system when I heard the metal-on-metal squeak of the door to my cage being locked.  I flung myself upright in a panic.  "Why are you locking me in!?" I asked hurriedly.  I was almost certain I knew the answer; Liz was finally going to punish me.  She'd already removed my dinner from the table.  Is she planning to starve me?  

Liz flinched at my sudden outburst; I could feel it vibrate through the desk beneath me.  "Oh, I thought you were asleep."  "Why are you locking me in?" I asked again, my voice a bit steadier.  She stilled for a moment, looking me over with confliction.  Surely I could still convince her not to punish me.  If she was this hesitant, maybe I could persuade her not to trap me again.  I was about to begin an argument for myself, but Liz spoke up first.  

"I know I said I'd treat you like a person, but…" she took a breath and I steeled myself for whatever she would say next.  "I-  I don't really trust you enough to leave this open all night.  From what I know about you so far, I'd guess you would try to climb down this dresser and escape, regardless of whether you have your equipment to do it.  Meaning I'd probably wake up tomorrow morning to find a Wren-sized bloodstain on my carpet wherever you fell off in the middle of the night."  Liz said it all so matter-of-factly that it scared me a little bit.  Firstly, she'd very casually described a horrible way for me to die; secondly, that is what I had been planning to do.  Not the falling to my death part, obviously, but I was definitely going to try escaping tonight.  

Some of my inner turmoil must've spilled onto my face because Liz secured the latch with duct tape before responding.  "I know you want out, but I can't let that happen.  I'm not trying to be some evil captor, though," she added, seeing me reel back slightly at her first remark.  "If you do manage to get away…   I mean, good for you I guess, but it won't be long before you're taken by another exterminator and end up right back at the pet store where you started."  I really wanted to strangle her right then, but I pent up my anger and abruptly turned back towards my bed.  

“I don’t want you ending up hurt or dead or worse because you’re angry with me.  If…”  Liz was silent for a long time, and I tried not to look back at her as she sat in the dark.  “If I knew you were just a small person, I never would’ve put you in that cage.  I would’ve talked to you, I would’ve been.. better somehow.  I- I would’ve made sure you felt safe.  You don’t deserve what’s happening to you.  None of you do.”

"No.  We don’t."  It was all that I managed to say before sliding under the covers and throwing them back over my head.  

Liz is lying.  She wouldn’t have treated me any differently, and she might know it, too.  Humans get into this weird protective, emotional kinda mood sometimes — like I know why.  Either way, I'm fairly sure she only said that so she could keep me here.  Yeah, she's only trying to scare me.  I can survive just fine on my own.  I've been caught once, but that was only because I hesitated.  I didn't run when I needed to because my family had already been taken.  This time it'll be different.  There won't be anyone to slow me down; I'm on my own now.  The gravity of my last thought settled heavily in my mind as I slid into half-asleep memories of my family and the life I used to know.

No, what the hell!?  I'm back in the petstore.  How?  Did Liz give me back?  I was standing in my old cage, staring at the view of cat food in front of me.  Ironic that they put my kind next to this particular section.  Sometimes cat food is exactly what we end up as.  Cats are the most lethal thing you could get caught by in a human house, next to mouse traps, of course.  It was rumored that the person who discovered our kind had done so because they found someone dead inside one.  I turned a tight circle in my cage, surveying everything.  Was it always this cramped?  Suddenly, the mesh behind me cracked open and a large human hand pushed its way into my cage.  

I screamed, but no sound reached my ears.  I scrambled for my sad little cot, the one thing I could possibly hide under.  Too little too late.  The hand encompassed me from all sides, crushing the air from my lungs as the human yanked me backwards out of my cage.  I recognized this human, but at the same time, I didn't.  This was the human who liked to torture me while he was sopposed to be cleaning our cages.  My brain recognized him, yet he looked terrifyingly different.  He had the black, soulless eyes of the rats I feared as a child, and a mouth full of sharpened teeth.  I desperately struggled to get away, but he only pulled me closer to his face.  His awful maw glimmered in a nasty smug smile.

"Nice to see you too, little mouse," he whispered in his raspy voice that made my skin crawl.  "It's been a while.  Wanna have some fun?"  This can't be happening.  Not again.  Please, not again.  He pressed me into the table with such force that I gasped for breath.  The human loomed over me, taunting my pathetic struggling with a cruel-sounding laugh.  His fingers snaked their way up my body and I let out another soundless scream.  I could feel his hot breath against my face as he leaned down closely above me.  A finger slid beneath my shirt and my blood ran cold.  "Stop, please!" I begged, sobbing.  The human licked his lips eagerly, as if my pleas only fueled whatever else he had planned for me.

My shirt was torn over my head, leaving me helplessly exposed on the table.  The assholes at the pet store don't give us undergarments.  We're just animals to them.  The only reason we have clothes at all is because we look so similar to humans, and we had to look decent.  I whimpered as he slowly slid a finger down my torso.  It inched aganizonly closer and closer to the hem of my shorts.  He was taking his sweet time, having his fun as I suffered.  With a satisfied exhale, he stuffed his finger into my pants, rubbing the pad of it between my legs.  I whimpered, trying desperately to move away from his touch.  Suddenly, something poked me in the side.  The table vibrated beneath me and my vision swam.  Just as his finger pressed into my crotch, darkness pooled into my vision.

Light was suddenly thrown into my face and I cried out in confused fear.  What's happening now?  "Please, don't!  Don’t touch me!" I begged desperately.  The light swung away from me and I could see the familiar trinkets that decorated my glass cage.  My shirt was still on.  Nothing was rubbing against me besides my blanket.  I was back in Liz's room.  It was a dream.  Well, more like a memory.  

Immediately, I started bawling — both from stress and out of relief that none of it was really happening.  Liz stood beside me.  No doubt it was her that had poked me in the side, waking me up.  That, I was grateful for.  "You're ok," Liz whispered as I continued sobbing, "It was a dream, you're alright."  I hugged myself tight and slowly lifted my head, giving her a longing glance.

I don't know what it was I wanted right then.  A hug, maybe?  My family?  My own kind?  All of which were impossible.  I sat with my knees pressed into my chest, rocking back and forth on the mattress beneath me.  Liz dropped a hand down carefully beside my bed and offered me a bottlecap of water.  I accepted it with shaking hands and took a sip, placing the cap on the floor beside my bed.  Her fingers drifted behind me, slowly rubbing small circles into my back.  It wasn't a dehumanizing petting, but rather a kind gesture.  She was trying to calm me down as best she could without scaring me with her human-ness.  

Liz still cares about me.  Even though we fought and I've yelled at her countless times, Liz still cares about me.  She had so many opportunities to hurt me, and would’ve had zero repercussions for doing so.  She’d locked me in, but she was only trying to protect me.  Why?  Because she's a good person, I realized.  I doubt she was even trying to trick me this whole time.  She just genuinely wants to be a good friend.  

The realization kinda just broke me — right then and there.  I whirled around and grasped her finger in a fierce hug.  I don't care what the rules say about assuming the worst of humans.  This human deserves better than that.  From the moment she found out my secret, she tried to give me my freedom back in the safest way she could think of.  Of course, her plans were all flawed, but she was human.  I couldn’t expect too much from her.  I didn’t expect this much from her.

Liz sucked in a surprised breath of air at my touch, and her arm went completely still.  Seconds later, she seemed to break as well.  Her hand curled beneath me, lifting me up and out of the cage.  Honestly, I wasn't even scared.  At this point, I’ve figured she's not going to hurt me.  Liz cupped her hands together, letting me curl up between them.  I could feel her pulse through her fingertip as I continued to hug it tight.  I concentrated on it.  It beat soft and rhythmic against my erratically racing heart.  In the moments afterward, everything drifted away.  My pulse slowed to match her own as I took a couple shaky breaths.  The only thing left of the world was our synchronized heartbeat.

Sleep came for me, but it wasn't long before memories bubbled up again and I was dragged awake in fright.  When I came to, I realized neither my bed nor Liz's hands were beneath me.  I sat up in a panic at the unfamiliar place around me.  "It's alright," Liz's voice reassured me from behind, "You're safe."  She sounded really close, and when I turned to see her, I understood why.  Liz was laying down on her bed with me laying on the pillow beside her.  My face flushed when I recognized where I'd been sleeping.  "You fell asleep in my hands," she explained, "I didn't have the heart to put you back in that cage."  I smiled slightly, recognizing that she made an effort to refer to my fake prison as that cage rather than your cage.  

"Thank you," I whispered in gratitude, "I-  You don't mind if I stay here tonight, do you?"  Liz shook her head, "As long as you're comfortable."  Shockingly, I was comfortable.  More so than I have been in a while, actually.  I'm sure 'sleeping with a human' broke about 20 different rules, but I'd already broken the most fundamental ones; now it doesn't matter how many I break.  

“Even when you fell asleep you were restless.  The only time you weren’t groaning or moving was while I was holding you,” Liz explained quietly.  “Would you.. rather be closer again?”  I sat up, scrutinizing her expression beside me.  At first I thought she was pitying me, but by the light of a single street lamp outside the window, I could tell it was actually worry that clouded her expression.  I nodded very slightly.  I don’t want to have any more twisted memories tonight.

Gentle fingers slid around my sides.  It was like nothing I’d ever felt before.  All the experiences I’ve had with this have been horrible and frightening — human strength threatening to snap me into pieces.  But Liz’s touch was different; it was so much lighter.  I drifted through the air before being eased down onto her chest.  A few seconds passed before I even took a breath.  

“Th- Thank you,” I whispered in awe.  Eventually, I managed to get control of myself, and I sleepily settled back down, curled up on my side.  With my ear pressed to her chest like this, I can hear each even breath rush into her lungs somewhere below me.  Again, Liz's heartbeat lulled me to sleep, and this time no nightmares came to haunt me.  I slept in blissful, dreamless sleep the rest of the night.

When I woke the next morning, I sat alone on Liz's empty bed.  I could hear the shower running from the conjoined bathroom, though.  If I listened closely enough, I could hear her singing quietly to herself.  The moment brought me to the day I'd accidentally revealed my secret.  Looking back…  I regret it.  It's not that I don't appreciate Liz's inexplicable kindness towards me; it's because I do — more than she knows.  It makes leaving so much harder than it should have been.  I'm escaping, I told myself, not leaving.  I can't live behind glass.  I need freedom.  This whole illusion will shatter the second Liz stops caring about me.  It's only a matter of time.  Leave.  Before you get hurt trying to have something you can't.  

Last night was… a fluke.  A moment of weakness, for both of us.  Just then, Liz stepped out of the bathroom with a fresh outfit and a mop of wet hair.  She took one look at me sitting on her bed and smiled.  Her genuine pleasure in seeing me here almost deterred me from my escape plans entirely.  “Good morning,” Liz addressed me, kneeling beside the bed so we were more level with each other.  “I’ll have to put you back on the dresser while I go make breakfast.  Is that alright?”  Obviously, I would rather have walked over there myself, but without my climbing gear I wouldn’t make it very far.  I nodded, sighing, “Just don’t drop me.”  Liz offered her upturned hand and I stilled.

I’d barely been conscious last night when she’d picked me up.  I was tired and in desperate need of comfort.  Now, with her hand spread out beside me, longer than I am tall, my instincts started protesting against it.  I took a few cautious steps towards Liz and hesitantly placed a hand over one of her fingers, feeling the heat radiating off her skin.  “Wren.”  Hearing my name, I snapped out of my stupor and glanced past Liz’s outstretched digits to her face.  “Yes?”  “You know I would never hurt you, right?”  When I stayed silent instead of answering, she pulled her hand away, her voice growing more solemn.  “I don’t want you to be afraid of me.  If you’re having nightmares because of me, I’ll leave you alone.  Promise.”

My eyes widened at the offer.  It was tempting to tell Liz to leave; it would make my escape more bearable.  However, I don’t want her to think my night terrors are about something she’s done, when in reality, they have nothing to do with her.  

"I-  Last night, my dream wasn't about you," I confessed, "It was just bad memories about the pet store I lived in, that's all."  Liz gloomily avoided my gaze, "I told you you'd end up there last night before you went to bed..  I'm such an idiot, I'm so sorry.  I wouldn't let that happen to you."  I assumed she wouldn't have actually sent me back, but hearing her say it aloud was tons more reassuring.  "Here," Liz began, standing to shuffle through the box she'd grabbed the day before.  "How about I put up some rope for you like you asked?  That way you can travel around, yourself."

I watched in disbelief as Liz fastened a few pieces of string around the room in various hard-to-get-to places.  She had, albeit unknowingly, given me a clear opportunity to escape.  After setting up several lengths of rope, Liz headed downstairs to get breakfast and I got to climbing.  Scaling the bed was easy.  Its side is made of fabric so I could find a foothold or handhold virtually anywhere.  The lower half was lifted off the ground by a wooden frame, but it wasn't so high that I couldn't just drop the rest of the way to the floor.  

After wandering around the carpeted floors of Liz's room, I came across one of the outlets I'd spotted from my vantage point in the cage.  It's only a few inches — in human measurements — off the floor.  Easily reachable with a small amount of climbing rope and a grapple.  Obviously, I have no grapple on me, so I instead returned to the top of the dresser where the cage is, opting to sit on the ledge to wait for Liz rather than going back inside the awful glass box.  Not that I could, anyway.  The lock was still duct taped shut from last night.

My breakfast and Liz arrived shortly after I'd scaled the dresser.  She placed my meal on the table in my cage and peeled away the tape with a slightly guilty expression.  Liz turned away and looked over the distance I'd traveled with an impressed nod.  "Did my ropes work alright?" she asked once I'd settled down to eat.  I nodded, mouth too full to speak.  The meal was heavenly; Liz had brought a little bit of something made from eggs that I don’t know how to pronounce.  However, whenever I tried to plan a way to craft a grapple, my stomach churned like I'd eaten something rotten or raw.  Originally, I'd have chalked it up to nervousness, but the feeling wasn't quite the same.  After nearly blanching seeing Liz return to my cage, smiling at me warmly, I realized that I wasn't actually nervous.  My sickness stemmed from guilt.

Guilt for leaving?  Never.  I want to leave.  Guilt for leaving Liz alone after all she's done for me?  Leaving her to think she was the reason I’d left?  Maybe.  Ok, yes.  Fine.  It's not like I have to leave right this minute, though.  Besides, I still need a grapple.  Oh, and it would be nice if I could have Liz take me around the house while no one's home.  That way, I could map out the layout of everything beforehand.  It Is always best to be prepared, right?  

As I tried to calm my stomach into eating the rest of my glorious meal, Liz began working at something on her desk.  Because of where the desk is, she was sitting with her back turned; I couldn't tell what she was doing.  Curious, I finished my meal and stepped back out of the cage.  "What are you doing over there?" I asked.  Silence.  At first I thought she was ignoring me, then I noticed Liz's foot was tapping along to an unhearable rhythm.  She was listening to music.

I sighed, realizing I'd have to walk all the way across the room to get Liz's attention.  Expertly, I made my way down the newly fashioned climbing rope by the edge of the dresser.  The trip over wouldn't be all that difficult for me, it's just tiring.  Wandering the room, I again stopped at the outlet that was close to the floor.  It's so perfect, it's like it's beckoning to me.  Just then, the door to Liz's room opened wide.  

"Liz honey, I was wondering if-  AHH!"  I flinched at the scream.  My borrower's sense raced and my mind panicked, convinced I was caught in the act of escape.  "Liz's pet escaped!" her mother called down the hallway, "Ron, come catch it before it gets in the walls!"  I could barely hear Liz's protests against the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears.  I dashed behind a beanbag chair sitting by the outlet, pressing myself to the wall.  Moments later, my hiding spot was dragged away.  A cardboard box hung ominously in the air above me.  

Crying out in terror, I threw myself into a ball on the floor, instinct reacting how I'd been taught.  "No!  Wait!  Stop!  I let her out, it was fine!  I was watching her!"  Liz's voice was joined by a few others, both of which sounded harsh and angry.  I didn't dare move a muscle.  Footsteps thundered around me, their vibrations shaking everything.  Briefly, the image of a human's foot coming down on top of me flashed through my mind.  I whimpered at the horrible notion that my life could very easily end right here.  

Something tapped the floor scarily close to my head, and I scrambled away in shock.  It was Liz, trying to get my attention.  Both her parents were still scolding her, but she had her back turned to them and offered me her hand.  I gratefully scrambled on, clinging to her fingers.  Though it was by no means safe, Liz's hands were a hell of a lot safer than the floor where I could be stepped on or boxed up.  "You can't have that thing running around the house like that!" her mother warned, "You have to watch it carefully."  "Mmhm," her father added, "They can hide in a matter of seconds, Lizzie.  You can't let it out of your sight.  Your mother will have a fit if it gets into the walls."  

Liz's chastised expression drifted between her parents and me.  The longer they spoke, the more furious I became.  I wanted so badly to join in on the argument.  I'd give Liz's parents a piece of my mind.  The audacity they had to call me an 'it', to speak about me as if I were a dumb little animal.  However, I realized that was the entire point of keeping my mouth shut.  The borrower secret was still alive, at least slightly.  For all they know, I am a dumb little animal.  Humans don't know we're sentient, and we don't want them to know.  So, I kept my mouth shut tight, teeth grinding in loathing as I sat in Liz's hand.  

Eventually, after Liz repeatedly promised to look after me better, her parents left.  She locked the door behind them and brought me to her desk, setting me on its surface.  "I'm… really sorry," Liz apologized quietly, "Are you alright?"  Her fingers hovered around me, unsure whether she should search me for any injuries.  I nodded, "I'm alright.  I'm just a bit shaken."  "I- I didn't even realize you were on the floor.  What were you doing out there?"  I tried hard not to give myself away, but I couldn't help glancing at the electrical socket I'd been looking at before I'd been spotted.

As if in slow motion, Liz turned and followed my gaze.  She stared at the place I'd been standing for a long moment.  "I- I was trying to get to you!" I said quickly.  Liz turned back to me with a crestfallen expression.  "I wanted to see what you were working on over here," I explained in a hurry, "You were listening to music.  You didn't hear me call out to you.  I thought, with my new climbing ropes, that I could just come to you myself, but then your mom came in and saw me."  Liz only stared at me numbly.  "Wh- What?" I stammered.  Her gaze drifted to the electrical socket again.  "You want to leave."  Liz's statement revertibrated hollowly through my core.  "No!  No, I-"  "I've seen you staring at that outlet before.  I know you use those to get around houses.  I can put two and two together, Wren."  She turned back to me, and I expected her to scold me for trying to run away, though I wasn't, at least not right then.  However, Liz just looked gut-wrenchingly sad.  

"I understand if you want to run away.  Humans have treated you so horribly, I'm surprised you haven't tried to get out of here sooner.  But…" she took a shuddering breath.  Here it comes, I thought bitterly, 'but you can't leave because you're a little pet and I don't want you to.'  "But you can't stay here."  I was so confused, I didn't even understand what she'd said.  "What?" I asked faintly.  "You can't stay here," Liz repeated, "It isn't safe.  There are traps in the walls; I watched them get set up.  And if my mother found you.. it wouldn't be good.  There are better houses than this one, trust me."  

Liz is just… letting me go?  "You- You don't want me to stay?" I asked.  I immediately regretted it when Liz's eyes moistened with tears.  "Of course I want you to stay!" she cried, "You mean so much to me, and the thought of you getting caught or sold again makes me feel sick.  But I don't want you to feel trapped here!"  "I don't!" I yelled over her increasingly upset voice.  "I don't feel trapped here; I feel the opposite of trapped!  I have too much freedom here!  So much freedom that I feel like I should run away just because I know I can, but I don't want to!  Every time I think of escape, I feel guilty.  I don't want to leave, but my instincts keep telling me I should run while I still can."

Now my own eyes fuzzed over with hot tears.  "I don't want to live in another house where I'll have to hide and be alone.  I want to live here, with you.  You don't treat me like I'm worthless or below you, like the other humans.  Ever since you found out my secret, you've tried to treat me like another human, but you can’t because that would put me in danger.  You.. You treat me like a friend, and I don't want to lose that," I explained weakly.  

Liz's eyes widened, tears drying up before they could come leaking out.  "Then stay."  She spoke so softly that I almost couldn't hear her.  Oh how badly I wanted to.  How badly I wanted to live the rest of my life with the one human in the world who cares.  But I can't live in a cage.  I won't be confined to a box just because Liz's stupid mother thinks I'll go crazy in the walls, or whatever the hell she's so afraid I'll do.  "I want to," I said ruefully, "but I want freedom more."  

Liz sat silently for the longest time.  Eventually, she was called out of her room for something, and she stood.  "I'm taking you back to the dresser," she said monotonously, "You'll be safe from my parents there."  "What about my freedom?" I asked nervously.  "I need some time to come up with a plan," Liz said, "but if I don't figure it out by tomorrow, I'll take you to a house where you'll be safer."  My stomach dropped.  Liz held out her hand and I numbly sat down, waiting for her to bring me across the room.  Once I was deposited by the glass walls, Liz stepped out of the room and disappeared.  

I trudged over to my bed and sat on the end, staring at nothing.  After a few moments, the tears building up behind my eyes came flooding out.  I bawled into my pillows, heaving sobs echoing around the stupid glass box.  It just wasn't fair.  All I wanted was freedom and to be treated with an ounce of respect.  Was the world really that cruel as to deny me those?  Yes.  I already know the answer.  I just hoped that by some miracle I could be given a different one.

My head was buried so deep beneath my pillows that the daylight stung when it slid through.  It had been hours since Liz left, and my stomach had been tying itself in knots for what felt like forever, until the bedroom door burst open so violently it ricocheted off the wall behind it with a thunderous, wobbly noise.  I bolted upright, heart flinging into my throat.  "I know what I have to do!" Liz's ecstatic voice bounced off the glass walls a bit too loudly.  Noticing my reaction, Liz opened the side door and motioned for me to step out of my awful prison.  "Wren, I've got it!" she exclaimed, "I know how to get you freedom right here in the house."  

It sounded too good to be true.  Impossible, even.  "How?  I thought you said there were traps in the walls."  "That's just it," Liz began, "You won't live in the walls!"  She brought her hand up to me again, but I hesitated.  "Where will I live?" I asked uncertainly.  "Come on, I'll show you."

Liz waited patiently as I slowly stepped up onto her palm.  The sudden switch between getting around myself and letting Liz move me was a bit sudden.  I could have walked over if I wanted to, but I was curious about the plan Liz concocted.  She is a good human; I trust she won't hurt me.  After situating myself on Liz's palm, I watched the world shift around me.  I was taken to the bookshelf on the other side of Liz's bed.  "Look," she began, pulling back a stack of books with her free hand.  "There's all this space behind here, and a hole at the back for electrical cords."  She placed me on the shelf and I took a few hesitant steps forward.  The bookshelf was much deeper than any of the books, so they sat like a wall, blocking out a hidden empty space between the back of the bookcase and the books themselves.  The hole that Liz told me about was a cut-out semicircle in the middle of the back wall, level with the shelf.  With a full case of books, the place Liz picked for me wasn't all that bad.  The walls would be better, of course.  That's the best place to stay away from humans.  However, I don't want to stay away from Liz, I just need somewhere normal to live — not a glass box.

"It's.. almost perfect," I replied after looking things over.  "I have all sorts of things to decorate it too!" Liz said excitedly.  For a brief moment, I thought she was talking about the dollhouse-looking objects from the cage, but she pulled out a small plastic container from a drawer.  "I used to decorate my desk with these little strings of lights, but I think they'll make for some nice lighting in your new home, don't you think?" Liz asked, holding up the container.  I nodded, relieved.  "Yes, those are perfect, thank you."  I searched the shelf a bit more thoroughly, planning how I wanted everything to look, and what I might need to borrow.  

"So, what's the plan?  What do I have to do to ditch that awful thing?" I asked, gesturing at the glass box.  "Don't worry about that.  The plan mostly involves me pretending to screw up and lose you in the walls somewhere.  My mom might even call the exterminators."  I went ridgid at the mention of those people.  "They won't find you," Liz reassured me, "You won't actually have run away, so even if they do come, they won't find anything.  You’ll be right with me the whole time, and they wouldn’t think to check with me."  Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I thought through Liz's idea.

"Ok,” I began, talking through the plan, “so you pretend to lose me, and I hide with you.  Your parents freak out, but they won't find me and think I ran away into another house.  Then, when the coast is clear and everything dies down, I… I get to live freely again."  My voice tapered off in excited awe.  If this plan really does work, I can get my life back.  The realization sunk in and I beamed up at Liz.  She held out her hand for me to climb on, but I grabbed it instead, hugging her fingers fiercely.  

"Thank you," I said, tears choking my voice.  "Hey, don't celebrate too soon," Liz reminded me, "We haven't actually pulled this off yet."  "I know," I answered, "I'm not thanking you for my grand escape.  I'm thanking you for caring about me enough to figure this all out.  I don't know how in the world I got this lucky, getting chosen by a human who cares.  I thought they were a myth."  Liz chuckled, "Well in that case, you're very welcome."

Liz glanced over at the glass container on her dresser.  “I don’t want to ‘lose’ you right away,” she added, “It’ll look too suspicious that you disappeared right after I got in trouble for letting you out.”  “Oh,” I said disappointedly.  I understood her logic, though.  Liz wanted this to seem as realistic as possible, because things would go horribly for me if her parents suspected I was still in the house.  “I’m thinking Friday, five days from today.  What do you think?” Liz asked.  “As long as I’m out of there by the end of the month, I could care less,” I responded.  

The days passed by agonizingly slowly.  I hate sitting around idly knowing how much work I have ahead of me.  As a borrower, I’m used to constantly working on something.  Even in my cage at the pet store, I busied myself with analyzing the humans that passed by.  Here in the glass cage in Liz’s empty room, I had nothing to do but bide my time until Liz came back from a place called high school.  I’m not used to having this much free time.  I wanted to explore the room, maybe look for more hidden places I could build into living spaces, but after the scare of Liz’s mom walking in on me outside the cage, I decided it was safer to stay put.  I didn’t dare imagine what might’ve happened if Liz hadn’t been there to protect me.  I’d been terrifyingly close to getting captured in another box.  

As the week stretched on endlessly, Liz and I crafted some things for my new home.  Every day, after she returned from school, Liz took the time to open the cage door.  I’d traverse the room and stash a few things for later, which Liz happily hid for me in her desk drawer.  

Once she came back with a completely different attitude, though.  She hadn’t even acknowledged me; she just sat on the edge of her bed looking at nothing.  “Liz?” I said questioningly.  I watched her flinch slightly.  When she turned to me, she looked so disheartened I thought something had happened to our plans.  “I…  I was just in my sister’s room.  She was h- having trouble with the other borrower.  I forgot about her pet being.. one of you.  I didn’t remember because she always calls them an ‘it’.”  I could feel the color drain from my face.  “What..  What happened?”  Slowly, her eyes drifted to me, then quickly darted away.

“Aubrey set up some fake scene, and wanted her.. her pet to be in a little car for a few pictures.  The borrower.. she didn’t fit.  That car was just the wrong scale, but my sister didn’t care.  She stuffed her in there — the borrower.  She couldn’t even tell her to stop because, you know, your kind isn’t supposed to speak to us.  Her-”  Liz took a shaking breath before continuing.  “Her arm dislocated.  The metal pieces of the car sliced her up.  She.. Wren, she looked awful.”  Now Liz had turned back to me, tears in her eyes.  “And the worst part?  Aubrey couldn’t even get her out.  She didn’t tell my parents because she thought they would punish her or take away her stupid little pet.  The borrower — poor thing — she was stuck in that car for a day and a half before my sister came to me, begging me not to tell anyone.”

My whole body ricocheted with shudders.  I couldn’t imagine going through that, much less without speaking to my torturer — begging them to help or stop or something.  “Wh- What did you do?” I asked quietly.  “I told my sister to get an exacto knife.  The car’s outer part is plastic.  I would cut her out of there if I had to, to make sure she got out with the least amount of injuries.  The borrower, god, she was so scared.  I could see it in her face.  The moment I sent my sister for the knife she snapped out of the whole playing dumb act.  She didn’t speak to me, but she looked right at me like I was going to kill her.”  Liz’s breath hitched on a sob.  

“I- I got her out, but she shrieked the whole time.  She.. she really thought I was going to hurt her.  Aubrey grabbed her the moment she was free.  It was scary; she only made the borrower’s cuts start bleeding again.  I swear she said something — probably tried begging my sister to put her down — but I spoke over her so she wouldn’t ruin the secret.  I convinced Aubrey to let me patch her up.  I got her cuts to stop bleeding, but she gave me that pathetic stare again the whole time.  When I tried to put her arm back into place she spoke to me.  It was barely intelligible over her sobbing, so I pretended not to notice for the sake of the secret.”  I was outside the cage now, standing at the very edge of the dresser.  “What did she say?”  “J- Just begging,” Liz replied in a thin whisper.  “She just kept begging me to make the pain stop.  I popped her shoulder into place and she passed out.  I thought.. I- I thought she’d died.”

“She didn’t though, right?” I asked nervously.  Liz shook her head, “No, she survived.  But who knows how long that’ll last.”  After that, she became too choked up to say anything more.  As fast I could manage, I made my way down the dresser and across the room to her.  Seeing me standing in front of her, Liz sank to the floor and gently scooped me up, hugging me to her chest.  “If I ever made you feel that scared of me, I’m…  I’m so sorry.  Please believe that I would never do that kind of thing to you.”  I pressed myself closer against her.  “It’s ok, Liz.  It- It’ll be fine.  I haven’t been afraid of you like that for a while now.”  I know it won’t be fine — at least not for the poor soul in the other room.  However, we couldn’t help them.  We were already risking so much with our plan.  If we tried to break out the other borrower, it would be nearly impossible not to get caught.  Then neither of us would be free.

The night before the big plan day, I sat on the edge of Liz’s desk, having scaled its side with the rope that she’d attached to it.  I worried over the plan, fidgeting with the hem of my clothes.  

“Hey,” Liz said, shaking me from thought.  She’d been working on something called ‘homework’ that she didn’t really want to do, but apparently had to.  “I have something for you.”  I turned around, surprised.  “Call it a housewarming gift,” she continued, “Earlier you said that you wanted a grapple like the one you had before all this.”  I nodded; I had in fact admitted that to her.  Though I don’t need it to run away anymore, it would still be nice to have, especially for scaling the bookshelf.  Liz fished out a few items and laid them out in front of me.  A length of string, but most importantly, a shining metal paperclip.  

“I knew I couldn’t make a grapple myself, but..”  “It’s perfect,” I assured her, “I can make a great grapple from these materials here.  Thank you.”  My nervous jitters faded away as I worked at the string, twining it perfectly so I could keep a solid grip on it as I climbed.  Before I knew it, Liz had to take me back to the cage.  “Say your goodbyes, Liz joked, “Tonight will be your last night sleeping here.”  I smiled giddily.  “Do you think I can keep this bed, or maybe this table and chairs?  They aren’t half bad.”  “You can have whatever you want,” Liz replied.  “Just get some rest, it’ll be a long day tomorrow.”  

Despite immediately heading to bed, I couldn't sleep.  My anxiety had returned, not from being inactive, but by the fact that if Liz and I were caught tricking her parents, I would most likely be sent back to the pet store.  Most of us who get sent back don't live to see our cells again.  If a borrower gets sent back and all the cages are full — and they almost always are with all the shipments of newfound borrowers — the pet store doesn't wait for a vacancy; you get put down right there and then.  It saves space and effort, apparently.  

No matter which way I turned, I couldn't find a comfortable spot.  It didn't help that dark thoughts had begun to crowd my mind.  Finally, I sat up exhausted.  "Liz?"  The bedsheets ruffled, and I could see her outline sit up in the dark.  "Yes?" she replied.  "I- I'm scared," I confessed, "What if we get caught?  What if your parents send me back?"  The room was silent for a moment, then the floorboards creaked.  Liz stepped over to the glass wall beside me.  I stepped out of bed and gazed up at her, bent over to look at me.  

We watched eachother silently through the glass, until she reached over and opened the door on the side of the cage.  Liz sat on the edge of her bed while I came to stand at the front of the dresser.  "I would never let that happen to you," she stated firmly, "Even if my parents do catch us, I'd come up with a plan… I'd think of something.  Surely I could convince them to let me keep you.  Though you'd be stuck in there, it would be better than being sent back, wouldn't it?"  "Yeah," I whispered weakly.

I sucked in a surprised gasp of air as Liz's hands reached towards me.  Her fingers delicately folded around my sides, gently lifting me off the dresser.  She held me close as she slid back into her own bed, placing me on the pillow beside her.  "It's alright to be scared," Liz whispered as she settled in, "I'm scared too.  But I promise you, the worst that can happen is you have to stay in the glass cage, that's all.  I'd still let you out whenever you like, and I would still treat you like a person.  No matter what happens tomorrow, you'll be safe, I'll make sure of it."  

My head spun as I tried to convince myself that things would be fine.  “Can you..  I- I mean…”  Giving up on speech, I slid off the pillow and gently placed a hand on Liz’s side.  I could feel her pulse quicken as I hauled myself onto her chest.  “You don’t mind this, do you?”  Liz shook her head with a soft smile, gently resting a cupped hand around me.  I sighed in relief, snuggling into the softness of the surface beneath me.  Her low breathing was already lulling me to sleep.  I mumbled a soft thanks to Liz before passing out.

In the morning, I was jostled awake by Liz's movements on the bed.  Still half asleep, I let her carry me back to the glass cage.  She opened the top hatch and set me carefully onto my own bed.  Later, she dropped off a portion of her own breakfast for me and headed to school.  Liz had made pancakes, just for me.  I smiled at the kind gesture.  A few months ago, I wouldn't have believed that humans were capable of sympathizing with my kind.  Now here I was eating her same meals and sleeping right with her, and I did so of my own free will.  I'm not a pet and I never really was, at least not for very long.  Hopefully, I won't even have to live in this awful glass box anymore.

It was nerve-wracking waiting for Liz to come back home.  A part of me was glad she was gone, because it meant the plan couldn't be enacted, but another part of me was desperate for her to arrive, because I just might get my freedom back today.  When I finally heard the sound of the front door opening, announcing the return of the humans from school, I could feel nervous momentum building in my stomach.  I was simultaneously thrilled and terrified.  Liz came into the room and I rushed to the side door.  She slid it open and let me out.  "Are you ready?" she asked as I stepped over the threshold for, hopefully, the last time.  I nodded silently, too afraid that if I spoke, I might back out.

"Alright, I'm going to slip you into my pocket now.  Get situated, but try not to move once my parents come in; it might be visible from outside."  Hesitantly, I stepped onto Liz's fingers and slid down into the pocket of her shorts.  The material was scratchy, and it was a bit claustrophobic, but I reminded myself that my freedom was just around the corner, if I could only hold still for a while.  Once I got situated, I couldn't tell what was going on outside, but I felt Liz wandering around, moving things.  Eventually, her weight shifted and she got on the floor.  "Mom!  Dad!  Come quick!  My borrower escaped again and-"  She cut herself off and hit the floor, creating a dull thud, pretending to grab for me.  I instinctively flinched at the sound.  Liz briefly put a hand over the pocket's side, reassuring me that everything was alright.

Moments later, I could hear the muffled sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs.  Between the harshly loud voices of panicked humans, and the jostling movements Liz made, I could tell very little of what was going on.  I held my breath and stayed as still as I could, silently hoping that our plan would succeed.  I didn’t know what Liz was doing, but suddenly the pocket stretched thin, pinning me down and almost suffocating me between two walls of material.  Thrashing in the tight space, I came close to calling out in fear before the tension suddenly released.  I fell to the bottom of the pocket, shaken.  The tight space would thin similarly on occasion, but Liz made sure that the pressure wasn’t as crushing as the first time.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the voices outside died down.  I heard the sound of a door locking, and soon Liz’s fingers slid through the opening above me, carefully working their way around me until she could hoist me up and out of the little space.  I blinked at the brightness of the room, letting my eyes adjust to the light after being stuck in the dark pocket.  “What happened?” I asked once I oriented myself.  Liz sat down at her desk, placing me gently on its surface in front of her.  “I’m grounded,” she stated, “but it worked.  My parents think you ran away.  They’re not even calling the exterminators; it’s too expensive.  My mom’s hoping you get caught in a trap, and my dad thinks you’ve run out of the house.”  “So.. we did it?  I’m free?!”  Liz nodded enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear.

I squealed happily, overjoyed at the good news.  “Just remember that you have to stay hidden now.  You can’t slip up and get caught anymore,” Liz reminded me.  “Yeah, obviously!  That’s how my old life used to be.”  “Let’s get your new place in order,” Liz suggested, offering her upturned hand.  I eagerly slid in, waiting as Liz dug out the stash of things I’d collected, including the grapple I’d been working on.  A few books were removed in order for us to get behind the rest.  Once she put me and my things down on the shelf, Liz took another piece of climbing rope and attached it to the opening behind the shelves.  She measured out the length of it all the way down to the floor.  I made an internal note to make myself some climbing gloves.  I’ll need them if I’m going to scale this bookshelf every day.  

Liz came to my aid with the lightning.  She used a few pieces of duct tape, a rarity item to my kind, to secure the long string of lights around the perimeter of my new home.  A battery box sat in the corner with a little switch on its side, perfect for manipulating the electrical currents.  My old home in the walls had one haphazardly built switch that dug into the electricity in the humans’ house.  It had burst into flames more than a few times.  I remember fearing it when I was younger.  The voltage that shot through the humans’ wiring was enough to instantly fry a borrower alive.  Come to think of it, living in the bookshelf will be a massive upgrade from my old home, which was filled with similar hazards.  We do the best with what we have, but now that I have so much more, I can live comfortably for the first time in my life.  As I continued to settle in, Liz helped me move things around.  She took the furniture from the cage that I'd asked for, and placed it down wherever I pointed to.  With everything in place, Liz left to have dinner while I added final touches to everything.

With the wall of books replaced, my new home was surprisingly dark.  Only a slim ray of light shone from the space above the tops of the books.  However, once I flipped the light switch, the place shone brightly.  I marveled over how amazing my new home was.  As a borrower who's been abducted, sold, and caught numerous times, I'm doing incredibly well for myself.  It's tough work befriending a human, but the advantages are definitely worth it.  Liz came back from her meal with a small portion for me.  I ate on the ledge of my shelf, which would be like a front porch if my home were a human one, and afterwards I got back to work on my grapple.  

"Are you settling in alright?" Liz asked me.  I nodded happily, "This place is better than anything I could've wished for, even before the humans took over.  You have a really good eye for potential borrowing hideouts."  She smiled slightly, "Thanks, I tried to find a secret, out-of-the-way place that would also be a good spot to live in.  My first thought was to make you a home under my bed, because no one would ever find you there, but that wouldn't be nearly as nice a living space."

We talked for a while, then Liz left again, trying not to be too suspicious to her family.  When she came back, she was ready for bed.  "Are you sure that the dollhouse bed is comfortable for you?" Liz whispered once all the lights were off and the house was asleep.  "It's a lot more comfortable than my old bed," I mused, "but if you find anything you think might be better, let me know.  I'm also going to do some borrowing of my own, so I'll see what I find."  "You don't have to do that, you know."  "What?  Go borrowing?" I asked.  "I know I don't have to, but I want to.  It'll make things seem.. almost normal again."  "Almost normal?" Liz echoed.  

Silence pierced the room as I thought longingly of what I still desperately miss.  "My family," I replied in an almost inaudible whisper.  The sheets ruffled as Liz shifted uncomfortably.  "I know you can't make them come back," I added, "You've done so much for me, more than I could ever ask.  But I still miss them."  "I'm sorry."  "Don't be," I said hastily, "It's not your fault we were discovered."  

The room became so quiet afterwards, that I thought Liz had fallen asleep.  I stood up to head back into my own bed, when she spoke.  "It's so awful," Liz said quietly.  "The audacity in the way my kind treats yours.  It almost makes me wish I wasn't a human, so I wouldn't have to be grouped with all the horrible people who are."  I snickered, despite the gloominess in Liz's voice.  "I'm sorry for laughing," I apologized, "It's just..  I used to wish I was human all the time.  I've always been baffled by the way you can go anywhere in the world you want, while me and my kind are stuck in the walls and floors and attics of houses our whole lives."  “Huh,” Liz huffed, “I guess I didn’t think of that.”  

In the morning, Liz congratulated me again on my new freedom, then trudged unhappily downstairs.  Part of her punishment for ‘losing’ me was a bucketload of chores.  Her parents would keep her busy all weekend long.  I felt slightly guilty; it’s my fault Liz is in so much trouble, but then again, it was her plan for this to happen.  Still, I paused work on my grapple to make something for Liz.  I’d have to borrow some thread to make it, so I scaled the dresser and made my way to her desk.  The sewing box that held all the thread sat packed away beside a stack of books.  I climbed up their spines like a wide ladder, grinning in satisfaction once I made it to the top.  Good to see my skills haven’t deteriorated over the past few months.  I popped open the large clip on the side of the box, carefully pushing back the lid.  The amount of items stashed away in there is astounding.  I could make use of every last little thing.  However, as per borrowing rules, I can only take what I need, not what I want.  Even if the needles sticking out of that pincushion do look very enticing.

Carefully, I bent over the rim of the box, reaching down into its depths to pull out a wheel of thread.  The cover of the book beneath me slid slightly as I bent over.  My fingers could touch the edge of the spool.  Just a little further…  The surface beneath me jolted backwards, unbalanced by my weight.  I feel head over heels into the pile of knickknacks below.  Maybe my borrowing skills had deteriorated a bit after all.  Thankfully I hadn’t fallen on anything sharp.  Glancing up at the top of the box, I charted a rather hazardous path back out.  My balance just isn’t what it used to be, though.  Even as I tried to get out, the items I climbed up collapsed beneath me, leaving me no possible escape.  This wasn’t too worrying.  Liz would help me out when she got back.  However, when the door to the bedroom opened, her mother stepped in instead.

Stifling a gasp, I quickly buried myself beneath some of the items around me, praying that the human hadn’t spotted me.  I couldn’t see what she was doing from my hidden spot, but I could feel her footsteps wandering the room.  They were so close to leaving, but paused just before the desk and the door.  “Oh, that’s where the sewing box went.”  A cold chill wrung down my spine.  I pressed myself further into the box of items.  The whole thing darkened as the lid was snapped back into place.  A slight sickness built in my stomach as my hiding spot was lifted up and carried off.  

After a few minutes of swaying that threatened to make me vomit, the box was placed in a closet.  My world went completely dark as the human closed the closet door behind her.  My thoughts spiraled in panic.  Would Liz still be able to find me in here?  I have limited time now.  The sealed box only trapped so much air inside.  Once it ran out…  I scrambled out of hiding and tried in vain to at least open the box again, but it was clipped shut from the outside.  Please come and get me, I silently begged Liz.  The irony of my situation was humiliating.  I’ve just got my freedom back, now I’m going to die before properly using it.  

I waited with bated breath, trying to conserve what little air I had.  If I ever do get out of here, Liz is never going to let me go borrowing again.  I’m just out of practice, that’s all.  Maybe I should’ve started with something a bit easier to borrow.  For a long while, I sat alone.  The edges of my vision were beginning to fuzz over.  At first I thought I was imagining it, but as I turned my head around and grew dizzy, I realized it was getting harder to breathe as well.  I had to take larger and larger breaths just to satisfy my lungs.  It seemed like hours had passed since I was trapped here, but I couldn't tell.  I couldn't even think straight anymore.  My nerves spiked as light suddenly filtered into the box.  By that time, I could barely move.  I just lay on the bottom of the box, gasping for breath.  Numb from my time in solitude, I could hardly process what happened.  I could faintly hear the click of the latch opening, and the sound of someone gasping in horror.  The touch of fingers the length of my body brushed my skin.  

Again and again I slipped in and out of consciousness, until something heavy pumped methodically into my chest.  Suddenly, my eyes shot open.  I desperately gulped up as much air as I could.  “Wren!” Liz cried, “Oh my gosh, are you alright!?”  I couldn’t even speak; all I could do was lay on my side and try not to fall back into unconsciousness.  "I'm…  I'm ok," I answered between breaths.  "I came to talk to you, but you weren't here!” Liz exclaimed, “The only other thing that was missing was the sewing box, so I assumed that's where you were."  "Thanks," I wheezed, "I don't know how much longer I would've lasted in there."  "You have to be careful, Wren," Liz warned.  Sighing, I moved to sit up.  My head spun slightly, and my vision fuzzed in and out.  I clutched my head and squeezed my eyes tightly shut to try and stop the after-effects of my near suffocation.  Liz handed me a bottle cap filled with water, which I guzzled down immediately.  

"Why didn't you just wait for me?" Liz asked gently, "I could've given you whatever you needed."  I shook my head slightly, knowing she would ask me something like that.  "I want to do things myself," I explained, "Now that I'm free, I want to go back to living normally — taking care of myself rather than waiting on some human to take care of me.  Not that you haven't been doing a good job of it," I added quickly.  Liz's face scrunched in thought for a moment.  "I get it," she said after a while, "You want to have someone around to help out, but not to help with everything, just the bigger things you might not be able to do.  In other words, a friend, not a caretaker."  I smiled, thankful that Liz surprisingly did understand what I meant.  You never know with humans.  Sometimes they just don't get it.  

I preferred not to get back into the box I'd been held captive in, so I enlisted Liz's help to get me some thread.  She gave me more than enough of it, but I could certainly use the extra lengths.  Maybe I could sew some new clothes for myself later, once I find some decent materials that the humans won't miss.

After that incident, I took things a bit slower.  I'd rushed back into my old way of life a bit too quickly.  A week or so passed as I let myself adapt to my new surroundings.  Yes, I've been living in this house for months now, but I've never properly explored it.  I expanded my ventures further and further from Liz's room.  Before I was fully allowed out, Liz tested me on different necessary things that I'd been taught earlier in my life.  With a few training sessions under my belt, I refreshed my memory on everything from finding split-second hiding places, to learning what items the humans of the household would or wouldn't miss.  During my last day of training, I managed to hide so well that Liz couldn't find me, even after searching for half an hour and knowing many of my favorite hiding spots.  

Once she trusted my borrowing skills, Liz started letting me off on different levels of the house to gather supplies.  Normally, I used the spaces between walls to get from place to place, but with the intricate, borrower-specific traps set up inside them, I opted to stick with something a bit safer, and faster too.  Finally, my life was starting to take shape again.  All the endless days at the petstore worrying over how many days I had left suddenly seemed like nothing but a bad dream.  Though, sometimes memories would come back to haunt me in real nightmares.

Just like the first time, Liz was always there to comfort me.  Whenever I woke up in a cold sweat, I'd slip out onto the bookshelf and quietly call for her.  Every time, Liz would carefully pull me into her open palms and place me gently onto her chest.  I know it's corny and babyish, but sleeping closer to Liz seemed to be a cure-all for anything awful that might have happened over the course of the day.  She doesn't just save me from nightmares, sometimes it’s homesickness for my family, and sometimes it’s something simple like a bad supply run. 

Over time, being Liz's roommate and friend became less of a hassle and more of something genuine.  Earlier, it took everything I had, and sometimes a bit more, to keep our relationship on good terms.  Now, even during the rare times we do fight, I never worry that our unlikely friendship might fall apart.  I've never felt this content before.  For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I can spend the rest of my life right here, doing just this.

#fair warning don’t open the readmore unless you’re ready to scroll for a while lol #borrowers #g/t #giant tiny

[archivalofsins]

It's that unbothered feeling of no concern for others that Mikoto and Yuno can only give. One blatantly dismissing it while the other behaves in a way that denotes care and consideration only because that's what's most appropriate to the environment they wish to advance in.

Today's timeline interaction really brought back to mind a conversation Yuno and Mikoto had earlier on. Because Yuno's birthday conversation really highlights and follows up on this previous conversation well.

20/07/08

Yuno: Hey, Mikoto-san. Don’t you get tired being so conscious of others all the time? I mean, you’re free to do what you want though.

Mikoto: Eh…… Aha, what are you talking about I’m not being conscious or anything. It’s normal to make sure to get along with everyone, right? I mean, when you put it like that, aren’t you the same, Yun-chan? You’re always smiling and getting on with everyone too.

Yuno: I don’t smile unless I actually want to. But with you, when you’re talking with other people it’s more like you only smile deliberately. So I kept thinking, don’t your cheeks get tired? Ah, is this just what happens when you become a working adult? ……you see people like that sometimes.

Mikoto: Haha, you don’t mince your words do you. …….that was never my intention, but now that you mention it, yeah, I guess I do. This might’ve been since I started my job too…… But like, if I was rude to everyone I met, all my efforts would come to nothing, right?

"I don't smile unless I actually want to."

Umbilical

"I can't smile well anymore; it's because of you."

Tear Drop

"Let's just do it, please smile?"

"If I was rude to everyone I met, all my efforts would come to nothing, right?"

MeMe

"If I could end, if I could stop- How long would this dream go on?"

"If I could break it, if I could change- Can I do it; I wonder from when I started to give up?"

Voice line from the second trial teaser movie

Mikoto: [scream] You’re all fucking annoying! I’ll beat you all to death, pieces of shit!!!

*what follows may not be completely accurate since it's just my interpretation of this translation.*

23/09/02 (Yuno’s Birthday)

Kazui: You've been helping Shidou-kun, right? That's a bit surprising. You didn't seem to be the type to concern yourself with others.

Yuno: Hmm, what's this all of a sudden? It's not like you're wrong, I'm not really that interested in people. Under other circumstances I wouldn't even bother- But if someone is about to die in front of me, I'll help out. That's just normal, isn't it? Don't you view it that way too, Kazui-san? Despite helping too, you don't really seem invested on a fundamental level either.

Kazui: …Maybe. I'm not as sharp as Kashiki-chan. I was brought up in a world that was all about physical strength. So, I've never even thought about things like that.

Yuno: Haha, we're both liars, aren't we? The only difference between us is our reasons for lying. You lie to protect yourself, because you're important in your own eyes. For me, no one is particularly important- Even myself.

Both of their focus on how the way they behave is normal despite how emotionally uninvested in the action they are or if it directly contradicts their genuine feelings- Is just so interesting, and I think it should be highlighted more.

#milgram #yuno kashiki #mikoto kayano

[lyranova]

Happy 3 year anniversary for your blog, Lyra~! That's so exciting! For your ask game, lemme ask...

1, 5, and 18 for Yuno?

And to go with Yuno, how about 3, 10, and 14 for Neva~?

Hiya Erika, thank you so much 😁! Ooo yay a question for YuNeva, I’m sorry this took a bit to answer today but I still hope you enjoy 🥰!

Yuno:

1 What is your favorite canon fact about this character?

That he wasn’t always “super powerful” and “aloof”. That he was once just an ordinary, shy, and quiet kid like everyone else, who wasn’t really good at fighting or standing up for himself.

5 What is one thing you would change with this character (it can be their appearance, arc, personality, etc;)?

Hmm, for Yuno I think it would be his personality 🤔. At least a bit. I’ve said it before, but I would like him to be able/to have been able to emote more 😔. I’m not saying to make him cry at the drop of a hat all the time, but just…have him show a bit more emotion. Like for example in the Golden Dawn filler episode (note: my memory of the episode is a little hazy) but he showed a *bit* of emotion in it when he confronted Langris and when he went on the mission with them. I think it was a good little “snippet” of emotion, but maybe there could have been more 😅?

Although on the other hand if he showed *too* much emotion it wouldn’t really be in character for him😅🤷🏻‍♀️. So I want him to show a bit more emotion, but not *too* much if that makes sense.

8 Is there a ship that makes the most sense for this character (can be romantic or platonic)?

Hm, Romantically it would be Neva /lh+j. But since she doesn’t exist in Tabata’s canon, and I don’t ship him romantically with anyone in canon, I’m going with a platonic relationship. Which is Asta 😆!

I think the reason why I love their relationship platonically is because they just seem like two best friends who support each other 100% even though they share the same dream/goal! Their rivalary seems very “healthy” to me, as in neither one is putting the other down, instead they’re lifting each other up and are encouraging each other while still keeping their “competitiveness” 😆!

Neva:

3 What is your favorite fanon/fandom fact or headcanon about this character?

My favorite fanon/fandom fact about Neva is that she gets shy whenever her friends/the Captain’s wives are talking about their romantic lives 😆! She’s usually kind of…stoic and serious, or at least she tries to be, so when she hears anyone talking about romance or “spicier” subjects she starts blushing and stammering which is kind of the opposite of her “normal” personality!

10 How do they perceive themselves and their actions?

Hm, I think Neva perceive’s herself as someone who is emotionally “strong, capable, and okay” and that her actions reflect that. For example, after she found out that William was the one that betrayed them she did her best to potray herself as this strong and “unshakeable” person. Because in her mind, if she showed any kind of emotion (such as sadness, hurt, etc) the Squad members would label her as weak and either wouldn’t trust her, or would see her as “less then them”. If that makes sense 😆!

14 What trait do they find most admirable and how often do they find it?

I think honesty is a trait Neva finds most admirable! She herself isn’t very honest, and she’s found that even those around her (*cough* William *cough*$ aren’t as honest as she thought they were. So i think that’s why whenever she see’s/finds someone thats honest, even to a fault, she automatically admires them and is pulled towards them. As for how often she finds it, not very. Whenever she’s thought she’s found it she’s usually proven to be wrong, at least until Yuno shows up.

#asks #erika♠️ #my lovely mutuals #ask game #black clover oc #character ask game #oc ask game #thanks for asking 💕! #yuno grinberryall #oc neva

[atlascripts]

Warnings: angst, hurt comfort

“Why do you do this?” Peter asked, the cold air brushing off their skins.

“Do what?” you asked.

“Take part in this charade, this madness….we vowed to burn it down together.”

Peter was frustrated, angry maybe even, like something that was bubbling inside but couldn't erupt.

“Peter, I told you, I'm too tired, I don't wish the same anymore, I am free and I wish to rest,” you had said not sure where this conversation was coming from. 

“Can't you see, what this world is blinding you by, fake promises, we'll always be hiding, on the run, never truly free.”

You were silent, not sure what he wanted to hear, not sure what to say, 

“Peter…”

“Don't, I- You've infected me too, with this, with your love it's put a lid onto everything I ever wanted to do and sometimes...I can't stand it.”

You didn't even realize your eyes tearing up and a single drop trickled down as you looked at your feet and quickly wiped it away.

“Well, I never stopped you, you're free to go, we never made any commitments, we just were.”

Peter noticed that maybe he may have said something wrong, he didn't look up either, 

“I can't leave you behind,”

“Are you saying I am blocking your path?”

“No that's not what I meant…” he sighed huffing, 

“You don't trust that I can take care of myself,” you had said and he nodded,

“I'll be fine Peter,” you caressed his face stepping closer, “I don't ever want to stop you from being your true self,” it was odd how he heard you say that, it was madness at how you encouraged him to unleash all the chaos.

“To bloom into something you've always meant to be, it's just-” you paused.

“Just what?” he asked.

“You might be mistaking your dreams for revenge,”

You had walked past him then, not wanting to engage in this conversation any more than you had. He stood there, it was like a mask had been unveiled, this couldn't be the truth…

‘Revenge? From everyone?’ It made sense though, he had been wronged, misunderstood, everything was a domino effect to what he had become and that's why he chose to destroy and in return dreamt to create something new.....and he wondered what if that new world was also a reflection of this charade, just with less of the madness.

He turned and looked over to you by the lake, seemingly content, relaxed, free from the past. 

His thoughts were maddening him and he walked away, he wanted space to be alone, to be away from you, everything you said made a home in his dark heart, planting its roots.

Like Hades’ underworld blooming with Persephone's garden. Nothing made sense anymore, he kept circling in his thoughts trying to untangle them. And endless painful loop.

But he was gone long, so long you started to worry. It had rained and you had been out looking, with no umbrella, no raincoat, inevitably catching an awful cold by the time you returned.

He was there in the lounge a little worried and confused when he turned to you at the door, “Where were you I was worried?!” he inquired a little scoldingly. 

“I was looking for you, it had been hours...I'm sorry,” you mumbled. He seemed agitated as if saying, 'you should have known better' he meant it out of concern though, felt like he couldn't leave you alone, he was overprotective of you was an understatement at this point.

You stepped up close to find his eyes, “I am sorry about everything, anything I said..” and Peter's frown softened, “Let's get you dried up first hmm? C’mon love.”

You had a fever from the cold, and worse were such fever dreams that plagued you, as if your normal nightmares weren't a menace enough, except this one felt like a thorn stuck in your aching soul. You had sat up in bed touching your face to make sure you were awake and fine, ‘you recalled seeing your reflection, eyes bleeding, like the victims of the lab and behind you was Peter the way you had seen him when you first met him at the rainbow room during that fateful day.’ The message and fears were real. Tears escaped profusely as you tried to catch your breath, 

“Shh hey love I am here,” Peter's voice cooed as he came to sit by your side, a warm cup of milk and medicine in his hand that he kept at your side table. He was being his usual self you thought, not a rambling mess you had met this afternoon.

“Why haven't you rid yourself of me yet Peter, I am a hindrance in everything you ever believed in, and today even my dreams agree, and you know well I have never stopped you from doing so.” You looked at him with such sincerity in your messed-up question that it nearly shook Peter, the thought of you not existing had that effect on him.

You were visibly upset blankly staring at your hands, face stained with fresh tears. Peter looked on at what he'd done, in his way of wanting to rid you both of this constant fear of being caught, this peace being stolen, he had made you think you were a burden to him. ‘What a monstrous thing to do, to make someone feel like that,’ he had cursed himself.

Peter gently wiped your tears away and had you look up at him, “I could never hurt you, ever…” His own eyes teared up, “and I certainly can't imagine going on living life without you,” and he kissed your hands tenderly.

“I know we weren't born broken, we are perfect the way we are but..” he paused because you had never seen him negate anything after that statement before, “but this world did break us and we're just two broken souls trying to find peace.”

“I just want us to be free,” he spoke holding your hands and tracing the lines on them, but you reached up to cup his face and planted a soft kiss on the side of his face. “I'll always love you Peter.”

“And I you,” he replied before closing the gap between you two kissing you softly into the night. 

You both comforted each other, a gentle reminder that right now in the present it was okay, it was alright, the plaguing thoughts were fleeting always, you and him in the now were constant.

But he worried for you, seeing your fever was coming and going, a guilt that he’d walked away without mentioning and that you actually searched for him in this cold rain knowing well you should have been home. 

Your fever had slowly gotten down enough for you to rest even if you weren't exactly asleep, Peter discarded his clothes before slipping in bed with you, you'd feel content when he was close like this. His hand wrapped over you pulling you close in a snuggle and his lips brushing over your bare shoulders. You had entwined your fingers with his, pulling his hands close to your lips for a few kisses before letting go. Gentle soft strokes of your thumb assured him you were there for him, for his worries and troubles. 

There was this sinking feeling though Peter never voiced, too scared the universe might hear it and bring it to life, he was scared to even utter it, scared he'd be left alone...all alone one day, that you'd be gone.., as if your days were numbered. That feeling loomed over him like a bad omen. 

And he'd pray a silent prayer knelt before his proclamation of love, that he may not be able to burn the world for all the wrong it had done to them, to him, but he'd burn the world if it meant you could live with him a little longer.

mood song: pov - you're a heartbroken mermaid

#jamie bower #peter ballard #henry creel #stranger things #peter ballard x reader #henry creel x reader #001 #mood song #ghost of hawkins lab

[awkwardgtace]

Out of all of your bigs, who had the hardest time adjusting to interacting/living with tinies?

ok so I saw this, thought about it. Then got distracted and finally can sit down to answer again

So I think it depends on the setting they're in, but focusing on a world where they're "normal/giant" and find out "tinies/humans" exist:

so Vitus when he's just suddenly around smalls. Like he's usually good when he knows about tinies, but suddenly thrown in he'd be a mess. Heavy steps, too loud, lots of stern gazes that are more him thinking and accidentally scaring smalls.

Ash can have a rough time too. They'd be waaaaay too careful. Constantly hesitating and probably annoying the tinies who trust them. Some would certainly love how Ash is.

Felix for sure. He's not a super open person and it's kind of shown with the ice cube short. He's more likely to kind of disconnect at first. Like he'd be more likely to sort of ignore them when there's no immediate connection for him. A random tiny would have a Felix that only really starts to show he cares when they've lost it around him.

Ryder would need a lot of adjusting. He's loud and a bit dramatic. Would get excited to learn about them. He'd also do a lot that he doesn't realize is terrifying for someone so small. When he learns he'd be one of the best giants/bigs to be around.

Mira's not a great giant at first. She's incredibly curious about things and would wind up either observing to figure out how human they really are or just straight up trap them. Once she realizes they're basically human would let them go, but her habits would lead to a lot of unintentional fear for the smalls

Corus has the issue of his anger. When he's gotten better control of it he's pretty good at adjusting to smalls.

Sola and Luna have the whole being kids thing going so almost always rough for tinies to get used to them. Luna is a lot better and kind of gets Sola controlled since she's excitable and impulsive.

Kyrie in a case where he's comfortable in his own skin can be bad at first. He'd be intimidating since he's taller than is pretty average for folks when I write him. He'd have heavy steps, loud voice, and his own curiosity would get the best of him. He'd be quick to annoy smalls partly cause he'd be overprotective. Easily the kind of big who will try to do everything for the small until there's some argument about it. I should probably write something with this can't really use the dreaming soul mates thing since he has a solid understanding. hmm maybe it would make him worse though. He wasn't perfect at the end of that story

#awkwardanswers #oc info #oc:vitus #oc: mira #oc: sola #oc: luna #oc: corus #oc: ryder #oc: felix #oc: ash #oc: kyrie

[psychedelic-ink]

kinktober '22 ║ Ⅻ

pairing: modern!pero tovar x f!reader

genre: smut, minors dni

word count: 2.2k

summary: there's a storm raging outside and you go down to the basement to look at a Pero's knife collection while he's gone.

warnings: knife play (he fucks you with the hilt guys pls don't look at me), modern au, fear kink if you squint, dry humping

MLISTS .  LIBRARY. TAGLIST . KINKTOBER '22

You love Pero’s knife collection. He hates it when you touch the glass but taking full advantage of him not being here, you trail the smooth surface with your fingers, reminiscing about the first time you saw the impressive display of weaponry. 

He has daggers, small knives, big knives– You didn't know the name of most of them, however, you certainly admire them all the same. They’re hidden behind a thick glass, you’d only seen him open it once when you asked to touch one. He’d laughed while gently handing you one, saying that many women ran the other way, deeming him a red flag from the very start. You twirled the knife in your hand, playfully striking a fighting pose you saw actors make in many many action movies. Taking a step back, he watched you fondly with a big smile. Your gaze moved back to meet his, after a brief exchange of looks, you ended up grinning at him. 

“A knife collection is better than a heart collection,” 

“Hmm now I feel as if I should be the one afraid,” 

“Don’t worry, I’m not much of a heart stealer,” 

“I beg to differ.” 

That conversation happened three months ago, you smile wide at the memory. It’s been such a ride with him, both of you riddled with flaws, both of you eager to help one another overcome it. You’ve dreamed many times about having a relationship similar to this one, never once you thought you would actually get it. 

While staring at one of the knives with rubies embodied in the hilt –which is one of your favorites– you hear the soft pitter patter of rain hitting the windows. It adds to the atmosphere. Pero told you he would be working late, the quickening heavy pour worries you a bit. He’s normally a great driver but can be reckless from time to time– 

The lights flicker, a shuddered gasp dropping from your lips. Goosebumps rise across your skin, your pulse quickening as you stare at your reflection in the glass. Thinking about where your phone is, you wait, you remember leaving it in the kitchen after brewing tea. You turn to go and fetch it, and maybe find some candles along the way, but before you can head up the stairs the lights flicker again, only this time they don’t come back. 

You’re buried in complete darkness. 

Fuck, you think, hands pressing firmer against the cold glass. You aren’t particularly afraid of the dark, but being stranded in it isn’t exactly fun either. While you contemplate whether or not to try to scramble up the stairs and blindly head for the kitchen, you hear a slam of the door, the faint light from the outside seeping through the door now also gone, leaving only the natural light of the moon as your light source. You’re on edge, a slight tremble to your legs, you try to remember how to open the damn glass case that holds all the knives just incase. 

It’s just the wind, you steadily breathe in and out, The door is locked and no one can get in. 

For a moment you try to convince your screaming brain that no thief can penetrate the simple lock, you shake your head, no one is here, no one– 

With the feeling of hands on your waist you jump, your shriek cuts through the air. You immediately start trashing well within the grasp of this…this stranger and try to scramble away. It’s impossible. The grip is like iron and it pulls you flush against a firm body, the same hands skim up your waist line and stop at your shoulders. 

“It’s me bonita, calm down,” 

Oh. OH. It’s Pero. Thank god. 

With a shaky hand you grasp your chest, a sigh of relief falls from your lips. 

“You scared me,” you say, for some reason, in a whisper. “When on earth did you come home?”

“When the power cut happened,” the curve of his nose presses into the crook of your neck, by instinct you lean into him. “Are you alright my love?” 

“I am, but it might take my heart a while to settle down,” 

His hand sneaks to your front, sliding underneath your palm to feel your heartbeat. You smile at the gentleness. He spreads his finger, a pleasant shudder licks across your skin. 

“Are you cold?” he rasps. “Also what are you doing here?”

“A bit, and I just wanted to look at your collection,” you hum, the ache between your legs getting harder to ignore.  

“You really like them don’t you?” 

The sound of thunder follows, it makes you unreasonably cower into him. Pero smiles, wrapping his arms around your thighter, the mere strength radiating from him makes you salivate. It’s been a while since the two of you have done anything crazy, just quick fucks here and there but nothing overly ambitious. He licks the shell of your ear, his breath ghosting over the glossy skin. 

“Want to use one?” 

Your brain short circuits for a brief moment, confusion interlacing with your thoughts of sin. Trying to grasp the meaning of his words, you open and close your mouth, then swallow only to part your lips again. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well–” he pulls away and you can’t help the whimper that escapes you when the cold settles into your skin. He makes his way to the small hatch with ease, knowing every nook and crook of the house, and opens it. After feeling a couple of them, he picks one of them though you have no idea which one it is. His accent is thicker when he speaks again. “I was thinking since you like them so much, and since the spooky season is upon us, we could try something more daring?” 

When silence follows, he quickly adds. 

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to of course mi vida,” 

“No no– I want to– I…I trust you Pero,” 

“You are always so nice to me,” you can hear the grin in his voice, his soft steps echoing and he stands merely a breath away from you. “Color, amor?” 

“Green,” 

“Good girl,” 

He lays you on the cold floor, his warm body between your legs. You wish to feel him fully on top but instead he lifts the knife, it reflects the faint light that comes through the windows. It’s the one with rubies embodied in the hilt, the one you were so fond of. You feel the tip of the sharp blade against your skin, it slides up your torso, the sound of fabric cutting into half following. Your breath hitches, lungs expanding as the dagger finally presses against your throat, your shirt cut in half, breasts spilling. The light outside casts a blue glow across Pero’s rugged features, he smiles, eyebrows rising with amusement. 

“No bra?” 

“You know I hate wearing those things inside, it hurts,” 

“Aww poor thing,” His face contorts with faux pity, however, you can only focus on the knife digging into your skin deeper. He leans over, his warm breath licking your skin. “Are you afraid?” 

The inside of your mouth feels like it’s full of sand, you swallow, then lick your lips in a weak attempt to wet them. Are you afraid? No. Of course not. At least not deep down. But the emotion that lingers right under your skin resembles fear, it makes the small hairs across your body stand up with warning, your heart trembling with the all consuming thought of ‘what if?”. 

Your answer is the opposite of what swirls in your gut. 

“No,” 

You half expect him to laugh, to see through you like he always does. Instead you feel him observing you, dark eyes raking across your face that manages to hide a little of your true emotions thanks to the dark. He turns the blade to its side, the length sharp and cold against your burning skin. His soft lips trail down from your collarbone to the curve of your breast, his tongue accompanying the kisses. 

“Maybe you should be,” he whispers, drawing a stiff nipple into his mouth. The feeling is like lightning, blinding and consuming. His tongue laves across the sensitive nub, sucking and biting as he loudly groans into your skin. “So fucking soft,” 

His mouth trails between both your tits, sucking, licking and lapping every ounce of flesh you have to offer. You writhe under him, wanting to move but hesitating due to the blade. It’s as if Pero tied your arms and legs together, which couldn’t be more far from the truth. He traces the blade down your skin and all the way to your left tit, you let out a shuddered breath. Pero lays his cheek against the other one, blowing a puff of air towards the glistening nip, you gasp, back finally arching off of the floor. The tip of the blade slightly digs into the flesh but not enough to break skin, you assume Pero moves it away ever so slightly whenever you move, far enough not to hurt but not far enough so that you forget its presence. 

“Pretty,” he mumbles, nipping your skin. “I want to try something, if you get uncomfortable I want you to tell me alright bonita? I won’t ask again,” 

“Okay,” 

You clench your teeth at the way your voice sounds, so meek and desperate. You wished to sound more sure of yourself, as if the blade dancing across your body was nothing but a feather. 

You lose his heat again but forget to protest when he spreads your legs, freeing you of your sweatpants and underwear. His thick fingers trace between your folds, wet sounds fill the air between your two and you swear you can hear him growl. He pushes in two with ease, as he curls them, he grinds the heel of his palm into your clit. Your chest heaves, mind spinning as he slides the flat of the blade down your body and lays it across your thigh. With rough movements, Pero slams his fingers in and out of you, the squelching makes your body burn, more slick growing between your legs. 

He pulls out of you and in that moment you don’t know what to expect. Blearily you notice Pero lifting his drenched fingers to his mouth, cleaning himself with his skillful tongue. Your cheeks burn, his groan making your stomach roll. 

Then you feel the hilt of the dagger pressing into you. It’s cold, hard, the rubies providing a delightful stretch. Your fingers find his wrist, squeezing as you feel the air being sucked out of your lungs. His hand stills, the rounded butt of the knife fully seated inside of you. You breathe heavily from your nose, heart aching from beating so fast. 

“Don’t stop,” you moan out. “I just– I just needed to feel you,” 

“Mi querida,” he purrs. “You can feel me however you want to,” 

Before you can say anything else, he lays next to you, pushing his arm beneath your head while his other hand still holds the hilt. His scent floods your nostrils, he smells of pine and iron. You nuzzle into him, nose pressing gingerly into his neck. 

“Is this better?” 

“Very much so,” 

Pero’s lips delicately touch your forehead, keeping them there while he fills you inch by inch with the ribbed grip. You moan against his skin, and soon you bite into the flesh. It’s completely inside of you, cold, hard, thick. Licking the salt of Pero’s skin, you clench around the weapon. 

“Fuck, look at you,” he groans, you can feel his hard cock pressing against your thigh. “You are doing so well taking it all in, so pretty. How does it feel?” 

He slightly pulls it out and thrusts it inside, you yelp, an overwhelming sensation of pleasure washing over you. It’s so deep. 

“Good,” you choke out. “‘Feels so good,” 

You inhale him as he rocks into your thigh, the dagger twisting along with the movement. You want to– no, you need to– cum, you’re aching, muscles clenching and unclenching as he begins to slam the hilt in and out. He has you screaming his name in seconds, your body burning from the inside out. The dagger drips with slick, making a mess of the floor. Pero’s hips sutter, rubbing his hard cock into your thigh as if this is the last time he’ll ever feel you close to him. His breathing is heavy while still thrusting the weapon in and out, you’re close, your heart swells with love– 

Your orgasm shatters through you, it’s the most intense feeling you’ve ever felt. Your muscles grow taut, stilling. Pero finally removes the dagger, it clatters against the floor and the warmth of his fingers replace the cold metal. You sigh heavenly. The pleasure you feel softens with the pads of his fingers drawing circles around your throbbing clit, you drown his neck with soft, wet kisses, a groan trembles within his chest. 

“Was that good?” he asks into your lips, tongue going over the bottom one. 

“Fuck yes,” you chuckle as you cup his still hard erection, the softest of whines escapes him. “How about I take care of you now?” 

As soon as you say that the lights flicker back on, it takes both of you a moment to adjust to the brightness. Pero grunts and buries his face into the crook of your neck to shield himself away from it. 

“Bedroom?” 

“Bedroom.” 

kinktober tags: @tusk89 , @amneris21 , @witchisenpai , @pedrito-friskito , @tom-whore-dleston , @lola766 , @batdarkladyvampir , @dindjarinswhore , @dnxgma , @eyelessfaces , @queenofthefaceless , @softtdaisy , @saintlike78 , @timpletance , @xdaddysprincessxx , @stardust-galaxies , @spacecowboyhotch, @queenofthecloudss , @prettyouttherethoughts , @reaperofmen , @partr1dge , @bbyanarchist , @alwaysdjarin , @thevoiceinyourheadx , @absurdthirst , @levi-llama , @damnyoupedro , @stardust-galaxies , @all-the-way-down-here , @welcometostayingawake , @bullet-prooflove

#pero tovar x you #pero tovar x reader #pero tovar fanfiction #pero tovar fanfic #the great wall fic #the great wall fanfiction #pero tovar x f!reader #modern!pero tovar #kinktober '22 #kinktober 2022 #kinktober #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal characters

[justhere4kpop]

Only

Idol!Seonghwa x Reader

You come back from Vacation with your partner and as you're setting the home back up, he comes to a realization.

w/c: 1103 (I know it's short I'm sorry!!!!)

taglist: @hwaightme <3 &lt;3, @starillusion13, @yunbug

a/n: Finally! A Hwa-ne shot! Forgive me for the length! I love this one it's very very very fluffy, like practically tooth-rotting, I'm proud of it though. Inspiration for this is from me being super busy yesterday doing basic things and Only by LeeHi coming on, great song, mentioned probably a few times here. Hope you enjoy it!!!

Masterlist

~-~-~-~-~

“Darling.” came his gentle voice. “We’re back home” he nudged me lightly softly waking me.

“Hmm?” I murmured returning to the real world from my light dreamscape.

“We’re home.” he smiled gently as I turned to look at him.

“Hello.” I smiled.

“Hello love.”

“You were in my dream.”

“Oh? Mind telling me what happened?”

“The usual, you were holding my hand as we were talking about our lives.”

“Old and married on the front porch? Just like you wanted?”

“Yes, you told me I about how radiant I looked in my wedding dress.”

“I’m sure you look stunning, I probably cried.”

“Oh you wouldn’t cry.”

“I would over you my dear.” he picked my hand up and kissed it. “Ready to return to normal life?”

“I guess so.” I chuckled and stretched slightly before getting out of the car. “I suppose we should start with laundry, then probably decide on dinner, I’m sure we need to straighten up, we certainly didn’t have time before we left…at least we took the trash out….probably need to clean out the fridge, make a grocery list. You know…the usual.”

“The usual.” he chuckled.

Everything felt good to start, he started cleaning out the fridge while I took the luggage and went to start on the laundry, luckily we got in early enough in the day to feel like we can do things. Seonghwa and I have been together going on three years now, we’ve had a few rough patches sure, it’s natural to have differing opinions you’re two individual people. I wouldn’t trade him for the world, he’s my whole world. Out of every difference or argument or anything of the sort we manage it. We did break up for a while at one point because we were both too stressed out and it…you know when something needs it’s time, like a good egg in your ramen. We tried again and I have never been more grateful for how patient and attentive he is. He made me a playlist when we decided to try again and we named a star after him for his birthday. He makes me feel loved and warm and so so important. He’s my whole world.

“Hwa?”

“Hmm?” he looked up from scrubbing a shelf.

“Mind if I turn on music?” I was hanging up laundry outside on the balcony.

“Go ahead.” he chuckled.

“Hwa?”

“Yes darling?”

“I love you.” I smiled and turned around. He doesn’t always say it back but I know he always shows it, sometimes I don’t give him the chance to say it back either.

I would hum along here and there to some of the songs, it was a day for our slower playlist, full of emotional songs and some we’d slow dance in the kitchen to at 3am waiting for fried chicken. I started to clean out one of the cabinet looking at what we could eat for dinner, we had some rice ready to microwave and looked like some Spam.

“Hwa? Do we have eggs still?”

“Yes.”

“Gochujang?”

“A staple.” he chuckled.

“We could do rice bowls tonight, any other protein besides Spam?”

“None that smelled edible.”

“Damn.” I chuckled.

“You don’t have to cook dear.”

“I want to, it’ll be like a welcome home, besides I always cook after you come back from tour.”

“Yes but this was a vacation together.”

“I know, but it feels right.” I pecked his cheek. “Okay well we’ll go grocery shopping tomorrow.”

We made a list of the most important things we need from the store to get our fridge not so barren and went to a convenience store just to pick up what we could, like drinks and snacks.

“Finally. Now we’re home for the evening.” I said putting up the groceries and humming to the song currently playing over the computer speakers. “I’ll cook right after this is put away and hang up the last of the laundry.”

ONLY by LeeHi started playing and I was finally hanging the laundry and heating up the pan for eggs and spam. Seonghwa had stood up and watched as the song played gently.

Be my only one

이제는 숨기지 않고도 말할 수 있어

그렇게나 말하고 싶던 I say I love you

“y/n.”

I turned since he sounded so serious.

“I Love You, darling.” his eyes sparkled with what could only be described as pure adoration in that moment. He looked at me as if I had hung the moon and stars in the sky just so we could look at them together, he made his way to me a bright smile on his face, placing his things on the counter to scoop me into his arms.

“I love you too Seonghwa….why are you acting like you haven’t seen me for months.”

“I’m sure for the first time in forever, that I don’t want to loose you again my love. I don’t tell you nearly enough how much I love you.”

“Oh you tell me every chance you get.” I chuckled and he brought himself to my lips, I could smell the slight vanilla black orchid fragrance he wears and I could feel his smile and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Marry me.” he whispered resting his forehead against my own.

“What?” I chuckled.

“Marry Me?” he said louder. “I don’t have it right now but I’m sure I want to spend every waking moment with you my dear, My Only Love. Marry Me?”

“Of course idiot.” I said now feeling tears roll down my face, I really wasn’t expecting to get proposed to today.

“I Love You.” he smiled and kissed me again.

~18 Months Later~

“I couldn’t imagine a better first dance song than the one where I realized how absolutely in love with you I am my dear, Our forever starts now, until we’re old and sitting on that front porch and reminiscing about this day. I love you.” he smiled and came to take my hand as again, Only by LeeHi played once more.

“I didn’t think you’d actually cry at me walking down the aisle.” I whispered in his ear.

“I told you I would, you look beautiful my wife.” he smiled and the photographer certainly was getting everything we paid him for.

“Hopefully Hongjoong doesn’t get any embarrassing shots to blackmail you with.”

“Oh you know he’ll hold me crying like a baby over my head for years.” he chuckled. 

“Defintely.”

“To Our Forever?”

“Forever” I smiled and kissed him once again, as my husband, as my partner, as the love of my life. 

Forever.

My Only One.

#ateez fic #ateez fanfic #park seoghwa x reader #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa #ateez seonghwa #my writing

[awesomedurraworld]

Saw littlewitchbee do this tag game and i thought it was super fun! And since i was bored i thought I'd jump ane do it ( even if i wasn't tagged 🌚)

are you named after anyone?

I wasn't named after anyone, but I was named after a very important elemant in my parents’ wedding! A gem that my dad gifted my mom 🫶🏻

when was the last time you cried?

Yesterday’s night actually haha, i was having very emotional thoughts while i was reading a fic. But the real strong was... Good3 week-ish ago?

do you have kids?

No kids yet, or even a man to have kids with 😩 But! I am so excited to have tiny babies to love and grow

do you use sarcasm a lot?

Unfortunately ( or fortunately.) no, haha. I wish i was quick to make up sarcastic comments but i am not, and even slower when it comes to understanding them, tho i am starting to be quick 😌

what sports do you play?

No sports, but i do like working out even if i haven't done that in a while ( oops.)

what's the first thing you notice about people?

Their smile and aura. Always.

what's your eye color? Same color as tree logs and yummy chocolate

scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings all the way, or bittersweet endings as well. I just need to feel satisfied and good after I watch a show’s final or a movie

any special talents?

Hmm.. Nothing that comes to mind sadly no haha, but i do have those mom’s special powers when you lose something or can't find it, i probably can find it

where were you born? At an pretty oasis, next to the sea ❤️

what are your hobbies?

Drawing, coloring, crafting with paper and writing. I picked up cleaning recently as well as make up so that is fun! I also love reading And being part of different clubs hehe

do you have pets?

Yep! Two Zerba birds that are in love, Berries and Cute 💛

how tall are you?

I barely am 5”2 💅🏻

favorite subject in school?

I loved every single one- but my top must be, world history, psychology, English and biology

dream job?

I wanted to work with children, either a physical therapist, speaking therapist, or just your normal therapist, but now i am taking a different path in life and can't wait to share it with you when i am ready ❤️

and yes! I guess you got to know more about me 🥰 Lets tag the lovely @justanotherinterneruser @wakkoroni and @user-needs-a-username

Everyone is free to tag me when they do theirs, and you definitely can join us even if you weren't tagged 💋

#get to know me! #tag game! #ahh join us hehe

[catamaurrr-star]

maur may i consult your genshin tcg expertise. How would you build a deck with xingqiu-chongyun-shenhe in it. And also like is there a faster way to level the tcg thing so i can get more invitations or is it only obtainable through fighting npcs basically - sent from jerry sideblog

HMM... .. probably with like. a shit ton of artifacts (vourukasha's glow, gambler's earrings, gilded dreams, maybe even tenacity of the millelith) + lyresong so you can spam that and gilded dreams for free dice. also definitely wolf's gravestone and opera epiclese. also definitely add the cryo resonance cards. also minty meat rolls since you'd probably be using normal attacks with xingqiu's burst up. for the arcane legend card you could go in every house a stove or ancient courtyard but you can basically go with any. liyue resonance is also pretty nice right before you start using chongyun so you can have a bunch of dice

there are also some universal cards you should have on there if youre playing against actual people instead of npcs (i havent lost yet, lotus flower crisp, the bestest travel companion, leave it to me, maybe even mondstadt hashbrowns

for how you'd play it hmm. you can start on either shenhe or xingqiu to get their burst up (id prioritize xingqiu's though) and when chongyun is fully ready he can go ham on the enemy with wgs and minty meat rolls and end it pretty fast

also indeed the only way to level up the tcg thing is to fight npcs... and eventually you run out and have to rely on the weekly npcs. HOWEVER some tcg events (heated battle mode w/ other people or the usual version long special battle mode) give coins outside of the weeklies !!

#maurposting #mr ear man's collection #THANK YOU FOR ASKING !!!!!!!!!!!

[killerandhealerqueen]

2. a character whose POV you’re currently exploring

3. how you feel about your current WIP

5. first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP

7. your preferred writing fonts

10. what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

9. start to finish, how long did it take you to write the last fic you posted?

13. a fandom you’re thinking about writing for

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

20. in what year did you publish your first fic?

26. are you able to write with other people around?

30. share a fic you’re especially proud of

23. pick three keywords that describe your writing

17. talk about your writing and editing process

16. favorite place to write

💖💖💖💖💖

Jaz my beloved, hello!

2. a character whose POV you’re currently exploring

I normally write from an "omniscient" view point, so I don't really use like "character povs"

3. how you feel about your current WIP

Currently I'm working on my rewrite and I forgot how much I loved working on it. We are on ep. 27 though, which means we're getting to the mental hospital scene soon so that'll be fun. But I forgot how much fun it is to write it as well as liveblog/rewatch. God I love this stupid drama so damn much

5. first sentence of the fifth paragraph of an unpublished WIP

The only unpublished wip I have rn has a lot of dialogue and not so much paragraphs...but this is the closest "paragraph" I could find

         “You’re right, I’m not” he agreed, just as Chen Yuzhi tripped over a rock and fell, causing him to cry out in pain before he rolled over to see the wolf coming straight towards him, its teeth barred. 

7. your preferred writing fonts

For headcanons, Times New Roman, size 12, for actual fic writing Helvetica size 11

9. start to finish, how long did it take you to write the last fic you posted?

Hmm...last fic I posted (not updated cuz updated was 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer) was Second Chances. That fic, from start to finish...took me about...maybe 3-5 days?

10. what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

Hmmm...good question. Maybe a few days...but it's very rare, unless a fic is fighting with me too much. I mainly work on the draft until it's done and then I post it (but I of course go over it one more time before I actually post, just to make sure I didn't misspell or forgot a word or something)

13. a fandom you’re thinking about writing for

Currently really only writing for CSI: Miami (trying to finish my multi-chapter fic, we're almost done), Killer and Healer, and S.C.I. I do have one more fic to post for White Cat Legend but other than that...I'm not really planning on writing for any new fandoms

16. favorite place to write

Either in my armchair by the window or in my bed. I can control the noise at home, so it makes it easy, and I don't have to worry about people trying to read my laptop screen

17. talk about your writing and editing process

Oof...there's not much to talk about. I get the idea, let it ruminate in my head, kind of start seeing scenes play out in my head/in dreams and then I just sort of...write. I've stopped trying to outline stuff because that just seems to fuck with my flow, so we don't do that anymore. But anyways, I just write until I'm content/I've told the story I want to tell, I'll bring up the "post a new work" page on ao3, type out all the necessary information, past the fic into the box, then copy and paste it into my notes app (cuz sometimes the formating from copying it from word to ao3 fucks up my indents) and then do a quick re-read/edit if I miss stuff and then I post. The only time I'll ever send a fic to someone (aka @ahhhnorealnamesallowed) is when I need a second pair of eyes/I'm sick of the fic but other than that...that's kinda how my process works

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

Oh, if you've read my fics you know that I research a lot of stuff for anything regarding my case fics, but I think the most interesting one is for my fic Violence Is Never the Answer...Except When It Is where I researched step by step instructions on how to clean a katana. There's never a dull moment in my fics, I promise you that, but that one was probably really interesting...and really in-depth

20. in what year did you publish your first fic?

Lord...like 2012? It was a fic that I wrote for a Kakavege fanart that I saw on Deviantart. I loved it and then messaged the artist if I could write a fic for it. They said yes and even linked it to their art. My deviantart account has since been deleted but that was definitely my first like true fanfic

23. pick three keywords that describe your writing

I have no idea how to describe my writing...other than maybe out there, fantastical, exciting?

Idk Jaz, how would you describe my writing?

26. are you able to write with other people around?

Oh yeah, as long as they don't ask what I'm working on nor do they look at my laptop

30. share a fic you’re especially proud of

Now...we all know that I'm very proud of 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer (and really, I should be) but I'm also really proud of For All Eternity because I flipped what I normally would do for Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi when writing xianxias/wuxias (I made Jiang Yuelou the immortal this time while Chen Yuzhi is the demon instead of the other way around) and yet I STILL kept them true to their personalities. So...yeah. I'm really happy with that fic and I hope more people read it because it's good (it's also inspired by Chinese Paladin 4 which was Mao's latest drama and my god was he gorgeous in that drama. He was also my favorite character but no one is surprised by this at all)

more fic writer asks | send me asks

#sass answers #jaz 🦄 #more fic writer asks

[yuriko-mukami]

His Possession Dark 02

The forest was dark; there was no moon in the sky when Yuriko ran. She didn’t want to stop because stopping meant thinking and right now it just felt better to keep her mind empty. Her paws hit the floor of the forest repeatedly as she dashed forward… but before she realized she had arrived at the edge of a cliff.

There was an even darker forest, and a river ran between the trees when she looked downwards. There was no way she could go there. She sighed and sat down curling her tail around her paws.

“I was waiting for you to arrive…”

Yuriko jumped and turned around. The white one was there. Fox’s golden eyes were looking at her, but they didn’t smile as they usually did. This time the gaze was serious.

“You can speak,” Yuriko said. “I didn’t know.”

The white one opened their mouth but didn’t say anything, and for a moment Yuriko thought that she had imagined everything. Foxes didn’t speak, right?

“I thought you couldn’t hear me,” the white one finally said.

“I…”

This was the first time Yuriko heard the white one speaking. They had run together in this forest for years now, playing hide and seek, chasing their tails, and sometimes just lying under the trees. But never had the white one said anything to her. Now they swayed their both tails with a smirk on foxy face.

“It’s the first time, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Something has changed in you. What happened?” Yuriko tried to look at herself, but nothing was different. She still had white fur with blue paws and a blue tip of her tail.

“Inside of you, dummy. What happened in your real life? Did something change your life and change your… hmm… being?” the white one asked.

Yuriko turned her head and looked at the white one again. They were rather similar in many ways; the white one’s fur just had a little less blue in it and they had two tails instead of one.

“What… do you mean by ‘in real life’?”

“Your human life. Are you simple-minded or something?”

A cold lump dropped into Yuriko’s stomach. She remembered perfectly what had happened to her tonight at school, but she didn’t want to talk about it. Not now or ever. Why did that horrible thing have to enter her dream too? This dream had always been her safe haven, her happy place when things had been bad at home… with her father.

“Nothing has happened,” she finally said.

“If you say so… but there is something different in you,” the white one said, eyeing her. Their voice radiated uncertainty.

“I… I must go!”

Yuriko turned her tail to the white one and ran back to the forest. This was the first time she ran away like this but… she just couldn’t tell what had happened to her.

Yuriko opened her eyes and gasped. The dream still lingered with her but at the same time, the hard reality hit her as she felt the soreness on her neck. She sat up and rubbed her temples. She didn’t feel that well, but she knew that it was time to get up and ready for school.

A sigh left her lips as she wandered to the bathroom. When she peeked into the mirror she flinched. Even though she had slept through the day there were dark circles under her teal eyes… but it wasn’t the worst thing. The bite marks on her neck were a bit swollen… and very real. Maybe Yuriko had hoped that everything had been a bad dream, but her skin told a different story.

Yuriko remembered Ruki’s fingers on her chin and how they had traced her jawline. It could have felt good if… if he hadn’t attacked her violently right after. And he had acted like it wasn’t even a big thing like it had been perfectly normal to do that to another person.

Tears started to form in the corners of Yuriko’s eyes. She couldn’t go to school like this, but she couldn’t skip it either. That was a promise she had made to her father. She wouldn’t skip classes anymore; she would get good grades and she would be a perfect daughter to him. Though what did it matter when they rarely even saw one another…

Still, Yuriko wanted to be better. Maybe her father would love her more if she did everything right, but now it meant she had to go back to school. She had to face Ruki in that classroom. Maybe she could pretend that he didn’t even exist. He already had his fun with her, so he could leave her alone if she kept her distance and made sure that she wouldn’t be alone with him.

But first Yuriko needed to do something to her face and neck. The cold water didn’t help to get rid of dark circles, but the concealer did its magic and she looked at least decent after a while. Except for her neck. She rummaged through the bathroom closet until she found a band-aid and covered the worse part of her skin with it.

After Yuriko has changed, she sat down on her bed and searched for three words: “vampire Kaminashi City”. She swallowed when she got several hits. It seemed that there were persistent rumors about vampires in the area; of course, there wasn't any real proof, but the number of urban legends was worrying.

Could it really be…?

And why Yuriko was asking herself that when the aching pain forced her to remember the horror when Ruki’s fangs had pierced her skin? She let her fingers travel on her neck and flinched from the touch.

Had Yuriko’s father known about the vampires? Probably not. Surely, he would have chosen a different city for them to move in if he had known. But now they were here, and Yuriko had no other option than to survive. She couldn’t talk about this to her father; he wouldn’t believe her. He probably just told her that she had behaved indecently and was now covering her acts with absurd stories about vampires.

Yuriko swallowed trying to prevent tears from rolling on her cheeks. As if her life hadn’t been bad enough already…

I must show Ruki I’m not afraid of him or anything. I go to school and then just ignore him. I… I need to get through this year.

With heavy legs, Yuriko headed to the school. When she arrived at the classroom, her eyes scanned the space and, of course, Ruki was already there. Yuriko rushed to her desk which now felt like it was too close to his, her heart jumping in her chest like a scared rabbit.

As the night went on Yuriko could feel Ruki's eyes in the classroom even though she avoided looking at him. She kept to herself and concentrated on studying. It was just before lunch when things turned around.

"You are making a large project in this class from now on. You will pick three historically significant books and…" the teacher started talking.

The project sounded interesting. Yuriko made notes to herself and pondered which books she should pick and what view she should use when she would write about those. Maybe she could compare The Pillow Book, The Tale of Genji, and Sarashina Diary. They were all historical and one of her favorites along with the Heian period as a whole.

"...and you'll be doing it with a partner," the teacher ended his monologue. "Let's see…" And he went on who was working with who. "... and then Tsukino-san with…”

Yuriko shifted. She could do this project alone; this was the one topic she hadn’t given up on when she had been skipping school last year. Working with someone else could be a hassle if the other person wasn’t serious enough or wouldn’t be doing their part.

"We have to find a good partner for you, knowing your situation," the teacher continued. "Mukami Ruki, you will be her partner. I'm sure you can show her a good example."

No! No! No!

Yuriko's head turned and she met the steel-blue eyes once again. The cold lump in her stomach turned into an icy one, and her hand traveled to her neck unconsciously. Why Ruki?

Ruki nodded to the teacher’s words, making Yuriko sigh internally. Of course, he couldn’t say no to the teacher who was oblivious to what Ruki truly was. Yet Yuriko couldn’t do anything about it. She could have asked if she could do the project alone but… she didn’t want to look bad in the eyes of the teacher. She needed those good grades. The teacher also knew that, and Ruki was an excellent choice as her partner for that reason alone, but still…

“You can start your lunch break now and after that, you’ll plan your project. The deadline is just before midterms,” the teacher said before leaving the classroom which was now full of talk about the huge project when they had a lot of other schoolwork to do as well. Yuriko didn’t listen but stared at her desk. Her legs twitched and she kept thinking how it would have been much better just to hide under the blanket in her own bed instead of having lunch but at the same time her stomach grumbled.

Suddenly a shadow fell over Yuriko’s desk. She lifted her gaze and met the assertive smirk that made her stomach curl.

“It seems we have to do this project together, Livestock,” Ruki said, his expression turning unreadable. Yuriko had no idea if he was pleased or not, but she sure wanted to hide somewhere.

“Well… yes, it seems so, Mukami-san,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady this one time and ignoring the terrible name he had just called her with. “If… if... you don’t mind, I'm going to the bathroom now... And then... we can start this project.”

Even Yuriko’s legs shook as she stood up and grabbed her school bag. She knew that there was no escape from the school project but at least she wanted to keep her last moments of freedom to herself. She locked herself into a cubicle and sat down, not wanting to eat there but knowing that stepping outside would only draw Ruki’s attention to her.

Jumping from the window isn’t an option, is it?

A sigh left Yuriko’s lips. There was no way out from her new problems. If it was just Ruki she could have dealt… maybe. But the white one too. Suddenly there was too much going on both in the real world and in her dreams.

Time ran faster than Yuriko had hoped for, and she was forced to step outside the girls’ bathroom if she wanted to eat something before the break would be over. While Ruki had allowed her to stay there in peace, he was now standing right outside to greet her.

“It is very disrespecting of you to keep your master waiting,” Ruki said in a low voice. Even though the hallway was full of clattering sounds as everyone was chatting with their friends, Ruki’s words sailed directly into Yuriko’s ears, making her flinch. Her heart started to bounce faster than before. Yet she did her best to hide her discomfort and smiled, pushing strands of her hair behind her ear at the same time. As she revealed her neck Ruki suddenly took her by the hand and dragged her with him. Yuriko couldn’t but stumble behind him, not being able to free her hand from his firm, almost painful grasp that was surely leaving marks on her wrist. Ruki didn’t pull her to the library as she had assumed. Instead, they stopped at the empty broadcasting room, pushed her in there, slammed the door shut, and shoved her against the wall.

"Care to explain what that is, Livestock?" Ruki asked.

Yuriko shook her head.

"I… I don’t know what you mean, Mukami-san."

Cold fingers were soon on Yuriko's neck, grabbing the band-aid away. A whelp ran from her lips as the skin ached and the bite marks were revealed.

"Never hide the marks your master has inflicted on you," Ruki said, tossing the band-aid on the floor. His eyes were narrow as he gazed at Yuriko. "Everyone in this school should see that you belong to me."

Yuriko opened her mouth, a protest forming in her mind, but she wasn't even able to finish the thought when Ruki pressed closer and sank his fangs into her neck again. Gasping, she clenched his school blazer. Yet she tried to keep her voice down, biting her own lip as the harsh sucks made her head spin. But she couldn’t completely hold the sound in, a muffled moan escaping her. The pain formed tears in the corners of her eyes as the unpleasant feeling vibrated through her, pushing her to the limit.

Ruki plugged his fangs out slowly, licking the fresh bite mark and making the heat rose on Yuriko’s cheeks. The touch of the tongue was a polar opposite of the penetration of the fangs, almost gentle if Yuriko compared them.

"This room is soundproof, no one will hear you," Ruki whispered against Yuriko’s skin before moving up her neck. This time his fangs pierced her with just a little pressure which made the pain easier to bear. Still, she whimpered. The sucks felt relatively more tender than the earlier ones, yet somehow it was nearly impossible to breathe. Yuriko’s fingers squeezed Ruki’s blazer as she blinked wildly, mind whirling. She could smell his musky scent… and her own blood. The two composed a new fragrance, one of the kinds, unforgettable, mixing with something else, something new to her, something she had no name for.

"Haah… sweet… but I should not take more now."

Once again, the fangs left Yuriko's neck, tongue closing the fresh wound. But the soreness, the aching remained, burning memories in her mind.

"I will not hand you to anyone. You are mine," Ruki spoke directly into Yuriko’s ear with a soft yet warning voice. "You will not make this mistake again, is that clear?"

"Umh… Yes…" Yuriko mumbled. What else could she say? Her head was spinning but she realized that denying Ruki now would only cause more problems for her.

"Good girl," Ruki replied and straightened his body. "We should go. Our classmates are probably already in the library."

With shaking legs Yuriko followed Ruki to the hallway, and soon they joined the rest of their class in the library to work on the group project. The place wasn’t as quiet as usual when all the third years were there looking for their books and debating with their partners which they should pick up in the first place. Yuriko didn’t dare to look at Ruki. The burning shame colored her face. With fresh bite marks on her skin, anyone could see how she had spent her break time.

I need to focus. This project is important! I can’t let Mukami-san ruin it for me.

It didn’t matter how much Yuriko was afraid that Ruki would want to bite her again she needed to do this project with him… but the library being this busy was for once a good thing. They could focus on schoolwork and maybe nobody would look at Yuriko. She tried to shake her head a little, hoping her hair to cover the bite marks at least partly.

“Umh… I think we should get started,” Yuriko said, gathering all her courage. “I was thinking about Heian period literature: The Tale of Genji, Sarashina Diary, and The Pillow Book.”

“There are several pieces of literature written in that era. Why do you want those specific books?” Ruki asked. For a moment Yuriko just stared at him. His voice had a rather solemn tone. The earlier anger seemed to vanish completely, and he truly asked her opinion as to if it was important to him.

“Ehmm… well… I…” Yuriko muttered as the steel-blue gaze locked with her teal eyes. She shifted her weight from one leg to another. “Umh… First of all, The Tale of Genji can be seen as the very first novel in the world. It was written by Murasaki Shibiku who worked in the imperial court at the time. The Pillow Book is written by Sei Shonagan who also worked in the imperial court and probably knew Murasaki, yet her book is a different kind of description of that period. Sarashina Diary is written a bit later, but the author of the diary loved Murasaki’s story very much, so it had an intertextual view to that.”

Yuriko drew a breath. She couldn’t believe she had just said all that to Ruki whose eyes hadn’t left hers even for a moment when she had talked. She covered her mouth with her hand as her heart started to tremble in her chest.

“At least you are well-read for livestock.”

Yuriko swallowed. Did that mean…? Ruki would go along with her plan without complaints?

“So… if you want to… use Heian period literature… I just… go get those books…”

Yuriko hurried between shelves. She couldn’t believe she had to do this project with Ruki. Though there wasn’t anyone in their class she would have liked to work with. It would have been perfect to work alone, but since it couldn’t be helped Yuriko decided to focus on working and keep as much distance between Ruki and her as she could.

The Pillow Book was the first book Yuriko found. The copy was worn, and the cover felt a bit soft on her fingertips when she picked the book up. Yuriko realized that the book had a very clear smell of old paper; never had she noticed such a thing earlier but suddenly that was strikingly clear.

Yuriko was able to locate the other books as well, maybe a little too fast for her liking. As much as she wanted to get the project started, she got goosebumps from just thinking that she needed to go back to Ruki and talk to him again. She took a big breath and walked slowly back to the middle section of the library where the desks were. Many of them were already occupied with other students… and Yuriko didn’t see Ruki. Where had he gone now? She felt a bit annoyed. She hadn’t thought of him as a type who would disappear during a school project.

Yuriko sighed. She didn’t have time to fool around. She turned around to see if there was a desk she could take, and suddenly Ruki was just there. Yuriko almost jumped and dropped her books. Why, why did he always have to make her heart bound so loudly?

“Umh…!” Yuriko took a step back and tried to scan an empty desk, so she didn’t have to look at Ruki. But now even the last one of those desks was taken. Maybe she had used too much time to find the books. Her palms began to turn sweaty as she pressed the tomes against her chest to prevent herself from shaking. “Well… ehh… Maybe we should ask if we can sit at the same desk with some of our classmates…?”

Suddenly Ruki snatched her chin and turned Yuriko’s face towards him.

“Do not let your gaze wander unnecessarily. You should put your trust into your master in these matters.”

“Erhh… Mukami-san, please. Don’t use such a word here… Let’s just concentrate on this project,” Yuriko whispered, cheeks flaring. The fingers on her chin brought back the scene just moments before. While Yuriko was sure Ruki wouldn’t bite her in front of everyone she couldn’t help the small trembles that washed over her. She wanted to run away, yet she couldn’t do anything but look into Ruki’s eyes. The eyes of the predator, she knew that now. Maybe they were supposed to be like that, it surely made it easier to catch prey. “We… we need to find a place to study, but all the desks are taken…”

“Do not worry. I know the perfect place for us to study,” Ruki said, leaning forward, his voice stroking Yuriko’s eardrum.

Oh my gosh!

Yuriko pressed her free hand over her mouth. Small shivers ran down her spine when Ruki spoke again directly into her ear. Why did his voice sound like… so… Yuriko didn’t even want to think about how Ruki’s voice sounded and what it did to make her feel right now but she noticed how her heart raced again and something warm meandered down her stomach and continued to the deeper parts of her. It wasn’t like she wanted that to happen but when Ruki’s voice sailed into her ear it made her body react the way that no one had ever been able to do.

Once again Ruki took Yuriko’s hand and guided her through the library until they reached the darkest corner where no one seemed to wander, and the rustling of book pages or hushed conversations couldn’t reach. Yuriko’s heart kept jumping when she was forced to follow Ruki to the deeper parts of the library. She didn’t like how isolated they were but said nothing about it because words were now glued to her tongue. So, instead, she put all three books down on the table with a trembling hand. Those three worn copies of Japan's literature history… For a moment she couldn't help but think about Genji from The Tale of Genji. How lovesick he always was and what disgusting deeds he did because of it. He was no good and yet his story was captivating. Sometimes bad things were so much more interesting than the good ones, and fictional stories gave a great opportunity to peek into things you didn't want to experience in real life. Although right now her real life was demanding her attention and poked her senses in a very distracting way.

“Umh… you… can… let go of my hand now,” Yuriko whispered with a quivering voice. Ruki was too close; she could smell his musky cologne as it lingered around them and tried to push forbidden thoughts into her mind. She quickly shook her head as if she was banishing those away completely, but they stayed when his fingers didn’t leave her hand. They were as cold as usual, making her shiver. Yuriko turned her gaze to those slender digits which so easily held her tiny palm as their prisoner. Ruki’s fingers were beautiful, so long and yet so strong. Heat rose on Yuriko's cheeks when she realized she was thinking the forbidden thoughts again. Ruki was only using her as his personal blood bag; there was no reason to think anything good about him… or his digits… or his scent.

The fingers left Yuriko’s hand, and she quickly slipped into a chair. Ruki sat next to her, taking the book pile in front of him and opening the first one, The Pillow Book. Yuriko glanced at him and the pile without knowing if she could take one of the books too. While she watched, Ruki pulled out his notes and leafed the text further. His arm blocked Yuriko’s way to the books, and she didn’t dare to reach over it.

“Umh… Mukami-san… This is a project for two people, and I… I want to do my part,” Yuriko said, her voice shaking a little. “Can I have The Tale of Genji?”

Ruki lifted his gaze from his notes, locking with Yuriko’s. For a moment there was only silence; something moved behind the ice of his eyes. Yuriko swallowed but this time she didn’t avoid him but looked straight back.

“I… I’m serious. I want to do this project well. It is important to me to get good grades, and I’m going to work for that goal. That’s why I need to do as much as I can,” Yuriko said.

Was the ice melting or was Yuriko imagining things? It was impossible to say but Ruki’s gaze penetrated straight into her soul. The way he looked at her was stern and steady as if he was measuring her mind, weighing her every word.

“Very well then,” he said and handed the heavy novel in front of Yuriko. “We should gather our thoughts about the books and compare our notes after that. We will see if you are worthy of your words, Livestock.” Yuriko only nodded, not daring to say anything more. She opened the huge tome and dived in.

Beta read by @ruki-mukami-dl

#yuriko tsukino #yuriko's story